> Becoming One With The Beat > by canadianbrony91 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: An Old, Mundane World > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The morning seemed like any other morning. You wake up in your bed feeling groggy and lazy, but the harsh rays of sunlight coming in from the window directly facing you start hitting your eyes, eventually annoying you enough to get up. If it weren't for the sun's rays, the crisp cool morning breeze and birds' sweet singing would've been enough to put you back to sleep. "Damn curtains..." you think out loud as you set a mental note to close them tight tonight so this won't happen again, although you subconsciously know that you'll forget anyway, as you always do. At least you woke up on time for class, which frankly doesn't happen very often. You debate mentally with yourself whether or not to just skip morning classes today and sleep in, but your more productive side eventually wins out and you throw on some pajamas and a pullover sweatshirt and get ready for the day. Walking to morning classes from your dorm room was always a peaceful experience. It was always an opportune time to think about things clearly with no distractions whatsoever, except for the house/dubstep music blasting through your headphones. But you really enjoy those types of environments. College wasn't as hard as your friends and family made it out to be, even though you're barely scraping by with a 3.2 gpa. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if you weren't studying to go to law school after you get your degree in criminal justice, which has been the only subject that ever interested you throughout your 3 years of college, albeit you always tend to do better in physics and biology. Academics are not what is on your mind this morning though. The only thing you can think about is getting classes over with so you can get back and sleep. This is basically the same routine you always do every morning. Ever since you graduated high school, life has been a lot more boring and stale for you. So the simple pleasures of life such as this are all you have to look forward to every day. You wished there was more to think about, your friends, your family, but all of that was gone now. Your parents just recently moved north, leaving you here by yourself with just a medium wage job to pay for all your college expenses. Every once and a while for your birthday they'd send you a hundred dollars or so, but it wasnt enough to be of any help. Their letters became few and far between, even though you respond and write back to all of them. To add to all that, your friends have all but forgotten about you, even your best friend that you've spent your entire life going to school and hanging out with. Part of you resents his apathy towards you, but another part of you has come to the disappointing realization that he's moved on in his life, and so have you. It's only natural that he would go his separate way in order to further his lifelong goal of becoming a marine biologist. As the days went on and on, you felt as if your shoulder became colder and colder. This wasn't all that bad, though. You've learned how to take care of yourself both financially and emotionally through all this, and it's made you a stronger person, although it may have made you a bit more shy and reserved than your former high school self. As you enter the building that your first class is in, you hear some giggles from a couple of girls, freshmen, from the looks of it, and you notice they are glancing over at you. "Nothing seems to be out of place" you think to yourself, not aloud this time, as you mentally check your appearance. Then it dawned on you that in your rush to get out of bed you forgot to fix your hair, which really didn't bother you at all, you're just thankful that it wasn't anything worse. You were never really popular with girls to begin with. Your body is in good shape because you work out and skate at a local skate park everyday, but your charm needed a bit of work, and so did your shy and overly self-conscious personality. Girls haven't been on your mind lately, though. It was tough enough worrying about schoolwork and everything else, a girlfriend would've distracted you from more important things. But that doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't like a girlfriend. You tried a few relationships in high school, in fact, some of them almost got to third base, but it didn't really work out for you, mostly because most of the girls at your high school were superficial spoiled daddy's girls who would throw a temper tantrum every time they didn't get exactly what they wanted from you. There were a few girls you thought you might have had a chance with, but those options were shot for many different reasons. You've been putting off trying to find a serious relationship for a while now, but it's always been on your mind. After classes, you start walking back and light a cigarette to help you relax from the pop quiz that you bombed in psychology 202. You don't smoke often, maybe once or twice a day, but not to the point to which it would become an addiction. You were planning on quitting, but never had the opportunity or the reason to actually do so. You find that your meditative state that you had earlier on your way to class was gone, which wasn't surprising given the fact that your mind was fried with neuroplasticity, which is all your teacher lectured about today. You think to yourself how humorous, or perhaps ironic, it is that you have trouble learning things in a class that focuses on how your brain learns things. When you finally get back to your dorm room, you throw all your clothes off except for your undershirt and your pajamas and crash on the bed, letting out a large exhale in the process. You had homework to do for tomorrow's classes, but it'll have to wait, sleep is more important to you than schoolwork at this point. Besides, you wouldn't be able to focus on anything in this state anyways. As you drift into sleep, you catch your poster on your wall with the corner of your eye. It was a poster of your favorite character, Vinyl Scratch, from your favorite show, "My Little Pony" that you got from last years "Brony-con". Vinyl was always someone you could relate to. She was that type of tomboyish thrill seeker that always appealed to you. She even likes the same kind of music you do, music like dubstep, skrillex, and a bit of house thrown in. She was always laid back and carefree just like you were, although she tended to be a bit more social than you were. Apart from that, you could easily relate yourself to Vinyl in both personality and interests. As your mind wanders off, your imagination takes over, and you start to think of how amazing it would be to escape the mundane day to day routine you inhabit and go to the wonderful world of equestria, just for a few days. Or to spend a day with someone like Vinyl and how much fun that would be. Or just to spend some time in a world that doesn't constantly screw you over for no reason and wasn't filled with such self-centered people. You chuckle at the daydream as you slowly slip into a relaxing mid-day nap. About an hour later, you're woken up to a knock on your door. Startled, you quickly throw your covers off of you and put on a shirt as you yell "Im coming, one minute!" You scramble for the door as you wonder who in the world it could be; no one ever comes to visit you, as much as you hate to admit it. And you haven't done anything to merit university police to come knocking. In your haste you accidentally stub your toe on your chest of drawers, causing you to curse, maybe a bit too loud. You finally get to the door to see that its only a university employee delivering mail. You exhale slightly in relief. He looks up at you and says "I have a letter to you from...", he pauses as he reads the name of the sender, "Celestia? Yes that's right." Your eyes widen and your jaw hang open a bit. The only one word you can think to say is 'what' but you just stand there in silence, trying to figure out what this could mean. Not many people are called Celestia...could it really be Princess Celestia from Equestria? No, that cant be right...right? What the heck is going on here? "Um...excuse me? I need you to sign here". You snap back to attention and laugh at yourself for thinking such an insane thought. "S-sure" you studder out, still a little woozy from just recently waking up. You sign the mailman's notebook and take the package with a thank you. Your'e still left standing there staring at the envelope you just received. Your head is spinning with thoughts. "Is this some sort of joke?" "Who in the hell is Celestia?" "Could it really be the Princess Celestia?" "Whoever it was, why a letter and not an email?" "Did i even eat anything for breakfast this morning?" You decide to find out for yourself and close your door, lock it, and sit down on your bed. For some reason, you hesitate to open the letter, nervous about what it might be about. The envelope doesn't seem to have any stamp or return address on it, which makes you wonder if its just a prank someone is pulling on you to make fun of you being a "brony". However, you've never told anyone about your fascination with the show, which makes you all the more suspicious. You open the envelope and extract a single piece of paper. It isn't an ordinary piece of loose-leaf, but something that looks ancient, like papyrus. You start to read the letter: "My faithful student, Alex" Whoah. Whoever took the time to make this letter sure put a lot of effort into making you believe that this was really from Princess Celestia. Your'e still not quite convinced its the real deal, but you continue reading anyway. "I have something very important to speak with you about concerning Equestria. I'm sorry for the briefness of this message, but it would be safer to speak with you about this in person, and in secret. Meet me behind the student theater tonight at eight o'clock and I will explain everything. Sincerely, P. Celestia." You would've been very excited to hear this were it not for your skepticism. Your mind is swimming with curiosity. What the heck is all this about and who the heck is "P. Celestia?" You put down the letter and lay flat on your bed again. Surely this can't be the real Princess Celestia. And even if it was, what on earth would she be doing here and what would she want with someone like me? You initially want to just forget the whole thing...but you cant. What if this is the real deal? What would i be missing if i chose not to go meet whoever this was? Before you go back to sleep, you look at your phone and set an alarm for 7:30 pm. "Might as well, there's nothing better to do" you think to yourself as you doze off once again. You also noticed that in your rush to get out the door, you accidentally tore part of your Vinyl Scratch poster. You let out an aggrivated moan. "Well shit." > Chapter 1: A New, Magical World > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You woke up to the sound of your phone's annoying cricket ringtone going off. Still drowsy, you picked it up off your nightstand only to clumsily drop it directly on the bridge of your nose, which woke up any part of you that was still asleep. You grunted as you leaned over the bed and reached for the floor, picking it back up again and turning it on. 7:30. You felt tired an achy from such an irregularly long nap as you got out of bed and put on some clothes. You thought to yourself one last time if you really wanted to go through with this, and you naturally started thinking of worst-case scenarios. It could be some creep trying to lure you into a dark alley to steal your money, or just fuck you up and kill you. Uncertain of what this could really be about, you took your pocket knife and stuff it into your pocket, just in case. You knew you shouldn't have been so paranoid, but in the world you live in today, anything could happen and it doesn't hurt to be prepared. Once you finished getting ready, you headed out the door and locked it securely behind you. There was still a faint amount of light coming from the sun below the horizon to the west. This was your favorite time of day. Where the sky evolved from blue to orange, and even sometimes purple. You could see why whoever wrote that letter chose to meet behind the student theater. It was all the way in the back of campus where almost no one bothered to go, especially at night. You had to admit that it was a pretty good idea to pick that spot for a secret conversation. However, that only made you more suspicious and cautious. As you started walking towards the theater, the night began to turn dark quickly as the last beams of sunlight finally sunk below the horizon. You were about halfway to your destination when you hear a loud *POP!* coming somewhere in the direction of the theater, which startled you a bit. "Science department must have rented out the theater for lab work again" You thought to yourself as you remembered a certain science professor that you used to have a class with that held the record for most broken and destroyed lab equipment in the entire university. Still thinking out loud, "I wonder what that old geezers blown up this time". When you eventually got to the student theater, however, you noticed that no one was there. No cars parked outside, no lights on inside, and absolutely no one around. For some reason, you started to get a little scared. Its wasn't like you to be scared, but that loud "pop" certainly came from this direction. Before you could contemplate further, you heard a "pssst" coming from behind the theater. You looked to where the noise was coming from, but you saw no one. You mustered up whatever courage you could find and started your way towards the back of the theater, but not without checking to make sure you still had your knife. As you turned the corner, the first thing you saw was utter darkness. Whatever courage you managed to put together until now was starting to dissolve into nothingness until all you could focus on was the blackness that was behind the theater. Suddenly, a hushed but stern voice called out. "Come, here" Swallowing your fear, or at least attempting to, you slowly walked forward, checking for an escape route in case this rendezvous went south. As you walked forward, you started to notice a dark silhouette leaning against the back wall. You called out "Hello? Who are you? Was it you who sent me tha-" The dark figure cuts you off. "Shh! Quiet human, or we will be discovered!" Whoever this was, it didn't sound a bit like Princess Celestia would have sounded. But you did notice that the voice was that of a female. Wait, why did she call you a human? "Sorry", you whispered, "was it you who sent me that letter?" The dark figure was not leaning against the wall anymore, but was standing up and facing you directly. When did she do that? You didn't even see her move...Your soliloquy was cut short by the dark figure again, "Yes, we were. But enough chat, human, we have important matters to discuss." "Alright...but could you tell me who you are first? Do I know you from somewhere? And why in the world are you calling me 'human?'" The figure seemed a bit taken aback by your last question, as if she expected you to know who she was. "Thou doesn't know who I am? You insult me, Alex." Her way of speech was weird...you've never heard anyone talk with such a victorian edge in public before, at least not here in America. But what really bothered you is how she knew your name. "H-how do you know my name? Tell me who you are and what you want with me!" "Doest thou really not know who thou art speaking to? What arrog-" The girl figure cut herself off and started laughing lightly to herself after having remembered something. "My apologies, human, perhaps if you saw my true form you would understand." "What the...?" Suddenly, before you could question what she had just said, a strange feeling came over you. It was if all the darkness around you was being absorbed by that girl. The narrow alley behind the theater began to suddenly get less dim as all of the shadows that were around you took physical form and shrouded the girl in darkness. You had strong ideas of running, but you were so awestruck by what was happening that the only thing you could do is stand and watch at all this. Fear had taken hold of you as the darkness started to settle on the girl, which started to take a different shape. Slowly but surely, the two legs of the girl sprouted into four, and her neck began to elongate and stretch as her body took a more horizontal shape. Suddenly, a group of 50 or so stars begain to float down from the sky one by one and collect on top of the newly formed head of the figure before you. Even though it defied all physical laws and explanations, you knew the person, or now mare, you were talking to this whole time was, but you were so shocked with awe that you couldn't manage to get any words out. All you could do was stare at the now fully transformed mare in front of you that, until now, you only thought was a fantasy. Your head started spinning and your heart raceed faster than it ever has before and you started to lose consciousness. Eventually, you passed out. As you started to come to, you remembered everything that happened before you went under. Princess Luna was still there, now knelt down over you and speaking to you, although your hearing was still not all there. Finally, you started to come to your senses. You had a million and one questions to ask but for some reason, you couldn't bring yourself to ask anything. "Are you all right, human? Sir Alex?" "I...I think so..." You got up slowly, checking yourself to make sure your body didn't hit anything as it fell from consciousness. Seeing that everything was as it should be, you looked back to the figure in front of you, still dumbfounded by the immensity of what you just witnessed. "I can see clearly that you are not used to seeing creatures such as I." "Yeah...I mean, I've seen you before, just not in person I guess. I didn't know that you actually existed. I thought all this was just a story." "I assure you, sir Alex, I, and others like me are all too real. Although, we inhabit another plane of existence than your own." You were still a bit woozy so planes of existence just sound like gibberish to you right now. You tried to focus. "Planes of...what? And please, just call me Alex." "Very well, Alex. Now, I will try to explain our situation as accurately as we possibly can. Equestria, as I think you may know, does, in fact, exist. But, not in this plane of existence. Our world is much different than that of your own. To get there, one must travel through planes of existence, which are-" "Kinda like time planes?" You asked, still somewhat confused. "In a sense, yes. There are countless, maybe even infinite planes of existence, that exist at any given time... But now is not the time for physics lessons." You paused for a second, trying to take everything in as best you could. "So that was you that made that loud noise earlier? You were coming into my... Plane of existence, was it?" "Yes, I had hoped my sister's teleportation spell would be less... Noisy." "Okay... So why did you come all this way to talk to me?" "You see, Alex, our world of Equestria isn't so oblivious to your world. We attempt to study your world in hopes that we may better understand it. However, traveling to your world is very dangerous and we would likely run into...complications." "Complications? Like what?" "Imagine if a pony from equestria were to be discovered in your world to the general public." You didn't have to think hard to imagine how chaotic that would be. "That would be a disaster." You said, laughing lightly. "Quite. So Instead, my sister and I agreed to a different plan. Every hundred or so years, we travel to your world for a very short time, to seek out somepony, excuse me... Someone who we think will be able to handle crossing planes into Equestria so that we may study them and the current state of their world." "So...what you're saying is that I'm the one you chose? And not just anyone could come with you?" "Yes. The transfer between your realm and ours requires purity in heart and in mind. A person with corruption within them would be torn to pieces in the process. It is difficult to explain in detail. However, destiny would have it that you, Alex, have been chosen to travel to Equestria both in order for us to further our understanding of you and your world, and in order for you to further your understanding in ours. That is, if you agree to all of this. No words came to your mind as you listened intently to what Luna was saying. You just sat there, taking everything in. "Of course, I understand if you would need some time to think on this desi-" "Sure, I'll go with you." The Princess seemed to be surprised as she thought of what to say next. "A-are you sure hum- er...sorry. Alex? This is a big decision that you must make, so please take your time before deciding. While you are gone, time in this plane will be stopped, so you will be able to return without arousing suspicion. But be warned, there is one other detail you must take into account." "What is it?" "Once you travel to Equestria, there is no certainty in which you will be able to return. You may be stuck in Equestria, unable to return to your true home. Will you be able to do this with that risk in mind?" Well, that put a damper in your plans. Although you admit you answered her offer somewhat quickly, you really did want to go. This world, this life you live here, although it was nice, was very lonely and depressing at times, and you knew it. Your friends scattered to different colleges after high school, leaving you by yourself at the college you currently resided. Your relationship with your family wasn't all too well, either. Now, no one really put the time aside to spend with you. Lately, it seemed like your friends and family moved on with their lives leaving you behind to move on with your own. So, why would it be so wrong with choosing Equestria? Thinking about Equestria, all the wonderful people that are there... Where friendship spread all around and bound everyone together in harmony... It really wasn't that hard of a decision to make. There was no doubt that Equestria would be a much better place to live than this one. However...you still couldn't shake off what Luna said. You may not be able to come back. Ever. This world you live in was filled with hate, war and violence. But, it was still your home. It was where you grew up. Still... "Yes. I'm sure. I'll take you up on your offer, Princess." You said with a slight hesitation. You are certain, though. This was really what you wanted, and you knew that deep down in your heart. "Then, it is decided." Princess Luna said as her horn began to glow a dark blue hue. Suddenly, the blue magic from her horn shot towards the ground and began to take the shape of a plain wooden door, but without a door knob. "Prepare yourself, Alex, for the journey ahead of you." She reached behind her left wing and pulled out a doorknob made entirely of crystal. She touched her horn against it and it too began to glow with the dark blue magic. She then inserted the doorknob into the door, which then emitted a blinding light, changing the door into a dark royal blue door with golden trimming. "After you." Luna said with a slight amount of sarcasm in her tone. You walked up slowly to the magical door in front of you and took one last deep breath of the air of your world before you turned the knob and opened the door. Suddenly, A blinding brightness surrounded you as you were sucked into the portal behind the door. You felt as if you were going at mach speed, your face being pushed back until you could feel your eyes going into your brain. You tried to close your eyes, but you soon found that you were going too fast to even attempt to do so. You had no idea which way was up and your body felt like it was being tossed like a rag doll though a vaccumm. For a moment you feared for your life as you lost all control. Finally, in the distance, you saw another door identical to the one you opened earlier. Afraid of crashing into it, you held out your arms and braced for impact, but at the last split second, the door opened and you were sucked inside, then everything went black. You woke up on the ground, your entire body aching badly. You soon realized that the door you were sucked into threw you none other than straight down at the ground, which was comprised of marble and tile. You tried to get up as you realized that your impact cracked some of the tile. You were bleeding, but not badly, just a few scrapes and cuts. Once you got back on your feet and found your balance again, your mouth dropped as you surveyed your surroundings. Stain glass windows surrounded you with murals of ponies, odd shapes and more, causing a bright array of every color of light to hit your eyes all at once. It made you shield your eyes. The ceiling was as high as a cathedral and you almost lost your balance again trying to look up at it. It didn't take long for you to figure out where you were, because you recognized this room. You were flung into none other than the Princess's royal chamber. "Whoa. No way...This is..." You think out loud, unaware that you weren't the only person in the room. A voice behind you giggled slightly. "Yes way." You were almost too afraid to turn around and face what your mind was telling you to be true. You knew that voice all too well, but your body was frozen both in shock and fear. You knew that if the voice behind you was really who you think it was, there would be nothing to be afraid of. Still, your mind feared the worst. Maybe it was a nightmare and when you turned around there would be a giant red eyed monster that'll eat you? Was this real? You pinched yourself to make sure, and sure enough, your body told you that you were, in fact, awake. "There's no need to be afraid, my faithful student. Please, turn around. We would all like to see your face." Slowly, you urged your body to turn around, blocking out your urges that were telling you to run away. When you turned around, you got just what you imagined. Standing before you were four mares: a white mare with a rainbow mane, Luna, a pink mare with a multicolored mane of yellows purples and pinks, and a purple mare with a dark purple mane with a pink stripe. You already knew who all of these ponies were, but your mouth simply wouldn't cooperate, you didn't know what to say or how to say it. "I...you...uh...umm...h-hi" You barely managed to blurt out. The four ponies all giggled and laughed together at your humorous reaction. Princess Celestia stepped forward and bowed to you politely. You continued, regaining your composure somewhat and you kneeled down before Celestia. "I- I mean, It's an honor to finally meet you, Princess Celestia." The princess smiled back at your politeness. "Welcome to Equestria, sir Alex. My Name is Princess Celestia. This- " She pointed to Luna. You realized that she was going to introduce everyone in the room and you already knew who all of them were, but you figured that it would be rude to interrupt, especially in the presence of a princess. So, you stood politely and listened. "Is Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and last, but not least, Princess Twilight Sparkle." You finally mustered up the willpower to form complete sentences. "H-Hi everyone, its a pleasure to meet you all. But please, just call me Alex." From the corner of your eye, you could barely make out Luna rolling her eyes. "Well, Alex, I'm sure you're wondering what you're doing here." "Actually princess, Luna filled me in on the basics before we arrived." You were trying to be yourself and not act awkward in front of royalty, but at the same time, you had no idea what would be considered rude. With a last ditch effort to escape the risk of appearing so, you blurted out. "Y-your highness...sorry." Celestia giggled once more, a little more discreet this time. "Please, there's no need to be so formal. After all, from what I hear, you already know quite a bit about us." Why would she bother introducing everyone if she already knew that you knew who they were? Oh well... You took the opportunity to drop your formalities and speak more naturally. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." "So, Luna already briefed you? You know why you've been summoned here to Equestria?" "Yes, I understand, for the most part." "Good. I'll leave you to introduce yourself with Luna, Twilight, and Cadence. But first, I need to give you some basic rules to follow while you are here in Equestria." You looked up at the white alicorn intently. "First and foremost, you shall not bring about any harm to anypony in this realm under me." That would be simple to follow. You couldn't imagine hurting anypony like that. (You laugh to yourself mentally, you've only been here 10 minutes and you're already changing your vocabulary). "Second. You are not to tell anyone outside of this realm that this realm indeed exists. And, you are also forbidden to disclose any information about this realm to your world, as it is not yet ready for the knolowedge." "True that" you thought to yourself silently as you continue to listen. "Third. You are under the command of our royalty and will obey as such." Well, that was a given. "And finally." Celestia looked at you with a serious eye, making you both a bit uncomfortable and nervous. She then relaxed her tone and facial expression. "Have fun and make new friends. This is Equestria after all, where friendship and magic rule over all of us." You give Celestia a reassuring look "Yes, ma'am!" "Good. You will be staying with twilight for the time being. Make sure she is aware of anything you may need." Celestia looked outside the window at the angle of the sun. "I'm sorry to leave you just upon your arrival, but princess duty calls!" And just like that, a golden glow emitted from her horn and she vanished into thin air. An awkward silence hung in the room for a few moments, but was soon followed by Twilight and Cadence cantering over to you. You kneeled down again in politeness. "It's so great to finally meet you Princess Twilight, Princess Cadence." Twilight laughed a bit at your apparently overly-formal gesture. "Oh stop it, you don't have to worry about all that stuff with me." You give her a smile in return and stand upright again. "But wow...a live human! I must say I never thought I'd ever see a live one in my life!" Twilight exclaimed, obviously exited at the opportunity to learn new things about someone like you. "The same could be said here." You say, just as interested in this new environment as Twilight was. "Well, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to meet with everypony later, but first, lets get you cleaned up. That transportation spell sure did do a toll on your clothes...and your body." Twilight eyed down at your body. If you didn't know any better, you'd think she had a bit of seduction in her eye. It was just then that you realized that half your shirt was torn off. Your pajama pants weren't in the best shape, either. There was no need to sew them back together. They were practically ruined. You also saw that you were badly bruised in some places and you had some cuts along your arms and legs, but nothing that needed stitching up. Your mid section was completely exposed, letting Twilight have a full view of your moderately developed abs and pecs. "And besides," Twilight continued as she gave a gesture for you to follow her. Her eyes finally ventured off of your partially exposed body. "you got a few cuts and bruises that I need to look at as well. I would've hoped Celestias spell would've been... Smoother... But then again, she managed to create a portal between realms! Isn't that neat?!" You chuckled slightly at Twilight's excitement and gave a faint smile. "Yeah, it is." You and Twilight walked off together. After a long silence, Luna turned to face Cadence. "So which do you think he'll chose?" "It's difficult to tell for sure." Cadence retorted. Her eyes stared at the ground, deep in thought. "His heart and his intentions are both pure, that much is certain. But..." "Something troubling you?" "Its just that the life he left back home... Wasn't an entirely good one. He may choose to actually accept Twilight's gift. If that happens..." "If that happens, we'll be ready for it." Princess Luna interjected. "Besides, I'm sure someone like Alex will prove to be very useful to us in the long run, no matter which path he chooses. But, he still has a few days before he will have to make that decision. So, there's no point in worrying about it now." Cadence inhaled and exhaled deeply, making a strange arm gesture inwards and outwards while doing so "You're right, I worry too much." She looked out of one of the windows that overlooked Ponyville. "Things are going to be very interesting for all of us in the near future, that much is for sure." > Chapter 2: Stupefaction > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So? How do you like it so far?" As you and Twilight walked outside the castle, your doubts were finally erased for good. Everything around you was just how you would've imagined it. You looked up at the cobalt blue sky above and it filled with flying pegasi clearing the last few spots of clouds after what looked like a recent thunderstorm, sending a few strong sunbeams through them. Ponies of every color were trotting about Canterlot, minding their own daily lives just as they normally would. Oddly, you didn't seem to have turned many heads yet. You sometimes dreamed about Equestria, although you would be a bit ashamed to admit it, but this was better than anything you ever could have ever dreamed of. The first thing you realized was that most of the ponies were actually a bit bigger than you would've thought. Some were larger stallions even reach up to your shoulders, which was relative to the fact that you measured an average 5 feet, 9 inches in height. "That's good." You thought to yourself. It would be really awkward walking around like a giant among a sea of little miniature horses. You looked back up at the sky when you spotted something gliding down from the sky above. Keeping your eye on it and moving your arm in front of your eyes to shield them from sun glare, you positioned yourself properly so you could catch it. As it got closer, you realized that it was a feather from a pegasus floating down directly on top of you. You jumped up and caught it before it floated away. "A real pegasus feather..." You held it in your hands and fiddled with all the details of the feather. Strangely, it wasn't all too different from an eagle's feather or a hawk's as far as texture goes. The only difference was its bizarre cyan color. You tucked your first Equestrian souvenir behind your ear with a smile on your face. You were so happy that you almost thought about giving it a name... But that would be weird. "Wait a minute, this feather's cyan...could it possibly belong to-" "Earth to Alex?" You were so caught up in the moment that you completely forgot the newest princess of Equestria was right next to you. "Oh...sorry. Its just, this place is amazing!" "Yup. Sure is." Twilight added with a bit of pride in her step. "Oof!" You were still looking at Twilight, causing you to take your eye off the road and making you accidentally bump into a grey colored pony carrying some groceries on the street in front of you. The bag flew out of the mares hoof and, using your quick human reflexes, you snatched it out of the air before it has time to drop to the ground. Because of this, your shirt (or rather, what was left of it) almost came off, revealing your toned mid section for everypony to see. You had a body that wasn't hard to look at in a mirror. This was mostly because of your good diet and constant gym time. You didn't have a solid six pack by any means, but it was still enough to make the ladies turn every once in awhile. Twilight seemed to be one of those ladies in this instance, whose face began to turn a light shade of pink. She didn't take her eyes off your recently exposed bit of torso. "Sorry about that..." You apologized, handing the bag back to the pony you bumped into. "Its quite all right dear, besides, no harm do- oh my..." The pony eyes you up and down and you began to prepare an explanation. Butm you get an all-together different reaction than you expected. "Whatever are you doing in public with those clothes on? I suggest you seek a tailor, its impolite to walk around Canterlot in such barbaric clothing!" "S-sorry ma'am, I'll get them fixed right away." You gave an apologetic smile and continued on, turning your attention to Twilight. "I thought everyone would be a bit more uncomfortable seeing someone like me here, but no one's really giving me any odd looks or anything. They're treating me like anyone else... Why is that?" You gave Twilight a quizzical look. "Um-oh... W-well..." Twilight stammered, the image of your naked chest still fresh in her head, but she eventually recovered her composure. "Well, it's not like nopony knows what a human is. There's been a few others that came here in the past, although I didn't get a chance to see them personally. I've only been able to read about them in books. Besides, most of Canterlot and Ponyville knew about all this a few weeks beforehand, so we've been planning for your arrival for quite some time now. And by the way, don't you mean everypony?" Twilight added with a wink. "Oh...right...everypony..." You corrected yourself with a slight laugh. "All aboard! Next stop, Ponyville!" The train conductor yelled as you and Twilight finally reached the train station. You and Twilight hurried to get on the train before it left, making it inside the cabin doors with just a few seconds to spare. As you two searched for an open seat, you realized that Twilight wasn't wearing her dress and tiara that she had been wearing up until that point. "Hey, what happened to your dress?" "Oh, i sent it back to the castle, don't tell anypony I said this, but I really don't like wearing it." Twilight said with a *squee*. "How'd you manage to do that?" Twilight laughed at your unintentionally dumb question. "Magic, silly! You're in Equestria now, remember?" "Oh, Y-yeah, of course. Sorry, I'm just still not used to all this magic and flying and stuff." You feelt like an idiot now for asking such an obvious question to somepony like Twilight. "Don't you have magic in your world?" Twilight asked half-jokingly, but you could tell it wasn't a rhetorical question. "Well... No. At least not that I'm aware of." Twilight's light hearted facial expression began to look a bit depressed and concerned. "Wait, what? No magic? How? That cant be right..." You explained to Twilight that the world you live in didn't have magic at all and how it operated without it using machines that use natural electricity, steam, coal, and other natural resources. You started to realize that your description of your world without magic was making twilight somewhat depressed, especially considering the fact that almost her entire life was dedicated to learning about magic and new spells. So, you decided to let the topic slide for another time. "Didn't you say earlier that you read books about my world? No offense, but I thought you would've known about all this if you had." "Well...yeah, I did, but nothing that I've ever read mentioned anything about magic, so i just assumed... I'm sorry Alex, that must be awful... Not being able to use magic at all..." "It's alright" you said with a smile, "You'd get used to it if you've lived there as long as I have, it's not all that bad". Your cheerful demeanor seemed to have an effect on Twilight's mood and it brought her back to her normal self. She half-smiled but her eyes gravitated towards the floor. "What's wrong?" You ask with a bit of concern. "I just hope you'll like it here as much as you like your world." You put on an even bigger smile to reassure her. "Are you kidding? This place is amazing! Its like a dream come true! I swear, If i could, I'd live here forev-" You caught yourself before you said anything that profound even though you really wouldn't mind living here instead of back on Earth. Twilight saw through your cover up, though. "Well that's good to hear, I'm glad you're liking it he-ahh!" The train began to shift to the right, causing Twilight to lose her balance and throw herself on your lap, her head landing dangerously close to your package, but barely missing it. You remained like this with her in your lap for what seemed like an eternity. You could even feel her tiny warm breaths blow against your area, causing you to get a little stiff. Finally, she regained her balance and sat back up quickly, both of your eyes darted away from each other in embarrassment and your cheeks started glowing red. "S-sorry..." You both blurted out, almost in unison. That was close. Your pants started to bulge a bit. Your flimsy pajama pants didn't do a good job of hiding your sudden arousal, so you nonchalantly crossed your arms over your waist in an attempt to cover it up. Now that you thought about it, that turn wasn't that severe. You could have been standing upright and on one leg and still have kept your balance. Did she do that on purpose? You instantly dismissed the thought fearing your "problem" may get worse. You quickly changed the subject. You asked the first thing that comes to mind. "So how are you liking your new wings?" Both of you were trying your best to forget what happened and continued on with the train ride for a few more minutes while discussing Twilight's many comical flying mishaps. You looked out the cabin window to take in more of the natural beauty of Equestria. After about 15 minutes, you started to see a familiar town up ahead. "Is that...what I think it is?!" "Mhmm. Welcome to Ponyville Alex!" "There's a lot we need to do to get you acclimated to your new environment, but before we start, we need to get you some new clothes. Rarity's shop is just ahead, I'm sure she'll be able to help you out." You and Twilight continued together through the streets of Ponyville as you recollected everything you saw and heard about the place. Sugarcube Corner, Town Hall, it was all here, just how you imagined it would be. It finally clicked in your head that Vinyl lived in Ponyville, so you started to look around, hopeful that you may find her, or any familiar faces for that matter, but your search came up with nothing. Now that you noticed, there weren't many ponies out and about today, which was odd even to an outsider like you. "Is there some sort of occasion going on somewhere? I don't really see that many people out today." You asked Twilight curiously. "Oh...well..." Twilight seemed to stumble for words, "I'm sure its nothing, probably a meeting at Town Hall or something. Come on, Rarity's place is just around this corner. By the way, ponies not people." She teased. You thought you had gotten the difference down, but it seemed like it would take a bit longer to fix that part of your vocabulary permanently. "Hey. Random question: Does Vinyl Scratch still live here? Just curious." You asked, trying to make it as innocent of a question as possible. "Well...yeah, sure." Twilight says, somewhat suspicious, "Although, I don't really have the chance to visit her often. Why do you ask?" "Like i said, just curious." You started to get a bit nervous. "You interested in her?" Twilight half-teased. "U-um well no," You lie, your face flushing a bit. "I was just wondering..." Twilight just giggled along and, to your relief, decided to let that discussion go for later. But still, as you thought back, Twilight was obviously trying to hide something with that last hasty answer about Ponyville being oddly deserted. But what was she hiding? Before you could speculate any further, you heard Twilight trying to catch your attention behind you. You broke away from your inner thoughts and realized that you passed up Rarity's shop. With a quick "Sorry", you hurried back and opened the door for Twilight and followed her inside. The first thing you noticed was that the room was a lot messier than you thought, especially for somepony like Rarity. There was random cloth bits and sewing equipment scattered all over the floor and on the furniture. You could hear a frantic clatter in the back of the shop behind a door as you heard somepony shout. "I'm coming!" Rarity yells. Suddenly, the door bursts open, revealing a very disgruntled white coated pony. "Oh I hope I'm not too late dear, making clothes for an entirely different species is a lot harder than it sounds." She rambled on, cantering out from behind the register and towards you. "My apologies," She re-directed her attention towards you. "Rarity, at your service!" She bowed politely as you went up to introduce yourself. "Alex, the pleasure is all mine." You figured you should make a good impression to someone with such an elizabethan sense of manners, so you lifted her hoof and gave it a gentle kiss. Somepony with her elegance would certainly appreciate that. "Ooh my, a what a charmer!" Rarity complimented you, turning her face away from you and blushing slightly. You nailed it. From the corner of your eye, you could see a somewhat annoyed look on Twilight's face. Before you could ask her what was wrong, Rarity interjected. "Anyway, I just finished making the most divine outfit for our new guest. Behold!" You looked up in shock as she lifts up a plain t shirt and a pair of jeans with her magic. Or rather, they would be plain if they wasn't covered in jewels of every shape size and color. "Oh, isn't it just magnificent?! It took me all night but I knew I could do it!" Your facial expression revealed your dislike of the unnecessary bling on the shirt. "Whats wrong, dear, not to your liking?" Rarity said, looking a bit nervous. "Oh no, no its fine..." You said, trying not to hurt her feelings, "Its just..." Rarity gave you a puzzled look. "It'll be fine without all the... Jewels... Just something plain would be all I need." "Oh... Well, alright then." Rarity used her magic to undo all the embroidery and threads that she worked tirelessly on all night all at once. It was no wonder she was considered the greatest designer in Ponyville. She looked a bit disappointed, having most of her hard work shot down, and you felt bad for making her undo everything, so you tried your best to make her feel better. "Thank you so much Rarity, I really do appreciate it. You didn't have to do all this just for me." "Oh but sweetie, you're such a very important pon- Um... Person! We haven't had a real live human in Equestria in hundreds of years! You most certainly deserve it!" "How did you know that you needed to make clothes for me? I mean, word doesn't travel that fast, does it?" Twilight broke her own silence this time with a smile, "Like I said earlier, we've been planning for all this for weeks." After thanking Rarity again, you headed behind the back door that Rarity came out of to change. Finally taking off your ruined pajama pants, you realized that she didn't give you a belt to go with the jeans, which were a bit loose even for someone as fit as you were. However, it'd have to do. Besides, you couldn't just give them back and ask Rarity to make an entirely different pair in another size. Especially with what just happened with the jewels. Oh well... At least the shirt fit nicely. It was nice and soft too. It was a button up shirt with a small collar, but at the same time, it looked somewhat casual. It had some fine embroidery around the collar that went down the button line which was used before to mount various kinds of gems, but now simply stood out by itself. You started putting it on and you felt how incredibly light and soft it is. Wait a minute... "Is this shirt really silk?" You asked Rarity behind the closed door. "Only the best for our very important guest!" Rarity replied with a melodic tune in her voice. You laughed a little at Rarity's lighthearted-ness. You felt quite flattered. You had already been in Equestria for a few hours and you've already met all four princesses, and gotten treated to the finest silk shirt by Ponyville's finest tailor free of charge. You'd have to think of a way to pay back Rarity later, but for now, there was so much to do and so many ponies you wanted to meet. Rarity and Twilight both whispered to each other with Rarity's back facing you as you started to open the door. They hadn't realized you were done yet, so you stayed behind and waited. "Is everything ready?" Twilight asked very quietly with an edge of concern in her voice. "As ready as we'll ever beeee-oh, Alex! Simply dashing! Rarity interrupted herself, increasing the volume of her whisper into her normal tone. She turned around when she heard you clumsily leaning against the half opened door, making it emit a loud squeak from its hinges. "I must say, you humans do know how to pull off semi-formal clothing quite well." Rarity said, walking up to take a closer look at you and using her magic to summon a measuring tape and a pencil. "Hmm...the pants are a bit large...maybe if i take some length off here...and a bit here...ooh no not there...hmm....ah, yes! Wait, no..." Eventually, she came around and examined your thighs, then your inner thighs, then finally the crotch of your jeans, but she lingered there for too long to just be making size corrections. It was pretty obvious that she was checking you out given that her mouth was agape slightly and her eyes weren't moving an inch from your package, but you kept silent. Her head got closer and closer to your now growing member. You prayed she won't notice, but was useless to hope. You knew it was big enough for her to notice and you could feel your junk getting even harder as Rarity got close enough to practically lick the crotch of your jeans. She sent a warm breath in its direction, making that the second time a mare's breathed on your area that day. You inhaled sharply and bit your lip. Finally, you interrupted her from her eye candy session with a nervous laugh, "Maybe just a belt?" "Oh...right...silly me" Rarity put down her measuring tools and extracted a belt from a nearby rack. It was about your size, from what you could tell. You let out a relaxed sigh, your pants starting to return to normal. "This is the biggest one I have in stock, I hope it'll work" You tried it on carefully, attempting not to damage the delicate silk shirt in the process. Luckily enough, it fit all the way around your waist with two belt holes to spare. Rarity let out a sigh of relief before Twilight nudged her hoof and gave her a strange gesture. "Well all right then dear, you're all set. If there's anything else-" She put a bit too much stress on 'anything' for it not to be taken as a somewhat suggestive innuendo. "you need, don't hesitate to stop by!" "Sure thing, thanks for all the help!" You said with your face blushing ever so slightly from the sexual tease as you and Twilight walked out the front door. Just before the door closed, however, you heard Rarity behind you, "W-wait!" You and Twilight waited at the front door while Rarity cantered up to meet both of you. "Twilight, are you on your way to your house? I just remembered I needed to borrow that book about the geographical patterns of sapphires again." Rarity walked past you, gently brushing her tail against your leg, trying to make it look unintentional even though you know it wasn't. "Sure thing, Rare." Twilight replied nervously. It was almost a bit too nervous for it not to be somewhat suspicious, maybe even rehearsed? You were always good at reading body language but sometimes it would lead to you becoming paranoid and overly skeptical about things and looking like a dick, so you decided to just let it go and not make an issue out of it. As the three of you walked in silence to Twilight's tree house, the sun was beginning to set over the horizon, giving you a beautiful view of Canterlot silhouetting in front of it. You took a deep breath of Equestrian air. It was... Clean. Refreshing. It was way better than the air you constantly breathed in your world. It was almost euphoric and reminded you of your morning walks to class back home. Not that you miss those at all. Your mind then started to wander to how you've been treated so far in Equestria. You couldn't help but notice you're getting spoiled. Your humble side naturally wanted to object to it, but it seemed like everypony here was happy to make you feel at home. Your mind started to wander a bit more as you thought back to Twilight's little mishap on the train and Rarity's ogling at your crotch. Were they seriously trying to come on to you? You had no idea ponies could even be sexually attracted to humans... Still... You weren't one to talk. you still got aroused by it too, didn't you? You wondered if something like that would ever happen with you and Vinyl. Would she even like you at all? You let out a deep sigh, attempting to clear your head of anything like that, in danger of your recently checked-out member getting excited again. For the second time today, your deep thinking made you lose your sense of direction and your ran face first into the front door of Twilight's tree house. "Alex, are you okay? That's the second time today that sort of thing's happened." Twilight teased. You turned to her and gave her a humorous "No shit" look, making her giggle at you. "After you, Derpy" Twilight teased again, opening the front door for you. Wait...what? Wasn't that borderline insulting to Derpy herself? Or was that just the norm around here? You shrugged it off and put down both meeting her and talking to Twilight about her in your mental to-do list as you open the door. The inside was nearly pitch black, with just one or two windows on the East side of the room that didn't allow the sunlight to help clear the darkness during dusk. You reached around for a light switch on the other side of the wall. Wondering why Twilight isn't helping you find it, you finally felt something that resembled a light switch and flipped it on. > Chapter 3: Letting Loose > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "SURPRISE!!!" Pinkie Pie jumped on you, knocking you to the ground with a loud *oomph!* followed shortly by another "SUPRISE!!!", but this time by a crowd of ponies, from what you can tell. You couldn't see them though, since Pinkie was in your face already revving up her chatterbox. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! But I'm sure you already knew that didn't you? Ooh that's a really nice shirt! I hope I didn't mess it up. Anyways this is you big 'Welcome To Equestria' surprise party! I bet you weren't expecting all this were you? I wasn't either!!! That is until a few weeks ago when I heard a human was coming to Equestria and I was like", Pinkie puts on a hilarious surprised face and gasps dramatically, "and then I knew i had to make a biiiig party just for you because your'e really special and..." "Thanks Pinkie, you didn't have to do all this for me though." You said humbly, blushing slightly at the sudden attention you were getting. She finally got off of you, allowing you to stand back up and you noticed just how many ponies were there with you, crowded in Twilight's tree house library. Out of some unfamiliar ponies, you could spot Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, as well as Derpy, Lyra, Bon Bon, and practically every other pony you could imagine, except... "Oh but I do! I couldn't just not throw the biggest party ever for the first human to set foot in Equestria in over one hundred years! Me and everyone else here are really exited that you're here and sooo...." "Welcome to Equestria!!!" everypony shouted, followed by cheers and whistles. "Wow, everyone, I don't kno-" "Don't you mean everypony?" Pinkie butted in. You could hear everypony giggle a bit at your mistake. "Silly goose! Anyway, lets get this party started!!!" "You got it pinkie!" You knew that voice. As your eyes darted all around the room, a blast of house and dubstep music assaulted your ears. You tried to frantically find that electric blue mane that you admired so much, but the giant crowd of ponies cramped in the room blocked your view to wherever she might be. Disappointed, you turned your attention to the ponies in front of you who seemed to be practically dying to ask their questions about you. You knew it'd be rude to just ignore everypony here except Vinyl, especially after all the did for you. "I'm sure I'll have my chance to meet Vinyl sometime later tonight... Hopefully..." You thought to yourself as you greeted everypony with a warm smile. The party wasn't like parties you were used to back home where the basis of the occasion was to just drink and get high (even though there were drinks there, and you couldn't yet rule out the possibility of drugs). No, this was an actual party. A celebration. It felt entirely different, and you liked that difference. But you guessed, since the whole thing was presumably put together by Pinkie Pie, the best party thrower in Equestria, that you shouldn't have been that surprised. You were having tons of fun, though. It wasn't just because you were meeting all the ponies you always dreamed of meeting in person, but because you knew that the party was for you and you alone. Which, to be honest, made you feel a bit guilty, but you figured that everypony was enjoying themselves as much as you were, so you shrugged it off. Most of your time at the party so far had been answering random questions from random ponies. Everything from your age, to your favorite color, favorite food, how things were back home, what your family was like. It seemed like nothing was off limits. "So who's your favorite pony so far?" You heard somepony shout through the barrage of questions. Well, that sure was blunt. Suddenly, everypony stopped with their question and encouraged you to answer that one. It seemed like that was all they were interested in at that moment. You started fumbling for words, thinking of what to say, or if you shouldn't answer it at all. You knew your favorite pony was Vinyl by far, but saying so in front of everypony would draw too much unwanted attention to both yourself and Vinyl. Before you were almost forced to blurt out an answer, another familiar and egocentric voice came from behind you. "Well, me of course, why wouldn't I be?" You turned around and come face to face with the Rainbow Dash, with Applejack and Fluttershy close behind her, laughing. "Rainbow Dash. Pleasure to meet ya. Hey, wait a minute..." Rainbow paused and looked up at the feather tucked behind your ear. "Where'd you manage to get yourself one of my feathers?" She stuck out her hoof and you shake it enthusiastically, as well as AJ's and Fluttershy's after they introduced themselves as well. It felt kind of weird shaking hands, or hooves, with somebody, or somepony else. Somehow, they managed to contort their hooves so that they actually grasped your hand as you shook hooves with each one of them. How on Earth do they do that? "Alex, it's great to finally meet all of you. Oh, this? I just came by it when I first got here and I figured I'd hang on to it as a souvenir, I had no idea it was yours." So It was her feather after all... "Sorry, you can have it back if you want, I didn't mean to offend..." "Nah, its fine, just take good care of it, its not everyday you're lucky enough to come across a feather of that caliber." You laughed a little at Rainbow's ego and put the feather back behind your ear. As you looked around, you were surprised to see that everypony had drinks of every kind. "Hey, y'all know where to get a drink around here?" At first, you didn't want to have any alcohol in fear of making a bad example in front of everypony, but now that you noticed that almost everypony had a drink, you figured it wouldn't hurt to be a little social. "Well I'll be, you kinda talk like ah do!" AJ said, excited. "I thought the only ponies, err... people, that said 'y'all' were all down here in Ponyville and such." "There's actually a lot of people where I come from that sound just like that, you'd be surprised." "Ya don't say... Small universe ah guess." Applejack smiled and then returned to your original question, "Anyhow, you can get whatever 'ya like from Berry Punch over there at the bar." After chatting and giving a temporary salutation to your new friends, you walked over to the bar, greeting everyone along the way and shaking hooves/hands. "Hey party boy, what can I get'cha?" Berry punch asked, obviously a little tipsy. You never really thought about what you actually wanted to drink. What did you want? Was Ponyville beer good? You figured you would just play it safe. "Rum and soda, i guess, on the rocks please." Can't go wrong with that. While you waited for Berry to mix your drink, you looked around Twilight's treehouse at all the ponies that came here just to see you. "I think I've managed to meet just about everypony. Everypony except..." You muttered to yourself before the bartender cut you off. "Aaaand, here ya go! Rum and soda on the rocks, also on the house." Berry added with a wink. After thanking her, you make your way through the crowd, trying to find Vinyl. You figured that she'd be where the source of the music was coming from, so you simply gravitated towards where the music was loudest.. You sipped on your drink, only to find out that instead of it being rum and soda, it was more like rum and more rum with frozen rum as ice cubes. Before you got to where you thought the source of the sound was coming from, you accidentally bumped into somepony. "Oh, geez... I'm sorry, are you ok?" You silently thanked the princesses for not spilling your drink on the mare. "I'm okay I think." She said as you helped her back up. She caught you by surprise to say the least. You never would've thought you'd ever see those wall-eyes and that adorable smile in person. "Derpy!" You almost yell in excitement. Although Vinyl was by far your favorite pony, Derpy was an easy runner up. It wasn't necessarily because of her personality, even though it was insanely adorable. No, what you really liked about Derpy was that she practically radiated cuteness. Everything she did just made you want to hug her. And her wall eyes added to her cuteness factor even more. Although, on a deeper level, you really liked her because you wanted to like her. Being able to show kindness and friendship to somepony who probably got picked on a lot because of her eyes and her clumsy-ness just made you feel like a better person inside. She was more resilient than most mares in this respect because said teasing simply rolled off her back like water on a duck. Or, at least, you imagined it did at the moment. "Um..yeah, that's me-oh you're the human!" You offered your hand to help her back up, feeling kind of strange being called "the human". "I'm Alex. Its great to finally meet you!" You and Derpy continued chatting for a while, asking each other questions about yourselves, when suddenly Pinkie Pie managed to get a hold of a microphone. "HEYYY EVERYPONY!! Its time for our special guest's 'Q' and 'A'!!! Alex, get on up here!" A "Q" and "A"? Nopony told you about a "Q" and "A". Then again, it was a Pinkie Pie party... Oh well. After saying fare-well to Derpy, you reluctantly hopped up and sat on stage, which was just an open window about 3 feet from the floor. Pinkie shoved a mic in your face. "First question!!!" Pinkie yelled. You wondered how she didn't die every night after using as much energy as she did during the day. The questions went a bit like the ones you were answering beforehand. There were a few sensitive topics like your family and your love life, but you managed to keep your cool for the most part. Pinkie signaled for the last question, to your relief, and a white hoof in the far back poked up above everypony else. As she stepped forward, the realization finally hit you. It was Vinyl. Finally. The pony you've been waiting to meet this whole time was coming all this way to ask you something. Your palms started sweating a bit and you took a deep breath as you tried to imagine what she'd ask. Maybe she just wanted to know what your favorite kind of music was? Or what kind of instruments you played? Finally, she worked her way to the front of the crowd and cleared her throat. Your favorite pony in Equestria was standing literally 5 feet away, looking right at you through those glossy violet shades. "Vinyl?" Pinkie asked, getting impatient at the awkward silence. "Just one question," Vinyl finally spoke up, raising an eyebrow and grinning slightly, "How does someone as good lookin' as you not have a marefriend already?" Jeers and oooooh's filled the room as everypony looked at you. Your whole body froze but your heart is beating like a drum. If it was anypony else, you would've just blushed and let it go, but this was Vinyl who just said that. So, your face was now crimson red and her words were all you could think about. You didn't expect her to actually be attracted to you especially because you were a completely different species. You had no Idea what to say and you stuttered badly as you searched for a way to answer her. "Uh...um, well thanks..." You finally muttered out. Vinyl still stood there, as if waiting for an answer. "Well..." The whole room was silent at that point. You would've thought that everypony would take the hint and pass it off as just a rhetorical question, but they really wanted an answer. Suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, a sudden jolt of confidence and charisma coursed through your veins, slowing down your heartbeat and relaxing your mind. Before you could even wonder where it came from, you quickly came up with something to say. "Probably because I hadn't met somepony like you yet." You gave Vinyl a confident, yet teasing look. You didn't really have any intention of pursuing her romantically any time soon, even though you wouldn't mind that one bit. However, your response was mainly fueled by the desire to keep the party interesting and embarrass the pony who tried to embarrass you. The room exploded. Some mares were screaming, some were ooooh'ing some more, and others just held their mouths open in shock of what you said. But Vinyl just stood there, just like she was before. She gave you a look of both approval and surprise, and maybe a bit of embarrassment, and turned back to disappear into the crowd again. You wrapped up the Q and A with some much less provocative questions, even though you sore you heard Pinkie say "last question" about a dozen times, then headed back into the crowd in search for vinyl once you're through. You could feel the rum mixed with more rum starting to get to you a bit, which might have been the culprit behind that sudden burst of confidence earlier. After a few minutes of searching, you saw her sitting at the bar and you took a last gulp of your drink before going into the danger zone. You grab a seat next to her and quickly tried to come up with a corny pick up line to make her laugh. "Hey, I was about to try a pick up line on you but after I saw your face I was speechless." You sigh a bit at your own cheesiness, but smile as you sit down. Vinyl frantically throws her hoof in front of her mouth to keep her from spitting out her drink and laughing. "Oh my god, that has got to be the worst pick up line I've ever heard." "I aim to please." You said with a bit of sarcasm as Vinyl continued to chuckle. She finally settled down. "So... I Scared the shit out of you earlier, didn't I?" Vinyl teased, jabbing you playfully with her elbow. "Are you kidding? I was sweating bullets. So were you just joking then or do you really think I'm hot?" Vinyl grinned a bit and avoided the question, letting it linger in the air as she took a sip of her drink. You find that having rum in your system helped your confidence a lot when talking to her. "So whats up mr. human?" "Oh, nothing...just wanted to visit with my favorite pony in Equestria." You pretended to tease back, but it was the truth. Vinyl turned to you and smiled a bit shyly. "Well then, consider yourself lucky, I guess. And, thanks." You really liked Vinyl's confident and relaxed attitude, but when she turned shy and put that innocent embarrassed smile on, it took everything you had to not hug her right where she was. "So your name's Alex right? How're you liking Ponyville so far?" You continued to flirt with her. "Its great, especially now that I'm talking to the one and only Vinyl Scratch." "Aw come on dude, knock it off..." She teased back with a bashful smile. "Why do you like me so much, anyway? I mean... You don't seem too interested in anypony else..." You didn't have to think long to answer that. You quickly told her all the details about why she stood out from the crowd. Her attitude, her taste in music, her personality and her eyes were all easy points. A sudden curiosity took hold of you when you looked into her stylish glasses and it caused you to cut yourself off. "Hey, I know this is random, but could you take your shades off for a sec?" "Uh, sure." She removed her shades. Coming out behind them were two big magenta eyes, staring right at you, which made your heart skip a beat for a second. But now, you finally knew for sure. They were red...You spaced out, admiring how attractive and somehow provocative they were before she snapped you out of your daydream by waving her hoof in front of your face. "Sorry, I just wanted to know for sure if they were really red." You smiled apologetically. Vinyl gulped down the last of her drink before getting up from the table. "I'm about to start the music back up. If you want, you can come see how I do everything from up there." You weren't about to turn down that offer for the world. "Yeah, I'd love to!" "Alrightie then, come on." Vinyl reached out her hoof for you to take it. You hesitated for a moment, but then you looked back into those deep red eyes and suddenly, you feelt like nothing could go wrong as long as you were with her. You grasped her hoof with a big smile on your face and she tugged you through the crowd to her setup in the back corner of the tree house. So that's is where she was this whole time... "I don't have all my gear now since its a small gig." She walked over and caressed the biggest speaker which was nested right behind her turntable. "These are my babies. Quad fifteen inch ubermax subwoofers, top of the line vent technology, five thousand watts, 16 ohms all together. " She said proudly. Of course, all this info was flying in one ear and out the other, not flicking any switches in your brain whatsoever. Finally, Vinyl noticed. "Don't worry, Alex, you'll find out just how powerful these puppies are up close in a bit." "Never seen anyone so passionate about their speakers. But then again I guess that's no surprise coming from you, Vinyl." Vinyl stepped around to her turntables. "And this is where the magic happens. Got every tweak and E.Q. you could ever imagine, plus some more." Vinyl cracked her neck and stretched her front legs, then used her magic to turn all of her equipment back on. She made sure that all of her buttons, switches, and knobs are where they should be. With another flash of her horn, two vinyl records appeared on the turn tables and her speakers revved up with a low bass note. You weren't really sure why she needed vinyl records. Maybe it was just for show. You walked around and leaned over her shoulder (which wasn't too hard since your head was a few feet taller than hers), watching as she looked through her different tracks. Finally she stopped at a record labeled "Disco-nected." "Lets see... Here we go, this one will be cool. You ready Alex?" "Hell yeah. Do what you do best." The track started with a slow beat with some piano mixed in. Vinyl grabed one of her knobs and turned it down, making the lights in the room almost pitch black except for some light effects coming from the top of Vinyl's setup. The music started to pick up a little bit, and if it was anything like the kind of music you listened to back home, you knew the drop is going to come soon. You started getting goosebumps from the anticipation as you continued to watch Vinyl do her magic. Just before the bass dropped, she turned around and glances at you. "By the way, I wasn't lying earlier when I said you were cute." You didn't even have time to think about what to say when the bass dropped. Hard. Each "wub" shook you to your core as you took in what Vinyl said. The overwhelming feeling of standing right next to a subwoofer on full blast was like nothing you had ever felt before. You weren't even in front of the thing and it was blowing your brains out! However, you don't mind it much and the vibrations went right through your body. After a while, it began to put you in a meditative state and, from the look of the crowd, they were feeling it too. Combining that feeling and your favorite pony telling you that she thought you were cute made you feel like you never wanted this moment to end. After her last songs were over, Pinkie hopped up on "stage" again and concluded the party. By now, about half of the ponies had left, which wasn't surprising given that it was three in the morning. As everypony shuffled out to go home and rest, you were left with Vinyl and the other mane six. "Geez, I'm beat." You groaned, feeling a bit of a hangover from the two additional rum and cokes you had during the party. Vinyl laughed with whatever energy she had left. "I see what you did there...So what did I tell ya, Alex? My babies kick, don't they?" She rose her nose high in the air and smiled pridefully. "Hell yeah, that was intense." Applejack threw her cowboy hat back on after losing it in all the excitement earlier. "C'mon everypony, lets get some shut-eye." She trotted out the front door with everypony behind her except Twilight and Vinyl. "Thanks a lot you guys, I had a lot of fun!" You called to them as they leave. They waved back to you thankfully. "See ya tomorrow sugarcube!" AJ yelled as the door closed behind them, leaving you, Twilight and Vinyl in a somewhat awkward scene. "I should probably get going too..." Vinyl finally said. "I guess you're staying here for the night Alex?" "Yeah... Princesses orders." You shrugged. Vinyls face became disappointed. "Aw dang, and I was gonna invite you over for the night too..." Your face started turning red again. If you could only imagine how fun of a night that would've been... She continued, "Oh well, maybe another time... I'll see ya tomorrow. My place is two blocks down this street to the right, big vinyl record on the door, can't miss it. Feel free to stop by and visit anytime you want." She walked past you, winking at you in the process and brushing her tail against you. She waved one more time as she walked out the door. "So.... You and Vinyl Scratch... Already?" Twilight said with a suspicious, teasing grin. You noticed that, in your absence, she had a lot to drink. Seeing as this was Twilight, not the biggest party animal around, it surprised you. "Oh, well... Um... We were just talking and hanging out... Its nothing like that..." You were a little too embarrassed to pull off that lie, though. "Mhmm...*hic!*" Twilight raised an eyebrow, still grinning at you. You tactically changed the subject, "So where should I sleep? The couch is fine if that's what you'd prefe-" "No, that won't be necessary. I have a guest bedroom upstairs, come here, I'll show you." Not being familiar with Twilight's tree architecture, you followed the obviously drunk pony suspiciously. From what you knew, you didn't think she had a guest bedroom, but then again, how would you know? You had only actually been here a day. She lead you to a room upstairs that had books littered all outside of it and opened the door for you. The first thing you noticed about the room was that it was very dark. The only light coming into the room was a faint stream of moonlight from a window on the opposite side of the door you just came in from. Books were neatly stacked in bookshelves that circled the entire room. There were even bookshelves beneath the bed, which was neatly made and had a fine silk purple sheet set on top of it. Other than that, there was a coffee table in the middle that you almost stubbed your foot on as you walked in. You noticed that Twilight didn't use it for coffee, but rather for another bookshelf to store books that wouldn't fit onto the already filled bookshelves around the room. On the nightstand next to the bed, you saw a simple lamp that had a lampshade that matched the bed sheets. There were picture frames below it that had photos of twilight as a filly, with her brother, and with the princess. It was about that time that you realized this room had too much of a personal touch to be a guest bedroom, and that this was in fact Twilight's room. You suspected this earlier and you wished you had known before. Before you could even finish that thought, the door closed behind you and you heard its dead bolt shift into place. You turned around to see Twilight walking up to you slowly with an overly-exaggerated sway in her hips. She came up to you and put her head next to yours before whispering in your ear. "Oh don't worry, this party isn't over yet...*hic*." > Chapter 4: Entanglement and First Lessons > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before you could do anything to defend yourself, Twilight leaned up against you and planted her lips right on to yours. Your eyes were still wide open in surprise and you gently pushed her away in shock. "T-Twilight! What was that about?!" Twilight retreated somewhat, licking her lips and eyeing you seductively. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you haven't noticed." "Noticed what?" "All the hints I've been giving you, like on the train..." You had a suspicion that she was doing those things on purpose, but in hindsight, you didn't really take them too seriously. Seemed like she really was trying to hit on you... But it was too late. "So you were being serious?" "Of course. Geez... For a human, you aren't really that smart..." She teased, slowly inching her lips closer to yours. "And don't tell me you don't feel the same way, I felt how you...reacted to my little stunt on the train." You blushed, not really sure what to say. "W-well...that was..." Twilight put her hoof to your lips. "Shhh...its okay. I'll take good care of you *hic!* Even though your demeanor was somewhat shy to this sudden advance, your body was being more honest to your true emotions. You noticed that your pants were getting a little tight again and that your junk was slowly but surely growing in anticipation. "See? Your body says 'yes'", Twilight says with a giggle. Before you could respond, she kissed you again, much harder this time. You could tell that she was savoring every moment of it. She slowly slipped her tongue between your lips and began to explore inside of you, swirling it around your tongue and everywhere else imaginable. You could taste a strong hint of vodka in her mouth, which was evidence of why she was acting like this. It was at that point that your body's impulses took over. You didn't think about it being with a pony, or that she was a princess. All you could think about was pleasuring her and yourself. Twilight was usually one of the most level-headed of the six, but that was what made her all the more desirable when she was like this. You pressed back against her and inserted your tongue back into her mouth, producing a low moan from your new unicorn partner. She backed off from the embrace slowly, her eyelids half open from pleasure. She then got a mischievous grin on her face and pushed you onto her bed. "Welcome to Equestria" She said with a giggle as she climbed on top of you and gave you another passionate make-out session. Your heart was racing and your mind was shifting into sex drive. Just the sheer curiosity of having sex with a pony made you so excited that you felt like you were about to lose it any second now. After a while, Twilight beat you to making the first move. She slowly traced her hooves down your chest and pulled your shirt off. She gently kissed your chest and started working her way down until she was at your belt buckle. She brought her eyes up and they met yours as she slowly took off your belt and unzipped your pants. Your dick was at its hardest, excited that it's about to be played with. She slowly pulled on your pants. "Twilight...mmph..." She starts rubbing your stiff member through your boxers with her hoof, gently caressing every sensitive nook and cranny. "Hmmm...I wonder what I should do with this..." She pulled back your boxers, revealing your erect shaft. Twilight stared at it and moved her hoof around the edge of it, teasing you. "What should I do?" She looked at you with those gorgeous seductive eyes. "Well?" "Uh...umm..." You were so flustered that you didn't know what to say. "You gotta tell me what you want me to do... Or I wont know..." She teased you even more with her hoof, making you stiffer. "Please... Just... Use your hoof..." You finally managed to blurt out. "Okay then..." She slid her hoof up to the head and grabbed a hold of it. Even though she had flat hooves, she somehow managed to squeeze it. The intriguing thought of how this was possible was pushed again all the way to the back of your head because all you could focus on was Twilight slowly rubbing her hoof up and down your hard cock. You bucked your hips up in pleasure as she started stroking you faster. It was so good that you almost hit the point of no return. However, Twilight sensed that you were about to burst and she let go of you. "That's mean...." You whispered with a chuckle. "Oh? Then this'll be worse..." Twilight's seductive grin grew wider. Twilight brought her head close to your shaft and breathed on it heavily before using her tongue to lightly lick the base of it all the way up to your head. She did this a few times then started licking in circles around the tip of your head, making you put your head back against the pillow in agonizing satisfaction. "Pheell Guud?" Twilight's voice muffled against your tip, making it vibrate and feel even better. "Mhmm-ahh!" She slowly opened her mouth and took your hungry throbbing cock deep into her throat all at once, almost making you cum right then and there. You managed to hold it back with all of your effort. Twilight slowly drug her head up, coating your hot stick with a thick coat of saliva. She played with her tongue on your head again before she sucked on it and pulled out with a *pop*. She looked back into your eyes as she stroked your dick again, the saliva helping her hoof gently glide up and down. She went back in for seconds, this time taking her time to make sure you feel every corner of her fully filled mouth. She slid all the way down to your balls and then came back up and repeated the process several times, going faster and faster and making crude sucking and slurping noises as she does so. She started twirling her tongue against you at the same time, which pushed you over the edge. "Twi...I'm gonna..." "Phoot ih in my mouph." Twilight shoved all of you inside her mouth. You don't hesitate to do so as you bucked your hips up again into Twilights mouth, shooting your hot sticky load down her throat. She keept you inside for a while as she swallowed it all with multiple gulps before slowly taking it out of her mouth. "So? how was that Alex?" "That was...amazing..." "My turn!" She walked on her knees while straddling you until her pussy was right above your face. "Well don't just sit there!" She dropped her hips so that she was literally a half inch above your mouth. You could tell by now that she was really turned on, and every second you took that wasn't used for pleasuring her was making her go crazy. Not wasting any time, you started licking around her lips, payback for earlier. Twilight started to moan as she stared into your eyes again. You savored every inch of her, making sure she was nice and wet. You could see her clit throbbing in pleasure as you started moving your tongue in and out of her little slit, making her hips involuntarily grind back and forth against you. As you lapped up all of Twilight's juices, she ran her hooves through your hair and moaned violently. You slowly moved your tongue up to her clit and as soon as your moist tongue touched it, Twilight screams and jolts as her twat convulsed. "Already?" You said, but not disappointed. "Mphh...yeah...that felt really good...ahhh!!!" Twilight shrieks again as you started licking her already sensitive clit. You remembered someone saying a while back about something to do with the "abc's" on a girl, so you try it out. By the time you get to "B", she started panting and moaning like a whore and pulling your hair. C...D...E...F...G, as soon as you get to "H", she hopped off of your face, gasping for air after panting so hard. She leaned backwards and then fell to her back. She stared at you with those sexy half open eyes of hers and slowly moved her hooves inside of her thighs as she opened her hind legs, revealing her soaking wet swollen cunt and inviting you in. "Please...no more teasing..." Eager to oblige, you got up on your knees and crawled on them over to Twilight. Twilight took her hoof and spread the lips of her sweet spot wide open so you could see everything. You were going to tease her a bit more, but seeing her like this... You had to give her what both of you needed the most. You took your wildly throbbing cock in your hand and prodded it in between her outer lips, rolling it up and down to get her juices all over you so you'd be well lubricated. Twilights' hips start bucking involuntarily, which was a clear sign that her body had given in completely to her desires. "Shove it all inside me..." You place the tip of your dick at the entrance to Twilight's sanctuary and push it all inside at once. "Ahhhnn!" Twilight bit her lip as you quickly filled up her pussy. You slid inside her quite easily despite her being extremely tight. You had to pause for a second to keep from releasing. You slowly rocked back and forth, feeling every inch of Twilight's heavenly insides squeezing your cock. You kept thrusting your hips slowly until Twilight put her hooves around your backside and pulled you in. It was a subliminal sign that she wanted more. You pushed harder and started moving faster. Your balls made a slapping noise against Twilight's flank with each wet sloppy entrance. Twilight embraced you with her front legs and pulled you intimately close. Even though you just came, you couldn't help but feel the building up of fluids inside your abdomen, begging for release. You could sense Twilight's upcoming orgasm as well, so you decided to go all out. You thrust forcefully, going as deep as you could into Twilight's love hole. "Alex...I..." "Me too, Twi." "Fill me up! Do it inside!" "Ughh Twilight! Shit!!!" You heeded her command gratefully as you released your hot gooey cum inside of Twilight. Your vicious throbbing made Twilight go over the edge as well, making her cunt pulse and her juice flow all over your shaft. You stayed in that position for what felt like hours, filling up Twilight until it started overflowing onto your dick. After a while, you slowly pulled out, leaving a spurt of your cum on the entrance of Twilight's cunt while you and Twilight panted heavily. Twilight's body fell limp on the bed, releasing herself from your still throbbing member as she panted heavily. You sat there for a moment to catch your breath, too. After you calmed down a bit, she snuggled next to you and remained silent, exhausted from the recent ordeal. You felt that her body was sticky with sweat and so was yours, making it a little uncomfortable. However, instead of getting up and taking a shower to leaving twilight alone, you stayed by her side as she fell asleep, shortly followed by you. You woke up to the dreadful noise of plates and dishes clattering in the kitchen. You tried to open one eye, but a strong sunbeam escaped the window curtains and went straight onto your face. You slowly rolled out of bed when you noticed that you were completely naked, which instantly reminded you of everything that happened last night. Trying not to panic you rushed into the shower to get the smell of sex off of you. After a relatively nice shower in a relatively tidy bathroom, you threw your clothes on from last night. You were thankful that they, at least, weren't soaked in fluids. Slowly, you started regaining memory of what happened, every detail increasing the amount of regret inside you. You couldn't blame it on alcohol since you hadn't enough to make you want to do something like that, but Twilight was obviously wasted. You dreaded the soon-approaching moment of confronting Twilight in the kitchen after all this, but it was necessary. You reluctantly exited Twilight's room and made your way towards the kitchen, although the clatter of dishes had stopped and had been replaced by a strange noise that you could tell was coming from Twilight. As soon as you distinguish it as sobbing, you hurried to her and approached her from behind. As you studied her image you noticed that she was a wreck. She hadn't bothered to do her hair and her clothes were wrinkled from last night (although yours were too so you decided not to judge on that subject). She was surrounded by plates from last nights party that, apparently, Spike never bothered to clean. You guessed that he crashed early, too. Trying not to upset or startle her, you knelt down. "Twilight? Are you alright?" You said gently. "Alright? ALRIGHT?? I just got drunk at a party and slept with the first human in over a century! Is this alright?? Once people start to find out I'm going to be known as a whore...I just...I..." She started to break down and sob again as you quickly embraced her from behind without being too intimate. "Twilight it's okay, I promise... You were drunk and you didn't know what you were doing... I understand..." "B-but still..." "Shh..." You cut her off mid sentence knowing that she always had a tendency to psych herself out with worst case scenarios. "Don't worry, lets just forget all this happened okay?" You said with a slight smile. "S-so...you forgive me?" Twilight stuttered, still distraught somewhat. "Of course I forgive you, it was an honest mistake, hell I've done some pretty stupid stuff when I was drunk myself" With a slight chuckle, you told Twilight of a silly story that involved you dancing on top of a table drunk and waking up on top of the roof, which seemed to lighten her mood a bit as she giggled through her tears. You turned her around and helped wipe them away as you put on a warm smile, reassuring her that everything was okay. "Now, let me help you clean up this mess." Your consoling seemed to help as you noticed her mood being lifted, her mind re-focusing on cleaning the dishes "Where the hell is Spike anyways? Isn't he the one who usually cleans this stuff up?" "I'm not sure..." Twilight replied, a perplexed look appeared on her face as she tries to remember something. "I've looked for him all over but I can't find him...I hope he's okay." "Maybe he's passed out on the roof?" You replied with a hearty laugh, glad to see Twilight laugh to your half-serious joke as well. After almost an hour of helping Twilight clean, you crashed on the couch and relaxed. Twilight came and sat by you, still a bit shy about earlier, but regaining her usual composure by pulling out her daily schedule. "Well you've got your first appointment with Celestia in a few hours, so you might want to get ready soon." You replied with a disgruntled moan. "Already? But, you said it was in a couple hours...." You then realized that It took at least an hour and a half to get from Canterlot to Ponyville via train. "You couldn't just teleport us there?" You half-teased, although that would be quite convenient. "Sorry, Celestia gets somewhat annoyed with unicorns poofing in and out in her chambers, so I try not to add to that too much." Twilight replied with a slight smirk. Reluctantly, you fixed your hair, brushed your teeth and ironed your wrinkled shirt. After a good fifteen minutes or so, you returned to the living room to meet Twilight as she floats a menagerie of books in your face. "Okay so first thing's first, you'll need to bring Equestrian History Volumes one through fourteen, and just to be safe, you should bring Equestrian Geography 101, but maybe...." She focused on the collection of books as you interject. "Um... How am I going to carry all these?" You said with a slightly nervous giggle. "Oh.... Ermm... I didn't quite think of that... Oh well. I'm sure Princess Celestia has the same books in her library as well. But anyway, off you go! Don't want to be late for your first meeting!" Twilight exclaimed happily as she opened the door for you. "And... I expect a full debrief when you return!" "Fine..." You grunted with a slight humorous smile as you exited to let her know you weren't truly annoyed. After all, you couldn't blame Twilight for being herself. Your train ride back to Canterlot was somewhat uneventful due to your shy and introverted nature, save for the occasional odd look and greeting from random mares and stallions along the way. As you entered Canterlot for the second time, you were pleased to see that you weren't getting any disgusted looks from the uptight upper class ponies that lived there. That was partially thanks to your injuries being treated and partially due to Rarity's expensive shirt. It didn't take you long to realize where you needed to go, as the castle was the tallest and largest building in Canterlot. Although, it would've been nice to stay for an evening and explore, you know you had an appointment to go to. Eventually, you reached the castle steps where four guard ponies halted you before quickly realizing who you were and then letting you pass. Guess that was one of the main perks of being Celestia's prized student, although you felt like this meeting would focus on you teaching her things rather than the other way around. You finally reached the Princess's chambers as you looked around, noticing that the giant room was empty. Checking the sun dial that was positioned in the center of the room, you realized that you're thirty minutes early, so you set your head on the back of a very comfortable chair next to the series of doors behind the main throne. Despite your efforts to not doze off, you accidentally did. Thirty minutes later... You were awakened by Celestia's voice calling out to you, which made you jump in nervousness. "S-sorry ma'am...I was just..." Celestia held out a hoof while you scratched your drowsy eyes. "It's quite alright, Alex, I understand you had quite the party last night." She said with a slight smile. You got nervous because you didn't know whether or not she knew what happened between you and Twilight, but seeing as she didn't give any hints or what not, you let it slide. She continued, "Back on subject, I'm sure you know why you're here. The purpose of today's meeting and many meetings to come is for me to learn and document all I can about you and where you come from, and to teach you whatever you'd like to know about Equestria. We'll begin with asking a few simple questions." She took out a quill and paper. "And please, have a seat." You obeyed her command happily as your feet were sore from walking all this way. Celestia's horn shimmered with a beautiful golden glow as a chair slid underneath you. "Lets start with the basics, I suppose. You're name is Alex...." She paused as she began to write on her parchment. "And you are...how old?" "I'm twenty-one. Turning twenty two in a couple of months. Well... I'm not sure if the time here is the same as back home... So, I'm not really sure what my birthday would be here." "I see. We'll cover those details later. So then, what was your birthday back on Earth?" "July the twenty-second." You replied and she nodded as she wrote down more. "What of your parents? What are they like?" Didn't take long for her to go for the hard ones...."Well....I guess they were okay.... Although, they didn't really communicate with me much after I went to college." Your eyes shifted downward as the happiness that Equestria had been giving you up till now was slowly being pushed away to make way for the unshakable feeling of loneliness and unhappiness that you often felt back home. "I see..." Celestia returned, somewhat confused. She continued to ask you more and more personal questions about your family as you honestly answered some and dodged others so you wouldn't have to bring up sad subjects. She eventually broadened her questions to more generalized ones. "The last human to visit Equestria died in 1926, human years. Is there anything significant that happened after that date?" "Oh geez, where to begin..." You went on to explain World War Two, the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, and many other noteworthy events up to this point. As you explained, it saddened you a bit to realize that most of these events were all negative and only a handful were positive, but you kept explaining as Celestia wrote down notes on her paper. After you finished explaining various political events and situations, you paused to take a breath as Celestia caught up. "Okay, Alex. I think that's enough for today." She said as she put her quill and parchment away. "Your next meeting will be with Princess Luna, and I want you to think about technological advances. That will be the basis of said meeting. Now, on to more important matters." You perked your head up, still drowsy from sitting down in such a comfortable chair for such a long time. "What is it, princess?" You could tell she was thinking carefully about what to say next. "Certainly, you've noticed that you don't quite ... Fit in to the rest of the ponies here. And I can understand that. But there is a way I, or rather, Twilight, can fix this problem, if you wish." She paused. You stared at her attentively as she continued. "For every human that comes to live with us here in Equestria, we offer each one a deal, of sorts. One that could possibly help you 'fit in' with everypony else. The deal is this." You could tell she was nervous about how you'd respond to whatever she was about to say next. "Twilight can transform you into a pony of your liking, abandoning your human form and taking the form of one of us. You can be a unicorn, a pegasus, whatever you like, and have all the prestige that comes along with it. However, if you choose to keep your human body, you cannot stay here forever." "Oh wow... T- That sounds great!" You really didn't know what to say. Being pony would be.... Weird, but exciting. It was something you had never really thought about before, but before you could contemplate the idea any further, Celestia added. "But, it comes at a price. If I turn you into a pony..." She stopped and looks down at the floor. "Yes? What is it Princess?" She took a deep breath as if preparing to drop an atomic bomb's worth of news. "If you choose to be turned into a pony, I cannot allow you to return to your home under any circumstance." > Chapter 5: Stepping on Hooves > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Morning, sunshine." Octavia said softly and sarcastically with her elegant Canterlot accent as Vinyl stumbled into the kitchen, eyes droopy and half closed. It had been a normal night for her as long as sleep goes. She usually went to bed around 4 am and woke up after noon because of her frequent DJ jobs. The night before at Alex's welcoming party wasn't too different from other gigs, but for some reason, she still felt more groggy than usual. Perhaps Berry Punch did put some extra vodka in that martini last night, after all. "How was the party last night? I'm Sorry I couldn't come." Vinyl replied first with a yawn then continued. "It was fine, I guess." But it wasn't just "fine". She had become very attracted to Alex in the short span of just one night, and she couldn't deny that. She was the one who invited him over to her house after the party to do Celestia knows what. Sure he wasn't a pony, but for some reason, that didn't stop Vinyl from being flirty with him last night and it surely didn't stop her from feeling butterflies whenever she simply thought of him. It was a wonder even to her why she chose not to tell Octavia about him. Perhaps it was out of embarrassment or simply nervousness. After a moment or two of considering talking to her about it, she decided to let it pass, choosing not to open that can of worms unless it was necessary. Either way, the only priority on Vinyl's mind right now was finding something to eat. She always woke up hungry since none of the restaurants or cafes in town were usually open by the time she finished her job at the night club. She opened up a bag of bagels and popped a couple into the toaster. "So how was the uh....human?" Octavia broke the silence, a somewhat curious tone flowed with the words, but Vinyl didn't pick up on it. "Oh...uh..." Vinyl tried her absolute best not to turn her cheeks red. "He was cool." She finally blurted out. "I see, that's good then." Octavia continued to munch on her lunch while Vinyl made her "breakfast". Octavia sometimes liked to play dumb for comical purposes but in the back of her mind she could tell that Vinyl was hiding something about Alex. Although she couldn't tell what it was, she decided to put it on the back burner until the subject became more important. After Vinyl retrieved her bagels from the toaster and spread some butter on them, they ate in silence for a good 10 to 25 minutes. Although to them, it seemed longer. This was a usual morning for them, as Vinyl was physically exhausted from not getting enough sleep and Octavia was mentally exhausted from morning practice with the Canterlot orchestra. Still, Octavia could clearly notice a constant smile on Vinyl's face as she ate that was there for no apparent reason. It was a kind of smile that she hadn't seen in a long time. After she finished her meal, Octavia sat up from the table and picked up her cello case before making sure her mane was in order and trotted towards the front door. "You goin' somewhere 'Tavi?" Vinyl asked. She was somewhat confused but not entirely interested as she was still focusing on her "breakfast". "Yes, I need to pick up a new set of strings for my cello. A few of my friends are meeting up at Sugar Cube Corner as well, fancied I might join them." As Octavia opened the door, Vinyl yelled from the kitchen. "Oh alright, seeyah!" After she heard the door slam shut without any sort of "goodbye" from Octavia, Vinyl checked the clock on the opposite wall next to the kitchen window. "1:30..." She sighed. "Too early...." Leaning back in her chair and munching on her bagel, she remembered indirectly inviting Alex over to visit and started to think about how it'd be like introducing him to her ex girlfriend. She quickly dismissed the possible scenario after cringing a bit. After a short while of daydreaming, she caught herself and put the dishes into the sink before heading back to her room to catch the few hours of sleep that she lost the night before. Plopping down on her messy bed again, she began to realize how crazy last night was. Not only did she get to meet the first human Equestria's had in over a century, but she was actually entertaining the thought of dating him. Her head was telling her not to get caught up in such a potentially sticky situation, but her heart pleaded with her to do the opposite. She hadn't felt this strongly towards any potential lover since Octavia, and she was the same species as her. Before letting her mind wander any further, Vinyl's drowsiness took over and took her to sleep. The question hit you so hard that all you could manage to do is stare at the floor in silence. "I completely understand that you will need time to think about this, so I'm making the deadline for this decision two weeks from today. And Alex..." Celestia digressed with a warm smile that had a way of getting beneath your skin and giving you a sudden comfort, "Please know that the other princesses and I will support your decision either way." "Thank you princess, I'll be sure to think about it until then." You'd definitely have to. "In that case, you're dismissed, Alex. Thank you for coming." You smiled and bowed politely before about-facing and striding towards the main doors, but there was a blur of emotions and thoughts going on inside of you. There was so much you had to think about and so many ponies you had to ask for advice. You'd certainly need to talk to Twilight, Vinyl... Hell, even Discord could be of help. On your way out, you politely bowed to the guards, still somewhat unsure of how to treat them since you were so new here. To your surprise, before you reach the doors, a guard pony sneakily "psst"ed at you and asked for an autograph. You felt a bit flattered as you chuckled and signed the guards notebook scrap, careful not to draw attention. As you closed the large double doors behind you, you let out a sigh. It wasn't out of relief, but as an attempt at calming yourself. You drifted your eyes towards the last few slick marble floor tiles of Celestia's throne room while you took in her last statement. To be honest, it made sense to you. If you were to be changed into a pony, you could never go back to this world, people wouldn't even know who you were, let alone want to refrain from freaking out and calling the police after seeing a talking pony. And, it wouldn't be right to let you stay here forever in your current form. You could'nt imagine living the rest of your life here without ever truly being able to relate to anypony because of who you were. Loneliness would set in quickly. Nonetheless... Escaping a world like yours and being a part of a world that embraced kindness as a critical attribute, as well as being a part of a society that actually gave two shits about you as a person to an extent, intrigued you as well. After what seemed like decades of thinking while walking through the Canterlot streets, you hopped back on the train and took your usual seat in the furthest back car next to the window. You looked up at the orange sunset sky through the window and it relaxed you a bit as you remembered how it was back home, which made you think about the ordeal all over again. A flurry of emotions cluttered your mind as you took the long trip back to Ponyville, which keeps you from napping, so you were left with nothing to do or pass the time for an hour or two while the train chugged and pulled its way towards town. It really made you wish you had put your phone in your pocket before leaving your room that night and being willfully abducted so that you could play tetris or something. But, the more you thought about it, the more you thought that needing a cell phone in a place like Equestria would be absurd on many levels. The train was almost at it's final destination when you remembered Vinyl and wondered what the consequences would be if you discussed your dilemma with her. After all, you had only just met her last night for a few hours. Coming to her with all this drama out of the blue might risk complicating whatever potential relationship you two might have had. Nonetheless, you really wanted to see her. With the exception of the recent drama, she managed to take up a majority of your thoughts. After having a couple more daydreams about her, you decided you would stop by her house on the way home. It was mainly just to visit in return for last night, but also to talk to her about your predicament if the subject came up. After a slight jolt from the sudden stop of the train, you stepped out and take a deep breath. The air and overall atmosphere in Equestria, or at least in Ponyville, was very soothing. Every moment was like walking outside and smelling the fresh morning air after the rain. Catching yourself, and almost running into multiple ponies, you made your way down the station and onto the dirt road in search of the DJ's house. You completely forgot how Vinyl told you to get to her house, so you scanned the town in search for anything that might have anything to do with music or a DJ. You stumbled into the front lawns and porches of ponies you didn't know, and after apologizing to many of them humbly, you finally found a medium-sized house with a picture of a vinyl record and a treble clef above the front door. You went up to the door to give it a knock but before you did so, you began to hear a soothing melancholic tune leak out of the house. On any ordinary occasion, hearing a song wouldn't have distracted you from your daily business, but this song was different. From what you could tell with your limited orchestral knowledge, the tune was either coming from a cello or a double bass. The way the riff flowed from minor to major so smoothly almost made you drowsy in relaxation. You almost considered sitting down on the doorstep and relaxing until the melody was finished. But, at the last minute, you flicked back to reality and gave the door a knock after remembering why you came here in the first place. However, you still felt guilty for making the musician stop playing. As the door opened, you became frozen in surprise, but not in the way you'd expected. Instead of having Vinyl at the door greeting you, you were instead greeted by a grey-furred and black furred mare holding a cello. Even though, to the keener eye, most would instantly identify the pony by name, it took you a look of her bow and cutie mark to realize that you were talking to none other than Octavia, one of the greatest cellists in Equestira. She had her usual outfit on, which was just a bow tie, but her mane was pulled back into a pony tail, which was probably the culprit of you not recognizing her right away. It was a cute style for her, though. "O-oh...Hello. Can I help you?" She said, quite surprised of your human-ness. Now that you thought of it, Octavia lived with Vinyl, didn't she? So why were you so surprised to see her? You called yourself an idiot mentally while observing her for the first time. "Ahem..." Octavia cleared her throat in response to your daft inability to respond to a simple greeting. "Oh! Sorry...Um... M- My name's Alex and I was just wondering...." Octavia cut you off, but not in an impolite way. "Yes, yes I know who you are... Please come in, I have a pot of hot tea that's almost ready, if you'd like." You wouldn't pass up that invitation for the world, even if you were more of a coffee fan. As you obediently followed her inside, you observed that the house Octavia lived in was in somewhat of a dichotomy of styles. In some places were elaborate and classical paintings and musical instruments like violins and cellos, but there were also wires and cords and speakers spewed about the house. Despite the inconsistencies, the house was pretty nice. It had a very cozy relaxing feeling to it. She led you into the kitchen and offered you a chair as she fiddled with the tea she had recently made. As she finished making both of you a steaming cup, she sat down in the chair opposite of you. "I'm terribly sorry I couldn't make it to your party, I was playing in a concert in Canterlot at the time and somepony didn't inform me." She gestured to the back of the room which had a closed which you could only assume contained Vinyl. After debating whether or not to go in and look for her, you sipped on your tea, realized how bitter it was, and added about three or four spoons of sugar. "Oh, its alright. By the way, what's she doing in there?" "Knowing her, she's probably sleeping. Her sleep cycle is rather... Off..." She continued in her thick Canterlot accent. "There's no use trying to wake her now. Trust me.... You wouldn't want to see that." "I see..." You chuckled a bit at the thought of seeing Vinyl with a crazy bed mane talking in a drowsy slurred morning language. You took another sip of tea, using the pause tactically to think of the more important matter to discuss. "So anyways, I guess you're wondering why I came by... I met with Celestia today and..." This made Octavia respond with a surprised look. After all, it wasn't everyday that a random pony from Ponyville got to meet the princess, and that included you. Being a human in Equestria had its perks, as you had quickly noticed. You guessed that being in the close company of the princess was one of them. You continued after a gesture from Octavia to do so. "Well... I sorta have a tough choice to make and I'm looking for everyon... Everypony's help in making a decision." "I'd be glad to help, Alex. What's the matter?" You chose not to sugar coat the issue. "Well, Celestia gave me the option of either becoming a pony and having to stay here forever, or keeping my human body and having to leave Equestria and not being able to come back." After a while of Octavia spacing out and looking down into her tea for quite some time, she put in her two cents. "Although being a pony here would help you connect to your friends and feel more intertwined in society, I feel like abandoning your home, no matter how bad it may be, would be a greater price to pay. Certainly you have family at home that would miss you?" In fear of having to pour your heart out twice in one day, you gave a response that could easily have been taken as cold. "Well yeah... But I'm not sure if they'd miss me. You can't choose your family, after all." "I...suppose. However, you can make all the friends you want in a lifetime. If you lose your true family, you can never get them back." That seemed like the logical choice. But then again, this was Octavia. She wasn't ever one to go with a gut feeling or thrill aspect like being thrown into a new world and letting loose. However, there were valid arguments for either position, so you took the advice humbly and decided not to complicate the debate any more than needed. "You're right...Thanks. Its just a big decision you know? I kinda need all the advice I can get..." As you sat there yet again with a lack of response from her, you notice Octavia's "gift" of creating awkward silences. "She talks quite a bit about you, you know? Vinyl..." Her sudden flattering statement almost made you choke on your tea. "O-oh, really?" Your cheeks turned a bit pink, and it was at that moment that the thought came to your head. Weren't Vinyl and Octavia an "item"? The sudden realization made you a bit nervous since your flirting last night may have upset the pony in font of you. "I-I don't mean to intrude on anything...I mean...I'm sorry if..." You fumbled for words, trying to say what you need to say without potentially hurting her feelings. As if reading your mind, she grinned slightly and retorted, "Don't worry, there's nothing....romantic-" She said with a slight roll of her eyes. "going on between me and her." Although this made your spirits lift a bit, it still made you ever the more curious. In all the stories you read about the couple, almost all of them have stated, or at least suggested, that they were lovers. Again, trying not to step on any toes (or hooves, for that matter,) you tried to investigate without prying too much, knowing all too well that you were beyond your jurisdiction of the two mare's relationship towards each other. "Oh... Are you sure? But I thought that you two were... You know... Really into each other..." Octavia took a deep breath, as if the subject made her remember something she didn't want to. "We tried having a....Relationship, a long time ago. I admit that it was exciting for a short while. However, after countless arguments and what not, let's just say it didn't really work out." She explained as she stared down into her tea again. After a short time thinking, you decided to investigate a bit more. "What happened between you two? I mean... If you don't mind me asking. I'm just curious, that's all." "Well..." She looked towards the ceiling after finishing her tea. She was obviously in deep thought. You wished she would look you in the eye out of politeness, but seeing as the subject was a bit sensitive for her, you let it slide. "Suffice it to say we suffered the curse of the majority of failed couples... We would argue about the most insignificant of things, and the fact that our jobs and musical tastes separated us in a lot of ways didn't help much. I guess Vinyl is a bit too.... Unpredictable. For my tastes, at least." "Oh I see... I'm sorry it didn't work out..." You admitted truthfully. Even in your real world, it wasn't a habit of yours to come in between a failed relationship. But, the truth was that you really were regretful that it didn't work out between them. Octavia and Vinyl were exact opposites, but that's why they were so appealing as a couple. Seeing them split up like this was certainly a disappointment. You tried balancing the happy feeling of opportunity with Vinyl with the feeling of respect and not stepping on toes. Or in this case, hooves. It made you guilty to be happy at the two mares not being together in that way. Another gift of Octavia's was her ability to read faces as if it were a profession. "Don't worry, we're both fine," She reassured you. "The break up could have definitely gone worse. We've learned to share on differences over the years and we're still good friends. That being said, I think you two would work out quite well. You seem fairly compatible in my humble opinion." She ended with a warm smile that you could tell was sincere. You flustered a little at her suggestion of you and Vinyl as a couple. "W-well I mean we're not like that, n-not yet at least. I'm not implying that we will for sure, but..." Your eyes dart around the room, trying to avoid contact with Octavia's amused grin and raised eyebrow. "It certainly seems that way to me." She said while sitting up from the table and putting her cup in the kitchen sink, losing her smile slightly when she noticed that Vinyl left dirty dishes in the sink for her to clean again. You gave an embarrassed smile as your face slowly turned pink. You reminded yourself that it was probably getting late and you looked down at where your watch would've been if you had one. "It is getting a bit late." Octavia said as she finished cleaning all of the dishes and looked out of the window at the sun falling below the horizon. Not wanting to over-stay your welcome, you humbly thanked her for her assistance and her hospitality and reluctantly took your leave. After a somewhat awkward goodbye, you started to wonder what the norm was in terms of salutations. Certainly on Earth, giving a girl a light hug for greetings and goodbyes was acceptable, even if it was just a friendly relationship. Would be acceptable here? This was Equestria. You'd think hugs would be commonplace. However, giving a hug to Octavia seemed a bit inappropriate since she had such an elizabethan set of manners. The last thing you wished to do was make everyone around you feel uncomfortable, especially her. Your way back to Twilight's treehouse was a lot easier to navigate, mainly because her house was a giant tree and you would have to be blind or Derpy Hooves to miss it.(*) You started to feel the fatigue of traveling back and forth from Canterlot and unloading your life story to Princess Celestia, and almost Octavia as well. A bit of disappointment began to set in because you didn't get to see Vinyl like you had hoped. Then again, you would've felt guilty for making her wake up from a much needed nap just to talk to you. At least Octavia was there. She was just as elegant and beautiful as you remembered. Approaching the front door of the treehouse, you instinctually reached for your pockets for a key to open it, but then realize that for some reason, none of the homes here ever had locks. You went into the front door and across the main living room, not feeling the need to knock on the door first or announce your presence, and crashed on the couch just before you heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs. No doubt, it was Twilight coming to de-brief you on today's "lesson" with the princess. On a side note, it intrigued (or rather, confused) you as to why Twilight never chose to use her perfectly good set of wings. She almost always chose to trot instead of fly, which would've, at least in your thoughts, been a lot more convenient. "Welcome back!" Twilight said happily, apparently not as tired as you were, given the circumstances of last night. She levitated a pillow and tucked it under your head kindly as she took a seat on the stool opposite the couch. You greeted her with a "Hey", wishing you could appear more polite despite you being utterly worn out. "So I assume the princess asked you the big question huh?" Right to the point.... Just like Twilight. "Yeah... I asked her if I could think about it a bit more... Wait, you knew about that?" "Sorta..." She said with an innocent and adorable smile, "But anyway, it's okay to not be sure yet. It's a big decision after all. Besides, your next meeting with Luna isn't until the day after tomorrow, and you'll have a couple of weeks to think it over." "So, what do you think? Which should I choose?" "Well...." Twilight thought long and hard. Now that you thought of it, Twilight, or anypony for that matter, wouldn't really understand the kind of decision you had to make since they've been ponies all their life. Even though Twilight went to the human world once before, your situation was a bit different. But still, she didn't gain the prestige of being a princess and an alicorn for nothing. You listened intently, open to any and all advice. "Obviously, it's up to you. But if you asked me... Leaving your friends and family behind certainly isn't a good thing... But, if the world you come from is such a bad place compared to this one, the sacrifice would be somewhat worth it, wouldn't you agree?" You were surprised that Twilight didn't immediately shoot down the idea of leaving your friends and family back home like Octavia did, and you answered with a nod as you closed your eyes. She noticed your subtle hints of fatigue and sighs. "Oh well. Like I said, you have a couple weeks to think it over. A late and wise decision is always better than a quickly answered and uncertain one." "Let me guess... Starswirl said that?" You say with a grin and a raised eyebrow. "Yup!" Twilight smiles with a tiny *squee*. Instead of going into the potentially prolonged speech about her fascination of Starswirl, she levitated a blanket over you on the couch, and gave you a quick but sincere "good-night" before trotting back up the stairs to her bedroom. After settling in and getting comfortable with the couch setup, you found your mind spinning again because of the question you had to answer. Was your family really worth going back to? Was there really that much of an investment in them? Wouldn't living in a world like this be like a My Little Pony fan's dream? Who would pass up a deal like that? If you hadn't been traveling back and forth from the castle today, the ordeal would've kept you up all night, even though you had been thinking about it all day. But, your worn out body was telling you otherwise. Your final thoughts before you drifted off were of Vinyl, predictably. You thought more and more about how long it was since you had seen her and you already started missing those big red eyes. They were so beautiful... Two hours later... Suddenly, you were awakened and your eyes popped open. Not from fright, but from a far away yet strong sound that reverberated against the wood of the tree. You noticed that it was still night time and, from the angle of the moonlight entering the room from the single window, you could guess that it was just past midnight. If it weren't for the strange noise, you could have probably heard a pin drop. But, the more you picked up on it, the more you realized that it wasn't just a sound, it was a beat; a constant solid bass kick with a medium rhythm. You got back up from the couch and stretched with a yawn, then went to put some clothes on before remembering you never took them off in the first place. You walked to the front door, being careful not to stub your toes on anything in the dark. Opening the door confirmed your guesstimate of the time by looking at the almost-full moon directly over your head. The open door and the quiet night made the beat clearer to hear and you saw that, far down the road, there was a house with lights and flashes coming from it. Thanks to the drowsiness, it took you a few seconds to realize it was Vinyl and Octavia's house. The urge in your stomach begged you to go find out what was going on. You knew for a fact that it was Vinyl playing the music. Who else would it be? It might be a rare opportunity to see her now that you were aware of her irregular sleep cycles that put her in bed all day long. But... Would Twilight get mad at you if you left without her knowing? You looked back inside, then back at the house. It was a peaceful night's sleep versus a night of partying with Vinyl and a potentially frustrated Twilight.... It took you about a half second to decide which you'd rather. You silently and carefully closed the door behind you and made your way down the dimly lit road towards the mare of your dreams. > Chapter 6: The After-Sun Social > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Invitation, please." You stared at the two guard stallions guarding the front door of the home you were just in no more than a few hours ago. Whatever was going on in Vinyl and Octavia's house must have been more important than just a regular house party. Not only did it warrant two guards on post outside the front door, but they were also restricting access to the first human in Equestria in over one hundred years. Despite your tendencies to avoid being arrogant, you were a bit annoyed at the sudden rejection, and it was from a royal guard no less. But, as you inspected the guards further, they were somewhat different that the ones at Celestia's castle. They were both had darker fur and an eerie pair of yellow eyes that seemed to pierce your soul and gave you the feeling that they would slaughter you in broad daylight if you disobeyed them. Although, since it didn't seem fair to keep you out (for obvious reasons), you tried to reason with the guards. "I'm sorry, I didn't get the invitation, but I mean... Certainly someone like me would be welco-" "If you don't have an invitation, then you can't enter. Princess's orders." If it wasn't for the fact that Vinyl was right beyond that door, you would've given up and gone back to Twilight's house, but the longing urge to see her drove you to keep trying. "Are you two Princess Luna's guards? Look, I know her really well, heck, she brought me here to Equestria herself and-" The guards raised their tridents in your direction and gave you possibly the most intimidating faces you had ever seen, even for ponies. "We said leave! Now! Last warning!" You immediately raised your hands in surrender and backed up several steps from the door. "O-okay, okay I'm sorry..." Your head hung low in deep discouragement as you made your way back towards the tree house. This was the second time you had been denied seeing your potential marefriend, and even though on any other occasion it would've aggravated you, it instead made you feel a bit depressed. Perhaps the culture shock of getting everything you wanted because you were human played into your current mood, but it still lowered your spirits considerably. Suddenly, you heard an all too familiar sound: a loud *Pop!*. You had now been in Ponyville long enough to realize this was the sound unicorns made when teleporting from place to place, albeit it was a bit less drastic than the interdimensional deluxe crazy teleportation *Pop!* that Celestia and Luna used to get to Earth. You were beginning to get used to it, but it still made you jump on occasion. After kicking a pebble with you for what seemed like an hour, you heard a nostalgic "Psssst!" coming from behind you. You turned around to see the last pony you would've ever expected. "T-Twilight?!" Your face flustered into a light pink as you tried to explain yourself. "I um...I was just...I couldn't sleep and..." Twilight giggled a bit. "Relax silly, it's okay. I heard you leave and I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You left to see Vinyl, right?" "Well... I guess, yeah." Your eyes darted around a bit. "But those guards over there won't let me into her house. There's some kind of party going on." "A party? And they didn't invite me?" Twilight responded with a bit of sarcasm that helped lighten your mood a bit. Even though she was a princess and all, anypony would assume that inviting Twilight to a late night party would be like inviting a vegetarian to a barbeque. "Anyways, if it's the guards that are giving you problems, this might help." She hooved over what looked like a small medallion. It was a brilliant hue of gold and was as shiny as a still lake on a midsummer day. It had four head-like shapes which, judging by the shape of the manes that came off of them, looked like the four princesses. "Just show that to them and they should let you in. Just make sure you bring that back!" She added with a proud smile and a tiny *squee*. "Thanks a bunch Twilight...I won't be out too late, I promise." "Stay out as long as you like, tiger." She said with a wink, "Who knows, she might even let you spend the night...I dunno." Blushing and chuckling at her, you waved goodbye warmly as she closed her eyes and popped back out of thin air, leaving only a few purple sparkles behind that quickly faded away as well. Clutching the medallion tight in your palm, you smiled and mentally thanked Twilight again as you turned around and headed back towards Vinyl's house. "Hey! Didn't we tell you to get lost?!" The guards said again, raising their tridents closer to your face this time. You tried to keep a spiteful grin from your face as you pulled out the medallion and showed it to them. You could tell it instantly hd some significance because the faces of the guards turned from anger to shock. "How did you...How did you get one of those??" "Eh...I bumped into Twilight on my way back" You said with an innocent smile. "She told me to show it to you." The guards looked at each other thoughtfully for a few moments before letting out sighs of defeat and moving out of the way for you to pass. "Whatever. Go ahead. And by the way, it's Princess Twilight to you." You slipped by them without daring to look either in the eye and entered back into the house. You were immediately met by a low hanging banner to the face and a thick crowd of ponies who instantly turned around and cheer at you, obviously happy to have someone as apparently important as you at the party. You pulled the banner from your face, seeing the words "After-Sun Social" printed on it, and you apologized humbly as you tried to work your way past, unsure whether or not you'd be able to slip past into "backstage" or not. Albeit, backstage for Vinyl's house was probably just her bedroom. As you walked by, you slowly started to notice that the party wasn't going on so much inside the house as it was outside. After trying to find a back door for a while, you finally do so and open it, unleashing the full force of Vinyl's speakers right into your face. It was easy to see over the crowd to where Vinyl's stage was in the back left corner of the backyard. Judging by the atmosphere, you assumed it would be better to simply wait until she took a break or something instead of just going up on stage while she was busy playing. With that in mind, you tried to find a good spot in the back of the group so that you wouldn't block anypony's view. Before you got too far into the crowd, you almost bumped into a tiny filly whose head reached up about to your knees. You would've moved past her if she hadn't noticed you and given you the cutest face ever. "Hey! You're that human guy!" Her big blue eyes almost made you want to pick her up and hug her because of how cute she was. In fact, she reminded you of Derpy a little minus the eyes. You kneeled down so you could talk to her more directly. "Yup! That's me!" "So you're like... Best friends with Pwincess Woona?!" That child's voice almost made your heart melt. "Mhmm. She's the one who brought me here!" You could easily read the amount of awe that the filly felt towards you. It was then that you noticed her mother standing behind her watching all this happen. "Don't bother him too much sugar, I'm sure he's here to meet with the Princess too." "Aw but mom! He can help me see! Look at how tall he is!" You made eye contact with the filly's mother for a few seconds. "Don't worry, ma'am, I'll be careful." You gave her a reassuring smile before she finally rolled her eyes and smiled. "Woohoo!" The little filly yelled out as you picked her up, noticing that she was suprisingly light, and sitting her on your shoulders so that she could see over your head. You could only imagine how awesome it was for her to have such a high view of Vinyl playing. It tugged at your heartstrings a bit and made you feel like you did your good deed for the day. The song Vinyl was playing was a little more... Off-the-wall than you preferred, but just the sight of her getting to do what she truly loved made you feel better than any type of music could. And from what you could tell, the little filly on your shoulders felt the same way. You enjoyed the next few songs with her and her mother, and after you realized that Vinyl was taking a break, you wished them both an apologetic goodbye and went after her. Apparently, the stallions guarding the passage to Vinyl's room weren't as strict as the ones at the front door, as they almost instantly and respectfully let you in once they noticed who you were. "Alex!!!" Vinyl turned around and trotted towards you before getting up on her hind legs and wrapping you in a warm greeting hug. "I'm so glad you got my invitation!" "Oh... Uh, I didn't" You said with a bit of humor and confusion. "Huh? That's weird. Then how did you get in?" You gave a humorous smile of pride "I know a couple important ponies." "Oh, yeah. That's right. You're the special guest aren't you?" Vinyl teased and you rolled your eyes at her. You suddenly heard an ominous voice coming from right behind you. "It is nice to see you again, Sir Alex." Your heart jumped in surprise as you turned around and soon noticed that it was just Luna. Even though she had gotten over her habit of using her loud royal Canterlot voice, it seemed like she couldn't help it sometimes. Vinyl laughed it off and adressed Luna with a surprisingly informal tone. "Oh hey Luna, I was wondering when you'd stop by." "Bringing up the moon took a bit more time tonight. The tides were a little... Irregular. But, I am glad to see that our most esteemed guest could finally come as well. I hope my guards did not trouble you much." "They're... Strict. But I guess that's why they call them guards. By the way, what's this whole party for?" Luna answered, lowering her voice but still keeping a bit of pride in her tone. "After my exile ended and I began ruling with my sister once more, many of our subjects... Sympathized with me because they felt that the night wasn't as appreciated as much as it should be. So, with the help of Vinyl and her music, we hold an official annual gathering to celebrate the night and all the beauty it brings for those who take appreciation for it." Now that you thought about it, it made every bit of sense that Vinyl and Luna would be good friends. Who would appreciate the night better than the best night club DJ in Equestria? You listened to Luna carry on her speech about the importance of night before Vinyl interrupted as politely as she could. "So...anyway, the party here is almost done, but we're all going to go to Ponyville park to watch the meteor shower after. You in, Alex?" Watching a meteor shower sounded attractive in and of itself, but the vision of sitting under a meteor shower with Vinyl sounded like the most romantic thing you could think of. You weren't going to turn that deal down. "Sure, count me in!" "Sweet. I got a few more bits to play for everyone, but after that, meet me back here and we'll go together." You did a mental fist pump out of excitement. Luna teleported away, presumably to get ready for the shower. You guessed she probably had to do something to make it happen. You opened the door for Vinyl and you let her concentrate on her performance while you went over to the bar, which in this case was just the kitchen, for a drink. You assumed it would be okay to open the refrigerator, and you finally found out the answer to the question of whether or not Equestria had beer. You pulled out a bottle labeled "Appleoosa Pale Ale" and tried to open it, but with no success. Feeling somewhat embarrassed by your lack of strength, you turned around and put all your might into it, but it still didn't yield. Suddenly, something came up from behind you and grabbed it with what looked like a purple sort of tail. "Let me get that for ya." The purple dragon wrapped his plump tail around the bottle cap and easily twisted it off. It took you a moment to realize who it was. "Spike??" "Yup! Thats me! Biggest, toughest dragon in Ponyville!" You laughed a bit and teased back, "Ooh yeah... The strongest bottle opener ever." "Hey, you couldn't do it, could you?" You stuck your tongue out at him playfully. "Whatever. So whats up? I haven't seen you since I've been here, I thought you would've at least been at Twilight's house." "Oh... Well about that... I uh, had some errands to run and..." You could tell he was obviously hiding something, and remembering Spike's fascination with Rarity... "Been giving Rarity house calls?" His eyes shot wide and his face turned red, "N-no! That's not it!" However, he soon realized that you were joking and that his reaction was a dead giveaway, so he cut the act. "So, how are you liking Ponyville?" "I love it, it's like a dream but better. And all the people, sorry, ponies are really great." "I agree. But don't try anything funny with Rarity, got it? I've got my eye on you..." He replied with a mock-suspicious tone that made you laugh at him a bit." "Noted." Spike looked to his left and right before speaking and held his hand (or claw, rather) next to his mouth, "Speaking of crushes, I heard you have a thing for Vinyl, huh?" Although you gave your normal embarrassed response, you had to admit that you were starting to get more and more comfortable with the idea. "Y-yeah, I guess you could say that." You nearly forgot about your beer and took a long gulp. Fate seemed to save you from a potentially awkward silence between the two of you as a couple of ponies came up from behind you that reminded you a bit of Minuette and Cloud Chaser. "Hey spike! Come shoot some more fire for us!" "Yeah, come on! The guards said it was okay!" "Alright alright girls, I'm coming." He turned back to face you with an obvious lack of effort to subdue his pride, "Well, the party needs me. I'll catch ya later alright?" "Don't make Rarity too jealous..." You smiled and laughed a little as you wave goodbye, seeing him nearly dragged outside by a crowd of excited ponies. As he went away, you set a mental note in your head to talk to him if or when you had girl issues, since he was probably one of the few masculine characters in Ponyville that you could relate to. You had to admit that you felt a little sorry for him for being surrounded by girls every single day, and because his only family was mostly megalomaniacal overly-masculine dragons of death. But all-together, you felt like he could be a good buddy to hang out with man-to-man in a sea of femininity (not that a sea of femininity would necessarily be a bad thing). The night air was a bit more chilly than how it was before you first came to the party, and although a faint ringing remained in your ear thanks to Vinyl's love for volume, you could easily hear the cicadas and nocturnal birds singing away. If there was ever any proof that the night was controlled by an all-powerful Princess, this was it. The moon was completely full, and its beams shot all across the roofs of houses and the open fields that lay beyond them. Because of the lack of lights that Equestria had compared to most places on Earth, there were so many more stars in the sky than you were accustomed to. The awe you felt for the view was magnified by the fact that there wasn't a single cloud in the sky to block it. In the distant horizon, you could barely see an overhanging structure that stood tall against the mountainside, which you could guess would be Canterlot. The tip of the moon had just passed over the tallest tower that you could see and was becoming clearer and clearer as it rose higher and higher into the night sky. A slam from the door behind you broke you out of your trance as you turn around, a smile instantly growing on your face. "Ready to head out? The shower starts in ten minutes." Vinyl said after letting out a sigh of exhaustion. "Yeah, you bet." You knew why you were really excited to do this with Vinyl, and you guessed that she did as well. You hadn't had any time to spend alone with Vinyl since you got here, and you had so many things to tell her about and ask her. Your question about Celestia's offer was one of them, but the main thing you wanted to let out was your heart. You never really showed it around other ponies, but inside, your mind had been buzzing with scenarios. What would you say? How would you say it? What if she says no? What if this, what if that? You took pride in yourself for being able to hide emotions so well, albeit it seldom came as a curse. However, your insides were like a washing machine full of feelings, fears, and wishful thinking. You followed Vinyl behind the rows of houses and cottages into a large open field with only a single tree in the center. It was already filled with ponies, but Vinyl, having done this many times before, led you to a more secluded spot on the edge of the field that nopony knew about. As you got yourselves situated, the two of you basically kept to small talk, giving compliments about Vinyl's performance and talking about other music related things. You found a patch of grass that was void of roots and acorns and laid yourself down, giving you a near perfect view of the rising moon and stars. You thought Vinyl would lay down beside you, but she instead laid herself perpendicular to you and rested her head on your chest, which made you develop an obvious blush. You could see each individual star reflect off of her big maroon eyes as she looked into the night sky and no matter what you tried, you couldn't keep yourself from staring at them. "Y- You comfortable Vinyl?" "Mhmm" She affirmed with a nod, letting out another sigh of relaxation as her muscles, worn out from DJ'ing, finally got some rest. You were about to start giving your "opening up" speech you had planned out, but she continued before you got the chance. This time, she had a more serious and imaginative look on her face, as if she was trying to remember something. "Me and my dad used to come out here all the time and look at stars." Her sudden seriousness took you off guard. "Oh, I guess I never asked you about your dad. What's he like?" A smile stretched along Vinyl's face, as if she was happy you asked. "He was the best. He taught me everything I know about making music and all that." "Where are your parents? I haven't seen or heard of them..." Her positive tone didn't dissolve at all as she continued, "My mom passed away when I was little... And my dad moved really far away a long time ago. I still send him letters and stuff...but I barely get any responses from him." "Oh I-I'm sorry...I didn't know..." "Its okay." She responded quaintly. If she felt any negative feelings towards the topic, she was very skilled at hiding them. "What about your parents?" You usually shrugged off the question into a couple of vague sentences to keep from having to talk about them too much, but you opened up a little more for Vinyl. "Well... They're okay, but they don't really seem like they care for me much. Once I graduated high school and moved on to college, they both moved really far away. I hardly get any letters from them, and they barely send me any money to help me out with stuff. But I guess that's a bit similar to you and your dad, now that I think about it." "What makes you think they don't care about you?" You gave a sigh but continued, "I dunno...I guess they just weren't there for me when I needed them." "My dad didn't have the time to pay attention to me as much as he wanted to. He was always busy with work and never played with me when I was little. But the way he smiled at me and hugged me when he said he was sorry...I knew that was proof that he really did care for me. And even though he's really far away now, I'm sure he's just sitting there wishing he could have played with me more when he had the chance. Maybe your parents are thinking the same thing too. Maybe they're just stuck up there wishing they could have been there for you when they had the chance." She looked across at you with a smile as the words hit you. "Maybe you should give them the benefit of the doubt." Your admiration for her spiked at that moment. Regardless whether or not she was right, she had been the first person to give a sincere and genuine shit about your family life, or just your life in general. You admitted to yourself that with anypony else, you would've gotten defensive and backed out of the conversation. However, Vinyl seemed to have a way of making you want to talk everything out with her. After staring at the stars some more, you entertained the idea of giving your parents a second chance. Maybe they really did miss you, and maybe you just didn't trust that they really did. After all, Vinyl seemed to have faith in her father even though she almost never had any contact from him. Maybe you should too. You decided it was time to tell her and you cleared your throat awkwardly before continuing. "Hey Vinyl?" She looked up at you from your chest again, shooting a gaze from her hypnotizing red eyes that shot straight through your soul. "Yeah?" You fumbled for words. Those damned eyes. "Well...I've been thinking about everything and..." She, again, broke your concentration by getting off of your chest and climbing on top of you, her face literally inches above yours. "And... What?" She whispered with a teasing and slightly seductive tone before giggling a bit. It yielded the reddest blush you had ever given to anyone. You couldn't form any words after that point, other than... "I really like you...a lo-" She cut you off by leaning her snow white face in and closing her eyes before embracing your lips in the most sensual kiss you ever had. Her lips were incredibly soft and just moist enough to add a bit of naughtiness to the kiss. After your pupils dilated a bit, your eyes closed along with hers as you wrapped your arms around her and ran your fingers through her soft white fur, pulling her closer to you. You peeked out of one eye through Vinyl's electric blue mane to see about a dozen meteors whizzing in the sky, as if celebrating what was happening with you and Vinyl at that very moment. You closed your eyes again and inhaled forcefully after completely forgetting to breathe. Ecstasy turned into surprise as her lips opened and her tongue slipped slowly into your mouth. A low moan escapes your mouth as your body becomes more and more heated by the intense kiss. Her tongue swirled around the edges of yours as your urges took over. You flipped her over and assumed your position on top, breaking the sloppy kiss. She gave you a look of shock and intense arousal at your sudden spurt of dominance, and then narrowed her eyes at you in the sexiest "come hither" stare you had ever seen. "S- Sorry, I got carried away..." You diverted your eyes from hers and you went to get off of her, but she caught you by the arm and kept you where you were. "Don't worry about it... Wanna take this back to my place? Everypony should be gone..." The castle balcony that hung off of Luna's chambers glowed a faint blue, reflecting the soft light being given off from Luna's horn. With one last flicker of magic, she summoned one last shooting star before her magic was extinguished. She let out a tiresome sigh and laid down on the cool marble floor to rest her mind. She jumped slightly as her sister who, fighting off her drowsiness, came to check in on her. "Sister? Are you alright?" "I am fine. It would appear my magic has become a bit weaker since my banishment. I had hoped to continue the meteor shower for a while longer." "You did an excellent job, Luna. Your gift of making the night beautiful surpasses even my abilities." "You have my thanks." Luna replied bluntly. Celestia knew that her sister didn't like to be flattered too much, and so she changed the subject. "How is our newest student coming along?' "He seems to have taken quite the liking to a certain mare in ponyville. And I have reason to believe that the attraction is mutual between them." Celestia's eyes drifted downwards at the marble floor in contemplation. "I see...Perhaps his new-found love will influence his decision to stay after all." "It remains to be seen." Celestia, somewhat agitated by Luna's snappy attitude but realizing she was likely just tired, turned around to return to her chambers before stopping. "Also, I have received recent reports confirming isolated sightings of changeling drones near the outskirts of Canterlot. I thought you would like to know" Luna let her concern slide. "Although it is troubling news that they have been sighted so close, I do not think it to be a cause for panic. One or two changeling drones pose no threat without their queen." "True. But please be on your guard just in case." "I will, sister. Goodnight." Luna ended the conversation without realizing that Celestia was still close behind her. She leaned down and kissed her weary sister on the forehead. "Goodnight, princess." Celestia whispered to her with a sisterly love. Luna's cheeks flushed a bit. She knew that Celestia knew that she was a sucker to affection. After being away so long, she cherished any form of physical contact. And with that, Celestia retreated to her chambers for the night. Luna waited until she heard the door completely close before trotting back inside and laying down on the large dark blue pillow-mattress that took up the majority of the center of her room. There was still one last thing to take care of tonight, and she needed all of her magical strength for it. Entering dreams might sound like an effortless task for the Princess of The Night, and but since her power hadn't fully recovered from her time in exile, it was an all-together different story. At her prime, she could have easily dream-walked for hours at a time with little to no difficulty at all. However, she now needed full concentration and focus just to pull it off for a mere thirty minutes at a time, not to mention the fact that she had never entered the dreams of a human before. After taking many deep breaths, she began meditating and prepared herself for her deamwalking ritual. "Your next lesson will not be how you expect it. I hope you are prepared, Sir Alex." > Chapter 7: Trials Of The Night > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You sure everyone's gone?" "Would you change your mind about coming back here if there were?" Vinyl answered slyly. You grinned, "Nope." Vinyl unlocked the front door to her house and trotted in. Unsure of how to initiate whatever was going to happen, and thanks to your somewhat awkward nature with girls, you walk past her and spread yourself out on the couch comfortably, leaving room for her to join you if she so desired. You felt your aching muscles relax instantly as they hit the cushions and it almost tempted you to get some shut-eye, but you woke yourself up for obvious reasons. Vinyl noticed that you were waiting for her and she climbed up on top of you and laid down, pressing her bare chest against yours much like how you two were in the field earlier. "Now, where were we?" Your eyes locked for only a moment before the two of you came together in yet another sloppy intimate kiss.You could feel her hooves run all up and down the sides of your body as you ran your hands down her back. She gradually went lower and lower, teasing your nipples, then your belly button, then your waist line. Finally, she was teasing the inside of your thighs, which instantly spiked your arousal level. Your hands slipped down and squeezed Vinyl's firm plot, making her moan through the kiss. Luna had almost completed meditating, her dark blue magic surrounding her horn majestically. It had been a long time since she entered somepony's dream, and it was just a filly last time. Performing such a powerful spell required tons of concentration and energy, and the fact that Alex was an entirely different species made it all the more difficult. After nearly an hour of focusing, her eyes opened and glowed white and a wisp of magic began to circle her. However, her eyes began to fade back to normal after a short while, a sign that her spell had failed. She looked down at the floor and contemplated before talking to herself. "Still wide awake, I see." It was already past midnight, and she was already getting tired. Her internal clock usually set her on a vampiric sleep cycle. But since she had to attend multiple meetings with Celestia today, she was already worn out. However, something within her was determined to see what Alex was up to. A faint itch in the back of her mind that intrigued her to investigate further. Channeling her magic again, she began a ritual for a vision spell that would let her see through Alex's eyes. You slid your hands around from her ass around to her hind legs, slowly rubbing up the insides of them. You were nearly touching her opening and you could begin to feel where her fur was being dampened by her juices. Before you could venture any further, Vinyl broke the kiss and stared at you with desperate and lusty eyes. A look of intense desire was written all over her face. She quickly got up and almost pulled you off the couch with her hoof. "Come on." She grabbed you by the hand and quickly led you back into a hallway and into her room. You couldn't help but think to yourself how horny she must have been. As you looked down at her, you realized that the dampness you were feeling earlier was widespread and it trickled down nearly all the way down to her knees. After finally reaching her room, she slammed the door behind her and locked it, even though locking the door seemed a bit pointless since no one else was there. The question of whether or not Vinyl was the dominant type was quickly solved as she tackled you onto her bed and began to rub her inner thighs against your leg roughly. She appeared to lean in to kiss you, but instead kissed your neck over and over again, making your bulge grow larger and larger. "Vinyl...god..." Her lips followed the same pattern as her hooves did earlier, brushing and kissing all the way down your chest until they got to the line of your pants. She slowly and intimately kissed your waist line while taking off your belt and unzipping your pants. After licking along your waist line a bit more and looking up at you seductively, she slowly slid your pants down, revealing your underwear and a giant bulge that your hard shaft was creating. She looked at it lustfully and licked her lips before rubbing it in between her hooves. "Mmm...you're this hard already?" She flirted with a wink. She slowly pulled down your underwear, making your rock hard cock fling back against you. She quickly discarded your underwear and began to stroke it gently.. However, she quickly abandoned doing so because of her lusty intentions and immediately began to lick the underside of your longer-than-average shaft, making you grunt in pleasure as her wet warm tongue left a trail of saliva down the bottom of your dick. You stared at her intensely, relishing the sight of Vinyl Scratch giving you head. After repeating the action again, she licked back up and slid her mouth around the tip of your dick and licked your head in a circle over and over again, making your entire lower body shiver because of how sensitive your head was. A bead of her saliva began to trickle down your length, a sign that she enjoyed the taste. After teasing you a bit, she finally went all the way down on you until her lips reached your balls. You gripped the bed sheets hard and shut your eyes to keep yourself from cumming as she slowly came back up and down, leaving tiny strings of saliva after each motion. A rhythm began to form in her sucking, making your breathing much heavier. You grabbed a handful of her beautiful blue mane, and she continued to suck you off while gradually increasing her speed. From the inside of her mouth, you could feel the pressure of her tongue gliding harder and harder against your cock. After a few minutes of ecstasy, you started to feel the point of no return. Throwing your head back onto the pillow, you finally spoke up. "Vinyl... shit I'm gonna cum!" Vinyl's ears perked up as she stopped sucking and instead kept the tip of your dick inside her mouth and stroked your shaft quickly. The heat from your lower stomach reached a boiling point and your throbbing became more and more intense. Finally, your hips began thrusting on their own as your throbbing turned into pumping, shooting spurt after spurt of your hot sticky semen into Vinyl's mouth. She did her best to keep it in, but some leaked out the sides of her mouth and collected around her lips. After you finished, she let go of you and leaned up, making gulping sounds as she swallowed all of your cum down her throat. She looked back down at you with a trickle of jizz still leaking from the side of her lip as she smiled at you, noticing you were still hard. "Enough of this shit. I need you to buck me right now." Luna's heart almost skipped a beat after she began to see what Alex was seeing. She quit channeling the spell and sat there in the silence of her room in shock. Her chest was thumping a million miles per hour and her dark blue cheeks flushed a dark red. She hadn't seen lovemaking since well past one thousand years. She had almost forgotten what a penis even looked like. Her imagination was littered with curiosity as she began to remember how good sex felt like. It was just then that a deep insatiable desire burned inside her royal marehood. Without realizing it, she had grown extremely sexually deprived in the many years of her exile. All it took was that one image, that one spark of seeing two lovers going at it, for her slit to become extremely soaked. After looking around her room and checking to make sure her door was locked, she sat back down in her bed and began to channel the spell again. As she watched Vinyl and Alex, she gently began to rub herself between her hind legs, unable to take her eyes off of the unimaginably hot sex scene taking place right in front of her, and Alex's, eyes. After Vinyl had gotten into a comfortable position on her back, you took no hesitation before teasing her. You slapped the mass of your cock against Vinyl's sensitive clit and prodded it roughly, making her moan. You could tell she clearly wanted you, and watching her almost beg for it turned you on even more. "Alex...nghh...put it in me dammit!" You obliged. Her moans intensified tenfold just from your tip entering. Feeling her warm insides invite you in, you lustfully pushed further inside her until your dick was completely engulfed in her marehood. You could feel her wet inner walls throb against you in satisfaction as she bit her lower lip. You paused for a second to make sure she was okay, since the last thing you wanted to do was hurt her. All it took was for her to give you a hypnotizing look from her red eyes and a "Do me" to slip seductively out of her lips for you to go into alpha male mode. You grabbed her hips and began to slide in and out of her, making lewd slapping and sloshing noises as her wetness covered your shaft. She let out short and cute moans at first, but as you began to thrust deeper and pick up your pace, they grew to near yells. She wrapped her hooves around your neck, begging you to come closer, and you did. Your hot and sweaty bodies pressed together in a mash of sexual passion as you nibbled her neck playfully and thrust deep inside of her. Suddenly, you began to feel a buildup of pressure, not from you, but coming from Vinyl's marehood squeezing you tighter and tighter. "Ahhh! Ahhh! Alex I'm...shit! I'm gonna..." Apparently your sexual skills still had some significance, because you had only been inside her for about five minutes before she began cumming. Wanting to make her orgasm as pleasurable as possible, you bit down on her neck and thrust your cock as deep as you could inside her. This clearly did the job, as she began to yell out incoherently and her walls nearly strangled your shaft as she climaxed. It would've made you cum as well, if you hadn't already done so earlier. As she came down from cumming, she panted heavily and opened her eyes halfway to look at your face. You had stopped thrusting and you were instead holding her body close to you. "Shit Alex...that was...that was the best..." Along with boosting your confidence, it relieved you to know that you were able to please Vinyl in bed. Even though you were still hard, you laid down on top of her, keeping yourself inside of her, waiting to see if she wanted more. As if to instantly answer your question, a sudden energy flowed through her in that instant and she lifted your entire body off of her. However, you began to realize that she wasn't pushing you off with her hooves, she was lifting you off with her magic. The slight tingle all around your body that was caused by the levitation magic scared you a little, but you had enough faith in Vinyl to know she wouldn't hurt you. You struggled to keep your body from spinning out of control in mid air, and you could just barely see a mischievous grin forming on Vinyl's face as you nervously pondered what kinky things she had in store for you. "This'll be fun..." It was just then that a knock came at the door. Vinyl's face, along with her dominatrix-ey demeanor, instantly turned to embarrassment and panic as she instantly dropped you onto the bed and got up to run to the door. You hit the bed hard enough to be uncomfortable but softly enough to not seriously hurt you. You gathered your thoughts and came back to reality. Although you wished she would've just ignored the knock at the door, you threw away your selfishness as your arousal settled down slowly. You rolled your eyes and smiled, not as annoyed at the situation as you were amused. "Thou must be joking..." Luna's bed sheets were sprawled all over the place. Up until just now, her moans were filling the bedroom. Alex and Vinyl's rendezvous proved too much for the sex-starved princess. It only took a few minutes for her desire to rise to the point of her hoofing herself while watching the intimate scene from Alexs' eyes. She was so close to finishing before they were interrupted, and she was genuinely frustrated in many ways. If she had finished, she surely would've been able to put all these feelings behind her. However, she was teased on the brink of an orgasm, and so she knew that her lust wouldn't die down until she was fully satisfied. She also needed something other than her own hoof to do it. Slowly, she began to devise a plan and waited for Alex to fall asleep. "Guess that'll have to wait." You said to yourself after she slammed the door to her room and galloped to the front door. Despite the let-down, you felt fully satisfied, and you were certain that Vinyl did as well. You slowly sat up and groaned, realizing how much energy you spent in the last few moments. After managing to find your jeans among the litter of clothes scattered across the bedroom floor, Vinyl opened the door back up with a less panicked face than the one she left with. "Don't worry, it's just Octy." You felt somewhat embarrassed to face Octavia after just banging her roommate and ex-marefriend. However, your recent release of hormones left you void of all anxiety. You took a deep breath, not bothering to put your shirt back on, and made your way back into the kitchen. It was just then that you noticed how trashy the place looked after the party. Random plastic cups, streamers and popped balloons covered the floor like a blanket of snow. The only bits of carpet that were in the house were a little damp from (what you hoped was) miscellaneous drinks. You could already hear Octavia complaining. "Vinyl what on earth happened here? I thought I told you to keep it under control!" She chuckled a bit and shrugged. It became more and more obvious to you as you observed the two mares that Octavia was the one who took a majority of the responsibility for keeping the house in order, and you felt bad for her because you knew that she was going to have to clean this up all by herself. "Hey, it was a big party, it's not my fault..." Vinyl said after turning away from her. She gave you another seductive look as she grabbed the waist of your jeans and gently tugged you with her before you stopped her. "W-wait Vinyl, aren't we gonna help Octavia clean all this up?" "It's fine, come on." "But..." You cast a concerned look over your shoulders to see a distressed Octavia picking up trash with a frown on her face. It killed you to see somepony like her sad. You had to help her. "Vinyl, come on. Let's help her out first. Please?" She looked behind her at Octavia and paused a while before rolling her eyes and letting go of you. "Fine." "We'll help you out Octavia, don't worry." While Vinyl wasn't watching, you swore you could see Octavia's lips form a mute "thank you". As expected, Vinyl cut the easy job by using her magic and picking up all the loose trash from the floor. Octavia dealt with the dishes, so you worked on cleaning off all the drink stains from the carpet that you spotted earlier. Even with all three of you working together, it still took about an hour to finish. After the last section of carpet was cleaned, you realized you were the only one left working. Vinyl was on the couch watching TV and Octavia had apparently gone to bed. You cracked your back and groaned from having to scrub for so long before walking over to the couch. You were seconds away from flopping down next to Vinyl, but you changed your mind and gently sat down once you realized she had dozed off. You took the opportunity to realize how cute she was when she was sleeping. She was curled up into a ball and was breathing so lightly that you could barely see her belly raise up and down. You thought that somepony like Vinyl would be a heavy sleeper. You imagined her snoring and having her body all sprawled out on the couch, but apparently, that wasn't the case. You wrapped an arm around her and turned the volume down so that she could relax, but it ended up waking her in the process. She looked up at you with half-open eyes and moaned sleepily before closing them again and snuggling up next to you. You nearly shed a tear because of how adorable she was being. Not wanting her to fall asleep on the couch for the night, you picked her up in your arms, surprised at how light she was, and walked with her to her room. You had apparently worn her out since she didn't wake back up from you carrying her. Or perhaps she was awake the whole time, but she was keeping quiet so that she could enjoy being in your arms for as long as possible. Once you got to her bed, you laid her down gently and tucked her in before sliding into bed yourself and placing your hands behind your head, letting out a large sigh of relaxation. It didn't take you long to get drowsy. Now that you had a relaxing environment to think your mind wandered and you realized that you had forgotten to talk to Vinyl about the decision you had to make. You let out a small groan as you stressed a bit. The deadline for the choice was getting closer and closer, and you were getting distracted left and right. You made a mental note to devote all day tomorrow to talking to as many ponies as possible about it. On that note, you were reminded of how many important ponies you haven't hung out with, or even talked to. The pressure of all your responsibilities began to ward off your drowsiness and caused you to stare at the ceiling restlessly. It was just then that you felt a slight nudge at your side. Vinyl, in her sleep, had snuggled up to you again and her horn was poking your side. You laughed slightly and moved her head on top of your chest, running your fingers through that beautiful blue mane of hers. It truly was a dream come true. A few days ago, all you had of Vinyl was a poster in your room, and now she was in the flesh and sleeping with you in bed. If it weren't for her horn poking you earlier, you would've pinched yourself to make sure you weren't dreaming. Her soft fur and her gentle breaths brushing against your bare chest were like a gift sent from heaven, and they helped you relax and forget about your concerns. You wrapped an arm around her waist and closed your eyes and you slowly drifted off to sleep. Luna understood that most ponies knew that she could invade others' dreams, but she hoped that Alex had not figured it out yet. Alex's ignorance of this was the key to her plan being successful. She barely had enough magic to dreamwalk, but she had to at least try. Her desires were too great, and she needed something other than just her hoof. Her sight spell faded away as Alex fell asleep, and she began channeling a new spell, preparing herself for the dream world. You never dreamed much. Your imagination wasn't livid enough to produce dreams every night like others could. However, for whatever reason, your mind enveloped you in a blissful dream. You opened your eyes to see yourself standing under the brilliant night sky. You couldn't yet tell if this was taking place on Earth or Equestria, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless. However, as the dream progressed, you began to realize just how real it felt. The moon and the stars looked almost identical to how they were in the field with Vinyl. You felt the wind blowing through your hair and drying out your eyes whenever you looked straight ahead. You felt the whipping of your clothes in the strong headwind and the birds chirping as you passed them by. You looked down and shook your limbs see how responsive they were. Either you were having amnesia, or this was a very realistic dream. Before venturing deeper into the dream, you felt a strange presence behind you. Just to be safe, you turned around to see what was there, but all you could see was a large open field with a tree line in the distance. You turned back around and began to entertain the idea of starting to explore, but a large black figure stood in your way. It seemed to come out of nowhere, but you felt like you recognized this shadowy apparition from something in the past. "Luna?" Apparently, you could speak coherently in this dream as well. Much like when she first appeared to you, she shed the shadowy cloak which dissolved into nothingness, "Hello, Alex." You looked at her suspiciously. You had heard that she could enter ponies' dreams, but since you had never observed it, you didn't know whether or not this was actually Luna, or if she was just a part of your own dream. "Um...Is this actually you? Or are you just part of my dream?" You felt silly for asking, but you felt that you had to make sure. Luna's eyes narrowed slightly. She had hoped that you didn't know of her dreamwalking abilities, but nonetheless, she was still determined to see her plan through. She answered you honestly. "Yes, Alex. Your presumptions are correct. I have ventured into your sleeping mind so that we might discuss...certain things..." "Oh...alright. Well, what did you want to talk about?" "My original plan was for us to have our meeting tomorrow. However, there are some things I would like to adress in private. That is why I met you here in your dreams. Seeing as we're both here now, I had hoped we could knock out...what is the saying...two stones with one bird?" "Two birds with one stone." You replied with a little laugh. "I see. A bit violent for my tastes...no matter." "So...what did you mean by that? What else were you planning on doing?" Luna noticed that she had almost divulged her other plan to you, and attempted to change the subject nervously. "Never you mind. Come. Let us meet in a more suitable learning environment. We shall go to my chambers." She lifted herself into the air and began to fly away. You yelled out to her before she went out of earshot. "W-wait! How am I supposed to get there?!" She grounded herself again and contemplated awhile before trotting up to you and getting on her knees. "You will ride me." The sudden request made you blush a bit. Certainly riding another pony, especially a princess, would be rude or even taboo. "Are you sure? Is that alright with you?" "Yes, Alex. I can easily support your weight. Make haste!" "A-alright..." You awkwardly threw your legs over her back and sat down, grabbing a hold of her shoulders and holding on tight as her wings began to flap. It was hard to believe that somepony could lift your weight with just a pair of wings, but to your surprise, the two of you gradually lifted off of the ground and began to fly. Fear filled you a bit as you looked down and noticed how high she had ascended, and it urged you to cling tighter to Luna. You looked down to see just how fast she was flying. You were easily going about sixty miles per hour, maybe even more. The wind threw your hair back and the chilled night air dried out your nostrils and throat as you held close to Luna, thankful that she was strong enough to carry you. It didn't take the two of you long to reach what you assumed to be the balcony to Luna's royal chamber. Gusts of air from her wings rustled the curtains separating the balcony from the inner room as you quickly got off and apologized for any inconvenience your weight might have caused. As you walked inside, you were taken aback by the luxury that Luna lived in. Luna's room wasn't as tidy as you envisioned it, but it was still magnificent nonetheless. Dark blue crystals decorated the ceiling inside that glowed strongly, giving the room an ominous blue lighting. Her bed was the shape of a large round oval that was covered with a large mosquito net that resembled Luna's mane almost perfectly. She had book upon books upon books stacked all the way up to the ceiling, which was easily a couple of stories tall. Before you had more time to explore the room any further, Luna brought you back to the matter at hand. "Shall we begin? I cannot stay in your dream forever, Sir Alex." "Oh! S-sorry..." You took a seat on a large pillow on the floor and crossed your legs. Luna laid down adjacent to you on another pillow. "Your room is really nice." You complimented as you kept looking around the room, still amazed at how huge it was. It felt like you were inside an entire house, but without interior walls separating it into rooms. Luna cleared her throat before continuing. "Like I stated earlier, there are a few topics which I wished to discuss with you in private." Your eyes snapped back to her and you gave her your full attention. You had heard that her voice was very....commanding, but you never realized how much of an authoritative tone she had. It struck through to your very soul and made you a little afraid of her. Luna took a deep sigh and lowered her eyes to the ground, as if remembering something from long ago that brought up negative feelings. After a while of thinking, she cleared her throat and looked back up at you. She had possibly the most innocent face you could ever imagine. "Do you think I deserved to be banished?" The intensely serious question knocked you back a bit. "Wait...what? I-I mean...ma'am? Sorry..." "Surely you know of the punishment my sister gave me for challenging her rule. I'll ask again." She raised her voice a bit and her seriousness grew. "Do you believe that my punishment was just?" A flurry of concerns hit you all at once as you struggled to find an answer. Was this a trick question? Was she trying to get you to take sides? What would she do if I said yes? You didn't want to upset her, but at the same time, you didn't want to disappoint her. Your eyes darted around the room for an answer as her intense gaze remained upon you. "Well?" > Chapter 8: The Things I Do For Love > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Although the sound of Luna's dream spell was relatively quiet, it still managed to leak through her chamber walls and into Celestia's sleeping ears. They twitched once or twice before the sound finally awoke her. Groaning, she stretched and looked outside of the window facing her bed. The moon was low into the western night sky, suggesting that morning was near. She got up out of her bed, her magnificent mane somehow perfectly straight and perfect after being in bed for hours. Whisping magical sounds grew louder as she approached the door separating their two rooms. The doorknob glowed with a golden aura as Celestia's magic began to turn it; she was surprised to find that it was unlocked since her sister usually preferred seclusion during the night. Her magic opened the door slowly and she peeked into the room with one eye through the slight crack. She looked into her room thoroughly until she finally realized her sister had hid herself behind her bed curtains to use her dream spell. After closing Luna's door gently, she sneaked back into bed, trying not to make a sound. Her bed made one or two squeaks as she got back in, and she made a mental reminder to have the maids replace the mattress before letting out a long sigh of relief. It always concerned her when Luna was channeling spells in private. The memory and fear of nightmare moon still plagued her conscience. A faint skittering noise fell undetected from her ears. You noticed that you were looking around Luna's chambers yet again, partly because of how beautiful it was, but mostly because you were trying to stall her. It wasn't the simplest of questions. Both answers had consequences. Saying "yes" might get you points for honesty, but it would most certainly make Luna question your loyalty to her. If you said "no", it might make her think you're sympathetic, but she might think that you're just lying to try to get on her good side. However, a worse response would be silence. You went with your gut and stuck with how you truly felt about Luna. "N... no." Luna raised an eyebrow and her expression of interrogation diminished slightly. You could tell that your answer wasn't what she expected. She recomposed herself. "Why would you think that?" On a side note, you noticed that she had dropped her usual "thous" and "shalls". Perhaps it was because she felt comfortable around you, or maybe her Canterlot accent was just for show after all. Your answer came calmly and from the heart, no longer worried about what impression you might or might not be making on Luna "Well... I just don't think it was fair. Nothing against your sister personally, but I think your punishment was a little too severe. I mean... a thousand years?" You paused for a bit and looked down. "If I had a little sister, I wouldn't do anything like that to her... regardless of what she might have done. I guess... if I truly loved her, I would forgive her." Luna's tone completely softened and she moved closer to you. "You... really think so?" To your surprise, you could see her eyes watering up. "Of course. A-are you alright?" She obviously wasn't. You leaned towards her and put a hand on her hoof and smiled to try and reassure her. "It's okay, Luna, I'm sure your sister regrets doing-" You were interrupted by a large hug from Luna. Her neck fur mashed into your face and you could feel tears dripping down from her cheeks onto the back of your neck. "I... I was so frightened... I thought I would never come back..." Wrapping your arms around her waist, you tried to console her as best you could. Although you could never have empathy for somepony who was banished for one thousand years of solitude, you still felt like you had to at least try. You stroked her fur and held on to her while telling her it was okay and that she was here and that was all that mattered. The emptying of her bottled emotions warmed your heart as well, and it gave you a sense of accomplishment to know that you had earned what you assumed was her respect. On a lesser note, her fur smelled blissful, like a mix between lavender and... cherries?. You couldn't help but take large whiffs of it through your nostrils as she let out the last few drops of tears. "Are you okay now, Princess?" She let you go and sat back on her pillow wiping her eyes with her hooves; she quickly regained her composure. "Y-yes Alex... I'm sorry about that… I have yet to meet anypony who has such sympathy for my situation." Her gaze drifted down towards her hooves out of shame and embarrassment. "Like I was saying, I'm sure your sister regrets doing that to you, and I'm certain that she loves you very much. But however unfair it may be, dwelling on the past won't fix anything; no offense." She finished sniffing her runny nose one last time and smiled, "Yes, that's correct, Alex. Perhaps the reason why I... changed back then was because I could not let go of the past." A sudden realization hit you and you were immediately aware of the weight that the conversation held. You had almost forgotten that Princess Luna had once been Nightmare Moon, and talking about her banishment was risky. You didn't quite understand the mechanics of her transformation into Nightmare Moon, but assuming it was caused by a deep negative emotion, you decided to tactically change the subject. "Maybe. But we've all done things we regret, trust me." You joked and rolled your eyes to try to lighten the atmosphere. Luna giggled a bit, which lifted your spirits. "I suppose you are correct." She regained attention and got back on topic. "Very well then, next question." "Shoot." She looked down at you, puzzled. "S-shoot? Shoot what? I see nothing that merits being fired upon..." You paused for a second then realized how stupid you probably sounded to her right about now. "Uh... never mind. Continue." "Have you felt sexually attracted to anypony since your arrival here?" Luna held back her smile of excitement. Now was her chance. The question made your face instantly flush red. Determined not to look guilty, you took a breath and tried to slow your pounding heart rate. Applejack would've had a tough time handling this, but thankfully, you were quite gifted in covering lies. "N-no, of course not... why?" "So your meeting with Miss Vinyl Scratch after my celebration wasn't sexual?" She asked rhetorically, but not angrily. Your lie was shot and you had no other option but to admit to it. You let out a large exhale. "Okay... I'm sorry, we had sex. I-it was just so tempting and..." Luna put a hoof up to your lips to shush you and smiled a bit. "It is alright. To be frank, I quite enjoyed watching it." Her face inched closer to yours and her eyes seemed to stare through your soul. The sudden embarrassment of realizing that she had watched your intimate encounter flowed through your veins quickly and made your face flush bright red. "Y-you watched us?!" "Yes... I'm sorry, Alex, but..." Her eyes looked down at the ground in introspection and her tone grew solemn. "I have not lain with another stallion in so long... My body tortures me with the urge to mate every lonely night." She brought her eyes up and her dark blue cheeks blush a bit. "Can you please... assist me?" Your heart jumped up into your throat and began to beat heavily as the weight of her inquiry pressed into your hormones. Getting laid by a princess (even though you guessed that Twilight would also count) would probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity but... "Princess Luna, I'm sorry but..." You used all the integrity you could possibly summon. "Me and Vinyl... We..." Luna traced her hoof down your chest and her eyes fixated on it. "Alex... please. She doesn't have to know." She bit her lip and unbuttoned one of your shirt buttons. "It's just you and me in this dream..." Apart from being stunned by Luna's sudden sense of desperation, you began to slowly melt under her gaze and your body began to heat up lustfully as you found your eyes drifting down her slender curvy body. "I promise that I will make it good for you too, Alex..." You let out a large sigh and surrendered to her advances. As your body relaxed you whispered into her ear. "Okay..." A sudden lewd expression on Luna's face heightened your curiosity. She turned around and strutted provocatively towards her bed, swinging her hips and revealing her moist marehood. You stood still and just watched as Luna's royal charm worked its magic on you. Your crotch began to tighten against your pants. She climbed up on her bed and swung the royal blue bed curtains out of the way then proceeded to lay on her side and pull her hind legs up to her chest, completely exposing her ass to you. She rubbed her hoof across her plot cheeks sensually and then spanked one of them lightly as she licked her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Come and satisfy your princess, Sir Alex..." You took a big gulp to try and swallow the lump in your throat and walked toward Luna's bed, peeling off your shirt and pants on your way. You had no need to stimulate your cock to get it hard and ready, Luna's raw round royal rump saw to that. You had just dropped your underwear when she pulled her ass cheeks back to reveal her dripping wet pussy which spiked your hormone levels. You thought it would be rude to simply dig right into the main course, so you decided to play with her first. You bent down and gave light kisses to the inside of her thighs as you grasped her leg and lifted it upward, fully exposing her marehood. If what she said about not getting laid in over a thousand years was true, you assumed that she would be extremely sensitive, and her loud moan that came just from you kissing her inner thighs proved just that. You closed your eyes and savored the taste of her already damp fur. "Oh Alex... Please proceed to do that higher up..." You figured she wouldn't be one to use exceptionally dirty language, but her divine and perfect body made up for it. You continued to give gentle pecks further up her inner leg until you were within licking distance of her pussy. You circled your tongue around her outer lips to tease her more. You could feel her legs shaking slightly, which was a sure-fire way of telling that what you were doing was turning her on immensely. You suddenly felt a hoof at the back of your head and before you knew it, Luna was pushing your head down right into her marehood. You got a full potent taste of her juices and, taking the hint, immediately began to flatten your tongue and lick up her opening again and again. Her throbbing to your stimulation came with more frequent moans escaping her lips and you found your head being squeezed in between her inner thighs. Her body convulsed and her muscles pushed her waist into your tongue involuntarily. Picking up the pace, you moved your tongue up and dragged the flat of your tongue against her swollen stimulated clit, making her nearly yell and pull your hair almost enough to hurt you. As she pulled your head out from between her hind legs, you sat stationary with her juices dripping from your tongue. She pushed you back and sat up on her knees before bending her head down against the bed sheets and lifting her ass in the air, spreading her legs. "Enter me, Alex. I cannot bear it any longer..." You sat up on your knees as well and pushed the head of your rock hard cock against her opening. After grabbing on to both of her plot cheeks you slowly pushed yourself inside of her. Ecstasy instantly enveloped you as you came to realize how incredibly tight she was. It was like having a sex with a clean virgin times fifty. You found yourself having to push hard to reach all the way inside of her even though she was very wet. Luna's intense moans were muffled by the bed sheets that she had pushed her face into for just that reason. You looked down and realized that all the pushing you had been doing had only granted you half of your cock's access inside of her. Impatient and filled with lust, you rammed inside of her as hard as you could, which was followed by a loud moan from you and a muffled yell from Luna as the entirety of Luna's tight walls gripped around your thick throbbing dick. Your first few thrusts loosened her up a bit, but it was still much tighter than any pussy you had ever entered. One thousand years of abstinence made Luna into a super-virgin, and the effects that her marehood was giving you were heavenly. You knew that at this rate, you wouldn't last long, and neither would she. If she was this tight, it only meant that you felt just as huge to her. Your thrusts became faster and more fluid as you braced yourself against her back and leaned forward slightly. The slapping sounds of your balls hitting her upper pussy and clit filled the room. "Ahhhhnn! Ahhhhh! S-Sir Alex, I'm very close!" The fact that she had resorted back to using your surname annoyed you slightly, but it wasn’t annoying enough to make you stop. You spurred into her, bringing about her orgasm instantly as the tip of your cock prodded the entrance of her womb. Her yell nearly busted your eardrums and her entire body locked up as her pussy strangled your penis, sucking all of the life out of it. The sudden stimulation from her orgasm tipped you over the edge as well, and your orgasm was close. But not close enough. After Luna came down from cumming, her body fell limp onto the bed, even though you remained inside of her. Sensing that you had not finished, she summoned what energy she had left and got up on her knees, turning around to face you. Her head was eye level with your soaked hard cock. Without warning, she shoved it into her mouth and began sucking back and forth, creating a blissful vacuum effect. It was all the stimulation you needed and with a loud grunt and a thrust forward into her throat, you released your hot steaming semen into it as she gulped it all down. She pulled away and, after the last few spurts flew onto her face, she licked her lips clean. You fell back onto her bed, worn out and exhausted. After Luna did some sort of magic spell to clean the semen from her face, she laid next to you and, to your surprise, cuddled up to you like a sibling. It was completely against Luna's royal and proper character to do so, but she looked so adorable curled up in a ball against you that you didn't care. You laid back on the velvet pillow and relaxed. An indeterminate amount of time later, a strange sound came from behind the walls of her room. At first it sounded like someone moving furniture, but as it grew louder and more distinct, you could tell that it was a voice. You looked over at Luna, who apparently was not hearing the same thing and was resting soundly in bed. The sudden topic of how she was sleeping inside of a dream made your head spin for a bit, but the growing voice brought you back to its attention. "A....Allll" All? All of what? Was there something in the room trying to tell you something? Usually it was eating pizza late at night that did this to you, but you don't remember having any recently. You got up from the bed and walked over to the door that the sound was certainly coming from. "Wwwwwaaaak" It made no sense, but you kept listening closely as the sound became clearer. You pressed your left ear against the wooden bed chamber door and tried to listen harder. "Aaaaleeeeexxx..." Your heart jumped a bit in fear. The voice was clearly saying your name. You were afraid to open the door but you knew you had to in order to find out what the hell was going on. You looked behind you at Luna and realized in shock that Luna wasn't there, only ruffled bed sheets. The eeriness of the situation melted into your very soul and you could feel your heart jumping out of your chest as you turned around to grab the doorknob. "Wwwwwaaaaakkkkkkeeeee" You turned it slowly and almost jumped as a drop of water came out of nowhere and landed in your face. The door cracked open almost by itself and behind it was utter darkness. You took a few steps back as two more drops hit your face, apparently traveling parallel to the ground from the room outside of the door. Suddenly, you heard a low rolling sound coming from deep within the dark room. At first you thought it was white noise, but as it got louder, you recognized it as rushing water. "WAAAAKE UPPPP!!!" A surge of water hit you all at once and it tossed you around in what felt like a vacuum for only a few moments before you were sucked upwards into a spiral. Your head spun and you felt like your soul was being detached from your body. You woke up from the dream coughing. Vinyl's bed was now soaked and Octavia was standing on top of you with an empty bucket turned upside down. "Damn, Octy, you didn't need to soak my bed..." You heard a faint dove-like voice protest to the left of you, but Octavia kept your attention. "Alex, for Celestia's sake, wake up!!!" You were still coughing but you sat up, which helped a little. You tried to speak in between wheezes. "Damnit Octavia, whats going on?" "There's no time to explain, here." She threw your shirt at you and then pulled you up out of bed before you had a chance to even get one sleeve through your arm. "We need to get to Canterlot castle now!" Vinyl stepped in this time, apparently already woken up and ready. Although you guessed that it wouldn't take her long to get ready since ponies didn't usually wear clothes. "Octy just tell us what the buck is going on!" She nearly yelled as she caught Octavia's hoof from going out the door without them. She turned around only for an instant. "Changelings are invading the castle!" And with that, she was gone. The streets were pure panic. Random ponies scurried around and were shutting windows and bolting doors shut. Your shoes thudded hard against the dirt road with every stride as you nearly sprinted towards Twilight's house. Octavia's words stuck with you the whole way. Changelings? You thought that Cadence and Shining Armor had taken care of them for good. Apparently not. You thought long and hard and you couldn't rule out the possibility of a few rogue changelings attacking the castle for revenge. You didn't even have to run halfway to Twilight's house in order to meet her. She was already flying (to your surprise) on the way to Vinyl’s house when she ran into you, almost literally. "Twilight!" "I know! Come on, hold my hoof! I'll teleport us there!" You looked behind and waited for Vinyl to catch up. There was no way you were leaving her behind in all this chaos. Once you had one hand in Vinyl's hoof and the other in Twilight's, your body suddenly felt like it was being thrown out into space by a giant slingshot. Your arms that held Vinyl and Twilight felt like they were about to be torn off. It was enough to make you nauseous but thankfully, it only lasted a brief moment before you were thrown violently directly into the courtyard of the castle. Before you had time to marvel at Twilight's teleporting abilities, you took off with Twilight and Vinyl at your side. There were no guards in the courtyard, but as you sprinted inside the first main chambers of the castle, you were shocked to see some of the guards lying prone and in the fetal position on the floor. It took all of your moral capacity not to stop to help them. "Hurry! They should still be in here!" Twilight yelled as she busted through the main chamber door. It was full-fledged combat. Rows of guards were fending off changelings as thuds of wounded and fallen soldiers echoed through the walls. Twilight and Vinyl were already fighting. Vinyl was using some sort of electric shock spell that you never knew she had while Twilight was using everything from fireballs to anti-gravity spells against them. After realizing that the two mares could handle themselves in battle, your priority became to find Celestia and Luna. You sneaked around the crowds of fighting changelings and guards, looking for any sign of them. There was none. Only the white fur of guards and the grotesque distorted changelings that blocked your path to Luna's and Celestias' bedrooms. You tried to think of a tactful way around them, but you could see out of your peripherals a stray changeling that was thrown out of the main circle of battle and whose gaze was fixed upon you. For some reason, you didn't panic. As the creature ran fast towards you, you realized that it was wielding its arm as a shape-shifted blade. The attack was easy enough to dodge, it was a downward slicing attack that could be seen coming a mile away. Rolling out of its way, you nearly tripped over a broadsword that was laying on the ground that was partially in the hooves of a fallen guard. The will to fight and protect flowed through you quickly as you took it from the guard, mentally apologizing and commending him on his sacrifice. You could hear the changeling behind you yelling as it reared back for another attack, aiming for your back. It only took seconds to realize that your human strength was ten times that of a normal pony or changeling. The parry sent the changelings arm flying without an arc all the way across the room where it implanted into a pillar. Both of you stood there, stunned at what just happened. Guards were losing lives trying to fend off changelings and you had just dismembered one with barely an effort. A surge of confidence flowed through you and you gave a horizontal counter-attack, slicing the changeling clean in half before the body dissolved into a green mist. The wall of changelings that were gathered at the bedroom doors saw everything you just did. At first, they just stared at you as if wondering what they should do. Then out of nowhere, one of them charged towards you yelling, giving the morale to the others to join in. It was you versus seven. You brandished your newly acquired broadsword, eager to avenge your fellow ponies and protect the Princesses with your life. "Sister! I've fought so much, I'm not sure how much-" She popped another dark blue laser into a rushing changeling. "longer I can fight!" "Stay strong, Luna, we mustn't falter!” Celestia cast a spell that shot dozens of arrows into the changeling crowd that was bottle-necking into their bedrooms. Still, more came, and more and more. "Twilight and her friends are on the way as we speak!" A sudden green bolt of lightning flew across the room and skimmed Luna's shoulder, making her cry out in pain. Her magic winked out as her concentration broke, and Celestia, even with her immense magical power, strained to both heal Luna and fend off the attackers at the same time. "Celestia... stop healing me, you need to fight them off with all your power..." She obviously refused. The gash in Luna's shoulder was closing, but it was still severe and was causing her to bleed badly. The lines of changelings gradually advanced against Celestia's weakened attacks and they were soon surrounded. In a last-ditch effort to defend herself and her sister, Celestia tried to activate a spherical shield, but her magic had been drained from the healing and it failed. The changelings grinned and held their blades high, about to give the final blow. "Get the fuck away from my Princess!" You ran straight into the crowd of changelings after distracting them and with one swipe, you took out four of them that were caught off-guard. The others quickly guarded themselves against you, giving Celestia the opening she needed to pick up Luna and fall back . Your advantage of strength made dispatching the remaining changelings relatively easy. The minor battle wounds you received earlier on your arms and chest dulled your fears and you defeated each one as they came. A flash of purple filled the room and ignited the remaining changelings into oblivion. You turned around to see Twilight rushing in along with Vinyl and your defenses dropped long enough for a lingering changeling to have an opening at you. A bright light blue flash dispatched it quickly as you turned back around to see Vinyl's horn smoking. She blew the smoke away from her horn triumphantly. "Saved your ass." Twilight rolled her eyes at her. The fatigue of all your fighting hit you the second your adrenaline stopped flowing and you dropped the broadsword. You turned around to see if Luna and Celestia were alright. A battle-worn but intact Celestia reassured you. "Is the courtyard secure?" You nodded your head and breathed heavily. "And the main halls?" "Yes, Princess." Twilight announced victoriously. Celestia sighed in relief as Luna came out from behind a set of curtains. "Alex! You should not have come here! You are far too important to us to be fighting so recklessly!" Luna exclaimed as Celestia ran out to check on her guards. "Actually, Princess," Twilight interjected, "he was a huge help to us all. I don't think we could have..." She stopped mid-sentence and looked behind you at what you thought was Luna. Her confused eyes widened with shock as she realized what was happening. Her horn glowed bright. "Alex! Move now!" Before your brain had time to register what was going on, a changeling arm-blade entered your chest. The pain never came, but as you looked up, you saw Luna’s beautiful midnight blue fur fade to a wicked black as holes began to appear on her forelegs. The undercover changeling was shortly blown away by Twilight, but the damage had been done. You looked down at a dark red mangled hole in your shirt as your scattered thoughts barely managed to realize what had happened. "ALEX!!!" The sounds of screaming around you muffled out as your eyes drifted closed and a sudden urge to sleep enveloped you. Your legs gave out and you felt yourself fall, unable to catch yourself. You felt warm fluid flow down your chest and legs as everything went black. > Chapter 9: Repercussions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The blackness encapsulated you from everywhere. It filled every corner of your mind. You had no sense of direction, and your sense of up and down was even worse off. You felt as if your body was suspended in the dark depths of an ocean, slowly suffocating and not knowing what to do or where to go. Time, or time as you experienced it, passed by quickly. The only things that that could be attributed to this were the random memories that drifted by in your head. Memories of home were abundant. You watched yourself in third person as you walked back and forth from classes and avoided conversations with potential friends in crowded hallways. Now you were at home as a child with your parents celebrating Christmas. Only you weren't celebrating, you were hiding behind the Christmas tree as your parents yelled at each other. If this was your life flashing before your eyes, you had to admit (with what little consciousness you had) that this was certainly a shitty way of dying. You had no sense of feeling, save for the occasional tingle in your right arm that came and went with a slight burning sensation. The feeling was short and far between, so you brushed it aside. The only tangible sounds you could hear were deep droning sounds and an occasional beeping that sounded like a microwave finishing its cooking cycle. Suddenly you felt very sleepy and your eyelids (which you thought were already closed) began to get heavy. Right before you felt like falling asleep, you felt the air around you lift you up and carry you across the dense blackness of the world you were trapped in. Even though you could not see any defining features of the space, you definitely felt like your body was in motion. The feeling faded as quick as it came and you remained in the still state that you were in before. After a while, the numb feeling faded and your consciousness began to surface. It was just then that you heard a voice calling out to you. After the sense of deja vu wore off, you began to focus on it and try to make sense of it. It was gentle and sweet like a girl's singing, but it had no tune. It sounded like the epitome of a caring mother calming a fussy baby in the middle of the night, and the sound sank into your ears. It not only calmed you, but it also shook you to your core and led you to come towards a dim indistinct light in the distance. As you floated closer to it involuntarily, the voice began to sound similar to a particular pony that you felt love towards. It was Vinyl's voice, but it was a softer and more angelic version of it. There was no certainty as to what was beyond the light that you gradually drifted towards, but you did not struggle. Anything was more preferable to the infinite blackness that lay behind you. The light was nearly blinding now and no matter how hard you shut your eyes, it still hurt them. Just before everything went white, you saw a face of Vinyl looking down at you smiling and holding her hoof out. In desperation, you held out your hand and reached for it. Your pupils constricted dramatically as the first bits of light seeped between your nearly closed eyelids. Even though your vision was blurry, you could faintly recognize a blue butterfly flutter just above your head before escaping out of an open window. The next sense that came back to you was smell as you picked up the scent of fresh morning dew and foliage as well as the scent of many flowers. Your head bobbed to your right and you found a large assortment of lilies, roses and other colorful flowers. The bliss soon died away , and was replaced by a dull, throbbing pain in your chest that restricted you from even tilting your head down to look at it. You winced and let out a pained grunt as all the details began to come back to you. You went over everything that happened and mentally cursed yourself for being so stupid as to trust someone's appearance so easily during a changeling attack. "Um... hi?" The voice sounded like a whisper, but it didn't have the tone of one. After your vision sharpened a bit, you realized that the pink-maned mare had been sitting by the bed the entire time. Your brain strained and took a few extra moments to process who it was because of all the blood that you had lost. "F-Fluttershy?" Her eyes widened a bit and her brows curled in distress as she continued in her gentle and shy voice. "How... How do you know my name?" You would've been tempted to entertain her cuteness for several moments, but more important matters pressed you. "Never mind... What happened to me?" She looked down at the ground as if trying to remember but then you realized she probably wasn't there. "Well... they told me that a changeling... stabbed..." Her facial expression became fearful as if she was seeing a changeling right there in the room with her at that moment. However, she changed the subject by picking her head up and smiling gently. "But they were able to heal you really well and the doctors say you'll be okay after a couple days of rest, so it’s okay!" You could feel that she was genuinely glad that you were okay so you acknowledged her with a smile and a thank you for taking care of you. After chatting with her for a few more moments you learned that you had been out cold for two days and that the doctors had worked for an entire night trying to fix your gaping wound. Thankfully, your anatomy wasn't too different from that of a pony; otherwise you would've caused a lot of heartache. It didn't seem real to be able to heal a hole through your chest in just a day or so, but since doctors here used magic instead of machinery, you tried not to rule anything out. As long as you were okay and still breathing, that's all that mattered. That reminded you of Vinyl. You sat up again, albeit too quickly, and asked Fluttershy where Vinyl was as the dull pain began to come back. She held you down gently with a hoof on your shoulder and smiled down at you. "She's downstairs sleeping on the couch. She’s basically lived here ever since you came back from the hospital." Your instant reflex was to get up and go after her, but your body simply said no. Fluttershy, with the cutest motherly demeanor about her, nudged you back into bed and went to go fetch her. You took a deep sigh and stared back at the ceiling. After you knew that Vinyl was okay, half of your concerns subsided. After a short time of humorously imagining Fluttershy's gentle sweet voice waking up a heavy sleeper like Vinyl, your vision began to blur as your body slowly slipped back into repair mode. Your last thoughts were of reassurance. You figured since Vinyl was okay, then surely Twilight and the others would be also- The door burst open with a slam and Vinyl came galloping in. Your body didn't have enough energy to enter fight or flight mode. Your heavy eyes lifted, as well as your spirits, to see her. Your consciousness was instantly relieved the second you saw that silky white fur and blue mane that you loved so much. "Alex! Oh my god are you okay? Are you in pain?" She propped her front legs up onto the bed and looked over your face frantically. You smiled and lifted a weak and drained arm to caress her cheek. "I'm fine, Vinyl, don't worry." A tear rolled down her cheek and onto your thumb. You wiped it away as she closed her eyes and held on to your hand tightly. A smile of relief developed onto her face after a short while as she just stayed there holding your hand to her face for several minutes. After her tears of mixed emotions were all dried up she placed your hand back on the bed gently and then looked into your eyes sternly; it was the look that your mom gave you whenever she was worried sick about you. "Please...just...be more careful next time, okay?" "Promise." A tear nearly rolled down your face as well. The amount of love that Vinyl had developed for you over just a matter of days was so thick that it nearly radiated from her fur, and you could feel its full weight with every word of concern she spoke to you. "Did you really stay here the entire time?" Her eyes drifted to her left. "Y-yeah... I was just worried..." Your heart nearly melted. You could tell that she was holding something back, but you let it go for the moment. You looked over your body to make sure you were still in good shape apart from the gash in your chest. Your fingers twiddled and your toes squirmed from underneath the covers and you were relieved that you still had feeling in them. However, as you looked down at your hand, you noticed that one of your fingers (specifically, your ring finger) was out of focus. You blinked your eyes a few times to try and correct it, but it still remained blurry even though your other fingers looked perfectly fine. Vinyl looked at you with concerned eyes, worrying that you might still be woozy from being knocked out. "Hey... are you okay?" "O-oh, yeah I'm fine..." You tucked your hand underneath the sheets. "What about you? Are you alright? What about everyone else? What happened after I..." "Relax, cowboy." She replied with a lighthearted giggle. "Everything's fine, including me. By the way, its everypony-" For some reason your thankfulness that Vinyl was still alive hit you all at once at that very moment as you pulled her hoof towards you, forcing her lips into a passionate kiss. Her eyes remained open for a few moments from the shock but soon closed as she felt the lips of her lover once again. The kiss lasted several minutes and judging by how intensely she returned the gesture, you knew that she was dying to kiss you the entire time. She was just afraid to do so because of your injury. Fluttershy, who was nearly invisible during the entire encounter, coughed almost as if it were on purpose. You both pulled back with faces red as roses and with wide smiles. You took the open opportunity to look around the house and notice that even though it had the same feel as Twilight's hollowed-out tree, the design was somewhat different. "Fluttershy, are we in your house?" She nodded her head with a slight smile. You looked to your right and outside of the open window where a gentle breeze floated through and rustled the window curtains before kissing your face with cool breaths of fresh air. "Its nice..." You gently smiled, taking in the atmosphere before digressing. "Thanks again for taking care of me you two... it really means a lot." You felt a bit lightheaded after the sudden intimate moment with Vinyl so you decided to lay back down and shut your eyes for a bit. "It's no problem at all, Alex, I'm just glad I could help." Fluttershy said cheerfully with a slight *squee*. The three of you sat there in a slightly awkward silence, but you didn't mind. The sound of the trees rustling in the wind through the open window and the birds singing nearby nearly lulled you back to sleep. "Oh, I almost forgot! I was supposed to go tell Twilight when you woke up." Fluttershy gently flew into the air and gathered a few things. She glided over to you and looked you over one last time to check you over. "Be sure to drink plenty of water and stay in bed, okay? I mean... if that's okay with you and all..." You smiled and laughed a little. "Sure thing." She said goodbye to Angel and gave him a quick pat on the head before heading out, leaving you alone with Vinyl. You gently closed your eyes again and took her hoof in your hand. "Can I... get up there with you?" "Of course." You kept your eyes closed but scooted over a few inches to make room for her. The bed squeaked a bit to accompany her weight and your side was instantly warmed by her. Her head rested below your chest and her gentle breaths tickled your waist. You opened your eyes halfway to see that she had been looking at you the entire time. "By the way, you snore." A teasing smile grew on her face. "Oh, and you don't?" Not bothering to act the least bit embarrassed, she leaned up and embraced you in another kiss, being careful not to touch your wound. Her lips were as soft as ever and you could feel her breathing getting heavier. It was when she teased you with her tongue that you noticed that you were perhaps more aroused as you should be. Your pants had been replaced a lighter pair that felt like pajamas and you could feel your member poke straight upwards toward Vinyl. You did a good enough job of hiding it until her hind leg coincidentally brushed up against it, making her break the kiss and look at you oddly. "Are you... uh... alright down there?" She said with a slight giggle. You were too ashamed to answer. She lifted herself off of you and looked down between your legs to see a rather large bulge poking up from the bed sheets before looking back at you semi-seductively. "Should I take care of that for you?" Many thoughts raced through your head. Your body was still in recovery, but you had to admit that Vinyl's kisses were a natural aphrodisiac and just one of could get you in the mood. The itch was already there and if left unscratched, your bulge would still be there when Twilight and the others arrived. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle." It wasn't so convincing coming from somepony like Vinyl, but you trusted her nonetheless. "O-okay..." The idea of a secret sexual encounter in somepony else's house gave you a thrilling feeling of secrecy and naughtiness that flowed through you as Vinyl peeled off the bed sheets to expose you. There was a rather large bandage over your chest that irked you somewhat and made you want to peel it off to inspect the wound, but there would be time for that later. She tortured you a bit by licking your waist just above your pants line before slowly rolling your pants down and revealing your member. As you suspected, it was stiff as a rock. Much to your surprise, she decided to go right for the prize and began kissing and licking your shaft downwards and occasionally brushing over your balls. It didn't take long to notice that she needed release as well. She looked up at you with bedroom eyes and took your dick in her hoof before slowly stroking it up and down whilst licking your head with the tip of her tongue. After a bit of teasing, she lifted her head up but kept stroking you. "Are you okay? It doesn't hurt, does it?" You could feel your heart rate increase, but you didn't feel anything in your chest that was cause for alarm. You let out a slight moan and shook your head as she continued. As she positioned her head on top of your dick to take it into her mouth, you began to realize just how backed up you were. She slowly began to take it all in and your throbbing increased, but you managed to hold yourself back as you ran you fingers through her mane and gently pushed her head down into your crotch. Her warm and wet mouth widened to accommodate you, and you could feel trickles of her saliva drip down your shaft. Before too long, her cute stubby nose pushed against your waist and your length completely disappeared into her mouth and throat. You bit your lip hard to contain your moans, but they still escaped as you could feel her tongue swivel around you. Before long, she was already at full pace, taking every inch of you into her mouth and coming back up to your head over and over until your entire body was numb. The pleasure multiplied when her moaning vibrated against you. You looked around and saw that she had begun hoofing herself. You felt a bit guilty not being able to please her fully because of your condition, and you set a mental note to make up for it next time. However, she improvised and pushed her slit against your shin, thrusting her hips back and forth as you could feel her warm juices leak down your leg. There was no point in taking things slow, as you two only had a limited time before the others showed up, so Vinyl quickened her pace at both ends. Her clit was so swollen that you could feel it pushing against your leg with every lustful rock of her hips and her tongue drug itself smoothly against the underside of your cock while the rest of her mouth sucked it into a vacuum effect. Wet sloppy sloshing sounds came from her mouth as she gave all her effort into servicing your throbbing member. Her swollen soaked pussy began to pulsate against your leg and her moans turned into slight gargling sounds as she took you deeper into her throat. Her hips pushed harder and harder against your shin and the two of you soon reached the point of no return. You closed your eyes shut and moaned loudly and Vinyl, sensing that you were close, took you out and stroked you quickly with a strong grip while she dropped all her weight onto your leg. Your entire lower body convulsed and your hips thrusted upwards as you felt your insides pump out stream after stream of hot gooey semen. At the same time, Vinyls marehood convulsed violently. Since she no longer had a large shaft in her mouth, her orgasmic moans freely filled the open air. While her juices drenched your leg from her orgasm, she kept stroking you fast until every drop was drained and you opened your eyes slowly to see her face covered in your seed. She went back down and slowly gave you one or two more sucks to clean you off before swallowing what was in her mouth. Her head lifted off of your cock and it popped out of her mouth. It slapped down flat against your waist, still throbbing from cumming. She cleaned her face with her magic and levitated it into her mouth to swallow. After watching her do all this, she looked back up at you and giggled out of embarrassment. "Better?" "Much..." It took a few moments for you to snap out of her hypnotic bedroom eye gaze. Your breathing slowly returned to normal as she pulled your pants back up and snuggled back up to your side. It was nearly five seconds after you two finished that the door opened without the slightest warning that the others had returned. It made Vinyl jump; it would've made you jump as well if you didn't still have pain killers in your body. Vinyl pulled the covers back over you with her magic before hopping down off of the bed. A lot more ponies came to see you than you expected. Fluttershy not only fetched Twilight, but she also brought in the rest of the mane six (as you liked to call them) as well as Luna and Celestia. You looked back down at Vinyl and you gestured towards Vinyl by scratching part of your face to try to indicate that she had missed a bit of your cum that was on her lip. She cleaned it off discreetly and chuckled underneath her breath with crimson cheeks. Luna was the first to show motherly concern. The second she saw that you were awake, she nearly galloped to you and held your hand in her hoof. She stared into her eyes for several seconds as water began to collect in her lower eyelids. Behind her dark angelic mane, you could barely see Twilight talk with just her lips, as if trying to give you a message. The only thing you could read from her lips was "Thinks it was her fault." You looked back at Luna who was having trouble forming words. You squeezed her hoof tight and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's alright Princess Luna, I'm okay-" "No! It is most certainly not alright! Our entire kingdom, including our human subject, could have been completely wiped out!" You wanted to interrupt her and give her a hug to try and make her feel better, but your wound kept you from it. You sat and listened, powerless to intervene, as Luna emptied her heart and tears. "And I was at fault... If I had been on my nightly watch instead of..." She stopped herself from spilling the beans about what you two were doing now that everypony was watching her. "I...I..." "Luna!" It took some courage to raise your voice at royalty. "Nopony could've predicted that a rogue clan of changelings could've attacked back then. Besides, everything turned out okay in the end didn't it? I'm still alive and Equestria is safe." You looked deep into her eyes as you held on to her hoof. "So please... don't be sad... okay?" After looking at you for a long while, she gave out a long sigh and wiped her tears while she thought over what you said. Celestia didn't give her the time to self-pity any longer and placed her wing over her shoulder as she looked over your body. "I am glad to see that your wounds are healing, Alex. Your response to the changeling attack, although a little reckless, has earned you great respect amongst us all. I fear that Luna and I, along with many others, would not be here today if it weren't for your courage. I believe I speak for everypony in Equestria when I say, thank you." Your mouth nearly dropped when Celestia, Luna, and everypony else in the room bowed before you in recognition. "Y-your highness, there's no need for all that, I was just doing what I could to protect you..." "Are you kidding?" Rainbowdash's voice echoed from behind the group as she flew up enthusiastically. "You were so cool out there! I thought you were a goner and then you picked up that big sword and you were like-" She let out a loud roar and swung a pretend sword in the air. "Boom! Swish! Bam Bam!" She froze in mid-air when she realized that she had interrupted a very sober moment. Applejack grabbed her by the tail and yanked her back down to the ground with a stern look on her face. She sunk back to the floor scratching her head. "Sorry... heheh." Celestia cleared her throat. "I've tasked Fluttershy to look after you during your recovery, but if there is anything else that you need, please do not hesitate to let us know." As Celestia made her way back out, you gave one last cheerful smile towards Luna. "Thank you, Alex. I am in your debt." You were relieved to see a small smile creep onto Luna's face before she exited. "Applejack! Can't you see that he's still hurt?" "Oh calm down, Twi. Ahm just sayin’ we could use somepony with muscles like his down at the farm." She directed her attention to you with a wink. If you didn't know any better, you'd say that there was a hint of sexual suggestion behind her tone. " Let me know if you're interested after ya heal yerself up." "Sure thing AJ." You chuckled at AJ's forwardness. You weren't sure if you'd want to work out in the hot sun all day long doing manual labor, but if it was an opportunity to hang out with one of your favorite ponies, you couldn't refuse. The bits didn't hurt either. You felt bad for being on a royal paycheck and a good solid job would help you feel less guilty. "Still, I didn't think your human strength would be that powerful." Twilight contemplated as if debating whether or not to run tests on your body. "How many did you say you took out?" "I can't really remember... Everything that happened after I started fighting is just a blur to me." "I counted nineteen." Vinyl had managed to keep awake despite it being early morning. Her concern for you apparently mattered more to her than her inverted sleep cycle. "And that was before he charged in to save Luna and Celestia." The girls all looked at you and "ooooh"ed comically. You couldn't help but to blush a bit from all the attention. "Hey! I got a few too!" Applejack interjected out of comedic effect and jealousy. Apparently, she was there fighting too. Rainbow butted in, eager to showcase her ego. "I bet I coulda’ got more of 'em if I got there in time! I'd be like whoosh!" She flew around the room quickly, knocking some things off of a nearby desk and nearly ripping off the window curtains just from the wind created by her wings. "You probably could have." You said with a smile. Rarity leaned in towards you, speaking so that Rainbow wouldn't hear. "I wholly admire your humbleness, dear, but sometimes it's best not to... encourage Rainbow Dash too much." You laughed at Rarity's comment only for a moment before it made your chest ache with a dull and powerful pain. You clenched your teeth, but a yelp still managed to escape your lips. Fluttershy quickly tended to you; she floated gently above you and settled your shoulders to the bed before getting out some bandages to replace the old ones with. "Sorry Alex, we should probably let you rest." Twilight came up to your bed and covertly tucked a tiny note underneath your hand before grasping it tightly. The other girls joined in and put their hoof over yours and Twilights. "We all hope you feel better soon, Alex. We're sorry for everything that's happened... We didn't expect to-" Their cheery faces saddened a bit, as if overcome by guilt. "Girls, it’s okay, really. All of you've shown me a great time here and none of you are at fault for what happened. More than anything, I'm just glad all of you made it out okay and that I was able to protect you." Your words obviously had an effect on them. You could see their eyes grow large and their smiles even larger as they held back the urge to tear up emotionally." "But... why?" Twilight's face changed to confusion. "What do you mean?" Twilight thought long and hard before she spoke her heart. "When Princess Celestia told me about the kind of world you live in, when she told me how horrible some of the people were... I was afraid that you'd be the same. But... you risked your life for ponies you didn't even know. Why?" You tried to think of a complex answer, but your heart only had a simple one. "Because that's what friends do, silly. You of all ponies should know that." You gave them a warm smile. Their mouths contorted and pursed to try and keep from crying. Twilight brought your hand up and hugged it against her cheek while closing her eyes; a single tear managed to leak from her lashes. "Thank you, Alex." After a few heartfelt emotional moments, Fluttershy gently suggested that they should leave and let you rest (if it was okay with them). They all said their obligatory but sincere best wishes before parting. As the door behind them closed, you took a long sigh and sunk back into the bed sheets. Not having heard anything from Vinyl in a while, you turned your head to see if she was still there. You relaxed a bit once you saw that she had fallen asleep again on the small couch next to the bed. Judging by how long she was silent, you figured she had fallen asleep long before the six left. You noticed that she was shivering slightly by the draft coming in from the window. "Hey Fluttershy?" She jumped slightly. "Y-yes?" "Could you do me a huge favor and bring Vinyl up here with me? She looks cold." She smiled and nodded, fluttering over to Vinyl's resting body and carrying her over to your side. She was warm and you tucked her close to your side as she, sensing the safety of your embrace, curled up into your side while still in her sleep. You sighed amorously and ran your fingers through her mane as you always liked to do. You could feel the lack of energy caused by your wound and your eyes became heavy, but just before you dozed off, you decided to read the note that Twilight left. You waited for Fluttershy to finish with your bandages and then thanked her as she left. Once you made sure Vinyl was asleep and Fluttershy was gone, you unraveled the tiny scroll in your hand. However, it wasn't how you expected it to be. Instead of having tiny scribblings, it had no writing at all. You turned it around and upside down, but not a drop of ink stained the parchment. Puzzled, you fiddled with it in your hands until out of nowhere, tiny blue luminescent lines crawled onto the page from thin air and orbited around your thumb which was touching the paper. You took your thumb off to see that the lines had fit into the contours of your fingerprint. This was surely Celestia's or Luna's magic. All at once, the lines lept from the page and expanded in the air between the small piece of paper and your eyes as they began to form words. "Alex, I am happy to know that our best doctors were able to save you from your mortal wound. I, as well as my sister and every resident in Ponyville and Canterlot, wish to humbly thank you for your incredible act of bravery during such a dangerous event. I speak truly when I say that many more lives would have been lost if not for your actions. Luna and I have discussed this issue for quite some time, and we have both agreed that you deserve a reward. First, to help you have a speedy recovery, here is a vial of our rarest and most powerful healing elixir reserved only for royal emergencies. Please pour one to two drops per inch on the wound." Just then, a blue vial literally flew from between the lines of the letter, landing with a *thwump!* on the pillow next to you. It had a royal crest with the letters "C&L" inscribed in gold on the side. You placed it on the nightstand carefully and kept reading. "The magic that keeps you here in Equestria wears off more and more with each passing day. I am sure that you have felt some side effects of this. The time to make a decision is soon at hoof. We both know that the circumstances involving the choice you have to make are not easy ones, and they could be better. Luna and I have decided, in an attempt to make our terms easier for you, to change one important detail as your second reward. Instead of having to stay in Equestria forever, should you choose to do so, we will instead allow you to return to your home world once per year. You will retain your equine form whilst here, but will lose it temporarily once you have made the journey between worlds. Knowing that this may not be enough to thank you for your sacrifice, we all thank you again for your act of bravery and selflessness. Blessings be upon you, my faithful student. Your Highness, ~Princess Celestia~" > Chapter 10: Temptations and Complications > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl's legs wobbled slightly as she trotted towards her house. It was already past dusk and the darkness that heralded the night began to slowly blanket Ponyville. It didn't aid Vinyl's sleep-deprived eyes whatsoever as she veered off a few degrees left and right while bumping into a few ponies on the way. The last twenty-four hours annihilated Vinyl Scratch's already irregular sleep cycle. Before, she would sleep from early morning until mid-afternoon. However, she had spent the last two days at Fluttershy's house watching over Alex. Albeit she managed to get a bit of sleep, it was a frequently interrupted and uncomfortable kind of sleep that she would wake up from feeling as if she was more worn out than when she dozed off. The only thing her body ached for in that moment was to crash onto her bed. Even though it made her feel guilty, she thanked Luna for the repercussions of the changeling attack. The night club she played at was temporarily closed for safety during the rest of the week, meaning that she had another night off. She dropped her keys twice at her doormat with her levitation magic, which blinked in and out from drowsiness. Using her hoof as aid, her third try succeeded and the bolt on the door gave way. *BAM!* "Ahh!" Octavia yelped out as the door banged her nose. It took a few seconds for Vinyl to realize what happened. "Oh...sorry Octy, I didn't see ya there." She stumbled in past Octavia and headed straight on the couch to crash. Octavia seemed a bit more surprised to see her home at this hour than Vinyl thought she should. After landing with a *poof* on the couch, she looked back at Octavia who was nursing her nose and giving her a strange look. "Something up?" Octavia stared blankly at Vinyl as if she was trying to come up with something. "Oh... Um... No, I'm fine. I was just... heading out." If Vinyl's conciousness wasn't already burdened by sleep deprivation, she would have been able to easily see a dozen white roses that Octavia was holding behind her back as she slowly edged towards the front door. Before Vinyl could inquire further, the subject changed. "So... how's Alex coming along?" She said with an innocent yet overly dramatic smile. "Oh he's awake now. Well, I mean not awake awake. He's asleep, but he woke up from his coma thing or whatever this morning." Her ears lowered a bit as she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness!" "Yeah. I stayed there until he dozed off, so he might still be asleep by the time you get there." "Alright... I guess that's fine." Her tone trailed off as her eyes wandered to the ground. Her ears then suddenly perked up as she looked back at Vinyl defensively. "Wait, h-how did you know I was going there?!" Vinyl snickered at how clever she thought she was. "Well I know those flowers aren't for a date." Octavia opened her mouth to speak but she was too flustered to find the correct words at first. "Vinyl Scratch! I'll have you know that I could find a date if I sought for one!" She stomped her hoof on the floor in protest. "Come on, Octy, we both know your cello isn't date material!" She burst out laughing after holding it in for so long. "Ughh! Vinyl Scratch, I swear you'll never grow up." She left their house and locked the door behind her as Vinyl's muffled laughing leaked through the walls. It took a few moments for Octavia's red face to settle down. Your cautious side considered waiting until Twilight showed back up so you could ask her about the blue vial before using it. You assumed that it was made by ponies for ponies, and wondered if it would work on anything like a human. Then again, Celestia seemed like it was a good enough idea. She knew everything about everything, including a lot about you, so you pushed your skepticism aside as you pulled the cork off of the bottle with your teeth with a tiny *pop*. You inspected it closer and an aroma of cool mint filled your nostrils. You suddenly jerked your head away after it almost burned the insides of them. You remembered the instructions Celestia gave you and preemptively winced as you tilted the bottle over the wound. You could barely see a shimmer of liquid come out of its mouth and you tried your best not to let your hands shake. The drop fell almost in slow motion. Your eyes closed shut as the cool liquid hit your wound. Surprisingly enough, the sharp burning pain you expected didn't come. The drop sunk into your pores and an almost relaxing cool sensation spread throughout the area where it made contact. After being reassured that pain wasn't an issue, you poured two or three more drops onto the same spot and then moved on further down the wound. It felt like someone was holding ice to your chest after working in the sun all day. A slight amount of pain came after the first couple of minutes, but it eventually numbed. Once you covered the entire area, you put the cork back on the bottle and re-attached your bandage to your chest. By the time you set it back on the nightstand, the dull aching pain in your body had noticeably subsided to little more than an itch. "Thank you, Celestia." You mumbled to yourself while sinking back down into your bed sheets. The warm pony that occupied your side had disappeared during your last nap. Your spirits lowered a bit at the realization but you knew she had sacrificed many hours of sleep to look after you and couldn't stay with you twenty-four-seven. You looked to your right to see the enormous display of miscellaneous flowers that had been given to you. Within it were lilies, persanthemums, tulips and every other flower you could imagine. At the base of the collection, there were two large bouquets. One was a collection of yellow and red roses, the other was a silk hand-wrap filled with black and violet roses. Tied between them was a tag with "C+L" written on it, similar to the initials on the blue vial. As you gazed over the huge boquet, you saw more red roses from Twilight and Rarity, a basket full of golden delicious apples from Applejack, as well as many other flowers and gifts from every pony you could think of. The only flowers you didn't see were white roses, which were your favorite. However, you weren't nearly selfish enough to let that bother you among the hundreds of other flowers you received. Your heart warmed from all the generosity and concern that everypony had for you. You reached over to try and pick one up, but a radiant lily placed strategically between the Princess' flowers caught your eye. It was in a slim crystal vase and had a beautiful blueish-teal starburst pattern on its petals. As you picked it up out of the vase and closely inspected it, you knew who it was from. The colors matched Vinyl's mane perfectly and almost sparkled in the moonlight coming in from the window to your right. It gave you an amorous longing desire for Vinyl to be by your side again. A faint drowsiness filled your body as you smelled the blissful fragrance from the center of the lily. You initially suspected that it held a relaxing agent. Now that you lived in Equestria, you no longer ruled anything out. However, as you put the crystal vase on the right nightstand and set the flower back inside of it, you realized that it was coming from the medicine in your chest hitting your central nervous system. The itch you felt in your chest had now turned completely numb and you could feel that numbness spread through your body. The subconcious urge to fall asleep soon took over you as your eyes slowly closed and your breathing became relaxed. Your last thought before quickly falling asleep was of Vinyl as you tilted your head to the side and got one last peek at the beautiful lily glowing in the moonbeam. The dozen white roses hung by their base in between Octavia's teeth as she rounded the corner to Fluttershy's hillside getaway. It wasn't a drastically long walk from her house, but her hooves were still a bit sore from the backtracking and map-checking required to finally find the place. Everypony who didn't usually associate with Fluttershy, including Octavia, didn't know that her house was so close to the Everfree Forest. It filled her stomach with butterflies every time she glanced in its general direction. Hanging her head low, she kept her ears perked cautiously as she kept a close eye on the shadows. The only light that illuminated the path she followed was from the half-moon that flew above and one single light that burned within one of Fluttershy's windows. She hadn't thought about if Fluttershy would be awake and if the door would even be unlocked. Cursing herself mentally for coming here on such a whim, she slowly approached the house and peeked through one of the darker windows. After widening her eyes to try and dilate her pupils, she could barely distinguish a sleeping figure in a bed within the dark room. Her hopes gradually lifted until her eyes adjusted to the color and discovered that it, or rather she, had bright pink hair. She dropped her front hooves off of the windowsill and trotted around to look for another window. Feeling lucky, she walked to the back of the house and spotted another small window jutting out from the grassy roof. Thankfully, this one was lower to the ground than the last one. She held her hooves around the sides of her face as she peeked in. It only took a small glance at all the flowers that had gathered in the corner of the room to confirm that it was the room Alex was in. After looking around to make sure she wasn't being watched, she gently pushed on the window, thanking Celstia when it gave in and swung inwards. Before venturing in, she poked her head inside, pushing the window open as she caught the first whiff of the heavenly smells coming from the flowers. After seeing that Alex was asleep, she brought up her front hoof and edged her way in. However, she misjudged how tall the window was and bumped her head against the frame. A faint *ow* escaped her, but she covered her mouth with her hoof desperately when she saw Alex rustle beneath the sheets from the sudden noise. She froze and glued her eyes onto Alex, preparing to run for it if he showed any sign of waking up. She couldn't be caught here, not with what she had planned. The sheets began to settle again and Octavia let out the large breath of air that was being held in her lungs for nearly a minute. She picked up the roses that fell from her teeth and gradually inched the rest of herself inside. Her hooves let out a tiny *clop* against the hardwood floor as she worked her way over to the side of the bed. She placed the white roses on the nightstand next to where Vinyl's single lily was and then took out a small scroll with a red ribbon and tucked it carefully underneath Alex's pillow. She thought about just taking it back and calling off her whole plan, but she threw the idea out of her mind before she could change it. She looked at Alex's face a little longer than necessary. He was facing up and his mouth was slightly parted as his belly slowly rose up and down. Octavia smiled in relief, seeing that he wasn't in pain. Her eyes returned back to his lips. They were still moist even though he was asleep, and looked so soft to the touch that she actually entertained the idea of touching them. Or maybe even... You didn't tend to dream much. Most of the memories that flooded into your mind were wiped away during sleep, creating a dense unconcious void that you swam in for only moments before waking up to the new day. This night wasn't so different, especially due to the drowsiness that the healing potion had given you. However, right before you slipped into your first stage of REM sleep, you felt something strange (with what little concious feeling you had). It began to get quite difficult to breathe and you could also feel your body sink into what you guessed was the bed you were laying on. What was more peculiar was the slight pressure pushing on your lips. It was delicate but just noticable enough. After what seemed like a fraction of a second, your body finally began to wake and your eyes fluttered a bit. It wasn't long before the thing, which you now realized was a pony, yelled out and leaped off of you. The yelp led you to assume that it was a mare and she jumped out of the room through the open window to your right before you could even produce a "hey!" from your recently kissed lips. Everything seemed to go by so fast, but you began to wake up and piece together what had happened. You brought your fingers up to your lips and a thin string of saliva hung between them as you pulled them away. Somepony had snuck in to kiss you. You got up from the bed and looked out of the window that the pony jumped out of, only to see a faint shadow of a tail dashing behind a tree and out of sight. Your first instinct was to chase after...whoever it was. Your body, still somewhat weak from recovering, denied you from doing so as you started to feel light headed. As you stumbled back into bed, you saw in the faint moonlight hit a dozen white roses on the nightstand. The way the white pigments glowed in them almost made it as beautiful of a sight as Vinyl's lily. You looked around them for a tag but to your surprise, there was none. You sat at the edge of the bed puzzling for a few minutes before letting it go and laying back down. Only you didn't lay down on the pillow, you laid down on the small scroll that crunched underneath your head. "What the heck is going on...?" You mumbled to yourself under your breath as you sat back up and untied the red ribbon that held it closed. You almost expected some other magical phenomenon to happen because of what happened earlier with Celestia's letter. However, you opened it to see that it was written in very elegant script. There was an oil lamp sitting behind the nightstand to your left so you pulled it out and carefully turned the knob. Your eyes squinted at the bright flame as you held up the letter to read it. "Alex, I have held myself back for too long, and tonight I must express my most sincere apology for leaving you in the dark until now. Ever since you came to Equestria, you have moved me in ways that shake me to my very soul. When I see you, my breath grows short and I am barely able to piece together words. Your loving and kind nature are too much for my heart to dare keep silent about, and I confess that I have become infatuated with everything about you in this short time. I know that you and Vinyl Scratch have formed a bond that I may not be able to come between, but please consider my love and my companionship if you ever find yourself void of either. Should you choose to stay in our world of Equestria instead of going back to your home, please meet me behind Sugarcube Corner under Luna's next new moon. Your secret lover, X" "A love letter?" You scratched your head and your face flushed slightly as you hid the letter back underneath your pillow. Immediately, your mind swam with ideas of who it could be. A hidden meaning behind the "X" was quickly ruled out. Could it have been Twilight? She hadn't shown any sign of love towards you since her drunken mishap at the party. But she had already given you flowers. Why would she give you more just so that she could give you a letter? The same could be said about Rarity and the rest of the "mane six". You were unable to sleep due to your head spinning with ideas. You ruled out everypony that had already given you flowers. However, that didn't really narrow it down much, since there were so many ponies in Ponyville and many of them you didn't even know. You let out a long sigh of defeat as you gave up the subject for the time being. Remembering Cadence's comical stress relief technique, you held your fist to your chest and took in a deep breath before exhaling and raising your arm up in the air. You didn't expect it to work, but it at least took your mind off of the subject for the time being. "Still, it was a nice kiss..." You thought to yourself with a guilty smile. You licked your lips and swore you could taste a hint of cherry lipstick before letting yourself doze off once more. "Alex! Alex! Alex! Oh my goodness, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" You were abruptly awakened by a cheerful purple alicorn jumping up and down on the bed between your legs. You drowsily sat up with eyes half open to protest, but you realized something when you did so that stopped you short of words. It was the reason Twilight was so happy. You didn't feel anything in your chest. No pain, not even the slightest discomfort. Only the scant amount of hair on your chest, red lines where the adhesive bandage was, and your faint heartbeat. You moved your hand over it and pressed your finger against the slightly discolored scar, softly and cautiously at first, but then a bit harder until your finger left a white print against your skin that quickly filled back red when you took it off. The potion had completely healed your life-threatening wound in one night. "Alex what happened?! I saw your wound last night and now its gone!" Twilight had stopped jumping, but kept her excited and curious smile glued to her face. You picked up the blue vial and handed it to her. It made you flinch a bit when Twilight used her magic to levitate it out of your hand since you still weren't used to how magic "felt". It only took a faint glance at the initials for Twilight to know what it was." "Celestia gave you the emergency elixir?! What did it feel like? Did you taste it? What did you do with it? Oooh tellmetellmetellme!" She pressed closer into your face with interrogative question after question. "W-well it smelled minty... Wait, you knew about this stuff the whole time?" "Well..." Her eyes moved downward as if thinking how best to respond. "Yes! Ooh, I've been wanting to experiment with this for so long!" She looked through the mouth of the tiny vial only to become crestfallen when she saw that there was not a single drop left. "Aw... Did you really have to drink all of it?" You disregarded her seemingly rhetorical question. "If you knew about this, why didn't you tell me about it sooner?" "Oh... Well, I didn't know if I was supposed to. I didn't want to risk disobeying Celestia...I'm sorry Alex." You immediately felt guilty for making Twilight feel guilty. "N-no Twilight, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blame you or anything." She quickly got over it and a smile returned to her face as she set the vial back down, refocusing her concern on you. "What matters now is that you're okay, Alex. Are you sure everything feels normal?" "Yeah...I think so. You checked your chest once more before making the decision to try and get up. Your blood didn't rush to your head as you did so, which was a good sign. Your bare feet came in contact with the cold wood floor. Putting about half of your weight on them, you waited for the sharp pain to come in your chest, but it never came. You took the leap of faith and stood up with all your weight. You took a deep breath. Your body was normal again. "Yay! You really are alright!" Twilight tackled you onto the bed in a tight hug with a big smile on her face. She looked at you for a few awkward seconds with a blush on her face before quickly yet gently flying off of you. "Ooh! I have to tell everypony else!" She started to fly out of the window to your right. The white roses in your peripherals caught your attention and your mind was flooded with the memories of what happened late last night. "H-hey, wait!" She fluttered back in with a confused look on her face. "Uh...did you leave these roses here last night?" She looked at them for a second. "Nope. Not me. They are pretty, thou-" She cut herself off to think as she put her hoof on her chin. "Actually, I did see somepony walking this way with flowers that looked like that. "Really? Did you see who it was?" "Hmm... I don't know, it was kinda dark... Why? What's wrong?" "Oh okay well... Never mind." "Are you sure? I haven't wrapped my brain around a good mystery case in a while." She used her magic to create a detective hat on her head and a bubble pipe in her teeth as she smiled confidently. You couldn't help but giggle a little. "Maybe later, Twi." "Oh! Right!" She *poof*ed the objects away and gave an innocent smile. "Gotta tell everyone else!" With a few flaps of her larger than normal wings, she flew out of the open window, creating a gust that nearly blew the sheets off of the bed. You took another deep breath and your body felt at ease as you stood up and filled your nostrils with the fresh morning air from outside and the scent still radiating from the flowers. The feeling increased exponentially when you lifted your arms in the air and stretched after being in bed for days. You almost wanted to lie back down in bed and nap some more. You heard a gasp come from the doorway. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be in bed!" Fluttershy scolded you, albeit with her harmless innocent voice. She was in your face the next second weakly trying to push you back into bed, but you just laughed. "Fluttershy, I'm fine! See?" You held out your bare chest, which was perfect other than a slightly discolored scar streaking down the center of it. "But... You were... But... How?" "Princess Celestia and Luna gave me some sort of potion to help me heal up! See?" You pointed to the vial on the nightstand. She looked back at you awkwardly before gently floating off of you with her wings creating the gentlest of winds in your face. "Oh...S-sorry." She said with a tiny *squee*. "Well, I'm very glad you're okay, Alex." She looked down and to the side as if in introspection. "What's wrong?" "I...I just hope I was able to help you enough." You stood up and didn't think twice before giving her a big hug. It was just a friendly hug, but you couldn't help but feel smitten by how heavenly Fluttershy's body was. The warm soft fur sunk into your chest rapidly and you could feel her tiny heartbeat speed up. Her mane pressed against your neck with the softness of cotton candy. You expected her to freak out from shyness and push you away, but you instead felt her body ease into you and hug you back. "You helped me a lot, Fluttershy. I can't thank you enough." You let go of her and she floated back with a large crimson cheeks and a not-so-well-hidden smile which was soon replaced with fright as a pink blur came in and tackled you into bed. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh you're okay! I was so worried about you and I was here yesterday and I saw your chest and I was like-" She made a half-serious look of fright on her face. "But now your chest is all normal! Except for that scar- Oh! Did you know that scars-" You gently placed the tip of your finger at her lips. You didn't expect it to stop the relentless vocal chords of Pinkie Pie, but somehow it did. "Pinkie, I'm fine." You smiled at her as you picked her off of you and stood back up, dusting yourself off. "Aaare ya sure? Your lips look a little red." Your eyes widened and your heart stopped as you quickly wiped your lips with the inside of your wrist. Your first guess of what it was was correct as you smelled an overwhelming cherry scent coming from your wrist. You then remembered that two ponies were watching you do this and you hid your arm behind your back and wiped it on your pants. "Oh, um...probably just some food that I ate." Pinkie's eyeball nearly poked out at you and gave you an extremely suspicious stare for several seconds. But just as suddenly as she did so, she stopped and returned to her normal self. "Okie dokie lokie!" "Oh while you're here, Pinkie, could you go get Vinyl and bring her here for me? There's something important I need to talk to everypony about." "Sure! Do you want regular speed-" She trotted in place. "Fast speed-" She ran as fast as she could in a circle. "Or superly duper ultra-fast speed!?" You grinned out of curiosity. "Superly duper ultra-fast speed times two." A huge smile appeared on her face before she suddenly zipped out of the window. Fluttershy let out a gentle sigh. "I wish everypony would just use the door." > Chapter 11: Sacrifice > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl's eyes kept glued onto you. You weren't sure what the expression on her face was but if you had to guess, it would be somewhere along the lines of shock and disbelief, with a little frustration thrown into the mix. You had nopony to blame but yourself. Vinyl was the pony who needed to hear about your predicament most. Even though it was because of circumstances that were out of your reach, you still felt a bit of guilt for keeping the choice you had to make to yourself. You had to guess that her disappointment was multiplied as she sat there listening to everypony tell her about the conversations they had with you about the subject while she was not-so-conveniently left out. You felt guilty beyond reason. Here was the only pony you could ever have a love interest in, and you kept her ignorant of something that had the importance of changing both of your lives forever. You tried to explain yourself, but no words came out. There was no excuse you could brainstorm to make up for what you had done, and the realization of it hit you right at this moment. It was right when you saw the twinkle in her eye fade when you told her what she needed to hear weeks ago. Everypony else in the room could only nervously shift their eyes to the corner, fearful of the newly-bred conflict between you and Vinyl; a conflict magnified by the fact that you chose not to stay. "Why...? You could've told me this whole time, but you didn't. I just... I don't understand." You couldn't possibly say anything. Making excuses was useless at this point. You just stood there, eyes glued to the floor in guilt as you waited for Vinyl to snap and begin yelling at you; but she didn't. "Your highnesses, girls, could you give us a second or two? I'm sorry..." They left without a sound. You could only imagine how disappointed they were in you for your carelessness. The door gently clapped behind them and you were left alone with Vinyl. "You could hear a pin drop" was an understatement. She let out a sigh as she continued to take it all in and took a seat on the bed next to you. "I'm....I'm not mad at you, okay?" That certainly surprised you. She continued after pinching her temples. "I just wish you would've told me sooner... I didn't think you'd be going back to your world so soon. Even after we..." You thought she would begin crying at this point, but she didn't. She instead drifted her eyes away from you and downwards as she fiddled with the bed sheets in between her hooves. You couldn't bear her looking like this anymore. With compassionate eyes, you sat down next to her and wrapped your arm around her waist. To your surprise, she didn't shove your arm away. "Vinyl... I'm sorry. I know I should've told you. I was planning on staying here at first, so I guess I thought it wasn't too important. But I've been doing a lot of thinking and-" "I know." She said with a half faked smile on her face. "It's your home. Not just your home, your home world. I mean, I can't imagine how hard it would be to leave that all behind." You could sense some truth in her tone, but you could also sense that she was keeping her real feelings from you. After a while of watching her face become more and more depressed, you pulled her tightly against you. "I really like you, Vinyl. I do. You've always been the one pony I could ever see myself with... But only being able to go home once a year... I don't think I could do tha-" "What about me?!" She suddenly shut her eyes and yelled out of anger confusion and sadness. You tried to respond, but you were too afraid to. "I'm going to sit here by myself for the rest of my life wishing that things would've been different, but nothing will change... Do you understand what that will feel like, Alex?!" You were surprised both by her outburst and her sudden dramatic emotions. Vinyl struck you as being relaxed and cool-headed, but her fondness of you had obviously changed her. Again, you didn't dare respond in fear of making yourself look stupid. However, before you gave up the effort to reason with her, she grasped your hand with her hoof. "I'm sorry Alex. I...I really love you. Being around you makes me feel so safe and I just feel like I can do anything with you and you'll always like me. Nopony has ever made me feel that way. But..." She sniffed. "It would be selfish to take you from your home." It pained you to agree with her. Even if it was once a year, it would still be as if you never existed. How could you possibly explain to your parents? Or the few number of friends you had? Your life on planet Earth would be over and even though it was far from perfect, it was still your home. You envisioned yourself fifty years in the future in Equestria aching to go back home for a week, or even a month instead of just one day. Nopony there could disagree with you. From their reaction to your answer, you knew that they were thinking the same way you were. "Vinyl, I'm sorry... I-" She shook her head and looked at you. You could see a true sadness in her magenta eyes that made your heart ache to its core. "Don't be. You have your home and... Well, I have mine. I knew this whole time that you'd have to go eventually, anyways." She continued after a half-efforted laugh. "It was fun while it lasted, wasn't it?" You opened your mouth to answer, but no words came out. You couldn't remind her how you truly felt about her, how it wasn't just "fun" for you, how it was something else entirely that made your heart melt for her. You couldn't say. It would just make the inevitable goodbye worse. "So when are you leaving?" She asked after a sigh through her nostrils. "Tonight, probably. That's what Luna said, after all." "Alright." She got up and headed for the door. Every ounce of life in your body wanted to stop her and hold on to her and never let go, but you grit your teeth hard as you just stood there, not sure what to do. "W-wait..." You looked away foolishly hoping it would change her mind. She cut you off by turning around and showing a somewhat reassuring yet seemingly fake smile. "Don't worry, I'll be there." You wanted to smile with her, but you couldn't. You walked briskly with your head hanging low and picked her up, embracing her in a emotional hug that lasted several seconds. "I'm so sorry..." Your voice was muffled by your sobbing and her fur pressing against your mouth. The door opened and everypony else, apparently hearing what was going on, came in and joined in the hug. It was a warm and unbelievably lovely one. You tried to speak through your tears. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to let everyone down... I-" You were too emotional to bother saying "everypony". Luna interrupted you. "Alex, your actions do not let us down. We would feel terrible to pull you from your home against your will, and we all understand what you must do." Celestia, as sympathetically stalwart as ever, put her hoof on your shoulder. "The fault belongs to nopony. Your home is your home, Alex, and we cannot change that. Nopony here resents you for the decision you made, including me." "And me." Vinyl tucked her head under your chin and smiled. "Sorry if I made you feel guilty..." You looked down at her and smiled. It took less than a moment to forgive her, even though you thought she wasn't at fault to begin with. A smile slowly grew back on your face, but it was stopped short by your entire left arm becoming blurred as a dense numbness shot up your side. You couldn't help but wince and grit your teeth. "Come." Celesta pulled back from the hug and gave you a concerned yet stern look. "We must get ready." Vinyl's front door slammed shut. The vibration made plates clatter in the nearby kitchen and made Octavia, who was practicing her cello in the living room, jump and yelp. "Goodness Vinyl, is that really necessary?" She gave her roommate a disgruntled look that soon turned into a look of concern as Vinyl trotted past her, completely ignoring her, and went straight to her room. She didn't decide to go after her until she saw a slight stain on the carpet where a freshly produced tear had fallen from Vinyl's cheek. "Vinyl?" She put down the instrument and slowly made her way to her room. To her surprise, the door was slightly cracked. Her head pushed back the door a little and she turned on the light in the room to reveal Vinyl laying on her side away from her on her bed. She wasn't sure how emotionally unstable she was, so she kept her distance and stayed within the doorway. "What's wrong?" "It...It's Alex." She peeked over her shoulder in bed and looked over at Octavia. Her voice was a little wobbly from crying. Octavia let down her guard and slowly came to Vinyl's bedside before sitting down next to her and putting a hoof on her. "He decided not to stay, didn't he?" Vinyl nodded her head sadly and Octavia laid down with her, holding her tight as tears formed in her eyes as well. For reasons she couldn't dare tell anypony else, she desperately wanted Alex to stay just as much as Vinyl did. They both knew, however, that he would have to go someday and that neither of them could stop him from returning to his home. The reality that the two had been pushing back in their minds for so long had finally surfaced, and it took everything the two mares had to not break down in an emotional wreck. "Vinyl, come on now. You can always find another pony." Octavia wasn't talking to Vinyl as much as she was talking to herself. "I k-know" Vinyl replied with a *sniff*. "He was just...He was so..." This was the most Octavia had seen Vinyl cry. She tucked her head close to hers and tried not to sob. "I know, Vinyl. I know." They lied in bed for several sober and heartfelt moments before Octavia slowly got back up. She held out her hoof to Vinyl. "Come on. The least we can do is see him off." Vinyl wiped her eyes several times and looked up at her as if wondering whether or not to stay in bed and avoid having to see Alex go. She took a deep yet unstable breath before strengthening herself and taking the hoof. "Alex, I said only one book!" Twilight giggled to herself as she caught you trying to stuff four Daring Doo books into a backpack she lent you. You smiled apologetically and put everything back except for the copy that caught your eye the most: "Daring Doo and The Amethyst Amulet". Twilight didn't seem as distraught about you leaving as most of the others did. It was as if the thought of you leaving hadn't quite hit her yet. Nonetheless, you were glad to see a smile on her face. Doing anything to make anypony here sad was the last thing you wanted to do. It made you think of how happy everypony would be if you stayed, how sad they would be of you left, and the parallel reaction you would have received from your family and friends if the same had happened to them. Something in your gut kept you from being able to see your family or friends act as excited as all your pony friends if the same happened to them. You got up and flung the sack that Twilight had given you over your back. However, as you began to walk towards the door, your feet went on auto-pilot and your eyes looked past everything as your mind recreated a memory from years ago. The image that flooded your mind was of you standing in the living room much like the room you were in now and watching the front door close with cold and distant eyes as your parents left without so much as a “goodbye”. They ended up calling you a day later, but the feeling of loneliness and abandonment that you felt in that moment stuck with you like super glue. Ever since that fleeting moment in your life, you felt the security of your parents love and affection slowly drift away. Sure they might have had their own troubles, but was it really that much of a chore to say goodbye to your son before sending him off to college for four years and then moving five hundred miles away? Suddenly, your mind fluidly went back to your living room. However, instead of your parents leaving the house and leaving you by yourself, you were surrounded by the mane six and Vinyl Scratch. They didn’t coldly leave you in a dark seclusion. They were all crowded around you and talking to you with cheery faces and wide smiles. The room seemed a bit brighter and more colorful as well with a warm fire roaring in the background. Your eyelids fluttered and your head jerked back as you noticed that Twilight was waving her hoof in front of you. “Hello? Alex? You still there?” She gave you a silly yet concerned stare. “O-oh! Yeah, I’m fine!” You buckled the flap over your bag and headed out the door with her. You took a deep breath of Equestrian air and you could tell without having to look at the thick puddles of water on the ground that it had rained. The fresh moist smell of a rainy day was one of your favorite scents. As you exhaled and opened your eyes, another object caught your attention and your head started to drift off once more. It was just a simple wooden bench that was outside of Twilight's tree house. However, it reminded you of high school. It was after school one rainy day and you and your friend were both huddled under a single umbrella waiting for the bus. It was your first time meeting him, so it was somewhat awkward. However, he seemed like a cool guy so you invited him over to your house that night. The night was the most fun you ever had. The two of you played video games for hours and stayed up late to watch tv against your mothers' wishes. He seemed to like everything you liked and related to you on so many levels. However, the only thing your head kept coming back to were the countless weeks that went by afterwards. He didn't even look in your direction and even though you shared a desk right next to his in one of your classes, he never acknowledge you in a friendly manner. After a while, he began to hang out with the “cool” group and completely ignored your requests to have another sleepover or just hang out in general. It was another feeling of abandonment and rejection that plagued you ever since it happened. An image of yourself sitting in the rain alone on that bench seeped into your conscience. The boy never came back to sit with you on the bench and wait for the bus, probably in fear of an awkward situation with you, and you were always left sitting by yourself with nothing to do but stare at your own feet. You realized that it was the last time he had ever spoken to you. Then, then same thing happened again. The memory of you sitting on the bench in the rain re-played. It was as dark and cloudy as you remembered, but instead of your friend sitting with you, it was Vinyl Scratch. She was clasping on to your arm and humming a tune you didn't recognize. She was unbelievably warm and her presence made you feel a sort of companionship that went beyond simple friendship. She looked up at you lovingly and nuzzled her muzzle in between your arm and your side in that way that told you subliminally that she would never leave you. "Alex, come on! We have a train to- Hey, are you okay? You're crying..." Twilight levitated a small tissue and blotted it underneath your eyes, which brought you back to reality. "Don't be sad, Alex. You're going back home! Isn't that what you wanted?" She tried to encourage you, but it had an opposite effect. "Yeah... I guess I am." "Don't worry, everypony will be there to see you off. I made sure of it! Right, Spike?" You failed to notice that Spike had been following the two of you up to this point. He pulled out an enormously long checklist and tapped his claw against each checked box as he went down, mumbling to himself. "Yep, that's everypony on the checklist." "Good." Twilight trotted alongside you, proud that she had everything in order. You couldn't help but to let a faint smile crawl onto your face as you temporarily tried to push back what had just happened. The streets of Canterlot were overflowed. You had figured that the ponies there would take much more notice of your earlier heroism, but not this much notice. Mares, stallions, colts and little fillies crowded around you the second you left the train. Your dampened mood told you to ignore them all and walk straight to the castle without any distractions. The little fillies and colts ruined your ability to do that, though. You always had a soft spot for kids and that spot multiplied when those kids were ponies. You felt a tug at your pants and you looked down to find a little pegasus filly looking up at you with large disconcerting eyes. "Mister Awex? Are you weally going aweady? You wanted to pick her up and nuzzle her cheek because of how adorable she was. You knelt down on one knee, but it wasn't enough to meet her at eye level. She had beautiful amber eyes and a mane that reminded you of Derpy a little. "I'm sorry, little one. This place is great, but I miss my home and my family is probably really worried about me. I'll come back some day if I can." The answer didn't truly reflect how you really felt. A hurricane of mixed feelings was still stirring in your stomach. You gave her a smile and ruffled her hair teasingly, making her disconcerted face melt slowly into a small grin before getting back up and making your way towards the castle. It was like a going-away party in the streets. In fact, that's exactly what it was. There were streamers and decorations strung as high as you could see; all of which had your face on them. Some had "Good-bye, Alex!" painted on them, which lowered your spirits slightly. Others had "Thank You!" and "You're Awesome!" and other miscelanious encouragements. You suddenly received a not so gentle tap on the shoulder from your right followed by a deep voice that shook your core. "Sir Alex, please follow me." You turned to see a full squadron of guards waiting in formation to escort you to the doors. From their appearance, they looked like Luna's guards. You joined in the middle of their formation, both glad that your journey was quickened and disappointed that you didn't get to talk to say goodbye to anypony around you. Even though most of the guards weren't as tall as you, their black plate armor and thick bulging muscles in their legs and torso intimidated you slightly. The huge polished halberds didn't exactly help, either. The guards eventually led you to the huge castle steps where the four princesses stood waiting for you. Twilight had apparently used the diversion of the crowd to teleport ahead. You gave them a smile but they simply turned around and gestured you to come inside. You looked nervously to the side as you climbed up to keep yourself from looking at the princess's behinds, but you couldn't help but steal a peek or two. You began to wonder how stallions were able to keep their desires at bay with the mares' bodies being fully exposed like that. Despite there being four plots almost right in your face, the only one that drew your attention was Luna's. You quickly snapped out of your daydream as the main doors closed loudly behind you and you looked up to see all your friends standing in a semicircle around the princesses. You found Vinyl among them and hoped so dearly to see her smiling, but she wasn't. Then again, it was hard to imagine why she would be happy. Octavia was right next to her, and even though she had the same look on her face as Vinyl, she managed to make eye contact with you. Vinyl's eyes, on the other hand, seemed glued to the floor in front of her. Before you had a chance to go over to her, Celestia grabbed your attention. "I apologize, Alex, but there is no time to delay. The window between our worlds will only be open for a few moments. Take a short while to say farewell to your friends, and then you must go." You walked over to the semicircle of ponies with your head hung low. After thinking of what to say for a few moments, you tried your best not to get emotional. "I'm sorry girls, I'm not really good at good-byes..." You hadn't but a second to look up before everypony circled around you and embraced you in a tight hug. Vinyl and Octavia were clumped up right next to you and they both looked up at you with eyes that would have made you break down and cry if you stared at them for too long. "We hope you enjoyed staying here with us." Fluttershy miraculously made herself audible from the back of the crowd. "Yes, we certainly enjoyed having you!" Rarity used that voluptuous accent that made her seem sexually suggestive even if she wasn't. You felt just like you thought Vinyl was feeling. You wanted to badly to tell everypony how much you enjoyed staying and how amazing everything was, but you kept yourself from speaking in fear of breaking down in front of them. Their warm bodies and silky fur pressed against you cozily and you felt like you could stay like this forever and not utter a single complaint. "Alex, we must hurry." Celestia called to you with urgency in her tone. You gave Vinyl one last kiss. It wasn't anything special. Actually, you wished it would've been something more, but it would have made the good-bye that much more unbearable and heartbreaking. You turned around to see that Luna was holding out the mysterious doorknob that was used to transport you here. You took a deep breath and then walked forward. A pin dropping in the main halls could have caused hearing damage. It was a nervous silence that you had not experienced in a very long time. Your soft shoes made a muffled yet very distinguishable *thud* with every step and as you got closer, and you could hear the whisps of magic emanating from the doorknob. You turned back one last time and tried your hardest to force a smile for everypony and then turned around to take the doorknob in your hand from the small pillow being held up by Luna. You held and admired it for a few moments before grasping it and presenting it forward into the air just as Luna did in the past. You nearly jumped when thin blue lines protruded from it and spread to form a large dark blue wooden door. Your heart beat fast and you prepared yourself for the big jump, but before you turned the doorknob, you heard a faint whisper in your right ear. "Alex, your future is with us. You know this." By it's tone, you could tell that it was Luna. You could barely understand the words that came from her, but they hit your conscience like a freight train. You knew from the strange visions earlier that your life would be happier here. None of your friends or family back home would have welcomed you, kept you, and said goodbye to you like anypony here had. You knew that with each memory that surfaced earlier that you would be treated like a true friend here and you wouldn't be taken for granted in a million years, which is what you truly wanted more than anything else. Now that you thought about it, you began to question why those visions came to you and started to wonder whether or not Luna had something to do with them. She had already entered your dreams once, it wasn't out of the question that she could enter daydreams as well. Your hand that was on the doorknob froze in place and you stared at it for several seconds as your mind stirred. "Alex, there is no time! The connection to your world is fading, so you must go now!" You closed your eyes and concentrated hard, trying to work past the stressful situation. However, your hand did not budge the knob one bit. "Alex!" Celestia's voice lost its commanding tone and she began to sound nervous, almost panicked. You let go of the knob. Before anypony could say anything, you turned around and walked briskly right towards Vinyl, who was looking at you very oddly with tears rolling down her face. She looked speechless as you knelt down on one knee and planted the most romantic and sensual kiss you had ever given right onto her soft white lips. It lasted several seconds, and you could hear Celestia and Twilight trying to form words behind you to express their shock in what just happened. You could hear the magic from the door slowly diminish, which was followed by a loud *tink* from the doorknob hitting the floor. You pulled back from Vinyl's lips and stared right into her heart-melting magenta eyes, giving her a sincere smile. She finally began to stumble for words. "A-Alex, what are you doing? Your home..." You embraced her with a passionate hug and you could feel her tears trickle down your shoulder, dampening your shirt. "I am home." > Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of the crowd that littered Canterlot had already dispersed. The banners that celebrated you were being taken down and multiple ponies headed back to their homes with their heads hung low. The western winds of the setting sun blew strong and took with them scraps of litter that had accumulated in the streets. The mood of the city square was almost entirely deflated as only a few mares and stallions lingered by the castle steps and were already being told by the guards to go home. "Well, go on then!" Vinyl was nudging you forward towards the doors and you tried to protest, but you couldn't stand against her strong equine hind legs. "What? You want me to just go out there?" "Well duh! Don't you want everypony to know?!" "I mean, yeah, but..." Vinyl's horn poked your back, making it impossible to try and push against her. "Oh just go out there already!" Pinkie pie came up behind you and bucked you with her hind legs. It would've made you crash face first into the large set of double doors if it wasn't for Twilight opening them with her magic at the last second. You stumbled out and barely recovered before you clumsily made your way down the steps leading down towards the city square. As you regained your footing, you looked up to see dozens of puzzled faces staring right at you. You couldn't tell what they were thinking, but if you had to guess, it was a feeling close to getting an "A" on a test that you thought you had failed. You imagined their confusion would give way to immense joy soon enough, but as you stood there awkwardly looking at them for several moments, the confusion remained on their face. You heard the doors open again behind you and the already silent crowd grew almost uneasy. You looked over your shoulder to see Celestia and Luna come out with smiles on their faces and pride in their steps. Celestia's horn began to glow its magnificent golden color and she cleared her throat before forming a strange aura in front of her muzzle. She opened her mouth to speak. "Citizens of Canterlot!" Her voice amplified ten-fold through her spell in front of her mouth and, being directly in it's point-blank line of fire, you covered your ears and winced. A thunder of hoof-claps filled the streets as the few ponies that were still out and about crowed around and listened to what the princess had to say. Windows in shops and homes opened wide with ponies' heads popping out of them. Before too long, a couple of hundred pairs of equine eyes were fixated directly on you. Celestia took no hesitation to announce the news. "After recent circumstances, our human guest, Alex..." The crowd watched with wide eyes. Celestia looked down at you as if asking for confirmation. You nodded your head slightly and gave her a reassuring smile, but before she could utter another syllable, Pinkie Pie interrupted her. She trotted up behind you and climbed up on your shoulders, mashing your face to the pavement before taking a huge intake of air. You covered your ears for what was to come. "Alex is staying!!!" The vocal chords of Pinkie Pie required no amplifier, and her voice was easily louder than Celestia's. Cheers erupted from the streets and ponies stormed the castle steps, barely being held back by the guards. You didn't quite know how to react, so you just stood there awkwardly and smiled. The happiness radiating from everypony around you soon reached your heart and after weeks of stressing about this day, you finally let out a large sigh of relief. A small bit of nervous energy still flowed within you; the magnitude of the decision you just made didn't diminish one bit. However, everypony around you was happy, and that made you happy in return. You raised your right arm to wave at everypony cheerfully, which was met with even more applause. You almost felt spoiled because of how much attention you were getting and you couldn't hide the redness in your face. Suddenly, before your arm could wave another wave, your mind began to buzz and your vision became extremely blurry. You could feel your arm become numb. It was like someone was hitting the funny bone in your arm over and over again. The feeling soon spread to your chest and before you could even begin to question what was happening, your eyelids fluttered and then closed, followed by your limp unconscious body falling to the floor. You only passed out for a couple of seconds and you opened your eyes again to the sight of Luna holding you up with her magic. You were still extensively dizzy and the words you attempted to form came out as slurs and stutters. You were hearing everything as if you were underwater. Voices were barely understandable and were muffled out. However, the last thing you managed to pick up was Luna's booming authoritative voice right before you drifted back off into unconsciousness. "Bring...inside...change him...now!" Your mind slowly came back from darkness and feeling began to reform in your limbs. The first pain you felt was a relentless throbbing in your forehead that made you wince with your eyes closed. Your mouth was extremely dry and as you moved your tongue around, you noticed that it was oddly larger than normal. Your subconscious brushed it aside and you dismissed it as a symptom of being knocked out. "Alex?" You could hear a dove-like voice calling to you from not very far away. You could tell who it was even from your semi-conscious stupor. You strained hard to try and open your eyes and you gritted your teeth as a dull ache swept over your body. You suddenly felt a pressure push against your chest, holding you down as the voice spoke again. "Don't get up. Just....Trust me." You groaned and your eyelids finally managed to open. Everything was blurry at first, but you could recognize Vinyl's blue mane and her white fur leaning over you. "What... What happened?" "Well... Um." Vinyl looked you up and down as if she made a mistake and felt ashamed to admit it. "What?" "You were about to phase out... And Celestia said that if you stayed in your current state for another minute, you would just disappear. So..." "Oh so that's what that was. Wait, what do you mean current state?" Your headache got worse and worse and you picked up your hand to try and pinch your temples. However, you were rewarded with a *smack!* on the face. You winced as your pain multiplied, and that's when you noticed it. Your fists involuntarily tried to clench from the pain, but oddly enough, nothing happened. You didn't feel your fingertips dig into your palm. In fact, you didn't feel like you had any fingers at all. Your eyes widened and your heart raced. You were almost too afraid to look down. You took your hand, or whatever it was, and moved it to your chest. Sure enough you were met with two things. First, you felt as if you lost your fingertips and you simply had a giant palm. Second, you didn't feel soft bare skin when you touched your stomach, you felt a semi-think layer of fur brush against you. You looked back at Vinyl with distressed and fearful eyes. "I'm a pony, aren't I?" "Mmmaybe?" She smiled with a *squee*. You took a big nervous gulp. "C-can I have a mirror? Please?" Your voice, along with your entire body, was shaking nervously. Vinyl's horn glowed its usual light blue hue and a mirror that was laying on the far chest of drawers levitated towards you. She held it up to your face. "Holy shit." It was real. Your face was furry and your hair, no, your mane laid to your side. You had two large ears that poked out the top of your head and you noticed the oddly shaped thing on your forehead that was the source of your headaches. "I'm a unicorn?" "Oh... About that... You were unconscious the whole time so I guess Twilight never got to ask you what kind of pony you wanted to be." "S-so...why a unicorn?" You tried your best to calm down and not pass out from shock. Vinyl's face suddenly saddened. "Well, since you couldn't choose for yourself, I kinda suggested that you might have wanted to be a unicorn; Twilight agreed with me." Being honest with yourself, you didn't really have a preference over what kind of pony you wanted to be, despite the fact that you hadn't even had time to think about being turned into one with everything else that was going on at the time. "Why?" She looked out the window to the right as she recalled the memory. "Twilight said something about how you didn't have magic in your old world and that it made her feel guilty, or something like that. Plus-" You raised an eyebrow at her as her cheeks turned a little pink. "I'm a unicorn too, so I thought that you would like it that way." She suddenly snapped her eyes back to you. "Y-you're okay with being a unicorn, right?! I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted, I didn't-" "Vinyl, it's okay." You put your hoof on her shoulder but it felt extremely awkward. You couldn't grab onto her shoulder, your hoof just pushed against it and then fell off, followed by Vinyl slightly grinning at your clumsiness. "Guess you'll have to get used to all your new parts, huh?" "Yeah... By the way, how in the world do you grab anything with these hooves?" "Huh? Whatcha mean?" You looked at the insides of your hooves. Flat. Just as you expected. You looked at Vinyls', and they were the same. "Pick something up." "Uh...Okay?" It was obvious that she figured out how to do it without realizing how. She reached over and grabbed the mirror that she was holding up earlier and held it in her right hoof. You looked at it closely and tried to see if there was anything strange going on with her hoof, but after looking at it for a few minutes and making Vinyl feel somewhat awkward, you gave up. "Oh well. I guess I'll figure out eventually." "Maybe you should try and stand up?" "Alright..." You pushed back the sheets with one of your hooves and you slowly inched your way to the side of the bed until you were sitting straight up. You became nervous and gently touched your hind hooves onto the wooden floor. "Okay...here goes nothing." You closed your eyes and leaned forward with your other two hooves, falling forward and preparing yourself to collapse onto the hard floor. Instead, you felt your front hooves flush against the floor as you came down with a *clop*. You opened one of your eyes and saw, to your astonishment, that you were managing to keep your balance with all four legs. However, you jumped the gun too soon and fell face-first onto the wood floor after you tried taking a step forward. You laid down on your side and held your head. "Ow..." "Oh come on, it's not that hard!" She nearly fell down laughing at you. "Imagine walking on just two legs all day long." She stopped and looked down at her legs. "Okay fine, I get your point. Look-" She helped you back up and then bent down to move your legs one by one. "Front right, then back left, then front left, then back right. Got it?" You were slowly realizing that Vinyl wasn't the best walking teacher. You stumbled a few times trying to figure it out, but after about five or six tries, you were finally able to walk forward without falling. Vinyl clapped her hooves for you and laughed and you rolled your eyes at her in return. "Come on goofball, there's a bigger mirror in the bathroom." As you stumbled through the house, you soon realized that you were in Vinyl and Octavia's house. It was very quiet and peaceful, save for the fact that there was a stallion banging into doors and walls every five seconds. It wasn't until you got halfway to the bathroom that you started getting a hang of things, and you no longer needed to rely on Vinyl to hold you up while you walked. You finally reached the bathroom and held yourself up against the sink with your forelegs to take a break from walking and looked upon your new body. You really didn't look that bad. You had dark blue fur that was almost the same color as Luna's. You looked up at your eyes and saw that they still retained their dark brown iris's, which was the only thing about you that stayed the same. Your mane was a bit shaggy and it was almost long enough to get in the way of your eyes. You pulled your jet black mane to the side and noticed that there was a brilliant silver streak in it. You turned around and felt very awkward as you used your new tail muscle to flip your tail up. As you guessed, it was the same color of your mane with a silver streak in it. However, the most intriguing part of you was your horn. It was a normal shaped horn, and it wouldn't have caught your interest if it wasn't for its color, or lack thereof. The base of it was blue just like your fur, but as it spiraled upwards to a sharp tip, it grew clear and almost crystal-like. You lifted your hoof up to observe it closer and as you touched it, you felt a sharp sensitive feeling on your forehead that made you cringe a little. "What's up with my horn?" "Oh, that?" She gave your horn a puzzled look. "I think Princess Cadence did something to it in the middle of the transformation; said it had something to do with a reward for saving the princesses or whatever. Looks cool, huh?" "Yeah... So how do I use this thing?" "Uh..." It was obvious that Vinyl had known how to use magic since she was a filly and couldn't accurately describe how it worked. "Maybe I should talk to Twilight about it." You looked at her and laughed a little. "Probably." You hopped back off of the bathroom sink and took a deep breath as you tested out your new body. Your hind legs certainly felt stronger. However, it would be a long time before you could acquire the balance necessary to buck-kick something. Your rump felt a bit odd, especially considering that you had a tail now. You swung it back and forth playfully and admired it for a little. Your hooves were like having steel-toed hiking boots attached to your feet at all times. There was obviously no need for hoof-wear considering how versatile and tough they were. After checking yourself out for a few minutes, you saw that Vinyl was staring at you; not just you, a certain part of you that hung between your hind legs. Your face instantly flushed when the realization hit you. You also had a horse's cock now, which would most likely be longer and bigger than the one you had before. You were almost afraid to ask because you already knew, but you turned your embarrassed face to Vinyl as you tried to hide your completely exposed member with your hind leg. "W-what are you looking at?" Vinyl had spaced out and you had to wave your hoof in front of her face to snap her out of it. You repeated yourself with a nervous laugh. She didn't answer. "I guess that changed too, huh?" "Y-yeah..." Vinyl's snow white cheeks turned pink as her eyes darted away. You looked between your legs and felt your sheathe grow a bit. The sexual urge that you had before you transformed was nothing compared to how it was now. The second the thought of sex entered your mind, your body immediately shifted into arousal. Equine sexual heat was burning inside you now and there was little you could do to stop it. "Is anypony else home?" You asked Vinyl nonchalantly. "Nah, Octy's gonna be in Canterlot all day today. Why?" You looked her over and tried reading her body language. She was obviously aroused. Whether it was from your new appendage or the fact that she hadn't had sex in quite some time, she definitely wanted it. You gave her a naughty pair of bedroom eyes and slowly walked towards her. "Wanna give this thing a test run?" Twilight had closed every set of blinds and every window shutter that she could find in her tree house, thus making the inside dim and somber while thin rays of early afternoon sunlight seeped through the few cracks in them. She was always peeved when Spike kept out the bright sunshine, but she needed darkness now. Every bit of sunlight made her headache worse and worse, and even though she had Rarity cast a pain reliever spell on her, she was still tossing and turning in bed; unable to fall asleep. "Geez, Twilight, I never would've thought that spell would wear you out this much." Twilight pinched her temples. "It was a permanent transformation spell, Spike. I'm surprised I didn't faint." "What? You mean you did it all by yourself?!" "Yes." Twilight would've gotten a wave of pride right at that moment in any other circumstance, but her head ruined it. "How? I mean, that spell has to be in a beyond-restricted book of the Canterlot library!" "Being a Princess has it's advantages." She said with as much self-esteem as she could muster. "It was just a matter of studying. I already had all the books I needed." "So... It worked, right?" "What are you talking about Spike? Of course it worked. I am the element of magic after all." Her self-confidence began to grow exponentially as the magnitude of what she just accomplished came to her. "Well, okay. Just let me know if you need me to bring anything. I'm gonna go finish off that emerald I got from Rarity the other day." He licked his lips hungrily and Twilight rolled her eyes at him before laying back down in bed and staring at her ceiling. For some reason, the memory of that alcohol induced night seeped back into her head. She remembered it as if it were yesterday even though she was intoxicated at the time. It almost made her sexually excited thinking about it, but her painful headache quelled her desire. From a certain part of her heart, she was overjoyed to hear that you were staying in Equestria. She was most certainly excited to have a new unique friend to teach magic to, but she would be lying to herself if she told anypony that she didn't still have a certain attraction to you; especially now that you had an equine body. After another painful throb from her forehead, she decided to try and relax her nerves for a bit and shoved the idea from her mind. Still, there was a slight smile on her face. Perhaps it was because of having a new friend in Equestria, or because you had sparked a potential love interest within her. Not even Twilight herself could really tell. Either way, she knew that you were here to stay and that she would have quite the interesting hobby of training you in magic over the next few months. The pleasant thoughts finally soothed her painful headache and she drifted to Luna's realm with her lips still curled into a pleasant grin. It didn't take long after entering her room before you passionately embraced Vinyl and locked your lips with hers before crashing on the bed with her below you. Your dark blue fur brushed sensually against hers, making the skin underneath you shiver with excitement and affection. Her hooves wrapped around your mid-back and the back of your neck, occasionally tugging playfully at your mane. As you felt her warm sensual tongue slip into your mouth, you heard her horn fizzle with magic. You didn't turn around to see, but you heard her shut the door with her magic and lock it. You could feel her grind her hips against yours from underneath you and tiny moans resonate within her mouth as Vinyl entangled her body around you in a passionate embrace. You broke the kiss, which was followed by Vinyl taking deep breaths of air. It appeared to you that the extent of which she was turned on rose more and more each minute. Slowly, she opened her magenta eyes and stared into yours as her hips kept gyrating involuntarily against you. Suddenly, a primal urge swept throughout her and, grasping onto your fur, she flipped you over onto your back which led to your heart rate increasing and a feeling of submission coming over you. She had pinned your front legs to the bed and you could feel the rapid thuds of her heart pound against your chest as she nibbled and kissed your neck. "Don't worry big boy, just lay there and let me take care of you..." Her hips ground against the slowly enlarging shaft between your hind legs as she began nibbling on your ear before whispering in it with the most sexual naughty and sensual tone. "It's my turn now." Her kissing resumed and they soon turned into licks as she made her way down your body. The contact of her warm moist lips against the skin under your fur was breathtaking, and it only made the "problem" down below worse. Curiosity filled your conscience as to what it looked like, how big it was, and what you could do with it to make Vinyl's heated passions spike. Before you connected another thought, her tongue had made its way down your chest and across your sensitive belly. It was now gently teasing the insides of your thighs and hind legs. Your eyes had been closed the whole while and your thoughts began to grow fuzzy as the gentle pleasure-inducing tongue teased your body to the point of no return. You felt your member reach its maximum swollen-ness and, feeling it throb almost uncontrollably, finally opened your eyes to look down. Your pupils widened at the sight. The sight of Vinyl rolling her tongue against your nether regions would certainly make for wet-dream fuel in and of itself. However, what she was licking peaked your surprise even more. Laying long and flat against your groin and belly was your new jet black stallion penis. It looked just like you imagined it would be and looked so much like a stallions cock, you could've sworn you had become one yourself. It was a bit over nine inches from the base to the tip, from your guess. The thick base had assorted veins bulging out from it, engorged by the blood being fed to it because of your arousal. The signature ring lie approximately in the middle of your shaft and increased the girth of the area by a significant amount. The tip, however, was the most intriguing part. Instead of having a rounded-off head like your old one, the tip was almost flat and it flared out from the shaft. You could tell that the thing was rock hard just from looking at the veins that were so visible and from it throbbing every few seconds or so. You spread your legs a little to give Vinyl some more access and you could feel the cool spots on your fur where her saliva was accumulating. It didn't take long before you could feel her tongue tease your balls and you bit your lip in reaction. A slight grunt developed from your chest when she suddenly began suckling on one and even though it was a little uncomfortable, the idea of Vinyl sucking on them made your arousal level spike. She took your ball out of her mouth and began stroking your lengthy cock with her hoof. "Wanna see me swallow this whole thing?" "C-can you?" You looked at her with concerned eyes, but deep down you wanted to see her try. She gave you her bedroom eyes again behind your cock and her tongue gracefully traced up the back side of it. A slight tingle of pleasure made you flinch as she rolled it over the ring in the middle of your shaft and before you knew it, she was already licking in circles around your flared head. Little drips of her saliva dripped down your long shaft as she kissed and sucked gently on the tip of your head. Her eyes closed and you felt her mouth envelop your head. Your hips involuntarily lifted off of the bed, pushing your dick inside of her warm mouth more and more as the flat of her tongue massaged your underside. Your hips stopped when you felt your tip prod against the entrance to her throat. She didn't even make it half way to the ring on your shaft, but she began bobbing her head up and down. You felt her crotch press into your hind leg and the moans that came from her rubbing her pussy against it made your dick vibrate almost to the point of climax. Vinyl wasn't sucking any tighter than usual, but your larger stallion-hood made it a snug fit inside her warm wet mouth. Suddenly, she dropped all her weight onto your leg as she took you into her throat. Her lips went past the ring on your shaft and came almost an inch from the base of your penis. Relaxing, she slowly took it all back out with your entire shaft soaked with her saliva. "Told you I could." She said before licking her lips and digging back in. She almost went further down on the second try, and her pace was much faster. She synchronized her pelvic thrusts against your leg with her head going down on you and shoving almost every inch of you into her throat. It didn't take but a dozen gulps of your cock for her to usher in your orgasm. Your entire body convulsed and you grabbed a thick hoof-full of Vinyl's mane before suddenly pumping thick squirts of your cum into her throat. She moaned heavily in surprise and pulled you out, sending the remaining few shots all over her face and mane. You had somehow managed to involuntarily grab onto something with your hoof, but your sex drive was to heated for you to notice. "Warn a girl first." She licked her lips seductively before giggling a little. Leaving you with your soaked throbbing veiney cock laying on your belly, she got up from the bed and trotted towards the chest of drawers that stood on the other side of her room. She purposefully lifted her tail to expose her marehood to you and upon reaching the chest, she hopped up on her front legs before reaching a hoof around and spreading a cheek of her ass. She presented her plot to you by wiggling it back and forth. You were already halfway to her when she looked back at you seductively and invited you with a sexual tone. "Come get me you horny stallion." You found it surprisingly easy to walk now that there was a priceless treasure that awaited you on the other end of the room. Your heart burned furiously inside your chest and after reaching her, you bent down on your front legs to give her a few kisses on her sensitive areas. You quickly found her swollen clit and gave it a few flicks with your tongue, provoking a loud moan from Vinyl. You thought about teasing her more, but you couldn't wait and neither could she. Lifting your front legs up, you mounted yourself on top of her. You could feel your dick instantly hit its mark as the flared head pushed against the warm opening that awaited it. Vinyl's tail tickled your chest as you moved your hips up and down to prod her. Bending down and grunting heavily into her ear, you gently tried to penetrate her. Your cock throbbed in response several times and after pushing quite hard and listening to Vinyl almost yelling, you stopped. "Are you sure it's gonna fit, Vinyl?" She looked back at you with sexually deprived eyes as her horn glowed bright. "I'm going to make it fit." Suddenly, a force from behind you pushed your ass forward and rammed half of your length inside of her, making her moan so loud that you were certain the neighbors heard. The feeling was so heavenly that you almost felt like filling her up right then and there. The girth of your cock was thicker than ever, and Vinyl's tight pussy complimented it to make an extremely tight and warm fit. Her walls pulsated against you several times before you took the cue and began your thrusting. The feeling of Vinyl's walls gripping and tugging at your cock every time you entered and exited it made you breathe even heavier into Vinyl's ear. As you kept bucking her pussy passionately, you began to notice that you were managing to get deeper and deeper until the ring of your dick began rubbing against her insides, further adding to your stimulation as well as hers. It bumped and slid against her opening and her clit every time you thrust yourself inside her. Wanting to feel every inch of her marehood, you bit down onto her ear and pushed yourself all the way inside of her until your flared head felt another opening give way inside her. You resumed your bucking again and your equine hips smacked forcefully against her plot multiple times. She looked back at you with half open and almost delirious looking eyes and spoke to you through her moans. "Alex, It fee-ahnn! Feels so goo -ahhh! You're so big! Ahhhhnnn!!!" Her head lay limp on the top of the chest of drawers and bounced back and forth as you bucked her marehood lewdly. Loud banging noises came from the furniture as the pounding got more forceful. Your thrusts got longer and faster and as her insides began to tighten around you, you felt your second orgasm coming. Before you reached the point of no return, Vinyl's sexual passion peaked and you suddenly felt yourself being picked up by her magic, making your cock slowly slip out of her marehood. She got off of the chest of drawers quickly and jumped back into her bed on her back. She looked up at you while you were floating gently above her as she opened her hind legs and spread the outer lips of her pussy. You began to lower slowly. "Buck my brains out." She called out to your desires and released her magic grip on you, making you land on your four knees in bed. Like an animal, you climbed on top of her before quickly entering her tight slit again and making love to it. Your chest fur entangled with hers and the warm friction being made between the two of you from your thrusts further added to Vinyl's enjoyment as you brought your hips down upon her marehood over and over again. It only took a moment of looking into Vinyl's pleasure-saturated magenta eyes to spike your passion and embrace her neck with your hooves while planting a deep kiss onto her lips. You could still taste your own semen inside of her mouth and instead of making your tongue play with hers, you bit down and nibbled on her lower lip and let her moans vibrate inside your mouth over and over again. Her pussy became warmer and warmer until you felt like your cock was melting inside her. She broke the kiss suddenly and squeezed her front legs around your neck tightly. "Alex, I'm cumming!!!" "Me too, Vinyl!" Your lower body began to constrict and convulse. "Cum inside me!" She semi-yelled. A wave of concern hit you as you realized that you were now a pony and your semen was now potent to her. You tried to pull out, but her hind legs wrapped around your plot and pulled you all the way inside of her as you felt her walls constrict your shaft tighter than ever. She looked deep into your eyes with all the sincerity in the world. "Please... T-trust me... Ahhhn!" You knew from a single moment of looking into her eyes that you could trust her with your life. Your thrusts quickened and the pumping in your shaft began. She let out one last yell of pleasure before releasing all her tension. "I love you, Ale-AHHHHHHHNNN!!! It was all you needed. You released your warm semen deep into her womb as you yelled out into the bed sheets next to Vinyl's ear. Your thrusts became quicker and shorter and eventually stopped as you let Vinyl engulf every inch of your cock all the way to your balls. Warm vaginal fluids mixed with your cum spurted out of the gap between your cock and her marehood and your entire body constricted around her in response to your full-body orgasm. After a few moments, Vinyl's body went limp in your grasp and her chest began to rise and fall rapidly. After your body finished convulsing, the wave of fatigue hit you as well as you gently laid yourself on your side next to her, pulling yourself out of her in the process and making her marehood ooze with semen and sexual fluids. You didn't get to observe it for too long before she collected the mess with the last remaining energy in her horn and threw out the open window. You laughed a little and whispered in her ear. "Well? Does it work okay?" She looked at you with fatigued and passionate eyes for only a moment before answering you with another romantic kiss. She didn't use her tongue on you this time. Instead, she gently wrapped herself around you and kissed your lips softly as if she had no energy left. She parted with your lips just as suddenly as she met them, but kept her arms wrapped around you and tucked her head underneath your chin. You could feel her heavy breaths tickle the fur on your chest. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." You tightened your embrace affectionately and intertwined your hind legs with hers as she nuzzled her nose deep into your chest. You could tell that she was about to fall asleep. "Hey, Alex?" She looked up at you and smiled. You almost swore that you could see a tear or two build up in her eye. "Hm?" "Thank you... For staying... I promise I'll make everything worth it to you." You looked down at her compassionately. "Vinyl, you don't have to do anything special for me. Just being able to be with you is all I could ever wish for." She grew a big smile on her face and tucked her nose into your chest again. You looked over her mane and towards the window to see that the sun was setting and you realized that the amount of time your fun took with Vinyl was longer than you thought. The sun's rays leaked in through the open shutters and made Vinyl's white fur radiate like an angel from heaven and you began playing with the fur on her back affectionately. "Oh, and Vinyl?" She looked back up at you, still keeping her muzzle snuggled into you. "Mhmm?" "I love you too." Her lips contorted strangely and she dug her entire face into your chest while holding you so tight that you could barely breathe. Sharp intakes of air from her nose hinted to you that she was happily crying and you felt her tears dampen your fur a bit. Instead of trying to console her, you held on to her and ran your hoof through her mane gently several times. If someone had told you that you would be laying in bed naked with Vinyl scratch and whispering lovey-dovey things into each others' ears after passionate sex, you would've thought they were crazy. To be honest, a small portion of your mind doubted the experience you were having as just a long dream and that you would wake up in your bed back at your dorm room cursing your brain for giving you such a realistic dream. You nonchalantly and gently brought your chin down onto Vinyl's horn and, feeling a slight sharp pain, reassured yourself that it was real. The words you spoke to Vinyl after refusing to enter the portal still stuck with you. This was your new home. Even though you'd get to visit your world every once and awhile, this magical fantasy land that you thought never existed a month ago was the place where you would spend the rest of your life. In any other circumstance, you would've gone back. If it were any other world, you would have no trouble saying goodbye to any new friends you might have made. However, as Princess Luna reminded you earlier, your future was here. You knew that whatever this world may have to offer, either good or bad, you could see yourself living here forever with Vinyl by your side every step of the way. And that's exactly what you planned on doing. You could tell by the way that she talked to you, the way she held you, and the way she kissed you that she wasn't going anywhere; neither were you. As the last light of Celestia died over the horizon, your partner's slight sobbing died down and turned into gentle relaxed breathing. After whispering into her ear again and receiving no response, you guessed that she had dozed off. You reached down and pulled the bed sheets over the both of you and kissed her forehead gently without waking her. The comfort you felt from her warm body soon lulled you into drowsiness and, making sure Vinyl was okay, slowly closed your eyes. The last few stubborn rays of sun managed to leak through your eyelids and you squinted before cuddling your head into Vinyl's mane to protect your eyes from it. Finally feeling comfort, you let the soft heartbeat of Vinyl Scratch sing you to sleep.