There are certain advantages to sharing a bed with a tall woman. One of my favorites is the ability to comfortably trade roles as cuddler or cuddlee. I wouldn't dream of disparaging my experience on the train with Fluttershy, but Fleur's arms could reach places that the yellow pegasus could not, and she didn't have any wings to get in the way of mine. As a result, I'd drifted off to blissful slumber in the warmth of her embrace, and I woke up with her in mine.

'One of these days, I'm going to find out how they pull this off without waking me up.'

My free hand hung lazily over Fleur's stomach, which I found rather odd given the previous night's events. I'd expected my hands might find their way to a much naughtier place now that they'd familiarized themselves with the terrain. As delicately as I could, I began to extricate myself from the bed, so I could gather my things and make my exit. Perhaps I could leave a thank you note, both for the gifts and for the company.

My bedmate, however, had other ideas and immediately foiled my plan, catching me by the wrist before I could even shift my weight. "And where do you think you're going, hmm?" Fleur asked softly. Without turning over, she slowly drew my arm back over herself and held my hand in between her breasts, gently tickling the back of it.

I returned the favor by tickling her boobs. It only seemed fair. "Well, I was going to grab my stuff and sneak out."

Fleur seemed shocked by my plan, "So soon? What could you possibly have planned at this early hour?"

"Uhh," I didn't really have an answer to that one. Sure, Twilight might've been wondering where I was, but she could live without up-to-the-minute details on my activities and whereabouts.

"Might I offer my own suggestion?" Once again, my hand was guided to a new location. Fleur's fingers intertwined with mine even as her lower lips yielded to my probing fingers.

"I think I might be persuaded," I said while shifting myself closer. I buried my face into her hair, feeling how soft it was against my face and taking in her scent at the same time. My real answer to her question prodded her backside while her tail tickled my stomach.

"Careful, lover boy," Fleur chided. "You don't want to seem too eager. Now sit up, and let me show you how to please a mare. Your technique would certainly benefit from a little guided practice."

I stacked a few pillows against the headboard to cushion my back, and Fleur lowered herself into my lap, leaning back against me and taking my hand back down to her nethers. I moved her hair to one side so I could rest my chin on her shoulder and have a better view of the proceedings down below.

"Just follow my lead," Fleur said softly, gently guiding my fingertips around the surface of her pussy.

My personal tour of alien anatomy soon bore fruit as I was led around to her most sensitive areas, pausing at some of her favorite spots to give extra attention where it was desired. Before long, she was squirming around and letting out low, quiet moans of pleasure at our combined efforts. It was probably more due to her expertise than mine, but I diligently took mental notes for future reference. With any luck, I might even remember them.

Finally, Fleur relaxed and leaned her face against mine. "See? That wasn't so hard. Now you try. Just remember what I showed you, and take your time."

'Here goes nothing.'

I started where she left off, a seemingly unremarkable spot inside her that must have been incredibly sensitive if her previous reaction was anything to go by. Slick fluids from Fleur's first orgasm coated my fingers as I moved them from one spot to another, trying to find all the best spots she showed me. I even managed to find some of them again. Without assistance, it took a little longer to build her up, and whenever I missed my target, I would go back to a known pleasure spot to regain lost ground.

With my other hand, I held her body tight against mine and played with her lady lovelies. She made no complaint as I squeezed and tickled, massaged and caressed her soft, supple breasts. In fact, she joined me in my enjoyment of her body. For a precious few minutes, we shared our appreciation for the female form, but it was soon time to finish.

I knew Fleur was close when she resumed her low, barely audible moans of pleasure and her squirming around in my arms as my efforts down below began to produce results. Her arm wrapped behind my head and around my shoulder to pull me in close as her whole body tensed. Down below, my fingers reaped the rewards for their service.

"That's more like it," Fleur sighed, relaxing. She slid off to the side and rested her head on my shoulder for a moment, taking deep breaths. I almost didn't want to move, but then she rolled back on top of me. This time, we were face-to-face, and I took the chance to admire every tantalizing curve of her body with my eyes before she leaned in close. "Now it's my turn," she whispered into my ear before giving it a lick.

Fleur had already gotten me worked up some by grinding her ass against my cock while I was focused on her pleasure. This time, she was using her slick lower lips to coat the length of my shaft with the fruits of my earlier labor. Back and forth, she slowly moved her hips until my dick was as wet as her pussy.

Using one hand as a guide, she took me inside her, and I was surprised at how snug the fit was. I could feel her inside walls tightening, conforming to my cock and drawing it in deeper. My fingers didn't get half the feeling I was getting now. Fleur's pussy came alive as she gyrated her hips on top of me. Inside, she was wet, and she was hungry for whatever I could give her.

I was all too happy to oblige. I countered her movements with my own to amplify the effects. As she pushed down with her hips, I pushed up with mine, and when she lifted back up, I pulled back as much as the mattress would allow. With my hands, I groped and massaged her hips and butt in time with her movements.

Fleur's hair fell over me as she pinned me down by the shoulders, the soft strands tickling my face and chest wherever they touched. "That's it, don't be shy," she said in a low, sultry voice.

Our eyes met as I neared my climax. Fleur smirked and doubled her efforts to bring me to my peak. When the time came, I pushed myself as deep as I could before firing my load inside her. She didn't bother getting off, and I made no complaint as we both relaxed and lay with our bodies entwined.

"And to think you were going to leave me here without so much as a, 'Goodbye.' Are you glad you stayed now?"

I was. In fact if I could get a wake-up call like that more often, I might actually be converted into a morning person. Still, I couldn't stay in that moment with Fleur forever, so as soon as we finished basking in the afterglow, we cleaned ourselves off, and I packed my things to leave.

I was surprised to see a new guard posted outside the hotel room. The charcoal unicorn had been replaced at some point by a white pegasus. He wordlessly matched my pace as I made my way back to Twilight's place. Hopefully, she wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Well, look who came back," Cadance greeted me as I entered Twilight's tree library. She seemed to be even more cheerful than usual, but I wrote it off as leftover holiday spirit as she helped me haul my new wardrobe upstairs for sorting and stowage.

Twilight wasn't home, but her friends had left a few other presents for me. From Rarity, I got a complete personal grooming kit which included everything I would need and more to maintain a respectable appearance. Applejack and Pinkie conspired to produce a sampling of sweets and baked goods along with an invitation to visit them if I ever wanted more. After trying a few of them, I resolved to do just that. Fluttershy sent me an invitation for tea at her place as well as a lengthy apology letter saying that she couldn't think of anything to get me and that she was so very sorry and please don't hate her for it and if there's anything she could do to make up for it, all I have to do is ask. Rainbow Dash got me an alarm clock shaped like a pony in blue spandex.

Eventually, Twilight decided to show up with Spike close behind holding a rather sizeable package. After relieving himself of the enormous burden, he rushed off to the kitchen. Cadance went off on some errand of her own, promising to be back sometime after lunch.

"So, how was your night?" Princess Purple asked flatly.

"Not bad," I answered. "I picked up the rest of the clothes Rarity and I commissioned."

"Don't play dumb," she said while giving me a deadpan look. "If it was just that, you would have been back here last night. Besides, I can smell you from over here; it's no wonder Cadance is in such a good mood. How many times?"

"Once last night, and again this morning." I stole a momentary glance at the package on the table before looking back at the enemy seated across from me. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"I'm curious as to how you two went from a simple delivery of clothes to sharing a bed."

"It was a one-night stand, nothing more. If you want reasons, you'll have to ask Fleur because I generally don't ask those kinds of questions once the action starts. It tends to ruin the moment."

"You've been questioning the whole idea since we first put it up to you. Princess Celestia was all but throwing herself at you back in Canterlot."

"True, but now I've had time to think about it, and some subtle and not-so-subtle nudges in the right direction. I want to go home, Twilight, and some of my old thoughts and values were getting in the way of that. I had to do some serious re-examination of those values, and that's not as easy as it sounds. Since then, I've realized that even though we're different species, we're not so different on the inside that a little intimacy is a horrible crime against nature. The fact that we can sit here and talk intelligently about it is testament to that, not to mention that you're not exactly eldritch horrors from the abyss. I just needed time to reach that conclusion on my own."

"So..." Twilight trailed off.

"If Celestia suddenly showed up and made the offer, I'd be upstairs in the bedroom with my pants down and my dick out ready for whatever she had in mind."

Twilight blinked, "O...kay. That wasn't what I was going to ask, though. I was wondering what your plans are for today."

"Oh," I replied, a bit embarassed for having missed the change of subject. "I didn't really have anything in mind. What's in the box, anyway?"

"It's your Hearth's Warming present," Twilight said, grinning, "a book about some of our history. I special ordered a copy for you, so you could take it home if you wanted."

I paused a moment to regard the parcel before me. If a box that size was necessary for just a single book, then it must be some seriously heavy reading. If nothing else, I would have something to do in between staring at the walls and rubbing out dick juice at the scheduled times should I ever find myself confined to a room again.

"Thanks," I said with a smile that I hoped didn't look too strained as I hefted the massive package into my lap. I was genuinely trying to be polite in the face of this new version of my purple nemesis. Perhaps she was trying to make amends for her previous missteps.

The book inside was no less huge than the box it came in. The only thing that would have made it even more daunting would be thin pages and tiny print, but thankfully, that wasn't the case. It even had pictures.

Spike announced lunch and rescued me from having to conjure more awkward politeness. Twilight and I got pretty standard sandwiches and chips. Spike's lunch was a pile of what looked like priceless gemstones. At the rate he was shoveling them down, I reasoned they must be much more common in crazy alien land than they were on Earth. Either that, or they weren't really gems; I couldn't tell the difference just from looking.

'Maybe I could sneak a couple of those back home with me and see if they're worth anything before word gets out how common they are. If those are real, I could live like a king.'

After lunch, I stowed away my pile of presents and took some time to properly clean myself up. I didn't want to smell like sex for the rest of the day, especially if I was going to visit Fluttershy later. Throwing on a fresh set of clothes as well as one of the sweaters Applejack had brought me, I made my way downstairs. Cadance had gotten back and was lounging in the living room.

"Going somewhere?" the pink Princess asked upon noticing me.

"I'm going to Fluttershy's," I answered as I headed for the door. Then, realizing I had no idea how to get to little yellow's house, I paused, "Uh, you wouldn't happen to know where she lives would you?"

"Of course I do. Do you just want directions, or do you mind if I come with? I've been meaning to talk with her."

Having no objections, I agreed to let Cadance lead the way. I also liked the thought of having a neutral third party nearby in case I failed in my efforts to convince Fluttershy that I didn't hate her.

My travelling companion decided to make some conversation as we walked. "So, what's the occasion?"

"She invited me for tea, and it just so happens that I'm available this afternoon. Also, she seems to think I hate her for some reason, and I'd like to correct that."

Cadance balked at that, "Any idea why she would think something like that?"

"Beats me," I replied. "Of all the ponies I've met so far, she's one of the last I'd put on my shit list."

"So what do you plan to do?"

"The usual. Give her a hug; tell her it's okay; see if she's up for a threesome," I trailed off.

Pink Princess's double-take was totally worth it. "A threesome," she said flatly with a raised eyebrow. "Since when have you been so nonchalant about sex?"

"Since I realized where all this was going and decided to just keep my eyes on the prize. I want to go home. You want your real bodies back. All that stands between us and what we want is a little meaningless sex. I thought you and the other Princesses wanted me to go along with this plan."

"Well, yeah, but," Cadance defended, "We weren't expecting you to change your mind so suddenly. Our plan was to soften you up little by little and let you warm up to us."

"And now you're questioning it just because I came around faster than you expected?"

"I'm just worried you might be closing yourself off in another way."

"How?" I asked, curious about her sudden shift in tone.

"Was your time with the Lady Fleur really so good that now you're worried about getting attached? Are you that afraid you might develop feelings for someone? What do you stand to lose?"

I turned and looked the Princess in the eye. "My purpose," I stated, only replying to her last question. "I can't afford to think about falling in love until your world is back to normal and the way back to mine is open. Besides, it's not like meaningless sex is unheard of here. You've got brothels, and I'm sure you understand the concepts of booty calls, fuck buddies, and friends with benefits. Romance at this stage will only make things more complicated."

For a moment, she looked as if she had more to say to that, but then she backed off and continued across a small footbridge leading towards the outskirts of town. We walked the rest of the way in silence, but I caught her a couple times giving me concerned looks, as if she was worried I might break down at any moment.

Soon enough, Fluttershy's tree/hill/cottage thing came into view. I couldn't think of any other way to describe it. However, I hadn't come to gawk at the local taste in architecture. I had important business to attend to.

As I crossed another footbridge leading up to the front door, I glanced around the yard, spotting the lady of the house in a most unusual position, down on her hands and knees, leaning forward with her head stuck inside a hole in the ground. At the same time, her big, beautiful, butterfly-branded butt arched proudly against the snowy backdrop.

"Um, not to kill the mood or anything," I started, "but I think I'm missing some context here."

While I stood there in bewilderment, Cadance went ahead to extract the yellow pony from her burrow. They exchanged some words that I couldn't quite hear, but when Fluttershy turned and spotted me on her front walk, her casual smile vanished, and her eyes widened in apparent shock. A few more words whispered into her ears seemed to calm her down somewhat, but she still looked ready to bolt as I strolled over to meet her.

"Am I really that scary?" I asked once I got close enough. "If I was really upset with you, I wouldn't have come over to join you for tea."

"Oh, um," Fluttershy hesitated. "I've just been so busy taking care of all the animals, I never had time to..."

"Fluttershy," I cut her off to get her attention. "You don't need to explain anything. Two weeks ago, you didn't even know my name. I'm not so petty that I'd get upset over not getting a present for a Winter solstice gift exchange holiday that I didn't even know existed until a couple days ago. If you haven't noticed, I didn't get anyone anything, and you don't see them holding it against me. So why should I hold it against you?"

Cadance saw fit to jump in when her yellow friend paused to think. "How about we all go inside? Bill, you can make yourself comfortable on the couch, and I'll help Fluttershy with the tea."

And that's exactly what we did, only the noise coming from the kitchen sounded much more like 'girl talk' than tea making, but my untrained ears weren't really suited for that sort of thing. Eventually, the two of them emerged empty handed.

"Um, Bill?" Fluttershy started. "I was wondering if you would mind coming with us to visit Zecora. She lives in the forest not far from here, and I thought you might like to meet her."

"Sure," I agreed. Tea was really only a secondary objective for visiting Fluttershy anyway. It just gave me an excuse to leave the library. In truth, I would have preferred hot chocolate as a more seasonally appropriate beverage (and better tasting). I'd also been rather curious about this forest outside of Ponyville that Twilight had warned me about in her extensive lecture on the local area. She insisted I stay away from it at all costs, so I naturally wanted to go exploring.

As promised, the walk into the forest wasn't that far, and before long, I stood before a tree house not unlike Twilight's library, but much smaller. The tree itself had more gnarled branches than its counterpart in town, but that didn't seem to matter too much. I was there to drink tea and make friends (according to my traveling companions).

The space inside could charitably be described as 'cozy' with all four of us packed inside. I had a few choice words of my own that I tactfully avoided using after seeing and smelling some of the things kept in jars around the place. I could tolerate a low ceiling and cramped quarters and strange choices in home decor if it meant not having something slipped into my tea.

Zecora herself had a slight build much like Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, but she was still taller than the rainbow one and more modestly endowed than the yellow one. After a couple weeks of being surrounded by eye candy, it wasn't her body that caught my attention. It was the way she carried it. Even though most ponies by then could do well enough on two legs to perform routine tasks, they still stumbled every once in a while. The zebra, on the other hand, moved around with the same confident grace as Celestia and Luna. She talked kind of funny, but unlike everyone else I'd met so far, she was completely unfazed by me introducing myself as an alien from another planet.

After about a half hour of amicable chatting and me trying to avoid making rhyming fart jokes, I had successfully been introduced to yet another friend of my hosts. Though, it was actually quite nice to meet someone who was content to let me be me rather than ask a dozen questions before introducing herself. Once we'd emptied the tea kettle, we exchanged expressions of intent to meet again, and I followed my tour guides down the path back into town.

Fluttershy took the opportunity to politely excuse herself, returning home to tend to her animals and leaving me and Cadance to walk back to Twilight's. Before we parted ways, she helpfully pointed out an alternate trail through the forest that would shorten our trip.

"Something on your mind?" Cadance asked, interrupting my thoughts as we made our way back towards town.

"Nope," I lied. I actually had a number of things on my mind, but I wasn't about to talk to her about them just to make conversation. For one, I wondered why she and Fluttershy felt it necessary to bring me all the way out here just to have tea. If they really were keen on introducing me to each and every one of their friends in Ponyville, they could have just as easily invited them to the library, which would have made everything faster.

"I don't believe you," Cadance fired back, turning to face me fully. "I can see it in your eyes. Something's bothering you, and I want to know what it is."

"Why?"

"Because I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong."

"And if I do tell you, you'll suddenly have all the answers?"

"No, but I'll at least know where to start."

"I want to go home. I thought I made that clear already."

The Princess raised an eybrow, "And you think this was just a pointless diversion because you're no closer than you were two hours ago? Not everyone you meet has to be a potential partner, and even if this afternoon had gone differently, it wouldn't get you home tomorrow. You're going to need friends if you want to stay sane through this, and for that, you have to let some of us get close."

"So, you're gonna drag me all over town to introduce me to everybody you've ever interacted with just to expand my pool of potential friends?"

"Well," Cadance paused, turning to the side while a smirk played at the edge of her lips. "There may be a few benefits if things go well, but the answer to your question is, 'No.' Even if you spent several months here, we'd never get around to meeting all of them."

"Ah yes, 'benefits,'" I scoffed. "Now that I'm all warmed up to the idea of fucking my way out of this mess, your world is my harem. The thing is, in spite of all the flirting and teasing you and the others have done to help me get to this point, you haven't actually done much else."

"I would've joined a threesome with you and Fluttershy."

Caught off balance, I hesitated for a second, but I soon found my words again, "You're bluffing."

"You think so?" Cadance turned to face me again and slowly advanced with an evil-looking grin on her face. "The only reason I haven't done anything is because Twilight made me promise not to while I was under her roof. Only, I haven't gotten you alone like this outside the library before, so there's nothing stopping us from doing it right here and now."

As the pink Princess moved toward me, I backed away. It was more of a reflex than a conscious action, but the opening was there all the same. It wasn't long before she had me backed up against a tree. That didn't stop her, though. She put one hand on my shoulder and the other on my waist as she pressed her body up against me. Leaning her head into mine, she traced around my ear with the end of her nose, and her tongue wasn't far behind.

"And you accuse me of bluffing?" she whispered before finally letting me go, satisfied in her victory.

I gave up trying to argue with her after that, so I just stewed in my defeat once we got moving again. It was a quiet, uneventful walk until a tree root hidden under the snow decided it was too uneventful. I reached over to a nearby shrub to try and stabilize myself, but when that turned out to be full of sharp thorns, I quickly pulled away and only hastened my trip to the ground.

Cadance was quick to my side, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "I just tripped. Nothing to worry about."

"Do you need help getting up?" she asked, concerned.

"Nah, I got it," I said, pushing myself up. My fall had uncovered a bed of blue flowers beneath the snow.

"Your hand," Cadance trailed off.

The thorn bush had left its mark. The cuts weren't deep, but they would need cleaning and bandages as soon as I could get them. "I'm sure Twilight has something."

Thankfully, we were already close to the edge of the forest. The library wasn't far from there, and we made good time. Twilight greeted us both with a smile that went away the instant she saw my bleeding hand. It only took her a couple minutes to calm down enough to dig out her first aid supplies.

"You really need to be more careful," Twilight said as she wrapped a bandage around my hand. She'd already taken the chance while she cleaned my cuts to give me a recap lecture on the dangers of the forest.

"It was an accident," I defended. "It could've happened to anyone."

"But it happened to you," she noted as she secured the bandage in place and released my hand.

"So? It's nothing serious."

"So?" Twilight mimicked, but she looked more concerned than angry. "Bill, it may not look like it, but this world is dangerous, especially to you. You're far more vulnerable than you seem to think you are. Do you remember your first night here when the nurse cast that spell on you?"

"How could I forget?"

"That was an accident too, and I've never seen a medical spell cause that much pain before. Just think of what it would be like if a pony actually wanted to hurt you. You have no defense against something like that."

For once, I couldn't think of a rebuttal for Twilight's argument. Despite our frequent disagreements, she was genuinely concerned for my safety as far as I could tell, and at the end of the day, so was I.

But the purple Princess wasn't done yet. She pulled me in for a hug and made me promise to be more careful in the future. I couldn't bring myself to resist. I hadn't had the chance to change clothes, and by then the snow that had stuck to my sweater had melted, and there were probably a few bits of plant matter from the blue flowers, but Twilight either didn't notice or didn't care. I finally returned her embrace, allowing for just a moment that we didn't have to always butt heads.