James walked around Ponyville at night trying to get his body to calm down a little from that intense experience. James stood near the lake in the park just letting the cold air hit his skin. James may have been shivering like crazy but it felt nice to feel the cold. The cold was helpful to cool the heat James’ body was radiating. James was two dates down and had two more to go. Though James didn’t know what to expect from the next two or if he could even last the next one. Rarity wasn’t very helpful in the department of keeping him calm if she made all of the mare’s dresses that he was seeing. If she did then there was no way that he could handle anymore of those dresses.

James knew if he saw Spitfire in any type of dress like that then he was for certain that he would blow a load in his pants. As James just stared into the lake he was thinking of Spitfire more often than he usually did. James would remember the day when he first met her then to the day they shared intimacy with each other. Every little detail of her skin, her body, even her mannerisms James would remember each and every one of them. As James stared into his reflection in the lake he started to think that maybe for the lead mare it was Spitfire. Spitfire had heart, courage, and was the first to allow James to actually accept a relationship with a pony. If it wasn’t for Spitfire James would have probably just been a shut in that would have gone on a rampage. He would have let Shadow have control and do whatever it wanted to do.

James made up his mind and he would have Spitfire be the lead mare for the harem. After that James would let her decide who she wanted next in charge if she was away. James still wasn’t too happy about being treated second rate but it probably could have been worse. James took one last look at the lake then back up at the sky then headed back to the library. During his walk James had this feeling that something was watching him. When he turned around he didn’t see anything. James looked around for a bit to see if he could find any pair of eyes watching him. Not seeing anypony James continued on his walk. Even with nothing being out in the open James knew that he was being watched. Though James didn’t have time to figure out who was watching. Whoever was watching James was waiting for the right moment and that wouldn’t be for a long time still before it attacked him.

James reached the library and headed inside. On the couch was Twilight and Trixie talking about some form of magic or something. James walked past them and went to his room. When James opened the door he saw Spike sitting on his bed. James and Spike looked at each other for several seconds before James went about his own business. James pulled his shirt off for a sleeping one because he wanted to get some serious sleep. Once James had his shirt off though he couldn’t help what happened next. When his shirt came off it became very clear that his two scars were very visible now. He couldn’t help what the little drake asked next.

“James why exactly do you have two scars on your body that weren’t there before?” Spike asked looking a little frightened by the scars.

“Spike trust me when I say that you could spend you life fighting for something but it will always come back to bite you.” James answered Spike looking down at his sternum and his side at the scars. Looking at these scars not only brought back painful memories but fear that the girls might have about what he has done.

“So do you want to talk about it or do you want to save it for a later time?” Spike asked worried for James. Spike wanted to be helpful to James in any way he could.

“If you don’t mind Spike but I would like to save it for later. As much as I want to tell you I think it would be better after I get the other things sorted out.” James looked at Spike fighting back his tears. Spike understood that James did want to talk about it but will do so at his own time.

“Okay then. I just want you to know that I’m here to talk if you need to. Also I wanted to say that while you were gone the girls and I made your pegasus sleep drug.”

“Thanks Spike that means a lot to mean. So where do you have it hidden?”

“I put it behind the books on your bookshelf where you kept the unicorn sleep drug.” James nodded to Spike and as he left they gave each other a fist bump showing their trust. Once Spike was gone James walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out the sleep drug. James opened the vile and took a whiff to see if it had any smell. Turned out this had no odor to it so it didn’t need anything put in it to get rid of the smell. As James put the vile back his phone started to ring. James looked at the phone and was that Octavia was calling. James was very worried that she was pissed at what he did and was coming to kill. James hesitantly answered the phone and put it up to his ear.

“Hey Octavia how are you doing?” James asked nervously as he was waiting for the talking of a long time from the sultry cellist.

“Hey James I was just calling to thank you for mine, Lyra’s, and Vinyl’s gift.” Octavia happily thanked James for the gift that she received. On the other hand James was confused as to what was going on. First Twilight got a mysterious gift and now it was Octavia, Lyra, and Vinyl that also got one.

“Octavia I’m not the one that got either of you a gift. Was the gift wrapped with no card and it was something that was specific to you that you would enjoy?” James was getting worried now that somepony might be trying to win over the mares. As James thought this he was worried that he would lose them especially Spitfire.

“Yeah I was given new concert pieces that help a pony to make new pieces for when they want to make their own composition.”

“Okay thanks Octavia. Have a good night I need to go do some things for Twilight.”

“Okay James I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

“Bye Octavia.” James hung his phone up and went to his bed and sat down. James needed to figure who was trying to step into his love life. James loved these mares with all his heart and could never betray them. Sure they also said that they loved him and never wanted to be with anypony else but there was this nagging feeling that somepony could easily win their heart. From two of the four gifts James knew that these were expensive and could only be found in Canterlot. James wasn’t going to allow some stallion step in and take away the ones that he loved. Spitfire above all else was one that he didn’t want to lose and he wasn’t going to let it happen. James couldn’t do anything right now so he would save it for later after he saw Vinyl’s and Lyra’s gifts and maybe some others if they end up showing. As James went to go to sleep his phone went off again. James looked to see that it was Rainbow calling.

“Hey Dashie what can I do for you?” James picked up this little pet name for Dash from Pinkie a couple of weeks ago. James would tease her by calling Dash that nickname but she later stopped overreacting after the two of them got together somewhat.

“Hey James I was wondering if you would like to join me, Fluttershy, and Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow for dinner.”

“Sure I’ll join you three for dinner just don’t come flying through my window to get me to show up please. I would not like to have to replace my window again.”

“Oh come on James I said I was sorry. Also it wasn’t my fault that I crashed through your window. Some random wind current caught me off guard and I got thrown off balance.” James just laughed and Rainbow joined in because it was just funny that way. After a good laugh James hung his phone up so he could get to sleep. James laid in his bed for several minutes before sleep finally took him over.

Dream Realm

James was watching the most painful scene that he never wanted to relieve ever again as long as he lived. James was with his squad and they got a call on a terrorist cell that was hiding out in a warehouse. James and his team were loading up because they were going to need everything they could use to take them down. They boarded the APC and headed out. They were in Egypt and it has not been a comfortable time here. They have been in many battles during their stay and each one was bloodier than the last. During the ride everyone was quiet they didn’t want to say anything. Even in the silence though James knew what they were all thinking.

They all had this feeling of nervousness. This mission was unlike any that they have ever done before. When the orders were received it just seemed out of place. It was weird that a terrorist cell was hiding in Egypt but in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. To James it made no sense but he also couldn’t say no since it was dealing with terrorism. If James knew that they weren’t forced to go on this mission then he would have declined. Since he couldn’t though he was stuck in an APC with his squad heading towards uncertainty.

James focused as hard as he could to stop this dream and was able to do it but was left a little fatigued. He was now in another memory down in Southern Africa trying to evacuate some civilians. There was a radiation leak at one of the power plants and they needed to get people out of the area. As James was helping the people he wasn’t prepared for the thing that happened next. James was walking through town making sure that everyone was pulled out of their home. When he turned a corner bullets started flying everywhere around him. James got down on the ground and rolled under the building on his right.

James was now breathing heavily at being fired upon. As James was hiding under the building soldiers form Somalia were coming down the road with a pick up that had a mound machine gun on it. James pressed the S.O.S on his watch and waited. The signal was meant to alert any of his squad mates if he was in trouble. James laid there in the sand under the house waiting for them to pass. When the last of them rounded the corner there was a big explosion. Demarco threw a grenade on the back end of the pick up to take out the machine gun. Blake came in with his LMG and just started lighting everyone up. Connor and Blake came up in front of the building to flank the soldiers and unleashed their own barrage. All of the enemy soldiers were killed and James got out from under the house. Once James was out Jacob came over to give him a quick look over to make sure he was in an operational condition. Out of the corner of James eye though he saw another soldier running down. James moved Jacob out of the way and shot a single round into the head of the runner. James and Jacob walked over to the body to make sure that he was dead.

When they reached the body Jacob turned it over and put his own round in his head. After that shot to the head James saw his right hand fall down and a grenade fall out. James grabbed Jacob and threw him away. James was only able to get two steps before the grenade went off. The explosion sent James flying to the wall and he hit it hard. James was dizzy and spitting up blood. James could hear his squad run over to check on him. James could see the few huge gashes on his body and could feel the pain in his chest. James was barely able to keep his eyes open long enough to see that he was being carried away by his squad to get to a medical tent.

Real World

James awoke to the morning lights bathing him in their warmness. James still couldn’t get over the fact of how the sunlight was so warm in the middle of winter but he really didn’t care. The warm light felt good especially after that dream he had. James could feel the iron in his mouth like he just recently spat up blood. James knew this wasn’t the case and was able to keep calm. He didn’t want his little worry sprees to interfere with the date he was about to go on. James took a shower and got changed into a clean pair of clothes. James grabbed the pegasus sleep drug and put it in his pocket. James did a mental checklist of the dates so far and who was on each team. James then realized who was up against. Rainbow Dash who at first didn’t trust the man when he arrived was now trying to win his heart. Pinkie Pie the crazy happy mare that could put a smile on anypony’s face. Then there was Fluttershy and James just cringed. The shy little pegasus that never wanted to cause anypony harm was one of the three mares he was up against to day. James really didn’t want to do this to her but he had to so this could work. No matter what somepony was feeling or what they did Fluttershy would try to find the kindness in them.

James pulled out the vile and looked at it for a good long moment. After staring at him James took a breath and put it back in. James was banking on the chance that if this went south Fluttershy could find it in her heart to forgive him. James was also hoping he would be able to forgive himself for what he was going to do. James opened his bedroom door and walked downstairs. Spike was sitting on the couch with a book in his hand and quietly reading. Spike looked up and waved at James. James returned the gesture and continued walking. He entered the kitchen and cooked himself some lunch. After eating his lunch James went over and brushed his teeth in the sink.

James spent the entire afternoon at the library just reading. James picked up a magazine and flipped through it. As James went through the magazine he saw that it was about wedding rings. James looked at the front page and saw that it was issued to Rarity. James was now beyond all confusion because Rarity thinks that she won the bet because she had a ring circled that was meant for James. After seeing that James just face palmed knowing that this would be really hard to explain to her after all of this. James looked at the clock and set the magazine down and left the library heading for Sugarcube Corner.

During the walk James was trying to mentally prepare himself for the dresses that he was about to see. James also guessed since the date was at Sugarcube Corner than the Cake’s were probably out of town. James reached the sweets store and knocked on the gingerbread door. James stood there for a few seconds waiting for somepony to answer. James was about to knock when Fluttershy opened the door. James thought that he could handle any dress that he would see especially if he does some mental preparation. James was wrong on all levels about being able to control himself. Fluttershy was standing in the doorway wearing a beautiful green dress that moved with the breeze. The dress crossed around her front helping to keep up her sizeable bust pushed up and was open in the back. As it went down her legs it was loose enough but still tight enough to show off her curves. After seeing the shy pegasus in such a beautiful dress James bled from his nose and fainted on the ground.

James woke up to the sound of shuffling. When James was able to open his eyes he saw that he was laying on Rainbow’s lap while she wiped up his nose. James turned his head slightly to see Fluttershy about ready to cry. James was certain that he scared her when he fainted so he got up and walked over Fluttershy so she wouldn’t blame herself. As James got closer he wrapped her in a warm embrace and she seemed to calm down a little. James was able to start getting his bearings and was able to see what Dash was wearing. James was surprised at the dress she was wearing only because she wasn’t into all that ladylike stuff like Rarity was. Her dress was rainbow colored like her mane but it was very loose fitting. It just flowed as she moved around like she was flying and it made each step that more graceful.

James was lead by the two other mares to the table by their tails wrapped around each of his arms. He sat down as the other two left to go grab dinner with Pinkie who probably did all the cooking. While they were gone James pulled out the vile and poured it into Fluttershy’s and Rainbow’s drink. All that was needed was one sip from their drink to begin the countdown to when they fall asleep. This drug took the same amount of time but thanks to it requiring only a little dosage to work it would go by much faster. Once the drinks had the drug James put the vile back in his pocket and waited for the mares to come out.

After several minutes Rainbow came out with two dishes. One was for James and the other was for herself. Behind her followed Fluttershy and James was able to keep his cool very well. Then behind Fluttershy came Pinkie Pie and she looked very beautiful tonight. Pinkie wore a pink dress that helped to show off her bright nature. The dress was covered in candy that was well preserved and helped to make her smell sweet. James couldn’t help but take a deep inhale of the sweet scent that she was giving off. When they were all seated James got up and toasted them all. After the toast they all had a sip. James looked at the clock and started the countdown.

They went through dinner and it was as intense during his first date with Twilight. Trixie, and Rarity. As they went through eating Rainbow Dash would brush her tail up and down James arm and he couldn’t help but shiver. Pinkie was able to get her tail inside James’ pants and was brushing it along his leg. James just remembered that Pinkie broke all laws of physics and that put James in trouble that he didn’t think that he was going to be in. Although with all the tail attention he was getting from the two mares, Fluttershy was just having her tail wrapped around James waist and she just leaned on him.

As Fluttershy was leaning on him James decided to stroke her mane. Fluttershy just took a little breath and took in the nice feeling. James just let the teasing go on since he really didn’t have any control. After the dinner was finished James looked at the clock and saw that there was just thirty seconds left. James got up and went over to the couches for the mares. When he got there it was an adventure in itself. Fluttershy just remained leaning on James and was just lead to the couch. Rainbow had her tail wrapped around his left arm and was hugging it tightly also. Pinkie still breaking all the laws of physics was still in his pants as she hugged his right arm. James sat on the couch and all the mares joined him.

Twenty seconds left and Fluttershy was the first to unwrap her tail. Fifteen seconds and Rainbow Dash had her tail unwrapped. Ten seconds and Fluttershy was still having her mane stroked and Rainbow just nuzzled into James neck. Five seconds and the two pegasi started slumping from the intense sleep that they were being hit with. After time was up both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash fell asleep. Before James could do anything to Pinkie she grabbed his hand and looked at him.

“You don’t have to do anything James. I can put myself to bed and make sure they are at least comfortable.”

“What are you talking about Pinkie?” James was worried that he was found out. Then again he was dealing with a hyper ball of energy that could also predict the future.

“Don’t worry about it James and let your auntie Pinkie Pie deal with everything.”

“I’m pretty sure that I am a year older than you but thanks Pinkie.” James gave a kiss to Pinkie’s cheek and then he left. James was outside and was ready for tomorrow. He was ready to ask Spitfire to be his lead mare and was ready for the day after to bring in everypony on the harem idea.

Outside

The eight mares just watched as James left Sugarcube Corner. They were all worried that Spitfire and Lightning Dust were going to win this since James was able to withstand all their advances. They looked over and Spitfire was just expressionless and so was Lightning Dust. It was like they didn’t really care. Unknown to them but they didn’t like how the dates were going. When this first started out they were certain in their victory. Now after three dates that all ended in failure especially this one with Fluttershy they were now worried at their own chances. The mares all looked at each other and went their separate ways to be ready.

Author's Notes:

One date left to go.