Fluttershy paused as Adalricus continued to look into her eyes in an odd matter. It wasn’t intimating by any means, but rather strange to witness. He seemed…happy, to some extent as he claimed. Yet, the expression was different than what she was used to: he seemed to be happy looking at her. Hunger seemingly existed in Adalricus, as he would not stop leaning towards her despite her actions to lean away from him. Eventually, she found herself on the soft grass staring straight into the sky as Adalricus came into view once again. Her heart raced, her face turned as red as it has ever been, and her breathing was far from stable as Adalricus still had a hand on her face. And for some reason, she would not let go of his.

Adalricus’ head protected Fluttershy’s from the bright sun, creating a deeper shadow that darken his face. While she could not see the color tone of his mane nor see the proper texture of his face, his eyes remained the same. Green, familiar, and perhaps the most important aspect: kind. Yes, despite the hunger he seemed to give off towards her, he still had the same kind eyes that he has always given her. A trait which she practiced throughout her entire life and what she showed to all living things. Thus, would it be another act of kindness to allow Adalricus to have his way with her? Or would it be another act of kindness for herself to have what she wanted?

Neither of them said a word despite the close physical encounter between the two of them. Adalricus was inches away from Fluttershy’s face, but nothing more. He didn’t take a kiss from her, despite craving the desire to taste her. Instead, the prince blinked once and his expression changed. He then slowly pulled away and moved off of the stunned mare, who started to blink as well. He looked to the side as he regained his stance and rubbed his face, trying to make sense of what happened. “Um...”

Fluttershy brushed her hair to the side, realizing that it was slightly messy as she too began to stand again. She said nothing, but her expression still carried a flush of red.

Breaking the silence, Adalricus spoke. “I am sorry Fluttershy. I…I shouldn’t have done that to you,” he said, not making eye contact to her.

“I..” But Fluttershy couldn’t come up with a sentence. It was difficult for her to respond when she didn’t know how to react to what he was about to do. He didn’t actually kiss her, but he was getting quite physical with their last social interaction.

“Please, it was my fault; I didn’t know what came over me but that was no excuse…” This time, he looked at her with a small blush. “I hope you can forgive me,” he requested.

Fluttershy’s expression relaxed as he finished apologizing for his actions. Perhaps Fluttershy admired him too much that she didn’t need much convincing, or perhaps because he was being truthful with his words? Regardless, Fluttershy was grateful that he did stop before things got…complicated. “I-I can,” she then answered.

Adalricus felt relieved after hearing her answer, but remained silent as he continued to look at her. When nothing else came from the pink maned mare, he then decided to break that silence between them. “S-Shall we go?”

*****************************

Adalricus and Fluttershy said nothing for the rest of the trip, which was surprising as they decided to walk instead of fly back home. Adalricus assumed that Fluttershy would want to be far away from him as possible after what he attempted to do. Regardless, he used this time to better understand what was coming over him. Was he becoming sexually frustrated due to the fact that he was not with a female since he ran away from his kingdom? He wasn’t particularly ‘horny’ per say, as occasional masturbation per week was more than enough-

By the gods, do I find her sexually attractive…? Adalricus wondered, rubbing his eyes as his previous consideration was rubbish; of course he was craving the flesh of a female! Deep admiration for her was obvious to him, but lusting for her and developing feelings in such a matter was nothing that he expected.

Fluttershy peeked at Adalricus through her bang, noticing his displeased expression. She wondered if he was feeling guiltier by the minute. “…” She then turned her head entirely, watching him rub his eyes repeatedly as if stress was getting the better of him. Eventually, her expression became neutral after she watched him for an appropriate amount of time.

“Hmf,” Adalricus grunted, as he pulled his hand away and blinked. He felt disappointed in himself, as he knew that he should have more self-control. It took him at least another minute before he finally took notice of Fluttershy’s stare. “Y-Yes?” he asked, turning his head slightly.

Fluttershy slowly smiled, before looking forward and said, “Oh nothing~” in a smooth matter.

Adalricus was obviously stunned by her gesture, as he believed that he understood Fluttershy well enough by this point. “Was it…about what I did before? I do apologize again,” he said, wanting to make it clearer.

“Oh goodness me, you’re one who easily feels guilt,” Fluttershy observed.

This time, the prince’s jaw drop slightly, as she was not acting a timid as expected. “Excuse me-?”

“I thought that you were going to do quite inappropriate me, only to have you back off in the last second,” Fluttershy shook her head. “I suppose you’re not like the other stallions after all…” This time, Fluttershy stopped and so did Adalricus. “…I am happy for that,” she then confessed, looking at him with a cheerful smile. “You’re a very nice pony Adalricus, and I am happy that you are indeed a stallion that I can trust.”

“I…” Adalricus wanted to say more, but closed his mouth. Just wanting to accept that she was fine and willing to put what had happened between the, he nodded before saying, “I glad you feel that way Fluttershy…” With that, he smiled and felt renewed hope for their relationship...whatever it would lead to.

Fluttershy smiled even more as she giggled a little, finding his reactions to be cute. She then felt the need to tease him, a characteristic that she wouldn’t normally show. As he smiled back and started to walk, Fluttershy casually walked beside him and pressed her head against his arm, as if she wanted him to wrap it around her.

“F-Fluttershy?” he asked, turning slightly red. The pink maned pony was dangerously close to him, closer than what he was attempting not 5 minutes ago. And by dangerously close, his erection was already raging against his pants. While he wasn’t experiencing what led him to nearly have his way with Fluttershy, sexual urges were making their voices heard. However, he refused to allow his animal instincts to get the better of him; he simply ignored her after taking a deep breath. However, that was a terrible mistake as the main source of her wonderful scent came, in fact, from her mane. Thus, he gently breathed through his mouth to better handle Fluttershy’s intoxicating scent.

Funny enough, Fluttershy was completely oblivious to how her scent was affecting him; she simply assumed that he was melting for her because of her physical touch. Yes, Fluttershy was still a naive mare who didn’t have the knowledge or experience to effectively arouse a male in the way that she wanted.

*************************************************************

Twilight hummed as she finished reading her journal after finishing her daily tasks. It was a fun habit of hers to look back on her experiences during the past few months. It was funny how detailed she was when it came towards her journal; even she amused herself well enough to believe that she was reading an autobiography on her life. Heck, she recalled on how some writers did something similar with their works. It really relaxed her whenever she needed to cut back and give herself time to think. When she finished reading the last page from last month, she sighed and stood up, feeling bored.

“I wonder what everypony is doing now,” she wondered aloud, feeling uncomfortable with her current surroundings. Slight depression was emerging from her and she wanted to fix that. “Maybe I should go buy some apples,” she then decided, as she grabbed her bag and walked outside with a yawn. Obviously an excuse to see Applejack, Twilight slowly flapped her wings and made her way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Now while she could have taken her time and walked there, she wanted to spend more time with one of her friends than anything else. Thus, she was quite pleased to have arrived at Applejack’s home in less than two minutes. He walked up to her house and knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, the door slowly opened and Granny Smith appeared. “Why ain’t this here a surprise!”

Smiling, Twilight hugged the elder pony. “Hi there Mrs. Smith!” she said, before pulling away. “Is Applejack here?” she asked cheerfully and politely.

Happily returning the gesture, Granny Smith nodded. “Eyup, she’s upstairs; I’ll call her. Please come in!” the elder pony insisted, as she turned away and made her way towards the stairs. “There is a fresh baked pie if your sweet tooth would fancy!” she called out, before leaving Twilight alone in the kitchen.

“Sounds good!” Twilight called back, as Granny Smith’s apple pies were to die for. Looking at her surroundings, she saw a half-eaten pie on the table. Licking her lips, the pie was still warm enough to generate a distinctive aroma which made her mouth water. She happily sat down and noticed that there was already a pie knife leaning against the tray. Taking one of the small paper plates, she cut herself a piece and placed it into her plate. Afterwards, she realized that there was no silverware for her to use. Oh well.

“I could always wash my hands~” she said in a smooth tone, lifting the slice with her hand and slowly moving it to her mouth.

SQUISH

She paused. “What the buck-”

SQUISH

“EHHHHHHH!” Twilight cried, jumping up and using her magic by instinct to flip the table. Her horn then shot a beam of magic towards the perpetrator who had probed her under her skirt. Before she could fully active the effects of her freeze spell, her jaw dropped. “Scoot...aloo…?” she asked with confusion.

The orange filly looked at Twilight with fear, obviously not expecting the alicorn princess to retaliate immediately and such in a matter. However, her fear soon vanished when Twilight released her and lowered herself to the ground. “Heheh…hey Twilight…I guess you’re not an imposer!” Scootaloo laughed nervously.

“…‘Imposer’…?” Twilight asked, glaring at the filly for touching her in such an inappropriate matter. She then noticed that Scootaloo was holding what appeared to be a wooden spoon. “And just why would you think-”

“Hey ther Twilight!” Applejack said, appearing in the kitchen. “Granny Smith said that you-” However, she stopped talking after taking in the current condition of her family’s kitchen. “Um, Twilight? Why is my kitchen like this?”

“Yes well…” Twilight tried to gather her words properly, as she still had trouble controlling herself. “…Scootaloo here thought I was an…imposer,” she explained, looking at the orange filly who was still smiling nervously.

“What- REALLY Scootaloo?!” Applejack said, also glaring at the orange filly. Much to Twilight’s surprise, Applejack was able to put everything together based on that simple explanation. “Ugh, just go play with Applebloom in her room; she’s looking for you…” With that, the orange filly took advantage and got the hell out of there, leaving the two mares to themselves.

“So…she went ahead and probed ya?” Applejack asked, face palming herself.

“How did you- You know what, never mind,” Twilight said, realizing that Applejack went through the same thing. “Sorry about your kitchen…and the pie…” Twilight frowned as the pie on the table was crushed, and she dropped the slice she had in her hand. Using magic to clean up the mess, she then asked, “So, what’s up with Scootaloo and possibly the other fillies? Are they just at that curious stage…?”

“I wish that it were that simple Twilight,” Applejack sighed, watching Twilight clean up the mess. She helped by cleaning up the ruined pie and slice before adding, “Scootaloo has been acting weirder than usual, something about changelings disguising as ponies around here.”

“Changelings?” Twilight asked in confusion, as that was the last thing she would expect from Scootaloo. “But why does she-”

“Well, she claimed that a changeling threatened to eat her and after she supposedly got into his business and all. She then explained that a changing that stupid wouldn’t be able to disguise himself as a mare like you or me; he would be forgetten' that he be carrying a marehood and all,” she explained with her distinctive accent.

“Seriously?” Twilight asked.

“Yup. That ter is the honest truth about how she went and explained herself for her actions. Good thing too; I caught her attempting to do it again when Granny Smith was sleeping!”

“Fun…” Twilight gave a frown of displeasure, realizing that Scootaloo was being ridiculous. Honestly, the weird phases of puberty never made her that crazy. “Well, I am sorry to hear about that…surely Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle aren’t doing the same thing?”

“Nah, they think that Scootaloo is just purposely tryin’ to fool with them, that’s all,” Applejack explained, finishing the cleanup. “Honestly, I can’t take any of those fillies seriously by this point.”

Twilight giggled. “Well changing the subject, I was actually interested in buying some of your apples if you have any to spare right now,” Twilight explained.

Pleased with a regular customer, “Got a few barrels of them! Although, I would like it if you accompany me to Sugarcube Corner Twilight. I have a delivery to take to the cakes and I would like some company,” Applejack requested.

Flattered by Applejack’s request, Twilight naturally agreed. Thus, both of them made their way to the barn where they found everything already prepared. Twilight happily brought a good amount and poured them into her bag. Twilight then helped with the wagon, pulling it out of the barn and into the road, and continued to pull it with Applejack. They talked about normal things here and there as they walked, and even talked about their future plans. Naturally, things were still pretty much the same in the conversations that Twilight had with her friends, with the occasional topic of what she did as a princess. Eventually, the conversation passed enough time to the point where they found themselves in front of Sugarcube Corner. By great luck, Mr. Cake was already outside taking another shipment from a fellow farmer regarding milk.

“Ah hello there Applejack! Thank you so much for getting these here before 4!” Mr. Cake said with enthusiasm.

“Happy to hear that!” Applejack exclaimed, as Mr. Cake held up a pouch of bits. “Is Pinkie Pie in right now?” she asked before taking her pay.

“Yes she is,” Mr. Cake confirmed.

With that, the two mares made their way into Sugarcube Corner, unsurprised by the large number of patrons. They then spotted their crazed pony friend known as Pinkie Pie, who was bringing order to various tables. She then stopped at one table where some familiar faces sat: Rarity, Spike, and Raúl.

“Isn’t too much sweets a bad idea?” Raúl commented, as he lifted the cupcake that Pinkie Pie brought him.

“You know, I have been curious about that…” Spike said, looking at his own cupcake. “…considering that I am a dragon and not a pony,” he pointed out. Then again, should he really care? What was going to stop him from pleasing his cravings?

“Oh don’t be a pill you two! Just enjoy it!” Pinkie Pie giggled.

“Honestly Pinkie Pie, you shouldn’t think like that,” Rarity argued, despite taking a cupcake as well. “As mares, we must watch our weight, unlike these two stallions- Well, one’s a dragon but you get my meaning,” she said, despite taking a small nibble.

“Hey, just because we’re males doesn’t mean we don’t care about our figure!” Raúl argued. Despite being a changeling and only eating food as a non-essential form of body pleasure, even his species gained weight from fats.

However, Spike seemed to disagree as he was already eating his second cupcake. “We do?”

Raúl raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you ever get sick from eating too much sweets Spike?”

“Well apparently, we dragons have higher metabolism the older we get; I couldn’t eat this much before puberty occurred for me,” he confessed.

“Really?” Raúl asked, blinking as he appeared interested. In truth however, Raúl already knew such facts; he simply wanted to pretend that he lacked the knowledge. His previous experience with dragons was clearly not something that he saw as common within pony culture. Or at least within this community known as Ponyville. Thus he held a deep desire to not risk drawing attention in such a matter. “How much do you know about your own kind?”

“As much as ponies know I am afraid,” Twilight commented, joining the conversation. Everypony at the table turned to acknowledge Twilight and Applejack. After her friends said hello, she glanced at Raúl who was apparently trying to avoid eye contact with her. “Um…hi Raúl…” Twilight blushed and looked to the side, clearly embarrassed about their last meeting.

“Twilight,” Raúl said, still looking to the side. By the gods do alicorns make me cringe, he thought. While not afraid of Twilight per say, he was not one to take her lightly nor treat her like any other pony in this community. “You’re looking well…”

“Hehehe, thanks?” Twilight asked, giving a nervous laugh. Naturally, the other ponies said nothing, with the expectation of one dragon who didn’t understand what went on between those two. While Pinkie Pie was anonymously changing into Pinkamena.

“Something happened between you two?” Spike asked curiously.

“Look Raúl, about last time-” Twilight started.

“Hey it’s quite alright Twilight; I am just a shy stallion who tries to avoid answering questions I am not comfortable with,” Raúl explained, chuckling a little. While he could have been vague, he did want to bring some form of satisfaction to the alicorn before him as he glanced at her. “I am sorry for making you feel uncomfortable as well,” said Raúl.

Feeling somewhat guilty and yet appreciative, Twilight attempted to atone for her physical reaction beforehand. “No, I should be the one apologizing; let me…um, make it up to you?” she asked hopefully. “M-Maybe you want a coffee or something?” she guessed.

“Oh we just got some fresh beans this morning!” Pinkie Pie suggested with a smile, before walking away to assist the other patrons. Funny enough, her Pinkamena phase instantly vanished without any acknowledgement.

“Sounds good actually,” Raúl remarked with a real smile. Coffee was honestly one of his favorite drinks.

Seeing this as a golden opportunity, Twilight nodded before stating, “I get you one right now!” before following Pinkie Pie. “Hey, do you know what his favorite type is?” she whispered, hoping to take advantage and try to fix things between her and Raúl. Since her friends were becoming fond of him, she didn't want things to be awkward.

“Of course silly! We are dating after all!” Pinkie Pie said proudly, just as she went around the counter. “I’ll start brewing ASAP~!” she sung before disappearing into the kitchen.

Happy to hear that, Twilight then considered if there was anything else she could do for Raúl, as she peeked over to see Applejack sitting down and asking him a question, while Rarity told Spike of what happened between herself and Raúl. Not wanting to remember that horrible encounter, she faced the counter again. At the same time, she heard the door bell ring indicating a new patron.

“Oh excuse me,” said a new customer. This one sounded male.

“Oh I am sorry!” said a mare.

“No, no, I wasn’t paying attention-”

"Huh? You look familiar," said the mare.

"I do?" said the male voice.

“Hey wait, aren’t you that alicorn?”

Hearing that word, Twilight would automatically assumed that she was the one being spoken to. However, she turned out to be wrong as she turned around to see two mares speaking to a black stallion with green hair. And...Fluttershy? Wait, who is that? Twilight wondered, as it wasn’t common to see Fluttershy with a stallion that she wasn’t familiar with.

“Alicorn?” Fluttershy asked, blinking in confusion.

“I am sorry, I think that you’re confusing me for another pony?” Adalricus suggested, as he ‘blinked’ in ‘confusion’ towards them.

“Maybe…” One of the mares blinked as she took a good long look at Adalricus. “Hmmm…yeah, only wings and no horn,” she then admitted. “Sorry, you just looked like this alicorn I saw a few weeks ago at this other town,” she explained.

“Well surely there’s more than just one pony with his color scheme!” said the other mare who laughed after considering it.

“Y-Yeah, of course, hahaah!” Adalricus chuckled, trying to not seem suspicious. While he did become increasing nervous, he managed to keep a calm expression with no signs of stress.

Fluttershy looked at the two mares before looking at Adalricus. Her arms were wrapped around his left, as she became more and more confident the more time they spent together. However, she couldn’t help but wonder why they would easily confused Adalricus for an alicorn in the first place when he obviously only had wings like her.

“Well sorry for the confusion, please excuse us!” said one of the mares. While he did recall for upholding the appearance of an alicorn, he did not think that it would come back to bite him in the rear after all this time. Especially when this was a mare who had seen him from another community and not in Ponyville from when he first arrived. As they both left, Adalricus became relieved as he led Fluttershy into the bakery. Like Fluttershy, he did become comfortable as well the longer they were like this. Spotting his fellow changelings and some familiar faces, he walked towards their table. Not realizing that Twilight Sparkle was right behind him.

Author's Notes:

Story is nearing the end, but not that soon~