Pyre/ Luna
Etpinego/ Applejack
Gilzia/ Celestia
Gehluli/ Cadance
Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Zopupun Estyv/ Shinning Armor

Despite my best efforts, Pyre was eventually forced to kick me out of her office so as to allow her to get back to the important task of running a country. Yet, as she escorted me to the oaken doors I didn't need the shared bond between us to tell that she didn't want our interlude to end so short, even if our goodbyes were only temporary. Her saddened mood made me want to give her something that would help to lighten the rest of her night as she shifted through the endless stacks of treaties and legal documents. So as she reached to open the door, I stopped her by grabbing her wrist, softly pressing her back against the door as I pressed my lips upon hers in a kiss that held the promise of many more like it. After a few moments I reluctantly pulled away from her, leaving Pyre flushed and surprised by my sudden display.

"Just wanted to give you something to remember me by till next time," I told her before she had a chance to inquire about my motives. To which she looked at me, dazed for a moment, before a gentle smile formed on her lips.

"Then till next time, my stallion," she quietly said, lightly kissing my lips, her hot breath brushing against my ear, "Where I shall repay your talents with a few of my own."

"Then till next time, Your Majesty," I told her with a wink and a small bow as she opened the door allowing me to exit, "Goodnight, Princess Pyre."

"And goodnight to you as well, Ambassador," she said, closing the door behind her.

Once the door was shut, it left me in the hallway in a state of frustrated satisfaction as I relished in the memories of my recent tryst. On one hand, I had managed to distract myself from that damn recurring dream and I had. Also, judging from the happiness I could feel through our bond, I made Pyre's night a memorable one. A productive night if ever there was one. However, I had been left with the unfortunate side-effect of not being able to have relieved myself of any of my pent-up sexual frustrations, and I had the blue balls and massively uncomfortable erection to prove it.

The sound of stretching leather and shifting metal to my left drew my attention to the thestral guardsmare from before. Casting a quick glance to her and her counterpart, I was hard pressed to keep a grin from my lips. I could see that their cheeks were flushed, trying to look anywhere but in my direction. I could only guess that my presence and recent activities with a certain princess was the reason for the crack in their usually disciplined stature. It was more than likely that both of them could easily smell the heated scent of their charge on me, that was if the sight of me kneeling at Pyre's altar wasn't enough evidence for them. Either way, both of them refused to look at me, instead only giving me a passing glance as their grey-furred cheeks grew an even darker shade of red.

As fun as it was for me to indulge in a spot of revenge on the guard, however childish it may have been, I knew that it would be sunrise in a few hours. As discreet as the palace staff may have been in regards to my relationships, I had a lingering doubt that the nobility and any foreign delegates that were bound to be roaming the halls in a couple of hours would be so understanding. Furthermore, I was in desperate need of a bath while also secretly hoping for the possibility of sneaking in a quick nap before breakfast time. So with a nod of my head to the two sentries I turned on my heel and made my way back towards my room through the sconce-lit halls.

Nevertheless, shortly after leaving Pyre's office, I could see that getting there would be easier said than done as I discovered that my arousal had refused to dissipate. In fact, it seemed to do the opposite, intensifying the closer I got to my room. No doubt caused by my shared bond with the two heated princesses as I had found out during their last heat cycle that night in my apartment that now seemed like a lifetime ago. Luckily for them, the sisters had their magic to keep them in check and help corral in their urges. Yet unluckily for me, I had only my focus and self-control to aid me during such times. Said attributes weren't really working too well as I walked through the halls sporting a huge tent of wood under my shirt and boxers.

"Well, if you can't hide it flaunt it." I muttered to myself after giving up on trying to conceal my problem at the passing of another maid as I watched her do a double take. Fortunately for me though, minus a few awkward glances and hushed whispers by a random maid or guard along the way, I was soon able to find my way back to my room without any unnecessary conversations.

Grabbing the doorknob, I gave pause for a moment as I recalled the fact that there were two sleeping mares inside earlier;one, or both, of whom could possibly have been in heat like Pyre was. Did I really want to risk venturing into the dark room where they could be lying in wait for me? Like any red-blooded man I knew the answer to a question like that without even having to think about it as I turned the knob and inched open the door.

With the door cracked just enough to take a peek inside I was surprised, and honestly more than a little disappointed, to find in the darkness of the room the two mares still laying peacefully under the sheets. Now feeling a little more emboldened, I crept into the room as quiet as a mouse, closing the door behind me without a sound.

After waiting a couple of moments to give my eyes time to adjust in the dimly lit room, I made my way toward the bathroom. I ensured the door was closed behind me before hitting the light switch and starting the shower. While waiting for the water to warm up, I took the time to relieve myself of my clothes and the old dressings from my chest, examining the healing wound in the quickly fogging mirror. Lucky for me, whatever energy that had shot out from the Element of Honesty didn't seem to have caused any permanent damage or scarring as I surveyed the sensitive pink flesh of the almost healed burn. The wound reminded me of Gilzia's cutie mark as it resembled a small pink sun on my chest, its fiery tendrils exploding violently outwards from the center, nearly covering the whole of my chest. Absently, I thought back to my dream for a moment as I ran a finger along one of the arms, causing me to flinch at the rawness of the sensitive flesh. Broken from my daydreaming, I stepped away from the mirror and into the shower.

The warm water felt amazing as it washed away the night's sweat and helped to ease any of the lingering stiffness out of my muscles and joints left over from my encounter with Etpinego's element. The pink flesh of my nearly healed burns let off a dull stinging that soon subsided as the water hit against the sensitive skin. For all the good it was doing, the shower did little to ease the burning in my loins as my mind continued to run rampant with images of wanton desire. Seeing no relief in my immediate future, and figuring I was ensured some privacy for a while still, I decided to literally take the situation into my own hands.

However, no sooner than had I lathered my hands with soap and started a decent rhythm than did I hear the sound of the bathroom door opening followed by the tired twang of my favorite farm-mare's voice.

"Eric? Whatcha y'ah doin' up so early, Suga'?"

Silently I cursed at myself for being caught, "Sorry, Etpinego, I had some problems sleeping."

I heard her sniff at the air a couple of times before she teasingly spoke again, "You sure that's all you was doin', suga'? Seems to me like you was paying Pyre a little nighttime visit. What's the matter, Eric, feeling a little bothered?"

I chuckled lightly at that. Her ability to catch a lie, even a white lie, was absolutely uncanny, "Alright, you caught me. I also went by and visited Pyre for a little bit. We had a little fun resulting in me needing a shower to try and find some relief with a...pressing matter. So there you go, Etpinego that's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Hopefully that explanation meets your standards?" She hummed satisfied as I chuckled again before continuing, "All though I've got to say, speaking the plain truth, it's getting pretty damn dull around here."

She laughed at my teasing, "Well shucks, Suga' if'n that's the way y'ah feel about it then maybe I should tie y'ah up for some good ol' fashioned punishin'."

"Ooo, sound's kinky," I said as I began to lather my hair, temporarily giving up on my attempts of self gratification.

As I rinsed the soap out of my hair I absently thought I heard Etpinego's voice through the sound of the rushing water, "In fact..."

The curtain was suddenly drawn back, startling me, as the small orange mare slipped into the shower with me.

"Etpinego!" I exclaimed in a hushed tone so as to not wake Gilzia, "What are you doing?"

"Giving you yer punishment fer fibbin'," she said with lidded eyes as she slowly walked under the water towards me, the stream of hot water turning her loose mane and tail into a shimmering golden waterfall as it cascaded over her shoulders and onto the shower floor. She edged me ever closer to the back corner of the shower stall and I followed her emerald eyes as they wandered ever so steadily southward across my body till she stopped below my waist. Her cheeks slowly tinting red as she stared in a daze at my bobbing member as it happily greeted her.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, flashing her a roguish grin while silently praying that this was going where my dick and I hoped it was.

She looked back to me with that same longing and desire in her eyes that I had come to associate with a mare in heat, and as her tail lightly swished behind her, my senses were filled with the spicy scent of warm apple pie. I was left with little doubt that Etpinego was indeed in heat and wanted to take our courting to the next level. Not that I had any plans to stop her.

She smirked again as she reached up and pulled my face down to her, "I'm sure I can think of somethin'."

With that our lips meet and immediately the little mare went on the offensive as I felt her easily slip her tongue into my mouth. As the kiss deepened, a satisfied moan rang out through the bathroom but in the heat of the moment, I could not tell if it came from her or me. Soon, we found ourselves lost in our desires, wanting nothing more than to feel the touch of our lover's body against our own. Etpinego let out a throaty moan as I grasped her supple backside in my powerful hands, lifting her off the ground as she wrapped her muscular legs around my waist. I was surprised at the farm-mare's hunger as she continued our makeout session like a mare possessed.

Pulling back from her momentarily so that I could breathe, I could see the confusion in her lust-filled eyes on why I had stopped, though she didn't seem to let a simple thing like my breathing stop her as she dove for my lips again. Effectively, I was captured in her passion as she kissed me over and over again, each one ripping through my body like a bolt of electricity.

Quickly, I tried to wrestle the lead from her as I turned us, easily pressing her smaller frame against the shower wall, forcing a moan from her lips as I began to trail kisses down her neck. Shivers of pleasure ran through my body from the feeling of her hard fingertips scraping against my back only to be cooled by the running water. So enraptured were we in our lovemaking that we didn't realize that we had a guest.

"My, my," I heard a tittering voice say from behind as a pair of pearly white arms and wings enveloped us, "having fun you two?"

"Holy shit, Gilzia!," I all but yelped at the smirking princess as Etpinego and I tried to calm our beating hearts, "You scared the crap out of us!"

"Oh? I do apologize for scaring you, but I could not help myself when I saw you two having so much fun together," she said, giggling lightly as I felt her hands begin to roam across my stomach and up and down Etpinego's legs, sending streaks of pleasure through our already heated bodies. "Although I have to say I am a little saddened and disappointed that you two did not think of inviting your leadmare in on the fun."

"Sorry about tha-ah-t, Gilzia, " Etpinego apologized through excited breath and flushed cheeks as the Princess of the Day continued to expertly tease her, "I reckon' ah allowed my heat t-mmh get the better of me."

Gilzia simply smiled as she reassuringly nuzzled the farm-mare's cheek, "That is quite understandable, Etpinego, being as this would be your first time, but you on the other hand, my stallion, I shall not be so forgiving on."

I let out a stifled moan as I felt one of her hands wrap around my aching member directing it to the burning entrance of Etpinego's marehood, giving it a single slow tug that threatened to cause my knees to buckle from under me at the mere sensation alone. Yet somehow, through no small miracle, I was able to keep Etpinego and myself up as I felt the white temptress' breath against my ear once more as she whispered huskily.

"After this and with your performance at Pyre's I might be inclined to think that you are beginning to show favoritism to the others over me," another stroke and another moan from me, her magenta colored eyes gleaming mischievously at the power she held over me in her delicate grip. She gave me a smug smile as she saw the realization of what she had said flash through my eyes, confirming my suspicions on the extent of the feedback shared by the sisters, "Oh yes Eric, thanks to our bond, I was quite aware of the gifts you bestowed upon my younger sister and the rewards that she has reaped from your talents. So tell me, my stallion, are you showing favoritism?"

"N-n-no," I managed to hiss through clenched teeth, trying not to succumb to her wiles.

Never had a woman so easily rendered me so utterly powerless before as Gilzia continued to tease us, humming happily all the while as my mind went numb. The simple touch of her warm body against ours expertly driving us to the brink of our resolve with each stroke of my shaft that ended in a moan from Etpinego. One look at her and I could see the pleasure on her face as she toyed with us like a cat would a mouse. A hungry smile plastered across her lips from watching our reactions. Obviously, she was relishing in her status as the one in charge, an alpha who had been without challenge for an untold number of years. That was until now as my male pride refused to cave in, crying out and demanding the alicorn's submission.

Shifting Etpinego in my arms so that her ample backside was resting on one of my forearms, allowed me the freedom to quickly move my freehand between Gilzia's legs. Easily slipping a finger into her burning core as I heard her breath catch in her throat before she let out a long moan as her eyes closed and she bit her bottom lip in bliss.

"If you keep up with this teasing, I may be forced to ravish you, Princess," I whispered into her ear, moving my finger a little to get my point across, earning me a squeak as she affectionately licked my cheek.

Opening her eyes, she set me with a smoldering gaze while an almost wicked smile crept on her lips, "Oh no, my stallion, it is you who are in danger of being ravished."

No sooner did she say that, a pair of orange hands cup my face and forcefully direct my attention back towards the young farm-mare. I was surprised to find that gone was any semblance of the sweet, calm-natured, mare who always kept a level head about her. In her place was a mare possesed with sexual desires as she set her hungry gaze on her prey, me.

Before I resigned myself to this most fortunate of fates, silently vowing to overcome the challenge before me, I looked back to Gilzia out of the corner of my eyes. I Never fully took my attention off of the orange mare who was inching ever closer to her goal. The Princess of the Day was smiling at me with a smug look of victory etched over her face. A look that I answered with a cocky smile of my own.

"Clever girl," I told her as I was consumed by the two mare's affections.

Hours later, as the light of Gilzia's sun began to spill into the room from the crack between the curtains, I finally collapsed onto my bed, utterly drained from my recent endeavors. It had been a mighty challenge indeed, but like the heroes of lore I had emerged alive and victorious. Yet I had not escaped from my battle completely unscathed as my body was afire from overexerted muscles and the many welts that covered my sweat-soaked body. Gifts bestowed upon me by my lover's fingers and teeth

As I laid face down in the soft cooling embrace of a random pillow, I desired nothing more than to rest my weary body for the rest of the day. Sadly, my body's troubling desire to keep breathing would not allow it to be so. Dragging an arm up beside me I struggled to find the strength to roll over on my back, my muscles crying out in protest at performing such a simple task.

Pleasuring my mares was definitely one for the record books. The heat and feeling of their bodies as we were consumed in the throes of passion was without compare to any of my previous sexual partners. But it was their hunger for that pleasure that, once ignited, had almost been my downfall. For while I could bring them to climax up to three times for each of mine, they would still come back for more, hungrier and stronger than the last time. It was only through the use of my mouth and hands, along with their attention to each other, that I was able to finally calm them down. Leaving my body and balls drained, my pride was satisfied at knowing I had dished out more than I was given. In the end climaxed three times with Gilzia, a form of apology to my leadmare for her comment about me playing favorites, and twice with Etpinego in return for at least a dozen from each of them.

No sooner had I finally flopped over on my back, letting out a small groan at my victory, did I feel a small golden form nuzzle against my right side and the salty-sweet smell of sweat and apples filled my nose. I wrapped an arm around the sleeping farm-mare, pulling her close as she rested her head atop my chest, relishing in the feel of her smooth muscular body against my own. Even though I was sore and probably broken I couldn't have been happier than I was right then to have someone I loved and who loved me in return close by.

I lifted my head up to placing a chaste kiss on top of her head between her ears which caused her to shift slightly as I felt a warm wetness slowly running along my chest. It took my dazed mind a second to realize that Etpinego was licking me, whinnying contently as she savored the taste of my sweat like a fine liquor. Checking quickly I could see that she was indeed still asleep, but before I could ponder on her actions further my leadmare's voice answered as she made her way back to the bed.

"Sometimes, when we mares are in heat we will subconsciously lick the perspiration off of our mates bodies," Gilzia explained as she settled on the edge of the bed smiling at the scene before her.

Her horn still softly held a golden glow to it as she finished raising her celestial twin into the sky. The radiant light framing her from behind before reflected off her now messy ethereal mane and damp pearly white fur and wings in a radiant aura of colors. She looked wild and untameable, like the very orb she controlled in the sky. Yet just like she held control over the sun, so too did she hold my heart; able to command it with the slightest of whims.

"Beautiful," I softly said.

She smiled at me as I sat there and marveled at her, a light blush forming on her cheeks as she continued, "It is a way that our bodies can replenish minerals that may have been lost during mating to ensure a better chance of conceiving."

"So she's pregnant?" I hesitantly asked, looking down to Etpinego once again, a sense of happiness and dread rushing through me at the possibility of becoming a father.

But Gilzia remained silent for a moment as I felt a flood of deep sadness wash over me through our bond and a melancholic smile came across her lips, "No, I do not believe so," she said reaching out with a wing, running it along the smaller mare's back, "Due to the differences of our species I believe that the chances of us siring a foal with you would be near impossible."

My heart fell at her words, suddenly I felt so selfish at desiring to continue a relationship with them just to deny them the chance to ever have children. Gilzia must have picked up on my conflicted thoughts as she spoke again.

"Do not let it trouble you, Eric, for it is something that all three of us have discussed and we do not regret our choice," her words did little to ease my worries but she just grinned at me as she continued, "Besides I said that the chances are, 'near impossible.' There could still be a chance that we are compatible enough to perhaps, one day, become pregnant if enough of your seed was poured into us," this news was relieving to me that there still might be light at the end of that tunnel.

Gilzia must have noticed this for I watched as she reached a hand between her legs for a moment before pulling it back out, two of her fingers now coated with a familiar white substance. She briefly examined the fingers, sparing me a fleeting seductive glance of her eyes, before I watched her tentatively lick the dripping essence from her fingers. She ran her tongue along them in a suggestive manner for a moment before placing the digits completely in her mouth, humming contently as she sucked them clean. Once done, I saw the look of hunger flashing in her eyes as she addressed me again, "I personally do not think that this will be a problem though, given the quality of your performance just now."

The mare's erotic display and the thought of being able to make a family with the mares I loved, watching their bellies growing round with our children, caused a familiar tingling sensation to build in my sore crotch. Gilzia took notice of this immediately, watching with interest as my weary soldier stood back up to attention, reporting for duty again back to the frontlines. The alicorn licked her lips in anticipation.

"I'm glad you had a good time," I told her as I struggled to give her a smile, feeling sleepy from my recent rush of blood.

But Gilzia didn't take her eyes away from my member as she leaned towards it, shrugging her shoulders as she gripped it again sending painful bolts of pleasure through the sore appendage, "It was satisfactory I suppose, so I think I shall keep you as my herd stallion."

I was in shock. All that effort to impress them with my prowess in the bedroom, especially the several thousand year old alicorn, and the best I could get from her was a shrug of the shoulders and a "satisfactory"; a weak one at that.

"Ow, my pride," I told her, intentionally sounding more than a little hurt. My words knocked her out of her daze as she looked to me. I tried to frown at her but in my tired state I was sure it came off as more of a pout as she giggled at my childish antics.

"Twas merely a jest, Eric," she explained mirthfully as she snuggled up against my other side, draping a wing across the three of us. But I refused to look at her causing her to smile more as she turned my chin to face her where she gave me a gentle kiss, "I could never ask for a better lover or a better man, Eric. Both you and Etpinego have made my sister and I the happiest we have been in a long time, and I would never want to lose any of you."

The fact that she referred to me as a man, opposed to a stallion, let me know that she was being honest as Etpinego sleepily added in.

"Darn tootin'. Everyday I feel like the luckiest mare in the world that y'all were willing to give a little old farm-mare like me a chance to join yer herd," she said as a blush came on her cheeks.

Gilzia smiled at the earth pony as she gently brushed her wings over Etpinego. The smaller mare catching the leading edge with her mouth right below the elbow joint where she began to lightly nip the large primary feathers there. I could only imagine that this was a sign of affection or submission for ponies because I felt love emitting from Gilzia through our bond as Etpinego and her stared into each other's eyes as she continued her grooming of the alicorn.

Etpinego slowly ran her leg up my body as Gilzia and her began nuzzling cheeks and cleaning each other off with gentle licks. Eventually her leg reached my crotch where the velvety feeling of her fur sent shivers of pleasure through my sensitive member. Startled, Etpinego looked under Gilzia's massive white wing to see my counterpart standing strong once more.

"Land sakes, Eric!" She exclaimed as she looked back at me with wide eyes, "Don't this snake of yours ever stop gettin' hard?"

I sheepishly laughed as she waited for me to answer, but my stomach let out a rumbling growl before I could say anything. Stunned for a moment, we all shared a laugh before Gilzia spoke.

"I'm afraid the answer to the limits of our stallion's levels of endurance shall have to wait for another time, Etpinego. Come, I am sure that the others will be waiting for us at breakfast," she slid out of bed and walked to the bathroom, provocatively swaying her wide hips as she went, before stopping at the door and casting an inviting glance to the two of us in the bed. "Would you two care to join me for a shower?"

I shared a grin with Etpinego before kissing the farm-mare's lips as we both followed the Princess of the Day into the shower once more.

Later, after another very steamy shower that left me more drained now than ever, I managed to quell my mare's heats enough to be able to leave my room so that we could fill our stomachs. Gilzia had teleported back to her room as soon as the shower was over to finish getting ready for the day, leaving me and Etpinego to head towards the private dining hall of the royal family by ourselves.

As suspected, once we arrived I could see that we were the last ones to enter, as everyone else was already seated. Pyre was seated at one end of the small table while, to her right, sat Xamspona with her brother and his wife. All eyes turning to us as Etpinego strolled in peppy and refreshed with me dragging up the rear. Before anyone had a chance to say anything the door at the far end of the room was opened by two royal guards to make room for Princess Gilzia. Now decked out in her official symbols of office, and radiating with so much serenity, that her very presence seemed to calm the room. As Gilzia took her seat at the opposite end from Pyre and Etpinego and I sat to Gilzia's right, I could see the smile on the Crystal Empress's face as she looked between me and my herdmates, practically bubbling with excitement.

"Good morning you three! We were wondering if you were going to make it to breakfast," Gehluli greeted cheerfully, "I must say Auntie, you and Etpinego are practically glowing, I take it that last nights sleep was... fulfilling?"

Gilzia and Etpinego shared a knowing smile between them as the Alicorn of the Day returned the grin to the Alicorn of Love as she levitated a piece of toast to her plate, "Yes niece, it was a very satisfying slumber."

"So it may seem," Gehluli agreed, winking at me while I shifted uncomfortably in my seat with a groan. I knew full well where this conversation was heading. She giggled at my response before turning her eyes towards her other aunt, "That reminds me, Aunt Pyre, last night I was awoken by a most peculiar sound and was wondering if you heard it as well?"

Pyre seemed to pay little attention to her niece's words as Xamspona spoke up, "You know I thought I heard something too. It was about three this morning, while I was in my lab, when I heard something that sounded like somepony wailing or moaning."

"Around three?" Gilzia inquired with the smallest of smirks as she looked between me and her blushing sister that was busy devouring a stack of pancakes so that she didn't have to contribute to the conversation. "Eric, wasn't that the time you went for a walk?"

I nearly choked on the glass of milk I had been drinking at the time hearing Gilzia drag me into the conversation. Etpinego lightly rubbed my back as I coughed into a napkin, giving the Princess of the Day a nod in approval. Luckily Zopupun began to speak before anypony could inquire further on what I had been doing.

"That's strange, Xam, I was talking with your Captain of the Guard, Lieutenant Pyvu Tiev, this morning at shift change and she was saying that some of the newer recruits were talking about how they thought the castle might be haunted. They said it was because they could hear moaning and all sorts of noises echoing through the halls from their posts in the Guest Wing?"

"Really?" Pyre inquired as she narrowed her eyes to her sister, who didn't seemed phased at all by this news, "The Guest Wing you say?"

"This is ridiculous!" Xamspona finally said, tired of this talk of the paranormal, breaking up the one-sided staring match between the two sisters, "There's no scientific evidence to support that there is such a thing as ghost."

"Maybe so," Gehluli conceded to the purple alicorn, never once having removed her sly gaze from me as I tried to ignore her and focus on my breakfast. "But you have to admit, Xamspona, there was something that was going bump in the castle last night. Wouldn't you agree, Ambassador?"

I sat down my forkful of eggs as I finally looked up to the smug looking Alicorn of Love, "Well, Empress, I can not say what you heard, nor can I do more than speculate on what the guards heard, but I will agree with what Princess Xamspona Tevopi has said. That whatever everypony heard last night has to have a legitimate cause, and was more than likely benign in origin."

The pink alicorn's smile turned into a slight frown as I refused to play her little game as I went back to eating my food, but it was quick to return as she turned towards Gilzia once again.

"So, Auntie, how many times did you buck, Eric, last night?"

"Gehluli!"

"Niece!"

The voices of Xamspona and Pyre rang out in the room at the crude bluntness of the Crystal Empress, but she was unaffected as she continued to look at Gilzia. Eager for an answer as the white alicorn calmly continued to drink her tea. After a few moments of tense silence Gilzia set down her cup and smiled at her niece.

"I believe the final count was about fourteen times each, was it not, Etpinego?" She asked as calmly to the apple farmer as if she was inquiring about the weather. The others gawked in shock as I just buried my face into my palms, feeling a headache coming on.

"Princess!"

"Sister!"

"Gilzia!"

Etpinego's voice rang out alongside the other two as a blush came upon the three mare's cheeks. Gehluli was shocked momentarily by Gilzia's words, but she quickly composed herself as she shot a sly look my way. Meanwhile, the other three were trying to explain to the oldest princess on why she shouldn't have been so open with her love life while amongst mixed company. Yet the white alicorn simply smiled that serene smile of hers as she took another sip of her tea.

"If I remember correctly, Pyre," Gilzia said looking across the brim of her cup to her sister, a smirk on her lips, "it was about three o'clock when Eric left his room to possibly go and visit you. Did you not also receive something from him as well."

"Ooo, a late night meeting between a stallion and his mare, how romantic. I remember when me and Zopupun used to do that," Gehluli swooned as she reminisced. "So tell me, Auntie. What all did you do?"

"Th-that is none of your business, niece!" The night alicorn stuttered as her cheeks turned a darker shade of crimson.

Not to be deterred from her goal so easily, the trouble-making Gehluli set her eyes on me once more, "So Eric, would you like to explain why you were visiting one of the heads of state of a foreign nation in the late hours of the night? Perhaps it was to break ground on a trade deal?" She inquired as she wiggled her eyebrows at her not so subtle innuendo.

"Mmm, these are great eggs, ain't nothing like a good breakfast to get you going in the morning. Wouldn't you say so, Zopupun?" I said aloud, completely ignoring the Crystal Empress's question.

"Nope, nothing better," the unicorn stallion replied, choosing to take my side in a united male front against his wife's probe into my love life. This act of betrayal did not go unnoticed to Gehluli as she set a level stare at her husband.

"Yes sir," I said drawing the princess's frown back to me as I gave a smug smile and scooped another forkful of eggs, "these sure are good eggs."

The look on Gehluli's face was one of suppressed frustration at not being able to get the scoop on me and my herd's relationship from me as she pursed her lips. The witty female had enough evidence to make one final jab as her sweet smile returned.

"All joking aside, Eric, I must say that to be able to satisfy all three of your mares so effectively and in such a short amount of time is quite a feat. Even more so, considering the fact that two of them are mature alicorns and the third an Earth Pony." Pyre gave a snort at her niece's comment but the pretty pink pony princess ignored it as she continued, "Perhaps I should sit in on one of these sessions and observe your human techniques in action as part of my continued advancement in the studies of all things love related."

"Absolutely not!" Pyre protested as she forcefully stood up, her wings spread wide in challenge to the smaller alicorn.

"I too would like to sit in and observe as well," Xamspona said as all eyes slowly turned to her, stunned by her proposal. Now suddenly in the spotlight, she grew timid as she gave a nervous laugh, " you know, for science."

The tension in the room was high as I tried to not become involved any more than I needed to, while I silently wondered how Etpinego had been able to avoid the line of questioning. It continued until Gilzia eventually cleared her throat drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright everypony that will be enough fun for one morning. Unfortunately, Gehluli I am going to have to turn down your offer, yours too Xamspona. Now let us all enjoy our breakfast," everypony sat down as she took a small bite of her eggs, "You were right, Eric. These are very good eggs this morning."

The rest of breakfast went off without anymore major incidents, and we were all soon going about our day. Gilzia was off to start her shift as ruler of the kingdom, while Pyre retired to her bedroom for the day. Lucky for me she took pity on me upon learning of the extent of my weakened state, and ,as a reward for me not divulging the secrets of our meeting to Gehluli, she did not insist that I perform my duties that morning. However, she made it very clear that she demanded that I give her twice the pleasure that I had given Gilzia upon her awakening. Gehluli, on the other hand, had to head back to the Crystal Empire with Zopupun as soon as breakfast was over for they had a kingdom of their own to tend to. Meanwhile, me and Etpinego, were told by Xamspona to come by her lab shortly after breakfast to continue trying to find a reason for the strange and sudden activation of the Elements. So to Xamspona's lab we headed.

Xamspona's lab had been setup in her old room in the castle's observatory up at the top of a tower at the end of a long set of stairs. Silently, I cursed the creator of stairs as we made our way up the spiraling staircase, my exhausted muscles screaming at me on each one.

Slowly but surely, we made it to the top where we were greeted by two members of Xamspona's Twilight Troop, her personnel detachment of Royal Guards, standing guard outside. The sentries didn't bat an eye at us as they opened the chamber door, allowing us entrance.

The inside of the room looked more like a library than what I would have associated with an observatory. Then again, considering whose room it was, it shouldn't have come as that big of a surprise. There were shelves of books and ancient tomes lining the walls that lead to a stairway on the far side of the room going up to a second level.

Xamspona was nowhere to be found as Etpinego called out to the missing princess. Finally, we heard her voice echoing down from the stairs in reply.

"I'll be down in a moment, I'm just finishing up on some calculations."

As we waited, I allowed my eyes to wander the room, coming to an unused bed and nightstand off to my right. Sitting atop the nightstand was a picture of what appeared to be a stallion. Walking closer to get a better look, I realized the pony in the picture looked familiar, with his short crop of fiery orange mane and sprig of straw jutting from his mouth.

I called over my shoulder to Etpinego for her to confirm my suspicions on the identity of the stallion in the picture. "Hey Etpinego, over here! This guy in the picture looks a lot like B-."

A flash of bright light cut me off as I fell, startled, to the ground. Once it had dissipated, the frantic Princess of Friendship stood before me, blocking my view of the picture by spreading her wings and waving her arms.

"Hey that's private!" she scolded me as her cheeks grew red.

"Really now?" I teased as she gave a cute pout, "If it was so private, it wouldn't be sitting out in the open."

"Hey now you two, what's all this about?" Etpinego asked as she came up behind me, oblivious to the subject of our conversation, but all it took was one look between me and a nervously sweating Xamspona to pique her curiosity.

Xamspona stammered for a minute as she conflicted on whether to keep the identity of the figure in the picture a secret from one of her best friends, but I decided that I had enough humor at her expense for the day as I gave a chuckle.

"Don't worry, Etpinego, it's of no importance. Plus I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," I told her as I walked away, kissing her cheek as I passed.

The honest farm-mare gave a glance to me and Xam, contemplating if it was worth pursuing, before she gave a shrug, "Well alright, Suga', if'n y'ah say so. So have y'ah found out anythin' yet about what might be wrong with the Elements, Xamspona? Because I've got to be gettin' back to the farm here in a few days to help the family bring in the harvest."

"What? Oh, yes the Elements," the lavender alicorn said, coming to her senses, with a flash of her horn that teleported the picture behind her to some unknown location. "Come with me you two and I'll show you what I've found so far."

We followed her up the stairs to the second floor which was in stark contrast to the tidy room we had entered in. Where before were clean floors with neat and tidy bookshelves, this floor looked like a tornado had gone through a paper mill. Strewn all across the floor were stacks of open books and crumpled papers full of notes. On the far side of the room stood a massive glass window where an observer could look out across a majestic view of the capitol and surrounding landscape, or, by using the telescope hanging from a series of girders above us, even the cosmos above. Yet the view through them was blocked by rolling chalkboards full of equations and so many graphs that they threatened to block out the last few remaining beams of sunlight that had managed to sneak in between the cracks. There dead center in the room on a wooden pedestal, under a glowing dome of archaic magic, sat the affected parts of the Elements of Harmony.

In the end, four out of the six had been accidentally activated the night of the ball: honesty, laughter, loyalty, and magic. The remaining two, generosity and kindness, as I was later told by Xam and the others, had been spared when Gilzia and Pyre had teleported Vivmay and Paxxila away from the castle. Thereby giving them the few precious moments they needed to halt the runaway reaction that had been started by casting some kind of magical field around them that actually displaced the very fabric of time. Slowing it down to a point where it appeared that time had stopped. So there they now sat suspended mid-activation in whatever spell I had inadvertently released.

"Tarnation's, Xamspona, looks like a whirlwind whipped through here." The farm-mare exclaimed as she looked at the chaos about her. "Where's Prion?"

"Oh, I sent him back to Ponyville, to grab a scroll on the linear casting and transference of magic through trans-dimensional planes," the lavender princess replied refering to her faithful dragon assistant.

"Well, what have you found out, Xam?" I asked keeping my distance from the glowing pendants on the table after my last encounter.

"I don't know," she said as she started digging through a pile of notes strewn out on a table.

"You wanna run that by us again, Xamspona," Etpinego asked confused as she tilted the brim of her stetson back on her head.

"Exactly like I said, I don't know what I've found."

"So you've found nothing?" I asked.

'Eric.'

"I didn't say that," she said pulling out another page of notes, placing it on a chalkboard. "What I said was, 'I don't know what I've found.' "

"So what have you found out? And please keep it dumbed down so I can try and keep up this time," I told her as Etpinego nodded in agreement.

Xam gave a frustrated sigh at having the wind taken out of her sails, but she wasn't going that let that stop her from the chance to give a lecture, "I've actually discovered a lot. For instance, everything we've ever thought we knew about the Elements of Harmony was wrong."

"What do y'ah mean?" Etpinego asked.

"Here, take a look at this," Xamspona said as she sprinted over to a chalkboard and turned it over, "All the historical texts have told us that the Elements drew their power from the Magic of Harmony itself, but come to find out they don't. They actually don't appear to be anything more than normal jewels until they are activated. Once they are, they're actually emitting a very unique magical pattern that is being drawn from some unknown source. In fact, I checked the output against all known sources of magic that we know of and none matched up with the magical resonance. The closest I could find to compare to it was alicorn magic."

"Well that's not too surprising," I said as I tried to wrap my head around all the complex equations and graphs. "Didn't Gilzia and Pyre use the Elements a long time ago? Makes sense to me that their magic would have an effect on it."

"True," Xamspona pointed out, "but Princesses Gilzia and Pyre lost the ability to control the Elements after Gilzia was forced to seal Pyre in the moon. Their magic no longer has any effect on them, but if it is a form of alicorn magic, or something similar, it raises another question..."

"Eric, come."

I looked around at the faint calling of my name, but there was no one there as I heard Etpinego speak.

"Then why can we normal ponies use them?" Etpinego finished for her as Xamspona smiled proudly and clapped her hands.

"Exactly! And that's where it gets weird, when I ran a current of alicorn magic through a sample of my blood as a baseline, the blood resonated at the same frequency as the Element of Magic."

She paused dramatically as she let us try to understand what she was saying, when I finally spoke up, "But Xam, you are an alicorn."

"Yes, but when I passed the same alicorn magic through a sample from Etpinego and the other girls I got the same reaction to their perspective Elements," the lavender princess told us as she grinned giddily.

"Eric...come, Eric."

Again I heard the whispering voice as I looked around for a source, my eyes grazing the table with the captured Elements. I gave them a fleeting glance before focusing back on the conversation at hand.

"So you're saying that they're using some kind of alicorn magic?" I guessed.

"Some type of it, yes," she replied.

"But Xamspona," Etpinego interjected, "I don't know if'n y'ah've happened to notice, but I don't look nothin' like no fancy alicorn."

Yet the mare was not phased by the statement as she smiled, "Yeah, but neither was I once."

"Eric... Eric, come," I heard the ghostly voice call, again directing my attention towards the Elements, which began to pulse with the voice in a bewitching way. So transfixed was I, that I only partially heard Etpinego and Xamspona continue the conversation.

"Well that sure is some fancy theories that you've got there, Xamspona, but what does that have to do with what happened to Eric and what the Elements were doing after?"

"Well, that part is still stumping me a bit. Because being as Eric is a species that is void of any magic and resilient to all others, there's no reason for why he should have been able to..."

The rest of their words faded into a muted static in my ears as I could not tear my focus away from the four glowing pendants on the table. I could feel the mysterious voice becoming louder and stronger in my mind with each calling of my name till the voice was all I heard. Before I knew it, I felt my body beckoning the voice's call as I slowly moved towards the table, any cries of danger by my subconscious was dulled by the numbing fog in my mind. Once in front on the table I heard the voice calling to me again.

"Come, Eric...touch it....touch it, Eric."

Unable to refuse I lifted my arm, moving my hand slowly closer towards the pink dome of magic surrounding the Elements. From behind me I could vaguely make out the panicking voices of Xamspona and Etpinego as they told me to stop. A flash of white and navy light and another pair of voices rang out through my head, loud and clear.

'Eric, stop!'

Gilzia and Pyre's voices made me pause as I felt the fog lift from my eyes, shaking my head to clear out the last of the cobwebs I turned towards my saviors. When I looked at to the four mares, I was surprised to find them all staring at me in shocked horror. Confused, I was about to ask them what was the matter when I felt something smooth and cool in the palm of my hand. Bringing it to my face I felt a sense of dread began to come over me as I saw that I was holding the glowing Element of Laughter.

"Aww, fuck."

The four elements shot out a beam of light that went through the window, towards the direction of Ponyville, and no sooner than had the beam left did another flash go off before me. The light cleared long enough for me to see that the two missing elements had now appeared next to their counterparts, pulsing with power.

"Shi-," but I didn't get the chance to finish my choice of words as I was consumed in a flash of prismatic light.

Darkness enveloped me as I floated aimlessly in an almost dreamlike state. I could hear the faint roar of crashing waves off in the distance, and knew that I was back in the dream. But something was different this time. I could not feel my body floating aimlessly in the ocean.

Instead, I felt my body laying on something that was cool and hard while my head was nestled between something warm and soft. It was about that time that I heard a gentle voice echo through my mind like a whisper on the wind.

"Shhh, Eric... rest now."

The voice was calming and I was tempted to listen to its suggestion as the mysterious warmth ran across my scalp again. Slowly I opened my eyes only to be blinded by a noonday sun. I went to shield my eyes but a blurry outilne of, what appeared to be, a unicorn mare came to my rescue as she looked down at me. Her features were hidden beneath a halo of color as I dreamily stared up at her. I felt her fingers run through my hair again in a way that felt so relaxing that it threatened to pull me back to sleep.

"Go back to sleep Eric Broussard, you must sleep now," she said to me as she laid a hand over my heart.

"Wait," I tried to protest weakly as my eyes grew heavy once again. "How do you know my name?"

I heard her voice lightly ring out in my mind as she giggled at my confusion.

"Should I not know the name of the man who invaded my sanctuary and captured the hearts of my daughters? While possibly setting into motion events that could threaten all I have tried to protect.""

"Your daughters?" I mumbled lazily as my mind tried to process her words, all the while the mysterious woman in question simply hummed her acknowledgement, "Your daughters...your...daughters... your... Your daughters!"

My eyes shot open as I finally realized the identity of my companion. Without a moments hesitation, I quickly shot up from the ground as I tripped over my own feet. Any comedy of the situation was lost on me as I hurriedly scootched away from the woman as far as I could go. Only stopping once I found myself halfway into a cool pool of water, never once letting my eyes leave the her.

"Y-you're Queen Harmonia, aren't you?" I stammered as I tried not to piss my pants in the presence of the one being who I had been lead to believe wanted to see me roasted on a spit.

The woman just smiled at me again as she nodded her head, "That is correct, my little human, and you and I have a lot to talk about."

Author's Notes:

Yay I finally was able to get another chapter out. Now the real fun starts.

As always many thanks go out to you the readers for your patience and an extra big thanks goes to my editor AidanPryde for his continued endeavors to make this story, and my writing skills, halfway presentable to you.