There was a knock at the door to Honey’s private suite in the castle. “Who is it?” the green mare called.

“Knock knock,” the irrepressibly bubbly voice of Surprise answered.

Honey rolled her eyes as she slid out of bed, letting the covers cascade off of her bare form. “Who’s there?”

“Surprise.”

Honey chuckled. “Surprise who?”

“Surprise you!” the naked white mare declared as she burst into the room, a wave of confetti and streamers flowing in her wake. She slid on her knees, arms outstretched in jubilance, until she came to a stop directly in front of Honey, eyes on level with the naked mare’s crotch.

At the sight of the pegasi’s incorrigible smile, Honey inevitably broke down into chuckles and offered the mare her hand. “Not bad, sugar. Not bad.”

“Aww. Thanks,” Surprise chirped as she looked around the room. The suite had the standard furniture of all the castle’s guest rooms, but was otherwise barren of any distinguishing features. Surprise folded her hands behind her back, shifting on her hooves as she innocently asked, “So, whatcha doin’?”

“Eh. Jus’ layin’ down for a little nap,” Honey informed as she waved Surprise in and closed the door behind her, paying little mind to how all the mare’s party debris was swept out of the room in an instant.

“Really?” Surprise asked. “We’ve got the night off. I thought you’d be visiting your herd.”

“Normally yeah,” Honey agreed. “But they’re pullin’ some pretty big shifts tonight at the local orchard. And not the kind that needs any buckin’ or liftin’, neither, else Ah’d ‘f volunteered ta help. Somethin’ ‘bout settlin’ supply routes. Instead they told me ta jus’ stay here ‘n’ get some shuteye.”

Surprise whined. “Aww. That’s no fun. I was hoping we could do something together.”

“Why? Bored out of your wits, too?” she asked plainly.

“Yes, but that’s beside the point,” Surprise replied evenly. “We’ve been working together for a while now and we almost never have time to just relax.”

“Seriously?” Honey deadpanned. “Our bosses got us relaxin’ almost every other night. If it weren’t fer the gym, Ah’d worry mah legs might fall off from lack o’ use. ”

“Yeah, but not with each other,” Surprise corrected. “The others are great, but if we’re going to be concubines together, then I think it’d be fun if we spent some time with each other too.”

Honey hummed thoughtfully. “Now that ya mention it, Ah guess ya have a point.”

“Yay!” Surprise bounced in cheer, causing her whole body to jiggle in all the best ways. “We should totally go out together.”

“What? Like a date?” Honey asked as Surprise’s contagious smile soon spread to her.

“Or just two friends hanging out,” Surprise offered. “You know, whatever we feel like. Oh! We should go shopping!”

“Hmm. Sounds nice. Let me get mah bits.” Honey fetched her purse before running up to the white mare. “Alright. Where’d ya want… to… What’re ya lookin’ at?”

Surprise’s eyes were fixed on Honey’s purse. The character on the bag was painted in an unusual art style, a young filly in a frilly pink dress swinging around a wand with a heart on the end. It was especially odd given that earth ponies almost never carried wands.

“Oh, this old thing?” Honey laughed nervously as she tried to not look like she was hiding the purse behind her back. “It’s, uh, jus’ somethin’ Jona bought fer me a while back. No big deal,” she insisted nervously as Surprise’s purple eyes bore down on her with silent accusation. “Uh… hey?”

“Oh wow! Isn’t that Fable Mable, the filly from that popular Neighponese comic?” Surprise asked.

Honey blinked several times, uncertain if she had heard right. “It’s actually called manga.”

“Whoops. Silly me.”

Honey blinked again. “You, uh, know about this stuff?” she asked hopefully.

“Not really. I’ll pick up an Equestrian comic from time to time, but I’m not much for the Nighponese stuff.”

Honey’s ears drooped slightly.

“It’s not really my thing, but I’ve heard a lot of great things from some friends of mine,” chirped the mare, hoping to lift her friend’s spirits. “Isn’t Fable supposed to be some sort of Princess Cadence fanfiction?”

“You take that back!” Honey stomped her hoof to the ground and flared her nostrils. “Fable Mable is inspired by Cadence,” she stressed, “but she’s her own filly who does her own thing! D.D. Sakura said so in the third volume after she got tired o’ ponies accusin’ her o’ plaj… o’ plagee… o’ stealin’.”

Surprise beamed, mentally congratulating herself on her accomplishment. Honey was no longer feeling down. “Yeah. I can see how that would get annoying real fast.”

“Tell me about it,” agreed Honey, exhaling her tension at not having to engage in this particular argument again.

Surprise beamed and opened the door, motioning for Honey to leave first. “So is it hard to read comics with your,” she leaned in and whispered, “dyslexia?”

Honey smiled at her friend’s consideration. “Sometimes. Jona don’t care fer magna either, but Ah can usually get Plow ta read them ta me.” The door closed behind her as she and Surprise continued their discussion, the latter eager to learn something new and the former grateful to have someone new to share her interests with.

**********

It was a night like any other in Canterlot. Despite the mares’ stated intent of indulging in the rampant consumerism that had come to define much of the economy, they had instead decided to just explore the city and see where the night took them.

“You said your family works on the northern fields,” Surprise remembered. “That where you’re living, too?”

“E’yup. Got us a nice little house near the orchards. It ain’t much, but it’s livable,” she explained nonchalantly as she took in the sights of the city.

“You ever see Canterlot in the day?” Surprise asked.

“Once. Folks dragged me along while they did some finaglin’ with a local buyer. Ah was real little then, so Ah don’t remember too much.”

“Saw it all the time from the clouds, but never had much reason to come in for a closer look.”

“Really? Ah’d always heard you flyers were all about freedom ta go anywhere ya liked.”

Surprise shrugged with a half-smile. “Yeah. That’s the ideal, but the truth is I never had much of a desire to go out exploring like that.”

“Seriously?” Honey deadpanned. “‘Cause if Ah had wings, the first thing Ah’d do would be ta take a bird’s eye tour of all Equestria.”

“And what would be the second thing?”

Honey had to think on that a second. “See what clouds taste like?”

“Bitter,” Surprise said as they shared a laugh. “But yeah. A lot of pegasi go through a ‘great and daring explorer’ phase when we’re little, but mine was a little shorter than most.”

Hearing the faint sadness in Surprise’s tone and seeing the way her ears drooped ever so slightly, Honey bumped hips with the large pegasus and gave her backside a playful brush with her tail. She used no words, but the smile she gave said more than enough.

“Well, it’s my wings.” Surprise craned her neck back to look over her shoulder and gave her wings a good flap. “I know they might look big, but they’re actually pretty small compared to my body.”

“Really? ‘Cause Ah’ve seen you flyin’ plenty.”

“No. You’ve seen me hover for short periods,” Surprise corrected gently. “I can do that for about an hour, less if I’m going for speed. Oh. B.R.B.” she said before dashing off to buy a colt an ice cream after his old scoop had just fallen. His mother coaxed a ‘thanks’ out of the little guy, warming Surprise’s heart to no end, before she jogged back to rejoin Honey. “Sorry about that.”

“You ain’t got nothin’ ta be sorry about,” Honey countered. “That was a might fine thing ta do.”

“Thanks,” beamed Surprise, her confidence in herself as a spreader of smiles restored. “Point is my wings just aren’t up to lifting a body like this,” she gestured down at herself, “for too long.”

“Oh,” Honey said, worried she’d stumbled onto a sensitive topic. “Sorry ta bring it up.”

“Why?” Surprise asked nonchalantly.

Honey frowned her confusion at the mare’s inconsistent change of tone.

“My wings are on the small side while my body’s on the big side. It is what it is,” Surprise said serenely. “I don’t mind that I’ll never be a racer or stunt flyer. My passion’s in making ponies happy,” she indicated her cutie mark and jerked her thumb in the direction of the colt with the ice cream, “so that’s what I do.”

“Wow,” Honey said with an impressed chuckle. “Don’t take this the wrong way or nothin’, but that’s surprisin’ly deep comin’ from ya’ll.”

“Aww. Thank you,” Surprise cooed before planting a soft, chaste kiss on the green mare’s cheek. “Same to you, buddy.”

Honey giggled from the contact. “Ah choose ta take that as a compliment.” Her ear flicked. “Jus’ give me a bit.” And once more the mare was off.

The next few hours were spent in relative calm as the pair moved from one tourist spot to another. They chatted about nothing in particular, their conversations regularly being interrupted by unspoken call for help across the city. This filly needed a balloon animal, that mare didn’t know the weird trick to this particular water fountain, a kiosk needed its wheel fixed, and that stallion sitting alone looked like he could really use some words of inspiration. Surprise wasn’t, well, surprised that many of the ponies they came across greeted her by name. This was hardly her first outing since coming to the city. However, she was taken aback when a good number of ponies also addressed Honey by name,

By the white mare’s reckoning, she was currently trailing behind with approximately 66 cases of helping ponies in need, although it was a narrow victory. She elected to keep this knowledge to herself and make up the score in secret at a later time. While she felt a little bad about keeping score and defeating the entire purpose of altruism, she reasoned that, if she allowed this to become an actual competition, she ran the risk of getting egg on her face. This would likely be literal as the result of some whacky hijinks as both mares ran around town in an effort to out-help the other with tasks of ever escalating danger and complexity, ending in some sort of calamity that would require a steep fine and a vow to go back to only helping for its own sake and not for some silly competition.

That could wait until after their induction into the harem. They’d both be financially secure enough to pay the aforementioned fine by then. Surprise nodded to herself. This was a good plan.

“Way Ah see it, Ah’m about four points ahead in good deeds fer the day,” bragged Honey with a waggle of her eyebrows, flagrantly challenging Surprise’s ego.

But, as they say, no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.

Fortunately, both mares proved much more reserved and mature about their competition than Surprise had expected. It was a little disappointing that there were no whacky hijinks or elaborate escapades, but that was probably a fair trade off for the lack legal or medical fees. In the end, both mares were holding steady at a tie, at least for good deeds done this night, and decided to a few Hay Burgers for lunch. They sat in the back of the restaurant where they could speak and rest in relative privacy.

“Ah think the city’s prettier at night,” Honey stated idly.

“Think so?”

“Yeah. From what Ah remember, the sun shinin’ off the marble was fancy and all, but there wasn’t this… glow like there is since Princess Luna came back.”

“Agreed,” Surprise chirped. “I heard that it was only major metropolisisisis,” she slurred playfully, “like Manehatten that had much of a night life, but now it’s like every major and minor town is staying up late lately.”

“Why, though?” Honey asked. “Ah mean, Luna was all upset that so many ponies were shunin’ her night for Celestia’s day, right? Why couldn’t we just have had more cities do this at night?” She waved her hand around, indicating the lively lit city as a whole.

“I think it’s the lights,” Surprise answered. “My sire once told me that unicorn lamps used to be a lot trickier to make, so there weren’t as many and they were super expensive. For the common pony, that meant either you use a candle or nothing. Then this one pony, I forget his name, figured out a way to simplify the lighting spell by storing power in these specially constructed crystals. Now we’ve got lights all over the place.”

“Oh yeah. Ah think Ah remember Jona sayin’ somethin’ like that.”

“Like what?”

“Somethin’ like Luna comin’ back just gave the crown a chance to pass some laws ta make it look like they’re responsible for what everypony was doin’ anyway.” She snorted a giggle. “She’s real cynical like that.”

“Think it’s true though, that Celestia was just following the trends?”

“Might not have been her, though,” Honey corrected. “Keep in mind there’s lots of other ponies in charge of handlin’ the meat ‘n’ potatoes of actually makin’ the laws. The Princesses get final say, though.” At Surprise’s confused frown, Honey just shrugged. “Ah never paid too much mind ta that stuff.”

“Yeah. Let’s talk about something more fun.”

“Kay. Like what?”

Surprise tapped her chin in thought and took a bite of her burger. “Oh. How about some of our biggest sexual fantasies?”

Honey frowned. “Not sure what you’re talkin’ ‘bout, sugar.”

This question seemed to catch Surprise off guard as she considered how to phrase her response. “Well, is there anything you’ve always wanted to try with your herd, but haven’t?”

Honey just frowned more deeply, her brow furrowing as she thought. “Can’t rightly say there is. Ah say Ah’m in the mood for plot stuff ‘n’ Plow gives it ta me. If Jona wants ropes, then we bring in the ropes,” she explained matter-of-factly. “Plow’s really easy goin’, so he’s always up fer whatever. What else is there?”

“You’ve read some of Thomas and Moonlight’s book, haven’t you?” the white mare asked. “The one with all those fancy positions.”

“Oh!” Honey exclaimed, finally understanding. “You mean that kind o’ fantasy.”

“Yeah!” Surprise cheered. “So, got anything?”

Honey shrugged, not meeting the pegasi’s eyes. “Uh, Ah can’t rightly say there’s anythin’. Ah know what Ah like ‘n’ that’s what Ah do.”

Surprise pouted her disappointment.

“What? Somethin’ wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Surprise assured. “You like what you like, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Ah’m sensin’ a ‘but’ comin’,” Honey deadpanned.

“But,” Surprise glanced suspiciously around the area and motioned for Honey to lean in to her whisper. “I’ve been talking with some of Celestia’s concubines about what to expect. They don’t go into much detail, but they say I’m going to need a really open mind for some stuff.”

“Ah don’t really get that,” Honey admitted evenly. “What’s so wrong with good ol’ fashioned ruttin’?”

“Well, the Princesses have been around for a really really really reeeeeealy long time, so they’re probably a little bored of doing the same thing over and over.”

Honey scoffed her dismissal. “Bored o’ ruttin’?” she asked with amused disbelief. “Sorry, sugar, but Ah just don’t see how that’s possible.”

Surprise frowned a moment before an idea came to her. She’d encountered ponies with this mindset before, mares and stallions who just wanted the same old thing every time. It had never bothered her before. If that’s what made them happy, then she was happy to oblige. However, based on what she’d been told, she knew that that mindset needed to end if Honey expected to make it with the harem. “Well, think of it like apple pie.”

“… kay.”

“Apple pie is super yummy and everypony loves it.”

“True.”

“But don’t you think it’d be a little boring just eating the same old apple pie day in and day out?”

Honey nodded thoughtfully.

“Like how you like plot stuff. Apple pie’s good, but sometimes you’re just in the mood for some super yummy sour apples.”

“Ah guess that makes sense,” Honey admitted. “An’ Ah’d be lyin’ if Ah said some of those things Moonlight read ta me that one time didn’t get me feelin’ all tingly.”

Surprise beamed her approval.

“Alright. So why don’t ya’ll tell me some o’ your fantasies and we’ll see where it goes.”

Surprise nodded excitedly. “I really like touching ponies with my wings.”

“What, like a massage?”

“No. That’s being touched,” Surprise corrected. She extended her wings and folded them inwards, almost wrapping them around herself. Flexing out her primaries, she carefully reached down and prodded at what remained of her burger. “I like doing this for ponies,” she explained. “Doesn’t matter the sex. They all like it when I start tickling them with these babies.”

Honey watched in fascination as the long feathers poked and stroked the burger, imagining her own nipples or marehood in place of the food. A smile crept onto her face as she imagined the faces Plow or Jona might make if their sexes were teased like that. “Now that’s somethin’.” She licked her lips.

Surprise giggled triumphantly at earning the desired reaction and folded her wings back into place. “Okay. Your turn.”

Honey hummed thoughtfully. “Well, Ah guess Ah’ve always been a might curious ‘bout all the fancy things unicorns can do with their magic.”

“Yeah. Always a fun one,” Surprise agreed. “And before you ask, yes. It’s true that they can touch you all over with their magic and feel what they’re doing, too.”

Honey giggled excitedly. “All over?” she asked in a whisper. “Like even,” she looked around leaned in close, “inside?”

Surprise nodded.

Honey’s excitement quickly tempered out. “Well, maybe Ah can try that a bit later,” she allowed hesitantly. “But you said you’ve been talkin’ ta some of Celestia’s concubines, right? What else did they say?”

Surprise idly flicked at a strand of her blonde mane. “Besides keeping an open mind, they didn’t go into much detail. They just said their alicorn got into some pretty funky moods sometimes and the whole harem’d have to be ready to go all out to make sure she’s satisfied.” Her eyes met Honey’s and the two shared an anxious look.

“Ain’t her harem more ‘n twice the size o’ Luna’s, even countin’ us?” Honey asked and Surprise nodded. “How’re we s’pposed ta handle that much alicorn all by ourselves? Ah mean, Ah’m willin’ ta do mah part,” she amended quickly. “But Ah don’t feel right ‘bout startin’ a job Ah can’t finish.”

“I remember talking to Moonlight about that,” Surprise answered. “She said that between the fact that Luna’s younger and still, I guess, kind of drained from recovering the whole Nightmare Moon,” she whispered, “thing, her libido isn’t going to compare to her sister’s for a while.”

Honey sighed in relief.

“I mean, just look at Cadence,” Surprise continued, wanting to further ease Honey’s reluctance. “I heard that she gets by with the occasional whorse and that Shining Armor’s her only regular, so it’s probably a lot more extreme than we’re thinking.”

“Well that’s nice ta hear,” Honey admitted.

“I’m glad you think so,” Surprise said. She reached across the table and set her hand over Honey’s. “I’m really looking forward to working with you.”

Honey’s green cheeks turned apple red and she averted her gaze. “Mah, what beautiful… weather we’ve got here.” She tried to gently retrieve her hand.

“Nuh uh,” Surprise said playfully, not willing to relinquish her captive just yet. “Not until you do something for me.”

Honey smiled at Surprise’s playful glint. “Ya holdin’ mah hand hostage?”

“Basically.”

Honey laughed. “What’re the terms?”

Surprise leaned forward a short ways, turned her head to the side, and tapped one finger against her cheek.

Honey blinked. “Seriously?”

Surprise nodded with an, “Mmh hmm. And make it a good one.”

Honey shrugged. The way she saw it, it was either giving in to the pegasi’s demands, or using the element of surprise to throw the mare. However, the former seemed like it was less likely to cause collateral damage, so she conceded. Leaning forward with unnecessary slowness, Honey popped her lips playfully. The closer she came, the slower she moved. As far as Honey was concerned, if Surprise was going to play dirty, then she almost had an obligation to do the same.

Surprise snickered, guessing what Honey was up to. She’d teach this mare’s cute apple-shaped flank better than to tease a teaser. When Honey’s lips were barely a centimeter away, Surprise snapped her head forward and pressed her lips into the other mare’s pucker.

Caught off guard, Honey froze in momentary shock. She blinked several times as she watched and felt Surprise smile against her muzzle. She then felt the pegasi’s mouth open as a tongue began prodding her chapped, earth pony lips. Unwilling to yield to such an untrustworthy intrusion, Honey narrowed her eyes and shot her own tongue out. The intruder was forced back as the two began fighting in enemy territory.

Surprise smiled all the wider at this turn of events and leaned deeper into the kiss. Honey tasted mostly like the hayburger she’d just eaten, which was a bit of a disappointment, but Surprise pressed on. Her slippery organ managed to evade her adversary trying to pin her. She then shot forward, only to be blocked. Despite the pegasus having the much more experienced and flexible tongue, there was no getting around the raw strength of an earth pony.

The two went at it for almost a minute, staring at each other the entire time. The kiss was more of a game than something intimate, which was just fine for both of them. A restaurant was too public for real fun, anyway. Eventually they parted, leaving a single strand of saliva between them. It popped with a faint snapping sound, startling a giggle out of both mares.

“You taste like hayburger,” Surprise teased.

“You taste like hayburger with onion,” Honey playfully shot back. “Ah should get onion next time.”

Sharing a laugh, the two finished up their meal. Honey had to make a quick pit stop, but soon the pair were back to just walking and talking.

“Oh!” Surprise squeaked. “We should get you a cloud bed.”

Honey raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you gotta be a pegasus ta not fall through those things?”

“Not if they’re enchanted.”

“Hmm. Sounds expensive.”

“I could let you borrow mine,” Surprise offered. “I’ve still got my old one in storage and I know this unicorn who can do the enchantment for cheap. You take it home to your herd, try it out, and see if you want one permanently.”

Honey grinned. “Might neighborly of ya, sugar.” She nodded and bumped her flank against Surprise’s. “Ah might jus’ take ya up on that offer.”

Surprise bumped back. “Any chance I might come along to, you know, inspect to make sure everything works out?”

Honey laughed and threw an arm around the pegasi’s shoulder, pulling her in close. “Have ta talk ta Jona ‘bout that one. She calls the shots ‘n our house.”

Seeing no reason to pull away, Surprise cozied up against Honey. They had to be a bit more careful as they walked, but the contact of one another’s bodies was quite welcome. Surprise was especially curious in how their breasts compared. “I think mine are actually a bit bigger than yours,” she noted idly.

“Think so?” Honey asked and looked down to compare. It was hard to tell while they were still walking along, but eventually the earth mare reached a conclusion. “Huh. Guess so.” The earth mare felt nothing as she inspected the mounds of chest fat. Her words were free of resentment or insecurity. Teats were an everyday sight in Equestria. However, an amused smile did grow across Honey’s face. “Never thought about it before, but ya’ll really are awful big fer a pegasus, ‘specially where it counts.”

Surprise sighed. “My body is both a blessing, and a curse,” she said solemnly. “And I have vowed to only use its powers for good.”

“Really?” Honey asked, incredulous of such a vow. “And how’s that workin’ out for ya?”

“Eh. Some days are easier than others.”

Honey shook her head as she tried futilely to hold back her chortles. “Yer really somethin’ else, filly. You know that, right?”

Surprise nuzzled under Honey’s chin. “I’ve had suspicions.”

The mares walked on in relative silence for a time. They stopped in a few stores, but didn’t buy anything. They were just shopping for the sake of it, and maybe also to have an excuse to playfully flirt and make goo-goo eyes at one another, all while darting off now and then to go help some poor soul in need.

“Hey look. Comics!”

“Huh,” said Honey as she regarded the quaint little shop. The front display was lined with figurines from various franchises familiar and not. Inside was dimly lit to keep the pictures from fading with about half a dozen isles visible; a fair sight larger than the comic stores she was used to. “Didn’t know they had stores like this ‘n big, fancy Canterlot.”

“Even unicorns have foals.”

Honey snapped around to face Surprise with a scowl. “Comics ‘n’ manga ain’t jus’ fer foals, ya know.”

“Sure they are,” Surprise countered, filing away Honey’s defensiveness for later. “They’re for the inner foal in all of us.”

Honey pursed her lips. “Ah guess that’s true,” she conceded.

“Since we agree, why don’t we get your inner foal in there and see if there’s anything new. She’s earned it.” Surprise started pushing on her friend’s back, giving her no time to protest.

Honey gave an exasperated sigh at Surprise’s pushiness, but couldn’t deny the scent of the freshly printed books was making her nostrils tingle. Perking up, she scanned the horizon until she found the Neighponese section, grabbed Surprise’s wrist, and yanked the mare along.

“Ah’m gonna show ya’ll the true beauty o’ Fable Mable!”

Surprise went along without a fuss, smiling as Honey imparted a brief history of the industry and insights into some of her favorite books. The pegasus nodded and listened intently, occasionally offering comments or questions to show she was paying attention. To do otherwise would be rude, especially with how excited Honey looked as she shared.

“You know, I know some places that could fix you up with your own Fable costume,” informed Surprise. “That way you can really look the part the next time you’re pretending to fight the evil Apathars.”

Honey’s eyes flicked nervously from side to side. “I, uh, don’t do that?” she squeaked.

Surprise grinned devilishly. “You’re a terrible liar,” she teased, making Honey’s ears droop.

“H-how’d ya know?”

“Was walking past your room the other night when I overheard. Nearly busted the door down, but you sounded like you were having way too much fun for being attacked.”

Honey’s cheeks turned crimson as she attempted to bury her face in a randomly selected book, not noticing that it was upside down.

“Besides, this is kinda what we were talking about earlier. I have it on good authority that a certain somepony really likes to play dress up,” sang Surprise.

Honey’s blush had climbed up her ears, making them hot and flicky. “Y-ya thinks so?”

“Hmm mmh,” affirmed Surprise as she held up volume 4 of Fable Mable. “Pretty sure you’ll have to fight Silver over who gets to wear the tutu, though.” She flipped the book around and tapped at the page where Fable had begun one of her infamously long transformation sequences. “But otherwise it should be fun for everypony.”

Without another word, Honey flung herself at Surprise, pulling the white mare into a tight, but not too tight, hug. Her lessons in control were paying off, even if she was a little on the heavy side. Regardless, Surprise endured it, returning the embrace with ample vigor.

“Yer the best, Surprise,” she whispered into her friend’s ear. “Ah’m so lucky Ah got ta know ya.”

“Yeah. You are,” Surprise agreed flippantly, only to nuzzle the other mare’s cheek. “But I’m lucky, too. I’ve never met another pony who likes helping others as much as I do. Giving to charity is nice and all, but there’s nothing quite like the personal touch.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Surprise pulled away a bit and planted a kiss firmly on Honey’s lips. It wasn’t a romantic kiss, or a terribly passionate one. There was more energy in a standard chaste kiss, but not enough to warrant the actual parting of lips. It was somewhere in-between good friend and extra good friend, the sort of friend a mare could trust to help her out in heat. All things considered, when the mares parted and looked into each other’s eyes, they both agreed that this was a good place for them to be, at least for now.

This chapter was a lot trickier to write than you might expect, in part because there was nothing really going on. I’d planned a subplot about Surprise being aware that they were being watched by castle guards incognito, but felt that was too much of a distraction. Besides just wanting a chance to flesh out these characters a bit more, I also wanted to show that characters in general have lives outside of Thomas. So yeah, despite my utter lack of respect for the Bechtel Test, this story of one guy having lots of sex with a myriad of loving ladies technically passes.