It was dark, murky, and cold. Endymion shivered in the darkness that surrounded him. He could hear Twilight in the distance, feel the slightest sensations of Pinkie’s touch, but it felt as if everything was coming through a funnel, or being done from the top of a well and tossed down to him. Slowly the darkness began to lift, and it was lighter. There was a mountain he recognized, something from before this adventure, something from that place they tried to visit.

It was Mount Gloom! He remembered it, and then he felt the cold touch of something behind him.

“Our gift to you, Mage, is the freeing of memories you have from your line. Memories that deal with the cold, and with winter.”

He turned to see her. She looked like Snowfrost, except she wasn’t calm. Her eyes were wild, bright, her teeth weren’t blunt but sharp, and her body was nothing short of perfection. She stood in her robe, stretching her hand out, “Go, your memories of this time are your own. It was within our power to restore them.”

He began to move, but he stopped, “Why help me?”

She laughed, a musical sound, and she pulled her robe open to show her belly, “Because you have given me a child. Or rather, I have given you one. He groaned as he touched his head.

“Yes, for now it resides there. A mixture of material and immaterial resides inside of your head.”

He looked at her, and her smile softened, “This child, this spirit, is a gift, along with your memories restored. It will be growing, learning, and soon your bride that is skilled in the arcane arts will need to remove the child. Good, bad, intelligent, or idiotic, all will be determined by how you interact. Now, take this chance to experience your memories, and to see your child for the first time.”

With that she was gone. What was left was the mountain, covered in a thin layer of snow. He stepped, carefully toward the building. It wasn’t the same small guard post that he had seen before. It was bigger, almost a castle, and inside of it was wicked laughter. He stepped lightly, moving slowly toward the building, toward the rough hewn door that stood against the blistering cold outside. He touched it, and he felt the ice from the storm that was raging, and a warmth behind the door itself. He pushed, but it remained solid. Looking around he felt the cold getting worse, the storm, which he had largely ignored up to this point, began to worsen.

Pelts of frozen rain hit him, driving sharp, tack-like frozen droplets against his torn shirt and skin. He hugged himself, unsure of what to do, but knowing that he was going to freeze if he did nothing.

“Hello?”

He looked for the voice, and what he saw was a small pony. She was a filly, absolutely adorable, and her eyes were so alive and expressive. He neared her, knelt down, covering her as best he could with his body.

“What are you doing out here?”

The little one hugged him, spreading warmth through his body, and suddenly he was no longer outside of the door, but inside of a room. Behind him were three more that looked like him. One was an older, and broader, woman. Her red hair was frazzled, her purple cloak looked as if it had been near a fire or two in the last few hours.

“Reeka! Draggle! Where are you two?!”

“Coming Mama!”

He watched as a thin girl with the same color red hair, and a broader girl with black hair, and a face full of freckles, came into the room.

“What have I said about calling me Mama?!”

“Ummm, that you hate it,” the thinner one said.

“Exactly!” she walked toward them and shook her head, “I should have never created either of you.”

She looked back at the table near the center of the room, “I’m working on the newest addition to the Empire’s biological weapons, and it’s nearly finished. Nearly. I need for the two of you to go down the mountain, gather the sap from a Floom Plant, and bring it back here.”

“But M… Hydia, Hydia, that plant eats people! Our magic isn’t powerful enough to keep it from trying to eat us!”

“Or plant seed pods in us!”

“Girls, girls, girls, you’re mistaking me for someone that cares! You’ll go get the Floom Sap, and you’ll do it willingly, or I’ll clone the two of you, destroy you, and make those two want to collect it! Do you understand me?!”

“Yes, Hydia.”

She watched as they began to walk out, and someone clearing their voice stopped them. Endymion looked for the other person, and he saw him. He saw… Himself. Suddenly he felt a pull, his eyes widened, and within moments he was actually seeing though the man’s eyes.

“Lord Ambrose, You flatter me with your presence,” Hydia said as she bowed.

“Hydia, rise, and stop trying to seduce me. It is a waste of time, and you know it. Now, what is this about Floom Sap?”

She looked at the two girls, cleared her throat, and then looked back at him, “Lord Ambrose, the Floom Sap is needed to produce the spark of life needed for this creation. Think of it, a living substance that has one desire, to spread out as quickly as possible, covering barren, empty wasteland, and then cultivating it into a liveable area,” she smiled, “It would allow us to venture deep into the badlands, perhaps even allow us to venture closer to the Equestrians.”

“What does it feed on?”

She looked away from him, “Magic. It feeds directly from magic, but only Harmonious magics. It sucks it dry and uses that magic to propel itself even further.”

He looked at the plans, then at the design, “If it reached the Equestrians it would destroy them, wouldn’t it?”

“Perhaps, a few hundred might be caught in its first innocent attempt at contact, but I’m certain those losses would be more than acceptable.”

“Hmmm,” he rubbed his chin before he raised a hand.

Hydia made a choking sound, her veins began to show, and her hands were now reaching for a ceremonial blade that was on the table.

“L...Lord Ambrose?” she choked out.

“It’s an innocent reaction to some very basic water magic. Acceptable loss, right?”

“P...Please, spare me…”

He dropped his hand and she fell to the floor, “Any loss that is not the result of an act of aggression toward us is not to be considered acceptable.”

“Of course, but my Lord, if it feeds on harmonious magic we may never spread closer to the Equestrians.”

He nodded, “And that is acceptable. We don’t have to engage the Equestrians, and besides, many in the council feel that staying hidden away is the best course of action. Still, your project has merit. Cultivating the badlands into usable farmland would give us yet another advantage. You will have my support for the project, and my personal help. Starting with this.

He lifted a vial of thick green liquid and placed it on the table.

“Floom Sap, but…”

He shook his head, “Reeka has reported your findings to me ahead of time. I came to the conclusion of what you would be needing long before now, and I sent one of the golems to retrieve it. It is far easier to replace a golem than a child. Now, I’ve been told that you have a control method planned?”

“Of course, I..”

The vision began to darken, blank out, and soon it was just Endymion and the filly. She was standing there, quietly, all while seemingly paying attention to what had happened. She then turned to him. Walking slowly toward him she stopped.

“Do you have a name?”

She shook her head, “No, you have not given me one.”

As he looked at her he could see how she differed from the Windegos. She wasn’t as white, or snowy as they were. Her coat was more of an off white, her eyes were those lovely shades of green, and her hair, her hair was a rich red. She reached for him, and touched his head, “You need to waken.”

The memory of what he had seen was still fresh in his mind, but now he saw something else. Applejack was sliding down the wall, her sword lying broken near her. Pinkie standing in front of him, crouched in an aggressive manner, practically ready to pounce and rip whatever came near her, and him, a brand new tail hole for even considering getting too close. Twilight was casting spells left and right, and so was Moondancer. Both of them were trying to stay away from the giant creature that was attempting to flatten them. Daring Doo, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were all in the air. Fluttershy was using Sol magic to help with the attack, Rainbow was throwing daggers, and it looked like Daring Doo was causing loose stones to fall onto the attacking Minotaur.

He saw Charm hurling potions, Muddy helping him, and off in the corner watching it all was Snowfrost. She didn’t look like she was enjoying it, but instead she looked concerned, frightened, and almost wanting to run away. He watched as a jar hit the Minotaur, and when it did the sound and feeling of lightning filled the room. He almost expected to see the Minotaur to be put down by that, but instead it was still there, part of his skin burned away to reveal the muscle and bone under where the stitched together skin had been.

The Minotaur changed tactics, no longer going after those in the room, but instead heading toward the machine itself. Endymion stood, feeling woozy as he did so. The Minotaur roared as it neared the machine and a well placed throwing knife found itself embedded in its eye. It roared again, angry, swiping at Rainbow Dash who had partially blinded it.

Its war hammer lay broken, and the cudgel it tore out of an icicle was shattered in many fine pieces. All it had left was its arms and hands. It struggled to snag Rainbow, to grab her from the air and beat her for wounding it. In its anger fueled state, it's reach found Daring Doo. She screamed as it slammed her into the floor, instantly breaking her nose, and most likely one of her wings. She groaned as it lifted her again, its one remaining eye bloodshot from anger. Its mouth opened with the most horrific roar it could muster, and it threw her at Rainbow Dash knocking the other Pegasus out of the air and against the wall. The two of them slid to the ground, and it stalked toward them.

Endymion reached out his hand, much like he had felt himself do in his dream and the Minotaur slowed, but didn’t stop. He felt the water in the blood inside of it. Felt the veins, and pulled against them. The Minotaur roared again, this time pulling hard against the magic that held it, and ripping the veins out of its arms, neck, back, legs, and everywhere else. It faltered in it's step, but did not topple. Endymion yanked once more, rewarded by immobilizing one it's arms as veins, capillaries, and arteries tore loose.

Endymion felt the magic slip and the Minotaur’s focus changed, once more, and instead it seemed to be focused on him. It stomped toward him, it's useless arm swinging futilely, the remaining eye turned bloodshot as the capillaries within it burst during Endymion’s last spell. He loosed another spell, a gravity well incantation, and the golem stopped dead in it’s tracks. It teetered on it's hooves, unable to maintain balance with it's top heavy form. It fell backwards, toppling over columns built at the edges of the chamber. This is not what drew Endymion’s attention. When the golem fell, the mage saw that the weather machine had started back up again, with the wild Windegoes now coming to the aid of the minotaur golem.

“Oh, no!” Daring Doo shouted, “the machine started back up!”

“But how?” Rainbow grunted, getting to her hooves after untangling herself from the dark golden Pegasus, “didn’t Endymion just shut it down?!”

“The golem!” Snowfrost shouted, “The golem has the necessary enchantments to start the weather machine! It must have remotely activated it!”

“Oh, great,” AJ said, a little punch drunk, “a make-it-yerself minotaur that acts as a weather vane.”

The sound of the screaming Windegos filled the room. Their pain filled screams causing the cold to cover everything, and the Minotaur, which seemed to be aided by controlling the machine, and thus the Windegos themselves, was once again up and mobile. It stomped forward, the Windegos supporting it, toward Endymion.

“Watch it's horns!” Charm said, “It's channelin’ magic!”

Endymion jumped from the spot he was in, aided by a minor wind spell the propelled him upright; he was lucky enough to not be caught in the arctic blast that erupted, although Fluttershy was. The Sol Priestess’ left wing was hit by the frosty attack and she plummeted to the chamber floor; she did not appear worse for wear, save for her iced over wing, for she threw a blasting curse at the golem, chipping off the growing layer of tundra forming on it's hide. Endymion watched as she cast another curse, for every incantation melted off the frost on her feathers.

“Shy, get out of there!” AJ shouted, the swordsmare now brandishing her greatsword high.

The Sol Priestess did as she was told, flitting away as Applejack rushed forward, her broken sword swinging high in the monstrous minotaur’s form. Ice, flesh, and bone flew away as the broken greatsword struck true. Charm, seeing how effective the farmer’s/soldier’s attack was, tossed a brew at the open wound that sizzled as it arced onward. The potion bottle ignited on impact with the golem, sending gouts of flame along the creature's legs. It roared in pain but remained standing.

“Moondancer, Twilight, send some lighting his way,” Endymion ordered, “don’t ice and electricity not mix well?”

Both mares nodded and began chanting the spell to call forth lightning, as did Endymion. The three mage’s arcs struck the beast with clinical precision, causing the ice-encased golem to stagger fromt he onslaught.

“Ugh, burn dog,” Muddy complained, “kinda wished I had meself a weapon of some sort.”

“Muddy, the minotaurs blade!” Moondancer shouted, “drive it it's solar plexus! That should give us greater opportunity to damage it!”

“Done and done,” Muddy replied, seeing the discarded sword in the chaos of the chamber, picking it up and bellowing, “LEEROY JENKINS!”

“Leeroy who?!” Endymion asked as Muddy drove the blade deep into the golem’s chest, causing the fiend to roar in agony.

“Now!” Twilight shouted, “Pour it on! Fast!!”

The three mages angled their electric bolts to the sword’s all steel hilt, sending 1.21 gigawatts of power each into the very core of the beast. It staggered even more greatly now, the combined damage of flames and lightning taking their toll on the golem. It still wasn’t enough to fell it, as it charged another blast of freezing blast of arcane power toward it's victims. None were encapsulated by the attack, but the floor was now as slippery as an icy lake.

“Gah!” AJ cried, “The floor is even more slippery than a greased up pig! We gotta end this an’ soon!”

“Agreed,” Endymion said, “Dash, are you okay?”

“I think so,” Rainbow answered, “but Daring needs a medicine mare, and fast!”

“Damn it,” Endymion cursed, “Muddy, you and Dash get Daring out of here. Charm, I need to you pass along a few healing tonics to Dash then start chucking those instant flame potions of yours; AJ, dig that blade in deeper; Twilight, ‘Dancer, more lightning; Shy, hit this fucker with the most powerful combat spell you know.”

“Waht are you going to do, Endymion?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m gonna do the best I can,” Endymion answered, then, “ILLUMINAIRE!”

The bright flash of light, combined with searing heat of forked lightning filled the chamber, as a veritable column of light struck the golem. Twilight and Moondancer followed suite, hitting it with their strongest lightning spells; AJ jump kicked the blade before the combined spells struck it, driving the blade in hilt of the monster’s chest. Muddy was the last to attack, sending vial after vial of combustible liquid onto the beast.

The combined assault sent a cloud of vapor into the air; it hindered the sight of the remaining party. Dash, who had come back from administering to Daring Doo’s wounds, stood there in shock at the cumulative strike. But her awe was replaced by fear when the creature roared, parting the mist with ease, it's fur singed off, but it it's hooves planted firmly to the floor. Then, Endymion’s eyes widened when something howled louder than the Windegos around the Minotaur.

Instantly they fled and what was left in their place was the same being Endymion had seen in his mind. It was Snowfrost, he knew that, but her tiara was gone. He could see the ruined pieces of it lying on the ground, and instead she had wrapped the Minotaur in an embrace. Endymion could see its body freezing, its form slowing, and he could see Snowfrost fading.

She looked toward him, and it wasn’t the wild or untamed Windego that had stopped the Minotaur, but instead it was the mare that had been so patient with them. She spoke, but the words he heard were inaudible to all but him: The Frost Giants live. They will aid you in your quest. Restore the Empire to it's true glory. You will not be safe until the False Empress is brought low. In an instant she simply vanished from sight. In her place was the Minotaur, frozen solid. Endymion didn’t try to cast a massive spell, but instead he grabbed a small red ball, something he had made a long time ago, and he threw it at the Minotaur.

The explosion caused the massive flesh golem to crack and splinter in its icy form. The cracks spread throughout it, going deep causing the image of the large being to splinter into pieces and then the pieces began to fall apart. It began with the tip of a horn that fell, hit a shoulder, and then from there the entire collection of cracked, icy, and frozen Minotaur pieces fell into a pile of splintered pieces.

He fell to his knees, hearing his own breathing, seeing the now dead Minotaur, and then looked at the machine. Slowly, he got up, feeling the cold coming from it, knowing what had to be done, and struggling to near it. There was a touch, something inside of his mind, telling him to look straight ahead, don’t look to the sides, don’t attract the attention, that the Windegos wanted freedom as much as he wanted to give it to them.

Once more the chess board was presented, and this time, this time the entire thing had been arranged in a pattern that made little sense. Before it had been a single piece moved out of place, but now it looked as if someone had attempted to completely play a game. He began rearranging the pieces, setting them back, moving them into the place, and then he moved the final piece the machine stopped, the Windegos disappeared, and he looked ahead to see Snowfrost.

It was like she was made of fine wintery snow. Her form was translucent, half there and half not, but he did see her. The broad smile on her face was that hard not to miss. He saw her, the true her, and then he felt her lean toward him, her cheek nuzzling his own.

Care for her, and yourself.

With that the wind blew and the snow that made up her body simply disappeared leaving behind an empty space.

Twilight looked in the mirror. She wasn’t worried about letting Endymion down, but she did want to look good for tonight. They were supposed to have a date, somewhere special, and he seemed to be fairly hush hush about it. She grinned as she thought about Stargazer’s home, and the fact that Endymion had proven himself to be more than an adventurer. He was a hero, one that nopony would ever know saved the world, but a hero nonetheless.

A quick check revealed that her soft blue sundress brought out her coats natural colors, her new boots, a gift from Rarity, covered her hooves perfectly, and of course allowed her to wear a pair of stockings that she’d been saving for a while. She grabbed a bottle of perfume, a gift from her mother, and lightly spritzed herself.

Satisfied with how she looked she walked downstairs to find Endymion, and Pinkie, waiting for her. She noticed the lack of Fluttershy, but she didn’t comment on it. At the moment she knew that Fluttershy was attempting to work toward both forgiveness, and entering their herd. Of course receiving word from Princess Luna that the weather machine, and their adventure to shut it down, couldn’t be talked about had been a blow to the Sol Priestess.

She had planned on being able to sing the praises of her hero, and instead she had to keep them quiet. Currently she knew her friend was at the main temple in Canterlot, speaking with Head Priestess Celestia. Walking toward both Endymion and Pinkie she felt her heart skipping a beat. She had wanted this for so long, to be together with Endymion, and she didn’t realize how happy she was to be a part of a herd.

Together they walked out of the library, and Endymion held a small purple ball. She recognized it as a teleportation spell designed for Pegasi and Earth Ponies. It was a magical item that took study and skill to create, and the fact that it looked correct meant that Endymion must have practiced.

“Hold on,” he said.

She felt the field of magic surround her, and she moaned as it entered her. It felt, smelled, and even tasted like Endymion. It was his essence, his power, and in all honesty it was making her want him. The swirling vortex of white and blue magic that surrounded them widened to reveal a familiar door, but it wasn’t in the place it had been.

She looked to see that it was a simple shack, something Endymion must have visited a thousand times, but there was the door for Stargazer’s library here in this shack.

“Muddy, AJ, Charm, and Moondancer helped me move it. Go ahead and open it.”

She did and before her was the entire library just as she remembered. The glowing jewels of the door obviously still powering the portal.

“You… you brought the library out for me?”

He smiled, before he leaned in to kiss her. She felt herself melting into the kiss, her hands roaming from the middle of his back to his lower back, and finally to his ass. She stopped and broke the kiss, “This… This is incredible.”

He smiled, “I know, and it’s for you. When you’re ready we’ll move it to the Golden Oak’s Library, and we’ll hook it up to the magical batteries there, but for tonight I wanted to give my bibliophile something special.”

Suddenly he watched as her horn glowed, hundreds of books moved toward the floor, a couple of tapestries moved down to cover them, and she reached up to buttons that held her dress together on her shoulders, “And I want to give you something in return,” she said right before she unbuttoned those buttons letting the dress become loose on top. She slid it down, letting it reveal her under it.

There was no bra, he knew that when he saw her come down, but apparently Rarity had given her a pair of lacy satin panties. Right above them was a garter belt, one that connected to her stockings, and it looked incredible on her.

“Ms. Sparkle, are you trying to seduce me?”

“This,” she said before she kissed his neck, “Isn’t seduction, this is my helping you to unwrap your gift.”

She felt his arms move around her, his hands gently moving down to her rump, and then she felt him squeeze, softly, “It’s a wonderful gift. I think that mine pales in comparison.”

They heard a giggle snort, and he looked to see Pinkie following Twilight’s example.

“What?! A naked adult party in the new library sounds like fun!”

Together the three of them moved to the bed made of the tapestries, and books, they moved on top of it, Endymion losing his clothes along the way, and once there Twilight felt her two lovers begin to kiss and love her. Twilight’s experiences before had been limited to handling the heat with Pinkie, but she’d learned and developed so much since then. She knew the things that Endymion liked, what she liked, and of course what Pinkie liked.

Which was why it surprised her when she felt Endymion pull her onto his lap. It was gentle, he was gentle, and she realized that she was in something of a cowpony position, or she was until she felt Pinkie behind her. She leaned down, feeling Pinkie moving her tail, something smeared across her tail hole, and she held her breath as she felt Pinkie’s cooler push into the tight confined space.

“Ngh!” Twilight moaned as she felt the intruder enter her tailhole. She felt Pinkie lean forward, kissing her neck, “We’re going to take it slow. Endy and I decided that this night is just for you.”

Despite being sandwiched between her two lovers, and having them both inside of her, Twilight couldn’t help but feel wonderfully full, in more than one way.

The room of reflection was one that Fluttershy had seldom used once she became a full priestess and not just one of the maidens in training. It was designed to be a place where one could relax, listen to the sounds of only your own body, your own mind, and nothing else. It was meant to each of the maidens in training to learn how to focus on the the important things. It was thought that doing so would allow them to reach a state of nirvana that could make communing with Sol even easier.

That wasn’t why she was there this evening. Luna’s decision had ruined her plans of being able to spread Endymion’s well deserved fame. Granted, they had all fought against the Minotaur, but it had been Endymion, twice, that had shut down the great machine. It had been his final attack on the Flesh Golem that stopped it.

Fluttershy looked at the throne, its design, and with a reserved sigh she slid her robes off. She walked up to it, stopping once more to anoint herself with the fragrant oils of her order, and then took the seat on the throne. She had sat on it before, felt the magic that fueled it course through her, amplifying her hearing, her sight, and relaxing her body, but now the throne was cold, hard, unmoving, and uncomfortable.

“We are afraid that it will do nothing for thou.”

She looked to see Celestia walking into the room. As stately as ever, The Head Priestess removed her own robes, as was tradition in this sacred room, anointed herself of the oils, and approached the troubled priestess. She stood before Fluttershy not as the Head of the Order, but only as another priestess.

Fluttershy felt a tinge of jealousy sweep through her, as the Head Priestess was a goddess-in-utero, while she felt tainted with her ledrfladder form, imperfect from head to hoof. Such imperfection could never reach the divine hallows that Celestia herself must have seen for herself since her return. The mirrored room only multiplied Fluttershy’s anxieties, as every square hand of Celestia’s chiseled body reflected on the mirrored surfaces.

“Why?” she asked as she looked at the floor, “Why will it not work?”

Celestia moved toward her, cupping her cheek, “Because, thou hast already received thine message. Thou hast also betrayed thine own heart, otherwise the throne would attempt to make thou at ease.”

Fluttershy looked away in shame, “I… I took your advice, but… Oh Sol, I didn’t think about what I was doing.”

Celestia stepped back, offering her hand, “Come, We shall raid the pantry, we heard there is left over cake, and such a treat must not be left. As we eat, thou shalt speak of that which has shamed thyself.”

Together, the two of them put their robes back on, walked out of the Room of Reflection, and headed instead into the pantry. The way there felt like a walk of shame of Fluttershy. Every failure she committed after the sea monster incident was a testimony to dismal performance as a Sol Priestess. Once again, she reflected on the nigh infallible personage of the head of her order.

When they arrived in the pantry, the room was dark, for not even the fires in the ovens or the lanterns set in the wall were lit. Fluttershy watched as Celestia used a simple spell to light a single lantern for the two of them. She then opened the cold box, and upon opening it Fluttershy saw a beautiful Germane Chocolate Cake. Two plates were floated down, as was a knife, two forks, and finally two slices were cut from the cake and each was placed before them on the dining table in the middle of the room.

Fluttershy took a seat opposite Celestia; she took a bite of her cake, tasting how moist and delicious it was, and she watched as Head Priestess, or Princess, Celestia did the same. The chocolate in the cake eased her mind some, and the pair quietly but delicately devoured the foodstuff. Neither spoke as they ate, but both enjoyed the richness of the confection, even after they finished. After a moment, the elder Priestess daintily wiped her mouth, looked at Fluttershy, and gave a gentle smile.

“Now, perhaps thou shalt feel at ease and explain what it is that has troubled thou so.”

Not feeling proud of her actions, or where they had led, Fluttershy began the night she finally slept with Endymion. She explained it all, the stare, how she used it to have her way with him, how she attempted to force herself into a herd that for all rights and purposes may have been happy and fulfilled to begin with. She unloaded the burden she had been carrying, and she winced as she did. She winced because as she told the tale she felt the guilt of it coming up.

“Hmm, we see,” Mistress Celestia mused, “thou didst claim the Prince as thine own, in the doing, thou hast revealed of thine second nature. Thou hast ingratiated thyself into a herd in an most unorthodox way and thou feels guilt for taking a stallion not thine own. Would we be correct?”

As tears rolled down her muzzle, Fluttershy nodded.

“We see, we see,” Celestia replied, “hmm, thou weren’t the first to commit such a sin, Priestess Fluttershy.”

“Wha-what?”

Celestia giggled, answering, “We see ourself in thee. Thou art not the first to commit such a sin, and most certainly, thou shalt not be the last.”

Fluttershy stammered, “I-I-I don’t under- understand.”

Sighing, Celestia said, “Dearest Fluttering Shywing, if thou could only known… In the days before our- banishment, mine sister and thineself would court many a stallions into our Royal Herd. Twas not unheard of in those days of yore… Hmph, mine sister takes moreso after the unicorns, yea, she be of alicorn blood born, as thyself wast. As for thyself, we take moreso to the Pegasus in us and as such, we can be rather- territorial with our mates. Nay, we can be rather bellicose to those whom we perceive a threat to our chosen stallion.

“Even so, there wast once a fine colt with whom we were most smitten. This colt, who’s name we can no longer remember, was a junior stud in a small herd that once called Canterlot it's home. What happened to the herd and it’s members, we cannot say, ‘tis been so long since we have kept up with their descendants… Forgive us if we diverge into a tangent”

“Pri-Princess,” Fluttershy began, “did you you- steal a stallion from another herd?”

“Yea, verily, we did,” Celestia spoke, a sliver of shame making her voice lower, “we regret doing so, but at the time, so smitten were we that we dared not think of the consequences. ,” she said as she looked at an empty space beside Fluttershy, “Still, what happened between that Stallion and us is something we remember quite well. We were so taken with him.”

She giggled, a nearly girlish sound, “He was kind, gentle, very caring and very sweet to his mares, but that wasn’t what attracted us to him.”

She grinned, “It was his uniqueness that attracted us. Canterlot, in the early days, was similar to how it is now. An Unicorn city carved into the side of the mountain, and a city that housed only Unicorns as equals. Earth Ponies and Pegasi were little more than servants, and as such were often looked down upon. Yet, here he was, a Pegasus among unicorns,” her eyes drifted down, “His herd was made up of early Canterlot nobility and landowners. All of them treated him as a treasure, and that made us want him even more.”

“What happened?”

“That which almost always happens. We approached his mares, speaking to them, explaining our desires to them, and one of them politely explained that while they respected our station their herd was closed. We… We could not accept this. That night we went to him, to the business he owned, and we attempted to seduce him.”

Fluttershy looked at the Head Priestess, surprised to learn that she had done something like that.

“We enthralled him, took him, one of his mares came into the business and we enthralled him as well. Once it was done we satisfied our lusts with them. We did things that we would never tell another soul, but it was fake. What we experienced, that which he did to us, we did to him and his mare, it was nothing more than playing with dolls. We felt so guilty for what we had done, and we removed the memory from their minds,” she closed her eyes, “We swore to ourselves to never do this again, and it is a promise that we have not broken.”

Fluttershy touched her, “Should… should I do the same?”

Celestia shook her head, “Neigh, we have wished many a time that we would have worked to become one of their herd, to have joined it normally, that would have been our truest desire. Thou have the chance to do so now. Gain their forgiveness, work toward it, and do not shy away from the task at hand. Thou art a priestess of Sol, a handmaiden to the father of all Alicorns, Thou must see thy chance to the end. Do so for thyself, for thy potential herd mates, and for thy desired stallion. We wish to see thyself in a loving herd, and perhaps we would enjoy hearing thou speak of thine conquests.”

Fluttershy’s spit take was epic.

Twilight opened her eyes to find that she was currently being held by her future husband and her future sister wife. A soft smile crossed her face, and she took a moment to look what where they had ended up. The bed of books had been left in favor of the floor, the tapestries had followed them, and she knew that one of them was certainly soiled well beyond any salvation.

Her truest hope was that the enchantments would hold that Stargazer cast over the library would still work. She felt something, something off. It wasn’t Endymion or Pinkie Pie, but it was certainly a pony. She felt it at her hooves, a deep resounding snore echoed through the library, and she watched as it woke both of her lovers. Endymion slowly rose from his spot, and noticed that at their feet, was a soft caramel colored mare. She had had no clothes, not a stitch at all, and she seemed to be slathered in the same bodily juices that had gotten on the tapestries….

The memory of what Snowfrost had said came running back to him. The Earth Pony servant, the maid, it was her. Her eyes opened, beautiful hazel colored eyes. She looked around, saw herself in a state of undress, two other mares, and a single stallion in a similar state, and her lip quivered before she began crying.

“No! No, no, no, no! My Dam is going to be so mad!”

“Oh Wowie! A new Pony! Oh we need to have a party for you, not the naked adult fun time party that we just had, cause that’s just for herd members silly, but a welcome to Ponyville Party!”

Her lip continued to quiver, and uncertain of what to do Endymion slowly got up, grabbed a tapestry that he knew was only a tapestry, and wrapped it around her.

“No, thank ye, but neigh. Master Stargazer shall be quite upset if I am to use… Oh my… ye have soiled the tapestries, and the books… Oh… The Master and his bride shall be displeased! Ye… Ye must leave! I shall take the blame for it, all that may happen is that I am forced from his home, but ye, he shall turn ye into a book, or a table!”

A small laugh escaped from Twilight, followed by one from Pinkie, and it was Endymion that opened the floodgates completely. The teenage filly didn’t seem to understand what was going on, but she did realize that these ponies were obviously insane because her warning hadn’t frightened them.

“He won’t. Stargazer the Elder won’t be turning anypony into anything,” Twilight said as she got up.

The four of them walked out of the still open door of the library, into the old shack, and once there they shut the door. When it reopened it was like nothing else had happened, except there was an extra pony out here in the world with them.

“Everypony, lets get cleaned up, and then we’ll explain what’s going on… Miss..”

“Cheerful Golden Apple,” she replied.

“Wow! Another Apple!” Pinkie exclaimed happily.

Cheerful Golden watched Pinkie as she bounced around, seemingly full of energy, and she finally looked over at both Twilight and Endymion, “This is normal?”

Endymion grinned, “It is for Pinkie Pie.”

Author's Notes:

And now, Ron Jeremy Pony and myself present to you, our dear readers, the last of the Weather Machine Saga! And lo, a new character has emerged from it all! Cheerful Golden APple should be a barrel of laughs. But what are these Ice Giants that Snowfrost spoke of? And who, praytell, is this False Empress? Stay tuned, dear readers, for the answers are coming forthwith!!

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