“Woohoo! Guys’ day!” Silver crows out, pumping a hoof. Tim grins at the pegasus as he hovers next to the human. He nods to the ROG door mare as they exit their apartment building. Tim only has a light jacket on. The ponies have changed the season, spring is in the air, and it’s very pretty in the city of Canterlot. Trees are planted along pretty much every street, grass is greening up as the trees are growing new leaf buds. The smell of green growing things is in the air. Tim glances around, herds are moving around, though something seems a bit different. He nudges Silver and points out his observations.

Silver laughs uproariously, “Oh Tim, spring is in the air. Some of the mares are already in heat. That puts a coals to our hooves. Look around, Tim, do you see any single stallions?”

“No.”

Indeed, there are not, normally, the ponies are streaming around, walking easily among each other. Now they are moving in clumps together, individual herds staying together, many times the mares are walking close with the stallions, usually with other mares encircling the small groups. Silver leans close. “The mares that are staying close are usually either in heat, or really close to it. They instinctually want to be close to their stallions. The other mares are, to an extent, guarding the others.”

Tim frowns. “But why be on guard like that?”

Silver smiles, though his scar does twist his smile a bit, it’s still an easy, happy look on the stallion. He never did get the tip of his ear reattached. “It’s a holdover when herds would have to defend themselves from either rogue mares in heat, or from larger herds wanting to increase their size. It’s really early now, as heat really gets going, the streets will be fairly deserted. Stallions without mares are okay for the next few days, but most single stallions have either hightailed it out of town, or are on the hunt themselves, looking for a mare to start a herd with.”

“So, we could have mares attempt to snatch us up? Do we need one of our mares with us?”

Silver chuckles. “Not literally; the Edict of Shetland put a stop to that thirty years ago. My dad used to talk about mom and his mares covering him with rapiers and estocs. They got in a fight with rival herd once… seems to be a family thing to get face scars; I’m lucky, I lost an ear tip, he lost an eye. In a week, being covered might be helpful. As it is, we might have to deal with some single mares wanting our attention. You’ll find some stallions of some herds trolling around, looking to enjoy some extra time with the mares. Though if you pay attention, you’ll see the lead mare of the herd keeping her eye on him. It’s not common, but there are a lot more mares than stallions, and they want lovin too. It’s almost a public service.”

“Even me?”

Silver punches Tim’s shoulder. “If you talked to Citrus, and these mares knew that you couldn’t get them pregnant no matter how much you mounted them, and you can shoot a good half dozen times, you’d likely have a line of mares going around the block, all waiting for you to service them.” His grin returns. “I don’t see Citrus being all that hot for something like that.”

Tim shudders. The girls have been insatiable more than usual the last week or so since they turned human for him. In fact, one of the reasons Tim wanted time out of the house was to give himself a little bit of a break. He can’t really blame the girls, they are unquestionably loving, and Twilight has assured him they aren’t in heat yet, his nose will tell him when that is the case. Though she did caution him that their hormones are in flux, and so they are definitely more physical than usual, but not obnoxiously so. Not just sex, but Citrus has been going out of her way to be close to him. Reminding him of a cat that wants attention, always climbing into his lap, or snuggling with him. He actually likes the attention quite a bit. Just right now, a little time away is a good thing, Silver has been having the same with Cayenne. Twilight and North have been basically bouncing between the two male members of the herd.

He looks at Silver. “So, what are we going to do?”

The silver colored stallion does a quick loop. “Spend some bits, what else?” He takes up hovering at about shoulder level for the human. “Cayenne wants a foal, but you would be worn out with the other three, so we are going to get some enhancements for you, and some twenty-four hours sterility potion for me, so I can help with the rest of the lovelies. Your first real Canterlot heat. Well, it’s mine too. But I think you are going to have fun.”

Tim speeds up his walking a bit, two unicorn mares are giving him looks that give him the impression of hunger. “What are the single mares going to do?”

Silver claps a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Tim. Have you noticed the abundance of foreigners in town?”

Tim looks around. He sees zebras, griffons, donkeys, hippogriffs, buffalo, horses, yaks, drakes, and minotaurs. “Yeah,” he agrees.

“They’re here hoping to snap up all the sex – pony mares are kinda legendary for their libido. We even have visas exclusively for heat tourists. Some males even offer their services for a fee and make off with a ton of money for just a couple weeks of work. Some mares will have friends with coolers, that will satisfy the physical needs, a lot of filly foolers choose that option.”

“I’ve heard the term before, but what is that?”

“Mares that prefer other mares, don’t humans have mares or stallions that are attracted to their own sex?”

Tim nods. “Yeah.”

“Same idea, but in heat, mares crave that insertion and then having some kind of fluid in them, so a cooler gives them that. And then they will do other fun things together, help drive down their hormones levels.”

“Ahh.” Tim nods.

“Then you have the mares that want stallions, and they have options as well. Hiring a stallion for a week happens all the time. Though typically the stallion will have a spell to prevent pregnancy cast on him, a pregnant mare with no stallion is a big no-no. Some stallions are out right now buying week long or longer sterility potions or visiting unicorns that can cast such spells. A lot of bits to be made in the time leading up to heat.”

“And then it hits hard, and pretty much the whole city is indoors having mind blowing amounts of sex?”

Silver nods. “Aint it great?”

Tim shakes his head, smiling. “I knew a few guys back home that would kill for something like this.”

“Really? How is it back at your world, you said humans don’t have heat, right?”

Tim shakes his head. “No, we don’t. With her research, Twilight could likely spell it out better than I could. But humans women can be fertile a few days every month. And while their hormones will increase their desire, they don’t go out of their way to seek out men, they usually aren’t even aware if their fertile periods.”

Silver's face scrunches as he thinks, his ears flicking back and forth. “How do you guys make little humans then, if you don’t know that you are going to get her pregnant?”

That gets a bark of a laugh from Tim. “There are at least seven billion humans on my world, we like sex, like all the time. So, if we don’t use birth control, like condoms and such, there would be a lot more little humans running around. Men are fertile constantly from when they’re around twelve years old until the day they die.”

Silver whistles. “Seven billion humans.” He shakes his head. “So, a human mare has no idea if having sex is going to get her pregnant. That’s crazy.”

Tim nods. “It works for us. But, boy, it makes coming to your world a crazy experience for me. Pony mares like sex, with Citrus and the girls, I have had more sex in a month than I had in a typical year back at home. And then we are talking about the girls becoming totally insatiable. Silver, buddy, I’m a little afraid.”

“Afraid? You? I don’t believe it.” Silver says with a straight face. “You’ve mentioned how the smell of the mares makes your head feel funny?”

Tim nods, Silver continues. “That’s their pheromones, and when they are happy and content, their levels are fairly low. But when heat comes in, that’s jacked to eleven. I mean your head feels as though it’s gonna float right off your shoulders. You will find your body responds to their heat more. You’ll get hard easier, stay that way longer, and it even amps up your energy level. It’s a lot of exercise, a lot of effort. But everything about it feels so good. You may pass out late at night totally exhausted, but you’ll have a smile on your face, and be ready to start the next morning before the sun rises.”

Tim glances at the sun, rising slowly towards its zenith. “What about the Princesses? I’ve heard some things.”

Silver leans close. “You know how Twi was during hers, well, Celestia and Luna have been alicorns much longer than her. I know they both have stables of willing stallions who live all year in luxury before performing their royal duty.”

“You’ve got to be pulling my leg, Silver.”

“No, I’m serious. Between Celestia and Luna there’s probably forty or so stallions kept on hoof so they can satisfy the physical needs of the Princesses. I mean, the requirements are quite tough to even be considered. A stallion must have sired a minimum of four foals, one of which must be a colt. Most are former lead stallions from herds throughout Equestria who have decided to let a younger stallion take over. Some single stallions have made it into the royal harem, but it’s pretty rare. There are millions of herds throughout the land, spending twenty or more years being pampered for most of the year before your princesses need you for a couple of weeks twice a year sounds pretty good to some stallions when your foals are grown and out of the house. Maybe you’ve got a young stallion who’s been a good second for you for years, and you want to give them the position of lead. There are a million reasons why some stallions would toss their names in.” He leans close. “And if you fit the requirements, and have made it through the screening. You have a personal interview with the Princess you would be servicing before you are accepted.”

By the stallion waggling his eyebrows towards the last gets Tim's attention. “So, they get to try the stallion out before he’s accepted.”

Silver nods. “I’ve met one stallion who made it all the way through the process, only to have Princess Celestia decide no, and he said it was a very thorough interview.”

“Sounds just like an excuse to have a stallion visit just to scratch an itch, cause she’s horny that day.”

Silver shrugs. “I can’t think of a better way for her to scratch that itch. The princesses are as close to deities as we have here in Equestria, but they are ponies, just like everypony else. They have needs too, and I do know that Princess Celestia has been less available than usual for the last couple of weeks. She’s feeling the pressure of the upcoming heat herself, I guarantee you.”

“What about royal privilege?”

He shrugs. “Well, it used to be, a princess could come to a herd, and demand the use of a stallion and there is nothing a lead mare could do, and the stallion had even less of a choice. A long time ago, the punishment for denying royal privilege was quite heavy. But as things have progressed, they started building up their stable of stallions so they could continue to function without cucking herds all around Equestria.”

“Continue to function?”

“Yeah, raising and lowering the sun and moon, all the other head of state functions that the Princesses must perform. If they didn’t have some release, it would be chaos. They would be a danger to anypony around them, mares would get attacked, stallions would likely get raped by a sex crazed Princess.”

“I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna while I was trying to recover. Sex-crazed and rape doesn’t even enter my thought processes when I think of them.”

Silver laughs. “It was a long time ago, Tim, buddy. But sex-crazed is the word. Did either of them flip their tails to the side and you get a good view of them as they were walking?”

Tim furrows his brows and thinks furiously. “Maybe a few times.”

That gets a big grin from Silver. “Dude, if you had said anything about that, or had expressed interest, you could have banged a Princess.”

Tim rolls his eyes. “I’m already banging a princess.”

Silver shoves his shoulder with a hoof. “You know what I mean. Twilight is wonderful and all that. But Celestia, or Luna. That would be amazing.”

“What about Cadance?”

Silver shrugs. “What happened with Shining is water under the bridge.” He reaches up and unconsciously touches his damaged cheek. “I really don’t hold any animosity to Shining for that. And she’s been punished enough. But from what all the papers say, she’s chased out any potential suitors to join them. She might be fun, but still, she isn’t Celestia or Luna.”

“I saw her tending to you after the duel.”

“Yeah. I think she kinda likes me. I can’t say I hear anything about Cadance; either Shining is Superpony McEverhard, or they make arrangements with a kusa, or several. Speaking of them, they’re all booked solid for heat months in advance, like they have to stagger when reservations are open so ponies who learn later they may need some help aren’t all out of luck.” He stops and blinks. “Here we are.”

Tim looks up at the sign, though he has been learning the pony script, it’s still hard for him. He takes a moment to try to read the sign, but Silver drags him in before he gets more than a couple of letters. The mare behind the register greets them, though Tim finds himself shying a way a bit. The mare seems to be focused at looking not at his face, but quite a bit further down. His nose twitches a bit as Silver gets up to the counter. “We need some potions.”

Her eyes don’t move from Tim’s crotch. “Oh we are going through a lot of them today.” She stops and shudders, her tail waving back and forth. “What kind?”

“Temporary sterility and what kind of enhancement potions do you have available?”

She brightens immensely. “So, not every mare is wanting a foal, and just two of you? How many mares in your herd?”

“Four. Just one is looking for a foal.”

She tears her gaze from Tim’s crotch to look at Silver, her horn lighting. “One stallion, servicing three mares in heat, gonna be a couple of long days until your buddy has finished his job with the one wanting a foal... Don’t count on seeing him for half a week or more while he’s seeing to that. Since I’m guessing this is your first heat in Equestria, at least make sure they stop to eat twice a day so they don’t forget…” She blinks a few times then turns to her shelving. Her tail is waving quite a bit, exposing everything she’d usually keep hidden. As Tim watches, she flexes a bit. Silver apparently noticed, he nudges the human and chuckles. Tim rolls his eyes. He’s seen enough mare parts, quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. Though she doesn’t seem to be trying to make it obvious, she is definitely showing off quite a bit. Finally, she turns around with small, stoppered vials held in her magic. “A twenty-four hour potion good for sterility? Here’s five of them. And when it comes to enhancements. Are you looking for stamina or recharge?”

Silver looks up at Tim, then back at the mare. “Both would be nice.”

She smiles and a half dozen different colored bottles land on the counter. “Well, take your pick, boys.”

Tim crouches down, inspecting the different bottles. All of the potions seem to be labeled in the crazy pony script. Silver picks up a bottle, looking at it, then he looks up at Tim. “Well, we don’t know how these will fully act on you, how ‘bout a couple of each, and we’ll come back for more if needed.”

Tim nods. “What’s the charge?”

She looks at the line of bottles. “Five hundred.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “That’s quite a bit.”

She nods. “And with what was put into making them, they are worth every bit. You are in Citrus Blush’s herd, right?” Tim nods. She smiles. “What she sells is quality, I do the same here. Trust me.”

Tim looks at Silver, who nods. “Yeah, a bad potion can have some different effects than you want. Not a good idea to skimp on the quality here.”

Tim reaches into his day bag. “Now I know why Citrus sent me with so much.” He pulls out a heavy bag.

***

“Hey, Tim!” Comes a familiar voice.

Tim looks up from his sinks. Lunch rush is over, he’s been able to get caught up with dishes. He reaches under the sink and opens the valve to drain it. “What’s up, Apple Stars?”

“Go ahead and clock out. This was the lightest lunch rush we’ve had in a while. Cayenne has already headed home. We are going to be closed for the next week or so. Just not enough business to stay open during heat.”

Tim grabs a towel and starts drying his hands. The last two days have been fairly quiet, he can see why extra staff really isn’t needed. And many of the staff do seem eager to be getting home to their own families. It almost reminds of Christmas time, where people are more interested in being home with families rather than working. Though that gets an internal laugh, this is because the ponies are pretty much completely focused on sex. He heads into the small staff room and hangs up his apron, a quick stop by the time clock and he smiles at Apple Stars. Even the mares working here haven’t been immune. Though he’s found the best thing to avoid embarrassing mares that may not be fully aware of how they are acting is to simply ignore it.

He opens the door out of the restaurant and then stops in his tracks. The streets are fairly deserted, but what he sees standing before him has his jaw dropping. Standing nearly at his shoulder height in undoubtedly a pony, her face is covered in short yellow hair, she has a two tone orange mane with her horn sticking out from her forehead. But the rest of her shocks him. She’s standing on two hooves, but her body is proportioned more like a human, two hands are clasped together nervously, she’s wearing clothes too, but her tail is swaying back and forth. She’s wearing a green patterned dress which goes down to her knees. She smiles tremulously at him. “You like?”

“Citrus? What is this?”

“I liked holding your hand as a human. And Twilight said she’s continuing her research on this transformation spell since it was so fun when we all did it for you. She came up with a variant, between fully pony, and fully human.” She touches her chest. “I’ve got breasts again, I know you like them.” She reaches up and touches her face. “But I still feel more like me like this. I like the form. Twilight says it’s easier to perform, and she says that I could learn the spell. So she’s going to teach me since it ended up looking so good.”

Tim reaches out and touches her arm, running his fingers through the soft fur. “You know, you don’t have to do this for me. I love you no matter what you look like.”

She smiles and blushes a bit. “I know. But I also know you miss your kind. A happy medium, Twilight says, do you like it?”

Tim hugs her to his chest, and she wraps her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. “Citrus, whatever makes you happy, but yes. I like this.”

She pulls away, reaching up and cupping a breast. “I asked Twilight to make them a little bigger, I understand why human mares wear bras now, but you liked mine so much the other day, I like appealing to you, love.”

He reaches down and kisses her cheek, “Citrus, you keep on amazing me. You are a wonderful mare, did you know that?”

“Thank you, Tim.” She reaches out and takes his hand. “I thought we could hold hands and walk through the town before we head home, just a little date for you and me?”

That gets a smile from him. “So we can go get coffee? Maybe something sugary?”

She grins. “Cookies it is then.”

She leads him off, as she turns he can see there is a small cutout for her tail to hang outside the dress, but the dress does cover everything effectively. Then a thought hits. “So, the fur is over your entire body?”

She nods. “Except for a few places, it thins out on the belly and my marehood, but pretty much all is fur.”

He nods, “Similar to how it is for you as a pony.”

She lifts her other hand. “Twilight had issues figuring out the hands, it was funny, some attempts had fur all the way down to the fingertips. This way was the happy medium.” He looks at the hand, the fur thins out heading down the forearm, and leaves skin the same color as the fur down to the fingertips.

“What can be done with magic, that is truly amazing.”

She giggles. “Twilight has been saying the same thing about your species with electricity. Did you know she got the computer to run? She told me this morning at the castle.”

“You were in Ponyville?”

She nods. “That little spell she set up makes life really easier to go between her castle and our home. I like her castle. The crystal all throughout it is beautiful.”

Tim nods. “And she spends a lot of time in her lab?”

She bumps her shoulder into him. “Of course she does. She’s fascinated by everything you. Everything that’s human. She’s been busy with a lot of things. You remember when we told you she was a one pony economy all by herself?”

He nods. It struck him totally dumb when he found out that Twilight wasn’t just comfortable financially like they are, but actually overpoweringly rich thanks to not just her family, but some business ventures she spends time on. “What of that?”

“She might be multiplying her wealth with this. And she said she’s going to specifically put you as owning your own companies with this venture. Since you brought the technology here when you came to Equestria. She was giddy when she was explaining that she’s having the infrastructure starting to be built, not just in Canterlot, but she’s contracted with other companies to build all throughout Equestria. No more time wasted waiting for a response, she’s figured out mobile phones, internet all throughout the kingdom. In ten years, ponies are going to have almost the same communications humans do.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “And she’s going to do what?”

“Since you brought the tech, you are going to benefit from it.”

“Citrus, I don’t need all of that. I’ve got you, I’ve got Cayenne, North, Silver, Twilight. I have a job that keeps my mind and body busy. I’m happy.”

She moves a little closer. “I know, Tim. But Twilight…”

He reaches out and puts a finger on her lips, getting a questioning look from her. “Citrus. I know you are excited about the newest member of our herd, I love Twilight as much as you do. But this date is just you and me. Why not tell me what you’ve been doing?”

“Oh, my day is boring by comparison.” She looks away, her cheeks flaming.

He reaches out and turns her face to him. “Not to me, Citrus. I want to know what goes on with my herd when I’m not around. But you are here, I want you to tell me about what you have been doing.”

She stops walking, turning to look at him. “Really?”

He nods. Getting her to leap at him and wrap her arms around him tightly. “You are the best.” She murmurs into his chest.

That gets a smile from him as she pulls away, he makes a point of grasping her hand in his, he starts walking, drawing her with him. “So, what about your day?”

She looks down. “Well, I started off at the shop, I had to replenish some stock that’s been selling out. Perfumes are really in high demand around heat. I thought I had made enough, but they sold out. Then I went by the hospital.”

He reaches out and pulls the door open for Cookies. “The hospital?”

She nods as they get in line behind two mares. “Yeah, though things are quiet there. Not many patients, and they are pretty much running on a skeleton crew. But I was working with a mare, she had a bad teleport, and ended up something like twenty feet high. The fall was pretty nasty, but she was healing pretty well. But she has some scarring from the landing. I’ve been helping her feel pretty after all of that.” The other mares move off and they step up to the counter.

Tim scans the menu board, looking to Citrus. “Hi, Cookie!”

The mare at the counter does a double take. “Citrus Blush?”

She nods. Getting the other mare to blink. “What happened? You look way different than normal.”

“Oh, just trying out a spell, getting some romantic time with my lead stallion.”

Cookie looks at their hands intertwined together, then up at the smile on both of their faces. One blooms on hers. “Oh, I see. Connecting with your stallion. That’s always a good thing.” She shakes her head. “Okay, what can I get you?”

Tim watches Citrus as she orders them some hot drinks and muffins, utterly fascinated by the subtle changes to her face with the spell, but that’s she’s still recognizable as the mare she usually is. Tim pulls out his bits to pay for the meal and soon they are sitting at a table. With him being around the city so much, the ponies really don’t react to him anymore. And that seems to be holding with how Citrus looks now.

“Where was I? Oh yeah.” She stops, looking at him. “I want you to know something, Tim. I’m so happy to have you in my life.”

Tim looks into her large eyes. “Citrus, I can say the exact same thing.”

She smiles brightly as a unicorn floats their food over to them. “Are you sure you want to hear everything that I did before I came to meet you?”

Tim grins. “Every moment, love.”

Her face could ignite wood at a hundred paces, but the demure smile lets Tim know that she really appreciates the attention. She takes a sip of her coffee and continues speaking. He lets one part of his mind work on the words she is saying, but the rest, is focused on looking at her. Last night after he got home from work, he had been sitting cross legged on the floor, and just like a big cat, she had crawled into his lap and fallen asleep, despite the fact she weighs more than any cat, it was so endearing to have her curled up on his lap and sleeping peacefully.

“And she told me that for the first time since her accident, she felt beautiful.” She says softly as she takes a bite out of her muffin. He reaches for his drink then he stops, crumbs from her muffin have ended up in her cleavage. He reaches out.

“Tim, what…?” He shows her the small morsel of muffin between his fingers. He slowly puts it into his mouth and swallows. She looks down, “Wow, should call these crumb catchers.”

He shrugs. “I like ‘em.”

She looks at him for a long moment. “You do? What about how I usually am, just as a pony?”

“I like you that way too.”

“What about as a human?”

“Like ya that way too, love.”

She looks down. “So, you like me no matter what?”

He grins. “No matter what, my love. You are a wonderful mare, and I’m so happy to have you in my life.”

***

Their hand holding continues all the way back to their home. They are the only ones in the elevator on the way up to the top floor. She leans against him, letting him run his hands along her body. Though as the car dings, she grasps his hand once again as they head to their apartment door. Before he opens the door, she draws him to a stop. She takes a moment to verify the hallway is empty before she wraps her arms around his neck and lifts a little bit on the tips of her hooves to kiss him. Their kiss goes on as they lose sense of everything. Finally she pulls away breathlessly. “Sometimes I forget to breathe.”

He grins, though he’s just as winded. “I know, me too.” He hugs her tightly.

She snuggles her chin into his shoulder. “Thank you, love.”

“For what?”

“For showing your love to me, for being the stallion you are.” She places her hand on the door knob. “Ready?”

He nods and she opens the door. The soft clink of dishes speaks of Cayenne working on dinner, Experience tells them that North and Silver will likely be in the library, both working on their respective creations. Though one thing is new in the foyer. Twilight had used her magic to alter the wall, making a niche for the statue that she had gotten him. It’s now the first thing he sees when he gets into his home. The craft pony’s eye was sharp, and the work was, to his eyes, amazing. He joins Citrus in walking into the kitchen, the pony working their smiles happily. Though something about the smell gets Tim’s attention. “Cayenne, are you?”

His words get her to whirl around, her eyes wide. “You’re home!” She prances over, her tail high. “Silver isn’t home at the moment, he decided to buy a few more supplies for his project he’s working on.” She glances at Citrus then back at Tim. “Yes, I am.” She stops and clamps her tail on her rear for a long moment. “It’s manageable at the moment. I wanted to get dinner finished before I retired for the night.” She looks up at Tim. “If you are up for it.”

Tim grins. “Well, I’ve heard enough about it, I guess we had better jump right in.”

Another form walks into the kitchen. “Cayenne, are you okay? Oh, Tim! Citrus!”

“Spike!” Tim grins at the little dragon. “Can you finish cooking dinner? Cayenne needs a break from cooking.”

“Sure!”

He looks over at Cayenne, who is huffing a puffing a bit, her face is most certainly red. “I can finish dinner.”

“Oh, nonsense.” He reaches down and picks her up, careful to trap her tail underneath her rear as he shifts her against his chest. She immediately nuzzles his chest, then his cheek. “Spike, I’ll be down in a little while.”

The dragon rolls his eyes. “I may be a kid, but I know what ponies going through heat are like. Take your time.”

“You’re the best.”

“Yah, yah, I know.”

Tim waggles his eyebrows at Citrus. She looks hesitant. “I think I’ll talk to Twilight before I head up. Cayenne needs your full attention, Tim. Go ahead.”

“She’s at her castle.” The dragon supplies helpfully. “I was here helping Silver with his engraving before he took off. You know, that stallion can do the most beautiful things with silver and gold.”

Tim nods as he heads over to the stairs, but before he gets two steps up, he hears what seems to be a loud belch, followed by Spike’s voice calling his name loudly. “Let me put Cayenne upstairs real quick.”

“Hurry, ‘cause it’s urgent.”

Tim nuzzles and kisses Cayenne as he carries her up the stairs. He sets her on the bed and kisses the tip of her horn before walking quickly back down the stairs. “Okay, Spike, what’s up.”

Spike offers a scroll. “It’s for you, and it’s marked urgent.” He points with a claw at the marking on the outside of the scroll. Tim’s eyes widen as he breaks the seal, a beautifully rendered sun, and spreads out the parchment on the counter. Citrus sidles up next to him as they both read.

Tim Malone of Earth

Pursuant to your agreement when you accepted the position of Ambassador of Earth to Equestria. One of the agreements is that you would come to the castle when commanded, but not more than twice per year. This is your summons to Canterlot Castle to consult with Princess Celestia. Your presence is required immediately, make all haste to appear before the Throne of the Sun this evening.

Signed,
Princess Celestia

Tim looks at Citrus. “Right now?”

Citrus scans the document again. “It does mention make all haste. So, I’m guessing it means right now.”

He glances up. “But Cayenne.”

Citrus hugs him tightly. “Silver should be home soon. But you cannot ignore a summons from Princess Celestia herself. Go!”

Tim glances at Spike then at Citrus, finally he turns on his heel and slams through the door. A glance at the elevator indicator shows that it is coming up. He presses the button just in case and stands there for a few moments.

“Hey buddy! You back with Citrus?” Silver says as the doors open.

“Hey, Silver, talk about timing. Cayenne needs your help. It’s started.” He says, putting his hand out to prevent the door from closing.

Silver swallows. “Why aren’t you helping her? Why are you leaving?”

“Because I was summoned by Princess Celestia, Spike belched up a letter for me while I was taking her upstairs. But the letter says I need to go now.”

Silver exits the elevator and ushers him in. “Far be it from me to prevent you from doing at the Princess commands. Have fun with her. Though I wonder if there is a second letter for Citrus to be sent without you knowing.”

“Huh?”

“Well, duh, look at the time of year, Princesses go into heat, too. She might be early this year.”

“Oh, we don’t need another of that.”

Silver rolls his eyes, “Princess Celestia has a lot more experience in such things. If she is planning on having you mount her, she’ll have a full letter sent to Citrus, probably with some incentives to help persuade Citrus to let her and you go at it. But, if not, and it’s just an innocent meeting, why is it just after sundown?”

Tim frowns as the stallion pulls his foreleg back and lets the door close. The elevator heads quickly down to the first floor, and Tim trots from the building, heading towards Canterlot Castle.

Next Chapter: Chapter 35. Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 22 Minutes