It is a very peculiar procession that makes their way through the Crystal Empire back to the castle in the city center. The group slowly makes their way up the stairs and into the throne room. Maud Pie walks at the lead, her cold expressionless face fixed in form as she is the first to enter the throne room.

“Oh, you are back so quickly?” Cadance starts. “How did it go?”

Not stopping, Maud turns to look at Cadence and states simply, “Educational. We need to study more.”

“Study more?” Cadence asks then her head slowly turns towards the door.

Another pony walks in, one of the Royal guards sent with Maud and Tim’s herd. She’s walking herky jerky, like she’s been electrocuted, her mane and tail is puffed and frazzled. A few items are stuck to her fur from a static charge. A second mare steps up next to her, mane and tail charred. Another guardsmare is floating in within Citrus’ magical field. The guardsmare is trembling as she’d curled into a ball, eyes closed tight.

“What,” Cadance leaps down. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Citrus says softly, shuddering.

“The horror! The horror!” The guardsmare moans from her ball.

Another guardsmare is walking like she’s drunk, barely able to keep on four legs. “Mommy, is that you, mommy?”
Cadance looks around, alarm growing on her face. Shining Armor walks through the door grumbling then turns quickly, “OK! The next pony that mentions the unholy offspring of a winterchilla and a turvydirvy will spend a month cleaning bathrooms.” He moves over and nuzzles his wife for a moment before huffing. “We are going to head back out. We just need a few things before we go, however.” He nods to Maude, who gallops off.

“Shiny, what happened?” Cadance asks.

The big white stallion takes a deep breath. “It’s a lot to explain. When we get back with the gemstone, I will fill you in on all the details. As it is, I’m going to have to take a few more guards with me. Maud mentioned she would have liked Pinkie Pie with us for this. But she’s back in Ponyville, and we don’t have time to wait for her.”

Maud reappears, walking in with a large bag on her back, “I found Pinkie’s stash, she is always so well prepared.” She looks over at the Duchess. “I knew she had a Cadance emergency party stash in the castle. It had most of what we needed. Though I directed a guard to get the few remaining items.”

Cadance frowns, mouthing the words that Maud just said with a quizzical look on her face. Shining nods at Maud as they head towards the door. Cadance glances at the items in the bag strapped to the mare’s side and back. “Rope, a rubber chicken, battery and cables, several hooflengths of silk cloth, a feather duster?”

“Don’t forget the vibrators,” Maud says without inflection.

A guardstallion gallops towards her, a large bag in his teeth. As he gets close, a small tear in the bag widens, and several anatomically correct devices fall to the floor. “I’m going to need so much soap and toothpaste after this,” he says as he blushes brightly as he works to gather them together.

Cadance slowly looks towards her husband. “I… I didn’t know we had those in the castle.”

That gets a chuckle from Shining, “I had him go through the guard’s barracks. I knew we’d find a dozen or so.” He looks over at the guard. “Well, pick them up, soldier! They are just as necessary as everything else we grabbed.” The beet red faced stallion picks each one up one by one, depositing them in another bag that one of the other guards was able to find.
“I’ve got some extra alcohol, just in case,” a guardsmare says looking at the one with the bag of… toys?

“Alrighty, let’s go for take two,” Shining Armor says turning and heading for the door. “Let’s get this party started!”

“Pinkie likes parties,” Maud says as she follows the group out.

In a matter of minutes, the party has left once again, “What?” Cadance stands, wings spread slightly spread in shock as she slowly tilts her head to the side, “I… That…What the heck did I just see?”

One of the castle maids shivers once then looks up at Cadance. “I’m… not sure how I feel about this.”

***

Tim knocks on the door. “Twi, love, you awake?”

“Yes. Come on in, Tim.”

Tim smiles, the door isn’t secured as it was earlier, which can only mean one thing. “How long since your last destructive sneeze?”

That gets a bright smile. “Since before my last feeding. You’ve been doing wonderful, my beautiful stallion.”

Tim fights the blush that wants to spread across his face. “Well, I’m full again. If you don’t need any more, I can have Cayenne…”

“Oh, if you stopped, I’d be back to sneezing in a matter of hours. Though if you are ready, I need to…” She lifts a wing. “Spike.”

“Mrph, huh, wha?” The dragon snorts softly as he sits up slowly.

She nuzzles his cheek. “Snuggle time is over for now. I have to take my medicine.”

The dragon blinks at Tim. Then he looks over at Twilight. “I know what mother’s milk is, Twilight.”

She nods. “I know, but there’s a difference between knowing what happens, and watching. This is a very personal time between my stallion and me. The less eyes on the act, the better. Don’t worry, I’ll call you in and we can snuggle more later. I know you are feeling lonely, though if you want, Cayenne or North would likely want a warm little body snuggling with them, it’s pretty close to bedtime, right?”

Tim nods. Spike looks at Tim, then over at Twilight, then he scampers to the door. He skids to a stop at the door. “After you are done, Tim, you gonna snuggle with them?”

Tim nods. “Though I’ll likely spend some time with Twilight too before I come to bed. You go ahead and get comfortable, I’ll just find a place to squeeze in when I come in, okay?”

The dragon nods before he disappears. Tim turns to Twilight. “I’m starting to get used to this.” He looks down, his ears flicking back and forth. “Well, to be honest, I’m actually enjoying this.” His ears flatten back. “I never thought I would think something like this would become the norm.”

Twilight smiles. “Oh, Tim, it’s not what you think it is. Some of the hormones that help with a bond between the foal and their mother are washing through your bloodstream, it simply promotes being closer as a herdmate. Once you are back to normal, those feelings should fade.”

Tim hops up on the bed. “I know. I do not blame you, love. It was an accident, and had you been thinking of something else when the magic overwhelmed you, I could have been turned into something totally crazy, a lactating mare would be the best option.” He notices the look on her face. “No more apologies.” He lies down on his side, presenting swollen teats to the purple mare. “I don’t want you to be sorry for one more moment. I am over the initial shock, and I really don’t mind you draining me. It’s actually pretty hot, and the last couple nights with our mares has been fun. I never knew how intensely you ponies feel things. Not just physically, which is amazingly intense, but also emotionally.” He stops, his ears flattening to each side. “It’s a bit overwhelming.”

Twilight looks at him for a long moment. “You enjoy our touch and company. It’s just going to be a little more intense than usual with all the hormones surging around your brain.” Tim looks away, ears flicking back and forth. Twilight waits a moment before reaching out a hoof and pulling his face around. She leans forward for a kiss, which continues and leaves them both quite breathless. She again puts a hoof to his cheek. “Love, I know for certain how you feel towards me, towards Citrus, and the rest. Your love is as intense as any. No worries at all about how you feel towards us, okay?” He looks down, nodding shortly. That induces another protracted kiss. Finally, she pulls away. “I’m guessing being full back there is uncomfortable?”

He nods. “A little.”

“Let’s get you taken care of. You know, this is kinda kinky.”

“Yeah, I know, for me too.”

“Have you tasted yourself?” His face immediately turns beet red. Twilight giggles. “Don’t worry, pretty much every mom tastes her own milk, at least out of curiosity. Though I actually have a reason why I’m asking. I want to know if you like the taste.”

His ears flatten to the sides. “I’m not going to say no based on the taste. It’s actually quite good, very sweet, but it’s weird having it warm.”

“I’m sure I can find a spell if you ever come to miss it. You ready?” At his nod, she leans down, bringing a teat into her mouth. Tim watches in fascination as only a matter of minutes pass before the other mare has drained him fairly dry. As she pulls away, she quickly flips and brings him into a tight hug, burying her face in his chest. After a long time, she murmurs softly. “Thank you, love. I know it isn’t easy for you.”

He shrugs. “I’m used to it now. Between you and Flurry, I don’t have to worry about too much milk.” He nuzzles the top of her head. “Though I’m beginning to wonder how I’ll feel when it’s all over. I heard about what the herd was going through. Shining and the rest came back for a bit, getting supplies. And at least two of the guard that went out the first time are in the infirmary now.” He stops for a long moment. “What if somepony gets killed? What if one of our family, our herd, is seriously injured or killed in the quest to allow me to be turned back into me.” He stops, breathing heavily. “Citrus, Silver, they are out there. What if one of them doesn’t come back, due to my desire to be back to my usual body?”

Twilight stops for a moment. “My brother is out there, too. He’s tough.”

Tim nods. “I don’t know what to think there. I want to be back to me, but at what cost?”

“The cost will be the cost, love. The guards signed up for their job. They are well compensated for their time and danger. That’s why we have them. Even my brother knows the dangers he’s faced.” She tightens her grip on him. “And you have to remember who this is being done for. Yes, you being back to you will be a side benefit. But this is out here, to fix me. To give a more permanent solution to this problem than suckling on your teat every few hours.”

“But you can trust your magic now, you could teleport away, get away from this pollen.”

“And never return, never see my niece again, never see my brother, or sister-in-law. Or other friends we’ve made in the Crystal Empire. Or even have them visit, since they could have that nasty pollen on their coat, or in their mane. And one sniff and I’m blowing holes in the castle.” She shakes her head vehemently. “I can’t help that this happened, though I wish that Princess Celestia had warned me about this before. But this is something that needs to be addressed. And the sooner, the better.”

“And what if the cost is one of our herd? Citrus? Or Silver?”

That gets a short sob from Twilight, who takes a long time to control her emotions. “That is a bridge I don’t want to cross, but if I must, we will make decisions from there.” She offers a half smile. “Silver could come back with a new scar, wouldn’t he be proud?”

Tim sits there for a long moment. Finally he shifts a bit. “You know, he’s so proud of the ones he’s got already. Yeah, he’d be on top of the moon, especially if he were to get it defending Citrus.”

“Or my brother. It would really stick in Shining’s craw if he owed Silver his life. And Silver got injured in the process.”

“Doesn’t he feel bad about what happened before?”

She nods. “Oh yeah, but Silver’s forgiven him, and apparently Cadance has worked something out with her, Shining and Silver.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “So, that was what that was about?”

Twilight nods. “I have no desire to find out more about my brother’s sex life. But I think we aren’t going to see much of Silver for the remainder of our trip once you are back on two legs.”

Tim leans back, “Well, I’ll admit, he’s gonna be pretty lucky in that case.”

Twilight looks at him. “Are you sweet on my sister-in-law?”

“She’s sexy. Nice trim body, long legs, tight little as. Back home, human mares who looked like that could make a living just off their looks.”

“Ah hah!” Twilight nearly shouts. She leans forward and aggressively nuzzles him. “Well, if you went to Citrus, perhaps she might allow something.”

Tim thinks for a moment, before bringing her closer. “But I have you, Twitwi, I don’t need another princess.”

She melts into his embrace for a long moment, and for a time, both are content to simply hold each other. Though eventually, a knock at the door has her popping her head up. “Who is it?”

“Oh, Dear, you know who this is.” Comes through the door.

Tim recognizes the voice at the same time Twilight does. It’s mom,” she says softly, letting go of him and allowing him to roll off the bed

“Oh Twilight, when I heard of your little problem. I just had to stop by.” The gray mare says primly. “I know Night and I were already planning on coming. But then we get into the castle, and find that you’ve been sequestered, and the some of your herd ended up looking for something to fix you.”

“Mom?”

Velvet smiles at her daughter. “Well, me, Cloudy Quartz, Windy Whistles, Cookie Crumbles, and Posey Shy are all taking a trip, but I couldn’t go until I checked up on you. Are you getting better? I brought you some of your favorite pea and carrot soup.”

“I’m fine, mom, my friends are out getting me some medicine I need, but everything’s fine. Really. Go on your trip.”

Velvet plants her hooves. “You’re not going Twilinanas all cooped up in here?”

Twilight flushes. “Mom, I don’t go Twilinanas.”

That gets a smirk. “Of course you don’t dear.” She looks over at Tim. “Oh and this must be the nurse mare I’ve heard so much about. Oh she is just adorable, she’s the most precious thing.”

Tim backs up several steps. “I… you… Twilight… help.”

“Mooooom, stop… you’re embarrassing Tim.”

Twilight Velvet stops and looks at Tim, her eyes blinking slowly. Then her eyes widen. “Wait a moment, you are Tim? The…” Her brow furrows. “Hoooman that my little Twi-twi is so in love with?”

Tim’s ears flatten and he ends up backed up against the wall as the older mare gets close to him. “Ummm, yes?” He looks over at Twilight, whose eyes are wide in shock.

Velvet cocks her head to the side. “And you are staying turned into a nursing mare to help my little filly start feeling better?”

“Moooooooom, I’m not a little…”

“Oh hush, Twi. You’ll always be my little filly.” Velvet says over her shoulder before turning back to Tim.

Tim flinches, Twilight is blushing and her mom has completely overruled a princess of Equestria. Velvet focuses on Tim. “Twi-Twi, you’ve recently fed from Tim, right?”

“Yes…but…”

“Oh, goody. Now, Tim. I know you aren’t your usual self, though I do want to see how you look normally before you head back to Canterlot.” She whirls around, her tail smacking him in the face. “But for now, I’ll let the girls know we will be delayed leaving a bit. I have some questions for your herd’s lead stallion.

“Come along, Tim.”

Tim looks at Twilight, her ears are back and her face is entirely red. Velvet walks from the room quickly, though at the threshold, she stops and looks over her shoulder at Tim. “Now, young stallion.” Her voice brooks no argument.

Tim stares at Twilight as his hooves move of their own accord. “Help?”

***

The party is gone for several days. Each passing hour has Tim either pacing back and forth, or snuggling with his herd, or sleeping. The feeding has allowed Twilight out of her sequester and into the massive suite in the castle that Tim’s herd has been living in. Cadance has been joining Tim in stressing out. Her husband is out there too. Though one thing that Tim has been throwing himself into so he doesn’t go stir crazy is caring for Flurry Heart. That little filly teleports to him almost every time she sees him. And walking around the castle, he’s been having her clinging to his body, usually sitting on his back and holding onto his neck. She’s even clung to him while asleep. Caring for her has made the time rather pleasant. Flurry is a joy to be around.

Tim is walking through the castle with Flurry in her usual spot as he’s heading to the throne room. Duchess Cadance has been dealing with her normal duties even while fretting about her husband being in danger. To the northwest of the Empire is Yakyakistan, but to the northeast is wild country under nopony’s rule. This outcropping of very rare jewels is in wild country. At the very top of the highest spire of the castle, there are watchponies scanning the horizon, when their party is returning, Cadance will be the first to know.

Tim walks into the throne room and stops. The duchess is holding court. Two ponies are standing before her. She looks from one to the other. “Does that sound equitable?”

Both of them bow. “Yes, Duchess,” they say in unison. They turn away and head towards the exit as Cadance climbs up towards her throne. She looks at it for a long moment before sitting on her haunches before it. She sighs a long moment, looking immensely tired before she spies Tim. She brightens immediately.

He smiles. “Good afternoon, Duchess.”

She teleports over to him, grabbing him in a tight hug. “I think we’re past being that formal, don’t you?”

He enjoys the hug, the Alicorn of Love is easily as physically strong as Twilight, like any Earth pony. When she pulls reluctantly away. He cocks his head to the side. “Missing your husband?”

She flinches. “Could you tell?” She stops, clearing her throat. “I mean, that’s silly. Prince Shining Armor is doing his duty, as I must as well.”

Tim looks around the vacant throne room. Even the handful of guards that typically attend the Duchess during court have disappeared. It’s family time now, no need to be guarded from family. Flurry Heart squeaks a bit as Cadance’s magic lifts her off of Tim’s back and brings her to her mother’s waiting forelegs. Tim smirks as he watches the mother with her foal. “You do know, you and Twilight have worked hard to help my herd. I know you are officially forgiven by Citrus.”

Cadance’s ears pin back. “Yeah, I know.” She blinks a few times, covering her emotions by nuzzling her foal.

“Just for the record, I think your punishment was too harsh.”

She frowns and looks up at him. “No, actually, it was exceedingly light, Tim. I am an alicorn, my lifespan is measured in millennia, my foal, the only born alicorn in recorded history, has the same.”

“First? I thought Celestia and Luna…”

Cadance smiles. “It’s not really widely known, the diarchs don’t really suppress the information. It’s simply… not discussed. Before Celestia started moving the sun, and Luna moved the moon, Celestia was a unicorn. An exceptionally powerful unicorn of her time, but still with just the aspects of the unicorns.” She looks in the general direction of where Tim’s suite is. “She earned her status, she earned her wings, when she moved the sun by itself. A feat that Starswirl the Bearded thought was impossible. But he had worked with the unicorns to establish a link with the sun. That link had connected him to the magic of the sun. It had halted his aging, and he had been moving the sun with the help of unicorns for centuries at that point. Generations of mages had to be taught, had to learn how to link with Starswirl, so he could move the sun and moon. Then Celestia comes along and moves it despite his link to the Sun.”

“Must have been a shock.”

She nods. “It was. Imagine if a novice came out of nowhere and upended a truth that had governed daily life for centuries. Imagine his surprise being doubled when she does that, then the entire world turns white and she disappears, leaving a scorch mark in the shape of the sun where she was standing. Only to return hours later with the most incredible story, meeting alicorns of old, who controlled aspects she didn’t even know exist, saying how happy they were to name her to their ranks. Then they got sad, saying she had to go back to serve as our ruler.”

“Serve?”

That gets a lilting laugh from the pink alicorn. “Oh, our lives are not about ruling ponies.” She cocks her head to the side. “I’ll admit, there are some nice perks about being Equestrian Royalty. But we serve the ponies we are given charge of. Ponies, in general, are very self-sufficient. We form our own herds. We handle most of our disputes. And we are harmonious.”

“Harmonious?”

She nods. “Yes, harmonious. We interact with each other from the idea of love, tolerating the differences of others, and loving them anyway. It’s magical, even the times you see ponies spontaneously bursting into song. That is an expression of the harmonious magic that suffuses our world.”

“And Luna? She was a unicorn too?”

Cadance shakes her head. “No, she was a pegasus, one of the fastest ever, with magic in her wings that would put even strong unicorns of today to shame.” She holds out a wing. “I was a pegasus too. But a matter of months after Celestia ascended, her sister was tired of the moon staying stationary. Remember, Starswirl’s link was to the sun, and the sun only. The moon stayed in place, but it wasn’t that much of an issue, survival and having the sun in its daily motion around our world was the priority. But Luna had spent years looking up at the moon, she knew there was more to the moon than to just hang in the sky. She was drawn to the magic of the moon the same way Celestia was drawn to the Sun. She set about flying as high as she could, trying to reach the moon, even though it was impossible. Then one day, she was up high, where even pegasi have trouble flying or even breathing. She reached out with her magic, and she touched her magic to the moon, and it obeyed her. At the same time, Celestia was working with ponies to build the first Castle of the Two Sisters, because even though Luna wasn’t an alicorn like she had become, she loved her sister dearly, and wanted her by her side. She disappeared in front of the pony’s eyes. She met her sister and was there when Luna gained her horn.”

She smiles. “They reappeared a few hours later, hugging each other and crying from happiness, both of them ageless, both of them with the aspects of all ponies, not just of their birth tribe. They ruled side by side after Starswirl disappeared. Until the dark times, until Nightmare Moon.”

“I know that story, Luna has filled me in on that.”

Cadance nods, then her ears perk forward. “Somepony is coming.”

Tim’s own ears pick up the sound of galloping hooves. In moments one of the guard bursts into the throne room. “Duchess, the Prince’s party is returning, they will be in the castle within the hour!”

Cadance claps her hooves together. “Do they seem well?”

The guard nods her head. “Yes, from looking at them through the telescope, they are all accounted for, and they seem to be in high spirits!”

Cadance stands there, and to Tim, it looks as though tons of weight have been taken off her shoulders. She sighs softly, nuzzling her foal for a long moment before floating Flurry back over to Tim. “If you would, Tim. I would like to prepare for my husband’s return.” With that, she disappears in a flash of light.

Tim grins before lighting his horn to bring Flurry Heart into his forelegs. He nuzzles the filly, noting that she’s yawning. Squeezing his hind legs together, he can tell he needs to feed Flurry before putting her down for a nap. He walks slowly to the nursery before placing the foal on her hooves so he can get down on his side. Flurry drowsily moves up and starts to feed. Though it’s not too long before she’s passed out, only draining one teat. As he places her gently into her crib, he quietly exits the nursery before scampering to his suite. Twilight helps by draining the other teat, though Cayenne smirks a bit as she watches. Tim knows he’s going to be messing with the pregnant spicy mare when she finally drops her foal. After Twilight is done, they quickly get ready and are waiting in the throne room with Cadance when the party makes it inside.

The guard’s assessment seems to be correct, the team looks tired, but triumphant as they make it into the throne room. Shining Armor lines the guard up for a moment before dismissing them. Maude walks up to Twilight, a bag on her back. She bows. “Princess.”

Twilight lights her horn and picks up the bag, she extracts the large gem. “Oh, this is far more than I would need.”

Citrus steps up. “We know, Twi. But what we don’t use here can be stored if another pony has this issue, or if you need additional doses.”

Cadance beams. “Brilliant.” She looks at Twilight. “Okay, lets get the book and mix this up.”

Twilight’s horn lights, and with a pop, the book is there, along with a bowl and other implements. She flips the book open and the pages ruffle in her magic as she makes it to the right passage. “Okay, first the mortar and pestle.” She grunts as she holds the gem in her magic, and a large chunk breaks off, which she places into the mortar. She takes the pestle and carefully starts to break down the gem, in a matter of minutes it is a fine powder. A quick glance at the book and she picks up a flask. “It doesn’t say proportions, so that means the magic of it has to feel right.” She pours a bit of the flask. The smell of it hits Tim’s nose, getting him to scrunch it.

“What’s this made of?”

Twilight nods as she pours slowly, her magical aura touching the bowl. “Okay, Maude, did you bring the last bit when you came up from Ponyville?”

“Of course, Princess. I visited Zecora and got it.”

“Good.”

Maud reaches into her bag and brings out a purple flower. Twilight’s magic grabs it quickly and she holds it for a long moment. “Here goes nothing.” She lowers the flower into the potion and stirs deliberately. The first time around, the potion turns bright green, a second stir causes sparks to fly from it and it settles on a light blue. A third stir has the magic completing and the entire potion turns clear, so clear it’s almost invisible. Twilight looks at it, then looks at the diagram on the page. Then she looks up and smiles. “Okay, it’s exactly how the book describes. Now, I drink.”

Without waiting a moment, Twilight gulps down the potion. She sets down the bowl, blinking a few times. “Did it do anything?”

The herd gathers around, watching the purple mare, who sets down the bowl. Then she sneezes explosively, though the magic from this flies straight up, then turns and flies out the window. She sneezes a second time, with the same result. Then a third time, the magic slams into Tim, lifting him up and causing him to glow. After several moments, the magic lets him go, he puts a hand to his head. “Hey, I’m me again.”

Twilight sneezes again, another beam bending its way out the window. “I think the gazebo is about to be fixed.” She pants. Then she stops, looking at Tim. “Oh, Tim.” She leaps at him, wrapping her hooves and wings around him. “It’s so good to see you back as yourself.”

“Ya know.” Silver says loudly. “More than Tim was involved…” His words are caught up short as him and Citrus are grabbed magically by the alicorn and brought into a giant group hug.

“I know, love. Thank all of you for all you’ve done.” She murmurs as she nuzzles each pony and the lone human strongly. “All of you. I love you.”

Tim notices something. “I’d like to grab some clothes.”

Twilight drops down, letting Silver and Citrus down gently. “I dunno, Tim. I kinda like you like that.”

His hands move to cover certain parts of his body. “Yeah, but I don’t want to show off to anypony.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 44. Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 14 Minutes