Friday morning and the bright sunlight crept up the side of Canterlot Mountain, illuminating the capital city in its warming glow. Ponies all over the land got up and went about their daily business. However, a certain group of ten was longer to wake than most. It was pushing ten a.m. by the time they rose in Prince Dusk’s suite in the Royal Palace.

With a slightly thick head from the party the night before at the three hoof restaurant and the after party at Dusk’s suite, Airmail made her way to the Prince’s fridge on the hunt for food. The azure blue pegasus opened it and shut it immediately with a look of frustration on her muzzle. Brushing her summer green mane from her eyes she instead began a fruitless search of the cupboards in the kitchen area. “The only food in Dusky's fridge is liquid bread!” She exclaimed with a grump after a few more moments.

“Yeeeah…” Dusk tried desperately to smooth down his charcoal grey mane – he hated bed hair so much – and chuckled as he trotted from the bedroom of his suite. “I haven't been here in a week, the staff haven't, they wouldn’t, have kept it stocked. We can always eat in the dining hall?”

“Waffles!” Mapper declared imperiously, emerging from the spacious bathroom with Serenity and Wildfire in tow. All three mares looked utterly perfect, a fact that rankled with Dusk as again he tried and failed to control his mane.

“Anything you like, Mapper.” Dusk replied as he gave up and settled for tying it back in a tight but messy pony tail. “Wily, you'll want celery right?”

“Horseapples D!” Wildfire turned her head to the sound of Dusk’s voice. When she addressed Mapper however, her voice was much more submissive. “May I have oatmeal, please, Mistress?”

Mapper smiled at the very tone of her Pet’s voice. “You may as long as you have some mixed fruit with it.” For a moment she pretended to give the matter some thought. “Peaches in the mixed fruit, of course.”

Wildfire was about to answer her Mistress when there came a knock on the suite’s ornate door. A second later an ancient looking pale blue earth pony mare with a mane of wispy white hair let herself in, presenting all the expertly laundered and pressed outfits on her back with a bow as low as her old joints would allow. “Your laundry, your Highness.”

Dusk of course didn’t mind in the slightest that his maid had let herself in. At her age she was a law unto herself. “Thank you Miss Ocean.” Dusk took the cleaned clothes in his hooves and presented a suit and a dress to Sonic and Trails.

“Thank you very much, Miss Ocean, wonderful work.” Trails smiled as he accepted his dress back and moved to pack it away along with Sonic’s suit in his case.

Miss Ocean, who claimed to have been Celestia’s maid when the Princess herself was young, bowed to the pink earth pony stallion. “You're welcome, Sir.” To Dusk she bowed again. “Highness.”

“Of course Mistress.” Wildfire bowed her head to her Mistress as Miss Ocean took her leave.

When Miss Ocean had left, Dusk hoofed Mapper the three outfits, hers, Serenity’s and Wildfire's laundered clothes. “Mistress Mapper, your dresses and suit.” At Mapper’s nod, Serenity stepped forward and accepted the outfits in her glowing hazel aura and packed them away.

Smiling at Brush Stroke as the mid blue earth pony stallion emerged from the bedroom, Dusk put his dress and his lover's suit away in his closet. “I take it you aren't in a rush for yours sweetie?”

“Not at all,” Brush Stroke replied to his effeminate stallion with an affectionate nibble of his neck that made Dusk’s legs weak. “I may hang around here a while, after all I've seen worse digs.”

Dusk stuck his tongue out at his dominant partner. “I’m sorry to make you 'slum it', Sir.” He said with a giggle in his voice.

“I'm sure you can find some charm somewhere in this provincial backwater village.” Mapper commented, earning herself a snort of laughter from Tempest.

“I've heard that Ponyville is the place to go for charming,” Brush Stroke said, nodding his approval as his Dusky donned a plain yellow dress. “At least based on last night's escapades.”

“It is indeed, Master Oils.” Serenity’s soft melodic voice drew the Dom’s attention. “The second best DJ in all of Equestria lives there.”

“Really?” Brush Stroke asked the teal coloured unicorn, “Dusky, could we go later?”

Dusk smirked as he smoothed out his dress. “Let me check my busy schedule...yep we can go!”

Mapper briefly imagined spanking the submissive ‘Princess’ for her insolent tone and bit her lip. Serenity heard her thoughts and blushed with her Mistress. “I'm sure the Princess may have contacts to get you in to one of those events.” Mapper said with a smile, pushing her thought out of her mind. She wasn’t hers to spank. “Dusky, does your schedule show any monster attacks on Ponyville this day?”

Dusk laughed, “No Mistress Mapper, the random Everfree monster attacks seems to have dwindled in the past few years.” He blushed a little when Brush Stroke took out his collar. “Do you want to fly or take the train?”

“Hmm…that depends,” Brush Stroke smiled and in front of the whole group as casually as if it were breathing, the mid blue earth pony buckled the collar snugly around his lover’s neck. “Are you going to fly sensibly?” Everypony there understood that Brush Stroke wasn’t asking if his coltfriend was going to fly sensibly, rather he was telling him he was going to fly sensibly.

Sonic barked out a laugh. “To a stallion, a mare is never sensible.”

“This one certainly isn't.” Brush Stroke nibbled his mare’s ear as Trails giggled in a very un-stallion like manner.

“Whaaat?” Dusky let out a very feminine like whimper. “We got back to the castle first, didn't we?”

“I don’t remember it being a race sweetie,” Brush Stroke admonished his mare with a firm but gentle bite of her ear, “and I do not want to go that fast again.” He added a definite emphasis on the ‘do not’ part of his last sentence.

“Poor Dusky is just tooooo slow,” Tempest teased the submissive royal pegasus, the violet mare having a distinct mischievous glint to her blue eyes. “Maybe your friend Rainbow Dash will convey Oils to Ponyville. That will give Oils plenty of time to sight see while he waits for your arrival.”

“Oh yes,” Dusk laughed in spite of his position. “I can just see Oils going for a ride with Rainbow.”

“And why is that?” The artistic earth pony asked, shooting his mare a look that said he was earning himself a punishment later.

Dusky caught the look and smiled a satisfied smile. “Ah…let’s just say she's faster than me.”

“How much faster?”

“Oh…” Dusky said casually, if he was going to be punished, he wanted to have properly earned it. “Up to Mach three.”

“That’s about two thousand, two hundred miles per hour,” Tempest supplied helpfully, just in case Brush Stroke – or anypony else, for that matter – didn’t fully comprehend how fast that was. “She can have you back to Manehatten in oh…a half hour or so.”

He couldn’t help it. Brush Stroke’s jaw almost hit the floor. “I ah…I think I'll take the train…”

Sonic nodded approvingly. “Good ol' earth pony wisdom that.”

Trails was quick to speak up, the taunt ready on his lips. “Did you enjoy your flight last night?”

Sonic merely smiled. “I never said I was wise.”

“I believe we are losing sight of our priorities.” Mapper impatiently stomped her hoof into the thickly carpeted floor of Dusky’s suite and looked from stallion to stallion and back again. As fun as this exchange was, and as pretty as Dusky arguably now was, her rumbling belly reminded her of its empty state. A frankly intolerable state that had to be remedied now if not sooner. “Waffles!”

“Quite right Mistress Mapper, breakfast calls.” Dusky inclined her head politely to the pink unicorn. “If you'd allow me to show you to the dining hall?”

~ ~ ~

Moments later, having led the small herd of ponies through a couple of corridors and down two rather grand ornate flights of stairs, Dusky arrived at the private dining hall. The one that was not open to the general public. Nodding at the two unicorn guards – who both returned the gesture with polite nods of their own – the two distinctly tired looking stallions removed their spears from the gold edged white doors.

Opening the large double doors to reveal the expansive dining room, the herd, carrying their saddlebags with them, walked in on Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Lady Octavia already inside eating their respective breakfasts. “Good morning Mom, Mum and Auntie Celestia.” Dusky greeted the three royals more formally than he usually would have.

Princess Celestia caught the tone of her nephew and glanced up from her plate of chocolate and cream covered pancakes and, seeing the collar he wore along with the dress, smiled. It really did suit him. “A good morning to you all!” The solar alicorn smiled breezily while beside her to her left her sister grumbled out an indistinct greeting around her steaming coffee mug.

Like she owned the place, Mapper moves in and seated herself at the long dining table, making sure Octavia was between herself and Luna. Serenity quietly followed her Mistress and sat at Luna’s unoccupied right side. “So Mapper,” Celestia sounded positively amused from her position at the head of the table as the others all sat down. “I trust we have you to thank for testing the castle security last night?”

Mapper nodded solemnly. “As battle mages we felt it our duty to test your security.” She replied with a tiny trace of a smirk as she recalled the tired looks on the guards’ faces. “Drills do keep one on their hoof-tips.” Lighting her horn, Mapper levitated out the used cracked level ten inhibitor out of her saddle bag. “Seems our enchanters are losing their touch though.” She said as she rolled it across the table to rest within easy reach of the Princess.

“Yes…Major General Bastion was very ah…'grateful' for the impromptu drills last night.” Celestia giggled, “I don’t think the same can be said for the rank and file.” Concentrating, she levitated the pieces of the cracked inhibitor together and, using her immeasurable power, fused them before floating the now mended ring back to Mapper. “It is nice to see you haven’t lost your touch.” She said with a sly wink to her most infamous student.

“Thank you Princess, but it was Senior Pet that broke that toy.” She returned the knowing wink while Serenity blushed a deep red. Then, to the waiting staff who had materialised as if summoned from the ether around the table, she gave her orders. “From myself, Senior Pet and Middle Pet,” she indicated the teal unicorn next to Luna and the blind pegasus where Wildfire was currently sitting over the other side of the table next to Airmail, “Waffles with Everfree Honey if you have it, Tree Sap if not, mixed fruit, with plenty of peaches included please, mocha for me and coffee with sugar for the other two.”

“Just so you all know,” Luna, looking as dishevelled as Dusky had when she had woken up, grumbled and emptied her black coffee – which the staff instantly refiled while the rest of the herd placed their breakfast orders. “All of your dreams are disgusting.”

“Mushroom omelettes for me and the same for my mare, please,” Brush Stroke placed the breakfast order for himself and Dusky before the midnight blue pegasus could speak. “Earl grey tea for her and milky coffee for me, thanks.”

Mapper looked at the inhibitor, studying where it had been cracked and observing the flawless repairs before she floated the ring back in her saddle bag (which was of course being carried by Serenity) before she glanced across to Luna who was sipping at her refilled mug. “Pardon, Mistress Luna?”

“You'll have to forgive my wife, Mistress Mapper,” Octavia spoke up midway through her own four cheese omelette, as the staff disappeared to fill the various orders, “it was a very busy dream patrol last night.”

“The whole of Canterlot and Ponyville combined wasn't as lewd as my ‘daughter’s’ bedroom last night.” Luna groused as with another mouthful of her coffee she tried to get her ethereal mane under control. It had been a busier than normal night and following the arrest of Wildfire’s father earlier in the day, the alicorn was in need of her rest.

“Long night, mom?” Dusky asked all concerned.

“Upset that I didn't dream of you?” Mapper teased and was pleasantly surprised when the Princess’s cheeks turned a faint red. Looking away to Celestia she said, “I had that ‘happy mare in the middle’ dream. My horn in Middle Pet and Senior Pet's horn in me.” She let that statement hang in the air for a moment before concluding, “Was a nice dream.”

“Ha, ha...” Luna started while Serenity looked at the midnight blue alicorn and simply blushed hard as she recalled her dream. “Mind you, it made an interesting diversion after the nine hundredth nightmare.”

“I don't remember my dreams.” Airmail stated before the very efficient mini army of staff returned laden with all of their orders and silently set them all down in front of their respective owners.

“I was directing a category five hurricane.” Tempest said with a faraway dreamy look on her face before she started demolishing her stack of pancakes.

Sonic grinned over at Princess Celestia, “I may have dreamed of an extended flight from yesterday.”

“Like Airmail, I don't remember myself.” Trails said as both he and Omega started on their steaming oatmeal.

“You all kept my sister busy then?” Celestia commented with a giggle before she made a chocolate pancake disappear.

“W-Wait...you didn't see mine did you?” Wildfire spluttered as she ate a mouthful of peachy waffle and blushed a very deep scarlet.

“Not with nightmares I don't...” Mapper said as she too made a start on her honey coated waffles. However, when the pink unicorn saw the scarlet Serenity she asked, “Did you have a nightmare Senior Pet?”

“No Mistress!”

“Hmm…” Mapper mused, “I wonder sometimes, your pleasant dreams are the stuff of nightmares.”

If at all possible, Serenity blushed even harder at her wife's comment. "No Mistress...ah...um...maybe, Mistress..."

"Serenity's was hard to judge whether she required waking or not." Luna put in, but didn't feel the need to go onto any further details. The contents of Serenity's dream was definitely not a suitable topic for the breakfast table. "I got lost in Wildfire's dream for a good ten minutes."

"Forgive me Mistress Luna," Serenity blurted out, "I didn't mean for you to do all those things to me!"

Likewise, Wildfire blushed with an intense heat. "You, ah, you saw all of mine?"

"I pulled out when the rest of the Manehatten Sharks came into the locker room, something Thundercracker didn't, I see." Luna carried on, picking up and emptying her third mug of coffee. "Serenity," she said, lifting up a hoof to stay the waiting staff, "it was a pleasure, mostly."

With a severely raised eyebrow, Mapper shot Serenity a questioning look. Quietly, but still loud enough to be heard, Serenity said, "DJ Moonbeams doesn't hold back, Mistress."

"Well I knew all about Wildfire's fantasy.” Airmail said with a nudge to the diminutive mare’s side. "I'm taking her to a game with locker room interview."

Wildfire giggled a very loud girly giggle as Celestia leaned over and whispered something to Luna, who in turn nodded and smiled. "You know, Mistress Mapper," Luna started softly, "I can give you a pass to the old dungeons, if you want to give your Pet a proper tour."

"To punish her by seeing and not using it," Mapper replied after a moment's contemplation on the subject and seeing her wife's hopeful face, "or to reward her by running her through the devices?"

"Reward her of course, Mistress Mapper," Luna said with a smile, "Although I recommend not using the branding irons." She noted that almost everypony else at the table flinched at that and conspicuously went about eating their food.

"Then, your blanket statement, that all of our dreams are disgusting was overstated, Mistress Luna?" Mapper addressed the Princess with an amused smile. "Yes, Senior Pet, we have until seven tonight to play, and play we will."

That was far more than Serenity could dare to hope for. "Thank you, Mistress."

"Princess," Mapper looked at Celestia but she was asking either of them, "if by chance I'm unsure of a device's use, is there somepony I could consult?"

Celestia nodded as she finished her plate. "Either Luna or I can be on hoof to assist if you wish, you'll not find a better living authority on these 'instruments'."

"It wasn't overstated Mistress Mapper," Luna said quietly but definitely. "I can still smell and see your Pet's dream. As I said, I was very close to waking her up." That much was certainly true. What she had witnessed made even her shudder, and Luna believed that after her long years of life that she had seen it all.

Mapper smiled, "Still enough for a reward though. If you have time Mistress Luna, maybe you and your wife would be available for that tour."

"Well," Tempest spoke up, trying valiantly to change the subject, "maybe a good rutting will help curb Wily's dreams, but we must be off to Vanhoover this morning."

Luna smiled over at her wife. "Certainly we can, right Tavi?"

Octavia nodded rather solemnly. Her flank and hindquarters still remembered the feel of Mapper's crop, and the aged cellist was well aware of Serenity's 'tastes' from when she had watched her dearest Luna heal Wildfire's wings back at Caffeinated's ranch. "If you wish, Mistress."

"You still owe me a rutting, Stormy, but it can wait." Wildfire smiled as she swallowed a mouthful of waffle.

"Wait?" Tempest asked from Wildfire's right, making Airmail giggle as she ran her tongue up Wildfire's ear - a distraction to allow her to place several peach pieces on her fork, "Who said anything about waiting, Wildflower?"

Wildfire let out a surprised 'eeep'. "Ah...not me Mistress stormy, I didn't!" Although she couldn't see it, of course, somehow Mapper's smile had gotten brighter.

"I think we're safer flying to Ponyville love," Dusky whispered into Brush Stroke's ear. "I'll take you to Rarity's, you can pick me out a dress."

Trails rather liked the sound of that. "Oils," the pink stallion said, "do you remember the lovely dress that Lady Octavia wore to the open mic night? I think Princess Dusky would look divine in something like that."

"I do indeed Trails," Brush Stroke replied. How could one forget 'that' dress that Lady Octavia had been wearing so magnificently? "I'll make sure to ask!"

Finishing off her breakfast, Airmail smiled a very sly smile. "I thought she looked rather nice in the dress she wore the next day..."

At that, Octavia's grey fur erupted in a very intense blush. The very last thing she wanted was to be reminded of the outfit she had been made to wear out and about in Manehatten. "Thank you Miss Airmail, I learned to like it." That may be so, but it was still a humiliating memory.

"Mom," Dusky asked out of the blue once everypony had finished eating and the waiting staff had cleaned away the dirty used plates, "did you really spank mum with a pink sock near the Manehatten fountain?" Dusky, who had been with Brush Stroke at his apartment, had missed that shopping trip.

That query about what had happened back at the public fountain was just too much for Airmail and Tempest, who both collapsed into fits of giggles as they tried to cover their mouths with their forehooves. Serenity made a valiant effort to come to Octavia’s aid, however. “It was most terrifying, Miss Dusky.”

Dusky too giggled at his mum’s plight. He could tell by his stallion’s look that he was earning the sheath lock with every second, but it was too good an opportunity to waste. “I don’t need to imagine how terrifying it was, there were and still are photos all over the Manehatten gossip rags.”

Luna looked up at that. “I do hope the photos are good quality ones?” She asked playfully as she watched her wife blush scarlet.

Airmail struggled to get her giggles under control and reached into her bag. “Please…oh, please excuse me…” she still had giggles as the azure blue mare played with her phone at the table and then slid it over to where Luna was sitting. “We ran this in the entertainment section.”

Luna took the phone up in her turquoise aura and studied the picture very closely. It was of her, bright pink sock held in her magic coming down and impacting the old grey mare’s ass as Octavia cried out her safe word, very clear and in brilliant vivid colour. “Oh that's just fantastic!” She clapped her hooves together in glee. “Please, can I get a copy of this?”

“Of course,” Airmail replied to Luna, nodding her appreciation as the phone was levitated back to her after Luna had shown her sister the picture. “I thought they would have sent you the issue too, unless of course it was intercepted…” she smiled and glanced knowingly at Octavia.

Octavia narrowed her eyes and glared hard at Airmail like she was Pinkie Pie reincarnated. “I'm sure I have no idea what you mean, Miss Airmail.” She enunciated each word very clearly and then looked away from everypony else at the table.

Mapper smiled a dangerous little smile and said in her silkiest tone, “The Times is so easy to get lost in the junk mail.”

“Pet,” Luna reached over Mapper’s back and very gently laid her hoof on Octavia’s shoulder. “Did you throw away the issue of the Times?”

Slowly, almost trembling, Octavia turned back to the dining table with a very guilty look on her old face. “Um...maybe...well yes…” this was so unfair! Surely Luna knew how she felt about that day, about that damned fountain! Again it seemed her pride had bitten her ass. “Um…not on purpose...yes, yes I did.” It damn near killed Octavia to admit what she had done, purely because she hated ‘that’ look on her wife’s face.

Mapper took one look at Octavia then at Luna and giggled like a filly. “It should be a very fun tour, Mistress Luna.”

“Ahem…” Celestia coughed somewhat obviously behind her golden horseshoe clad hoof. “Ah, if you'll all excuse me, I'll take my leave.” She got up almost immediately from the dining table. “Day Court begins in a few moments.” She finished by way of an explanation to her sudden departure.

“Tia,” Luna caught her sister’s attention, “on your way to the Day Court, could you escort my naughty Pet to her room, please?” Understanding at once, Celestia nodded and with the merest of touches, Octavia got up and without a word of protest allowed herself to be guided from the private dining room.

Mapper – having the good grace to at least wait until the two mares were out of hearing – said, “Her room, is this from something we talked about earlier?”

Once her sister and her wife had left the room, Luna turned her somewhat sorrowful gaze to the pink unicorn. “Yes Mistress Mapper, yes it is.” She recalled quite clearly as she was sure so did her friend, the conversation they had shared in the bedroom of Caffeinated’s ranch. “I had one room fitted out with unbreakable mirrors, as you suggested. It has proved effective this week.”

“Mistress is harsh.” Serenity passed her judgement on the issue. “Bad ponies need a harsh Mistress.”

Mapper turned to glance at her partner. “Are you a bad pony, Senior Pet?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Luna nodded, circling her hoof glumly on the table top. “I put Tavi in there the Monday after we got back from Manehatten, it seems she still hasn't learnt her lesson.”

Reading the situation, Dusky nudged Brush Stroke’s barrel with his elbow. “Well if nopony needs us, we'll be going too.” He turned and affectionately nuzzled his stallion. “A nice leisurely flight to Ponyville, I promise.”

Mapper casually inspected her forehoof. “At least until the dragon shows up.”

“D-Dr-Dragon?” Brush Stroke stammered, “Seriously?”

Dusky laughed, as did Wildfire and the rest of the table. “You'll see, Sir.” Getting up, ‘she’ trotted around the table and gave his mother a good bye kiss. Quietly he whispered so only Luna could hear, “Go easy on mum, huh?”

Lovingly, and with a wink that told Dusky not to worry, Luna returned the kiss. “Oh don't worry Oils, she can outfly most dragons, unless it’s a really fast one.”

“Ignore them sweetie,” Dusky nuzzled his lover’s cheek in an attempt to calm him down. “There hasn't been a dragon sighting in years, c'mon, think of me in those lovely dresses.”

Brush Stroke gulped nervously. “O-okay,” to Luna he gave a polite little bow. “It was nice meeting you again, Princess.”

Once they were both well out of hearing range, Mapper leant in close to Luna and said in a very casual manner, “How big is Princess Twilight's assistant now?”

“Spike’s nearing the end of puberty, he's a good thirty feet tall and has very nice wings.” Luna replied with a wide smile. She could see where her friend was going with this and she liked it.

“Maybe the Princess of Friendship should know that Prince,” Mapper giggled and amended herself, “I mean, Princess Dusky should be greeted by her assistant to help show of the lovely little hamlet.”

“You know what?” Luna reached for her cell phone, her eyes alive with mischief, “that’s a very good idea!”

While Luna was on her phone talking excitedly with Twilight, and the waiting staff bought everypony else refills of their respective drinks, Mapper nodded to her wife. “Remember this moment Senior Pet. I'm the mother of your foal that didn't birth your foal.”

“Yes Mistress.” Serenity’s soft melodic voice answered almost straight away, however when she spoke again it was more confident. “Mistress?”

“Yes?”

“You will still be a good mother.”

Mapper did her very, very best to hold back the tears at that, and she succeeded – for everypony else that is – but via her link with her wife, Serenity could feel them and she just smiled as Luna got off of the phone. Mapper nudged the Princess’s barrel. “That will be entertaining just thinking about it.”

“Won't it just?” Luna giggled and blew the steam from her new mug of coffee. “Oh Wildfire,” she said, immediately drawing the blind mare’s attention to her rough direction and away from her own black coffee, “Twilight said she just got Tia's letter, about your poems.”

“She ah, she did?” Wildfire answered hesitantly, her hooves frozen touching her hot mug. “That was quick, Princess.”

“Well,” Luna said with a shrug, “Tia's had it ready to send for days, she was just waiting for your say so. “And, please don't worry, Twilight wasn't going to publish the braille ones anyway, she understands they're sensitive and personal.”

Wildfire breathed out a breath she hadn’t realised she had been holding in. “Thank you, Princess.”

Mapper nodded to Airmail. “Airy, you will arrange a book signing in Manehatten, of course?”

Airmail took a sip of her coffee and nodded. “High on the list when we get back.”

“You should do it at Caffy's shop,” Tempest said gently, for she could see that Wildfire was starting to get overwhelmed already. “Or is there a book story you like, Wily?”

“No...” Wildfire muttered, her head pointed down at the table, “Mr. Caffy's shop is great if he's okay with it.”

“I'm sure Caffy will have no trouble with that.” Airmail asserted, making a note on her phone to speak with the orange zebra about this very thing once she saw him next. “One more famous pony graces his shop.”

“Um…Princess?” Wildfire asked tentatively, giving voice to the thing that was bothering her, “the copy that Princess Twilight has...”

“Is her personal copy and will be kept in her private library.” Luna assured her, “I can almost guarantee nopony else’s eyes will ever see it. Ever.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Wildfire blushed and sighed a sigh of relief, before finally taking a sip of her black coffee. “I'm not famous, Pretty, I'm just me.”

“Just keep believing that Wily.” Airmail said as she affectionately nuzzled her marefriend’s left cheek. “It will be easier to get through doors then.”

Tempest and Luna both giggled at that, before the lunar alicorn looked at the teal unicorn. “Serenity, did you get your autograph from the new celebrity?”

Serenity nodded and patted her saddlebag. “Yes Mistress Luna, I have it safely put away.”

“In that case…” Luna used her magic to float over a pen and paper to Wildfire, bringing both to rest in front of her so that they gently nudged the toes of her forehooves, “I want to be second. Wildfire, may I have your autograph please?”

“Wow...” Wildfire really didn’t know what to make of that. She was nopony special, at all, yet here was a Princess asking for her autograph! “Um, sure…” Taking the pen in her mouth, the blind mare proceeded to stamp out her name in braille dots. “There you go, Princess.”

Mapper watched fascinated as her herd-mate and Pet stamped out her name. She had to confess the series of dots meant nothing to her. “Middle Pet,” she said gently, “you can still sign your name over the dots please.”

“Of course, sorry Mistress.” Wildfire, pen in her mouth, attempted to blindly write her name under the dots. “I'm just used to writing that way.” She offered the paper, complete with its untidy scrawl, back to Luna who took it in her magical aura.

“Together they had legitimacy to the signature.”

“That they do, Mistress Mapper.” In a light airy tone, Luna addressed the group as a whole. “It just so happens I have plenty of paper here, if anypony else wants to ask for one too...”

While Tempest giggled behind her hoof, Airmail replied, “She has already signed where no other hoof has gone before.”

Wildfire blushed a deep crimson. “Airy!” She exclaimed.

Serenity saw her chance and quickly put her hoof in the air. “Mistress Luna, could I please have yours to add to my collection?”

Luna smiled at the teal unicorn. “Do you want mine or DJ Moonbeams?”

Now it was Serenity’s turn to blush. “As Mistress pleases, but you know of whom I dream about.”

Grinning, Luna lit her horn and appropriated more paper. In her alter ego’s style she wrote out a brief note and signed it as M00N834M$, before floating it over to Serenity. “There you go, my number one fan, not quite the autograph you dreamed of, but I hope it will do.”

Luna shivered noticeably while Serenity, with a tear in her eye, carefully put the autograph away in her saddlebag. The Princess then smiled over at Airmail. “You say you're going to Vanhoover,” said the midnight blue alicorn, changing the subject. “What time's your train, or are you flying?”

“Train.” Tempest answered as she took a mouthful of her coffee.

“Thank heaven for that,” Wildfire muttered, pushing away her half-drunk coffee.

Airmail shot Tempest a warning look over Wildfire’s back that stayed her flaring temper. “Stormy will be working on Wildfire's endurance.”

Luna’s countenance became slightly stern. “I believe I did say on Friday night to go easy on them, did I not, Wildfire?”

“Yes Princess,” Wildfire replied glumly. “And I have Princess, I haven’t had a problem with them until last night.”

Tempest shot Mapper a look, who in turn nodded and leant forward with a cough that drew the Princess’s attention. “Mistress Luna, you may place the blame for last night on me. I wanted to see if Middle Pet would admit she would be unable to fly. She passed my test and we had a lovely chat on the tram.”

“Hmmm...” Luna clearly wasn’t convinced, with narrowed eyes she looked searchingly from Mapper to Wildfire. “As you wish, Mistress Mapper.”

“I'm so lucky my Mistress was able to save my life!” Wildfire gushed sycophantically from out of nowhere.

Serenity glanced at her wife, although Mapper really didn’t need the silent link communication, nor did she require the ear-flicking from Airmail and Tempest. She already knew what her herd-mates were telling her. Wildfire wasn’t worthy or ready to be her slave. She was still too damaged mentally in spite of the remarkable progress she had made. As her friend, lover and Mistress she had to stamp this out quickly. “Really Pet, when it was I that put your life in danger?”

Wildfire heard but she didn’t listen. “With respect Mistress, you didn't ask me to dive down Canterlot Mountain.”

Mapper narrowed her eyes which was reflected in her voice. “You would argue with me, Pet?”

“Eeep!” Wildfire shrunk a little. “No, Mistress.”

“I may have been mistaken then.” Mapper hid her sigh and got up from her seating pad at the table and walked around until she was nose to nose with the little yellow mare. “Did you try to show me a fun time flying, Pet?”

“Yes Mistress,” Wildfire shivered, feeling her Mistress’s breath on her muzzle. “I did.”

“Did you ask if I would like to do a steep dive?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Did I help you get to the place you could do so?”

“You did, Mistress.”

“Was I the one that removed the air resistance underneath you?”

“You were, Mistress.”

“Was I the weight on you back?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Did you pull up in time?”

“Yes, but...”

Mapper was ready for any ‘but’ and interrupted her quickly. “Did you decide to land?”

Wildfire nodded. “I did, Mistress.”

“One last question pet.” Mapper inched a little closer so that she was almost kissing the blind pony. This close she could see every little detail of her acid scars. “Do you think I'm too stupid a unicorn to know a pegasus’s flight limitations?”

Wildfire shook her head. “No, Mistress.”

“So you see Mistress Luna,” Mapper said after giving Wildfire the tenderest loving kiss she could give her. “Sometimes you have to play a dangerous game to get the results you need. My Middle Pet knows when to say enough. That may save the life of somepony less gifted than me. Oh…” she couldn’t help but giggle, “A tree or two may have been damaged on the west side of the mountain near the tree line.”

Lovingly, Wildfire returned the kiss to the pink unicorn. “Thank you, Mistress.”

Luna sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hoof. ‘These ponies will surely be the death of me’, she thought to herself. “A dangerous game indeed, Mapper.” She then turned to Wildfire. “And, how have your wings been otherwise since Friday?”

Instinctively, Wildfire flexed her wings. “They’ve been just fine, Princess, then again I haven't gone very far with them.”

“We plan on flying back to Manehatten after our visits to Vanhoover, Trottingham, and returning here.” Airmail put in once she was sure the little drama had passed them by.

Walking back around the table, Mapper laughed and hugged the Princess with the self-assured confidence that oozed from her very being, almost daring the royal mare to push her away. Mapper knew she wouldn’t do anything of the sort. “A dangerous game is giving me a horn job, more so giving one to Serenity, and even more dangerous was breakfast this morning. I have Witnessed Celestia's ability to wield a fork in pursuit of cake.”

“Um…we are?” Wildfire asked in Tempest’s general direction as Luna giggled in Mapper’s embrace. “We’re flying all the way home, from here?” She really didn’t care for that plan very much.

“You still have more exercise to do before we return,” Tempest said in her marefriend’s ear, and we will do it in legs until you say 'enough', as Mapper so kindly pointed out you can.”

“Well okay,” Wildfire muttered, “if I won’t slow us up too much.”

Getting around the table for a second time, Mapper kissed Wildfire again. “Even you can't be much slower than the train.”

Wildfire kissed her Mistress lovingly on the lips. “No Mistress, I don’t suppose I can.”

“Good Pet,” Mapper kissed the diminutive yellow pegasus’s lips. “Maybe Mistress Stormy will let you have some chocolate on the train if you perform well enough.”

Wildfire nodded, eager as always to please. “I'll be a good Pet, Mistress.” With that, Tempest and Airmail got up from the dining table and with a touch of her wing Airmail let Wildfire know it was time to go. Together the two older mares ushered their little lover out of the dining room and onwards to the train station.

While the three mares left, along with Sonic, Trails and Omega who all made their polite farewells for the time being, Mapper moved back over to Serenity and whispered silkily in her ear. “I'm sure you'll be as good a bad pony as you are, Pet.”

Now that it was just the three of them left in the private dining room, Luna turned to Mapper as Serenity squirmed in anticipation. “We can begin that tour whenever you're ready, Mistress Mapper.”

Mapper let out a delighted little giggle. “Was it Senior Pet’s fidgeting tipping you off?”

Princess Luna giggled, “Just a lot, she's in danger of wearing a hole in that seating pad.”