The two of us showered (one after the other) and made our way to the royal palace's Mess Hall, a moderately sized dining area next to the kitchens, decorated with red walls and white columns. There was a much larger hall a few rooms down the hall of the east wing, better suited for state dinners and formal events, but this was the place for staff and long-term guests to get their fixings, day or night. It wasn't free of charge to eat there, nor was it terribly expensive, but I'd already convinced the chefs to cut me and my friends some slack.

It wasn't even that hard to get a free meal pass, either. I got the feeling that Celestia did the whole 'let the down-on-their-luck vagrant stay in the palace until they figure their shit out' routine fairly frequently – just never before with a human.

We found a small around table and sat down with our food, me with a 'Carnivore's Omelette' according to the menu and Moondancer with a bowl of quinoa fruit salad. Pinched under my elbow was a few pieces of mail, two scrolls and an envelope, which I set down beside my plate. I was dressed in naught but the complimentary white-and-gold-trim bathrobe and my increasingly stuffed underwear, and Moondancer...

The unicorn mare looked down past her shoulder, shaking and swishing her tail to cover more of her generous, panty-covered bottom. "Are you... sure no one's going to notice?"

"They notice," I said, a smirk growing at the corner of my mouth. "They just don't think it matters. No one's even said anything, right? The permission is holding."

With a reddening face to contrast her black sweater, the bottomless unicorn nodded and mumbled, "Right. It was my idea anyway..."

I ground through my meat-stuffed omelette with a fork. "It's a good thing I can still give ponies permissions even when I've made them mentally immune. That would be a whole 'nother problem. This way I can at least find a middle ground with some ponies."

"Uh-huh. Yes. Good test," Moondancer squeaked, staring at her salad and looking like she wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear.

"Though if I did allow myself to tweak your mind, I could make you less nervous about it," I said half-jokingly. Then I mentally scolded myself for joking about mind control with a mare who'd kinda been through trauma on that front.

Thankfully, Moondancer didn't seem too offended. "That would definitely be a perk," she mumbled back. "But, um, I think I'll keep going 'au naturale' if that's alright with you."

"Oh yeah, oh yeah, no problem," I said quickly with a couple waves of my hand. "That was in poor taste anyway."

"No, I mean–" Moondancer started, then pursed her lips for a moment, sighing through her nostrils. "I trust you," she said. "I'm not holding any of that against you anymore. I'm... I'm not as scared of you as I was when we met."

My lungs released a few ounces of breath I hadn't known I was holding. "Good to hear..." I muttered. Now desperate for a change of topic, I reached for the royal scroll sitting atop my other pieces of mail. Seemed like that was the most important place to start. While I carefully broke the wax seal, I also asked, "So, um, what do you do? I don't think I ever really asked."

"Oh! Just, y'know... the eternal student," Moondancer said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Working on my second degree."

"Nice," I replied with raised eyebrows.

"Not that nice. Up until... well, a little while back, I probably would've been happy just staying in the university system forever. Never moving on to a career because I preferred the structure of school. But now that I remember that, uh, other ponies exist..." – she joked with another self-deprecating chuckle – "I'm kind of floundering to find something more to do with my life once I'm done with this, y'know, milestone."

"Sounds like we're in similar boats," I said, my heart sinking a little. "I dropped out due to debt and stress, and even if I had that piece of paper to my name, it wouldn't be relevant in Equestria." Under my breath, I grumbled, "No place for a software engineer when there's no computers..."

"Well, you and I have our names on a classified research report the public won't know about for several years," Moondancer joked somewhat hollowly. "So there's that."

"There is that," I deadpanned. I unfurled the scroll before me and scanned its contents.

"What's that about? Or can you not tell me?" Moondancer asked.

"I'm not seeing any classification. It's from Celestia. Or maybe one of her clerks... Oh!" I re-scanned the paragraph I'd just read. "Apparently my legal status is changing."

"Really? What was it before?"

"I think I was officially a ward under Princess Twilight Sparkle. But it looks like some paperwork's being put together to help me apply for 'permanent resident' status in Equestria. Heck, it says in a few years I could make a run at full citizenship." I lowered the scroll and let the mind-boggling concept wash over me. I was gonna get my green card. And then... Pascal, a naturalized citizen of Equestria.

Moondancer swallowed the spoonful of fruit salad in her mouth. "Well that's good. I'm not sure what rights you had as a 'ward,' but this means you'll be able to work, make a bank account, buy property..."

"Everything a stranded alien needs," I finished. I rolled up the scroll and set it aside. "Looks like I'll be stopping by that clerk's office at some point, maybe today or tomorrow, to sign a few things and get that rolling."

Moondancer smirked. "It can't be all sexytimes all the time, huh?"

I shook my head in rebuke. "Honestly, I'm excited. More independence from Twilight? A chance to rebuild some of the modern life I lost? Being accepted, legally, in this magical land of hyper-sexy ponies?"

"Okay, I get it," she replied with a nod. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks." I reached for the next piece of mail, which was simply a standard envelope. I peeled it open to find slips of violet-colored foil paper, along with a card. The slips of paper appeared to be tickets, marked with the fancy font of Canterlot Fashion Week.

While I inspected the tickets, Moondancer levitated the card across the table to float in front of her eyes. "'Thought you and your friends would like to see the fruits of your labor.' Signed 'Hoity Toity.'"

I flipped the tickets around. "Four VIP passes to see the Beauty In Bloom runway show, part of Fashion Week at the Canterlot Convention Center. Tomorrow evening."

"He also left a little something for you," Moondancer added, swinging the card around to face me. Beneath the critic's fancy handwriting and signature, there was a lipstick kiss mark. The card also smelled faintly of perfume. "Congratulations, Pascal – one of Equestria's top fashion personalities has a crush on you."

I nodded in grim acceptance, looked off to one side, and said in a perfectly even tone of voice, "Rarity is going to flay me alive."

The student across from me chuckled, bouncing her sweater-bound melons against the rounded edge of the table. My eyes reflexively bounced up to meet Moondancer's own big dark purples, but she didn't seem to mind my ocular wandering.

Contritely, I put the tickets back in the envelope and set them down next to the royal scroll. "Well, I think that's Thursday's itinerary sorted out. You coming?"

"I guess I kinda have to, since I helped make it happen."

"And the other two are for Trixie and Spitfire," I said, thinking aloud. "I'll have to figure out how to get ahold of the Wonderbolts captain, if she's even free. I know Trixie will be down for it..." I pulled out one of the tickets again and inspected the scheduled time. "There's a small chance Derpy might be able to make it after work... Maybe I can give one to her and get myself in for free."

"Yeah, why do you even need tickets?" Moondancer joked.

"Not like I'm gonna tell Hoity about the Acceptance," I muttered. "Not until I find out where his boundaries are."

Moondancer blinked. "The 'acceptance'?"

I shrugged and explained, "Kinda seems more fitting than 'the Normal,' but I'm still trying it out."

"Huh."

The conversation lulled, so I reached for the second scroll, the final piece of mail waiting for me this morning. It was held closed by a clasped band. I unfurled it and immediately recognized Spike's handwriting. "This is from Twilight."

Moondancer raised an eyebrow and gave me a slightly worried look. "...Is that bad?"

"Depends," I said, still skimming. "...'apologize again for what I said and did yesterday,' da-da-da-da-daaaa..." I didn't want to linger on our argument, and it seemed Twilight Sparkle felt the same – the letter quickly moved on to a different subject. "...'wanted to make you aware that, when you're ready, I have a check waiting for you to help get you back on your feet'!"

"Twilight's giving you money?" Moondancer asked.

"Ummmm," – I took a few seconds to read further along – "no... Oh, okay. The 'Equestrian Center for Magical Medicine' has a bounty fund for data on 'rare, dangerous, magical, and exotic lifeforms.'" I leaned back in my chair and stared off into space as an uncomfortable feeling passed down my spine. "All those tests and samples they took from me while I was in quarantine... Apparently the medical community was very happy with them, and wrote Twilight a check. But Twilight's gonna pass it on to me."

Moondancer smiled brightly. "Oh! That's good, then! Of course they should be paying you – you're a sentient volunteer and the only one of your kind on the planet!"

I reached the end of the letter and blanched a bit. "Twilight also suggests that my continued cooperation might be useful if I need more bits in the future." I rolled up the scroll and put it down with the rest of the mail. I also pushed my plate a little further away from me, because I'd lost a little bit of my appetite. "That means getting poked and prodded and tested and having every kind of fluid sampled from me again... all in the name of scientific paychecks."

Not quite sure how to answer that, Moondancer tried to stay chipper and said, "Well, uh– good thing you're getting an ID and all that, so you can deposit those bits! Do you know how much it is?"

"She didn't say exactly, but she described it as 'two months of rent on Lyra and Bon Bon's couch.' So not too bad."

"You've been sleeping on a couch until now?"

"Yeah. I never told you that?"

"Twilight didn't let you–"

"No." I folded my arms on the table and rested my chin there. "She didn't want me at the palace except to take my reports or lecture me."

Moondancer pouted at the remains of her salad. "That... doesn't sound like her."

"Well, 'Humans R Bad,' Celestia and the townsfolk breathing down her neck, the fact that I probably stared at her tits too long when we made first contact – all of that didn't help. Besides, Lyra really wanted to get to know me."

With a depressing sigh, Moondancer pouted and muttered, "Right... No one looks like us back in your world. So you couldn't stop staring, and it all just snowballed from there, huh?"

"And that's how we got here. Welcome back to the present day."

She shook her head as if in a daze. "I guess sex and lust aren't things we're wired to give the benefit of the doubt for."

I simply shrugged my shoulders. "I mean, with good reason. Plenty of room for abuse."

"I think the whole point of this is that we need to take a long, hard look at whether those reasons are still good. Some of them probably still are, but others..."

As Moondancer trailed off, I pushed myself up from the table and looked wistfully at my half-eaten omelette. "We should probably finish our food before we completely kill our appetites." Moondancer nodded in agreement and spooned up some more salad. We ate in relative silence until it was time to return to my room.

Out in the hallway on our way back, Moondancer grunted and magically tugged down the edge of her panties, which were starting to ride up. "This was a mistake..."

"Still not into exhibitionism?" I asked casually.

"No, it's drafty!" she shouted with a laugh.

"Yeah, some of the passageways around here are like wind tunnels under the right circumstances," I said, looking around. I was almost certain this was one of the halls I'd come barreling down when I'd first stormed the palace, throwing off fancy clothes left and right. It had been so empty and foreboding then, but the midday sun and the occasional clerk, janitor, or royal guard made it much more homely.

"You're not wearing pants either," she pointed out with a playful poke of her tongue from her lips.

And it was true. I shrugged and said, "It was just for brunch. I'll probably put on pants if I actually have to go anywhere." I opened my mouth for a yawn, and it quickly advanced to one of those deep, mouth-stretching yawns. At the end of it, I wiped my face and muttered, "But weren't you wearing... basically a string bikini Saturday?" I felt a need to stretch my arms.

"I cast a personal climate control spell on myself before I left. And, um..." Moondancer wrapped her arms around her stomach and stared at the floor as we walked, the little hooves at the ends of her bare feet tapping against the tiles. "I don't think I'm an exhibitionist, but I don't think I mind public nudity. Especially bottomlessness. It's just–"

"The actual sex in public is the dealbreaker."

"Yeah, exactly. Unless, um..."

We were coming up on the door to my room, so I slowed down. "Unless what?"

"Unless... Unless it was my dom ordering me to do... to do something lewd in public. That's all I meant."

"Ahhh." I nodded with some semblance of sageliness. I looked at her askance and, with a little nervousness, asked, "Is that something you want to try with me?"

The awkwardness levels rose as she didn't answer for a really long moment, fidgeting where she stood.

Not sure what else to do but dying a little inside, I opened the door to my room and went in, holding it open for her to follow. As she walked through, I added, "Not– Not like as a 'right now' thing, but–"

"Y-Yeah! Definitely not right now," Moondancer yelped, nearly toppling over herself in embarrassment. Her body language betrayed a self-surprising amount of eagerness, but she visibly fought to remain casual. "Maybe I could get back to you with some scenarios...?"

"That'd be great," I said softly, trying my best comforting smile.

Moondancer sheepishly grinned back. "Good! Good."

I glanced over at the bed. "You a little worked up?"

In response, Moondancer's eyes darted up at the nearest clock, and her muzzle scrunched up in thought. "I don't have a lecture until after lunch... but are you sure you're not too tired?"

She just had to mention that. I fought hard to swallow a sudden bout of yawning, but my eyes teared up and I ended up sucking a huge breath through my teeth anyway. As I wiped my eyes, I muttered, "Okay, maybe I am." And truth be told, despite the fat chub stuffing the front of my underwear, I wasn't mentally in the mood for more sex.

Moondancer gave me a polite smile and, with her magic, picked up the pants and socks she'd left piled on the bed.

My eyes were actually starting to sting from holding back big yawns. "Sorry... that I'm not really fit to entertain you..."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll... I'll figure it out at home," she said as she put her lower clothes back on.

I began to stumble towards the bed as if magnetically drawn to the cushions. I must have been running on sheer adrenaline through Celestia and Luna, and now I was crashing hard. That was the only explanation I could think of for why I was so extremely tired all of a sudden. Though as I sat on the bed and got ready to wish Moondancer a pleasant day, a thought occurred to me. "Hey, Dancer..."

The unicorn was just putting her shoes on. "Hmm?"

I reconsidered. "Nevermind, maybe another time. I was gonna ask you about, I dunno, magic lessons."

Moondancer blinked a few times. "...Oh, you mean remedial magic classes?"

"Yeah, if you knew anything or... whatever." I groggily looked down at my palms. "Mostly to see if I can learn TK. But cleaning spells, size spells... Those would be nice, too."

She sucked in a hissing breath through her grimacing teeth. "That– That would be a tough one. You can definitely apply to them, but... For adults, they require you to set aside most of a week in seclusion. And in your case, with so much raw power, probably a little longer."

"A week in seclusion?" I echoed. "It takes that long to learn telekinesis? Just the basics?"

"No, it takes a day or two at most," she explained. "What takes the rest of the week is learning how to stop. How to control yourself."

"Ahhhhh."

"Because like a newborn unicorn foal, your newly awakened magic starts going wild, grabbing and floating everything. It's safe to teach young children with their low magic-weight ratio, but fully grown adults..."

I imagined myself walking down the street, looking at every mare's bountiful breasts or ass, and each one feeling a telekinetic pinch from several yards away. Every single mare, the whole day long, non-stop, whether I intended to or not. "That would be especially bad in my case, wouldn't it?"

"Heh heh, yeah..." Fully clothed, Moondancer straightened out her outfit. "I'd ask the Princesses if they can point you towards a private tutor. Someone really experienced who's confident enough to handle a Discord-level demigod. That's probably your best bet. But, um, you'll probably have to wait until Celestia can... y'know, stand a week without you."

"Crap," I muttered. "Well, had to ask."

"No no, it was a good question. I don't mind."

I sighed and leaned back on the bed as the busty bookworm headed for the door. "Well, thanks for sticking around. And thanks for the spell."

Moondancer laughed for a long moment, chuckling into her hand. "No– No problem, ahahaha!" Then her expression slowly softened into a look of gentle admiration. "Honestly, Pascal... Thank you for–" She gestured vaguely around. "–for getting to the bottom of all this. For not giving up on us. Any of us." With a wry smile, she added, "You're a good person. You're a pervert, but you're a good person."

I smirked back. "You're pretty awesome yourself, Moondancer."

And then she waved and left. The sound of the door latching closed behind her felt weirdly deafening.

My face fell. I looked down at the carpet and muttered, "Thanks for saying exactly what a shmuck like me wants to hear..."

Then I let out the biggest yawn yet; the kind that makes you squint so hard that you start seeing bright colors behind your eyes. I took that as a sign to dive-bomb into my pillows and pass out.

I awoke, as was becoming more commonly the case, to a knocking at the door.

"Come 'n...!" I groaned out as loud as I could. I sniffled hard; I had slept in an awkward position, so not only was one of my arms asleep, but I was all congested on one side. But boy did I feel a lot more rested. I looked over at the clock, and after a few seconds of extremely slow arithmetic, I came to the conclusion I had napped for about five and a half hours. Wow, I'd really needed that.

The door to my room was opened by a royal guard, tentatively peeking in at first to make sure I was mostly decent. Then he entered normally, all imperious and all business. The armored white earth pony cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Pascal, Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts has arrived and has requested to meet with you. Shall I send her up?"

I groggily shook my head and stared at him. "Huh? Spitfire?"