The next morning I woke up, relaxed and comfortable. Someone soft and warm was pressed up against me in the bed.

"Mmph?" I muttered. It felt nice, but somewhat strange at the same time. It was too fluffy, not smoothly warm like I'd come to expect from my humans. I lazily opened an eye to see why Mia's body felt so different today.

Princess Cadance was cuddled up against me under the blankets, fast asleep with a deeply contented look on her face.

"Eeek! What are you doing here?" I squawked in surprise.

"Hmm?" she yawned.

"How did you even..." I paused, remembering Cadance using the room next to ours last night. We'd left the connecting doors open, and completely ignored the other two rooms on the far side of the hall.

"I was lonely and cold. Mia said it was okay," Cadance added hopefully. "And you didn't say no."

"I was asleep!"

"You still didn't say no!"

I narrowed me eyes. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing! Well, mostly nothing..." she giggled nervously and her eyes flicked away guiltily.

"You know what? I don't even care. Just go back to sleep." I closed my eyes again. It still felt nice being jammed in here between Mia and Cadance. A good thing Canterlot Castle had massive beds, otherwise I imagined it would have been a bit cramped with all four of us in it. Eventually I fell back asleep.

An unknown length of time later, I awoke to a kiss on the back of my head. "Morning, fuzzpoof."

"Hi, Mia."

"Did you have a good sleep?"

"Y-yeah, I think so." I lay spooned between her and the princess, who had put a wing over me at some point. "I didn't expect this."

Cadance opened her eyes slightly at my stirring, but didn't say anything.

Mia laughed. "It was for warmth, dear. How could a mere commoner refuse the request of a powerful Equestrian princess?

"Whatever," I grumbled. "I hear excuses."

"Well then. It seems I'm not wanted here. I guess I'll just get up and-" Cadance tried to fold her wing back and move off the bed. I quickly grabbed it and pulled it up to my nose, wiggling underneath like it was a blanket.

"You can stay a little longer," I mumbled, muffled by her feathers.

"Oh, yeah?" She relaxed, letting me have her wing.

"Yeah. Where's James?" I asked, peeking out.

"I'm right here," I heard him say from the far side of Mia. "There's three hot girls in this bed. Where else would I rather be?"

"Hmm. Good point." I lay still for a moment. "Well you know, if three's a crowd, then four's-"

"An orgy?" Cadance suggested.

"I was going to say a lot of weight on the mattress springs, but whatever."

We did not have an orgy, since we had a lot of stuff to get ready this morning and I had been incredibly lazy, with little to no additional motivation coming from Cadance until the sun was up.

Soon after we finally got out of bed, we met Celestia at breakfast in the kitchen. I immediately noticed the ARHUD she was wearing.

"Is Princess Luna not coming?" Mia asked, disappointment evident in her tone. "I imagined she would be coming, ah, off-shift just about now?"

"Ordinarily, you would be correct, however my sister had to deal with an incursion late last night. She has yet to return," the Princess replied, tapping her goggles gently with a hoof. "I am in contact with her right now."

"That's unfortunate," I mumbled.

"Such is leadership," Celestia smiled at me, her expression tired. "It never ends. Although, things have been a little easier since Twilight became an Alicorn and began dealing with some of the issues facing Equestria, but then, of course, the human breach happened, and all hell broke loose." She nodded at James and Mia. "Not that I blame anyone. We are glad to have new friends, and none of you foresaw or wanted the collateral damage."

She waved at the seats, and we sat down at the table to enjoy a simple but pleasant meal of cheesy garden omelettes and fluffy pancakes with butter and maple syrup.

"This is delicious," James gasped, eating greedily.

"Thank you, I made it myself," Celestia said, then smiled at our surprised looks. "What? I enjoy cooking sometimes."

"Well, I also enjoy your cooking," James replied. "And it's not every day I get to say I ate food prepared by a princess."

Cadance looked as if she wanted to say something, but thought better of it at the last moment. Judging from the mischievous expression on her face, I had a feeling it wasn't about food. Fortunately nobody else noticed.

"I am taking you all to the armory afterwards," Celestia informed us after a bit. "The airship will be ready later this morning, and I hope you can be well equipped by then."

"That shouldn't be a problem," James offered. "I know what I'm looking for."

Celestia nodded. "Good."

The armory was protected by two guards, both carrying human-made shotguns and wearing ARHUDs. They jerked to attention at Princess Celestia's graceful approach.

"Good morning, ma'am!"

"At ease, soldiers, and a fine morning to you as well," Celestia replied musically. She held out her hoof to the door, activating a holopanel, then stared into the emitter while it scanned her retinas. The door unlocked with a beep and a click, and Celestia passed through, gesturing for the rest of us to follow.

"I didn't realize Canterlot Castle had this level of technology," I commented.

"It's recent," Celestia explained. "Jeff... ProteC, I mean, wanted to set up a few places where company personnel in Equestria could re-arm or equip if necessary. Canterlot Castle was an obvious choice, and they made a few upgrades to our vaults before utilizing them." She continued out into the room as she talked. I was impressed at the size, it was more than large enough to play basketball in, if not for the low ceilings and numerous racks of hardware. It looked as if a lot of the usual pony halberds, spears, axes, and other such traditional stock had been moved off into one corner, and the main floor was now filled with stands of rifles, shotguns, pistols, and a few other things I didn't even recognize.

"What's that?" I asked James, pointing a hoof.

His eyes lit up. "Wow. Looks like an anti-aircraft missile launcher! And over there, you see that? I think it's a personal low recoil micro artillery cannon. It must be a new prototype, last I heard those didn't even exist!"

"We have quite a few special items," Celestia beamed. "You should see the new vehicle bay. We have armored personnel carriers, and even a couple of beam tanks!"

James whistled. "That's impressive. Those things cost millions apiece."

"Of course it's technically still ProteC property, but I have permission to crew them with trained ponies if I deem it necessary," Celestia continued. "Jeff told me he trusts me to make the right decisions, and any use I make of these items won't be second-guessed."

"Sounds like you got the hookup," James grinned.

"Oh, yes, the hookup is mine, thanks to Jeff. I can also issue you guys equipment, as we are doing now."

"Great. We should get some exos, just in case," James said.

Celestia pointed a hoof. "Right over there. Help yourselves, they're fully charged." She reached out a hoof, easily lifted a heavy-looking rifle from a nearby shelf, checked the chamber, then went bipedal to shoulder it, aiming it away from us at an empty wall. "I do enjoy your human weapons," she said, smirking as she looked down the optic.

I felt a sudden surge of pride. Celestia looked genuinely awesome like that, and I knew she had used a weapon like this in actual combat against the forces of Shub-Niggurath.

"That looks like a fifty caliber," James said in awe. "May I?"

"Certainly." She carefully handed the firearm to James, who grunted at the weight, but managed to shoulder it with an effort, his muscles rippling under his Hawaiian shirt. "You made it look so easy," he said, lowering the massive rifle quickly and handing it back to the Alicorn.

"I'm a bit stronger than I look," Celestia purred demurely, placing the rifle tenderly back on its rack. "I do have a special like for this particular weapon, as well. It made short work of some very unpleasant creatures."

"I wish I could have seen that," James sighed wistfully. "I bet you looked awesome as hell."

Celestia said nothing, but her easy smile spoke louder than words.

"So, uh," Mia pointed at some shelves of clothing near the folded exo suits. "Can I hit that up? This skirt is fun for the sun and all, but I'm thinking I should have brought something a little more durable, at this rate."

"Of course. All of you, grab whatever you need. I brought an inventory scanner, just scan what you're taking so we can reorder from ProteC."

"Thanks!" Mia quickly walked over to the clothing, then began poking about the shelves and humming to herself, pulling an item off here and there.

Cadance and I followed her.

"Did you find everything?" our princess asked after a few minutes had passed and Mia had accumulated a small stack of clothing.

"Yeah, lemme get changed real quick." Mia rapidly yanked her shirt off, exposing her bra, then tossing her top over a nearby rack. She then pulled her skirt down and did the same, standing there in nothing but her underwear before bending over to take her heels off. Conveniently, her ass stuck out directly towards Cadance's pleased face.

"Oh my, this is most interesting," Princess Pervert said, smiling lasciviously, her muzzle only a fraction of an inch from Mia's waving butt. "I certainly am glad I came down here." She licked her lips hungrily, then the tip of her tongue reached out towards the thin fabric of Mia's panties.

"Come on, you," I grunted, tugging at Cadance's resistant shoulder. "I'm going to put a few extra decorations on your slender bod."

"Huh? What? What do you have in mind?" The disappointment was palpable in her voice.

"This," I said, pulling a thigh holster out of a nearby bin and telekinetically drifting it to her leg.

"Can you put it on for me?" she asked. "I've never done it before."

"Oh, fine." I hovered the straps down around her thighs.

"No! Wait! Use your hooves. Do it slowly."

"You're such a liar," I chuckled, buckling the device on her and giving her a pat on her pink butt.

"No, I really haven't put one on. I did get trained to use pistols, but I made the human instructor help me put my gear on. I may have accidentally rubbed against his fingers, too. You should have seen the poor boy blush."

"You're really a very bad mare," I said, shaking my head.

"Me? You don't mean that!"

"Yeah, you're right. You're actually a very nice mare."

"Do you really think so?"

"All joking aside? Yes, I do. Now let's arm you up."

"Wait! Do you think I'm pretty, too?"

"Y-yeah, I guess?" I didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Would you eat my pussy?"

I felt my face heat up. "Cadance! Stop!"

"How about letting me eat yours? Don't you think my face would be prettier between your legs?"

"Stop! I-I'm not into... Uh..." I trailed off, losing my focus to the image of her licking me like a popsicle. I felt rather betrayed to find my nether regions tingling eagerly at the thought.

"I-I'm not into mares," I finally managed to squeak, thrusting the imagery from my mind with an effort of will.

She pouted. "Fine. But I notice you didn't say no."

I sighed . "Let's get you dressed, Your Royal Highness."

"You still didn't say no! And if you call me that again, I am going to tie you up in the dungeon and punish you until you beg me to let you finish."

"Okay, fine!" I paused as her choice of words processed. "Hey, wait, what did you say?"

Cadance was already setting off on a different tack. "Hey, what's Mia doing?"

I looked where she pointed her hoof. Mia was wearing an exo suit over her new cargo pants and polo shirt. She was gracefully performing an odd series of fluid movements, rotating her arms in long, wide circles and flexing her legs and body into strange positions. It was reminiscent of yoga exercises.

"Oh, she's calibrating the new frame," I explained. "An uncalibrated exo is set with basic range of motion limits, it can be restrictive or even dangerous to operate in such a state. Calibration makes sure it fits the individual and compensates for personal differences in height, weight, joint flexibility, et cetera."

"Oh. Humans have some interesting and complicated machines."

"You don't know the half of it."

Cadance's expression went sly, a look I was all too familiar from both Mia and her.

"No," I said before she could speak. "Stop. I know that face. Yes there are all kinds of perverted sex machines Earthside, and no, we don't have time to discuss them at this moment. Now march your pink ass right over there to those boxes, young lady. I am fitting you with an ARHUD. Why don't you have one already, anyway?"

"I'm older than you, sweetie. And there is currently no signal out in the Crystal Empire," she shrugged. "But that's supposed to change soon, once ProteC starts launching the network drones."

"What?"

"You didn't know? Celestia mentioned it to us some time ago. They're going to expand the wireless network over more of Equestria with high-altitude autonomous aircraft. Soon I'll be able to download all the human porn I want without coming to Canterlot."

I sighed heavily. "You taint everything."

"Heh heh. You said 'taint'."

I groaned even more heavily.

Some time later, I had Cadance pretty well tricked out with a pistol, rifle, holoband, ARHUD, and some other miscellaneous devices. As a Princess, she had already gone through training on most of the equipment in the weeks since the collision between ours and the human world, so I didn't have to teach her how to use everything from scratch.

I looked over to where James was creating a pile of crates. He'd lost his Hawaiian shirt and shorts for a new ProteC uniform. Between his new exo and Celestia's telekinesis, it seemed preparations were going rather well.

Once I finished helping Cadance back out of her gear and put it into a Pelican case, she patted me on the shoulder.

"Hey, I need to trot downtown and buy a few things before we leave. It looks like James is gonna be awhile yet, so, like, I know you probably want to finish up here, but do you want me to pick anything up for you?"

I thought about it. "Uh, is a few clothing items okay?"

"Sure! I like clothing items! How about like a nice lace teddy? Body stocking? Maybe a sheer-"

"Not THAT kind of clothing. Here, I'll send a list to your holobracelet, okay?"

"Okay. I'll hurry."

I watched her scamper off out the door.

"Hey! Why'd you chase her away?" Mia protested.

"I didn't! She needs to buy some stuff!"

"Uh huh."

"Honestly!"

"Okay, okay. I believe you. I was just playing."

I shook my head, then looked with interest at the boxes James was preparing to drag out to the SUV. "Lemme guess, party favors?" I called out.

"For a big-ass party," he replied with a wink.

"Hopefully not as big as the last one," I shuddered.

"Hopefully not, but I brought extra favors just in case."

"Party poppers," I snickered.

"Plenty to go around."

Luna came by while Cadance was out shopping. She looked worn out, yet still regally beautiful even with her drooping eyelids and sleepy expression.

"Celestia. I came to say goodnight. Or good day, rather," she said, her voice wrung with exhaustion.

Celestia hurried over to her, and gave her a hug. "Sleep well, dear sister. It is late for you. Sleep in a bit tonight. I will cover for you."

"Thank you for this kindness," Luna replied. She managed to wave at us before turning to leave. "Enjoy safe travels, friends, and please relay to Princess Cadance my support and well wishes."

As I watched her stumble away, I could easily understand why they were farming out missions like ours. One princess can only do so much without collapsing, even if she is a powerful Alicorn.

"I got you your things," Cadance called out some time later, trotting towards me with a colorful paper bag.

"Oh, thanks!" I took it from her eagerly. "That was fast. What are those other bags?"

"Some surprises for you and your friends. You can't have them yet, I'm saving them for later."

"Oh. I'm afraid to ask," I muttered. "So, how much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. My Princess salary isn't bad, especially since it includes meals and housing. I can afford to treat you."

"I can't take your money!" I protested feebly.

"You will, or I'll give you something else to take," Cadance grinned, licking her muzzle suggestively.

"I-I'm just going to go get dressed, then," I replied, my cheeks getting hot all over again. I hurried away, finding a bathroom where I quickly stripped out of Mia's skirt and top. There may be no nudity taboo in Equestria, but changing clothes is still something I wouldn't do in front of two Princesses. It's just one of those things that makes one feel less presentable until it's finished. Obviously Mia doesn't share my reservations, though.

I was oddly eager as I rummaged through the tissue paper in the bag, revealing several new sets of my relatively inexpensive self-styled ProteC uniform. I quickly pulled on the black pantyhose, hot pants, boots, and top, strapping my pistol back on with a thigh holster I'd snagged earlier in the armory. I then surveyed myself in the mirror. It felt like I was back on duty again, yet still enjoying the freedom of having no-one to answer to. Well unless I counted Princess Cadance, and she was so obscenely relaxed that it barely mattered. I was sure could pretty much do whatever I wanted and she would probably not only let me do it, but demand to help me.

"Like you're gonna do anything crazy that Mia and Cadance wouldn't beat you to," I told my reflection and stuck my tongue out.

Shoving Mia's skirt and tank in the bag atop my extra new clothes, I tripped happily back to Cadance and Mia.

The Alicorn's eyes bugged out when she saw me. "Well, I must say, that's a good look on you," she crooned. "Could you turn around?"

"Uh, okay?"

"Stop!"

I froze. "Why?"

She stuck her face close to my butt. "I'm inspecting your rump. Those shorts have a nice ass effect. Could you lift your tail higher please?"

"I will do nothing of the sort," I growled, turning to face her.

"And such adorable boots," she continued cheerfully, not missing a beat while she eye-fucked me. "I may have to try this outfit myself. It's sexy."

"Th-thanks? Well, there's a few spare sets, after all. I'd be happy to-"

"Maybe I'll just wear the one you're wearing after you get it all sweaty and dirty," Cadance purred sweetly.

I had no idea what to say to that. I just stood there stupidly with my mouth hanging open. Thankfully Mia approached at this moment, saving me.

"Hey, you're back in those clothes I like," she observed. "I approve. Just let me check something?"

"Uh, okay?"

She grabbed my tail and pulled it up, then put her other hand on my ass. "Wow, it's perfect."

Okay, maybe she wasn't saving me.

"Oh, that is nice," Cadance chimed in, rubbing my butt with her hoof as well. "So smooth!"

"H-hey, what are you guys doing?" I hissed, feeling like a piece of meat on sale, to use a human turn of speech. "That's not just- ooohhh!"

"Admiring your outfit," Cadance replied. "I love these nylons on you." Her hoof moved to my inner thighs, and she stroked me through my black bikini shorts.

"Ughh! Gosh, stop it you two, Celestia is gonna see!"

Cadance giggled, not stopping at all. "Relax, she's totally distracted by your hunky boyfriend."

"Not her too," I groaned. "I don't think I can handle any more people in our bed."

"Nah, don't worry, she's not like me," Cadance explained, continuing her unabashed massaging of my crotch, much to Mia's obvious amusement. "Celestia is relatively old-fashioned. If she's got sexual interests, she hides them well. It's a nut I've been trying to bust for years. Get it? Bust a nut? Years of nut, Eris. Just think of it."

I groaned. "I'm trapped between twin pervs of different species. Why me?"

"Maybe you're just lucky?" Mia licked my nose.

"It's your destiny," Cadance stated grandly, tossing her beautiful mane and giving my butt a gentle slap.

"Why are you like this?" I asked. "Why are you so... molesty?"

"Well, I just see no reason to have less fun in life," Cadance said. "Remember in high school how you were about sex?"

I thought about the times I'd sucked off the stallions under the desks in science lab as a little filly, trying not to gag on the jizz filling my mouth so the teacher wouldn't hear me.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," I lied. "I wasn't into guys until much later on." I could practically feel my tight little hotpants catching fire at that whopper.

"You're a terrible liar, Eris. And you can stop presenting now. Celestia's coming this way."

Aghast, I realized I'd been pushing my ass out to her without thinking about it. I adjusted quickly. By the time Celestia reached us, we all looked rather casual, sitting on the floor.

"Oh, there you are," she said, looking a bit perplexed at our overly-innocent expressions. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, not at all," Cadance chirped. "We were just... looking at Mia's boots. Aren't they cool?"

"I, ah, suppose so," Celestia said politely, evidently trying hard to disguise her complete lack of interest in anyone's boots. Score one for Cadance's quick thinking, although I was starting to doubt that Celestia would lose her mind if she found us fooling around. She seemed way too chill to get overly excited about such unimportant things.

"Well, if you've all completed preparations, then I shall see you to your vehicle. Takeoff time is approaching."

"She sure talks about 'Jeff' a lot," James confided while he drove us towards the skyport. "Do they, like, have a thing?"

"I honestly don't know," Cadance said. She narrowed her eyes. "Celestia may seem sweet and open, but she is a steel lockbox when I try to get certain information. For all I can squeeze out of her, she might be a virgin! Not that I believe such a thing. I only wonder what crazy fetish secrets she's hiding from me. Golden showers? Bukkake gangbangs? Scat orgies?" Her eyes widened as she considered possibilities. "Oh my gosh, what if she's into her own sister? A secret, forbidden incestuous kink? I mean they live in this castle practically alone, they could do whatever they want!"

"What about the guards?" Mia asked. "I mean they'd probably talk, right?"

"Like they'd say anything if the Princesses told them not to. Or, OR! What if they invite the guards to come and watch and jerk off while they eat each other out? Without even inviting ME!"

"Well now you're just going right off the deep end. Maybe she just enjoys seeing you get frustrated trying to figure it out?" I suggested, rolling my eyes at Cadance's ridiculous conspiracy theories.

"One day, she will trip up. One day, I will find out her dirty secrets," Cadance huffed.

"You know, you're incredibly nosy," I observed in a neutral tone.

"And you've gotten quite sassy for somepony who was so uptight and scared of offending me yesterday."

"That was before you masturbated yourself until you drowned while watching us have sex, you skinny pink hussy."

"Yeeeah, I guess that has a way of breaking the ice."

We both giggled. It seemed like we'd been doing that a lot today.

"Hey, I hate to interrupt, but I think that's our ship," James said, pointing out the windshield.

"Whoa."