“Celestiaaaa…” Lieia’s voice, low and sultry, reached the alicorn’s ears as her lover wrapped her arms around the mare’s shoulders, cradling her caringly as she drew the expectant alicorn in a deep, loving kiss.

“Mmmmmmmmhh…” Celestia responded, moaning into the kiss. Her legs – no, her whole body - felt weak and unresponsive as she eagerly submitted to Lieia’s caress. Several minutes later, Lieia drew back. A couple of strands of saliva bridged the gap between their lips, but Celestia broke those as she leaned up, their lips making contact again, a desperate moan leaving her as Lieia held back. The tantalising gap was mere millimetres wide and she stirred impatiently, eager beyond reasoning to be kissed again, desperate to feel her lover’s soft, warm lips pressing against hers.

“Please, Lieia… Keep doing that.” She pleaded as Lieia rubbed her cheek gently.

“Okay, okay… I just need to catch my breath.” A minute later, the blessed contact was made again, yet Lieia couldn’t stop herself from teasing Celestia. She would start at the alicorn’s chest, biting gently into the supple flesh, then continuing upwards along her neck, planting slow, deliberate kisses and bites, each and every one of them coaxing either a moan or a gasp out of Celestia. Then, she would slowly, tantalisingly kiss her way up to the corner of Celestia’s lips, lingering there. Celestia would flick her tongue out, trying to draw her lover into a kiss. Eventually, though, Lieia would acquiesce and kiss her. This time, she kept their lips together for the best part of half an hour. After a while, though, their world tilted slightly sideways and Celestia clung to Lieia a bit tighter. The airliner was making course corrections, she presumed. They’d spent only three hours aboard the aircraft and already they were almost at Northlight, the main trading outpost of Araek’s inhabitants. Lieia had been secretive and terse about what they’d be doing during their time in Araek, despite Celestia often ambushing Lieia in an attempt to get a clue or suchlike out of her.

“You’ll see.” Those two words were what Lieia always repeated, a sly, yet warm smile on her face. And then she would launch into a completely unrelated story. Every time, she wore a sad, longing smile on her face - the war was definitely taking a toll on her.

Celestia conjured a wide-brimmed hat, placing it atop her head as she followed Lieia. The sun was beating down mercilessly on this part of Linv. The skies were crystal clear. Lieia had explained to her earlier that the frequency of the crystal showers over Araek prevented any definite weather patterns consolidate above the desert continent. Life here relied utterly on the irrigation channels that drew on water from the oceans and seas surrounding it. That and the crystal trade.

The houses were all mostly white-coloured, with black solar panels starkly standing out on their roofs and the hillsides. Celestia found it amusing to see solar power being used like that – why hadn’t she thought of this? This could really help boost their economy! Making a mental bookmark to invest some of their budget into solar panels, she followed Lieia into the bustling city.

It never ceased to amaze her – the simple and the sophisticated coexisting in the Coalition – simple folk like farmers and blacksmiths offering their wares alongside off-world merchants bringing advanced equipment that would be of use to live in the desert environment. Celestia cantered up to a young shy boy, his tanned face creasing into a smile once he saw his potential customer and he bowed to her.

“Salaam alaykum.”

“Oh, uh… hello, little one.”

“Would you like to buy something?”

“What do you have to offer, then?” That got a grin out of the young merchant and he hefted several bags and backpacks from under his table. At that, Celestia nodded understandingly.

“Ah. Those could be useful. I’ll take two.” That earned her another white-toothed grin as the young boy set to modify the straps. Immediately, Celestia understood what he was doing – he was adapting the two bags for her to use as impromptu saddlebags. He was sharp-eyed, this one. Once he was done, he slung them over her back, cinching the straps around her waist. Stepping back so she could inspect his handiwork, he waited. After a few moments, finding nothing out of place or uncomfortable, she nodded, satisfied.

“How much will it be?”

“Sixty-five credits.” She nodded again, passing a hundred-credit chip to him.

“Keep the change.” She could swear his grin got even bigger as he bowed low to her.

“Many thanks for this generous gift!”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I have you to thank for these nice saddlebags. It was quite ingenious handiwork you did.”

“Inshallah, they will serve you well.”

“Indeed. Well, thank you again, young one. Goodbye.”

“Come again soon!” She chuckled softly, turning away, seeking Lieia out in the bustling crowd.

She found the woman in question quite close. She’d watched the exchange between the boy and the princess with a warm, amused smile the whole time.

“Bought something, I see.” She eyed the saddlebags.

“Quite so.” Celestia nodded in response, feeling quite proud of herself.

“We’ll need those, methinks.”

“Lieia, you are such a tease. Why cannot you tell me what’ll we be doing here?”

“Patience, my dear.” Lieia chuckled softly, tapping Celestia’s nose once before motioning her to follow. After half an hour, they had bought some supplies Lieia deemed necessary, stuffing them into the alicorn’s saddlebags.

The alicorn eyed the large vehicle. Its big, ribbed tyres seemed like they could chew her up in moments.

“It’s been modified for desert – a nitrogen-cooled V10, heavy-duty chassis, reinforced hull… and then some, like food and water and medical supplies. And you’re driving.”

“What?” That jolted Celestia out of her reverie and she looked at Lieia, surprised.

“Yep.”

“But I have no idea how to drive it!”

“Then I’ll teach you, Celly.”

“I guess I should change to my human form, then.”

“You can do that later, when we’re out and about, Cel.”

“Ah. Very well, then.” Opening her wings, she hovered over to the passenger side door, opening it and crawling inside, settling down somewhat comfortably. Moments later, the modified vehicle creaked and rocked a little as Lieia climbed up, taking the driver’s seat. After strapping herself in place, she started the engine and Celestia clung to her seat as the big vehicle gently lurched forward.

Celestia winced at the bright glitter of the recently-fallen crystal shards. Though charred and covered in soot, they had been cleaned by the sandstorms that swept across Araek and now shone in the sunlight. They’d come across several explorer teams who were busy excavating the half-buried shards and loading them onto trucks.

They were atop a large, yet smooth dune when Lieia stopped. She turned to Celestia, a grin on her face.

“Well, I think it’s high time you learned to drive stick.”

“A-are you sure about this?”

“Totally. C’mon. Do your magic thing.” She climbed into the cargo bed of their vehicle, seeking out a bottle of water and waited as the truck’s cabin was filled with golden light. Once it faded, she saw Celestia, fur-less and wing-less, no longer an alicorn, donning her clothes.

“Okay. That’s that, then.” She soon was finished with her apparel and tentatively sat down in the driver’s seat as Lieia sat down at her side.

“First, strap in.” She did as instructed.

“Now, there are three pedals, the handbrake, the steering wheel and the gear lever.” Lieia pointed to the items in question.

“First, depress the clutch.” Celestia mashed down on the pedal in question.

“Now, put it in the first gear, like so.” She pushed the lever into the position.

“And now, release the clutch. Gen-“ She was interrupted as the truck lurched forwards violently, its engine dying immediately.

“Gently!” Lieia cried out, almost slamming face-first into the dashboard. Celestia flinched, sitting ramrod-straight.

“What’d I do?”

“You killed the engine, that’s what. Now, take it easy this time. Depress the clutch and start the engine. Then, release the clutch. Slowly.”

“O-oh-okay. I’ll try.”

“There’s no pressure, Cel. Take your time…” Lieia responded, leaning back in her seat, humming quietly. The soothing tones helped Celestia to calm down somewhat and she did as instructed. Though still somewhat jarringly, she managed to move the truck. The vehicle gathered speed as she finally released the clutch, rolling downwards the dune.

“Now, depress the clutch, put it in second gear and release the clutch. Gently.” Once more, she followed Lieia’s instructions and chuckled once the vehicle began to move forwards faster.

“Hah. I’m driving!”

“Indeed you are, Celly.” Lieia grinned, taking a long gulp from her water bottle. As she did so, Celestia could not help but notice a drop of water that slipped past Lieia’s lips, slowly trailing down her jaw, then her neck, before disappearing in the woman’s ample cleavage. Shaking her head to get rid of some rather unneeded thoughts, she returned her attention to driving.

The windshield crackled as it self-polarised, dimming the glare of the setting sun. Celestia brought the truck to a standstill, cutting the engine and stretched out her arms, yawning widely as she did so.

“Well. That’s that for today.” Lieia spoke, climbing on top of the truck’s roof, waiting as Celestia did the same. There, they sat, quietly watching as the sun slowly slipped beneath the horizon, just as Oramte peered over the edge. Celestia felt Lieia’s arm wrap around her shoulders as she rested her head on Celestia’s shoulder, letting out a thoughtful ‘hmm’.

“It’s quite beautiful, Lieia – seeing both the sun and the moon at the same time.”

“Yep. Such sights are quite rare on Linv. You need to be just in the right place, just in the right time to see it happen.”

“So, that was what you wanted to show me?”

“Among other things.” Lieia leaned closer, gently kissing Celestia. “But that’ll have to wait for tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.” As they got busy with setting up their campsite, Lieia spoke again. “By the way… you did well today, Cel.” The short compliment made the mare-turned-woman smile for a moment as they secured the tent to the ground with weights near the truck.

“If it’s anything like the deserts on Equestria, I presume it’s going to get really cold at night.”

“Yep.”

“Ah.” Their conversation ended as Lieia unloaded some of their stuff from the truck, covering its cargo bed afterwards.

“So, how about you don’t burn our tent down this time, Cel?”

“I think it’s unlikely to happen this time, Lieia.”

“Just makin’ sure…” The woman lay down on her mattress, yawning. Moments later, Celestia joined her, still in her human form as she snuggled up to Lieia. She felt Lieia’s arms, gentle yet strong, wrap around her shoulders as they embraced, and she felt utterly safe and protected with her lover. The soft hissing of sand as it moved and shifted served to lull her into sleep and they both had fallen asleep within ten minutes as Oramte once more began its trek across the skies.