Author's Notes:

This prompt was not only suggested by my Patron Winter Quill, but also partially written out by him as well! Since he wrote out a lot of the main content of this chapter, it only feels fair to link his Patreon and FimFiction:
https://www.fimfiction.net/user/70710/Winter+Quill

https://www.patreon.com/LionInWinter

https://ko-fi.com/theowinters

Not too long after witnessing such an uncomfortable scene, Twilight Sparkle was feeling more than a little downtrodden as she sat by herself in the kitchen. Even though she still had some time left before getting back to her busy schedule, it was clear that her state of mind wasn’t at its best. She was grateful that Discord assured her it was alright to leave the room, and even more so that he promised to give a status report on what became of Rainbow Dash in that alternate dimension. Unfortunately, even with those reassurances in her mind, Twilight wasn’t exactly too thrilled about seeing something that unnerving, and knowing deep-down that it technically did happen to a pony out there.

Twilight wasn’t dumb, and was well aware that atrocities were bound to happen all the time, both in her own world and in others. But even with that dreadful fact solidified in her conscience, Twilight couldn’t help feeling awful for that alternate version of her friend, even though she never personally met them. Even after venturing into alternate dimensions herself, both through that magical mirror and through her sparring against Starlight Glimmer, it never ceased to astound the Princess when it came to how vastly things could change from the smallest mistakes. And despite knowing her surveillance spell wasn’t likely to affect other dimensions negatively, the fact that she couldn’t change things in a positive manner left her feeling equally as morose.

The Princess sighed while her chin rested atop the kitchen countertop, and her horn was lit up to aimlessly float around a couple pieces of fruit above her head. She knew that she could’ve been using her free time more constructively, but it was hard to feel that confident about herself after witnessing Rainbow Dash being sexually assaulted by a tortoise. However, despite how uneasy Twilight may have felt, her attention was caught by the sight of one of the bananas in her purple aura inexplicably jumping out from her magical grip. The moment that phallic fruit landed upright on the counter, it sprouted a pair of legs and arms before making its way towards her. Twilight yelped and jumped back from her seat, which caused her magic to turn itself off and make the rest of the fruit fall to the counter as well. But for the scarily self-moving banana, it only took a couple steps forward before giving a “wait one moment” gesture with one of its tiny arms; the fruit then began to peel itself from the top, and presented a message that was somehow etched inside of the unfurled banana peel:

Rainbow Dash is fine in that scene. She was turned back by that other Discord, and will be alright.
I’m off to spend some time with Fluttershy in town. Have fun!
-Discord

With that, the banana suddenly lost sentience as its limbs disappeared with a poof of magic, and the fruit fell lifelessly on the counter. Twilight blinked a couple times with a wide-eyed look of confusion, clearly needing a moment to process that... unique method of message delivery. Fortunately, the Alicorn only needed a couple seconds before shrugging to herself and saying, “Well… I’ll certainly give an A for creativity on that one.”

Twilight knew that Discord likely didn’t do anything dangerous to that banana, but she still decided against eating it after it was peeled. Instead, the mare placed it in the freezer with some plastic wrap, just as she heard some hoofsteps from the other room. Twilight exited the kitchen to look for the source, and smiled upon seeing Sunburst back from his errands in Ponyville. “Oh, hey Sunburst!” she chirped happily, most likely from having something to distract her from the idea of tortoise rape. “I honestly thought you’d be out all day.”

“Oh, ummmm… yeah, I’m still technically needing to finish some things…” Sunburst grew a nervous-looking blush as he readjusted the collar of his cape, and tried not to look too flustered. Even though he wasn’t sure what the Princess had been doing while he was gone, he was hopeful she couldn’t smell anything too specific on his fur. More specifically, he didn’t want her to ask whether or not he went to visit that bar at the edge of town to meet Granny Smith. “H-Honestly, I was mostly wanting to grab a quick snack before heading off again. Ummm… how about you?”

Twilight tried not to wince as she tilted her head with a sigh. “Well… let’s just say, I’d rather not watch another alternate universe spell for a while.”

“Oof.” Sunburst instantly cringed, not wanting to ask anything too specific in regards to what the Princess may have seen. But at the same time, the Crystaller tried to remain sympathetic as he said, “Well… I hope you weren’t alone while doing that.”

“Oh! No, of course not,” she said assuredly with a wave of her hoof. “Discord came by to assist with the procedure. And before you ask, no, he didn’t do anything inappropriate.”

Since Sunburst was thankfully mind-wiped of any of his own interactions with that twisted draconequus, he was quick to nod with a thankful smile on his muzzle. “Well, that’s good to hear,” he said sincerely back at her. “I mean, I wouldn’t have been upset if you watched by yourself or anything, but it’s nice to know he’s helping us out with this.”

“Yeah, I… I actually have to agree with you there,” noted Twilight as she tried not to sound too surprised at her own words. Despite knowing how much Discord had changed over the years (especially after helping to stop Queen Chrysalis’ second invasion attempt), Twilight still needed a moment to reflect on how genuinely she was able to appreciate his input. Of course, the Princess was quick to shrug her shoulders more casually before adding, “Although, I can’t say it’s too unexpected for Discord to have helped us. I mean, he’s kind of hard to predict anyways, so it’s not like we can expect him to do much harm.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” said Sunburst with a nod and a playful chuckle, not seeming to notice how strongly his tail tried to sink in between his legs. But since his brainwashing from the draconequus was still running strong, Sunburst decided to ask his friend, “So… is he still around? I mean, I was considering checking out a scene or two before heading back into town, but I didn’t want to do it by myself.”

“Oh, well… I think he actually went into town first…” Twilight’s ears slumped down after giving that answer, and she winced upon seeing Sunburst’s ears doing the same. The Alicorn’s cheeks puffed out while she took a prolonged breath, and she glanced back towards the direction where their Surveillance Room was. Even though she had some trepidations about going back so soon, the mare eventually shrugged before saying, “You know what? I… honestly wouldn’t mind watching another scene if you’re there with me. I mean… just as long as it’s not another alternate universe one.”

“Oh, that would be fine,” assured Sunburst as he grew a grateful smile. “But honestly, I don’t want to impose or anything.”

“No, it’s perfectly fine.” To emphasize her point, Twilight gave a quick motion of her head to prompt Sunburst to follow her, and then headed off to go back to that room. “I still have enough time in my schedule for at least one more scene, so who knows? Maybe our research will give us something valid.”

Sunburst was quick to walk in tow of his Princess, and replied with an optimistic smile, “Hey, if there’s a chance we actually do find something, I’ll be more than happy to help out.”

While the two made their way towards the Surveillance Room, Twilight looked back at him with a warm smile as she nodded thankfully. “That’s exactly what I’d like to hear from one of my science partners~”

Meanwhile back in Ponyville square, the market district was bustling with business as vendors of all kinds sold their merchandise to Ponyville’s citizens. Most of the ponies who manned those stands carried themselves with pride and offered fair prices, but the art of haggling was a practice that nearly everypony had to develop for the sake of keeping things truly fair. But among the sea of multicolored equines exchanging bits for food or other amenities, one mare with a black mane and tan fur was barreling around the stands with a heated pace in her steps. She was galloping like mad towards the end of the street, where another mare was standing worriedly in wait. A small shopping bag was being held in her quivering mouth, and her eyes nearly burst out of her skull the moment she caught sight of her friend returning from Carousel Boutique. “Thea!” she shouted with a wave of her hoof, not seeming to care when the shopping bag fell out of her muzzle. “Thea, over here! What did she say?!”

“Well, ummm… Rarity is gone for the week,” Thea said as she returned to Sparkleworks’ side, panting softly from her gallop across the town square.

The orange mare’s eyes went wide, and any look of optimism she had on her face fell apart in an instant. “Oh no. No, no, no! I need her! If I show up with a damaged uniform for this party, Spoiled is going to kill me!” She closed her eyes to let out a pained moan, pulled the bag with her maid’s uniform close to her chest.

That’s because she’s a psychotic bitch, Thea thought to herself as she reached up and adjusted her glasses. She had told her marefriend what she thought of Spoiled Rich on a number of occasions, but this wasn’t the time to go over it again. “Hey, I’m sure we can find somepony who can patch your uniform,” Thea said, scanning over the market. It was early on an off day for the market, so there weren’t very many stalls set up. Most of the ponies were selling produce, but a few had articles of clothing here and there; unfortunately, most of the clothes looked like charity shop stuff.

Sparkleworks nodded while taking in a deep breath, her pink mane frizzing all over the place. “Right, we… we can find somepony,” she said with a determined nod, before she started trotting down the row of stalls.

Thea followed after her, trying not to watch the way her tail swept over her plot. Despite how brightly her cheeks blushed from seeing that flank up close, there were more important things to think about than how hot her marefriend was. For now they had to get her uniform fixed, and it was obvious that neither of them were in the mood to mess around.

“I’ll check over there,” Thea said, pointing to the other side of the market. Sparkleworks nodded and kept going down the stalls on her side.

Skipping across the road, she started to scan over the different stalls, trying to find one run by a pony with any skill with needle and thread. She was lucky to come across a stall filled with old clothing, but they all marred by gaudy patches.

“Ummm… excuse me, Sir?” she asked, trying her hardest not to sound too distressed. “Do you know how to fix clothing?”

The stallion shook his head. “No ma’am, my wife does all that and she’s back at the house. If you really need something fixed up, you should go see Rarity.”

Thea sighed in disappointment, but refrained from informing the vendor of why that wasn’t possible. “Thank you,” she told him, and then went back across the road to where Sparkleworks was. The orange mare was staring down at the ground with her head hung low, but Thea still felt the need to ask, “Any luck?”

“No, nothing at all,” she said with a pout, stomping her hoof on the ground.

Thea sighed worriedly, not wanting her marefriend to be too upset over a mistake. “Well, how bad is the rip? Like, are you able to hide it from Spoiled?”

Sparkleworks shook her head while huffing in disdain. “It’s right at the front of my uniform! And this is the fancy kind of maid outfit, so she’ll check it over in detail before her party starts!” She glanced up at the clocktower, and winced upon noticing the time. “I have to come up with something in the next ten minutes, otherwise I’m going to be in huge trouble!”

Thea decided to help ease the mare as she pressed up close to her marefriend, and gave her a nuzzle. “Don’t worry,” she said assuredly, “we’ll think of something.”

“But what?” she asked with a small groan, barely registering Thea’s affectionate embrace due to her panicked thoughts.

Thea didn’t know what to do, but she kept trying to come up with some sort of answer. The tear on that garment was bad enough that a little stitching wouldn’t fix it, and it would likely need a specific fabric that had to be matched to the rest of the uniform. And if it wasn’t perfect, Spoiled would definitely take notice.

Thea looked around with a bitten lip after pulling away from her mate, but quickly saw something out of the corner of her eye. As she flicked her head around, with her black mane flying across her head to smack right into Sparklework’s mouth, her eyes narrowed in focus on something unexpected. “I think I may have an idea,” she said.

Sputtering and spitting out the hair, Sparklework gave a sharp glare towards her marefriend as she asked, “Oh, and what’s that?”

“Discord!” Thea said, before she took off at a brisk trot across the market to where the draconequus was seen floating along at Fluttershy’s side. She rushed up to the pair and gave them a little smile. “Hey! Ummm… Fluttershy, can I borrow Discord for a few minutes? We kind of need his help for something...”

Discord was halfway through either eating or regurgitating a caramel apple, and scoffed with a roll of his eyes in annoyance. However, Fluttershy was quick to nod back at the mare with a friendly smile.

“Oh, of course,” the buttery mare replied, before glancing up to give Discord a quick smile. “Go ahead, I’ll be waiting for you”

Discord rolled his eyes with a nod back at her, and then glanced back to Thea while rubbing at his chin. “Hmmm… I take it you have a unique problem?”

“A bit of one, but you can help!” she replied, heading back to where she had left her marefriend. The orange earth pony was standing where she had been left, her jaw set into a thin line upon seeing what Thea was doing. Discord floated after, spinning his tail around to propel him with a little puttering sound like a yellow fox.

Sparkleworks shook her head, and quickly tried to stop whatever her girlfriend had planned. “Thea, you know that I love you, but this is not the time—”

Thea pressed a hoof gently against the orange mare’s muzzle. “No, this is exactly the time,” she said, before she turned her attention back to Discord. “Okay, I need to ask you for a… really odd favor.”

His bushy brows raised at that, and he grew an amused smile upon hearing her adjective. “Oh really? Normally I wouldn’t do such things, but you caught my interest at ‘Really Odd’~”

Thea nodded with a smile, happy he was willing to assist her. Discord may have changed her before a number of times, but it had always been at his own personal whim. But this time, she was going to be the one making the choices. So with a confident breath, the mare looked up at the draconequus and said, “Sparkleworks needs a replacement uniform for a social today, and there’s no time to get her current one fixed. So, ummm… Could you possibly turn me into her uniform for a few days?”

“Wait, what?” Sparkleworks asked, her tone flatter than her unamused stare at Thea.

“What? It’s the best solution, and we don’t have time for anypony else to fix it,” Thea explained. “Plus, it’s not like it’s going to get in the way of anything we had planned this time.”

Sparkleworks frowned at that, even though she knew Thea wasn’t wrong. She glanced between her marefriend and Discord a few times, before finally sighing and shaking her head. “Well, I… I suppose you’re right,” she said with a defeated tone, before insistently adding, “but only until Rarity can get my real uniform properly fixed!”

Thea quickly leaned in and gave Sparkleworks a quick kiss on the lips. “Thank you, love~” She then turned her attention back towards Discord, and asked with a giddier smile, “So, would you be willing to do it?”

He smiled at the two mares, and was quick to nod his head. “Of course, of course I would be happy to help you in your time of need,” he said with a smile that was just a little too big. “Although... maybe not in the middle of the market.”

The two mares nodded, looking around to see how many ponies were still around. The trio quickly headed down a small gap between some stalls, and found themselves at a narrow road. There were a few small houses built alongside it, but the road curved away from the market and hid them from most prying eyes.

Discord walked after them, whistling nonchalantly as he moved past two other Discords that were flaking the entrance of the road. One was dressed as a police officer, and another was in a long coat with a matching hat and chewing on the end of a pipe. They were both watching Discord intently as he walked past, but otherwise said nothing.

Sparkleworks rolled her eyes at the show, already knowing that subtlety and Discord were not terms that went together. Still, nopony was watching them as they slipped away, so it wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. Once they were safely away from the market, she set her bag down and pushed it towards Discord. “This is my uniform.”

He opened the bag, his head popping out from inside of it with an apron draped over his muzzle. The original Discord blushed and pushed his head back down inside. “Yes, I see. Very formal.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Rich are having a big party this weekend, so we have to look our best,” she replied with a sigh. She didn’t like working for Spoiled Rich, since she was cranky at the best of times; unfortunately her parties were usually much, much worse. She would go from bitchy and demanding, to being straight-up tyrannical with nastiness more suited for the Legion of Doom.

“Yes, even I know not to get in her way,” Discord said with his own sigh, which was definitely a surprise to the two mares to hear from him. “She’s just no fun! She’s far too stuck up to tease, and she didn’t see the humor at all when I gave her back her old nose on her birthday.”

That made Thea snort. “I would have liked to see that,” she said.

“I would too,” Sparkleworks added with a guilty blush.

Discord chuckled to himself, and then clapped his claw and paw together. “Yes, well that could be discussed in greater detail for later. But for now, we need to make you some fabric. So Thea, why don’t you climb up on your Sparkler’s back? It’ll make things easier for you both.”

“Please don’t call me that,” Sparkleworks said with a groan.

Thea just ignored the little tease, since she knew it was the name Sparkeworks’ mother called her when she was a kid, and she still hated it. Instead, she came up behind the mare, and reared up to start crawling across her back. She wiggled herself forward until her muzzle was resting right between her marefriend’s ears. She couldn’t help herself, and gave one of them a little playful nip, only to get smack in the nose by the other one.

“Ow! Nnnnfff… I’m ready,” she said.

“So am I,” Sparkleworks needlessly added.

Discord nodded as he walked around the mares, rubbing his chin with his leonine paw. He was now wearing a bright purple vest with matching pants, and a tape measure draped over his neck. “Hmmm... yes, yes, yes... I think this will be perfect for you~” he grabbed the tape and started measuring over the two of them, tisking and making little noses before letting the tape go. It returned to his neck like a trained pet, wrapping around it like a choker, the small end nuzzling the bottom of his chin.

He slapped the tape measure away, smirking a bit. “You will look marvelous!” he declared, before he enthusiastically snapped his fingers.

Thea felt a strong jolt rush through her body, with Discord’s magic sinking deep inside of her in moments. She felt her body freeze in place, the air draining from her lungs. Pressure started to squeeze at her, and her eyes widened as she saw the fur on the bridge of her snout start to flatten. The tan coat started to change into shades of black and white, much like that uniform was supposed to be. She looked down, and gasped as her legs began to do the same thing. First the fur flattened down, and then the very limbs themselves...

She watched in fascination as her body slowly flattened down against her marefriend’s. At the same time, the texture on her fur started growing silkier, weaving itself seamlessly into a new kind of fabric. She felt her tail twist around the dock of Sparklework’s tail, further locking herself into place. Thea’s whole body was being stretched out over the mare’s frame, slowly encasing it with the new fabric.

For a moment, Thea felt just how warm and inviting it was hugging her marefriend, wrapping her completely with her own body. It was a wonderful feeling, even if it only lasted for a moment. However, as the transformation continued, it wasn’t long before Thea became much less of a pony with each passing second.

The fabric that had once been a mare started to twist and reshape itself. The hooves slowly morphed into a set of black shoes that fit perfectly over Sparkleworks’ hooves; meanwhile her fetlocks separated, and rolled down into the shoes to become bright white socks, with the tops trimmed into frilly lace.

Thea’s tail grew tight around the mare’s dock, turning into another band of lacey fabric. Her forelegs pulled up, and turned into short sleeves across Sparkleworks’ forelegs while vanishing over her back. What had once been her flanks pulled back, and separated into a single piece of white fabric; that cloth then reformed itself into a pair of panties, that hugged tightly to the mare’s ass. Thea’s cutie marks were stitched into the fabric, right over Sparkleworks’ own.

Thea then felt her muzzle squeezing down, joining with her head as it became a cute little hat. Her ears turned into a large white bow,which was used to hold the mare’s pink hair back. Thea’s neck narrowed, and became a lacy choker that hugged around her marefriend’s neck. Meanwhile, the remains of her body reformed to create a simple black dress, and a matching white apron, both trimmed with lace.

In only a matter of minutes, Thea was gone, and a very attractive maid’s outfit in her place. It was perfectly cut to fit Sparkleworks’ form, and clearly custom made for her with care and love. It flattered the mare in every sense of the word, and even caused Discord to blush while looking down with a prideful smile. Thea, who was consciously still aware, realized that she could move, but only a little bit. So without thinking, she quickly squeezed Sparkleworks’ plot with her flanks-turned-panties.

The maid let out a surprised yelp, and flicked up her tail to swat at her panty covered ass. “Behave dear, it can wait until after work!”

Discord let out a chuckle. “And there you are! She’s stain proof and damage proof. Though I would still recommend giving her a good wash before I turn her back.”

“Why would I do that?~” she asked, reaching for the bag that held her real uniform. Meanwhile, Thea’s form shivered a bit over the mare, which caused Sparkleworks to giggle with a naughtier grin.

“Honestly, it’s because I think Thea would enjoy it,” he said with a smirk. He then picked up the bag before she could reach it, and said, “I’ll take this to Rarity myself so she can get it fixed for you.”

She blinked in surprise at his generosity. “Oh! Ummm… thank you, I guess,” she said with a gracious smile. “I owe you one,”

Discord nodded and gave a little bow. “I’m glad to have been able to help a friend, so you don’t owe me anything,” With that being said, Discord then snapped his fingers, and vanished off with a puff of logic.

Sparkleworks looked at where he had been just a moment before. The whole encounter had taken less than five minutes, and it left her feeling odd. Discord was Thea’s friend; they had known each other since he had started spending time with Fluttershy. They both loved random changes, with her being transformed and him doing them. Sparkleworks never truly understood what the attraction was, but it was something Thea enjoyed.

She let out a sigh. “Discord?”

He unpuffed back into existence. “Yes?”

Sparkleworks licked her lips for a moment, searching for what she wanted to say. “Listen, ummm… When I said thank you, I really did mean it. I mean… I know we’re not that close of friends, and I don’t really mind what you do with Thea most of the time -- although you do have a habit of changing her when we already had plans -- But... I know that she loves it, so… could you maybe check our schedule first, so I don’t have to take a hydra to the theater again?”

He smiled with a friendly nod, and said “Of course, I’ll make sure to keep your plans on my calendar.” The calendar in question hung in the air behind him while displaying both the wrong month, and a picture of Discord laying out on a beach and wearing a speedo; Sparkleworks wasn’t going to ask, but she was really hopeful that was a banana stuffed down the front of it.

But regardless, the mare couldn’t help but giggle at the sight, and caused him to turn around from embarrassment. He blushed so much that his whole body turned all sorts of shades of red and pink, before he grabbed the calendar, ripped it off the wall it wasn’t hanging on, rolled it up, and promptly ate it.

That made Sparkleworks laugh a second time, but she was quick to say, “You know… You really do make Thea happy, so… maybe don’t stop doing that, okay?”

Discord sighed with a roll of his eyes, and said with a kindly smile, “Of course! I like making her happy just as much as you do.” Small flecks of paper may have been flying from his lips, but it didn’t make his smile appear any less genuine.

Sparkleworks quickly moved up and gave Discord a hug, which made him jump in surprise. “Thank you again, for this and for everything else you do. I’m glad you here, since, ummm… you make things a lot more interesting. Usually in a good way.”

He blushed again, but this time it was a normal blush that stayed in his cheeks. He eventually returned the hug for a few moments, keeping his grip gentle around the mare.

“And ummm…” During that hug, Sparkleworks’ muzzle skewed worriedly before she decided to say, “... Maybe one of these days I’ll let you change me as well.”

Sparkleworks felt that maid outfit tighten up immensely around her body, and almost left her suffocated for a moment. Meanwhile, Discord’s eyes literally lit up like lanterns, and he smiled wickedly wide after pulling away from that hug. However, she quickly raised a hoof and added, “But not by surprise! You have to ask me first, and tell me what you’re going to do. You don’t have to tell Thea, but I need to know beforehoof, okay?”

“Okay, I promise,” he said, even though he seemed a little upset to agree to such a notion.

Sparkleworks leaned slightly to the side to make sure he wasn’t crossing his fingers behind his back; but as she did, she realized that he didn’t have hands, or even arms. Fortunately, that was good enough for her. “Thank you Discord,” she said while smiling up at him, “and I’ll make sure to give Thea a good wash, just like you said~”

“You’re welcome Sparkleworks,” he said while smiling kindly.

After one final nod, the mare reached up to adjust her hat with her hoof. “Come on love, lets go before I’m late for work.”

Thea responded by goosing her ass again, causing her to jump and laugh a little as she started trotting towards the Rich’s mansion. Discord stood alone for a few moments while looking around, before he smiled to himself and snapped out of existence.

Back at Twilight Sparkle’s castle, she and Sunburst were seated on the couch with equally confounded looks on their faces. The scene had just finished up on that floating orb of magic, and left the two surveyors to sit in silence while processing what they just saw. Even though both of their eyes were narrowed in slight confusion, neither of the ponies looked the slightest bit disturbed or uneasy about it either. After another moment, the two glanced back at each other before Twilight gave a pleased smile.

“Ummm… wow!” she exclaimed with a genuinely cheerful smile on her face. As she looked back at the orb, Twilight huffed to herself in amusement before saying, “I… I think we just witnessed a genuine moment of friendship!”

“Yeah, I think we did!” chirped Sunburst with an equally pleased expression of his own. He tried not to giggle to himself while smiling wide back at the Princess, and added with a shrug, “I mean, the theme itself was kinda weird, but still! I would call that a success!”

Twilight laughed out loud before she lit up her horn, and pulled Sunburst in for a cheerful hug. The stallion clearly wasn’t expecting that sort of gesture to celebrate their success, but his blushing cheeks weren’t enough to keep him from smiling and hugging her back. The two laughed in each other’s embrace for a couple seconds, and let that hug linger on until the scene was fully recorded within that magic orb.

Unfortunately, despite how happy both of the ponies may have been, Twilight sighed with a more disappointed pout the moment she pulled away from the stallion, and glanced up at the clock above the doorway. “Ugh… Darnit,” she muttered to herself before turning back towards Sunburst. “I’m really sorry to cut this short, but I have to get back to my schedule.”

“O-Oh! Uhhhh, no problem, no problem…” Sunburst still looked more than a little frazzled following that impromptu hug with Royalty, but he was quick to shake his head clear while his cheeks were burning with a blush. “Y-Yeah, I… I totally get it. I mean, you are a Princess after all. Heh heh…”

Since she had a time-table to keep, Twilight was already heading towards the door while Sunburst was left blushing behind her. However, the mare was quick to stop and look back at him with a smile, and say, “Oh! I know that Starlight and I will both be finished with our things after seven, so… maybe we can restart things after dinner?”

Sunburst nodded his head, and tried to control his breathing so he didn’t appear too overwhelmed by Twilight’s affection. “A-Absolutely! I… I’ll see you guys after seven.”

“Great!” With that, Twilight gave the pony a friendly wave before exiting the Surveillance Room, and left Sunburst alone with nothing but that magic orb’s ominous glow.

Sunburst waited a moment before he closed his eyes, and sighed heavily while wiping his face with his cloak. After another quick shake of his head, the stallion looked around before shrugging to himself, and saying to nopony in particular, “You know what? I think I need another visit to the Crushed Grape.”