Twilight was reading a book, or in her case several books when Chrysalis entered their room. “I see you found the library.” She chuckled

“Not too hard, it's where it's supposed to be.” Twilight said as slowly started to mark ehr pages. “Have a good walk?” She asked once she was done and set the books to the side.

“Very. Learned a few things about this world I had missed as well as a few other things.”

“Oh?”

“Yes it seems this world leans towards the changeling way mates and lovers.”

“Strange….”

“Agreed, I’ll be delving more into interpersonal relationships for a bit to make sure i can fully assimilate.”

“I know you’ll do well.” Twilight chuckled.

“Yes, though even what i do know Stalwart seemed to enjoy.”

“Oh? Got a new batch of drones eh?”

The Queen nodded. “They will be quite strong and dedicated.”

“Never a bad thing.” Twilight said and the conversation drifted off to the status of the drones as they made their way from all parts of Equestria by various means and what intel they gathered along the way.

Near dinner time, there was a knock on the door

"Come in!" Stalwart called out.

Twilight poked her head in. "It's almost dinner time, so thought I'd come and collect you."

Stalwart and Dawn were laying on the bed, Dawn reading a book, and Stalwart nodded at Twilight in recognition.

"All right, come on Dawn."

She nodded, and stepped down onto the floor with a small 'clop' sound, blushing lightly as the lime green collar that matched her coat color barely stood out. He took the collar off and laid it on the bed and whispered into her ear, causing her to blush just a little more before they both stepped out of the room, Dawn putting her saddlebag on by magic as they did.

Twilight chuckled, as she had watched just long enough to observe that interaction before heading for the door, already carrying her bags and met Chrysalis and Violet in the hall.

"Ready?" he asked Twilight, smiling as Dawn stood just behind him, as if still in a bout of shyness.

"As I'll ever be." She said smirking at Dawn before she started to walk.

Stalwart chuckled as Dawn blushed even more deeply, but tried to hold her head up as they moved in spite of it, as if still willing to face some sort of fear of going out.

Twilight donned her disguise. "Any requests for your appearance Stalwart?"

He blinked, "My appearance? What for?"

"You are married to a Princess, and walking into a place will cause a stir. Same with if a princess walked in."

"I see... Well, let's go with looking like one of the other guardsmen then, nothing too hard right?" he said, "I mean, I don't want to strain your magic by trying to disguise me."

"I’m an alicorn. I can manage." The gray unicorn chuckled and a moment later Stalwart was cyan with a white mane and Dawn looked as she did before.

"I...” he paused, noticing the shift and looking himself over. “Well... this is rather convincing."

She smiled. "More or less. It's just an illusion, so everything is all there, like you could feel my wings if you put your hoof in my back." She said.

"Chrysalis and Violet have actually changed their appearance rather than just covering it up."

"Ah," was all he said as he looked to Violet, Dawn already leaning down to nose the little filly in greeting.

The filly hopped into Dawn's back and looked like a normal unicorn filly of herself and Chrysalis looked like the normal form she took before as they walked.

Dawn giggled, practically glowing with happiness at having such a cute, well behaved foal on her back that she gets to call her own now and then, even if she did feel slightly guilty for knowing they were Twilight's. She soon was walking ahead of the group unaware.

"Pet..." Stalwart whispered quietly, giving a warning.

That was all she needed to stop and wait for him to get in front of her by a head and she followed him as he followed Twilight and Chrysalis.

Violet looked between the two of them and tilted her head in confusion. "Why did he call you pet?"

"I-it's a game we play sometimes." Dawn replied, trying to think quickly and blushing a little. She didn’t think she was doing anything wrong, but got a bit too happy and realized she needed to keep in line.

"Can I play with you?" She asked

"Maybe next time dear.” Dawn said, hoping they did think it was something innocent. “After all, we're about to be out with others and it's more a game meant to be played with friends."

"Ok then pet." She said happily as Twilight looked annoyingly at Stalwart.

"Stalwart shouldn’t have called me that while out here Violet, so please don’t follow his example.” She chuckled before pausing and looking over to him, “Actually, what will your name be anyway hun?"

"That's...” Stalwart paused as he looked back to Twilight, confused about the look he was getting, but shrugged it off internally, “a good question."

Twilight marched ahead as Chrysalis sighed. Stalwart walked on as Dawn shook her head too, using her magic to telephone with Chrysalis

‘He really doesn't get it does he...’ Dawn relayed with a sigh.

'Doesn't seem so. I imagine Twilight will be having a few words with him as soon as she can corner him.'

‘I can talk to him too, but if she's going to do so, then I'll not bother. It'll be interesting to have him knocked down a peg... speaking as a pet of course,’ she relayed, hoping her mischievous tone and the idea of a wink would be sent through, a smile being the only giveaway on her face.

'Well, talk is the light way to put it. Twilight is very angry right now for bringing up something she now has to explain to a four year old.'

‘Ah... I hope my explanation was a decent enough dodge. It's not exactly something I want to have kids know about either and the best explanation I could see on the spot. Maybe you can suggest it’s a nickname, like honey, sweetie, or the like... though.. that wouldn't fly with what I said... hm.’ she relayed, starting to doubt herself.

'The only way that won't have her showing in your room at inopportune times is to give somewhat of a proper explanation. She is a smart filly and a changeling, so deception will only go so far with her, and if anything increase her curiosity.'

‘I understand. On behalf of my husband, I do apologize, though I'm sure once he's chewed out, my apology won't be necessary, but still...’ She said, sighing quietly as she left the spell running.

'It is alright Dawn. You don't need to apologize for what others do.'

‘Even so-" She said, feeling a bit guilty, but otherwise taking solace in what was told. She was grateful for it even though she felt responsible.

'So, did you have a fun time with your husband?' Chrysalis asked.

‘He just spent the first half hour with me teasing me to work me up, put the collar on me and just held me close. I love those simple tender moments.’ She laughed quietly.

'Those are the best.' She said smiling.

‘Absolutely.’ She said, still maintaining the spell by accident.

Chrysalis was going through the mares head gathering every single bit of information she could as they walked.

A memory of Dawn’s father standing in the doorway around midnight came forward as a strong memory not yet seen. She had just gotten home after a stressful night of work and barely turned on a Gameboy to get the music player of a game running when he came into the room. She knew better than to argue with him over it, after years of them controlling when and how long she could play and having gotten caught so many, many times before. They would never believe her even if she told the truth. She finally realized the other one she had was still in the car, having let him play on the way to church earlier that week and was just forgotten about, and when it was handed over, he said seven devastating words.

“How many days do you want to pack?”

She had cried the rest of that night for several hours, even calling someone she thought was a friend at the time for support.

'So did you sleep well?' Chrysalis asked as she absorbed the information, the first memory only just finishing.

‘I did. I feel a lot better now, thank you." Dawn said, sending over her gratitude as those memories crossed her mind. She merely thought of them as a reminder of how much she got to have now compared to that world, and promised herself she wouldn’t encounter it again or become like her parents.

Another memory surged immediately after, though timed as a few years later, very shortly after he had passed away. Lingering memories of fears of homelessness avoided by living in the family basement and being taken advantage of after mixed into the memory. It was a dark night on the road several hours to the north before she would head west, when a phone call was received. The words said on both sides weren’t remembered but one phrase heard in her mother’s voice.

“Son, you’ll be allowed to visit, maybe even share a meal, but you will never sleep in my home again.”

'Im glad.' Chrysalis replied as the second memory finished. As long as the spell was open, she would continue to learn more about this mare. 'Your husband was kind enough to escort me around the city.' she relayed as she thought on that memory. It was….strange to her.

‘Oh? How'd that go?’ Dawn asked.

Dawn’s memories turned to her times with Stalwart, the way he showed her around, helped her study even though he wasn’t a unicorn. A memory flashed to a point where she was playing a card game Hoof and Horn with him and his family, bonding well with them, but then the memory shifted back to her human family, the few times they played board games. They were smiling and she was a teen on her birthday, just wanting a family night. That memory shifted to another one later, when they revealed they were intending to pursue hormone replacement, and her mother refusing to talk again except when at a larger family social gathering. They hadn’t talked for 5 years now, only two of which were due to her landing in Equestria.

'It went well. We had a lovely time.' Chrysalis replied while cataloguing the smaller pieces of memories. It appeared Dawn wasn’t told what happened, and she wasn’t about to. It wasn't her place. Still this let her dig more and more.

‘I'm glad. He's a good stallion and I'm glad to have him with me, even if he does like bringing another mare or stallion into our activities." she replied by magic

'Oh?'

‘It's-’ She blushed, thinking of all the times she liked about him, from the fun to the considerate to the stern, ‘nice to have my boundaries pushed, to learn to accept things that aren't harmful."

'Yes, I know how that feels.' Chrysalis replied

"Oh? Do tell." Dawn replied, still unaware of Chrysalis’ intents to learn what she could.

Chrysalis dug deeper into the mare. She had never had access to a pony like this before, so she was curious about exactly what it would tell her or what she could do with it.

'Well, before I honestly thought I would be the one in charge when I took a mate. And… well, I'm definitely not in charge. Twilight decides what and when we do things, and- well, she has very interesting ideas. All of them stem from her controlling me and such.'

The memories of her younger years were fuzzy but events were remembered better than words, people’s concepts remembered as tones and the overall impact or idea relayed. The memories moved back forward to more recent events, to the hope Dawn had when she realized there was another Meadow Dawn that lived at one point in Equestria, only to learn that family had died in a fire. She cried long and hard that year and a half ago, feeling as if she was cursed to not be able to have a family of her own, biological or otherwise, shy of Stalwart. She made a friend, Cherry Dancer, who knew this world’s Meadow Dawn until the fire.

‘I can imagine.’ Dawn replied as she thought of those memories, unaware of it being revealed to the Queen. ‘I hope your needs are met and she cares for you a great deal though...’

'She does.' Chrysalis said as she burrowed deep into the mares mind. 'She is a very caring mare and an excellent dominate. I completely enjoy being submissive with her and I feel a lot of pleasure obeying her.'

‘I'm glad.’ She said by the link, starting to feel a bit cloudy-headed as the delving went deep. She wasn’t sure what was causing it, but had almost forgotten she was maintaining the spell.

'Yes." Chrysalis said pushing deeper. 'Honestly never thought I'd submitted so completely, to where I let her do what she wants with me. What she wants she gets. She orders, I obey because I know my place is under her being obedient.'

Dawn hummed, trying to consider what that was like despite her cloudy head. She enjoyed the care of Stalwart, but she never liked the idea of submitting fully to someone at all times like that. Her mind surges with examples where she rose up quite rebelliously in her youth, strong against such instances. Her submission would have to be her own choice, and yet, something seemed slightly appealing about what Chrysalis was saying and she couldn’t place it.

Chrysalis couldn't help but revel in pleasure at the thought of Twilight dominating her utterly, unaware that the pleasure at total submission to Twilight was being relayed to the mare she was connected to.

Dawn grimaced and shook her head, the spell ending as the discordant thoughts conflicted heavily. She let out a quiet grunt as the pain of a headache started to come to the forefront.

"You ok?" Chrysalis asked concerned, unaware of what happened to cause the spell to fail.

Dawn took a deep breath and started to nod slowly, "Yeah, I just... I dunno, I've never had that issue with that spell before where I’d get cloudy and a headache during it…"

"Could be your hormones." Chrysalis offered as they walked behind Twilight

"C-could be." She said, sighing and internally thinking it shouldn’t be, "And here I was hoping that by continued use I could be more refined with it... oh well."

Dawn took another deep breath and tried to let the headache fade, though wishing she could get her head rubbed. Instinctually, she started to picture Twilight doing the massage and let out a very quiet chuckle before she blushed and stifled the thought.

"Well you can still use it. Just not a whole lot, or for extended periods. That’s what I recommend anyways."

"Very well then." Dawn replied, nodding slightly and continued to follow Twilight until they found the small ally and turned to the familiar door.

"Here we are! The Ivory Wheel." Twilight said happily as she pushed the door open.

Dawn smiled happily and stayed behind Twilight, Stalwart staying alongside her, looking around in interest.

"Welcome to the Ivory Wheel, Stonewall." Twilight said to Stalwart, using a fake name. "Me and Dawn Star found it the other day."

Stalwart chuckled as Twilight led the way inside, recognizing his father’s name. Chrysalis smirked slightly as well at the irony, having discovered that being his father’s name from the delvings of Dawn’s memories. It was barely any time at all before the same mare from before approached.

"Well then looks like you brought a larger party this time." She chuckled. "Same rules as before. Keep the filly away from the bar." She said as she started to walk towards a large corner booth.

"Yes ma'am." Dawn nodded.

The mare smiled and led them to a booth where Twilight sat on one side with Chrysalis, while Violet got in the middle of where both groups would be.

Dawn sat by 'Stonewall' and leaned against him as they waited for the menus. It was barely a few seconds of being seated before the Pegasus was back with them.

"So then, you must be the husband and father of that adorable filly then." She said as she saw how the mother lean on him.

Dawn didn't know how to respond, and simply smiled and rubbed at Violet's head. She wasn't about to claim credit and make Twilight upset, or deny it and blow her cover. Stalwart looked at Twilight briefly for clues before replying.

"Come on now, be proud of my niece." Twilight smiled, causing Stalwart to laugh

"Of course we are. Just wasn’t sure which of us was going to answer.” He managed to say

"Forgive my sister, she can be a bit shy at times." She chuckled.

"Not a problem. I've seen all types come through that door." The waitress chuckled. "Anyways I'll be back shortly to take your orders, though if I recall one of them will be a strawberry milkshake." She said winking at Violet who giggled.

"Yes, we'll allow her to have another." Dawn nodded with a wide smile. She couldn’t help feeling some enjoyment at the idea of being called Twilight's sister, even if only for this disguise and she soaked it up happily.

"That's fine, we'll look these over in the meantime." Stalwart chimed in.

The waitress nodded and left to go behind the bar as Twilight picked up her menu in her magic.

"Order whatever you like. I’m buying."

Dawn nodded and raised the menu as well, sharing a view between herself and Violet, even as Stalwart lifted his with his hooves to read it over.

"I don't know why, but I'm really craving salt right now... Salt and spicy... hmmm." She mumbled.

Twilight chuckled as she heard that and read over her menu. For a bar the place had a good selection of meals.

"I think I'm going to go with a hayburger with a salad for the side." Stalwart said.

"Hmmm, this is tough..." Dawn said, trying to spot something that could satisfy both her cravings. "You think I could get peppers or something on a hayburger? Or is there something I’m just not seeing on this menu..."

"Sure they do custom orders."

"Nice, I'll have that then I think, but I'll have to get a banana milkshake for myself."

"Go ahead." She said.

"I want a daffodil burrito mom" Violet told Dawn

Dawn nodded, "Alright dear. So two hayburgers, one with some kind of spicy peppers on it for me, A banana milkshake for me, a strawberry milkshake for you and a daffodil burrito for your meal. Did I miss anything?"

"Sounds good to me." Twilight said smiling.

She smiled and waited for the waitress to come, keeping her forelimb near her 'daughter' and felt like she radiated a fair bit of happiness that she couldn't explain. The waitress came by and set a large strawberry milkshake before Violet as well as a small bowl of strawberries causing the filly’s eyes to grow wide.

"So then you ready to order?" She asked with a smile

"Yes, and I think you just made this her best day ever. At least for a little while." Dawn chuckled before she told the orders for her family, Stalwart adding in a request for beer to drink.

Twilight order a hayburger with hard side and Chrysalis ordered grilled vegetable kabobs.

"Alright those will be right out." She nodded and chuckled as she took the empty bowl with her.

Dawn blinked and watched he bowl be taken away already before turning to the filly, "Did you just eat all those strawberries already?"

"No" Violet replied, giving Dawn a look with big eyes and a slack face.

"Oh, then I guess we don't have to order more until they're finished then." She said daintily in a matter of fact tone, already giggling on the inside.

"What? NO!" She cried out arms flailing.

"Don't worry silly filly. We'll probably get you some more. Just know that some ponies, like your auntie, might give you that answer if you don't chime in on how much you like a food." She chuckled and calmed the foal down, happy to have a family moment.

Twilight chuckled. "Most definitely."

Dawn gave a quiet sigh and settled in, looking around, almost wondering if that one stallion who reminded her of Cherry Dancer was present, but he was nowhere in sight.

"So then Stonewall, what do you think of the place so far?"

"I like it. Not too quiet, not too loud, but we'll have to see how the food n beer is." He chuckled.

"Yes we will." She smirked.

"So how did you know about this place, and so soon after arriving here when even we didn’t know about it?" Stalwart asked, eying the princess.

"It's back home. And I found that during a raid to arrest some people for assault in some of my soldiers."

"Ah. Is it pretty popular back home then?"

"Yes. I figured as an apology to the owner for kicking in her front and back door I recommend the place to a few troopers....and it spread from there."

"Well, getting the guard to like a place definitely will get it a lot of business, I'll agree with you there." He chuckled.

"The owner doesn't mind either. It added a lot of security, always having at least a table of troopers around."

"Absolutely. On duty or off, if trouble brews, we'll be there to knock it out." He said, chuckling at his accidental pun.

"Same. As someone found out when they got drunk and started harassing one of the waitresses. Couldn't keep his hooves to himself and ended up getting aggressive. He was taught how to properly treat a mare by four troopers who walked in." She smirked.

"Yeah, I can believe it."

Twilight only chuckled as they waited patiently for their food, Dawn occasionally reminding Violet not to drink the milkshake too quickly again, just in case. Soon the pegasus arrived with their food carefully balanced on her back and wings, and began to expertly place them around as well as the drinks.

"And will that be all?" She asked once done.

Dawn looked at her suitably impressed at the feat of dexterity while Stalwart was already eying his food hungrily.

"Doesn't seem like it. Thank you." Dawn said cheerfully.

She nodded and left to help another customer.

"Well then, dig in." Twilight said.

Stalwart didn't even reply and was already reaching to his burger to take a big bite out of it.

Dawn chuckled and reached down to her own, nibbling on the concoction and deeply enjoying the burst of spice. Twilight smirked as she watched the mare dig in, giving away their simple guilty pleasures. Dawn sighed happily and sipped at her drink as she used her horn to sprinkle a little bit more salt into the burger before realizing Twilight was smirking at her.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Waiting for Stonewall to react." She said, nodding in their direction.

Dawn looked over to him. Stalwart, having looked up from his meal at hearing his name. He finished chewing his mouthful and swallowed as he looked between them.

"What? It's really good."

Dawn laughed briefly, "You know a stallion's happy with the food when he's too busy eating to comment."

"Yup." Twilight chuckled and then started to eat herself.

They both loved their meal, and while Dawn fussed about making sure Violet had what she wanted and was eating well, much like a mother would, they really enjoyed their meals even as dawn's nose sweat just a little from the heat. Small beads were appearing on the bridge of her nose as she ate despite it. Twilight couldn't help chuckling at what the spices were doing to the mare as she watched.

"So then Stonewall,” Twilight asked after a few more bites, “am I correct in assuming a certain out of the way place will be added to a list?"

"Oh yeah. This is amazing." He said, having just swallowed his most recent bite, already having finished half his burger, with Dawn nearly keeping up with him in how readily she's inhaling her own meal.

"Knew you'd like it." She laughed and finished her meal.

Stalwart took a deep draft of his beer, smiling broadly as he answered, "Oh yeah... new favorite place in Canterlot for sure."

"Mmmhm, still not getting any alcohol even after we have our firstborn though, just saying." Dawn said, smirking at Stalwart as he downed his drink greedily.

Twilight sipped hers as she watched

Dawn smiled broadly as she leaned back, starting to appear like she was feeling the effects of the spices, and looked at Twilight appreciatively, a hint of adoration on her face that might not have been there before.

"This food is amazing. Thanks for bringing us here."

"You are welcome Dawn." She chuckled. "Always happy to introduce people to a great place."

She beamed more happily and fussed over Violet, making sure she enjoyed her food and drink, but strongly suspecting it was already finished off.

Twilight soon finished her drink and waved for another which was brought.

Dawn soon finished her food, Stalwart having finished a bit before her and requested a second beer. Once Violet had finished eating, Dawn lifted her up to take a spot between her and Stalwart, and the three of them shared a contented happiness from the great food and drink.

Twilight smiled as she sat back with a sigh. "It's always nice to just relax from time to time."

"Absolutely." Dawn sighed, very content and holding onto Violet lightly, still giving her plenty of room to move away if she got bored or didn't want to be a part of the hug. The filly simply sighed and then let out a squee when another milkshake was placed before her by the server.

"On the house." She winked before leaving.

Dawn laughed and hovered the drink down to her, knowing exactly how happy this would make the filly. She watched as the foal's eyes widened and that face lit up with happiness. Violet immediately grabbed it and began to drink.

"Careful, don't want brain freeze again." Dawn warned with a chuckle.

Violet stopped and nodded drinking more slowly.

"Good girl." She said, patting their head before looking up to Twilight and Chryssy, "So this has been a wonderful night out together. Got anything else planned big sister?" She teased, intent to play along with their disguise.

"Mm....not especially no." She said scratching her chin. "Least I'd imagine, you'd want us to take Violet off your hooves for a time?"

"No, she's usually quite well behaved after she's had some strawberries." Dawn smiled knowingly, "We'll go ahead and keep her over with us for a while longer and give her to you for a visit tomorrow. That work for you?"

"Yes that will." Twilight replied with a smile.

"Good. After you had her a bunch of yesterday, I figure you need a break too."

"Yes, we do." Twilight agreed, confirming their plan.

Dawn sighed contentedly and slowly nibbled on her remaining bit of her burger, letting that spice warm her up again. She looked over to Stalwart, who was looking around the bar and sipping before turning back to face her and kissed her on the head.

Dawn chuckled at the affection before she saw the stallion she was curious about before. He had walked into the place and approached the bar before sitting down on a stool there.

"Oh hey, there's that one stallion who reminded me of Cherry Dancer!" Dawn said quietly as she recognized him and nodded in his direction

"Hm?" Stalwart hummed, turning over to look where she nodded. After a second he noticed the red pony and chuckled, "Oh hey, you're right.... huh who would have thought?"

"Oh yeah, I believe you wanted his number sis." Twilight smirked.

"I kinda do yeah." Dawn admitted, blushing slightly as she looked to her husband.

"Hm..." Stalwart said, looking him over. "I think I have an idea or two if he were interested."

"I'll leave that to you two." Twilight smirked.

Stalwart hummed as he thought about what to do. Dawn on the other hoof, got out quill and parchment to write him a message.

"To the red and green stallion, you remind me of a dear friend of mine, and wouldn't mind getting a chance to visit with you if you've got the time when I'm not with family. I'll be here again in two nights if you're interested."

Dawn chuckled as she looked it over, "Want to add anything Stonewall?"

"Hmmm." He hummed as he read, shaking his head when he finished,
"That'll be fine for now. We'll see how he reacts first."

"Shall I have the waitress give it to him?" Twilight chuckled.

"No need." Dawn shook her head, using her magic to fold it up into a small paper airplane and flew it indirectly between tables and ponies. The other patrons were oblivious to it, and she let it fly around before approaching him from the other side of him before landing next to his mug.

The stallion looked at it, curious before he opened the airplane carefully. He seemed to be deep in reading for only a moment before he started looking around. Dawn debated about playing coy, but decided there would be no point to it. She raised a hoof and waved to him briefly before getting her drink to sip.

They blinked, surprised and slowly gave a small wave back. Dawn smiled broadly at him, rather liking how shy he was acting. After a few moments of them looking, he went back to his drink. Dawn herself smiled as she looked back to the group at her table.

"He is very interested." Chrysalis said. "As well as surprised."

"Oh? How could- oh right..." She chuckled, having forgotten Chryssy was a changeling for a moment, "Anything else about his reaction?"

"Not really."

"Well, I'm glad he's interested.” Dawn admitted, “The fun part is knowing whether we'll visit as is or going in green. So little one, how are you liking all the strawberries you're getting today?

"I love it!" She said happily

"I'm glad. Make sure you thank your auntie.”

"I will." She said

She sighed, then burped quietly behind a hoof, "I think I may have overeaten. Anypony have leftovers they want to take with them once Violet finishes?"

Twilight and Chrysalis shook their heads.

"All right.” Dawn smiled, turning to the foal. “Violet, how much of that second shake do you have left?"

The glass was empty and Violet’s muzzle buried as far as it would go, her tongue trying to reach for the last dregs of the coveted drink. She paused as she heard Dawn speak and pulled out of the glass, tilting her head slightly as she asked, "Eh?"

"Dear,” Dawn laughed, trying to keep from disturbing others, “I swear I don't know how you put away as much as you do. I think we'd better get moving, cause you're gonna feel sleepy here soon from all that food and we’ll have a strawberry shortage on our hooves!"

Violet gasped in dismay, “No! You can’t let that happen! There’s gotta be something we can do-”

Stalwart had gotten down off the seat, allowing Dawn a chance to get off herself. She put a hoof on the filly’s sticky muzzle briefly to indicate she needed to listen, then got down off her own seat and levitated Violet onto her back.

“Don’t worry, we won’t let that happen. Maybe we can look at getting a strawberry garden planted around my home.” Dawn offered.

This quieted the foal substantially, feeling like this was an acceptable way to make up for her consumption of the food. Violet settled down onto Dawn’s back contentedly, though unaware of the perfect ring of milkshake around her muzzle still, as Twilight went to pay their bill.

Dawn giggled at the sight, debating if she should wash it off just yet or not, then decided it’d only be more difficult if she left it alone. She pulled out a wipe and got to work on cleaning the foal’s milkshake ring.

“Awww, I was saving that for later!” Violet protested, but didn’t move away from the cleaning cloth.

“That was a lovely meal,” Dawn said quietly as she walked with Chrysalis out of the building, “Thank you both for treating us here.”

"Thank Twilight. It was her decision, but you are most welcome."

"Definitely, but considering you're their spouse or the closest thing to that, I'm thanking you cause it came to mind, and I’ll be thanking her later when she catches up." Dawn said before raising her hoof to hide another burp, causing a little embarrassment.

"Just be sure to make it good when you thank her." Chrysalis said jokingly.

"Absolutely.” Dawn nodded slowly before shaking her head, “I feel like I can barely think straight I ate so much."

"Well, you are eating enough for two." Chrysalis pointed out.

"Not two adults though." Dawn chuckled before she winced, noticing a growing headache

"Well, I'm sure you'll sleep well tonight." Chrysalis smirked as Twilight caught up with them outside.

"I certainly would like to think so." Dawn said, sighing happily and as Twilight caught up, she smiled happily in their direction, "That was amazing. Thanks for bringing us here and covering it all."

"Not a problem. Had to celebrate somehow and what better way than with friends?" Twilight asked as she slowed her pace down to a walk.

"Oh, so we're not siblings anymore? I'm so devastated now." She said, feigning exaggerated disappointment.

"Can't I be friends with my little sister?"

"Absolutely!" Dawn replied, smiling wide at the realization they weren’t mutually exclusive.

Twilight chuckled and patted Dawn's head before starting to walk. Dawn let out a sigh, blushing lightly as it sounded to her like a whinny before following behind Twilight, Stalwart at her side.

Once they were out of the small side street, Twilight canceled the spells on them after checking to make sure no one was around. Once that task was complete, she headed toward the castle. Dawn shivered at the sight of almost all of them going back to their normal selves, but followed onward.

"So then guess we are staying another couple of days?" Twilight asked

"W-well, I figure we'll have the meeting with Celestia tomorrow, and we wouldn't leave till after then, so... I mean, unless you really wanted to leave as soon as possible, I was hoping."

"Well, I believe someone has a date with a stallion in two days so..." Twilight smirked

"H-heyyy..." She blushed, "T-that's-"

"Perfectly fine by the look of it." Stalwart said, attempting to tease her further.

"W-we'll talk about this more later." She said, her horn glowing as she cast her telephone spell at him to add more.

"Sure you'll ‘talk’” Twilight said, her tone dripping sarcasm.

Dawn blushed deeper, mind going into the gutter fast. Rather than dignify it with a response, she tried to focus instead on going back to her room. Twilight just continued smirking at her as they entered the castle. After another minute of walking the halls, Dawn stretched once she was in her room.

"So, I'll keep an eye on Violet for tonight. Any requests or bedtime instructions?"

"She isn't allowed to take over Equestria, no matter how good her plan is." Twilight said.

Dawn smiled as a an old tv show theme song crossed her mind. Without thinking, she used her horn magic to play it as it played in her head, accidentally letting everyone know about the lab rats nicknamed “the pinky and the brain.”

"What’s a pinky?" Stalwart asked, feeling perplexed after listening to what his wife shared.

"All I can think of is Pinkie." Twilight said, shrugging.

"It's an older show I used to watch, two lab rats, one named pinky and the other called 'the brain' kept trying to make plans to rule the world, except pinky would keep messing it up, among other issues."

"How could lab rats ever hope to take over the world?" Twilight asked, confused.

"It was a show for foals," She said, shaking her head, "I'd have to see if we could get the show to watch, or somehow having my old electronics... Sadly that means getting a bunch of technology I no longer have."

Stalwart shrugged thoroughly confused and disinterested by the subject at hoof, and decided to simply read a book.

"Ah. May take what info you have and maybe see about making it back home."

"I... what would the information I have have to do with making it back home? You lost me." Dawn blinked, trying to comprehend what was said.

"You are talking about Television right?" Twilight asked. "Needing a camera, or animators, film, broadcasting and all that."

"Yeah, television, though animation. I was thinking a computer and peer to peer sharing so I could download the show. And now I miss all my video games I used to have. Curse youuu!" Dawn teasingly said in a drawn out tone, a broad grin clear on her face.

"We have that." Twilight said simply.

"Careful,” Dawn warned, still having a smile. “or you're really going to make me want to just come with you when you go back."

"Good night Dawn. Sleep well." Twilight chuckled before heading for her room.

"Good night to you too." Dawn called before turning to Violet. "So, how tired are you munchkin?"

Dawn grew quiet as she realized the foal was sleeping soundly. She let out a quiet ‘aww’ and used her magic to gently take the foal off her back so she could climb into bed. Once in bed, she settled down, then gently lowered the foal against herself and spread a wing over them.

Violet nestled in close to Dawn, letting out a deep breath before resuming her light breathing in her sleep. Dawn chuckled quietly and gave her a kiss on the head before hearing Stalwart’s voice.

"This is why I say you'd make a good mother Dawn." Stalwart said quietly.

"Easy for you to say." Dawn whispered back, letting herself relax in place and allowing herself to enjoy the feeling of caring for a foal, even if it made her feel guilty that it wasn’t her own.

The filly gave a sudden twitch of her head and then readjusted herself under the wing, briefly snoring before her breathing cleared again.

Dawn sighed contented and let herself drift to sleep, Stalwart bringing a blanket to lay over them, but leaving their heads uncovered before joining them in bed to rest. She slept through the night rather well, aided by the foal that satisfied her instincts.

The next morning, a knock came at the door a little before mid-morning.

Dawn yawned at the noise, slowly waking as she stretched out, subconsciously trying not to disturb the foal even as she did so. Stalwart woke from the noise easily and noticing Dawn was still busy, he got up to answer the door.

"Yes?" he asked as he opened the door before seeing Twilight and opening it further.

"Hey. Wondered if you two wanted to join us for breakfast?"

"Well, I don't mind," Stalwart said, pausing to look back at the doorway to the bedroom. Dawn and Violet were still visible, Dawn with her bedhair and blinking slowly as she struggled to wake but still tried to smile at Twilight. "Guess we're all coming. Give her a few minutes and she'll be out."

Twilight nodded as a disguised Chrysalis walked out, wearing a simple looking choker and standing nearly at attention, eyes focused straight ahead as she stopped behind Twilight.

Stalwart looked between them. He thought about asking, but decided against it. Dawn had slowly gotten the foal onto her back, having folded her wing and more or less sliding the foal onto her back. Settled with the foal on her, Dawn slowly began walking up to the door and smiled tiredly at them.

"Hey Twilight, hey Chryssy. Sorry to keep you waiting." She said with the breathiness of waking up.

"It's fine." Twilight said smiling.

Dawn smiled and nuzzled her cheek against Stalwart’s before looking at Chryssy, "Oh, nice necklace."

"Thank you." Chrysalis replied, simply looking straight ahead.

She blinked, looking at her and starting to get suspicions of what's going on. A smile started to cross her face, even as she felt a little jealous. A second look noticed the choker had Twilight’s mark on it and her smile grew slightly wider.

"Shall we go?" Twilight asked, still holding her smile.

Dawn nodded, trying very hard to behave and not link up with Chryssy to get the lowdown on what was going on. In the end, she figured if they were being in ‘pet mode’, it might violate the spirit of a rule and she wasn't about to do that.

Twilight nodded slightly, turning to walk down the hall while Chrysalis immediately fell in step behind her.

Dawn started to try subtly imitating Chryssy, rather enjoying this little 'game' she's spotting them doing. She didn’t quite know why she felt like it, but she didn’t mind not knowing, as it passed the time as she started to wake.

They made their way down to the dining hall, entering to notice few ponies in the room. Chrysalis used her magic to pull Twilight’s seat out and only sat once Twilight did.

Dawn followed suit with Stalwart, now wondering if Chryssy isn't so much acting as a pet as a servant. Again, she felt the urge to ask her, but decided not to again, reminding herself of the reasons she hadn’t before with the added reminder they were in a public space.

"So, how did you both sleep?" She asked, and smiled as she saw Violet was still slowly waking up.

"I slept quite well. She's a good plushie." Dawn joked, still looking at Chryssy's collar. "What about you two?"

"We slept quite well. And yes, she does make a good plushie." Twilight smiled as she noticed Violet still waking up. She turned to Stalwart. "Also, I have to thank you for letting me borrow that one thing. It is quite entertaining."

"I can imagine.” He chuckled, “I take it that's why she's being so... helpful today?"

Her smile turned into a smirk, like the cat who ate the canary. "Quite."

Dawn blushed but smiled, further suspecting what they had been up to. She caught herself almost wishing she could make Twilight or Stalwart give such a smile for her own behavior, but stopped herself, trying to remember they were in a public sphere.

One of the kitchen assistants came out to the group, and all of them placed an order, Violet having been placed on the other side of Dawn close to Twilight.

Dawn chuckled and held Violet close, "her adorableness will get her into any mother's heart I think."

Twilight smiled. "Thank you."

Dawn rubbed the filly's side, trying to help them wake as Stalwart sipped some coffee he got himself.

"So then anything interesting happen last night?"

"Not really, fell asleep almost as soon as I climbed into bed and tucked in Violet." She said, shrugging.

"Not much to report here either." Stalwart added, "It was a nice quiet night with two snoring fillies in my bed."

"Hey! I don't snore... much."

Twilight chuckled. "It's rare to catch Violet snoring, but still glad everything went well."

"I like how she didn't deny that she's a filly." Stalwart chuckled.

"Well, compared to Twilight or chysalis, I might as well be one." She said, blushing a little.

"Suuuure." He said, chuckling.

"I figured that was your place to point it out." Twilight said to Stalwart with a chuckle of her own.

"Well, as much as she hates to admit it, I have caught her sneaking peeks at age magic before, so it's not as if-"

"T-that's... purely for research purposes!" she protested

"Uh huh, sure it is." Twilight said.

Dawn blushed and looked away, "I plead the fifth."

"... the fifth what?" Stalwart asked, confused.

Twilight laughed and reached over to pat Dawn's head

“The fifth is the right to remain silent to avoid incrimination,” Dawn explained while blushing deep. She couldn't help but smile, yet didn't know why, "H-hey... i'm not a filly, honest..." she protested quietly.

"Sure you aren’t."

"N-not until I research that spell further and make sure it works..." Dawn blushed and mumbled, trying to be quiet and yet risk being heard by Twilight deliberately. She saw Twilight knowingly smirk and Dawn blushed deeper, knowing that she was indeed heard, "B-besides, I have to wait till I'm done being pregnant I bet..."

Dawn paused, looking over to the server who was bringing their food. The food was soon set down in front of them with a bow, and then they left. Dawn thanked the server before they left, then dug into her food, enjoying the simplicity of her breakfast while hoping the oats and cream with strawberries would pique violet's appetite

The filly dove onto the food as if she were starving as soon as she saw the strawberries and yet she still ate with a lot of proper etiquette in spite of that eagerness.

"There you go little one. Such a good clean eater you are~" Dawn chuckled

"Yeah, she's always been very well mannered about eating." Twilight smiled.

"I can tell" Dawn said happily, letting herself drown in her own imagination as she ate

Twilight ate and Chrysalis ate very carefully and meticulously. Dawn watched and couldn't help but try to briefly spell link to tell Chrysalis.

‘I hope you'll be allowed to tell me more later, when you're not busy with your current position n’ all.’ She said privately, only to keep the line open long enough to allow a response if desired or allowed.

'Yes, Miss Dawn.' Chrysalis replied, inadvertently sending a wave of pleasure from both the collar and serving Twilight, hitting Dawn like a broken faucet spraying water.

Dawn blushed, smiling broadly after the connection ended as she sorted out the feelings that were shared, unsure how much of it was her own and how much was Chrysalis, especially when she turned to look at Stalwart and remembered prior events at home like that.

The meal soon finished and Dawn sighed contentedly.

"So, we've had breakfast, what's on the agenda for today, beyond our meeting at dinner?"

"Not sure. Could give you some more flying lessons." She said

"Oh that sounds good. I'd appreciate that." Dawn said enthusiastically.

"I take It'll be watching Violet then? or will Chryssy be doing that." Stalwart asked, looking between them.

"Chryssy will help you if you’re up for it?" She asked.

"I'm sure she could be of help." He chuckled.

"Great! We will need somewhere private and open to practice in."

"What about the fields behind the castle? They're relatively unattended. A lot of lovely meadows to look at. They're neary a hill that Stalwart took me to see back when we first met" Dawn volunteered

"That will do." Twilight agreed.

Dawn smiled, as did Stalwart, though his was directed at Chrysalis for about a second before he turned to watch Violet eat.

"Well, do we need to wait 30 minutes to go flying like we do with swimming?" Dawn chuckled

"No, unless you get air or motion sick." She said

"My younger brother did, I don't think I do, but considering how nervous I get about heights... well, we can take it slow. Hopefully I have the endurance for a lot of training today, though I know I'll feel it tomorrow, I'm long overdue, right?"

"We can take it slow."

"As long as I get to be able to fly.” Dawn smiled, “I think it'll likely help with my fear of heights too."

"Without a doubt."

"I can't wait to find out.” Dawn smiled more, “Shall we head out then?"

"Chryssy, help Stalwart with Violet, and help him with anything else he may need." Twilight nodded, having stood and was looking at Chrysalis.

"Yes Twilight." She replied standing and walking over to stand by Stalwart.

"Good to have you with me." Stalwart smirked.

Dawn took her spot by Twilight and chuckled, "It's almost like a trade for the day isn't it?"

"Yes it is." Twilight chuckled and looked at Stalwart. "Take good care of her."

"I'll treat her as well as I'd treat Dawn herself." Stalwart nodded, even as Twilight turned to the door.

"Well… just make sure you don't lose sight of Violet." She then paused, hesitating if she should have spoken and should imitate Chrysalis' demeanor, starting to stand up straighter just in case.

"I trust you." Twilight said before starting to walk towards the door.

Dawn nodded, waving goodbye to them before following Twilight like she believed she had seen Chrysalis do.

Author's Notes:

This fic is really turning more into a slice of life fic though this is rather enjoyable.

I have a PATREON with fair rewards. Every bit is greatly appreciated and helps me out.