It was essentially over, and the reality of Chris's hasty decision began to set in. He had done what Sniff couldn’t. He gave Starlight what she wanted and gave himself to her in the safest way he could. Even if he hadn’t wholly lost his virginity, he hardly even lasted longer than the jokes would imply, which was longer than a stallion. She couldn’t fault him for that.

"No, but... that's how this usually goes for us, I guess."

"You guess?" Starlight asked, still hoping they could have a repeat of what she just felt. "You guess what, exactly?"

Chris started to stroke his hands up and down Starlight's backside, trying to comfort her through the letdown.

"Some girls can have a climax like you just had more than once. Guys… well, you know… I think I need a nap?"

The mood had made an unexpected change, and Starlight felt as if she had just done something wrong by the way Chris was acting.

"Chris… what did we just do? I've never felt anything like that before."

The tone she used made her suddenly panic at the thought of the risk of unintentionally insulting him again. Trying to save the moment, she quickly picked back up with a cheerful tone.

"Not that I didn't enjoy everything we just did." She grew a dreamy smile and traced a hoof down his chest as her ear twitched. "I really, really enjoyed all of that."

She readjusted herself and could hear the slick noises of the fluids that coated them separating.

Sadly, try as she might, she couldn't hide her growing discomfort with that particular outcome.

"Eww. What is all this?"

The high from his orgasm was over, and that left his mind to clear and think rationally. What he realized was that she didn’t know what they were doing. It wasn’t just the position they were in that confused her; she didn’t realize that she was covered in his cum.

He fucked up, and all the shame and guilt really started to show on his face.

"I'm sorry I took this too far. I thought you knew—" He stopped short of what he was going to say, knowing that was a lie he couldn't finish trying to sell and started over. "I… should have waited."

Now Starlight was sure she had said something wrong.

"No, Chris, please don't be like that. I take it back, I'm not grossed out by the… "

She slid back a little farther to get a better look at what she could, given the room's poor lighting. It was a mix of the clear fluid she left on his shorts earlier and a milky cream. She would have been revolted, but pushing herself back had her slide against his barely hard cock and reminded her of why she hadn’t stopped in the first place.

This was too strange to continue on blindly, yet too enjoyable to give up so easily, so she looked up to him with a guilty smile.

“Can you tell me what this is so we can do it again?"

Trixie was pulling her wagon back out into the middle of nowhere. She was tired, weary from the constant travel, but now walking with a full belly, she found it hard to complain.

"Ohh," her voice came out as a whine. "Why did that bread pudding have to be so good? I ate way too much."

She stopped short of her intended location and unhitched herself. The next town was too far away for her in this state.

"I can't go on and just wanna sleep."

Wearily, she made her way into her wagon and literally crawled under the covers. Her wagon was a little tighter now that she had traded in much of the lumber. The planks of wood she had stored away had been bartered off for a hot meal and some preserved rations.

The town she had stopped in earlier that day was too small. She didn’t even attempt to put on a show there. Not enough ponies to make a profit on for as long as a show would last. That, and she was far too mentally exhausted to even entertain the idea of performing all day for donations. Plus, with the nightmares still tormenting her so much worse while in the big cities, she had no use for the lumber in the foreseeable future. It was the best possible choice she could have wagered.

Almost at the point of passing out in her bed, she reached for her alarm clock.

"Okay... four hours of sleep and then—"

She stopped herself and thought hard about what she was doing. She was about a day's walk from Los Pegasus. Even the small town she left was a few good hours away. The desert had only presented her with maybe a headache at worst.

Granted, the sight of her dream version getting romantic with Chris was a bit unsettling, but that wasn't nearly as bad as watching a mutilated pony bleed to death. Certainly better than seeing a pony goddess of the sun with fire for a mane getting impaled.

She gave the alarm cloak another good look before making a risky decision.

"Six hours."

With the clock set, she closed her eyes, yawned, and hoped for the best.

"I think I'll risk a headache over a heart attack.”

She closed her eyes and gave another long yawn, then suddenly felt all her exhaustion disappear. She was wide awake, yet she felt like she was—

"Oh, come on!" Trixie shouted as she opened her eyes to find herself floating in a void of prismatic hues.

"What even is this?"

Wherever she was, it was a space without form or direction. The many colors that shared the same space she occupied were the only things that alerted her of her existence. Although, the many lights did nothing to establish any kind of perspective. At times it looked as if they were surrounding her, and she was bathed in their glow. Yet, after another look made them appear to be as distant as the colors in the sky at sunrise.

Instinctively, she went to take a step forward and was surprised when she felt something solid underneath. She looked down but saw nothing. Curious, she wanted to test her invisible flooring and tapped her other hoof next to it.

The hoof connected to the unseen firm structure but made no noise. This was a new one for Trixie.

"What in the?"

She raised her hoof again and tried to push through the invisible floor and met no resistance.

"What gives? It was just—"

She tried to find the floor again, and her hoof connected where it had the first time, leading her to the most logical conclusion.

"Oh, It's only there if I want it to be?"

She tested her theory by walking forward, and to her surprise, every step was supported along the way.

"This is so freaky, but kind of cool," Trixie said to herself, amazed at this new addition to the dream realm. "If only Starlight was here to see this."

Upon saying her friend's name, the world around her began to pull the multi-colored hues around her into shapes and structures. It was like watching the dream world take form when she heard the voiceless words the last time she was here. Only this time, she could see the process taking place to construct it.

The lights all pulled themselves from the void of colors and branched out into strings so finely thin they were barely visible. Then these new strings would weave together to construct the world around her. The strings were everywhere, in everything. The dirt, the grass, the rocks, and the mountainside. If Trixie focused hard enough, she could see the same strings that made up the air around her. Everything was strings!

"Behold!" Starlight's voice announced. "Our Cutie Mark Vault!"

Trixie's ear tuned to the sound of her friend's voice, and she gasped.

"Did I just transport Starlight here?"

She looked around the world that had been constructed from floating lights. It seemed to be Equestria, but the mountainside was a place she had never been to before. She had no idea where she was or where she was going. All she knew was that she heard Starlight's voice calling out from inside the cave up ahead.

Drawing closer, she could hear Twilight's voice as well; what are the odds? If that was the case, Trixie would give up speaking in third-pony if she somehow summoned both of them here with her.

"Starlight! Twilight! Where are—"

She slowed down as she saw a large collection of humans and ponies standing together inside the cave. They were all staring up at a tall glowing shelf full of what had to be cutie marks. By the looks of it, all of the Elements were there, as well as another version of Trixie. As for the humans, she recognized Chris, Kelly, Becky, Cerb, Lumberman, but there was another male and female she didn't recognize. Although, this version of Cerb didn't look as big and bulky. Actually, there were small, subtle differences in all the humans she knew.

One thing was for, though. She didn't summon her friends to her aid. This was all another illusion playing out in front of her.

Starlight's voice spoke again in front of the group.

"And here is the staff of sameness. It was one of the Great Mage Meadowbrook's nine enchanted items. We are incredibly fortunate enough to have it here. This is the tool that allows us to free ourselves from our marks."

Starlight waved the staff to her side and eyed Twilight. She looked like a villain plotting something devious.

"I'm curious. How did the subject of the vault come up?"

Pinkie, somewhere in the crowd, started to explain.

"Oooh, some ponies were telling us how much they missed their cutie marks and—"

A male looking human, one Trixie had never seen before, slapped Pinkie up the backside her head.

"Pinkie," this new human grumbled, visibly upset at her talking out of turn.

Trixie moved up closer to this dream vision of Starlight, or who she thought was Starlight.

"You're not Starlight. Not the Starlight that I know."

This Starlight had a different styled mane, and her cutie mark was an equal sign. This mare looked and sounded just like Starlight, but maybe this dream vision had a different Starlight, just like there was a different Celestia?

This new... old... different Starlight turned an eye filled with malice to the group.

"Were they?"

She started to approach the group with staff still wielded in her aura, "Well, it seems you inspire all sorts of free-thinking."

She twirled the staff and glared at the group. Clearly, she was evil in this alternate version of Equestria.

"Don't you?"

Rarity started to ramble some apology but was cut off by this new male human shouting out, "She's a fucking commie! This is bull shit! I called it! She's a goddamn pony Stalin!"

Chris cracked his knuckles like he was getting ready to fight.

"Yeah. I'm with Eric on this one."

This different Starlight stepped back as new ponies with the same equal sign cutie marks began to march in from all sides. Appearing from out of the shadows of the cave.

"Clearly, you are all not ready for my vision of making every pony equal."

Each of the ponies that started to circle them, wearing overly expressed smiles, walked in as if they were under mind control.

From the group, though, Cerb must have had his fill of remaining silent and shouted angrily at the fake Starlight, "You're not making them equal, you stupid cunt! Pegasi can still fly when the others can't. Unicorns are the only magic users, and Earth Ponies are still the only ones capable of producing your crops! You think swapping out the cutie marks makes them better? How fucking dumb are you?"

The fake Starlight gasped, "What! How dare you! It's the cutie marks that keep us apart! They make us all different! Without them—"

"Why do the pegasi get to fly when we can't!" One of the maybe not mind controlled unicorns shouted.

"Yeah!" A unicorn mare with an equal sign yelled. "We can't fly others can't use magic! Why do only some still get to be special? At least when I had my cutie mark, I could still bake food that tasted good!"

"Yeah!" Another unicorn from the group shouted. "Sugar Belle's new food is terrible!"

Trixie started to put together what was happening. This fake, or at least different Starlight, had started a cult. Trixie's alternate version, the rest of the Elements, and some of the humans were sent to stop her.

By the looks of the cult ponies closing in on their cult leader demanding answers, the job was already halfway done. As the Elements and their human counterparts joined the circle, it might as well have been over.

The fake Starlight flared up her horn and disbursed a dome of magic that pushed all of her angry followers away.

"Shut up! You're wrong! You don't know any better!"

Without warning, the dream version of Trixie charged ahead toward Starlight.

"Well, I do!"

Starlight trained the staff towards her attacker and fired a ray of green magic. Trixie teleported just before it could hit, and she appeared over Starlight. Trixie's started to charge up for a spell, but Starlight blasted a bolt of magic off first. There wasn't enough time to evade this one, and the Dream Trixie took the blast straight to the chest.

Suddenly, Chris was barreling down on Starlight to deliver a well-telegraphed right cross. Starlight would have seen it coming and had she more time to charge her next attack if Trixie had not created the diversion. Instead, just as the magic started to peak, the right cross connected with Starlight's jaw.

The crack of fist on bone echoed through the cave, followed by a snap of Starlight's magic dispersing in an eruption of unchanneled magic in all directions. Starlight, Chris, and Trixie's bodies all fell to the dirt.

No sooner had the fight ended, Twilight was back up and running to Chris’s side in a panic.

"Chris!" The fear and worry poured out in her voice as she rushed to his side. "Chris! Are you hurt!"

Chris groaned and reached for the set of hooves on his chest that were feeling over him for wounds.

"Trixie..."

Twilight stopped her search and moved closer, leaning over Chris's face.

"No, it's Twilight." A spike of anger suddenly found its way into her voice. "What were you thinking? You know how vulnerable to magic you humans are!"

The Dream Trixie had recovered and scolded Twilight as she marched up from behind.

"Twilight, what the hell were you doing? I moved up and teleported out! Did you forget that you're supposed to take the protective line when one of us advances out of it?!"

Trixie was speechless at the sight of watching her dream self berate a princess.

The Dream Trixie, however, nonchalantly took a quick look over Chris.

"Hey... Tough Guy."

She gave him a gentle kick with the front of her hoof to his arm, treating him like he was sleeping on the job.

"I don't hear any crying, so you're either sleeping or dying. Which is it?"

Twight's face scrunched up in a fit of anger, "Why would you say something like that!?"

Chris groaned and barely held back his laughter, "I was trying to sleep, but somepony kept yelling in my ears... Can you get me a pillow?"

Becky walked over, shaking her head at the scene they were creating.

"You better not be broken, Chris. If there's a doctor in town, pretty sure his help will be as lousy as Sugar Belle's baking."

"I heard that!" Sugar Belle shouted from the front of the cutie mark vault.

Becky shook her head and started to walk away.

"Why don't we ever bring Nurse Redheart with us? If it's not Chris jumping in swinging, it's Tim or James running in to play soldier again. You dumb asses are gonna get yourself killed."

Cerb stuck close to Rainbow Dash's side as he followed Becky and the others carrying Starlight out in chains.

"I think you had less stress working your nine-to-five than doing this hero work, Becky."

Becky marched on with the others, flipping Cerb off over her shoulder.

"Eat me, Justin. If I want your input, I'll ask Dash what she wants you to say."

Back in the cave at the vault, a flurry of lights darted about. As they flew past Trixie, she could see they were, in fact, cutie marks. She even was able to watch as they found their way back to their original owners and replaced the equal signs. As they were restored, the brightness and full color of their pony's coats returned. Perhaps that was another side effect of the cutie mark removal?

Off to her side, Trixie noticed that squabbling between Twilight and the Dream Trixie had stopped, and she turned back to see Chris sitting upright.

"Both of you stop," Chris protested calmly with a wave of his hand between the bickering pair. "I said I'm fine. I just got the wind knocked out of me. Just give me a few minutes, and I'll head back down."

Twilight dropped her rump to the ground. Not satisfied with or accepting his condition.

"Fine, but I'm waiting here with you until you're good enough to walk on your own."

Chris pointed to Kelly at the mouth of the cave, standing impatiently with the staff in her hand.

"Then who's going to escort Kelly back with the staff of socialism?

Twilight trained her eyes on Kelly and sounded like a child asking for permission as she spoke up.

"Kelly, I know you must be upset, but can you wait here with me until Chris is up and walking again?"

By the sounds of Kelly's voice, she was more than just a little upset.

"No! And fuck you, Chris! I was feeding power into Twilight the whole goddamn walk up here. But does she get to use my boost?" She turned and started to walk out. "No! Big brave Chris just had to be the tough guy of the group and show off again. What's the point of doing this hero shit if my talents are being wasted?"

Twilight sulked, this not likely being the first time dealing with this behavior.

"Goddamnit, three years we've been working together, and she still wants to solve everything with violence. She's just as bad as you, Chris."

She stood up and gave a look that was almost as angry as it was sad.

"But at least she doesn't keep me up all night worried about her safety, and... I'm sorry about not taking the protective line, Trixie. I wasn't paying attention to what you were doing."

The Dream Trixie rolled her eyes.

"Just go, you know Chris is safe with me. And go burn off that extra Harmony by blowing up some rocks or something. You know Kelly always likes that."

Kelly screamed for her partner from outside the cave.

"Twilight! I’m leaving!"

Twilight grumbled something angrily to herself before shouting back.

"I'm coming! And stop yelling at me! I'm a princess, ya know!"

The Dream Trixie and Chris both laughed as Twilight flapped her wings and flew out to catch up with Kelly. Then, once alone, they stared at each other with the kind of look two ponies would give each other before kissing.

The Dream Trixie held that longing look in her eyes, but then she grinned and started to laugh again and lay down with her head in Chris's lap.

"You know, if I didn't love you so much, I'd tell you to just fuck her already so she would stop being so uptight."

Trixie did her best to try and figure out what that word meant. She'd only heard it used in anger, but this time it sounded like it could be something good. Then again, seeing her dream self and this Chris, she realized this was the same timeline where this Chris had beat her and confessed his love in the open field. If this version of reality had them still in love, so a fuck probably wasn't a bad thing, but what did she know?

Chris chuckled and started to caress Trixie's neck and shoulders with his free hand, "You know I'm only a one mare kinda guy, and I wouldn't do that to Twilight."

The Dream Trixie rolled her eyes and turned in his lap to him as she made a cutesie face.

"Because you wuv your widdle Twixie so much?"

Trixie tried not to gag at the gross display of affection while Chris laughed momentarily and returned his hand to his mare.

"Well, there's that. But... come on. She's got it bad for me but can't act on it. Not with the stupid Magic Contamination Law she and Celestia put in place."

The Dream Trixie groaned angrily, "But that law is so fucking stupid. We're proof that mixing our magic in stronger doses is harmless. It's actually made my magic stronger. I can go hoof to hoof with Twilight now, and that bitch knows it."

Trixie's eyes widened.

"I can be as strong as Twilight? And what’s a bitch?"

Chris grinned and made a lubby dubby kissy face at his secret special somepony as he locked eyes with her.

"Yes, you are, but if I fuck Twilight, wouldn't she be stronger than you again?"

Trixie's mouth about dropped off its hinges at the revolutionary benefits of this new… ritual? Act? Whatever that word was.

"Fucking makes ponies stronger?"

The Dream Trixie grabbed the collar of Chris's shirt and pulled him down to give him a deep open mouth kiss. Chris, of course, greedily kissed her back.

This only turned Trixie off again, but being as fed up with everything as she was, she didn't turn away.

The two continued acting as lovers do, and the more Trixie watched, the angrier she got.

"Look at me," she scoffed. "All happy and submissive to that... human, Chris, thing. Trixie doesn't need a coltfriend. Trixie most definitely doesn't need a human coltfriend. I mean—" She marched over to further examine the lewd display. "—look at me. Ponies don't kiss like that. And look at him touching me all over with his dirty... non-hoof, paw, thingies."

In the middle of Trixie's rant, her dream version broke free from the kiss. She had a mischievous look in her eyes as she crawled up to sit on Chris's lap and pushed his back down to the ground.

After a playful giggle or two, she laid herself down against him and kissed him again, but this time it was short and sweet.

Chris ran his fingers through his mare's mane and looked to her with loving eyes.

"I'm still amazed by how things have changed for me. One day I'm a cop going to a bar to pick up a prize I won in the mail. Next thing I know, the nine other winners are a bunch of assholes I barely knew. Most of those nerds in high school, I didn't even remember having classes with."

Trixie froze for a moment. This Chris was kind of mean. Calling his friends names and didn't even seem to consider them friends by the sound of it. Maybe the differences in this version of the humans were in more than just their appearance.

"And the prize I won wasn't a boat, but a chance to save the world," Chris went on to say. "Not just my world, but yours, too. But low and behold, saying yes meant leaving my world behind and ending up in one with a bunch of talking horses that treated us like shit. At least until your Rose said they needed us. "

The Dream Trixie chuckled and nuzzled in closer to Chris.

"The Rose of Harmony knew you were going to help save us, and I didn't mistreat you when we first met. Although, it sure would have been nice if we had that boat. Just think of all the amazing nights at sea we could of had. You and me on the SS Trixie making waves on the water, and you flooded my cabins."

She giggled and relaxed again, remembering something fondly before her thoughts returned to Chris’s comments.

"Who even sent you that letter, anyway?"

Chris grew quiet and continued to fiddle his fingers through the Dream Trixie's mane but eventually answered.

"If I had to guess, I think it was Celestia."

The Dream Trixie snorted and laughed so hard she had to sit up on his lap again.

"Come on, I'm serious."

Chris poked her in the stomach, tickling her mercilessly as he answered.

"I am serious."

He stopped poking her and moved his hands over her hips. He looked ready to tell her something of importance but still wanted to have fun as he did.

"You know that Peter still has his letter?"

The Dream Trixie mocked interest in this random fact.

"Oh?"

Chris grinned, smirking at her, but continued.

"It's the same paper that Celestia uses. The penmanship looks about the same writing style, and get this." He went quiet to build up the suspense. "Peter always had a hard time around women, but for a while, he and her got really close before the stupid law was passed. She showed him all around the castle and took him through hidden passageways—"

The Dream Trixie smiled a wicked smile, rocked her hips, and spoke over him.

"Just like I took you through my hidden passageways?"

"Ha!" Chris belt out a short laugh before trying to get serious again. "Maybe, but shut up. Anyway, turns out that the Sunset pony she kept questioning us about isn't a pony anymore... she's a human."

Both Trixie and her dream double deadpanned and, in unison, responded, "What?"

Chris's grinned, but not as strongly as before.

"Celestia made portals to other worlds. One led to a human world, and that's where Sunset Shimmer escaped to and why we were arrested when she found out that we were human. The whole thing about us entering her kingdom illegally... total bullshit. She thought we were spies."

The Dream Trixie suddenly pointed out a monumental flaw in his theory.

"Okay, if she thought you were all spies, why would she have sent you that letter?"

This was the hardest part for Chris to try and explain, or at least that’s how it looked, given his expression.

"Do you remember the first time you saw me naked?"

The Dream Trixie huffed with an embarrassed smile.

"Yes, yes, and it took over a month of you flashing me for me to believe you and remember that wonderful part of you."

Chris continued, clearly getting more excited as he neared his point.

"And how many times did I explain what sex was to Luna before she could remember what I told her?"

The Dream Trixie playfully started to beat her forehooves on his chest.

"It took forever, yes. So what? Just tell me already."

Chris took hold of the hooves assaulting him and smiled with an 'I told you' look.

"Did you honestly forget, or were you not able to remember?"

The Dream Trixie giggled and looked down at Chris. It was a look that Trixie herself had never shown, let alone seen, but clearly, that look meant that this Dream Trixie was no longer interested.

"You're being a dick, and I don't care about your story anymore. So how about this."

She lowered herself back down over Chris, placing a magic band over his head to hold him down as she teased her lips over his.

"You fuck me right now? I never forgot how good you are at it."

Trixie was suddenly giddy and pranced in place.

"Oh-muh-gosh-Oh-muh-gosh-Oh-muh-gosh. The fuck, I get to see Chris fuck me! But only if—" She lowered her face down to the dream version of Chris's face and started to yell. "You better say yes and fuck me! I mean, fuck her, Chris! I need to learn something that can help me through this—"

After a hesitation that lasted longer than it should have, Chris replied with, "You want to risk doing it here?"

Trixie threw her head back and screamed into the dream realm that was ignorant of her voyeurism. Why did these visions always toy with her emotions?

"Ahhh! Just fuck me, Chris! Whatever it is, just do it already!"

The Dream Trixie started to scoot back down Chris's body, softly giggling and taunting him.

"Everyone's busy or too upset with you for taking out Starlight to bother us. Even Twilight is stuck dealing with Kelly."

As she reached the waistband of Chris's beltline, she placed her aura around the button and zipper and quickly undid them both.

"So?" She started to pull his pants down so his underwear was showing. "We have time, and I don't want to take care of myself tonight."

Trixie watched with terror and amazement as her dream self pulled back what little fabric had been hiding Chris's penis, allowing it to spring up from the elastic band. Even in her befuddled state, she wondered if that's why all the humans kept themselves covered up. It might not have been as bad as the lack of anatomy, the ponies in Luna's nightmare apocalypse, but why was it so long and shaped like that? No pony stallion had a penis like that… didn’t they?

Then in Trixie's horror and bewilderment, her dream self started dragging her tongue up the length of Chris's growing erection.

"Wha'w-wh-what?!" She called out as she watched her dream self passionately increase her oral acts of depravity.

Chris looked to be at odds with himself. Fighting off trying to say yes and almost looked like he was in pain. Maybe it wasn’t pain, but honestly, she could tell since she’d never seen any creature make that face.

"Trixie... We..."

He struggled to find the words to protest as his body tensed and flexed under what the dream version of Trixie was delighting him with. This grotesque act was coaxing him into submission.

"Goddamnit, you can't do this to me and expect me to say no.”

The Dream Trixie took all of him in her mouth and hummed loud enough that even the real Trixie could feel it, which finally made Chris give in.

“If they catch us, we'll run."

The restraints on Chris were released, and he rose up and damn near tackled the Dream Trixie onto her back.

"Wait," Trixie asked, still stupefied at what she was watching. "What did I just... What are you?"

The dream version of Trixie smiled deviously as Chris mounted her.

"Fuck me. Fuck me so hard that if Twilight ever had a night with you, she'd need all the years we've had together to catch up." She felt him thrust full force into her. "Oh!... Yes, fuck me just like that."

For Trixie, she no longer knew what to feel or think.

How could any pony allow themselves to be treated like that? What kind of creature would want to do these kinds of acts Chris did to her dream self? Why was this dream version of herself happy and enjoying it all?

After seeing this, she was over the whole idea of this different version of herself falling in love. Even if she didn't understand how it could have happened, it was undeniable that somehow Chris and another version of her were an item. But this? This unnatural physical act they were doing. Kissing and licking inappropriate places of each other was too much.

Suddenly, it was as if a door long since sealed in her mind had been opened. Secrets long since forgotten and rediscovered revealed the truth, and she understood.

"I'm watching Chris have sex with me?"

She stated it so flatly that it took a second for everything to cycle back for her to fully comprehend it all.

"Fucking is sex!? Chris makes me stronger by getting me pregnant!?"

She said it so positively certain but then felt her head filling up with questions.

"How did I know that?... How did I know that but—" She glanced over again to see the two had switched positions and the Dream Trixie was taking him as she rode his lap. "—not know that was sex until now? Wait? Did I not know until just now? How could I not know? Everypony knows what sex is."

She ran through her memories for any recollection for something about sex being discussed.

"Did I forget?"

She tried again to think of what she might have forgotten or what she ever remembered, only to hear Chris’s words again.

“Wait! Chris! He… asked the other me if I forgot.”

As Trixie struggled to pull back the veil that had been cast over her reality, a previously unheard voice was finally heard.

"Trixie? Are you there?"

Twilight was looking over her third plan of action for marching out as soon as Cerb returned.

“If I take the third overwatch team and send them out with the first detachment, that would leave Thunder Glide’s team enough time to rest up to join the third detachment. During that time, I can have Starlight help organize the second detachment so they can leave with the first recon team. Then that leaves the main body returning with the third detachment as well as a recon team, Rainbow Dash’s overwatch, and both react teams with Benny and Big Mac.”

She looked over the list of ponies and humans she had grouped up. Despite all her experience in planning things and organizing events, this seemed so much more complicated.

“But it looks like I’m leaving the first detachment under-protected and the main body over-protected.“

She grumbled and scratched off the first recon team and put them with the first detachment. Looking it over again, she groaned in frustration, crumpled the paper, and started over on a new sheet.

“How does Cerb make this look so easy?”

Luna’s voice spoke out from the shadows of the room, causing a moment of panic to spike in the room.

“Practice, we imagine.”

Twilight smiled at the welcomed company but then frowned, looking over the hour's worth of work she had spent writing.

“Son of a bitch. How long have I been asleep?”

Luna emerged from the shadows, drawing the other ponies' attention as she playfully giggled.

“You are still awake, despite how late it is.“

She turned to other ponies in the room.

“Would you all please excuse us? I would like to have a moment alone with Twilight.”

Everypony bowed and silently saw themselves out, which made Twilight uncomfortable all over again.

“I hope you’re not here to give me any more bad news.”

Luna tried to smile, but her expression looked more uncertain than anything else while approaching her fellow princess.

“We are not here with bad news. More of a curious question and observation.”

Twilight sat up straight in her seat, ready to provide any answers she could.

“Okay? What is it?”

Luna stopped in front of the desk and started to look over the many maps and documents strewn about.

“We were curious to see if Cerb was fairing well with the help of Fluttershy and Rarity while he slept, but we found nothing of his dreams. We assumed—“ She shook her head, suddenly frustrated over her words. “I Really need to stop using the royal we and thy so much.”

She collected herself and cleared her throat.

“As I was saying. I assumed that perhaps it was the intensity of his nightmare itself that alerted me of his dreams. So, if he was without a nightmare, that would explain why I couldn’t find him.”

Twilight was still searching for the good news.

“Is that a good thing?”

Luna fiddled with a pair of binoculars while she continued to explain.

“Normally, yes, but then, assuming all the other humans were asleep, I could not see into theirs either. However, what worries me now is that I can only see into Pinkie and Rainbow Dash’s dreams. Are the others sleeping during the day?”

Twilight shook her head.

"No. Not that I know of."

Luna frowned and returned the binoculars to the desk, and had fallen deep into her thoughts over this information.

"Curious."

Given that Luna was here, and Twilight had yet to send any of her reports to Celestia since starting this exercise, she decided to give her most recent discoveries.

"Actually, Luna, there are some things that need to be brought to your attention about Cerb."

"Oh?" Luna said, sounding not so overly concerned. "Please do tell."

Twilight steadied herself to break the alarming news.

"Cerb has with him a weapon from his world that is very dangerous. Benny has one with him as well. There is also still another one at their embassy."

Luna made a funny look, trying to guess what it might be.

"Are you referring to their guns?"

With a heavy sigh, Twilight confirmed the bad news to be true.

"Yes, but you need to know that these guns can—"

She stopped and realized that Luna knew what they were called. Somehow Luna was already ahead of her on the weapons they used.

"Goddamnit. You knew about the guns already, didn't you?"

Luna grew an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Twilight. Kelly and I had a lengthy discussion about Mr. Cerberus and his service as a Marine. But she also assured me that he wouldn't cause any harm with them. The way she described them made them sound frightening, but for the horrors human wars can create, it's understandable for even our human friends to hold onto them. That, and I feel much more confident with their safety if Cerb was cautious enough to take one with him."

"They are," Twilight groaned, ready to move on with the next update. "He used it to scare away a chupacabra that was going to attack Fluttershy and the birds that were helping them. Because of that, they got more of the most important flower they needed, and… by all rights, I think I would have understood if he did kill the chupacabra.”

She sat up in her chair, trying to apply her best logic to the situation.

“If a small blade from a spear almost killed Kelly, who knows what the chupacabra could have done to him, or Fluttershy. But— “ She was stuck in a state of bewilderment just thinking about how it all ended. “—he’s a trained killer. He’s actually killed other humans and doesn’t seem to have a problem with ending one life if it means saving another.”

Luna gave Twilight an encouraging smile.

“But?”

Twilight sat with a mix of emotions and confessed what was confusing her the most.

“He risked everything to keep a promise he made to Fluttershy. He showed mercy at the risk of being killed himself because he was more afraid of letting us down or that we would think poorly of him.”

“Do you?” Luna asked, curious if Twilight thought any less of Fluttershy's protector.

“No,” Twilight answered in a low voice, still struggling with the walking contradiction that was Cerberus.

“He’s… Luna, he could be the most deadly and dangerous creature in all of Equestria for all we know. Maybe not on a large scale like Discord was, but one on one, or maybe even against a small army. He could probably kill anypony. Not just anypony, who knows what else, and I don’t think any of us could stop him. Yet, all he wants is to appease us and protect others around him. He literally almost got himself killed just to make Fluttershy happy.”

Luna was suddenly looking giddy with excitement.

“Oh, he’s even better than I could have hoped for.”

That couldn’t be what Twilight just heard Luna say.

“He’s what?“

Suddenly this all made sense, and Twilight was appalled by what she realized.

“You knew something like this was going to happen. Didn’t you?”

Luna laughed to herself before setting the record straight.

“Of course not, and I certainly didn’t expect them to have a run-in with anything dangerous. All I was hoping for was for him to safely escort Fluttershy back to us. I was going to use that alone to build up his confidence and reward him for his bravery. Make him feel like he has a place with us, but he has truly proven himself beyond a reasonable doubt.“

She dropped her giddy smile and seemed to have gone into deep thought. Her thoughts playing out the most likely outcome.

“I wonder if he would have eaten the chupacabra.”

“Eat the chupacabra?!” Twilight yelped. “Why would he—“

Twilight was about to snap. Another revelation she was late to discover just made itself known.

“You know they eat meat, too? Goddamnit! Why am I always the last pony to know these things?”

As funny as that outburst was, Luna couldn’t hold back all of her giggles.

“Twilight, when you’ve been around as long as I have and stared down the maw of as many pony-eating beasts and monsters as I have, you learn to recognize a pair of incisors when you see them.”

Twilight now felt foolish for again being reminded of what was so obvious to others.

“Oh… I see now.”

Luna had one last giggle at Twilight’s expense before her final admission.

“That and Kelly told me all about it.”

“God… damnit,” Twilight grunted before she dropped her head on the desk. “Over seven billion humans I could have ended up with, and I get stuck with the one who doesn’t tell me anything.”

Poor Luna was so caught up in the moment she didn’t catch everything Twilight just said and asked, “What was that? Seven what?”

Was that a question about their numbers? Finally, Twilight had something she could one-up Luna with. Now with her childish payback ready to go, she raised her head, showing the best fake careless face she could pull off.

“Seven billion. In their world, there are over seven billion humans. But Sniff hasn’t told me anything outside of trivial things like how their government works—"

“Seven?” Luna repeated the number.

Twilight ignored Luna’s apparent state of being overwhelmed.

“—their studies of physics and psychology—”

“Billion?” Luan still wasn’t getting over it.

Twilight secretly loved this.

“—multiverse theory. Oh! Did you know that there are up to eight different races of humans? All of our human friends have greater racial diversity than ponies do. Even stranger, while ponies can have the same colored coats but not the same genetic backgrounds, human's skin color and facial characteristics are attributes assigned to specific races. The human races don’t even all share the same language or cultures.”

“That’s not possible,” Luna was still stuck on the number.

It felt good to finally have that edge on another Princess, but Twilight had her fun and was ready to move.

“Actually, looking back on it, given the statistics and how dangerous other humans can be, we really got lucky with the seven we ended up with. They’re all literally one in a billion… Luna?”

Despite everything she had learned so far, all she had come to discover over the centuries, this was bending what Luna could comprehend.

“Hhhhhhhhow?”

Starlight was lying on top of Chris and still trying to comprehend everything from the many topics Chris had covered.

“So… I can’t get pregnant by you? We just get to have really great sex and make each other cum any time we want with no drawbacks?”

Chris continued to stroke his hands up and down her back.

“That’s only if you want to,” he said, still sounding like he was in trouble with her. “I know this is-Mmmph.”

Starlight had enough of his self-condemnation and shut him up with another deep kiss before she broke it and told him how it was.

“Don’t be stupid, Chris. If what we just did wasn’t even sex, and it still felt that good, then you better fuck me properly,“ she proudly demanded, happy to finally know what that word meant. “Do you not want to anymore?”

Chris, despite living his dream, and the dream demanding he returned for more, still sounded like he was down in the dumps.

“Yes, of course, I do, but I feel like—”

Starlight grabbed Chris by both sides of his face and forced them eye-to-eye.

“Will you please stop acting like you did something terrible to me? You have no idea how relieved I am to know what sex actually is and that we can do it all we want? More than relieved. I feel powerful. Like I could take on Twilight and Rainbow Dash at the same time.”

If ever there was a statement to instill fear into Chris, he could safely say this was one of them.

“Oh, God, please don’t.”

“What?” Starlight said, momentarily confused. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean… Chris…”

She realized how her words came out and giggled at herself.

“All I’m trying to say is what you made me feel, makes me feel like everything is better now. And—“ She removed her hooves from his face and pushed herself upright on his lap. “I want to try everything you said we can do together.“

She started to grind her crotch over his steadily hardening cock, but then suddenly stopped.

“Except for the mouth or butt stuff. That still sounds more gross than horny.”

That finally got Chris to smile again.

“I do too, and we don’t have to do the butt stuff; it’s not for everyone. And horny is what you feel when you want to have sex. You’re still confusing arousing with aroused with being horny.”

Starlight rolled her eyes and grinned.

“Whatever, but do you really think the other ponies don’t know what sex is? I think I was so isolated and focused on studying magic that I was never exposed to it. I certainly never had anypony talk to me about it.”

That was possible, but Chris thought he had the perfect idea.

"Maybe we can ask Nurse Redheart?"

Starlight replied in a cutesy voice, "You're so smart, Chris. I guess you're lucky she likes you so much."

Suddenly, Chris remembered just how much she did like him.

"Uhh… shit. What if she really, really likes me?"

Starlight giggled at the thought of Chris hooking up with his nurse so easily. After the mental imagery ran through her head, she realized that he might be right and glared down at him.

"You better not have sex with her before me."

"What?" Chris squeaked.

Starlight poked him in the chest, not mocking her disappointed anger at the thought of him having sex with another mare before her.

"You heard me. We have a thing, all of us. She's super nice and all, but Prim Posy and Cheerilee haven't even had the chance to go on a date with you yet, let alone kiss you."

Chris thought he was losing his mind.

"Again… What?"

For a moment, Starlight almost looked like she was going to berate him. Instead, she averted her eyes up, looked away with her hoof raised to her chin, and looked like she was ignoring him, contemplating hard on something.

“I wonder if knowing about this would get Berry Punch interested in dating you again.”

“Triple what?” Chris said, losing his erection.

Somehow Chris starting to go soft got her attention again.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. Berry Punch said something about wanting a more traditional pony stallion as a father for her foal or something.”

As she thought about it again, her concerns were replaced with a curious smile.

“But that was before any of us knew about this… Although, if Nurse Redheart took her spot? She really did enjoy that rub down you—"

She stopped and realized now what Nurse Redheart's reaction to Chris probably was.

"Well, ain't that a sum bitch. I think she does want to fuck you."

Chris double-facepalmed and groaned.

"Yeah, probably. That's why I stopped."

Again, Starlight went back to her cutesy voice.

"And I'm so glad you did."

Chris didn't find it cute and said nothing. He just laid there with his hands over his eyes.

Starlight wasn't sure why, but she knew she wasn't approaching this the way he wanted her to, but she didn’t know what else to think.

"Chris? I'm sorry. I'm… very confused about what to do and how to feel about all this right now."

Chris pulled back his hands to see a nervously sad, yet inappropriately happy Starlight fiddling with her hooves.

"I wanted to spend some time with you tonight because I was worried that maybe things didn't go as you had hoped with Derpy. Then you said all you got was a kiss, and you like kisses, and being close...”

She grinned mischievously.

“And also the other things Cream Heart and I did with you. So, I wanted to give you some more of that… and I also really wanted some of that for myself because, obviously, I like it. But then…” Her grin softened into a much more loving smile, and there was a whole other glow about her. “You gave me something more."

This only made Chris want to apologize all over again.

"I was weak and took advantage of you."

Starlight smiled humbly and closed her eyes as she shook her head gently while she continued to explain.

"I wanted it, Chris. I may not have known what it was, but something in me was telling me what to do. It was my ignorance and insecurities that stopped me from discovering it on my own."

She giggled briefly and shined a loving look in his eyes.

"And your pants got in the way, too."

Chris chuckled, finally feeling like this wasn't some horrific act he had committed. Not if she could joke about it.

Starlight lowered her hooves down to Chris's chest. She gently traced them over his skin just to explore him a bit more, taking in all the wonders his body offered before letting them come to a rest. With all this new information, she quickly tried to put together a plan for them.

"I know you said sex is something to be shared between two people when they love each other and want to have a relationship. For ponies, though, it's only for starting a family… But if what you said is true, and that can't happen between us, then what we're doing has to be something completely different. We're not in love with each other, in a committed relationship, and we can't make a family because our DNA doesn't match."

Chris sighed and ran his fingers over her forelegs, still fighting with his desires against his morals.

"That's what I was raised to believe what sex supposed was to be. But really, for humans, it can be between anyone who wants to have sex. Multiple partners can be had with no attachments or lasting relationships. That's what Kelly and Sniff did back on Earth."

Starlight shifted and tilted her head.

"So, that story you told me about Sniff dating those two girls at the bar?"

Chris drummed his fingers gently over her fur and cocked a goofy grin.

"Yea, he took the second girl home and had sex with her. Then went over to the first girl's place and fucked her too."

"Chris," Starlight spoke gently and laid herself down on his chest again to nuzzle close to him. "I've never fantasized about sex. And even now, though it does make me feel closer to you, I don't think it should be something you only do with one pony for the rest of your life. Not if it doesn't mean you're starting a family.”

She shifted uncomfortably on his lap. Not from what she felt between her legs, but from the thoughts she was fighting against.

“But I also already know I'm going to be jealous if you start doing things with other mares that you wouldn't want to do with me. And I really, really do want to be your first. But if you want me to be your only partner, I still don't know if that's what I would want for you. I might not be the one for you or be able to make this work, and you could end up missing out on what would make you happy with somepony else."

Chris still didn't know how to feel about her indecisiveness.

"Is it because I'm human?"

"No," Starlight laughingly protested before lowering herself for another short kiss. "I don't know what I really want yet. I treated you so badly when I first met you, and then I complicated things by introducing you to all the other girls."

"Starlight," Chris quietly called her name to stop her from repeating herself.

The sentiment was noticed, but Starlight only held him closer, not wanting him to talk her out of what she felt.

"As odd as it sounds, I like seeing how happy you are. And I like seeing the other girls happy, too. We all get together and talk about you and gossip about so many of the great things about you. You have fun with them, too, don’t you?"

It was about time for Chris to call a spade a spade.

"Glimmy, you're a terrible enabler."

Starlight giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Or maybe I just want to see you happy."

"Is that all?" Chris asked, trying to be cute.

Starlight's ear started to twitch and flap back and forth.

"That and have a lot of sex while I have you here."

"Oh, my God," Chris exclaimed as he reached back and pulled Starlight's legs up, spreading them apart over his hips to put her in position. "I've created a monster."

Swift Sails was watching Sniff lean on the balcony overlooking Ponyville.

"Peter? Are you sure you're okay? You don't have to be afraid to tell me if anypony threatened you. Just tell me who they are, and I'll rough 'em up for ya."

There was no way for Sniff to know if that was a joke or not but he had to assume it was her sense of humor.

"I'm fine. No pony threatened me, and I'm not in any danger. So please, don't go out looking to start a fight on my behalf."

This wasn't what he thought his life was going to be like, not while stuck here. So much in this world was illogically stupid. He didn't know the ponies that attacked Kelly at the Apple family property, but they were capable of great cruelty. However, there were others like Oven Fresh that were the epitome of innocence. Of course, there were the oddballs like Mayor Mare that were lusting after him hard. Then again, if they really were humans in different bodies, they would have to cover the gambit of different personalities.

At least here in this town, they were all still especially kind and innocent. That is to say, until he screwed things up and poisoned them with his own foolish behavior. At least, that's how it was, as far as he was concerned.

Swift Sails cautiously approached Peter’s side and brought her forehooves over the ledge to share the view with him.

“For such a nice view, you don’t look like you’re enjoying it.”

It was a nice view this late in the day, but not so late that the lavender-colored skies painted the town below in the darker shades of the night. The soft, warm glow of the few street lights and open windows cast an inviting glow of yellows and oranges against the streets, shops, or homes. Every inch of scenery from the rolling greens that melded into the Everfree Forest and the royally crafted heavens above were beautiful. Even the cooling air was pleasant, and felt soft wafting over his face.

Sniff closed his eyes to hide the wonders he questioned being a part of any longer.

"It's too good."

Swift Sails turned her head here and there and searched for the parts that were ruining the scenery.

"Looks just fine to me. Now come wintertime when the sun starts to set, that's a sight that's too good to be true."

Sniff opened his eyes and tried to imagine such a sight, but that was overlooking his real problem.

"Too good for me, I mean. I'm starting to think maybe I'm not as good of a fit here as I thought."

That didn't sound right at all to this particular Solar Guard.

"Nah, I think you're a good fit. These ponies are really nice out here. A lot nicer than a lot of ponies I have to deal with back in Canterlot. You're lucky you ended up here and not all the way out there."

With a low hum under his voice, Sniff asked, "Why's that?"

Swift Sails looked to Sniff with a soft smile, then pointed down near the center of town.

“You see the town down there. It's full of ponies that want to meet with you and talk to you. They want to set up an appointment just to be around you. There's even ponies down there that want to invite you over for dinner for crying out loud."

She turned and pointed to the mountainside off in the distance where Canterlot could be seen.

"Over there, excluding most of the working class ponies, they think the reason Canterlot is up so high is, so it's easier for them to look down on others."

Sniff took in the sight of the distant city and then looked back at Swift Sails.

"Is it really that bad up there?"

"Not all the time," She admitted. "I'm not from Canterlot. I was born and raised in Cloudsdale. Not that they don't have a bunch of elitists up there, but at least they think they're better because of the work they do. The elites in Canterlot think they're better than everypony else because of how many bits they have. They only pretend to like you if they think you can make them look better to other rich ponies or can help them make more bits."

Sniff wasn’t surprised and shrugged.

"I know the type. They're easy to work with," he scoffed. "A lot of them are easy to manipulate if you know how to feed their ego."

Swift Sails joined Sniff in leaning on the balcony again.

"Are there elitist human ponies where you come from?"

Sniff almost looked amused in answering this question.

"Oh, yeah. They think fortune and fame or power means that everyone either loves, fears, or respects them. But to manipulate them, all you really need to do is remind them of all things they're the most proud of themselves for. Then you pretend to hate the same things they do."

"That's it?" Swift Sails asked with all her doubt on full display.

Sniff bobbed his head side to side and folded his hands open, showing he had to concede some of it.

"Okay, that's not all you have to do. There is a lot that goes into it, and it usually takes time. But that's the basic concept."

Swift Sails hesitated for a moment before asking another question.

"Is Twilight like that? In private, I mean."

She shied back slightly as Sniff gave her an odd look.

"Forget I asked you that. I don't want Twilight upset with me if—"

"She's not," Sniff sharply cut her off. "And I won't tell her you asked me that… Not that I think she'd care or hold it against you. Twilight is the real deal, and if I had to guess, she probably shares your point of view of all of them back there… Otherwise, she wouldn't be so damn impressed with how nice I can be even though I come from a successful background."

"Peter," Swift Sails laid a hoof on Sniff's shoulder. "I know ponies, and there isn’t anypony or anything that’s too good for you down there. You're probably the nicest creature I've met.”

The look on her face told Sniff that everything she said was heartfelt and honest. He really did like this mare.

“Thanks.”

Swift Sails' eyes went dreamy, and her tongue worked its way out and over her lips.

“Nopony has ever brought me food while I was on duty. And that carrot cake was the best ever.”

That was the best left-turn from serious to goofy Sniff had heard since arriving here. As simple and innocent this kind of humor was, it still had him cracking up longer than he thought it should have. Eventually, he was able to collect himself and make peace with himself for the moment.

“Swifty... how do you go from being so cute and bubbly to the badass you were when you picked me up tonight?”

Swift Sails turned and leaned back against the rails, trying to think.

“Hold on, hold on. Ass means butt, but these words change on how you use them. So, if you said bad, but this is a compliment, then bad is good, and butt means… no. The ass would change, not the good. I mean bad.“

She started to tap her hoof on her head, trying to force the thoughts to come to her.

“Come on, think it out. Human Ponish slang for a bad butt that’s good.”

Sniff shifted to leaning his side against the railings and tried not to look like he was laughing at this guard's struggles to understand his curse words. Even if he was.

“Okay, I’mma help ya out here. Ass does mean butt, and the meaning of our curse words does change based on how we use them. In this case, it doesn’t mean anything related to a butt. Being a badass means you're tough, uncompromising, or intimidating. Someone who’s really hardcore. Like Cerb fighting Onyx Armor or Helix. Or Twilight blasting… uh... Tire-wreck? Whatever the Hey Kool-Aid Man looking dickhead with the horns name is.”

Swift Sails snickered.

“Hey Kool-Aid Man? Dickhead?“ She laughed for a moment, struggling to control herself. “You got to explain those to me, and I think you mean Tirek. He’s the only big and red criminal she would have blasted. Which is crazy, considering how strong he was. I didn’t even hurt him when he broke through our defenses at the castle.”

Sniff remembered what the beast looked like from the clip Chris showed him. So if the ponies could look as cute and beautiful as they did in real life compared to what their cartoon versions were, Tirek must look truly monstrous. And this pegasus was brave enough, or dumb enough, to try and fight him off?

“Hold up.” Sniff blurted out. “No offense, but seriously? You? You tried to fight that dude?”

“Yep,” Swift Sails proudly answered. “Swooped in and hit ‘em in the back of the knee on his right front leg to take him down.”

Now Sniff was really impressed.

“You took him down?”

Swift Sails threw her head back and laughed hysterically.

"Ha! Oh, not even close. I bounced off and spun out on the floor. He drained me of my power before I had a chance to get back to my hooves. But at least I was actually able to hit him once. Onyx and Thunder tried to fight him head-on and got stopped before they could even reach him. Helix got ambushed and never had a chance to even get a spell off. Most ponies never got the chance to fight back. I think only the Lunar Guard’s Senior Enlisted got a few hits in, so I’m one of the lucky ones, I guess. Even got promoted for it.”

Sniff was looking at this mare in a whole new light.

"Well, check you out. Fighting off giants and walking away from it."

"Ha!" Swift Sails was about to set him straight yet again. "No, I was down for the count. No one walked away after getting drained."

Sniff rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean, and thanks for cheering me up. I needed that." He looked over to the hot tub. "Hey, uh. Could you run down to my room and grab me two towels?"

Swift Sails turned and looked at the hot tub and then back to Sniff.

"Sure… but why two?"

Sniff gave her a funny look.

"Duh, you'll need one too when you get out, or are you not interested in taking a dip with me? You deserve it."

Apple Bloom was finally tucked into bed next to Sweetie Belle.

“Night, Granny.”

Sweetie Belle looked to be close to passing out.

“Good Night, Granny Smith.”

Granny was at the door and turned back, happy to see the two so comfortable and finally settled down for the night.

“Good night, you two. Now get some sleep. You got school in the morning, and I don’t want ya both dragging her hooves in ’tuh class and making Miss Cheerilee raise uh fuss.”

“We won’t,” the two fillies answered together just as Granny was closing the door and Sweetie Belle turned off the light.

After a couple of seconds, the hallway seemed quiet enough, Sweetie Belle turned the light back on and sat up.

"Scoots, the coast is clear."

The closet door opened up, and Scootalo flopped out onto the floor with a pillow and blanket.

"It's about time. I almost fell asleep in there waiting on ya both to get back."

Apple Bloom kicked off the covers and pulled out a large piece of paper from under the bed.

"Awe, quit yer bellyaching. I've already heard enough from Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle rolled over on the edge of the bed.

"It's not my fault your family can actually cook a decent meal. All Rarity does is order out or make one of her fancy diet meals. So, of course, I'm gonna pig out."

Apple Bloom started to roll out the paper.

"Yeah, yeah, now let's get down to business. Thanks to Shining Armor, we don't need to worry about fundraising for a while. However, since Rarity said we can't get involved with her and Mr. Cerberus, that means we can focus on Applejack and Lumberman."

Sweetie Belle looked down at the garbled mess of pictures attached with lines tracing out to each other and random notes.

“What about Sniff and Chris? They got at least over a dozen potential special someponies? Even Benny has a few that keep gushing about what a great dancer he was and stuff.”

Apple Bloom looked over the strings stretching out from the other three humans but then went back to focusing on Lumberman.

“Chris and Sniff always end up doing stuff with other ponies way too late at night for us to follow them, and Benny rarely ever goes out in town. Plus, it’s not like we had any luck in disguise. They know too much about the other ponies even outside of Ponyville, so we need a better backstory and a different disguise. Besides—” She dropped her hoof on Applejack’s picture. “—Lumberman and Applejack are a perfect match. They already have cute names for each other and are always hugging and flirt’n all the time. All we need to do is let them have more time together.”

Scootaloo moved next to Apple Bloom and looked over the paper.

“So, we’re not gonna try and set them up on a surprise date or convince them to ask the other out?”

Apple Bloom moved her hoof down to a note written on the paper that read ‘Dance kiss’ and said, “They’re already past that point. He should have asked her out before the dance. And they were so close after that special dance he had with sis at the end of the party. They just need a little more time together to realize just how much they love each other. Then they’ll be together forever, and I’ll have another big brother. After that, we can focus on Big Mac, finding his special somepony. We might even be able to make Kelly like him more than just a friend once she feels better and stops being so scared of other ponies.”

Sweetie Belle looked again at the paper.

“I don’t think she’s all that scared of other ponies, but she sure does cling to ole Big Mac a lot. And she did kiss him already, just like Lumberman did to Applejack. I still think she’s got a crush on the big lug.”

Scootaloo tapped on Big Mac’s picture.

“And you saw how lubby dubby he got when she kissed him. He’s got to still have a crush on her.”

Apple Bloom groaned, having her carefully drawn lines go to waste.

“Fine, that just means that it will be easier for us once we get done with AJ and Lumberman.”

Sweetie Belle used her horn to make Chris’s picture glow.

“I think we should focus on Chris next. Button Mash said his mom went out to the arcade and played a bunch of games with that guy. Button Mash even said his mom was so happy the next day and acting all bubbly and sappy like a pony in one of those role-playing games when they fall in love.”

Scootaloo pointed to Derpy’s picture.

“No way. You saw how Derpy and Chris looked when they danced together. And Dinky is our friend, plus she’s never even had a dad because Derpy never got married. Those two need Chris more than anypony else does.”

“Uh, girls,” Sweetie Belle illuminated many more pictures with her magic. “We got so many other mares to do research on to see what they got to offer. Then we can find out how compatible they are with Chris before we can settle on any one of them. But I do think Derpy is a better choice than Cream Heart.”

Scootaloo took another look at the paper.

"Are we gonna try to find out more about Sniff? I'm pretty sure he's dating Oven Fresh already, but for all the stuff he's buying for Twilight is more than what anypony would buy for just a friend."

Sweetie Belle remembered other observations.

"Don't forget about Mayor Mare. You both saw how goofy she was acting over meeting Sniff tonight. Or Aloe leaving work early to go and talk business with him at the castle. Plus, however many other ponies we saw walking back and forth to the castle looking for him."

Apple Bloom looked over the many ponies they identified as potential love interests and sighed.

"Yeah, with any luck, them other guys will be taken care of before we're done with Applejack."

Projections of the Equestrian world in different locations were displayed over swirls of prismatic lights. Celestia was seen in one projection looking over a large tome and was heard nibbling on a Nutty-Buddy Bar. Another vision showed Tirek writing a letter in his cage while the other beasts paced back and forth in their own with random snarls and roars to accompany them. Discord appeared to be working at a near-motionless pace with his doubles, repairing the dimensional strings. Twilight could be seen talking with Luna in the Castle of the two sisters, but the vision was faded, and their words were muted. Everywhere the humans were, a large circle of space just outside of Ponyville's rolling hills, as well as a small space out in the Palomine desert, all presented as black spots with no sound.

Countless other projections were spanning an infinite space, but only these few seemed to be given focus."

"My light grows darker still, blinding me from not only my ten saviors but all who become close to them. I did not believe the influence of the darkness could spread beyond its physical reach."

For a moment, the projection following Twilight grew less dim. Not so much that it was even remotely visible, but her senses noticed the flicker as clear as night and day.

"My light is pushing through but is still not strong enough. I can only hope that this is a sign that the human's power will be able to save this world. But something is still very wrong, and too much time has passed by. I must find Trixie."

The projection of Celestia moved closer to a densely constructed sphere of prismatic light.

"The mirrors have shifted, and the stress was too strong. The location can not be the same. To find him, I will have to search for him. Only one pony has performed this magic. I must find her."

Celestia was scribing more notes about the different math equations to reach her destination.

"There's only so many ways to traverse this much space. But none of them even come close to designating the same—"

Suddenly, like remembering the face of an old friend, she had a stroke of inspiration. Something became clear as her mind flashed to the broken mirror's shards, as silent thoughts echoed in her mind.

"The spirals left in the cracks, that must mean that… Yes. Of course. The mirror broke from the inside out! A shift in the dimensional planes could have—" Her epiphany suddenly became a tragedy. "—put him anywhere."

"To find him, I will have to search for him. Only one pony has performed this magic. I must find her."

Another epiphany dawned on Celestia, coming into her mind much stronger than the last time.

"I don't have to know where he is, I just need to know how to find him. I need—" Her eyes narrowed, remembering what started this whole ordeal, and her mind went to work. "Trixie..."

Kelly was closing her door as she backed into her room, parting ways with Becky.

"Night, hun." She closed the door and looked for the light switch to the room. "I gotta teach Luna and Mac to play euchre with me and Midnight."

A little drunker than she had planned on getting, the switch remained elusive. That was until the light from the lamp next to the bed filled the room. Accompanying the light, Luna's voice greeted her.

"Euchre? Another drinking game am I to presume?"

At the sound of Luna's voice, Kelly's night went from a seven to a ten.

"Moon Butt," she stage-whispered from the doorway and stumbled towards the bed. "I dint get to wu write you tunight. Buht you still came."

Luna was so pleased to see how happy Kelly was by the unannounced visit. However, the sight of her friend having so much difficulty walking made her rise from the bed.

"Kelly, my dear. Did I miss another after-party, or was this-whoa!"

She dashed forward just in time to catch Kelly tripping over her own feet, wrapping the drunkard in her up in her wing.

"My goodness, Kelly. Are you all right?

Kelly concluded that the worst was over after a brief revaluation, starting from the upright position to being held in Luna's wing.

"Em fine... Jus drank too much... I need tuh lay down."

With little help, Luna managed to escort Kelly to her bed and tuck her in just as they had been the night before.

"Kelly, sweetie. I know it's fun to have all those drinks you shared with us, but you must be careful if they put you in this condition. You could have really hurt yourself if you fell and I wasn't there to catch you."

"I know," Kelly groaned as she pulled herself closer into Luna's warmth. "I jus didn't want to be so sad and bored anymore. An I'm sorry, but we got Midnight drunk with us tonight."

Luna giggled, "Did you now?"

"Yeah," Kelly whined, now feeling embarrassed by it but at least started sobering up.

"Becky said we should play cards. I wanted to play Euchre, but you need four players, and Spike only three... I told Midnight playing with us was his duty. He likes Bacardi cuz it has a bat on the bottle... I'm sorry."

"No, no," Luna gently rubbed up and down Kelly's back as she consoled her. "I'll let it go this time if you teach me how to play your game when you come to visit. Deal?"

Kelly snorted a laugh, which turned into a hiccup.

"Yeah. I can do that... You're so nice to me. I shouldn't call you Moon Butt... I'm sorry."

Again Luna giggled.

"You say the silliest things when you're drunk, Kelly. Or should I say, Drip?"

Kelly giggled mischievously and rubbed her legs together before taking her top leg and sliding it between Luna's hind legs.

"I've been a little drippy all day."

Whatever Kelly was doing, Luna assumed it was a side effect of the alcohol, but also enjoyed the gesture.

Later, after a fair amount of time had gone by of the two silently holding each other and Kelly was tracing her hands over Luna's sides, the late night had turned to the new day. Sadly, Luna knew this wasn't going to last. Not just until Kelly fell asleep, not likely in any night to come thereafter as a repeat either.

"It's almost a shame Big Mac is going to be the one keeping your company at night if I understand that is your arrangement with him. Being your guardian and sponsor while you are here with us."

Kelly thought about that for a moment. Given how drunk she was, she knew she was taking things too far with Luna again. Even if Luna didn't realize it, nor anypony else yet, but she was weak and lonely. She needed this comfort and the familiarity it brought back to her.

In fact, there were many nights she'd rather share her bed with a woman than a man, but this was so drastically different. Then again, she had been so overly drawn towards and attracted to Big Mac since he saved her. She still didn't even understand her own mind's position with him. She knew she loved the person he was under the equine exterior, but even her desire for him from the start seemed to dwarf her disgust.

With Luna, though, it seemed different. She had no sexual attraction to her. Not to say that if her anatomy was anything like Pinkie's or the few others she'd seen in passing, they were passable. Somehow, they didn't appear any different from those she's enjoyed on her many lady lovers of the past. How and why would that be the one thing that matched between them, she had no idea why she singled that out.

Still, she didn't see Luna like that. It was more of an emotional connection that she was drawn to.

Just like Mac, she loved the kind of person this princess was on the inside. At most, she could say that Luna's body and fur reminded her much of how it felt while with Big Mac. That should have been it, and yet, something about this now made Kelly feel terrible inside.

"It is a shame... I feel like I'm doing to you what I hated so many others for doing to me."

Part of Luna felt like it was true, that she was chasing after Kelly for comfort, and by either the setting of the moon or Big Mac's return, she'd have to let go.

"You're catch-22, I have not forgotten... though, perhaps, this is a skeleton I would want to have in my closet. At least then, when I look inside, I can remember a time that I did not feel so alone.” She pulled Kelly in a little closer, trying to convey the affection she felt for her best human friend. “That there was warmth with the company who would keep me."

Luna felt something change as she held Kelly. The warm softness of Kelly's touch felt colder, dull, and the comfort felt more hollow. Then she heard what sounded like sobbing and sniffs from Kelly.

Kelly gripped a handful of Luna's ethereal mane tightly and curled her face into the princess's long neck.

"I'm so sorry I can't be with you, Luna. I don't want to be your skeleton. You shouldn't have me as your regret. I don't want to do that to you."

Luna could feel the tears soaking into her fur as Kelly continued to weep. Not wanting to cause this response, she pulled Kelly closer, wrapping her in her wings.

"No, Kelly." She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. "I will not regret this. Tis' a memory I will look back upon fondly. We have shared three wonderful nights together, and I have experienced so much. I will cherish thee, dear Kelly. You have won me over so thoroughly, and did so without thine lips—"

If Luna had been secretly wishing for it, her wish was granted, and she opened her eyes to see Kelly face to face, giving her the kiss Big Mac failed to return. Even if the thoughts were merely that of familiar flights of fancy, what did it change? She saw Kelly no differently than a mare she had never turned an eye to... but all the warmth and softness returned and complicated things.

Despite Kelly being both human and a female, the kiss was beautiful. Having a kindred spirit sharing their affection like this warmed her heart in all the ways she had long since forgotten she ever imagined it could have been like.

She closed her eyes and returned the affection by pressing her lips to Kelly's.

This reminded Kelly far too much of what she wanted from Big Mac, and parted from the kiss, only to return burying her face in Luna's neck. She breathed in the rich, creamy scent of lavender from Luna. She remembered how much she enjoyed the subtle softness of a woman’s lips and how easily she was tempted by them.

Too easily...

"I don't know if I made this better or worse for you, but if you're going to put my skeleton in your closet, it better be a damn good skeleton."

Luna's heart pulsed with a sense of fulfillment she'd only read about in fairy tales, and she wrapped as much of herself around Kelly as she could.

"It is, Kelly. Thank you... and I hope this isn't another you will have to add to yours."

Kelly tried to laugh through the few sobs she had fought through before she could answer.

"I got a pretty big fucking closet. I can deal."

A shadowy figure grabbed in a long brown cloak had just finished unpacking supplies and a small tent for one. A loaf of bread, some small bottles with different colored liquids, and a few bundles of tightly bound herbs were laid out next to a staff a safe distance away from a small fire.

The shadowy figure yawned and laid itself close to between the fire and the tent. The cloaked figure reached a black hoof out for the bread but stopped as the sound of bushes and underbrush being disturbed could be heard, growing louder.

Moving as silent as the wind and motions as fluid as shea butter, the shadowy figure returned all the assorted items into a bag and slid it silently over her back. Grabbing the staff, a small cloth was lifted, pouring a pile of dirt into the fire.

A low hiss died out with the smothering of the flame and coals, leaving no smoke behind.

Again, the rustling of something running through the leaves and snapping twigs alerted of impending danger.

The shadowy figure took hold of the staff and stood tall on their back legs, and a deep feminine voice called out into the darkness.

“I mean you no trouble, I’m only passing through. Let me leave in peace, and I will do the same for you.”

Welp... Chris done stepped in it, dick first. Kinda funny to see that even in another version of Equestria, Chris was doing the same damn thing. Only there it was Trixie who was hungry for him.

Although, unlike a lot of 'Fix it' fics, or whatever they're called, it would have been interesting to see how things turned out if Starlight got taken down in the first encounter. Although there was a lot different about these versions of humans, even their pairings seemed off.

Although... Trixie might have just come across some words that were no longer so voiceless.

Then Twilight getting one up on Luna, which must have been fun for her.

Going back to Starlight and Chris, it looks like she's only wanting to dial things up a notch and spread the wealth of knowledge. Almost like she has no intention of changing course, only the speed of which she takes everyone along with her. At least Chris can rest assured that getting what he wants means giving her what she wants. After all, he created a monster in bed.

Then there's Sniff... the poor guy, not knowing what to do and getting down on himself for it. At least he had Swifty there to cheer him up.

After seeing how good those two get along, it makes you wonder if they'll be a possible combo on the CMC's list.

Next, away with Celestia, it appears Harmony is still pulling some strings.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

That's right, I jammed a shit load of content in this chapter. Kelly is no better than Sniff it seems like. Drunk or not, she's got some issues if she's so easily tempted. Then again, if Luna decides Kelly would be better off with her... that could be a whole other set of issues.

Finally, last but not least, we have located a hoofed, rhyming, female deep in the Everfree Forest. Although, she is not alone...

What lurks in the darkness to put this mysterious mare on edge?

Find out in the what dangers lurk ahead in the next installment, Chapter 61. Dreams That Foreshadow and Other Shadows Too.