The next morning came fast for Sniff. He woke to Oven Fresh sitting on his lap with an apologetic smile on her face and her clothing removed.

"Morning?"

Oven Fresh held a bashful look about her as she sat upon his lap, her left ear twitching.

“Good morning, and I’m sorry for waking you like this but… I think I have it figured out.”

Sniff cocked an eyebrow, unaware of what it was she might be referring to.

“Okay?”

Oven Fresh leaned forward and brought her forehooves to rest on Sniff’s chest.

“How I’m supposed to save you,” she cheerfully answered. “I was thinking about what you told me last night when I woke up a little bit ago. The way I see it, all of your friends weren’t just pursuing what they needed to fix about themselves, they were using their special talents to help others. Cerb is a fighter, and he fought off Timberwolves like an alicorn. Benny is also a warrior, and he not only decimated waves of Timberwolves, he oversaw Twilight’s entire operation out there. Chris apparently knows ponies and has been helping all of you get to know every pony here. And I guess it’s the same for all of the rest of your friends. But you… you have a very special talent.”

Again, Sniff knew where this was going and wanted to shoot himself for it.

“Yes, I’m good at sex, I know. I just—”

“No,” Oven Fresh giggled. “I mean, yes, you’re very good at that. But, you understand ponies and their problems. You know how to make them happy. How to find their strengths and guide them on their path. You said you saved Twilight, but I’m guessing that wasn’t in combat, right?”

Sniff blinked a few times, the pieces slowly starting to come together.

“No… she was… wow…. you’re right. She needed guidance and for someone to put things in perspective for her. I’ve also been helping Spike and… yeah, I see where you’re going with this.”

Oven Fresh grinned and playfully kneaded her hooves into Sniff’s chest.

“See?! And again, you are also really good at sex. In fact, and I need you to hear me out on this! …There are so many lonely mares all over Equestria—”

“Ovens,” Sniff spoke up, trying to stress his point again but didn’t sound very confident in it despite knowing exactly what the mare was going to suggest.

“Peter,” Oven Fresh lowered herself onto Sniff’s chest, getting face to face with him. “You want sex. You want to help ponies. You find the best in them and give them confidence and encouragement. So, maybe that’s what you’re supposed to do here? Not just to have sex with all of them, but find the lonely ones and give them the confidence to find the special somepony they’re supposed to be with.”

Sniff thought about that and readjusted his morning wood, currently getting squished under his new, and quite soft, caretaker.

“That doesn’t sound much different than what I was doing back on Earth.”

Oven Fresh excitedly drummed her hooves on Sniff’s shoulders as her ears snapped back and forth a few times.

“And you’re so good at it. Look at me. I was just a simple baker, biding my time, focusing on my sales, waiting for the right stallion to notice me. But then in walks this tall, dark, and handsome new human stallion.“

She gave him a quick kiss on the lips, being nothing but adorable.

“That’s you, by the way. And you gave me the courage to get myself out there and actually try finding my special somepony instead of just hoping they would find me. And, while sure, you might only be here for a short time, I know that when you leave, I’m going to miss you terribly. However, I also know I’m not going to just go back to my boring old life of waking up, baking bread, and spending the rest of my days and nights upstairs alone. I’m going to get out there and find the stallion that will respect and compliment me the same way you do…”

Oven paused, quietly wrapping her forelegs around Sniff’s chest, “You’re already doing what you need to. You’re just afraid to do more because we’re not what you’re used to.”

Sniff thought about that for a moment, trying to wrap his head around such a notion.

“When did you get to be so smart that you figured this all out?”

Oven Fresh giggled flirtatiously and then leaned in to kiss him again like she was searching for more of his bourbon, ending shortly with a soft moan as she pulled away.

“I’ve always been smart. My mother really pushed me to learn more than just baking with my dad. She thought I should have a second set of skills, especially since baking can get pretty competitive around here.

Her expression soured some, remembering what shadows were cast over her foalhood.

“She trained me to be a soldier like her, and even sent some of her friends to help for a few years. I think for a while, she secretly wanted me to join the Solar Guard so I could follow in her hoofsteps. Sure, it was fun, but my heart was stuck in the kitchen… not that she ever understood that.”

Sniff smiled and nodded, wanting to stay focused on the positives to keep this mare happy.

“Well, her lessons paid off… but couldn’t this have waited? The sun’s not even up yet. And I was having a pretty nice dream right before you woke me up.”

Oven Fresh’s bashful smile returned as she went back to cuddling him.

“Yeah, I kinda figured that since you were moaning and—“ She sported a cocky smile. “—did you know your clover scent gets a lot stronger when you’re aroused?”

Sniff tried to make sense of that but then realized something he had noticed before, though never paid any mind to.

“You know, I’ve noticed you have a scent of your own. Not just you, in fact, but quite a few mares have, not exactly the same scent, but it’s very familiar with its… It’s kinda hard to put into words. It’s like, tangy but also sweet, and there’s something else to it. It’s really nice, actually.”

Oven Fresh traced her hoof up and down Sniff's side and over his chest, looking as seductive as possible.

“I’m glad you like it. I don’t know what it is, but I do know what you’re talking about. Aaaaand, also… the other reason I woke you up is—"

"You're horny," Sniff bluntly answered for her.

Oven Fresh shot her legs out around Sniff and went nose to nose with him flashing a wicked, borderline psychotic smile.

“I want you to rut me!”

Chris was woken up by the covers being pulled away from him and his entire body being rolled over onto his back.

“Hu-wuh?! Hey! What’s—”

“Shhh,” Starlight hushed him. “Everypony should still be asleep.”

Chris's eyes adjusted to the soft blue hue of the pre-dawn sky that dimly lit the room. As his eyes adjusted, he realized the other blue haze in his vision was coming from Starlight’s horn as she quietly positioned him.

“What’s going on? What are you doing?”

Starlight crawled up and sat on Chris’s chest, and looked down at him with a stern and determined expression.

“We went to bed early. We have now woken up early. You have an erection that was rubbing up against me for the last twenty minutes and driving me crazy. So I’m going to put it to good use and knock something off our bucket list.”

She stood up again and started backing up with a hungry smile. That sweet and tart perfume scent grew stronger as her tail snapped side to side.

“I figured we should have at least an hour until anypony starts getting up and walking around. So we have plenty of time to start exploring new and more adventurous ways to—”

Chris, given his prior legal background, had to question the ethics, if not the morality and legality of her actions.

“I’m not against fooling around in the mornings, but shouldn’t we at least discuss—”

“Chris,” Starlight reluctantly protested and plopped her seat down on his lap, ending whatever protest he may have wanted to start. "I am very sorry if I come off as pushy—"

She, not so discreetly, slid his cock between the wet folds she had been dealing with for the last twenty minutes, deepening her bewitching smile.

"—or maybe a little needy."

She started to grind against him. Every inch of his stiffness she felt made her contemplate just shoving it inside and fucking him like that instead. All the while, Chris did his best not to make a sound and compose his thoughts to offer a reply. Not that she was letting up on her pining for his affection.

"And I don't mean to be. It's just that—"

She leaned back and pulled her tail in to massage his balls. The slick fluids that she had been trying to hold in with the bare section of her tail now coating every part of him it touched.

"—I need your help dealing with these new urges. It's hard to think straight, or even control myself when I get like this. I might have actually pushed myself to the point of near magic exhaustion yesterday because all I could think about was coming back and spending more time with you."

She gave a long slow grind down his shaft. Her desire of convincing Chris into feeding her wants cracking under the impulse to lift his cock and slam it in as hard as she could, causing her ears to twitch.

She would only give Chris one or two more chances. Starting with an evil guilt trip.

"And I know you said this was something we could do... but if you changed your mind and you think you'd rather have somepony else be your first and we should wait until you find some other pony—”

“Oh, my God,” Chris groaned, his sense of self-restraint having been well and truly worn down. “You made your point. I’m just as horny as you are now, so please fuck me or suck me. I don’t care which one, so long as you stop teasing me like this… and you’re still a little bit of a villain for being this evil to me.”

Starlight grinned deviously, finally getting what she wanted.

“Oh, I’m not being evil, Chris. I’m—“ Some lack of forethought finally hit. “—I’m dripping wet and totally sitting on your cock right now.”

Chris shyly grinned, letting how horny he was push his perversions to be known.

“I mean… I’m not gonna stop you if you…”

Starlight slid back enough to see the mess she made over his crotch, then back to him.

“That wouldn’t gross you out? And yes, I know. I’m still learning all of this, but… you seem to like this stuff and want to return the favor on me, but I’d be—”

“I think it’s incredibly hot and I will go out of my way to fuck any pony you pick out for me if you do it.” Chris spoke without shame, finally embracing his perverse desires.

Had this request been made the first couple of days they knew each other, or even before they had sex, she would have been disgusted and likely considered parting ways with him. However… sex with him was too good to give up, and she wanted to experience it all.

It was safe to say she was craving the chance to try something new with him. Not only that, she had been searching for a way to motivate him to branch out and pursue a mare other than her. That, and as Chris had explained it to her before…

Chris raised his hand to show her the strands of fluid she was so confused over.

"I assure you, it's not pee and you're not melting.”

This was a lot harder for Chris to continue explaining the more specific he attempted to be.

“Look… think of it as saliva. When you're aroused, your body is going to start producing this viscous fluid to help with lubrication for intercourse. Or as we did earlier, just rubbing against each other. It's not much different than when you get hungry and think of something you really want to eat, you start to salivate or drool."

Starlight looked at his fingers and the gooey fluid that clung to them.

"Is that what your… Why do you call it a cock? What's wrong with penis?"

Chris rolled his eyes.

"I don't really know. People don't like using the technical names when talking casually. Cock, dick, wood, boner, hardon… Pussy or snatch for a vagina… or vag. But no, what came out of me was semen. That's what can get a woman pregnant if I cum in her. Not you, though. If everything I know has been accurate so far, it would take some kind of magic spell to make that happen. And this isn't the version of Equestria that knows enough about sex to ever invest any time or resources into any spells for reproduction."

This was still all Greek to her. He might as well have been speaking in binary.

Chris sighed and decided to move on to another and less awkward subject.

"Anyway… it's nothing bad. One thing lovers do, that girls love, is oral. So instead of rubbing against each other or fucking, they'll use their mouths and tongues to make each other cum.

Starlight looked again at Chris's fingers.

"Okay. I'll buy that it feels good. It sounds like it would feel good, but does it taste good?"

With no experience to give, Chris bit the bullet and took one of his fingers for a taste drive.

Starlight reacted too late and pulled the finger out of Chris's mouth.

"Oh, my gosh you—" She stared at Chris's lack of a reaction curl to a shameful grin. "—Is it… gross?"

Chris did a half-shrug.

"I tasted more of my finger than you, but what I did taste was nice, not really sweet or… Look. I probably won't know what it really tastes like until I get a taste from the source."

Starlight crossed her legs, looking both worried but also a little enticed.

"You would want to lick my vaaaugh-pussy?"

Chris wanted to help her understand more of the whys and hows, but opted just to be honest.

"About as much as I want to kiss you."

Starlight gave a passive smile and rolled her eyes.

"I'll let the girls know what's going on and get their opinions."

"Tell the girls?" Chris repeated her announcement, partially mortified at the potential fallout, but was silenced by the liquid silk that fell around his member.

Her mouth didn't hold him with the vice grip her pussy did. Rather, it slipped inside like a velvet sleeve infused with heated oil. Then, when she was suckling his cock, instead of trying to suck it dry and bob her head, akin to a headbanger at a metal concert, she made it a soft, yet heavenly experience.

The sight of her alone was beautiful. Her eyes were closed and all her features were relaxed. She looked as if she was lost in the delights of some decadent dish that enveloped all her senses and focus. Even the subtle glisten from her own juices on her lips was more erotic than he could have imagined.

Slowly, she would work her tongue up his shaft and grind against the head of his cock. Then, every so often, she hugged a little stronger around his member to swallow the salivation building up.

Every time she would pull her tongue up, Chris rolled his head back and fought the urge to cum so abruptly.

A moment too soon, Starlight slowly pulled her head up, sucking harder than before on the tip and ending with a kiss.

"Okay, so I may have been wrong about the taste." She continued to stare at his cock, now held in her forehooves. "I can see why you wanted to lick my pussy so bad. But even if I hadn’t got you covered in my stuff first, I kinda like this. And eating me out sounds painful. Let’s call it licking me out instead."

After a moment of silence passed with no reply while she was still staring at his cock, she looked up to Chris and the exhaustion on his face. Not sure if she had properly understood how to do this from their discussion earlier, she meekly asked him, "Am I doing it right?"

Chris struggled to find his words, mainly thanks to only managing a word or two in between breaths.

"Better… better than… I'm trying so hard not to cum too fast."

"What?" Starlight asked with an amused grin. "Don't you hold out on me. As soon as you cum you're licking me out. And I'm curious if you taste as good as I do."

Her face contorted slightly as her mind finally caught up with her mouth.

"Is that weird to say?"

Chris brought his hands up to his head, feeling the pains Starlight must have been dealing with before waking him.

"No, and knowing that is probably going to make me cum faster. Just keep doing what you were doing, and I won't last long. Just… fuck. I dunno what I'll owe you that’s more than what I said, but holy shit, please finish me off, and you get it."

Starlight grinned devilishly and giggled.

"Oh, I'll think of something."

Anxious to have her turn and all these new favors she was earning, Starlight immediately devoured his cock again. Like before, with her suckling and stroking his cock with her tongue, she was delicate and patient with her oral care.

Without warning, she got a taste of something that lit up her senses and only increased her drive to make him cum.

With the sudden jump in stimulation, Chris was at his breaking point. He wanted to make this last longer, but what she was doing was too much to handle.

"Faster," Chris pleaded. "I'm-Uh. Fffffuck. Sta—"

The request came about as fast as Chris did, and Starlight was gifted with a mouthful of what she’d been waiting for.

For this ill-prepared unicorn, it wasn't the taste that hit the back of her throat as much as it was the feeling of drunkenness and ecstasy that made her fall in love with his heated eruption.

She felt oddly intoxicated again, but this was something different. It was more than a pleasure to taste or the feeling inside warming her to near-uncomfortable levels. There was something else that made her crave it, and she swallowed his seed greedily.

Not content with the first load, she continued to suckle, finding little to extract, and she was left wanting more. It left her thirsting for it like she had needed sex the morning prior. It was a desire she wasn’t going to be denied, and she was going to have it again now that she had Chris in a position he couldn't resist her from.

Quickly hooking her forehooves around Chris's legs and repositioning her mouth, she began to suck even harder.

"Star," Chris whispered her name as he came down from his climax, reaching for her. "I came-ya gotta stop."

Sadly for Chris, she ignored his call and increased her attempts to earn herself another taste, thinking she could repeat the process more efficiently.

Increasing her pace and paying no mind to the grunts or twitches from Chris's limbs around her, she gave a low sweet melody of a moan. She had lost much of the taste of herself, so she pressed her lips tighter and drew him in deeper despite his hushed groans and gasps...

Knock. Knock.

Becky's voice called through the door, "Chris? Is this your room? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Chris reflexively pulled his head up and quickly attempted to ward Starlight off with a whisper. His previous lust-filled high immediately came crashing down.

"Let go of my dick. We'll pick this up later."

In a fit of panic, Starlight pulled her muzzle up before Becky had finished her question and had rolled off the bed after hearing Chris's last demand.

"You owe me more now, you son of a bitch," she whispered loudly before stepping back into a closet and disappearing in a dim flash of light.

Having to ignore the threat, Chris quickly answered the door from his bed, "Yeah, but hold on a sec. Let me get dressed."

Thankfully, getting his clothes on was easy. Or at least it would have been if not for the fact his crotch was still slathered with three different bodily fluids, only one of which was his. That, and he was still recovering from Starlight's refusal to release him from their first shared blow job experience.

…really needed to do that again. Just without the refusal to stop when asked.

…maybe.

After finding his pants and slipping on a shirt, Chris opened his door and greeted Becky.

"Hey? What's up? Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Becky replied, looking to be a bit taken back for a moment, but continued, "Sorry, I keep smelling this weird fucking perfume shit every once in a while. Never mind that, though. Spike's trying to do some fancy breakfast for us again. Figured we should help out this time, but you and me are the only able bodies at the moment. At least until we find Starlight. Figured she'd be with you. Been looking around the last twenty minutes or so for her."

Chris’s eyes quickly looked around his room. Quietly hoping that Starlight hadn’t decided to pop back in for some crazy reason.

"She was hanging out with me last night after everything went down. But she was pretty exhausted after the fight and having to jump around for AJ and Redheart. She must have woken up before me, I guess. I know she's been working on something special for us, so maybe she's out—”

He was overselling his ignorance/innocence and really needed to stop talking. Heaven forbid Becky ever learned what horny pony pussy smelt like.

“Yeah… no idea. But let me jump in the shower and wake up a little more; then I’ll meet you downstairs."

Becky peeked inside the room for a moment but then sighed when she saw no sign of Starlight.

"Well, she wasn't in the study or her room, so maybe she had to go take care of something like Twilight had to this morning."

The sound of flapping wings preceded Rainbow Dash's voice.

"No luck, Becks. Looks like it's just the three of us right now if you found Chris… and why didn’t Sniff crash here for the night anyway?"

Becky grumbled, seemingly struggling to hold back something she wanted to say.

"Sniff has a lot of bad habits, much like the rest of us. But, since we're not home, I'm guessing this is him trying to keep away from things he can't fix or help with. Love him to death for all he's good at, but after everything that happened yesterday, what everyone needs isn't something he can give. So…"

Her posture quickly fell into a slump, regretting where her mind went first. Old habits or not, it wasn’t even funny enough to make a joke about.

"Just like Kelly, he’ll come back when he’s good and ready.“ She looked at Chris, who seemed to wear the same look of concern she did. “It’s no big rush, but I’m sure Spike would appreciate at least one of you guys around to look up to. Maybe think of some Man Things you could teach him.”

Chris looked down at the floor, knowing how hard of a time the young drake was having even before last night.

“Yeah, I'll be down in a bit. I'm sure we can put together something for everyone to take their minds off from everything."

Not much time after Chris closed the door, Rainbow Dash followed Becky down the hall, a look of suspicion on her face.

"Hey, Becky? I know we joke about it every once and a while, but the whole ‘Who is going to be first?’ Why didn't you pick Chris? Because maybe you can't smell it, but whatever that new perfume Starlight started to wear is, it was all over Chris and his room. I could smell it over that champagne smell he has."

Becky snorted with a laugh that fell into a small coughing fit.

"No, I said Fluttershy would—" She braced herself and waited for the fit to pass. "That bet was who Cerb would end up with, not who the first between any of us was."

As they both made it to the stairs, Rainbow Dash had another question come to mind.

"Hey… You don't think any of them ever would, do ya?"

Becky shot her rainbow-haired friend a curious look.

"Is this because you saw Cerb naked?"

Ponyville’s fastest flyer immediately jumped at the accusation.

“No way!" She started to blush "Not that I—"

Smirking, Becky gave Rainbow Dash a teasing poke in the side.

"You're blushing and can't get a lie past me. Certainly, not one that poorly hidden."

Rainbow Dash groaned in embarrassment.

"I can't help it. He's so cool. And he saved...well, I don't know if he saved my life, but he got me out from under that Timberwolf—and not like that, so don't even make that joke,” she quickly and wisely snapped at her visibly smirking friend.

That would have been a great joke, and Rainbow Dash probably would have even laughed at it. However, she knew denying the accusation would only lead to more teasing.

“But he does look really good under those clothes… Why aren't you trying to win him over so you can have a boyfriend?"

Becky sighed, regretting even making that joke at Rainbow Dash. She didn’t want a question like this falling back on her.

"Cerb doesn't see me like that. I'm not his type. He sees me more as a sister, anyway. Kelly had a better chance than I ever would, and I'm pretty sure she torched that bridge a long time ago. So, he's all yours."

Rainbow Dash blew raspberries.

"Pfft. Yeah right. I already fought with Starlight over just talking to Chris for you. You think I'm gonna take on both Fluttershy and Rarity after what I saw they could do?" She huffed. "I may be fast enough to chance it, but I definitely ain't stupid enough to try."

The two shared a slight chuckle at the plausible deniability of what Rainbow Dash really wanted. Although, that did bring up another thought.

“Twenty bits says Sniff doesn’t get any before Chris.”

Becky rolled her eyes but then figured there was no harm in such a stupid bet and reached out to shake on it.

“Fucking, bet.”

Rainbow Dash was laughing as she shook hoove to hand.

“Literally, and I should have bet a hundred bits. I’d be the back-to-back hundred-bit betting champ.”

Nestled in, safe and warm under the confines of his covers, Cerb started to wake. More than just his covers, he was cocooned between two bodies yet again.

Even though the light was faint, he could tell that it was Rarity he found himself wrapped around, chest to chest with. Which meant that it had to be Fluttershy lying on top of him with her lips pressing against his neck.

Together, there was such a sweet smell about them, along with the heat they shared, altogether making sleeping a more soothing experience. That could have been the reason they never woke while crawling all over each other. They were all in such a deep sleep that they couldn’t wake up.

Not that this seemed to matter to Cerb anymore. He was beginning to accept the fact that he enjoyed it, learning to embrace however close they wanted to be with him.

And if his fears made him vulnerable or weak, he wasn’t going to let the fears he had about what they wanted control him.

So, if he was no longer afraid to accept how good it felt to have Rarity pressed against him or how their interlocking legs were stuck like this until Fluttershy moved her back leg out from between them, he was safe.

Although… he should probably pull his hand out from Rarity’s pajamas. Even as close as they were now, having her wake up to the thought that he was feeling her up in her sleep likely wouldn’t go over well. Not that either of those two had room to talk, or why were her eyes open?

… oh shit.

“Darling,” Rarity softly spoke with her waking smile.”I know you were a bit surprised by our choice to start wearing these to bed with you, but if it’s such an issue, you should have said something.”

Since she didn’t sound upset, Cerb decided to play ignorant and dumb.

“Pretty sure it’s one of you two making us wake up like this. So don’t be acting so surprised when this happens.”

Rarity rolled her eyes, thoroughly amused that he would think he needed to pretend he wasn’t doing this on purpose.

“Oh, please, dearie. While I certainly appreciate and look forward to any display of affection from you, I want it to come from your heart. Moving you around in your sleep… while it may sound fun… Fluttershy? Did you do this?”

Fluttershy’s ear flopped as she yawned.

“No. If I was going to move everypony around, I’d be where you are, Rarity. It’s a lot more comfy down there.”

Cerb chuckled for a moment. They were awake the whole time?

“Okay, you two. Clearly, we’ve been spending too much time in the danger zone, so now you're desperate for some affection. So, let’s start with a little repayment in the shower.”

While everyone else was doing their own thing, Spike was busy working his little claws into a frenzy.

"Good morning Becky. Good morning Rainbow. You're both up early."

Rainbow Dash quickly flew over and gave Spike a noogie.

“Morning, Squirt. What’cha making?”

Heartily, Spike laughed off the rough play.

"Prench toast and poached eggs. Still need to make orange juice and apple juice."

Becky looked at the bag of oranges.

"Well, we're here to help ya. Just tell us what to do."

Before Spike could respond, a royal voice entered the room.

"Might there be room for pancakes on the menu?"

Oven Fresh was kneading a wad of dough; eyes focused intently on the task at hoof.

"Could you grab me another bag of flour in the cupboard down there by your hooves? I mean... feet. Sorry."

Sniff opened up the small cupboard and laughed.

"Awe, crap. Look at that. It's right where you said it would be. And here I was, expecting another wild goose chase with a sexy mare waiting for me upstairs."

Oven Fresh giggled as the bag of flour was dropped in front of her.

"I'm just glad you fell for it. Would have been a real setback in my plans if you walked up while I was still getting dressed."

Sniff laughed along with her at the good-hearted joke.

"Gotta say, you really pulled a fast one on me… I still gotta set you up with something as payback."

Oven Fresh chuckled as she picked up a pinch of flour and blew it in his direction.

"What you need to do is break me in more so you can actually rut me instead of just using your fingers.”

She giggled again, not at all disappointed with what they ended up doing before coming downstairs. Though a part of her was still disappointed, they hadn’t been able to go all the way.

“Although, watching you with your hand on yourself only makes me want to have you inside me even more. And your scent is—"

Sniff took a moment to slide his hand under Oven Fresh's tail.

"You can't tell me you don't like this enough that you can't wait a while longer?"

Oven Fresh moaned and flattened the dough, having lost focus on what she was doing.

"Peter… not in the kitchen,” she giggled playfully. “This has to be kept clean if—" She moaned even louder as she felt a finger part its way slightly past her lips. "Don't get anything on the dough."

Before the fun could continue, a certain clueless princess opened the front door and announced herself, her voice sounding a little nervous.

"Hello? Oven Fresh? Peter? Are you here? The door was unlocked, and the light was on… I know I’m a bit early, but you're open, aren't you?"

Peter smiled and eased his finger in deeper, just barely catching sight of Oven Fresh’s eyes and mouth open wide, drawing in a silent gasp.

This was going to be fun.

"I'm helping with her opening this morning. We're back in the kitchen. I’m repaying Oven Fresh for taking care of me last night. She'll be coming out as soon as I'm done giving her a hand."

Oven Fresh bit her lip and forced down a groan to avoid what could possibly be more embarrassment than she could handle.

"You're… terrible. What if she—"

Twilight shouted back from the salesroom.

"Okay! Anything I can help with? I can lend a hoof if you want."

"Nah," Sniff called out as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "Feel free to pick anything out there that you think looks good. We'll be eating upstairs. Also, if you could do us all a favor, go ahead and lock the door so we won't be interrupted. That way, we can bang this out in the kitchen a lot faster."

The sound of magic whirling and the door lock clicked, followed by Twilight making another announcement.

"I brought some coffee and a bottle of… I'm not really sure what it is because it doesn't have a label on it, but Becky said it's supposed to be good for Irish coffee. If you'd like to try some with me, I brought everything we need for it."

Sniff leaned into Oven Fresh's ear and whispered, "Would you like Twilight to make you a cup while I finish with you in here?"

Oven Fresh was about to answer when she felt the finger start to retract and then slam back down to the knuckles.

"Yes! Please!"

From inside the sales floor, Twilight looked over the baked breakfast goods and picked up a few scones and three very hardy-looking muffins.

"I got a few things for us. I'll be waiting for you upstairs."

Back inside the kitchen, Oven Fresh had to pull away from a deep kiss Sniff had surprised her with.

"Make yourself at home. We won’t be long. Peter got me started on something that only he can finish."

After a few minutes, including some time to clean up, the mischievous duo finally joined Twilight at a small table in the nook of the loft. Three cups of coffee sat steaming and waiting to be tasted.

Twilight perked up immediately upon seeing the two, though she kept her eyes focused on Sniff.

"Good morning. You two are looking surprisingly chipper."

Oven Fresh was glowing with glee, though she did her best to maintain some degree of composure.

"Oh? I guess it might have something to do with having a pair of hands in the kitchen."

Twilight giggled, completely oblivious to the multiple layers of each word said.

"Peter's hands are pretty amazing. You’re a very lucky mare. And I'm guessing you two aren't ready to be open about being together. However, I just wanted to say just how happy I am for you both. I think you make for a great couple."

The humor now out of her system, Oven Fresh took a seat and shared a guilty smile.

"Well, we're not technically a couple. More like just really good friends who date and plan on spending a lot of time together while we can."

Twilight looked confused. Were they actually together or not? Was Sniff so apprehensive about what they’d spoken about that… maybe she had a chance?

"You're not his special somepony? But I thought… how are you dating if… Did I miss something?"

Playing it calmly, Sniff took a seat and picked up his coffee, looking so apathetic to the questions that neither could get a read on him.

"My time here is uncertain, and I still have a lot of issues to work out that would make it unfair to commit to something I can't follow through on. But you are right about us not being open about it. I know you said that this isn't something uncommon for all of you, but it's entirely unheard of for humans. However, I can't ignore how amazing this little lady is. So, I'd rather enjoy as much time with her as I can without my friends freaking out and causing a scene."

Twilight's confusion turned to worry at the thought of his friend's potential interference with her plans.

"That sounds terrible, having to hide your feelings from your friends. The other Princesses, along with Shining and I, had a discussion last night about human-pony relationships. It was agreed that there should be no restrictions put in place for how close ponies and humans wanted to be if it meant we could help each other. Especially with all the discoveries that were made last night.”

She needed to stop to stick to the plan. Peter still needed her, and she knew what needed to be done to keep him safe.

“I know that Peter having a special somepony would be beneficial to his mental and emotional well-being. But if anypony wants to interfere with that, I’ll gladly put a stop to it. I'll make it a royal decree if I have to. Whatever it takes to help stop others from allowing the open display of the first true human pony relationship."

Oven Fresh started to get a little misty-eyed, having support from royalty? That was too good to be true. Especially if it would solidify her relationship with Peter.

"That means so much to me to hear you say that, Princess."

Twilight smiled at the new, sort-of-a-couple.

"It's the least I can do.”

Now it was time for Oven Fresh to make good on her word.

“I think we got off on the wrong hoof. Peter spoke nothing but wonderful things about you and all the help you’ve given him and his friends. I, unfortunately, got the wrong impression of what was happening when he came to me the morning you all left for the Everfree Forest. I was overprotective since… well, I guess it’s pretty clear why, now.”

Twilight took a sip of her Irish coffee and a moment to enjoy the unique flavor before she spoke.

“No, everything you’ve done to stand between Peter and me is totally understandable. If anything, I’m glad we didn't end up actually fighting each other like two of my other friends did, trying to protect their human friends. But everything you’ve done only proves how much more I can trust you, and now I feel safer knowing that you’ll be looking out for Peter when I can’t.”

She took another sip of her coffee, only to realize what she might have implied.

“And don’t get the wrong idea. You know what I mean.“

She gave Sniff an endearing look that he thankfully didn’t catch as he reached for a scone. Unfortunately, Oven Fresh did catch it, but too focused on Sniff, Twilight didn’t notice she’d been caught, even as she continued on with the conversation.

"Peter has really been there for me and has broadened my horizon on Friendship. I owe him a great deal. Both of you, really. And actually, since you two are together, I would like to invite you both to come out with me to Canterlot for the tour I'll be doing."

Sniff perked up, both shocked and excited at such an idea.

"What? You want both of us to go with you?"

Twilight started to look bashful, turning her eyes away and reaching for a muffin.

"Considering everything you've done for me and how you put things in perspective, it's the least I can do. I know you enjoy the finer things in life, and high society, extravagant luxuries, everything that suits you is what Canterlot is known for. And with me as your guide, I can take you anywhere you would want to go."

Oven Fresh nudged Sniff with her elbow, slowly growing more suspicious of Twilight.

"Plus, think of all the other ponies you could meet to help expand your marketing business."

There wasn't anything that didn't sound enticing about this for Sniff. His best pony friend and the mare he was having all sorts of fun with living it up in the capital? That sounded amazing.

"I'd love to go. Just need to run it by everyone else back at the castle. Make sure they don't need me here for anything."

Twilight took another sip from her cup, happy to hear how enthused he was.

"I'm sure they won't mind, but it would be better to make sure they're going to be okay with your decision since Cerb and Becky will likely be leaving for the Crystal Empire soon. Oh, and since I am of the curious type, a nerd really, would it be okay if I do some research on how a human-pony relationship works out?" She waited a moment to gauge their reactions before continuing on. "There's not a lot of studies done on ponies with the other races of Equestria, but there are none for ponies with species from another world. Such an opportunity would be, well, groundbreaking."

Sniff gave Twilight an uneasy look.

"Uh… I'm not gonna say no right off the bat, but there might be some things we want to keep private."

Twilight stopped short of taking another sip, quickly realizing what she was asking would be far too intrusive as just a friend.

"Oh, I wouldn’t want to invade your privacy. I'm more interested in the long-term social and magical effects that could come about from being so close to a species with anti-magical properties like what you all seem to have. I’d hate for something unexpected to happen to Oven Fresh."

"Oh," Sniff said, letting out a relieved sigh and feeling a little silly now. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Twilight took a big sip from her coffee and then set it down, looking like she was preparing to say something so controversial that she needed the alcohol to steady her nerves.

"Actually, could I ask a really big favor of you, Peter?"

Sniff sat nervously still, concerns of Twilight’s sudden intrusiveness threatening to overwhelm him.

"Depends. What do ya need?"

Gathering all her bravery, Twilight made what could have been a simple request any other day of the week look difficult.

"Do you mind if we make this breakfast a one-on-one for me and Oven Fresh?"

She could instantly see the worries the new couple shared...along with a brief glimpse of relief from Sniff.

"It's nothing bad, I promise. It's just that even though I trust her, you're still my responsibility. I want some time to get to know her better. That, and see what might be some fun things we can do in Canterlot. Plus, I'm still worried about Spike after what happened yesterday. I think he could really use a male role model to help him through this."

Despite Sniff looking apprehensive, Oven Fresh looked adamant about going along with the idea. There were some things she still needed to settle as well.

"It's okay. You said last night that the poor guy was having a hard time. Maybe we can meet up again tonight?"

Sniff still felt a little uneasy about this but gave the two the benefit of the doubt. Some of Twilight's choice of words and mannerisms still seemed off, but he trusted her.

"If it's just as you say it is, a little girl talk, then sure." He stood up and quickly finished the rest of his coffee, ignoring the alcoholic bite. "Just don't go spreading any unsavory rumors about me while I'm gone."

Oven Fresh giggled. Oh, the stories she could tell. All of them are quite savory.

"Can't think of a bad thing to say about you. And, since I plan on seeing a lot more of you." She lit up her horn and levitated over a key. "If you could lock up behind you, I'd appreciate it. I don't like the idea of random ponies picking up what they want and leaving what they want to barter my prices at.”

She rolled her eyes with a grin towards Sniff, happy to see him accept the key.

“It’s not a great deal unless I say it is. Anyway, if you feel like stopping over after hours, you can just let yourself in."

Sniff tucked the key away in his pocket, somehow not so shocked that she trusted him this much already.

"Yeah, you said nights would be better for you anyway." He gave her a wink and headed for the stairs. "Play nice, you two."

Before Sniff even got to the stairs, Twilight wasted no time jumping right into the pleasantries with Oven Fresh.

"We'll be staying at the castle in Canterlot, so there's no need to worry about finding a place to stay or asking your parents if they have a room for the both of you. I can only imagine how awkward that would be."

Oven Fresh gave a legitimate laugh. That was a bad day just waiting to happen.

"Tell me about it. Hey, Mom and Dad. I'd like you to meet my almost special somepony that's not actually a pony and who isn’t even from our world. That would be just the icing on the cake of a good trip gone bad."

Despite the seemingly pleasant air, no sooner had they both heard the door downstairs close and lock that Oven Fresh got serious.

"Okay… so, now that Peter is gone. Let's hear what's really on your mind."

Calmly, Twilight poured herself another drink, not even trying to hide the extra bourbon she was adding.

"Well, you're half right if you think I'm not here just to get to know you. But my concerns are not with you. I actually do want your help in keeping Peter safe."

Oven Fresh was waiting for something biting to come. She saw that look Twilight had earlier.

"So this isn't about me dating your favorite human?"

Twilight did her best to keep a calm tone. It could have been easy to be angry, but it honestly hurt more than anything else. Even still, it didn’t stop her from indulging in a long sip from her drink to take some of the edge off.

"Last night… changed everything for me. Peter and all his friends are in grave danger, from what I can tell. And as a concerned friend, I wanted to make sure they all would be safe. Especially Peter. Which was why I was going to request you two stay closer together. Because with his anti-magic properties along with your skills and abilities, I could rest soundly knowing he would be protected no matter what happens with the dark forces we don't yet fully understand."

Oven Fresh’s expression softened under the sincerity of Twilight’s words, but she was still waiting for the next horseshoe to drop.

"But?"

Twilight took another heavy sip from her coffee and sighed.

"I'm afraid of the dangers that may exist in Canterlot as well."

She took another drink from her cup, wishing it was more Irish than coffee at this point.

"I need ponies that I can trust, and I know I can trust you. Not just with keeping Peter safe, if you see anything from other ponies getting too close to him or… I'm not even sure yet. But I'm a little too far gone into bringing Peter out to Canterlot with me to not invite him without drawing suspicion.”

Nearing the bottom of her cup, the bitterness and oaky flavors seemed fitting for how she felt.

“I don't want him being too far away from me when he doesn't have one of the other girls with him. Even Kelly is at risk, but thankfully Princess Luna has taken such an interest in her that I don't think any pony would risk coming after her. Especially given all the random visits Luna has been making to her since Big Mac went to help us in the Everfree Forest."

As Twilight continued trying to explain herself something was becoming more and more clear to Oven Fresh.

"Alright. I do believe you want me with him, and you're concerned about him… but I know that's a fake smile when you say you're just friends. Or at least you don't want to be."

There was a moment of silence before Twilight started to pour more of Sniff's bourbon into her coffee.

"I don't know if Peter was reaching out to me only to learn more about our dating culture or if he was curious to see if I was interested, and I ended up chasing him away to you…” She contemplated how much was too much to pour or if it mattered anymore. “Or if he was unsure himself and was still hoping he could win me over.”

She settled on a heavy overpour and set the bottle down while taking a long sip before continuing as the alcohol in her system started to soften her nerves. The alcohol content was almost enough to take the sting away from her next admission.

“You have him now, but I was so close… I didn't even know it… I didn't even consider how much I would have wanted him until I understood that I've never given myself the opportunity to consider what he meant to me. And the gifts he left for me..."

Oven Fresh remembered the money Sniff had invested towards his apology offerings and decided to ask a terrible question.

"What did he get you?" She could see Twilight was going to pour herself another shot into her cup that was more bourbon than coffee, and she pulled the bottle away. "Okay, now I really believe you if you're trying to numb yourself with this stuff… Tell me what happened, and I might be able to help."

Twilight took a deep breath and steadied herself. She had more than enough bourbon for now.

“I’m getting new to this, but...“ She sat up straight and proper in her seat. “Ahem… By my royal decree, as the Princess of Friendship of Equestria, what I tell you here will not be repeated to any others without my consent. Be they pony, dragon, griffon, human, or any other creature or entity of this world or any other. Will you abide by this decree?”

Oven Fresh was suddenly frightened again. She’d never even heard Twilight make a decree before. Especially to only one pony.

“Princess, I—”

Twilight did her best to look stern, but her worry and sadness weakened its appearance...and the sad display of her need for alcohol wasn’t helping either.

“If you want the best chances at keeping Peter safe, you need to know what I know. And this is not the kind of information just anypony can be trusted with, and for Peter’s own good, he can’t either.”

She eyed the bottle and thought maybe she did have room for a bit more bourbon.

“Also, having another shot of that in my coffee is part of the decree.”

Favoring Sniff’s safety over Twilight’s sobriety, Oven Fresh slowly undid the cap and poured both of them another shot in their coffee.

“If it’s for Peter, you have my vow of silence on what you need to tell me.”

Hoping she wouldn’t get too tipsy off her Irish coffee, Twilight started to conjure a spell that covered the room in silence. What surprised her was how unphased Oven Fresh was, but didn’t dwell on it.

“So… overlooking what Peter might have told you, I’m going to start with last night.”

Twilight began her retelling of events, starting from Trixie’s dream, then the night Kelly was stabbed, her bet with Rainbow, how she lost it, Cerb’s night terror, and how Sniff saved her.

That part ended up taking a bit longer, given how much it changed how she started to look at her role in the kingdom. Next, the conversation quickly fell into the events at The Castle of the Two Sisters, Benny’s attacker, the Timberwolves, then continued onto the rest of the events, which is where she finally took a break to drink again.

Oven Fresh couldn't believe everything she was being told or understand why Twilight stopped there in mid-sentence.

"If you need a moment, I understand. This is… I am so sorry. I had no idea how close you two were or everything you were dealing with. Peter told me you had a lot going on, and there were some big things he couldn't even mention, but this is scary big."

Twilight dried her eyes, not handling her misery with any grace, her emotional state worsening from the continued alcohol consumption.

"Thanks. I'll be okay."

Oven Fresh gently nodded, hoping Twilight could go on.

"Well, keep going. You stopped mid-sentence."

Twilight sniffed and corrected the presumptive baker.

"No, I didn't. Luna hit Shining in the back of the head for trying to buy Peter’s gifts from me. She hit him pretty hard, too. That’s why he stopped mid-sentence.”

There wasn’t much left to explain after that, but now caught up, Twilight finished the rest of her coffee.

“And then I teleported to my room before crying myself to sleep. And that only made it worse because my bed still smells like him."

Oven Fresh had a lot to think about for the moment.

Twilight had been cheated by Celestia out of having a fair chance with Sniff. Beyond that, Twilight had cared so much more for him that she was willing to let him be happy with another mare and not even attempt to risk losing him as a friend by confessing how she felt.

"Princess… Peter did tell me a lot about what he was dealing with and how all his friends were fixing their own problems after being paired with all of your friends. He did think he was supposed to be paired with you, but I recognized what he needed to do to heal. Although… do you think Fluttershy and Rarity are acting like they want to be more than friends with Cerb? Considering just how overprotective they were when he was being escorted out, because if Peter’s theory is right, I think we’re both meant to be with him. And frankly, I could probably use the help."

Twilight looked up and cocked an ear at what the baker was suggesting.

"Both of us? What does that even mean? Help with what?"

Oven Fresh returned Twilight's look of confusion with a sly grin.

"How about we trade secrets?"

Rarity was lying flat on the bed with a drunken smile next to Fluttershy in a similar state.

"Justin, you've spoiled us rotten, and you know we're only going to want to have this again."

Cerb emerged from the bathroom, still wrapped up in his towel.

"Washed your hair, a full body scrub down, and hand-dried service? And here I thought you would have hated it."

Fluttershy rolled over on her back and sprawled out, no care given to what she had put on display.

"I could do this every day and never grow tired of it. But, we really should return the favor for you tonight. If you would like that, I mean."

Cerb looked over his two caretakers and took some enjoyment in seeing them so content over what amounted to a simple hair scrub and body wash. He may have gotten flirtatiously close to a few dangerous areas but remained a true gentleman. Although, he wondered what would have happened if he did.

"Sure." He grinned and made his way over to his clean set of clothes for the day. "But it smells like they're working on breakfast already. You girls hungry?"

Fluttershy watched him drop his towel and start to get dressed.

"Very hungry."

Rarity had been watching as well and was past the point where she could hold back her twitches.

"Justin, could you be a dear and fix us up a plate while we make ourselves presentable?"

Cerb pulled up his pants, completely unaware of what they were dealing with.

"Yeah, I'll see what they got. Anything you want in particular?”

Rarity rolled over on her side and took in the sight of Cerb finishing putting on his shirt.

“Just a seat by you before we head off for the day.”

Fluttershy sat up and made a cute face toward Cerb.

“And maybe a goodbye kiss before you go.”

What was supposed to be a joke suddenly had Cerb walking over to her.

“Oh? I was just kidding, but if you really want to—”

Cerb stepped up, lifted Fluttershy’s chin, and firmly pressed his lips to hers. He held it there longer than the kiss they shared before bed. Then he crawled over to Rarity, who was enamored by the display, and graced her with the same loving touch.

Feeling as though he had achieved his task for the morning, Cerb slid off the bed and went for the door.

“Don’t take too long. There’s no need letting chow go cold on ya.”

After the door closed and Cerb had likely stepped far enough away, the two mares were practically tripping over themselves to get to the bathroom. It was a mad dash to get the door closed behind them and the hairdryer blowing to cover as much noise as possible.

Before they could start, Fluttershy had to get some things straight.

“Wait!“ She cringed and hunkered down “I mean… quietly wait.”

Rarity was already sitting on the countertop and wasn’t much in the mood for waiting.

“If you need to go first this time, I suppose it would be only fair.”

“No,” Fluttershy groaned as she crossed her legs. “Things are different now… I think.”

Rarity crossed her legs and coarsely started to drag her hooves down her thighs.

“Yes, believe me, I know. And I’m just as excited as you are by the scent of things. Justin said he wanted to do more and thank Celestia he does. Not just the kisses, which I wasn’t expecting until at least a second date with him, but the massage he asked for last night. Oh, my goodness. It makes the desire to be rutted all that much more—“

She squirmed with another lewd thought running through her mind as she started to grind her thighs together.

“Mmmph… Or am I missing something? Please don’t tell me I’m missing something unless it’s something more he wants to do.”

Fluttershy was tempted to wait till after they finished to get this out, but what she had reasoned from this morning needed to be said. At least in good conscience, she couldn’t allow herself to be dishonest by omission.

“Well, first, I love helping each other with a Wonder Rush. It’s so much better than doing it with my own hooves. But it also makes me wonder if we were lucky to only show Applejack how to take control of our body's urges to start a family… But I think we’ve not just been dealing with our urges. I think this is… I’m actually almost certain these Wonder Rushes are meant for getting us ready for sex.”

Rarity opened her legs, ready to ignore whatever Fluttershy was trying to say, but then snapped them shut when those words brought about a question.

“What am I missing? I know you’re beating around the bush because being blunt doesn’t always work with me.”

What was going to be said was still a theory, but it was all Flutterhsy had.

“Our fantasies about Cerb. The ones that make us so excited. They all start with either us rubbing ourselves on him, or him rubbing us—”

Rarity deadpanned as her legs went limp, realizing why Fluttershy wasn’t blunt.

“We’ve been trying to rut each other because we’ve been standing in place for Justin when we didn’t have to take care of our Wonder Rushes ourselves.”

Fluttershy started to blush and grow unusually quiet, considering how much she’d grown confident and taken charge these last few days.

“But that only makes my next thought all the more confusing to me. “ She turned off the hairdryer. “Rarity… we both care so much about Justin, and we've surprisingly grown so much closer together working with him. Especially when fantasizing about him… but I think we may have started a bigger problem than we could have realized.”

Rarity was hating how having to be baby-fed these concepts made her even more anxious.

“Oh, dear… What have we done this time?”

Sadly, Fluttershy started to not feel so excited anymore.

“I think we moved too fast, but we also didn’t have a choice, not without losing him. And he didn’t have a choice if it meant having to risk losing Becky. And combined with his nightmares, he’s stuck with us until we know he’s going to be better, and that could take months, if not even years. He’s already done therapy with humans that I can only imagine know how to treat what he’s been through. And… I didn’t realize it until he kissed us again this morning, but… I think he’s forcing it. Especially with how he’s been exposing himself.”

Rarity felt it sinking in, too; her mind quickly going over recent events.

“He wouldn’t dare fully disrobe in front of me before. He even had to be convinced, or guilted by Sniff, to let me work on his leg. Now he’s strutting in the nude as if it were nothing. Bathing with us as a thank you for all we’ve been doing for him. He even let us work on him where we couldn’t avoid touching his dick.“ She looked up to Fluttershy with a mix of confused lust and guilt. “He knows we want him, doesn’t he?”

Wordlessly, Fluttershy joined Rarity on the countertop. She sat there for a moment or two, trying to find the right words for to explain their situation.

“I think this is my fault. He was already warming up to us before we left for the forest, but then I was so frightened when he told me he was a killer. He must have become so afraid at the thought of losing us that he was vulnerable to my kindness. And after last night, he must be terrified between the threat of losing us or finding out what we had was never real… Rarity… I think he’s forcing himself to give us everything he thinks we want so we won’t leave him.”

After thinking everything was as it should be, if not better than she could have hoped for, Rarity was devastated.

“But… we were making so much progress on every front with him. How are we going to make a real relationship with him—“ She pushed her lust to the side and put her generosity back at the forefront. “No. This isn’t about us. The only part of it about us is that we both only want what’s best for him. We have to figure out a way to get this all straightened out so he can…“

Her words stopped as she started to see just how overly complicated things had become. It was almost like they were back at square one.

“Oh, Fluttershy… I have no idea what we’re supposed to do now… I think we need to talk to Twilight about this.”

Fluttershy quickly got that bashful look about her again.

“Well… I think I might have one idea on how to make things work… but it might rely on us being a little selfish and not really changing anything.”

That sounded not at all like something Rarity would have expected from her wingmare.

“Either I misheard you, or you’re going out of your way to explain something in small pieces again.”

Fluttershy started to blush and tried to be a bit more descriptive.

“If you can’t agree to this, I won’t bring it up again. But please hear me out… I think that deep down, Justin does care about us. Maybe he’s even starting to love us. So, maybe we shouldn’t make him choose which one of us he wants to love.”

A moment of silence filled the room while Rarity thought about what that would imply.

“Are you saying you think it’s best if we both share Justin?”

Fluttershy grew quiet and shrunk in on herself, seemingly embarrassed at such an idea.

“If Justin chose only me, would you want to stop what we’ve been doing?”

Hesitantly, Rarity gave a sympathetic look.

“Fluttershy. I don’t think—”

“Because I don’t,” Fluttershy blurted out, making her intentions finally clear. “If Justin said he wanted to be my special somepony, he would still need you there with us. And if he chose you, you would both still need me. And would you really want to join us in bed after we rutted? You know that would hurt both of us, and it would hurt Justin, too. And I don’t know how it would all work, but I’m sure we can figure something out.”

Rarity slid down from the countertop, still grasping at the straws being provided.

“I don't know how we could make that work. Especially if he does end up rutting one of us to the point we’re married and have a foal together. Because if Twilight does end up finding a way to send them home, well... There’s more than enough single mothers trying to raise a foal as it is. And they’re all so terribly lonely deep down inside. So many of them either spend their days dreaming of finding a new stallion but become too busy to do so, or focusing all their love and affection on their foals. But then when they grow up and leave… “

She turned to Fluttershy with a look of fearing their regrets and lent a hoof to help her friend down.

“It’s like they have two holes in their heart. However… while this has certainly put a wet blanket on the mood, I say we let it go for now, pretty ourselves up our best for Justin, and address this topic again after we ruin some more of your laundry after we finish our breakfast.”

Fluttershy turned to Rarity, surprised at what she was suggesting.

“You… still want to be with me knowing what we’re doing?”

Rarity huffed, looking almost insulted by the question.

“When we started this, I had to come to the understanding that perhaps I wasn’t destined to be with a prince or a noblepony. So, I set my eyes on a warrior from another world wandering through ours with a broken heart and wounded spirit. Clearly, if this has shown us anything, it’s that my previous taste in Equestrian stallions was terrible, while my taste in human stallions might be unobtainable—“ She leaned in and planted a kiss on Fluttershy’s cheek. “—but if things with Justin don’t work out, I have excellent taste in mares.”

With at least part of Fluttershy’s courage restored, she wrapped her wings around the back of Rarity’s neck and pulled her in for a kiss like Justin had shared with them. Their kiss wasn't as sensually overpowering as what Cerb so effortlessly gave them, but it was still pleasing and eased so much stress she had raised in herself.

“After breakfast, I want to see how much better a Wonder Rush is for you when I kiss you like that, and you can just imagine it’s Justin doing it.”

Rarity blushed, never having considered kissing her wingmare while being rubbed into a Wonder Rush.

"I knew I couldn't have chosen a better wingmare. Now, let's get that mane of yours straightened out. No need to let all this practice go to waste for Justin. Maybe he'll choose to stay after all, but until then, I want my wingmare looking top-notch for both of us."

With a twitch of pain, Applejack woke to find Lumberman's hand on her forehead.

"Woody?" Her voice came out hoarse and groggy as she painfully shifted her hooves. "I want to go home. Can we go home now?"

Lumberman moved his hand back around her barrel and pulled her close to him again.

"You're warm, but you always are, so I don't think you have a fever. Just need to have you get a checkup, and then we can see about getting the all-clear to get you back in your own bed." He started to rub her belly, trying to keep her calm. "How are you feeling?"

Despite her disposition, she didn't even try to move.

"All mah legs hurt. 'En every heartbeat feels like Cerberus is stabbing in 'tuh me again… But it don't hurt so bad with you next to me."

He pulled his arm out from under Applejack and rolled out of bed.

"Well, if yer hurt'n, let's get these pills to cure them ills. And you can take the last one for this morning with breakfast."

Lumberman turned on the lights and helped her sit up with minimal cringing. However, it was clear even sitting upright was going to be an issue. She had to lean against Lumberman while he sorted out the pills.

"Okay." He fed her the first handful of meds. "And let me get that glass of water for ya."

He tilted the glass for her, careful not to spill a drop.

"Okay. Do you want to get up and head downstairs so everyone sees yer alive and going strong so we can get out of here faster, or do you want to stay in bed a bit longer?"

Rather than immediately answer, Applejack started to turn red and sulked.

"I need to go to the bathroom."

Lumberman got a feeling of confliction on how to approach this.

“Oh… do you want me to help you in there, or do you want me to grab someone else? Or we could wait for Redheart to get here. How do you wanna do this?”

Applejack started to feel sick to her stomach, and it wasn’t from the pills.

“Woody… I don’t want anypony taking care of me but you… But I don't want you see‘en me like that or having to touch me down there if… I know it’s not the kinda poking and prodding you… I know you don’t see me like—"

The normally confident apple mare quickly started tearing up.

Thinking about him touching her like this was nothing close to what her fantasies consisted of. This was strictly going to be the disgusting version, but one she needed his help with. But that was only if she ever could have her fantasy come true that it would have mattered. Then again, what if that's how he would see her like down there after helping her, and that turned him away?

"Woody, I know you treat me like family, but...do you see me like an animal?"

Lumberman set down the glass of water and put his arm around her, knowing this was a difficult subject to tackle.

"Apples… I know you're not human, but you are by no means an animal. And if I thought you were an animal, I wouldn't have been concerned about how you felt about me having to help you with this. I know how degrading and embarrassing that can be. Same reason I was so careful when I helped you in the bathtub.”

He quietly held the mare tighter, making sure she was looking him in the eye as he spoke.

“I mean, believe me. I helped Cerb give his dog a bath a few times when we were still in school together. If an animal knows you, they don't give a shit about being touched or cleaned up. They don't have any shame or humility. I don't have to ask for their permission. But… believe it or not, I care enough to give a shit with you. If you don't want me to help, I get it. This is just me helping you. No different than when I had to clean up Kelly or Cerb or anyone else that needed my help."

Applejack started to calm down a little more, but none of Lumberman's responses gave her the reassurance she needed.

"But have you ever had to wipe their ass?"

She chuckled a little at her joke, but both the tone and her expression made it clear it was forced.

Despite this, Lumberman laughed a little to himself as he answered, "It was super fucking awkward, but yeah. Especially when Cerb would pass out when he was having his really rough patches… Usually ended up throwing him in the shower just to get him cleaned up. But… they didn't have anyone else to take care of them back then. You do."

Applejack sighed and decided to chance it.

"If you don't mind then, I think my bladder is about ready to burst."

"Heh, yeah, I got you," Lumberman said with a quiet laugh, which earned him a smile from the weary mare.

With that cleared up, Lumberman draped Applejack's forehooves over his shoulders and picked her up from under her seat.

Just moving her around caused her some discomfort, but she toughed her way through it. However, even after the comforting talk, the embarrassment still made it difficult for her to start while Lumberman was standing next to her so she wouldn't fall over. But no matter the sounds that followed or odors that arose, Lumberman never flinched, laughed, or made any gestures that he was uncomfortable in any way. Even when she was finished, and he had to wipe her clean, he only asked if he wasn't going too hard and made sure that he got her as clean as she needed to be.

After he flushed away what little of her embarrassment remained, she was still unsure how to feel about how much he was doing for her. At least it was just the toilet paper touching her, so she never had any embarrassing reactions.

"I'm sorry about all this. We don't wear no bottoms like y'all, so we always make sure that we're extra clean down there. Even our toilet paper has extra cleaners in it. That's why it always feels a little damp."

Finally taking the time to examine the remains of the toiletries, Lumberman rubbed his fingers together.

"I never really noticed that. But, did I do it right? You said okay, but, if you just said okay because this is still uncomfortable, I don't want you laying around all day feeling gross because of me."

Applejack looked away, still uneasy about him being around for her using the toilet. Even if he didn't make an issue of it, it was incredibly degrading and left her feeling like she had violated his goodwill.

"No, you don't have to worry about that. What I really need is a bath, but I don't want to stay here longer than I need to. I just wanna go home."

Gently, Lumberman picked Applejack up again and set her down on the nearby countertop where she could lean against a wall.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head off. I'll getcha cleaned up just enough to get ya through the day, and then we can take a nice long soak when we get back to your place."

Applejack did her best to sit up straight while Lumberman ran a cloth under the faucet.

"Woody… why do ya take such good care 'uh me? I know yer an honorary Apple on top of everything that happened with Kelly… but really, that was Big Mac. I just got in the way. Even helping Cerb led tuh all this. If I'm being honest, I don't much deserve all yer doing for me."

Paying her question no mind, Lumberman started to wipe her over with the wet cloth.

"Apple's, yer all the first real family I've had in years. Complete with a brother, a sister, and even a grandmother. Me and my friends are a family, but we don't have the family dynamic of a household… So, if I'm being honest, I want to be a part of your family."

He finished wiping off her chest and quietly rinsed the cloth again.

"But if I'm also being honest." He shut the water off and squeezed out the excess before cleaning off her face. "I like you too much to leave ya hanging and struggling. You make my time here worth staying. And I think, just like with Cerb needing the help from Flutters and Rarity—" He started to work his way down her neck. "—you give me purpose and help make me a better person by giving me someone I can care about."

Pulling the cloth back for a moment, he gave her a smirk.

"It's also nice to find someone who actually really cares enough about me the way you do."

He stopped with the cloth when he reached her hips.

"You all don't try to take advantage of me. Outside of my friends, all my family I left behind, and all the stupid hoes I dated, granted, for the wrong reasons, except for my last, who just did me dirty cuz she was an unfaithful lying bitch… You've been honest with me every step of the way. I really admire that about you."

Applejack was silent and just let Lumberman open up about all the things he appreciated about her. Hearing all these new details really set in just how much she must have meant to him.

Lumberman gave her a goofy look, like he was trying really hard to figure something out.

"Them pills making ya feeling funny already, or you just spacing out on me?"

Applejack smiled sweetly, ignoring all her pain for the moment.

"Pills? Not yet. I just… I'm happy to have you any way I can… Okay… Wait… Yeah. They're kicking in… Damnit.“

She blinked hard and started to look a little under the influence, which thankfully brought some levity to the previous grim situation.

"Can ya finish up this wash’n me up, and let's do breakfast so we can leave. I wanna a real bath and be in muh bed… You gonna stay with me right? Muh hooves dun feel so bad now.”

Lumberman grinned, happy to see some of Applejack’s previous spark returning.

“Damn. Those pills work fast on you. Come’er. Let’s get ya scrubbed down on the bed.”

In the darkness of the poorly lit room, Pinkie posted up at the foot of the bed.

“Beeeeennnny… BenBen?“ She nudged his foot, making him only shuffle slightly. “BenBen! Hey! Cookie Kisses! Drinkie night is over! It’s time to start your… BenBen!”

After letting out a groan, Benny finally started to wake up.

“Awe, God, Pinkie… If this regiment doesn’t start with another six hours of sleep and some Tylenol, we’re gonna have a very bad start.”

"What?!" Pinkie snapped. "We had a deal, mister!"

She ripped off his bed covers.

"You made a Pinkie Promise! Now you're gonna-are you still wearing my underwear?"

Ignoring the comment, Benny wasn't ready for this morning, but at least he was still wearing an extremely comfortable, not to mention flagrant, pair of boxers.

"Alright, I just need to purge the system if yer gonna get me moving. Could you let me get past ya real quick?"

Somewhere between still drunk and hungover, Benny forced himself out of bed. He stood about as well as someone in his condition could. His walk was haggard and sluggish as he moved over to the bag he brought back from the Everfree Forest and pulled out a water bottle.

At least now, Pinkie looked relieved to finally see her friend on his feet.

"Ah, good. You must just be thirsty. I know when I woke up, I was thirsty, too."

Benny finished drinking the entire bottle and dropped it back in his bag, still looking more than a bit worn out.

"Awe, this is gonna suck. Ya might wanna leave the room."

Ignoring Benny's misery and request, Pinkie jumped in circles around her friend, gleefully announcing her plans.

"First thing on the list is we're gonna get you dressed in bright, happy colors. Then we're gonna go downstairs and have an amazing, super delicious breakfast that Spike and Becky and Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna are making. But then we're going to head down to Sugarcube Corner, where you're going to meet the Cakes. They're super nice ponies. And I'm going to show you how to make some reeeeeeealy yummy cupcakes—"

Benny, however, couldn’t hear most of the verbal barrage going on. Instead, he led Pinkie into the bathroom with him, where he then dropped to his knees and praised the Porcelain God by violently vomiting out all the contents of his stomach, sending the party pony running for the door.

Big Mac woke with a gasp, searching the room for his sister but then remembered where he was. When he felt Kelly's arms still wrapped around him from behind, some form of calm started to return.

After a moment, the calm allowed him to get some clarity again. Hearing Applejack's screams was a nightmare and she was safe in the castle with Lumberman.

He laid his head down and sighed, still mentally exhausted from the exchange he had with Granny Smith in the hotel.

As expected, he didn't end up saying much outside of what happened in the final battle in the Everfree Forest. Kelly had really stepped up and helped Granny deal with the events, along with doing a far better job explaining the medical side of things than he ever could. In the end, Granny thanked them both for sticking by Applejack's side during the whole procedure. The only thing they couldn't say was when her granddaughter would be well enough to walk again or when she'd be free to go home.

For now, he only had the concern that somehow an infection had developed and she only had hours to live. But after all the time and effort everyone put into taking care of his sister, he felt as though that wasn't likely to happen. At least he still had Kelly with him. She even spent the rest of the night comforting him instead of the other way around. Still, he should check on her first.

"Hey, Kel? You awake?" Big Mac whispered.

Instead of responding like an adult, Kelly rolled closer into Big Mac.

"No…"

Big Mac huffed at the somewhat juvenile joke, but quickly brushed it off.

"I'm go'en to see if AJ is up. I need to know if she's okay."

Kelly rolled away and yawned.

"Alright, I'm up. Geez, give me uh min. Fuck, I hate getting up this early. And hey… if Applejack is looking good this morning, we should grab Granny so she can see for herself that she's fine."

Big Mac turned and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Eyup. Sounds like a good idea."

Kelly turned her head to see Big Mac not moving.

"You okay, Mackie?"

"I'm fine," Big Mac said in a suspicious voice. "Just uh… need tuh… get moving here… Any second now."

Kelly grinned and crawled over to lay her arms around her stud’s neck. After peaking down, she verified what she thought left him hesitant to move.

"Little Big Red giving ya problems?"

Big Mac grumbled, not used to waking up with such an awkward problem.

"I had nightmares about Applejack bleeding and crying all night… Why would I wake up like this."

In response, Kelly kissed his cheek, which seemed to bring him a bit out of his slump.

"It's gonna be that way no matter what you do. Good dreams, bad dreams, no dreams. If the guys ever come around, pick up some of the lady ponies around here and you keep hanging out with them, believe me, you'll be surprised how often a guy gets hard."

Big Mac's ears perked up straight, looking rather stunned at this revelation.

"Is it really that common?"

Kelly kissed his cheek again.

"Don't worry. It won't be a problem once we can work out some alone time on the regular… Although, we should probably look into getting you a pair of pants. Don't need you advertising to all the single ladies out there what I've already laid claim to. But come on. Lose it, take care of it, or join me in the shower so I can take care of it."

She tried looking cute as he shot her a disappointed glare, eventually relenting with a sigh.

"Fine… No Bad Girl Kelly until you're ready."

Big Mac rolled his eyes with a huff.

"Thanks, hun. I just wouldn't feel right doing something so nice when muh sis might be out there feeling so miserable."

"It's okay, babe." She rolled off the bed. "We all grieve differently. But tomorrow, you got to take the inside of the bed. That's two… no, fuck… Three nights in a row I've slept on my bad side. Still fucking sore as a motherfucker from that shit but—" She did a few small jumps in place. "At least my legs… ow… Goddammit.”

Whatever relief she thought she had woken up with was replaced with the same pain she had gone to bed with.

“This place needs a fucking elevator."

Luna stood in front of the stove with Spike standing on a stool.

"Look, Spike. Is this not which you spoke of?"

Spike looked over the prench toast and its golden crisp crust.

"Yeah, it’s perfect. You're getting really good at this."

Just behind them, Becky was throwing in the towel.

"Alright. Orange juice is done, but squeezing apples for juice ain't happening. We need an actual juicer for that… Unless Luna knows how to magic the juice out of them."

Luna didn’t immediately respond, focused on flipping another slice in the pan.

"I think I missed that lesson. This prench toast, though? It will be amazing."

Suddenly Sniff was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Why's it called Prench anyway?"

Becky was the first to notice his return.

"Sniff? Where've you been?"

Spike jumped down from his stool and ran to hug Sniff's leg.

"You made it just in time!" He looked up with gleeful eyes. "I'm making your favorite breakfast. And it's called Prench because it's a dish made in Prance."

Sniff rolled his eyes at yet another pun.

"Okay. Pony France is called Prance. Got it… also, I got some milk and three kinds of juices."

Luna left the stove to approach Sniff and spoke in a misleading pleased voice.

"We're happy to have you join us, but where is Twilight? She said she was to have breakfast with our brave new friend, Oven Fresh?" She looked down at Spike. "Could you take over cooking, please?"

Spike saluted and took off to manage the stove again.

"Sure. Spike to the rescue."

Sniff chuckled as he watched Spike run off.

"Good man, Spike. But yeah, I guess with everything going on and how busy Twilight is, Oven Fresh is taking over as my sponsor or guardian pony while I'm here. So, they wanted some girl time alone. Make sure Ovens is on the level or whatever."

Becky cocked an eyebrow at the idea.

"Hold on… that baker chick that torched all those Timberwolves is going to be your escort through Ponyville, now?"

Sniff laughed, finding it funny to hear it phrased like that.

"Okay, first, I don't need an escort, in any sense of the word. But also, yes… and also she'll be my escort in Canterlot when we go there… also Swifty… so, two escorts."

Spike sounded off from the stove, excited for his mentor.

"You're going to love Canterlot! There's so much more to do there than there is here in Ponyville."

Cerb rounded the corner, ready with a quip.

"Canterlot? You changing castles on us, bro? Pretty sure you already poached that crown."

Sniff turned around with a smirk toward Cerb.

"Says the guy double-dipping from the pony pool and still snagging a whole royal family?"

Cerb recoiled with a face like he just got burned.

"Ooou. Close. They poached me, bro."

Becky tossed a handful of orange peels at the two.

"Hey? They poached me, too, ya know. And that was after I got Best Pony over here in my corner. Right, Dashie?"

Rainbow Dash nodded and gave Becky a bro-hoof.

"You know it."

From down the hall, foreboding clops announced Pinkie trotting into the kitchen.

"Uhh… I think BenBen is sick. Can somehuman maybe help me?"

Becky picked up a towel and wiped her hands clean as she walked up to Pinkie.

"What do you mean by sick? Does he have a fever or—"

"Wiz-Key She-Hits?" Pinkie answered with worried confusion. "He didn't want to get out of bed when I woke him up just a little bit ago. Then he drank a whole bottle of water and threw it up. Actually, I think it was more than just the water. But then he pushed me out of the bathroom and locked the door. He said he had the Wize-Key She-Hits? Ships?"

Immediately able to translate the drunken rambles, Becky laughed and turned her attention back to the kitchen.

"Don't worry about your little BenBen, Pinkie. He's not sick. He's just hungover. How much more did you both drink after me and Dashie left last night?"

Pinkie sat on the floor and brought her hoof to her chin, pondering deeply.

"I dunno? I switched back to soda because it tastes better. He had at least the rest of the bottle to himself, though."

Cerb cringed but was also happy he didn't kill his own bottle when he had the chance the night before

"Ooh. Whiskey Shits. Yeah… He'll be fine."

Kelly gave a few soft knocks on the door.

"You awake in there? The light is on."

Within only a few seconds, Lumberman opened the door.

“Hey, morning. Sup?”

Kelly gave an amused glare.

“We’re selling girl scout cookies. What do ya think we’re here for, numbnuts? How’s AJ?”

Still lying on the bed on her side, Applejack swished her tail up once and turned an ear in their direction.

“I’m ‘bout ready tuh walk my ass home if Lumberman dunt carry down for breakfast ‘en me so we can leave sooner than later.”

Lumberman sighed, having his hands full with the often incoherent apple pony.

“She’s somewhere between being cranky and impatient when the pain spikes, too goofy and sappy when the pills take over.”

"Hey, Woody," Applejack called out from the bed again. "The room keeps getting too dark to see when I blink for too long. ‘Em I go’en blind?”

Kelly deadpanned, somewhat recognizing Applejack's abnormal speech.

“Jesus Christ, she’s high as a kite, isn’t she?”

Applejack raised her head and looked back to see who else was at the door.

“Macintosh? You fix’n to marry Kelly?“ She flopped her head down on the pillow. “We need more hummens in er Apple Clan.“

She shifted and rolled onto her back, giggling as she stared at the ceiling.

“Woody, yer an honorary Apple, but we can get hitched if yaunto. You like apples?”

Lumberman took a moment to collect himself at the mention of marriage. It didn't feel right to laugh at her delirious banter. Not when the pills had her this fucked up.

“Yeah… I like apples. Might be a bit early for making wedding plans, though.”

Applejack started looking around the room like it was a brand-new and wondrous place.

“That’s fine. I haven’t even had breakfast. I can wait… These pills make me feel funny. You should take me home after breakfast, this room is too dark fer me.”

Lumberman looked back to see Applejack had her eyes closed… for probably the fifth time.

"Open your eyes, Apple Hat."

Applejack opened her eyes, surprised to see how easy it was to see the room again.

"Oh, yeah. I guess this room is fine… Did I eat yet, cuz I'm hungry."

Lumberman hung his head, sad to realize he was failing as her caretaker.

"I gave her the pill she's supposed to take with food. Pretty sure it’s some kind of Vicodin to have her this loopy."

Still, completely out of it, Applejack spouted off whatever thoughts came to mind.

“I rode a manticore once. Not today, though… Woody, are my lips numb?”

Such a beautiful tragedy.

So... Oven Fresh clearly bit off more than she could chew. More like she sat on more dick than she could take, but let's not mince words here.

Then there's Chris, who... yeah... that boy best be careful making promises and owing favors. If none of you have picked up on it, Starlight's is a little crazy for Chris and seems to suffer from failing to control her urges that she needs his help dealing with them.

However, sadly, Fluttershy and Rarity have yet another wrench thrown into their plans. Although, at least Fluttershy found a silver lining in their situation in realizing that she doesn't want to give up Rarity and finding some love for each other there. Gonna have to see how that goes for them.

Then... for those of you expecting a fight between Oven Fresh and Twilight... I suppose there's the next chapter if you want to keep your hopes up.

Otherwise, I was happy to leave you with yet another lovely moment between Applejack and Lumberman. Even if it took a trip out to left field when the pills kicked in, it was still touching. Breakfast is going to be interesting.

To find out how the next breakfast goes, tune in next week for the publication of Chapter 67. Compensating: Part 1.

A big thank you to ParanoidSiren, formally KittyWoofers. Check out her amazing art at any of the sites listed below.

https://www.deviantart.com/Parano1ds1ren
https://www.instagram.com/ParanoidSiren
https://www.twitter.com/ParanoidSiren

Bonus! The light's on version of Oven Fresh.