It had been nearly an hour since Sniff had walked through the door of the spa and clocked in. No sooner had he walked in he was hit with a barrage of greetings, questions, requests… the guy couldn't even get in far enough to get Lyra in the books for her appointment.

Many had stopped him to ask about Applejack after they heard the screams. Although, even after that, many added in that they wanted to make an appointment.

For the most part, he couldn't even blame them. He knew he was popular, so he couldn't hold their interest against them. He certainly could turn down every request for services… not that he could make any since he couldn't even get Lyra penned in. Regardless, he had wasted too much time and had to get to work.

"Okay, ladies I have to get to my client’s appointment and… crap.. I forgot my keys.”

Swift Sails had been waiting for Sniff to call her into action by the time the tenth mare had encircled him. They had swarmed him and ignored, or were too engrossed in getting another moment of his time to notice that he was trying to go. So, she raised her spear and cracked the pummel onto the tile floor, making everypony in the room freeze in place, silencing themselves.

"Ladies. The dignitary, Mr. James, is on a schedule and has been gracious enough to delay it for your amusement. Please part way so he may prepare himself for his appointment in partaking in this cultural exchange of services."

Despite how seemingly rabid they’d been just a few moments ago, every mare quickly stepped away and Sniff had to pull Lyra back to his side.

"Not you, Hamstring. Yer my appointment, go get checked in."

"Oops," Lyra sheepishly apologized before following him further into the spa with Swift Sails escorting Sniff in.

While getting ready, he turned with a grin towards his bodyguard.

"Swifty, thanks. That was pretty clutch back there."

"Clutch?" Swift Sails asked, still firmly sporting her spear in her wing.

Sniffed huffed in amusement at still using terms they didn't understand yet.

"You took control of the situation back there. You're really intimidating when you want to be."

Swift Sails took the compliment graciously, but didn't seem to let it go to her head.

"It took me a while to be able to do that. I don't really like coming off that strong, but you kind of have to be in the guard. Otherwise civilians and nobles will walk all over you."

"You were never like that with me," Sniff said humorously as he got the table ready. "Why's that?"

Swifty didn't seem to react much to the question, instead, calmly held her post near the door.

"You’re all such an anomaly. At first I was worried that the rumors were true, that you were working with Sunset Shimmer. Thankfully, that was put to rest that night at your embassy when we all watched your movies. Plus, for how well you all took care of Celestia and the others. You all seemed so innocent and kind. And I don't know if you remember, but I was there when you played that prank on Rainbow Dash with those toys. I could tell you weren't a threat or anything like the nobles I'm used to dealing with. I didn't see a reason to try and intimidate you. You're a good stallion."

Mildly stunned by the heartfelt confession, Sniff put aside his inappropriate thoughts he held before and took a new liking to his personal guard.

"You know what, Swifty? You just earned yourself a free massage. Not right now, but you're a good friend and deserve something better than a slice of cake."

Swift Sails laughed, utterly amused at the offer.

"I'd be fine with another slice of carrot cake. You can't possibly be better than what Mrs. Cake can pull out of the oven."

"Is that so?" Sniff asked, clearly taking that as a challenge. "Tell you what. Being how we've had the increase in our security and I don't like the idea of every girl here trying to push things, why don't you stay inside while I work my magic fingers. Maybe then you'll appreciate what I'm offering."

Swift Sails grinned, intrigued to see just what these human hands could do.

"Is that a standing order, Mr. James?"

Standing by the door, Sniff gave an equally gleeful grin back.

"Consider it more of a friendly challenge. Get comfy, I'm sure you'll be impressed."

Once the challenge was made and after a few more minutes of waiting, Sniff returned with Lyra.

"You'll have to excuse Swift Sails staying in the room with us. Just pretend like she's not even here and just get comfortable on the table."

Visibly excited Lyra jumped up on the table, practically vibrating in anticipation.

"Just try and stop me."

Quickly getting in place, Sniff started with a handful of oil, beginning on the back of her neck like he did the first time. The reaction was instant with Lyra moaning as Sniff's fingers started working over her shoulders and up into her neck again. However, Sniff wanted to both reward Lyra for all her help as well as let Swifty see what she had to look forward to. It was going to be a massage that pushed the limits.

"Just let me know if anything becomes uncomfortable. I think I finally have a good idea on what you ponies like."

As to be expected, Lyra had no complaints.

"Whatever they're paying you, it’s not enough."

Swifty was a little surprised at Lyra's reaction, but kept her military bearing off in the corner. There was no way she could think of that Sniff could be as good as he implied.

Sniff on the other hand knew enough that emotions played a part in some way to how his contact with these ponies changed their intensity. Knowing this, he found some twisted pleasure in what he was doing. So, gathering all the lovely and joyful thoughts he could put into his work, the results were irrefutable, given this mare's reactions.

Succumbing to the effects, Lyra let out a moan that was nearly orgasmic. His hands felt better than she had remembered. It was immaculate. This really was the best job she ever had.

Channeling some inappropriately lovely and joyful thoughts, Sniff was doing his best to make his touch as sensual as possible. Not too deep, not too soft. Working his magic, he pressed his fingers no differently than he would into Oven Fresh, simultaneously imagining it was her that he was with for Swifty to watch.

For the next thirty minutes he made sure to please his client as patently as possible. Every time he pressed his digits against Lyra, it left her wishing those fingers would never leave, yet longing to see more places he could cover at the same time.

Eventually, he had worked his way down to her glutes and her moans were becoming distracting, even to him. At this point he figured he could have mounted her and she wouldn't have batted an eye at it, hell she might have even offered to go all the way. However, there were other places to work on, many he wasn't going to bother with given his etiquettes.

"Could you turn over for me?"

He had said it so nonchalantly, Lyra had no reason to question him. Anything to continue his onslaught of divine services.

Obediently sprawling out on full display, it was such a sight to see. So deviant that given his recent conversion, he was anticipating staying with Ovens until the party later that night to avoid corrupting yet another pony. For now, though, he had some time to eat it up, hopefully without any corrupting.

"Just relax and let me work these hands over you, but tell me if anything becomes too overwhelming or uncomfortable."

With a little more caution and gentle pressure, he started working his grip from above her ankles towards her knees.

Unlike the last time he was there, he avoided the inner thighs with anything other than a thumb gracing over them. Instead, he moved higher to work over her hips and pulled in closer to her center. He hadn't worked much over the abdomen and lower rib cage, making this was more of an experiment than anything else before he tried venturing into other techniques.

Again, as he observed the equine form at certain angles, they're bodies partially looked eerily human. It was unmistakable, the similarities in some aspects of their frame were appealing given how pliable their joints let them lay with a humanoid appearance. That, or perhaps he was worse off in his head than he thought.

Maybe all the fooling around in the kitchen that morning left him more aroused than he realized. The more he was drawn in, he started to think he would actually have to allow Ovens to do more for him. Currently, if only allowing her to watch wasn't going to be enough to stop him from slipping, he’d have to allow himself to give in completely. Although, maybe he already had and was lying to himself.

As a matter of fact, he could cut back on trying to wow Swift Sails. He'd proven his point and there was no telling how Lyra would react to his services when their time was up. Getting this invested might result in having another Mayor Mare on his hands. Figuratively, that is.

New plan, it was time to change from focusing on her lower half and move away from potentially arousing her. Actually he hadn't even noticed he was doing it.

How easy was it for him to fall back into his old ways? He really did need her help, but at least knowing that helped him to morally correct his course. Knowing the right thing to do, he put his hands to work for the most good they could do for his client, not his own amusement..

"I'm going to move from your chest and back up to your shoulders. You seem to carry a lot of tension there."

"Okay," Lyra mewed, possibly not even knowing what he said.

Changing his mindset and how he worked his hands, Sniff gave Lyra a new technique. He moved behind Lyra's head and focused more on finding the tension she needed released. Actively trying to act like a masseuse like he should have from the beginning.

"How does that feel?" He asked in a smoother tone.

Lyra breathed in deep, a warm smile washing over her muzzle.

"Everything has been wonderful. Are you doing something different? This feels nice, but also... more relaxing."

"A change in techniques," Sniff answered in a half truth. "And while I have you here, and I hope you don't mind me saying this in front of Swifty, but you're one of the real ones. I'm glad to have you as my stalker."

Rather than be offended, Lyra simply giggled.

"I'm not a stalker. I just want to help you. And I feel terrible about how afraid of you I was when we first met. No pony should think there’s a reason to be afraid of you. I want to make sure we all can get along and can learn from each other."

Sniff continued working his way up over her pectorals, though it was kind of strange massaging her where a woman's breasts would normally be. Not that he thought Lyra would have minded, which was really a danger for him.

“Well, I’m happy to hear you’re not afraid of us,” Sniff answered, working his hands into her shoulders. “I appreciate all the help as well. Being able to safely work here is going to do a lot to keep our morale high. It’s nice to be welcomed and feel like we play a part here in the community.”

Lyra gave a long sigh of relief then held an expression like she wanted to say something, but was too distracted by what Sniff was doing to find the words. It took his hands working over her neck and massaging her scalp for her to finally speak her mind.

“I know you’re close with Twilight and all her friends, but if anything ever comes up with public relations or legal issues, please come find me. For all you’ve done here in our town and from what Bon Bon told me, taking care of each other out in the forest, I want to make sure you’re taken care of, too.”

Finally finished, Sniff took a slip of paper with four names and times written down for him.

“Thanks, I imagine there’s a lot of girls that wanted me to fit them in today, but I’m sure you know there’s been a lot going on. I’ll take these four appointments tomorrow and see how things are looking with that. If anything comes up with a cancelation and you have to get a hold of me while I’m at the castle, just let the guards know that it’s work related. Specialist Swift Sails and the others should know and let whoever you send in so they can see me. But if I’m not there, I’m sure Spike can take the message for me. And… I’m sorry. What’s your name again, and who does your hair? That style is just banging on you.”

The receptionist was a very pale teal colored mare with a mane cut shorter than most others in town. Said mane was a two toned washed out lavender-colored that matched her blue eyes. This color in turn blended well with her apron stachel combo she wore with muted rose colored highlights, the same as her collar.

“Roxie Rave,” The flattered mare answered.

Sniff stored his appointment paper in his pocket and gave Roxie a wink.

“I’ll have a hard time forgetting that. And if you see Aloe or Lotus later today, tell them I said they made a smart choice by putting a mare as cute as you at the front desk.” He turned away with a coy grin as he said his farewell. “See you tomorrow.”

As Sniff left the spa with Swifty, leaving behind another blushing mare, his escort looked up to him with a curious grin.

"That was a good line you fed Roxie back there. You like that with all the ladies?"

Sniff chuckled and acted rather nonchalantly at the jab.

"Force of habit. Don't put much thought into it."

The expressions on Swift Sails's face did nothing to hide the humor she found in Sniff's antics.

"If you say so. Where to next?"

"Back to the castle," Sniff instructed. "I'm going to have to make another stop back at Oven Fresh's place today, but I know she's got some work to do filling some orders. I'm gonna use the time to lay down for a bit. Just need to grab something from my car before we head back in the castle."

Benny came back to the house, having forgotten to grab a towel, where he happened across Pinkie setting up more decorations fit for a five year-old. Somehow, seeing the goofy setup made him think of his own appearance.

"Hey, Pink, if I'm doing this date thing, I don't want to go looking like a scrub. Where's a good place to get a haircut?"

Pinkie dropped her next set of streamers and gasped in excitement, letting Benny know she was going to turn this into a big deal.

"An all new makeover!?"

Now Benny knew he stepped in it.

"No! Just a haircut."

Pinkie skipped over and took Benny by the hand, leading him to the car.

"Yep. Just a haircut and a few other things to get you ready for your big Double, Double Date! Off to the Ponyville Spa we go!"

By the time Pinkie managed to shove him in the driver's seat, he knew there was no point fighting this. He would deal with the spa ponies when he got there and get everything straightened out.

On the bright side, Pinkie was easy to quiet down once he put on some music for her to listen to. It was kind of funny that she could be so easily distracted and pacified just like the five year-old she decorated as. A passing thought of jingling keys to see her reaction brought out a private snicker. After all, he already got her to chase down a distraction that didn’t exist.

Oh, the possibilities.

After a short ride back into town, Benny parked the car and stopped himself from asking if he would get a ticket for parking just off the street. Stupid question.

“Alright, I got it from here, Balloon Butt,” Benny stated as he reached for the door handle.

“Nope!” Pinkie chirped, not caring how much Benny resisted. “You’re getting the full treatment.”

Immediately feeling a cringe come on, Benny had a sickening relapse of remembering what a full treatment at the spa involved.

“Pinkie, I really don’t want to do anything that involves me taking my clothes off while I’m here. I can take a bath at home.”

Undeterred, Pinkie patted her eyes, trying to look as cute as possible.

“Oh, come on BenBen. You don’t know what all you're missing. You’re going to love it.”

“I saw what you made Cranky Doodle Donkey go through,” Benny mournfully informed her, trying one last time to persuade her. “Do you remember me telling you about the bathing suits? I never got to finish explaining. The reason-”

“There’s no pool here, BenBen,” Pinkie answered, cutting him off. “And you made a promise. A Pinkie Promise.”

She jabbed him hard in the chest twice with an angry scowl that would have been more threatening if he didn’t know her better.

“You almost died because of that scary shadow pony, then made me lie to my best friends to keep your feelings safe. You made me responsible for anything that could have happened with other spookie shadow pony stuff after that. Then you drank yourself into a stumbling mess last night and I had to carry you to bed! You’re not good at taking care of yourself, mister.”

Pinkie undid her seatbelt and leaned over the center console to get in Benny’s face. Although, this time a nerve must have been struck for how sincerely dark and aggressive she looked.

“We’re friends and I’m here to help you because you forgot how to be happy. So, you’re going to get out of this weird music playing cart... wagon wheelie thing, walk into the spa, enjoy your makeover, and then have the best Double Double Blind Date ever while staying sober. After your date is over, you’re going to be a real gentlecolt and invite them over to my first ever Post War Warparty and have fun! Got it!”

Benny blinked a few times, trying to get over how intimidating she was now compared to the last time he shrugged her off. Even still, he couldn’t take her too seriously.

“Is this because I couldn’t find the Oreo cookies earlier?”

Unbeknownst to Benny, Pinkie had a limit to how much bullshit she can take. Fortunately, she let him know where that limit was and cheerfully helped him inside, where she happily greeted the mare working the counter.

“Roxie! Good to see you again! BenBen here needs the whole shabang! He’s got a big Double Double Blind Date tonight and needs to look and feel his best. I’m leaving him in your trusted hooves.”

Hogtied, gagged with an apple in his mouth, and strapped to a push cart being wheeled to the front desk, Benny regretted exceeding Pinkie’s bullshit limit if this was how he was going to be treated. Also finding himself wondering where the hell she pulled the push cart from. Was that there for this very reason, or did she conjure it from the ether like everything else.

After briefly explaining Benny’s situation, Pinkie pranced her way out to the door.

“Oh, and if he tries to run away...” She did a slow turn with a menacing grin. “Let ‘em. I love playing hide and seek.”

Confident that she made her stakes perfectly clear, she pranced her way out with one last instruction.

“Make sure he's picture perfect for his date. Princess Luna will be here to pick him up to escort him out. Make sure she's not disappooooointeeeed."

Once Pinkie was out the door, Roxie cautiously made her way from behind the counter and removed the cloth securing the apple in Benny’s mouth, already guessing the leadup to this situation.

“You… made a Pinkie Promise, didn’t you?’

Benny groaned and gave another tug on his bindings, though didn’t sound any more beaten up over his predicament than he did while on the drive over.

“Mistakes have been made, yes… And does the whole shabang involve removing these ropes? This isn’t my fetish… not the top five at least.”

Roxie stared down curiously at Benny.

“What’s a fet... actually, tell me later. I’m not coming between Pinkie Pie and one of her promises. You’re getting our best today, for both our safety. Please follow me once you can stand.”

Benny found himself in an odd, yet somewhat familiar position. Not sitting in the barbers seat, even if it was a unicorn behind the scissors. Benny was forced into accepting help. Although, the order of being restrained and struck in the chest had been reversed, that was hardly the point here.

What was so familiar was how much he fought the help he didn't want to accept. Regretfully, just like his last time with Cerb, having to give in after he couldn't run away was just as pathetic.

It was hard to say why he resisted something as harmless as a blind date with the other couples he'd be meeting up with. Bowling wasn't something terrible… didn't they have an episode with bowling ponies already? Something with a Big Lebowski reference. It was hard to pay attention after seeing that part of the show.

Maybe it was the worry of being forced in the bath? Partially because in some ways it felt demeaning, or maybe something only a spoiled snob would pay for, except for Sniff. He could do that and not be a prick about it.

"Is the bath scrub part of the services Pinkie requested today?" Benny asked, eyeing the aforementioned implement cautiously.

The barber paused for only a moment, thinking about the question after being so focused on the task.

"Yes, sir. A full body scrub to get your coat nice and… oh… you don't seem to have much of a coat."

"No," Benny answered in a groan, but decided to give in to an old nervous habit. "Not much at least. I'd rather avoid it, I'm sure that'd be bad for both of us. It'd be kind of a… hairy situation."

Bemused, the barber snorted.

"Really?"

"Awe, cut me some slack," Benny countered. "And a little off the top."

The barber again tried not to laugh, "Your jokes are terrible, sir."

Benny grinned, his nervousness not affecting him as much the closer he got his barber to laughing.

"Don't worry, despite what you're cutting, these aren't my mane jokes.

The barber finally chuckled at the almost clever pun.

"Terrible."

Feeling a bit more at ease, Benny kept the jokes going.

"Should I rein it in?"

"Sir, I'm trying to cut your hair," the barber persisted, his shoulders shaking as he struggled to keep from laughing.

"Sorry," Benny pretended to apologize. "I've just had all these dumb jokes in my head since I watch those two body building unicorns lose a competitive combat exercise to a pair of super fat Earth ponies."

The barber was so thrown off by that news, he had to ask, "The two fit ponies lost?"

"Yeah," Benny huffed. "Both teams were backing up at the same time and the fat ones out flanked the fit ones."

The poor barber had to pull back from laughing so hard.

"That's too much for me to handle."

"No way," Benny said, feigning surprise. "The two fit unicorns said the same thing."

After a few more good jokes running their course, a stylish haircut, and a quick trim of the slow growing beard, he was led into the sauna. Mercifully, he was given a bath robe and a towel, though he still felt uncomfortable whenever he even thought a pony was walking by the door.

After a good twenty minutes, Aloe opened the door and welcomed him out to the next item on the list. Sadly, it was just the one he was the most worried about.

Aloe and Lotus stood on either side of the tub for Benny. However, much to Benny's relief, he wasn't walking into a situation with ponies completely blind to his needs.

Aloe motioned for Lotus to turn around and did the same as Benny walked in closer.

"We remember from your friends, Peter and Cerb, that you have issues with modesty since you're built so differently. You may disrobe and step into the tub when ready. And we added extra bubbles for your comfort."

Benny was pleasantly surprised. No cold floors like the hospital where he was being gawked at and addressed. No pink pony jumping out and creating havoc. Not even a royal drama queen, or princess, in the room. As a matter of fact, these mares were shockingly different from the Mane Six he'd been hanging out with.

"Thanks," He said with genuine gratitude. "I wasn't expecting that."

He dropped his robe off and stepped inside the tub. Not too hot, only a little bit warmer than 'just right.'

"So, what's with this rub uh-dub-scrub? And I'm in. You can turn around now."

Lotus finally properly welcomed her new human guest.

"Velcome, Benny. Vee are sorry vee did not know you could be here today. Vee hope har staff has treated ewe vell."

"They've been good," Benny answered as he watched the two prepare their hooves with wearable scrub brushes. "I was actually expecting a much more aggressive service. Made me really nervous getting in here."

Happy to help a friend of Sniff’s, Aloe responded in a comforting tone, "Well, we hope you can relax here. That's the whole point of this place. So if there are any areas you would like us to give extra attention to, or avoid, please let us know."

"Just my groin and butt," Benny answered bluntly. “I also got this cut on my arm that hasn’t healed up all the way, so be gentle with that.”

"Ah, just like vith Petair and mister Cerberus. Vould zat be zee standards vith all humans?"

Again, Benny was surprised at the tact and decorum these two had. Talk about professionalism.

"Yes… and thank you."

Instructions now laid out, Aloe started scrubbing Benny's back.

"Oh, it's not a problem at all. Even our other customers have areas they don't want worked on or touched. Hooves, ears, bellies if they're ticklish, even had a few that don't want their cutie marks touched. Really, you have nothing to be concerned about, but what happened to your arm? Were you injured in the Everfree Forest?"

“Nothing worth mentioning,” Benny answered flatley. “Had a mishap at the Castle of the Two Sisters. It’s been dealt with.”

After that short discussion, Benny finally started to relax.

The bath was surprisingly enjoyable. It didn't change his point of view on the idea of paying to be bathed or pampered, but he did see the appeal. At least the next set of services wasn't going to be an issue.

As he got out of the tub, Lotus parted ways to attend to another client, so Aloe was assisted by another mare, Lavender Essences.

This mare had a coat that matched her name and was contrasted by her pastel pink colored mane and tail. She had makeup of a lite teal green to accentuate her eyes, or give her appearance some flair. Even with the simple white collar with the pink circular jewel center over her neck, she was kind of plain looking. Not that she wasn't pretty in her own right. Her simplicity gave her an overall pleasing appearance, making her look cute and approachable. Even her cutie mark of the two short, burning candles made her a perfect fit for this relaxing environment.

"Any problem areas you would like us to focus on today?" Lavender asked.

"Nothing specific," Benny answered. "But I heard you were all good at this, so do whatever you think would be best."

A hint of caution still lingered in Benny as he laid there face down on the table. Then he felt Aloe start to work her oiled hooves in his shoulders. Given how he talked his way around having Pinkie return the favor of a back massage after the pool incident, this was his first time feeling what they could do.

The hard marble like polish on her hooves felt like a well guided tool. Then the frogs hidden behind the hooves flexed and worked over the muscles in a completely different way.

He thought about how to describe it, but it was hard to pin down, given how it changed its density and pressure. At times it could be as firm as a thumb pressing into him. Other times it glided over his skin like a puppy’s tongue. It was surprisingly enjoyable.

Aloe took notice of his most relaxed state yet.

"Is this to your liking? Not too rough?"

Lavender too took notice and spoke in a low voice, "If you are comfortable with this, would you mind if I started now?"

Now properly relaxed, Benny let down his defenses completely.

"This is good. You're not too rough, and you can start now, too. I'm okay with this."

As Lavender began working on his calves, he started to remember what it was like to be close to someone again. At least being close in terms of some kind of contact that wasn't with one of his friends. Certainly nothing like this. Not that this was anything intimate, but how long had it been? How long would he be here? Why did he have to fix himself here? What would it actually be like being intimate with a pony? Was that his only option if… it was going to have to be one of them if Becky or Kelly weren't going to want to settle down with him. Did he even want to settle down with either of them?

This was stupid. Why was he even thinking any of these thoughts, he wondered.

“Chris? That’s a given. Sniff? Wouldn't put it past him. Cerb… he needed help, but he also wouldn't be interested in getting serious with any female when he still had his night terrors… or maybe I should leave that as a thought to revisit if that’s what they’re helping him with.”

Shifting gears, his mind went to the one who started these thoughts.

“Lumberman would have been the most likely to slap some sense into any of them for even attempting something like that. Yet, he was the one who started these series of thoughts and justified it. Well, at least for the girls… No… If things were already this jacked up, Kelly has to be messing around with Big Mac at this point. Those two have been practically inseparable since the welcome party.”

With the most likely of candidates checked off the list, that left one more.

“Becky though, she has to be unaffected by all of this. She hasn’t had an interest in finding someone in years. She… wouldn't be interested in any of the guys, including me. God… what the hell have I been doing these past two weeks to not see how things were spiraling out of control to the point I couldn't even put up a fight about this date I agreed to.”

He had played a crucial part in this in spite of never really questioning his willingness to even consider it.

“Who am I kidding? I have only myself to blame. I wandered off with Pinkie to train her because once again I thought I could be just like Big Bad Cerberus. I gave into my fears and refused to run away at the first sign of danger. I refused help in dealing with my issues and destroyed the only entity that seemed to have a clue on how we were brought to this world, how we could get back... but why us? What purpose outside of his vague monologue? There has to be more to it than… I don’t even know.”

The more he thought about everything, the clearer it became that Pinkie was right. He wasn't good at taking care of himself. The best decisions he made was putting someone else in charge of his problems or teaching them how to take care of it for him.

Any kind of issue related to dealings with Twilight or Celestia, he referred to Chris. The military exercise, he showed Twilight how to handle things, but let her make the choices. He even encouraged everyone's progress and working with their pony sponsors despite knowing long ago he hadn't stepped up to help his friends. Not really. Not significantly. Not without deferring his own issues to wait a little longer. Nothing really started getting better for him until he accepted Pinkie’s help.

“In the end, I still held onto my secrets one more day by exploiting Pinkie's ignorance and good will. Then again, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to save Cerb and Zecora. Of course, I could only do that because Big Mac was strong enough to carry me to the fight.”

It was hard to say if these thoughts were making him feel worse as he examined his faults, or better for finally admitting them.

“I knew I had problems and could have saved us so much pain and we could have drawn out the Pony of Shadows when we were all stronger together… I should have stopped Kelly from going to the Apple Farm the day she was almost murdered and Cerb never would have been tempted into the forest if I hadn’t gone along with the prank to get him into his date with Rarity.”

How many problems had he created that others had to fix or compensate for? How many bad choices were others able to turn around and make work for them… and why couldn't he have realized the stupid rules and logic that drive the stories and narratives of a cartoon world were guiding them?

The whole time since they've been there, that’s what’s been happening. It had to be one great, big, cosmic joke being played on them. Who else but him and his friends would have been so calm and stupid enough as to follow along with the offerings of this strange new world?

That had to be it. This world still has rules, even the ones he was able to break, just as they were intended to be broken by Pinkie still seemed to work like they would in the show.

Was that the secret for this world created for happy endings? Face some trials, suffer some growing pains, learn from your mistakes, and then reap the rewards? Right? That was it, wasn't it?

“Could the dumbest fucking answer be the right one? That humans aren't fully exempt from the rules and logic of this world? So… what? To find my resolution I have to keep working with Pinkie on how to be happy again? My first buddy comedy episode is going to be a trip to the spa and a double date with bowling before inviting my new "love interest" back to my place for a party and awkwardly introducing her to my friends? How hard could that be to play along with?”

Looking back, he seemed to only be right about the most tangible of things, but motives or processes left a lot of room for improvement.

“Or am I wrong about this as well?”

This overthinking was spotty at best for presenting answers. It was time to pull it back some. Having neglected his issues he’d only succeeded in making things worse by ignoring them and not taking control of the situations with any conviction or confidence.

Others had gotten better with their personal problems or improved their overall situation, while also possibly sleeping around with talking cartoon ponies and starting serious relationships with them. That had even been a question he left open to Cerb after his date with Rarity, and Cerb likely hadn't been left with the impression that Benny was trying to talk him out of it.

Realistically, what other options beyond isolation and celibacy did he have? Would it be the wrong choice if that's all this world had left to offer? Could he even overlook the fact they weren't human? If he didn't, was that a form of prejudice? Specist?

Sadly, all these inner thoughts weren’t getting him anywhere. He would need some input from an unbiased source.

"Can I ask you two a question?" He quietly asked as they continued to work him over.

"Something wrong?" Aloe asked.

Benny didn't really know how to ask, but they had to have thought it, knowing how Sniff was.

"Is it weird that a pony agreed to go on a blind date with me?"

That's a good way to go about it. Put the pressure on them, not make him out to be the bad guy.

"Not at all," Lavender happily answered. "You all made such a big splash at your welcome party, I'm surprised somepony else hasn't asked you out already. Although, you've all been so busy and dealing with so much, I imagine they must have thought it would have been rude to ask."

That seemed to make their point of view rather clear for Benny, though still left him unsatisfied with the answer.

"So, the fact that I'm human isn't a problem?"

This time Aloe had some thoughts to share.

“You may not be a pony, or even a griffon, but you certainly are a handsome bunch with good hearts. It’s not like you’re a bunch of violent monsters or mindless beasts. I’d say there’s something very special about all of you, and any mare would be lucky to have you as their special somepony. You don’t mind that term, do you?”

Benny didn’t have a rebuttal to something so obviously explained. Yet, he still seemed out of touch mentally for allowing himself to agree to potentialy end up having sex with one of them.

“We only have other humans where we come from. Twilight and the others know about it, but everything that isn’t human in my world are essentially only wild animals, but actually, less intelligent and more wild than those in this world. There's no real way to describe it, but I'm now starting to figure where my head is at with all this. Humans are unlike anything in both our worlds. Even other primates are nowhere near close to how intelligent and capable the animals here are… I'm still stuck thinking there's something wrong with this."

"Are you saying humans can't be with ponies as lovers?” Aloe asked, sounding rather disheartened by that claim as she stopped the massage.

Benny was silent for a moment, trying to put his warring thoughts together. The distant silence even had Lavender pull her hooves away until he spoke again.

“No, I’m not saying that. I’m pretty sure that’s not a problem at all for at least most of my friends. I’m… I don’t know what I think about it. I haven’t wanted to find someone new, even human, since I lost my fiance… but I never thought I’d be alone forever and that’s probably how long we’ll be stranded here.”

Even now, it was still hard to try and ram so many new adjustments into his life without the proper time to acclimate to all of them.

“I think my friends made peace with that already, but I’m only now coming to terms with it. I can’t even think of a way to describe a scenario for you to relate with. Even Timberwolves have some ability to convey thoughts and understand language. It would be like you trying to comprehend a world without magic. Where the sun and moon couldn’t be controlled or pegasi couldn’t change the weather. A world where the rules you were told had to be obeyed and couldn’t be changed no longer applied… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this new life I have here.”

Lavender exchanged a concerned look of confusion with Aloe before she thought to give this her best shot on comforting their unrelaxed client.

“I don’t think we can relate to what you’re going through, and what you’re trying to describe to us doesn’t make any sense. But if that was the world you came from, and you know those rules don’t apply here, you shouldn’t have to worry about them. Though, you also shouldn’t feel like you have to change how you feel about who you want to be with.”

Aloe agreed and started back to work on Benny.

“I understand that you made a Pinkie Promise with Pinkie, so you kind of have to do this date tonight. Seriously, don’t break your promise with Pinkie, we’ve heard stories... But you also can’t simply change the way you feel. No pony can make you love somepony if that’s not what your heart is telling you. Although, from what I’ve seen of you and the others, I think you could have a very happy life here if you can’t go back to your world and choose to stay with us.”

As Aloe spoke, Lavender added some extra oil to her hooves and gave a little more of herself to Benny’s cause.

“I’m also sorry to hear about losing your fiance. Most of us never get that far, so if you’re feeling lonely, or that maybe you’ll never find that special lady to share the rest of your days with, we can understand that. Most mares don’t talk about it, but it’s easy for us to feel like even though the options are out there and the world wants us to find that love of our life, we’re also destined to grow old without a husband or foals of our own. Like something is out there robbing us of a chance at love.”

While these were thoughts seldom visited, they were the kind that had been deeply dwelt on. However, this was the first time she was sharing them, yet she felt compelled to continue.

“Some mares even become so overwhelmed by jealousy they choose to leave their married friends behind. Other times, it’s the wife that can’t stand seeing her friends go without, or become paranoid and overprotective of their husbands. It can be even worse for those that lose their husbands. Not only do they have to raise their foals by themselves, it’s like the memory of those stallions lost is so terrible that everypony pretends to have forgotten about them. I think it’s safe to say that the chance for any of us to ever find a stallion of our own is such a flimsy fantasy, we rarely even try. So if anything, be honest with your date tonight. Making a good friend is much better than having a broken heart.”

“I can relate to you on that,” Benny sighed, feeling more guilty than relaxed now. “Humans are experts on suffering from broken hearts and losing loved ones. And losing my ex broke a lot of hearts… I don’t think mine ever healed either.”

Aloe wouldn’t say it, but hearing Benny explain himself at the end both left her mourning for him, but also optimistic that at least some mare could still have a chance. If not with his blind date, there were still others who would likely leap at the chance to get to know him better.

“We’re sorry to hear of all the hardship you’ve gone through. Some of the less spoken rumors floating around are that you all keep getting hurt or have had a rough go of things. But even if you had a bad start, Ponyville is a lovely place to stay. We've always felt safer ever since Twilight showed up all those years ago. And now with you and Cerb here, well, this is probably the safest place to be. But at the end of the day you have to do what you feel is right for you. And if things don't work out tonight please come back for another visit. A thank you for all the contributions you've done for us."

"Thanks," Benny said with a somber tone. "Not just for the offer, but for actually talking to me calmly about all this. I feel a little better now.”

Lavender continued working to help Benny relax, now taking notice that he looked to be more fit than Sniff. Not extremely muscular like Cerb, but certainly more well defined. Then it hit her that every other mare had their eyes on Cerb and Sniff.

While he wasn’t as strong as Cerb or as charismatic as Sniff, Benny seemed friendly enough and was at least trying. Maybe she could work in a little extra favor for herself.

"You know, I can't say I blame you. After the explosion, we thought we were under attack. Then Twilight and the others all rushed out and were gone for hours. When we finally saw Rainbow Dash that night, she was acting strange and others were talking about how they had to walk Applejack home. Many of us shrugged it off as another day in Ponyville and thought it was over. But then Celestia came unannounced with all her guards and were looking for Twilight, asking us if we’d seen any unusual creatures or any suspicious looking ponies. We thought maybe the danger wasn't over."

Aloe was following along and picked up where Lavender stopped to breathe.

"Celestia never brings more than a few guards and never stays overnight without visiting in town. But she never stopped after finding Twilight and marched out with her guards back to where you arrived. Needless to say, had it not been for Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders vouching for you, most of Ponyville would have been fearing the worst. Many of us were still cautious the day of your welcome party, but as it turned out, so many in town had already met your friends and didn't realize that you were the ones they were afraid of. Many of the shop owners in town had so many nice things to say once the Crusaders made it clear the humans walking around town were actually very kind. But, if I'm being honest, there are still some ponies that don't look so kindly on you."

Originally, Lavender hadn’t planned on taking things that far, but if it was better to be honest, best to tell the truth.

"From the start of things, ponies were afraid of you. Before they even knew who or what you were, they wanted to make sure they never met you or let you into town. But they didn't know you and viewed you in a very bad way. Now, though? So many love having you in town. Only a few like Spoiled Rich has it out for your friend Becky after Filthy Rich threw all those bits at her to try and impress everypony in town, but only embarrassed himself. There's even rumors about Lumberman trying to put Hard Hat out of business. Besides, there will always be a few ponies who can't accept having new faces in town. Although, if the other rumor is true that he assaulted her, your friend would have my business over Hard Hat anyday."

Aloe gave a soft sigh, as the massage was coming to an end.

"Ponies aren't perfect either. And I think what Lavender is trying to say that if you don't see us like that because we are so new and unfamiliar, that's understandable. It doesn't make you a bad stallion. And if you've had your heart broken before, that's a lot different from us who've never had the chance. Actually, if you would like, we could speak on your behalf and get Twilight involved if Pinkie is making you do something you feel uncomfortable about this date tonight. No pony should force you to do something you don't want to do. Why would you even make such a promise if you are this unsure about us?"

It was slowly coming full circle on Benny. He knew why he was in this position.

"I'm not against doing this blind date tonight. I'm just dealing with a lot of other issues. I could explain it to Pinkie if I really wanted to and get out of it… Should I bring flowers to a blind date, or is that too corny."

Oven Fresh knocked on the backdoor to deliver her order. The door opened with Italian Stallion to greet her.

“Oven Fresh, so glad to see you. These bread bowls are selling like wildfire. Come in, come in.”

Happily, Oven Fresh pulled her cart in, grateful for the business.

“I’m happy to hear that. Peter said they were a popular dish where he comes from.”

Elated, Italian Stallion went on with his praise.

“Yes, yes. To be honest, I don’t think they would be selling so well if we tried to make these bread bowls on our own. I’ve made many uh fine loaves and biscuits of my own, but I might have to start special ordering more of your goods for our dishes. Unless you’d be willing to allow me to purchase your recipes?”

Ovens smiled and tried not to laugh off the absurd request.

“Sorry, but these are staying with the family. I would be willing to take on more orders if you’re offering, though.”

“Ah, I knew it was too good to be true. I had to at least ask, but yes. I’m still looking over our seasonal menus to see where to best place your special talents. In the meantime, though, I can unload these. Top Shelf asked me to let you know she wanted to speak with you, if you have the time that is.”

Ovens looked back at the order she was dropping off. Business was picking up now that everypony was back from the Everfree Forest. Plus, she’d spent a lot more time at Rarity’s than she had planned since Twilight showed up and their topics were discussed in explicit length, but she could spare a few minutes for a friend.

“I have some time to kill. I’ll be right back.”

After making her way out the kitchen and to the bar, she was surprised to see how busy the bar was. Mayor Mare, the florist ponies, Spring Forward, and Amethyst Star were there having drinks.

“Wow, you’re staying busy, Top Shelf.”

All eyes turned to Ovens and the idle conversations immediately stopped.

Despite the sudden silence, Top Shelf quickly greeted the baker.

“Oven Fresh, can we all have a chat with you?

Ovens cautiously approached the bar, feeling like this was about to get serious.

“I’m a little busy today, but I can spare some time for you… Is something wrong?”

Hurriedly, Mayor Mare finished taking a long sip from her cocktail.

“We’re sorry for approaching you like this, but we all agree that we'd rather not start a competition amongst ourselves or risk damaging anything you might have been able to start with Peter.”

Roseluck set her drink down and turned to Ovens, now sitting next to her.

“We’re trying to separate rumors and gossip from the truth. Are you Peter’s special somepony, because we all would like a chance to see if he’s interested in finding one.”

“Namely us,” Amethyst clarified, all others present nodding.

With all that was going on with Sniff’s safety, his growingly complex relations he had been developing, and her own sexual frustration being put on hold from new revelations and concerns for Twilight, Ovens needed to take a moment to process.

“Topsy… can you make me one of those drinks? I think I need one.”

For the rest of the group, that could have meant anything in regards to what their options were, but Top Shelf wasn’t about to let her friend go thirsty.

“Sure thing, hun. Regular strength or strong?”

“Regular,” Ovens requested, despite a part of her wishing for the strong version. “I still have to go back to work and I’m sure I’ll have a few more at the party tonight. I’m guessing you’ve all been invited.”

They all nodded, so Ovens decided to start the conversation.

“Peter and I are dating, but… that’s as far as we’re willing to go right now. Rarity had told me, before my date with Peter, that I would come to find out how complicated humans can be. She also told me that it was worth it, and I agree. But since we’re just dating and I’m not technically his special somepony, I still look at him as mine. As for any of you dating him, I’d have to talk to him about that.”

Lily’s ears perked up at that.

“You’re going to ask him if he wants to dump you for one of us?”

Top Shelf finished pouring Oven Fresh’s cocktail and slid it over to her, looking far from thrilled at the idea.

“Ovens, sweety. We’re not asking you to break things off with him if you want to be with him. We all just wanted a chance of our own if things hadn’t worked out between you two.”

Knowing she was about to have a long and complicated explanation, Ovens took a long drink from her glass, nearly finishing the cocktail in one go.

“I didn’t mean I would want to break up with him for any of you. What I mean is I would ask him if he was interested in dating any of you as well.”

Taking a glance to gauge the others reaction, she found it funny. Sniff had mentioned at least a few of these mares, and they were very interested in him after all. He’d even had somewhat hinted at some interest in them.

“Turns out, that’s a thing they do, or can do. Or maybe it’s something Twilight only read about and we should try doing. It’s not like Peter hasn’t been tempted by any of you flirting and trying to court him.”

Mayor Mare stopped short of reaching for another drink as she debated what to ask next.

“Did Peter say who else he was attracted to or interested in?”

Top Shelf could have slapped the mayor for such a question and verbalized her contempt.

“Mayor, show some etiquette. We’re not breaking up Oven Fresh and Peter or trying to steal him away from her. And frankly, I wouldn’t want to be with a stallion who lacked the respect to be faithful to a mare like that. Neither should any of you… although-” Her previous conversation with Cerb that day came back to her. “-that might explain why. Err, sorry, nevermind.”

“It’s not like that,” Ovens softly said, ignoring whatever partial thought Top Shelf had faltered on. “Peter might not be here for long. It’s entirely possible he may end up leaving for good if Twilight can find a way to get them home. He said he would like to come back and visit, but we don’t know if he’d ever want to stay here permanently, or if he even could… or if the trip home would be one way only. That’s why I’m only dating him and… there’s a lot more that I’d rather not get into right now. I’m frustrated enough as it is, but I do need to talk to him about this.”

Having a chance to talk, Mayor Mare had to save face and spoke to apologize.

“We’re terribly sorry for bringing this down on you like this, and I apologize for my rudeness.”

Despite the apology however, Ovens stared at her drink, still sympathetic to the others.

“How many stallions are out there for us?”

The group went eerily quiet at the question. It might have been rhetorical, but it could also be an honest question as well. It came a little too far out of left field for them to know or to even have an answer for.

Oven Fresh took another sip of her drink and held onto the glass, mulling over her thoughts.

“I didn’t know how badly I wanted to find somepony of my own until after I met Peter. I didn’t realize how lonely I was or how slim my chances were to find a special somepony of my own until watching a perfectly matched couple walk into my shop and leave together. The whole time, they were talking about Peter and his friends,how others would be trying to date them, or probably were already dating them. Then they joked how unlikely the mare was to find a stallion of her own.”

She raised her glass and finished the drink. The flavor was certainly of Top Shelf quality, though it sadly tasted undeserved for what she knew her friends were dealing with.

“There are so few stallions around when compared to how much us mares outnumber them. So many lonely mares live out their days without a special somepony that they give up and go on like having a family was never going to be a part of their life. They never even have their first kiss, their first date, or a night lying in bed with a stallion that makes them feel loved, or special… important.

Those words hung heavily in the air. Not many could recall more than a passing flirt until Sniff had come along. For Ovens, it seemed a little selfish to think she had inadvertently kept them from having a chance with him or discover everything he had shown her.

“Even just to be touched in all the ways that they’ll never even know could make them feel so wonderful… it’s not fair.”

Mayor Mare’s heart sunk and she couldn’t hide it.

“Peter did the same thing for me, and you’re right. I’d long given up on finding a stallion of my own. Even when Peter flirted with me, while I loved all the pleasantries and flattery, I was convinced that I shouldn’t humor myself with the thought that a stallion was interested in me. But he never stopped telling me how I shouldn’t consider myself undesirable.”

Her mind wandered back to her most intimate time with him. Such a pleasant memory brought a warm smile to her face. A welcomed change from the gloom they shared.

“And then I was his first client at the spa and… oh my goodness. His hands felt incredible. It didn’t just unstiffen my muscles and ease these weary old joints of mine, I felt alive again. He made me feel young and beautiful, that maybe I had a chance.”

“Magic fingers,” Oven Fresh said with a quiet huff. “You were right about what they’d do, Peter.”

"What was that, dear?" Mayer Mare asked.

Oven Fresh slid off her chair and dropped some bits on the bar.

"Girls, I don't know what Peter will want to do about dating anypony else. Personally, I'm not against it because it's likely to never become a marriage for anypony. But one thing he told me he's good at is helping others find someone else to love. And that's something I really want to help him do while he's here. So, please come to the party tonight and have fun with him. I'll let you all know if asking him out is okay or not. I will need to run this all by Twilight as well. There's a lot of things going on that we have to consider, and I can't talk about them freely."

Lily stepped away from the bar to address Oven Fresh more personable.

"We don't want any trouble. There's no need to bring Twilight into this. And some of us are a little undecided if it was only Peter we wanted to ask out. There's still a few others we were interested in."

Top Shelf scoffed, having heard more rumors than the others.

"I doubt it. Cerb's off the market, Lumberman was never an option unless Applejack is foolish enough to turn him down. I've also heard that Cream Heart managed to have a night with Chris. They were pretty close at the arcade and were seen walking off towards the pond late at night and seen again walking back towards her house.

She glanced a knowing look of disappointment to the other mares.

“I doubt they're just friends, and after she lost her husband, no one should make her lose another stallion. That really only leaves Benny, and he's a wild card as far as we know. We've really only seen him at the welcome party. If he isn't going after Twilight for all the time they spent together since he got here, Pinkie Pie would probably screw things up with him, so that's our last shot."

Daisy sighed, remembering the other mares who had shown their intentions for him.

"And even Benny is going to give us strong competition with the likes of Octavia and Vinyl Scratch chasing after him. And who knows who else has their eyes set on him?”

Now feeling more depressed than before, Mayor Mare groaned, bringing a hoof to her forehead.

“Please don’t call it a competition. Do you have any idea how much trouble it was at the Summer Wrap-Up Festival and Hoedown after Fleetfoot and Tealove had a fight over Big Macintosh? Even if Fleetfoot was injured at the time, Tealove fought like a bugbear. It sadly took Princess Luna stepping in to put an end to their feud… I still can’t believe he never took interest in any of them. A hometown mare like Tealove, a decorated Wonderbolt like Fleetfoot, and Princess Luna herself all pining for his attention... and he ignored all of them.”

Mayor Mare took another gulp of her drink, thoughts of more chaos and disappointment returning like a bad omen.

“It’s stallions like him that make us all feel hopeless about finding a husband. I don’t want to see our streets filled with desperate mares duking it out. Those poor stallions don’t need to see that and making their stay any more difficult than it already must be for them.”

Oven Fresh sighed with the recent memory of Cloud Chaser being oblivious to the perfect match he made with Stormwalker.

“I know, and you’re right about all of that, but you don’t know the half of how hard of a time they’ve had since they came here. And sadly, it’s not likely their hardships are over with. But if you really do care and want to help them, especially Peter, please still come to the party and get to know him better. I encourage you even more if you want a shot at knowing what it’s like to experience what I have with him. Either with him or with another stallion that I’m sure he’ll help you find.”

Despite the long speech,Top Shelf could only force a smile, still not fully convinced.

“Well, I have to be there. I’m serving drinks for them.”

All the others put on their bravest faces and made their promises to attend.

As Oven Fresh started to walk away, she turned back with one last comment.

“Oh, and wear a skirt there tonight. The shorter, the better. Trust me.”

As many ponies prepared for a party back in Ponyville, Celestia was busy toiling away with more calculations.

"A mirrored dimension is usually directly attached to the one it's mirroring. But if they've all broken..."

A new revelation hit her like a ton of bricks. "Is it possible that it was our dimension that was shifted to bring the humans closer to us? If we were pulled out of alignment, that could have stressed the connection and… that explains why the mirrors broke. This changes everything."

The large doors to the throne room opened and Cutter walked inside.

"Princess, if you're ready, I need to report."

Celestia looked up and closed the work she was making her breakthrough on.

"You have your orders. Is there a problem?"

Ever professional, Cutter stood at attention.

"Just the opposite. I found somepony that would like to offer her assistance."

Cutter pushed the door open more to reveal Trixie, gawking at the majesty of the palace until her eyes fell on Celestia.

"Princess! I'm so glad you wanted to see me! There's a darkness coming for Equestria and the humans are the key!"

To Trixe’s surprise, Celestia gave a relieved bow of her head despite the grim warning.

"It appears to have already been dealt with."

Trixie stopped dead in her tracks.

"It has?"

Looking somewhat relieved, Celestia stepped down from her throne and started to approach Trixie.

"The culprit who brought the humans here was a villain from long ago. The Pony of Shadows revealed himself to one of the humans and admitted to needing them for nefarious deeds."

All the confusion Trixie had been suffering was suddenly amplified to maximum capacity.

"The Pony of Shadows? It's… he's real?"

"Yes," Celestia said, trying to calm her subject before returning to her guard. "Cutter you may return to your post. I wish to-" She stopped suddenly, realizing how convenient Trixie's arrival was. "-Where did you find Trixie?"

Embarrassed, Cutter sulked.

"The parking lot, Princess. I was looking for a scout I trained in my previous division and found Trixie trying to double park her wagon in the officers’ spaces. She came here to tell you something important."

Trixie finally put it together that she was to be summoned.

"You were looking for me?"

Nodding, Celestia guided Trixie to follow her out of the throne room.

"Yes, Trixie. And Cutter, as you were."

Without any resistance, Cutter bowed.

"Yes, Princess."

Again, Celestia started to bring Trixie up to speed.

"I read the reports of your dreams. My sister and I were skeptical at first, but after hearing of the defeat of the Pony of Shadows, we realized that the capabilities he showed in combat matched your descriptions of what you faced in your nightmare."

This was too good to be true, but Trixie was ready to accept her salvation from this neverending horror.

"So… it's all over? In all the dreams I've had, there's never been any versions that haven't ended with all of Equestria being destroyed."

Celestia nodded.

"The Pony of Shadows moved nearly without form and had the ability to project extensions of a black metal from his body. The human Benny was injured in the fight by them. The Pony of Shadows revealed his plan was to feed off the humans fear and misery to increase his power. We believe that with his amplified powers, he would have taken on a stronger form with more abilities akin to that of Nightmare Moon and King Sombra."

It took Trixie a moment to remember the legends of the defeated villain.

“Black metal and crystals from King Sombra all fit. And if he drew power from the misery the humans have… I was there when they were talking about the horrible lives they've suffered through. I couldn't stay and listen to anymore of it. All their friends and family were killed in accidents or murdered. Cerberus was covered in scars and lost so many friends. And then being brought here with their friend Becky already dying with her lung-"

"Yes," Celestia said with a heavy heart at all the grim memories. "They would have made for a powerful weapon if they’d been brought to the Castle of Two Sisters instead of Ponyville But that's not what I need you here for. I need your help understanding the spell you created that we believe was interfered with to bring the humans here."

"My spell?" Trixie asked, visibly confused.

Celestia put on her most sincere presentation.

"This is not where the humans belong. They are not safe here, and if others can threaten our safety by exploiting them, that is all the more reason to send them home. Even their influence here is likely to disrupt the flow of harmony."

"It's my fault they're here," Trixie gushed, her voice drenched in sorrow and shame. "All these problems. The nightmares. The fate of Equestria… it's all my fault."

This was a moment Celestia knew she should comfort and console the trouble unicorn, but this was right where she needed Trixie to get what she needed. As shameful as that was for her to admit.

"If you want to help, help me understand how you made your spell work. I've looked it over several times yet I can’t determine how it was supposed to function. I have a copy of it, if you can explain it to me, we can find a way to send them home, where they belong."

Trixie sadly didn’t hear much of what Celestia said, too busy mentally drowning from all the harm she believed she’d caused.. What she was thinking, what she felt, how hard she tried to shortcut her way to success, and what she remembered wasn't helpful.

"Princess… I'm sorry, but if you have my spell, I don't know what else I can tell you. The only thing different from what I wrote down is that I tried to change the spell to look farther out for anypony that matched the description… but my spell failed at what it was supposed to do. And with all the different versions of how we all failed to stop the darkness, our world is so different if we already won… I don't think anything I know even applies anymore."

Celestia stopped to turn and looked down at Trixie. She was crushed, breaking down and blaming herself. Celestia was going to have to build the magician pony up if she was going to get any help from her.

"Trixie, it's not something so simple as that."

Trixie however, shook her head, too overcome with guilt to see any other way.

"I screwed up. Every time, no matter where I am or who tries to help me, I screw things up. The only thing I did right was run away so I didn't make things worse. But I also screwed things up so bad that anything I've learned won't be helpful because no other Trixe has screwed up as bad as me."

"Other Tixies?" Celestia asked. "Are you talking about your dreams?"

Trixie nodded, still wallowing in self pity and sorrow. It was clear to the Princess that Trixie simply wasn’t going to be much help here.

Well, if Trixie wasn't going to be of much help, there wasn't much Celestia could use her for.

"Princess Luna is staying with Twilight for the time being. If you can walk me through everything you remember about casting your spell, I will send you to her tonight so that she may help you with your nightmares, if you are still having them. She has been trying to find you ever since… Never mind that for now. She will explain it better face to face. You can explain the rest to Twilight as well. They have a more firm grasp of the situation with the humans."

Trixie sniffled a little, relieved that this was finally starting to look like it was over.

"I'll tell you everything I remember before I was knocked out."

Cheerilee gave one final tug and pulled Chris's boxers from his feet. She tossed the bothersome garment off the side with no concern of where they landed.

Before her sat Chris, now bare and his erection out to view. And now that it was properly visible to her she realized how strange looking it was.

Looking like one large finger with a bulbous pointed tip. Yet, something about it visually, along with his scent, as well as all the fun and excitement from before stripping him down… she was drawn to it. Something in the primal part of her mind wanted it. Also, considering how long she spent grinding against it through his pants, she wanted to experience it with no barriers.

"Can I touch it?” She nervously asked.

Starlight did the friendly thing and encouraged her.

"So long as Chris doesn't mind, there's a lot more you can do with each other than our first time."

Despite Starlight’s enthusiasm and attempt to lighten the situation, Chris was still nervous.

As much as he wanted to live out this insane fantasy, it had to be too good to be true. He would have to be cautious with these new mares. They didn't have the same history with him like Starlight did… and even she didn't have much history.

"I don't mind, and maybe I can do the same with you?"

Chris regretted everything he was saying. None of it was bold or sexy. He was speaking so reserved and restrained with what he wanted to do. He wished Starlight or any of them would come and take control. Tell him what they wanted or push him into the position they preferred him be in. Anything to make this whole situation even a bit less uncomfortable where he would make the wrong move.

Cheerilee walked forward and sat at Chris's feet between his legs. His scent was so strong now and she loved it. She slowly reached out with her right hoof and ran the divide of her frogs over his shaft.

His skin was soft and smooth. She also could appreciate the fact he did have fur on his body. A tuft of fur over his groin that trailed off up to his naval. But really, it was his cock that fascinated her.

Were pony stallions like this? Why had she never seen one before? Why was she so unfamiliar, yet so unphased by it.

"Try sucking on it," Starlight suggested. "He might like it better than sex for how fast he cums when I do it."

Cheerilee held her hoof still and looked up to Chris with a nervous smile.

"Would you like it if I did that?"

Chris could tell she was feeling much like he was. Excited, yet worried she would do something wrong. Then, without any words, he brought his right hand out and pressed his cock out far enough for her to comfortably get her lips around.

Cheerilee expected a verbal response with some guidance or warnings. Instead he just made it available for her. The level of trust and confidence he must have had in her left her too anxious to attempt disappointing him, and she moved her hoof away to recreate what Starlight had described.

With her face over his cock, she could taste him as she inhaled. It was powerful and made her feel flush and her crotch tingle. Then, her lips made contact.

His flesh was even softer to the touch of her lips and her tongue sliding down his shaft gave her the same rush as kissing him. Warm, tingly, almost ticklish, but certainly made her want more.

She sank down to the base of his cock that seemed to stimulate all her senses. The taste of him wasn't something utterly fantastic. Describing the taste of hairless skin would have been difficult if her mouth wasn't full or she even cared enough to try and put it to words.

As best she could describe it, it was more of an overly powerful experience than how much she could taste of him. However, the vividness of his texture, body heat, the strength of his scent perminating off him, and an intoxicating feeling of warmth and pleasurable experiences happening all over. It had started with the kisses, but this was far more intense.

Likewise, Chris was having a wonderfully difficult time. What Cheerilee was doing felt fantastic, but the shock value of the others watching hadn't worn off. He felt both dirty, knowing that in so many ways what he was doing was wrong, but it also got him aroused. Enough that he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. So, if they wanted to watch, he'd give them a show.

"Okay, I think it's your turn for some attention."

Cherrilee raised her eyes to Chris, but didn't stop, leaving her partner to chuckle.

"Come on, let's trade spots."

Not wanting to argue, Cheerilee slowly pulled herself away from sucking him off. It was crazy to think how enjoyable it was to do something so unspeakable, or at least unspeakable before being hit with the idea of never really having a stallion.

"I can see why Starlilight said she enjoyed this and that we should try doing it."

“What’s it like?” Prim asked.

Cheerilee watched Chris get up and answered as she took his place on the loveseat.

“It’s.. I dunno. It’s like feeling his hands all over you, while kissing him, but more of it.”

Hungrily, Cream Heart licked her lips.

”And to think we had all that time on the beach and the house all to ourselves. Why wasn't I offered this?”

Starlight giggled.

"Don't feel bad Cream, it took me a while to get that far. He just had to get to know me better, -" She turned her attention back to the show. "-and be tempted with a willing mare with a helpful hoof."

Once Cheerilee was properly seated, Chris guided her legs open and leaned in. She wasn't worked up as much as Starlight had been, but maybe that was because it was her first time and she was nervous like he was. Regardless, he loved what he saw.

One thing distinctly different about these girls from what he expected was how they looked between their legs.

They were eerily human-like as far as their anatomy went. The only thing that really stood out as different was the base of the labia that was a bit larger, maybe even a bit longer. The entire pubic mound may have also been a bit more pronounced, but it was incredibly soft, though he lacked the experience to say if that was the norm.

He started with his hands sliding up the crest of her legs meeting her hips and gently pulled her lips open. He let the subtle mounds of pink flesh close and gave a soft kiss over the center of her outer lips, creating a soft groan from Cheerilee. With a positive reaction, he kissed again, pressing his lips in a bit more and noticed her legs relax more and fall away from him. He kissed again, his mouth open slightly, and closed his lips around the base. He gently sucked on the hood and dragged his tongue over her clit, hidden underneath.

As a perfume faintly filled the room, Cheerilee gasped and covered her mouth with her hooves, a look of shock brightly flashed over her face. What she felt was more powerful than the rest she felt with Chris. His kisses were lovely, his hands felt amazing when they touched her, and feeling his cock inside her mouth was deeply stimulating, but this…

Starlight noticed the look of shock and looked around the room, finding the reactions a bit funny from the uninitiated.

“Don’t worry, girls. You’ll understand when it’s your turn. It’s bound to steal your breath away too. Keep going Chris. Give her a good one and then show her what a finger can do.”

There were at least five legit questions Cheerilee could have asked at that point, but she was too discombobulated to put thoughts to words. How was this so much more than what Starlight had described. What was it? Did she already cum? How long was this going to last? What about his finger? She didn’t remember that coming up in conversation.

Chris heard the request and took it to heart. He lowered his hands and spread the moist opening. The lush vibrant pink glistened, slowly flexing in on itself before relaxing, as if to welcome him. Then, again he noticed that soft sweet scent invaded his senses, exciting already painful erection. How could it not, though? Seeing them exposed in full daylight gave him such a better view.

So much temptation and the request to please, he pushed his face forward and drug his tongue the entire length of her parted slit. He stopped under the hood of her clit and dug in to find Cheerilee’s pink pearl, loving his new freedom under their instruction.

Tending to his mare, along with her increased arousal, her clit came out to greet him as he wrapped his mouth around her. Greedily savoring her virgin canal, the gentle sweetness on his taste buds, her burning desires increasing her nectar flowing for his taking. Biddingly, he devoured her mound, letting his tongue lap coarsely over the jewel hidden under her crown.

Hungrily, he continued with measured strokes up between her folds and over her mound. Now, knowing what worked so well with Starlight, he sporadically altered tracing the tip of his tongue in swirling motions or faintly dragging back down over it engorged pearl.

Astonishing, they had barely even begun, yet Cheerilee’s breath sunk deep and she still held her hooves over her mouth to restrain her outbursts.

What he was doing to her was incredible. This feeling, so wonderfully enveloping her thoughts, her everything. She wanted to scream. No, moan, groan… something voistrus, loud and passionate. Thank him, beg him for more—anything but these uncontrollable muffled moans and grunts that came as he ravished her.

Unrelenting, there was no parlay from these overpowering sensations. Yet, frustratingly, despite all of her years of teaching Ponish, poetry, how to write or give a presentation, she could articulate nothing more than oohs and mms?

Before any sense of clarity had left her she knew that mentally, she wasn’t ready for this. How could anypony be ready for this? Regardless, why did she wait so long for this? Why had nopony else ever told her about this? What was even happening? How was this feeling getting even better?

She leaned back further into the love seat, spreading her legs wider, then desperately draping them over Chris’s back to pull him in closer as she drove her hips forward to force him in even further, if that were even possible.

Mysteriously, her body had taken to moving on its own, pressing her for more of this stimulation. It wanted something, and every twitch, or subtle buckling of her hips, adjusting her pussy against his oral treatment brought her closer.

The escalation of this embrace's vibrant indulgence was taking over her body. A feeling, a beautiful sensation that was about to erupt was spreading from her loins through her stomach and into her chest as Chris tightened his grip on her flanks.

Then the truth of Starlight's stories all became clear and what all her praise was in reference to. Cheerilee bucked her hips up hard against Chris and cast her forehooves down to her sides to support her as she squeezed down with her rear legs on his back, releasing a lustful howl.

Uncontrollably, her femine core vibrated with the orgasm that plunged her into a euphoric state of incoherent thoughts, mumbling unintelligible partial words that were all but moans. Her body was alive with a life of its own, and at the moment, she held no desire to control it. She only wanted to keep it alive.

As the moment all too quickly died down, the intensity slowly drifted away. Little by little, the release was given her control over her limbs and most of her breathing again. The pleasure had not left her entirely, though. Chris was still lapping up between her thighs suckling teasingly gently over the pulsating flesh that once kept her most sensitive budding flesh hidden.

Every mare in the room was amazed, surprisingly, none more than Starlight.

“Fuck… Chris, did you do something different?”

In an erratic display of disbelief, Derpy turned her attention to Starlight.

“Was that an orgmazim like you told us, or was that not supposed to happen?”

Starlight tried to keep her reaction to only a grin, but a quiet chuckle that escaped broke out into a snort and a restrained laugh.

“No,” she answered through a laugh before she finally regained her composure.”That was definitely an orgasm, Derpy, but she came so fast. I mean, it at least takes me probably a whole minute, or even two, before I can cum like that. That was… fast.”

Cheerilee quickly started to catch her breath, but didn’t seem to be all that much with it until after Chris pulled away after riding out into her afterglow.

Still trying to calm her frantic breathing and trying to clear the haze from her thoughts, she asked, “Fast? How long… I mean… I thought you said you did this for hours.”

Quickly realizing there must have been some misinterpretation from her storytelling, Starlight corrected the confusion.

“Oh, the first time me and Chris did anything, we both didn’t last very long. With the sex though, it took a while the first time because we had to go so slow and how much it hurt. After that, though, it takes me at least a full minute until he makes me cum between the first three. Then it’s hard to keep track. Although oral kinda of has the orgasms roll over each other a lot faster I think. But I also reeealy needed it that morning and was super horny.”

Speaking so quickly to correct the gap in knowledge, Starlight realized just how little time she had to properly inform her fellow mares.

“Oh, and um, when you start thinking about doing this with Chris and you really want to do it. Like, waking him in while you’re laying next to him in bed so you can try to talk him into having sex again kind of want it, that’s what’s called being horning. It’s got nothing to do with the horn on my head. But um… speaking of horny.”

Hopping out of her seat, Starlight trotted up to the pair, her tail swishing back and forth with each step.

“I’m sorry, but watching you two reminded me how much I enjoy this and… well, now I’m very horny. And, being how you girls have all seen what Chris can do for you now, I can’t help but want to show them what you can look forward to later.”

Chris turned and sat upright next to the loveseat, wondering how serious Starlight was.

“You want to have sex before I do more with Cheerilee or have a chance to clean up?”

Starlight grinned with the hungry eyes of a succubus and took her place on Chris’s lap, holding her fetlocks over his shoulders.

“You’ve already repaid the favor, I only suggested you should show her more of what you can do. But I have been thinking about this all day. I need this right now or it’s going to drive me crazy and I just might end up pulling you away to fuck me at the party tonight. I know Twilight and the others won’t have a problem with me getting as close to you as I want now, but your friends might still have something to say about it."

She slid her slick pussy over his cock and grinded down, drawing the eyes of all the mares in the room.

"Plus Nurse Redheart is veeeeery interested in finding out what to do when she's all healed up and ready to have you rut her with more than what she's seen you do so far. Don't you want to help her?"

Chris didn't know if it was to his benefit to help increase their arousal by letting them watch him fuck Starlight, or if showing them something out of reach would anger them.

Obviously, Starlight wanted to fuck badly and was grinding the tip of his cock into her entrance. He hadn't turned her down while sober, not even once. Although, if he hesitated again, she figured she knew how to entice him more, now knowing more of what he liked.

She brought a hoof up to raise his chin.

"Would it help persuade you if I gave you a little kiss?" She asked, trying to sound cute.

There was nothing Chris could think of to rationalize that Starlight didn't know what had coated his lips. He knew she didn't mind the taste of herself, but would she so readily kiss him knowing she'd be tasting Cheerilee's juices? It was his kind of perversion he knew was being exploited, but couldn't fight it.

"You sure you don't want me to rinse off or-"

Since he didn’t respond with an immediate no, Starlight quickly leaned in for that kiss. Her mouth started wide enough to take in both of his lips and more. She even led with her tongue, licking up his chin to clean up the mess he hadn't had the chance to remove.

In truth, she had actually taken a gamble on what somepony else would taste like, and she wasn't disappointed.

Just like hers, there was a subtle sweetness to it, something a little flat with a metallic taste, but the flavor of it with Chris's lips and tongue only made it sweeter.

It was clear this wasn't going to be a problem for her. It was also an easy way to encourage Chris into getting what she wanted to press him into. Getting Chris open up more was going to be a lot easier.

Meanwhile, Chris was suffering from sensory overload. He loved everything Starlight had done for him. Trusting him, introducing him to the others, fucking him to the near point of exhaustion, converting his pool of mares to date into a harem, and then this kiss after going down on Cheerilee, actively seeking it out… he was in love.

With only a few fumbling attempts, Starlight lifted up enough for Chris to reach under and position himself to take her. Despite all their practice she was still very tight, but thrust herself down to the hilt regardless. She pulled back from the kiss and cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure.

The act had the others tense up, both in reaction from the sight, but also her voice calling out.

Starlight took a moment to allow herself to adjust to him deep inside her again. Simply having it inside was enough to disregard the pain, on top of being too turned on to care.

The room watched Starlight sitting on Chris's lap. Her chest heaved and an exhausted look on her face slowly shifted to a lustful grin as she let out a dark, hungry giggle.

"Mmm… you're so lucky. The more we fuck, the longer you can hold out, and the faster you wear me out. By the time the other girls are ready,-" She rose up half his length and dropped herself down hard. "-mmmph… you'll be wearing us all out."

After adjusting to his weakness abolishing all resistance, Chris grinned back.

"You're a terrible enabler."

Starlight pushed her lips in to near-kissing distance to Chris.

"Shut up and fuck me."

"Hello?" Twilight called out from the garage. "Benny? Pinkie? I didn't see your wagon outside. Are you home?"

Upon hearing the call, Pinkie shouted out from the kitchen, "It's just meeee! Come on in, Twi."

Excited, though curious, Twilight walked in, not alone.

"Hey, Pinkie. I have Rarity and Fluttershy with me, where's Benny?"

Pinkie stepped down from a chair, the last set of streamers set up.

"The party is good to go. Benny is getting ready for his double, double date, and the house will be all set up for everypony, once we get the food and drinks."

Twilight looked over the house's interior. The last time she was there she left with a grudge against Sniff for talking down at her like she wasn't good enough to even try befriending. Instead, she left angry and exhausted with Celestia, being reminded not to get close to them. That humans were too frail and weak to survive in a world not of their own. They could even be dangerous.

How little they knew back then.

Cerb, and potentially any of the humans could be stronger than any pony if they were mad enough. Cerb and Benny had shown just how formidable they were in combat, and the destructive force of their weapons was on par with the powers any of the strongest ponies wielded. They could be dangerous, but they weren't. Despite how they had been attacked at Applejack's home, they could have fought back. They likely would have been unstoppable.

Instead, Twilight had come to know that they were cautious, level-headed, kind, forgiving, loyal… and slowly becoming their lovers? There seemingly wasn't anything outside of magic these humans didn't excel at, yet they needed the help of Twilight and all the others but asked for so little. What Twilight was about to do was only a small favor in return for what Benny and the others truly deserved.

"Do you think Benny would mind if I gave his house all the electricity it needs to power all his lights and other devices?"

Welp... Sniff might be right about his new job creating more problems for him. Although, he should be careful while in the company of spies.

For Benny though... you'd think he'd know better than to piss of Pinkie. Yet, the spa mares are actually incredibly nice. They might have even helped convince him to be more open to the idea of courting a mare.

Then Ovens and all those mares... Sniff... stand your ground, my man.

Then... more Cutter!... but... sadly not much. More Trixie than Cutter... shame. Also, more insight into Celestia, which is interesting when you stop and think about it.

Of course, I'm sure many of you were more interested in finding out what was going to happen to Chris... your welcome.

Next we'll see how things continue in Chapter 71. Compensating. Part 5 "Double, Double, Pinkie's in trouble."