With a couple of small groups branching off for private conversations, the party continued with no hiccups. The general feel of the gathering had mellowed into an overall merry event.

Eventually, the last three returned from upstairs and rejoined the party. As the hours dragged on and the alcohol took its toll, the games died down as the party-goers socialized or focused on the visualizations that accompanied the music. Only a few tried to keep up with the dancing, of which only Sniff, Kelly, or Chris seemed to get involved. Benny reserved his few dances to only Octavia and Vinyl, with one exception where Luna insisted.

Even before that became the norm, some had to call it an early night. Bon Bon was the first one to leave, though the guards said she had left not long after the last fight. Thankfully, Sniff was there next to Lyra and quickly raised her spirits. Part of it was letting her watch Sniff give Cutter a nice therapeutic rub down to help ease her muscles and joints.

Next was Italian Stallion, saying he had something at work to attend to but thanked everyone graciously for the wonderful night. Tealove, the construction stallions, and a few others had to leave early, but they weren’t the only ones to head out earlier than most would have expected.

Even Top Shelf was thought to have walked off without saying goodbye but re-emerged from the upstairs with Sniff and Twilight, allegedly having to “hash out compensation” for serving drinks during much of the party. She seemed happy with what had been agreed upon and invited everyone back to Grapes and Olives when they had the time in the days to come.

One odd thing the group noticed was how distant Cadance and Shining had been for most of the night. Although, for as close as they were to each other, most had figured their time apart and the Timberwolves incident had left them wanting more time with each other. Yet, before they left, they apologized for their anti-social behavior and said they would make up for it tomorrow.

Otherwise, Lumberman had already left to take Applejack home and dropped Big Mac off to spend the rest of the evening with Granny. Chris escorted his harem home to tend to their children, rest, or get ready for work in the morning. Cerb was next to leave with his two, saying he had to make a stop in town before getting his bandages changed.

Becky, on the other hand, had decided to take the guest room for the night to stick behind with Sniff to keep the guests entertained with Kelly and their pony counterparts. However, even that was drawing to an end.

After a long evening of talking with his many mares, Sniff walked the three flower mares out to see them off.

“Ladies, thank you again for coming and, I know this whole dating thing is unusual, but there’s no real expectations any of us are being held to. It’s really whatever we want to make of it, but, as I had left open before, could we do lunch together, say, Wednesday?”

Roseluck giggled shyly. She was eager but didn’t know how to accept the offer.

“That sounds like fun but… where is Wednesday's? Is that a restaurant outside of Ponyville?”

What an odd question to ask, Sniff couldn’t tell if they were being cute or…

“What day is it today?”

Daisy looked up to the sky, trying to read the stars and current phase of the moon.

“It’s the 32nd day of spring, is Wednesday only open on certain days? We can always just have a picnic if that would be easier.”

This needed some explanation, and Sniff wasn’t about to put these three on the spot to ask for answers.

“You know what, that sounds like a great idea. How about a picnic two days from now? You three pick the time that works for you and I’ll fit it in.”

From behind, Twilight snickered, which was becoming a pretty common occurrence for her.

“Phrasing.”

Sniff facepalmed, laughing to himself.

“Damn it, Twi. You’re making this hard for meeee, awe… damn it.”

This time Ovens took the low hanging fruit.

“Pha-rais-ing,” she sang with a smirk.

Sniff shook his head and turned back to the visibly confused flower mares.

“Don’t mind those two, it’s a running gag. I’m sure you’ll all be filled in sooner or la-No! Twi, Ovens. Let that one go. Lily, Rose, Daisy, I’ll see you all soon. Have a safe walk home.”

The three quietly bid their farewells and started their way back to town, leaving only a few ponies left behind for Benny to deal with, assuming Kelly would be leaving with Luna shortly. Sniff made one last trip back into the house to make sure everything was good to go before leaving Benny with his two new musical mares. After a short exchange, and Benny looking to be back in his element, Sniff walked out with a goodnight to the few remaining. At least there would be one less pony to deal with as Sniff stepped out to see Mayor Mare looking happy to see him departing.

Benny was chilling on the couch with his two mares, chatting it up with one of the guards on break.

"No, dude. You’ve got it made. Standing watch on ship suuuuucks. Four to nine months out at sea with only a few port visits. People go crazy."

The guard was still struggling to comprehend such vessels could even exist.

"I would do it just to be on the boat. It sounds amazing. To have that kind of firepower, Equestria would never be attacked again!”

Becky, a little too tired from the long day, and unmotivated by the early departure of so many guests, interrupted to share her plans for the rest of the night.

“Hey, this thing is pretty much over, and I’m beat. I’m calling it a night.”

After looking at his watch, Benny could see the time, and for a weekday, it was pretty late.

"Yeah, should probably shut this thing down." He looked to the guard."If you see anyone outside still hanging out, let them know that the party’s over. They can stop in on their way out if they like to say goodbye."

A sudden tumble and clattering of glass bottles alerted Benny of Rainbow stumbling towards him.

“Oh, Christ,” Benny chuckled as he pulled out his phone, ready to record this train wreck.

Somehow, this newly winged Wonderbolt had forgotten what drinking too much could do. From what he remembered, Rainbow didn't even like vodka, but still… here she was, utterly wasted beyond words.

"Awwwe, come on, Benny. Wez can stell haven the par-" A hiccup interrupted her drunken speech. "-purdy keep and going aaaaaaall night. En bring Cerb out here. That ssssstallion owes for, hez- he owes dance to me fer saiven hez sorry ass."

She stared blindly into the recording with her drunken stupor for a second until another hiccup had her wobble in place.

Seeing how this was only going to be trouble, Becky took a handful of Rainbow’s mane and gave it a playful tug.

“Ohhh-kay, Dashie. You are soooo cut off right now.” She tugged again on the rainbow mane to try and keep the mare’s attention. “Cerb left, like, an hour ago. Come on, I’m putting you to bed before you embarrass yourself.”

Just drunk enough to play along, Rainbow followed Becky’s lead in all regards, outside of keeping her mouth shut.

“Er-pone is fall’n love, Becksy.”

Stumbling along in her trot, she spotted three ponies to question.

“Heeey, muh fellow bolties. Wuts a mare gotta do ‘n get her own stallion and’er man? I culd harem.”

Embarrassed for her best pony, Becky turned back to Benny, beet red and laughing. She didn’t have the heart to tell Rainbow all three Wonderbolts she was talking to had passed out, thankfully unable to hear her.

“Benny, fucking help me, please. And stop recording this.”

Being the good marefriend and only slightly buzzed, Vinyl stepped up to the challenge, taking Rainbow in her aura and lifting her up.

“I got this Benny….Uh, where’s she going?”

After a delayed reaction, Rainbow started to flail like she was falling.

“Hey! Lumberguy zed no flying wen ‘em drunk!”

Becky double-facepalmed, still embarrassed.

“Upstairs, last door on the right.”

Finally figuring out she was being carried by magic, Rainbow made a grand spectacle by stretching out all six limbs and raising her head high as she ascended up the stairs.

“Becky! I fly!”

Wow, this was going to be one hell of a story for Becky to tell when her guardian sobered up. And she even had video to prove it.

“Goddamnit, Rainbow. Don’t make me regret not taking the car.”

As the three disappeared upstairs, another belligerent drunkard stumbled in… face first into the sliding glass door.

Thunk-Clank!

“Owe! Theeeeeeeeeee Great ‘n pow-owe… ‘em I awake? Trixie demands to see th’d… where am I?”

Oddly amused, Octavia nudged Benny.

“Thank you for not letting us get that drink.”

Benny gave a low belly laugh and patted her on the leg.

“You mean drunk, and no problem. You don’t need to get drunk to enjoy a party.”

From outside, one of the Lunar Guards finally caught up to the inebriated mare.

“Sir Benny. Trixie-”

“The Great!” Trixie shouted, striking her stage pose with her forelegs extended out, sloshing what remained of her bottle around and falling back into the bat pony’s wing.

“Yes,” the Lunar Guard grunted, straining to hold her up. “The Great and Powerfully Drunk Trixie refuses to leave.”

“No,” Trixie drunkenly snapped. “Muh wagon ez misssss-eng.”

In spite of how annoying she was behaving Benny couldn’t find himself irritated by her antics, having a sort of soft-spot for Trixie. Not just because she was hurt during his arrival, but he still remembered her as his would be step-daughter’s favorite. He had to help her out.

“Hey, it’s okay. Her wagon is out in front, that’s where she lives. She’s fine staying there tonight if she wants to.” He stood up, ready to get directly involved. “Here, Great and Powerful Trixie, let me help you to your wagon.”

As he started over to help, he motioned for Octavia to follow him, but the first thing he had to do was take the bottle away. Then he could lead her out, which was like herding a drunk cat.

“Okay, hey, come on. Out this way. Yep. Nope, that’s the bathroom. Back this- no… Okay, we’re using the front door. That’s-”

*Flop*

Trixie lay where she landed in front of the door, barely conscious.

“Who made my bed all cold ‘n hard?”

Thankfully, by this time, Vinyl had returned from upstairs and was curious enough to investigate the commotion.

“Geez. How many ponies is that? Three Wonderbolts, two Lunar Guards, three Solar, Zecora—”

Benny shook his head. "No, just the Wonderbolts passed out, not… oh yeah, Onyx and Helix kept losing at beer pong. The rest all could walk back on their own. Could you help me get Trixie in her wagon?”

Off in her own little world, Trixie continued to mumble a series of incoherent and unintelligible thoughts.

“Alca-” She hiccuped. “Alcohol should n’ver be illegal… I ‘ave ‘en alarm clock. Six… six… or four... “

Utterly amused, Vinyl walked up, snickering up a storm every step of the way.

“Wow, she’s even worse than Rainbow Dash.” She looked up to Benny with a curious smile as a thought occurred. “Dash is so drunk she must think she’s working. She won’t stop talking about blow jobs. Ha!”

She shook her head, still laughing, even though she completely misunderstood the meaning.

“Crazy weather ponies.”

Completely ignoring that misunderstanding, Benny focused on getting Trixie into her own bed, which he thought she would have been happy for. Turns out, she wasn’t ready to leave the waking world.

“Benny… I know, Shadow Pone… he gone, but ist safe to sleep?”

That took Benny by surprise, but figured Starlight or one of the others must have filled her in about what she’d missed. However, given the crash landing she suffered the impact of, as well as being back at the site where it all happened, he couldn't blame her drunken concerns.

“Yeah, he’s gone. You can rest easy tonight.”

Everything was spinning for Trixie, but she wanted so badly to believe that Benny was telling her the truth. She had to; humans were the key, and there he was with two of his own. Although, saving the world as they might have, she still lost something just as precious.

“Is Starlight still my friend? Chris… what did he do?”

Good question, although, not the can of worms Benny wanted to open right now.

“Tell ya what, Trixie. How about you get some sleep and in the morning we’ll talk about it when you're nice and sober? Sound good?”

Nearly half a month’s worth of exhaustion, along with probably half a bottle of white rum, were taking their toll. Both fought to see which would take her out first.

“I don’t like my nightmares…”

Behind Benny, Vinyl snickered again at the continued antics of the utterly soused stage pony.

“You have the coolest parties, bro. You know that?”

The three stepped out from the wagon to see the same guard had been keeping a watch over them. Probably would be a good idea to put him to work.

“Could you do me a solid and have your guys watch her tonight? If she wakes up drunk, she’s gonna be lost and confused. Just make sure she doesn’t wander off in the forest or shit in the yard.”

The guard cocked an eyebrow at the last request, only to have it register a few seconds later than it should have.

“Oh! Dear Luna’s star-filled sky, I would certainly hope she wouldn’t… We’ll be sure to direct her to the tent, Sir Benny. And just to inform you, the off-going watch has escorted the Wonderbolts to the castle for the night. Princess Twilight offered them rooms to apologize for the earlier misunderstandings. As well as not wanting a repeat of ponies getting too attached? Would you happen to know what she might have been-”

“It’s fine,” Benny quickly answered. “I doubt that would happen, but we’ll probably send Becky out to check on them tomorrow.”

With that cleared up, Benny noticed this guard was still staring at him. Actually, not him. His eyes were a little too low. He was looking at the two mares behind him. Was he waiting for the word to remove them? That would be incredibly rude, considering… yeah… he was a sheep, doing what all the other guys were doing.

The least he could do was keep them from thinking he was a douchebag now that the party was over.

“Octavia, Vinyl, would you two want to sleep here tonight? It’s late and you’ve both been drinking. I’d drive you back, but I’ve been drinking too. That’s something we got rules against..”

Octavia nearly blushed but was overtaken by the kind offer.

“Well, if it’s not too much trouble, it would be nice to—”

“Fuck yeah!” Vinyl shouted. “Music, movies, and some alone time with our stallion? I’m not even tired. We could…wait, was that the right way to say fuck yeah? You guys have a lot of weird words.”

Not much later, now that all the other guests were gone, what was there to do? He offered to let them stay, but now he had to entertain them. Might as well get to know them better.

"So," he started, leading them back to the couch. "You're both in the music industry, is that how you two got to know each other?"

Taking her side on Benny’s right, Octavia answered first.

"In a manner of speaking. While our genres differ, we both share a passion for music. That certainly makes it easier to get along, despite how different we are."

Vinyl plopped down, making herself very comfortable next to Benny’s unoccupied side.

"Yeah, we've been pretty close for a while now. I was starting to think she was sticking around just to stay close to me."

Octavia rolled her eyes, not liking how true those words sounded.

"While I do feel comfortable here, I wouldn't use that excuse. I've just always felt like… something was always telling me to stay here. Like it's where I was meant to be, even if any other pony in my position would’ve gone to Canterlot a long time ago.”

Feeling somewhat awkward with the direction of the conversation, Octavia was quick to change topics.

“What about you? I know there's a lot of mystery surrounding how your house got here, but were you still in your kingdom's army when you arrived?"

Well, if there was ever a time to start working on his problems… even so, baby steps.

With a heavy sigh, he prepared to take his first solo steps. Here’s hoping he doesn’t falter his way through.

"I served in my country's navy, not the army. But I got discharged because on my last mission, boarding a pirated ship… I failed to save someone. A lot of innocent people died."

Even now the memories stung just as bad in spite of all that had happened. There was no anger or precedence compelling him. This was like starting therapy all over again. Even the tears were familiar.

“I’m not going to go into all the details, but I’m still haunted by the memory of a child dying in my arms… blood everywhere. It ruined me… it tormented me so much that I lost my engagement to someone I loved and a beautiful little girl that would've been my daughter.”

By now, the tears had welled up and were streaming down his face. It seemed like it was only now he was finally accepting the gravity of the life he left behind and the graves he was dragging along with him.

“I’ve been living off of disability payments for all the problems I’ve been suffering. I haven’t worked a job in years. I was probably going to lose my house if my friends hadn’t supported me as much as they did. And not that it would have mattered because I’ve been so alone all this time…”

Another harsh reality hit, and he started to wonder how much of a blessing getting stranded here really was.

“In truth, I haven’t been living my life these last few years since it happened. At one point, I wanted it to end."

Understandably, both mares were taken back. Octavia far more sympathetic, spoke from the heart.

"Benny, that's… beyond awful."

Vinyl was simply too shocked to say anything, not even move, so Benny continued.

"When I was at the Castle of the Two Sisters… I had to face my fears. And because of that… long story short, I'm finally getting help. That's one of the reasons Pinkie set up that blind date. I guess she knew I liked both of you, but she… she's Pinkie. I can't explain everything she does."

Gathering his thoughts again, not even sure where he was taking this, he decided to give them the honest truth.

"I didn't expect to have as much fun with both of you as I did today. I didn't even think I was ready to try anything like this, not even one on one. But looking back, I don't have any regrets, and for as great you as two have been, I don't want to do what my other friends have done and hold back what's going on with me or how I feel."

How he felt? That was still something to be figured out. Might as well move on with what he was more familiar with.

"I'm probably never going home, and there's still a risk that what brought me here might have friends that want me and my friends dead. So you need to know that if either of you decides to see where this goes, there is a risk that comes with it."

Knowing he needed to be as truthful as possible with them, he held up his bandaged arm.

"This wasn’t from the Timberwolves or an accident. Whatever dark forces were involved with bringing me here, they already tried to kill me. This is as close as they got before I put an end to him. And I’m sure you heard Trixie mention The Shadow Pone. Twilight doesn’t want the word getting out, but the one who tried to kill me was The Pony of Shadows."

The two looked over the bandages, realizing what they were really getting into. To which, Vinyl took the initiative to speak first.

"That's bogus, Benny. You're way too cool to have some pony, or whatever that Shadow jerk was that did this to you and your friends. I can deal with it, and so can Tavi. And if you need some cool chicks to kick it with when you're feeling down, just hit us up. I'm always down to hang."

Seeing the kind of support being offered gave Octavia the encouragement to act the same, though in her usual cultured manner.

"Benny, dear. We've never lost or suffered what you've been through, but we've had our fair share of close calls. Whatever the dangers are…" She stumbled for a moment, trying to put things into perspective. "Welcome to Ponyville?"

Probably not the best way to put things, but she was nervous and flying blind. Besides, Ponyville was safe… most of the time.

"You might fit in more than you think, but I truly appreciate your honesty. So if there’s anything you need, just let us know."

Hearing their response was an odd comfort that was more than what he was hoping for.

"I'm still kind of confused about this whole dating two girls at the same time thing, but… God… There is so much you girls need to know about how these things work and... I dunno. I mean, there’s a lot I need to know and figure out, but I can't think of a better way to go about this. My outlook on life has been so much better since our bowling date today."

Sharing the same sentiment, Vinyl kicked back and laid her head on Benny's lap.

"I couldn't agree with you anymore, bro. So what if there’s some baddies out there that don't like ya. We got your back, and you're a kickass super warrior. I heard that Onyx guy and Cloud Chaser talking about how you and Cerb totally kicked some tail out there. I say bring it on. Right, Tavi?"

There wasn’t any thought needed to answer that question.

"Benny, if any creature tries to hurt you, you can rest assured that they will not enjoy the experience of me showing how wrong they were to try. I don't think you know what a mare can do when motivated to protect her stallion."

Witnessing the onslaught of destruction by Fluttershy and Rarity had already proven that statement wrong.

"I believe you, and thank you. Although, if we're really doing this, what are your expectations of me? Is there anything particular you're wanting to try or… how much did the other girls tell you about what their relationships are like with the other guys?"

Unfortunately, there wasn't much either could think of, even the more socially savvy Octavia.

"We only heard rumors that some of your friends were dating already, but apparently, nearly all of them were wrong. All we know is that some of the other girls dress up for their stallions. More than I did, at least."

That was clear for anyone to see, but Vinyl didn't mind pointing out the more socially taboo acts she had witnessed.

"And they certainly do kiss a lot more than the average couple. Especially your friend Chris and his girls. They even kiss each other a lot, which is… I dunno. Mares don’t really do that ever." She raised her eyebrows playfully and made a kissy face at Benny. "Wanna try? They seem to like it."

Benny thought back to something Cerb might have said, which seemed fitting.

"I’m a gentleman. Not on the first date."

The two had a little laugh at that, knowing she wasn't serious. Although, life before them was rather miserable when he wasn't with his friends. Then thinking about it more, he was stuck here. What was he waiting for? He'd been waiting for years, only to do nothing, and that didn't make him happy.

On second thought, why not bite the bullet Pinkie had offered him? Well, three bullets, but only two remained. Regardless, he was comfortable with them, and had heard plenty of lines Sniff had used.

"Fortunately, our first date ended with the party. And since it's past midnight, how about a second date with a movie?"

Vinyl turned up her shades, not anticipating such a bold request.

"Are you for real?"

Rather than directly answer, Benny reached over and grabbed the controllers, turning on the TV and Xbox.

"From the sound of things, you mares seem to move fast with these kinds of relationships. So, I might as well take the initiative to meet you halfway."

Scrolling through some menus, Benny decided to play it safe and found a list of appropriate movies for his girls.

"Now, you might have heard a lot of talk about The Lion King, but this is actually my favorite Disney movie." He hit play. “It’s about an orphaned kitty cat in the human version of your Manehattan. Just keep in mind that when Oliver and the dogs start talking and singing, that's just the movie. Even in real life, our animals don't do that on my world."

Diligently calculating a vast array of probable variances in cross-dimensional pathways and Rosen bridge architecture, Celestia fought with her conscience.

"It's been nearly a thousand years."

"Twilight still needs me."

"They don't even want me here."

"I made a plan for her. She just needs more guidance."

"They won't even listen to me."

"They don't need to know. They should trust me."

"I know why she's doing it. I did it first. I thought I needed it."

"I didn’t need it."

"I loved him."

"Now is not the time."

"They can learn it the hard way if they…" She slammed her hooves down next to her tome. "I should just tell them."

"This is my secret. It would only hurt Luna and misguide Twilight. I need to stick to the plan."

"If Twilight won't stick to my plan, she can make up her own. She always does. She doesn't even need my help anymore."

"She needs my help."

More determined than ever and refusing to question her increasingly concerning inner conflict, Celestia went back to work.

"Luna can guide her with the rest. She wants to do more for the Kingdom anyway."

"I need to stick to the plan."

"I deserve to be happy for once, and Star Swirl isn't here to stop me."

"I need to stick to the plan."

"They can live their fairy tale, and I will live mine."

"I need to stick to the plan!"

Dropping her quill, she began slamming her hooves down on her desk.

“Why! Why! Why-Why-Why do I keep torturing myself with this idiotic plan?! Countless students, hundreds of thousands of plans, and no sooner does Twilight get her wings does she throw herself at… him! All of them!"

She stood and began to pace back and forth in front of her desk.

"I've been stuck in this ever-repeating cycle on my throne. Watching ponies come and go. Wars, natural disasters. One cataclysmic event after the next, only hoping to get some fleeting semblance of peace. But no, instead, it's replaced with the most pampered and spoiled nobles, pining for my attention to fix their menial foal-like problems of flower arrangements and just the stupidest complaints any pony could have. And for what?"

She turned and glared at an old, busted, tall, looking mirror nearly identical to the one used by Sunset Shimmer. Then she turned her attention to a new mirror, an exact copy of the shattered one close by.

"I'm done debating myself."

Again, her conscience argued against her strongest desires.

"I need to stick to the plan! I cannot abandon Twilight! I can't be more than five years away from being free and giving everypony what they want!"

She stopped again and looked over her intricate schematics along with the modified version of Trixie's spell. It was complete. She had spent the entire day adding what she understood of the spell to make this work. All she had to do was cast it.

Instead, she turned the page and readied her quill.

There were many thoughts that tried to overpower her will, but she continued to write. Every word of every sentence was overshadowed by the repetition of moral objections that no longer even seemed like her own. The more her thoughts echoed in her head the more honest her words she wrote.

“There… now everypony gets what they want.”

Beseeched by grief, she folded her letter and closed her tome. After so much tedious work in her calculations, she knew what she was doing and turned to her mirror.

Beginning her spell, she had to focus even harder to drown out her conscience, pleading with her to stop. As the magic gathered in her horn, she poured all her heart and emotions into her target.

“I know you’re still out there.”

In a brilliant flash of light, she released the spell into her tall looking mirror. It glowed with her aura, rapidly expanding inward with a blur of prismatic colors, yet no destination. The spell had to be working, how could it not? She just had to wish harder, give more of herself into it. She was so close, yet it felt like there was something else fighting against her.

Why? How? Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to let it stop her. He was close, she could feel his presence and called out his name.

“SOMBRA!”

Something snapped in the bands of magic bound to hers to make the prismatic colors tunnel deeper into the vast expansion of inner dimensional space, then cleared.

Just beyond the mirror, a long Rossen bridge constructed from the colors, then swirled at the end, opening to a night time’s scenery.

Rapidly solidifying, the long bridge shortened to only a few steps worth of distance to cross. On the other side of the bridge, through the mirrored-sized gateway, a grey castle separated by a stone wall came into view. Standing in the entryway of the wall stood the stallion she had long since kept secret.

“Sombra?” She spoke his name, calling out the stallion she had not seen in centuries.

Shocked, this kind and gentle-looking King Sombra gasped.

“Celestia!? No… it can’t be?”

Overwhelmed to see his handsome face, Celestia stepped forward to pass through, only to stop in terror as another version of herself walked up from beyond the wall, joined by a face that struck her down with terror and heartbreak.

“Sunset? What are you…” Her terror turned to rage, and she felt her body burning at the sight. “What are you doing with my Sombra?”

This other Celestia, adorned in a golden crown with horns, violet stockings, and a collar under her neckpiece, smirked at the sight of the more pleasant version of herself.

“Well, so much for a long lost love never to be seen again, ay Sombra? But if you’re having second thoughts—”

“No,” The Good King Sombra angrily answered.

Raising the side of his royal purple cape, he levitated out a small keepsake box, giving it one short look of regret.

“Tia, I can only imagine the hardships you're facing on your own, but I can offer you no comfort. If you value anything on your side of the mirror, keep only our memories-”

“Sombra, I still love you!" Celestia called out, desperate to convince him to let her join him.

This had to be some devious trick by Sunset and her evil mirror double. Yet, she would not be denied, she followed her heart this far. All she wanted for herself was right in front of her.

"A thousand years could not stop me from-”

Clack-Clunk-Tick-Clack!

The small keepsake box tumbled across the stone floor to Celestia’s hooves.

Still standing across the mirror's barrier, The Good King Sombra furrowed his brow. Stern, angry, mournful tears streamed down his face.

“I don’t know why you chose now to return to me, but our time here is over. Sunset, take us to our new home with you.”

Not looking excited to see her old mentor, Sunset stepped up in front of the gateway.

“It’s been a long time, and I wish I could explain all we’ve learned, but this is as close as I could get to finding my way back to you. You were right, though, and I’ve learned to make friends.”

Her horn started to glow, wrapping her side of the bridge in her aura, separating the bridge from the connection to the mirror world.

“Don’t think of this as an act of revenge, Tia. This is an act of love.”

Before she could curse her former student, Celestia watched, revolting at the sight of The Good King Sombra resting his hoof on Sunset’s back. He looked back across the growing distance, his horn glowing in a dark aura.

“Farewell, Tia. For every pony’s sake, don’t ever search for me again.”

In his final goodbye, Celestia’s looking mirror glowed in his dark aura. Utterly lost and feeling her strength to move failing. Black crystals burst from every angle of the looking mirror device, shattering all her work and centuries of longing for his company.

As the tears continued to fall, without even fully realizing what had happened, she looked at her promise of freedom in ruins.

What had happened?

“An… act of love?”

She stepped closer, looking over broken mirror pieces, to the small box that had been thrown to her.

Under a beautiful starlit night sky, a young, ecstatic Celestia crossed the planes of reality to a mirrored world.

Here, Luna was never corrupted into Nightmare Moon, though this world’s Celestia was evil and banished. Most important, however, here, Sombra was a fair and just king, waiting eagerly for the return of his beloved.

“Celestia!” he exclaimed with joy as he watched Celestia spring free from the statue of their hero, Discord.

Wasting no time, she ran to hold her secret love close. It had been so long since they last saw each other, and their time would be short as it was.

“Did he see you?” The Good King asked, hoping for good news.

Celestia turned back to check again from where she left her world.

“No… No, He didn’t. But I think he’s starting to suspect…”

Sombra gave his lovely princess a tight squeeze and whispered, “ Shhh… Don’t dwell on it.”

Knowing they had so very little time, Sombra released his hold on her and started to escort her to their date for the night. However, Celestia couldn’t help but dwell on their predicament and the warnings from Star Swirl.

“He was talking about the paradoxes we are creating again. He made me promise… I’m breaking a promise, Sombra.”

In spite of their shared concerns, Sombra was more focused on the mare he so rarely could see any more.

“We haven’t seen each other in months. We’re spacing out our visits so carefully, and you’re here for such a short amount of time. It’s fine, I’m sure we’ll be fine. After all, how could what’s between us ever cause any harm?”

Letting Celestia draw close to his side, he nuzzled up to her cheek and urged her eyes up to the stars above and a glow of candlelight farther ahead in a dense grove.

“Now come, we’ve only got this brief moment together. I have something I want to show you.”

A short walk with the stallion that gave her so much comfort to distract her from the lonely and often chaotic kingdom she ruled, they entered a part of his estate she’d never seen before.

“This… This is amazing! What is this place?”

Sombra led her deeper into a colorful garden. In here, the trees and flora of all types were bright and beautiful. Every plant was healthy and well-maintained. Even more awe-inspiring, from nearly every branch hung a small piece of paper with carefully written notes attached to a yellow string.

“It’s a wishing garden,” Sombra proudly told her. “It’s a custom of my ponies. You write something on a card… Something you wish for or something you’re thankful for.”

He turned her attention to a close collection of examples.

“Then you tie it to the tree in hopes that it will come true… or in hopes that you can hold onto it.”

Closer to the center of the garden, they approached a small table carved from a stump. Below the slanted top was a small cupboard with papers. Conveniently next to the top of the table was a vile of ink and a quill. Something he would finally use.

“I’ve never had much use for this place… I’ve never wanted anything…”

He turned to Celestia, his sweet smile and eyes so close to tearing at the sight of the mare who brought him so much joy.

“Until you. I wanted to bring you here to help me write my wish.”

Celestia was left utterly love-struck.

“Sombra, I…”

She was so adorable, completely lost in trying to find the words to say. He just had to mess with her a little.

“Surely you know how to write? I’m sure I can teach you if you don’t.”

Not expecting him to be so goofy, she mockingly sneered, though too much of her smile still showed through, and she bopped him on the head.

“I can write!” she playfully answered.

Raising the quill, he played with how much he had introduced her to, making the joke drag on.

“Well, you didn’t have coffee. How can I trust you have quills?”

They shared a good laugh and Sombra took his time writing his wish before turning the quill over to Celestia.

“Now, please write ’I wish for you to forever be my always.”

Trying to be just as lighthearted and playful, Celestia left her wish short and simple. With her best penmanship, she wrote only the word “Always” and ended it with a large heart.

It was a perfect match to follow up on his wish of “I’ll be your Mirror,” as they reflected the love they shared for each other so seamlessly as they stared longingly at each other.

It was such a beautiful moment they shared and nuzzled close, resting nose to nose with their horns crossed over each other’s. This was the life they both wanted. Side by side and face to face. To hearts strong enough to cross the dimensional gap.

Here, her life was everything she couldn’t have. A stallion that truly loved her as she loved him. This world’s Luna was a joy to speak with, unlike her true wrathful sister still trapped on the moon for as long as she wished to keep her there. She could have it all in a kingdom free of strife and war. It was the place she knew she would soon return to stay, once she got her house in order.

In too short a time the moon started to hang low, Celestia knew a lonely throne room awaited her return.

“I have to go.”

This time was always inevitable. No spell or wish written on a piece of paper could change that.

“I wish you didn’t,” he sadly replied.

Crossing their horns one last time, nose to nose, so close to his lips she longed to feel against hers. She listened to a small voice floating in her thoughts that told her to wait until the day she would be with him forever, though her heart wanted all of it there and then.

“I know.”

As they made their way back to the statue she would use to return back to her world, they shared their goodbye. Leaving hurt so much, and Celestia blindly returned to her secret study in the depths of the Canterlot Castle, unaware of the danger waiting for her.

“Oh!” she yelped as she walked into the scowling presence of Star Swirl.

“How many times have you been there?” he harshly scolded her with his question, not allowing her time to think of an excuse or explanation.

She knew she had committed so many wrongs but didn’t want to anger her mentor. A lie wouldn’t save her, and the truth would bring only condemnation. Still, she had to answer.

“Not… often.”

With the wrath like that of an abusive father, Star Swirl towered over the princess and screamed his question again.

“HOW OFTEN?!”

Wincing from the ringing in her ear, she meekly answered him more honestly.

“On and off… for… a while.”

Star Swirl was beyond furious and held nothing back as he continued to shout her down.

“You know what kind of consequences there are to visiting this world too often. We’ve talked about this. You promised me… We can’t risk it. You’re putting everypony in danger. What could possibly be worth it?!”

Knowing what lay beyond the divide that separated her from this empty kingdom, she answered rhetorically as her misery brought her tears out. The fact he was even asking her was both an insult to her intelligence as well as a crushing blow for his lack of empathy.

“What do you think is worth it?”

Brushing past her with determination in his eyes, he readied a spell to end her from venturing off again.

“I will not let you put your kingdom… and his at risk. This is over. Now!”

With no time to stop the angry wizard, Celestia turned and shouted as Star Swirl began to dispel the mirror.

“No! At least let me say goodbye!”

Before the first teardrop hit the cold cobblestone floors, Star Swirl sighed, having sealed away the only path to his distant friends and her love that lay in the great beyond. He knew what he had done but saw no other choice. It was cruel, so cruel he couldn’t even turn to stop Celestia from running out, crying uncontrollably, slamming the door behind her.

It felt like her life was over. Robbed of her only trusted companion, forced to abandon him. She raced down the halls to confine herself to her chambers and suffer alone.

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye… I have to… I…”

After that, Celestia and Star Swirl became cold and distant towards each other. Even the last time they saw each other, the events of that night were a wedge that had driven some bitterness and mutual remorse between them.

Star Swirl, now older, skinnier, growing tired from his old age that defied the years of any other pony that was not an alicorn, he readied his things.

He was lost in his thoughts about the impending danger from the journey that lay ahead of him and didn’t hear the approaching hoof steps. The harsh memories of the mirror he sealed away still hung in the air of this once exciting room he shared with his student.

“A fortnight away from my own bed! I’m getting too old for this…” He complained to himself before turning to see the only remaining princess of the Kingdom. “Celestia! Oh, you gave my old heart a start!”

Still grief-stricken after all this time, Celestia had buried herself in her work. The claim of focusing her hours on learning to better rule the kingdom had given her space to secretly study how to reopen the mirror. However, as the years had dragged on, she slowly began to better understand the error of her recklessness. She now sought to rekindle some familiarity with her old mentor.

“Star Swirl… It’s very nice to have you back,” she softly spoke, looking over his wagon of supplies and his private journal.

Having spent so many years tackling issues by himself, some of which he questioned the morality of, he questioned her sincerity. Perhaps even his own, given the time away he chose to keep from her.

“Is it?”

She hated to admit it, but Star Swirl was the closest thing she had to a friend. With so many ponies coming and going, he was the only constant tied to her past. Even if she planned on one day returning to her Good King, she had to settle things with the wizard.

“I… don’t really know what to say. My actions were…”

“Tut Tut, my dear,” Star Swirl all too quickly waved her off dismissively.

After a second look, he could see the hurt in her eyes. Even if what he did was right, even if she was there to admit it, he still held some resentment for forcing his hoof. However, being how this was likely the last time he would ever see her, he gave a heavy sigh, ready to give her the last bit of advice he thought she needed.

“Princess, I can sympathize with you on this. I really can. But making decisions you don’t want to make is part of being a ruler. I had to make a decision for you. I’m sorry.”

No sooner had he said those words, it was as if he regretted them. Then, just as carelessly as he had first greeted her, he walked off with his head held pompously high as he trotted off. He was all business and duty, leaving no room for personal connections, and left her with an unspoken apology weighing heavily on her heart.

“We’ll just pretend this whole mess never happened and move on, Alright?”

His words were so final and heartless. They were more cutting than the silence she now wished he would have treated her with. Yet, he continued to trivialize what might have been the most traumatizing moment of her life.

“It’s really for the best. It’s over now.”

Celestia had no idea how over things really were for them and struggled to find the words to give one last shot at making amends.

“I… I…”

Fearing the farewell he was too cowardly to share, Star Swirl covered his ears and quickly rattled off his last dismissal.

“No need for apologies. We’re forgetting about the whole thing. La-La-La-La! I’m not listening!”

Truly abandoned, Celestia painfully thunked her head against a pillar. Realizing how straying from the path she was taught to follow had ruined every relationship she cherished.

“I’m not a good pony.”

After that, Star Swirl was gone. She was alone with a kingdom to rule by herself. No sister to share her days with. No king to make her feel loved. No mentor to guide her. Only the impossible plan to free her from her royal bonds while keeping the kingdom she was entrusted with safe. At least now, with no oversight, she was free to set her plan in motion.

“Not an act of revenge?”

She raised the small box and opened it. Her heart stopped the moment she saw the aged yellow piece of paper on a string. Involuntarily, she read it aloud.

“Always?”

She dropped the box, letting more wishes fall to the floor. What few landed face up, she couldn’t stop herself from reading.

“Oh, I’m all Alone now… No Love to Shield Me…”

“Trapped in a World That’s A Distorted Reality…”

Then, finally, the one that lay at the bottom of the box.

“I’ll be your mirror.”

Was this her punishment for trying to stray from her path again? To lose her stallion a second time after pushing away her sister and most promising student?

“Why?” she wept. “I… did everything I was supposed to. The plan would still work. I’m a good pony… I... “

“Everything nice and quiet, Sam?” Flash asked a tired-looking Earth pony guard.

Sam tried to fight off a yawn, but he simply couldn’t after his another fourteen-hour watch.

“Too quiet, which is good since we’re now covering the Lunar Guard’s shifts. I miss Ralph. That bat pony was never late to relieve me.”

Tired himself, Flash felt for his fellow guard but couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory of those two.

“Yeah, like clockwork, every evening ‘Morning Sam. Night Ralph.’ Then every morning you came in behind me. ‘Morning Ralph. Morning Sam.’ Don’t you worry though, We’ll get some more guards on duty soon enough and change up the schedule to get you all some more rest.”

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Flash’s head snapped towards the long hallway leading to the restricted passageways, as well as the sound of the scream that had to be Celestia’s.

“The Princess! Sam, lock down the castle and gather the guards!”

BOOM!

An explosion erupted from the depths of the castle, knocking the locked door off from its hinges to dangle loosely, allowing the distant scent of smoke to drift in.

Sam gulped uncontrollably, imagining what terror had found its way to them.

“Sir?”

Ready to meet whatever challenges lay ahead, Flash shoved Sam towards safety.

“Move your ass! Send squads two and six down after the lockdown is secured. I’m going for the Princess!”

The two ran in opposite directions. Sam to alert the rest of the guard and Flash to rescue the Princess.

Much to his surprise, Flash only made it as far as the door to the restricted passageway, finding it had been kicked down in front of him. A wave of heat hit in the face, instantly both making him sweat and his fur frizz into a fluff. Then, out walked Celestia, her ethereal mane and tail floating with hints of smoke wafting off.

“Princess? Are you alright?”

While tucking two yellow pieces of paper and some notes under her wing, Celestia marched forward as if nothing was wrong, yet her tone was anything but pleasant.

“I’m fine. I was redecorating and dropped a candle.”

Highly concerned, Flash peered around the Princess, now radiating an unusual amount of heat, and saw the faint glow of amber light and smoke starting to flow from the long set of stairs that ran far under the castle.

“I… see. I’ll gather the fire response team to put out—”

“Let it burn,” Celestia ordered. “There’s nothing down there worth trying to salvage, and the fire will burn itself out. No flame lasts forever after all... Although, please do get maintenance to seal the entrance, then remove this section from your patrol. That will help lighten the load for you and the remaining guard.”

Abruptly, she stopped. Another thought came to mind.

“Have the reports been finished regarding Spearhead and his two embarrassments to my guard?”

It took a second for Flash to catch up to the odd string of orders to finally answer her question.

“Oh, uh… Iron Sparks woke up this morning. His story collaborates with the confession from Spearhead, but we are not able to finalize our investigation until Swift Hoof wakes up… Assuming he’ll be able to speak with a broken jaw.”

Not put any more ease at the news, Celestia grumbled to herself before clearing her throat.

“Hmm. Very well. Let the guards posted at his hospital room know that I am to be alerted as soon as he is awake. That includes Day Court or any diplomatic functions. For now, I grow weary of the day’s toils and shall retire for the night.”

Oddly frightened by the sudden change in Celestia’s demeanor, Flash saluted.

“Yes, Princess. I’ll alert you as soon as each task has completed.”

The door opened almost silently as Lyra crept in. The house was completely dark when she arrived, a cold indication that Bon Bon was upset enough not to even leave a light on for her. Why, she wasn’t sure, being how it was Bon Bon who had wandered off.

“Learn anything useful?” Bon Bon angrily groaned from her side of the bed. “Anything other than how good they are at making ponies hurt each other?”

So, this was happening. This was really happening. And Lyra had no qualms to participate.

“Yes… actually I did. I learned my best friend is a judgemental jerk who likes to assume the worst about non-ponies.”

Utterly insulted, Bon Bon shot upright in the bed, throwing the covers off.

“The Ultimate Pony Fighting Championship, Lyra! They gave it a name and intro music for ponies to cheer on Luna and Celestia’s guards fighting Wonderbolts and their own family.”

Lyra glared hard at her not-so-friendly roommate.

“Okay, agent. Let’s hear your report. What’s the damage done to the guards and Bolts? Oh, and since you’re soooo amazing at figuring out what happened without being there to observe what you’re reporting on, care to tell me what happened with Ovens and Cutter?”

That tone only further set Bon Bon off.

“I saw what happened!” She reached back and launched her pillow at Lyra, who caught it with her magic, raising it out of her view high above her head. “She used her freaky fire, spell-free magic, and a speed spell. We both saw how angry Sniff got them at each other, and that’s the reason the Sergeant Major was left limping out of the ring. If you weren’t so embarrassingly infatuated with-”

Poof!

Before Bon Bon could realize Lyra had launched the pillow back at her, it smacked her hard enough in the face to send her back down to the mattress while bursting the pillow open.

Laying slightly dazed from the impact, watching the flurry of feathers drift down, she had to wonder if she might have come off a little too aggressive with her only real friend.

Lyra, having been there, and actually had been doing her job, was ready to correct her boss.

“For your information, since I’ll be the one writing up the report, Spitfire and Thunder Glide have more than made up. They already worked out integrating their training with the units in the Crystal Empire. As for Ovens and Cutter, I did my job like I was supposed to and listened into their conversations. Peter tried to talk both of them out of it. They refused, and Ovens even went against his request not to hurt her mother. Him stepping in, saved their relationship. You have absolutely no idea how bad things were between those two.”

After blowing the stray feathers off her nose, Bon Bon sat up, shaking the rest out of her mane.

“Those two have been at each other’s throats for years. How much worse could it be? I can’t imagine it would be worse than the rumors I’ve heard.”

For a moment, Lyra couldn’t tell if Bon Bon was asking her that question as a friend or as an agent.

“Well, sadly, you’re going to have to imagine, since Luna was there, I can’t tell you.”

Bon Bon’s eyes went wide at both the rudeness of her as a friend as well as the insubordination from a subordinate.

“What? Okay, now I’m ordering you to tell—”

“I! Can’t!” Lyra snapped back. “Agents Manual, Chapter three, Records and Logs, paragraph four. All records and recordings involving the superior of an agent, not presenting immediate danger to operations, must be delivered to an authority meeting or exceeding that of the superior recorded. End quote.”

By all rights, Lyra was pissed. Her superior had abandoned her post and, in doing so, did the same as a friend. She had assumed there was a good reason, but it appeared Bon Bon left out of spite. Then, she didn't even know to follow the protocols she was entrusted to uphold.

“Had you stuck by me, you know, like you were supposed to as my field training agent, you would have been able to listen in. But, noooooooo. You had to disappear and ditch me. So, now I have to get up early, make my report without you around to proofread it, make sure it’s good to go before I meet up with Oven Fresh for a late breakfast, then rush my mint-colored ass to the train station so I can deliver it to Celestia within twenty-four hours. Oh, yeah. And I need a cover story to even get an audience with her, since we’re so covert that I can’t even use the agents on staff at the castle.”

All that righteous indignation, and it was Bon Bon who was at fault, who at the very least looked guilty about it.

“Lyra…” She was suddenly at a loss for words to properly apologize. “Use your position as a delegate to request an audience with Celestia about the humans attending the summit this week. That will get you in on a priority list. She’ll see you as soon as she can put off whatever else she’s doing. Even if it takes more than the twenty-four hours for your report-”

“So long as I make the report available, I’ll be fine. Yeah, I read the manual,” Lyra snapped, only to realize the huge favor she’d been given. “But… thanks.”

In the unfavorable silence, Lyra levitated her pillow from her side of the bed and floated it out of the bedroom door with her.

Confused, Bon Bon tried to call her back.

“Lyra! Aren’t you coming to bed? I… You have the only pillow, if you don’t mind sharing again.”

Not stopping or turning around, Lyra shouted back up the stairs.

“I’m sleeping on the couch… And I gave you your pillow back! You just didn’t catch it!”

Sitting alone in their bed, Bon Bon tried to figure out why being back in the field was so hard this time around. Not only was she being outclassed by Lyra as a trainee, she was ruining their friendship.

After so many years of living as a secret agent, all her friends were covers. Many of them she had even removed their memories of her as she left to protect her identity. Lyra was more than a friend, and telling her about her past, or what little she had, made her special.

Looking back at the empty space next to her, she started to revisit the idea that if Lyra was never going to settle down with a stallion, that's where she'd always be. Sure, the old trope of two old mares that never started a family staying together for companionship was an embarrassing end for mares, but it was better than being alone.

… alone.

She hated that word. Alone in her unit. Alone in the field, no matter who she worked with. Nopony ever got attached. Even after her incident, she was alone in Ponyville until meeting Lyra again, which she felt was an undeserved mercy.

Even though they had hung out in Canterlot High, she had already been brought into the agency. Back then, Bon Bon used their friendship only as a cover, but as a civilian again, Lyra treated her like the old friend she always thought they were. Lyra had even offered to share a bed so they could afford a better house in town.

Looking again at the feathers messing up their bed, she knew she didn’t deserve to keep it. It was Lyra’s after all, she should have it. That’s what a good leader would do: give up the bed. Although a good friend would have shared it, not chased her friend out of it.

She’d have to make it up to Lyra somehow. She deserved a better friend than Bon Bon was acting like. Yet, that was going to be difficult while trying to protect her from Celestia and the agency. She almost lost Lyra once just by speaking too freely during the bugbear attack. Now with these humans, they were both mixed up with, it was going to be so much harder.

Magic-resistant killing machines from another world. Charmers that had already worked their way into the ranks with every royal except the one threatening her and Lyra. It was up to her to keep her trainee protected from the truth she was sworn to protect Equestria from. Maybe a future where they wouldn’t have to wait to grow old together.

"Don't worry, Lyra. Once those creatures are gone, our future will be safe.”

Taking extra precautions to make sure everything in the room was up to standard, Luna gave particular focus to the bed.

“Well, if the blankets are fine, and you’re good with the satin sheets-”

“Those sheets feel fucking incredible,” Kelly inserted herself into Luna’s blabbering as she lay kicking her feet over the side of the bed. “Unless you just want to cuddle tonight, then they’d be cuddling incredible.”

For a moment, Luna was speechless, though with work to do, she had to move on.

“Yes… that is true… and for pillows, what would you prefer?”

Still having too much fun messing with the princess in her royal bed, Kelly rolled onto her back and pulled open her robe, tracing her fingers over her bra.

“Well, it used to be a toss-up between my lady’s breast and her thighs. Lucky me, I can have both.”

Luna blushed, almost painfully red, though her eyes were still drawn to the single piece of fabric separating Kelly’s skin from the air.

“Kelly, please. I still have much to tend to, and you’re making it very difficult to focus.”

If there was anything she could appreciate about her favorite marefriend, it was how easy she made it to toy with her. With an easy setup like that, all she had to do was spin to sit up with her legs spread, flashing her scantily laced panties.

“I’m sorry, LuLu. What can I do to help you focus on what you want to tend to?”

Luna’s repressed, sexually flustered face was so much cuter than Mac’s, as was her struggle to articulate her thoughts.

“Pft, I need… ceeetct- you. Errr. Emmm. Kelly, please. The moon will be lowered in only a few hours. Surely you can hold off on leaving me comatose until after the dream realm is patrolled.”

Well, it was fun while it lasted for Kelly, but even she had to acknowledge Luna’s responsibilities were too important to delay.

“I’m sorry. I’m just going to be bored without you here.” She laid back down on her good side, still wanting Luna’s attention. “Plus, I’m still really horny… Are you sure you’re not going to be weirded out by going down on me? I mean, I’m not even going to be your first lesbian experience. I’m going to be your first everything experience.”

This was one of those times Luna would have been willing to put her differences aside with Celestia if it meant lowering the moon wouldn’t be her responsibility come time for dawn.

“I suppose we both will be having many first, so long as you are… still willing.”

Seeing how the fun and games were over for sure, Kelly patted the empty space on the bed next to her.

“Everything with the bed is fine. It’s much better than the bed we shared before. So, when you get back, the only thing I’m going to be wanting to sleep with is you, but we should talk about it, at least for a while, while I have you.”

Cautious of Kelly’s ploys to seduce her, yet also excited at the possibility of Kelly seducing her, Luna crawled into bed with her human mare.

"We do have some time, but let us leave what we discuss only as words and not acts."

"I know," Kelly sadly answered with a pouty face. "Forewarning you, I’m a terrible tease, but I can behave for now. I just want to know, of everything we… well, of what I told you I've done, what are you comfortable with? And before you try to soft pitch me anything you're unsure of, outside of kissing and touching, I'm playing this all by ear."

Luna, in turn, tilted her head slightly, letting Kelly know she wasn’t entirely following along. That put everything back on Kelly to get straightened out.

"Luna, what I'm saying is that I was with Mac for days discussing what we could do. Then discussed what we were willing to do and wanted to try. Most days, we only made out for a while. The first sexual thing we did was masturbation in front of each other. We took our time getting comfortable with each other… only speeding up when I got horny and pushy."

Luna nodded, still questioning her willingness of what to try.

"I… am a little embarrassed just saying it out loud, but kissing you was so… I know I want more of that. And the ways you touched me, both laying down as well as earlier today, I’m more than comfortable exchanging such courtesies with you, though for all the excitement some of Chris's special someponies shared, some… insertion sounds to be favorable, but I would not-"

The princess found herself hung up on how to break the bad news. "Well, I lack the anatomy, as it were, and I would feel terrible if I could not-"

"That's fine," Kelly kindly answered. "I get it, you don't have hands, but don't be afraid to tell me what you're not comfortable with. And don't think you can't ask for something because you can't or won't do it back. You'd be surprised how many girls I've been with who almost said no to acts they wanted because they were ashamed that they were only okay with receiving. And just the same, some girls only wanted to do the pleasing and hated being touched."

She took a moment to fiddle with the ethereal strands of Luna’s mane.

"If you only want to kiss and hold each other tonight, I can take care of myself while you're gone, so there won't be so much pressure. And just so we're clear and not playing the guessing game about what you really mean. If you want me to go down on you but aren't ready to return the favor, just be honest about it with me. I might joke with you a little when we're alone, but if I don't know what you want, I don't want to assume the wrong thing in the heat of the moment and try to start something that will ruin what we have now."

For as worried as Luna was about being teased or seduced, Kelly’s words were a compelling comfort.

"I've never been touched there, romantically or even accidentally. So the idea of you being able to… ugh… I trust you enough to be honest. It sounds so enticing, but I'm worried I would not-" She looked down slightly and shrank into herself a little. "-taste good?"

Of all the things to hear, this was small potatoes to Kelly, and she huffed a little laugh at the concern.

"That's probably the biggest concern any girl has. But you have a clean diet and practice good hygiene. If… though I’m pretty sure when, I'm ready. Knowing me, tonight, it's nothing a little rinse out and some honey can't fix."

After all her excitement, then open concern, it was surprising to see Kelly so nonchalant about addressing both their worries. She was going out of her way to make so many of Luna’s potential problems sound trivial.

“I once had a long weekend of binge drinking and…” She blew raspberries, trying to look humble. “God, besides the two girls I was with, I barely remember what I ate. Anyway, diet can change what the body puts out, which can change how a girl tastes, just like how eating a lot of garlic can change how your sweat smells. So, after my third day of swapping between mostly gin and some other god-awful bargain bin vermouth, I felt, smelt, and according to… I think her name was Tammy? She was kind enough to let me know how bad I was getting. Even after a shower, I apparently had a bitter taste, which made me feel shitty. Thankfully we had a little bottle of honey and used that to make my cooch tolerable.”

Luna looked down at her special human with an odd sense of befuddlement. Her mind practically derailed by all this new and extremely intimate information being shared.

“How can you be so passive with something so embarrassing? As much as I am looking forward to retiring to bed with you, I am practically molting my wings off from how frightened I am with disappointing you. If I am not enjoyable or talented enough to aid you in your needs… bless your ever-growing heart; I know you hesitate on your desires with me. I feel as if I have to juggle all the stars in the sky, lest I risk losing you or ruining even your attachment to Macintosh.”

Calmly, Kelly laid a comforting hand on Luna’s hoof.

“No one’s perfect, Luna. I mean, look at me. Where I come from, no human, male or female, would want a serious relationship with me because of what both you and Mac so easily accept about me. I mean, come on. I turned Mac down the moment I realized he was serious about being with me. I all but tormented him by teasing about having sex with him, had you sleep with me, and even kissed you while he was in danger because I was lonely.”

Just saying it out loud with no jarring response from Luna only made Kelly dwell on her faults even more.

“I couldn’t even stay faithful to my own aspirations of only having one partner because I love how I feel when I’m with you. And for you. Even with Mac himself, after all the teasing I did about finally giving him what he wanted and more, I could end up hurting him if I had him try to fuck me long enough so I could get off. Now I’m basically holding our relationship with him over the cliff, saying that if I can’t have an orgasm with you, I’m dropping both over the edge.”

The more Kelly built up her situation, the closer Luna felt as if her human was looking for reasons to abandon them. Though, that was soon to be shown not to be the case with what Kelly had to say.

“But we both put up with each other. Yes, I had a problem with Mac not being human. Then it was the issue of me not wanting to even think about having sex with him. Then, after I tempted him, I told him he had to wait. And then I literally had him watch me pleasure myself and had him jerk off in front of me, only to tell him afterwards that he could have fucked me if I hadn’t cum too fast because I… can’t fucking control myself. Which was why I told him that I knew if given the chance… it wouldn’t have taken much for you to talk me into having sex… Hot… Messy… Human, alicorn, lesbian sex.”

It was a little harsh to admit these things, but this kind of honesty allowed her so much comfort. She had to let Luna know how things really were between them.

“Luna… I’m in no position to be picky or judgemental and not work with you because something might not be perfect.”

She gave a long look into her eyes and then sat up again, trying to make this poor string of thoughts she was sharing more personable.

“I was looking forward to making my first time with Mac something special that would make our relationship stronger… but as it stands, he can’t sexually satisfy me.”

She huffed an embarrassing laugh at herself, though it was clearly out of self-loathing.

“I’ve never been with anyone worth compromising what I wanted out of them, which is horrible to say. But with both of you, what I want is more than just good sex. Otherwise, I would have let Mac walk away and found another guy. Even with you, you’re right, I do hesitate. I’m… very much outside of my comfort zone. But don’t you dare think that I’m not willing to work with you on figuring out how to make this work.”

Thinking about it again, it was so surreal and ridiculous that it made her laugh.

“I’m more scared of fucking things up than I think either of you are. The worst you could do is not make me cum… Big fucking whoop. That’s not nearly as bad as hurting or embarrassing you and giving you drama in your life you don’t need if word gets out.”

Luna smiled back, moved by the genuine kindness and consideration Kelly was showing her.

"Kelly, I understand not wanting to flaunt how close we are, but I do not wish to treat you as some embarrassing skeleton in my closet I need to hide."

"Awe~," Kelly cooed before leaning close enough to gently kiss her princess on the lips. "You are so sweet, and eventually, yes, we should be open about it. For now, though, if we all need escorts, and if there are other freaks and creeps out there like The Shadow Prick, I've seen how this shit ends up. Either you'll be targeted to get to me, or the other way around."

This, however, didn’t seem to bother Luna, who, now blushing red again, suffered a moment of weakness.

"Kiss me again like you did Macintosh, and I will be convinced to wait for you when you say the time is right."

Kelly laughed harder than she should have but was willing to humor her wishes.

"You give me too much power, but I can give you this one."

Switching to her knees, she took Luna by the chin and raised her up to pry her tongue between those dark violet lips. The reaction was instant, and Luna pushed into the kiss, carefully exploring the sweetness that Kelly had to offer.

They held together until Kelly forced herself away, and for good reason.

"Okay, I'm growing a lot less timid about what I want to do with you. And unless you want to piss off your sister by having her do your work in the morning, we need to stop for now."

Thinking about these complications, Luna was racing for a resolution.

"I believe Twilight and Starlight could shoulder some of my responsibilities. Starlight is a pony I trust to be capable of such an endeavor. Twilight herself has even held power over the moon once before...with... some minor complications. I believe after all the support I have given her, she would be more than happy to allow us more time together."

This only gave Kelly more fuel to feed the fire growing inside. Yet, she was able to steel her resolve and push back.

"Go start your patrol. See if Mackie is dreaming of us again."

Luna laughed cheerfully, finding it funny that she had been trying to for days now. Unfortunately, that quickly led her to remember that was something she had used to work Kelly into sharing her bed in the first place.

"I will look for him, but I can't in good faith play favorites." She had to think quickly to save this. "Although, I'm sure telling him how things go for you and I will be better than any dream."

Running over the possibilities, Kelly's sweet scent grew even stronger while her patience was weakening. That seemed to coincide with how far she was spreading her legs as she sat back to put her panties on display.

"How tired can you be and still lower the moon?"

At that note, Luna stood up and walked off the bed.

"You are an evil temptress, Kelly," Luna jested as she opened her portal to the dream realm. "And I look forward to exploring the depths of your vile nature."

Knowing she would have the last laugh, Kelly pulled her panties to the side and spread herself open, giving the princess a full view of what was to come.

"I'll have you eat those words when you get back… and my vile depths."

At this rate, believing she would, Luna decided to try and steal the last laugh.

"Don’t bother bating me with the honey, you may find me to be a carnivore yet."

Shocked that Luna got the last word before departing, Kelly was beside herself. Luna sounded serious.

"Goddamnit, now I want the honey."

She looked over herself, feeling a little grimy from the long day.

"Okay. Shit, shower, and shave. I'm doing this when she gets back."

Wandering through the many dreams, familiar laughs and songs of the kingdom's ponies filled the realm.

It was likely to be a quiet night, if the last hour or so was to give any sign of the pace of her patrol. That was, at least, until Luna began to hear whispers.

"Who's there?!" she called out, demanding a response. "You have entered the dream realm under my dominion. Reveal yourself, and I shall consider being lenient."

The whispers continued, always distant, too low to understand, all of them overlapping each other in a chorus of what might have well been chaotic white noise. Yet, they were uncomfortably close.

Quickly she realized the distance she perceived was only that. They had surrounded her. Not just surrounded her, she had walked through the space they echoed from.

She felt around for a source, though nothing revealed itself to be tangible.

Soft and subtle hints of familiar voices. Friends and acquaintances, all in spaces seemingly too distant to reach out to or locate. All of them impossible for her to interact with until one voice became clear.

"Oh, Peter. You silver-tongued devil. Why bother having me wear the gown if it only gets in the way?"

Luna searched high and low, seeking out what sounded like a voice always speaking over her head or behind her.

"Mayor Mare? Can you hear… What are you doing with Peter?"

Again, the sultry voice of Ponyville's mayor beckoned for Peter's services.

"Why don't you show me what you do with our little Oven Fresh?"

That was close enough this time that Luna could narrow in and jump into a faintly visible dream. Once inside, something was off.

Everything was faded, almost ghostly. Even the mare's voice would ebb and flow in volume as Luna approached.

While the growing whispers had left her slightly on edge, they were creepy after all, she sensed no danger. With nothing to fear, she advanced farther into what she remembered Mayor Mare's office looked like.

In the office, the mayor lay on top of her desk, Sniff rubbing his hands under the gown she had worn to the party.

It would have been an expected fantasy had not it been for the vibrant pink hair Mayor sported.

"Rub me everywhere, then kiss me again, you scandalous stallion, you."

"Mayor?" Luna cautiously called out to her subject in office.

The mayor quickly sat up, pulling Sniff by his collar, ready to bring him in for another kiss.

"Did you hear that, Peter? Princess Luna is close by. We'll have to be quiet while they're counting the ballots for the next dance."

Luna watched uneasily as the mayor started kissing Sniff like Kelly had kissed her not much earlier.

"This is most bizarre. Can you not hear me?"

Still engulfed in her dream, Mayor spread her legs wide, much like Kelly had. Curious to see what this mare intended to do with Twilight’s special somehuman, she was distracted by yet another whisper.

"I'm so glad you wanted to date me as well, Peter. I know Ovens and Twilight said you wanted to show me the basics of dating, but I really want you to show me what you do with Ovens."

Noticing the same phrase uttered, Luna opened another gateway to what sounded like Top Shelf having a similar dream.

While not exactly what she was expecting, but looking just as ghostly, it was a candlelit scene with a table set for two in the private section of Grapes and Olives. A grand spread of salads, small entrees, some round-shaped loaves of bread filled with soup, desserts, and what must be another type of alcohol she hadn’t seen before had been prepared for them.

For some reason, they had skipped straight to dessert where Sniff was delivering a tiny bite on a fork they were taking turns feeding each other with.

“Mmm,” Sniff moaned, sampling another taste of cheesecake. “You know, I could tell the moment we met there was something special about you, Topsy.”

“Oh, did you?” She coyly questioned. “And what did you notice?”

Sniff dropped the fork and lifted Top Shelf up by her hips as she threw her forelegs around his neck. Rising out of her seat, her fancy wardrobe, a skirt, and top ensemble with longer leggings like Rarity had recently made, were revealed. She must have dreamt that it was something Sniff would want her to wear.

“I noticed a beautiful young mare who I had to get my hands on.”

He dropped her flanks on the table, then reached behind and shoved the meal, save one fancy glass, onto the floor.

The glass, which likely came from the new bottle they shared, was raised in his hand to deliver her a taste. She sipped it slowly, then raised her chin, motioning the glass to him as she licked her lips. Sniff let the drink pour down his gullet before carelessly tossing the glass behind him. The look he gave her was how Kelly had looked at Luna while exposing herself.

“The rumors are true, now let me show how much better these magic fingers can be for my favorite barmare.”

This was unreal. So unlike anything Luna had ever witnessed in all her patrols, save tonight, which begged the question.

"Does every mare want to rut Peter?"

Suddenly distracted again by her official duties, an adjacent dream had Rainbow scream out for one human Luna held in high regard.

"Cerb, get down!"

Sounds of gunshots rang out that only Luna could hear while in this dream, and panic set in.

"A nightmare! Blast it!"

Wasting no time, Luna jumped to rescue her friend from the torment of a nightmare of violence and danger. As she left, she missed the mayor responding to the whispers of Luna’s voice somehow reaching her.

“Hmm? A nightmare? Sounds like I won, and Luna lost her chance to dance with my handsome stallion. That means you’re all mine tonight, Peter.”

“I got your back!” Rainbow shouted, kicking down and shattering a Timberwolf. “Stay close to me! We got this.”

Cerb reloaded his pistol and backed up to his battle buddy for this fight. His clothes had been shredded, and traces of blood from small nicks and cuts over his arms and chest showed how intense the battle had become. His resolve, however, had not been shaken.

“I’m glad you came along, Dashie. Fluttershy and Rarity weren’t ready for this.”

Cocky as ever, Rainbow laughed at his praise.

“Ha! Those two are great, but you and me, Big Guy? We’re the real deal. Now get ready. This is going to be awesome!”

As soon as Luna entered the dream and located the chaos, the nightmare was instantly recognized as simply another dream of Rainbow living up her thrill of the fight. At least this dream was clear, both with it’s visuals and voices.

Ruined Timberwolves lay scattered over the battlefield of the Everfree Forest while Rainbow flew high above in a whirlwind of dark clouds.

Now realizing her urgency was in vain, Luna groaned, “I should've known the instant I heard Rainbow Dash’s voice.”

The whirlwind ahead of her easily picked up the remaining Timberwolves, whelps, and Kings alike. Thrashing and flailing as they were raised in the air, Rainbow kicked the clouds she had collected in her protective storm, unleashing lightning bolts that decimated the remaining forces.

This was a dream only Rainbow could fathom, though it was about to reveal a new side of her that matched her desire for excitement.

“Justin! Look out! I missed one!”

Luna looked on to watch this dream version of Cerb run out to a Timberwolf King.

With a rising uppercut, Cerb’s fist connected, ripping off the lower jaw of the giant beast. Following through, Cerb’s hand caught one of the large sharp canines. To finish off the beast, in an act that further jumped the shark, Cerb somersaulted over the King’s head, the tooth still in hand, and pulled it into a suplex, crashing it into the ground.

Of course, that wasn't enough for Rainbow’s fantasy. Cerb had impaled its head in the dirt, and then Roundhouse kicked its neck, decapitating the now-defeated construct.

Rainbow flew down in a hurry, ready to celebrate with her fellow warrior.

“Ha! I knew we had this one in the bag, Big Guy.” She gasped. “Oh, no! You got yourself hurt saving me. And your clothes are ruined. Take them off so I can look you over. You still want me to, right?”

In a gross display of masculinity, Cerb ripped off his shirt with one hand and his pants/boxers with the other.

“I trust you with my life, Dashie. And now that you’ve proven yourself, Fluttershy and Rarity trust you with my body.”

Just far enough away to take in this dream rapidly divulging into comical levels of depravity, Luna facehoofed at the sight of Rainbow in a nurse’s uniform, strutting her way up to Cerb. Just the sight Luna didn’t need to see.

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” she quietly hushed under her breath, now wanting to leave yet curious to see more.

Unaware of the dream keeper watching over her new fantasy, Rainbow avoided all of Cerb’s wounds and went straight for his crotch. She gave one quick trace of her hoof up his leg, leading her frogs to rub up his nearly hard cock.

“Well, Big Guy. It looks like you’re still in great shape, but I think this is going to need my special attention.”

Luna watched what Kelly had described before Big Mac had accidentally revealed during their trip to the party. Rainbow stroked the human’s cock, quickly making it hard, then shoved then him to the ground.

She was treating Cerb like Fluttershy had in the forest, sitting him down and putting him in his place. Only this time, Rainbow was going to provide more favorable bedside manners.

“I’m going to lighten your load, stud, but it's going to require a few injections.”

Needing a break from this, both from being overwhelmed by this rash of erotic dreams as well as her own growing arousal, Luna had to interject, hoping she would be heard.

“Rainbow Dash, is this going to be the new normal for you?”

That was a stupid question to ask, leaving Rainbow laughing at the ludicrous inquiry briefly until she answered with a cocky tone as she readied to take her first injection.

“You bet. Justin is the hottest thing to come to Equestria since summer ti-AHHHHHHHHHH!”

Jumping straight into max flight for escape, Rainbow abandoned her questionable medical practices.

High above, a Sonic Rainboom decorated the sky, leaving Luna to question her interruption.

“I suppose not all of these dreams of seducing humans leave me unheard.”

After an awkward moment of silence, with Luna left staring at Cerb laying in the grass with his erection pointing up like it was searching for the pony it was supposed to dwell within.

Thankfully, Rainbow quickly returned in a heated landing.

“Luna! What are you doing here?! I was just-”

Given the different physics the dream realm held, Rainbow realized she was still wearing the nurse’s uniform.

“Goddamnit, motherfucker!”

She tore away the uniform and ripped the white netted stockings off with her teeth. The embarrassment of her desires just wouldn’t end.

“Ahhhhhhh,” her angry groans rolled off her tongue like admitting she lost a bet now that she had been caught red-hoofed.

“I am so fucked if Fluttershy or Rarity find out just how bad I want to be with Justin. Pleeeeeeeeease don’t say anything to them. I had a hard enough time going against Starlight, and even if Rarity isn’t as skilled with magic, I’m pretty sure she’d turn me into a pin cushion before Fluttershy smashed my face into a rock.”

Sadly, Luna was a bit out of the loop still. She wasn’t aware of Rainbow’s lust for Cerb, but was well aware of how protective Fluttershy and Rarity were over him. They were likely to react to any threats towards their human stallion much like Starlight had done or how she herself would for Kelly. So, if this is where Rainbow was stuck, it made her feel terrible.

“My apologies, Rainbow Dash. Tonight has been unlike my normal patrols. You are not the first to—” She looked over to Cerb again. “Is that really what he looks like?”

Rainbow froze, her blush growing bright, and wings fully extended as she tried not to look at her own mental creation.

“Fuuuuuck me… I-” She folded limply, her wings wilting down to the ground along with her gaze. “I don’t know if that’s how big he gets when he gets hard, but that’s how it’s supposed to look.”

That wasn’t the question Luna really wanted to ask, and they quickly started over.

“Sorry, that is neither here nor there. You are not the first pony I’ve witnessed having such intimate dreams with our human friends. You are, however, the first I was able to interact with. Actually, your dream of romancing is much clearer than the others.”

Rainbow cocked her head to the side, not following along.

“Not as clear as mine, as in you couldn’t see Justin’s cock in the other dreams?”

“No,” Luna sadly answered, still trying to figure things out herself. “Their dreams were faded, translucent with a pale white gloss to them.”

Getting the wrong visual, Rainbow snorted and cackled inappropriately.

“Sounds like Justin must have busted a nut all over their wet dreams.”

For a moment, the misinterpretation aggravated Luna, given how serious she was taking this, but then remembered those phrases and could at least smirk at the humor.

“Well, from what I have been told, that would sound appropriate. Although, if you have such an interest in Cer… Justin, have you considered asking Fluttershy or Rarity to invite you in with them? Justin apparently has a lot of love to share.”

Oh, how little Luna knew of what Rainbow did.

“Uh… no, I haven’t. They seem very much against the idea of sharing him with anypony else besides each other. Besides, they haven’t even done anything yet with him. Plus, this is just a dream. I can’t actually have sex with him even if I wanted to. Not without some practice to take a cock his size.”

Saying that out loud left her cringing, and she wilted again.

“Gaaaaah… I can’t believe I’m admitting this. I’d probably just want to try the hands and mouth stuff. I… really like the thought of going all the way with Cerb, but… hold on. How much do you know about sex? I thought no pony knew unless they were ready to start a family… Or maybe it’s being around a human that… Actually, we still need to figure that part out”

Luna grinned, embarrassed now for what she had walked into. At the same time, she couldn’t be fully honest with Rainbow for Kelly’s sake. Although, she had a good idea of how to answer this without drawing unneeded attention to herself.

“I do have dominion over dreams, Rainbow Dash. I have learned much since our humans have arrived. If you recall, I just came from the dreams of others pursuing similar desires.”

Wow. That same workaround of using her access to the dreams of others had to be the best go-to for claiming how she knew about anything. It was good enough for even Rainbow to buy.

“Oh… lucky you. I learned most of what I know from Becky. She told me lots of stuff, but I didn’t have an interest in anything until… well… I bet you can tell.”

Off behind them, Cerb raised his hand with a thumbs up, excited to get back to where they had left off.

“Sexy Battle Nurse Dashie, I’m ready for your booster shots… You’ll get a sucker when I’m done.”

These dreams were going to be a real treat to continue running across, and Luna had to cover her face with her wing to muffle her snickers, also thankfully blocking an ear twitch out of sight.

Rainbow, however, hid her face behind both wings in shame to hide herself, hoping not to wake ever again.

“Forget what I said. Tell Fluttershy and Rarity I’m ready to die now.”

Sadly embarrassed for her fellow feathered friend, Luna forced her laughter away, knowing she had to support this mare.

“Fear not, Rainbow. There is no need to be ashamed of your desires to be with Justin. I even fancied him myself for a time.”

“You did?” Rainbow asked, surprised to hear Luna openly share such a detail. “Is that why you bailed on Benny?”

Perhaps Luna was admitting too much. She’d have to play this safe.

“Rainbow… every human has something about them that makes them desirable and worthy of our affection. So much so that most have taken on having more than one to love… and probably fuck like crazy. I mean, honestly… It is simply ridiculous what they can do and are willing to do with us.”

She wanted so much more than the close embraces and kisses she originally sought from Kelly the more this conversation continued. She really needed to pull back, but she really did feel for Rainbow.

“I had contemplated Benny as well, and it was a sad set of circumstances that led me to realize pursuing him wasn’t what I truly desired. Lumberman, as lovely a stallion he has shown himself to be for Applejack, is so clearly focused on loving no mare other than her. Even Peter captured my interest for a time, but with all Twilight had suffered through for him, as well as Oven Fresh, I simply could not in good conscious interject myself when they both deserve his heart more than I. Chris… I know not of any bed big enough to carry the burden he has gathered that could tolerate adding me.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes at being reminded of that little miracle.

“I still can’t believe Chris bagged that many mares before any of us even knew what was going on. And he’s banging all of them! He wore them all out before the party and still had energy to spare!” She thought for a moment. “Should we be worried about the others who don’t have Chris’s numbers?”

Somewhere nearby, another cry for help called out, though it was a stallion's for a change.

"Please, don't hate me! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

For a moment, Luna welcomed another's misery if it got her mind off anything sex-related. This was finally giving her a reason to stop incriminating herself.

"My apologies, Rainbow Dash. Please accept this gift as penitence for my intrusion."

Luna’s horn flashed once, then again to open a portal behind her. With only a small tear in the open air, Luna jumped into the next dream to save the next pony in need. Although, that left Rainbow to continue her dream without knowing why Luna left her giftless.

“What the fuck? Kill the mood why don’t cha? And what did she even-”

“Sexy Battle Nurse Dashie.”Cerb’s voices called out for their battle mare. “We had a fight with an oak tree and now have an abundance of wood.”

Confused, she turned back to see another Cerb had been created and was standing next to the Cerb she left laying in the grass, just as eager for her to join them.

This was more than enough to get her back in the mood.

“Hoooooly fuck, I hope I don’t talk in my sleep tonight.”

Luna entered to an angry mob of Ponyville’s ponies jeering around a stallion cowering under a cardboard sign.

“Abuser!”

“Jerk!”

“You’re no better than the Timberwolves!”

“Know it all!”

Luna marched out to the dreaming pony being harassed.

“SILENCE!”

The manifestations of Ponyville’s residents parted from her path and faded out of existence. One by one as they vanished, it was made clear who made the desperate cries.

“Hard Hat? This is an odd departure from your usual dreams of hammering nails. And.. what is that sign you are holding?”

Still shaking, Hard Hat flipped the sign over that he had been hiding under.

“Will work for food?” She read the words aloud. “Please, do explain.”

Dwelling on his recent mistakes, memories began to drift around them. The hard time he gave Lumberman in the hardware store, how he talked down Lumberman again, then the scene that played over and over.

“Listen here, lady."

Thud.

“Listen here, lady."

Thud.

“Listen here, lady."

Thud.

“Listen here, lady."

Thud.

While his memory wasn't him outright coldcoking Applejack, the overaggression displayed of him jamming his hoof into her chest was more than enough to anger Luna. Even if it hadn’t been Applejack, she would have had more than just a few words to say about such behavior.

Then, the rest of the events unfolded: Lumberman's strong approach, Applejack's putting him in his place, and his coworkers' dejection. All of it played out until she watched the memory of him walking away alone, and neither said a word to the other.

There wasn’t much to say. Not when she could see the shame that kept him silent. Of course, like any good leader, the words eventually did come.

"You are a very lucky fool, Hard Hat. You know not what a human is capable of or the lengths they will go to protect those they care for. If you did, your dream would have you in a body cast begging for new teeth, not work."

He had no leg to stand on nor the pride to defend himself.

“I’d deserve it. I put my hooves on a client over work I wasn’t even doing for her. All because I thought I was the best pony for the job, and Lumberman, a non-pony we’ve never even heard of, not even from our world, got the job? I was angry… jealous… so arrogant to think everypony would want me to do the job right for them.”

Dropping his sign and sulking even lower, he gave up on himself.

“I used to be Hard Hat, the pony who put skyscrapers in Manehattan, luxury homes in Canterlot, the pony who built Ponyville hospital… Now I’m just a schmuck who beats his clients. None of my crew even stood up for me. Most of them work for Lumberman now. I’m finished.”

With little pity for this pony's aggressive nature, she was ready to lay into him.

"Your talent is building. Everypony knows this, so why would you try to force yourself on them?"

"I don't know," he honestly answered. "I just heard what he wanted and it was so unlike anything I ever thought of."

Luna almost nodded, having witnessed their advanced knowledge in practice.

"They come from a different world. Why would they not do things differently? Regardless, you have made a terrible mess of things. And for the way Lumberman treats ponies, I can't blame them for being so inclined to work for him. I hope you have learned from your mistakes."

Hard Hat started to tear up, knowing how much he lost.

"I have. I only hope I can convince him I really am sorry for what I've done."

Luna seemed doubtful, but he was being honest, never wavering in his conviction.

"Princess, I tried to apologize once, but he was still so angry… but… is Applejack okay?"

That was a problem she still had to follow up on.

"Applejack is a strong pony. She is doing just fine under his care."

Hard Hat nodded, seeming at least relieved by the answer.

"That's good. I hope Lumberman does come around like he said he would. I need to make things right. "

His mind went back to his last encounter with Lumberman, accidentally bringing it into view for Luna to see him standing at Applejack’s porch, talking to Lumberman.

"I'll be available at the hardware store most often if you're looking for me. And… I was in town and heard… I don't know what happened, but I hope Applejack is doing okay. Far be it from me to say, but she's a good pony, and… the whole town knows you're taking good care of her. I wish you both the best."

The expression on Lumberman’s face was hard to read, but the anger was there… yet also the desire for control and maybe a little empathy.

"It's appreciated, and I'll come around soon. This whole thing between us needs to get worked out. Have a good day."

Again, Luna was impressed with these humans. Even still, their limits should not be tested.

"Listen closely, Hard Hat, so as not to threaten the good graces we have with Lumberman, the other humans, or any of those entrusted with their safety. That includes any pony they have been so accepting to now consider to be more than friends. That being said."

She took a deep breath, doing all she could to calm herself.

"You are still one of my precious subjects. If… you are ever intimidated, threatened, or injured when unprovoked, even by them, it will be dealt with accordingly."

Hard Hat gulped, now worried he might be in danger.

"Lumberman isn't actually going to hurt me, is he?"

Friends or not, Luna was still responsible to her kingdom, and she would not deny him her protection.

"At every confrontation, every human has shown great displays of restraint. So, I do not believe he would ever act without reason, nor do more than would be needed. However, just as we have done what we can to make them feel welcome and safe, no pony should ever believe that any human is to be given special favor over the safety of my subjects. You have given your heartfelt apology and seek to make amends. Whatever comes of your reputation will be your responsibility to address. Your safety is mine."

Opening another gateway to continue her patrol, she departed, leaving her last words to echo through his dream.

"You are a better pony than your worst deeds. Be that better pony, Hard Hat."

"Now… Trixie and Big Mac," Luna questioned aloud. "Where might their dreams be?"

She focused her senses to find what should have been familiar spaces, but the whispers of lewdness were distracting her. The noises of wet kisses, moans, and what had to be Rainbow sucking and slurping sloppily were everywhere. She could only imagine the sights her ponies were putting on and enjoying. It all reminded her of what was waiting for her when she returned.

"Son of a bitch! Fuck this, I'm done. I can’t wait any longer."

Drawing from her inner strength, Luna put on her strongest front and jumped straight into another dream, one she would rather not visit.

Laying on a beach towel, overlooking the edge of the calm ocean, Celestia lay basking in her sun.

"This better be important, dear sister," she callously greeted the dream intruder, not even turning to acknowledge her.

Luna, somewhat regretting allowing her sister to learn to better control her dreams, rolled her eyes.

"Tis nothing so urgent you need be concerned, so I will be brief. Something has come up that requires my attention, and I will be lowering the moon prematurely. To avoid this becoming a recurring issue, I will be seeking Twilight’s assistance to alleviate this burden and focus on more dream disturbances. I will be speaking with Trixie tomorrow directly… do not think we are not appreciative of you sending her our way."

Celestia levitated up a tropical drink and took a sip.

"Very well, but… do me this one favor for interrupting what little time I have in this sanctuary of mine. Let our new guests know they are to prepare for court. Only one of my guards has yet to wake, and we cannot confirm his actions until then… unless you can reach him."

At the mention of the event, Luna couldn’t help but flinch, wishing desperately that they could have put it in the past by now.

"His mind was damaged. It will heal, but my attempts to navigate his dreams would likely do more harm. If we are to get a viable confession of his actions, they will have to be given in the waking world. However, I will alert Kelly and company to ready themselves."

"Thank you," Celestia replied, clearly annoyed, but then suddenly sounded more attentive. "How proud was Cutter seeing her daughter receiving her award? The write-up for her was very well done."

Oof… now there was a story best avoided for now.

"Cutter, unfortunately, missed the ceremony. However, after being informed of how things have transpired, they have never been closer. Though, I will have to discuss with her plans for any future with us."

With the only news Celestia cared for having completed, she grew weary of the conversation, as well as the company.

"I'm glad to hear, but if Cutter is unsure of her future, let her know I will always have a place for her in the Solar Guard. Otherwise… I would like what little time I have left here alone."

Not at all happy to potentially lose Cutter, let alone to her sister, Luna was ready to leave, though she would be wondering if Celestia had noticed Cutter’s disgruntled behavior and said nothing of it.

"Sweet dreams, sister."

As the gateway closed, Celestia lowered her shades on a second drink, still untouched.

"I truly am alone, aren't I?"

Scrolling through some old photos and chilling to some music on her phone, Kelly jumped at Luna’s abrupt return.

"Shit… you scared the fuck out of me."

Clearly not what she expected to hear, Luna blinked, shocked at such a phrase.

"How… How do we get it back?"

Not expecting Luna to take it literally, Kelly laughed.

"It's just an expression. Why’d you come back so early?"

Grinning, Luna made her way to the window, her horn already glowing.

"The patrol of my pony's dreams had proven… well… let's just say I'm taking the rest of the night off."

"Oh?" Kelly cutely asked. "Was Mac dreaming of us again?"

As Luna began to lower the moon, she couldn't help but chuckle at the first two dreams she came across. Those alone were enough to make her return. It was hard to say how she would have handled finding the dreams Big Mac must be having. Though Rainbow’s seemed far more exciting.

"I didn't make it that far, sadly. It seems many of our pony friends have some crushes they are dreaming about. I wasn't ready to see their fantasies… some more vivid than others."

With the moon now lowered, she turned back to Kelly, all her apprehensions taking a back seat.

"I also saw my sister. Your attackers will be facing justice soon, but for now, we have the night to ourselves. Let us give Mac a story worth dreaming about."

So, the party is finally over and the list of potential problems for Sniff are growing with every mare. Daisy, Lily, and Roseluck seemed to have moved up the list enough to snag a lunch date. Although, given the progress with Mayor Mare and Top Shelf getting coached by Cutter, and even Lyra being pulled into the mix... Wait? Why was Mayor Mare standing outside when Sniff went to leave?

I guess we'll have to find out later because the stroy cut back over to Benny dealing with two drunk ponies and Becky leaving him to entertain his two mares. Which turned out to take a turn that probably came on a little too strong with him opening up so fast. Although, sometimes poeple just reach the point where they reach out like that.

At least they were receptive to him and get to watch Oliver and Company.

Then came the big reveal, as it is a story not widely known about Celesta and her early adventures with the mirrors. Our lovely Celestia had once found a world that nearly became her new life. However, it was a love not to lived out together.

Though the real question might be, what was Sunset Shimmer doing there? Whatever the reeason, Celestia is getting a little hot headed over all of it. Perhaps Spearhead and his two unfortunate subordinates should be worried about who she takes that anger out on.

Then, of course, things aren't looking so good for Lyra and Bon Bon. Then again, with Bon Bon looking to remove the humans and Lyra trying to get closer, yet neither confirming their intentions, why wouldn't they butt heads? Then again, perhaps it's jealousy driving Bon Bon to be so aggressive because of Lyra's infatuation with Sniff and the other humans. At the same time, maybe Lyra wasn't sure about the future that she and Bon Bon could have together.

That could cause some problems.

Lastly, our lovely Luna and Kelly are struggling to make it to daylight. That probably wouldn't have been an issue, except for the fact that Kelly is such a terrible tease!

A terrible tease up until it came time to be real with dream watching mare. Having moved so quickly onto each other, they didn't really get much time to map out where they were actually comfortable with each other. Considering Kelly had

It was magical Luna was able to pull herself away to get back to her royal duties. Not that the dreams of her subjects were going to make things any easier for her.

Mayor Mare getting felt up in her office, Topsy getting freaking at work, and Rainbow Dash... God bless that mare's soul to the point she doesn't talk in her sleep.

Of course, Hard Hat's still dealing with the fall out of his choices, though not nearly as exciting as Luna rushing off to test out her choices. Granted, only after a brief running with her big sis.

However...

For those that have been waiting, be ready for a Bonus Saturday release, as well as a continuation of what is about to be a very... very... long night. Starting with: