It was a brand new day when Benny woke up on the couch with both his mares. They’d all fallen asleep before the second movie ended, and both mares were slumped against him, still an odd fate he had accepted on this eleventh day in Equestria.

Then again, for all the ponies he’d met since arriving here, they were both so chill. Chill and cute, but still ponies.

However, Lumberman was right about his options. Kelly was balls deep in Big Mac, or the other way around, and Becky still clearly had no interest in Benny himself.

Actually, her view of him was probably even less now that she likely viewed him as a horse fucker as well.

He thought about that for a moment. Chris and Sniff had already taken that plunge, and the other two guys couldn’t be that far behind.

Was this really how things were to be? Taking on multiple ponies as lovers because they essentially ran out of options? Assuming Lumberman would eventually find a third to join him and Applejack, unlikely as the pair seemed pretty adamant about staying exclusive, that would make all of them part of the same club once he included Luna getting roped in by Kelly.

Then, the real question came to mind about how far he was willing to go with a mare.

How long until they expected a kiss from him? Would they soon be wanting to have sex as well? They didn’t seem like the type who were already active with each other, though if they were, that would make things easier for him.

Wouldn't it?

Looking down at them again, so much of it didn’t seem right to do. Not only the immorality of taking on two girlfriends… Marefriends?

No. Special someponies. That’s what they called it. But again, he couldn’t get over the fact that he did like them, and they liked him enough to be cool with both sharing him.

Sharing him? Why did that sound like it came with a burden?

There was too much to think about after just waking up. Then he noticed who else had woken up. It wasn’t Becky or any of the other ponies. Mister Happy was alive and energetically pressing up on the zipper of his shorts.

Geez… How long had it been?

Since breaking off ties with his ex...about two blow jobs that he barely enjoyed, and a drunken night with a friend of one of Sniff’s semi-regulars? None of those hookups amounted to him even bothering to remember their names. Hell, for the last year, he made it a point to let Sniff know he wasn’t interested in a one night stand. Not even the passing flirts got him interested in starting over from what he lost.

Now his options were the raver DJ and… actually, Octavia’s voice was so seductive, without even trying. There certainly was an appeal to her considering how grounded she was. Pinkie could be fun, and the night she sucked the cherry out of his hand raised some questions of what was possible, but Octavia? She was calm, collected, grounded, and took things so casually with him. There was even a sense of vulnerability from her that he felt comfortable approaching. Even if only to calm her as she did for him.

Looking at them again, they were pretty in their own right. Even taking another look at Vinyl, she was so energetic and constantly being positive to a contagious degree. She made everything they did fun, almost like a sane Pinkie Pie, who never took things too far.

He thought again about the other thing Lumberman asked him.

Was it actually bestiality to sleep with them and racist to turn them down because they weren’t human on the outside? Would either of them be just as immoral or prejudice if they viewed him the same way? That an act of intimacy with him would label them as vile and detestable? That simply wanting to love him despite being human should be a position he’d support the other ponies detesting them over?

Why was he still thinking about this? He needed to get up and make some coffee before pondering any deeper about how he was going to move forward with this.

“Hey?” He quietly whispered to his two mares.

Neither of the two stirred, so he would have to be careful not to wake them while getting up.

Taking a wild guess that Vinyl was a deep sleeper, because stereotypes, he dipped his left shoulder back, letting her slowly slide down into his arm. Still being careful, he let her neck and head lay on his lap. She really was knocked out and looked a lot cuter with her shades off, he thought.

Next was Octavia. He lifted her hoof, slumped on his leg, and her eyes immediately opened.

“Oops,” he whispered. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

Now awake, Octavia closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath, filling her lungs, and let out a low waking yawn.

“Not a problem. Oh?” She noticed she had been sleeping on him. “I’m terribly sorry, Benny. We didn’t make you uncomfortable sleeping like this, did we?”

Even just waking up, her voice was so smooth and easy to listen to. Having her to talk with until the coffee was ready could make this morning easier. Although, her question did bring up an observation he hadn’t thought about.

“No… Not at all. I slept pretty well, actually. You?”

Looking into his eyes, a light blush began to glow before she could answer.

“It was like I fell asleep in a garden. I hope it’s not too forward for me to say that I’m looking forward to sleeping next to you again.”

Benny smirked, pleased by her soft approach to only wanting to be close to him.

“And I can safely say I am too. Anyway, I was going to make some coffee,” He whispered. “We can talk a little more outside, so we don’t wake Vinyl.”

Octavia snorted and tried to hold back her giggles behind her hoof.

“Oh, you are so sweet, but she won’t be waking so easily,” Octavia said, not even trying to keep her voice low. “I’ve learned entire symphonies that are easier to remember without sheet music than it is trying to wake that one.”

She hopped off the couch, a bright smile on her face and a bit of pep in her step. Must be a morning person… pony… Whatever.

“Come on. Coffee sounds positively grand, if you’re offering of course.”

After sliding out from under Vinyl, Benny joined the classically trained musical mare in his kitchen. While finding the supplies needed for coffee, Octavia was quick to start a conversation.

“Last night, the second movie you shared with us, even if made for foals, was beautiful. The way the music matched the visuals. I’ve never seen any dancing so well choreographed.” She giggled again, thinking of one of the intermissions. “And to think the orchestra was from Philadelphia. I was so surprised to hear you have a city that sounds so familiar to our very own Fillydelphia. We’ve actually both performed there, Vinyl and I.”

As he started to make the coffee, Benny decided to be cute with her little brag.

“Oh? I didn’t know I was dating two celebrities.”

Not ready for the flattery, Octavia turned her hips and playfully swatted Benny’s backside with her tail.

“Hardly, you flatterer.”

After a little playful banter, the conversation returned to the music and what bit they all had managed to stay awake for.

So lost in the conversation, neither had noticed the coffee had finished brewing. Not that it detracted from sharing their thoughts on dancing mushrooms, fairies of varying bright colors, or just how famous a knee-high talking anthropomorphic mouse was on Earth.

Soon they found themselves outside watching the early morning sun growing higher. Sitting side by side in lawn chairs, their conversation had made it as far as the dinosaurs.

“So, there’s nothing like those frightening creatures still around in your world?”

After taking another sip of his coffee, Benny tried to think of what few relics had survived.

“None of the big scary ones at least. We got crocodiles and cockroaches. Somehow they seemed to be about the only thing close to what lived back then to survive. Oh, and sharks. The ones around today are a lot smaller, but… actually, I think there’s a lot of sea life that’s technically just smaller versions of what was alive back then.”

Octavia stared at her coffee with a comforting smile, though with a slight twitch to her eye at the mental image she’d just been given.

“Well, that’s good to hear. I know you spoke of terrible things you left behind, but I’m sure you’ve seen we have our own terrible beasts. Although there is still so much beauty and warmth that makes you so easy to adore.”

Not fully realizing exactly how forthcoming she had spoken from the heart, she quickly sat up to attempt to correct herself.

“I mean, your music. It’s just…”

For the moment, Benny couldn’t let his prejudice see her as anything but endearing, at least what little of it still weighed on him.

“Just the music?” He cutely asked. “Would it be too much to say that I find you more adoring than the music?”

It was then that Octavia realized she didn’t need to restrain herself.

“I suppose it’s not only the music in Fantasia we found ourselves so closely drawn to.”

Benny smiled warmly and started to see the futility in holding onto the concerns of the old world.

“Tavi… I don’t know how the three of us are supposed to go about this, but I’m glad that we are.”

Octavia turned her smile back into the house, looking at the backside of the couch that hid Vinyl out of sight.

“It is unusual, and even if it were only you and I, I would still be lost on how to keep your attention. However.” She turned back to Benny. “I must admit that I’m also a bit of a coward. And as strange is it may be for a mare to say, I’m happy to know that Vinyl, the screwball that she is, is with us.”

That started to spin the cogs in Benny’s head, wondering more what her intentions and interest were.

“How close are you two? I’d rather ask so I don’t make any assumptions in case I’m not paying attention and suddenly see you two kissing or… if that’s even… I’m sorry. It’s just after seeing Chris’s girls last night and how apparently Fluttershy and Rarity are also an item now...”

Normally, that would have been an insult to insinuate. However, given the craziness that had been going on and how new Benny was, she wasn’t upset by the question. She was even willing to answer.

“Vinyl and I have been very close for a long time now. Never lovers, which is honestly strange to see so openly now since your friends have taken on so many mares. That’s traditionally a more private affair for when a mare has passed her youthful years… or at least that is the lie I believe ponies like to tell themselves.”

Well, that certainly sparked an interesting topic.

“So, lez… two mares dating or getting romantically involved does happen here?”

Taking another sip, Octavia decided to open up about the discussions rarely spoken in anything other than innuendos or carefully chosen code words.

“Ponies all want a family, it's just how we are. However, it’s simply not an option for every mare to find a stallion. For all the traveling and performances I’ve done, I’ve seen many mares who everypony says are ‘just friends.’ Hardly.”

She took an angry sip of her coffee, brewing up some angry, if not sad, thoughts.

“They walk together in tangent. They are in sync with each other in ways not spoken aloud, and so many don’t wish to address it… much like I haven’t wanted to.”

Benny noticed the uptick in Octavia’s aggravation, and from years of training, could sympathize.

“Tavi, where I come from, these kinds of relationships aren’t abnormal. In fact, it’s widely accepted and relatively common. I even served with plenty of women who dated or even married other women. If you feel that way, I won’t be bothered by it, but is it really not acceptable here?"

Lowering her mug, Octavia almost looked sad.

“Husbands and wives… I see them coming and going, walking side by side, returning home. They go to bed and say goodnight. Two friends do the same thing, living together, eating together, they work and devote their lives to support each other and-”

She stopped abruptly with a thought that gave her a better take on what she was trying to say.

“When you learn a song? You know the rhythm, remember all the notes, where every rise and fall of the melodies go. Then another performer plays it… but others tell you it’s something different.”

A little abstract, but Benny nodded, thinking he was following along.

“So, what you’re saying is, you see a society that tells you only a mare and a stallion make a family, which is the song you learn. But… you see other mares playing the same song with each other, and everyone says it’s not the same song.”

That was the message, and even though Octavia was glad he understood it, she continued to stare into her mug as if it were empty.

“I know the song Equestria wants me to play, so long as the lyrics say mare and stallion. Yet when it’s a mare and mare, because that’s all we have, it’s like they want us to keep playing the same song… so long as we don’t sing the wrong lyrics.”

She looked up to Benny, a little lost in her own mind.

“Everypony tells me I should move to Canterlot, that I can make it big. They all think I’m scared or simply not confident enough. I could… but I’m not scared of failing. I’m afraid that playing my song with the wrong lyrics is better than... “

In the short moments after Octavia trailed off, Benny laid a hand on her hoof, now starting to truly understand.

“You’re afraid that if you move to Canterlot, even if you're successful, you still might not find a stallion. So it’s better to stay with Vinyl than risk being alone.”

Her eyes gave a silent thank you through her sorrow, unable to say yes, and Benny wasn’t having that.

“Tavi, before I was born, that wasn’t uncommon to happen where I come from. And if that’s honestly the way you feel, take a good look around. Technically, you’re not in Equestria right now. This is my house, my land… Kind of my own country. If you want to be with me, we’re already dating. If you think you have feelings for Vinyl, then, believe me, you’ll have no judgment from me if you want to express them.”

Such words of compassion had never been spoken in Equestria, as far as she knew. Yet, they might have been a bit much. At the very least, it made her smile and for now, that was all she required.

“Benny, I think the offer is very sweet, but I can’t honestly say that-''

On second thought, she didn’t really know how she felt. Saying it out loud, even if in code, made her question everything again.

“Oh, I don’t even know anymore. It’s all so complicated. I don’t know how long I’ve felt like I was supposed to stay with her. But meeting you, our dance, your music, and how-thank the heavenly bodies above, you have been willing to share her with me…”

That was twice she spoke of things she had never been brave enough to say out loud, and she grew quiet again. A flurry of thoughts pulling her in two directions.

“Would you think me to be some terrible pony if I wanted to continue playing our music while we all sang along, pretending that mare and stallion were interchangeable? Because, well, while I do like you, so very, very much-”

“It’s fine,” Benny calmly answered, giving a reaffirming squeeze around her fetlock. “I guess we’re both kind of in the same boat. Wanting to play the music, but afraid if we don’t sing the right lyrics, then the song ends for us.”

There was a moment of trepidation that floated in Octavia’s core, possibly sending mixed messages. Thankfully, Benny wanted to make things a little more clear.

“Being with a pony is unfamiliar to me. I’m used to humans like you’re used to being with Vinyl or wanting a stallion. But, we’re both afraid if we don’t start singing the song that says it’s me and you that have to be together, then… we got nothing. And, you know-”

His face soured for a moment. There was no justification for such a lovely lady as Octavia to be forced or pressured into being denied who she was.

“I don’t get it. This place is so happy and peaceful when it’s not being overrun, but there’s no reason for someone like you to be single. Or Vinyl, for that matter.”

He gave a heavy sigh, not sure why he was willing to humor this next proposal.

“I’m willing to still keep seeing both you and Vinyl. But… you need to sort out how you really feel about her. At least for now, I’m looking at this like… I’m with two girls that are friends with each other and are cool with me dating both of you. I guess that’s what Sniff is doing. Chris… There’s too much going on there for me to even guess. With Cerb, though. It’s him with Fluttershy and Rarity, and it’s all of them with each other. But that’s what they all agreed to. We all need to figure out what we all want.”

Octavia looked down into her coffee again, not sure of what to say or what the right choice to make was.

“Do I have to choose now?”

This poor mare needed some confirmation and support, so Benny leaned over and kissed her forehead.

“No, we all need time. And maybe there's something to this whole multi-mare thing my friends started. They all seem happy with it… Is that weird to say?"

Finally smiling again, Octavia giggled.

"No… I suppose not. Everypony should be allowed to sing any song they want."

Even if it was only a kiss on the forehead, it left her feeling happier than she could have imagined. Now, if only she could get a real kiss.

Cerb started to wake, immediately taking in his sense to see where Fluttershy and Rarity were this time.

Surprisingly, it wasn't much different than normal.

He was spooning with Rarity, and Fluttershy was splayed out over both of them. His expectations of waking up with one of the two already having sex with him turned out to be a false alarm. Maybe this really did just happen all on its own.

Strangely, it was a relief that they honestly weren’t using him now that he left himself open for it, yet kind of a let down to not wake up nearing another mind-blowing orgasm. It was a strange transition to make. Fearing they might have sexual intentions for him, curious if they did, secretly desiring it himself, and now… Now he was a little disappointed not to have it? At least not waking up to it.

Was that really what he was expecting out of this relationship, though? Didn’t he want them as an outlet for comfort and support to improve himself? Did he already achieve it, and now this was his reward? Then again, maybe it was some kind of trade-off? After all, weren’t they all getting what they wanted?

Actually, now that the danger was essentially over, was this what he wanted? The sweet smell in the air of his lovely two mares and the warmth they shared said yes, but he honestly felt like he had missed something. Not something so vital that he didn’t understand why he was holding onto Rarity so tightly or wanted Fluttershy blanketing him. It just seemed so… rushed.

“Emmm,” Fluttershy softly moaned, crawling up a little closer to Cerb’s face, causing Rarity to stir slightly and let out a deep exhale as she pushed herself a little closer to him.

It was still too good to be true, despite him fighting for it. However, wasn’t this how their world worked? The whole fairy tale ending that all the heroes were supposed to get for their good deeds? Save the maiden, defeat the baddies, live happily ever after?

Was he supposed to figure out what it all meant and understand the meaning of it all in the sequel?

No, this wasn't a show. It wasn't a movie, either.

Okay, it was real life based on a show, so… the next season perhaps? But what did that mean? Was he going to have to fight again? Save them? Have them save him? Who was in danger here? Was it all in his head? Did all the years of isolation and misery leave him without the ability to allow himself to be happy, or did he simply want to keep fighting?

Why was the pain so much easier to hold onto than what he thought he wanted last night? He did want it, after all. He pushed for this, welcomed it, accepted it, still wanted it. For crying out loud, he was disappointed that he wasn’t already having sex. Was this what Sniff went through when he didn’t get laid enough? All he had to do was maybe thrust a little and… didn’t Rarity say that’s what she wanted?

Maybe that’s what his problem was. He was still letting his fears control him. Too scared to accept that his impossible fantasy wasn’t going to give him what he wanted.

Thankfully, even if they hadn’t taken advantage of him in his sleep, Rarity had at least left her tail over his legs, leaving him in the perfect position.

Of course, ever cautious, he checked again to ensure she was still asleep, which she was. Probably. It was hard to tell. Regardless, he moved his hips closer. He could feel how wet she was as his cock felt the base of her entrance. A small push forward coated the head of his shaft, and she drew a deep breath on contact.

Slowly, he tried again, this time parting himself in just slightly. She drew a slight gasp yet still said nothing.

One more attempt, a little faster, and he found his way in, making her breath quicken and her eyes open.

“Good morning,” he hushed into her ear.

Eyes shooting open, Rarity searched her surroundings, quickly finding Cerb holding her from behind. Seeing him, feeling him, she gently pushed her hips down.

“The best good morning, Justin,” she softly whispered back as another inch found its way inside her. “Mmmmph, I could sooooo get used to this.”

Already loving the idea himself, Cerb lowered his hand and began to push in a little more. Nice and slow, just the way she liked it.

“We should take turns waking each other up."

"No fair," Fluttershy sleepily complained, eyes half-closed yet open enough to see what was happening. "Why do I always wake up on top?"

Rarity wanted to laugh but was in no condition to do so.

"Oh, ahhh… darling, please-mmm. If we're to-emmph, oh yes… Mmm, take turns, perhaahhhh… uh… uh… oh, deeper, please. And t-tomorrooooh, that is so good. Fluttershy could be… nnn… mmm. Oh, slow… slow… uh-"

As hot as it was to hear her moans, listening to her try to talk was adorably comical like this. To stop himself from laughing, he curled in closer to her ear.

"Tomorrow morning, you want me to wake Fluttershy like this?"

Finally, getting his full length, Rarity gasped.

"Yeeee-eeeh-eh-eh-es."

Deep inside, she could feel her body grip tighter and try in vain to pull him in further. If only that were possible. It nearly was, given how firmly Cerb was pressing into her.

"Emmmm-ooohhh," she passionately cooed. "I'm so close, could you-mmm, yes. Just like that."

With the slow strides working her up closer to that gentle peak, her ladylike manners started to crack under her freedom to assist in this feat.

Steadily, her natural contradictions increased with her hips subtle gyrations increasing their pace. Not only her efforts were growing, but steadily her volume rose with long cries and groans, both building in intensity.

Wanting in on some of the action as well, Fluttershy encouraged her wingmare's advances. Gentle strokes with her feathers ran down Rarity’s neck, her hoof slowly feeling between her thighs, then finally pressing her lips, as soft as butterfly wings, up her back.

All the treatments finally boiled over to another scream from the marshmallow unicorn as her hoofs stretched and flailed in place, trying to find the ground to push back against.

As Rarity basked in the celebration of being rutted, her hunger for more gave way to some well-deserved generosity.

"Mmm, Fluttershy, dear. Let us not spoil only one mare’s morning. Justin, how about we let our lovely mare start her morning with a Wonder Rush."

"Only one?" Fluttershy asked, adorably confused.

After thinking about it for a moment, her body instinctively worked Cerb’s member again with its muscular care. It forced out an unavoidable moan, and her plans immediately changed.

"No more than three; we have work to do today. Justin, be a dear and lay on your back for me. While I'm usually more creative, I'm a bit too bothered this morning to think of anything better than recreating what we did last night if rutting us will leave us both exhausted."

Fluttershy stood up, letting the two get readjusted, though just a glance could tell anyone watching how hot and bothered she was..

"So long as Justin is okay with it, I would like to see how long I can last. Not that sharing a kiss over him wasn't incredibly magical, I want to feel what it's like to have a filly put in me, even if I just have to pretend we can."

Straddled over Cerb in a reverse cowgirl position, Rarity pulled Fluttershy in closer.

"Patience darling. Justin still needs to properly recover."

She started to slowly grind and repeatedly rise and drop herself, bringing her tongue to Fluttershy’s before parting and whimpering loudly.

"Besides, darling-Mmmph… I want him at full strength when he’s pounding it into us."

With the rich scent of clover waking her, Twilight opened her eyes to Sniff wrapped around her, while Ovens was trying to open the door.

"Hmm?"

Caught trying to sneak out, Ovens turned around and whispered, "Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you. I need to go open and-" She shot Twilight a wink. "Figured you'd like some more alone time with Peter. You should swing by sometime today."

Twilight smiled at the kind sentiment, then noticed Ovens taking a few sniffs in the air with a knowing look.

"I'd love to know what missed," the clever bread mare whispered, then quietly closed the door behind her.

Twilight almost giggled when she thought about it.

"Peter treats me differently than the others. I can’t believe how much he cares about me. I mean, he certainly cares about Ovens, but… Actually, the more I watch him, the more I can see how he treats everypony a little differently under all his pleasantries. And I'm learning so much about sex!"

She turned her eyes enough to see Sniff still soundly sleeping, and she couldn't help but think about how lucky she was.

"I can't believe how handsome he is, and everything about him feels so amazing. And what's more? He's so smart and supporting… and the way he makes me feel without even actually having sex! Odd how it took me so long to realize these things."

Her mind suddenly drifted back into nerd territory, ignoring her ear falling on Sniff’s cheek.

"Holding, touching, kisses, fingers… his amazing cock! There's so much more I need to learn. So many more things we can do and even Oven Fresh is probably willing to help me."

Another thought crossed her mind, one that put a lot of other perspectives in line with hers.

"What really is sex if it’s to start a family? Peter has had so much but has never shown an interest in starting a family of his own."

Befitting her scholarly nature, she thought about this with a mix of countless possible reasonings.

"Peter could marry any of us if he really wanted to, but he'll never have a family of his own. If all he wanted was sex, he could probably have that without even dating. I doubt a human as attractive and smooth as him would need to. Yet…"

She suddenly found herself in a complex set of thoughts.

“Am I over-analyzing this? I don’t even fully understand sex yet. I have no idea what his intentions are. He seems to love sex, yet he’s so apprehensive about going as far as what Chris has. Is going slow something Chris should have done, or is Peter trying to show us something different?”

The few conversations she had with him came back to her.

“He compared sex to advanced magic, which can be dangerous in the wrong hooves, but he didn’t make any of this sound dangerous? Is he confused about who he might be in love with? Does he love me but think… No… He cares so much about Oven Fresh, too. My theory on herding only makes more sense if that is the case, but we had to try so hard to get him to court other mares… and he’s still slow with them. He could have at least fingered Mayor Mare last night but stopped short of just touching her.”

At that moment, Twilight started to realize just how little she actually knew about the carnal arts if there were so many variables she couldn’t account for. And yet it was just as flustering as it was exciting.

“I have to know more about sex and need to be more sensitive to his request to not rush into things. Maybe I should have a talk with Ovens about this, too. She wants him to rut her so badly that she might not realize that he’s… well, he’s afraid of hurting her. Fuck… Even I wanted him to keep putting it in my ass while he fingered me last night.”

Another conversation with him about hurting others sprung to her recollection.

“He said he doesn’t commit and knew we can’t have families together. If Ovens… No… She said she knew he couldn’t get us pregnant. She even was the one who told me he agreed to date us knowing he was here for a fun time, not a long time… Oh, I hope Peter wants to have a lot more fun times.”

Any further thoughts she could have had on this subject were suddenly halted as she felt Sniff’s hands start to feel around her barrel.

“You awake, Twigs?” he asked, barely awake.

Oh, how good did those hands feel around her.

“I… Yes. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Sniff drew a deep breath that stifled his chuckle.

“Your ear kept whacking me in the face.” His hand started to drift further below her belly. “I’m guessing you're in the mood again?”

Somewhere getting lost in her thoughts about sex, Twilight had failed to realize how aroused she’d become. She didn’t even notice her ears had been twitching in response to wanting to have him teach her more.

How embarrassing.

“I… Maybe?” she squeaked. “Ovens left to open her bakery and said she wanted us to have some more time alone. I guess I thought… mmm.”

Figuring Twilight must have been just as hungry for sex as Ovens was, Sniff started to play with her under the sheets.

“Well, if my little Princess wants a hand in taking care of something, all she has to do is ask.”

All the concerns of earlier melted away under feeling his hands rubbing over her breast and drifting closer to her embarrassingly wet nethers.

“Peter… Ohh… there’s so much more I want to know, but I’m afraid to ask you to-ahhh, ooou. I don’t want to push you to-”

“Where do you want me to push?” Sniff playfully asked as he traced a fingertip over her quivering divide.

There was no fighting it at this point, and Twilight surrendered to her body's demands.

“Fuck…” She moaned and raised her leg under the sheets to rest over his, allowing him full access to her. “You know what I want better than I do. Take all the time you want with me. Make it-ahhhh~”

Looking forward to enjoying some alone time and pleasing this patient mare, Sniff let his middle finger slowly invade her depths.

“Don’t worry. We’ll learn what you like the most together.”

Under the careful tutelage of Sniff’s skilled hands, Twilight laid with no resistance to her quickly approaching release. She wanted this more than she wanted to understand it.

“I’m going to spoil you rotten in Canterlot.” She gasped as she felt the second joint of Sniff’s finger breach her walls. “Just kiss me like you did Ovens while you make me cum.”

Despite his earlier hesitations, Sniff had to appreciate how rewarding it felt to give into these ponies’ requests.

“You already spoil me,” he cutely answered. “-so let me spoil you back.”

Chris suddenly woke up on his own, surprisingly. A little shocked at finding out it wasn't Starlight on top of him, but it was his bladder that woke him. He thought about what that said about him and her together. Regardless, he was cautious not to wake his mare as he rolled out of bed.

Thankfully, the near-blind trip to the bathroom was without incident. Now, alone in the sanctity of… Nope… Starlight took that sanctity away with his first time in the shower. Anyway, it was time to drain the lizard.

Finally, letting it go, he started looking forward to the rest of the day. A little time with Starlight, some lunch, a night of getting to know the foals, and the mares would be out getting to know each other better. Everything was on track to make this the best human in Equestria story come to life.

It was all so incredible. He had just about everything; his friends, his harem of mares…

"Awe, shit, I need a job," he silently thought to himself. "Unless, am I supposed to be a stay at home dad in this relationship? Then again, that would give me a lot of stay at home time with Cream… which means I'd be doing all the housework after I put her in a fuck-induced coma."

He suddenly realized that he'd finished taking a piss for a while and finally flushed.

Getting lost in thought when he knew so much but still knew so little. This world wasn’t exactly the show he knew. Things were off, ever so slightly, yet painstakingly true to form, and it wasn’t clear which conflicting observation he made was the right one to focus on.

After a quick wash of his hands, he looked in the mirror to take a good gander at himself… not to be impressed, sadly.

True he wasn't morbidly obese but was by no means thin or fit. Thinking back to his earlier years of high school, he had almost got there, once. Now though? He barely managed the courage to flex to see where he still was, muscular wise…

Sure, he wasn’t too bad in retrospect. Nurse Redheart wasn't wrong. In fact, if he hit the bag more often, stayed with it, worked out with the others, he could get it back. After a second look, his poor self-image might have been worse than the reality of his condition.

Actually, maybe all his girls running a train on him would be enough to lose the weight and tone up. For as horny as they all were after they got a taste of him, he didn't see an end to sexy times in the foreseeable future. Especially for how easy they made it for him. However, their strong hunger for sex seemed more fan fiction than canon material. Then again, so was the treasure trove of bits Celestia gave them. But that all flew in the face of The Pony of Shadows being real and so many other points of their history that match up to the show.

On second thought, who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? Besides, this is what they wanted. Sure, so did he. Not only that, it was them that convinced him he could share them… or was it them telling him that they were going to share him?

It all happened so fast, he still couldn’t string together how being given the option to date more than one of Starlight’s friends, just to get to know them, ended up as a harem with orgies before he even had a chance to take all of them out on a date.

“They’re putting off dating me so they can date each other,” he thought to himself. “I don’t think I’ve ever read a story that took into consideration just how complicated this shit really is. Not sure why starting a herd of their own is now suddenly a thing. At least they’re calling it a harem and not a herd. So, at least that’s a little less of things getting put in the fanfiction side of things.”

Making his way back into bed in the dark, he fumbled over his shoes and tripped into the bed. All his previous attempts of keeping his mare asleep, ruined.

"Hmm?" Starlight murmured as she was so rudely awakened. "Chris? Gimme a second to wake up. Emm, and don't go too rough. I'm still a little sore from yesterday, I think."

Comically, Chris didn't know if he should be aroused or concerned for how much of a one-track mind this mare had.

"Uh, I just got done going to the bathroom. And if you're sore, maybe we should hold off for a bit?"

Finally starting to get her wits about her, Starlight had to reassess her situation.

"No, I'm fine. You're not hurting or anything, are you?"

Chris ventured under the covers again, getting tucked in and cuddling up to his rather affectionate mare.

"I'm fine. A little tired and… well, my tongue and hips are a bit sore, but after yesterday, I'm sure we're all going to be feeling it."

It was understandable for both of them to be a little worn out. For Starlight, though, that was hardly an excuse to leave her man wanting. Or was there something else bothering him she should know about?

"Is everything else okay? It's been such a crazy couple of days. We’ve really only been able to talk about me, you, and the rest of the girls. After what happened in the Everfree Forest and the old castle out there, aren't you worried?"

Chris thought about that for a moment. He had been so caught up covering his ass that he hadn't put much thought into their situation. Benny's flawed theories hadn't helped much either.

"A little, I guess. I don't know anything about The Pony of Shadows. But if it's connected to Nightmare Moon, it shouldn't be too much of a threat. Especially if you all have us guys backing you up."

Despite the assurance, just the thought of any danger coming along made Starlight cling tighter to Chris.

"Please don't try and do anything brave. If anything like The Pony of Shadows comes after you, I'll protect you. I can’t risk you getting hurt."

"Hey," Chris comfortingly spoke as he raised her lips to his for a quick kiss. "I know you care about me and want to save me from the world, but you can’t expect me to not do the same for you. I have just as much to lose, but with a lot less risk of getting hurt."

Starlight hugged him again, still not wanting to risk it.

"I don't care if you're magic proof, Chris. If you get hurt like Kelly or Applejack… there’s just no way I'm willing to let that happen."

She gave a deep sigh and buried her face in his neck.

"We need a safer place for all of us. If we're going to be a big family together, we can't all live in separate houses with you and me hidden away here every night. And it would be unfair to Twilight to have the other's move in, but I can't keep you all to myself or have you changing houses every night."

Sharing her concerns, Chris comfortingly stroked her head.

"Glimmy, we haven't even been a group couple for a full twenty-four hours. There's no need to worry so much right now. There's not even the need for all of us to move in together yet. Don't you think I should at least meet the kids-I mean foals, first?"

Given that at the moment there wasn’t much room to argue her unfounded concerns, she conceded.

"I guess you're right, but since you know so much about us and our world, is there anything you can think of that we can do to help keep all of us safe?"

Instantly, Chris thought back to what Cerb had talked the rest of the guys about with him.

"Well, first, we can train. I had some ideas on working with you in ways I can't with Onyx."

That got Starlight to cuddle up intimately close with Chris.

"Mmm, please tell me it's going to be hands-on training."

Chris laughed at her take on his proposal.

"Sort of. You beat Twilight one on one because you outsmarted her and are far more proficient in magic-based combat. But you also nearly lost to Rainbow Dash because of how physical she is. I want to help you all learn to fight better as a team, but also help you learn new ways to keep your opponents off balance and keep them from holding their ground."

The fact Chris knew so much about her past mistakes and could use them to help her better herself left Starlight sporting a gleeful smile.

"Yeah, I could use some help with that. Rainbow Dash and I work good together, but I really don't want to fight somepony like her again. Not only did that hurt, blood tastes terrible."

After that last statement, her smile turned wicked, and she pushed Chris on his back again.

"Speaking of tastes, though. If my pussy is still sore from yesterday," she sat on his lap and started grinding to get him hard. "-and your tongue is sore, I don't want you going without a little attention from your mares since we'll all be busy with each other all day."

She gave him a flirty look, knowing how she was going to be exploiting her position as his guardian.

"You don't mind if I take advantage of our time alone, do you?"

Chris grinned and rubbed his hands up Starlight’s sides.

"I thought you just said you were sore?"

Hearing that, Starlight laughed and stood up, slowly backing away.

"I am, but that’s from you fucking me so hard. My tongue is fine, though."

Without another word, Starlight pulled their bedding over her entirely and lowered her head to find the taste she craved.

Sniff and Twilight enter the room to some very happy couples.

"Good morning, everypony!" Twilight joyously announced herself to the room.

Fluttershy was the closest and returned the greeting just as excitedly.

"And a wonderfully good morning to you, Twilight!"

Rarity was next, showing all the same levels of enthusiasm.

"Such a splendid day, isn't it?!"

Not too far away, Starlight was unusually chipper as well.

"Twilight, good mor-" She caught a trace of a familiar scent in the air and grew silent as Twilight joined the table. "Well, Princess. It must have been an amazing morning for you as well."

Effectively caught with her hoof in the cookie jar...or somewhere else, Twilight literally started to glow crimson in the face.

"Ohhh… it… was-" She took a deep breath to sigh blissfully but then caught the same scent from the other three mares. "Oh, my gosh. The best of mornings."

With everyone's private affairs now made public to the room, Cerb finally returned the greeting.

"Morning, Twilight. Good to see you up and mobile this morning." He turned to Sniff with a smile and a knowing nod. "Poacher."

Sniff took his seat next to Twilight and felt oddly embarrassed by what was now obvious to the others, yet smiled all the same and was quick to throw a barb.

"Lever Action."

He turned to Chris, who did his best to avoid eye contact.

"Morning Cow… You know… we need a better nickname for you."

Starlight lowered her fork, ready with some helpful suggestions.

"Well, from my many experiences with Chris, I think something to do with how big his co-"

Just in the nick of time, Chris silenced his overly helpful mare closing his muzzle for her with his hand.

"How about Cowboy Deadeye? And please say yes before you both get new nicknames, too."

Rarity excitedly clapped her hooves together.

"Oou! I never thought of a new pet name for Justin. But if Starlight thinks we should-"

"Nope," Cerb cheerfully announced, immediately shutting down any further suggestions. "That's just for Cowboy Deadeye. He gets a redo, no one else."

Sniff snorted and tried to stifle a laugh.

"Damn… mine still wouldn't change."

Out from the direction of the kitchen, Spike brought out their first meal of the day, thankfully missing the slightly more mature discussion between the pairs.

"Good morning everypony. Good morning guys. I bet you can smell what's on the menu today." He took a big sniff of the air, proud of his presentation. "Pancakes and-"

He stopped short of listing the menu, noticing there was a stronger scent in the air.

"Wow. You girls start dating and suddenly it's perfume overkill."

All mares giggled, eyeing their special some humans while inwardly smirking at Spike’s obliviousness. Meanwhile, Spike was dishing out plates of pancakes, poached eggs, and grits, ignorant to the source of the mare's natural perfume. Not that he really cared since he had other things on his mind.

"So, Cerb. Are you doing any training this morning?"

Still on caretaker mode, Fluttershy immediately answered for him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Spike. Unfortunately, Justin isn't fully healed yet. He'll be bedridden for most of the day."

Without skipping a beat, Twilight chimed in.

"Phrasing."

Sniff wasn’t ready for that, nearly spit out his orange juice, ending up choking on it instead. Chris on the other hand dropped his fork and nearly fell out of his chair from trying to lean away from the scene. Cerb just lowered his head and snickered.

It took Starlight a few seconds, but she finally got the joke and laughed obnoxiously loud, giving Twilight a bro-hoof.

This seemed to upset Fluttershy and Rarity to the point of making a fuss about it, though Cerb quickly pulled each one into him to whisper the joke. To which, both blushed, but at least Fluttershy owned up to it.

"Well, that wasn't what I had in mind, but if it didn't cause any problems this morning, I'd be more than happy to-"

"Holy shit are these some good pancakes!" Sniff shouted out to save his friend from any embarrassment and avoid potentially corrupting the young dragon. "Spike, did I ever tell you that you can cook like you kick ass? And Twilight, can we just take a moment to give this manly stud muffin the mad props he so richly deserves? I think he deserves something special for becoming the outstanding representative of dragon friendship to humans and ponies alike."

Spike, again ignorant of the obvious deflection, proudly raised an entire pancake on his fork as he took his seat. A bright smile stretched from ear to ear, he took to accepting his praise.

"Twilight let me move out of her room and take any room in the castle I wanted. I’m staying in the tower now."

Sniff had no idea Spike originally shared a room with Twilight but was relieved to know future endeavors would be Spike free in Twilight’s room.

"That is a great start. Twi, what else can we do?"

What first felt like an odd changing of the topic, Twilight suddenly realized was entirely intentional. It was as if the open discussion of sex while in the company of his friends made him uncomfortable. Even if that seemed to go against all the little jokes she now knew they always made with each other, she followed his lead.

"Well, getting his own room was long overdue, so I'm sure we can think of something." She turned to address the room. "What does everypo- I mean, everyone else have planned for today?"

Cerb eyed his plate, thankful for the change in topics.

"Well, I'll probably follow these two around and rest as much as I can."

Rarity, a little sad she wasn't going to be able to boast of what an amazing stallion Cerb was, thought about her work.

"Unfortunately, I have a lot of work to catch up on. Working on our party attire may have set me back a little, but you can never let good inspiration go to waste. Come to think of it, Sni- I mean, Peter. I'd love to get some more ideas from you. Your eye for mare’s clothing is what led to our little fashion show yesterday."

Twilight made flirty eyes at Sniff.

"I’d love for another set."

Sniff felt himself swell with a mix of emotions. None of which he wanted to express out loud.

"I have to work at the spa today, but I'll see if there isn't anything I can come up with."

Thinking of how helpful one particular piece of clothing that outfit was, Starlight realized she was one pair short to get her through the day.

"Umm, I think I could do with an order of those panties if it's not too much of a trouble."

Rarity, giggling with a blush, was on the same page.

"Oh, believe me, darling. I'm way ahead of you on that. Would you like something to go along with your panties? I'll be very generous with the prices. We all owe you a great deal after yesterday."

Sniff quickly moved the conversation over to Chris, hoping it wouldn't divert back to more bedroom activities.

"What about you, Cowboy? What you got going on today?"

Finishing his first pancake, and regretting the carbs that came along with it, Chris tried to think about his options.

"Well, if Cerb isn't training today with the others, I might see if Onyx was up for checking out the gym. Try to see what I can find out where he's at with however pony boxing stacks up with what I know. Maybe that will help me figure out what I can help Starlight with."

Starlight perked up, still swimming in the praise she got from Chris earlier.

"Chris is going to help me be better prepared in case that Shadow jerk wants a rematch or thinks he's going to get his grubby hooves on Chris or some other human."

The idea of combat training caught Twilight’s attention.

"I thought Cerb was the combat expert of the group?"

Despite his pride, Cerb offered up his view on this matter.

"Chris can fight. He might not have the ground game that I do, but even I had a hard time against him back when he used to box."

Lightly beaming at the praise, Sniff chuckled, remembering those days.

"Hey Star Power, did Chris ever tell you about the time Chris put Cerb on his ass?"

Cerb dropped his head, another phantom pain rearing its ugly head.

"One time. Only once did he drop me like that."

Sniff laughed again and went for his orange juice.

"That's only true because the other two times you were on your back, not your ass."

As much as Chris loved to hold that over Cerb’s head, he knew where he really stood.

"It's not that impressive of a feat. Cerb tried his hand at boxing rules… It's not the same as a real fight."

Cerb shook his head, knowing he lost fair and square… mostly.

"You fought dirty."

Rather than contest the claim, Chris smirked, knowing it was mostly true.

"You said I looked like Butterbean in an abusive relationship with Jenny Craig."

Cerb almost choked on his food and had to swallow hard, but even he couldn't help but laugh at the dated reference.

"I said I was sorry." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, Chris knows more about how you all can fight better than any of us. If we're not truly out of the woods yet, or someone new pops up, he's probably best suited for helping most of you reach your next level."

With a yawn and a slow opening of the eyes, Cheerilee awoke to find pink hair, other than hers, on her face.

"Hmm, morning cutie."

She pulled back the pink hair to see Redheart's pussy staring her in the face.

"Oh… shit… We didn't stop at three. What time is it?"

Redheart, now awake, reflexively grabbed her alarm clock, despite still being sore from the night’s prior activities.

"Oh, shit. We got carried away last night. You have to hurry or you're going to be late for school."

Now fully alert, Cheerilee looked up to see the time.

"Oh, my gosh. Is it still okay if I use your bath?"

Redheart dropped the alarm clock back on the nightstand, just as worried for the time.

"Of course. And I'm so sorry. I just couldn't stop myself last night. You were so-"

Wasting no time, Cheerilee ran to get the water started.

"I know! You were, too!"

With a low chuckle, Redheart looked around her room and contemplated how to spend the rest of her morning.

"Was my bed always this soft?" She randomly thought to herself?

It was going to be rather boring until Derpy showed up.

Then, miraculously, she realized something as she felt over her covers.

"My hoof?"

She looked back at her alarm clock, then her hoof, then the covers.

"It didn't hurt."

In a frenzy, she tore off her bandages to examine her frogs. Her findings left her baffled.

"The books said this should take… How is it already healed?"

Hesitant at first, she put her hoof down on the mattress and started to put some weight on it. While there was still some pain, it wasn’t anything she couldn't tolerate.

"Not completely healed, but… to be this far along in such a short period of time?" She said to herself, retesting the amount of weight she could apply to her hoof.

In the bathroom, Cheerilee shouted in a rush, "I’m sorry, Red, but I don’t think I have time for you to show me… What were you going to show me?"

Still examining her condition, Redheart answered back, though her voice gave clear signs of how distracted she was.

"It… Sorry, it can wait if you're in a hurry. Maybe you can come back tomorrow after class? I don't want to spoil your evening with Cream."

It was only then that she noticed the water was running. That would give some time to think about this. On one hoof, this was an amazing discovery to come across. On the other hoof, it was an unnatural healing time. Something was happening to her. She had to tell somepony. However, first, she had to make sure she wasn't the only one feeling differently.

"Hey, Cheerilee? Are you feeling any different this morning?"

From the bathtub, Cheerilee hollered back.

"If you're trying to brag about how this bath feels amazing, yes it feels amazing!"

That wasn't at all what Redheart was asking about, but it didn't leave her thinking there was any trouble to be concerned over. Perhaps she was applying the wrong symptoms to her hoof healing? Either way, she decided to wrap it up again.

"Ooooh," Cheerilee’s moan came from the bathroom. "Oh, my gosh. Red, taking a bath after everything we did last night feels so good when you wash between your legs… Do you think we could fit one more in before I run out?"

No response came and Cheerilee turned to raise her voice out the open door.

"Hey, Red-"

Redheart was standing in the doorway with her bad hoof raised.

"I was going to change the gauze for my hoof." She took in the sight of Cheerilee frozen in mid rub between her legs. "I need a bath, too, but my tub won't fit both of us. It will be too tight of a fit."

Her word choice immediately brought up a slew of images, her ear began twitching as she thought about how tight of a fit Chris would be with her. And then her eyes zeroed back in on Cheerilee, still wet and with her hoof between her legs.

"... Okay, just one before you go."

Becky woke to another set of Rainbow's moans. Not pleasant ones either.

"Ughck… Becky… there’s a thunderstorm in my head and a whirlwind in my stomach."

Remembering just how much the brave pegasus drank, Becky gave Rainbow Dash a few supportive pets on her shoulder.

"Awe, I'm sorry. You drank a lot last night. That's kind of my fault. I should have kept a closer eye on you."

She sat up, ready to help her friend survive her first hangover.

"Come on, let's get ya downstairs and some more fluids in ya, preferably coffee, before that whirlwind in your stomach turns into a mudslide."

They made their way downstairs to the sound of Benny and Octavia laughing and then the scent of some fresh coffee brewing.

"Oh?" Becky said surprised. "I guess you weren't the only one to crash here. Well, you can use the binge and purge methods Benny prefers or just hydrate and rest up until you feel better."

Rainbow naturally groaned at the suggestion but hated feeling this way more.

"What's better?"

Becky laughed, knowing her preference.

"I hate puking, but it does help to empty your stomach. If you want, I can-"

"Look out!" A now visibly green Rainbow shouted as she ran past Becky for the back door, practically doing a mini Sonic Rainboom.

[Shortly after Rainbow Dash decorated the far side of Benny’s lawn with all the colors of vomit.]

Becky handed Rainbow, now not green but visibly drained, sitting in a lawn chair with bits of vomit on her mouth, accepted a shot glass of some pink medicine for her stomach.

"Feeling any better yet?"

Sitting near motionless, Rainbow knocked back the pink liquid like the shots of vodka she had the night before and dropped her face in her hooves.

"Just a headache and kinda sore all over. Did I try to fight Starlight again last night?"

Benny laughed and handed her a cup of coffee.

"No, your muscles hurt because you're dehydrated. Although, you should probably learn your limits if you don't want-"

"No, Ben," Becky quickly cut him off. "Be nice to Dashie. You were no better your first time getting blitzed."

Pulling his phone out, Benny smiled and handed it to Becky.

"And you all gave me shit for it, thus, I learned not to sing my favorite songs when I'm drunk. So, instead of making fun of her, how about you be the one to help her out."

Still sore from the hangover and puking, Rainbow cringed in her chair, dreading what antics she’d gotten into in her inebriated state.

"Awe, shit. Did I do or say something stupid last night?"

Octavia laughed quietly into her hoof for a moment, having been a witness to the hilarity.

"I shouldn’t laugh, but you were having such a wonderful time. It was kind of adorable."

Finally joining the group, Vinyl's voice spoke up from the kitchen.

"No worries Dash. You weren't the only pony getting crazy last night, and apparently you outdrank all three Wonderbolts."

Stunned, Rainbow cocked an ear, clearly confused.

"I did?"

Benny laughed, remembering the scene.

"Yeah, we thought you stopped when they passed out. Should have kept a closer eye on you."

Becky found the video and put it in front of Rainbow so she could see how gone she was.

"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."

In a total freak out, Rainbow reached and took the phone in her hooves.

"I said what?!"

She watched as Becky pulled her away on the video, humoring her drunken request.

“Ohhh-kay, Dashie. You are so cut off right now. Cerb left, like, an hour ago. Come on, I’m putting you to bed before you embarrass yourself.”

As every second of the video continued on, it only got worse, yet Dash kept watching. This was a train wreck she couldn't look away from.

“Er-pone is fall’n love, Becksy.” Rainbow's voice came out clearly through the speaker. “Heeey, muh fellow bolties. Wuts a mare gotta do ‘n get her own stallion and’er man? I culd harem.”

The video ended with Becky pulling the phone back, the audio could still be heard.

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

Becky laughed again, taking too much pleasure out of Rainbow's misery.

"I'm sorry, Dash. We won't share the video if you don’t want us to, but believe me, if Cowboy Cake has shown us anything, it's that we're just as bad."

Having forgotten her hangover, Rainbow gave a nervous laugh, dreading her public appearance going down in flames if this ever got out.

"Heh, yeah. That was pretty funny."

Of course, despite being supportive of her friend, Becky thought to remind Rainbow she had no high ground to stand on over this.

“I seem to remember a certain up and coming Wonderbolt laughing at the pictures of Chris passed out with Starlight on a cake.”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow realized that turnabout's fair play and let it go.

“Okay, fine. You all had your laughs just like I did at Chris and Starlight.”

Taking a seat in the grass on the other side of Benny, Vinyl thanked the powers that be for the coffee in her cup.

“It’s all good, Dash. I would have totally danced with Cerb if he had stuck around. But I seem to remember Soarin was trying really to get close to ya, Fly Pony.”

Rainbow sunk her last shot at beer pong, winning the game for her and Thunder Glide against Soarin and Spitfire.

“Drink up chump.” She shot him a competitive glare, wobbling in her posture. “If you think you can keep up with the Dash Master.”

Far more drunk than Rainbow, Soarin guzzled one of the remaining cups of beer, returning the same glare.

“You prob.. Yeah! Oh, think’n you drink more- more en me?”

Still cocky from her win, Rainbow reached over the countertop and brought a bottle of vodka down between them.

… fade to black.

“I don’t remember shit after I beat him at beer pong.”

Her statement left the rest of the group laughing while debating whether or not to clue her in or let the situation run its course naturally.

Cautiously, Trixie was poking her head out the back of her wagon, eyeing a lone Lunar Guard.

"Pst… Psst… Hey, you. Can you see me?"

Quite perplexed, the Lunar Guard eyed the strange unicorn.

"Umm… yes? Am I not supposed to?"

Now with her theory solidified, Trixie burst free from her wagon with style and flair.

"At last! The Great and Powerful Trixie is free!"

Even more confused, the guard continued to stare at the odd mare.

"Were you locked inside, madam?"

Having her pride back, Trixie kept her head held high.

"Trixie does not need to answer such a ridiculous que-" Her stomach churned from all the excitement aggravating her hangover. "Oh, no."

Without warning, the poor guard watched Trixie double over and purge her stomach. With a sigh, the guard turned to the building behind him.

"Sir Benny! Got another one!"

Trixie nursed another sip of her coffee while resting her aching head in the lawn chair.

"And you all drink this stuff on a regular basis?"

While scratching his fingers through Vinyl's mane, Benny looked on amused at the magician mare’s state.

"The drink isn’t the problem, it’s that you all didn't pace yourselves. That, and we've all built up our tolerance. We don't get drunk unless we want to, like me two nights ago."

As fun as this conversation was, Becky was ready to see where this magician had ventured off to.

"So, Trixie. We haven’t seen you since we landed here. What’ve you been up to?"

The request of Twilight rang loud and clear in Trixie's memory, making her more alert and cautious of her words.

"I, uh… been learning new magic," she quietly answered, being how it was partly true.

Benny bobbed his head a little bit, thinking about what all she could have learned.

"That's cool. Missed a banging party, though. Oh, that reminds me, assuming Becky and Cerb don't leave right away, we'll probably throw together another party or something at Twilight's place if you wanna come. I'm sure she'll be glad to have ya. You too, Trixie. If you're gonna be sticking around long enough."

Now there was a question. How long were they going to keep Trixie around to get everything sorted out?

"I might be. Trixie has been in need of a vacation," she answered in third person.

Benny took the last sip of his coffee and remembered something any good host should ask.

"Emm, now that you're up and feeling better, did you at least have a good time last night?"

Trixie looked into her cup of coffee as her mind tried to clear the alcohol-induced haze of the previous night.

With most of the humans, as well as Twilight and Luna, talking with Oven Fresh and the scary Solar Guard that escorted her to the party, Trixie started to take in what she could about Chris.

He was surrounded by mares, including one that was her best… maybe only real friend. Sure, there was Twilight, but that was still unfamiliar territory. Starlight, though, she was about as crazy for this human as Trixie's dream self was from what she remembered. So were the other mares, even if they seemed to be just as affectionate towards each other. But still, what made them so special? What made this human so special that-

Chris took notice of how silent Trixie had been the whole time, and that didn't seem right.

"Hey, Starlight? Aren't you going to formally introduce Trixie if she's hanging with us?"

"Oh, my gosh!" Starlight exclaimed. "Where are my manners? Trixie, I never introduced you to everypony. I'm not sure if you ever really got to meet them when you did your shows here, but this is Cream Heart, Cheerilee, Prim Posy, Nurse Redheart, and Derpy."

Cream Heart was the first to step up and extend a hoof.

"Hi, we haven't met directly… at least not under better circumstances, but if you're a friend of Starlight's, I'd like to think we trust her enough to consider you a friend of ours."

Cheerilee was next, also sounding pleased to formally meet her and shook hooves.

"Your last performance here was quite the show. My students were talking about it even after Chris and his friends arrived."

Trixie was surprised to hear of the impact she left from her last show.

"Uh… thank you. It was my favorite performance so far."

Quickly stepping up, Prim shook hooves.

"My daughter loved your show. I mean, we all did, but if you're going to be doing another show, she'd love to meet you. We didn't get the chance last time when Starlight stole you away from us after the show."

Trixie blushed, as it wasn't like her to not wait for her fans after a performance.

"Sorry about that… I know you're… I mean, you’re dating her now, so you know how great of a pony she is. I had a lot of making up to her to do."

In full agreement with Starlight’s character, Prim nuzzled up to said mare.

"Oh, believe me, I know how wonderful this mare is."

Giggling in her wheelchair, Redheart reached out with her good hoof.

"Sorry, still nursing an injury with my right hoof. Ha! Nursing! Sorry, medical humor."

It took a moment, but Trixie actually laughed a little at the joke.

"Oh, boy. I actually needed that."

Peppy as always, Derpy trotted up with a drink in her wing.

"It's nice to meet a new friend, and you need one of these."

Still lost in the warm welcome, Trixie took the drink and greeted… a new friend?

"Thank you. Umm… I… I... after I took over the town, I apologized for everything, but I didn't expect… Thank you, all of you."

With a clamoring of ‘no problems' and 'your welcomes,' Trixie took her first drink.

… it was amazing.

"Holy smokes, this is good! What is this?"

Chris grinned, having his lively magical mare to thank for it. Well, at least for duplicating the vodka.

"We gave Top Shelf some of my vodka. That drink is an Arnold Palmer. Ice tea, lemonade, and vodka. It's got a lite pour of the alcohol, but it's still just enough to give it a kick."

From her dreams, Trixie remembered how Kelly wrote about how happy she was to have alcohol back. It must not have been outlawed yet.

"Well, if this is how you humans party, Trixie is more than willing to party with you."

Suddenly, a long-overdue hug from Starlight was wrapped around her.

“I really am glad to have you back. I want to know all about how your trip has been, and... “ She looked back at the bath tent, then back to Trixie. “Why did Oven’s mom bring you here?”

Trixie rolled her eyes and raised her glass for another drink.

“Luna and Twilight said that tonight was for the party, and we’d talk tomorrow, but if it’s all over, it can wait.”

Suddenly, Chris had a kind proposition for Trixie.

“Hey, I’m watching a bunch of foals here tomorrow. Do you think you could put on a little magic show for them?”

That idea got Starlight all sorts of excited.

“Yeah! The kids all love your shows, plus you can kick back and relax here, get to know Chris better, and watch movies! I’m sure Benny won’t mind.”

Intrigued at the idea of putting on a show, Trixie eyed her drink, then took in the music and all the happy ponies around her.

“I… guess I can.”

Prim snickered again at a funny thought.

“Starlight, you’re not trying to add more to us, are you?”

Playing along, Cream Heart added another quip.

“Yeah, Starlight. We’re running out of days of the week.”

Chris facepalmed, though still had a good sense of humor about it.

“Can we at least get through the first round of dates before trying to add more? Besides, The Great and Powerful Trixie will be back on the road before you know it. Let the poor girl be. Although, I might have a movie or two with stage magic that I can show her to add into her act.”

A new act? From the human world? The first of its kind and it would be Trixie headlining it?

“You would do that for me?”

With a grin and a shrug, Chris thought he would have to explain himself.

“Well, yeah. I know you went away for a while, but you were one of the first ponies to greet us. That, and your one of the more popular ponies back where I’m from. Why wouldn’t I want to hang out with you? Oh! Hold that thought, though. I should probably mingle a bit and keep the guest entertained until the others are done in the tent. I’ll be back in a bit.”

He leaned over and gave Redheart a quick kiss.

“Don’t do anything to put pressure on your hoof. If you need anything, just have one of the girls come and grab me.”

Trying to make his way out to the rest of the party, each of his mares pulled him aside for their own kiss. Then after Chris started walking away, a lot of Trixie’s questions started coming back to her.

“So, Starlight… how did-”

“It’s a long story,” Starlight answered, cutting off the obvious question. “Chris, though… he’s probably the best thing to ever happen to me. And after you left, I was doubting myself and even thought about whether or not if I should have left with you and given up on everything here, but he gave me- “ She looked to the rest of her harem with a loving smile. “-well... all of us, hope, compassion, warmth, and even a new purpose.”

Those words echoed in Trixie’s mind, jogging loose a conversation she had with her dream self had used those same words in the same order, save one.

“What about strength?”

Starlight nearly fell over. She was so taken back by that question, seeing her oversight.

“Strength? Only about a fuck load stronger. You should have seen what I did to a Timberwolf King and the rest of the forest behind it. I’ve never fought that hard in my life. Without a doubt, Chris is my new source of strength for being a better pony.”

“I had a great time last night. And, did Chris say anything about me staying over while he was foal sitting?”

“Yeah,” Benny answered, rather nonchalantly. “He brought it up, and I don’t mind you staying and entertaining the kids. Just… lay off the booze before you perform. No need getting as drunk as you were two nights in a row.”

At the mention of alcohol, Rainbow felt her stomach churn just thinking about it.

"Ughck… I need to stop drinking vodka from the bottle. Beer and mixed drinks from here on out."

Amused, Becky reached over and ruffled up Rainbow's mane, knowing it would aggravate her some.

"It’s about time you became a fast learner.”

As if by reflex, Rainbow pushed Becky's hand away with her wing, though only enough to be gentle with it.

"Yeah, yeah. Rub it in. More insult to injury."

Becky sat back in her seat, sad to see Rainbow was that deep in a hangover funk.

"Cry baby… but anyway. Benny, what should we do for living arrangements? I don't want to keep Twilight having to keep us over at her place, even if it is a castle. You only have one guest room, and… sorry Dash, but you live in a fucking cloud, so I couldn't crash at your place even if I wanted to."

She looked back at Benny, honestly conflicted.

"It’s not just for me. I know I'll be taken care of in the Crystal Empire, but Lumberman or Kelly might end up at the Apple Farm, Chris has five other places to choose from, but I don't think he should be moving in with any of them so fast. And Sniff… well, he's probably got his shit figured out."

While in the middle of a good long stretch, Rainbow decided to weigh in.

"This place is nice to hang out at, Becks, but with no plumbing, you shouldn't stay here. I know you can't stay at my place, but with your health still being so bad, there's no way you'd be putting Twilight out by staying there for now. Plus, you would be a lot safer there than in town. Besides, just sharing your medical knowledge is overpaying Twilight back after saving Applejack."

If that was the case, it was likely anyone could stay there from the group, Benny thought. However, this was his house.

"Yeah, you're better off staying there. I got my house, a car, and plenty of home protection."

Still concerned, Becky looked into the empty house.

"Yeah, but you all said we shouldn't be out on our own until we know what's out there."

It might have been a guilty conscience, but something moved Trixie to help.

"If you need somepony to stay here, I can stay in my wagon."

Not wanting to be one-upped, Octavia raised her voice.

"I won't be terribly busy," she announced, immediately shying back. "If you don't mind the company, that is."

Figuring this would be the new norm for him, Benny smiled warmly.

"Well, for you two, my door is always going to be open. And Trixie, I have a guest room upstairs. If you want a place to stay before you go on tour again, you're more than welcome to it."

Trixie looked back at the house, thinking about the comforts of her wagon.

"Thank you, but I don't think I can afford a room from you right now."

Benny promptly laughed.

"You can afford free. Believe me, you're fine."

Now Trixie felt stupid for assuming he would expect rent.

"Oh."

With all that cleared up, though doubting Trixie's abilities, Becky moved for a better solution.

"Well, if this is all short term, maybe we should ask Twilight if she can spare some guards like she did for the party. Plus, I need to find out when we're supposed to go to the Crystal Empire. Still haven't worked that out."

With a plan somewhat laid out, Benny looked at his watch, trying to figure out what he would do for the day.

"Well, if Dash is giving you a ride, I might as well get my steps in for the day and escort these fine two ladies into town."

On cue, Vinyl whined.

"Awe… no car ride? How we gonna jam?"

Jamming out to more music? How could he disappoint this cute musical unicorn?

"Fine, we'll take a ride there. Maybe see if Twilight can make you both a copy of my phone while we're at it."

Knowing the conversation that would likely take place, Trixie wanted to be ready to be done with everything.

"I'm ready when you are. I just need to grab something from my wagon."

Applejack woke to a rooster crowing and a dull pain in her hooves that was thankfully more than tolerable now. Not that she was going pitch a fit about it so long as she had Lumberman at her side.

"Woody?"

While a glance at Lumberman twitching indicated he was awake, he opted to keep his eyes shut.

"Still here, baby girl. We sleeping in?"

Now fidgeting, Applejack had something else in mind.

"I'm really wanting another go at them hands uh yers… but I need some help going to the bathroom again."

Drawing out a yawn, Lumberman started to roll out of bed.

"Yeah, I got you. And how about we have a go again tonight?"

Letting out some giggles, Applejack liked the sound of that, though she had some add-ons to it.

"How about dinner, a nice long bath, then finish up in bed?"

Already committed to this new life, Lumberman couldn’t help but smile.

"You feel like dining in or dining out?"

As Applejack helped her man pick her up, she tried to think about what she wanted.

“Going out would be nice since I can’t cook nothing up for ya right now, but I’m worried what’ll happen if I get a craving for something not on the menu. I still… uh… we didn’t do nothing for you last night, and I don’t want to be using ya without returning the favor. But on account uh my hooves all mangled and… Emph… I’m already hurting, so why not just do the rutten after my pills kick in tonight?”

Not even out of the bedroom, Lumberman laughed at the crazy idea.

“Nah, that’s some low brow creeper stuff. Taken advantage of ya all loopy and shit on pills? That’s not my style.”

That seemed to dampen Applejack’s mood some, and that was on top of him having to help her on the toilet. Even if they were now a committed couple, it was still embarrassing having to hold onto his hand in her fetlock as she did her business. It killed the mood so much she decided to change subjects entirely.

“So, what ya got in mind for Lumberman Construction?”

That was a good question. One Lumberman hadn’t really been afforded the time to think about.

“Not sure. I’m pretty confident in large scale residential construction and remodeling, lots of handyman repairs, but I don’t know what the market’s like. That, and I’m not sure what to do about Hard Hat.”

Still not over that drama, Applejack rolled her eyes and grumbled.

“My thoughts on that jerk can be summed up in what yer about to flush for me, but he made his bed so he can sleep in it.”

If Lumberman was back home, he probably would have left it at that, but this was a completely different environment.

“You know, if I was a bet’n man, I’d wager if I ruin that guy’s life and make him my enemy, that’s exactly what he’ll be.”

Applejack cocked her head to the side with a confused look.

“What ‘cha mean by that? And, I’m done by the way… thanks.”

Gathering the toilet paper, Lumberman did his best to try and think of how this world's logic likely worked.

“What I mean is that usually in situations like this, if I give that guy a reason to blame me for his mistakes, or making it worse, he’s likely gonna want revenge.”

Focusing on the conversation to distract her from being cleaned, Applejack gave her perspective on the jaded construction pony.

“Hard Hat is an asshole, plain and simple. Besides, you saw how quick he backed down at the first hint of retaliation. If I couldn’t take ‘em, you’d… Fuck… You’d probably mess ‘em up worse than Mac could.”

Now finished, Lumberman flushed the toilet and picked her up again, all the while trying to explain his theory.

“Right now, you can’t even take a shit by yourself, and cowards like him don’t wait till you’re at your strongest to pounce. And if we don’t give him an opening, what about Apple Bloom or Granny? And do you want to head back to bed?”

It was still early, and as much as she wanted to capitalize on her alone time with Lumberman, there was still plenty more they could do.

“Could we go for a ride? And you don’t think he would do something so low as to try and hurt Apple Bloom or Granny just to get back at us, do ya?”

That took a little more thought, but as he set Applejack back down on the bed so he could get dressed, he remembered how little he knew of this place.

“I dunno, Apples, but I don’t want to risk it. That, and screwing him over like he’s getting screwed over right now? That could easily get twisted into something to hurt us. That and… I’m still a little bit of the person I don’t want to be. I was so quick to try and fight him, so maybe getting better at not trying to get even is something I’m supposed to fix about myself.”

And there was another mood killer that Applejack had to deal with. If Lumberman needed more than having a new family, that was going to take priority over her alone time. So best to shift focus to something else.

“Pretty sure the hardware store should be opening soon.”

Knock-Knock-Knock!

The lights were off, and the door was locked. Ovens knew it was only one of two ponies, and one she had left with Sniff. So, by process of elimination…

“Lyra, good morning,” Ovens greeted the mint-colored unicorn as she opened the door. “Sorry, like I said. Long night, late start to the morning. Come in. I just got out of the bath.”

Still excited at the prospects to be offered, Lyra quickly trotted in with the door closing and locking behind her.

“So, what do you need my help with? Or is it Peter that needs my help?"

Ovens gave a quiet laugh, wondering how Lyra was going to react to the twist on her little scheme.

"Well, you'll kind of be helping both of us. Have you ever been on a date?"

That was an odd question to ask, to which Lyra honestly answered.

"Me? No. I had some crushes growing up, but you know how timid most stallions can be."

From the kitchen, Ovens emerged with a pot of coffee and two mugs.

"Well, you're in luck. Come with me upstairs."

Following the vague mare up the stairs, Lyra naturally asked the question, "Does this have to do with you dating Peter?”

“Sort of,” Ovens jokingly answered as she set the coffee down on the table already set for them, and took her seat. “Kind of like ponies, humans seem to have their own set of special talents. For Peter, he seems to have many, and dating, along with being an amazing coltfriend is one of them. So good that he can help mares like us find the special somepony we’ve been looking for.”

As Lyra sat in her chair, that statement seemed to confuse her.

“But… isn’t Peter your special somepony?”

Already expecting such a question, Ovens tried to be as honest as possible as she poured them their coffee.

“Mostly yes, but also not really… sort of. It’s more like...” She set the pot down and rethought her words. “Peter right now is just visiting as far as we're concerned. Twilight is working on finding a way home for them. When that happens, it’s likely that we’ll never see him or his friends again. So, while he’s here, he wants to help lonely mares learn what it takes to find their special someponies.”

While that sounded nice, Lyra still wasn’t following.

“So… is he starting some kind of date consulting business? Because if he is, that sounds really sweet, and I could totally help him with setting up that business.”

After blowing on her coffee, Ovens decided to be a bit more direct.

“It’s not a business. It’s his special talent that he needs help with… Well, you saw how his friend Chris was with Starlight and all the others, right?”

Suddenly, Lyra remembered Mayor Mare and the other mares all literally hanging all over Sniff, and it finally clicked.

“Are you asking me if I want to date Peter?”

Still smiling and taking a sip of her coffee, Ovens let that option rest in Lyra’s head to see how well it settled.

“Peter presents a tragic conundrum for us. He’s so loving and just wonderful in every way imaginable, but he is not likely to stay with us for long. And, even if he was, it’s not possible for him to start a family of his own. So, knowing that, it’s pretty much like practice dating. But!” She pulled back, realizing she’d become too excited. “It comes with all the same rewards of having a special somepony. Including a few I don’t think anypony has experienced before.”

It was then that Lyra felt like one of those party drinks with the alcohol would have gone perfectly with their breakfast, as this conversation was getting a little awkward.

“So… when your mother asked how intimate I would like to get to know him, she meant-”

“She meant to date him as well,” Ovens happily answered. “The reason is because he needs an outlet for all the affection he has. But, being how he’s here for a fun time, not a long time, and can’t give any mare a foal after marriage, he’s left without the chance to share all those special things only couples do, and all those extra things he can do with his hands-”

Lyra accidentally let out a low moan but quickly caught herself.

“Sorry. That was very inappropriate of me. It’s just that when you mentioned his hands, what he did to me at the spa-”

“He can do better,” Ovens quickly offered. “That’s one of the things he’s having the biggest issues with. Apparently, not only do humans seem to have a knack for dating multiple mares, even in their own world, there are those like Peter who need to share that close, physical, intimate affection. So, if you enjoyed what his hands can do at the spa, dating him would grant you access to more, even longer sessions, with special techniques he can’t give to customers.”

Lyra gulped, already being tempted by just the offer of a private session with Sniff again.

“You… You’re being very mean if you’re toying with me. You know that, don’t you?”

Knowing that would have been true if she was, Ovens giggled and took another long sip from her coffee.

“Lyra, I know how crazy it sounds. But after talking to Twilight about it, since she’s responsible for them, she agrees with this. In fact, she’s working on a new practice where ponies would be doing what I’m offering you, only for a more permanent basis. Because… I mean, come on. Us mares outnumber stallions to a frightening degree. So, if you want to do this, you’ll not only be getting so much more hands-on time with Peter, he can also help you learn what you need to know to find your own special somepony, or maybe you’ll take a liking to the idea of herding. That’s what she's calling it.”

This was now starting to cross the line.

“One stallion having multiple mares? Isn’t that-”

“Or even mares taking another mare as their special somepony,” Ovens offered before setting her coffee down, knowing this would be the tricky part of explaining this arrangement.

“Lyra… I know you’re a bit younger than me, so you haven’t seen all the lonely mares come and go like I have. Not that you can’t stick your head outside and see all the mares that are still single. Most don’t even try to find a stallion. It’s like we’ve all been conditioned not to try, and the stallions are no better.”

This new spin on things wasn’t as easy to sell as she had originally thought. It was looking like the blunt truth was going to be needed to get her to understand.

“Peter helped me to find the courage to reach out and try to find love. When I discovered that he and I could never be a real family, I realized just how badly I wanted somepony in my life. I wanted that so badly and was so happy when I thought I could have it with him. Then when I realized I couldn’t, I wanted others to know what they could have. And you know what? Every mare who has been brave enough to talk to Peter about dating, seeing what it’s like to have a stallion, making them feel special… I’ve never seen them so happy. Don’t you want to have that special somepony in your life that can make you feel special? One you can share anything with and trust?”

Oddly enough, all this talk of dating and what it entailed made Lyra think of her terrible night with Bon Bon. Her best friend was hardly acting like a friend anymore. So, without her, what did she have, and what was she going to have if she agreed to this?

“How…”

Lyra cleared her throat and sat up straight, a heavy heart weighing her down. Right or wrong, she couldn’t say no.

“How often would I be able to see Peter?”

Seeing the struggle Lyra was going through, Ovens reached across the table and laid a hoof over the downtrodden mare’s.

“Peter is a man about town and seems to be very active. Actually, come to think of it, with all the business he’ll be doing, he might need a delegate that specializes in contracts for humans. I’m pretty sure marketing firms do every job by contract.”

Little by little, this was becoming the greatest opportunity Lyra could have been offered. She’d be getting intimately close to her target to gather information on. More opportunities to help Peter, way more time with his hands, and she’d be helping so many others acting as a delegate. Plus, maybe it was time to move on from relying on Bon Bon so much.

When it came right down to it, being the secret spy, her best friend had revealed a side of Bon Bon that Lyra didn’t like. In fact, at this point, she would rather spend more time with Sniff, maybe even others, until Bon Bon corrected herself.

“I have to leave for Canterlot after this. Oddly enough, it’s for delegate matters to make sure Peter and the others will have spaces reserved for them for the summit. But, if you could, let him know I’d love to meet up with him as soon as we can.”

While Ovens was happy to hear Lyra accept the offer, she was surprised to hear how sad the musical mare sounded when talking about it.

“Are you okay, Lyra? If you don’t really want to date Peter, you don’t have to. I just figured that since you took such an interest in him and loved the massage, this would be something nice I could offer as a thank you. Well, that and my mom recommended you, but… is everything alright.”

Little by little, this great opportunity showed Lyra just how unhappy she was with the life she had before the humans showed up. Or was it the lie she now saw it as?

“I, um… I guess I’ve just been so preoccupied with getting work, picking up odd jobs, then all the volunteer work I’ve done, I realized it’s just been me and Bon Bon for the last however many years. And I don’t think she and I have really been all that good of friends… At least not as of late.”

Feeling like the drop in this mare's emotional state was her fault, Ovens hopped out of her chair and took the time to give the poor mare a hug.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I know you two have always been so close and practically do everything together, but I’ll tell you what. When you get back from Canterlot, you come find me, and how about we make it a double date with Peter? Maybe stop out in town for a few drinks? Actually, if you’re working as a delegate, I’m sure you’d be more than welcome to join us for dinner.”

Still in the hug, she readily returned, Lyra smiled and huffed a low laugh.

“Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun.”

If that cheered her up, Ovens thought she could do better by offering a little more.

“Who knows. Play your cards right, and you might get one of those special massages and a kiss or two tonight.”

That got a genuine laugh from Lyra as she pulled away from the hug.

“Oh, please. You can’t expect me to believe that in a practice date, Peter would-” She quickly rethought her question. “Wait… just how intimate am I allowed to get to know Peter?”

Grinning the whole way back to her chair, Ovens took her seat and raised her coffee cup.

“It’s like I said. Dating Peter comes with all the benefits. So, you can take away only a friendship and some good advice or go for everything I have. But, I recommend at least joining me for our date together before you make up your mind. You should see what it’s like before you commit to anything after that.”

As Ovens watched a warm smile creep ever wider on Lyra’s face, she remembered how she used to have this with Top Shelf.

How long had it been since she had the chance to have some fun with another friend? Perhaps she should see if Lyra wanted some additional time away from Bon Bon.

“Hey, I think we had a good time at the party last night, and we both like Peter. We should hang out more. You should stop in when you have some downtime. I have plenty of downtime between my few busy hours. I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities for us doing something this weekend again. And once Twilight knows that you're helping Peter, I'm sure that will just mean all the more fun we can have.”

I've been waiting for a while to get this far with Benny with Octavia. Obviously, she and Vinyl have their interest in Benny, but destiny had another outcome for those two mares. Now with Benny in the mix, Octavia has decided to confront the terrible narrative that mare and mare is some embarrassing fate that would await her... even though part of her was strangely happy with it.

Benny, being the kind soul that he is, took another step towards taking on the idea of being with a pony more openly seeing how human and relatable her situation is. Hell, even in the face of Starlight with Prim or the others in their group, she was still scared to admit how she felt until Benny pressed for it.

Then with Cerb, I didn't want to give the presentation that just because he said yes and he had a great night with his girls that everything was fine. Sadly, we don't work that way, and he is still having his doubts and dealing with some uncertainties. So, instead of actually dealing with those concerns, he opted for some morning sex (God I miss morning sex).

Then there's Twilight, showing that just because she landed the relationship she wanted, doesn't mean that her mind is at peace. Not that Sniff is really making things any easier with his slow approach, yet extremely honest and open with just about anything Twilight wants to do are know about.

Oh, yes... Of course, again... Chris... He almost got out of the bedroom unmolested.

So, Cerb, Chris, and Sniff all went ham the night before and couldn't make it past breakfast before a little hanky-panky, and all the mares know it now.

That sense of smell is gonna be a pain trying to work around. It's about as bad as the mares not knowing what is acceptable for open conversation. Perhaps they're taking their newfound freedom to be open about their relationships with their humans a little too literally?

Either way, still made for some funny moments.

Wait? What's was that? Cheerilee and Redheart must have gotten really carried away. At least they made it out of the bedroom, just not out of the house before... you know.

Also, in chapter 56. Predators, Redheart mentioned before that:

I should be up and back on my hooves in a week. Three weeks until I'm completely healed."

That was day 8, this is day 11... Very interesting.

Oh, and hangovers are still a thing to deal with, and so are the conciquences of Rainbow acting the fool while drunk. At least her friends are cool about it.

Also, (Yes, I know there were a few flashbacks in this chapter) a flashback to the night before showed yet another repeat from Trixie's dreams. Chapter 39. Dreamers Insight: Tell Me Your Desires:

"He gave us strength... hope... compassion... warmth... a new sense of purpose... But they took it all away, save for my hope."

Seems some things still just keep repeating themselves.

Also, is Starlight trying to to hook Trixie up with Chris?

Meanwhile, over at the Apple Farm... Well, Apple Hat almost continued the trend of couples waking up for some morning affection. They got some more important things to deal with.

Lastly, Ovens looks to have successfully roped in another one. Although, much like Octavia and Vinyl, it seems like even Lyra thought she could have had something with her roommate/best friend. However, this time, warring opinions about the human coming between them is driving them apart.

If Lyra manages to get closer to Sniff, things could either get better or worse for them. Falling in love with the enemy could ruin any good efforts she had in mind, or be the proof needed to save them.