Anon and Starlight were well past Ponyville’s outskirts and several hours into their journey. Twilight’s castle was a bright but distant scar on the horizon, and before them open fields stretched to eternity. Not really, of course, that would be silly. But besides farmsteads and the occasional merchant, they had the roads to themselves.

Starlight led, of course. She had the map, and Anon had a better view than any mere picturesque landscape could offer. Starlight’s tail swished when she walked. That wasn’t uncommon for ponies, but draped over her goddess given, firm, plump butt, brushing atop the outline of her delicate pussy lips, every motion was a poem, a song, an event, a—

“Anon, are you staring at my butt?”

Anon tore his gaze from Starlight’s rear to look into her eyes. Her angry, disapproving eyes.

“Uh…”

“Alright, you’re leading now,” Starlight said.

“But I don’t know the way.”

“It’s easy. Just follow the road until the fields turn into houses.”

“Whatever you say partn… er, Starlight.”

Anon moved ahead of Starlight, though he thought it was a bad idea. His ass wasn’t nearly as nice to look at.

As they continued walking, he felt pressure knot his gut. He groaned, tensed, and clenched his jaw, but it continued to build, like someone inflating a balloon in his abdomen, until it popped.

“Ugh, what the? Urgh, Celestia, what’s that smell?” Starlight said.

“Sorry,” Anon said, petting his stomach, “I had fish tacos last night.”

“It’s like a corpse in a sulfur pit!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault all the cows here can talk. I’d love a steak right now.”

“You what?” Starlight shook her head. “Never mind. Look, just walk beside me.”

“You’re the boss.”

Anon’s backed to Starlight's side. His hand twitched as they continued. He stretched it toward Starlight’s butt, but she swatted it away with magic. They walked a few more minutes, then he tried again, and again she swatted him away. He tried once more, but this time Starlight stopped, surrounded him with her aura, and slammed him to the ground.

“You. Are. Impossible! Are you going to make every moment of this trip a headache?” She spat, glaring down at him.

“Ngh. Hey, I’m not really into BDSM, but I’ll try anything once.”

“Argh!” Starlight released him and kept walking, her steps heavy.

Anon stood and dusted himself. “So does this mean I should walk behind you again?

“I don’t care!”

“Score.”

--

Starlight and Anon arrived in Stableton several hours later. Their walk was quiet, which suited Starlight. Anon’s every other word was detritus, so Starlight preferred him silent. She caught him ogling her flank several more times. She bristled at the unwanted attention, but at least while he was looking, he wasn’t close enough to touch her.

The town was far smaller than Ponyville, but it was active. The principle crops in this part of Equestria were grains, mostly the ever-popular wheat and oats, so despite the town’s size, it buzzed with merchant activity. Starlight stopped and watched ponies haggle, pull loaded carts, and banter in the market square. She pulled back her ears.

“It’s changed so much,” she said beneath her breath.

“Huh?” Anon stopped beside her. “What’d you say?”

“Nothing,” Starlight said. “Come on, we have to find the mayor.”

Starlight led Anon into the square and approached behind a stallion loading a cart.

“Excuse me,” Starlight said, “can you tell me where the mayor of this town is?”

“The mayor? She’s probably preppin’ for tomorrow’s festival,” the stallion said before hoisting another barrel.

“Festival?” Starlight asked.

“Yep. I take it you’re new around these parts. It’s our annual festival, honorin’ the works of our savior—” the stallion turned around, then jumped, sending his barrel tumbling to the ground. “I-it’s you. Starlight Glimmer.”

“Um, have we met?”

“Everypony, it’s her!” the stallion cried, causing Starlight to flinch. “Starlight Glimmer has returned!”

All activity ceased, and the hum of market activity was replaced by frantic whispers and the clatter of somepony literally dropping what they were doing. Starlight’s eyes darted around and she glued her ears against her head.

“I uh…” Starlight backed away, but bumped into a mare behind her.

The square flooded in around them, a hundred excited voices burst in chatter.

“Starlight Glimmer!”

“It’s really her.”

“She’s back!”

Starlight pressed into Anon’s side, scanning the mob for an escape, but every open space invited another body, until retreat was impossible. Anon seemed more curious than scared. He stood tall with his arms folded behind his head and looked around.

A spell, she needed a spell. She could teleport them both, or create a barrier, or if the situation became desperate, she could fight their way out. But before Starlight decided, one voice rose above the others.

“Mistress Glimmer!” A lanky mare with a black mane and bright, silver coat pushed through the crowd and prostrated before Starlight.

“Mistress, huh?” Anon mused.

Starlight jabbed him with her horn, then turned to the mare.

“Wait, I know you,” Starlight said, relief cooling her chest. “Silver Bell?”

“Hear me, everypony,” Silver Bell said, “the pony responsible for our prosperity, to whom we owe everything we are today, Starlight Glimmer, has returned!”

The crowd cheered and stomped their hooves. Starlight stood dumbfounded. Anon repeated the word mistress to himself, a strange glint in his eye.

The cheers died when Silver Bell spoke again. “Mistress Glimmer, it is an honor. Please accept my official invitation to become our special guest at tomorrow’s Festival of the New Sun.”

Starlight looked around. Eager faces beamed from all sides. It looked like half the town was in attendance. “I…” she looked up at Anon. He was watching her too, and shrugged when their eyes met.

“Please, Mistress Glimmer,” Starlight heard a tiny voice say. She scanned the crowd again and found its source, a young filly atop a stallion’s back. The filly grinned at her and padded the top of the stallion’s head with her forehooves.

Starlight flashed a nervous smile. “Oh… Yes, of course. How can I refuse?”

The crowd cheered again, and she noticed Anon giving her a thumbs up.

“Everypony, you know your duties,” Silver Bell said over the roar. “We must work diligently to make this the best Festival of the New Sun ever!”

The crowd dispersed like a bucked raincloud, leaving Silver Bell, Starlight, and Anon. The hum of a busy square returned, though the melody was different now, more energetic.

“Mistress Glimmer, if you and your pet sasquatch would join me, I will secure the finest room in our tavern for you.”

“Pet sasquatch?” Anon repeated, an eyebrow raised.

Starlight giggled.

Silver Bell turned and trotted away, toward the town’s center. Starlight and Anon followed, the human grumbling as they walked.

--

The tavern was impressive for such a small town. Whatever could be made of varnished oak seemed to be, the furniture coverings were stitched of high-quality cotton, bronze inlays decorated the walls and tabletops, and the smell of fresh baked bread and apple cider wafted from what Starlight assumed was a kitchen behind the concierge desk. Silver Bell explained that their town often received envoys from wealthy merchant families, ponies who expected at least this much. She invited Starlight and Anon to join her for a meal, which the two accepted, as neither had eaten since that morning.

The three took a seat at the center table in the dining area. A petite mare with a bright pink mane brought them cider and a bread basket and they settled in to order.

“Sho, what did Stharlight do for you guys, exactly?” Anon asked through a mouthful of bread.

“What an articulate beast,” Silver Bell said, “I had wondered whether it was proper to bring him inside, but I see now that he is sapient. Wonders never cease.”

Anon swallowed and frowned. “I’m not a sasquatch, I’m human. Literally homo sapiens. Dumb horse.”

“Anon,” Starlight hissed.

Silver Bell waved the comment away. “Please accept my apologies, Mr. Hue-Man. I’ve just never seen a creature quite like you before. To answer your question, Mistress Glimmer came to us many moons ago, when my father was still mayor.

“It may be hard to believe, but back then our town was even smaller than it is now and produced very little.” Silver Bell’s expression became grim. “Many of the fields you may have seen on your way here were unproductive, unsuitable for anything greater than subsistence agriculture. Our ancestors had not seen it fit to adopt more modern agricultural techniques, and neither did we. And even if we desired to, Stableton’s government consisted of no more than the eldest of every family bickering over who would farm the most productive land that season.”

Her expression brightened again and she looked at Starlight. “But then Mistress Glimmer arrived. She promised that if we followed her, she would deliver us from our misery. There was resistance of course, but she persuaded enough of us, and the success of her methods convinced the rest. She parceled land to each family, showed us modern farming techniques, and organized our government. Within several seasons we went from barely surviving to surplus.”

“Woah, Starlight,” Anon said as he tore off another piece of bread, “who knew you were such an effective leader. I mean, besides the ponies in Our Town.”

Starlight blushed and looked down. “I only applied agricultural science, really. I was trying to build an army, and armies run on food.”

Silver Bell continued, “But more than all of that, Mistress Glimmer gave us a sense of purpose, a single goal. For that, we are eternally grateful.”

“Please, just call me Starlight. I haven’t been referred to as mistress since… Well, in a while.”

Silver Bell nodded. “Then please, Starlight, order whatever you like. It’s the least we can do. And you too, Mr. Hue-Man. You are Starlight’s companion; therefore, you are also welcome to whatever we can provide.”

“Got any meat?” Anon asked.

Both Starlight and Silver Bell winced at the request.

“N-no,” Silver Bell said. “We do however keep a supply of salted fish for when gryphon traders stay in town.”

“Fine, whatever,” Anon said, then stuffed another piece of bread in his mouth.

“You’re very kind, thank you for your offer,” Starlight said. “We would love to sample your beautiful tavern’s food.”

Silver Bell clapped her hoof against the table twice and the tavern mare returned. Starlight ordered a hay burger and fries, a garden salad, and toasted oats for dessert. Anon had fish and fried eggs, which Starlight joked were sides to his main course of bread. Starlight and Silver Bell discussed Stableton’s growth, government reform, and the preparations for the next day’s festival over dinner. Anon stuffed his face and tuned them out.

Silver Bell left after dinner and Starlight and Anon followed the tavern mare, whose name Starlight learned was Feather Duster, to their room. It was spacious. There was an area for dining with two cushions and a table, a large window that overlooked the town’s main street, a large stone fireplace, and one bed, lanterns glowing atop end tables on either side.

“Oh…” Starlight said.

“Is this not to your liking?” the Feather Duster asked.

“N-no, it’s great. Thank you.”

“I will prepare a fire for your bath. Please come when you’re ready.” Feather Duster bowed and closed the door.

“Dibs on the right side,” Anon said and tossed his bag on the covers.

“I am not sleeping in the same bed as you.”

“Where are you going to sleep then? The floor?”

“I’m not sleeping on the floor.” Starlight levitated a pillow and walloped Anon’s face with it. “You are.”

“What? But it’s cold, and hard, and I have a bad back.”

“I’ll give you a blanket, you can use those cushions, and I heard sleeping on the floor is good for your back.”

“Aw, c’mon, Starlight,” Anon said. His lip quivered and eyes widened into what Starlight assumed was his rendition of a puppy dog face. But because of his short snout and flat face, Starlight thought at best it made him look like a sick cat.

“Ugh. Alright, then, plan b.” Starlight’s horn lit and she pointed it at the bed. A translucent rectangular barrier materialized down the bed’s center. “There.”

Anon approached the construct and wrapped it with his knuckles, then frowned. “You’re no fun.”

“And you’re sticking to your side of the bed,” Starlight said.

Starlight nodded, satisfied with her work, and set her saddlebags beside the bed. “I’ll take my bath first. I won’t be long.”

Anon nodded, his hands feeling up and down the barrier like a mime. Starlight rolled her eyes, then left the room.

Starlight found the bath chamber, and Feather Duster waiting outside of it. The tub was larger than she expected, enough room for her to lie prone if she wanted to. But she did not stay long enough to get that comfortable. She washed away the dust gathered from unpaved country roads, and some of her stress along with it. When she finished, she dried herself off with towels Feather Duster had provided, then returned to the room. Inside, Anon was scratching away in his black book. He snapped it shut when she entered, said she looked sexy wet, then left quickly for his own bath.

Starlight promptly collapsed onto the bed.

--

Anon returned to the room, a towel wrapped around his head, another around his waist. He saw Starlight lying on her side of the bed, face buried in a pillow, coat still glistening. The lantern on her side was extinguished, but the glow from his cast a delicate shadow across her frame. He admired her curves from the doorway for a moment, from crest to croup, then closed the door and crossed the room. He let the towel slip from his waist, pulled the other from his head, and slid beneath the covers before blowing out his lantern.

He stared at the ceiling for a while, then looked through the barrier at Starlight.

“Hey. You awake?” he whispered.

Starlight grumbled and rolled onto her side. “Hm?”

Anon looked at the ceiling again. “Why did we come here? What did you expect to find?”

Starlight was silent for a few moments, so he figured she was asleep.

“I don’t know,” Starlight said after some time. “Regrets.”

Anon looked at her again. “Why did you leave? This place seems pretty legit. For a pony town, I mean.”

As his eyes adjusted, Anon could make out Starlight’s half-open eyes looking back at him.

“When I learned I could remove cutie marks, my plans changed. I didn’t need this town anymore.”

“Oh.”

Anon turned his head back toward the ceiling. There was another stretch of silence.

“It wasn’t all bad, you know,” Anon said.

“What wasn’t?”

“Our Town. It wasn’t a total disaster, just mostly.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Starlight said after another pause. “Stealing other ponies’ cutie marks wasn’t the way to get what I wanted. Friendship starts with acknowledging our differences, not trying to eliminate them.”

Anon was quiet again, staring into the darkness.

He turned again to look into Starlight’s eyes. “You and I are pretty different.”

“Yeah, we are.”

“I’m not gonna to stop looking at your butt, you know.”

Starlight blew air between her lips and laughed. Anon joined her. They laughed for some time, longer than he had in a while, before it petered out.

“You know, I think that’s the first honest laugh I’ve ever gotten out of you,” Anon said, smiling at her.

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

They held one another’s gaze a while. Starlight’s eyes were pretty, even through the barrier. He hadn’t noticed before, maybe because they were usually shooting daggers at him.

“Guess we should turn in. Long day tomorrow,” Anon said.

“Good idea,” Starlight said before yawning.

“So… How about lowering this barrier?”

“Goodnight, Anon.” Starlight rolled over.

Anon smiled again and rolled too.

“Night.”