**Author's Note** Okay, just another short FYI for all of you. There has been some more art done for my story. If you check back to ch 26 you'll see a beautiful piece done of Zecora and Rayne laying together with him in panther form. Just wanted to let you know in case you haven't seen it! And as always, thank you for reading!**

The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Chapter 33 - Bitter Tempers

As the door to the conference room opened, everypony looked up from their breakfast bowls to see Luna leading in two very tired-eyed looking mares. The sleepy princesses barely registered that the couch which was brought in had now seemed to have become a popular sitting place. But this went mostly ignored by Celestia and Twilight when then took the seats they had used the night before. Over on the couch Rainbow Dash leaned her elbow onto the side of a black flank as if it were a resting post and teased, “Good morning Princess Celestia, good morning Princess Twilight. What a treat it is to see this… less regal side of you?”

Leaning over a dark and curly mane Applejack shooed Rainbow Dash back to her end of the couch before saying, “We're glad to have you with us is what Dashy here means to say. After last night we understand that the two of you might have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

From their respective seats Celestia and Twilight both looked to each other from over their cups of tea and gasped at the sight of themselves. Twilight saw Celestia actually having messy hair and looking ragged while Celestia saw Twilight in a similar state. Quickly they both each fixed themselves up as best they could until they both gave a nod to each other that the other looked presentable. Everyone else at the table, except for one, laughed together at their silliness. Pinkie Pie spoke up first saying, “I know there is a lot going on but I'm glad that we can still sit together as friends and enjoy a good laugh.” Fluttershy nodded from the chair beside her.

Cadence smiled along while saying, "As am I. If we lose track of the love that we fight for then all our struggles are in vain.”

Suddenly the door opened as Shining Armor came rushing in. “Oh good, you're all here. I have news from-”

“PLEASE! Not so loud.” Twilight urged from her seat as she laid her head down on the table. “Shining, you'll always be my big brother but for one of the few times when I get to enact this over you… as one of the Princesses of Equestria I order you to please just give me five more minutes.” She whined in exhaustion.

Celestia smiled and followed with, “Shining Armor, as long as we aren't in immediate danger then maybe you could give us until you've at least caught your breath from running in here?” She then noticed a strange dark stallion asleep in the room but decided to let Twilight have her moment of peace before commenting on it.

Rainbow Dash then spoke up with a bit of excitement. “Hey can anypony tell me how Flash Magnus is settling into Canterlot? He recently did a number on us Wonderbolts to help with our training. But I heard that he has actually taken up residency in the capitol to oversee the local guard.” After asking her question though, she noticed Applejack fusing over the dark stallion's mane and she quickly shooed the earth pony away.

Luna raised a hoof so that Celestia could enjoy her breakfast bowl in peace and answered, “Magnus has been a joy to have with us. The guard look forward to his new input for assisting with our security details and quite frankly he is quite a nice pony to talk to once you get to know him.” Dabbing her mouth with a napkin Celestia nodded in agreement from beside her sister.

Seeing that she and Twilight had just about finished their breakfast Celestia then called out, “Alright, I think that we have delayed for long enough.” Everyone quieted down for the real meeting to get started. “Now before we begin with all official news, I would just like to know one thing first.” The alicorn paused as everyone stared at her very seriously. “Um, who is that?” She asked with her regal tone breaking in way of her bewilderment.

Looking to where Celestia was pointing Twilight instantly jumped out of her seat in surprise, “RAYNE?!”

“Mhm.” Confirmed Applejack.

“But, but, it's Rayne!” She continued.

“Yup.” Rainbow mumbled as she kicked back in her seat as if it were no big deal. Absentmindedly she lifted her legs over Rayne's back which Applejack quickly slapped away almost knocking Dash off of the couch.

“But... he's here!” Twilight protested in confusion.

“Right-e-o!” Pinkie Pie cheered. Then all of the young girls giggled together softly as Twilight stomped her hoof in frustration.

“Will everypony please stop responding to me in short phrases and tell me what is going on?!” She screamed.

Several of them raised their hooves as if to shush her so that she would not wake him. Meanwhile Fluttershy stepped out of her chair to stand closer to the stallion. “Oh, please take it easy Twilight. He isn't well.” Finally realizing that the stallion was not waking from the loud conversation, Twilight stepped over to take a closer look at him herself. “We don't know what happened to him but he was found unconscious outside this morning. The poor thing was almost frozen to death. We brought him here to recover because Princess Luna thinks he might have some ideas that could help us with everything that's been going on.”

“That and,” Luna added in, “I might have a few personal questions for him as well.” She sounded very stern but Twilight ignored it as she didn't see any reason for Rayne to be in trouble for anything.

Suddenly there was a voice that called from across the table which sounded more than slightly annoyed now. “Yes, very good. So we've established that he is going to be alright and why he is sleeping in the castle conference room, apparently. But is anypony going to answer my question?” Celestia smiled wide, clearly attempting to seem polite after her more than snippy comment. Almost immediately Pinkie scowled at her fake smile but it was Twilight who spoke up first.

“Oh yes, of course. I'm sorry Celestia. This is our new friend Rayne. He is the one that I told you about. A few days ago he just suddenly showed up in Ponyville and that's when things started getting pretty wild all around town. To be honest he's a model friendship maker. I've never seen somepony make connections as fast as he has. He's even gotten a job starting soon in the Ponyville Day Spa from what I hear.” However then noticing the behavior of her friends, she dropped her voice to a more scolding tone saying, “And it seems that SOME mares have taken QUITE the liking to him!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash both looked up embarrassed as they had been caught just staring at him dreamily while he slept. Quickly they both scooted off of the couch and back to their previous seats at the table. Consequently, Rayne gave a shiver after both of their body heat had left but Fluttershy saw this and draped an extra blanket over him.

“Yes… So I can see.” Celestia stated as Applejack pretended to lose herself in stirring a cup while Rainbow Dash started whistling innocently.

Twilight sighed and went back to her seat. “It's okay you guys. It isn't your fault. And it isn't Rayne's fault either. This kind of behavior is going to have to be expected while he's around.”

While the princesses remained still, Twilight's friends looked over having no idea what she was talking about. Likewise Shining Armor looked to Rayne and then to his wife before asking, “And why exactly is that, Twily?” Cadence giggled adoring how he was clearly feeling jealous and protective of her.

Twilight grimaced but quickly let her personal qualms go. “It is because of the kind of pony that Rayne is. And I'm not talking about him being a unicorn. Fluttershy, could you move the blanket to show us his cutie mark please?” Twilight asked as her friend did so causing Rayne's leg to slightly twitch in his sleep. “Rayne has an ability to bring out happiness in ponies just like Pinkie Pie can. But he isn't a party pony, he is a bit different. Long ago there used to be a lot of ponies with his talent but they haven't been seen quite some time. Back then they were known as pleasure ponies-” Twilight had been speaking softly while trying to figure out the best way to explain Rayne's unique skills. But she wasn't prepared for how abruptly she would be interrupted by both of the two princess sisters.

Luna looked like she was almost falling asleep before gasping out, “What?! NO!”

“A PLEASURE PONY?!” Celestia exclaimed with an excitement that startled Twilight. Meanwhile Luna seemed to sulk while dropping her head to the table and pulling her mane down over her face. “Really? A pleasure pony here in Equestria again?! Why I haven't seen one of those since… well since before I had to send Luna away to the moon!”

“Can somepony please send me back to the moon?!” Luna griped as she stood from the table and pulled her chair into the far corner of the room. Sitting in it she crossed her arms and turned her face away from the others. Now everypony seemed stunned as they had no idea what had just come over the both of them.

“Oh Luna, don't be like that!” Celestia scolded but it was clear to everyone that her excitement was blinding her from being empathetic to her sister. “This is a great thing! Don't you remember what it was like?”

“Only too well.” Luna replied with a cold tone.

Now the others in the room were just staring with blank expressions as no pony could do anything but watch as the two sisters bickered back and forth. “Oh what was his name?” Celestia asked, more to herself than any other pony. “You know, that dazzling blond stallion that-”

“Hot Streak!” Luna yelled. “His name was Hot Streak as it seems that you have forgotten!” Luna snapped bitterly. “And YES I remember him! I remember EVERYTHING perfectly! Especially how YOU were when he was around!” Luna was now shouting and both Fluttershy as well as Cadence looked like they were about to hide under the table.

Celestia finally gave her excitemejt some pause after hearing her sister's outburst. “Me?! And just what is THAT supposed to mean?!” She frowned disapprovingly.

Luna stood so hard that she kicked her seat back from under her. “Isn't it obvious? I'd say it's obvious to everypony!” In perfect synchronization seven scared faces shook their heads ‘no’ as they had no clue what was going on. “Well I'll tell you! Just look at yourself Celestia! At just the mere mention of a pleasure pony you get so excited that you're all over yourself!” Several of the other girls blushed while Twilight froze in a silent scream hearing about a side of her mentor that she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

“How dare you?!” Celestia called aghast, now feeling embarrassed at having been accused of such a thing in front of their friends.

“What's wrong?!” Luna said mockingly. “I thought you asked if I remembered?!... The tale of the Princess Tramp!”

“GYUUAAHHH!!!” Twilight suddenly turned white as if she had been petrified by a cockatrice and then she seemed to crack all over.

Celestia stormed out of her seat, “How dare you talk about your older sister that way and in front of our friends?! That was a long time ago Luna! We were barely older than fillies! Of course I hadn't learned the… restraint, that I promise you I have now!”

“EEEEYYYAAAAA!” Twilight squeaked as if she were suffocating as she fell like a stone out of her chair, terrified by what a lack of ‘restraint' might have meant a thousand years ago.

However Luna seemed to be hellbent on some past grudge. “Restraint?! You call your actions back then a lack of restraint?! You couldn't keep your tail between your legs around him! You were so bad that our parents had to pull us out of school to continue our education PRIVATELY with Starswirl! You didn't really think that was about needing his to help to teach us magic did you? No! It was because my sister was a SLUT and needed to kept away from boys! But because of you our parents punished the both of us!”

Twilight was now laying on the floor almost drowning in a puddle of drool as her mind was shattering. Her friends were crowded around her to make sure she was breathing and Shining Armor yelled out, “HEY! Would you two cut it out before you kill my sister?!”

The two princesses looked over and sighed but Celestia's temper wasn't satisfied with letting Luna have the last word. “Yes! Fine! Hot Streak and I were promiscuous and Mom and Dad didn't like it. But tell me, what would you even know about it sister?!”

Instantly Luna gasped and then took two steps back, biting her bottom lip looking ashamed. It was clear that she was backing down from the argument now. She rubbed one hoof in front of the other now looking at the doorway as if she wanted to leave. Cadence stood from her seat and in a soft voice whispered, “You can't be serious. You can't really mean … But you two… Luna, even before you were banished away... you both were well over a hundred by then weren't you?”

Celestia brought her hooves to her mouth looking horrified by what she had just said to her own sister. The princess of dreams looked like she was going to cry but stared up at Cadence whimpering, “There wasn't time. Back then Celestia always kept Hot Streak all to herself. She wouldn't even let me talk to him. Then when Starswirl came into the picture, we could never get away from him. By the time I had learned to stand up for myself… I was sent away.”

“Luna, I…” Celestia began to apologize.

But Luna snapped at her while sounding heartbroken. “Oh save it!” And then stormed out the doors of the conference room.

Now the awkward silence that was left only served to make everypony feel worse. Glancing around the room it looked like they all were afraid to speak, each looking down or avoiding eye contact with one other. Celestia knew that now she had to face her closest friends after being humiliated and then in turn acting gravely inappropriate in response. “Twi-” Celestia began but then had to clear her throat not having realized how choked up she had become. Feeling ashamed of herself she rubbed the front of one leg with a hoof and tried again. “Twilight… if you can bear to speak to me right now, I would like to ask your help.” Her tone was soft and restrained as she made her plea.

Picking herself up from where she had fallen on the ground Twilight slowly stepped closer while trying to look up to where Celestia was hanging her head. “What can I help you with?”

Celestia mustered up the strength to look her pupil in the eye before asking, “I have made a real mess of things this morning. I have made mistakes before in my past, but what I just caused to happen in this room isn't like me at all. I find myself at a loss for which action to take next. I would very much appreciate it if the Princess of Friendship could help me now?" She gave a desperate look with her eyes but her expression did not seem hopeful.

Twilight understood that her mentor was feeling fragile and she extended a wing while smiling at her. “How about a friend to help you through this problem instead?” She said supportively. In response some hope seemed to grow in Celestia's which was aided by the ears of the others now picking up. “Princess, it is true that there were some terrible things said just a moment ago. But to be honest, not a single bit of it was really any of our business to know. And I don't see why something you did over a thousand years ago should in any way affect the opinion that we have of the wonderful pony that we know today.” Celestia looked stunned as that was not the response she had been prepared for.

It was then that Applejack walked over beside Twilight saying, “Princess, just because you done a bad thing doesn't right away make you a bad pony. Sisters are supposed to fight and you just have it harder than most because you have a thousand years worth of issues to fight about. But that don't mean we stop being your friends just cause we caught a glimpse of it.” She said encouragingly.

“That's right!” Dash yelled as she zoomed over. “You are literally like the best ruler of Equestria EVER and you're super nice like ALL the time. But no pony is perfect and no one expects you to be. If only one failure was enough to make somepony give up then I never would have made it into the Wonderbolts!”

“And if I was still afraid to try when things got hard,” Fluttershy added as she stepped over, “then I wouldn't have great friends like these. The same friends that you have.”

Celestia wiped a large welling of tears from her eyes saying, “Oh, why… I wasn't expecting… thank yo-”

But she was suddenly cut of when Twilight gave her a stern face, “But what you said to Luna was still terrible.” Quickly each of the others followed up in turn.

“Yeah, that was just down right hurtful.” Applejack pointed out.

“Worst thing I've ever heard any pony say to another pony.” Rainbow Dash added.

“Yeah…” Fluttershy agreed.

Twilight then looked Celestia in the eye and said, “Yes it can be surprising to hear how different a pony can be before they have matured into who they are destined to become. But none of us care about that. What we care about is that we know you are better than what you just did to your sister.”

Celestia bit her lip but then took a breath and stood up on her hooves to get ahold of herself. “Thank you my friends for being honest. All of you are right and I promise that I will make things right again with Luna. This is something that I will need to work out with her to undo the damage that I caused between us. And I appreciate the faith that my friends have in the both of us.”

Sitting in the corner seat at the conference table Shining Armor and Cadence blinked to each other half wondering if anypony remembered that they were still there. The white stallion rose his hoof to speak but then sulked as he was cut off again by Rainbow Dash yelling out. “Uhh, hey so… I don't want to reopen a sore subject but can somepony explain why all of THAT just happened in the first place? I've never heard of a pleasure pony and have no clue what that means… Other than one pretty much ruined Luna's life when she was younger from the sound of it.” She ended with her usual sarcastic attitude.

Celestia gestured for everyone to return to their seats and then spoke up saying, “I'm sorry Shining Armor, we will get to matters soon I promise. But after my display, I feel that this question deserves an answer.” He planted his face into the table but then waved his hoof that it was fine and to proceed. Looking back to Dash Celestia now explained, “There are many ponies out there whose cutie marks mean much more than a personal skill for the wearer. Some ponies are gifted at helping others rather than themselves. I believe that Ponyville has a group of three such fillies who have a talent for helping others find their purpose in life.”

“Oh, you mean the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Fluttershy asked and Celestia nodded. Applejack and Dash gave each other a high five out of pride but then were quickly saddened as they were painfully reminded that Rarity was still not with them.

Continuing on Celestia said, “Little Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all have the gift to help others in a way that no other pony is destined to. They help others to find the truth within themselves that lead to their place in life. Your friend, sleeping soundly over there, has a similar talent but in a much more superficial kind of way.” She frowned, knowing what she was wanting to say but failing to find a polite way to word it.

“If I may?” Twilight asked and Celestia looked relieved as she nodded. “As you all know, Discord has been around for awhile so he explained it to me after Rayne first came to town. Think of it like this… Rayne is skilled at giving ponies whatever it is that makes them happy. But not like their purpose in life, think more short term.”

Pinkie Pie spoke up next asking, “Like granting wishes?! Oooh is he like a genie?” She shouted excitedly.

“Uh, no.” Twilight said in frustration. “Let's say that I wanted a massage. I could go to the Ponyville Day Spa and tell them what kind of massage I want and that's what they would give me. Or, I could go to Rayne to ask for a massage and without telling him anything he would just somehow know how to give me the perfect massage I was needing.” There was a resounding awe from the others as she explained. “But the interesting thing about pleasure ponies is that their cutie mark doesn't just give them one talent. They are like a jack of all trades for every talent. They can help you with a painting, cook you a delicious meal, be a study partner, probably throw one wicked party… and if Rayne is any example, they can definitely romance you right off your hooves.”

Celestia gave a sigh and said, “That they definitely can.”

“WOW!” Pinkie Pie gushed. “Pleasure ponies sound amazing! Who wouldn't want a friend who can do it all?!”

Twilight nodded but then added, “Yes but from my understanding, they can only use their skill when helping others. I'm not saying that Rayne doesn't have his own skills too… but something he might be able to do great for somepony else could turn out terrible if he tried to do it on his own. It's connecting with another that makes their magic work.”

"You mean just like friendship?" Celestia teased and Twilight gushed proudly at that.

“Huh…” Applejack grunted as she did not look as excited as the others were.

“What's wrong A.J.?” Twilight asked.

She held her chin with her hoof as she pondered, “But now, is all what they can do even real? Or does that just make them a big bunch of fakers at everything?” She looked to the sleeping stallion now with a worry of distrust.

Twilight got a little nervous trying to decide how best to answer when Celestia spoke up in her place. “It is ALL real, Applejack.” Now everypony looked to the older princess as she recanted her own experiences. “Do not let the quarrel between my sister and I discolored your opinion of them. It was our parents who started that rift, not Hot Streak. Despite the amorous nature of my relationship with him, he was always a perfect gentlepony. Everywhere he went he made ponies happy. Very similar to how our dear Pinkie Pie here does so for Ponyville. Pleasure ponies are not party ponies, their talents are better suited for one on one interactions. But I promise you Applejack that there is nothing distrustworthy about their nature. In fact the only hardship they cause is accepting that you cannot hold onto them as you inevitably begin to care about them.”

It was Cadence who then asked, “It's because you have to share them, is that right? They can basically make ANY pony happy but they are meant to travel around to make EVERY pony happy. So to fall in love with one would only result in getting your heart broken when they move on. Is that what you mean?” But Celestia looked away and Cadence was confused as to why she wasn't given a response.

“That's not it Cadence.” Twilight said.

Suddenly Celestia looked up surprised as she asked, “Did Discord tell you ‘that’ too?” To which Twilight nodded.

Now Shining asked, “What? What's wrong with pleasure ponies? Why can't you hold onto one?”

Again it was Twilight who spoke as Celestia went quiet. “Princess, tell us… did Hot Streak manage to live to see old age?”

“Now what in the hay kind of ques-?!”

“Ghuahh!!”

Applejack had rightly been upset by such a morbid question being addressed when it seemed to have no purpose in the current conversation. But she stopped mid sentence as Fluttershy gasped when Celestia shook her head no.

“Let me guess...” Twilight asked, “when you were cut off you never got to say goodbye?”

“It wasn't as simple as that but… yes.” She lamented.

Turning back to her friends Twilight stated, “I told you before that it is making connections with others that give pleasure ponies their powers. But breaking connections has a strong effect on them too. There is a story from centuries ago about when three foreign ponies came to a small village. They made everyone happy and the town threw a celebration for them. But during the party a small group of townsfolk got greedy. They cornered one of their guests and demanded happiness, making outrageous requests that no pony could fulfill. Then when they were dissatisfied..." Twilight suddenly stopped and motioned for Fluttershy to cover Rayne's ears. Speaking softer now she said, “Supposedly they told her ‘You can't make me happy’ and the pleasure pony's heart stopped right there on the street.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Dash exclaimed as Twilight signaled that the now nervous looking Fluttershy could let Rayne go. “You mean these ponies can bring THAT much happiness to ANYONE but if someone bullies them the wrong way then they… they just die?!”

“Yes Rainbow Dash.” Celestia replied. “That is exactly the truth of the matter. You can turn down the offers of a pleasure pony and have no fear for them. But to blatantly mock their purpose in life or to adamantly declare them a failure will stop their heart, forever.”

"It's just how their magic works." Twilight explained. "Their energy is supposed to be spent outward helping others. But when it's shoved back at them in a negative way then their magic sort of implodes back in on them... in a physical sense unfortunately."

“But that's terrible!” Fluttershy argued.

Suddenly everypony looked to Cadence with concern who then raised a shaking hoof. “I'm fine.” She squeaked as one of her eyes twitched. “Normally most of our guests to the Crystal Empire don't bring up death so much when they visit me. But please, continue.”

Now Applejack pulled off her hat saying, “Gee, now I'm sorry for ever doubting him. I sure know he has been nothing but nice to me.”

Twilight then reached out and took hold of her hoof. “And that isn't your fault either A.J. Their selfless behavior just encourages doubt in others. It's only natural. It's just a cruel twist of fate that it ends up being lethal to them. That is why none of you have ever heard of one of these ponies before. Sadly, they don't tend to live for very long. It seems that in a thousand years Celestia has seen somepony like Rayne just the once. Even Discord told me that in his lifetime he had only ever seen a few of them. So for Rayne here, I think it's great that he has decided to move to Ponyville with us. But we all need to know that it might end someday."

Again it was Dash who had trouble letting go of her doubts. "Okay but come on. What are the chances? I've seen bullying before but no pony is THAT mean to any other pony."

Twilight just shook her head and explained, "Celestia and Luna love each other and look at how they can sometimes fight. Ponies can say mean things in anger, even when we don't mean what is said. So one day the same thing could happen to Rayne and that could be it. That is why I'm telling all of you this. I don't think everypony needs to know Rayne's personal business but I wanted to at least have all of us know. If you want him to stay to help us deal with the issues going on then I wanted everypony here to be aware of what we are dealing with.”

Suddenly Rainbow Dash raised her hoof and blurted out, “If Rayne might die then I'm done being bashful over here. I want everypony to know that I have a crush on Rayne! Like, a really, really big crush on him!” Twilight, Celestia, and Shining Armor frowned feeling as if that was the least important issue at the moment.

Applejack just chuckled and said, “Dashy, I don't have a problem with you liking Rayne as long as you don't have a problem with me liking him too. Deal?”

“Deal!” She said clapping their hooves together. Rayne seemed to stir a little bit but otherwise did not move.

“So getting this morning back on point…” Shining Armor stated as he now stood in front of his seat at the table. “It would seem we now know Rayne's role in all this.”

Cadence looked up to him asking, “How do you mean?”

“Well if Spike and Rarity really were a couple with an unrequited love then it would only make sense that a pleasure pony would either help it blossom or stop what isn't meant to be. And it's pretty clear which choice was made. Afterward, that led to the magic explosion which overloaded the Crystal Heart and also for some reason antagonized the dragons.”

“Oooooooh, I get it now!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

Fluttershy also nodded in agreement. “Yes that does make sense.

Cadence smiled and tugged on his hoof. “Look at you picking up on the big romantic subplot going on.” At first Shining was just going to laugh that off but then snorted in surprise to the flirty eyes that his wife was now giving him.

Celestia now smiled and turned to Shining. “I believe it is finally time for your report.”

“My report?” He blinked. “Oh right! Ahem, I wanted to let you all know earlier that per Twilight's plans all preparations are now in place. The guard in both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire are mustering their defenses for a ‘routine drill’ of defending the kingdoms from attack. Also they are making a big show for the locals to see on purpose so that it seems like they are showing off and not prepping for battle for real. Troops should be ready to be deployed anywhere in Equestria in a matter of hours and if it turns out that they aren't needed then it is still good practice for us. So there is no waste of resources.”

Twilight smiled. “That's excellent. And what about our diplomatic rescue operation?”

“Already underway.” Shining acknowledged. “They were sent out just before I came here this morning. Three of our fastest pegasi who all specialize in aerial combat are poised as sky carriage fliers. And within is our ‘diplomat’ unicorn who secretly has a boatload of magical spells already prepped for any kind of fallout that could occur. So whether this mission is a success or a failure, we'll be ready. I also had stealth scouts dispatched around the sea borders of Equestria to watch for any invading dragon activity.” He finished with a proud stomp on the table with his hoof.

“Wow,” Twilight remarked. “Very efficient brother.”

Just then Cadence stood up and wrapped her hooves around his neck which made him blush. “Aww, who needs a pleasure pony when you've got a big strong stallion like you around.” She said somewhat alluringly before planting a kiss on his cheek.

“OKAY!” Twilight yelled. “No more kissing! Spike and Rarity already… oh, Spike.” She whispered as her spirit suddenly dropped with worry for her friend.

“Don't worry sugar cube. We'll get him back.” Applejack said consolingly and Twilight nodded.

“Okay then I think it is time to wrap up the last few issues.” Twilight announced.

“Last issues?” Cadence asked.

Twilight looked to Celestia and saw her mentor's ears go flat. Clearly she had hoped that Twilight wasn't going to bring it up but she made no objections as her pupil continued. “Okay so we have done all that we can now for Spike. The result will also determine how we proceed with the dragons as a whole. Meanwhile, we will wait for all six elements of harmony to be together again. Then maybe between us or with the help of a certain pleasure pony, we might be able to figure out what to do about the Crystal Heart. But now there is another matter which has just arisen since last night.”

“What?! Another problem?! What is Equestria falling apart?!” Rainbow Dash yelled but she was quickly silenced by a disapproving stare from everyone in the room.

“As I was saying,” Twilight continued as Celestia stood from her seat and walked over to stare longingly out a window. “Last night Celestia had a vision… and it was about King Sombra.”

“WHAT?!!!!!!” Screamed every other pony in the room.

Author's Notes:

So for as dark as this chapter gets, I did try to start it off with some light humor. As for the pleasure pony of the past, I looked up the name Hot Streak to make sure I didn't find another pony who already had that name. There are similar names in the Wonderbolts but Hot Streak is just an original character that I made up solely for the purposes of flashbacks in this chapter. Also Luna clearly isn't getting that meeting with Rayne that she wanted. At least not at the moment.

This won't be the last chapter that pleasure ponies are mentioned in but it will be the last chapter where it is explained. I'm sure it's clear to the readers by now what pleasure ponies are and now it's clear to all the mane six as well as the leaders of Equestria. So it shouldn't have to be repeated again in the future.

But what is going to happen to Spike? And what is the deal going on with Sombra(s)? Stay tuned for the next chapter and thank you for reading!