“Alright, Rainbow, that’s enough prancing about,” Doug says sternly. His knees are tired from clenching onto the pegasus’ withers for what feels like hours. Applejack trots alongside, staying close as they once again navigate through the crowded market. Chrysalis has long since gone inside, leaving the ponies milling about. “We’ve spent the last of our Storm Bucks and I’m getting hungry.”

“Aww,” Rainbow Dash groans to the top-heavy human riding on her back. Well, riding might be pushing it. She has to walk really slowly or he complains about her jostling him, even though he only fell off once! “One more lap around?”

“You already had your one more lap,” Applejack retorts. She shakes her saddlebags, rattling the souvenirs inside. “Ah’m just about ready to break for lunch, too. It’s like Ah’ve been pickin’ up singles back at the farm, but Ah don’t have the smell of fresh apples to help me through it.”

She steps closer to Doug, nudging her head against his leg. He looks down, meeting her guarded stare. He sighs, reaching for her mane, but she pulls away before he can run his hand through the thick ponytail. His hand clenches into a fist, but briefly, quickly going back to holding onto Rainbow.

“Ugh, fine,” Rainbow says with an exaggerated sigh. She turns, nearly dumping Doug off in the process, and plods over to Rarity. The unicorn is still arguing with that cloth merchant over shades of blue. Which is silly, because they already have the best blue right here! She frowns as Doug hops off. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Doug smirks, squatting down. One hand teases at her chromatic mane before slipping under her barrel. Her eyes go wide as the other brushes past her teat to grip her hind leg. “Ready?”

“Dude, you don’t have to do this,” Rainbow says, though she makes no effort to stop him. She braces as he gathers his strength, then lifts her into the air with one smooth motion and an accompanying loud grunt. She barely clears his head, her barrel plopping down between his shoulders. Awkward, if not uncomfortable, and he didn’t have to roll her in the dirt to get her up here!

“No, I think I do,” Doug returns. He lets go to scratch at her muzzle, drawing her close. She nuzzles his ear with a loving grin as her legs dangle around his arms. “It’s not demeaning if we ride each other, right?”

“You call this riding?” Her tail flicks down, swatting him in the flank, but it’s far less satisfying when she hits his armor instead.

“It could be worse,” Doug says with a wry shrug, bobbing her up and down. “I could be carrying you like this!”

With a primal roar he rolls Rainbow so the base of her spine is against his shoulder, hand counterbalancing at her withers and leaving her legs kicking uselessly at the air. He has to strain to keep her from toppling forward, but at least she’s close to his own weight and a lot more cooperative than a tree trunk.

Rainbow yelps at the exposed position; it would be easy to buffet him away with a wing, yet they stay pressed against her sides. She lets her head loll back, staring at the upside-down creatures. She points at the embassy and calls out, “Giddy-up!”

Doug lurches forward with long, loping strides. Rainbow swats at his backside again and again, spurring him faster. Her tail quickly reaches a staccato cadence that matches his footfalls. The rest of the herd follow behind, wry chuckles and bemused glances at the wary creatures stopped in their tracks lest they catch the colorful madness clearly afflicting the ponies.

“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she pronks next to Doug, jumping high enough to land on his shoulder if she angled herself right. “Do me! Do me!”

With a grand shrug and bounce from his legs Doug heaves Rainbow off his shoulder. Cerulean wings snap out, a single flick righting the mare. She lands on all four hooves, backpedaling away as Doug slows to a halt. He bends down, not quite taking a knee as he taps at his back.

“Careful,” Doug cautions as Pinkie Pie prepares to leap onto his back.

“Aww,” Pinkie Pie says as she gingerly climbs onto his back. Her hindlegs slip around his waist, locking her in place. “Rainbow Dash jumps you all the time!”

“Yeah, well, she doesn’t weigh twice as much as me.” Doug gathers himself for a moment before he staggers to his feet. He can barely trudge to the embassy, relying on Rainbow to open the door. “I just hope I don’t blow a knee.”

“Speakin’ of blowin’,” Applejack remarks, her voice hard. It pulls Doug to a stop, the five mares of the herd, Shining Armor and Cadance gathering closely around Doug. The mares have lost their giddiness, closer to the dour stare Shining Armor has that hides his scowl. “Anythin’ ya wanna tell us?”

“I’ll,” Doug starts before pausing, his heavy breathing not just because of the weight on his back. He glances around at the embassy. Ponies from the Realm of Clouds, Crystal Empire, and creatures from the various other countries are making their way inside, occasionally giving them curious glances. He turns back to Applejack. “I’ll tell you once we’re inside.”

“Alright, partner.” Applejack reaches up to nuzzle his neck, then leads the way up the stairs. He has to take his time on each one, refusing to let Pinkie Pie off his back until he settles next to Celestia, a snoozing Luna, Fluttershy, and Spike. The rest of the ponies form a loose ring, Doug opposite Shining Armor and Cadance while between Applejack and Celestia.

The golden glow around Celestia’s horn fades as they approach, her unfocused eyes pulling back to reality. She greets Doug with a fond smile, though notes his hesitancy. A single sniff narrows her eyes; she glances at Applejack, the two exchanging silent, confirming nods.

“Chrysalis is communicating with her brood,” the white alicorn states, giving no uncertainty as to why she mentions this. Her gaze flicks to Spike; the dragon is looking up at them from a pile of Twilight’s papers, quite confused. She turns to Twilight, eyeing her curiously.

“Spike is old enough,” Twilight says, answering the unspoken question.

“Very well.” Celestia offers Doug a smile, pleasant given the circumstance. “I hope you do not require me in my capacity as Princess.”

Doug shakes his head. Celestia would often resolve disputes between ponies as a judge of sorts, though she prefers it when her little ponies are able to settle things themselves. He hasn’t thought about her having to adjudicate something between her herd and another, and could easily envision the cries of corruption.

Still, he hesitates, deliberating the best way to bring this up in the presence of Shining Armor and Cadance. The former still hasn’t lost his glare, Cadance doing her best to nuzzle and either distract or reassure him.

“We ain’t accusin’ ya,” Applejack says when he isn’t immediately forthcoming. She pushes against him, something between a nuzzle and a nudge. “We just wanna know what happened.”

“I wouldn’t hide anything from you,” Doug says, returning the nuzzle with a rub of his hand against her cheek. She smiles at the contact, but it’s guarded. He stiffens, drawing himself up and squaring his shoulders, much like Chrysalis before she received her verdict. “Not that I’d want to. I’m guessing you could, what, smell her on me?”

“More you on her.” Applejack illustrates with a long sniff, puckering up exaggeratedly. “We’re more’n a bit familiar with ya.”

“What are we talking about?” Spike asks, putting away the papers. Most of the mares share awkward glances.

“Chrysalis wanted a nymph with me,” Doug explains matter-of-factly. He has to force himself to meet Shining Armor’s glare, but he does. It gets more difficult when he sees Rainbow gritting her teeth and Fluttershy’s resigned sigh. “I… agreed. I can go into more detail, if you want. From what I understand, Cadance gave the okay, and-”

“You what?” Shining Armor demands, pulling away and fixing his wife with a cold stare. His naked scowl aims all the vitriol he felt for Doug at her, as much as it hurts to look at her that way.

Cadance frowns deeply, feeling his hatred as a physical punch to the gut. “You must have seen how unhappy she was. Is. Why else would she spend so much time in Ponyville? If a… a break helped her through this, then it would have been for the best!”

“But we were making it work! She was supposed to be my responsibility.” Shining Armor snorts, though now his animosity is directed at himself. “What did we expect? That she was going to become a model pony in a week? A month? Two months? Wrong. Changelings aren’t ponies, no matter how much we wish they were. I should have known.” He sighs, dejected. Cadance draws close to nuzzle him as he quakes. “I thought we were making it work. Was it really that bad?”

“From what she said?” Doug bows his head, clasping his hands together. “I think she saw past the smiling face to how you really felt. She wants more than empty words and an expectation that she will fail. Apparently, she found that in me. But she didn’t want to stop there, with just one.” One hand comes up to rub at Applejack’s muzzle. He stares into her emerald eyes, his mouth grimly pursing. “She’s looking to expand. Rapidly, if she and her brood keep pumping new members out.” He rolls his eyes as she opens her mouth, teasing at her jaw and getting her to stay quiet, if just for a moment. “Yes, I know I’m helping them there.”

“Ah was gonna say,” Applejack retorts, blowing his thumb away with a quick gust, “that Ah have a hard time blamin’ her for comin’ after ya.”

“Exactly,” Rainbow Dash interjects with a wide smirk. “Three Princesses. The Elements of Harmony. Even Starlight and Trixie aren’t slouches where magic is concerned.” She walks forward, breaking the circle to sit in Doug’s lap. He wraps his arms around her, meeting her muzzle with a chaste kiss. She grins, continuing, “If any of that awesomeness rubbed off on you?”

“What about me?” Shining Armor retorts. He puffs his chest up. “All of my mares are Princesses, or former queens. Plus, I am the Sibling Supreme.” He sticks his tongue out at Twilight, which she returns with just as much gusto. “And we’re going to be ruling the Crystal Empire soon, right?”

“Actually, I think we are going to be discussing that next,” Twilight says. All around them the auditorium has filled in, the various delegates taking their places. Various servers come to each group and gather their lunch orders. She imperiously points her hoof at her BBBFF. “And I’m taking back that crown!”

The exchange leaves the ponies chuckling, shaking their heads as they lean back and relax. Only Doug stays tensed, scratching at Rainbow’s mane as he nervously looks at Applejack.

“You’re really not worried about this?” he asks quietly.

Applejack draws out a long sigh. “Doug, ever since you showed interest in Rarity and Dash? Ah knew Ah wasn’t gonna be in a one-mare herd. Ah’ve had a long time to come to terms with the fact that Ah wasn’t gonna be like mah parents. With each member we add Ah wonder if that’s gonna be the last one, or if that one’s gonna be the rotten apple that breaks us apart. Ah ain’t thrilled by it, especially her. But as long as Ah can spend enough time with ya, Ah’ll be happy. And that goes for the rest of us, too.”

“Alright, then,” Doug says, drawing her in for a hug. She returns it with a soft smile. “As long as you’re honest when things are bothering you.”

“‘Course, partner,” Applejack grunts out. She snorts as she smirks at him. “At least you ain’t built like Big Mac. Or worse, Prince Blueblood. Ah’d get tired from beatin’ mares off’a ya, and Ah buck trees all day!”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Doug says, ruffling the blond mane. She matches his grin. “Honestly, I’m kind of glad I’m not.”

“Mm.” Applejack leans into him, growing somber. “How was she?”

“How…” Doug trails off, blinking a few times as he clears his thoughts. He grimaces as he steals an apologetic glance at Rainbow Dash. “She gave one of the fastest muzzlejobs I’ve had.”

"Faster than me?” Rainbow exclaims, pointing a hoof at her chest. “I’ll show you fast!”

Doug’s legs and arms clench around the pegasus, trying desperately to keep her contained. Despite his greater leverage and arm strength she rolls so her belly is against him, only his legs locking under her forelegs keeping her from her prize. Even tickling her ears doesn’t stop her, and she wrestles against his hips as she tries to loosen his grip and slip her forelegs out.

“Faster isn’t always better,” Doug tries, swapping from as strong a grip as he can to long, soothing strokes against Rainbow’s neck. That slows her down, if momentarily. “You like to savor it, and it’s a lot more enjoyable that way.”

“I shall keep that in mind next time,” a harsh voice comes from above. Rainbow Dash and Doug stop struggling and glance up to see Chrysalis smiling her ever-present malevolent grin. She licks her exposed fangs, purring as she settles down next to them, deeply inhaling as if she is imbibing their love, yet their passion for each other remains untouched.

“There’s gonna be a next time?” Rainbow Dash demands, looking between Chrysalis and Doug.

“Many, many more next times,” Chrysalis sneers though her fangy smile.

Rainbow Dash snorts. “Yeah, I think I’ll stick with two.” She pulls Doug down, making sure he’s focusing on her.

Next Chapter: Ch. 27 - Weight of the Empire, Part Two Estimated time remaining: 27 Hours, 54 Minutes