Author's Notes:

—Takes place during CRISIS: Equestria - Chapter 37—

Twilight gasped. "Oh no! Tick Tock!"

As she rushed for the door, Blackburn reached out a hoof to stop her. "Hold, Twilight Sparkle. This is Zebra territory. Their traditions and rules must be observed. Would be best to inform Sir Zircon."

Twilight frowned. "B-but... oh, alright. I'm sure he'd let us come along, anyway. His room is this way," she said, heading left down the hallway.

Briarthorn coughed. "Call it a hunch, but... I think, perhaps, maybe, it might be quicker to head for dear Lady Rarity's chambers instead."

"What? Rarity? Why?"

He grinned. "Oh... no reason. Just a hunch. So come on, we've gotta help ol' Tickity out, what're we all standing around for?" He cantered off to the right down the hallway.

Rarity couldn’t get over just how beautiful Zeb’ra’den was, especially at night. From up here on the battlements of the royal palace where she could see most of the city, she gazed out upon a whimsical white wonderland dotted with the lights of oil lanterns in the windows of zebras still awake at this hour. It was terribly late, incidentally, an hour where no pony or zebra should realistically want to be awake, but Rarity was restless, and she was fairly certain she wasn’t the only one in her group that was.

She and her friends were supposed to be getting some much-needed beauty sleep before tomorrow, when Tick Tock assured them they’d be able to return home at long last, but Rarity’s mind was on other things.

Or other zebras, rather, namely the one that walked beside her along the battlements: Sir Zircon, nephew of the zebra king, knight of an order of guardian protectors of the zebra kingdom, and all-around honorable warrior. Ever since they’d met, the two hadn’t been apart for more than a few moments at most. Part of it was Zircon’s duty to her, as he’d sworn to remain by her side until she returned home; part of it was Rarity’s fascination with him.

“It is a beautiful night, isn’t it?” she said to him as they walked along the battlement, looking out over the snow-covered rooftops. She was rather reminded of the Crystal Empire, only with stone and wood rather than crystal.

Zircon smiled gently and nodded. “Aye, m’lady, ‘tis a fine night, the moons so full and snow so white. ‘Tis like thy coat, the snow out there,” he added, briefly taking Rarity’s hoof in his, a familiar gesture. “Though such a contest is not fair, for thy coat puts the snow to shame. Thou art the victor, I proclaim.”

Rarity tittered and batted his chest playfully. “Really, darling, a coat whiter than snow? That’s a mite poetic even for you, my gallant knight.”

“Perhaps, but ‘tis true in mine eyes. This tongue of mine speaketh no lies.”

This was the game they played, this back-and-forth flirting, and had been playing for some time. She, Twilight, and Lockwood had been in Zeb’ra’den for a few days now, and had been on the “road” here for a few days as well from Utopia, so she’d gotten a chance to know the zebra stallion.

She was a little worried, though, since he was rapidly ticking all of the boxes on the little list of things that she was looking for in a romantic partner. As they spoke and walked and looked out over the city, she mentally calculated just how Zircon measured up to the standards she had—and adjusted them so that he fit just a little bit better.

Ruggedly handsome with an untamed mane straight off the cover of one of her romance novels, Rarity considered Zircon, to be blunt, a dish. Or would hunk be more appropriate? She’d always found herself more attracted to a “prettier” sort of stallion, such as the dandy Prince Blueblood—who turned out to be less-than-perfect—or the svelte Trenderhoof—who she’d been a fan of for years and was eager to meet someday—but would never deny that the rugged sort had its own appeal. Zircon certainly encapsulated that appeal with every fiber of his being.

It wasn’t just his looks, either, and Rarity was almost a little ashamed to say that his good looks were the first thing she’d noticed about him. No, the other thing about him that she noticed was his charming personality. He had a way with words—poetic rhyme and meter notwithstanding—that Rarity couldn’t help but swoon over.

She was loath to admit that part of the appeal was that he actually gave her the attention and appreciation she so wanted from a stallion. Not that she hadn’t had gentlecolt callers or coltfriends before, certainly—she was young, beautiful, and successful, so why wouldn’t she attract attention?—but with previous partners she’d always eventually realized that their words were just attempts to get her into bed; Rarity hated that it had worked on her more than once.

Zircon’s charm, however, felt genuine, his compliments heartfelt and sincere with no ulterior motives. If he were merely saying these things to charm her into bed with him, he'd have made his move by now, but he'd done no such thing. Either he had saintly patience despite knowing he didn't have the time to wait, or his words were honest and true and he had no other intention than to be a natural charmer.

The more she got to know him and to understand the culture of the zebras of this world, the more she got the sense that he did not say these things to just any mare, either. He didn’t need to, honestly; zebra mares throughout the city practically threw themselves at him because of his social standing and rank, and she’d consider herself an idiot if she thought that Zircon hadn’t indulged at least one of them in the past when he was younger perhaps. But when she and Zircon walked the streets together, he ignored them. All of his attention was on her and her alone.

He was well-read and well-learned—at least within the standards of his culture, which was the only fair way for Rarity to judge—and carried himself with a confidence and poise that Rarity found both admirable and alluring. Twilight had even noted that Zircon’s knowledge of things was enough to sate her desire for information on this strange world they’d been stranded in, and Twilight was notoriously hard to please. That Zircon was always so ready to share, a friendly smile on his face, proved to Rarity that he also wasn’t lacking in manners and etiquette.

But he wasn’t perfect either, which Rarity found to be all the more reason to find him so captivating. She attributed his flaws to the culture of Zeb’ra’den, for it seemed certain things were expected of a stallion in his position.

He didn’t practice the finer parts of grooming and cleanliness, for example, at least not to the standards Rarity typically expected of a potential beau. He was a knight, not a lord, after all. He was expected to be ready to do battle with monsters or wander out into the frozen wilderness whenever necessary, not to be clean and neat to present himself at galas and banquets. But, she knew he also had to attend such functions and would make himself presentable for them when the needed arose.

Then again, Rarity found that his natural scent was... pleasing to her palette. He didn’t smell like flowers or trees or the ocean like the fancy colognes back home; he smelled like a stallion, caked in a subtle hint of sweat from his physically-active lifestyle. She’d watched him train and spar with others, so she knew he was no layabout or shut-in. If there was one thing Rarity appreciated, it was a solid work ethic. It was why even when she and Applejack had their occasional, sometimes heated spat over vast differences in opinion, the two were still solid friends.

Zircon was also quick to solve problems with violence—wielding his blade against the unarmed Insipid, for example, before he knew of her powers—but the lands surrounding Zeb’ra’den were supposedly harsh and inhabited by monstrous creatures of all shapes and sizes that warranted such caution. Then again, he did that out of a desire to protect Rarity from a perceived threat, as that was his duty and desire. Perhaps if Insipid weren’t so… well, uneducated and uncultured, Zircon might have been convinced to use his words instead.

He was also very much a stallion's stallion, a deeply masculine mindset ingrained in him from a young age. This translated into a chivalrous attitude that was, at least where she was from, a bit behind the times and out of place in a matriarchal society, but she couldn't blame him for it. He treated mares with respect and kindness, though, even as he insisted on handling things they could very much handle for themselves. Still... at least his heart was in the right place.

Still, none of those so-called flaws were so much that they detracted from his strengths, and that was why Rarity was worried. He possessed all of the qualities in a stallion she wanted, from looks to manners to the little flaws that kept a stallion from feeling unnaturally perfect. She should be happy that this zebra knight had ticked her every box.

But she wasn’t. She wasn't because she knew that by morning she’d be leaving him forever to return to her own world. It really wasn't fair.

She knew there were only two possible options she had at this exact moment: she could either ignore everything she’d just mulled over in her head and depart in the morning without another thought on the matter, pushing her budding feelings aside forever and moving on with her life; or, she could press Zircon on the subject and see if he could tick those final few boxes she had, or even if she’d misread all of the signs and she could just write him off like she’d done with so many stallions before.

She chose the latter.

“Zircon, darling, might I ask you a question?” she asked, stopping suddenly as they descended from the battlements down into the palace proper.

The knight smiled lightly and gave her a nod. “Of course thou canst, dear Rarity. To what might I lend clarity?”

“Since my friends and I are set to depart in the morning, I know I won’t get another chance to ask this, but… well…”

She paused, struggling to think on how to broach this subject. She prided herself on typically being subtle and careful with these sorts of things, but that was usually concerning the feelings of others towards others, and after messing up so royally—pun intended—with Fluttershy and Lockwood she wasn’t sure she was up to the task anymore.

Zircon raised an eyebrow, tilting his head in confusion. “Lady Rarity, art thou well? Dost thou need to rest for a spell?”

She took a short breath and shook her head. “No no, sorry about that. Just… thinking on what I wanted to say. This is harder than I thought. I wanted to be more subtle about it but… oh, to heck with it.” She stamped her hoof on the floor. “Zircon, darling, what are your feelings for me? Is this ‘thing’ that we’re doing—the hoof-kissing, the flirting, the poetry—just you and I going through some sort of motions that are expected of a lady and a knight in your culture, or… is there something else to it? I simply must know.”

Zircon was given pause, clearly not expecting such a blunt question, not from her, so it took a long moment for him to reply, and he did so without looking at her but out the window and up at the moons instead.

“Since I first laid mine eyes on thee,” he said, “my heart hath swelled, dear Rarity. Thine elegance: it hath no peers that I hath seen in all my years. Thou art a lady, fair and true, a quality matched by so few. Generous, brave… a work of art. Thou hast taken hold of my heart.”

“I… I see…” Rarity said, her heart pounding. That was about as close as one could get to saying they were in love without using those words, and Zircon was both a master wordsmith and incapable by the nature of his social status in his culture of speaking so plainly. “Since you first laid eyes on me, you say?”

Zircon simply nodded.

Rarity knew what she had to do now. It had been a test of sorts that she’d given all of the stallions she’d ever been with, to see if there was a real spark between them. She didn’t hesitate as she stepped up to him, put a hoof to his face to draw his attention to her, and kissed him briefly on the lips.

It wasn’t a particularly deep or passionate kiss—this was just a test, after all—but Rarity felt the spark instantly, a tingle going down her spine as Zircon met his lips with hers. He hadn’t been expecting it and so he didn’t push forward or anything of the sort, and in fact reflexively almost pulled away in surprise. But it was clear that he felt it too; she could feel him tense up then relax into the kiss, no matter how brief it was.

When Rarity pulled back, her heart was pounding faster than ever. She’d kissed stallions before, and always felt a little shiver go through her when she did, but this was different. This wasn’t just a slight stirring of her nethers or a warmth spreading in her chest, this was a sensation that resonated within her very core. If the spark hadn’t been there, she had been ready to tell him that she found him attractive and that was all, nothing more. But this? This was all the proof she needed that the feeling was mutual.

She was in love.

They were in love.

“I feel the same, Zircon,” she said with a breathless confidence as she looked him in the eyes. “I’ll admit it wasn’t at first sight, but… I have grown to care for you and I enjoy your company immensely. You are… everything I’ve ever wanted in a stallion. I think I might just be in love with you, darling.”

Zircon said nothing, merely placed a hoof under her chin and kissed her again. This time, Rarity allowed it to become more than just a test, to progress to the point that the spark she’d felt before became more of an inferno raging in her chest. A few coltfriends she’d had before had been good enough kissers, but Zircon blew them out of the water entirely. His tongue didn’t need to force itself into her mouth, and it was so… well, the only word Rarity could use was “coordinated”, like it just knew what to do and where to go. He had experience. Talent.

So naturally, beyond the soaring feeling in her chest and the lightheadedness Rarity was beginning to feel, she also felt that familiar stirring in her nethers, stronger than she’d ever felt around Zircon thus far. Oh, she’d be a liar if she didn’t admit she was aroused in his presence just in general, especially when he kissed her hoof or called her beautiful, but this wasn’t arousal, this was a need like none she’d ever felt before.

She only had one night left in Zeb’ra’den, and damn it all if she wasn’t going to make the most of it.

Rarity pulled out of the kiss, and breathlessly said, “Darling, perhaps… perhaps we should take this back to my chambers, hmm?” To emphasize her point, she pressed herself up against him.

Zircon smirked and gave her a little nod. “As thou wishest, m'lady. I am forever in thy service.”

A lesser mare wouldn’t have noticed the change, but Rarity was no lesser mare. She raised her eyebrow, confused. “Hmm? Darling that wasn’t in your usual meter, nor in rhyme. Is something the matter?”

Her knight shook his head, taking her hoof in his. “Nay, nothing is the matter. ‘Tis tradition in zebra culture that, when two zebras hath forged a bond of love together, they may speaketh plainly in private. ‘Tis a showing of trust and companionship, for it doth eschew all semblance of rank and class. The two art simply zebras… and that is all that matters.”

Rarity’s heart stirred as that magical little word passed through her ears: love. “Marvelous. Even without all that, you certainly have a way with words, my dear.” She cleared her throat and pressed her hoof to his chest. “Now, let’s not keep a lady waiting with her request, though, hmm? We only have until morning after all.”

Zircon nodded, and led her through the palace halls towards where her chambers were located, and did so without being seen by anyone—pony or zebra—that might be watching, taking her through halls she didn't recognize and passages she was certainly only he knew. She wouldn’t mind much if any of her friends caught them sneaking back to her chambers at this late hour, since she was certain they’d be rather happy for her.

However, the last thing Rarity needed was Briarthorn seeing her and Zircon entering her room together. The lout would probably ask if he could watch, or worse, join in. She shuddered in disgust at the thought.

After a short descent down some stairs and a trek across a hall or two, they’d arrived. Rarity’s room was comfortable and warm, with a rather large bed made of a wood she didn’t recognize, with plenty of matching furniture. It wasn’t overly fancy or extravagant by Rarity's standards, but then she didn’t want anything of the sort, especially now. No, a nice, humble room with a comfortable, large bed—one that didn’t make a lot of noise—was all that Rarity needed at the moment.

Zircon removed his cloak and draped it over a hook by the door, then stepped towards Rarity and wordlessly offered to take her own cloak. Rarity turned and allowed him to undress her—and odd consideration, but she reminded herself that this world’s standards on clothing were different from her own—before turning back to face him.

He stood and marveled at her for a moment, a grin on his face as he started removing his armor. “Thou art more beautiful than the goddess Harmonia herself…”

Rarity smirked. “Flatterer.”

She watched in rapt anticipation, subtly licking her lips as he stripped off his armor and revealed himself to her as well, feeling a hunger within her that she hadn’t before. He was well built as she expected of a stallion who did lots of physical work, not built like Big Macintosh was but with a chiseled, muscular robustness to him that tickled her fancy in all the right ways.

She naturally noticed the scars that marred his sides and back, some of them claw marks, others bite marks. He’d told tales of how he'd acquired them in his battles out on the tundra facing off against fearsome beasts. Seeing them with her own eyes was different, of course; they weren’t gruesome or anything of the sort as she’d expected, but added a touch of character to his well-toned figure.

She stepped forward and drew him in for another kiss, which he met with an equal fervor and need to her own. She could smell him entirely now, his natural musk no longer stymied by his armor, and only one thought crossed her mind: “To Tartarus with colognes, this is what a real stallion should smell like!” The scent filled her nostrils and stirred her loins in a way that she’d never experienced before, a truly primal instinct.

Rarity felt Zircon slowly taking them towards the bed. Her heart pounded harder in her chest as she allowed him to set her down beneath him, his kiss leaving her lips to move to her ear, then to her neck, then her chest. She squirmed as he kept going down her stomach, then let out a gasp as his breath passed over her nethers, her hoof instinctively grasping at the back of his head.

He took this as a sign to continue, and that he did, pressing his muzzle up against her delicate flower and sliding his tongue inside her with the same confidence and coordination as he did when kissing her on the mouth. Never before had Rarity met a stallion that willingly, no, enthusiastically went down on her. She was used to practically begging for it, and being asked to do all sorts of things in exchange for it from prior lovers, most of which she refused—she was a lady, after all, and there were certain things a lady just did not do or allow.

But Zircon was between her hind legs eating her out without even being asked. He just did it without so much as a warning, as though he knew she wanted it and wouldn’t argue. She couldn’t see why any mare would argue, not with his tongue and lips doing things to her that she’d never had done to her before, licking and sucking like he was some sort of damned professional. She had half a mind to tell him to start providing lessons to other stallions so that no mare would ever be without such bliss.

Her pants and gasps of pleasure were so sincere and well-earned that she was worried she was going to faint. Her hooves passed through his untamed mane in a desperate attempt to find something to hold onto for fear that she’d float away into the sky, never to touch the ground again. She bit her lip so hard she was sure she’d draw blood.

So naturally, Rarity was disappointed when he suddenly stopped pleasuring her nethers, and instead kissed his way back up to her neck. “Wh-why’d you stop, dear?” she pleaded, arching her back in an attempt to grind her wet slit against one of his hind legs. “I was so close…” She tried not to sound desperate, but knew she’d done poorly at the attempt.

“If thou didst enjoyeth that… then thou shalt truly enjoyeth this,” he grunted into her ear with a husky tone.

Rarity then felt something press against her stomach and she knew exactly what it was—this wasn’t her first rodeo, after all—but for half a moment she thought she was mistaken. Was he stepping on her somehow? He had to be, since the long, hard thing pressing against her simply had to be his leg. There was no way it could be anything else.

She glanced down, though, and her eyes widened when she saw she’d been right the first time: Zircon’s fully erect stallionhood had come out to play. “By Celestia…” she muttered to herself. “You’re… huge, darling…”

She saw him grin at that because all stallions, even Zircon, clearly loved hearing compliments on their size. This was no compliment though, this was fact, and frankly it was frightening how true it was. A brief panic went through Rarity’s mind, as well as a few other thoughts. Zircon was bigger than any stallion she’d ever had before by a good amount, and for a moment she was worried if such a thing would even fit inside her tight, tiny tunnel.

That broadsword of his definitely wasn't compensating for anything.

Then there was the excitement of it all, because he was bigger than any stallion she’d ever had before—or seen, for that matter, in the various magazines she dabbled in and certainly didn’t subscribe to—and just the thought of such a monster rutting her senseless made her nethers twitch in anticipation. Would she be able to walk in the morning? Would she care?

And, of course, came the thought that even across worlds, what mares said about zebra stallions was apparently true. Very, very true.

That he didn’t even ask her to repay his earlier favor was frankly astonishing. Most stallions enjoyed having a mare pleasure them orally, did they not? Was something different in the zebra culture of this world that the stallions knew to pleasure a mare and yet did not ask for a blowjob in return? And Rarity thought she was generous.

“Shall I continue, m’lady?” he asked her, kissing her neck and rubbing that monster of his against her aching nethers, lubing it up for what was to come.

She’d repay him later. Right now, she wanted him inside her, and shuddered as his tip pressed against her entrance. “Yes! A thousand times, yes!” she pleaded.

Rarity was glad that Zircon was the gentlecolt she’d grown to know and love, because despite being able to break her in half with that monster, he was as gentle as the breeze with it when he pushed himself inside her. She’d be lying if she said it wasn’t a little uncomfortable at first, having never taken anything quite so large inside her before, but his slow, deliberate movements eased her body along in accepting his generous girth.

“Oh… my…” she breathed as he thrust himself in and out with a practiced pace. “I’m… I’m… cumming~”

Because of the earlier stimulation from his talented tongue, Rarity did not last more than a few moments before her walls clamped down on him and she shuddered out one of the most intense orgasms she’d ever experienced. She wrapped her hooves around him and pulled him close, biting into his shoulder and letting out a little mewl of pleasure because that was all she could manage at that moment.

Zircon stopped his thrusting as she came, letting her ride out her orgasm more easily, but probably because her contractions made it difficult for him to move. She could feel him tense up too, not in climax but probably because with how tight she already was around him, said contractions were probably squeezing him like a vice. At least that’s how Rarity imagined it must have felt.

When she’d finally stopped clamping down on him so tightly and could form a coherent thought, Rarity settled back down onto the bed and let out a breath. “That… that was… incredible…”

“I am glad thou didst enjoy it,” Zircon said with a titter of amusement in his voice. “But we hath more to the night ahead of us, hmm?”

Rarity smiled up at him knowingly; it wouldn’t be fair, after all. “Of course, darling. You haven’t finished yourself.”

Zircon smirked. “Not only that, m’lady, but thou hast only had a paltry taste.”

“Hmm?” Rarity, eyebrow raised, glanced down when Zircon shifted so that she could see better, and her eyes widened again when she saw that she had barely scratched the surface of his size thus far. “Oh my…”

She suspected he hadn’t hilted inside her, since she saw how big he was and there was just no way he wasn’t going to reach further than he did, but she did not expect to see that his medial ring was just outside her entrance. He’d made her cum with only half his stallionhood.

“Well?” Rarity said, her smile turning into a smirk as she eagerly waited for him to finish the job. “Don’t keep your lady waiting.”

Zircon leaned down and kissed her as he returned to his brief, short motions from before, then with a slow push, shoved the medial ring inside her. Rarity hissed a little as it passed inside, and once it was in, she knew it wasn’t coming out until he was done.

She shuddered and moaned as the ring rubbed against her insides as he continued pushing into her with slow, careful motions; she was used to former lovers just shoving their whole length inside in one go, but Zircon was so precise, and he just seemed to know that he was big enough to hurt her if he was careless.

And careless he was not. No, even as he pushed every last inch of that monster of his into her tight marehood, he was as sweet and gentle as ever. He had to lift himself up to get the angle needed to hilt himself inside her, and even then he wasn’t able to. Rarity groaned in pleasure as his tip pushed up against her cervix. If he were any bigger or pushed any further, he’d be inside her womb right now.

Zircon pulled out until the medial ring just threatened to escape her entrance, then thrust back in, his hot stallionhood completely dominating every last nook and cranny of her inner walls. She’d never felt so tight in all her life, and secretly worried if Zircon’s monster would stretch her out irreparably.

That worry was replaced quickly by nothing but wicked desire and pleasure; she wanted him to stretch her out, to mold her marehood to fit him and him alone, to ruin the chances of any other stallion from ever making her feel this fulfilled again. Her body was his, in this moment and forevermore, to do with as he pleased, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

The room echoed with grunts and pants and whimpers of pleasure from both her and Zircon. She’d never been a particularly vocal lover, but then no stallion had ever made Rarity’s body ripple like he did. She felt it was unladylike to moan like some harlot out to make bits from her performance, but Zircon earned the right to hear her moan with pleasure.

After a few minutes or so of purposeful thrusting, Rarity began to feel another orgasm building up inside, bigger than the last one by a long shot. Zircon’s thrusting had quickened, his pace no longer than of a gentle lover but that of a stallion in need of release, and Rarity found that she loved the change.

“I am close, love,” Zircon grunted, his eyes clenched shut as if trying to will himself to last just a moment longer.

He pulled himself out again so that the medial ring was pushing against her inner entrance again with a good deal of force, and Rarity realized he meant to pull out.

That simply would not do.

Rarity’s hooves, already on the back of his head, pulled him closer so she could press her nose to his. “Don’t… even… think about it…” she huffed through clenched teeth. “You’ll… make a mess…”

Zircon paused for all of two seconds, then nodded and resumed his thrusting with more enthusiasm than before. In what little space Rarity had to think while having her delicate flower pounded so roughly, she was amused that Zircon became more eager when he knew he could finish inside her. She’d read that was the case with all stallions, and at the very least Zircon shared that quality.

Rarity knew when he was about to finish, because that’s when his thrusts became shorter, and when she felt the tip of that glorious stallionhood of his flare up and push against her cervix. The sensation was both a little painful at first, but then replaced by immense pleasure as she felt the first burst of thick, warm semen enter her womb; Zircon let out a groan that Rarity was used to hearing stallions make when they came, and from him it sounded almost bestial.

The sensation of virile male seed filling her up was enough to drive her over the edge in an orgasm so strong it made her forget how to breathe for a moment; if her prior orgasm was one of the best she’d ever had, this one topped them all.

Rarity had never had raw sex or even considered it with a stallion until now—previous partners had always worn a condom at her insistence—but she knew she’d not had the option with Zircon. And she was glad she hadn’t, because this sensation, this feeling of having her most precious of places filled with the seed of her lover was, well… indescribable. Perfect, perhaps. And there was so much of the stuff, too, enough that Rarity was glad he was so big and she was so tight because not a drop of it spilled out.

At least, not until he softened and pulled himself out, and even then he was quick to ensure there would be relatively little mess on her lovely coat or on the bed beneath them. The feeling of emptiness as his stallionhood vacated her entirely was almost distressing, as though somepony had detached some vital part of her body from her without her permission.

She knew then and there that if she ever took another partner after returning home, raw sex was absolutely out of the question. Her womb belonged to Zircon, as far as she was concerned. It was an uncouth thought, that anything of hers belonged to another in such a primal, vulgar way, but her body was screaming at her right now that the only stallion that she’d ever allow to impregnate her was—

Her eyes widened. In the heat of the moment she’d forgotten entirely about why she always made her partners wear a condom. “Oh dear…” she muttered.

Zircon, eyes half-lidded as he came off of his out orgasmic high, looked down at her in concern. “What is wrong, m’lady?”

“You… you came inside me, darling…” she said, worried.

“That… is what thou didst request,” he replied, slightly pale. “Unless I am mistaken?”

“No, that… that is what I asked.” Rarity pulled herself up the bed to grab onto one of the pillows she’d been resting on, holding it tight for security. “I should not have done that. I wasn’t thinking straight, I— What if I… what if—”

Zircon’s lips curled in a little, sad smile. “Thou art afraid that my seed may take, yes? ‘Tis no surprise to me. I am blessed to even lay with thee, but never didst I think that I was worthy to father a foal with a goddess.”

Rarity shook her head quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. “Don’t… don’t say it like that. I’m not afraid, and you are more than worthy, believe me. I would honestly be happy to bear a foal with you. Many foals, even!” she hastily added, a small smile on her face.

"T-truly?" he asked, dumbstruck.

She looked him in the eyes and pressed her nose to his. "Yes... truly. It would make me so happy to stay here and start a family with you. But I can’t, darling. I just… can’t.” She felt the tears in her eyes starting to well up. "I'm so sorry."

He paused, then nodded, and though he seemed relieved he was still sad. “I understand. Thou art returning home in the morning… and we may never layeth eyes upon one another again. ‘Twould be dishonorable, nay, reprehensible of me to sire a foal with thee and leave thee to raise it alone.”

“I love you, Zircon, with all my heart. But… yes, I will be returning home tomorrow and… our love is not to be.” She shut her eyes and sighed. “I wish it were, though. Oh, how I wish it were…”

“And I as well,” he said, hoof running under her chin. “Thou art the first mare to ever maketh my heart sing in this way… and it pains me that upon the morrow, we shall be forever apart. ‘Tis the way of the world,” he snorted. “For every boon one hath been given, a misfortune must also be endured. Thou art both a blessing and a curse, my love.”

“So… what are we going to do about… this?” she asked, rubbing her stomach.

By Celestia she still felt so full that she was certain that if something wasn’t done she’d be a mother by next year. If this were back home she knew of a few possible solutions available to her to remedy this issue, at least according to the magazine advertisements. Even as an absolute last resort she was certain that Twilight could find some sort of contraceptive spell or something.

Worry after worry started flooding her head. Would it be too late to wait until morning? Would she have the time to do anything before having to deal with resealing Discord? She could deal with a rushed conversation with Twilight, but what if the others found out? What if there wasn't a solution that would work in time? What would her parents think? Could she even manage raising a foal alone and trying to run a business on top of being needed for every single threat that seemed to accost Equestria these days?

She hadn't even noticed she was practically hyperventilating when her gallant knight leaned down, pulled her close, and kissed her cheek. "Please, my love... be still. Calm thyself, and feareth not. I shall go procure some Tears of Layk for thee immediately.”

Rarity took a few deep breaths as she tried to keep herself from panicking again. “Tears of... what, dear?” she asked, wiping her nose.

“Tears of Layk. ‘Tis a concoction—an herbal tea, rather—that will ensure that my seed doth not take within thy womb. So named because our goddess Layk is that of fertility, and her tears art for the foal that will not be born of our illustrious union.”

“That’s a rather dismal way to look at it…”

“Aye, but ‘tis the name it hath been given. Typically ‘tis used only for mares in unfortunate circumstances, or who pursueth a… particular career,” he said, coughing lightly into his hoof. “I would say our circumstance is most unusual… and unfortunate.”

“As would I…” she sighed and gave a solemn nod. “By all means, bring some of this back with you, please. It’s... it's not worth the risk otherwise.”

“Then I shall return shortly, my love,” he said, dismounting from the bed and moving to retrieve his cloak.

She could tell he was upset. She was too, of course. But she'd let her worries get the better of her for a brief moment and was now worried that she might have actually hurt him, and her was hurting bad enough with her leaving without her crushing his spirits like that.

That wouldn't do. Not at all.

“Darling!” Rarity called.

“Hmm?” he asked as he opened the door, turning to look at her.

"You... you're certain this tea or whatever it is works?"

"'Tis magical in nature, my love, and quite potent. In thousands of years of zebra history, it hath never failed in its purpose."

"Well, in that case..." She gave him a sultry smile and displayed herself for him; if this concoction was as he said, then there was no need to be cautious, right? “Don’t be long. I... I don’t intend on getting much sleep.”

Zircon paused in the doorframe, his mouth curling in a little smirk, then he departed without another word.

Crisis averted, Rarity thought.

Rarity collapsed back on the bed, her mind still reeling over what could have been a tragic mistake. Still, she had to admit, if things were just a little different, if she were a little more irresponsible or just didn't care about the consequences, she’d happily go home with Zircon’s foal in her belly, and damn anypony that gave her guff for it. But she couldn't do that to him or to herself. She could never bear a foal that would never get to meet its father, or deny Zircon the chance to be a father to his foal. She could never let Zircon live with the fact that he'd knocked her up and then just went back to his normal life; she couldn't live with that.

For a brief moment, she considered telling Zircon when he got back to forget that silly tea, and instead to come to her world with her, like she was sure Flathoof would be doing for Applejack. If it worked for him, why not for Zircon? She’d subtly hint for her gallant knight to propose to her shortly after arriving home, and then they’d be married shortly afterwards with nopony would be ever the wiser if Rarity bore a foal by year’s end. Would anypony judge her or even care? Maybe Applejack would grumble about the circumstances but she’d come around eventually.

But no, those thoughts were dashed away rather swiftly. Flathoof had lost his entire livelihood helping everypony escape from New Pandemonium, lost a foreleg saving Applejack’s life, and traveled across the entire planet just to ensure Applejack—and her friends, of course—made it home. He had family here, certainly, but his life—his heart—was entirely in Applejack’s hooves at this point, there was no denying that.

Flathoof would also have had the time to plan out his departure, even if nopony knew it yet. If Rarity were a betting mare, she’d wager that he’d likely been planning it for weeks now, setting things up with Lockwood and Queen Blackburn to ensure that his family would be taken care of. He and Applejack were so in love together that it was a wonder neither of them had said the words yet—Rarity knew they hadn't without having to ask—but it was plain as day that they were. Even Zircon could see it and he’d known the pair less than a day. Saying the words was a formality at this point.

Zircon, on the other hoof… well, the decision would be too sudden. She had only truly realized her love for him was genuine and real about an hour ago, and that it wasn’t just some fancy or a crush or something of that sort. He still had his duties, his family, and his role to play in Zeb’ra’den society, so she couldn’t just ask him to drop it all and come with her in the morning. That wouldn’t be fair to him, to force him to give up his entire life for her at the drop of a hat.

No, their love was not to be. They were just a pair of star-crossed lovers who'd met in the wrong place at the wrong time. So as Rarity rested on the bed and waited for her lover to return, her hoof on her stomach in absent-minded thought of a future that'd never come to pass, the only thing crossing her mind was that Zircon was right:

Life was unfair.