It has been a few weeks since my birthday and the girls and I have gotten more used to this whole harem thing. During that time the girls have gotten fairly used to and have managed to tolerate Trixie more, when she insisted on sitting with me on her days. Speaking of Trixie after weeks of working and agreeing on different designs for her fliers and other forms of advertising for her magic shows, we finally agreed on a final design, which will be publicly revealed on her next show. The girls and I were currently eating lunch and Rarity were sitting really close to me. She even grabbed one of my hands and even nuzzled my face with hers.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit much, Rarity?” Pinkie asked somewhat bitterly.

“It’s my turn, Pinkie,” Rarity scoffed before rolling her eyes, “Besides, you’re one to talk, Ms. sit on his lap and try to feed him like a child.”

“What? That’s romantic.”

“You can be quite a child, Pinkie, darling,” Rarity shook her head.

“I am not! Right, guys?”

“You kind of are Pinkie. I love sweets as much as the next girl, but they are almost everything you eat all the time,” Rainbow answered, as the others, including me nodded.

“I am simply young at heart,” She pouted cutely.

The girls and I simply chuckled, before Sunset pulled out her journal, which was glowing.

“A message from Twilight? What could it be?” Sunset asked, before opening the journal, “Hopefully, it’s not her asking for help this time.”

“I don’t mind skipping school, if it is. I kind of want to enter the other world,” Rainbow responded with a grin, “Apparently, I will turn into a pegasus. Awesome. I am going to enjoy flying.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble pegasus girl, but Twilight is only visiting for fun. Thank goodness. After the whole Friendship games fiasco, I am more than happy this break from disasters continues,” Sunset answered with a smile.

“That’s great. It would be nice to see Twilight without having to worry about a threat!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Same here we all can catch up and she has the opportunity to get to know Marcus a little bit more. Oh, and meet you Wallflower, darling. I almost forgot about you,” Rarity added sheepishly.

“That’s fine,” She began with a sigh, “Still better than being completely forgotten by everyone.”

“That’s one of the reasons she’s visiting,” Sunset began sheepishly, “I may have told her about our harem, and she wants to know the guy that managed to win the hearts of most of us.”

“All of us actually,” Rainbow corrected with a grin, “Three just need more time.”

Fluttershy, Twilight, and Wallflower blushed heavily, but didn’t deny Rainbow’s words.

“Anyway, she finally managed to find free time from her Princess duties and friends. She will come after school, so we are definitely not ditching.”

“Fine,” Rainbow grumbled.

After school all of us were waiting patiently at the still destroyed statue. I noticed Twilight had a guilty look on her face, as she seemed to recall her actions at the games. I gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, it’s just that seeing this brings back terrible memories.”

“Still feeling guilty?”

She simply nodded.

“Twilight it’s not your fault.”

“But I was the one who let my curiosity led me to mess with dangerous forces beyond my control and understanding and ended up causing so much danger and destruction!”

“Twilight from what you told us; Cinch used her authority over you to corner you to do that. Don’t completely blame yourself.”

“But I still absorbed magic and was too obsessed to figure out what was going on!” She argued, as a few tears leaked from her eyes.

“Not intentionally. You made a mistake, as we all do. Sure, it was more disastrous than most, but at the end of the day it was still a mistake, and you are and will make up for it,” I assured her, before gently wiping her tears.

She smiled sadly at me for a brief moment, before she lightly embraced me.

“Thank you. You know you really are a great guy,” She began, lightly blushing, “Handsome, smart, and so nice and comforting. The others are lucky,” Then, she, to my surprise, gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I lightly blushed from the act, before hearing chuckles from the others.

“Making your move on our Twilight, stud?” Rainbow teased me with a wink.

Twilight quickly separated from me, looking sheepish.

“Sorry. I don’t quite know what went over me.”

“It’s ok. I’m just glad you are feeling better.”

Twilight simply nodded, before out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something, or should I say someone, appeared out of the broken statue. I turned around and saw Princess Twilight getting up with help from Sunset.

“Since it has been weeks since I’ve been here, I have gotten rusty arriving without any issues,” Princess Twilight stated, before gently rubbing her head.

“As long as you can walk like a normal person, you are good,” Sunset assured her with a smile.

“Right. You know I envy you for having an easier time.”

“I’ve been here for years, remember? If I return to Equestria, I will experience the same thing.”

“It’s great to see you again girls,” Princess Twilight greeted most of the others, before turning towards me, “And boy. Oh, and I see there’s another one with you. I am happy to see you expanding your friendship to others.”

“Well, Marcus here is kind of responsible for that actually,” Sunset admitted sheepishly.

“It doesn’t matter who is the one that sets the ball rolling. You girls are still having her take part in the group,” Twilight responded with a small smile.

“Right.”

“It feels nice to be here for once without having to worry about a threat and I can have fun with you all.”

“Hey Princess. While it’s nice to be able to have fun with you for once without having to stop a threat, next time can we come visit you to Equestria?” Rainbow asked with a cocky smile, “I want to see what your world is like.”

“She also wants to become a pegasus and fly,” Sunset added.

“I see,” Princess Twilight chuckled, “I don’t see any issue, though you are going to have to get used to seeing your pony counterparts.”

“Two rainbows? The universes won’t be able to handle all that ego in one spot,” I quipped, earning a chuckle from most of the others and a pout from Rainbow.

“More like being unable to handle that much awesomeness,” Rainbow responded.

“Thank you for proving my point, Dashie,” I told her with a smirk, before gently stroking her hair.

“Yeah, well…” She couldn’t finish, while she lightly blushed.

“I think I am already beginning to see why you all like him. Anyone that can keep a Rainbow Dash in check is worthy of respect and admiration,” Princess Twilight said with a smile.

“You are only seeing the beginning of it,” Sunset told her.

We entered Sugarcube Corner ready to enjoy a nice treat before heading to Sunset’s apartment to enjoy the rest of the day with Princess Twilight.

“So, what has been going on since my brief visit?” Princess Twilight asked.

“Not much threat wise and we had to deal a little with the aftermath of the games. Let’s just say Principal Celestia and the school were put under inspection, since they had to give a report of what happened to a certain someone,” Sunset answered, before sheepishly looking at me, “Of course they didn’t report the magical events, just that there was danger.”

“I see.”

“What about you and Equestria?”

“I have a student now. Her name is Starlight Glimmer and she’s a talented unicorn with impressive potential with magic, but sadly she had a horrible experience with friendship.”

“Was she the one responsible for you having to travel through time?”

“Yes,” Princess Twilight sighed, “She had a horrible experience with Cutie Marks, which led to her forming a cult, where everypony has the same one. After my friends and I managed to stop her, she became obsessive and traveled back in time to stop the girls and I from becoming friends.”

“And from what you told me your friendship is responsible for saving Equestria countless times,” Sunset nodded, earning a nod from the human princess.

“I had to go through different timelines, where a different villain won. I tried to stop her, but like I said she’s talented and was able to hold her own against me.”

“Despite being an alicorn?” Sunset asked.

“Of course, I was holding back and keep in mind it will take a while for me to grow fully into my greater potential. Still as the element of magic it’s still impressive of her. One reason I took her on as a student.”

“How is she holding up?”

“She is still adjusting.”

“Yeah, I was the same way after the fall formal. The overwhelming guilt and desperately wanting to make amends, but not knowing quite how to do it. It didn’t help that only five girls didn’t treat me with hostility, though I was sure it was only because of orders from you.”

“Sunset, that’s not true,” Rarity assured her

“Would all of you, or even just one, reach out and be my friend if Princess Twilight didn’t ask you to?”

Rarity and the rest of the Rainbooms, minus human Twilight, had guilty looks on their faces.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Sunset, we are really friends. Honest!” Pinkie tried to assure her.

“I know we are, and I am not arguing against that, Pinkie. I am just saying it didn’t start out that way. At the time I figured the best hope for me would be for there to be a new student. One that didn’t have to put up with old me. One I would have a great first impression with,” Sunset explained.

“Is that why?”

“Not exactly. Things were rocky and I thought I screwed everything up, but he ended up helping me in a different way than I first hoped. He helped me relax and not dwell on it too much, which will make my behavior more natural and help me out in the long run.”

“I see. Nice to see someone managed to help her out, even though I left that in the hands of you girls.”

“Hey, we stuck by her and comforted her from the hostility. We didn’t think anything wrong and supported her being determined to change her ways, which is what you want,” Rainbow argued.

“Being a good friend is noticing when something is actually wrong. Sometimes you have to read between the lines and notice when a friend has an issue, whether or not they admit it or are even aware of it.”

“Sorry Twi, but we just didn’t notice,” Pinkie answered sheepishly.

“Considering, I had to personally get the five of you to make up over minor things, despite being close friends for years, perhaps, while you still looked out for her, you all actually weren’t the best ones for the job.”

“Hold on they weren’t minor!” Applejack argued bitterly, while the other four involved nodded.

“Ok they clearly meant more to all of you, fair enough. However, you all have been close friends for years and not once did you think to talk it out. Seriously, just one mistake, even if it was major to all of you, is enough to destroy it with no hope of making up. Even if it was important to you at the time, you would think after a few days at most you would all get over it and make up on your own.”

This caused the five to look completely guilty. Princess Twilight sighed before shaking her head.

“In hindsight I should have called you all out on this earlier, but I was too focused on getting my crown back.”

“Sorry for the long wait, girls. We are very busy today, as you can tell,” Mr. Cake announced before placing our ordered treats on the table.

What am I chopped liver?

After finishing our treats, we all headed to Sunset’s apartment. Once we all got inside Pinkie squealed.

“Oh idea! Why don’t we have another sleepover with Princess Twilight?” Pinkie suggested with a huge smile on her face.

Most of the others gave her unsure looks, while I shrugged. I don’t mind if it ends up happening. I don’t even really need to get anything, as I am sure Pinkie has sleeping bags and I don’t mind not having pajamas.

“I don’t know Pinkie,” Sunset began, pausing for a brief moment, after receiving a pout from the energetic party girl, “Yes, it’s the weekend, but I am sure Twilight will be too busy.”

“Actually, I am sure I can stay an extra day if you girls want. My friends told me they will handle everything, and they don’t mind working an extra day.”

“Ok, if you say so,” Sunset nodded with a small smile.

“Yippie. A sleepover with Marky and two new girls and I don’t have to be jealous too!”

“Jealous?” Princess Twilight asked, confused.

“Before we formed this harem, let's say some of us were clingy and jealous towards stud here... Some more than others,” Rainbow answered with a chuckle.

“A lot has happened in my absence. I mean I expected that, but not something interesting like this.”

“From what we hear, you had your fair share of interesting events, Ms. too busy restoring the timeline to help us,” Sunset teased, making the pony princess turned human blush sheepishly.

“Right.”

Sometime later most of the girls left to get their pajamas, while Sunset decided to change into hers. Princess Twilight decided to spend the time talking with me.

“So, how did you meet the girls?”

“That’s a bit of a story, since I didn’t exactly meet them all at once. I met Sunset when she gave me the school tour. She seemed nice at the time, though her behavior didn’t seem natural and was a little weird.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You already know how she was desperate to meet someone new and make a great first impression as the new Sunset. Let’s just say things were rocky at first, when she made a little rude comment about how weird my name is. It wasn’t that big of a deal, though she seemed to think it was to my confusion at the time. We managed to get past that, and throughout the tour she seemed nice. Too nice.”

“Too nice?”

“Yeah, it seemed a little forced. I know she really has changed, but she was pushing it too hard.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Which is better in the long run for you? To act naturally good without thinking about it or to focus so much at it and push yourself to go further than you normally do. Can you imagine the stress she felt at the time? The fact that one minor rude comment made her beg for forgiveness. She’s going to make mistakes and it’s better if she is calmer and more relaxed about it then overreacting.”

“You have a point. I am beginning to regret just leaving her. I know the others are great friends, but they really weren’t suited for this kind of thing.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself. From what the others told me you couldn’t stay without having to wait another thirty moons.”

“I know,” She sighed, “But I still feel guilty.”

“What are you two talking about?” Sunset interrupted us.

“Just telling her about how I met all of you,” I simply responded, calmly.

Twilight nodded sheepishly, due to almost getting caught talking about Sunset.

“Sounds great. While we wait for the others to come back with their pajamas, which I actually agree with you that they aren’t necessary, Let’s just relax on the couch. Maybe I can introduce the princess to one of our human forms of entertainment.”

“What kind?” She asked curious and in excitement.

“I guess the best way to describe it to you would be, think of a book, but you get to actually see and control the character on the adventure.”

“Really? That sounds exciting!” She exclaimed, sounding excited and more curious, “Please show me.”

I chuckled at how cute she looked, gushing over something new for her to learn and experience. Normally, I would keep that thought to myself, but recently I have gotten bolder at saying things unprompted

“You know you are really adorable getting excited at learning about something new,” I told her, before I gently rubbed her hair.

“Adorable?” She squeaked, blushing hotly, “You think I’m adorable?”

“Yes, it’s really cute how curious you are at learning,” I answered with a grin.

She simply nodded, still blushing hotly, while Sunset chuckled at the scene.

“Getting more forward lately?” Sunset asked with a wink.

“What can I say? Somehow spending time with you girls helped gave me a final push to get out of my shell.”

“Glad to hear it. You are better and more charming when you are more forward with us,” She told me, before turning towards Twilight, “What do you think Twi? I know you only really just started to get to know him, but isn’t he charming?”

“Very. I never had a boy compliment me like that before,” She answered, nodding sheepishly.

“Even as a princess?” I questioned, before shaking my head, when she shook her own, “That’s just wrong. From what Sunset and the others told me about your adventures, you really are an amazing girl, and I can’t wait to get to know you more.”

“I feel the same way about you.”

“Now, then how about we show Princess Twilight the joy of video games?” Sunset suggested.

I simply nodded, before the three of us headed to the couch. Princess Twilight might be a princess from another world, but she seems like a cute curious nerd about new things, like her counterpart. I think I am going to enjoy getting her flustered even more than when I do it to Dashie.

Welcome to the first of a trilogy where Princess Twilight finally returns and actually gets to know Marcus a bit more.

Next chapter: Sleepover with a princess.