The bathroom door pulled shut, and after the muffled waterfall of the shower started, Rainbow Dash turned away.

“Did you see how he was acting?” Dash said, looking at her two herdwives. “I mean, that laugh he did. Can he really do this?”

Lyra didn’t break her stare from the hallway, where she saw Lero exit. “I don’t think he can.”

“He said he could,” Twilight said, her face shedding away the hope she felt at his offer. “It’s a big change for him, but he says he can do it.”

Lyra slowly turned to Twilight. “Twilight, do you really think he can?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, looking Lyra in the eyes.

“Dash, what do you think?” Lyra said.

“No, what do you think?” Dash said with a scowl. “Promise you won't get all mysterious sage on us.”

“I promise,” Lyra said, and what came into her mind with the intensity of a vivid dream was last night, in this room, hours after the removal of her bandage and splint, after her first tentative use of magic in days (she lifted an unused tongue depressor in the doctor’s office) caused a powerful libido to surge inside her, like she was in heat again. She took her family home and did not hold back.

Last night Lero’s chest and stomach pressed against her back, as she leaned into him, her hips grinding against his as she felt him inside her, hard and slick. His arms were around her barrel, and her forelegs were wrapped around them. Those hands would usually wander around her body, but Lyra just wanted to feel that closeness, that warmth of being enveloped by him. Rainbow Dash was behind them, her mouth on her horn, that long tongue sliding up and down, and down below was Twilight, eyes closed, letting her moist lips and soft tongue work on her clitoris; and sometimes her tongue would dip down across Lero’s scrotum, and Lyra knew when that happened because she could feel the ticking of his pulse vibrate inside her.

After her fourth orgasm, each one punctuated with her hindlegs jutting out as her hooves curled, she tapped out. She had not let loose like that in a long time.

Later that night, when she woke up, she rolled toward Lero, ignoring the happy soreness deep inside her, resting her body on his torso, and his hands moved and lay on her back. She moved her forehooves to his face and tried to cradle it like he did after that fight, when she was almost gone. She had missed sharing a bed with him.

Gently, she whispered, “Fingers.”

“Horny,” Lero whispered back.

Lyra leaned in and kissed him. She said, “You saved me, Lero.”

The moon cast pale light on his face, and she saw him open his eyes. “How did I save you?”

“I was in a deep, dark abyss after that ridiculous fight,” Lyra said. “You pulled me out of it, Lero. When you touched my face like this, and you called my name, I heard you.”

Lero grinned, and it was beautiful. “Lyra, the doctor would have done the same thing once he had shown up.”

I think it would have been too late, but Lyra kept that to herself. She didn’t want to worry him.

“I don’t feel that way,” Lyra said. “I was lost in that pit,” and I just pretty much said what I decided not to say. Good going, Lyra, she thought. However, underneath her, Lero didn’t shudder or cringe in fear.

“Well, if you think that’s true, then nothing makes me prouder.” Lero moved his hand and stroked her cheek with the tips of his fingers. “I love you, Lyra. You’re one of the most amazing individuals I've ever known, and if I can do something that helps you, then I’m happy.”

“I love you, Lero,” Lyra said, almost breathless. “I know you’re going to say that us being a herd means we don’t do things this way, and I agree, but I will always be finding ways to pay you back. I promise.”

“Lyra,” he said, singing her name. His hand stroked the length of her back. Lyra rested her head against him, her muzzle pressing against the bottom of his chin. She cast her magic, just to see if she could, and touched his hands with it. She kept it going long enough to feel his fingers curl around it, and dropped her spell as his hands came to a rest.

The abyss, she thought, and her mind, drifting into sleep, turned to that fight four days previously.

It was early afternoon, and Rainbow Dash blinked as she tried to avoid falling asleep from the hayburgers and hayfries slogging around in her system. She and Lyra were at the Ponyville library (conveniently located inside Rainbow Castle) filling in for Twilight Sparkle and Spike, both at the Ponyville theatre overseeing the production of No Exit.

Dash would like to have found some high up shelf space to crawl into and take a nap, but she had a duty to perform, and she wasn’t going to shirk it. Especially with Lyra there to tattle on her if she did. So, she did some occasional wing pushups to keep her blood flowing through the grimy lunch and its sludgy grip on her energy.

Several ponies had come into the library that day—Dash didn’t realize it was used that much, though Lyra did—and right now Berry Punch was at a study table, skimming through several books.

Lyra trolled around to see what Berry Punch was reading. The subjects she pulled were on paranormal activity, and mental disorders, especially those that produce hallucinations. Lyra decided Berry was either trying to start rumors, or had some serious problem she couldn’t figure out. Lyra was tempted to ask, but decided not to intervene. Though not on the level of Applejack, Berry Punch was an earth pony, and they could be predictably stubborn about outside help.

Lyra couldn’t help but wonder about the other town’s martial arts grandmaster. The extent of their communication had been Berry taking the occasional swipe at Still Way philosophy, which Lyra found invigorating as it introduced her to new thoughts, or Berry standing silently by as Lyra caught up with Minuette.

(One day, while entertaining some children with her Still Way skills, she had asked, rhetorically, "What is balance?" Behind her, heading to the liquor store, Berry Punch said, "An iron boot stomping on a face, forever."

Minutes later, when Lyra asked, "What does it mean to return to the source?" Berry Punch, returning with full saddlebags, clinking with each step, said, "It means we have no one but ourselves to explain this meaningless horror of life."

For the first time in many years, Lyra was offended. And then she laughed.)

That her old Canterlot friend was in a relationship with Berry Punch said good things about Berry’s character, at least as far as Lyra was concerned. Though Lyra felt that their relationship could be called ‘semi-serious’, as Minuette still saw other ponies, Berry had shown a loyalty to Minuette that made Lyra wonder if she was a monogamist. That didn’t really matter, though; it was just Lyra trying to figure out the character of a pony that was mostly an enigma to her.

After glancing at the titles Berry Punch was plowing through, Lyra wandered through the aisles and let the names and titles swirl around her, and let the scents of ink, paper, and sunlight waft over her muzzle. She turned a corner to the study area, where Berry Punch sat at a table overflowing with books, and saw Rainbow Dash hovering above her, her curiosity (or quarrelsomeness) getting the best of her as she spied Berry’s readings.

“Are you serious?” Dash said. “Are you crazy or haunted?”

“I’m craunted,” Berry Punch said, as she turned a page in Haint or Ain’t? How to Tell if your Home is Haunted. “It’s a new word I came up with. I can do that because I went to college.”

Lyra was cool and clean on the outside, but she sped up her steps just in case Dash took the slight against her education. Lyra wasn’t sure Berry meant it as a slight; it may have just been a joke. Either way, Dash didn’t seem perturbed by it.

“What exactly is your problem, anyway?”

“Someone broke into my house a couple of months ago and replaced everything with an exact duplicate,” Berry Punch said, as she moved her attention to A Case of the Crazies. “I had to buy all new furniture to replace the dupes messing up my house.”

“Okay, you’re crazy, then,” Dash said.

Berry shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe both.”

Dash grimaced. “What did you do with the old furniture? Sell it?”

“Burned it,” Berry said, turning a page. “It’d be wrong to sell dupe furniture. It could bud asexually and then Ponyville would have a real problem.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in thought, trying to remember if she saw burning furniture, or burning anything, during her scouting around Ponyville.

“It seems like capgras delusion,” Berry said, tapping at a book. “But I don’t have any of those sorts of brain problems.”

“Oh really?” Dash said, and Lyra had to wonder how far she was going to go with this. She must be really bored to harass Berry Punch of all ponies, Lyra thought.

“What brain problems do you have, then?” Dash said.

“None,” Berry said, as she closed a book and grabbed another from the pile, entitled Double your Pleasure: Your Doppelganger and You. “I’m mentally fit in every way.”

Dash snorted in derision, and flapped away from the table. Lyra headed to the checkout counter to make sure all files were in order, for the second time that day.

When Lyra had finished checking out a zoology book to a little filly, she decided to make her rounds again. She heard Dash’s argumentative voice, and Berry Punch’s bored replies, and wondered why Dash couldn’t just leave her alone.

“-completely selfish,” Dash was saying, when Lyra came across them.

“She gave Lero a card for free Berry Shines soda, though,” Lyra said, interrupting.

“Eh? She did?” Dash said, lifting her head.

“We were talking about Filthy Rich’s copyright bill,” Berry said, not glancing toward Lyra. Lyra figured the conversation bomb she just tossed had nothing to do with the discussion, but she was trying to get Dash to leave Berry alone. Berry was a library user conducting research, after all, and she didn’t need to be harassed by the staff. Lyra also knew that a pony liking Lero went a long way with Dash—and herself, of course.

“Oh, well, that’s still nice of you,” Dash said, as she started to fly away from the table.

“Not nice, it was my duty. I gave it to him as an apology for what I told him shortly after he first came here.” Berry Punch pushed a book aside, and changed her sitting posture. Lyra’s hackles rose as she froze in place.

“That’s good,” Dash said absent-mindedly, as she flapped away. She stopped and landed on the ground, her ears splayed back. She slowly turned to face Berry, and with a look like an impending thunderstorm, stalked closer to the table.

In a still voice, enunciating each syllable, Dash said, as a command and not a question, “What did you tell him.”

It was subtle, but Lyra saw how Berry adjusted her rear legs. She’s going to kick the library table at her, she thought, and Berry spared Lyra a dead glance. She knows I saw it.

A fight in the library would be disastrous. Twilight would be angry and disappointed. The community would be poorly served while it was rebuilt and restocked. Then there was Berry’s inclination to pyromania.

Surely Berry knows we’re going to take her down, Lyra thought, in sensations instead of words. She can’t win, but of course Berry knew. It was quite possible that her definition of winning was completely at odds with the rest of the world. She probably doesn’t even have one and just fights to fight, Lyra thought, but she wondered if even that was the truth. As far as she knew, Berry had no reason for her actions.

“I asked him why he was out in the street instead of in the bedroom or fields,” Berry Punch said.

It wouldn’t take long for the shock of it to push Rainbow Dash into that zone of red-hot fury, of common sense and restraint disappearing in a fiery blast of rage, and so Lyra said, before even the last syllable of Berry’s sentence had died away:

“I challenge you to a fight, Berry Punch. Rainbow Dash, you are my witness to my challenge, and my second,” and she stood directly in front of Rainbow Dash, her calm demeanor filling Dash’s vision.

“Lyra,” Dash said with a growl. “You better get out of my way.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Lyra said. “As I have challenged Berry Punch, and as you are a witness to my challenge, you are not to cause, or allow, harm to befall Berry Punch.”

Dash’s breath pounded against her heaving chest, and tears of frustration frosted the curve of her eyes. “Why are you doing this?” she said, her voice an aching whisper.

“Imagine how upset Twilight would be when she finds out you ruined her library with a fight,” Lyra whispered.

Dash’s eyes tried to waver, but she didn’t break her gaze against Lyra. “Fine,” she said, her ruffled wings smoothing out. Dash was going to be mad at her for a while—Lyra knew it—but if that was the cost of saving the library (and more importantly, Twilight’s feelings), then that’s how it went.

Lyra turned to face Berry, who had gone back to reading one of her books.

“Let’s go see the constable,” Lyra said.

“I like prostables myself,” Berry said, as she tossed the book on the table.

Rainbow Dash was not a traditionalist. Lyra was sure that Dash would have ignored claim of duel made by any other pony, and would have attacked outright. It was only because it was Lyra that Dash didn’t interfere.

They were walking to the constable’s office now, their silence attracting attention and Dash’s baleful look pushing it away. Lyra tried to trot up next to her, as an act of comradery, but Dash took to the air. She’s going to be mad at me for a while, Lyra thought. It’s just how it has to be.

The idea of calling off the match, now that they were away from the library, passed into her mind, but Lyra was sure Dash would be angry at the subterfuge. And yet, Lyra wanted to battle Berry Punch. Though she had fought a Drunken Hoof practitioner before, she had never faced a grandmaster of that art. It was known for subterfuge and randomness, especially at the higher levels, and Lyra couldn’t help but thrill at the challenge. Though she didn’t like fighting for the sake of fighting, like Dash did, she still saw it as a way to hone her abilities, and to seek new experiences.

So, she would fight Berry Punch, a fellow grandmaster in an odd and strange art. It was as it was meant to be.

The constable of Ponyville, an earth pony mare named Hot Pudding with a cutie mark of a clown’s face (“Don’t ask,” was always her answer to the obvious question, and she would say it in such a way to make the questioner know she absolutely was not joking), took in the two challengers. She felt a blaze that burned her throat. She was familiar with Sergeant Lyra, due to her being an auxiliary member of the Royal Guard, and from several duels she had fought in the past. She had won them all, of course.

She knew Berry Punch from her reputation as the local trouble-maker. She was also the first pony in nearly fifty years to be arrested on ‘hooliganism with extreme cynicism’, which Hot Pudding didn’t even know was still on the books. Well, Ms. Punch is about to be put in her place, Hot Pudding thought. Maybe it’ll straighten her up.

“Okay,” Hot Pudding said, slapping a form on her desk. She pushed her hoof into the ring attached to her writing quill and proceeded to fill out the rudiments, the fine scratching of the quill against paper the only sound in the office.

“Fight location?”

“Mayor Mare’s bathroom,” Berry said.

“The Ponyville fields,” Lyra said.

“Oh no, my weakness,” Berry said.

Hot Pudding raised an eyebrow as she looked at Berry. “Is the Ponyville fields acceptable?”

Berry Punch shrugged. “Sure. Mark it down.”

Hot Pudding did so, and turned the paper around for the three to sign; Lyra and Berry as participants, and a scowling Rainbow Dash as a witness. Hot Pudding notarized it, and stuck it in her out box. She stood up with a sigh.

“Okay ladies, that’s settled. I’m going to alert Nurse Redheart.”

Rainbow Dash flew overhead, watching Lyra and Berry Punch (a name she couldn’t think of without anger clutching her heart) as they walked to Ponyville fields, a patch of clover that had hosted many challenges in the past. Lyra was smiling as she usually did, her happy appearance a beautiful sheath hiding a sharp sword. Berry Punch seemed disinterested in the proceedings. Usually the pony challenging Lyra would jabber or try to intimidate her, an attempt at metagaming that would never work on Lyra. Berry wasn’t doing any of that, however.

Within Dash's field of vision was the hospital, and she saw four nurses walk out with two ambulance drivers, both pulling a white painted wagon with a padded interior. Nurse Redheart didn’t play around when it came to duels.

Dash looked below again and saw Lyra look up with a hazy smile. Dash quickly looked away. She wasn’t mad at Lyra anymore; she understood why she stole her fight. But she wanted Lyra to think she was mad for a whirlpool of emotions she couldn’t contain or explain even if she knew what they were. So let her think she was still mad.

She rose higher and did a quick scan for Lero, and saw him over at Sweet Apple Acres, hammering on a plank of wood that Apple Bloom was pressing down with her hooves. Good, he doesn’t need to see this, Rainbow Dash thought. It’d be a distraction for Lyra, too.

“Rainbow, what’s going on?”

Dash yelped and gained nearly ten meters of altitude in less than two seconds.

“Twilight, don’t sneak up on me like that!” Dash said, returning to her cruising altitude.

“So, Spike and I take a break from the theatre and go to Sugarcube Corner, and I see Lyra and Berry Punch walking silently—”

“Okay.”

“—and then Nurse Redheart and Tenderheart and their assistants, and two ambulances behind—”

“Yeah, okay.”

“—and then I see you up here with an awful scowl! Dash, are Lyra and Berry going to fight each other?”

“Yes, and it’s a notarized duel,” Dash said, as the two flew above the procession, their shadows trailing on the road below. “Nothing illegal. Don’t worry about it.”

“Of course I’m worried about it! I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Why are they fighting each other?”

“Eh… well, I guess it’s just a test of strength.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, in that stinging tone that always made Dash want to jump out of her skin. “You’re almost as bad a liar as Applejack. What’s going on?”

Rainbow Dash started the story with a huff and ended it with a sigh.

“That is good thinking on Lyra’s part,” Twilight said. She shook her head in anger. “I can’t believe Berry Punch said that to Lero. It doesn’t really make any sense, since she’s defended stallions’ rights several times before.” Twilight, as she always did, made connections, listened to her intuition, and used her intellect to pierce the mystery.

“You know, I think she said that to Lero just to instigate a fight. You and Lyra were some of Lero’s earliest friends, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she said that expecting him to tell you, or Lyra, and then wait for the fight to happen.” Twilight tried to hide the flash of pride that came from figuring out a puzzle. She couldn’t stifle a giggle of triumph.

“Well of course that’s what she’s doing,” Dash said. “It’s obvious.”

“Oh,” Twilight said. She cringed in embarrassment, and nearly tried to paw the air.

“Um… well—”

“Because it’s the principle of it, okay?” Dash said, turning her frowning face at Twilight. “No one says that to my stallion, even if it’s just a… a trap, or whatever.”

“Our stallion, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “Let Lyra fight for him this time.”

Rainbow slowly broke her gaze from Twilight, and sighed. Our stallion, she thought, and feelings of love and friendship, of respect, and all the history they shared and the future they would travel together pushed away her desire to keep being mad at Lyra. Her mare. Our mare.

Dash stared down at Lyra. Lyra looked up (how does she always know?) and grinned. Dash let a grin grow across her own face, and she flew down to walk with Lyra, as Twilight followed behind.

She’s fighting for our stallion, Dash thought.

Of the twelve duels Rainbow Dash had seen Lyra fight in, not a single one lasted longer than five seconds. Dash doubted that this one would be any different. There used to be larger crowds when Lyra would duel with some pony, since she was their Still Way grandmaster, but they were always disappointed. They wanted a knock-down, drag-out fight, not a precise and quick takedown. So, over time, a Lyra duel didn't attract the attention it once did.

They were at the fields now, clover like a thick green carpet waving in the wind as Lyra and Berry Punch faced each other from ten paces apart. Dash and Twilight had landed on the ground, standing next to Nurse Redheart. The two wagons were parked behind them, the ambulance drivers still yoked; they had to be ready in an emergency.

Dash turned her mouth to Twilight’s ear and whispered through clenched lips, “Don’t talk or try to distract Lyra.”

Twilight did the same. “I know about duels, Rainbow.”

“From those old romance books, I bet,” Dash said.

The constable, Hot Pudding, took a glance at both contestants, and held an alarm clock in her hoof. “The first pony to be knocked unconscious, or to surrender, is the loser. The winner is not to continue attacking, or disqualification will result, and further bodily damage will result in jail time. The fight will begin in one minute, at the ringing of these bells.”

Arrows, let flown each to each/Meet midway and slice/The void in aimless flight/Thus I return to the source.

Lyra let her battle mantra flow through her, commanding her body to relax. Across from her Berry Punch stood on her hindlegs and cycled through the Drunken Hoof forms. Despite being quadruped, Berry Punch moved through the bipedal forms with willowy grace. Lyra wasn’t surprised, though. She is a grandmaster, after all. Lyra couldn’t help but wonder how Lero would take to this martial art. It seemed made for him.

Lyra let herself pick up potential magic, reading the world around her, and let it settle on Berry Punch. She could not be read, and Lyra smiled. Amazing magic defenses, she thought.

Lyra’s horn lit, and she probed Berry Punch. She felt Berry’s earth pony magic push against her unicorn magic. Berry Punch didn’t have the magic potential of her fellow earth ponies Pinkie Pie or Cheese Sandwich, but her fine control was remarkable. Once again, Lyra simply could not read Berry’s actions. Her chi was hidden, almost as if it was nonexistent.

Lyra grinned. This is going to be a challenge, she thought. She had fought fifteen duels since becoming a grandmaster, and had won every single one. She had defeated a Drunken Hoof practitioner before, but he was only an expert.

The last grandmaster she fought was a pegasus, five fights ago, and that had been a challenge, trying to grab hold of her as she pushed through the wind like a breeze of her own. She could read her, though. She couldn’t read Berry.

The alarm bell rang, and, unexpectedly, Berry completely dropped her defense.

Lyra had no time to wonder why Berry would make herself vulnerable. Sometime after the fight, when the mind had time to catch up with the memories, to browse through them like a photo album, Lyra could have sworn Berry winked at her.

Lyra instantly cast her magic, holding Berry’s hooves fast to the ground—

Berry leapt toward Lyra, her hooves dragging up clods of earth with her.

—and dual casted against Berry Punch’s head, pulling it back to introduce unconsciousness, like she had done to Honeydew years ago, but so much faster, instantaneously—

Berry’s head snapped back, and her eyes rolled up into the shades of her eyelids. In midair, her body twisted around, and her hindlegs swung in a destructive arc.

—Lyra cast again, her magic grabbing hold of Berry’s body, both a shield and a counterforce to stop Berry’s attack, and it shattered as Berry’s will pushed through it, a moving wall that couldn’t be scaled or broken.

If Lyra had the time, she would have been stunned at the power of Berry’s chi, and she would have thought, next time I’ll dodge.

Berry’s rear leg finished its journey and made contact with Lyra’s horn. Lyra’s head snapped back, and her body was pulled from the ground.

Berry’s body flipped over, now traveling head first after traversing Lyra’s body, and she landed on the ground with a thud like a meteor strike, and rolled over to a rest, her head pushed back at an unnatural angle. Berry opened her eyes, and said, “Ow.”

Lyra fell to the ground screaming.

She thrashed in the dirt, and her scream became gagging, bubbling in her throat like a witch’s cauldron. Seizures racked her body as her spittle turned to foam. Her eyes rolled up into her head as she violently arched her back. Another scream pierced the air like a siren from hell.

“Lyra!” Dash shouted, as she swooped over, her lips peeled back in fear and shared pain. Lyra screamed again, and Dash got close enough to see why; her horn was split, the break starting toward the front, two centimeters below the tip, and traveling toward the middle until it touched the root. Dash put her hooves around Lyra’s body, as hard and stiff as a statue.

“Oh goodness no!” Twilight said, as she landed next to them. She hooked a hoof around Lyra’s green hoof, and if pinched like a claw.

“Her horn!” Dash said. “Do something!”

“It will heal,” Twilight said. “But it broke while she was still casting magic! She’s in magic shock!”

“What does that mean!” Dash shouted.

Nurse Tenderheart, with a pegasus intern, arrived at the scene. Tenderheart removed her saddlebags and plopped them on the ground.
Tenderheart turned to the intern and said, “I need you to get the magic anesthesiologist right now!” The pegasus saluted and immediately took to the air, heading back toward the hospital.

She then reached into her bag and pulled out a jar full of a pearly balm. She popped the lid off, letting it land on the clover, and expertly launched dabs of it into the break in Lyra’s horn.

“This goes straight to the root,” Tenderheart said. Lyra’s entire body was rigid, her silent mouth open like the tomb of a dead scream.

“It’s nervous system disorder caused by magic,” Twilight said, her voice cracking in empathy. “She’s in so much pain right now. Only a trained unicorn can stunt it, but…” Twilight sniffled.

“But what?” Dash said, in a hushed voice.

"Her mind," Twilight said.

Lyra then did something no one had ever heard before, something Dash would never have expected this strong and awesome warrior to do—she whimpered. Dash’s heart broke.

“Oh, Lyra,” Dash said, not bothering to fight the tears rolling down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away, and spared an angry glance at Berry Punch, ten meters away, as Nurse Redheart applied a splint to her neck.

A raspy moan broke from Lyra as new tears rolled down her cheeks, and Twilight held her free hoof over her own muzzle, her body shaking at what she was seeing.

Lyra screamed again, dying before it even left her throat, and Dash bit her lip, hoping to stop from crying. The nurse placed two splints on Lyra’s horn, and nodded thanks to Twilight when she used her magic to hold it in place. The nurse then wrapped gauze around Lyra’s horn.

“Can’t you do something about the pain?” Dash said.

“Not until the anesthesiologist gets here,” the nurse said, her voice strained. “Pardon me Princess Twilight, but could you work with this balm?”

“O-of course,” Twilight said, fighting back her own urge to just start bawling in emphatic pain. Her horn lit as she neatly pushed the balm into the crack of the horn. Twilight gasped.

“What!” Dash shouted, jumping to her hooves. “What now?”

“This… it’s so wild! I have to…”

Lero pushed between the two, putting his hands on Lyra’s cheeks, holding her face. Spike was behind him, trading concerned glances between Twilight and Dash.

“I got Lero, Twi,” Spike said. “What’s wrong?”

"Lyra,” Lero said, and Lyra’s eyes forced themselves to move to him. She whimpered again, and Dash looked away, shaking her head and gritting her teeth.

“All is ephemera. All fades away,” Lero said in a gentle and kind voice, looking into her eyes.

Lyra stuttered, “All i-i-is eph-f-f-f,” and she choked again.

Lero smiled, comforting, and said Lyra’s mantra back to her. Lyra repeated it, her heaving chest slowing, her red eyes managing to focus on Lero.

“—all returns to the source,” Lyra finished. Lero’s hands moved as he was about to stop cradling her head, but Lyra hooked a hoof around his wrist. His palm felt the canals in her fuzzy cheeks, dug by her tears.

“Thank you, Lero,” she said, almost breathless. She turned to the nurse and thanked her as well.

“Just doing my job, ma’am,” the nurse said with a salute.

Lyra smiled at her wives and Spike. “You guys better get in here and hug me.”

“Careful,” the nurse said, and Twilight and Dash rushed in, hugging Lyra. She wanted to kiss them, but abstained. She really needed to clean her face first.

“No hug, Spike?” Lyra said with a grin.

Spike folded his arms and looked away. “Maybe later,” he said, and Lyra quietly chuckled.

After the hugs were finished, Twilight levitated Lyra to move her into the ambulance, and Lyra felt that wonderful magic, magic that felt like reading a good book while drinking hot chocolate, envelop her body and gently place her in the wagon.

The other wagon pulled up alongside, and Berry Punch lifted her head, two eyes peaking over the edge like a peeping tom, and Dash had to fight an urge to just fly over there and buck that wagon over.

“You knocked me out, Lyra,” Berry said. “I guess that means you won. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Berry,” Lyra rasped with a raised eyebrow. Berry stared at her a bit more before lowering herself back into the wagon with a terse, “Ow.”

The driver pulled Lyra’s wagon behind Berry’s, and Lyra’s family walked alongside her. Lero felt a tug at his hand, and smiled as he placed his hand over the wagon, Lyra’s hoof holding it. She moved it to her chest, over her heart, and curled her hooves over it.

She looked at Twilight and Dash as they flew overhead, and looked for Spike but only saw the tips of his spines. She glanced up at Twilight and studied her face.

“You look confused,” Lyra said.

“Berry said you knocked her out,” Twilight said. “When did that happen?”

“The instant after she jumped, I knocked her unconscious,” Lyra said. She frowned in thought. “I get the feeling she purposely dropped her guard. I’ll need to talk to her about that.”

“Don’t waste your time,” Dash said with a sneer. “She’ll probably say something like ‘cuz I felt like it hurr durr’”.

Lyra let out a ‘heh’.

“But wait, I saw Berry Punch twist around to hit your horn,” Twilight said. “I felt her break through your magic shield.”

“She was still knocked out,” Lyra said, and confusion only deepened on Twilight’s face.

“You felt it, didn’t you, Dash?” Lyra said. “Her fighting spirit. Her will.”

Dash scoffed. No way would she say anything that could be seen as complimenting Berry Punch.

Lyra smiled hazy. “Berry Punch’s will is so powerful that she was able to finish her attack despite being completely unconscious.”

“But that’s impossible,” Twilight said.

Lero chuckled. “Twilight, I could write a book of impossible things I’ve seen here.”

“It’s her training,” Lyra said, looking at Dash as she spoke. “Martial artist training. All martial arts train the mind and spirit. Berry Punch’s willpower is astounding. It took me by surprise.”

“You still won,” Dash said.

Lyra tried to grin, but the pain made it a creaky rictus. “Another win like this would be the end of me.”

Dash only frowned, and looked away.

Those sensations and memories passed now, and Lyra didn’t even have to ponder on Dash’s question.

I’m not sacrificing anything, she thought. He’s the only stallion I want or need. It’s my dear girls that have to sacrifice. I’m going to be the villain here.

“I think we should reject his offer,” Lyra said.

“You feel that way too, huh?” Dash said, pawing at the rug. “It’s just… I mean…”

“You’d like another stallion or two.”

Dash nodded. “But it’s okay!” she said, striking a self-assured pose, hooves foursquare on the ground. “I love Lero more than anything. If someone told me he’d be the only stallion I’d ever have, I’d be happy.”

“He’s not the only stallion you want, though.”

Dash moved right into Lyra’s line of vision, snouts nearly touching. “What are you trying to prove, Lyra? That you’re better than me?”

Lyra sat down on the rug, lowering her profile in an attempt to calm Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t do that,” Dash said, as she lowered herself to sit in the same position. “You don’t need to. Just tell me what you’re trying to do.”

“If we decide not to let other stallions into this herd, then we’re going to have to live with that decision for a long time,” Lyra said. “Maybe for as long as were all together. We have to think carefully about the consequences of rejecting this offer.”

Dash looked up at Twilight, whose eyes were like tinted windows, not revealing what was inside. “Twilight,” Dash said, as she walked up and nuzzled her. Twilight’s body felt like it had deflated, and she leaned into Dash.

“We can’t do this to him,” Twilight said, tearfully.

“I’m sorry, Twi,” Dash said as she hugged her, and Lyra joined in as well. “You have to give up your dream,” but then Dash thought, Twilight can still have a large herd, but it will be after we’re long gone. Time and experience (and her friends) had mostly taught Dash not to spout off whatever was in her mind, and she kept this to herself.

“You guys are my dream,” Twilight said. She closed her eyes and rubbed her face against Dash’s neck. “I wanted a big herd to prove… to prove we could be happy,” and what showed itself in Lyra’s and Dash’s minds were the unspoken trauma of Twilight’s parent herd, and the problems she had with them. Instinctive insight into each other came from their shared history, and they both knew she wanted to prove her childhood experiences wrong. They felt all this despite Twilight’s simple words.

“Dash,” Lyra said. “You… your wanting to be in the Wonderbolts might not happen either.”

“What do you mean?” Dash said, as she pulled away, but she immediately realized the answer: The Wonderbolt’s sexually intimate team culture. Lero knew about it. He even compared it to an ancient army from his world that was also sexually intimate, an army that fought together and conquered.

This was something they always paced around, like a sleeping evil that no one should mention unless it woke up and destroyed everything. She figured she’d eventually have to discuss it, but it looked like even that had been decided for her, long before she thought she’d be ready.

“Then I won’t be a Wonderbolt,” Dash said, and the long dream that started in her fillyhood faded away. “I’ll just stay a reserve.”

The door opened and a blast of steam entered the hallway. Lero’s bare feet padded on the wooden floor as he entered his room, rubbing his short hair with a fluffy yellow towel, with a pink F.S. embroidered in a corner. He folded it and tossed it on his bedstand. Rainbow Dash’s feather hung from his ear.

He surveyed his mares with an arched eyebrow. “Well, I see some serious discussion has taken place.”

It was at this point that the tiny wave that had started when Rainbow Dash decided not to be a Wonderbolt turned into a tsunami and pounded against her heart. Oh gosh this isn’t supposed to hurt so much. I gotta hide it.

Twilight stepped forward. “We’re not going to accept your offer,” she said.

“Oh,” Lero said. He turned his head in confusion, studying each one of his mares.

“We saw how hard it was for you to just tell us it’s okay to herd with other stallions,” Dash said. “And it’s not okay! It’s not okay to do that to you.”

“Do what to me?”

“Lero, please don’t pretend you weren’t upset by the idea,” Twilight said. “We could tell how much it was affecting you just by your voice.”

Lero let out a long gust of air. “I’m sorry, girls.”

“Lero, stop,” Twilight said, as the other two mares were startled by the demanding tone of her voice. Dash wondered if some of the disappointment at not expanding the herd was making her snappish. It’s not fair to think that, Dash thought. “Come over here and sit down with us.”

Lero smiled in polite appeasement as he sat down on the rug, Twilight and Dash scooting up next to him, Dash placing a hoof on his knee while Twilight let a wing drape around his back. Lyra decided to let her two wives handle this discussion; they were the ones that had to give up the most.

“Lero, we love you,” Twilight said. “That will never change. Yes, we ponies—almost all of ponykind, not just the three of us here—are naturally polyamorous, and, yes, we are naturally inclined to herd with several ponies, mares and stallions, but,” and Twilight held up a hoof to silence any potential protest, “to let you hurt yourself wouldn’t just mean we’re awful herdmates, and awful lovers, but awful friends, too.”

Lero grasped Twilight Sparkle’s hoof, letting his fingers rub her frog (or what Lero, irritatingly to his mares, called a ‘hoofgina’). There were no nerve endings there, but Twilight felt the pressure of his precise fingers, always so comforting and warm.

“Girls,” Lero said. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me, that you’d… you’d go against your natural instincts just to make me happy. I can’t help but feel a little selfish here, that I get three wonderful, beautiful mares, but you only get one stallion. I don’t know how to pay you back.”

“Are you kidding?” Rainbow Dash said. “Dude, you’re the one who always sacrifices for us! I mean, think of all the things you’ve done to fit in with us ponies, like not eating meat so much, or acting certain ways to put us at ease, and learning how to read us.” And he can never see his family or land again. “It’s awesome, Lero—you’re awesome, so how about you let us sacrifice for you this time?”

“And we don’t think that way about being selfish,” Twilight said. She looked at Dash and Lyra with a smile. “It’s not just that I get a handsome, loving stallion; I get two wonderful and beautiful mares, too.”

“Me too!” Dash said.

“Same here,” Lyra said.

Lero managed a half-smile. “Girls, I promise I’ll be the best stallion I can be.”

“You already are, big guy,” Dash said, jumping in to hug him. Twilight giggled, and leaped in too.

“I’m just sorry it has to be this way,” he said, his voice muffled by Twilight’s fuzzy cheek.

“It’s okay, Lero,” Twilight said, rubbing her face on his, her eyes closed in pleasure. “I’ll keep researching to find a way we can have children. I promise.”

“And if I can ever get acclimated to the idea of another stallion, I’ll let you guys know first thing,” Lero said.

“Don’t force yourself,” Dash said, grinning. “You could be the only stallion I ever have, and I’d be the happiest mare alive.” Twilight and Lyra echoed her words.

Lyra waited, and pounced. “Rainbow Dash can’t be in the Wonderbolts.”

An angry frown whipped into Dash’s face, and she angrily stared at Lyra, who responded with a dreamy smile.

“I’m sorry Dash, but we don’t need to hide anything,” Lyra said.

“Why can’t,” and then realization hit Lero with an ache of sadness and guilt. “Oh Dash, I’m so sorry—”

“Stop!” Dash said, sticking a hoof on his lips. “Don’t say anything! Listen, I made that decision before we started talking. Giving up the Wonderbolts hurts, but I can cope with it. But loosing you? I might as well just lay down and die.”

Lero looped an arm around Dash’s shoulders, staring into her eyes as Dash tried to guess his secret thoughts. After a short while, Lero leaned in and kissed her nose, causing her smile to grow.

“Just put the dream on hiatus, Dash,” Lero said. “Like I said, maybe I can get use to the idea one day.”

“And like I said, you don’t have to,” Dash said. “Or something like that. Don’t you get it, big guy? You’re more important to me that getting into the Wonderbolts.” She made a cocky grin. “It’s not like I can’t still be in the reserves, anyway.”

After discussing some finer points, punctuated with yawns, the four agreed that the subject was talked out for now. They crawled into bed, emotionally spent, but with feelings of triumph.

We’ll always make this herd work, Dash thought with confidence, and pride in her herdmates. I know it.

Princess Celestia walked through the darkened halls of the Crystal Castle, enjoying the stillness of the cool morning before moving the sun across the sky and signaling another busy day.

Her and Luna had arrived in the city for a friendly visit to their fellow princess, Cadance. In fact, she was walking past Cadance and Shining Armor’s chambers, nodding politely to the guards, when the double door opened, and out of the darkness emerged Luna, with messy mane and tail. She used her magic to straighten her hair, and leisurely strolled toward her sister with a smile of deep gratification.

Of course, Celestia thought. She bowed formally. “Princess Luna,” Celestia said.

Luna bowed back. “Prudecess Celibatestia,” Luna said.

“A bit too forced, my dear,” Celestia said with a frown. The two walked to the balcony, the spell both had previously cast silencing their steps.

“Cadance was tickled pink to have the pleasure of my company,” Luna said.

“Luna, I am begging you, I am appealing to any love or respect you may have for me; please, please spare me the details. Or the summary. Or anything. Everything.”

“Oh sister, you don’t have to be so dramatic. Your wish is my command.” Luna kissed Celestia’s neck.

“Thank you,” Celestia said.

“You may want to wash where I just put my lips.”

Celestia’s growl turned into an exasperated scream as she teleported herself to her quarters. Fortunately the silencing spell stopped it from traveling down the hall. It stopped Luna’s hysterical laughter as well. It had been far too long since Luna had made Celestia lose her cool.

Gold and amber spilled across the sky as Celestia stood on the balcony in her guest room. Luna stood next to her, watching the sunlight’s parade.

“Will we be able to make it to Twilight’s play tonight?” Luna asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Celestia said. “We simply need to follow the plan when we arrive in Beavertron.”

The two entered the guest chamber, the early sunlight filtering through the crystals and coated the room in hues of gold and pink, like a forgotten but happy past.

“I truly hope this is the last one,” Celestia said. “The archons’ fetishlike use of numerology has this one as number seven, which means completeness in their belief system.”

“She will fall as the others have,” Luna said.

Celestia let sadness crawl across her features. “Just once, Luna, I would like one to join us, or at least not fight against us. The others we’ve either had to slay, or stand by as Tartarus dragged them into his deepest spheres.”

“You’re far too tenderhearted, Celestia,” Luna said, ice in her voice. “Perhaps I should remind you what she’s doing to our ponies. She deserves to be punished.”

“I hope I can let those poor ponies decide her fate,” Celestia said.

Luna remained silent. Celestia always suffered from terminal sentimentality, and Luna didn’t like to engage it.

A servant knocked at the door, announcing breakfast was ready. The princesses left the room to meet Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in the kitchen below.

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to Inabit for some important criticism.