“Hey, close your eyes for just a moment,” the alicorn asked. She then dropped about thirty feet in a split second— wisps of cold wind shooting all around her.

Don’t have to ask me twice! Strawberry somehow held onto her even tighter than before. She zigzagged over and rustled the very tips of some trees, and he thought that his heart would shatter at the strain. She popped herself upwards. Oh, wait, you’re not going to… She angled back. OH NO!

“Here we go!” Moon called out, and she let out a huge laugh. She pounded her wings and made a loop-de-loop. They sped through some building columns, bumped through gigantic cloth banners, and brushed through a huge batch of flowers. Strawberry opened his mouth to scream yet nothing came out. He peeked out of his almost shut eyes and saw nothing but a blur of colors.

They sliced through some kind of long pool like a knife through butter. Trails of water shot out in the air behind them— giving their bodies nothing but a light spray. Moon then hopped up with a huge flap of her wings. They flipped onto something cold, yet extremely soft.

“Ah… ah… ah… ahhhhh…” the unicorn murmured. He wiggled his bottom hooves and he felt nothing under them, although they had stopped moving. Ah, Moon…

“Here…” Moon began. She shifted a little bit, and she found that Strawberry clung to her even tighter. “Everything okay, Strawberry?”

“Okay,” he squeaked.

“You’re only about two feet from the ground, you know,” she said, putting back on that sing-song tone. The unicorn raised his eyes, nudged himself around a little, and then popped out of her hooves. He suddenly found himself lying flat down on a pile of gigantic pillows atop some kind of balcony. Moon settled down beside him.

Moon stepped to the side a bit, and the she leaned himself over the ledge of the delicate white marble edge of the balcony. Strawberry followed silently. Although the immense heights made him dizzy, he admired the wonderful sets of aqueducts stretching around every which way— pouring out little waterfalls that fed these beautiful hanging gardens. Elegant maple trees jutted out of fancy terraces with golden and silver feeding through the shiny marble.

The alicorn softly caressed his side for a moment, and then she turned him over a little to the left. He looked out at the stunning mountains, valleys, and rivers all across the horizon. He then looked up and around at the massive castle walls besides him. The gigantic windows glowed with an unearthly light at the reflection of the moon. It occurred to him that, over the past hour, the heavenly body had glowed brighter and brighter— now so strong that it could give the sun a run for its money.

When he gazed back at the alicorn herself, Strawberry paused. Of course, it doesn’t matter… All of this would never be as beautiful as her. Little rays of light bounced off of her tiara— causing an aura of sparkles to bathe her angelic face.

“This is Canterlot, isn’t it— your highness?” Strawberry asked. Moon nodded. She had something more than a smile. She seemed so peaceful— so content.

“Let’s go inside, shall we?” Moon asked. She walked over to the crystalline double-doors at the edge of the balcony, and she nudged them open. The two of them stepped inside.

The unicorn and the alicorn walked into almost total darkness for a moment, but then Moon concentrated with her magic. Some little orbs nestled in the ceiling lip up brightly. Strawberry saw that they stood in some kind of library. Although complete with the ornate finishing of royalty— from comfy couches to elegant dark brown tables— it didn’t seem that different than any other study room he had used.

“This,” Moon began, “Is a big part of my own foalhood, right here… Like you told us before about yourself and how you grew up… We just thought that we would share something of where we came from.” She stepped about the room and gestured around with her front hooves.

“Wonderful,” he replied.

“I… we…” Moon began again, and she trotted over to an ancient looking bookcase, “Are going to do something for you in just a moment…” She pulled out a tattered brown book with her magic. She fluttered through it. “So! Wait… no…” She put it back and picked up a clean, new yellow book. “And… no!” She put that back and then pulled out three other new-ish looking books. “No, no… No! No!”

“What, what is it?” Strawberry asked.

She noticed a heavy looking textbook resting on the top shelf, and she flew it into the air right beside her air. “A-ha!” She glanced over at Strawberry, smirking. “Now, it’s our turn…” she said.

“Oh,” he muttered.

“The mare… do well…” she sang, “The mare… do well…” She wiggled herself a bit. “Quick, with her chore… Quick, as she files.” She twirled around a little, and she raised her superbly sweet voice. “Hurt, called a bore… Hurt, and she criiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeees.” She built up that last word— throwing up her right hoof to the air.

She stopped, and she put the textbook down on the floor. Strawberry clapped and clapped. She blushed a little, and she went on, “So, Strawberry. That was all the sort of thing that the royal court taught us. Little filly stuff. Of course, that made sense— a little bit at least— when we were little fillies. But still, they never let us sing to… to… SING!”

Strawberry smiled. It’s like… like a thousand sweetly chill midnight breezes going through my ears… He nodded again and again.

“We begged too, to get a song that the regular ponies actually sing— especially as we got older,” Moon went on. She paused, and she shrugged. Her bridal-like veil fluttered around her face. “And it never mattered. ‘Not fit for a princess’, they said… Oh well…”

“That was… beautiful…” he said. He traced around for the words that he had thought to say to her just a second ago. “Like…”

Moon jumped forward a few feet— a sudden idea popping into her head. “Wait, wait, wait!” Moon called out. She grabbed him by the side and led him right out of the room through a plain side door. She kept on pulling him as she ran— his hooves straining to keep up.

“We almost forgot!” She led him through a cavernous hallway with golden stripes stretching all through and what seemed like hundreds of doors and. “Down here!” Moon hollered.

“W-wow,” he muttered, glancing in all directions as he bounced like a rag doll.

“It’s just another stupid passageway!” Moon remarked, and she halted at a huge, darkly crimson door. “You have to—” Strawberry bumped right into her. “Save your ‘wows’—” She flung the door open. “For the right moment.” They bounced in.

“L-like now,” he asked. They found themselves inside a massive bedroom. Ornate furnishings decorated every inch of it— from a set of silver framed paintings to a tall grandmare clock to closet-sized dresser after closet-sized dresser overflowing with dresses. An immense bed with fluffy black sheets the size of several dozen ponies caught Strawberry’s eye.

“No!” Moon called out. She shifted her wings around. “Where… IS that blasted doorway?” She turned around. “Ugh!” She bumped Strawberry onto the floor.

“That bed gives nice ideas,” he accidentally said out loud. He froze. Oh, you— you— DORK! WHY did you have to say that!

“Sure,” the alicorn cryptically replied. She stepped out a few feet towards the window. “And where’s—” She twisted her head in thought. “Hey! NEXT FLOOR!”

“Flo—” he began.

The alicon wordlessly grabbed his side again and sped out into the window. She hurled the two of them into the air outside. Strawberry didn’t even have time to think before he saw himself flying and then falling without wings. Moon swooped into him again in a split-second and wisped herself back around in a somersault. They flung themselves into another window.

“Here!” Moon triumphantly announced— bobbing up her front hooves. Strawberry laid prostrate on the ground tiles and did a bit of coughing. His mind felt blank.

The alicorn nudged over and rubbed his side with her body. He stood right back upright— tingles shooting all over at her embrace. She returned his gaze, and she motioned for him to look around.

The kitchen put anything at Sugarcube Corner to shame. Stove after stove lined up under a bevy of golden brown cabinets and shiny steel utensils. Every other spot had an immense walk-in pantry. Everything had this pretty arua— perfectly immaculate.

“And… nowwwwwww—” Moon said, grinning at the final word, “It’s time for us to return the favor and make something for you.” She hopped a few feet from side to say in a way that would make Pinkie look calm. Her wings fluttered.

“Wonderful,” Strawberry said, smiling brightly.

“Now, then, for a quick— fast— magical powered recipe,” she said as she leaned down and inspected the kitchen island’s cabinets. She threw various pots and pans onto the tile. “Not there… or there… maybe… nope… how about there…” She moved in her body a bit deeper, and Strawberry leaned over closer. His heart fluttered a bit at her wiggling plot sticking out past the cabinet door.

“Now!” Moon shouted— bouncing out and thrusting a thick binder onto the counterpart. She giggled as she leaned forward. “Fast treats! Fast treats!” She magically spread through dozens and dozens of pages. “Fast. Treats.” She came to the end of it. “Come on!” She flipped the binder to the side and then flowed through the other side in the other direction.

“What do—” the unicorn began.

She snapped at a certain page. “Midnight Dark Pudding,” the alicorn read aloud. She let out a soft little squeal. “Perfect!”

“All I need— is a cup of sugar! I’ll add it— to the mix!” Moon sang as she bounced from drawer to drawer. In a matter of seconds, she had thrown down two spoons, a whisk, a bowl, and four cups in front of the unicorn. “Dash of salt, pinch of powder— get ready for your fix!” She tossed around item after item in the air around of her. Chocolate shavings, milk, eggs, and a bunch of things Strawberry didn’t quite recognize flooded into the bowl.

The alicorn— grinning from cheek to cheek— slammed the whisk into the middle of the bowl and then sped the bowl around like a spinning top. Her aura bathed the bowl as it wobbled right off of the table into the air. She suddenly leaned over and grabbed it with her hooves. She took a deep breath, and then she ducked her head into the bowl.

She blew over the top of the mix and immediately formed an icy, thick chocolate coating atop it. She concentrated— her hoof glowing— and the whole bowl became lit up with a bright blue. She focused her eyes, and then the blue light became whiter and whiter. The two ponies heard thousands of soft cracking sounds, and then a large crunch that reminded Strawberry of Big Mac jumping into the snow.

“All done,” she squeaked. She titled her head over, and she pushed the bowl over to Strawberry’s side of the counter with her horn. Two spoons floated magically in the air above them.

Strawberry felt so warm inside just seeing her smile. She looked so full of joy at that moment— facing eye to eye to him with such poise and grace— that he thought he’d have a heart attack. He opened his mouth and let a spoon go in. Oh, please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Let this actually taste good so I don’t have to fake it!

He swallowed. It tasted, of course, absolutely nothing like pudding. It seemed more like an early morning frost sprinkled with sugary chocolate. He felt… perfectly okay with that.

“Yes?” Moon asked, anticipation flowing through her.

Strawberry nodded back sincerely. The alicorn jumped up, clapped her front hooves fanatically, and then she scooped some for herself. She looked just so adorably cute as she took a few bites. In what seemed like just a few seconds, she had almost emptied out the bowl. She stopped, and then she looked over at Strawberry.

“Oh, sure, now just let us—” she began. She leaned over to look inside the bowl. It bounced with an accidental bump of her hoof across the slippery counter. The bowl tumbled straight onto Strawberry’s face and dripped chocolate goop down his side.

Moon hopped over the counter in a split second and stood beside Strawberry. She looked around for some kind of napkin, towel, or anything else to use— bouncing open drawer after drawer. The unicorn nudged at the film coating his right front hoof. He gestured over at Moon.

“Please, please, your highness,” he said, and she halted. There’s a lot worse to have poured on you. “Don’t worry… about… it…” He trailed off as she suddenly turned around, facing straight at him. Her adorable pose had morphed into something very determined. “I…”

The alicorn moved towards him— every step as measured as a timber wolf stalking her prey. Strawberry wiggled a bit and nudged himself against the kitchen island. “Now…” she said, lowering her voice, “Just let us take care of it.” Every word had a huge, subdued power to it. Moon took a final step until she faced just inches from Strawberry side.

She brought her head down to his right hoof. “Ahhh… ahh…” Strawberry muttered— his mind wiped blank as he jittered. She stuck out her tongue upon his chocolate-coated hoof. “AHHHHH… AHHHH…” Moon moved side to side with determined slurps.

She braced her body a little closer, and then she licked upwards along his hoof towards his side. “AAAAAAAHHHHHHH…” Strawberry couldn’t help cooing uncontrollably. He trembled over and over again— his throat gasped for continuous deep breaths.

Moon finished wiping him off in just a handful of seconds, although it could have just as easily been a hundred years to Strawberry. She got back on her hooves and stood proudly upright next to him. The unicorn looked up at her wordlessly. His mouth was locked open. His eye had opened wide as ballroom doors. He tried to say something— anything— but only tiny little murmur could make it through.

“What is it with you?” Moon asked with a playful kind of semi-sarcasm. She slanted against the cabinets, and her elegant dress fluttered around her hooves. “Do you survive on just strawberry cakes alone or something— sucking them up every waking moment day and night? That… sensation…”

“I… I…” Strawberry said. He tried to keep from crying— the feelings seemed so intense.

“Strawberry,” she began, and she grabbed his side again just like before. She dragged him over to a door out of the kitchen. “You know… before our date ends… we think there’s just one… on… last thing we need to show you.”

“Un… la’th th’iiink th’… th’eew…” he muttered, reverting to his foal-hood lisp as his insides crumbled. He seemed to zone out of his surroundings— gazing right at her still determined face. She led him through door after door. They then came upon a gigantic set of double doors with interlaced black and silver edges.

“Just wait here,” she said. She nestled open one of the doors a little bit, and she slid herself into the darkness. Strawberry nodded silently. I just… I can’t… I can’t… I feel so, so much…

He heard some kind of loud crackling noises, almost like lightening striking just a few feet in front of him. He didn’t bounce up in surprise, though, he could barely move. She sensed a wave of deep coldness seeping through the bottom under the doors. He lost track of time for a moment, yet mysterious crackling and pounding noises went on.

“H-h-h-heeey,” he squeaked out. He jiggled across every inch of his body.

“Okay, now’s the moment,” he heard from behind the doors, “Now then, Strawberry…”

He held his breath.

“Welcome.”

“To your Nightmare.”

Dear Reader:

Thank you very much for reading. You now have a choice of endings. To have the romantic ending with frank sensuality, please click on the next chapter (twelve) and then read to the following chapter (thirteen). For the troll-ish comedic ending, please click on chapter fourteen. For the romantic ending with a PG-rated and FiM specific tone, please click on chapter fifteen. For the sad and depressing ending, please click on chapter sixteen and then read to the following chapter-- number seventeen.

Thank you again.