Griffin Kingdom, Mardiastock dockyard, west of the capital city

The cold wind was blowing through the icy mountain tops as the two golden eyes eyed through the landscape. The beloved fatherland, rich in ore and blessed with warriors of strong hearts. The war-wise general often gazed out looking at those very mountains to ease his heart. The mountains supplied safety, food, home and ore. They would be a sight he would miss in his expedition to the west.

"Paj da biross tro kimer, Memret...[It's sure to be cold this afternoon, General.]" one of the officers standing next to him stated.

This earned him a nod from the old griffin,
"… Biross.[…Cold.]" the General repeated in confirmation. "Muji barash.[And harsh.]"

A small airship passed by and sounded its horn, greeting the military griffins. Marek gave the ship a slight smile. His fellow griffins wished him the best of luck and to return with great news.

One of his officers, a griffin a bit younger than the rest of them were, approached them,
"Djin scha va porsa, Memret Marek...[It is time, General Marek...]"

How hard it was to part from his wonderful home.

With a sigh, General Marek took a few last glances on the mountains,
"Karakh... Djin scha va porsa, karakh. [Indeed... It is time, indeed.]"

As he turned around, the General faced the giant dockyard of Mardiastock, the pride of the kingdom. For decades now, since the invention of airships, Mardiastock was the center of Griffin aircraft assembly and the General raised his look up to a dark, armored airship, the Nephelion. It was a good and beautiful airship, 500 meters long, a jewel of the royal air force. But the ship's and the crew's durability would be put to the test during the three week expedition. One week travel time to Equestria, one week staying and one week return trip. The hundreds of torches of the dockyard illuminated the armored airship in a warm and golden shimmer. And with great enthusiasm its crew started the steam engines which ran the propellers. The griffins on the dock cheered as the Nephelion left on her maiden voyage.

* * * * *

Equestria, Ranger Headquarter, the same day.

Sam looked down to what was in front of him, with laser-like concentration.

A strong lamp shined from above, illuminating the metallic object,
"Wrench."

Handing Sam a wrench with her levitating, mechanical hand, Lyra nodded,
"Wrench."

After tightening some nuts, Sam exhaled a bit and his eyes went over to Pinkie for a split second,
"Swab."

Pinkie now carefully patted his sweaty forehead dry with a swab,
"Swab."

Opening his right hand, he raised a screwdriver with the left,
"Cables."

Lyra nodded and handed him one of the cables as he took it and assembled it to the machinery,
"Cable one..." she then walked around him and handed him the second cable. "...and cable two."

Lyra wondered, ‘Will this really work? It isn't like the wiring Sam uses in electronic devices. These are cables to pump blood, or rather blood fumes through this machine of his.’ Although she deemed humans amazing for their very existence, she had to admit that she wasn't absolutely comfortable with a machine that utilized the blood of some living thing.

Before them lay the gutted remains of the motor of the Betty. After several days Sam had managed to rebuild the motor to the new design he conceptualized. Several mason jars filled with human blood were collected in order to ensure a stable fuel supply, but only one was being filled into the fuel tank.

Wiping his forehead with his forearm Sam nodded with a smile, his face smeared with oil,
"Alright... And what we want to see is this large feller here transferring the magic fumes into these pads there. That should cause them to hover." he pointed to the four cylindrical dishes around the motorblock that were connected to it.

Nodding over to Lyra, he grinned widely,
"Lyra, honey? Would you turn the key?"

The unicorn nodded and levitated one of her hands to the key, turning it clockwise carefully just like Sam taught her. The motor first gurgled a bit, but then came to life as the magic in it was unleashed from within several magical artifacts the princesses had created. Every cylinder had a small enchantment, only evoking a releasing spell under the right pressure. Plainly said, it was the magic equivalent of a spark plug.

When the motor started, Sam pulled his girls in for an embrace and they cheered at the already moving dishes. After a few moments the motor began to gurgle again and choke more and more. Smoke and sparks flew from it and the cheer of the trio died in an instant.

As the motor ceased to function, Sam growled angrily at it,
"Why you stupid little piece of..."

As he began to disassemble the motor and the parts around it, Lyra looked over to Pinkie, shaking her head a bit in worry before she looked at Sam again,
"I don't know, Sam... Maybe we should ask-"

Leaning over the motor, Sam seemed rather upset about it not running,
"No! This is between me and this cripple of a motor! God damn it! I will make this thing run if it's the last thing I do!" As he got up again, he looked over to the mares and snapped his fingers at a thought. "Maybe it's the mixture! The magic dosage or the consistency of the blood..." Lyra simply grimaced and shook her head. It felt like Sam was on the wrong track.

* * * * *

The next day, Twilight gasped ever so excited as Tyler's hands raised her dress over her rump.

Still she tried to be the voice of reason in this situation,
"Tyler... We- We probably shouldn't do this here in the royal garden. What if somepony comes by and catches us in the act?"

Gasping in delight as he gently entered her, Twilight blushed deeply and welcomed his lips as they exchanged kisses. Tyler had become so sexually active with her since her coronation, it was utterly obvious to the entire herd. Although she enjoyed it every time, she quickly ran out of excuses why she had to send Spike on errands.

Unnoticed by them, however, the two regal sisters were standing above them at the windows. Both mares looked down to their herd mates, their cheeks burning as they witnessed the act.

Coming to their side, Princess Cadance smiled and arched a brow,
"He’s taking her again?"

Celestia looked over to Cadance and nodded with a giggle,
"Indeed... Not that she’s complaining much about it. I have ordered the guards out of the garden and the rooms with windows to the garden have all been locked. These two are completely alone now. My guess is that he wants to assure her. To give her the certainty that he loves her in this form as well as her former unicorn form. If Twilight needs something, she needs to be sure of something. It appears Tyler understands that."

Cadance smiled as she watched the two of them going at it, grinning at the sight of Twilight biting her lip in order to avoid neighing in sheer lust,
"Their love is growing every time they are together like this. I can sense it. Twilight's heart races every time he enters a room, and aches a bit when he leaves. Right now her heart is pounding in excitement."

Celestia closed her eyes with a gentle smile,
"Ah yes... young love. I remember a certain alicorn mare that also was like that when she found that handsome stallion among the guards..."

A deep blush appeared over Cadance's muzzle, making her pink coat beam like a cherry, as her eyes bulged,
"Shining and I were not like that!"

The statement earned her a mischievous giggle from her aunt,
"Oh? So you weren't 'doing a little shake' for him once in a while?"

The Princess of Love took a step back,
"Ho-how do you know?"

“Actually I didn't. I was just guessing." Cadance's jaw dropped down and Celestia smirked down to her, "Gotcha!"

Luna harrumphed a bit,
"Jokes aside, these two can't continue with this lewd love-making. Otherwise the scandals are inevitable. I really think we should slow these two down a nudge. Not just because of the sex, but because of her influence now as well."

This caught Celestia’s attention at once and her ears stood up,
"Indeed... That is a very good point, Luna. If your influence can turn him violent and my influence can calm that violence... What effect would Twilight's influence have on him?"

Cadance shook her head not fully understanding,
"Are you saying that humans, or Tyler for that matter, are affected by alicorns in a way?"

Both regal sisters nodded their heads as Celestia looked over to her niece,
"We know of Tyler being affected by this after prolonged exposure to Luna's influence. Since Luna has the more volatile temper of us, her influence made him violent against his better judgment. Close proximity seems to do the trick. The closer he is to an alicorn mare, the more influence he absorbs with sex granting the highest extent of exposure. We've learned that my influence is able to counter that of Luna, but we didn't experiment with this. It is plausible that you and Twilight also have the power to have influence on him as well, but we don't know how that might turn out."

Luna nodded in confirmation,
"It could be possible that under thy influence he could turn into a hopeless romantic, Cadance. Please don't stay too close to him for a longer duration. As for Twilight, we wonder what her influence might do to him. Although the sex with him diverts Twilight's attention from the fear of her new powers, which is good, we should not let this continue indefinitely."

Celestia's eyes narrowed a bit as she looked down to the couple again as Tyler arched back, probably in orgasm to shoot his load deep into Twilight,
"Only the stars know what the Princess of Magic will awaken in the human who showed the greatest magic potential thus far... Discord already said that something is slumbering in Tyler that he's not aware of. We've seen Tyler do many extraordinary things by now... But if Twilight truly awakens what is slumbering in him... I'm afraid all these wonders and terrors will pale in comparison to what is coming. The ancient prophecy of Tilerions was feared for a reason..."

Her eyes narrowed even further then, 'But why? How could the ancient alicorns know about humans, when they arrived in Equestria eons after the Abarasion spell? Even Mother with her might and glory could not see into the future so precisely...'

* * * * *

Not an hour later Princess Celestia called for Twilight and Tyler. Both were a bit surprised from the sudden demand of their presence. Had they been caught? The princesses surely didn't seemed bothered by something.

In fact, they smiled a bit more than usual,
"Thank you for coming, Twilight... And you as well, Tyler."

Tyler blushed a bit as he caught Cadance’ snicker at her aunts side,
"Now that you are a princess, you must learn new forms of etiquette. And although I know that you and Tyler get along quite well these days, I must ask you to perform your duties as a princess. Which at present, is undergoing a royal training program, to start immediately.”

He chuckled a bit mischievously to mock Twilight a bit.
"You go then, Twilight... Show them what real princesses are made of!"

Twilight looked up to him, a bit annoyed that he would laugh about this, but Celestia simply arched a brow, cocking her head ever so slightly.
"Tyler, you will undergo these training courses as well."

This caught him unprepared,
"What? But I’m not a prince. Why do I have to do this?"

Luna gently encircled Tyler, her ethereal tail teasingly rubbing his chin and face as her rump bumped into him a few times,
"For instance? Thou are the herd mate of three princesses and an earth pony now. It is recommended that thou know as well how to behave in royalty and nobility. While we two will help fair Applejack to behave like a lady, thou two will meet a couple of tutors."

Grumbling a bit, Tyler looked down to Twilight, who began to smirk. This served him right for laughing at her. Tyler's grumpy face soon changed into a smirk as well and he knelt down to Twilight,
"Well, at least we're together in this, eh?"

"Speaking of together... It has caught our attention that you are performing..." Celestia now tipped her chin to think for a way to address this properly, "…several romantic activities in awkward locations. Although I'm very happy for you two... please don't overdo it like this, OK? Too many eyes are now on you both now."

Both Tyler and Twilight began to blush red hot. While Twilight stammered to force out some excuse, Tyler gulped and looked down, which caused both regal sisters to giggle,
"It's alright though... We had you covered. Nopony else knows of your little adventures in the royal garden."

Celestia then stepped over to one of the windows of the throne room,
"There is another thing... I have called the leaders of the other countries, in order to explain to them the threat of the current situation Equis now faces. The Amasian Empire, the Griffin Kingdom, Zebrica, Saddle Arabia... to name only a few. I also received a letter last week from King Gifford, that a griffin expedition airship named Nephelion will be sent to Equestria in order to evaluate the ‘threat’ of the four humans in our country."

The statement caused Tyler to cock his head and fold his arms,
"Now wait just a minute... Threat? Who's a threat here?"

Luna bumped her rump into Tyler once more and giggled,
"We do not need to remind thee that thy blood detonated two war citadels? That thou also obliterated Dragon Mountain?"

Twilight began to grin a bit,
"Or the fact that you led an army of ponies into a war against several hundreds of thousands of Changelings and left the field of battle as victor?"

Raising a finger, Tyler attempted to protest, but the words died on his lips before he could form a sentence. Letting his finger fall, he shrugged, suddenly crestfallen,
"OK... when you put it that way, I am the most dangerous guy on the planet."

Shaking her head, Celestia smiled,
"Now we know that's not true. You are hard and relentless if you have to be, but there are four mares who know all too well that you can be ever so gentle as well. You also are father to a foal. I simply won't tolerate that you are portrayed as a mere destroyer."

The last sentence made Tyler smile and he placed a kiss on her lips,
"That was very sweet of you, Celestia."

"It's only the truth." she replied before she looked at Twilight, "Twilight? We want to speak with you a bit in private..."

Tyler arched a brow and nodded,
"Girl-talk, hm? I'll be in my room. If there's anything you need from me, just call."

Looking back to her leaving herd mate, Twilight arched a brow as well, ‘What was that all about?’
"Wait, why are we discussing things without Tyler?" she asked her other two herd mates.

As soon as Tyler had left the room, Celestia and Luna looked directly at Twilight,
"Because this is not entirely about Tyler, but about you."

The statement prompted the lavender princess to take a step back and gasp in surprise,
"Me? What do you mean?"

"You were the first of us to have contact with Tyler." Celestia stated, "You were his first mare in Equestria and the first mare in the herd. As you know we decided to let each mare have the same rights in the herd and let Tyler tend to the needs of every mare as he saw fit. But I think this would make a wonderful testing ground for your leadership skills as a princess."

Twilight's eyes widened,
"You want me to become our herd’s Alpha?"

Cocking her head, Celestia smiled,
"Is there a problem with that?"

"O-of course!" Twilight stammered, "I haven't ever been an Alpha in my life before!"

Both Celestia and Luna looked at each other and smiled warmly,
"Don't worry, we haven’t either."

The revelation left Twilight in confusion,
"What? I mean... thousands of years and... it never occurred to you?"

Nuzzling Twilight a bit, Celestia shook her head,
"These were different times when we were young and the nation was in need of our leadership, not romance. Twilight, you are new to being a princess. Your efforts with your friends showed that you can stand your ground if you're brought to the test. You are a great leader among your friends. But for the routine of being a princess you must be introduced to problems on a more daily basis. We can't just go on and wait for the next catastrophe to teach Princess Twilight another lesson."

Twilight nodded in slight awe. Her former mentor seemed to have thought this through.

Patting Twilight's back with her wing, Celestia smiled,
"I think if you are put in place with a leading role inside our herd, you can do the least damage."

Twilight shook her head and stomped one hoof onto the ground,
"But what if I make the wrong decisions?"

Celestia tipped her chin a bit, thinking of an answer,
"If you are unsure if your actions and decisions are right, you can simply ask us if we are satisfied. If anypony of us is not satisfied, you'll have to find a solution." closing her eyes a bit, Celestia giggled, "That's why they call a herd ‘the streetmare's kingdom'. Keeping a herd together and healthy is almost like keeping a small country running. There are needs and contributions you, as an Alpha, have to consider. If you require any guidance with any issue whatsoever, ask Luna and I for help. We will be more than happy to help you with our experience in policy. And I think Applejack will be more than happy to keep your hooves on the ground.”

"Thank you prin-" just as Twilight was about to say it, she remembered that her former mentor didn't wish to be referred to that way inside of the herd, "Thank you, Celestia."

* * * * *

Later that day, Tyler, Twilight, Rachel, Princess Cadance, and a tutor stood together in a hall.

Slightly annoyed Tyler looked over to Rachel,
"Why exactly are you here with us?"

Grinning a bit, Rachel folded her arms,
"To learn a bit about pony customs. I never saw a princess in training, so I'm here to support Twilight a bit. Why? Afraid I could point and laugh at you?"

It was then when the tutor started the music record and looked over to Twilight,
"Princess? Would you care do give me an insight of your current knowledge of how to dance?" Twilight looked over to the others and after receiving several assuring nods, she began to dance. What followed then was probably the most nerdy breed to dance Rachel and Tyler had ever seen. In an uncoordinated manner Twilight took her steps, raised and flayed her hooves, she then kicked her hind legs in a similar fashion.

Tyler fought the urge to burst out laughing, but Cadance nudged him into the sides with a stern glare and nodded towards Twilight. Tyler quickly snapped out of it and nodded, feeling bad for his near outburst.

Rachel, however, simply shook her head,
"Twilight!"

Rachel's shouting made the young alicorn yelp in surprise,
"Yes?"

Coming to Twilight's side, Rachel continued to shake her head,
"No offense, but this type of dancing lacks aesthetics on all levels. Flailing with your hooves barely compares with a real dance."

Embarrassed Twilight looked up to the tutor, who simply nodded,
"Indeed, Princess Twilight. A princess should be dancing with grace and beauty, not flailing her hooves like she wants to kill somepony."

Tipping her chin, Cadance thought a bit,
"Maybe something slow-paced to get you into it, Twilight."

Rachel raised a hand,
"Oh! I have an idea! May I?" after receiving a nod from the Princess of Love, Rachel then approached Tyler and Twilight and looked over to them. "Does the term 'Wiener Waltz' mean anything to you, Jones?"

Tyler grimaced a bit,
"Heard it, seen it, but never did it. Also this is a dance for two legs." his eyes then took turns between Cadance and Twilight, "It's a lovely dance though."

Cadance arched a brow,
"Maybe you two could demonstrate it, so we can get the idea?"

Rubbing his neck, Tyler looked at Rachel,
"Do you know the steps? I have no clue."

Smirking a bit, Rachel patted his shoulder,
"It's a good thing I had a friend of mine on Earth who had this dance at her wedding. I took the dance course with she and her husband."

After explaining the steps and taking position with Tyler, Rachel demonstrated the steps with him very slowly,
"And there you go. Now we'll do it at the correct pace. One, two, three... One, two, three... See? Easy thing... Now you lead!"

Clenching his teeth together, Tyler looked down to his feet and tried to take the steps.

A sharp whistle from Rachel however made him look up to her,
"Eyes on the face of the lady, Don Juan! That's important! You should be able to do these steps in your sleep."

After a few minutes of dancing, Cadance looked over to Twilight,
"Well, Twilight? Do you think you can give it a try?

Twilight took a gulp and tried to picture the steps in her head before she looked up,
"Try? Y-you mean... right now?"

Putting a hand to her waist, Rachel grinned,
"Well certainly not next week, Twilight. Come on, you and Tyler now."

While standing on two hooves, Twilight tried to remember her few hours in a human body during the sleepovers as she leaned against Tyler and managed her balance, one hoof on his shoulder, the other placed inside his hand.

Gulping a bit, she looked at her partner.
"Is this the right stance?"

A bit unsure himself, Tyler nodded and laid a hand on her back, gently pulling her in.

Rachel walked around them and nodded in confirmation, correcting a few things here and there,
"This hand a bit more up, or it looks like you want to grope her butt."

As they began to slowly taking the steps, Twilight's seemed nervous.

After a while Rachel nodded, seemingly satisfied with the result,
"There you go Twilight. No flailing, no useless and clumsy kicking, just grace and beauty."

Tyler looked down to Twilight and smiled,
“I think we're doing great for our first dance together, hm? You look far better when you-"

A sudden pain in his right foot made Tyler clench his teeth together and Twilight immediately raised her leg that stepped on his foot,
"Sorry! Sorry!!!"

Gritting his teeth a bit more, Tyler forced a smile,
"It's alright. We're learning, right?"

Cadance raised a hoof and smiled,
"Gently now, Twilight. This isn't a race. Take your time."

The young princess nodded and looked down to her hooves, slowly taking the steps. As the hours continued, the steps slowly grew more confident, and Twilight looked up to Tyler with a smile and leaned her head against his chest. It was a gentle comfort she could bask in for eternity. Tyler smiled down gently to her as they danced slowly. Maybe it was her first real dance with someone. Looking up to the others, he saw Cadance nudging Rachel into the ribs with her elbow, while chuckling. With some minor drawbacks they managed to teach the two trainees a dance fitting for a ball.

As they parted, Tyler arched a finger and bowed before Twilight, who giggled amused and raised a hoof,
"Oh you..."

Gently grabbing her hoof, he placed a kiss upon it and winked up to her.
"All we need now is a decent waltz for this..."

Cadance passed them with a giggle,
"I could arrange some music. Shining and I would like to dance to some romantic music as well. You just wait."

* * * * *

It was early in the morning as Princess Celestia was sitting in the throne room along with her secretary and several guards. A few nobles were standing in the hall, awaiting their audience in front of the princess in patience. Some conversed a bit about some minor tax issues and what should be addressed to the princess in order to enhance the situation.

Suddenly the doors to the throne room swung open with force and Tyler stood in them. His eyes searched the room, but nopony whatsoever seemed to be of importance. As he spotted Celestia, he walked over to her.

Some noble stallions sneered at his actions,
"The nerve! Everypony else stands in line. I think it wouldn't be asking too much if that Ranger, no matter how famous he is, does the same!" a short glare from Tyler was everything it took to silence the stallion as he passed him.

Looking up, Celestia smiled as he approached her,
"Hello, Tyler. What can I do for you?"

As he stepped up the stairs to the throne, he grabbed Celestia's jaw and pushed her back,
“Tyler? What by the stars are you do-” interrupting her, he wrestled her down until she was lying on her back.

Lying on top of her, he opened his pants and looked at her with greed and lust in his eyes.

She began to panic,
“Are you insane?!? Not now! I-“

He interrupted her rudely, already entering her as he slammed his member deep into her womb. With a sharp gasp Celestia’s eyes widened. He was actually doing it. He was taking her in the throne room in front of everypony’s eyes. With a heavy blush she looked around in shame. The maidens were blushing heavily, the stallions watched with interest at the penetration and her exposed sex. And Tyler… Tyler just pumped into her like an animal, a primal, powerful, raging beast.

Nopony raised a hoof to help her. All seemed to be hypnotized by the event as the mighty Celestia was getting pounded by her human lover,
“Look at her…” one of the mares said, “So lewd and impertinent…”

Another stallion noble wrinkled his nose,
“We all heard the rumors that her human lover can do it for hours, but showing it in public? I say…”

Celestia heard the voices and her cheeks burned in shame. Yes, she was the ruler of Equestria, but she also was a mare, 'For him, I am lewd, I am his naughty little filly, I am his to do with as he pleases. I’m his back-alley slut and I bucking love to misbehave like this for a change…' As she moaned loudly, she closed her eyes as the ecstasy grew in her.

Her vagina fully exposed to the entire room, she slowly placed her front hooves on Tyler’s butt, aiding him in his thrusts while her hind legs were spread out high in the air. He was finally claiming her, training her to be his brood mare, his prized alicorn bitch. It felt so wonderful to be used by him. Moaning and grunting heavily, she enjoyed herself. He was her young master and a life in serfdom under his potent dick was exactly what she craved.

Finally his thrusts became faster and his animalistic moans and grunts into her ear signalized her that his shot was closing in.

He faced her with a smile,
“Celestia… Celestia!”

In the next moment Tyler shook her shoulder a bit while standing right beside her,
“Celestia? Come on, don’t fall asleep in your office like this.”

Opening her eyes with a gasp, she hastily looked around and stared into his eyes, confused,
“What?”

With a gentle smile, he shook his head,
“You were dreaming, my love. You probably worked so hard that you fell asleep on your desk. Come on… time to return to dreamland once you’re in your cozy bed.”

Sighing in frustration, she nodded,
“Alright…” a few minutes later, she was lying in her bed as he gave her a goodnight kiss, “Tyler? Would you sleep with me tonight?”

Arching a brow, he smiled while cocking his head,
“Without the others?”

Looking down in embarrassment she nodded,
“I would like some company before I sleep again.”

“Well… there’s no harm with some company I guess. You sure love to cuddle before you sleep.” he stated with a grin.

Biting her lip, Celestia looked to the side,
"Could I... get some special treatment?"

Her question only earned her an arched brow from Tyler,
"No special treatment for any mare in my herd, Celestia."

"Not even for me, Tyler?" she said with a seductive look and duck lips.

For that he spanked her once with an audible clap,
"Especially not for you, Celestia." his hand gently caressed the flank he spanked, massaged and kneaded it.

'He’s such a tease sometimes…' she thought with a frown, but then smiled,
“Alright then.” leaning to him with a gentle smile, she licked his cheek before she started to nuzzle him, "You are a good herd mate, you know that? You give Twilight so much confidence with what you're doing to her body. And you are exciting me simply by letting me beg for it."

Facing her, Tyler grabbed her jaw and forced her eyes to meet his,
"The great and powerful Celestia... Submissive to the man she loves? No man should have all that power..."

Celestia shook free from his grip and pressed her lips on his in a deep kiss.

After several minutes, she parted from him and gasped excitedly, her cheeks blushing, "The only power I bestow upon you is the one over my heart. As long as I love you, this power is yours. Luna thinks the same way. We see you as a rare opportunity to partake instead of simply witness. After so many centuries... you have no idea how old politics can get."

Grinning a bit, he rubbed her belly,
"Sounds like you are using me to get a life to live."

The white alicorn mare replied to the accusation with a grin of her own,
"Well, after a millennium of ruling Equestria and carefully shaping it into a peaceful and friendly little nation... Don't I deserve to live a bit?" with a sudden gasp she placed a hoof in front of her mouth and looked at him before shaking her head, "Don't tell Luna I said that!"

Tyler merely grinned into her face,
"This is really comforting..."

Dumbfounded, Celestia arched a brow and cocked her head,
"Pardon? What is comforting?"

"You have flaws, Celestia." he stated, grinning, "This makes you more interesting. I think I would love you only half as much if you were flawless... Now come... Let us sleep a bit."

That said, he laid down beside of her before they both snuggled a bit closer to each other. As he closed his eyes, he wasn't aware that his breathing against her long and slender white neck made her fantasize over her recent dream. If he would really do it with her like that... She wasn't sure if she would kick him off of her in order to preserve her decency, or if she would give in to his lust and become the broodmare like she fantasized for so long. But Tyler didn't know about any of that. Her warmth and odor slowly rocked him to sleep. That wonderful scent of her, almost like vanilla... darkness engulfed him and he began to sleep.

* * * * *

It was broad daylight when Tyler was strolling through the park, conversing with Cadance and Twilight about various topics,
“And then Spike ate the last gem as well.” both girls were giggling while Tyler smiled.

Cadance then suddenly looked over to Tyler and smirked,
“So… how is Twilight doing with being a princess and all?”

Tyler arched a brow,
“Well, she’s become very careful with her magic lately. Being an alicorn seems to mean that her magic spells turn out a bit stronger than before and that she can cast them with much more ease.”

"The herd life has become very exciting with Tyler..." Twilight stated, "But Applejack and Princess Celestia seem to do so well in..." the young mare blushed. "...you know... fellatio. I feel a bit like I’m falling behind. I’ve never done that before."

Just as Tyler wanted to reassure her that it wasn't a problem in his eyes, Cadance beamed and rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulders,
"Oh, that's not a problem, I can demonstrate for you. Trust me, when Shining gets his 'special care' from me, he can’t stand up for a couple of hours." Tyler shook his head in utter disbelief, Cadance looked around, "Good! Nopony around right now. Tyler, undress and hold still for a little while I show Twilight all the right angles.”

Raising his hands in defense, he took a few steps back,
“W- What? Now hold on a second! Cadance, you are a married mare!”

The Princess of Love arched a brow and began to grin.

That grin sent shivers down his spine,
“And Twilight’s counselor in topics of love. So hold still already! Or would you prefer that I get Twilight a stallion in order to train on his member?”

“That’s not any better!” he said with hugely wide eyes.

Jumping up, she pinned him against a tree, while her magic unbuckled his belt,
"Then stop complaining."

Tyler felt the urge to slap her away. But then he would have had to justify the act of violence to Shining and Celestia. How could he tell them that a married mare... His train of thought ended as he saw her horn glowing and a heart hovered above it. Like a guided missile, the heart glided down and flew directly into his crotch. In an instant, Tyler could feel the effect of the alicorn magic as his member began to rise like on command. 'Magic Viagra... swell!'

With a smirk Cadance whispered into his ear,
"If you cooperate now and hold still, Twilight will learn better and faster and might do this every night for you..."

Taking a deep breath at the height of his member, Cadance opened her eyes and inspected the human’s penis.

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and her hoof touched his testicles ever so gently as she looked up to Tyler,
"I see... a little smaller than Shining Armor... the tip is round, not flat... which I guess allows faster penetration... I can begin to imagine how you pump that thing into Twilight..."

Tyler gritted his teeth and prayed to God that no one would come barging in to them right now. His body felt like he was glued to that pesky tree.

Letting her tongue slide up from under the downside of his testicles and erected shaft, Cadance looked up to him as her tongue played with the tip. To say that it felt good would have been a bald-faced lie. It felt outrageously good! But at the same time, Tyler felt horrid for Twilight. Looking over to her though, he saw that the young alicorn looked on with great interest and furthermore took detailed notes.

The sudden feeling of teeth got his attention back to Cadance who grinned mischievously,
"Pay attention to the mare who gives you head, bad boy..."

He only shook his head, ‘This is wrong, this is plain wrong! Applejack, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor... so many ponies we’re betraying right in this moment and I’m just standing here like a dumbfounded little boy getting his first blow-job.’ And yet her mouth seemed to find every angle, every movement to make it great for him. Was that part of her being the Princess of Love? Cadance claimed to know over 50000 kinds of love and ways to make it… was she for real when she said that? And to make matters worse, Cadance began going deeper. Tyler took a sharp inhale as he passed her mouth and entered her throat. Bending over a bit, his hands rested on her head, which only pressed her deeper into his crotch. He could feel her chin against his balls as she gagged a little.

As he felt his cheeks burning, he saw Twilight only taking notes with a big grin on her face,
"Ah, so does it feel that good in a pony’s throat?" she asked.

He couldn't believe his ears, ‘What’s gotten into these two? I have to stop this madness before anyone sees them doing this. Is Twilight out of her freaking mind? If Applejack saw this, she would hunt me down for good with that shotgun of hers! And I would probably deserve it.’

Massaging his testicles with her hoof Cadance looked up to him, 'This isn’t right, it can’t be right!' he thought. Yet Cadance moaned into his crotch while sucking his scepter, taking it deep into her throat. A sudden movement of her rump and wet slippery noises made him realize that Cadance was masturbating while she was 'taking care' of him. This realization was when it happened. Jetting into her throat, his cum almost caused the Princess of Love to gag, but she forced herself to swallow and one bulge after another became visible on her throat.

That was the moment Tyler sat up in bed, sweaty and confused. As he came to his senses, he went through his hair with both hands, 'What the fuck are you dreaming, asshole?' He shifted out of the bed, careful not to wake up Celestia and went into the bathroom and took a cold shower. While the cold water streamed down his body, he still felt the erection raging between his legs, fighting to stay at attention. But his member went limp after a while and Tyler rested his forehead on the tiled wall, 'God... Freud would have a field day with me now!'

* * * * *

In the morning the herd sat together at the table with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor to have breakfast. While Applejack fed Appleseed a bottle of milk, Tyler had a bowl of cereal while the two regal sisters had some croissants with marmalade. However, as Twilight and Cadance looked around from their seats, it was quite quiet at the table. Celestia was looking down; Tyler was looking down as well and Luna… Due to her expression Luna seemed angered about something.

Cadance leaned over to Shining Armor and lowered her voice,
“Honey, do you think that their herd has a problem?”

Shining was busy eating his bread, looked up, looked around and shrugged,
“Maybe it’s morning grumpiness?”

Twilight slammed a hoof on the table and stood up,
“Why are you all so silent? If there’s a problem, we as a herd-”

Luna’s hoof rose up and cut Twilight off,
“Tis not a problem of realistic matter, young princess… More lack of decency and discipline… But no one’s responsible for the ways his or her dreams go… As for me… I am simply a bit disappointed in these two.”

Now Cadance understood and giggled a bit,
“I see…”

Looking over to her former foalsitter slightly grumpy, Twilight shook her head,
“But I don’t get it!”

With a wide grin, Cadance leaned over to Twilight,
“It means Casanova dreamed of a mare getting him off that wasn’t in the herd. I wonder who that mare was… Care to tell us, Tyler?”

While biting into her own cheese bun, Cadance noticed Luna arching a brow while looking in her direction. Gulping down the bite, she silently looked over to Tyler who began to shrink in his seat.

Looking over to her aunt just to get a reassuring nod, Cadance began to chuckle,
“Someone seems to have quite a fancy taste…”

Twilight looked at Tyler, who didn't dare to make a sound, but as soon as her eyes narrowed, Applejack nudged her softly into the side,
"Twilight, let him be. There's no use in askin' around. And yer not jealous about a dream, are ya?"

Luna just shook her head with a sigh. At least Cadance was taking it with humor and everypony else was clueless. If Celestia found out that part of Tyler’s subconsciousness lusted for Cadance’s flank, it would force an entire decade of counseling. But maybe it would turn out that he was beginning to grow more interested into alicorn mares. Her own wish of having a foal with him could only benefit from this.

* * * * *

Later that day Tyler was going down a corridor inside the castle, when he saw Cadance. Since she wasn't looking in his direction, he decided to go another way to avoid her.

Just before he could be out of her view, her voice sounded behind him,
“Tyler? On a word under four eyes, please…”

Sighing in defeat, he nodded, 'Here it comes…' as he turned around, he gave her a smile, although he could clearly see that she saw through the nervous gesture,
"Yes?"

As she reached him, she looked up to him with a strict expression on her face,
"Walk with me for a moment..." she said with a sober tone and went on.

As he followed her, Tyler made sure to be at her side, not behind her. It was a long walk and both remained silent for the time being. It was becoming awkward after a while and Tyler slowly got the idea that this talk with her might be very unpleasant, ‘Maybe it’s already adultery to dream about another mare?’

When they reached the palace garden, Tyler suddenly realized what Cadance had done, 'That little minx!' he thought as he recognized that she took the long way to the gardens to soften him up. It would have been a walk of merely half a minute from where they started, but she took a detour making it five long minutes to boil down his nerves.

Arching a finger, he cocked his head a bit,
"Why you..."

But Cadance winked at him with a mischievous grin, biting the air playfully like attempting to bite his finger,
"Don't point a finger at me, young man... You were the one dreaming about me despite being with your herd, so that's a proper penalty. Now... Sit down please. I wish to talk to you."

As he did as asked, Cadance sat down to her haunches beside him and looked into his eyes,
"Although I’m quite flattered by your… fantasy, I also see that you know that this was wrong and I see how you torture yourself with it.”

Stammering a bit, Tyler tried to get a full sentence out,
“N- now Cadance… I-“

She raised a hoof and shook her head with a smile,
“If I got upset about every stallion out there fantasizing over my flank I would probably go berserk in a matter of minutes. I see more in this, Tyler… You are attracted to the bodies of alicorn mares. You first courted Aunt Luna into your herd. While I don’t doubt your deep feelings for her as an individual, it’s quite obvious that the first mare you deliberately choose to get into your herd was an alicorn. You later welcomed Aunt Celestia into your herd. The reasons for that I won’t argue with you, but again you seemed up for the task. Now Twilight is an alicorn and she…” Cadance began to smirk, “She told me that the sex between you two almost doubled in frequency and duration… And now you fantasize about me… Should I get worried about my husband next?”

Tyler stared at Cadance in disbelief,
“Do you imply I would harm Shining Armor just to get rid of him just to secure myself another alicorn mare? That’s ridiculous! He’s my best friend!”

“I’ve seen friendship, even between best friends, often destroyed once it comes down to a mare…" the pink alicorn stated with a shrug, "Love can be stronger than friendship.”

“Never!” Tyler nearly yelled with a determined shake of his head, “I would never do that to Shining! You would despise me forever if I ever harmed him for such a stupid reason!”

“No…" Cadance said with a cold and sober tone, “No, I would kill you. I would utterly destroy you if you ever harmed Shining Armor.”

Tyler gave her words a thoughtful nod. He knew all too well about Cadance's reactions regarding Shining Armor and those who would do him harm,
“Yeah, I know that from Blueblood, and he just left him behind. What’s with Blueblood anyway? What did you do to the guy after those Griffin convicts were done with him?”

Harrumphing a bit, Cadance smiled in a dark way,
“Oh… I am a forgiving princess… PRINCESS Blueblood now enjoys the attention of some crystal stallion paramours. She even let one of them get close to her. After all the arrogance and attitude was corrected, she became such a nice character. Every now and then, I see both of them sitting in the crystal gardens and kissing. I wouldn’t be surprised if she chose him as her special somepony.”

Tyler's eyes opened wide,
“You CHANGED his GENDER?!?” as Cadance nodded with pride, Tyler shuddered a bit.

Cadance, in her own way, could be frightening,
“All’s well that ends well, huh? Even more reason never to piss you off…” sitting down next to Cadance, he patted her shoulder nervously, “One lousy dream doesn’t mean I lust after your flank. You are beautiful, but not so beautiful that I would kill Shining Armor in order to get you for myself. That would mean that I would have to have you against your will. And that would mean I would have to break you. I couldn’t stand my image in the mirror anymore without breaking it. And the others wouldn’t approve of it either.”

Looking over to Tyler, Cadance smirked,
“Yes… You’re not that stupid. By the way… What DID I do in your dream?”

Tyler cleared his throat and stammered a bit, so she put a hoof on his leg,
“It’s OK, I won’t tell Shining or Twilight and you don’t have to fear consequences from me. I’m just curious.”

Sighing, Tyler nodded,
“Oh alright… Teaching Twilight how to give head including deepthroats with a demonstration on my... well you know...”

Cadance imagined that for a bit, before she arched a brow and grinned wide,
“Is that so? Well, I must say if it comes to humans, Twilight has more expertise than I have. I may know so much more about love between ponies than any other… But concerning love with a human? That’s completely out of my expertise. Maybe I should task Twilight to send me some love reports to learn about human coupling a bit. As for sleeping with you… No, that won't be happening anytime soon. Maybe Shining and I will discuss a little ‘partner swap’ in about 500 years to spice things up again though…”

Her comment prompted Tyler to frown for a moment,
“Uh… You DO know that not one of us mortals could ever hope to live that long, right?”

Giggling a bit, Cadance winked at him,
“THAT’S up for a debate…”

Nodding first, Tyler's eyes then popped open and he looked at her her in confusion,
“Wait, WHAT?” his comment only prompted Cadance to burst out laughing.

* * * * *

The next day the Harmony Rangers as well as the Elements of Harmony were in the Royal Palace’ kitchen. While Sam prepared a mushroom and onion pizza with Pinkie and Lyra, Rainbow and Flynn prepared a spicy bean soup with Scootaloo.

Looking down to the young Pegasus filly, Flynn smiled,
"And? Do you girls have any plans for this week’s crusading?"

"Sure!" Scootaloo beamed, "The day after tomorrow, we will try to get our cutie marks in sieges. Apple Bloom said that we only need enough space to test-fire the catapult."

Both Flynn and Rainbow gasped a bit, but kept their smiles,
"Sounds great!" he said before he leaned over to Rainbow, "Monitor them and make sure they aim for a lake or something." giving this a determined nod, the cerulean mare agreed.

Meanwhile Tyler helped Applejack and Twilight with the cutting of some vegetables,
"You know? Back on Earth there was once a time when women were deemed to belong only in the bed and kitchen. Nowadays both genders have equal rights. That's why guys and girls often have problems when trying to cook together. Some say it's the best if the girls cook all alone, mostly because it's common belief that girls put way more heart into the dish for her loved one... some say that it's more romantic when the guy cooks for her..."

Applejack and Twilight stood on either side of him and looked up with smirks on their faces,
"Is that so...?"

Grinning widely, Tyler nodded while the other elements glanced over to the three of them,
"Certainly! It makes for a nice change if he does all the chores in the kitchen for her. It makes her see that he cares for her. But do you know what's deemed more romantic than a guy cooking for his girl?"

Rachel rolled her eyes with a smile,
"Oh, boy... That idiot never stops talking..."

Rainbow shrugged as she hovered at Flynn's side,
"What is it, T-Man?"

"A guy cooking with his girl..."

Both the earth pony's and alicorn's eyes suddenly popped up before they looked at Tyler,
"Careful with yer hands there, pardner..." Applejack stated with a smirk.

Twilight giggled, her cheeks slightly blushing,
"He's like that all the time in the recent weeks. It's like your primal side wants to come out or something, big boy."

Arching a brow, Tyler shook his head,
"Primal side? Yeah right. Me Tyler. Me hungry." after they laughed a bit, he patted Applejack's shoulder again, "Seriously though, what do we have prepared already?"

While the others prepared their meals in other parts of the kitchen, Applejack presented the ingredients she had brought with her,
"Well, Ah prepared everythin' for a nice salad and a few corn cobs in butter. And, here's something for yer taste buds as well, Sugarcube: Tofu burger with meat-taste from Zecora. And for dessert, my own recipe for hoecakes and some good syrup."

Twilight looked into her own pots,
"I prepared some ingredients for braised vegetables and a bowl of daisies for a salad since that's the only salad I can do properly. But... umm... Humans don't eat daisies, right?"

Tyler shook his head with a smile,
"No, we don't... But I'm eager to dig in to your vegetables, Twilight..." With that he leaned over and kissed her cheek, "We shall prepare it together..." he then placed the big bag of tofu on the table, "But first let me prepare some tofu burgers for all the humans here." looking over to Grinko, he presented one ball of tofu to him, "Would you like some of these too, Grinko? They may be not meat, but they taste the same and are as nutritious as meat."

But the Masar simply bowed before Tyler before he shook his head in respect,
"I respect that you decided to refuse to eat meat to honor your bond with your lair mates... Please respect that I decided to refuse to eat fake meat." as he looked over to Fluttershy, the yellow Pegasus had already taken one of the tofu burgers and grinned shyly.

He simply smiled and patted her head,
"It's alright. I don't expect you to eat stuff that makes you sick."

As Grinko prepared some steaks, Rachel looked over his shoulder,
"Oh boy! Those look really good." With a nod, Grinko placed one already done steak on her plate and Rachel tried it.

Closing her eyes, she shook her head in delight,
"Aw man fif if fo good." gulping down her bite, she looked at Grinko,
"I thought all cows in Equestria were sentient? Where did you get this meat?"

Showing his fangs in his grin, he shook his head,
"Don't let the taste fool you. This is hydra steak from the neck." Rachel's chewing lost its enthusiastic pace in an instant and she looked at the plate.

After a moment, with a shrug, she took another bite and continued to eat.

After putting the pizza into the oven, Sam looked at his girls and nodded with a smile,
"Now you're about to get to taste some good old Italian style pizza. A friend of mine used to make pizza like this."

While Pinkie bounced excited in front of the oven to watch the pizza, Lyra used her magic to clean up a bit,
"Sam? About that motor..."

But Sam rolled his eyes in minor annoyance,
"Lyra? No. No talk about work now. Not while we’re having our vacation. It was very kind of the princesses to grant us Rangers another vacation since we couldn't enjoy the last one. So please, let us enjoy this."

Levitating her mechanical hands in defense, the aquamarine coated unicorn shrugged,
"Yes, I know... But I addressed Vinyl with our little problem and I think she can help us with it."

Just as Sam began to shake his head and raised his hands in order to give reason why he didn't wanted this, a pink hoof interrupted him as Pinkie was chewing on a cupcake while shaking her own head,

"Listen, Sam! I as the Element of Laughter don't like it when my friends frown... But I absolutely hate it when my herd mates do that!"

The statement caused him to blink in surprise at her.

For the first time since he’d known her, she seemed dead serious about something,
"Pinkie, uh... OK, I'll just wait until after the vacation?"

"Good! Now no more frowny faces, OK?" placing her hooves on his face, she moved the corners of his mouth up to make him smile.

Satisfied, she closed her eyes and beamed, patting him on the head what earned her a laugh and hug from him.

One audible belch later, Spike unrolled a letter and almost immediately stormed right to Twilight,
"Uh... Twilight? You guys should probably hear this."

Looking over to the baby dragon, Twilight noticed the letter in his claw,
"What is it, Spike? Do we get another mission from Princess Celestia?”

Handing Tyler the letter, Spike shrugged while the human gave the letter a fast read,
"It says that due to the recent coronation of Twilight, there will be a royal ball in Canterlot in two days and that it is mandatory that the leading Harmony Rangers and the Elements of Harmony are present." now looking into the letter with Twilight, Tyler then looked around to the others, "Well... that's what the letter says... Eleven names to attend to the ball. The Elements, four humans and Lyra."

For the rest of the day, the friends enjoyed their meals and conversed a bit among several topics, but there was a certain tension in the air now even no one was addressing it. This wasn't like the annual golden tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, it seemed far more important, since it was mandatory. Every person and pony secretly worried what the real reason for the ball was.

* * * * *

The following day, Sam was standing in his workshop in the Ranger headquarter as Vinyl Scratch approached him together with Lyra.

After greeting the white unicorn, Sam began explaining,
"Normally I would do this on my own, then I could blame no one but myself for a mistake, but currently I'm stuck and my mares told me they want me to get some help with this thing." with that he unveiled the motor, "So here's the idea: I want to make a combustion motor energized by magically charged human blood. My plan is to charge the blood with levitation magic and transfer it onto these dishes to propel something big and heavy. I already tried every imaginable combination of wiring to complete the circuit, but it only runs for a few seconds before it sputters and goes out."

Arching a brow, Vinyl shook her head,
“Nah, dude! A setup like that will never work! If you want to circuit magic with a machine you have to do it in a whole different way."

With arched brows Sam looked at Vinyl and the blueprints in turn, before he handed her the pen and unrolled the blueprints,
"Alright, show me."

After a first glance through the blueprints, Vinyl shook her head and scratched some things from it, levitating the pen over the blueprint,
"The first mistake you made was to make it a circular system like you want to store the energy again. That works for electronic devices, but not for stuff you power with magic. We unicorns tap magic from this world and it goes back into nature after being used. Now you can store it for a while, but you simply can't reuse it over and over again. That means that your circuit is worth nothing, since it's a circular electronic one, not a linear magic one."

Sam felt like slapped into the face,
"Of course! Then the systems are getting powered directly and then this goes here and this goes here... And this can go completely... But wait a second... How do I volume the amount of magic for every component?"

Smirking a bit, Vinyl nodded,
"I'll help you with the wiring, come on!"

A day after that, Sam, Lyra, Pinkie and Vinyl stood before the reassembled engine and the dishes. After rewiring the engine and checking everything, they had reassembled everything one final time. Looking to the others, Sam took a deep breath. All three mares nodded and urged him with their hooves to crank it over already. The key was turned and the engine started. Narrowing his eyes, Sam watched the dishes, which instantly began to rise and over beside the motor. One thing was missing though. The engine didn't cough, it didn't gurgle and stop. It kept running.

Picking up Lyra from the floor, he shook her gently in his excitement,
“It keeps running... It keeps running, it keeps running! Baby, you're the best!”

After receiving a big kiss on the cheek, Lyra giggled,
“I only said you needed help, you dummy!”

While Pinkie jumped on top of one of the dishes and kept doing circles with an audible “Weeeeeeeeeee!!!” Vinyl approached Lyra and Sam,
“So... You have an engine running smoothly... Are you still up to build that crazy idea of an armored vehicle of yours?”

Sam answered with a nod,
“Sure thing. Now we need a frame, a control system, the weapon system and some interior... And of course the armor plates... Lots of welding.”

Both unicorns looked at each other before they beamed at Sam,
“Sure, dude! We unicorns can do the welding and I can help you with the wiring of the systems.”

Lyra nodded enthusiastically,
“Yes, we could do industrial welding or magic welding, whatever resources we have at hoof.”

Vinyl tipped her chin in thought,
“We should make the weapon control system only move the turret though... Otherwise the weapons would siphon magic out of the engine. Maybe Ranger Rachel would make a great gunner for the main cannon.”

Taking notes, Sam nodded,
“I will talk to her. These actually are great ideas... I-” he then noticed Pinkie Pie smiling up to him with big puppy eyes.

Rolling his eyes with a smile, he nodded down to her,
“Alright Pinkie... You are in charge of the interior. Just no useless decoration, alright?”” Pinkie saluted and dashed off while Lyra and Vinyl got other materials ready. Nodding at the engine, Sam turned the key once more and the engine ceased to function. 'We're getting results rather quickly... Hopefully this thing will be useful...'

* * * * *

Two hours later in the evening, the Harmony Rangers and Elements of Harmony gathered in front of Canterlot Castle with everyone and everypony wearing their Gala outfits.

Rachel looked up in her evening dress and rested a hand on her waist,
“So... This ball will be like what? The Grand Galloping Gala just only for nobility and absolute VIPs?”

Tyler nodded and stood beside her,
“From what could be understood from that letter? Yes... Come on, folks. Twilight already went in to get prepared. The castle staff are on call to help the Princesses with their outfits. I'm sure she's going crazy by now.”

Upon entering the castle, a servant noticed Tyler and made haste to gallop over to him,
“Tyler Jones! Princess Twilight ordered me to bring you to her the instant you arrive.”

Tyler first glanced to the others before he looked at the servant,
“Then let's not waste any time.”

In her own suite, Twilight was ready and dressed and kept brushing her already brushed mane in obvious nervousness.

When Tyler entered the room, she immediately turned around,
“Thank Celestia you are here! I think I'm going to freak out if even one more servant wants to do something for me...”

Tyler gave her a good long hug and a kiss on the forehead,
“My God, you're shaking...”

“Well can you blame me?” she snapped at him in excitement. “Every Canterlot noble will be there tonight and will judge me. I-”

He placed a finger on her lips before he kissed her,
“And I am certain that they will like you. You have high expectations to yourself, Twilight. Everypony knows that. So as long as you are yourself I don't see any problems coming our way...” Twilight remained silent, touched by his words.

As she hugged him once more, the shaking of her body finally ceased and he patted her shoulder,
“There, there, girl... You would do the same thing for me, wouldn't you?”

It was then when another servant entered her room and harrumphed a bit,
“Your highness? The guests are waiting...” Twilight gave this a brief nod and the couple was led down by the servant before they stood in front of the great door to the ball room.

Gulping a bit, Tyler looked down to Twilight,
"Are you nervous?" looking straight forward, she frantically shook her head, which only made him chuckle, "Yeah... So am I..." his palm now rested on her back, "But you look gorgeous tonight, Twilight. Absolutely gorgeous."

His reassurance snapped her out of her nerviness and she smiled up to him,
"Thank you, Tyler.” the doors then opened and they entered the room, greeted by many Ohs and Ahs.

After half an hour and several short conversations and greetings they met Shining Armor and Cadance. One little rhyme dance and hoof to hand greeting later they began to converse with the married couple.

A while after that Tyler began to laugh,
"Liquid pride? Really?" slapping Shining's shoulder a bit, Tyler chuckled, "What an eloquent way to describe manly tears, my friend."

Chuckling a bit embarrassed, Shining grinned as Cadance leaned against him,
"Well... What kind of brother would I be if I wasn't happy for my little sister being successful?"

Tyler gave this a nod,
"True... true... Glory to those who deserve it. And no one deserves it more than our beautiful girls.” with that he bowed slightly before Twilight. “Twilight? Will you honor me with a dance?”

Still unsure, even after the dance lessons from Rachel, Twilight looked around, stammering repeatedly,
“Uh... I-I don't know... I… I mean we only practiced that one day and I probably need more time to master it...”

Tyler looked up to her with a certain fire in his eyes,
“Look into my eyes, Twilight.” with a gulp she did as he told her and looked at him, “We will dance like we practiced and we will have fun while doing so. If they don't like it, who cares? Who's the Princess here anyway?”

Twilight briefly looked over to Shining Armor and Cadance, who simply nodded in confirmation and Twilight grew bolder.

Coming to Tyler's side she took a deep breath and smiled,
“I'd love to...”

With that they walked over to the dance floor and Twilight jumped up to stand on two legs.

Looking into each others eyes, both of them danced slowly, which earned them a pleased murmur from the bystanders,
“Look how beautiful she is...” one young noble mare stated with a blush.

A nearby standing stallion patted the mare's shoulder,
“Why of course, my dear... A mare in love always shines the most.”

“And quite an exotic love that is...” a third pony said.

She was an older mare of yellow coat with brown mane, wearing a tiny hat.

But this caused the stallion to frown at the older mare,
“Hush! Not only is she a princess, but also an element bearer. She will know what she is doing.”

A second stallion nodded in confirmation and gazed upon the two of them,
“They must truly harmonize with each other if they managed to dance like that. I remember Twilight Sparkle from before. Her dancing style was... unique before she became a princess. It seems she had a great tutor, if he managed to teach her a dance she could perform with a human.”

Overhearing these voices, Rainbow snorted in minor frustration, before she looked at her partner,
"Flynn!"

Flinching a bit, he looked at Rainbow in surprise,
"What is it?"

Nodding towards the dance floor, Rainbow smirked,
"Come on! A little dance to show that we're not behind the others."

Looking over to Twilight and Tyler, Flynn gulped a bit,
"But they were instructed... I... uh... I can't dance at all. I don't want to step on your hooves."

"Hooves?" Rainbow now snickered, "Flynn, I don't need to take the steps, I have these babies here..." she wiggled her wings playfully, "So what do you say? Want to dance a little?"

Smiling broadly, he nodded,
"Sure, why not? Might be fun after all... But don't expect a top notch dancer..."

Rainbow only shook her head with a chuckle,
"I don't want a first class dancer, I want to spend some fun time with you. Come on!

While Flynn and Rainbow had their fun on the dance floor, wooing around, Octavia came to the side of Sam and Rachel,
"Good evening."

Rachel smiled down to her,
“Octavia! Good to see you again. How are you doing?”

Placing her instrument box to the ground, the earth pony mare smiled,
“Certainly fine, thank you, Rachel. I'm here to play the cello and gather some information. But right now I have a little break to rest briefly and to refresh my hooves, when you stand in one place and in one posture, the blood doesn’t flow so well. Events like this make Canterlot so much more special...”

It was then when Flynn and Rainbow bumped into another pair of dancers,
“Oh! I beg you pardon.”

When Flynn turned around, he saw a white bat pony stallion with a scar on his face, it was a single, wide scar that began near the crown of his head and continued, uninterrupted, to his left cheek right over his left eye. He was wearing a dark, blood red, almost black tuxedo. His dark red mane was wild and uncombed, but seemed to be put in place with styling gel, underlining the striking features of his face. In an instant Flynn got the feeling that this stallion wasn't quite an ordinary one. Not because of nobility status or being rich, but by the aura he emitted. It wasn't anything particularly alarming, but the feeling that this stallion was more than a loudmouth wiggled its way into Flynn's mind.

Eying Flynn for a second, the bat pony arched a brow and a smile grew on his face,
"Ah yes... the human who almost fell victim to one of my subordinates... No need to apologize. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Earl Draco von Hoofington.” the name rang a bell in flynn's head and he stepped in front of Rainbow, which caused the Earl to chuckle, “I see you know what I am by now. Don't be alarmed though. I would never do something so stupid. After all, the Element of Loyalty is very important. Even for us nobles. I would never allow anything to happen to its bearer...”

Rainbow arched a brow now and landed on the floor,
“Um... Flynn? What's this all about?”

Flynn leaned over to her,
“Rainbow? Allow me to introduce you to Earl Draco von Hoofington, a vampony noble.”

Her eyes now grew wide,
“That is so awesome! I didn't know such things existed! I mean... yeah... Rumors and stories, but really?” after putting on a grin, the Earl showed his fangs and Rainbow's jaw dropped, “Whoah...”

Chuckling a bit, the Earl then looked up at Flynn again,
“It is a great pleasure to see that you made it out of Vivian's salon in one piece, Ranger Flynn. Frankly I didn't expect less of a human, though. Your kind seems to have a knack for getting into the most dangerous situations and out again. Come... Let us converse together. My mares and I would be thrilled to hear about the tales your kind has to share...”

A few meters away, Tyler and Twilight looked over to the little group Flynn and Rainbow were going with,
"Vamponies, huh?” Tyler asked, “Is it safe to be around them? Or do we have to fear for Flynn and Rainbow? Are they in danger?"

Luna approached them and shook her head,
"Nay, Tyler... Earl Draco von Hoofington is an honorable vampony. Flynn is in no danger. Also Rainbow Dash is with him. The Earl would never allow any vampony to even touch them. He knows that he would have to stand answer to me if something happened. Every so often, he and I converse.” with that she bumped her rump into Twilight's, “And since the Elements of Harmony showed me how to socialize properly, we became very good friends. Well, mostly because we're both nocturnal. But it is a friendship he's not willing to risk." leaning to Tyler, Luna lowered her voice and held a hoof in front of her mouth, "And if thou ask me, I can stand him far better than the rest of the nobility, just don't let anypony know I said that." that said, she giggled, amused about her little secret.

Tyler sighed lightly and smiled at Luna,
"It's good to see that my bad little girl of the night finds more friends every now and then. The things we do to motivate those with money to further fund the cause, huh?"

Luna gave his statement a nod,
"Personally I would prefer to punch them in their lazy flanks. But Celestia says that would be tyranny. I would call it a nudge into the right direction since it's for the greater good. What good are all the riches if thou don't use them for something?"

Tyler nodded now,
"True, but don't force someone or somepony to do something they are unwilling to do, or we're no better than the Descendants. Better for these nobles to fund us by choice."

This brought a smile on Luna's face,
"Now thou sound like Celestia. I think there is some truth in it, but these are tough times ahead of us."

His hand patted her shoulder, gently stroking it while watching Shining and Cadance dancing now. The young couple drew some attention as well with their fast-paced dance.

"...And I wouldn't want to miss you in these times." with that he leaned over and whispered into her ear, "Why don't you give me the pleasure of dancing with you as well?"

Blushing, Luna closed her eyes with a smile,
"I'd love to, but I'm bigger than Twilight Sparkle... It would... it would look silly if I'm towering over you like that..."

Looking over to Celestia, Tyler smiled,
"What do you say, Celestia? Human for a dance?"

Celestia smiled and nodded,
"I think Luna and I would both love that... Luna? Why don't you go upstairs and dress up a bit for the occasion? You get the first turn. I'll go second.” Tyler smiled at her.

This already wonderful evening was getting better and better.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in the distant lands of the southeast, down in an underground base, a commander stood before the two Darkness sisters,
“T-the reports have come in, my mistresses... They confirm: There is a new princess in Equestria.”

Both alicorn mares glared down to him like he was harassing them with insignificant information.

Princess Lamira nodded, her voice very calm and collected,
“Thank you commander... But we already sensed that. You only confirmed our expectations.”

Princess Asira gave this a sneer as they turned around and trotted down a corridor to the surface,
"Ascension to alicornhood... Either this is a blasphemy of our status or this new alicorn is somepony extraordinary."

Princess Lamira, however, kept her temper to herself and seemed to already be planning,
"We shall see to that in good time. Come now, Asira my beloved sister... For now, Nagohod must fly!"

As they exited to the barren surface, both of them spread their wings and began their flight. High above the citadels and far away from the base, they unleashed their magic, causing the ground beneath them to crack open. As the few citadels that hovered in the air made way, a horrible quake took place as the two alicorns of Darkness levitated the object out of the ground. The citadels were shrouded in darkness as the Nagohod obscured the sunlight with its massive size. Several of the citadel captains looked up to the giant object with open jaws. The air was filled with dust and dirt, falling down the Nagohod. The huge citadel, dwarfing the others with its size: ten times more massive in every respect, hovered in the sky now and both alicorns began to laugh as the horns of Nagohod echoed over the barren lands, signaling it's combat readiness.

Author's Notes:

Proofread by Truthseeker