*N.B., none of this has been checked for grammar so expect a lot of broken english, non-pluralized words and just straight up the wrong words*

>Be Ember Heart the British professor pone (several hours earlier)
>You’d just been kidnapped by a random creature you’d never seen before, hauled through the streets of Canterlot on a crazy chase and then dumped back at your university
>The creature responsible had named itself Anonymous
>For somepony who’d just kidnapped you, all the while being chased by the Special Forces, he was exceedingly pleasant
>So kind too, and strong! Running through the city carrying you the whole way. Plus he got your bag back from that thief, even if you’d been charged with the crime
>And he was so interesting! You ever so dearly wanted to study him
>But you had other far more substantial work on your plate, having been chosen to help research an honest to Celestia alien! 
>Only a select few ponies had been told of its existence thus far
>Originally the call had come out from PRC’s warden, Honey Cakes, to have a look at an inmate’s peculiar abilities
>It was only after Princess Luna had met the creature that it was revealed to be alien, and apparently very dangerous
>Although Luna's dislike of anything alien was well documented so it can't be too bad
>You get off the bench Anonymous had left you on and pick up a brisk trot to your faculty
>Your previous thoughts about this peculiar individual had been blow from your mind after he'd pulled forth a Blood Rose
>One he’d then given to you!
>At first you thought it a mistake, or that he was just showing it off for some reason, but he’d insisted you have it. Who in their right mind did that?
>But he’d been so genuine in giving it to you
>Could you really consider something like this?
>Although the real question is why would anypony /ever/ just do that!?
>A Blood Rose was a very unique and magical flower used in Unicorn courtship
>It was traditionally presented as an alternative to a wedding ring. The Blood Rose was considered a far more intimate offering however
>This arose from its powerful magic
>It was a species that had been cultivated by unicorns since the founding of Equestria
>The flower was infused stem to petal with love magic
>When exposed to love, or even love’s kindling, the flower’s magic activates. It is then, not so romantically, but still ceremoniously, ingested by the willing parties, drawing forth their magic essence, fusing them permanently. An ultimate and final bond for the most intimate lovers
>Needless to say that made the presentation of such things an extremely special and rare occasion, something one would never, ever, joke about.
>Not a lot of ponies went ahead with such things in modern times. One, it was an archaic tradition and two, those roses could put you in debt for half your life
>Yet here today a random creature had sidled on over and literally asked you to join him forever
>What is your life? 
>The sliding glass doors of your faculty steadily approach as you continue along your little trek
>It was a large building, reaching up five stories, constructed from the same flawless white marble Canterlot was so famous for. Some of the newer additions to the building were made of more modern materials such as glass and plastics, giving the entire building a monstrous hybrid style
>But such things were of little concern to you, not now, not today
>What are you going to do? Stranger or not what he’d done was almost sacred! Why must he sow such chaos in your mind?
>You reach the doors and they slide open
>The usual red unicorn receptionist was at her desk, mindlessly typing away
>Her eyes briefly flash upwards and she grunts an acknowledgment at your presence
>But as you turn to make your way to the lifts you over hear her squee with excitement
“Oh my GOSH!! Ember Heart! I never expected you to meet anypony! Who’s the special stallion? He must be loaded you lucky mare!”
>Her gaze was fixated on the top of the cylinder containing the rose, currently poking out of your bag
>”Nopony you’d know- HEY! Wait a sec, what did you mean by that!?” You ask, offended by her off guard comment
>The receptionist mare smiles at you
“Oh it’s just that I’ve never seen you with anypony before, and you never join in with faculty events, I’ve never seen you go out and all you do is work, plus you have naturally bad social skills. I’ve seen your small talk, it’s not pretty.” The mare answers cheerily, smile still upon her muzzle, not a hint of anger or resentment in her voice, just harsh and utter truth
>”Okay.” You reply quietly, rushing to the elevator to avoid looking at the mare
>From how she’d said it you knew she didn’t intend for it to hurt but her words cut you deep enough the bring forth a single tear
>One you wipe away as the elevator doors close
>Sure you aren’t the most social of ponies and your best friend was the phoenix you studied for your PhD… Or you liked to think it was
>You lived by yourself and the only time you ever went out was into the wilderness to watch strange animals. But cuts to funding at the university prevented you from traveling as you once had 
>Now you’re thinking about it you’d never devoted any of your time to love
>In fact what would be considered the most romantic moment of your life occurred moments ago with some random
>He wasn’t even a pony
>Where were you going with this again?
>…
>...Stupid receptionist

<| °_° |>

>Your office was on the fifth floor beside the new janitor's closet 
>Actually your office might have been the old janitor closet. Most of the professors had rooms about that size
>But you made do
>You set up the rose on your desk and lose yourself in its fractal petals
>For too long you watch it, suspended in whatever preservative gel filled the cylinder 
>You check out the tiny clock ticking away on the wall
>Damn! If you don’t leave right now, you won’t make it to Perpetual Rainbows Correctional Centre in time 
>Stupid Rose. Stupid Anonymous!
>Papers fly about as you hurriedly gather your stuff
>You rush out the door, a bustle of activity, blood rose stuffed once more in your bags
>Anonymous had claimed to be from PRC so once you finished with this alien you’ll be tracking him down and finding out what his game was
>There was one stop you had to make before leaving
>You find Dean, the universities Dean, who, after hearing you explanation of this morning’s events, promised to sort out your legal issues by pinning the whole thing on Anonymous
>He’d be fine with that right? He was already in prison
>No more being accused of stealing your own bags for you!
>With that nasty business sorted you blink away from Canterlot and pop back up into reality at the great wrought iron gates of the illustrious PRC
>At this point you were certainly going to be late
>Unforeseeable to you was the sad fact said lateness was to be perpetuated by the curse of the receptionist
>A red unicorn mare, almost identical in look to the one back up at your faculty, sat behind the welcoming desk, watching you with interest
“Hello Miss, will you be checking in as a visitor today? Or an inmate?”
>You scan the room in confusion. Was this a prank?
>”Um, A visitor of course.” You assert
“Can I get a name then please?”
>”Ember Heart.”
>The mare scribbles your name down in what you assume to be the visitors sign in book
>But as her quill lifts from the page your name glows red
>She eyes you over suspiciously
“Just give me a moment Miss Heart, I just need to grab a few guards to arrest you.”
>”WHAT!?”
“Uhhhh. I mean I need a glass of water.”
>Phew, you were panicking there a moment, lucky she meant water and not guards
>With that the mare ducks into the room behind her and re-emerges with two burly stallion guards
>The panic returns
>She lied to you!
>”W-What’s happening!?” you shout out as the two stallions gently guide towards a plain white brick room
>One of them speaks up
“According to our system you’re a wanted fugitive for the theft of one bag belonging to a Miss Ember Heart.”
>”But I /am/ Ember Heart!”
>He shakes his head forlornly
“Nothing worse than a self-stealing thief, you’ll be put away for a long time Miss. one, two days even.” 
>You’re made to sit while the two stallions watch over you menacingly
>You were still wanted for the crime you didn’t commit! 
>As it turns out you failed to factor in that it would take more than no time at all for Dean Dean to sort out your problems
>You’d only given him a few minutes before you teleported yourself directly to jail, so in some small way this may be your fault
>The guards continue staring, neither moving nor talking, no pony comes to join the three of you and nothing happens at all
>”Is.” You look around “Is this it? Does anything else happen now?”
>Prison was terrible!
>The guards exchange confused looks
”We ah… we… “
“Dude what do we do next?” One stallion attempts to whisper to his buddy, who looks around nervously
“I’m not sure. It’s been so long since I’ve done anything… guard related. We need help.”
>Both guards smile
“Of course! Let’s go get somepony to help. Then we can process this prisoner, give them a tour, their sentence, clothes and a room.”
>The guards nod happily with their plan
“Miss Ember Heart we’re going to need you to wait here until we get back with somepony more experienced.”
>Just like that they’re off, leaving you alone in the cold brick room
>That was strange. Looks like this is your fate now
>”Sheesh, what a day.” You grumble to yourself
>You look out the little window forlornly 
>Just off in the distance is the tri-dome setup of your peers. You’d gotten so close!
>But you should wait for those guards to come back, hopefully you can explain your situation properly and be let out
>Minutes pass and nopony comes back
>Just as you start to lose hope you notice the two guards outside, happily chasing after a cluster of butterflies
>You can see how Anonymous had managed to break out
>Was the prison system always like this?
>Now adamant nopony was ever to return you simply walk from the room, past the receptionist, into the prison yard and to the tri-domes
>What a strange day this was… so surreal

<| °_° |>

>Despite the translucent walls of the dome your view of the alien was obscured by the chair they’d given him 
>It wasn’t until you’d passed through the decontamination chamber that the alien truly came into view
>It wasn’t until then that your heart stopped
>Thankfully it started again the very next beat
>”ANONYMOUS!?” 
>Without a shirt! Oh Goodness! So that’s what he looks like under those clothes… Big
>Failing to suppress your blush you prepare for embarrassment as Anonymous turns to find the source of the shout
>But you’re saved by Chicken Scratch, standing upon an observation deck, who wrenches Anonymous’ attention back with an exasperated outburst
“FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA WHAT IS IT NOW?”
>Ignoring the strange feelings brought about by the sight of a half nude Anonymous and taking Chickens outburst as an opportunity to force the blush from your face with pure will power (and a little magic) you skirt out from behind Anonymous to address him officially
>Well… Semi-officially
>“Anonymous? /YOU/ are the creature I’m researching?!”
>The infuriating beast only grins at you. Chicken Scratch had more to say than he did, her previous outburst already forgotten
“Do you know this creature Ember Heart?” She questions
>You were going to answer but Chicken just goes on to address Anonymous
“I thought you said you’d had no contact with her Anonymous.”
>What? How could he say that!?
>“What do you mean? Of course I’ve met him, up at-
”The reception desk, we met there, just before I came here.” He interrupts, finally speaking
>You turn to him, confused, but at the sight of his eyes desperately pleading with you, you decide to play along
>This is why you don’t break out of prison; it just becomes a web of lies 
>“Uh, yeah we met up at the reception desk.”
>Chicken continue to pick at Anonymous’ lies
“So then why didn’t you just tell me that when I asked before?”
>Before? So Anonymous had been talking about you with your colleges?
>What was he up to? Trying to find out about you? Or was he just thinking about you?
>The blood rose pressed all too heavily into your side, hidden away in your bag
>Stupid creature. He could have told you he was the alien you were studying!
>Why was he so instant on messing with your mind?
>No matter, just stay cool, calm and collected, and if need be add a little magic
>This just means you don’t have to track him down later for questioning, he’s presented himself on a platter for you
>Wait a sec? Why was everything so quiet?
>You realise you’d stopped listening to the exchange between Chicken and Anonymous, both of whom were no longer speaking
>Having missed half the conversation you awkwardly move up to the observation deck with the your fellow professors
>“So, uh, what did I miss while signing in?”
“Not much, we’ve had a /lot/ of interruptions. But so far we’ve discovered his body has an adverse reaction to newborn foals, and he appears to be able to wield enchantments, but we need more trials to be sure. Right now I hope to finally begin magical testing.” Answers Chicken
>This was going to be a day to remember 
>“Well, let’s begin then.”

<| °_° |>

>So this was it, here you stood on the observation deck, looking down upon the mysterious beast who’d offered himself to you out of the blue
>The mysterious creature, who also happened to have, according to Warden Honey Cakes, wild and chaotic effects on even the most simple of magic
>It certainly interested you
>True to her word Chicken finally begins the testing
>As one of the few ponies who knew how the magical field detector actually worked you were naturally delegated the task of operating the monstrously complex piece of equipment
>And thus far you weren’t sure if you actually did know how it worked
>The very first step for any magical research is to always obtain a baseline reading of your subjects magical output 
>The readings from Anonymous were… odd
>Actually no they weren’t odd, they were non-existent
>Which meant either the machine was broken or you didn’t know how it worked
>Come on, even non-living things like rocks had some kind of magic associated with them
>After conferring with Chicken Scratch you take the recordings again but to no avail
>He truly had no magic by the look of it. That just couldn’t be possible; if it were, then magic shouldn’t be capable of effecting him, like /at all/, yet it still did
>Things only got stranger once the actual tests began
>Professor Light had cast a simple fitness spell in an attempt to induce the peculiar effect
>The results of which certainly were peculiar, but it wasn’t what you were looking for
>At the point of magical contact it had vanished
>Almost immediately it reappeared as a complete spell, violating most rules of magical interaction and energy transfer, while failing to reproduce the effects described by Honey Cakes
>Of the confusion wrought by Anonymous out of it shone one thing, his stupid, oblivious, uncaring grinning, stupidly, stupid handsome looking stupid face
>What can’t you stop looking at him! Control yourself!
>He acted as if everything happening around him was normal
>And you weren’t sure with those tiny eyes of his, but by the look of it he was trying to sneak looks back at you. Why bother sneaking? He was allowed to look at you 
>More spells were attempted to no avail, the same peculiar result was obtained each time
>But as strange at it all was, with Anonymous right in front of you it was hard to engage your mind fully
>What in tartarus were you to do? You barely knew the guy, but there was something so… magnetic about him. Plus if you married him that guaranteed some very lucrative research papers and a massive boost to your career 
>Hellooooo slightly bigger office!
>Your thoughts about him, and a possibly cushier life, were cut short after the use of a mood booster spell finally induces the weird effect Warden Honey Cakes had mentioned, the reason most of you had come down here
>Witlick, the caster, had just attempted to end the spell when his horn turned red
>He cries out as his horn flares out of control, sadly none of you were allowed to stop it, after all, magic going wrong was why you were here
>Your head darts to check on Anonymous as Witlick is swamped by researchers
>Initially he looked just fine, replying eagerly to each of Chicken’s questions as the magic continued unabated  
>But as quickly as he’d shattered your tiny closed off world this morning, he slips into unconsciousness
>”Oh dear.”
“Ember, go check over him.” Chicken instructs hurriedly
>You move over to Anonymous but as you approach his chair his eyes flutter open
>Just one problem, they were rainbow and glowing
“Are you alright Anonymous?!” Yells out Chicken
>Anonymous looks blindly around the room before locking onto her
“I’m just fine swirly ghost.” He replies drearily
>The rainbow from his eyes erupts outwards, rapidly spreading across his entire body
>This can’t be good
>Gently you poke his now rainbow leg
>”Do you need help Mr. Anonymous?”
>His mighty paw extends down and sticks itself under your belly
>Suddenly you’re flying upwards in his grasp to be pulled against his bare chest
>”Meep.”
>His hands caress lovingly and firmly along your back, gently massaging your spine and tense muscles
>Oh goodness! Oh my!
>His fingers spread out and run themselves through your coat, lightly pulling at your skin so soothingly
>But looking up at Anonymous he was clearly out of it 
“This is so warm.” He happily says, squeezing you tight
>To your surprise you find yourself struggling, not to escape, but, to get your hooves around his chest to return the embrace
>The sensation was… intense. What was wrong with you?
>Perhaps you shouldn’t have been so eager, as Anonymous’ large paw moves down your back to cup one of your buttocks, the firm appendage groping you softly 
>”OH! Mr. Anonymous, what are you ~ah!” 
>He squeezes your flank and moves his other hand down to fully hold your behind, massaging your rump with delicate vigour 
>”Please can you ~hah~ stop?” you plead, knowing he couldn’t understand
>Your legs begin to feel weak, tingles of pleasure from Anonymous’ paws taking command of your body, your tail rising ever so slightly as he pushes and wiggles your buttocks   
>Chicken’s eyes blazed into you, watching over the entire scene. Thankfully it was only her eye’s, everypony else was still rushing around Dr. Witlick
>One hand moves back up along your spine and runs itself through your mane, at the same time pushing your head into his sweaty, rainbow, chest
>The smell was sour and musky, not particularly pleasant, yet you found yourself deeply breathing it in
>What was wrong with you? It didn’t even smell good! It was like a pair of naughty ponies
>Then why was it so intoxicating? Why can’t you stop?
“But this fire feels amazing!” Anonymous calls out    
>”Oh dear ~ah.”
>You were going to be trapped here forever!
“Put an end to this now!” Chicken yells out to the researchers around Witlick
>A cry of pain from behind you tells you his horn had been struck and the spell forcefully stopped
>The glow from anonymous’ eyes fade, but his skin remains rainbow
>His overly frisky hands finally stop. He looks down at you, utterly mortified
>”Oh my goodness.”
>His arms fly outwards, releasing you
>You stay laying against him, a little too flustered and embarrassed to move just yet
“I am so sorry Ember Heart, I swear I didn-
>”Do not apologise Mr. Anonymous, you were under the effects of a mind altering spell, your actions were not your own.”
>You said it, not so much for his sake, but your own. It was all just a magical mishap, nothing more. Right?
>Nothing for you to focus on, or obsess over, or… OH for Celestia’s sake! You were better than this! Was that it? One /accidental/ snuggle and you were putty in those lewd hands of his? No you were better than that, you lived outside the superficial  
“I’m still sorry.” Anonymous quietly says to you
>”It’ll be fine. But are you alright? I think we may have had a complication…”
>With Witlick’s horn tended to you can feel a great many new pairs of eyes looking at you situated atop of your research subject
>A different kind of flustered embarrassment takes you over, giving you the necessary incentive to leap from Anonymous and re-join your co-workers, but not before casting yet another sneaky composure spell on yourself
>You’d prefer to remain prim and proper in a work environment, plus if Anonymous managed to come out of that shameless, calm, and collected, then so could you 
”Uh, yeah, I feel alright, something weird was happening before. I saw a bunch of colours and lost consciousness for a second maybe.” He answers
>“I saw, but, ah…”
>You point out his fancy new rainbow skin. How would he react?
>He gives himself an inspection
>”Groovy man.” He comments with a chuckle
>That was… unexpected. Not even a little annoyance? Shock? Worry? 
>What a resilient creature
>Or just uncaring. Even after seeing the results of the magical mishap and the alteration of the very spell itself into something new he barely batted an eyelid
>Everypony else had been so disconcerted it’d been decided to bring in Princess Twilight to look over what was happening 
>With confusion abound, and Anonymous’ skin bright and shiny, a temporary break was called
>Pouncing upon the opportunity to get Anonymous alone for a bit of questioning you request Chicken Scratch to allow you to watch over him for the duration of the break
>And so you find yourself standing beside the giant, patiently waiting for him to strip off the sticky electrodes along his body
“And what exactly are you doing Ember Heart?”
>“I volunteered as the pony to monitor you. Which means for the next few minutes I’ll be sticking to you like glue.”
”Ha, clever pony. So now I’ve nowhere to escape when you start interrogating me.”
>“Something like that.”
>But it was obviously not something he was willing to do, as he nigh on sprints to the exit without you
>“Hey! You’re not getting away that easily! Stop running.”
>He stops at the dome door and looks you over with utter confusion
”I’m not running… I was just walking, and whatever you’re going to ask shouldn’t be overheard by the other researcher, so I was moving outside.”
>He was thinking clearer than you were right now 
>“I-I knew that! And your legs are too long! Even if you’re not running you have to slow down!”
”A lot of ponies just trot to keep up with me.” He says with an infuriatingly smug grin 
>Grr, was he always so annoying?
“Yes, well, I’m quite sick of /running/, especially from the POLICE! Now slow down.”
>Your outburst gains the attention of your peers so you quickly hurry outside with Anonymous after an awkward wait for the door to open
>Anonymous, as a resident of the prison, leads you over to some local designated socialising area or “hangout spot”
>It was a cluster of large bean bags
>You silently watch him as he strolls across the lawn to the cluster. His skin had gained an undeniable translucency in the bright sun light
>That shouldn’t be a problem…
>He flops down onto a bag and releases a great sigh as he stretches out and sinks into the squishy bag
>You leap up and join him
>He was so relaxed and calm
>How and why? Did he not care about his wild effects on magic? Did he think nothing about what he did to you this morning? Surly he must be feeling a little apprehensive about the rose, your choice, the outcome?
>It would alter his life as much as your own.   
“Err… Should I be worried about this?” he ask, gesturing to his see through body
>“Only if we start seeing your bones.”
>He looks at you oddly
”That’s reassuring.”
>He seemed happy enough about it
>You stretch yourself across his lap, extending out your forelegs along his legs, adamant to be as relaxed as he was (without the use of magic)
>He had such thick and ropey muscles, it made his body a lot harder than most creatures you knew of
>Not that you snuggle with every creature you study, but he was particularly comfortable
>Hmm, wait no, what?
>Oh my! Oh no! What have you done!?
>Without even realising it you’d auto-piloted yourself onto Anonymous
>There were literally DOZENS of other bean bags around you! Why would your subconscious mind have betrayed you like this!?
>All relaxation vanishes from your body, leaving you near paralysed
>Why hadn’t he said anythi-
”Why exactly are you on my lap anyway?”
>Eep
>Wordlessly you blink from him to an alternate seat
>That! Never! Happened!
>“W-what are you talking about?”
>Please, please, please, please, please!
”Nothing I guess.”
>Thank Celestia! It never happened
>Anonymous sags down further in his bean bag, rolling onto his side to see you better
”So then, got anything to ask me?”
>You had a few questions lined up
>“I think I’ll start with; why didn’t you tell me who you were up at Canterlot!?”
”I did tell you who I was.”
>Infuriating beast!
>“I mean; why didn’t you tell me you were the creature I was going to be researching?”
”Do you want the truth?”
>Would you expect anything else?
>He remains silent until you give him a nod, so apparently anything else was expected 
”Honestly I just wanted to see how you’d react.”
>“H-how I’d react? But why?”
>Kind of a strange reason for not saying who you were
”As a judge of character? Yeah! That’s it. You lied for me, I know I can trust you now, you’re a good pony.”
>That sounds… normal-ish and he thinks you’re a good pony
>But you have an issue. You did lie for him and he did break out of prison. Now you were tangled up in that crime as well!
>“About that. I /lied/ for you Mr. Anonymous. That makes me an accomplice to your crime!”
>You still had that thievery case against you and that had almost landed you in prison
>Now if Anonymous was found out you could be taken down too
>The realisation comes with a chill
>“Wait a second… I’m an accomplice to your crime! I could go to jail! Oh my goodness, no, no, no!”
>You’d already experience a few minutes of jail trying to get in here. It was unbearable!
>Anonymous picks up on your obvious worry and, in an act almost as bold as presenting a blood rose, reaches out and rests his paw down on your shoulder
>He strokes up and down, melting the concerns from your body, a mild pleasure radiating from the region of lewd action
>Goodness, he wasn’t even under the effects of magic! 
”Calm down there Miss Ember Heart, it’ll be fine, I can cover for you. Just take deep breaths.” 
>Astoundingly you comply and inhale, long and slow
>Bewilderingly you could actually feel yourself calming down; no magic required
>As an added bonus your earlier panic helped mask the intense and overwhelming embarrassment at the audacious actions of this creature
>Thank Luna nopony was around to see this 
>“Goodness what a day.”
>Even after calming yourself his hand remained upon your shoulder, his fingers lewdly entwining themselves through your coat
”So got anything else to ask?”
>“Yeah, why were you in Canterlot at all? You’re a prisoner!”
>His paw finally leaves your shoulder, helping alleviate your growing blush, as he raises it to his chin, stroking it in thought
”I suppose it was a pretty uneventful morning down here so I chose to explore up there.”
>“Eh-ah W-what? Explore! You had an entire Unicorn special ops squad on you! It was chaos in the streets.”
”Chaos? Everyone was just a little spooked that’s all.”
>WHAT! Literal chaos it was! Is this guy serious?
>That impudent grin tells you that yes, yes he was 
>Next question then
>“Why did you take me with you when you ran away?”
”Duh, those guards were after you as much as they were me. I took you with me out of kindness."
>Daw, he just wanted to save you. What a sweetie
"How’d that all go back at your university by the way?"
>“I guess you did rescue me from the guard, and I believe the university will be trying to pin the whole event on you.”
>You’re hoping Dean Dean had actually gotten around to doing that, it would be more than humiliating to get arrested again when you try to leave
>You most certainly weren’t to tell him, nor anypony else, that you’d been briefly imprisoned on the way here
>”So yeah, I got away free, also you may be wanted for attempted bag thievery.”
”Okay, thanks for that.”
>For whatever reason you begin to laugh. Anypony else would have flipped out at being told that, more than likely they’d start to weep 
>Yet Anonymous cared not, it was the exact reaction you expected and it was absurdly hilarious 
>He looks at you annoyed but you don’t care, it was just funny!
”Anything else?” 
>You clam up and attempt Anonymous’ calming technique of deep breathing
>With each breath the urge to giggle fades. Gosh, who knew how useful these non-magical body control techniques were? 
>You need to try them out more often
>Alright let’s get to it, you’re back in the zone and you needed to question, you needed to question hard. This was your future you were dealing with here
>“Yeah I need to know a few things. It’ll help me decide, and I know you’re.”
>He stops to watch you, mildly perplexion (perplection?) crossing his alien features 
”Fine, keep asking.”
>This guy was in prison, and a black suit! You have to know what he did, you could never consider marrying an evil beast, and nine times out of ten, black suits were pure evil
>“Why are you in prison?”
>He answers without skipping a beat
”I was starving to death and stole some apples.”
>Ah, poor guy!
“But then I also assaulted a guard on my way to prison, in fact he was the one who started chasing me today.”
>Assaulted! That can’t be good
>“Why did you assault him?”
”According to the Warden he was being overly aggressive, and he was upsetting the other guards, which was upsetting me.”
>He had a valid reason but still, it worries you a little. Good ponies don’t hurt others
>“Good enough. Only a couple more questions to go Mr. Anonymous.”
>Let’s see what answer he’s got for this one
>“Why are you being so kind to me?”
>The reply was instantaneous, just as before
”I always was a sucker for cuties.”
>C-Cute? He thinks you’re cute?
>Your cheeks begin burning
>“I am not cute Mr. Anonymous!”
>He leans closer to you, over exaggerating the act of looking you up and down
”Really, you look it to me.”
>“No! Why do you think I’m cute!?”
>You were semi-beautiful if anything, not cute!
”Because you are.”
>Infuriating! Can’t he ever give a straight answer!
>And you are not cute!
>But you can’t stop blushing
>“Tell me why, it’ll help with our research.”
>Or your own possible future research. Ponies always loved the odd pointless fact or two, it usually increased your chance of getting published 
”You’re soft, cuddly and show Neoteny.”
>Neoteny? You hadn’t heard of that before
>“What?”
”Neoteny, you’re species displays Neoteny.”
>”And what is that exactly?”
”It’s kind of like when something keeps its juvenile features into adulthood.”
>Okay… hey wait! Did he just call you a child?
>“How do I look like a foal!?”
”Uh, let’s think. Small body with a big head, large eyes, round and soft body features, they’re all characteristics you see in babies, human babies at least, although they’re definitely in foals too. Human’s evolved to instinctively find these kind of traits appealing to help us protect and nurture our off spring. Makes you a real cutie.”
>Woah, this guy goes from refusing to really say anything, to giving full blown scientific explanations, and you loved it!
>Let’s see what answer he’s got for this one
>“Why are you being so kind to me?”
>The reply was instantaneous, just as before
”I always was a sucker for cuties.”
>C-Cute? He thinks you’re cute?
>Your cheeks begin burning
>“I am not cute Mr. Anonymous!”
>He leans closer to you, over exaggerating the act of looking you up and down
”Really, you look it to me.”
>“No! Why do you think I’m cute!?”
>You were semi-beautiful if anything, not cute!
”Because you are.”
>Infuriating! Can’t he ever give a straight answer!
>And you are not cute!
>But you can’t stop blushing
>“Tell me why, it’ll help with our research.”
>Or your own possible future research. Ponies always loved the odd pointless fact or two, it usually increased your chance of getting published 
”You’re soft, cuddly and show Neoteny.”
>Neoteny? You hadn’t heard of that before
>“What?”
”Neoteny, you’re species displays Neoteny.”
>”And what is that exactly?”
”It’s kind of like when something keeps its juvenile features into adulthood.”
>Okay… hey wait! Did he just call you a child?
>“How do I look like a foal!?”
”Uh, let’s think. Small body with a big head, large eyes, round and soft body features, they’re all characteristics you see in babies, human babies at least, although they’re definitely in foals too. Human’s evolved to instinctively find these kind of traits appealing to help us protect and nurture our off spring. Makes you a real cutie.”
>Woah, this guy goes from refusing to really say anything, to giving full blown scientific explanations, and you loved it!
>He was actually serious
>Oh dear. If he thinks you’re cute he must feel so exasperated right now! Especially after you teleported off him mid-snuggle
>Wait what are you thinking? What snuggle? Such a thing never happened!
>Although…
>You quickly look around at the large empty field that surrounds you. Nopony was around, just the research domes, it was nice and private
>In which case, having /obviously/ never, ever, done anything intimate with Anonymous before, this presented the perfect opportunity to test out your… physical compatibility
>Of the few things you knew about relationships that was apparently an important one, plus it would most undoubtedly count as extended research on Human social behaviour 
>Right?
>So you really should test it out before you even consider the act of magically binding with him
>It’s not like you were just trying to get those oddly calming and rhythmic paws back onto your body, because you know… they never had been before
>After all, behaviour induced from magical backfire or that which simply didn’t happen, just don’t count! 
>However, thinking such things and actually going through with them were two entirely different things
>You attempt to suggest your idea to him, but he insisted upon looking you directly in the eyes, sucking all willpower from your body
>There was no way you could say anything with him watching you like that!
>So before you can muster up the will to actually speak you hang your head in shame, your mane drooping over your face, avoiding that unnerving stare of his
>You can do this! For your future, for science!
>“You know Mr. Anonymous. I-if you’re feeling aggressive you can cuddle me if you’d like. You know, if that would help you.”
>Nailed it!
>He smiles and reaches out his paw, which had become decidedly less translucent
>But your own elation begins to fade as rather than lifting you up and pulling you in close against him, as you’d expected, his paw just ruffles gently at your mane
>The bugger actually went out of his way to /avoid/ touching your horn, even when you begin swaying your head around just to try and get an accidental brush from those dexterous digits of his
”You really are precious. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine.”
>Your earlier shame comes flooding back at his polite rejection
>At the very least you now know he can restrain himself 
>“Oh, okay… I still have one last question.”
”Then we’ll head back to the lab?”
>That would be for the best, you were getting too worked up out here, and not your usual stressed out, anxiety attack, kind of worked up 
>“Ah-huh.” You say while nodding
”Go ahead.”
>This was it. Last question. Most important question. Life changing question!
>You withdraw the Blood Rose 
>“/Why/ did you give me this?”
>This better help resolve the turmoil of your mind
>Once again he answers you immediately, giving the situation the agency it deserved
”The same reasons I gave you earlier this morning. You can put up with me, but now I suppose I could also say I gave it to you because you were kind enough to help me, you lied for me so I can trust you, and I suppose I just wanted to brighten your day.”
>“Brighten my day?” You croak out as a whisper
>Was he trying to say he was willing to give up his entire life, just to make you happy?
>For the longest time you don’t speak, just processing what he’d said
>“Mr. Anonymous?” You finally ask, getting back his attention 
”Yes?”
>“Would you rub my shoulders again? It is most calming.”
>Moments ago you would have died of humiliation requesting for something so salacious 
>But suddenly asking Anonymous for such a thing just didn’t seem as big a deal, comparatively it was essentially insignificant
>Who knows, maybe you’ll even stop actively repressing your earlier memory of unintentionally snuggling up to him 
>And so, exactly as intended, his paw descends to wreak pleasurable havoc along your body, filling you with a warm glow and providing your cheeks a red tint 
>With Anonymous’ strangely calming paw rubbing you down your mind drifts into a trance, lost in thought
>What to do with this guy?
>You were most certainly physically compatible. Of the zero ponies you’d been bothered to start relationships with he clearly had the most experience and could just destroy your composure from the lewdness of his actions
>Marrying him also guaranteed career elevation, money, a lifetime's worth of studies, even adventure!
>It was everything you wanted
>For so long now you’d been feeling disillusioned with your own life
>With cuts to your faculty's funding you could no longer go out on field research; the mysteries, creatures, and magic of Equis all closed off to you
>You were forced to stay in your office at the university, living the most mundane of lives, going over old studies and peer-reviewing papers 
>You got no pleasure from such things, you belong in the field, out here… with Anonymous
>It was as if the universe had served him up on a platter for you
>Here was your opportunity to get back out there, to research a truly unique animal with no restrictions. You’d be back in the field, there’d be excitement and adventure 
>Heck the very first time you’d met Anonymous he gave you all those things 
>But such reasons were so shallow! Were you considering accepting his offer just for your own personal gain?
>Did you just want him to further your own goals?
>You were better than that right?
>Right?
>Of course you were! You had to be.
>He made you feel happy inside, he could calm you down and he was nicer and sweeter than anypony you’d met
>None of this changed the fact he was still infuriating! With that stupid grin and immature behaviour, he never seemed to take anything seriously
>But he’d said it himself, you could put up with him, he wasn’t /that/ annoying, more or less just ignorant 
>So then what were you going to do?
>You’re wrenched from your thoughts as the pleasurable stimuli of his paw disappears
>You open the eyes you hadn’t known were closed to see Anonymous smiling down at you, looking nowhere near as annoying as you recall
”OK, we’ve got to get back.”
>That would be for the best. His skin was even looking normal again
>“Thank you Mr. Anonymous, you’ve been a great help, maybe I’ll figure things out sooner than I thought.”
>The two of you dawdle your way back to the tri-domes just as a fellow professor pokes their head out to call you back


>The study resumes
>After a few repeat tests it was confirmed that Anonymous could indeed wield enchantments like any other creature
>Things didn’t truly start to heat up until Anonymous suggested simple telekinesis as a method of getting reproducible magical mishaps, after all it had be the spell The Warden had used on him initially
>None of you had thought of it before. The magic was so simple and innate one hardly even considered it to be a spell
>A random unicorn was draw to cast the spell
>A pale green glow surrounds Anonymous and he slowly levitates into the air
>From the moment he was covered in the telekinetic filed his features become agonised, his face contorting in pain
>You could make out his muscles twitching and spasming, his body was fighting against the spell with all its might
>The sight distresses you to no end
>But in a flash of red Anonymous vanishes.
>OH CELSTIA YOU KILLED HIM! HE’S BEEN VAPORISED! 
>The mare who’d cast the spell stumbles to the ground, her horn still surrounded by a red glow 
>Okay, bit of an overreaction on your part, maybe he wasn’t dead. If the spell was still active he must be somewhere, which means he wasn’t vaporised, he’d just been teleported
>But to where?
>You all exchange confused looks in stunned silence, excluding the grunting mare on the floor
>As the head of the study the first pony to speak up is Chicken Scratch
“What do we do now?” She asks everypony, clearly having just mentally run through all the possible solutions she could think of and coming up with nothing
>The silence was deafening 
>What could you do? He was simply gone, he could be /literally/ anywhere
>The mare on the ground cries out again and her horn flares up once more before fading back down
>Her anguish snaps most of you out of the trance brought about by the oddity of the situation and many ponies move over to help her back up
“Somepony break the spell.” Chicken orders “The odds are stacked against us but it may bring Anonymous back.”
>”And if it doesn’t?” 
“If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. We’ve no idea where he is or how to get him back, have you ever heard of a reverse teleportation spell Ember Heart?”
>You stay silent
“I thought so. I have to ensure the safety of those under my charge. Somepony break that spell, now!”
>As if to accentuate her point the hapless unicorn mare cries out, the red glow of her horn blazing up again 
>A small baton is magically levelled at the mare’s horn, ready to forcibly extinguish the spell
>It begins to descend, but panic races through your mind as you catch something in the corner of your eye
>”WAIT!” You scream out, your own telekinesis forcefully tearing the bat from its wielders grasp
“What do you think you are doing Ember!?”
>What you were doing was saving Anonymous
>In your peripheries you’d noticed the magical field detector
>When the mare’s horn had flared up the machinery picked up on the magical output before it dissipated from reality
>Her horn was still active, casting a teleport spell again and again
>If it were to be stopped now, as she was casting, he would be trapped in the realm between space
>You’d rather not have that happen. It was a lot harder getting somepony back from a plane of non-existence than it was to track them down in the real world
>You quickly explain your actions to everypony while the mare’s horn’s glow fades back down
>Chicken congratulates you on your swift thinking, before moving to striking the now safe and dull glowing horn
>The odds of Anonymous coming back were stacked against you to the extreme
>But once the horn is struck he pops back where he once, the only sign he’d been gone at all was his new, scruffier look, and what could be a few flakes of snow in his hair
>You dive from the observation deck and rush to him, with Chicken following closely
>“MR. ANONYMOUS ARE YOU OKAY?”
>He turns and grins wildly at you
”That was that fastest holiday around the world I’ve ever had!”
>He looks around excitedly
“Who’s up for round two!?”
>Oh for the love of…
>“Can you take anything seriously!? You could have been really hurt!”
”Only when I have to Ember.”
>“Well you have to now! You were in real danger.”
>His grin only widens
>GAH! If you were a worse pony he'd be getting a smacked bottom!
>The unicorn who was struck stumbles down from the observation deck
“I have to leave. I need to see Nurse Soft Cotton.” She says in a hurry
>A nod from Chicken and she’s gone
“Are you willing to try that again Anonymous? It was quite dangerous, but thus far the two instances of telekinesis being used on you have given positive results. Well, not positive as in good, but ah you know what I mean!” 
”Anything for science right?” He answers
“You really are the best subject I’ve ever had.” Chicken say with a smile that soon fades 
“So, who wants to try next?”
>None of your colleges step forth. After seeing what'll happen why would they? Not to mention to stop it you need to get hurt
>Well if nopony was going to do it, you must! 
>“I’ll do it then, if everpony is too scared.”
>Your volunteering robs Anonymous of his previous grin 
”Are you sure you want to do this Ember, I couldn’t live with myself if you or anyone else got hurt.”
>It was flattering and brazen enough to embarrass you fiercely 
>But…
>You give it your best effort to reproduce his foolhardy smile
>“Anything for science right?”
”Clever pony.”
>Damn right you’re a clever pony
>You mentally prepare your telekinesis, a natural glorious ruby glow coating your horn
>A small part of you dearly hoped nothing would happen once you encompassed Anonymous within your spell
>That you, out of every other unicorn in Equestria, could cast your magics upon him to no ill effect 
>That in some way you were special, that only you had permission to touch him with your mind, nopony else
>But you were a pragmatist
>So once you envelope Anonymous in the vibrant red of your telekinesis it comes as no surprise that, as he lifts from the floor, the radiance of your magic drains to a dull, angry red
>Not only that you’d lost all feeling in your horn, it was free to do as it pleased, and the sensation and thought of what it could do wasn’t a pleasant one
>Actually you were finding it hard to feel much of anything, as if all your strength was being sapped from your body, leaving you in a state of complete exhaustion 
>You make an attempt to look up to see how Anonymous was but the act sends waves of dizziness through your body, sending you crashing to the ground
>You’re vaguely aware of several ponies trying their best to help you, but each was succumbing to your mysterious fatigue as they neared you
>Everything fades to darkness as your eyelids refuse to remain open
>The last thing you can make out amongst the growing pile of fallen ponies around you is Anonymous slowly floating towards you with the baton
>Blackness claims you

<| º_º |> 

>Awareness of your surroundings returns slowly
>The first sensation to reach your mind is one of a strange blissful comfort, it felt like you were a filly again being cradled by your mother
>But that’s absurd, you were a full grown mare 
>Groggily your eyes struggle back open to reveal Anonymous, his intense gaze locked onto yours
>Ugh, what was going on again?
>“Mr. Anonymous?” you question, a yawn forcing its way from your muzzle
>“I’m so tired, what happened?”
”I’m hoping we can find out.” He answers
>Gosh, where even are you anymore? How long were you out?
>“Am I still in PRC?”
>Actually you could figure that one out yourself
>Looking around you confirm your location, in doing so you come to understand your mysterious comfort
>Anon had you held ever so tenderly in his arms, embracing your entire body
>You look back to him but suddenly find yourself too embarrassed to match his intensive and caring gaze
>Why was he cuddling up to you like this? Was it his cute aggression thing?
>Before you know it, or can protest otherwise, you’re let go from his grasp and slowly put back on the ground
>He looked so upset. So you place a comforting hoof on his leg
>“You don’t need to put me down, it’s fine if you needed to work out your aggression Mr. Anonymous.”
”Aggression? Ember I was concerned! Seeing you on the floor like that had me terrified.”
>“Oh…”
> You were finding it increasingly difficult to keep yourself standing, and your groggy mind was having a hard time deciphering things, but it made one thing clear to you
>His affection for you was real. His first response in a high stress situation was to rush to your aid
>He even admitted to being afraid! When his own life was in danger he only ever grinned, but seeing you in such a situation /terrified/ him
>That’s a little honouring, he must be head over hoof in love with you
>“Thank you Mr. Anonymous.” 
>The rest of the ponies quickly come round, they’re fine, just really tired like you
>Nopony afflicted was able to do much more than levitate small objects, so each of them get sent away by Chicken for a nap, hot cocoa and a pudding cup
>Chicken tried to make you leave too, but you would be sticking this one out
>You still got hot cocoa and pudding, so you find yourself a cushion to rest your haunches then dig in
>Anonymous, having dropped all pretence of a formal study, moves over and sits beside you 
>His great hulking form, rather than alarm you, radiated the feeling of safety
>A paw absently finds itself scratching at your back as you shove your muzzle into the little cup of sweet pudding
>Should you offer any to him?
>... Nah
“So then what happened this time?” He asks, looking to Chicken who trots over
“We kind of know already; it didn’t take long to figure out. Everypony’s been magically drained, whatever was happening to Ember due to your effect was somehow spread via physical contact.”
>She shakes her head
“You’ve accidentally taken out half my staff Anonymous, this really isn’t going as I thought it would.”
>She could say that again
>He almost looks guilty before attempting the foulest worded apology you’d ever heard 
”Shit. I’m sorry about that, and here I thought I was supposed to be the one in harm’s way.” 
“Don’t worry Anonymous, they should be better when they wake up.” Chicken replies 
>You finish up your pudding and cover up a burp with a sickly cough, or vice versa
>“Well I feel fine, I’ll be using magic like normal in no time.”
>His paw ruffles through your mane, making Chicken blush
”You’re a tough little bugger aren’t you, I’m sure you will be.”
>“I’m better already, hehe.”
>Your legs wobble as you try to stand
>All better…
>He looks you over sceptically but drops the subject, instead directing his attention to the magical field detector
”So your spell turned to some kind of energy draining thing then?”
>You have a look at the equipment’s graphical display 
>By the look of it, it wasn’t a spell at all, just a magical black hole
“Actually this time when the spell made contact with you, your body simply started to draw in all the available magic around, the spell never changed because it never came back.”
>Anonymous looks over the screen, attempting to decipher the display
”It looks the same as always to me.” 
>That could be because you’d switched the views to remove the background readings
>You change it back to show all the ambient magic in the room
>The graph becomes wildly spiked, up until the point that is, anonymous was covered in your telekinesis
>At that moment all the activity began to seep away
>After he’d broken the spells grasp the magic levels rise again
”Looks like you were right.”
>“But of course. What I am confused about though is what you’ve done with all that energy.”
”It takes a lot of power to stay looking this good.” He says cockily 
>He flexes his muscles, his shirtless body fully displaying his bulging figure
>You look away, obscuring your blush with your mane’s fringe
>Annoying beast! You couldn’t even look at him
>But the study must go on, even with half the staff incapacitated
>Fate would ordained that the magical testing be cut short, as the next and, as it turned out, final rendition of telekinesis cast upon Anonymous knocked him out cold, leaving him snoozing like a baby
>You didn’t know it yet but your study wouldn’t resume until after lunch
>Watching that sleeping human you did know one thing
>You knew it from the warmth you felt whenever he was near you
>Stupid human! You were falling for him!
>How could you have let such a thing happen?
>In one mysterious and crazy romantic gesture he’d captured your attention and managed to keep it
>He had you near mesmerised, all you could think about was him
>How kind he was, so generous, so strong, so /lewd/! Those back scratches!
>You may be coming to a decision about that rose way sooner than you thought
>You’ll have to question him again later, just to be sure
>But it was such a serious commitment, could you actually go through with such a thing?
>Only time would tell

>Be later
>Still be Ember Heart, post lunch, continuing the study at the gym, as per Anonymous’ request
>It was understandable, one would expect that to maintain such a… solid, physique as his, one would have to frequent the gym quite often
>You really didn’t mind, he stayed shirtless and the sour smell his body made while exercising was particularly… /alluring/, like a hot and sweat snuggle party
>He’d started with yoga and moved onto weights
>And it was as he spoke to his minotaur friend that he adds every weight plate in the room to his squat bar (Not for pony use)
>A full 245 pounds, the weight of several ponies. He lifts it effortlessly 
>And like that your mind is blown by this human again
>Then the remains were burn to ash when he admits to being capable of lifting 330lb
>An amount the gym didn’t even supply
>As such you did the only noble thing, and when the opportunity arose, volunteered yourself as some additional weight for Anon’s squat
>Your decision had nothing to do with getting closer to that sleek body of his and in no way did you take the opportunity to brush up against his back and nuzzle into that short puff of a mane he had
>You're sure nopony noticed you
>Looking at his sweaty body up close reminds you that you need to take some alchemical samples from him later
>That was of some importance, especially knowing he didn’t have any magic associated with him, who knows what effects he could have
>Perhaps unsurprisingly he was capable of lifting up the amount he claimed, his legs straining with effort, muscles bulging out like cables of steel, sweat pouring from his body
>So musky… you felt intoxicated, and so strong! Such a wicked human
>He could restrain you with the slightest effort couldn’t he? You’d be powerless to stop him
>He’d hold you down against your will, force his urges upon your body with those big rough hands, and do the unthinkable
>You shudder with quiet pleasure, launching your eyes open in surprise
>Such vile and lewd thoughts! Why did they, and he, make you feel so bizarre?
>Not once had you imagined such things before meeting Anon, now your mind was just so… Lecherous! 
>You’re a bad pony aren’t you?
>Thankfully nopony had noticed your brief moment of ‘agitation’; Anon had claimed the spotlight with his might
>The bar is lowered and you drop down with everypony else
>You’d cast a composure spell by the time your hooves touch the ground. You must stay in control
>Luna wouldn’t like hearing about his unforeseen strength, she already thought of him as a big enough threat
>No doubt that would soon be made worse
>For over the lunch break it had been discussed that at these gym sessions the prisoners held a very tenuous fighting group, kept alive on a technicality in the prison’s club system
>Princess Luna had wanted your small group to assess his potential threat so she’d asked for detailed observation of any fights he was involved in
>They certainly must be gruesome battles 
>Nurse Soft Cotton had spoken about how she had to deal with a life threatening wound he sustain to his arm just yesterday
>You’d sneakily checked it out after hearing that, only to find a thin pale scar; it was barely noticeable, would have been painful though
>She must have been exaggerating about the severity, but still…
>With Anon cavorting around with his minotaur friend over his achievement Dr. Witlick goes to ask about the fighting
>He doesn’t seem fazed by the question, but his friend’s eyes light up like beacons at the inquiry 
>You’d rather avoid such things, but it looks like you’ll have to watch Anon fight
>How would you feel after seeing him hurt somepony?
>Oh gosh what if /he/ got hurt!?
>Fighting was not your favourite thing

<| º_º |> 

>Despite the researchers wishes to view anonymous in battle they had no control over the fight order
>So you were made to watch the brutish sport until his round was called. You were trying your best not to though, averting your eyes from the match as much was seemly without disrespecting the fighters
>As a pony from Marechester you always show proper respect and manners
>The waiting did provide you an opportunity to sit beside Anon
>Soft Cotton was to his other side. She was sitting awfully close too
>But what of it? Two friends could sit together, and those two certainly acted like friends
>You overhear a meaty smack as somepony in the ring gets struck, causing you to flinch and cringe back
>Another thud and you have the same reaction
>As your body involuntarily recoils it rolls back into something hard
>Your head flashes around to see what you hit, but stops mid-way having caught sight of Anon, his arm extended behind you
>You’d jumped back into his awaiting paw, which tentatively starts running along your back
>Oh dear...
>And like that the outside world vanishes to you
>The sensual feeling provided an unlikely source of distraction, washing away your worries
>His flexible digits dance their way from your withers to loin and back up again
>”Ahh~”
> You couldn’t stop the moan from escaping but thankfully it’s swallowed up by the noise of the room
>The randy paw drifts over to rub your side, fingertips just brushing the edge of your stomach, the semi-contact raising goosebumps over your skin 
>Oh my-Ah! Ah~ 
>It was unbearable! You were on the brink of a belly rub and he was denying you!
>Addressing the situation you lean into his hand as it caresses you, rousing soft tingles of pleasure and desire from your body, drawing as much satisfaction from the limited contact as possible
>Maybe he was magic after all? Because each finger was able to seek out and reveal to you the most delicate parts of your body; Parts that up until now, you didn’t even know about
>The way he could so easily manipulate your body, it was like he knew it better than you did
>The whole thing made you feel like a school filly learning Health and Cuddle Ed. for the first time again
>All awareness of the fighting had left you during his tender strokes
>Until a particularly gruesome sound brings you back to the pains of reality 
>Much to your disappointment Anon was grinning at the display, so you fix him with your most dissatisfied of glares
>To his other side you overhear Nurse Soft Cotton telling him off. It was nice knowing there was another reasonable pony around
>Avoiding the dissatisfaction directed at him he starts up a conversation with his minotaur friend which is cut short when one of the combatant gets laid low with a brutal blow
>For the first time Anonymous winces
>Nurse Soft Cotton shoots into the ring fast as lightning, several bandages emerging from the folds of her wings
”Ouch, that looked like it hurt. Soft Cotton are you-
>“She’s already gone.” You interrupt
>Strangely enough the fighter, another minotaur, was actually trying to avoid Soft Cotton’s care, saying something about being as tough as a human
”Have you met Soft Cotton before?” Anon abruptly asks
>“Not personally, but I see her at the university often, she and Dr. Witlick go to classes to stay up to date with modern medicine. She’s a very dedicated pony.” 
>Anon’s vague gaze hid whatever he was thinking
>Another fight had begun
>It was between a unicorn and a griffon
>You honestly don’t think it’s wise to have Anonymous this close to active spell usage
>The small unicorn darts around and under the griffon, striking him repeatedly as he slides away
>Your eyes slam shut and hooves rush up to cover them; ears flying back flat at the sound of the pained screech
>You did not like this! Lucky Anon had you covered
>His hand returns to your back, firmly groping, pushing and rubbing in all the right spots
>Thank the heavens everypony was too distracted with the fighting to see the naughty things he was doing to you
>You feel yourself relaxing but you weren’t going to be opening your eyes, not while those two were still fighting
”Remember Ember, they actually want to do this, it’s fun to them, as crazy as that may sound.”
>What? No. What pony likes this? How could they find it fun? It was something you couldn’t comprehend
>Yet they voluntarily got into the ring to beat each other senseless
>Not just once either, they’d do it again and again!
>Which means they’re either all insane, or… They really enjoy it…
>So they’re all insane then?
>One of your eyes slowly peep open to glance at him before snapping shut, spying the unicorn being struck by the griffon’s hind paw in your peripheries
>So what if they liked it? That still doesn’t mean you have to
”If you really don’t like it, we can always try this.” 
>Try what?
>From nowhere you feel yourself soaring through the air, still in your chair
>Woah! What was he doing!?
>The sensation was obscenely disorientating with your eyes closed
>Your chair thumps back to the ground and twists around
>Sheesh what was that?
”There, now you can just talk to me and you don’t have to see a thing.” Anon states matter-of-factly
>Hesitantly you open your eyes, afraid of what you may find
>But all you see is Anonymous smile down at you; the ring now facing your back
>You’re unable to stop yourself from smiling back at him; a soft blush surfacing on your cheeks
>“Talk to you? About what Mr. Anonymous?” 
”Uh... You’re a unicorn right? You guys are all about magic, let’s talk about that.”
>So he’s interested in magic?
>Good thing that’s one of your favourite subjects!
>“Well, yes I suppose as a unicorn I have a preference for magic based topics, what about it though?”
>He taps a finger against his chin in thought
“Let’s see, magic, magic… are you any good at it?”
>Indeed you were! You push your chest out, for once feeling proud of yourself, but the action, and the previous stimulation from Anon, causes your little chest fluff to puff out
>Pushing your shoulders forward, and retreating back, you successfully hide it away, but not before he’d caught sight
>Ugh! You were so embarrassed! [And why’d you have to be so small? Some mares had tuffs that could smother a pony] 
>You’d really let your inhibitions go today but this was getting ridiculous; you were in public for heaven’s sake!
>Before you can stumble through an awkward explanation about it not being what he thinks, he looks away to the fight behind you, completely unphased by the situation
>You could try explaining yourself now, but you doubt he’d care either way
>So you forget about it, and wait patiently for him to look back, which he does after you overhear another thump 
>“Am I any good at magic? Well I certainly don’t work at Canterlot Royal University because of my connections!” You boast
>Truth be told though you weren’t magnificent at magic, just better than most, and your mother may or may not have been the old dean
>For whatever reason your prideful boasts cause him to chuckle quietly under his breath
”I’ll take it you’re good then. Good at what exactly though? I know magic comes in a lot of forms here, but are there any particular categories of unicorn magic” 
>“If by categories you mean classes then yes. Unicorn magic comes down to 3 major classes.”
>“There is Illusionary magic, considered one of the hardest to master and favoured by Princess Luna, Destructive or Combative, that’s self-explanatory and such spells are very highly regulated, and finally Arcane, raw and pure magic”
>Anon leans forward, an oh so sweet smile upon his flat muzzle
”And you’re a master at all of them I bet.”
>You blush fiercely and bunch up on your seat, letting your mane fall over your face and making yourself as small as possible trying to avoid the awkward embarrassment brought about by Anon’s over the top flattery
>You manage to fumble something from your mouth
>“N-no! I’m good at parts of each, but I’m no Master Mr. Anonymous.”
>“Only the princesses could be considered masters. In actuality I’m only a little better than most.” You reveal to him dejectedly
>If you were thinking of marrying this human you weren’t going to lie to him about who you were
>He crosses his arms, an almost angry look on his features
”That’s just nonsense. If I’ve learnt anything during my time here it’s that you ponies are capable of phenomenal things, and if I’ve learnt anything about you, it’s that you’re a very special pony.”
>His endearing smile returns
“So trust me when I say, if you aren’t a master now, someday you will be, you’ve just got to work at it.”
>You can only stare in admiration at the amazing creature before you
>He was beyond caring and supportive, accepting your insecurities and showing them to be for naught
>You feel with him around you could do anything!
>Your gaze lowers to alleviate the embarrassment he so often caused in you 
>“…Thank you Mr. Anonymous.” You finally answer, eyes still locked on the floor
>He reaches out and caresses your cheek with the back of his paw
>It runs down your face and under your chin, gently lifting your gaze back to his own
>Feeling overwhelmed your eyes begin to moisten, sending them twinkling in the light 
”You ponies get embarrassed far too easily, and please call me Anon.” 
>It was his fault you were embarrassed all the time anyway! 
>But… he wants you to call him Anon? By his nickname?
>You couldn’t deal with that kind of informality yet, it hurt your cultural heritage! 
“Alright… Mr. Anon.”
>He sighs
”Good enough. But it looks like I’m up. Are you going to watch me?”
>Oh poop. This was the moment you were dreading, as per royal request it was your job to watch his fight
>His eagerness to had you worried
>“Yes. You’re the whole reason we’re here, I have to watch”
>He gets up and makes for the ring
>… 
>“Do you actually like fighting Mr. Anon? Like hurting others?”
>He frowns at you unexpectedly, as if what you’d said had caught him off guard
”What? Of course I don’t bloody like hurting others, it pains me to see people, or ponies in distress. But like I said, everyone in the ring is there for fun, the intention isn’t to hurt.”
>You give him your best angry upset glower
>It wasn’t the answer you wanted. You were glad he didn’t like hurting ponies but his instance on fight was now bordering on tedious 
>“Yet I’ve heard about what happened to your arm yesterday.”
”Who told you that? I thought it was a secret.”
>It was? Maybe Soft Cotton wasn’t meant to tell you
>You decide to cover for her; you didn’t want to sink their friendship because of her loose lips
>“Nopony told me, everypony around me was just talking about it.”
”In that case allow me correct myself. It is not /my/ intent to hurt.”
>“But it’s fine if you get hurt?” She asks
>That charming grin’s turned maddening again
”Mmm… Yep!”
>He hurries off before you can protest further
>Maddening!!
>Anonymous’ battles were horrifying!
>He was telling the truth when he said it wasn’t his intent to hurt, holding back his attacks
>His fellow combatants did not have the same reservations, leaving Anon taking a beating you’d not wish upon Tirek himself!
>You’d watch mortified as the fighter known as Volt Prancer sticks him with an electrified hoof
>A terrified scream flows from your muzzle, lost in the storm of cheers
>To your disgust even Dr. Witlick had joined with the crowd 
>Did nopony care for Anon’s well-being!?
>He certainly didn’t himself, as he enthusiastically dives back into the fray, defeating his opponent by lightly forcing her to the ground 
>Like he said, it was not his intent to hurt 
>Your nightmare hadn’t ended just yet, Anon was to be fighting nearly everypony at the gym
>That news wasn’t welcome
>But it was when he willingly accepted two opponents at once that your heart was in your throat
>How could he find it fun? He should be in the nurse’s room as is!
>To your honest surprise he takes them on /and/ wins, leaving both enemies unharmed yet again
>Things soon become so surreal you swear you’d entered a dream
>It was around about the same time he, still grinning despite the walloping he’d received, brings a Minotaur [Quartz Fury], diamond dog [Ebony], and pony [Tik Tak] into the ring all at once
>He was mad!
>The moment the bell rang he was pounced upon by the Minotaur, its large fists flailing into the prisoner of your desires
>”Gah! No!”
>Your calls get lost to the general din of the room just as your scream had
>Swift as wind the diamond dog rushes between his legs, sending him falling
>As he struggles around on the floor Tik Tac dives into his Minotaur pals open paws, who then flings the stallion at Anon’s prone form 
>A rush of adrenaline enters your bloodstream at the sight, Anon’s doom seemed certain
>Just before impact he rolls out of the way, flooding you with relief
>A relief quickly lost as the small pony leaps back to him as he rolls along, intending to continue the attack
>But neither Tik Tac nor yourself expected his impact with Anon to send him flying away once again, Anon’s sheer size preventing the assault
>Thankfully Tik Tak is grabbed from the air by Quartz Fury and safely tossed to the Ebony
>Anon ends his rolling at Fury’s hooves before stumbling to his feet
>In doing so the top of his head solidly connects with Quartz’s lower jaw
>The Minotaur stumbles a few paces then falls to the ground, knocked out cold
>The room falls silent and Anon looks around, oblivious to what he’d done, until he spots his fallen opponent
>He leans down to Quartz as the Minotaur regains consciousness and throws a clumsy punch his way
>The punch misses miserably and Anon immediately calls an end to the fighting, forcing the guy to see Nurse Soft Cotton
>Anonymous had been nothing but courteous and remorseful over the incident; that hadn’t stopped Quartz heckling him from the sidelines once freed from Cotton’s care, yelling about how unfair it was and that there was no way to beat Anon, that he must be a cheat
>That was something this event did not need, the jeers further whipping the inmates into a frenzy
>The calls of the crowd are overcome by the sudden howls from Ebony
“We can beat Anon guys! There is a way!”
>This cannot be good. You’d watched that poor human get beaten senseless already, he didn’t deserve any more of that
>The only time he’d actually hurt somepony was by complete accident 
“Bum-rush the stage!” Yells out Tic Tack, still in Ebony’s arms
>You’d not heard such a phrase before but instinctively you knew something dreadful was about to happen
>At the rally call the frenzied gym members rush into the ring as Anon backs up
>He turns around and makes for a getaway but is pinned to the ground by a trio of Minotaur
>Every other member in the gym dives atop the pile in turn, all the while giggling and laughing, as if they hadn’t just broken every bone in Anon’s body
>You could only make out his head under the mass of bodies
>The only reason you hadn’t levitated them all off of him was because you’d risk catching Anon himself in your magic and having it misfire 
”He’s pinned! He’s pinned, somepony count him out!” Volt Prancer yells from the depths of the group
>No! Anon could be dying for all you knew! You couldn’t lose him, he was yours! Your future! 
>Anon’s Minotaur friend, Platinum, bounces down and quickly counts him out, declaring everypony, but Anon, the winner
>They’d won, but at what cost? Paralysing one of their fellow inmates?
>Yet beyond all expectation Anon’s head suddenly rolls over to reveal that stupid grin still upon his face 
>It would seem what you’d thought to be death spasms was just him laughing, the great weight restricting his actions
>Why was he laughing?! How was he not hurt!? 
”Hooray, you win.” He congratulates them all “Now can someone please call /all/ the doctors, because you’re crushing ME!”
>Okay maybe he’s hurt
>Thankfully you spot Nurse Soft Cotton already anxiously pacing around the pile, waiting for them to disband so she could get to him
>Eventually they all disperse and leave Anon dishevelled on the floor, the nurse already checking him for injuries
>He struggles to get up but gets poked in the side by Soft Cotton during her inspection, the action causing him to jump in shock, falling back down
>The two say something you can’t quite hear, but Anon suddenly springs from the ground and stretches out, good as new
>Did he have a reset button on his side you were never told about?
>How could he possibly have endured all that and come out of it like nothing had happened?
>His paws go to his stomach as great booming laughter flows from him
”HAHAH. You guys did it! You beat me!” 
“Fantastic method of doing so I may add.” He says with a wink
>The group clustered around begins to laugh once more
>What the Tartarus was wrong with these ponies? With HIM!?
>Maintaining his jovial spirit he practically leaps over to Dr. Witlick, who’d been waiting eagerly to speak with him
>Several other researcher gather around him and begin their own search for injuries
>You had to join them, you needed to know if he truly was fine. It would be miraculous
>But by the time you’d arrived they’d almost finished
”And what the heck are you guys doing?” He asks, watching the ponies milling around his feet
>“Checking for damage.”
>He looks about for you among the group
”No need Ember, I’m perfectly fine.”
“He’s telling the truth.” Says one of your colleagues 
“All that and not a single scratch.” Fawns Witlick “You truly are remarkable Anonymous.”
>His words mirrored your exact thoughts
>But another thought was stuck in your mind, drawing you from the conversation
>Before, during the shock of the whole gym assault on Anon, you may not have been thinking straight, but you’d claimed him to be yours, that he was your future
>You may have come to a decision about him without even realising it, even if he was a violence lover
>But how could you truly be sure?
>You pull yourself back to reality and resume listening
”-itly true. But the gym’s closing soon, so is there anything you really need for your research?” 
>Well, you needed your samples and to get Anon on his own
>Dr. Witlick of course needed something too
“Yes, I’ve been given a request by Soft Cotton to acquire some DNA samples. Is that okay with you?”
>Your research group had actually requested the blood sample taken from him upon his first medical at the prison, but mid transit it… met its end
”Most certainly.”
“Alright. Ember you can assist. This will require the use of a needle, but Soft Cotton assures me you’re fine with that. Not many are, so we’ll perform this away from the group.”
>You trot to the corner with Witlick
>This worked for you
“Have a seat Anonymous.” Witlick instructs
>You teleport in one of the syringe filled cases the researchers had brought along with a few sample vials for yourself
>Witlick makes an attempt at withdrawing Anon’s blood with the syringe held in his telekinesis, before thinking better of it and switching to using his mouth
>Anon’s crimson blood fills the syringe, something about the whole thing was odd, but you couldn’t quite put your hoof on it
>You commence sorting out your vials
>You’ll be getting the standard alchemy samples. Spittle, hair, sweat, all that stuff
>Blood and urine were a no go. One was forbidden to work with and the other was just gross!
”So what are you doing Ember?” Anon asks, interrupting your thoughts
>Oh that’s right! You probably need to tell him what you want 
>“I was hoping you’d be kind enough to provide me with some bodily samples, hair, spit, skin and the like, to determine their alchemical properties. It’s standard procedure when studying magical or mythical animals.”
”Wouldn’t be the first time.” He murmurs 
>“What do you mean by that?” You ask
”Nothing really, just talking to myself.” 
>It’s the only response you get and a clear attempt to deflect your suspicion
>You narrow your eyes at him
>It was obvious he wasn’t going to tell you anything, but if that big galumph had provided anypony else with enough material for a potion you swear to Celestia!
>Not knowing what properties you were working with could be a /very/ bad thing for any alchemist
>You’d learnt that the hard way, after accidentally discovering the explosive properties of phoenix egg shell
>“Okay Mr. Anon.” You finally respond
>Witlick finishes up with him and puts away his equipment
“Do you need a lollipop Anonymous?” He asks “You were a very brave patient.”
”I’ll be fine Doc, I’m just glad to help.”
>You just realised what was so strange about this
>His blood had been taken and he was neither screaming nor unconscious
>After seeing what he’d just been through should that really come as a surprise?
“Alrighty then.” Witlick turns to you, “Will you be requiring any assistance?”
>Your head shakes
>“No, it’s very simple, I should be able to handle it so long as he behaves himself.”
”Heh, no guarantees there.” Anon interjects
>You snort. Certainly there were not
“Yes very funny Mr Anon. Dr. Witlick you may re-join the ‘celebration’.”
>He does so, leaving just you and Anonymous. Perfect
>Something was still bugging you 
>A Blood Rose needed magic to work, any kind of magic, from /both/ parties
>From all you’d seen Anon had no magic
>So what would happen to the rose? Did Anonymous know he needed magic for it? Or did he just not know he didn’t have magic until now?
>You’d be finding out sooner rather than later
”I guess we should get this over with, although I’m not sure why you’d want to start in the first place, honestly what do you expect to find?”
>Hmm… Could be anything really…
>“Honestly? Honestly I don’t know. Everything has some kind of alchemical property, from a rock to a Minotaur’s horn. These properties are intrinsically linked to the subject’s innate magic.”
>He nods in vague understanding
”Makes sense… I think.”
>“Good. Now you Mr. Anon? From what we’ve seen you don’t have any magic, like at all. That being the case I’ve no idea what to anticipate. I suppose that means I would expect to find either nothing at all, or anything, probably the former.”
”Nothing or anything, really narrowing your options there. So then what if it’s the latter?”
>“If that’s the case? Well I wouldn’t be able to tell you without knowing what the properties you’ve got actually are, and that’s the exact reason I’m doing this. Could you imagine if you had harmful alchemy? If somepony bad, or anypony for that matter, got their hooves on that it could be a very real problem.”
”Duly noted. Let’s get down to business then.”
>You commence collecting, pulling out several hairs from over his body and safely storing them away
>Giving him a vial and tissue he’s instructed to spit and blow respectively into each 
>Next you provide him with cotton buds for ear wax
>All rather boring it was, nothing you’d write about
>It would seem equally mind numbing to Anon, who attempts small talk, as if he wasn’t obsessing over whether or not you’d accept him as your stallion
>Silly human
”So, do anything interesting after I left this morning?”
>“Gosh no. I was far too distracted. Can I get some fingernails?”
>He /bites/ off three and gives them over; you think that would’ve hurt
”Distracted? Ah yes, your big decision. Decided yet?” He asks, leaning down closer to you
>HA! So he was obsessing over it!
>Well you had decided! You’d decided that… that… Oh goodness
>With the moment now upon you, you find yourself overcome with indecision
>This wasn’t something you could just ignore, it had to be addressed now!
>“I’ve been trying. I know you’re anxious so imagine how I feel. It’s a big choice! I mean sure, I’ve been in a rut for the longest time now, then /this/ happened.” 
>You ‘poof’ out the Blood Rose and shake it about
>“Needless to say I think it’s exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, but to be so impulsive? Mr. Anon how could you do this to me?” You whine
>You take a timid step closer to him, building your confidence
>You can and you will decide! And he was going to help you
>“I mean; did you even know you weren’t magic when you gave this to me? Mr. Anon I need to know, for one as generous and sweet hearted as yourself; why did you give me this? Truly, honestly, why? I want to decide but I /need/ to know.”
>Anon, please help… 
”Fine! If it’ll calm you down.”
>You’re sure it would
“Aside from what I’ve already said about you being adorable, and such a genuine and kind pony…”
>He pauses and thinks a moment
>You were already feeling overwhelmed
”I suppose it was because I could see you were upset, and it was eating away at me, I had to do something, /anything/ to make you happy again, or I wouldn’t have slept soundly tonight…”
>He looks despondently to the ground and sighs
“You’re all too stupidly adorable.” 
>He stops again, tears had begun to build up on the edges of your eyes, threatening to roll down your cheeks
>You’d thought it before and you were right. He was yours. He’d given himself to you
>Anon continues
”So I offered you my flower. I thought it might elevate your mood after what I put you through. I just wanted to give you something nice, something special and unique so that it might brighten your day. Something like-
>“Something like you?” 
>You didn’t mean to cut in, but he’d provided you the perfect opening
>Oh gosh, what are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing?!
>You wanted him, but at the back of your mind dark thoughts lurked. What if you were doing this just to use him to get a better life for yourself?
>You think he says something but your panicked and flustered mind was having a hard enough time keeping your own thoughts straight
>Looking upon his face with your huge glistening eyes brings a clarity to your mind
>“I cannot believe I’m going to do this! It’s the most impulsive, rash thing I’ve ever done! I’ve been feeling wrong inside a long time now. Yet when you’re around I feel special again! But I think I’m doing this for selfish reasons...”
>“Argh! What I’m trying to say is I’ve made my decision. Honestly I’m still not sure why you did it. But…”
>You pause and take a deep breath, steadying yourself
>“I accept your offer Mr. An-… /Anon/.” You self-correct 
>You were past the point of formality here, if he wanted to be called Anon, that’s what you’d call him
>“I will take your flower, we can bind our magical essence, and then we shall be wed, just as you wanted!”
>As you finish a great wave of relief washes through you. It was done, the burden had been lifted, and it was time to begin a new chapter of your life
>What’s more the Blood Rose had activated itself! The fractal petals flowing with the smoky pink liquid of love’s essence
>The next step is seeing what happens after he eats one of those petals at your wedding
>He didn’t look as excited as you’d think he’d be, if anything he was looking a little sick
>“Are you alright Anon? You look a bit faint.”
>He whispers something that you can barely make out
”Fucking flower.” 
>Huh?
>Be Anonymous
“I accept your offer Mr. An- Anon.”, Ember corrects herself, “I will take your flower, we can bind our magical essence, and then we shall be wed, just as you wanted.”
>As she stops speaking you note two things
>One; the Blood Rose was now transparent with a smoky pink liquid flowing through its petals
>Two; Soft Cotton was more effectively piercing you with her gaze than any knife ever could
>Even worse she was very slowly trotting towards you
“Are you alright Anon? You look a bit faint.” Ember comments
>”Fucking flower.” You whisper, as an inaudible chaotic chuckle echoes behind you, carried on an unfelt wind
>Giving someone a flower counted as a fucking marriage proposal!? What have you done?
>Soft Cotton was stalking closer, each slow step bringing forth waves of terror
>If you hadn’t recently been to the toilet you very may well have wet yourself from fright
>The look on her face was stripping you bare, down to your very soul
>She moves closer. Ember was yet to notice her, still focussed on you
“Are you alright Anon? There’s no need to swear.”
>She puts a hoof on your thigh in comfort
“You know it’s alright if you need to cry, this is a joyous occasion! There hasn’t been a magic fusion for over a half a decade.” She says with a smile, letting her own tears of happiness flow
>Oh God. 
>Soft Cotton suddenly sprints the remaining distance between you
>You thought she was going for Ember, up until she takes to the air on a mighty leap, soaring straight for your face
“ANONYMOUS!” she roars ferociously as her small form collides with your head
>As small and obscenely light as Soft Cotton was, she could still pack one fuck of a punch
>You go flying back, crashing through the small door behind you into the tiny back office
>The extraordinary momentum transferred to you by one angry pony keeps you rolling back, slamming into the office desk, knocking down a stapler, book and paper weight, each one comically falling upon your head in succession
>You hurt, you hurt real bad, all over, inside and out
>And you’d just had an emotional wipe out
>Dear lord you felt like you were being swallowed up in a pit of darkness
>Dazed and confused you look up and struggle to focus your eyes
>You can make out the blurry form of Ember Heart running in the room after you
>Soft Cotton was floating in the doorway, saying something to the gym patrons before flapping into the office with you and Ember, the door closing behind her
>You make an attempt to get back up but get slammed back down when Cotton lands on your chest, your head crashing back into the desk, one of her hooves painfully poking into your stomach
>Why did everything have to hurt!?
>Ember tries to get to you but one of Soft Cotton’s wings keeps her at bay
“ANONYMOUS! WHAT DID YOU DO!?” She screams, flecks of spit flying in your face
>Y-You don’t know! You don’t know anything anymore. You were hurt, your head was throbbing and confused, everything was a haze
>You felt useless, there was nothing you could do, drowning in a sea of hopelessness
>Your adorable and precious mare looks down at you with such /anger/, Ember still struggling to push her off 
>Overwhelmed beyond belief, emotionally, mentally and physically drained, you’d reached the end of your tether
>The fragile and tangled psyche you managed to hold together after the trauma of being torn from your entire world finally breaks under the phenomenal stress these tiny creatures and their fucked up world had put you under
“WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF MISTER?”
>Her angry breath blasts over you as a stinging heat builds in your eyes
>You try to blink it away, but it just makes things worse, and before you know it a stream of hot tears slowly roll their way down your face
>You take in a rasping breath, barely able to see through the watery blur that was your vision
>It was a pitiful sight to behold. You felt deplorable
>But with your pent up emotions finally set free you were reaching a peaceful tranquillity; drained of all your pains  
>The angry breath ceases blowing over you
>Struggling to rub your eyes clear you manage to make out Soft Cotton, the rage that drove her aggression had fled at what was before her
“Wha-What have I done…?” she cries bleakly
>Her legs buckle and her tiny body thumps onto your chest
>With the resistance of Cotton’s wing gone Ember trips up and falls onto your gut, knocking the wind from you

>Good god you hadn’t been beaten like this since you stained femanon’s prom dress
>Cotton curls herself up as tightly as possible, covering her face with her hooves, her body shuddering with each of her sobs, ears flowing as freely as your own
“Anon I’m so sorry!  I-I didn’t mean to hurt you. Please I don’t know what happened! I was just so angry and scared.” She whimpers into your chest
>Suddenly she looks up at you, fur damp from tears, and shouts out
“Ple-e-ease Anon! Please don’t leave me! Don’t leave our herd!”
>She dives forward, not in attack but a desperate hug, burying her muzzle in the crook of your neck, nuzzling against you all the while sniffing back twin trails of snot
>Nevertheless you end up covered in the poor mare’s mucus. (Sad pones are very messy)
>Having let your emotions go you’re feeling a fuck of a lot better, your mind had cleared itself of the fog that had obscured your thoughts, and with one of your girls in such distress the need to comfort her overrode all else
>No longer could you wallow in the pit of self-pity from your own foolish, all be it accidental, actions
>It was time to be a man. [spoiler] Plus if need be you could just cry yourself to sleep tonight [/spoiler]
>Your arms wrap around Cotton’s diminutive form, holding her tight
>It would be best to let her cry herself out; it worked for you
>Ember struggles up from your gut, utter betrayal plastered over her features
>Fuuuuuuck. It never ends!
“…Herd? Anon what does she mean? What does she mean!?”
>You cop a fresh spray of angry pony spittle
>But her rage was unable to sustain itself as Cotton’s had; it quickly melts away as she tumbles back down in despair, knocking the wind from you yet again
“How could you do this to me Anon? You have a herd? … Why would you trick me like this!?” She sobs
“To think I thought I was falling in love with you! This was all just a cruel joke to you! Wasn’t it? I’m such a fool… You truly are a beast Mr. Anonymous.”
>She ends with a pathetic attempt to smack you with her hooves
>Her words cut deep. Having these two mares bawling upon you was heart breaking
>And it was all your fault…
>You don’t know why, but for whatever reason, that damned flower was some alternate proposal method
>And was she saying something about fusing magic before you’d been hurled through the door? The hell was that about?
>You’d be getting some answers about this once these two had tired themselves out
>This whole thing may have been an accident, but that didn’t change the gravity of the situation you’d created
>Taking a consoling arm from Cotton you reach down and use it to scoop Ember from your stomach up to your chest, beside the other weeping mare
>She seemed too preoccupied with crying to even notice your adjustment 
>For the longest time you hold the two, their quiet whimpers and sniffles intermittently breaking the silence
>You make the resolve then and there to fix this, any way you could
>Soft Cotton’s tiny body finally stops shaking and she take a few sniffs
>Slowly her head rises, hear face a mess of snot and tears, eyes red and puffy from crying
>Ember wouldn’t be fairing much better
“Why would you leave us? For her!”
>Cotton’s wing would have flung out to bat at Ember had your arm not been around her, keeping it firmly in place
>Ember lifts her own head at being mentioned and pleads to you
“Why would you play with my heart like this? Why Anonymous?” 
>Both mares look at you with such despair and desperation
>”I… I didn’t know, oh my god girls I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any of this. I had no idea what the flower meant. I’m sorry, Cotton I would never, /ever/, leave the herd!  Never leave you.”
>She doesn’t say anything, instead digging her muzzle back into the base of your neck, her soft breath tickling your skin
“Thank you.” She whispers near inaudibly 
>You take your arm from around her and she lets you slowly and tenderly run your hand through her mane, gently rubbing along her scalp
>Direct conformation that you weren’t leaving her for another pony had satiated her immediate worries, but no doubt she’d have you back in the firing line soon enough
>Ember had been listening intently to what you’d said too
“You didn’t even know? Oh Celestia what have you done to me? All this and you didn’t even know!?”
>Her anger rises once more
“How actually DARE YOU! At least before I could hate you! But you didn’t even know...? Of course you didn’t know! How could you?”
“What in Tartarus is wrong with me? How could /I/ have been so blind? You’ve only been in Equestria for a couple weeks… Oh Celestia.”
>She slumps back down, several more tears emerging
“Did you have to steal away my one consolation? I can’t even be angry at you anymore… you ignorant bastard Anon… How could you cause such /chaos/?” 
>The exhausted mare closes her eyes and sniffles quietly
“…Sorry for swearing.” She tacks on with a mumble
>After all this she was apologising for swearing? What a pony, she deserves her own head rub for being so adorable
>You notice Platinum attempting to peak through the door’s little window at the scene within
>God who knows what they were thinking out there. What had Soft Cotton told them?
>Platinum swiftly backs up after spotting the two mares huddled against you
>By her intense blush she’d clearly gotten the wrong impression, but you’d rather her think you a cuddle perv than the abhorrent beast you’d truly been
>”Ember, I’m sorry. What I did may have been by accident, but it was detestable. I deserve to rot in this prison forever…”
>She stops sniffling but doesn’t look up, rather Soft Cotton does, emerging from her nuzzle
“Anon?” She asks, looking almost her normal self again 
>”Yeah?”
“Where did you get a Blood Rose?”
>Where did you get it again?
>Oh yeah that’s right!
>”Some goat lizard snake dude. Discord was the name. He was a cool guy.”
>Thanks to him you had cash money and great gifts for your mares. Gosh you hope Silver likes her dress!
>Jesus listen to you. You’re going soft with these ponies around
>Wait, if he gave you the rose did he know you would give it to Ember?
>He did seem kind of omnipotent to you so you should ask him about that next time you meet
>Lost in thought you hadn’t noticed both mares upon you freeze in place, going deathly silent 
>Ember very slowly looks up
“D-did you say… Discord?”
>”Yep, god of chaos he said.”
“Chaos and all thing evil! That fact he gave you the rose makes this all the worse!”
>”How so? He said he’s reformed and besides, he held no control over what I did with that flower, you shouldn’t shift the blame to him. It’s my responsibility to make things right.” 
“Reformed or not you can’t trust him. Heck how do I he wasn’t just controlling you!?”
>Soft Cotton looks up and recoils back, looking at you as if you were possessed, which they now thought you were
>”Calm it there girls, it’s only me up here.”
>You rap at your head emphasising your words
>”Trust me, Luna tried to get in and regretted it.”
>The mares ease back down and you resume scratching their ears 
>”I’m not sure how but I’ll make things up to you Ember… And for what it’s worth if I wasn’t already hitched I’d marry you in a second, you’re a lovely mare.”
>She looks at you with the hints of a smile on her muzzle. Some pony must be feeling a better
“Thank you Anon, but-“
>Cotton jumps in before Ember can finish, a knowing grin on her face
>She was up to something
“But, you’re not married Anon!”
>The grin would seem contagious as it moves to Ember
“No… no you’re not! You’re in a herd! Anon you’re in a herd! Why didn’t you tell me that!? Oh wait… eheheh.”
>”So?”
>Cotton takes over yet again
“So!? So you can let Ember join our herd!” She bursts out “You said you wanted to make things right, this is how to do it!”
>Ember looks at you with tremendous hope in her eyes
>”Wait, I’m allowed to just add ponies to our herd? Don’t you girls have a say?”
“Well yeah we have a say, but also no. The stallion makes the final decision on these matters.”
>”And you’re fine with a new mare? A moment ago I could have sworn you thought something a little different.”
“Because I thought you were /marrying/ her. As in leaving us! I honestly couldn’t give two feathers if another mare joined our herd, Silver Linings and Krystal Shear might be annoyed but there’s nothing they can do about it, and like you said, you need to make things right.”
>You look over to Ember, who’d been patiently waiting
>”And would this really make things right? Would you honestly still join me after all I’ve done?
>She nods vehemently
“And W-would you truly allow me into your herd?”
>”Would I? Hmm? Do you remember all those wonderful things I keep saying about you?”
>She nods
>”Well then you should know my answer.”
>Craning your neck forward you boop your nose against her muzzle 
>When you pull back her white cheeks had blossomed a crimson as bright as her mane
>”Welcome to the herd.”

<| 0_0 |>

>The mood had been elevated to an all-time high in that tiny back office
>Fittingly you enjoyed yourself a romantic, and enormously happier, snuggle with your old and new mares, and yet another check-up from Soft Cotton to make sure you weren’t permanently hurt
>You had no idea how but out of the darkness a light had emerged and from the most mortifying, distressing, situation of your life you’d come out of it better off
>Eventually the three of you excused yourselves from the gym and set out to find Silver and Shear
>Those two should hear the news right away
>Before leaving you’d asked Platinum what Soft Cotton had said to everyone after attacking you
>Apparently you had a very large spider on your face and were allergic
>A good enough lie to fit her overreaction and one you’d gladly go along with
[spoiler]Getting some domestic abuse up in this relationship lol [/spoiler]  
>Ember had told Witlick she’d joined your herd and the researchers cut short their study for the day in lieu of prepping a celebration back at the university for her  
>She informed you however that when she was around, the study never true ended
>There would be a lot of explaining in a future with her
>She’d also informed them of your contact with Discord
>That had sobered them all up and you’d been instructed to not meet with him again
>The dude was a god though, if he wanted to talk with you there wasn’t much you could do to stop him
>Currently you found yourself plodding across the prison grounds in search of your other mares
>Much to Ember’s delight you were carrying the two you had with you, she was in your arms and Soft Cotton rode over your shoulders and head
>Other ponies would look on with jealousy as you passed
>Maybe being carried was a status thing?
>Your first and obvious destination was your room, as far as you knew Silver was still in bed
>It had been the right choice
>Approaching your cell door you overhear the unmistakable sounds of two excitable ponies in the room beyond
>Pushing the door open you walk in on the two mares
>Silver was twirling through the air, dressed in the near royal looking regalia you’d gotten for her 
>Shear had her muzzle buried in the small pile of enchanting books you’d stolen from the forbidden library. The zebra jewellery you’d purchased was wrapped tightly around her slender neck
>You were planning on giving her those with a bit more ceremony than what had happened, but a curious pony’s no match for your plans
>Silver stops flying once she notices you, looking away embarrassed at having you watch her unknowingly
>She lands beside Shear and prods her into awareness
>They both focus on the red and white unicorn in your arms
>”… Surprise?”
>Silver’s hoof smacks into her forehead
“Must have been some gym session Anonymous.”
>Shear just shakes her head at you
“This is why I can’t leave you alone.”
>”So neither of you are mad?”
“Disappointed.” They reply in unison
>”That’s woman talk for mad.”
“Disappointed.” They say again
>You crouch down to let Ember and Cotton get off
>”Do you forgive me?”
>Shear looks over her books and Silver her dress
>They nod curtly
>Hah, you’d pre-emptively gotten apology gifts for them  
“I do so hope you girls don’t resent me for this.” Ember says
“I don’t know what happened but I’m sure it’s not your fault, err... What was your name again?” Shear replies awkwardly
“Ember Heart.”
“Well then welcome Ember.” She turns upon you “And Anon?” She says with an evil look in her eye
>”No more mares in this herd, cross my heart. But you two would get along, you both dabble in magic and are super adorable!”
>You get angry stares all round
>Whatever
“We should celebrate then.” Soft Cotton proposes “This is typically a happy event after all and I’m sure Ember’s overjoyed.” 
>”That’s a great idea! Ember do you want a party?”
>Her hoof strokes at her chin
“Well my colleagues are giving me one back at the university, so maybe something a bit more low-key, so we can all get to know each other.”
>The four of them get to thinking and all burst out at the same time
“PICNIC!” 
>”Isn’t dinner soon?”
“We can skip it tonight.” Cotton answers
>That worked for you and apparently everyone else
>”I’ll go make some food at the cafeteria for us then.”
“I’ve told you before Nonny! You’re not allowed to do that!” Silver scolds
“Besides I have a weeks worth of sandwiches from Cookies ‘n’ Cream.”
>”Let me guess? Hay and sunflower petal?”
“How’d you know?”
>”Sheesh. You can bring those but I’m still going to have to make food, food I can eat.”
“But, but…” She sighs “Fine. They’ll be preparing dinner though, there won’t be room for you to cook.”
>”I’ll figure something out.”
>You look about at the eager ponies
>Such an odd society, you’d just accidentally proposed to a girl, then gotten her to join your weird polygamy ring and all you had to deal with were a few peeved mares you could console with food
>Life here was getting easier
>”So girls, this wonderful family of mine, who’s up for this picnic?”

<| °_° |>

>Sure enough they were cooking dinner, or, /he/ was cooking dinner
>It was just one pony, a unicorn stallion slaving away at a “Hot-but-not-hot-enough-to-burn-you-because-that-would-be-dangerous” oven as he put it
>He’d refused you entry until he’d finished preparing dinner
>That had disappointed you, until his horn flashed once and the piles of raw ingredients scattered about the kitchen transformed into perfectly cooked and presented food
>Watching that you can only imagine the reason ponies have any technology is because of Earth and Pegasus ponies
>Why would a unicorn need such things? They could do almost anything
>With his job complete he couldn’t care less what you wanted or why you were in the kitchen or if you were even allowed; much to Silver’s annoyance
>For the first time she was seeing the inadequacies of the prison’s security
>With the kitchen free you look about for what’s available to eat
>You start with grabbing various fruits, tossing them into a basket letting each of your mares roam around your feet as you went along
>It wasn’t long before you had to put a stop to that however
>They’d each gotten themselves worked up over the new girl and were excitedly dashing to and fro, attempting to beat you to your destination as you prepared, constantly asking what you were doing, telling you to be careful with the knives 
>It had rapidly become too hazardous for you to work with the imminent threat of stepping on an excited pony ever looming
>So you picked them up one by one and made them sit on one of the benches 
>With them out of the way you could get down to business 
>You’d never had so many ovens and ingredients available to you at once, you could make so many things!
>By the end you’re left with a reasonably sized vegetarian quiche, half a dozen chocolate chip and half a dozen banana and oat muffins, fried veggie balls and some meat variants for yourself, grilled peach salad with lime juice, and you’d scored some salmon, cheese and, crackers
>It was times like this you were glad you’re mother had been a chef, and that for whatever reason this prison had an inordinately expansive selection of available ingredients
>For refreshments Ember zapped several lemons into a jug of ice cooled lemon juice
>God magic is so fucking amazing!
>With everything ready to go, Silver’s sandwiches included, you all shamble from the kitchen
>You were last out, having snuck to the pudding fridge, scooping a dozen cups into your picnic basket
>Heheh, you were a master thief and it would be a neat surprise for the girls
>”So where do you want to set up?”
“I have a place in mind.” Replies Silver

<| °_° |>

>The place she’d had in mind had been the top of the small hill where she’d first met you; you know, after having fallen in a pond and mistaken you for a dragon
>Such a silly pony
>It was the perfect place, private and yet it provided a near perfect view of the entire prison grounds
>The place was god damn huge! It was essentially a small town
>But by the number of ponies put in here for sneezing without covering their mouths it made sense that the place had to be big
>You’d never really considered the crime rates in Equestria, 90%?
>Spreading out a blanket you set up your dinner/picnic
>The basket and utensils had come from the guards lounge
>According to Silver they had several ready-to-go emergency picnic baskets at all times
>This world just seemed to provide answers to all those little things that made life so hard back on Earth
>It being her celebration Ember was placed beside you, Shear managed to claim the opposite side before either remaining mare, so they sat opposite you
>They scooted so close in the end that it didn’t really matter, everyone’s plates colliding in a centre point around yours
>You dig in, spending a few minutes in silent bliss, the sounds of fervent chewing and slurps a testimony to your cooking skills 
“This is amazing anon. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a cook. What’s your secret?” Ember asks
>”Like I told Silver a while ago, the secret is love… and salt.”
>She ‘daws’ at you, rubbing her head into your side, poking you painfully with her horn
“No wonder they’re so good.”
>Oh yeah, love was an actual ingredient used for cooking in Equestria
>Silver had been fidgeting the whole time you’d been eating, and at Ember’s initiation of conversation it was clear she was about to burst, but Ember had yet to finish, cutting her off before she’d even opened her muzzle
“Speaking of love that reminds me of something.”
>Her horn glows and the Blood Rose appears, its petals still swirling with pink smoke  
“We have to do something about this.”
>”Really? I kind of thought we’d gone over this like half an hour ago.”
“We did, but the rose is still active. We can’t just leave it.”
>”Can’t we?”
>Shear pipes up
“You gave her a Blood Rose Anon!? No you can’t just leave something like that! This is super serious, especially if it’s active.”
“There’s a reason they’re worth more than a house.” Silver comments
>… More than a house? Good fucking god it’s a wonder Ember didn’t have a heart attack after you gave her that
>”What were we meant to do?”
“Eat it at our wedding, but herds don’t have weddings.”
>”Right… Could we just eat it now?”
>She looks stunned
“I’d never really thought of that as an option, there’s usually so much ceremony with these things.”
>”Cool.” You look around at your mares “So, who wants to eat a living fortune? Err, I mean flower.”
>You’re met with shocked silence
“You can’t share a Blood Rose between more than two ponies!” Ember shouts
>”I say this a lot, but, why not?”
“Because it’s powered by the love between /two/ ponies.”
>”Why can’t it be powered by more? I love you all equally.”
“Because, because… uh?”
>She looks around for help among the other girls but no one has an answer
>”… So then, who want’s some rose?”
>Still no one speaks so you take the rose from its cylinder of goop, which dissipates into the air, and pluck out five of its petals
>You place one in each of their drinks, including your own
>”Well… Drink up then!”
>Before they can object you down your glass of lemon juice, petal and all
“Anon wait! What have you done!?” Ember cries
>”What you wanted me to do, I ate the flower.”
“I haven’t told you the risk yet!”
>Shit 
>”Risk?”
“The rose may need love to work, but it also needs actual magic, something you don’t have. For all we know it could induce your chaotic magical effect /indefinitely/.”
>Shoot
>A mighty rumbling comes from your stomach
>”You know I am feeling a bit light headed, and I feel something strange happening inside me.”
>”Oh god, oh Argh! It hurts!” you yell out in feinted panic, drawing the anxious attention of your girls
>You release you’re ‘strange’ feeling
>A mighty belch that echoes across the grounds and leaves you grinning
>”You know what, I think I’m going to be fine. Come on everyone, drink!”
>It takes a while before any of them make a move for their drinks but eventually, after waiting to see if you’d go magic crazy, Ember takes her glass from the ground and moves it to her lips
>She sips up the petal and chews it before swallowing
>With an odd puff a soft golden shimmer flies out from her body as if she’d levelled up, dissipating to nothingness a short distance into its flight
>”So what’s this meant to do exactly?”
“Well aside from the whole magic fusion thing it um… I can’t quite remember. I think it was something about giving couples confidence during their wedding, which is strange considering most eat it at the end or even post wedding.”
>Strange indeed
>Shear excitedly downs her drink with Silver and Cotton following
>Each time it has the same sparkling effect
>Nothing much else happens
>”Was that it?”
>It would seem you’d spoken too soon
>Your vision is overcome by a blinding light as you feel some ethereal part of yourself being torn away
>It was as if part of your soul had been removed leaving you feeling resoundingly empty
>But the feeling passes as four foreign fragments move in to perfectly fill the empty space
>An overwhelming happiness passes through you but it quickly fades
>Your vision returns from whiteness to reveal your mares had been through the same ordeal
>Everyone upon the hill was grinning ear to ear
>That was some good magic flower
>”What was that?”
“Magical fusion Anon… we’re together, forever, all of us!” Ember answers you
>”Well it felt amazing, we need more of these roses.”
“You can only do it once I’m afraid.”
>Dang
>”So then what happened to me not having magic?”
“I’ve no idea, hopefully Princess Twilight will be able to shed some more light on your… condition.”
>”Good to know. Anyone feeling more confident yet?”
>Heads shake
>Aside from the fusing part this was a little underwhelming. A wedding really would have given the moment more flare
>”No me neither… So, who wants muffins then?”
>Four little hooves shoot into the air and you distribute your sweetened bread treats
>They were well received and suited the pleasant mood around you
>Once you finish you lay down, close your eyes and stretch out contented
>So good!
>A soft tickling at your legs gets you to look up
>Soft Cotton had positioned herself lengthways between them, resting the back of her head on your thighs
“Is this alright Anon?”
>”It’s perfect.”
>That would seem an invitation to the others, as Ember curls up beside your hip, patiently awaiting your hand
>Silver swoops up and flops down between the crook of your arm and the side of your chest, her leathery wings stretching over you
>You look around for Shear to find her still noshing upon her muffins, simultaneously struggling to keep her face clean 
>She had her priorities straight
>”This is wonderful girls.”
>A dreamy sigh from each is your only response
>”Hey Silver you looked just about to burst before, what did you want to say?”
“OH YEAH! Wait, it’s a bit private…”
>She leans into your ear and whispers
“I figured out you were an alien from our dream last night.”
>A brief chill of fear runs through you
>She senses your sudden worry as your body stiffens and immediately sooths your fears by lovingly burrowing against your neck with her muzzle
“I’m happy you’re an alien Nonny it doesn’t bother me. But I just wanted to get your permission to tell the other girls.”
>She looks at you guiltily 
“I may have already told Shear though… She said she was fine with it, promise!”
>”That’s alright, you’ all had to find out sometime I suppose.”
“Nonny’s an alien!” Silver semi-shouts, bolting up from her laying position
>Jeeze you’d barely finished speaking
>Soft Cotton remains calmly laying between your legs
“Oh really now?” she says
>Silver looks disappointed by her reaction
“That’s it? Nothing else?”
>Cotton rolls onto her stomach to look up at Silver and yourself
“I already knew that, I did his physical remember. Also come on, there was no record of his species anywhere in any culture or history books.”
“So why didn’t you tell anypony!” Silver complains
“Doctor patient confidentiality. Anon hadn’t told anypony so I assumed he wanted to keep it a secret.” She states simply
>Daw, what a sweet pony
>You lean down and scratch behind her ears, drawing forth a satisfied sigh
>”You’re such a nice pony Cotton.”
>Silver looks over to Ember, still curled up beside your hip
“And what about you newbie? No reaction either?”
“I was told by Princess Luna this morning before arriving.”
>Silver rolls her eyes
“Sheesh, this is old news then isn’t it?” She asks rhetorically
“Why was I the last one to find out then? I met him first!” grumbles Shear, who’d finally cleaned off her face and gotten her plate away
>”Luck of the draw dear, but I know how to make it up to you!” you chime in happily
>To Silver’s annoyance you take your arm from around her, sit up, and use it to snatch up Shear as she begins to approach the lazy pile
>You cradle her in your arm and she stares up at you, innocent of the imminent violation of her exposed belly
>In dive the fingers from your free hand, tickling furiously at the fluffy stomach
>Voraciously they move lightly along her body, eliciting a stream of giggles and wild struggles to free herself
>Stirring at you side alerts you to Ember’s furious blushing and awkward twitches
“Oh my. We’re in public Anonymous!”
>You continue tickling at Shear’s belly, just grinning
>Ember looks back and forth between Cotton and Silver
“Is he always like this?”
>They both nod as you finally relent your attack on Shear, who flops against your chest, panting heavily from her escape efforts
>”Forgive me for not telling you?”
>She smiles
>That’ll do
>You lay down, wrapping Silver back in your arm, letting her draw close
>Your other hand drifts back to scratching Ember
>This was getting to be one complex snuggle operation
>You couldn’t scratch them all at once [spoiler] ;_; [/spoiler]
“Ah, that feels amazing Anon.”
>For her previous objections Ember was certainly getting into it, pushing back harder and harder against your palm as it slowly moved back and forth along her back
>Actually, all your mares were really getting into it; each appeared desperate for your touch and all conversation had died away
>They held their small bodies tightly to yours, gently rubbing themselves against you
>You yourself were feeling compelled to cuddle up with them, you know, more than usual 
>Their coats felt so silky smooth, soft, and warm to the touch, it was irresistible, never had you felt something so amazing 
>Neither had they felt anything so pleasurable as your hands rapidly move between the tiny horses, each of their little chest tufts bursting out
>The supernatural joy that had overcome you early builds back up in your mind
>You could hazard a guess as to the other effect of the Blood Rose and why ponies ate it towards the end of their marriage
>It was some kind of toned down aphrodisiac for cuddles!
>Hehe ‘confidence enhancer’ indeed 
>You certainly weren’t complaining, instead embracing the compulsion, delving into the depths of cuddle depravity
>No longer able to restrain yourself to just two puff balls you drag Soft Cotton and Ember Heart up beside Shear and Silver, forming a bundle of tiny ponies all squished up on your chest
>”I love you all so much.”
>This was the best god damn picnic
>With your arms around them all you squeeze tight in a loving hug
>Their phenomenally soft bodies squirm in your arms, each vainly struggling to return the embrace
>But you needed more. Having them mewling in your arms like this had made you ravenous
>Rolling over you release them, leaving them laying on their backs
>You loom over them with their small hooves reaching up for your contact
>God you would give it to them
>One hand darts to Embers belly, your fingers pushing down firmly on the thin layer of pudge, you move your hand up then back down, repeating the movement
“~Ah harder~” She cries out, pushing your hand down with her hooves
>Your other hand moves to Silver’s grey tummy, looking swollen and satisfied from the recent feast
>Repeating the same action as with Ember, only lighter to compensate for her fragile Pegasus body, yields you a much less commanding, yet visceral reaction
>She cries out in a disorientating mix of whinnies and bat screeches as your fingers show her heaven 
>Even with the rose’s magic flowing within her the outburst still makes her cower behind her hooves in embarrassment 
>It only fuelled your unusual form of arousal
>In response you pull out her one available wing and just barely press your fingers against the tough membrane, dragging them down the width of it like a feathers touch
>Her cowering ceases and her head lulls back, broken, rasping grunts and whimpers escaping from her drooling muzzle
>You could feel the skin over her wing tightening as it stiffened out
>Her other one had burst out from between her and Shear and was poking awkwardly in the air
>Thankfully it wasn’t too in the way of your activities
>The strange sensitivity of Pegasus wings gives you a wicked idea for Ember  
>But your two sweet mares squished in the middle weren’t to miss out either and they came first for now
>Leaning down you begin placing light fairy kisses all over Soft Cotton’s chubby little stomach, eliciting a stream of laugher and moans all the while torturing Ember and Silver
>Your kisses move over to Shear
>Unlike with Cotton it wasn’t enough to satisfy
>Her hooves rise up around your head and force it down onto her gut, crying out in pleasure as she does so
>The position was a little too… suffocating for you
>Silver’s jutting wing slaps at the side of your head as you struggle around Shears naked and exposed belly in a vain effort to pull away
>You only succeed in making Shear moan and hold you tighter
>In the end you free yourself by blowing a raspberry, her laugher convulsing her body and weakening the vice grip of her hooves enough for you to slip out
>Whimpers from Cotton alert you to her lack of attention
>In an awkward manoeuvre you take your hand from Ember and move it to Cotton, while using your elbow to remain stroking the unicorn
>And you thought this was getting complex before!
>All the worse you still wanted more, god you /needed/ their soft warm bodies against you  
>An idea sparks in your mind
>Stopping your hand from teasing Silvers delicate wing you push it under her and continue along until it was under the small of Shear’s back, holding the two mares with one arm
>You move to reciprocate the action for Ember and Cotton, but first…
>Your free hand sneaks up Embers body and hovers tentatively around her horn
>One by one your digits slowly wrap around it, your thumb gently rubbing its peak
>The whole thing fit nicely in your hand and was cool to the touch, not to mention smooth beyond belief, whether you were on Blood Rose or not
>With a technique you had mastered over your teen years your stroke up and down, massaging the tip with your thumb
>You did have two hands and in this state couldn’t let it simply rest under Shears back
>As you stroke with one hand your crawl the other up to Shear’s nape and rub at it as gently as you’d Silver’s wing
>It was as sensitive as you thought it would be, sending cool pleasurable chills down her spine, causing her body to quiver with tantalising ecstasy 
>Your focus returns to the hand you’d left stroking Ember’s horn
>She’d gone quiet and her leg was twitching but that had not been what got your attention
>Her horn had gained a sudden warmth, it almost felt moist
>She cries out as a flash of light shoots along the length of her horn, covering your hand in a clear, sparkling and glowing liquid
>You figured something like this would happen
“Oh Gosh! I-I’m sorry Anon, that doesn’t usually happen so quickly.” She stammers, attempting to hide behind her mane
>She knew just what to do to invigorate your peculiar lust
>Actually anything sent you crazy right now
>”You naughty pony you.”
>You finally resume your plan and, after wiping off your hand, scoop up Ember and Cotton with your other arm
>With all your mares in your grasp, looking up at you with such wide eyes, and having manoeuvred Silvers wing out of the way, you push all four of their bellies and your face together
>What followed would best be described as motor boating, just with fluffy bellies
>Blowing raspberries onto each stomach as you go leaves your girls in hysterics, but none resist the assault
>Eventually you pull yourself out of the comfort wonderland you’d created, your arousal finally dulling, and look down at your panting and exhausted mares
>Now this really was lewd!
>”Do you girls need a rest?”
>They shake their heads vehemently and struggle to raise their hooves up but they collapse with exhaustion 
>It didn’t take a lot to tire these ponies out, poor little things
>”I’ve got an idea.”
>Lifting the basket and dishes from the picnic blanket you wrap you and your mares up together
>To the very few onlookers in the prison grounds you would have looked a human-pony burrito
>You lay in the glorious afterglow of what was essentially an odd form of dry humping; four little ponies stacked on top of you, their tired panting breaths puffing over your chest
>Bliss, it was the only word for both how you felt and the looks on their faces
>You can cross a five-way snuggle with ponies off the bucket list now
>”Are you girls feeling alright?”
“W-was that the Blood Rose?” Shear struggles to ask
>”I’d say so, what do you think Ember?”
>The poor girl just whimpers and retreats beneath the protection of the blanket
>”What’s the matter with you?”
“Did you not just see what we did? I can’t let you see me right now.” Comes a muffles reply
>You reach under the blanket and pull the flailing mare back up, getting her to look you in the eyes
>”There’s nothing to be ashamed about. Not to boast but I think you enjoyed yourself, we all did to be sure, that’s no reason to be ashamed. Besides.” You say, brushing her mane from her face, “You’re not allowed to hide such beauty from your stallion.”
>She looks around, quite flustered, much to the other mare’s amusement
>”And like you told me, if you’re under the effects of magic, it doesn’t count, right?”
>She smiles and nods
“O-okay. There’s nothing to be ashamed about because it never happened.”
>”Whatever does it for you.”
“Hey I want it to count!” complains Shear
>”Well if you want it to, then it counts.”
“Does it really work that way?”
>”If you want it to.”
>She sticks her tongue out at you
“Your rules make no sense Anon.” She grumbles, before disappearing under the blanket
>By the look of the lump now traversing back and forth along the blanket you’d say she’s gone cave exploring [spoiler] Nyte Kroolers [/spoiler]
>She stumbles over your gut, a few hooves poking into painful places
>”Oof. You alright down there?”
“Yeah.” Comes a cheery response
>ech
>You put a hand around Cotton’s and Silver’s heads
>”And how are you feeling?”
“Like the last time I did something that wild was back in my uni years after downing an entire bottle of Sunshine Surprise, and that still doesn’t compare.” Soft Cotton answers
>”Silver?” you question
>She blushes and looks away
“I’m alright Nonny.”
>An excited call comes from Shear deep within the blanket
“I found a mighty diamond! I must pull it from the ground!”
>”Oh really now?”
>She had such the imagination
>Very hard pony teeth suddenly clamp around your big toe and yank back, painfully lifting your foot from the ground
>”Youch!”
>Why did these ponies hurt you so much?
>The lump that was Shear goes quiet
“… Sorry Anon.”
>You sigh
>”Just be a bit gentler, feet aren’t as hard or strong as hooves.”
“Yeah, they’re all soft and squishy, even the bottoms of them aren’t that hard.”
“Really? Let me see.” Yells Ember “I thought they were hard too.”
>”Hey, they’re plenty hard thank you very much.”
>Ember disappears, turning into an additional blanket lump 
>Before you know it herd mentality takes the remaining two, and Cotton and Silver slip under the covers
“Do these break easily Anon? They’re so flat and wide.” Cotton questions from the bowels of the blanket burrito
>”Not that I know. I’ve never broken mine, even after that time I dropped a bowling ball on one, just got really bruised is all.”
“My working hypothesis is that you’re indestructible.” Ember calls back
>”I wish. Now can you stop going on about my feet?”
“Who wants to explore with me?” asks Shear
>You’re not sure what the others say but it would seem they all agreed as their lumps slowly stalk under the blanket
>One would occasionally claim to find something and they’d all rush over
>Cotton did in fact discover a fork you’d failed to remove from the blanket 
>As the girls romp and giggle, visible as just bumps, you overhear the distinctive warp sounds of a pony teleporting
>You turn your head from watching the lumps to see Warden Honey Cakes approaching your family size burrito
>This was sure to be good
“Anonymous you’re not at dinner with everypony else. It took a lot of effort to find you out here.”
>The balls scampering around under the blanket go still and slowly flatten out in an attempt to hide themselves
>It was painfully obvious they were still there but Honey Cakes seemed not to notice
>”Am I in trouble again?”
“No, for once. Although you still need to be punished for breaking that door.”
>”Can I just fix the door myself? I know how.”
>She considers it a moment
“That sounds like a good punishment, you’ll have to be supervised for it.”
>”Sure thing, so the why are you here.”
“I wanted to talk to you about our agreement, you promised to find out why those Changelings went bad.”
>”Yeah sorry I haven’t made much headway in that department, but they like me if that helps.”
“It does actually, and that is why I’m here. I want you to give these to the sisters as a personal gift from yourself.”
>Out from behind her head levitates five tickets to the dance recital 
“An act of kindness from a trusted friend would do them some good, I want all my inmate to feel happy, even if they’re mean.”
>”That’s really nice Honey Cakes.”
>She smiles at you
“I’ve got them seated in front of you for safety’s sake, aside from Cookies ‘n’ Cream you’re the only other creature in here they listen to. Speaking of Cookies will be behind you for extra protection.”
>”I doubt they’ll be a problem Warden.”
“I hope you’re ri-
“ACHO!”
“… Sorry.” Mumbles Ember from under the blanket
>Honey Cakes stiffens and blushes
“Oh… oh my Anonymous you have… company.” She notes awkwardly 
>Embers head pokes out form the blanket
“Professor Heart?”
>Shear’s, followed by Cotton’s and Silver’s, head emerges
“Hey Honey Cakes.” Calls Soft Cotton, waving to her long-time friend
“SOFT COTTON! Please, have you no shame?” questions Honey Cakes, looking away from your love bundle, guarding her eyes with a hoof, unable to look upon the scene further
“I-I I’ll leave you be Anonymous, I’m so sorry to have interrupted. Please just do what I asked.”
>She turns around to make a hurried escape
>”Sure thing. Before you go. How’s the babus?”
“Babus?” She snorts “Maple Glaze is doing fine, she should be asleep, but I doubt that will last.”
>Before you can say anything more she poofs away
>That would have been very awkward were you not in such a blissful state
>You settle back down and snuggle up tou your little ponies once more
“So Shear, Anon says you have an interest in magic.” Ember says 
“I’m a gem enchantress, I made the arm band Anon has on.”
>You raise a purple ethereal bubble around the five of you for emphasis
“Ah yes, Anon was demonstrating that before, you must truly be a master.”
>”She certainly is, better yet, she somehow got a second enchantment on the gem. We’re not sure what it is yet…”
“That is truly remarkable, Krystal Shear you really are a talented pony.”
>She rubs the back of her head in embarrassment
“Oh it was nothing.”
“Nonsence. Now Silver Linings, tell me what is it you do? I could hazard a guess by your unusual wings.”
“You’re guess would be right, I’m a recruit soon to be royal guard and confidant of Princess Luna.” She replies
“Very impressive, and Soft Cotton you and I have known each other a while.”
“Indeed we have, but tell everypony else about yourself.”
“Oh yes. I’m Ember Heart, but you already know that. I moved here from Marechester for work. That being said I’m a professor up at Canterlot Royal University. I study the rare the magics of Equis and the creatures that wield them.” 
>Ember looks to each mare and then to you
“Haha, if anypony didn’t know any better they’d say you really were an evil black suit master mind Anon.”
>”How so?”
“You’re herd says it all. A master enchanter, personal guard of royalty, medical professional and magic researcher. Haha, are you sure you’re not trying to take over the world?”
>”Already promised Luna I wasn’t.”
>You doubt you’d actually need help to take over this world though, a few harsh words could topple empires
“Tell us about yourself Anon, you are an alien after all. What’s your world like?” asks Ember
>Should you tell them about Earth? Sure, but you’d be a bit selective with what you’d share
“You don’t want to know that, I’ve seen a dream of something from his world, it’s worse than any nightmare I could ever have or even imagine.” Silver murmurs
>Ember just looks at you with a more intense curiosity
“Really!? Now I simply must know what your world is like.”
>”It’s not as bad as Silver’s making it out to be, that was all just a big misunderstanding.”
“You will still tell us?”
>…
>”…Sure.”
>”I have something better in mind though, I can show you.”
“Truly? How?” She ask in disbelief
>”Hey Shear do you still have my phone?”
>The small black rectangle appears in her hoof
>Where was she keeping that?
>”Can I get it back for a second.”
>She nods and hoofs over the phone 
>”Come on up here girls, we can all look together.”
>They clamber on your chest, squeezing tightly together, struggling to fit, each staring up at your phone’s screen
>You open up your photo gallery
>Your world huh?
>You tap on one of the tiny thumbnails
>Out zooms an expansive view of Manhattan, a picture you’d taken on a holiday
>It wasn’t exactly an accurate view of what your personal surroundings were like back home, but it was an impressive display of humanities development 
>They gawk at the image  
“It looks a bit like Manehattan, but it’s so… Big. I thought everything in your world was destroyed.” Utters Silver
>”One swallow does not a summer make.”
>Also Manehattan? Wtf?
“Are you talking crazy again Nonny?”
>”No, no. It’s a saying back home. Basically it means one thing doesn’t indicate a trend. In this case that dream you saw wasn’t anything like the true Earth.” You point at the screen “This is.”
>Something you’d said got Shear’s attention, as she rolls over to look you in the face, excitement on her features
“Did you say Earth?”
>You nod
“Your planet is named Earth? Like an earth pony? That’s so cool!” She exclaims
>”That’s more of a coincidence, but yeah I suppose it is. Lucky you.”   
>You slide to the next photo, another landscape of New York
 “What are those things?” Ember asks, her hoof poking part of the screen
>The contact slides over to the next photo
>It was you leaning against your father’s, and before your arrival here, soon to be your, ’69 Dodge Charger
“Yeah that! What’s that?”
>Those photos were conveniently placed
>”They’re cars, basically a personal motorised cart for swift travel.”
>She nods
“You look pretty happy in that picture Anon.”
>”Yeah I was just told I was going to get it.”
“That’s a good thing?”
>”It was a fantastic thing. Never got round to it though.”
“Oh… Do you know how you arrived in Equestria?”
>”I’ve no idea, I just remember an intense pressure, maybe someone’s voice, then I was falling to the ground. I’d rather not talk about it.”
>For some reason trying to recall what happened caused an unnatural fear response in the deepest, most instinctive parts of your mind
>Thankfully Silver distracts you from the darkness growing in your mind, shouting out with the same enthusiasm Shear had
“Woah! You have cloud generators too!? Is your weather easy to control?” asks Silver
>It took a second for you to figure what she was on about, until you spot the plane in the corner of the picture’s horizon, a huge vapour trail floating behind it
>”Ha! Control the weather? Pony please, if only. Like I told Ember, humans don’t have magic at all. That’s just a plane, a massive metal tube with wings we use to travel around our world.”
>She blinks away her confusion
“I knew you weren’t exactly magic, but are you trying to say your entire planet has no magic at all? Wild weather everywhere?”
>You nod
“If that’s true then how is this metal tube flying? It must weigh a ton! There has to be magic!”
>”Much more than a ton, but no magic involved, just a bit of science, a powerful engine and lot of fuel.”
“Your motorised carts are one thing but /that/!” She indicates to the plane, “Is in the realm of science fiction. How can you be so nonchalant about this?
>”Because I’d see stuff like that every day, you become desensitised to it with constant exposure. Plus I think the picture is pretty definitive evidence it’s not science fiction. Heck the thing I’m showing you this on is more advanced than a plane.”
“I believe you Anon.” says Ember, cutting over Silvers exasperated sigh
“It’s clear that without magic your people have devoted the majority of your resources to technological development in order to compensate. It is most interesting, perhaps you could tell me more later, we could write research paper together about it.”
“Evolution without magic.” She says breathlessly, waving her hoof in front of herself as if the words she spoke were being written out by its passing
“Oh, but what you’ve achieved? It would be hard for a lot of ponies to accept.”
>”Or just one bat.” You say, poking Silver’s soft belly
>She gives you a peeved bat eyed glare 
“Fine, you have hunks of metal in your skies. But without magic who raises your sun everyday?”
>You look at her with mass confusion, until recalling their princess somehow raised the sun, something you most definitely would have never believed, until you met Discord, at which point all bets were off when it came magic and what it could do
>Fucking anything was the answer
>”Yeah, nah. The sun and moon? Day and night? We just let gravity and the planet’s rotation do that for us, no magic involved there. You know that might explain why I’ve never seen your moon in the sky during the day before.”
>They all simultaneously shiver
“Such a thing is horribly unnatural Anonymous. Celestia herself decreed millennia ago there was to never be two celestial bodies in the sky at once, not since Nightmare Moon.”
>Ah yes, Luna’s little temper tantrum 
>”Fair enough.”
>For the first time Soft Cotton speaks up
“Technology and magic is fun and all, but I want to know about you Anon. Can you show us your family on that thing?” She questions
>”Sure thing. I’ve got a few family photos on here.”
>You start off with a choice picture of the family in front of an Allosaurus skeleton, drawing gasps from each mare
“I didn’t know you had dragons in your world!”
>”It’s not a dragon it’s a dinosaur, although I guess they kind of are dragons in a sense. But they went extinct a long, long time ago, we’ve only ever found their bones.”
“Morbid. I take it that long haired soft featured human is your mother, she looks very pretty.” Says Cotton
>”No, that’s femanon, my sister, the woman beside me is my mother.”
“Oh, she’s an awfully small mare.”
>”Yeah I get my height from my father, he’s the man with his head in the dinosaur jaws.”
“Why would he do that?”
>”It was a joke.”
“Well I think I know where you get your sense of humour.” She replies dryly 
>You thought it was kind of funny at the time
“…Do you miss them?” She whispers quietly
>”Every day, I will forever and always.”
>She sniffles and you look down to see a few tears in her eyes, a few tears in everyone’s eyes actually
“I’m sorry this happened to you Anon.”
>”Don’t worry about it, with you guys I’ll be just fine.”
>Wiping away her tears you rub your cheek against hers, drawing forth a happy pony purr
>You flick through a few more photos of your family and friends, explaining their relation to yourself as you go
“I was wondering Anon.” Starts Soft Cotton “You’ve show us a lot of pictures of your human friends and family, but what about your other species friends? Where are the other creatures?”
>”Humans are the only truly sentient animal on earth. Aside from the one’s I’ve made here I don’t have any non-human friends.”
>That left everyone flabbergasted 
“No other creatures? Are you serious? Your world is just humans? Where does your world’s diversity come from? The culture!?”
>”Just because it’s only us humans doesn’t mean we don’t have culture. Much the same way each of the species here have their own lands different groups of people live in different regions around our planet.”
>They nod in understanding as you go along
>”Growing up and living separately from one another gave every group a different set of ideologies, beliefs and the like, and hence culture. Other species present or not humans have still managed to cultivate an enormously diverse world.”
“B-But, that’s just not right!? The advanced technology is one thing, but I can’t imagine such a place! Don’t you all get lonely?”
>”Not lonely exactly, but I suppose the lack of others spawned humanities deep infatuation with the idea of aliens, really any other sentient species. We just always thought they’d come to see us, not the other way around, or… whatever /this/ is.” You exclaim gesturing to the world around you and referring to your situation as a whole
“You’re yearning for the contact of another species… It really sounds like humans are lonely to me, but I know you’ll never admit that, right?” murmurs cotton
>”Right. Anything else you girls want to know?”
“I have something that’s been bugging me.” Says Ember, struggling to unsuccessfully roll onto her stomach as Shear had
“Silver insisted your world was destroyed, what did she mean? It all looks spectacular to me.”
>”Ah yes, I tried to explain it last night. What Silver saw was nothing more than a video game, you know, for entertainment.”
“Like those down at the arcades?”
>”A bit more advanced, but yeah. The game takes place in a destroyed city.”
>Silver cuts in
“A city filled with monsters so vile I felt sick! And so aggressive they’d attack on sight like a manticore! Everything was in such ruin and despair, blood and green goop everywhere, it was truly horrid Ember and you don’t want to know about it! Princess Luna made him a Black suit because of it, she even tried to get me out of his herd!” She shouts 
>Ember begins to look queasy at the description
“Perhaps it’s best I don’t ask.”
>”Probably. So… Are you girls still hungry?”
>They look around to each other unsure
>Silver answers
“No, you made a lot.”
>”Really?” You ask coyly, pulling an arm forth from the blanket to grab the picnic basket’s hidden contents
>Pudding cups! Pudding cups galore! 
>Their eyes light up
>”Guess I’ll have to throw these out then.”
“No! We’re hungry, we’re plenty hungry!”
>”That’s what I thought.”
>They eagerly dive at the cups groped in your hands
>Let the feasting continue! Burrito style
>They each down two of the cups before you restrict their access, much to their annoyance 
>You were going to save them for the dance recital, which reminds you
>”Ember did you want to join us at this dance recital tonight?”
“Are there any seats left?”
>”Just sit with me.”
>She smiles
“Okay, but I have to go to Dr. Witlick’s party once it’s over. It would be awkward if the guest of honour didn’t show up.”
>”That’s alright, you’re still allowed to have your own life. You know what, I’ll come visit you tomorrow.”
“You mean I’ll come visit you right?”
>”Uhh, yeah…”
>You weren’t going to break out again or anything
>Soft Cotton pokes your side, her eye’s wide and regretful
“Anon I have some unfortunate news. I was invited by Witlick to give a seminar tomorrow with him for some undergrad nurse ponies.”
>”So?”
“When the after party finishes tonight I’m going up to stay at his place, it just makes things more convenient, and I can sleep in this way.”
>Silver speaks up, the same apologetic look in her eyes
“I have to see Princess Luna tonight Anon. She wants to start training me on how to protect myself in dreams. Probably after what happened last night, so I’ll be away tonight too. Sorry Nonny.” 
>You feel a bit perplexed
>”Like I said to Ember, you girls are still allowed to have your own lives, you know that right? I don’t mind if you have to do things for work. I did have a job once you know, before I ended up in prison.”
>They look relieved
>Were herds normally so, so…? You didn’t want to say clingy, but they seemed to feel like they weren’t allowed to leave your side without disappointing you
>God that sounds like an abusive relationship
>”Guess it’ll just be you and me in the prison tonight Shear.”
>She smiles
“It just means I get you all to myself.”
>Her comment causes the others to grumble dejectedly 
>”Lucky you. When does the recital begin anyway?”
>The familiar chiming of the prison’s P.A. system coming to life cuts off any response
“*krzz* Attention all inmates attending the dance recital tonight, it will be commencing on the hour so we recommend you head over soon, thank you~” 
>Well that answers that
>”I suppose I have to go give these tickets to the changeling sisters, you girls go ahead of me, I’ll meet you there.”
>No one particularly wanted to leave the warm bundle you’d created but they’d begrudgingly accepted after the offer of one last hug
>With that the four of them trot off happily to the recital
>That left you with the task of cleaning up and finding those bugs

<| °_° |>

 >Be Yacko the antagonist disguised as a pale yellow unicorn mare 
>You’d called a meeting with your two new allies to appease their curiosity and initiate your plans   
>To keep things civil you chose to hold the gathering in the changeling sister’s cave room, familiar territory for them, away from the public eye, hopefully is should keep them happy enough
>Great grandma pie wouldn’t care where the meeting was held
>She had brought along a fold away rocking chair though, and was currently making herself comfortable
>The Changelings all sat huddled together on one of their beds
>The intimate contact seemed not to bother them. Must be a hive thing
“So what is it you wish to speak of creature?” Asks Chytera [purple leader]
“I’ve been wonderin’ the same thing dear.” Contribute Gran
>”The name’s Yacko, Chytera, not creature! I brought you here because it’s time to begin my- /our/ plans.”
“What are these plans exactly?” The Changeling coos back 
>”They’re exactly what you want them to be, just a bit bigger than what you girls had originally planned.”
>Odonata looks up excitedly 
“We’re taking the prison aren’t we!”
>She’s swiftly beat over the head by Chytera for her loud outburst
>You grin widely in response
>”The prison is only the beginning girls, my ambitions are much grander. If I fail there’s a lot more at stake than just a prison sentence. So believe me. I. Won’t. Fail.” You say calmly and with icy confidence
>You wouldn’t. Your family depend on it
“I’m in.” Mumbles Gran, dozing in her chair
“Indeed, we are too, although we wouldn’t be having this meeting in we weren’t already in this. What do you need from us?” The juvenile queen answers
>”You won’t regret this ladies. To pull this off we need workers. Are you girls capable of producing drones?”
“We could start an entire hive each if we had Anonymous backing us.”
>”Good, because he’s the key to getting this to work. I’ll be needing you girls to get as much energy, or food, or whatever you bugs do, to help jump start a workforce.”
>Chytera grins, the thought of colonising always appealed to insects, and you knew they were planning on doing it themselves soon anyway
“Can do, Yacko. But as kind as Anonymous is to us already we’d need a lot of emotion from him. How can we get closer? Socialising with other beasts isn’t our forte.”
>“Anonymous is easy to manipulate. He’ll give you anything you need with just a few pulls on the right strings.”
>The changelings unsettlingly raise an inquisitive and sceptical eyebrow each, all in perfect unison 
“We doubt that. Anonymous is beyond the emotional willpower of any other creature we’ve met. You’ll be hard pressed to trick him into anything.”
>”How he feels isn’t how he thinks. He’s alone here, despite the small family he’s accrued. He knows nothing of this world and he desperately wants to fit in. I honestly believe that if you claim an action, or request something in the name of your “culture” He’ll accept it no matter how it makes him feel, playing on his desire to be accepted. He seems to feel guilty when he doesn’t fit in.”
“Are you truly certain? That sounds, what is it…? Far-fetched?”
>”Hah! You’d be surprised. But if I’m being truly honest you may not need manipulate him at all. First off the warden has instructed Anonymous to be extra nice to you, in fact, I think you’ll find he’s already on his way to help things along in that department. And secondly brutal honesty can work on humans just as well as a web of lies.”
“Anonymous is coming here!? And you’re saying we should just tell him what we’re planning?” Replies Odonata
>Throaxie’s hoof strike her over the head
“Can you not sense him moving this way you dolt? And of course we’re not telling him our plans! What Yacko here means is if we simply tell this human we are hungry he’d willingly feed us.”
>Odonata looks around on shock
“S-seriously? But, wha-
>Thoraxie cuts her off
“But nothing, he’s not a pony remember, and he doesn’t know anything of the changeling attacks. Our friend here is right, he may find it strange but he wouldn’t refuse a direct confrontation.”
>That was one smart bug 
>You turn to the decrepit and wrinkling old mare, slowly rocking back and forth, and produce a scroll, tightly bound, a small piece of string tying it together. A sky blue Pegasus feather dangled from the string’s tip
>She takes the scroll from you
>”Do you think you can make this?”
>The scroll is unfurled and the ancient mare glances over the equally ancient runic inscriptions
>An enchantment from your old home
>Her jaw slowly lowers in astonishment
“Is this what I think it is?”
>”Of course it is. But can you make it?”
>Her jowls sway side to side as she shakes her head
“No, no, aside from the moral implications, it’s just too complex, one of the ingredients doesn’t even exist anymore!”
>”That’s what the feathers for.”
>She looks over the feather inquisitively
“Just looks like a normal old feather to me dear.”
>”You know a lot Grandma, but not all. That feather was given to me by Anonymous himself, it contains an untapped power left behind from the mare it was taken from, think of it as your free pass to do anything, your Ex Machina. You only need to know how to work it, and you’ve got me for that.”
>Her head continues shaking
“I still can’t dear. It’s too complicated, I can’t do it by myself.”
>”Argh! Isn’t there anyone who can help you with it!?”
>She thinks a moment before an idea sparks
“I can get Krystal Shear to help me. She’s near as good an enchanter as I.”
>”So long as she doesn’t find out what it is when she working with you.”
“Sure, sure. But who’s it for?”
>”Who do you think?” You ask with a smirk
>She nods
>”I think we’re done here then girls, make me proud.”
>You go to leave but a shout from Chytera stops you short
“Before you go! Who are you, really? We’ve put our trust in you and that’s a two way street. Drop your terrible illusionary act, show us who we’re working with.”
>Everybug and pony’s eye’s were upon you and you come to the sad realisation that if you don’t reveal yourself now you’ll lose them
>Your pony form melts away

<| °_° |>

>In the Cave room, where once stood a pale yellow unicorn now sat a small burnt bronze and black fox, twin tails trailing behind her
>She was smaller than anyone had expected, about the size of a large filly
>Her eyes were coal black, with tiny luminescent purple pupils, ever searching for danger
>Each time her padded paws contact the ground a small wave of ash radiates outward, leaving behind a small black print
>Gran gasps, understanding the significance of her appearance, perhaps suddenly comprehending the scope of her plans
>The Changelings just stare on with bemused ignorance at the tiny and overly adorable thing
“I am Yacko, the first inmate to escape the torture you know as Tartarus and I’m never going back.”

<| °_° |>

>You were just about to round the corner to the Changeling sister’s room when the tiny and wrinkled form of Shear’s friend Gran bustles over
>She jumps back startled at your sudden appearance 
“You’re here sooner than I thought.”
>”What?”
“Uh… I mean I think I’m lost dearie, can you help me out?”
>”… Right. Well there are maps of the buildings on nearly every hallway.” You respond, desperately hoping this was just a brief moment of confusion and not a complete descent into dementia and madness
“You’re quite right Sonny. Thank you kindly for helping an old mare find her way home.”
>”No problem.” 
>She smiles vacantly and you take it as your cue to leave
>That was strange
>Walking off you overhear her talking to herself
“The smell! Goodness those changelings are going to have a good time.”
>What? God you thought that a lot
>You didn’t smell bad did you?
>A quick sniff and all you get is various fruit fragrances and lavender, along with a slight sweaty pony stank
>You smelt pretty good actually, there was a lot of pony hair on your clothes though
>Finally rounding the corner you spot a tiny, ashy cat slinking away from the changeling’s door
>”Aw, you’re a cute little kitty aren’t you!”
>The cat jumps back in fright before fading away in a puff of ash
>”… I think this place is getting to me.”
>Knocking at the Changeling’s door you receive a unified “Come in Anonymous.”
>How did they know it was you? Or speak so perfectly in sync? God please don’t let them have some hivemind shit going on 
>Inside the insect’s room you find them all patiently waiting, snuggled up on the one bed
>The moment you stepped in their eye’s locked upon you
>Totally not creepy
“Come, sit with us.” They continue in unison
>”Uh… Are you sure? I know being that close on a bed is pretty intimate here.”
>Chytera leans back, shocked and flustered
>She drops the creepy synchronised speech, speaking solely 
“W-what? We are no filthy ponies Anonymous. Our culture is much more… progressive, such close contact is considered a sign of respect. You should be honoured, you are the only other creature here we respect, any other would only receive our wrath.”
>”Good to know.”
>You sit down on the bed to suddenly, yet not unexpectedly, be flooded by the sleek shelled bodies of the changelings

<| °_° |>

>Be Chytera
>Anonymous had been down for less than a second before your sisters had lost their composure and pounced upon him, feeding on the ridiculous amount of emotion just… drifting from him
>It was unbelievable, something you’d certainly not expected
>He was meant to come here, you’d ask for a meal and he’d leave, but this!?
>The moment he’d stepped into the room it had been flooded by feelings, you could see them defusing through the room
>It was a powerful concoction of five magically enhanced sources of love and arousal
>You’d no idea what he’d been doing but it had already melted the minds of your sisters, you could literally see their stomachs swelling as they ate
>It was taking all your willpower not to join them, the errant emotion leaking into you form the proximity had become bothering
>By the hive! Any plans you had were ruined! He would never look at the five of you again after this!
>You wouldn’t fail yacko’s plan though, it appealed to you too much, should he avoid you after this you would simply use a more aggressive means of taking his emotions
>But for now… well, there was no way you could hold it off, and there was a feast to be had
>Sometimes, you just had to let yourself go, future hivequeen or not.

<| °_° |>

>Be Anon
>Two of the sisters push themselves against your sides, slipping up through your armpits, forcing your arms around them, the others move parallel to your leg and latch themselves on
>Only Chytera remains in her original position, looking at her sisters with a disgusted understanding
>”Are you sure this is normal!?” You ask, alarmed as the insects slowly rub themselves against you
“Ah, yes! Of course! Please, f-forgive my… Ah” She trails off as her eyes twitch, struggling to keep her composure
>She shakes herself back into awareness 
“Forgive my sisters. It is respectful, but, we are creatures of emotion as you know and well…”
>She gets up and moves behind you
>You can feel her smooth carapace press against your back
>Her cool wet snout pokes into the crook of your neck and sniffs
“You smell nice Anonymous. It’s a little, egh, overwhelming. So emotionally charged.”
>Shit, the sweet scent of four horny ponies bundled up together might play a few tricks on magical bugs that lived off feelings
>”Fuck. That’s my bad. Sorry for messing with you girls, I’ll go if you want.”
“NO! Please, please stay with us Anonymous, let us feed.”
>”Uh…”
>You look down at the two bugs on your legs, both of whom had gained considerable weight, their once thin bellies swelling up after mere moments of you sitting down
>Good Christ! That cuddle sesh must have left you overloaded, or your feelings have a shitton of calories
>”I don’t really think I have a choice in that, but if it keeps you happy go ahead, it doesn’t exactly hurt and by the look of it I’ve got plenty to go around.”
>She doesn’t respond, instead her hooves wrap over your chest and pull you closer towards her, sniffing through your hair
>Overall it was a strange experience, having five sentient bug horses rub themselves against you all while apparently eating your feelings
>Yet helping others like this was also very comforting and highly satisfactory 
>You grin at the sense of self satisfaction, causing the sisters to all moan
>Shit! You should be more careful with your feelings around these guys
>”So, ah. I have these tickets to the dance recital and I was hoping you’d all come out tonight. It starts shortly, sorry for being so late.”
>None of them answer
>”Yeah, I’m just going to leave these on the bedside table.”
>Chytera grunts something guttural
>”Cool. So are you guys…?”
>The green mare to your side, odonata you believe, nuzzles against your hand initiating it’s now instinctual petting response
>It was, perhaps, the wrong decision, as the gentle contact cause her to spasm and hiss
>As she does so her tongue extends out further than you’d thought possible and wraps around your forearm, moving up and down, leaving your arm coated in a mystery slime [spoiler] bug saliva [/spoiler]
>Your natural instinct was to recoil in terror but the current situation made the action difficult
>Instead you choose to straight face the entire thing and watch on with mild confusion
>You were oddly calm considering the situation at hand
>They must release a soothing pheromone or something to prevent creatures from freaking out when they feed
>She continues to slide her tongue up and down your arm, her reason for doing becoming apparent with her belly now twice the size of any other mares
>”Heh… You guys can eat a lot can’t you?”
>No answer other than ragged breather and tongue squelching
>”You have a way of dealing with all that or?”
>This time your response is Chytera struggling her way onto your shoulders, piggybacking you and resting her now very pudgy stomach on your head and sighing in content
>”Alright cool. You’re not like goldfish right? If I don’t stop this you won’t keep eating until you die right?”
>Thankfully this time the non-response you receive actually answers your question, as odonata burps in satisfaction, releases your arm from her tongue’s grip, and rolls over, swollen abdomen preventing further movement
>”God you look like you’ve got octuplets in there.”
>No answer, just ragged breathing as usual and the growing weight of chytera on your shoulders
>You poke Odonata’s now massive and pudge belly
>She burps again and giggles, struggling to roll away, but incapable in her current state
>”You need to stop that right now you tubby little bug, it’s too damn adorable!”
>Despite the request you keep prodding to elicit those wonderful insect giggles
>”Too damn adorable.”
>Eventually the other sisters drop off you, all looking like swollen little balls with legs stapled on
>You go around poking and prodding their fat and jiggly bellies, glad their undersides didn’t have hard carapaces
>You set up a happy chorus of giggling changelings, only stopping after they fall into a bout of hiccups, still uncontrollably giggling all the while
>”How on earth they ever came to fear you I’ll never know. That and how emotion converts to so much mass.”
>Overdosing on it also caused poo brain judging by their behaviour, they were like foals, struggling around on the bed
>Chytera squirms back up and starts licking the back of your neck
>”Just can’t control yourself can you? Greedy little thing.”
>You turn around to face the tubby mare and give her a disappointed stare
>She still had the self-awareness to look ashamed but nevertheless continues licking, only now on your face
>”God damn plump bug you are.”
>Incapable of holding disappointment in anything so adorable you pull the fat mare into an embrace, letting her nuzzle against your neck and lick away
>Finally she wiggles herself off, you’re guessing not because she was full but because you were empty
>”What the heck are you guys using all that for anyway? No one needs to eat this much right?”
>You weren’t expecting an answer and you didn’t get one
>With nothing better to do you gently stroke their undersides before getting up to leave
>As you do Chytera grasps at your hand
“Please don’t hate us for what we’ve done.” She croaks out
>You tussle her strange mane
>”Silly bug horse, I don’t hate you, this was kinda cool, despite how creepy it was. It’s a bit like feeding the ducks.”
“Truly? You don’t hate us?”
>You poke her again, causing an involuntary giggle form the supposed meanest prisoner in this place
>”Damn right, I hope to see you guys make it to the dance recital, although I think it’s fine if you give it a miss.”
>You look over their bloated forms crowding the bed
>”Unless you pull off some kind of miracle.”
>She grins
“We’ve got a few miracles. See you there Anonymous.”
>You leave the five cute fat bug horses to perform their “miracles”
>There was no way they’d make it tonight

<| °_° |>

>Be chytera, struggling to maintain control of your mind after such an unbelievable meal
>Anon’s sweet feelings had left the lot of you so bubbly and happy
>And so damn fat!
>You felt disgusted with yourself but looking over your swollen body caused tremendous satisfaction
>Yacko had requested you produce a workforce, then anon walked in and provided you with the beginnings of an army!
>Honestly you were considering just bailing on Yacko’s plans and just starting a hive with the energy you had already
>But should whatever she’s truly planning come to pass you’re sure you’ll be able to start one along the way
>And so you lazily roll onto your side and get to work, converting raw emotion into fuel for your newly forming drones
>Already your sisters had produced several small clutches of slime covered eggs
>With further nourishment from Anonymous they would grow into some of the strongest drones ever produced
>Unlike eggs fertilised in the regular fashion those born of magic didn’t produce true viable offspring
>The eggs would rapidly develop into slave drones
>Off no true mind they were pheromone controlled insectoids utilised for rapid construction and expansion of new hives
>They were often used as cannon fodder between waring hives back in the era of darkness due to their unnaturally short lives
>But for now they would serve whatever purpose Yacko deemed them fit for
>Construction? Or invasion? 
>The five of you continue you slow and semi-uncomfortable task for some time, small clutches of eggs steadily building up around you, a veritable pool of lubricating fluid coating the covers
>They would have to be moved to a more appropriate location later and this bed would have to be washed… or replaced
>Your slow progress is interrupted when you recall Anonymous’ offer
>Yet another opportunity to harvest bountiful amounts of love and one you couldn’t possibly pass upon
>A brief command to your sisters and you each begin excreting dense sacs of concentrated emotion, perfect for later consumption and purging your bodies of the extreme emotional excess
>It simply made room for more
>For whatever reason you’d always envisioned Anonymous being unreasonable and indomitable, likely due to the manner in which he’d first bold facedly introduced himself,
>No pony had ever stood up to you like that
>So it would only be natural that you’d never expect him to give up his emotions so readily, but now you see you may have mistaken confidence and danger for simple ignorance
>He would give you whatever you needed and all you had to do was ask!
>You doubt you even needed to be nice. Of course you would be; to him at the very least
>You hate to admit it but his ignorant and innocent nature, coupled with his phenomenal strength, actually made him quite endearing
>After this has all gone down you’ll be sure to keep him as a personal slave
>Feeling much lighter and looking considerably thinner you gather up the tickets and leave with your sisters, a batch of eggs to one side of your cave, a pile of jelly sacs to the other

<| °_° |>

>Finally reaching the library’s theatre you meet up with your herd mares milling around the foyer, speaking to Platinum
>The minotaur was dressed in some spandex leotard thing and god damn she was banging in that thing
>Sleek tight body rippling with muscles and breasts just barely contained within her costume
>Fu-uck!
>Shear looks up and greets you by hugging your leg
“How’d it go with the changelings? Ugh, you reek of them! We’ve got to fix that.”
>”Things were strange, but I gave them the tickets. I don’t think they’ll make it by the look of them. Also what?”
>Before you know it you’re swamped by little ponies, rubbing their scents upon you
>You never really knew horses were so smell sensitive, or that they scent marked
>Actually you knew stallions did, but like most things back on earth that was just with their own piss
>God Earth was gross
>Shear looks back up to you
“You don’t think they’ll make it? Are they okay?”
>”They’re just feeling a little bloated.”
“I don’t know how you can tolerate those bugs Nonny. I’ve heard such terrible stories from the other guards.” Adds Silver
>”They aren’t too bad trust me. If you look past their abrasive speech and manners they’re just as cute and harmless as you guys.”
>Ember shakes her head
“You think everything here is cute don’t you?”
>”Something like that.” 
“Well they’re black suits for a reason. So you better watch yourself.”
>”I’ll be sure.”
>”So Platinum, feeling nervous?”
>Your minotaur friend pushes out her chest in boast
“I never feel nervous! I am unstoppable!”
>”Damn straight! You’re going to smash it!”
“You know exactly what to say Anon.” She says with a grin
>”So when’s this thing start?”
>She blinks back sudden surprise
“Shoot that’s what I forgot, I shoulda been back stage two minutes ago! I’ll catch you guys later.”
>Without waiting for a goodbye she sprints away, her tight new outfit revealing a formerly unknown ass of world destroying capability
>Smooth, round, firm, well-shaped and toned
>For the first time you’d found a reason to regret forming a pony based herd
>Or, at least your penis had
>With Platinum running off the five of you file into the theatre’s seating and find your place, Ember taking her position on your lap as agreed
>Behind you were five empty seats for the sisters, further behind that sat Cookies ‘n’ cream, decked out in full riot gear
>They were treating the changelings being out as a very serious thing it would seem, but would they actually turn up?
>Before you know it the lights dim and the stage flares to life
>The show was about to begin
>Ember snuggles up close to you in the darkness and Shear’s hooves pull one of your arms away in a permanent embrace, resting her head against it as she watched
>The sounds of a piano begin echoing around the room as several dancers leap onto the stage
>It was four ponies and, you think, two breezies or two puff balls rhythmically floating around
>They start out on all fours then stand upon their hind legs, strutting about the place perfectly on balance
>Judging by the cheering from the crowd it was pretty damn impressive
“Oh my. They are good aren’t they?” Whispers Soft Cotton though the darkness
>That sounded way too close for where she should be sitting
>Looking down you find Cotton had managed to sneak her way beside Ember without you even noticing
>A combination of super light and super soft made her near impossible to detect
>”You’d make a fantastic pickpocket in another life you sneaky bird.”
>She elbows your gut
“You’re a bird.” She says angrily
>Right, no more bird, must be an insult or something
>Something bat-like leans against your side from her chair
>Figures you’d end up with them trying to clamber all over you
>To think just a few nights ago they’d have wet themselves from embarrassment doing something like this
>Excellent, you were perverting them in the least perverted way: cuddles
>You did have to admit that in some part their overly vulgar actions were driven by a competition for your affection
>Not that you were complaining, you just wouldn’t want any of them getting a reputation
>So long as the lights stay off it should be fine
>The ponies on stage step up their game as they begin to cartwheel around just as a troop of minotaur, Platinum included, dive out from behind the curtain and grab the ponies, carelessly tossing them around
>They flip and twirl in the air as they soar from minotaur to minotaur
>Honestly this was more of an acrobatics display than a dance show
>Just when you think things can’t get much better a mare and stallion emerge together, breaking out into a duet about city living, dancing all the while
>Okay then, this was more of a musical type thing
>A creek from behind alerts you to the theatre doors opening
>Five, sleek and considerably slimmer, very smug and satisfied looking Changelings stroll through and take their seats behind you, causing Cookies to stiffen and stand to attention
>What in the fresh hell did they do with all that junk in their trunks from before?
>In answer to your thoughts Chytera leans over your shoulder and drops a fist sized pink hued jelly sac into your hand
“A gift, concentrated emotion in a form edible to you physical matter consumers, from our earlier… engagement.”
>So they can remove emotion from their bodies?
>It would have to be for later consumption
>Such a nifty evolutionary trait
>”Thanks, I’ll be sure to give it a try.”
“It is most rich, your feelings are so pure and direct Anonymous, you should be proud.”
>After her odd compliment you certainly where, but judging by her sneaky grin she’d just said that to get herself a snack
>”Thanks? I hope you girls enjoy the show.”
>You direct your attention back to the stage while tearing off a chunk of jelly sac
>The singing had stopped and there were now three groups of back-up dancer ponies gyrating their way around Platinum and some other minotaur
>The two of whom were engaged in some odd free style dance battle as hardcore beat overlayed to someone rapping played in the background
>Appropriately the lyrics being sung were absurdly clean
>Just stuff about picking up litter and being a good pony
>Platinum had also added a some additions to her costume, a few frills and the like giving her a bit of modesty
>She wouldn’t care how she was dressed though
>Blaze had told you back in their home lands Minotaur’s were as naked as ponies and Platinum was a girl true to her country
>God there’s an entire nation of heaving minotits in this world
>You should visit with your family some time
>Popping the jelly lump into your mouth leaves you wanting more
>The taste was divine! So rich and smooth, it coated your insides with that good nooch and left you feeling rejuvenated
>Wasting no time you take off another piece and stuff it in your mouth
>Knowing you’d soon devour the entire thing you break it up into equal–ish parts and distribute it around
>No one questioned the odd treat you’d provided but there was a universal request for more
>Thankfully you still had spare pudding cups to satiate your ravenous mares
>The show goes on
>You catch a few choice quotes about “dancing even if your friends don’t want to” and never dancing again due to “guilty feet having no rhythm” but you were honestly have a hard time focussing on the going ons of the stage
>Four little ponies vying for your attention was fucking distracting
>Shear’s initial gentle embrace of your arm had become a circulation restricting death grip
>Silver was no longer resting her head against your upper arm but was persistently attempting to climb over the seats to join you
>The one thing preventing her from achieving this particular goal was Ember, who was refusing to budge from her own position snuggled up against you
>Not that she had much room with Soft Cotton encroaching on her territory already
>You hadn’t noticed ‘til now but she’d been extending her wings in an effort to push Ember further away
>”Come on guys, calm your farms. Cotton put your wings away, Ember make room for Silver so she stops, and Shear can you please loosen your grip?”
>They begrudgingly accept your orders, aside from Shear who complains about being the only pony not sitting with you
>With very little space left she accepts sitting on the armrest with your arm wrapped around her
>”This was inevitable wasn’t it?”
>Cotton answers you with a question
“Can you rub our backs while we watch?”
>”You girls are already getting spoilt.”
>You comply of course, there was no refusing them, no wonder they’re getting spoilt
>You’re unsure if ponies could purr but they were trying their best as your hand moved back and forth between them
>You were a few minutes deep when you felt a light tapping on your shoulder
>Chytera’s head pokes over and looks at you hungrily, the action causing Cookies to draw her baton
“Anonymous do you mind if-
>”Go ahead.” You answer, already knowing what she wanted
>What you wanted was to know what in the hell they needed so much food for?
>Were you spoiling them too? Fuckin’… aye? Yeah probably 
“You are the kindest individual we’ve encountered Anonymous.”
>She leans back, vanishing from view
>You can hear quiet groans now coming from behind and in front of you
>Back on stage Platinum prances around with Ebony from the fight club
>From what you could gather thus far the story associated with their show had been about a legendary prisoner starting a multi-cultural herd, protecting the world from a naughty scientist pony
>It was some good shit
>With Shear in your arm you pick up one of her hooves and give it a squeeze 
>She meeps meekly at your touch
>Honestly you’d have thought after everything you’d done to this poor pony a little hoof holding would be nothing
>Yet as you move your thumb around the base of her hoof the meep becomes a series of stifled whimpers
>”Are you feeling alright Shear?”
>You make out a hurried nod in the dim light
>A realisation dawns upon you when you feel Silver’s wings stiffening ever so slightly every time you stroke her back
>Wings for pegasi, the horn for unicorns, so the hoof must be the Earth ponies overly sensitive appendage
>Strange considering Shear crushed rocks with hers
>It was good to know, and explained why she was so shy around you after washing her hooves during the gardening club
>So you squeeze, squish and rub her little hoofsies, which, to your utmost surprise, relax and soften to the point of near marshmellowy goodness
>As she grows accustomed to your continual contact she manages to take control of her whimpers and silences herself, snuggling against you, as if attempting to fuse your bodies
>”Shear you're pushing a little hard.”
”… Sorry Anon.” She replies, push against you harder than before and not budging an inch
>Yeah that’s about what you expected
>You’d also taken note of the changeling sister’s awkward shuffling from the change in emotion Shear was giving off
>It truly must be a nightmare having to deal with those kinds of feelings
>You were horny enough on your own as it was, you didn’t need everyone else’s arousal being shoved in your face
>You take a peek at the mares behind you
>They were looking a little chubbier but nothing like before
>Probably because you no longer had some magic ass flower fuelling your spirit
>Having become distracted from the show somewhat you look about the seats to try and spot anyone else you knew
>An easy spot was Blaze, his golden scales reflecting the stage light into millions of twinkling stars, eyes red as Satan’s arsehole
>You could also make out Goldfeather, Seed Song and-
"Ghale? What are you doing here?” asks Silver to the darkness
>What? Who?
>”Silver are you alright?”
“Aye she’s alright lad.” Comes a guff, yet tiny and squeaky voice
>”Did anyone else hear that?”
“Of course they did! Over ‘ere you nonce!”
>Following the sound of the voice you discover a tiny Breezie frantically waving her hoof
>”Oh, sorry.”
“It’s fine lad, happens all the time.” The figurine sized Scottish horse replies
“So what are you doing here Ghale?” Asks Silver for a second time
“I was just goin’ to the little mare’s room, until I saw you damn near dry humping this hunk here.” She says, floating up and rubbing herself against your ear 
>Oh my
>The girls look aghast, both Silver and Cotton hiding beneath their wings to avoid the embarrassment at having been caught in such a “lewd” situation
>But they’re put to ease by Ghale’s, well, gales of laughter
“Ah’m only kiddin’ ‘round. Ya should know he’s not really my type. He’s just a little too… continental in size.”
“But come on, two of the top ranking prison staff should really know better than to consort with a black suit inmate.” She continues with a giggle
“Shut up Ghale!” Silver hisses out from between her leathery wings
>She does… momentarily, unable to contain herself when spying Shear’s hoof within your clasped hand
“Oh-ho-ho, what do we have ‘ere? Bet none of you knew your friend was getting ‘er hooves massaged?” 
>Cheeky little puffball
>Everyone peers through the darkness at Shear’s hoof in your hand, a hoof which quickly retracts itself as she dives back into her own chair, cowering from the incredible humiliation at having been caught out
>Ghale breaks down in cackles while the other mare’s look away in discomfort
“You should move on Ghale.” Silver suggests, or rather instructs by the tone of her voice
“Aye, aye, I’ve had my fun. Who doesn’t enjoy a good snuggle every now and again?”
>With that the fairy pony flits out of view
>”Come back over here Shear, I was just holding your hoof, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
>The ponies in your lap stiffened at that, the thought of holding hooves being normal irking them
>Shear stays huddled in the dark so you reach out and grab the meek creature
>”You know I can’t resist when you’re being adorable.” You say, rubbing your cheek against hers as she struggles to escape back to her corner
>Everyone else goes back to watching the show, content with Ghale’s departure and your hand resuming its petting
>Shear wasn’t to escape though and soon enough finds her hoof being gently rubbed between your fingers once more
>Nothing gave you more pleasure than the soft lewd moans of a pony being pet
>Sounds of scuffing from behind and the doors creaking open once more has you turning around to inspect
>The sisters had gotten up and were exiting the theatre, their once smooth flanks now jiggling with each step
>Looks like the fatties are full
>They could have at least watched the show to the end