FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(Perspective change to 3rd)

Celestia stared out the window for a long time after Twilight and Vojin left, worry on her mind and a deep frown upon her face. She thought of how much was coming together now, how there were so many things aligning for what was to come.

She contemplated the reality that, of all times, when the whole world was at stake, facing an unknown enemy strong enough to upset the original path, she and Luna could do little to change or guide the course of events from this point on.

For all their knowledge and foresight, the future they were facing was now beyond them to alter further and out of their hooves. All they could do was play their part as the remaining unknowns came into the light when their time came. Hold the line as they fulfilled their own roles.

Celestia and her sister had not told the two of them the full truth.

Instead, they only hinted that it was all up to Twilight and her friends now, in a way much like she always had. Placed the weight of the world on those mares to save it again, even though this time it was with the support of Vojin and the other five Guardians she hoped he would soon be able to identify and enlist to help him keep the girls safe as threats grew nearer.

She did not tell them about the fact that they had no fallback plans this time. No second chance if they failed, unlike all the times before when they retained options that had let her take such serious risks. Even up to the point she and her sister could have stepped in as a last resort, had anything gone wrong in the worst possible way.

Now they would have to break their oath of restraint to stop it this time, and only if they did not wait too long and their enemy had not gained enough potential strength to face them as such, and the price of that action would be devastating no matter how much they managed to restrain it. In addition, that option would only even matter if they knew whom to face first, and where.

All they had were only whispers in the aether that told them nothing.

When needing foresight more than ever, they were left blind.

Celestia's eyes fell closed as she felt a deep uncertainty over a future she could no longer see enough of to guide, unable to stop such harm from reaching her little ponies. She dreaded how many she had seen would be lost, running through her thoughts again in the vague hope that she could think of even one more thing, just one, to spare a few more of them.

All she could do was open her eyes to the city outside again, and feel her heart ache in silence.

After a period of quiet thought apart from each other, Luna joined her sister at the window overlooking the city, nosing Celestia's neck before turning her gaze to the scenery as well.

Luna's voice was soft, almost subdued, "So many half-truths and carefully worded statements we just told them both...even if it was to nudge them towards the right paths to take in the trials ahead."

Luna paused. While it was true their foresight was being cut off, they had seen more than they had let on.

They knew the visions of the Guardians they shared were future events through Vojin's eyes, and selected them to share with him for that reason. They still did not know what had happened with the vision of the Tree of Harmony, however.

Now at least, with no way to guide events left to them as the entire branch of divination magics were all but vanished or blocked, they could stop hiding their motives behind a thousand reasons of why something had to be done a certain way. They would be reacting to events like everypony else. While it left Luna feeling unsettled, she also felt a certain weight was missing because of it.

Another quiet moment passed before Luna spoke again, "It troubles me greatly that we cannot tell Vojin about his coming magic mistake that will leave him permanently altered. Or how it will prepare him for his miracle in the thick of the war, just days before that most dangerous battle that could end Equus early if we cannot hold the line. Nor about the horror he is to face not long after his mistake that will show him the very worst of ponykind. We cannot even dare to warn Twilight Sparkle, lest she bear a portion of it alongside him, and thus risk hurting, or even losing, his trust in us. Without his trust, he will not come to us in his pain when the time comes. Even then, I worry what will happen if he is damaged beyond even our ability to restore him to health."

Celestia took a moment to nudge her sister in return, taking a slow breath before replying.

"So long as Twilight awakens shortly after he does, we should be able to deal with it and help him when that day comes. Despite what will happen if she does not and he does endure the worst, I know he would never forgive us if we knowingly permitted her to share his burden of pain, even if I am certain Twilight would gladly do so for him," Celestia swallowed as she closed her eyes, feeling Luna move close and press into her side, "It is clear each of the Guardians will endure some amount of injury for their Bearer. Some will be severe, but they will be alright, and be stronger for it after they recover. I only truly worry over what Vojin has to endure in Twilight's stead. It feels like that day in the coming the spring is just around the corner already.

"It is times like this I find myself wishing I were still blind to what the future holds. At least we would not have to carry the burden of knowing what we must allow to happen for us to see this all through to the end. He would be otherwise defenseless in a critical time, against a desperate enemy separate from the approaching conflict. They themselves will be ignorant of the coming battles and just playing a gambit to survive before the war fully begins. I hope Vojin does not kill them in the manner some of the branches showed. He will terrify them enough, regardless. If we are lucky, he will be only relatively mild, and leave them willing to join our forces to great effect."

Luna pressed against her sister a little more, "As we know what he will experience otherwise, I pray Twilight does waken soon after him. We know what is coming, yet cannot intervene further without knowing specific times and places, or we will only make things worse. It has been a long time since we were left without options and truly needed to depend on mortals, rather than acting to guide them. I hope this time, it can eventually end in some amount of joy like the first Event, when Gentle Strength healed our broken hearts earned in the aftermath.

"Now here we are. We know how much danger lay ahead, yet our only remaining recourse to change the chain of events further is breaking our oath of restraint. Tia, do you think it is enough Mother and Father are involved somehow? They did promise to return, but not for another thousand years yet."

Celestia closed her eyes, the mention of their parents left her a moment of feeling for all the world like she was a filly in too large a world again for the first time in thousands of years. She let herself indulge in wishing for them to come comfort her, even just for a moment.

"You know as well as I do that they won't involve themselves unless necessary. Nor would they be allowed more than speaking with us, even if they did. For all they have done for this world in the past through their servants, they have been hooves off whenever possible since before Equestria was founded. Even in the thousand years you were gone, I was unable to get any closer to figuring out why," Celestia spoke in a tense voice, letting her very present distress send a shiver through her body while alone with Luna, leaning into her sister and dropping all pretense or restraint as they comforted each other, forced to watch all that was to come and hope the Guardians were strong enough to see the Bearers to the end.

"And you know as well as I do, if they choose to intervene, our world isn't the only one in danger."

***

(Return to Vojin's perspective)

The constant dull noise of the train rolling along the tracks and the chugging engine was the only noise to be heard on the train as the girls seemed caught in uneasy quiet, conversations on this mid-afternoon ride had struggled along until it all tapered off into this loaded silence.

I could tell from the way they all kept shooting glances at me, trying not to be obvious about it, that they wanted to say something. Twilight was sitting next to me, giving a faint nudge with her wing against my arm. Spike had curled up for a nap at the far end of the otherwise empty passenger car. A lucky occurrence, I suppose.

Having told them not to say a word about only one subject until we were on the train home, combined with the frequent glancing my way, it wasn't hard to guess what the probable focus was. Twilight was the only one I'd spoken to about it so far, considering she was right there when it first came out.

Another minute of strained quiet went by before I sighed and decided to break the ice for them, even aimless rambling seemed better than the awkward quiet, "The lot of you are pretty obvious, you know. If there's anything you want to ask me, let's just get it out in the open. And I do mean any particular topic on your minds, but you'll have to say it out loud. I'm not a mind reader, after all."

After a short pause, I spoke again with a note of exasperated wonder in my voice, "You know, it's kind of funny. Two months ago, I was expecting to start setting up a corporate network in a new building for a big client for this week. Was supposed to be the first job I'd be leading the team on. End of this week, I was planning to take my daughter on a trip to a science museum. Would've been the first time taking her to a place like that. Now though...

"Now, I'm here in a world I thought was just a flight of fancy. Now, I'm apparently a living myth to a whole bunch of beings that are themselves myths to me in turn. Now, I'm caught up in this crazy mess we're all in. Now, I'm supposed to be getting ready for war and making sure you girls stay safe as reasonably possible through it. Now, I'm studying actual unicorn magic and learning about a surprisingly similar, yet still alien culture. And despite all the wild stuff I get to see and do and be and what I have to prepare for I'm...now, I'm...facing a time limit..."

The excitement I felt rose as I spoke at first, waving a hand around, then bottomed out when I said the last part and my arm dropped to my knee. I'd been very intentional about distracting myself after the day Twilight and I learned the price of our link. Might have even kept it between us if it hadn't come out that same evening when I managed to break out of that Rose Window spell and almost exploded in anger at Celestia and Luna before forcing myself to depart so I could calm down.

I felt Twilight nuzzle my shoulder and move closer, a wing laying across my back as I leaned forward onto my elbows as I looked at the floor, hands folding together, knowing she could sense just what I was feeling as I stopped trying to distract myself or hide it now. Nor would I hold back in this moment with the ponies I now had the privilege of calling close friends, even if we were still growing and learning together.

Part of me wondered if it would be somehow easier to wrap my head around it if I felt less healthy, if I felt like I was dying somehow.

Instead, I felt completely fine. Maybe even better because of everything happening.

And yet I still felt completely wrong...because I wasn't fine.

Taking a moment to close my eyes and draw a slow breath, I lifted my head and looked around at the girls as they watched me with sadness and open compassion in their eyes in varying amounts.

Fluttershy moved closer and put a hoof on my knee with a gentle little smile, her delicate voice as kind as ever, "No matter what, we're all here for you, Vojin. I don't have anything I could say to make everything better, but if there is anything I can do to help along the way, I'll do it. I know Twilight might be really busy at times, so if ever you just need a friend to be near, feel free to ask or visit me whenever, ok?"

As the girls echoed her statement, I rested a hand on her hoof on my knee and gave her a faint smile, "Thank you, Fluttershy, girls. All things considered, I know you girls will be there. I'm sure I'll freak out about it eventually, but for right now I'm really just putting it all mostly out of my mind while I figure out everything else that's happened. Just the stuff this morning has been a whole new dose of overwhelming as it is. I kind of want to talk about my...time limit..., but I don't at the same time. Everything that comes to mind that I might say is just dancing in a circle and rambling around in hopes I come up with something that helps it make sense."

Applejack spoke in a low voice that had a bit of strain in it, looking at her hooves as she sat on the bench across from me, "Ah...Ah probably have the most experience with that part of life. At least the lettin' go part. Ya just gotta keep on movin' and try not ta dwell and, uh... Aw shoot. Maybe talkin' about this part with ya ain't right."

I gave AJ a faint smirk when she looked up with an apologetic look, "Life goes on. I know. Even those moments where we make an oops are still going to happen, AJ. Don't worry about it too much. You know, I might even start having a small fascination with morbid humor or something while working through accepting it. I don't know yet. Maybe I'm just rolling with it well enough because I've been at death's door a couple times in my life already. Then there's also the whole I-should-be-dead thing from the timber wolf attack. I still haven't quite figured out how I feel about how all that went."

"And I still think you're part zombie now...," came the voice of Pinkie.

Rolling my eyes with a smirk that was just a little bit bigger, I just shook my head. Of course she does.

Without really thinking about it, I replied, "Eh, only flesh I wanna nibble on is Twilight's anyw--...oh, uh...," I gave a small cough, "Well, whatever. Still true either way."

As I gave her a sheepish grin, Twilight's cheeks pinkened and she poked me, knowing it was only half accidental. I let out a faint laugh and moved an arm around her in return. The girls had a couple snickers and smiled a little as well.

"Well, darling, as it seems that although we would like to discuss your circumstances in an effort to help you through it, none of us quite knows what to say at this time. Perhaps yourself and Twilight might instead share what you discussed with the Princesses earlier?" Rarity said, her curiosity evident.

Glancing at Twilight, she smirked and nudged me with her hoof, "It's your stuff to share, Vojin. I know you had a few things you wanted to tell them. One discovery in particular."

I grinned at that, wondering what the girls would think when I told them about my pony mode and the rest, even if I couldn't share anything about the protectors I hoped they would soon gain, "Oh heck, where do I even start with the stuff from this morning... Well, the main reason we met with Celestia and Luna earlier was so they could take some very detailed scans of my magical signature. We're hoping that studying it will clear up some of the weird stuff that I've got going on."

As I spoke, I started untying my shoes with my magic again, still kind of enamoured I could do that at all, and getting ready to make my body shift again as I started grinning wider, "This first one is kind of a doozy and very visually dramatic. The second also a doozy, but it isn't something I can really show easily. And aside from being enhanced by the first thing I'm going to show you girls, it's also gotta stay between us, ok? Celestia and Luna warned me not to let the second thing become public knowledge. I don't think it'd actually put me in danger, but after everything else, I'm also not going to disregard their warning. I just want you girls to know because you're friends I can trust to keep the secret. I feel a little silly asking, but can you all not to breathe a word of what I'm going to tell you?"

Rainbow Dash arched a brow, "What the hay kinda secret are you gonna tell us that the Princesses warned you not to share? Shouldn't you, like, not tell us then?"

"I'm telling you because I want you to know, and because it's my secret to share in the end. They were only advising me of a possible concern. Honestly, I'm not really sure how to feel about it myself yet, but Twilight was there when we had repeatable proof right in front of us. I'll get to it in a minute though," I set my shoes and socks aside, noticing red cheeks on two of them and quirking a brow, "Fluttershy, Rarity, you're blushing at me doing something with my socks again."

Fluttershy blushed a bit more, looking away as she ducked her head. Rarity gave a quiet, lady-like cough as she gave me a slightly flustered expression, "Yes, I know you have explained that it is rather meaningless to humans outside of a fetish. Despite that, I still cannot help but see the parallels with a pony in stockings. Though it is quite strange to see from a stallion, it is too similar for me to merely toss the thought aside."

Pinkie called out in a voice only a little above normal volume, wearing a wide grin and a teasing look in her eye, "Whoo! Take it off!"

Several snickers were heard, including my own.

"Ah yes, thank you, Pinkie. Went for a semi-dramatic pause this time?" I asked her.

"Yep! And those toesies are still so cute every time I see em." Pinkie returned as she eyed my feet again.

At least she didn't ask to play with the 'little piggies' this time. I didn't know why I told her about that. I was just glad the strangeness and novelty had generally faded for all of them by this point. It's kind of weird to be on the receiving end of unintended sexualization over something I thought of as so mundane. Maybe that was how it felt to be accidentally the object of another's fetish.

Although now that I thought of it, I couldn't remember if Twilight had done a thorough anatomical study on my feet like she had on other parts of my human physiology. She'd spent over an hour on my ears, taking notes and physical scans, so I figured a foot study was just a missing memory. There was also something wrong with me, I think, when I noted I was a little disappointed I might have lost said memory and had a temptation to ask Twilight to redo it just so I always had it to look back on.

"Well in all fairness, the whole idea of stockings on a pony is about to get rather more skewed by what I'm about to show you. We think it's a result of the magic flux Twilight and I went through. Prepare to be taken by surprise. I call it pony mode," I said with a wide grin, starting to go through the physical change into said pony mode.

For a moment, the girls just stared at me, looking a little confused as I just sat still. Then their faces began to look baffled as the change became more noticeable, eyes widening as fur began to appear, and my ears and horn really started to change things around.

Over the past week, I had noticed the shift was taking place a little faster than the first time, chalking it up to being more practiced. Twilight and I had timed it to just about nine seconds, give or take a little.

The effect on the girls did not disappoint, though in addition to looks of stunned surprise, all of them had a faint blush now, which confused me. And apart from Pinkie's big grin, they all had their mouths hanging open.

"So what do you think, ladies?" I said with a cheeky grin of my own after I had fished my tail out of the odd position it grew into and made it comfortable to sit with again, my waistband tucked just below it. The length of white was now laid along my right thigh opposite of Twilight. I was also aware it was more soft and silky than a normal stallion's tail, as was my mane, according to Twilight. So long as she was happy with it, I had no reason to complain.

Fluttershy just blinked as she covered her mouth with a hoof and stared, her wings fluttering for a moment. Rainbow was just staring like a pervert, a lascivious smile and expression with no effort to hide it as she flexed her slightly stiff wings. Applejack was blushing a little brighter as she worked her jaw.

Then Pinkie made me think she was on a roll today, her grin continuing unabated, though she had a certain look in her eye as she declared, "Wowie zowie, Vojin! You're like, sexier than a cupcake now! And hornier than ever cause ya grew one!"

I blinked, not quite sure how I should even respond to that, but knew not to ask when it came from Pinkie. Instead, I just looked to Rarity.

She was eyeing me with a curious look that reminded me of her calculating expression when she evaluated nuances in the look of something, then furrowed her brow and blinked, "Vojin, darling, in this form you are, ah, shall we say...rather exceptional. Your face gives me the impression you could have stepped straight out of a romance novel or other mare's fantasy. Were it not for your different body shape, I would call you impossibly perfect, but even with that caveat, I am still thinking it. If I had not seen you change right in front of me, I would have thought you had just spent hours being prepared for a photo shoot or a runway. I...I am quite stunned by both your surprising change and your remarkable beauty. I do not believe it would be an unfair thing were I to compare you with the immortal perfection of the Royal Sisters themselves. I daresay I could even compare you with the supposed beauty of Skydream of Virga."

I blinked again, raising one eyebrow as one ear flopped, now feeling pretty confused.

This wasn't the response I had been expecting at all. Surprise, and a bit of joking about it, was all I thought would happen, followed by chatting about how I gained the ability, but their response was way off in left field from what I anticipated.

Looking at Twilight, she was wearing a silly grin and blushing a bit herself like usual, a faint satisfaction glinting in her eyes.

"Uh, Twilight? You never did say anything specifically about my looks in pony mode..."

She blushed a little more and had a moment of bashfulness before giving me a pleased smile, the tip of her hoof making little circles on my thigh and stifling a giddy giggle before she could speak, "Well, um, you're kind of incredibly hot as a half pony. And the way you wiggle your ears around so much in this form is so adorable... I, um, well, I have a hard time believing you're really all mine. I don't think I could even manage to talk to you if I didn't already know you love me," then her voice shifted lower, "You don't mind being my super sexy stallion, do you?"

My eyebrows went higher and ears sideways. Seeing her lick her lips after using that sultry voice, and giving me a blatant bedroom look as she bit her bottom lip, was providing me with some interesting chills.

And yet, despite that, I was also feeling confused.

Looking around at the girls again, I saw they were still staring with varying degrees of interest in much the same manner as I had seen guys on Earth do when staring at extremely beautiful women. Even if you had no other intentions for the sight, you couldn't help but drink in the vision of beauty for a time. I had done it myself a number of times. That appreciation of something you felt was worth looking at.

I found being on the receiving end was a really weird experience.

Though I doubted I'd ever see one again, it also gave me a new respect for women on Earth.

Sporting my own warm cheeks at this point, I paused to collect myself again with ears half lowered, the only sound was the background noise of the rolling train for a short span before I found my voice, "You know, back on Earth it's generally guys that stare at the girls this way. This is a very strange experience for me. I'm, uh, glad I'm pretty? Can one of you tell me what normal is right now? I think I left it behind at the last station."

Twilight leaned in to nuzzle my cheek with a throaty chuckle, smiling as she pulled away, "Well it goes both ways here in Equestria. You should probably try to get used to a few stares when you're in your pony form, too. Myself and the girls will get used to seeing you enough that we'll stop staring, but everypony else is a different story-- Oh!" Twilight blinked, a worried look coming to her face, "We're not making you uncomfortable, are we? I'm so sorry I forgot to ask! I didn't feel anything like worry or nervousness from you and--!"

A touch of my fingers at her lips and a lopsided smirk was my first reaction as I got her to hush, just shaking my head and and adopting a roguish grin, "While it is weird for me to be on the receiving end like this, it's not so bad. Besides, it's not like any of you are strangers about to drag me into an alley or anything. Then again, judging by the look she was giving me, Rainbow might," I shot her a look and saw her glance away with a blush and hidden smirk, "I'll need some time to properly absorb this realization, but I think it's safe to say this is hardly that big a deal after some of the other stuff I've dealt with in this past week alone. However, I do reserve the right to continue thinking of myself as average. That's how I always rated as human, after all."

I looked at Rarity as a question came to mind, "I do have to ask though. Rarity, who is this 'Skydream' you mentioned?"

Rarity smiled, "Ah. Twilight, darling, if you will excuse any inaccuracies, I would like to tell him a bit of the tale," glancing at Twilight for a moment, receiving a smirk and a nod before looking back at me, "Skydream was a stallion in ancient times, long before the Unification. The legends say his was 'the face that sent legions to battle,' and in part caused the largest war ever fought between the ancient pegasi cloud states. There is some debate over whether he was stolen or seduced by Pulse Storm, youngest daughter of the queen of Virga, but either way, he was taken away from his wife, Queen Thundersnow. An oath to defend the marriage of Skydream and Thundersnow by the suitors that had vied for his hoof was called upon when he was spirited away. Thousands of pegasi mares fought in the siege of Virga, eventually sacking the cloud city and reuniting them once more."

She gave a wistful sigh, "While it was quite a brutish event overall, there is still something to appreciate in how Queen Thundersnow went to such lengths to reclaim her beloved husband. I am sure Twilight can give you several books to read if you would like to read more of the tale."

For my part, I just blinked like an idiot for several seconds, one brow up and one ear down, staring at her as I processed what I just heard.

When it finished processing and my brain unclogged, I worked my jaw a few times, had a couple confused expressions mixed between contemplative ones, and finally just closed my eyes, put my fur covered hand over my face, and groaned, "How the bloody hell did I wind up being analogous to_Helen of Troy_, of all things?"

After a moment, I took my hand off my face and turned my eyes to Twilight when she prodded me, looking a little confused, "What is 'Helen of Troy'? Is this one of those things where our histories followed similar paths?"

I sighed, glancing around at the girls before looking back at Twilight, "Yes, it is one of those things. Basically, in an ancient legend from a few thousand years ago, Helen was supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the world. 'The face that launched a thousand ships' was the saying. By ships, I mean seafaring boats. Massive army coming to King Menelaus' aid because of an oath to defend their marriage. Big battles and renowned heroes and all that, too. Troy was a great walled city-state on the ground, rather than a cloud state like pegasi had. Apart from the obvious differences, it sounds like they were eerily similar events.

"I just have to wonder how this kind of stuff keeps happening to me here. I mean great, I'm drop dead gorgeous as a half pony for some reason, but hearing and learning that bit about Skydream is just...just... Well, it's really freaking weird for me. The more time I'm here in Equestria, the weirder things seem to get. At this rate, I'm going to just check out and lose it over one of them sooner or later."

Twilight rubbed my thigh with her hoof, leaning in to nuzzle my cheek before giving me a gentle smile, "You know, you are allowed to have a moment or two to panic if you need it. You don't have to keep holding it in."

Closing my eyes for a moment and smiling at her touch, I met her gaze and kissed the tip of her nose, giving her another cute little blush, "I know, I know. I'm just used to processing things a little slower than they've been happening is all. Now that I've got a quiet week to slow down and absorb, I should be mostly alright," turning to look back at the girls, "So, aside from my somehow being stupidly attractive, did you have any questions or comments about what I like to call 'pony mode' before I tell you about the second secret?"

Applejack was the one to speak up while tilting her hat back, a faint blush still on her face as she looked me over again, "Ah'm kinda curious how ya feel bein' half pony like this. Yer mighty handsome and all, but what are yer own thoughts about it?"

I smirked at that, "Honestly, I think it's kinda fun, and kinda funny. Everything feels pretty natural, apart from getting used to the tail, how my fur sits under clothes when I first make the change, and how sensitive my ears are to touch. It all otherwise feels as natural as being human to me. I've even noticed I seem to have a little more muscle density, so when I can, it'll be interesting to see how it affects things when I can finally come by and help you out on the farm. Might want to do just that for a couple days this week in fact, since some good old hard work will help shed some stress. I can't seem to remember if you've told me when applebucking season is, though."

My face turned to a frown as AJ looked surprised and frowned herself, "Y'all don't remember comin' down ta help out a coupla times already? Ya even gave a shot with applebuckin' and Ah told ya it'd be better if ya just hauled bushels instead, seein' as you needin' several kicks per tree would wear ya out too fast if yer gonna help us out like that. Y'all kept up with me and Big Mac otherwise. Ah did like the no magic work ethic, and the no concern at all about gettin' dirty with us."

That made me grimace a little, taking a moment to let out a frustrated sigh, "I'm sorry, AJ. I guess the Rose Window got that memory, too. Speaking of which... Turns out, I had a pretty nasty reaction to the spell and it's going to take up to two months for me to remember the past two since I got here. On top of it, there's probably going to be a couple things I won't get back period. I'm, uh, kind of just ignoring that part overall and focusing on putting it behind me.

"Hopefully, by the time the next two months pass, I won't even notice a difference when I remember my first two months on Equus. Right now, I can't even remember if I showed you girls my smartphone. So, uh, will you mind if I help out and make a fresh memory, AJ?"

She gave me an understanding look and nodded, "Don't you worry about it none. You know yer welcome anytime, Vojin. Ah know ya get up at the crack of dawn, so head on by whenever and we'll have plenty of work for ya. We're always grateful for extra help on the farm. And ya did show us that fancy gadget ya got. Can't say Ah understand it all that well, though."

Rainbow Dash jumped in at that, "That thing was bucking awesome! I still can't believe it does so many things with just lightning energy, and no magic or crystal stuff inside. I just wish I could understand the words to your Earth music. Some of the tunes you played are pretty cool stuff."

That made me pause, ears twitching in confusion as I furrowed my brow, "You didn't understand the words?"

"Of course not. You know you and Twi are the only ones that understand that Earth Engish stuff. I bet the lyrics to that band...uh, I think you said it was called ACDC... I bet they have some awesome lyrics to go with those riffs," Rainbow returned.

I blinked, finding myself at a loss again, turning to Twilight with a baffled head tilt and ear drop, "Uh...explain?"

Twilight giggled at first, then sighed, giving me a sympathetic smile, "I guess that's another memory that slipped through. In short, our link gave us the capacity to share directly analogous knowledge. It was most effective with learning each other's languages, and spoken language was even traded before we woke up after experiencing the magic flux. Without that, it would have been a lot harder for us to help you at first, as we wouldn't have been able to communicate very much until we could adapt a translation spell. Coming from an entirely alien world, it might have taken weeks before we had enough words understood to develop a base translation key to translate your words into Modern Equestrian. Unfortunately, language and some basic mathematics seem be the majority of knowledge we could trade like we did when we shared how to read each other's languages. We tried seeing if I could teach you magic, or anything else that didn't have a direct equivalent, but there doesn't seem to be a way for us to share knowledge without a fully equal trade."

She paused for a moment, then seemed to gain a shy smile, her cheeks flushing as she met my eyes and, my eyes widening as the difference suddenly snapped into focus, spoke to me in english, "<I guess I get to tell you I love you in your own language for the first time again. I love you, Vojin. No matter what, I will always be here for you.>"

The realization left me feeling stunned.

That I had been speaking the Equestrian language the whole time and not realizing it, even reading and writing in both languages without noticing I was switching back and forth, was throwing me for a loop. In the back of my awareness, I noted their language was a touch more melodic, yet still carried a rhythm very similar to english somehow.

It was catching a sense of Twilight starting to worry about me over our link that brought me back to my senses, a hand cupping her cheek as I took a steadying breath, smiling as I met her eyes and deciding to speak in english as well, "<I'm okay. Just a bit of a doozy to realize all of a sudden. Guess we can kinda be sneaky when talking like this, since nobody will understand us, eh? Hmm...I love you too, Twilight. In more ways than there are trees on Equus, or stars in the sky.>"

Pulling her in for a loving kiss that lasted several seconds, I relished how her blush grew at my words, and she let out a faint whimper of delight as the kiss deepened. Part of me wondered just how much of an effect my pony mode really had on her, though resolved to figure it out at a later time. So long as she was happy, I could probably put up with just about anything. A new way to get her fire going wasn't something I was going to complain about.

Even now, I was looking forward to getting to curl up in bed early with her when we got home. I had to admit, it was much more likely we wouldn't be doing any sort of resting once we got there at this point. I already felt the desire for her calling, even though we had a fair bit of time before we returned to the library.

When the kiss ended, she had a dopey smile on her face, a bright blush apparent as she stared into my eyes.

It wasn't until there was a lady-like cough that we blinked and looked at the girls again, finding all of them blushing to varying degrees, from Fluttershy's bright one, all the way to Pinkie's mild one. Applejack was peeking over the edge of her hat, so I wasn't sure how bad hers was. Rainbow was looking everywhere but us as she kept having to resettle her wings.

It then dawned on me how passionate that kiss had been and I blushed with a sheepish grin, "Uh, sorry girls. Guess we lost ourselves for a moment there."

Rarity waved a dismissive hoof, her cheeks slow to lose their color, "Think nothing of it, darling. One is bound to be caught up in a moment with one's beloved from time to time, though I hope you shall restrain yourselves further until you return to your residence. Nevertheless, I will take that, ahem, display as firm proof that you are taking good care of our dear Twilight."

I blinked at that, blushing brighter than before and seeing Twilight doing the same.

Ok, maybe the kiss had more than a little passion. I did still feel a slight tingle in my lips, seeing Twilight twiddling her hooves for a second before she just hid her face against me, a faint giggle escaping as she snuggled closer. An arm over her to pull her closer drew another adorable giggle. All I could do was wear a lopsided smile, feeling pretty content.

Taking a moment to bury my nose in her mane and relish her unique scent of lightning and learning, of magic and manuscripts, I drank in her presence as a part of me noted there was no noticeable sensory difference with my nose in pony mode and feeling happy about it. It meant no matter what, she would remain a constant for me. Despite knowing it was a somewhat silly thought even as I experienced it, such moments with her left me feeling like everything really would be alright with time.

Straightening back up and stroking a hand along Twilight's mane before settling it at the base of her neck, fingers sinking into the edge of her mane, I looked at the girls again with what was probably a somewhat goofy grin. At least I knew they were happy for Twilight and I, even if we were being sappy.

I made a slight clearing of my throat before speaking, "Ok then. Now that we're past that bit of sidetracking, I have another secret to share," pausing for a moment to see I had their full attention again, I continued as Twilight sat up next to me, "Now there's not really any way to lead up to it, and I know it's pretty unbelievable to hear, so I'll have to demonstrate to help it sink in. I, um... Well, as it turns out, when Twilight and I did a strength check on our magic with Celestia and Luna, we discovered something really unexpected about my own magic. I have three distinct points of magical expression, which means I am the first natural Spellweaver in history."

To be honest, this time I was expecting the very response I got when they all looked at me with blank expressions. Well, Pinkie was just grinning like usual, so it was hard to tell with her.

Instead, I wore a knowing smirk and looked around for a second for something suitable before giving up and used a sensory-keyed levitation spell on our bags.

I still got a big kick out of spells with sensory aspects. A touch-based one is a lot like searching through stuff with your eyes closed, relying on your sense of touch to identify something. Only the sensory levitation was like having twice as many high-fidelity fingers moving about, and no concerns about being poked by something.

Slipping the pencil I wanted out of the bag, I brought it over and let it hover before Rarity, giving her a devious smirk, knowing how much I was about to blow her mind, "I know this needs a demonstration to really make sense, so we'll do a simple example of impossible that should get the truth across for you. Rarity, if you would be so kind as to take hold of this pencil in your own levitation? You only have to hold it still. Twilight said you'll be able to feel the difference easily enough."

Standard levitation use never had a caster use a marginally more draining multi-target focus when there was only one object to hold, so breaking something like I could removed the additional pieces from the influence of a single target spell. When I had done it with Celestia, I succeeded because I bypassed her influence, rather than overpowered it. Had Celestia been using a multi-target levitation, it would've had no effect.

"Vojin, darling, while I am happy to play along with whatever humor you are attempting to employ, I know enough magical theory that it is simply not possible for you to be a Spellweaver on your own. It is impossible for any living creature to have more than one distinct point of magical expression," she took hold of the pencil in her own magical field and looked at me, "Alright, I have a grip on the pencil. What are you going to--wha-what?!"

As I made a casual separation of the pencil into three parts with a soft crack, needing only a little magic to snap it into three, Rarity's expression went from a humoring one into full blown shock as only the middle piece remained in her field. I had even paused at first, knowing my three identical spells would feel like one to her until I separated them.

As far as I knew, it was also an effect that couldn't be easily faked, as every caster has a different sort of tone in their energy, much like how we all had different sounding voices. And even if Twilight was helping me play a trick, that only accounted for two spells. Not three.

Poor Rarity was taking deep shaking breaths as she looked back and forth between me and the pencil pieces I set down on the train car's floor after her spell collapsed from shock, all attempts at keeping her composure forgotten as she tried to make sense of the impossible happening right in front of her. I lacked the long-established belief and expectation of a unicorn raised in Equestria, so it wasn't so odd to me after a week to accept it. Twilight was still struggling with the thought, though the scientist in her had shifted into a more studious perspective already, trying to understand how it worked rather than staying hung up on her disbelief.

I couldn't help the smug grin I had as the seconds ticked by and Rarity still trying to reboot. A glance around at the rest of the girls showed all but one of them had become a lot more interested, if a bit confused. Lacking a direct connection to magic like a unicorn, they wouldn't grasp it in the same way. It made me wonder how other ponies in Equestria would take it someday, when the reality was made public.

Then there was a moment I cringed inside at the thought, realizing it would be after I was gone. Understanding that there'd be no risk to the secret being shared if I wasn't around to use it registered in my mind. I fought away the thought almost as fast as it came and refocused. I didn't want to think about that right now.

A glance at the one having the strangest reaction was a good distraction, however. Rainbow Dash was staring at me with a rather odd level of focus. Not with confusion, but what looked like frustrated concentration, her brow furrowed in thought as her eyes flicked to Twilight and the pencil pieces a few times before coming back to me again each time.

I'd have to ask her what was on her mind in a minute, since Rarity looked to have recovered her wits.

The fashionista pointed a shaky hoof at the pencil pieces, looking at me for a pause, then finally taking a couple deep breaths and composing herself again before speaking, "Vojin, darling, I must ask... How the buck did you accomplish a feat such as that?"

All I could do was give her another lopsided smirk, "Already told you. I'm the first natural Spellweaver ever seen. As impossible as it seems, I'm somehow born to be a miracle worker. Granted, I know crap all how to use it for the most part, considering I don't know enough spellwork to take much advantage of it yet. It's going to take a lot more study and practice before it really makes a real practical difference, though I understand it will probably do wonders for me in combat magic pretty fast. I haven't said anything until now, but it already came into play when I was fighting with Shining Armor in the Trial on the first evening of the Summit. I was able to deliver a much more powerful electrical discharge than he was expecting, which is how I broke his shield in that last round by the way."

"I must confess I am...ah, quite at a loss. It...well, knowing your inclination to help others, I am sure you will endeavor to put such a unique gift to good use," Rarity said, one hoof rubbing at her temple.

Looking around at the rest of the girls, skipping Rainbow's continued odd stare for the moment as I had a feeling it was going to distract the topic again, I flashed them another smile, "Well girls, I know the rest of you aren't able to feel the proof like Rarity can. Now's the time to ask me anything you want."

"Oh! Oh! I have a question!" Pinkie said as she waved her hoof in the air with her huge grin, "Since you said we can ask you anything, I wanna know... Why are bananas radioactive?"

I blinked.

There is normal, and then there is Pinkie.

It was easy to decide I wasn't even going to ask how she knew about radiation. For all I knew, she was secretly a genius inventor and had quantum storage in her party cannon or something. Maybe someday she'd stop making my brain skip tracks.

I reminded myself not to ask a second time before letting it go.

Once I had a short pause to think, I at least had an easy enough reply, "I believe it has to do with the potassium in them. That's all I really know about it off the top of my head though."

"Neat," was Pinkie's grinning reply. There was a moment where I would swear she had a look in her eye, like she was daring me to ask for an explanation.

It was followed by the realization that she knows something. That realization was then further muddled when she gained a knowing look and an even more sly smile upon said realization, like she knew I had that thought.

The main thought in my head became 'do not question The Pink One' and I looked elsewhere to preserve my sanity. It was safer that way.

Moving on with a shake of my head as I turned to the others, there didn't look to be any questions from AJ or Fluttershy, leading me to turn to a certain pegasus to finally ask, "Rainbow, you going to tell me why you've been staring like that after saying I'm a Spellweaver?"

She grimaced a little, looking down and too the side as she seemed to debate something in her head before looking back up at me, "Uh, it's not that. Just thought of something I'm trying to figure out. You said your ears are pretty sensitive to being touched, right?"

"Tch, yeah they are. Gets kind of uncomfortable if something is pressing on them, but they're fine when they're free like now," I gave my ears a wiggle, still fascinated at how even tiny air movements tickled the fur on them with such clear sensation, "Why do you ask?"

When I saw her start to blush, I had to quirk a brow at her as I got even more curious about what the heck was going through her mind. Even felt some amusement with myself when I had a moment of wondering if it was perverted. Whether that was because of Rainbow or my own imagination, I wasn't quite sure.

She took a breath before speaking again, "Can I, uh... Vojin, can I take a closer look at one of your ears? There's...something I want to check."

Giving her an even more confused look as an ear flopped, I was wondering what my ears had made her think of and shrugged, "Sure, I guess. What's on your mind?"

Rainbow Dash hopped off the opposite bench and sat herself on my right, blushing a little brighter, "Just...let me see it first and I'll tell you, kay?"

Not having any particular reason not to, I just leaned my head towards her so she could have easy access to my right ear. She seemed to hesitate, her breath drifting past it before she leaned in.

My eyebrows shot up when I felt her mouth open and her teeth clamp down quite firmly on my ear, half of it in her mouth. The action sent a surprising amount of electricity through me, leaving me a lot more confused at what was going on and so decided to ask, "Rainbow, wha_aAAAAHAHAAA!!_"

When she gave a sharp tug on my ear, everything went white.

All I could do was let out a loud gasping moan of unexpected pleasure I had no control over, arching my back even as I felt myself pressing into the teeth on my ear. The electricity I'd felt from her teeth clamping down was like the beat of a butterfly's wing compared to the massive hurricane force wind of sensation that blasted me at that tug.

I had felt what was an odd response making me confused, then got sent charging straight into a state of gasping, tingling, maddening arousal that might have had me jumping on Twilight right then and there if I wasn't already used to being a guy in the first place.

In a fraction of a second, I had gone from pretty relaxed to insanely turned on.

And in that same fraction of a second, I realized I was involuntarily rising to attention faster than I could ever remember it happening, while every physical sense I had was heightened to match the peak of physical arousal I was now in. It was a state I only ever remembered reaching after a long buildup of teasing foreplay. It took just one simple tug of my ear, and suddenly I was prepared, and craving, to ravish Twilight like my life depended on it.

In the sudden silence that followed where even the sound of the rolling train seemed to dim, it was the sound of my own gasping breaths that I heard. My eyes were unfocused and staring straight out from the angle my head was in as I quivered in place, mouth agape. I was somehow a slave to the teeth on my ear and felt like I was waiting for them to release me so I could use my twitching arousal. I couldn't help the almost desperate desire for a second tug, not knowing if I'd lose my mind or not, only that it had felt so incredible and left me wanting more. Had I been able to talk in such a state, I would have begged for her to tug harder, wanting to know how far she could take me.

It had all happened in just the two seconds before Rainbow at last let go of my ear.

The embarrassed blush I would have had as Rainbow's teeth released my ear was lost behind the intense heat I felt from arousal. I found myself unable to contain the whimper of need as the hold on my ear vanished, body starting to sag back down a moment later.

A couple more seconds ticked by as I regained some proper control, glancing around at the girls and seeing them all glowing red, wide eyed with jaws hanging open. Fluttershy and Rainbow both had their wings extended. Applejack was peeking over the edge of her hat, blushing to the tips of her ears.

Still panting and trying to recover my breath, length twitching against my left leg, I made a slow move to drag Twilight over my lap a bit in an effort to hide the outline that was so very easy to see under leg of my pants and making the girls blush even brighter. I shuddered as I pulled Twilight over and her body began to press against it, groaning at the sensation and having another moment where I felt the hunger for her make another demand for satisfaction before I was able to push it back down.

Tense and breathless, I had to keep resisting the urge to grind against Twilight as she lay across my lap, and still seconds passed before I found my voice again, "What? That, what? What happ...? What was? What? Erect. What? My ear. What? I...what?!"

My brain was all but shut down as I swallowed, realizing my salivary glands were running on high and I was starting to drool on top of everything else. All I could do was start to trade the intense arousal for anxiety as I began to calm down from one peak and start climbing towards another.

Twilight picked up on my growing panic and shifted around, sitting on my left thigh, and the throbbing length under my pants that caused a shuddery whimper to slip out at feeling her pressed against it, so she could look into my eyes as her hooves touched my cheeks, "C-calm down, Vojin. I've always heard the Diviso Amore Response could be really dramatic, especially the first time a stallion discovers he has it. I guess this proves it. It's alright. Take a deep breath for me before anything else, ok?"

It took me a couple deep breaths to feel like I wasn't on the verge of losing it, hiding my face against her neck as I panted more, a little flabbergasted at how slow the arousal was to fade and worried I'd be stuck with it until I got Twilight alone. The whole experience was making it hard to think, both from the lingering intensity, and how sudden and staggering the effect was. It was like I'd reached the edge to a powerful climax, but it lacked any buildup or warning and just left me hanging at the edge with a need for more.

Leaning back and exhaling, I blinked at Twilight with continued look of bewilderment, "Ok, I think I'm alright now. Just, uh, d-don't wiggle in my lap right now or anything. You're pretty much sitting on it and I'm not sure how much I can take. Can you explain to me what the bloody hell that was?"

Before Twilight did more than open her mouth, there was a frustrated growl to my right.

And then Rainbow yelled a rather succinct exclamation.

"BUCK!"

Twilight and I jumped at hearing a shout so close and I shuddered again as it made us grind against each other in rather frustrating, delightful way. We wouldn't be back at the library fast enough if it happened in the next two seconds.

In that moment, I despised all trains, modesty, manners, and public decency for being in the way and preventing me from doing exactly who I wanted to right then and there. Twilight had no idea how much, or how long, I was going to ravish her when we got home. Were she to tease me in such a moment, I would have lasted only as long as it took to throw her down on the floor and show her exactly how much I was craving her body. Part of me knew nothing except the warmth of her body so tantalizing and close.

Yet for now, all I could manage was a frustrated growl before forcing myself to put that need aside. If only just...

Rainbow's shout drew all our eyes to her in surprise, only to find her with a strange look on her face as she gestured at me with a hoof, "Seriously, Twilight? I thought there was, like, totally no way it'd happen, but on top of him being this super hot half pony and everything else, he turns out to be a bucking nom & pop stallion?! Really?! Can we, like, take him to the mirror pool or something? Clone him with a spell so I can have one too? He bucking fell outta the sky right in front of you and you got all lovey dovey with him almost right from the start. And on top of it, I remember that list you made last year about your 'ideal mate,'" Rainbow made quotations with her hooves, looking like she was just warming up, "and it stuck because some of it was kinda silly to me, even though I agreed with a lot of it at the same time, and now this and..." Rainbow started listing off stuff that must have been on Twilight's list.

My chest was growing tighter with every point she said. Almost every bit of it fit me so well. A couple of things were not really applicable to me, but overall it was like listening to a profile of most of my personality and preferences.

Even some of my quirks came up, like the fact I was somehow a horrible dancer despite my martial skills. For whatever reason, I could never figure out how to let go and flow with music in a way that wasn't painfully embarrassing or awkward. I could read the flow of a fight, but a dance floor demanded practiced choreography for me to manage.

The whole time, as I glanced around at the girls now and again, I saw surprise in their expressions, but also some kind of anguish or worry as they watched Rainbow going off on her rant. It was feeling Twilight's deep concern and sadness towards Rainbow that left me the most confusion over what could have happened that Twilight and the girls were reacting like they were.

Then, in a voice that was by now wavering on some level I couldn't place, Rainbow said one particular thing from the list that finished off my ability to keep myself calm, "I'll bet Vojin even meets that bucking silly dorkiness ratio you wanted, Twi. I'm--"

I couldn't hear anything else after that. No longer able to breathe as my blood chilled and vision went dim. It was just one too many new crazy things coming at me too fast in a moment I knew there were no overt dangers, left hearing a rushing sound in my ears as I disconnected from everything. I just accepted that some random weirdness finally sent me off the deep end.

While lost in the middle of a severe panic attack, struggling to draw breath as I wheezed, all I could think about was how convenient it had all been. The way things had kept stacking up with one coincidence after another, no matter how strange.

There was no doubt I loved Twilight with everything I had and then some. I knew and trusted that she felt the same. Yet, I didn't know how we fit together as well as we had. How we were so closely aligned on so many levels, despite my coming from another world. It didn't make sense in my head how it was all as simple and easy as it had been.

I never believed much in coincidences. Even less so with such a chain of them.

It left me spiraling down my options as the lack of oxygen began getting to me, voices just a distant noise I couldn't understand.

What if none of it was a coincidence at all?

That idea scared me, having read or seen so many stories in the past that it led me to one singular conclusion of a plan being followed.

It all made sense if I was chosen to appeal to Twilight and keep her safe to begin with, then delivered straight to her by the orb.

From the orb?

Was I designed for her?

...could...some or all of my life on Earth...

...just be a lie...?

...

...

...

What felt like a moment later, noise began reaching my ears again as I gulped air into my lungs.

"...keep him brea..."

"...alming back d..."

"...st keep it up, Da..."

"...eel him starting to catch his breath now," Twilight's soothing voice finally started to feel present and constant again.

I felt weak as I kept breathing, my eyes closed as I felt two bodies against me, feeling warm and cared for.

As I got my senses in order, I felt the one to my right and back making slow, gentle strokes from my head down to my tail with...feathers? I could feel Twilight was the one in front of me, my face shifting to sink into her neck as her wings remained snug against my arms.

Unable to stop myself and not wanting to hold back in the first place, I began to cry against Twilight in near silence as I hid my face further against her fur, shoulders trembling as I let go. She tightened her hold on me, pulling me closer and letting me. The pegasus at my back pressed closer and held me as well, before a soft, wordless lullaby from Fluttershy off to my left said it was Rainbow holding me.

Throwing my remaining composure out the window, I let myself feel the fear, the hanging question of my entire life being all a fabrication, regardless of whether it was actually going to prove true or not.

A part of me noted that, had the situation been different when everything hit me all at once, I might have gotten mad instead of breaking down. Instead, I knew I had the chance to be vulnerable and ran with it.

Twilight was safe. Rainbow felt safe. The four girls right beside us were safe.

Being over the line anyway, in a moment I had the freedom to, I could work on sorting it out once I let it out. It would be just a fool's effort to try and restrain myself when I was already cracked open. Trying to bear everything in a calm just hurts the foundation you need to stand up in a storm. The importance of that idea had been driven home by my parents growing up, despite still being unable to remember their names and wondering if it was the Rose Window...or something else.

I took the moment to fall apart from everything that had happened, and what I had just been thinking that shook me to the core. And that was before I even considered what I had experienced with the Tree of Harmony this morning. Or everything else going on.

But it was how true madness had felt in that one vision that had continued to haunt the edge of my thoughts from this morning the most.

For the brief period I had experienced that vision I had felt the tangled mess of violent urges, the desire for blood and flesh on my tongue, and how I had thrilled in the snapping of bones and sounds of pain from those I had killed because they dared threaten those I claimed as mine. To challenge my dominance! They needed and deserved to be destro--!!

A heartbeat passed and my fear grew a fraction larger as that strange haze brushed against me again, causing me to cling tighter to Twilight as I wept even more. I still felt off balance from the experience, with a part of me afraid something had transferred somehow. My rational mind was certain it was my extreme level of stress making it feel like more than it was.

I was almost unable to fathom what losing one's mind was like before that experience. Now I had direct experience to add disturbing tangibility when thinking of that fear.

Above all, I really needed some time just to figure out how to talk to Twilight about it in the first place. Organize my thoughts a little first. Truly, the chance to vent some raw emotion was needed, even if it came sooner than I expected.

Though it didn't last long, a great deal of tension was shed by the time I sniffled, wincing upon realizing more than tears had wet Twilight's fur. I knew she didn't mind, but I still told myself I'd give her a backrub for it later.

Slipping my right arm free, I reached up and back until my fingers sank into Rainbow's mane at the back of her neck and pulled her a little closer in gratitude, feeling her nuzzle the back of my head in response.

A couple of steadying breaths allowed me to speak in relatively clear tone, if a bit tense, "Thank you, Twilight, Rainbow. Thank you, girls. Sorry I lost it like that. I was already near my limit when the whole ear thing and that list wound up making me think of something pretty heavy."

Twilight nuzzled the side of my head and spoke in a warm, if concerned voice, "Don't worry, my stallion. I'm glad you let it out. I was really getting worried you were trying to hold in too much. You've never been more on edge in the two months I've known you. I know, you said you need to stay quiet about part of whatever you learned. Whatever it is, I hope it's worth the burden it's causing you. Can you tell me what it was that got to you so much?"

Another steadying breath was needed before I could respond, "The main one is a matter of realization to solve several mysterious coincidences."

I loosened my hold on both mares and sat up a bit straighter, but refused to let either go as I levitated a kerchief to myself and took a moment to clean myself off. The fact I could do it in such a way being disproportionately entertaining, despite the seriousness of the moment, was not lost on me. I was blowing my nose on a kerchief suspended in mid-air.

Clearing my throat as another kerchief began gentle strokes against Twilight's fur, I set to cleaning her up as I continued, "We already gathered I was pretty much mister prophecy human destined to come to Equus, but what about all the smaller stuff? While I feel more for you than I think I have ever felt for anything in my entire life, Twilight, something kept nagging at me.

"Just why has it been so easy between us? Why am I so aligned to you and, with the abnormally good looks and freaky ear thing, feeling a little like a pleasure male meant to please you? How can it be, coming from an alien world, I've felt so at ease amongst ponies that it's like I've been around your kind my whole life? Why am I learning unicorn magic at a rate we both have to admit is a lot faster than just an intelligent, merely uneducated adult? How could I be a natural born Spellweaver when it should be completely impossible...?"

Licking my lips when they felt dry, unseeing eyes darting a little at thoughts in my mind as I let the questions out, until leaning close again and pressing my left cheek to hers, I put to words just what was unsettling me so much, "If I have somehow been created for you...how much of my life on Earth was real? Would that mean I'm a little less real? With how prepared for living in Equestria I seem to be, at least some of my life on Earth wasn't what I thought it was, and I may never even get answers to any of that."

Twilight's emotions seemed to skip for a moment before compassion, confusion, and discomfort swelled on her side of our link.

She pulled me in tighter again, like she was afraid I'd slip away in some fashion, her voice was thicker than before, "Oh stars above, that would force anypony to question their entire existence. I...I don't know how to answer any of that right now... No matter what, Vojin, I'll do everything I can to help you figure this out. I promise."

Rainbow pressed in as well, sounding regretful and strangely off, "I, I didn't think testing your ear was gonna make your feathers drop like that, Vojin. I'm...I'm sorry."

After nuzzling Twilight in response to her, I pulled Rainbow down as I turned my head and pressed my purple-tinged gray nose and face against the corner of her jaw and neck from the angle we were at, hugging her head against mine, "You're forgiven, Rainbow. It wouldn't normally have made me freak out like it did. It's been a rough day."

As I held her like that for several seconds, I couldn't help but notice her scent reminded me of a wild summer storm.

I also wasn't sure how to react inside when I caught myself inhaling deeper than necessary because I enjoyed her scent in a way that surprised me. Or how to process the small but clear shiver the act caused in Rainbow.

Lifting my head back up and pushing aside a hint at something I didn't even want to go near trying to figure out right now, I took another steadying breath in open air and caught Twilight's eye to see a spark of mischief there. Whether she saw the subtle exchange or it was more a result of our link, I didn't know for certain. Though our link, I did notice her feeling intrigued, and without a trace of negative emotion to be found.

Seems I was on a roll with coming across new questions I didn't even want to start trying to figure out until all the other massive uncertainties could get some answers. My brain started to develop a nice headache.

Rainbow spoke in a lower tone that left me uncertain on everything it contained, though maybe that was just reading into things too much after the moment I just experienced, "I figured you wouldn't be too upset with me, but I still needed to say I was s-sorry to the first stallion I've taken a liking to in a while."

Oh bloody hell.

My eyes closed for a moment at that one. So much for reading into things. If my hands weren't already occupied, I would be facepalming so hard.

The headache got worse.

Deciding that I had to say it, "I'm not sure if I should even ask this, but do you mean that as...more than just a friend, Rainbow?"

"I, uh," Rainbow made a nervous clearing of her throat as she tensed up from my question, "I-I know you're, like, devoted to Twi and all. I've, uh, just...not supposed to, um, about this s-stuff..."

When I realized just how fast Rainbow was tensing up and starting to tremble, I decided it could wait for another day. Whatever was going on that was enough to make her act like this, it was something we could handle when stress levels were lower and the timing was better.

Instead, I opted to deflect it for her when it seemed she was uncomfortable for reasons unsaid, "You don't have to say anything else right now, Rainbow."

Deciding to use the moment as a springboard to just clear the damned air for myself now that I found out Rainbow had at some kind of attraction towards me, I looked to the rest of the girls, "Ok, since we're here and this subject is now out in the open, I just want say this and get it over with so I have one less question hanging around in my head to drive me crazy with everything else. I'd rather we all try to have the kind of friendship where we know we can say anything at all without fear. With the stuff we're gonna get into, I think we better work on making sure we're all as thick as thieves and trust each other as much as possible. The last thing we want when our lives are on the line is a moment of questioning trust, and I know it's going to take time for you to build it with me. Now granted, this might just be me acting like an idiot male ego, but do any of the rest of you girls have a budding crush on me or anything like that going on?"

Glancing around at the girls, there was a quiet moment before Rarity gave me a sly smirk, "Hmmhmm...you certainly do have a tendency to be direct, don't you darling? Well for myself, you already know I have expressed interest. You are quite unique and you intrigue me a great deal. However, as I am just entering the first stages of what I hope shall be a delightfully long and rewarding romantic endeavor with Fancy Pants, I can safely inform you there are no hidden desires at play from me."

"Um," I looked at Fluttershy as she tapped her forehooves together and hid behind her mane with a tiny sheepish smile, "I'm sorry. I just don't like you like that. I hope you don't mind. The only stallion I want on my back is my Big Mac--eep!"

Fluttershy's face bloomed as she covered her mouth with her hooves, trying to sink into the train car's floor.

I could only give a soft chuckle, "No worries, Fluttershy. Please, never stop being adorable."

My eyes turned to Pinkie as she started talking, wearing her own sly expression that somehow also left me feeling just the tiniest bit dirty with the way she ogled me, "Well, I wouldn't have any problems whatsoever rutting you into the floor if you asked, just so ya know. I've always wanted to try night or few with a nom & pop stallion because I've heard you can keep them going with just another nibble on the ear until you're walking funny and completely sore-ified. I like sore-ified cause it sounds like satisfied and adds in that fun kind of sore that only comes with at least eight hours of nonstop bedroom fun! Other than that, I'm covered when it comes to a stallion soon enough, so no secret crush cupcakes here!"

All I could do was stare at her with a red-faced blank look and slack jaw as she waggled her eyebrows, struggling to comprehend what just happened. The rest of the girls were staring at her too.

I'm going to try not to think about the rest but_...did she already know she's getting a Guardian?!_

Several silent seconds went by before I just gave a light cough, reminding myself not to question The Pink One in order to preserve my sanity, "Um...okay then. Thank you for that, Pinkie."

"You're welcome~!" Pinkie said in a cheery sing-song voice as she gave me a suggestive wink. Dammit Pinkie.

And dammit male curiosity. That is a path for a braver male than I.

Don't think about it.

Turning my eyes to Applejack, I quirked a brow as her modest blush started growing much brighter, "So how about you, AJ?"

I gave an internal sigh as I watched Applejack's hoof slowly move up and drag her hat down over her face until she was peeking over the brim like earlier, "Uh..."

Well since it was all but out loud, I might as well rib her a little and get her talking, a mischievous smirk forming, "So what was it that did it for you?"

She made a slight clearing of her throat, her blush unabated behind her hat as she met my eyes before glancing to the side, her voice muffled just a touch by her hat in front of her face, "Uh...it, it was seein' ya workin' without yer shirt on. Watchin' yer muscles at work...all sweaty like that and them being so much more visible than on a pony but still sittin' just right without bein' too big as they rippled in the sunlight without no fur ta hide anythin'...," she blinked as her blush surged all the way to the tips of her ears and the lusty glint in her eyes vanished, being replaced by painful embarrassment as her voice got tight, "Er, Ah mean...Ah wasn't..."

Applejack paused with a worried, even scared look when I raised the hand I'd been holding Rainbow with, who had shifted to sit on the bench again while leaning into me, and giving AJ a smile, no way I was going to let her suffer through that kind of feeling. "Don't worry about it, AJ. Ok, so you liked watching me work shirtless in the sun. I don't mind that at all. As we're being honest here, I will admit it's kind of flattering, and a bit of an ego booster."

She looked relieved by my response, managing to put her hat back on her head and giving me a weak smile.

It made me realize how much of an edge we were all riding in this conversation. I could have torn her apart with a wrong word just then. The openness had dangerous potential, but it felt right as we opened up together, regardless of all the tension it was causing.

There was a pause before Rainbow snickered, having settled herself a little more, "Heh, just be glad you don't have feathers. AJ can get kinda aggressive when she's got her eyes on somepony willing to play, and I know just how bad she's got it for wings. Heck, Rarity's a little on the aggressive side too."

That made me pause as the implications sank into my brain, giving Rainbow a confused look, "AJ and Rarity are... Have you actually...?"

Rainbow blinked, then lowered her ears and head as she glanced around at our friends with a wince, "Sorry. I, uh, got a little carried away, girls. This something he gets to hear?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head with a soft smile as she looked at Rainbow, then glanced around, "What are we going to do to you, Dash... I'm fine with it. Girls?"

After some time to think and eventual consent was given, Fluttershy sporting a brilliant blush but still giving hers, Rarity cleared her throat and gave me a devious smirk, eyeing me as she spoke, "You will get no details lovercolt, don't think I haven't noticed those oh so interested ears of yours, but we ladies are, in fact, familiar with one another. And yes, I do mean we have spent nights together in the most intimate of senses.

"Personally, I have decided to share this because you are right in our needing to work on building a firm foundation of trust with you. Thus far, you have only improved my acceptance of doing so." Then Rarity frowned, "I dislike thinking of what we may find coming our way in the future and find myself growing ever more thankful you have somehow been sent to protect the six of us. I am pushing myself to give you more trust than I normally would so soon, Vojin. I have been unable to shake the feeling we will need it in some fashion. Please cherish the effort."

What was at first an eyebrow raising discovery, and I'd be lying if I denied wanting to hear said details, had turned into a somber moment.

Straightening up, I looked around at each of the girls while pulling Twilight closer, even slipping my arm around Rainbow and pulling her in too, my voice steady, "I do cherish the effort, Rarity. And..."

I paused, swallowing a lump in my throat as the thought that sprang to mind gave me mixed feelings, only deciding to voice it when I had a second to see extending that much trust to them was both necessary in building a strong mutual trust, and to let them know I needed their help in turn.

Taking another steadying breath against the tension that was so rampant today, I continued, "Girls... I...I can't tell you any details, but some of what I learned earlier today makes me think I might lose myself, lose what makes me who I am, from all the stuff we're going to face. I already promised to protect all of you to the best of my ability like I have with Twilight. One of my greatest fears is losing my mind, and I'm scared it might happen in all that's going to come. I already know Twilight will be there no matter what, but will all of you..."

I had to pause, swallowing against the lump again and taking another breath, feeling rather exposed with those that I had only known for two months, eyes looking around to each of them, "Could I ask you girls to look after me in turn? Not let me forget who I am if I start to lose myself? Or even keep holding on so I can find my way back if I do?"

Twilight wasted no time in pressing close, knowing she didn't have to voice it, as she tucked her head beneath my chin.

Rainbow followed suit, turning and pressing her nose into the back of my head and neck on the right side of my mane, "Count on it, big guy."

Fluttershy was only a moment behind, moving up against my back with her chin resting on top of my head between my ears, "I promise I'll be there to remind you of who you are whenever you need it."

Applejack joined us, nuzzling my cheek beside Rainbow, "Ah'll make sure ya stay honest with yourself, no matter what."

Rarity slipped in, nuzzling my shoulder just behind Twilight's head on my chest as she joined the embrace, "Never fear, Vojin darling. I shall not allow a friend to be suffer in such a dreadful manner if I have anything to say about it."

Pinkie giggled, somehow finding a way to an open spot and completing the group hug, nuzzling my open cheek before giving the faintest of nips, "Don't worry, Vojin. If you start hearing voices, I'll get in touch with them and tell them to visit another time. Maybe even invite them over to share cupcakes with the others I know!"

Closing my eyes, I ignored that.

I will not question The Pink One.

While relishing the rather snug yet comforting embrace, another thought came together in my head that caused me a whole new kind of worry I didn't know where to even begin dealing with.

If the Guardians I needed to find were also romantic interests for the girls...was it possible they were in part revealed because of that interest?

That made me think further into Rainbow and Applejack having expressed some interest in me.

While I preferred monogamy and it was normal practice on Earth, I wasn't quite sure about these kinds of nuances in Equestrian society yet and wondered what it could mean in this confusing situation. Twilight's faint glimmer of mischief when she saw me breathe in Rainbow's scent, and no apparent disapproval for it, was yet another wrinkle.

Then I began to consider what could happen if one of them was fixated on me and didn't reveal their Guardian somehow.

All but one of the girl's lives had been saved by their Guardian in the confirmation visions, whomever each of them were. I also had almost no idea when the events in the visions were set to take place. Two in a winter setting, one not, another in an artificial dust storm, and one taking place in a cave. It gave me very little to go on for when they took place. The voice from the Tree of Harmony had been very clear that the girls had to survive or we lost everything.

And if they hadn't connected with their Guardian when the time came...

A shiver went through me for two very distinct reasons when I felt Rainbow take a deep sniff of my scent in a manner similar to what I had done with her earlier. I couldn't deny feeling something towards the prismatic pegasus that had become my best friend after Twilight. It also scared me as much as it thrilled me on so many more levels, now that I'd thought what I had.

I felt Twilight press just a little closer to me in the group hug, causing me to cling to her just a little tighter in turn as I ached inside. She might know my emotions, but she had no idea my train of thought had gone to a whole new track for the unease I felt.

All of us were pushing for deeper trust and riding a dangerous edge in good faith that it was safe to do so. All in the hope of being better able to rely on each other. I wasn't sure if trying to push such things away could cause problems when we were already in delicate waters. There was also the chance I might mess up trying to refuse a possible advance. Maybe even get caught not being able to explain the full truth of why because I have to hide certain knowledge. I knew if I wasn't getting a completely truthful answer from a friend and knew it, it would hurt. And in such a delicate subject, it could cut deep.

Rainbow already had some level of interest towards me, which meant if I had to shoot her down, she might lose some trust with me. That wasn't even accounting for whatever she hadn't said about how strange she was acting before.

Yet, if I didn't try to turn them away and something started to grow in the absence of refusal, the position that situation could put us all in was also rife with problems. Though it appeared I couldn't remember much of what happened with AJ, I already admitted to myself that Rainbow was at least a little tempting. I had a sense that she knew it, too.

If I made a mistake in trying to refuse, unable to explain the whole reason, and they didn't trust me enough in a moment they needed to...

If one of them was focused on me because I didn't turn them away, regardless of me returning it or not, and they somehow missed their own Guardian...

Or even if I actually did_ want to try again and let one of them in like that..._

...

...could a wrong move in this lead to me getting one of them killed?