"I still can't believe you got your inspiration for naming Aurora from a human movie," Celestia was saying to me during a private breakfast between me, her, and Luna. "Don't you have any fear of a, what did you call it again? A copyright claim from Disney?"
Luna snorted, and I just dismissed the words with a wave of my hand. We were in Celestia's private quarters currently, currently eating a hearty breakfast of pancakes, toast, waffles, and eggs. There was no meat currently around, not that I was complaining. There was some milk and orange juice nearby and, to my surprise, a jug of what Celestia called the finest red wine in the kingdom. I was eating a large stack of pancakes currently, while Luna was actually eating a large pile of toast with melted cheese on it.
I'd learned from Celestia in an earlier conversation that, just as the solar diarch had a propensity to enjoy sweets of the baked variety, Luna enjoyed salty things, specifically cheese. She couldn't get enough of the stuff, especially since the cheese options over a thousand years ago were very limited, according to both Princesses. Grilled cheese sandwiches, mozzarella sticks, cheese pizza, macaroni and cheese (heavy on the cheddar) or just plain cheese squares attached to toothpicks had quickly become some of Luna's go-to snacks or even meals. She'd even apparently tried melting cheese into a drink, but a burned throat later had quickly cured her of that desire.
"What are they gonna do? Come through the Stargate to Equestria and sue me for all I'm worth?" I asked in response to Celestia's question. "They'll have to get through Hasbro's lawyers first. It's just a name, Celestia. It's a simple name, sure, but one that I really think fits her."
"I agree, sister," Luna said, dabbing at her mouth before grabbing a sterling silver goblet which was full of a deep purple liquid. She took a large gulp of the wine and set it down. "That Dragon infant is going to become quite the stallion-stealer."
"Not if I can help it," I said with a sudden burst of parental protection overwhelming me.
"Awww, isn't dat cuuute?" Celestia said using baby voice, "is daddy being overpwotective of his baby guwwel?"
"Oh Jesus…" I muttered. "Did I seriously just do the overprotective father bit? Shotgun toting father of a girl? And did you really just used baby talk, Sunbutt?"
"Mmmmaybe," Celestia said with a grin.
"I wouldn't know about these shotgun toting fathers of which you speak," Luna said, "but you did just remind me of how protective our father was of us when my sister and I became of age to be courted."
"Right, you lived back in ye olden times when that was more of a thing," I said with a chuckle. "Did you two receive many stallions who attempted to court you?"
Celestia put a hoof to her chest. "Why, my dear knight, I never thought you would be interested in our love life," she said in a tone that suggested she was appalled, but the twinkle in her eyes told me she was only joking.
"Hey, you can't blame a guy for being curious," I replied, sticking my fork into my large stack of pancakes and slicing off a piece.
"My sister received more suitors than I ever did," Luna said, taking another sip of the wine. Her face was slightly flushed, and there was a small scowl on her face as she glared over at Celestia.
"They weren't interested in me for me, Lulu," Celestia said, "they were interested in the inheritance I was going to receive. At least, most of them were. I'm pretty sure the others saw only my physical side. I remember spying a few of them staring at my flanks with disgusting eyes." Here, she actually shuddered as she remembered those times.
"As I recall, having a larger flank back then was considered more attractive," Luna said. "It must have been all those cakes."
"Lulu!" Celestia actually blushed, then turned back to me. "Pay her no mind."
"It was actually the same back on Earth back in the day," I said. "Larger hips for better child bearing."
"Yes…that is what happened back then, too," Celestia said, but I could see that past her smile was a hint of regret. Regret and longing for something.
Luna must have noticed this, too, because she quickly diverted the subject. "Ahem, anyway, what are your plans for the young hatchling?"
"Well, she's Princess Ember's half sister," I said, "and she is Torch's offspring. From what I've learned about Dragon history so far, Torch came from the family of Dragon Lords, who are more like stewards for the throne, or regents. As such, she and Ember are both the only remaining members of that house. She and her mother, if she's still around, will be moved into the palace at Virynth Atheos and given as comfortable a life as possible."
"What do you mean, if the mother is still around?" Celestia asked warily.
"I'd rather not say, especially when we're eating," I said as I took a bite and chewed on the pancaked thoughtfully. In truth, Lahar had revealed some distressing news to me shortly after Aurora's birth. They had found a smaller cavern of cages identical to the cages we had found the other victims in. All full of broken egg shells and rotting corpses. Dragon corpses. He told me that they had given the corpses burials fitting of a Dragon, that is, cremation, which I approved of Just the thought of Torch leaving prisoners to die without any kind of second thought made my stomach churn, and I took a few deep breaths to settle my stomach so I could at least eat something to recover my strength.
The Princesses took note of my reluctance, and thankfully dropped the subject. There was silence between the three of us for a while before Luna spoke up. "What exactly are you planning with the Sirens?" she asked.
"They're going to be helping to rebuild Virynth Atheos," I said. "I was hoping they'd get back their Siren forms, whatever those look like here, but if we can't get those forms back, they'll have to work by hand. I'm not going to let them off the hook for what they did to either Equestria or Aelyssia. But I do plan on giving them some of the less stressful jobs. I'm not sure how physically strong they are in this form, yet. But hands are a wonderful thing to have. And if those wings of theirs work, they can help in other ways."
"And once they're finished, what then?" Celestia asked.
"Well, I'll probably let them stay in the palace," I said. "I don't think I can let them keep their royal titles, but if I want to try and reunite all the Dragonkin, I'll need their help. Especially if there are more Sirens that still exist."
"What if there aren't?" Luna asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure," I said. "Maybe I'll give them the option to go back to Earth."
"They won't take that, I'm sure," Celestia said as she poured herself a goblet of wine.
"Probably not," I said, "but at least over there they wouldn't be Sirens, but humans. Here, they're neither. They're more like…well, like me, I suppose."
"How do you think they'll react?" Luna asked.
"How would you react if you were stuck in a form alien to you that you hated?" I asked curiously. "Like, say you were changed from a Pony to a large Shelob sized spider?"
"Do you think they hate their human forms that badly?" Celestia asked.
"I'm not sure," I said, "but I do know they hated living on Earth. Their human forms could very well be a reminder of their lives there."
"Then it's a good thing both my students are looking for a solution," Celestia said with a hopeful tone.
"If anypony can find a way to fix this, it's those two," Luna agreed. She then stood up. "Now, I hope you two will excuse me. I have been up longer than I should have been, and I need to sleep."
"No, please rest," Celestia said kindly, "I'll see you later this evening."
"Fare thee well, you two," Luna said with a tired smile as she teleported away, leaving me once more alone with the solar diarch.
Celestia shook her head, chuckling. "I swear, she's working herself too hard lately."
"I'm pretty sure she's doing it to try and relieve some of the stress from your job," I said.
"Still, I'd like for her to at least take some more time to adjust to things in this era," Celestia said with no hidden amount of worry in her face and tone, "If she pushes herself too far, she could have a breakdown."
"I'd say she's adapting pretty well, but you see her more often than I do, so I can't be certain," I said as I took a sip of my orange juice. "Take this with a grain of salt, but if you want my advice, don't baby her so much. She'll be fine."
Celestia nodded, taking a sip from the wine goblet before putting it back down on the table. "I suppose you're right, but she's my sister. She's the only family I have left. And the only family I'll ever have…"
I frowned, not liking the implications behind that statement. "Well, you know her better than I do. All I know about her is from the show, and even that's a bit off. That, and the fanon interpretations of her being a massive gamer."
"Gamer? Are you talking about those video game machines I've seen around Canterlot lately?" Celestia asked.
"Not just that, but the video games from Earth," I said. "She's depicted by the fandom as this gamer girl who spends all night online, owning other players, drinking energy drinks and Mountain Dew and just enjoying herself while she smack talks other players on Xbox Live in ye olden speech." I mimed holding a game controller and put my hand to my ear. "Sayeth that to mine face, cretin! Or better yet, we shall tell thine father after we bed him tonight!"
Celestia was in hysterics now, laughing all over the place and hitting the table with her hoof. "Oh…Oh by Harmony!" she gasped out, giggling like a madmare, "Is it weird to say I can completely see her doing that?"
"For real?" I asked with an incredulous smile on my face as I, too, began laughing.
"Yes! Whenever she and I play a board or card game, she can take it very seriously."
"Remind me not to introduce her to Monopoly," I joked as I took another bite of the meal.
That was when there was a loud knock at the door. Celestia turned towards it. "Yes, who is it?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Your Highness," a muffled male voice at the door said, "but I've just received word from the hospital wing. One of the Siren patients is awake."
I quickly grabbed a napkin, wiped my mouth clean, grabbed my drink and downed the remaining food in my mouth. As I did so, Celestia asked, "How are they doing?"
"Not well, Your Highness," the voice said, "the doctor is asking for Emperor Jethro to come and try to calm her down."
"I'm on my way!" I called out before looking back at Celestia apologetically. "I'm sorry about this."
"Go," she encouraged, "You're their Emperor. I trust you'll be able to help."
"Thank you, Celestia. I'll make this up to you." Giving her a quick hug, which she returned in kind, I rushed over to the door, opened it, and looked down at the nervous looking guard. "Take me there."
"How did this happen?!" Sonata was shouting in fear as she looked down at her remarkable human appearance ten minutes later after I'd arrived. She'd been strapped down when she first woke up because she tried to attack the Pony nurse who was on duty at the time and run away, but by the time I'd arrived, she'd calmed down enough and was simply hyperventilating and tearing up. She'd been released from her bonds so she could at least sit up and stretch. I'd asked the nursing staff and the doctors in the room to leave me with her so we could talk. When they insisted on strapping the other two Sirens to the bed, I couldn't really argue since they might react worse. "Why didn't I change back into my real form?!"
I was sitting on a stool next to her bed, looking at her with a sympathetic look in my eyes. The poor girl looked so scared, so vulnerable. As she curled up, hugging her knees with her arms, I moved a bit closer. "Sonata…"
"Don't! Don't say everything's gonna be fine! It's not!" Sonata screeched at me, tears practically pouring down her cheeks as she moved away from me. "I'm a freak! A freak of nature!"
"Twilight and Sunset are looking into the matter to see why the Stargate made you this way," I said in an attempt to be reassuring. "If they find out the reason, maybe we can go back to Earth, have them fix it, then you can come back and have your Siren forms."
"But what if they can't?!" Sonata said with a whimper. "What if we're stuck like this…?"
"Everything is being done to try and fix this, I promise," I said sincerely.
"But what if I'm stuck in this…this bastardized form I'm in?!" Sonata shouted, finally breaking down into tears.
Moving quickly, I headed closer and wrapped my arms around her. Siren or not, former enemy or not, I was too soft hearted to just ignore when someone was having a nervous breakdown. To my surprise, she leaned into me, burying her face into my chest, but that was it. "It might not mean much to you, but I think you're beautiful," I said.
She stiffened a bit. "That's because I'm in a human form," she said, pushing me away. She grabbed her ample bosom and groped the two large mounds on her chest. "I hate these…they always gave me backaches…I…I hate them…I hate how I look…"
"I'll make sure everything that can be done will be done," I said in an attempt to be reassuring, "but if there really is nothing that can be done, then please forgive me."
Sonata went right back to crying. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She remained like that, head buried between her knees as she let out her frustrations and fear. Finally, she looked back up at me with a teary eyed expression. "I…I don't know what to do now," she whimpered softly. "I don't…I just…"
"Sonata Dusk, you'll be alright," I said, deciding she needed a bit more toughness than I was giving her. "You're alive, you're healthy as far as the doctors here can tell, and you're in Equestria. You're not hurting anywhere, are you?"
"No…but…" she trailed off.
"Good," I said resolutely. "You're doing fine, then. It isn't the end of the world if you don't ever get your original forms back, but I promise I've asked experts in magic to look into it. And look on the bright side. Now, I won't need to custom make a massive tortilla for any tacos for you."
Sonata actually giggled a little bit at that. "I suppose you're right," she said after she stopped. She lay down on the bed once more and stared at the ceiling. "Is it wrong that I feel uneasy about being back home after so long?"
"I don't think so," I said. "You've been gone for more than a thousand years. Things are bound to feel out of place. I know a certain Pony Princess who feels the same way."
"Oh? Who?" Sonata asked, turning to me with some slight curiosity in her eyes.
"Princess Luna," I said.
"What? How would she know what I'm feeling?" Sonata asked.
"Because she, too, was gone from Equestria for a thousand years," I said by introduction as I began to explain her brief history as Nightmare Moon.
Sonata listened intently, presumably feeling more at ease when she wasn't thinking too much about her current situation. She appeared quite surprised to hear about someone else who could somewhat understand her plight as well as the plight of her fellow Sirens. When I finished, she said, in a stunned and soft voice, "Wow…I didn't know…"
"Not your fault," I said, "you've been gone. There's a lot to catch up on."
"I guess there is," she said.
"You feeling a bit better now?" I asked after a few seconds.
Sonata nodded. "A bit, yeah. Sorry for freaking out."
"I don't blame you," I said sympathetically. "It's all overwhelming, I'm sure. But when the rest of you wake up, we'll be leaving this place."
"And going where?" Sonata asked.
"Well, until the first of the year when I go back to Aelyssia, you three will be guests in my house. You are Aelyssian citizens, even if you abandoned your posts," I said.
Sonata bristled. "Can you blame us for running?" she asked tensely.
I held up my hand. "Relax, Sonata. I know why you did it. I'm speaking from the perspective of those who might remember you or at least have heard about you."
"Nnng…" another voice said from a nearby bed. Sonata and I both turned and saw Adagio slowly coming to. However, since she was strapped in, she couldn't do much other than squirm slightly. We watched as she slowly gained consciousness. When she opened her eyes and tried to sit up, she found that she couldn't. Her eyes shot open and she began to struggle. "The fuck is going on?! Why can't I move?!"
"Dagi! Don't struggle!" Sonata shouted anxiously as I rushed over to the middle bed where the lead Siren lay. "You'll hurt yourself!"
"She's right," I said as I pinned her back to the bed, trying to stop her from moving so much.
She looked at me with wide angry eyes as she tried her best to move, but my strength was greater than hers. Finally, with a sigh, she collapsed back onto her bed, scowling at the ceiling past me. As I slowly released her, ready to jump back in just in case she struggled again, Adagio said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I'm a freak…I'm hideous."
"There are magic experts working to try and fix this, I promise," I repeated sincerely, "I don't know why the Stargate is acting this way, but if I had to hazard a guess, it has something to do with whatever Eris did to it during her invasion here."
"Eris?!" Aria's voice rose suddenly as she opened her eyes. Only they were full of complete terror as she struggled harder than Adagio or Sonata had. "ERIS IS HERE?! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
I ran over and placed myself on top of her, pinning her with all my strength. It wasn't as easy as it had been with Adagio. I got into her face and shouted, "Eris is locked away where nobody can get to her! She can't get you!"
This only made her struggle even harder. Tears were pouring out of her eyes which were wildly looking around, seeing something that presumably wasn't there. "Don't do it, Eris! I'll be a good Siren! I'LL BE GOOD!"
"Ari! Calm down! Eris isn't here!" Sonata shouted, fear evident in her own eyes as she got out of her bed and ran over to Aria. She got next to me and tried snapping the frantic Siren out of whatever panic attack she was having. Without warning, Sonata slapped the girl. Then did it again. And again. And again.
Finally, Aria stopped moving, staring up at the ceiling with a blank-eyed expression. She was still breathing, but it was shallow and fast. Like she was panting, or perhaps trying to knock herself out. Sonata and I watched her for a bit, Adagio in the other bed only able to turn her head slightly to see what was going on. Finally, after a few minutes, her eyes started to become lucid again. Slowly, Sonata and I moved away from her. "You okay, Ari?" Sonata asked worriedly.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Aria said, then the tried to sit up. When she found that she couldn't, she added, "other than I can't move. Ugh…can somebody take these off me, now?"
"Only if you won't run," I said.
"Run where?" she asked dryly. "We don't have any magic right now, and even if we did, these rings on our fingers are blocking them." She looked down at a silver band she was wearing on her right ring finger. "And these wings? They don't look strong enough to lift us up anyway. And I'm not gonna run around and risk showing my ass to the world in these hospital gowns. Who the hell made them like this, anyway!? They're like the ones back on Earth!"
"You've made your point," I said as I walked over and began to slowly undo the straps holding her down. "I probably shouldn't be doing this without the doctor's permission, but you need to stretch, I assume." Turning to Sonata, I gestured to Adagio. "Could you undo hers?"
"Y-Yeah, sure," Sonata said, moving over to Adagio and beginning to undo the straps.
It took us a few minutes, but eventually the other two Sirens were sitting up, looking around the room and stretching their arms and their new wings, which fluttered, shuddered and twitched haphazardly every so often. I gave them both tall glasses of water, which they downed greedily before demanding more. I gave them each two more full glasses before they were satisfied and looking more refreshed. Sonata sat on the edge of her bed, and I sat next to her, facing the two Siren girls and waiting for them to collect themselves.
Finally, Adagio looked at me with a narrow eyed frown. "So, Your Grace, what are you planning on doing with us?" she asked suspiciously.
"Nothing bad, I assure you," I said, "but once the first of the year comes around and I return to Aelyssia, you three will begin your sentence. You will be working on rebuilding the City of Emperors. No magic. No wings either."
"These wings? Yeah, they're useless anyway," Aria said.
I spread my own wings, startling the three with the brief bit of flames that burst forth. "I thought the same thing about my wings at first, but I'm sure you can learn. After your sentence is up."
"Why do I have the feeling there's more to it than that?" Adagio asked.
"Because there is," I said. "I'm going to need your help. If there are other Sirens out there, I want your help to reunite them with the other Dragonkin races. You are technically royalty, although whether or not you deserve to keep that title after what happened is still up in the air at this point."
"I don't really care about being a Princess," Sonata said immediately. "It was nothing but a pain in the ass. Go to this formal occasion, get dressed up and practically whore yourself out to the nobledragon males for the good of your race. Ugh…"
"You really think if there's any Sirens around they'll remember us?" Aria asked in a disbelieving tone.
"I don't know," I admitted, "but I'd like to try and find them. Oh, on another note, there's someone you're going to need to meet right away, seeing as how you'll all be staying in the same house for your duration of your stay in Equestria. My house."
Adagio groaned. "Do we really need to stay there? I'd rather be in a prison cell…"
"Prison cells don't have fully furnished rooms with hot baths, showers, and free meals and the freedom to roam the property line," I said. "I'm afraid I'm not giving you a choice in the matter. No, screw that, you aren't being given a choice. You're staying with me until we return to the Empire. Now then, I'll ask the staff to get you something to eat, because after that, I'll be taking you back with me. Back to Ponyville."
"Sugarcube, ah'm not sayin' ah don't trust yer judgment," Applejack was telling me later that afternoon after we'd all come back to Ponyville, "but ah don't really think ah can trust them in yer house."
I was in the living room of my main Victorian-eaque house with Zecora, Scarlet, Sunset, Ember, Spike, Gemini, Mica and the Mane Six all seated around the fireplace, which was roaring with a large blaze. Chrysalis and the Sirens were all in their rooms at the moment, the latter three not really wanting to interact with the world at the moment. Aurora and Phlogiston were in another room, the latter watching over her while the meeting took place. I'd not invited Chrysalis out yet since I wasn't sure if I could trust her, but I'd at least brought the two Lycans into my confidence. I'd bound them by the highest oath a Lycan could swear by, ironically enough by the individual they knew as the Helper. I'd told Ember already as well, and she'd sworn to keep it secret as well. Especially since they would be working under her and me during the reconstruction of Virynth Atheos.
"I don't trust them, either," Twilight said in agreement, looking over at me worriedly. "What if they try something in your sleep?"
"Scarlet and Zecora would probably beat them to a bloody pulp before that happened," I said, and for once I wasn't joking. "I know you're all worried about me, and I agree. They're not exactly working on all thrusters right now. They're not only in a form they're associating with bad memories from Earth, but they have no magic. They've been used to having access to some semblance of magic, since the energy on Earth isn't the same as here in Equestria."
Fluttershy, who was Ponyloafing in my lap, looked up at me with wide fear filled eyes. "Wouldn't it be better if they were put in some cell?"
"I'm with Flutters on this one!" Rainbow said, hovering off of her seat. "They're too dangerous!"
"So are Gemini, Mica and Ember, and yet you're fine with them staying here," I reminded them.
"We weren't at first," she insisted, "but they've proven themselves! The Sirens kidnapped the other Twilight and Spike! That's not cool!"
"No, no it isn't," I agreed, "but I have plans for them. No offense to any of you Ponies or your judicial system, but there are times when I'd rather do things in my own sight. I know it's weird, but it would make me feel more comfortable?"
"Does this have to do with anything else?" Pinkie asked, looking at me with a worried expression.
"What do you mean?" I asked, a bit confused now.
"Does this have anything to do with Eris and you not being here to stop her? Or anything else like that?" Pinkie asked.
"She has a point," Rarity said. "You've been very insistent on keeping not only them close, but Chrysalis too. Don't you trust anyone? Are you growing more paranoid?"
I tensed up a bit. "I…I'm not sure," I admitted. "Maybe I am being an idiot. Maybe I am being paranoid. But if I am, I know you all would let me know. So, I guess all I can ask is am I? Am I too paranoid now?"
"I think the term overly cautious applies here," Gemini said. "What was it you once said? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?"
"Is that a human saying?" Zecora asked.
"It is," Sunset answered. "But I think you're taking it a bit literally, Jethro. I don't think whoever first said that meant it physically, you know?"
"Yeah…probably not," I said, "but it won't be permanent. Once the new year begins, they'll be heading back to Aelyssia where they'll be under Ember's command. And my own."
"Great, more responsibility," Ember sighed.
"I wouldn't hand them over if I thought you couldn't handle the job, Princess," I said.
"Please stop calling me that," she said tersely. "I'm the Right Hand of the Emperor now, not a Princess." She'd liked the Hand of the King title better, but I'd modified it slightly.
"You might be my Right Hand, but you're one of the last of Ignu's line as far as we know," I said. "He was the first Emperor of Aelyssia, and Dormog was the last of his royal bloodline. Now it's just you and Aurora. Even with a new title, you'll still be a Princess."
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I won't be able to convince you otherwise, am I?"
"Once my fiancé's mind is made up about something, there is little you can do to change it," Zecora said, leaning against my left side reassuringly.
I chuckled and nodded. "Pretty much. But in all serious, Ember, I know you can do it. And with my plans for a magical doorway to Ignu's Keep to my house, you'll always have access to me and I'll always be a simple walk away from you. This way, if you need my help, I'll be there. But back to the matter at hand. The Sirens." I turned to the worried and concerned expressions of everyone there. "I know you're worried about me having them here with me, but I have Gemini, Mica, Scarlet, Zecora and Ember here with me to keep an eye on them and Chrysalis. And the Sirens aren't permanent members of the household."
"And Chrysalis is?" Spike asked.
"If she went to Aelyssia, there's a high possibility that there'd be some attempts on her life," I said.
"Dragons wouldn't want her around, that's for sure," Ember said. "Not unless they knew she was close to the Emperor."
"I'm going to do what I can to try and repair relations between the Dragons and Fae, but I know it'll take a very long time," I said. "Fortunately, it seems as if I'm gonna live a long time anyway. But for the time being, she stays here. I don't want her dying under my watch or under Ember's."
"Yeah…keep her away from me," Ember said with a shudder.
"I will," I said.
Applejack sighed. "Well, ah still don't like the idea of yah being here, even if yah got backup. Not that ah don't trust everycreature here," she quickly added as she got a glare from Gemini, "but it'd make me feel a heck of a lot better if ah stayed here fer the rest of the month."
"Whoa, hold on," I said, "what about your farm? Your family? Don't you have any chores around the house?"
"Ah wouldn't be here durin' the day," she said. "Just at night when yer sleepin'. Ah'd git up and go back to the farm after y'all wake up. Ah just don't want those three tryin' anythin' when yer sleepin'."
"Um…I'd like to do that too, if it's alright," Fluttershy said softly.
"Oooh ooh! Me too! Me too!" Pinkie exclaimed, raising her hoof and bouncing around. "It'll be like a slumber party!"
"A slumber party?" Twilight's worry vanished and she got this childlike innocent look in her eyes. "I've wanted to do one ever since the last time!"
"Whoa there, hang on," I said immediately to stop anyone else from joining in (and it looked like Spike, Rarity and Rainbow were about to say something similar), "I appreciate the thought, I really do, but every night until the 31st? Isn't that a bit excessive?"
"We're your friends, monkey-man," Spike said quickly, "we just want you to be safe."
"Oh wait, I have an idea!" Twilight said immediately, "What if we take shifts instead? One of us stays here one night, then the other the next and so on! That way, we won't overwhelm Jethro and keep an eye on the Sirens!"
"Ah suppose that could work," Applejack said.
"Now hold on," I tried to say something, but I was drowned out by the girls who were now planning on when they would be staying.
"I can't possibly do it this Saturday, darlings. Sweetie Belle and I have our Hearth's Warming dinner with our parents that day."
"Ah could do the 23rd. Not much tah do on the farm that day traditionally anyway."
"I'm free anytime except for the holidays! Ooh it'll be so great! I'll bring Gummy and Jethro can talk to him! I've always wondered what he's saying!"
"Um, I could do it tonight, if that's alright."
As the Mane Six, Spike and Scarlet devolved into planning when they'd be staying the night with me, I fell back into my couch. Looking down at Zecora and Scarlet who were sitting on both sides of me, I asked, "Is this what being in a larger herd would be like if I ever got one? Do stallions have any control?"
Scarlet leaned closer, licked my face affectionately and smirked. "No way in hell, stud. Mares are very protective of their stallions in a herd. Trust me, as a child in a herd household, I've seen what happens when someone threatened my dad."
"It's the same for Zebra society, dearest," Zecora said, kissing my cheek affectionately. "And these are your friends, and half of them are in love with you. I'm afraid you'll have to get used to the idea."
"Great…I'd rather run a marathon right now," I groaned.
Fluttershy, who was still on my lap, moved closer. "You know we're not doing this because we don't trust you, right?" she asked soothingly.
Looking down at her, I smiled and stroked her mane. She closed her eyes and shuddered slightly. "I know, Flutters, I know…but you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way."
Fluttershy purred. "Good. Because you're stuck with us, like it or not," she said with a shuddering voice.
"I know," I said, continuing to stroke her mane, "I know…"