Paxxila/ Fluttershy
Vivmay/ Rarity

The next morning found me walking down the road from the compound on an errand that had almost become a necessary chore for me since my arrival to this town of Ponyville. Even though it was not illegal for me to consume meat while I lived here in this kingdom, the availability of consumable meats was sometimes hard to come by. In the bigger cities like the capitol and Manehatten it was easier to find because of the larger variations of species that lived there, but here in the more rural towns where populations were predominantly of the pony varieties it was almost near impossible to find.

Save for the occasional merchant that would pass through, I was left with very few options for protein sources save for eggs and beans. This caused me to have to resort to more 'personal' means of getting the protein I required, namely fishing and hunting. The later proved fairly difficult because of the plethora of sentient creatures here that back on Earth, would have been on the dinner table faster than you could say "Come and get it!" So to make do I mainly resorted to fishing as my main source of meat with the occasional venture into the Everfree forest for my wild game.

Now I know that in the past the girls have told me that they were not bothered by the fact that I am a predator and consume meat, but the look of uneasiness on their faces after one incident where Xam and a couple of the other girls spotted me coming out of the forest with a kill draped over my shoulder kind of said it all. That was why I now tried to limit my collection times to either early in the morning or late in the afternoon so as to lessen the chance of running into any of the locals. But like I said earlier hunting was a very rare endeavor for me, instead I relied on fishing which didn't seem to make the locals as queasy as them seeing me haul around a carcass.

So that explains why I could now be found strolling down the road shirtless with a skip in my step and my fishing rod on my shoulder like some kind of modern day Huck Finn. All the while I whistled some tune that I had heard years before and had forgotten the name of. The sun was just coming up and there was still a light mist on the ground which usually meant that the fishing would probably be pretty good. Which was good news to me, because I was hoping to catch enough to last me for the next couple of days. Although I wasn't sure what I was going to do when winter came in a few months, maybe I would have to close shop and move back to the capitol or some other large city. Either way I guess I'll have to cross that bridge soon enough.

Finally I reached the marker in the road that let me know to cut off into the woods to the right onto a game trail that would eventually lead me to my secret fishing spot. While passing through the woods I thought I saw a shadow pass over me, looking up to see what it was I saw nothing. I thought maybe it had been a passing bird or even one of the more curious locals who had decided to follow me. To be honest it wouldn't have been the first time that one of them had done that, for while the majority had been overly welcoming to me there were always a couple who didn't know what to make of me so kept their distance. The girls had tried to keep the rumors away from me as best they could but with my growing understanding of the language I could begin to make out what was being said about me.

They ranged from the innocent rumors of children who would say that I was the product of some kind of dark experiment and was here to eat them all, similar to their myth of Upnoqevi Tuuv and overrun the land of Equestria. Pyre and myself had had a good long hard laugh about that one when I told her about it. I also knew that many a parent used the fib as a tool to keep their rowdy foals and fillies in line because they would randomly come up to me when I was at the market and thank me for some reason like I had done them some kind of favor. As wrong as it might of sounded, I still had to laugh at it, being reminded of tales of the boogeyman from my own childhood. One couple even told me that their kid would be dressing up as me during the upcoming festival of Upnoqevi Tuuv. But still there were others who worried, that because of my immunity to magic, that I was the first of a possible army of invaders that they would have no defense against. And of course there were the usual racist ones who just plain didn't like me for some reason, but having grown up in the South you learned how to deal with those individuals by just ignoring them and leaving them alone.

Not seeing anyone, I continued on along the path and soon came out of the woods into a clearing. Taking one more cautious look around to ensure that I was indeed alone, I took in a deep breath of fresh air and just soaked up the peace and tranquility of it all. This was one of many sanctuaries that I had come upon in my exploration of the lands surrounding this little town of Ponyville. The clearing was fairly large, spanning about the size of a football field in every direction. While the ground was covered in a layer of bright green grass that stood about knee-high and was saturated from the low lying fog that billowed like a thick white smoke in the early morning light. Running through the middle of the clearing like an old slithering snake weaved the stream that I had come to see.

I made my way towards the bank of the stream that was made up of smooth grey river rocks, all the while my feet were cushioned by the still chilled grass. Once I had reached the shore I slipped a hand into one of the side pockets of my pants and I pulled out a small binder made of worn brown leather which I proceeded to open to reveal a couple different varieties of feathered lures, each one a myriad of colors.

I picked one that was a mix of greens and reds and had done good for me in the past and I tied it onto the end of the line. Rolling up my pants legs I wadded out into the stream, the cold water washing away any lingering drowsiness I may have had. Once I was about knee-deep in the flowing water I spotted a calm spot in the flowing water about twenty-five feet off to my left. Setting the line into the water I let the current of the stream carry away the lure until all the slack had been released. Lifting the rod behind my head I focused ahead of me at my target and once I was fairly sure the line would go where I wanted I swept my arm forward and watched the line go.

The weighted line sailed through the air landing close to my target, but I only let it stay on the water for but a moment before pulling my arm back again drawing the lure away from the water only to cast it again at the apex of my arm motion. I continued on for a few moments in slow sweeping strokes as I set myself into a lazy rhythm.

Fly fishing was just one of those skills that I had to learn since my arrival here. Before arriving in Equestria I had heard of fly fishing and understood the basics of it but had never learned how to do it, preferring the more common rod and reel for my needs. But the lack of casting reels here in Equestria made me resort to a type of fly fishing that I had heard from one of my fishing buddies who used to be stationed in Japan. Apparently up in the mountain streams of Japan they practiced a simplified version of fly fishing that used just a long flexible rod and your line, I think it was called tenkara or something like that. Making the gear was easy enough being as it just called for a long piece of flexible bamboo and a line. The hard part was making the lures, called flies, which I had to do over many trial and errors till I found a technique that finally worked. While it was all makeshift and I'm sure my techniques were sub-par to an actual tenkara fisherman, it had worked well enough for my needs and I had been lucky enough to catch a decent amount of fish with the setup.

As my rhythm began to smooth out, I settled into an almost zen like calm as I listened to the sound of my line whipping through the air and the droning buzz of insects. From under the water I could see the movement of a fish that had been attracted to the commotion my lure was causing. Adjusting my aim a little I cast it one last time and let the bait finally be able to sink below the surface of the water as I waited in anticipation.

In a flash of yellow and a slap of the fish's tail against the water, the trout took the bait and went to leave with its newest meal, but unbeknownst to the trout this meal bit back. Yanking back on the rod I watched the line go taunt as the hook on the lure dug in. The fish began to thrash about as it desperately tried to get off the hook, but I wasn't going to let it go without putting up a fight first. Getting a firmer hold of the rod and holding it almost vertical I begin to step back dragging the fish back to the shore along with me.

After a few moments I had managed to pull the fish into shallow enough water that I could see it's yellow and brown body through the crystal clear stream. With one final tug on my rod I was able to pull it clear of the water, claiming victory in our little battle. Tucking my rod under one of my arms I was finally able to grab my prize with my bare hands and get a good look at it.

It was a beaut of some kind of trout that was native to these lands, and from past experiences with this species it would make an excellent meal along with some steamed veggies. But it was only one meal and I was going to need more before it came time to call it a day and head on over to Vivmay's boutique to talk with her about getting me some clothes made for this upcoming ball. Plus while I was there I figured I would talk with her about a couple of other things that had been swirling through my mind as of late.

Anyways, back to the task at hand I suppose.

Holding the trout firmly in one hand I pulled the hook out of its mouth before placing the future meal in the small, moss-lined, wicker creel that hung from my shoulder.

While looking down I noticed another shadow slowly pass over me again. Thinking it was a cloud or something I looked up to notice that I now had company, although they were far from unwanted. I guess when I mentioned earlier that this was one of my favorite spots I guess that the more appropriate term would have been "our" favorite spot. Because it had originally been my guest's spot well before I had accidentally stumbled upon it one day. In fact I had already come back a couple of times before we just happened to bump into each other one day.

"Good morning Paxxila, how are you doing today?" I greeted the shy butter-colored mare as she landed softly on the shore next to me and gave me a happy smile that could warm even the coldest of hearts.

"Oh, I'm doing fine Eric, thank you for asking," came her gentle reply in her sweet voice.

"Not a problem," I told her as I made my way back into the stream and began my casting motion again. "So what brings you out here so early? Can't be just to see lil' old me."

A light rosy tint crept across her cheeks at my tease which made her look all the more innocent as she stumbled a little when she spoke, "N-no it's just that I was going to see my little otter friends this morning , and I thought it would be nice to bring them something to eat."

"That sure is nice of you," I replied to her as I spotted another location in the water that looked promising and slowly began to make my way over, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Oh you don't have to, I mean that is if you don't really want to." Paxxila said to me as I saw her nervously start to fidget with her fingers.

"Nonsense," I assuredly said to her, effectively dismissing her worries, "I'm always willing to help out a friend. Especially a cute one."

Her blush deepened as she hid her face behind her long flowing pink mane, and I had to let out a little chuckle at the adorableness of it all. After a moment though she was able to regain some of her composure, and took to the sky again to begin fishing at a different spot clear of my casting.

As we fished I got a chance to observe the pegasus way of fishing as I would draw in another fish to the shore or just happen to catch a random glance over to where the little yellow mare was. I remembered that one time Xam had mentioned to me that pony scientist believed that, before their people had come to this planet, all three of the pony species came from a single ancestor that sounded like an early version of a prehistoric horse. From there the species evolved into the three main represented species around today due to them adapting to the ecosystems that they used to live in. And as I watched Paxxila fish I would almost think that the Pegasus race had picked up a little more bird in them along the way besides just the wings that grew from their backs.

Paxxila seemed to have two basic approaches to fishing, depending on the situation she found herself in. While the approaches may have been varied, Paxxila seemed quite adept in both forms as I watched her work. One method was to circle high enough in the sky so that she could use her sharp vision to spot the fish swimming just below the surface. Once she spotted the one she wanted I would watch as she slowly rolled over into a dive, all the while never loosing sight of her target. Picking up speed Paxxila would wait for the right moment to extend her wings and level out just over the top of the water while using her increased speed to surprise her prey as she used her hands like a pair of talons to pluck it from the water as she passed.

The other method the yellow mare would use only if there was no room for a pass or if the fish were too deep. Slowly she would hover just above the water with just the tip of her pink tail dipped into the water wiggling like a delicious worm. All the while with the sun to her back so as to hide herself from her prey. Patiently she would wait with only her eyes moving while her wings beat lazily, her magic keeping her afloat more than her wings were. How that was possible I wasn't sure, maybe one day I would ask her, or maybe even Xam might know something about pegasus magic being an alicorn and all. Anyways, when the right moment would present itself to her, she would stop beating her wings, canceling the magic around her and causing her drop into the water atop the fish as the water would splash about her like a shower of diamonds in the early morning light. Each drop that fell on her simply beading off the waterproof coating that covered her fur and wings.

After an hour or so of fishing we had brought in quite the haul together totaling twelve fish, although more than half of them were caught by the beautiful pegasus mare. We looked over the batch of fish inside my creel, both satisfied with our catch.

"Oh thank you for helping me Eric. I'm sure that the otters will be very happy with their meal," she said happily as she beamed a smile at me that would stop a lesser man's heart with its sincerity.

"Not a problem Paxxila," I replied as I took out another fishing line that I had originally brought as a spare in case my first one broke, but would now serve as a suitable line to string on a portion of our catch for me to take home so that Paxxila could take the rest of them in the basket.

As I measured out the portion I was going to need to start stringing the first fish on, I heard something big moving off in the woods to our left from the other side of the stream. Looking up I saw something that I had hoped that I would never have to see while out fishing, or anywhere else that I wasn't protected for that matter. For coming out of the treeline strolled a colossal looking brown bear and it was coming straight for us.

'Holy shit it's a bear!' I thought to myself as I almost crapped my pants in the process, yet I still seemed to instinctively tuck Paxxila behind me.

"Uh.. Eric," came the timid voice of the yellow mare form behind me as the bear made its way through the stream, unfazed by the rushing water.

"It probably smells the fish Paxxila. Here' what I'm going to do, I'm going to give it the basket and make a break for it while it's busy, but I want you to fly out of here at the first chance you get Paxxila," I whispered to the pegasus behind me as I readied the creel to throw, but when I didn't hear a reply from the mare behind me I chanced a glance behind me to find her no longer there, "Paxxila?"

Taken aback a little by her seemingly sudden departure it wasn't until I saw the looming figure of the bear out of my peripherals as it stood on its hind legs that I was ripped back to the threat at hand. Looking back forward I was meet by the towering wall of dark brown fur of the bear that now stood in front of me.

Cautiously my eyes trailed up its shaggy body, taking note of its powerful forelegs. Each one ending in a paw armed with five, ten inch claws that were as black as iron and capable of cutting through my skin like a warm knife through butter. Moving further up I came to its mighty maw that currently, even though open, managed to still cover the bear's teeth. Its hot breath blasting my face like a furnace with each exhale and stunk with the smell of halitosis. Going against all the voices in my head I finally looked into its tiny black eyes that framed its heavy head and held nothing for me, save for cold and death.

"You stop lex right now," I heard Paxxila's voice say from in front of me with a level of sternness that I had never heard from before by the gentle yellow mare.

Looking down again I see the powdered pink of the top of Paxxila's head as she continued to scold the giant of a bear that was currently towering over the both of us like a mother would an unruly child.

"Um... Paxxila," I began nervously at her sudden boldness, but I didn't get a chance to say more as it was my turn to be cut off.

"Lex was zivc mean of you, acpun to scare Eric moi lex. You know lex you're bigger than he is," the once timid mare said as she waved a disapproving finger up at the bear's face as she placed her other hand on her hip.

The bear, to my surprise, seemed to listen to Paxxila as it lowered itself back down on all four and let out a whimpering roar as it hung its head in shame.

'I'll be a sonuvabitch,' I thought to myself, not wanting to disturb whatever it was I was seeing as Paxxila began to comfort the bear who was now rubbing its massive head against her stomach, while letting out a series of content whimpers.

"Aww, it's okay. I know lex you were nyx lyrvc, but you just need to be sqvi gevijyp lex'z all," she told the bear as she smiled and scratched behind one of its fuzzy ears.

"Paxxila," I whispered quietly, managing to get a hold of the yellow mare's attention, "how did you do that? Was that magic?"

She just gave me one of her warm smiles and shook her head slightly from side to side as she continued to pat the bears head. Looking like the physical embodiment of the angel that saved Daniel from the lion's den, "Sometimes all any pony ever needs is to be shown a little bit of kindness."

Her statement for some reason brought me back to our meeting on the train ride to the capitol when I had first arrived here, "So is that why you hugged me on the train?"

She seemed to regain some of her bashfulness at being reminded of that, "Yes even though you seemed a little big and scary yourself at first. I saw that when you were looking out the window on the train that you weren't really mean or scary, you were just scared and lonely."

I couldn't help but feel a little choked up at the little mare, because save for probably the celestial sisters had I ever known anyone with such a pure and innocent heart. That's probably why amongst all the other girls, Paxxila had always held a special place in my heart. Maybe it was because of her kind nature or maybe it was because she reminded me a little of my kid sister, but either way I knew that I held a strong protective urge towards the butter-colored mare.

"So how do you know the bear?" I asked as I thought about scratching the bear on the head as well, but my confidence in not getting bit apparently wasn't as high as Paxxila's as I kept all of my appendages close to my body.

"Oh, this is Mukwa. He comes by my cottage quite often for massages and to have his back reset. Poor darling gets that way because of all the rocks he sleeps on." she said as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around the bear's massive head giving it a sympathetic hug. As Mukwa just soaked up all of the attention that the gentle mare was giving out.

"You know you're going to make someone very lucky one day." she immediately blushed at my comment, and even though I may have not meant to say it out loud it was still the truth.

Paxxila stood back up and hid her red face behind her long pink bangs, "I'm not anything special."

"Of course you are," I told her as I stepped up to her and gently grabbed her by the shoulders turning her to face me, even though she continued to look down, "Look, Paxxila, I've never known anyone, human or pony, as gentle and kind as you, and you deserve to find someone who will take good care of you."

She didn't say anything but I knew that she heard me as she gave me a slight nod of her head.

"And if they don't, you just come and find me and I'll set them straight for you." I joked with her. That seemed to lighten the mood significantly as she looked up at me finally and giggled a little as she gave a small smile.

"All right Eric, and thank you."

"Anytime Paxxila."

I stayed and talked with Paxxila and Mukwa for a couple more minutes before I noticed that I should probably be on my way if I was going to get to Vivmay's boutique before it was too late. Bidding farewell to my friend and giving Mukwa the biggest fish of the day, I took up my string of fish and made my way back towards the compound. Once there I went to my usual place downwind of the facility where I could clean my catch without running the risk of offending the more sensitive noses of the workers. Placing my fillets in the refrigerator and putting my fishing gear away I jumped into the shower to wash up real quick, and after telling my foreman Alvirg Lieh that I would be gone away on business for most of the day I found myself on the road again. This time heading towards town.

The walk to town was quick enough and I made good time arriving around lunch time. The townsfolk were out and about running errands of their own and we would exchange courtesies as I would pass them on my journey towards Carousel Boutique. The shop was placed on the other side of town and I soon made it there without incident as I arrived at the tall pink building.

Part of my stomach turned at the sight of the very feminine looking building and an impending feeling of doom washed over me as another part of me wanted to turn around and head back the way I had came. It's not that I was afraid or anything, alright so maybe the unicorn mare that ran this place did make me nervous a little bit. Even though she may have the appearance of a beautiful mare who only seemed worried about the finer things in life and held a refined disposition, I could tell from past experiences that behind her piercing blue eyes was a wit sharper than the sharpest sword, able to cut through any defenses to get what she wanted to know. Still I had already given my word to Gilzia and Pyre that I would attend this ball and I was also in need of warm clothes for the coming winter. So I was just going to have to tighten my jockstrap and get this over with as quickly as possible.

Walking up to the building I noticed the sign in the front door showed the characters for "open" so turning the knob I pushed the door open, the sound of the shopkeeper's bell ringing crisply throughout the building. Inside it was quiet, almost too quiet, as I wondered if the white fashionista had stepped out momentarily on some sort of delivery or other pressing errand.

"Just a minute darling, I'll be out qisqerempic," I heard the cheery voice of the shopkeeper say from one of the back rooms, and true to her word in a few moments she made her entrance into the foyer looking as prim and proper as always, "I do etspykimd for lex, welcome to Car- oh Eric, it's you, "she said as she stopped upon noticing it was me before giving me a friendly smile, "It's been too long since you've graced my poor shop. For what do I owe the pleasure?"

I ran a hand through my short black hair as I nervously looked into her blue-eyes, "Well I was needing some warmer clothes for winter, and also something for this ball that I have to go to that the Princesses are putting on for me."

I kind of muttered the last part but Vivmay's sharp hearing didn't have any problem picking it up.

"You're going to a ball at the palace!" Vivmay said excitedly as she appeared next to me almost as fast as Tupomi as her smile grew wider and her eyes twinkled like sapphires, "And you need me to make something for you to wear that will be seen by all the ponies of high society?"

"Um...yes"

"Oh Eric you've made me the luckiest mare in Equestria." she swooned as she gave me a hug.

"Uh, you're welcome." I replied to her feeling a little confused on her reaction as I gave a half-assed hug in return, I knew that she would be excited to do the clothes but didn't quite expect a reaction like this.

"Well we have absolutely no time to waste," she said as she took my hand in her own,and dragged me with a strength I was unaware that she possessed over to one of her measuring stations in front of a series of mirrors, "Now if you would be so kind as to get undressed, we have a lot of work to do?"

"Why do you need me to get undressed?" I asked her as I began removing my clothes like she had asked, until all I was left with was just a pair of boxers.

"Why to take your measurements, darling," Vivmay replied as her white horn began to glow a light blue and she levitated a pair of red-framed cat eye glasses along with all the material that she would need to take down my measurements over to her.

"But don't you already have my measurements from the last time you made me clothes?" I asked her while feeling a little chilly as I stood there exposed, not having a coat of fur like the ponies of this land. But she just seemed to brush off my concern.

"Of course I do, I keep records of all my clients. But this is for a special occasion and the measurements must be perfect," She paused for a moment as she looked at me and I watched her eyes go downward, "Eric dear?"

"Yeah Vivmay?" I said as I followed her line of sight down to my boxers, but not finding anything wrong, "What is it, is something wrong?"

"Well I should say there is, I told you to get undressed and that most certainly is not undressed." she said as she pointed an offended finger to the last remaining piece of dignity I still had.

"You do remember that I'm different from a stallion down there," I tried to remind her as I crossed my arms.

"Of course I remember, and I'll remind you that it isn't anything I haven't seen before. Plus you came to me for help, and if you want it you'll do everything I ask of you when I ask it," she retorted as she crossed her own arms.

We silently stared at each other for a few moments as I attempted to win this argument and show this white mare before me that I was the one in charge. At least it would have gone that way if she wasn't so good at making me crack. She narrowed those eyes of hers at me over the rim of her glasses as she began to impatiently tap her arm with one of her fingers causing me to flinch. With a sigh of defeat I hooked my thumbs in the band of my boxers and pushed them down letting them drop to the floor before kicking them over towards my other clothes. Vivmay let a smirk of satisfaction cross her full lips at her victory and I didn't miss the passing glance her eyes made below my waist as I recrossed my arms and mentally grumbled about the stubbornness of females.

"There you go, now that wasn't so hard now was it?" she asked me sweetly, receiving only a grunt as my reply, "Now let's begin, arms out please."

She levitated the tape measure over to me as I did what she had asked and spread my arms out wide, but as soon as the tape touched my skin the magic controlling it dissipated causing it to fall to the ground. Both Vivmay and my eyes watched as the length of tape fell into a pile on the ground and just stared at it for a moment as a realization dawned on the both of us.

"Oh my, I seem to have forgotten about that," the seamstress said more to herself than to me as the cocky attitude she had just displayed fell as fast as that tape measure.

My mood on the other hand was feeling slightly better as we met each others gaze again, this time it was me who had the confident grin on their face. If she was wanting to get measurements from me she was going to have to do it 'personally.' Although always the professional and not willing to let a minor setback keep her from completing her job she walked over to me and knelt down, picking up the dropped strip. With a light blush on her cheeks she began to take the first measurement of the inside length of my left arm.

"So darling have you chosen a date to bring to this event?" Vivmay asked as she moved her way around to my back to measure the width of my broad shoulders.

"A date? Am I supposed to bring one?" I asked as I felt the tape along the length of my spine.

"It is not required I'm sure, but it would be expected considering the importance of the event." she said as I felt the tape measure first around my chest and them my waist.

"Why do you say that? Is this really that big of a deal?"

"Oh but of course it is? You have become quite the celebrity amongst the nobility and those in high society, and not just in Equestria. The gossip rags are practically buzzing about you as word of you spreads throughout the other countries." Vivmay replied as I felt the tape around my neck before I heard her jot down the note in her pad.

"Me? A celebrity?" I asked, confused at why those two words would ever be used in the same sentence, "How am I all that interesting to a bunch of nobles and uppity-ups? All I am is a dumb mechanic."

"Are you serious?" the white mare asked me incredulously, "Do you have any idea of the magnitude of your being here on our world?"

"Obviously not," I said more to myself than as a reply to her question.

"You're without a doubt the single most important discovery in the history of our world. There isn't a scholar, or noble, or country that would pass up the opportunity to get a chance to meet you." she explained to me as she moved to my front and knelt down to take the measurements of my legs, as I tried not to think about there being a beautiful woman kneeling in front of me. Instead I decided to focus on the conversation at hand.

"This is because of what I know isn't it?" I told her as I began to catch onto what she was saying.

"Of course, your knowledge of your world could completely change any part of our society. Why what even I wouldn't give to know more about the fashions of your world," she said as I felt her hand pull the tape along the inseam of my thigh.

"Well I hate to say but fashion was never a very big interest of mine." I admitted as I desperately thought about anything other than the hand against the sensitive skin on the inside of my upper leg.

"Alright all done. You can get dressed now," she said as she thankfully removed her hand and stood up as she wrote down the last of her notes, "And while you might not of had an interest in it you still have a knowledge of what it is. That alone could be enough to start a fashion revolution. Think of it new types of materials, colors, patterns and styles."

"Huh, I guess I never thought of it that way." I said as I pulled my pants up and saw her do a little twirl as she giddily thought about all the new possibilities.

Vivmay quickly realized what she was doing as a light pink came on her cheeks as she regained her composure, "Yes, well. Was there anything in particular that you are looking to wear?"

I rubbed the back of my neck as I thought about what I would like to wear, "I originally thought about getting a set of dress blues made, but now, being as you reminded me that I'm more of a representative of my species as a whole I think I'll stick with a simple tuxedo."

"Uh-huh," I heard the mare say absentmindedly as I saw her sketch away in her notebook, the pencil flying across the paper as it was guided by her magic. After a few moments she lifted the pencil as she turned the notebook around for me to see, "This design would look absolutely marvelous on you."

Taking the notebook I looked over her design and like always I was very impressed with her skills, "Yes that will do more than perfect. So is there anymore advice you can give me about this event."

Vivmay took back the notebook and flipped the page as she looked to me again, "I would say be wary of attempts to gain your favor."

"What kind of attempts?"

She brought the end of her pencil to her lips as she thought about some examples to give me, "Things such as offers of money, titles, positions of power, propositions of marriage or to join a herd."

"Join a herd?" I asked the purple-haired seamstress, confused on the meaning of the word here, "What do you mean join a herd?"

"It's an older form of union that is still practiced by many citizens across the planet, but recently it seems that it is steadily being replaced by a more monogamous view." Vivmay said as the spirit of creativity began to move through her again and she began to sketch away on her pad.

"So it's polygamy." I stated as Vivmay looked up from her pad suddenly.

"Oh no, well not entirely." she said a little as she thought about it for a moment before turning away from me and walking towards the room where I knew her kitchen was. Stopping after a few steps she looked back over her shoulder at me, "I think we should discuss this over some refreshments if you don't mind."

"Of course," I said as I followed her elegantly curled tail into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I saw her grabbing a tray that was stacked with cinnamon rolls and gently took them from her before she could get to the round dinning table at the center of the room.

"Oh my such a gentlecolt," she said as she flashed me a smile and flipped her luscious hair over her shoulder.

"Well my mother raised me to always help out a lady," I told her as I picked up the tray of milk and sugar, setting both of the trays on the dinning table as well.

"And respectful of his mother I see, how admirable," Vivmay teased me as she gave a lighthearted laugh and levitated a small china pot of hot tea along with a pair of cups and saucers over to the table, as she physically carried over a pair of spoons. After she had sat down the items I pulled out her chair for her to sit down, flashing me another smile she sat down as I gently pushed her chair in before taking my own.

"So where were we?" she asked as she placed a tea strainer over my cup and, using her magic once again, poured out the steaming brown liquid as the solid particles were caught by the strainer.

"We were on the topic of relationships and the differences between our worlds." I told her as she finished filling up my cup and moved the strainer over to hers as I added a cube of sugar and a little milk to my cup, stirring it with my spoon.

"Oh yes," the seamstress said as she stopped pouring the tea, setting the pot and strainer to the side as she added just the milk to her own, "A herd can mean a lot of things to different ponies, depending on the situation that it was formed under."

"I'm not sure I understand." I told her as I lifted my saucer off the table before I grabbed my cup and brought it too my mouth, savoring the smell of the earthly aroma's from the liquid before taking a sip and setting the cup back on my saucer.

"You have to understand Eric that a herd is a group of individuals who share some kind of bond and choose to be together for a common goal whether that be for love, friendship, power, or any other number of reasons. Herd structure is traditionally made up of a head mare, although it's not uncommon these days to see a head stallion, who represents the head of the herd and what holds the herd together. If the basis of the herd is love between its members then the bonds of the herd members are treated as a marriage binding them all together, any other herd structure is much more loosely based as members can come into and leave the herd as they please, depending on the lead member.

"Each member of the herd draws upon the other members of the herd for comfort and support. This support can vary as well from completely platonic forms of comfort to more ... physical forms, " she paused a moment to take a drink from her own cup as I noticed a tint of pink on her cheeks.

"Hmm, well that makes me wonder then, and I hope you're not offended when I ask you this but are you-," I began to ask her before she cut me off.

"In a herd? Why yes I am." Vivmay said with a grin as she took another dainty sip, "The other girls and I are part of what's known as a "bachelorette" herd, meaning that we support each other until we have each found a more permanent relationship to enter into, whether that be into a herd of love or a monogamous marriage."

"But why would anyone want me to enter into a herd with them?" I said as I sat down the saucer and grabbed one of the cinnamon rolls, taking a bite out of the gooey treat.

"Why not? As I said earlier your knowledge of your world makes you very influential, and if anyone was to be able to get close with you then that would make them all the more important by default." Vivmay replied as she grabbed a roll of her own in her magic taking a bite, albeit a more ladylike one.

"What I meant is why would anyone want to? I'm not any sort of creature that exist on this planet, for all intents and purposes I'm an extra-terrestrial to this world." Even though I thought my statement had merit the white mare across from me instead just simply took another sip of her tea. Without looking up she answered me with a question of her own.

"Why should that matter?"

"Huh?" alright she had me confused now.

"You asked why anypony would try to start a relationship with you because you're a different species. I ask you why that should matter?" Vivmay said as she looked across the table at me expecting me to give her an answer.

"Because I'm different than you, why would somepony willing enter in a possibly romantic relationship with someone who was a different species?" I told her bluntly to which she gave a little sigh.

"Eric, my dear, there's something that you're going to have to understand about our world, and that is one's species does not decide who we are meant to fall in love with."

"You mean like how Xam's assistant, Prion, has a crush on you?" I told her as she gave a small smile. Supposedly the kid wanted to keep it a secret but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the young dragon had it bad for the beautiful mare sitting across from me.

"Yes, although I believe that the little sweetheart's affections for me are more like that of a colthood crush, I believe he'll be looking more and more at my sister and her friends here soon enough as they continue to grow up. Although I must be honest Eric I'm a little surprised by your interest in herds."

That kind of perked my interest, "Why do you say that?"

Vivmay grabbed the teapot and strainer again in her magic and went about filling up her cup again before answering me, "I would have figured that you were already part of a herd with Princesses Gilzia and Pyre, what with your bond and all."

"What?"

Author's Notes:

OMG this chapter kicked my ass, so much. I don't know why but Rarity's character is so hard to write for and I'm still not sure I got it right. Plus I was almost done with the original version of this chapter when I thought it was too early for it so I had to rewrite it, but don't worry maybe the original version will make it's appearance soon if a spot appears where it'll be needed.

Let me know if this way is easier for everyone to follow or not, because as it stands this will be the format for all future chapters.