We spend a little more time in that tree house before finally mustering the courage to head out. She seems really apprehensive about doing this, but I don't see what the problem is. I mean, I understand meeting family members is typically a stressful thing. But I don't think it'll really be as bad as she thinks it's going to be. It's probably going to be a tad strange, but nothing I can't handle. Every family has something weird about it, and I've seen plenty of strange things already. Plus, I'm an athlete! Guards love athletes! I just need to get them talking about a sport and I'll be in!

We walk slowly together to her house leaning on each other lightly. I can tell she's nervous,so I try to lighten the mood a bit by nudging her a bit.

“You’re being awfully quiet, scared?” I ask Shadow, giving her another slight nudge.

“Well… I am actually. If you say the wrong thing to the wrong people… just try and be mindful when you speak to certain people, okay?” she tells me with a worried frown. Well... so much for lightening the mood.

“Okay, now I’m worried. Any pointers I should know to survive?” I ask with a slight chuckle. She stops and thinks about it for a second before looking at me with a completely serious face.

“You’re leaving Equestria, literally. Treat this as if you were visiting another country.” I stare at her for a second before remembering myself and forcing out a chuckle.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be on my best behavior.” I tell her. I thought she lived on the edge of town, which I also thought was a part of Ponyville. Actually… I remember my brother talking about joint ruling for Ponyville, so I guess that’s where that comes in. We make it to her home and start to walk around towards the back. After what happened last time, I’m not against going in through the back door.

“Okay, so this will tingle at first, but it’s completely safe. Just do as I do.” Shadow tells me as she walks away from the house.

“Uh… okay? Where are you going? I thought we were going to your house.” Before she answers me she suddenly disappears in a flash beneath a large stone structure. Great. Something scared her off. I don’t even know what I could have said that would have; I thought I was being so-

FLASH

What the buck was that!? What was that!? Where am I!? How did it suddenly drop twenty degrees!? What just happened!?

“Pfft, you okay there? Most people freak out the first time they use a mico platform, but never this bad.” Shadow tells me with an adorable giggle. I’m still freaking out about the… thing, but I’ll get over it for a laugh like that.

“Heh... yeah. So… um, where are we?”

“We’re in-“

“HEY!” We both jump slightly when somepony yells at us. We look over to see somepony in a heavy black cloak with a walking stick walking towards us.

“Oh, hey Uncle Damian.” Shadow says quietly.

“Oh hi? That’s all I get!? Where’s my hug?” He demands, closing the distance between us. Shadow blushes a bit before giving him a quick hug. During the hug he notices me and stares me down.

“Hi, I’m-“

“Whose this!? This your new coltfriend!?” He practically yells, letting go of Shadow to face me.

“Well… maybe-“

“MAYBE!? Well are you or aren’t you!?” He demands, loudly.

“We’re… trying to figure that out.” Shadow says shortly, glancing to me. So much dread in her eyes right now, so much. I don’t quite get this guy. I think he’s just trying to embarrass Shadow.

“Pfffffft, what?” He asks, looking back to Shadow for a moment. “Are you trying to diddle her piddle?”

“I… what?”

“Are you trying to diddle her piddle with your widdle fiddle?” he asks, leaning awkwardly close to me.

“Uh… what?”

“What’s your name?” he asks.

“Uncle Damian, what are you going to do?” Shadow asks, sounding really scared.

“I just want to know his name,” he says innocently. “What’s your name?”

“Rumble.”

“… Rumble what? What’s your family name? Who’s your family? Who are you?”

“Damian, what are you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything!” He says like a whining foal. “So, what’s your name?”

“Um… I think our family name is the Thunders-“

“Got it. I’ll be back,” he says abruptly, turning and starting to leave.

“Damian, what are you going to do?” Shadow demands.

“Nothin.”

“What are you going to do!?” She demands much more sternly.

“I’m not going to do anything!” Damian replies quickly.

“You better not do what I think you’re going to do,” she warns him sternly.

“How can I not do something when I wasn’t going to do anything to begin with? Now, if you’d be so kind as to excuse me, I have to go do something.” Damian says before scurrying off into the depths of the small town. Shadow lets out a long sigh and hangs her head down.

“Um… what’s he going to do?” I ask, not entirely sure if I want to hear the answer.

“He’s going to go look you up. I’m sure we’ll hear all about it later. Let’s just get going before it gets too late. I’m sure there will be plenty of other oddities to come our way.” Shadow says meekly. She trot s off before I could really think of anything to say. Look me up? Is he in the guard too? I don’t really have anything to worry about but… it still feels off.

Moosden is quite the sight to see. The buildings are simple wooden cabins that circle around a large stone structure, one similar to the one in Ponyville behind her house. The small town is filled with so many different pon- er… people. Moose, diamond dogs, griffins, ponies, all living together in one community. It was a little odd at first, but when I saw Shadow smiling and greeting all of them I started to loosen up. If she feels safe here, then I should be too, right?

“Okay, so before we go any further I need to give you a few warnings.” Shadow tells me when we make it to the edge of town.

“What’s up?”

“The people we’re about to meet are… different, culturally. Just… don’t stare, okay. They hate it when people stare,” she pleads with me, giving me a worried look.

“I’ll do my best, but I don’t think it’ll be that bad.” I tell her, giving her a reassuring smile. She frowns a bit more before approaching a house and knocking on it. I join her at her side and put on my best smile. First part of her family -besides that Damian guy- time to make a good impression.

“WHO GOES THERE!?” A loud, deep –yet distinctly feminine voice bellows from inside.

“It’s Shadow, can I come in? I’d like you to meet somepony.” Shadow replies loudly. I didn’t know she could get that loud.

“Zeakel! Open the door!” I jump at how loud they yell from inside. That much volume isn’t really necessary, in my opinion at least. I take deep breath and wait for the door to open. Just smile, good posture, this’ll be over before-

“Yes Shadow?”

“… orc.” I mutter when an orc opens the door. He’s much shorter than the last one I saw, standing around five feet or so, but… orc.

“Hey Zeakel, is now a good time? I just wanted to chat with your mom for a moment.” Shadow says rather calmly. I can’t help but stare at Zeakel. There’s an orc, living in Equestria. And Shadow knows him well enough to not freak out around him. I did not see that coming, not even close.

“Da,” he says with a slight nod of the head, staring right back at me. He walks in, leading Shadow inside. It takes me a moment to gather myself and follow after them. Why, in all of Equestria, are we talking to orcs? How could she possibly know a family of orcs!?

The inside of the house is made up of mostly earth and stone with a center pit fire lighting the room. It’s still fairly dim in here, but not enough to trip over anything. Antlers and various other animal parts cover the walls as a section of the room has a stack of furs made into what looks like a bed. A few… carcasses, have been hung up and… I think I’m going to puke from the smell… it smells like they’re burning parts of it!

“Eremita-kin, greeting.” Another orc greets; the female I presume. She stands at least nine feet tall and looks much like the males did, just more feminine and without the tusk teeth. She’s currently cutting strips of flesh from one of the carcasses.

“Hello Azzeal, I just wanted to introduce you-“

“Is this mate yours?” she asks bluntly, looking down at me.

“Oh… um… not quite. We’re… dating.” Shadow falters.

“Ponies.” The orc mutters, shaking her head. She stops working on the corpse and walks over to me, eyeing me over critically. I tense up and wait for her to finish walking around me, hoping to Celestia that she doesn’t eat me.

“Azzeal-“

“He has strength, and fear. Does he… um…” she pauses and thinks to herself for a moment. “Produce?”

“… oh! Um… I assume so. We haven’t done that-“

“Good. Chief Eremita would be most… vengeful.” I gulped at that. She eyes me over again before returning to the carcass. “Why are you here, Eremita-kin?”

“Well… I guess I’m here to hear your thoughts on him.” Shadow tells her, stepping to my side and nudging me slightly. I guess I was holding my breath, because that made me let it go.

“I don’t understand. He produces, does he not? What… um… value, do my words have?” She asks, tilting her head slightly.

“Raz is a Spartan, or is trying to be-“

“Raz is strong! He will be Spartan!” Azzeal snaps, making me jump a bit.

“… right. Well, the Spartans are close, as so should their families-“

“Ah, I see. Kinship. Da. He… um… he… will bring many healthy offspring. Yes. Potent male,” she says, struggling. I don’t think this is her native language.

“Potent. Well thanks Azzeal. I’ll see you the next chance I get. I should get him out of here before he loses his lunch.” Shadow tells her as she starts to drag me out of the home.

“How weak.” I hear her mutter before we make it out the door. Shadow drags me a bit away before pausing behind a building and offers me a slight smile.

“Heh… so… what did you think of the Al-Gruuls?” I cough up a chuckle as I try to shake the thought of those carcasses out of my mind. “I can take you back home now if you’d like-“

“No! I mean… do you… do you eat meat?” I ask hesitantly.

“No, of course not! And don’t worry. They only hunt wild animals that are a nuisance to Moosden,” she assures me.

“How can you stand to be in there? And, I mean that in a literal sense, how ‘you’ can stand to be in there!? I nearly lost my lunch from that!”

“Well… I’ve known them a lot longer than you have. At first, I didn’t like being anywhere near there. Then, I went with my dad and… I don’t know. Having him there made things easier I guess. They weren’t monsters with him there. They were just people looking for a new start, and that made me okay with them.”

“Right… um… heh…”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go home now? The rest of town isn’t like that, but it doesn’t get any more normal.” Shadow seems really scared to hear my answer. Understandably of course, but I’ve never seen her this scared before. Given, I’ve only known her for a short time… but… still.

“No, I can keep going. Just, maybe nowhere else that has meat like that. I don’t think I can stomach that right now.” I tell her, trying my best to give her a reassuring smile. I can’t really make one though, having the image of a slayed out carcass with all of its guts and flesh out and… blech!

“Okay… um… I guess next would be the orphanage.”

“There’s an orphanage here? Okay, that sounds good. I’m good with kids, yeah. Let’s do that.” Shadow gives me a weak smile and starts to lead me towards the back of the small town. Kids, I can do this. Just be goofy and keep things clean. I can do that, easy!

As we walk, I notice that we’re being watched by several pon… er, people. A few of them murmur to each other while most just stare. I try to wave to a group of them, but they just run off. I was about to ask Shadow about it when I bumped into something. I step back to see that I walked into a griffin. He’s looks a bit… different though. I thought all griffins had an eagle front, but I guess there are hawk fronts as well. Cool.

“Oh… hi Ellzy.” Shadow says, giving the griffin a quick hug. “What are you doing out of training?”

“I had to run and get supplies,” he says with a soft voice, eyeing me closely. “Who’s this?”

“Hi, I’m Rumble. I’m Shadow’s co-“

“AAAAHH!” he squeals, getting everponys attention. “HEY! LOOK, SHADOW FINALLY GOT A COLTFRIEND!”

“Uncle Ellzy!”

“AHHHHH! MILES OWES ME TWENTY BITS!” he yells before flying off. We stand there for a moment before Shadow starts to push me down the road.

“Who is Miles?” I ask, finally taking my own steps.

“That’s my dad.”

“Oh… and why does he owe Ellzy twenty bits-“

“I’d rather not say,” she says quietly, looking away from me. I stare at her for a second before simply accepting it. I’m sure whatever it is, it’ll come back up soon enough.

“So… you said we were going to an orphanage?” I ask, getting her to look back up to me. She offers me a small smile before nodding and walking on.

She leads me to one of the larger houses towards the west side of town. The home is two stories high and has several broken windows. It looks like there was a sign out front, but something… chewed it off? It definitely looks like there were bite marks on the stumps of posts. There’s an odd smell about this place as well. Like… something… wet and stinky lives here. Shadow walks up to the door and opens it, stepping in quickly, so I follow her lead and do the same.

The room seems normal enough. We’re in what looks to be the lobby area. In the back of the room there are two stairs that lead to the upper parts of the building. There are two doors, one on the left wall and one on the other. I can kind of hear the kids in the back right room, they sound like a rowdy bunch. Shadow looks like she’s trying to prep herself for something, but I figure the best way to deal with this is to just go for it. So I go to the door and open it…

“Diamond dogs.” I blink as a group of green Diamond Dog kids rough around in the middle of what looks to be a play area of a den, seeing as there are plenty of toys here as well as a sitting area. Shadow steps beside me and makes one of the floor boards creak, getting their attention. All of their heads pop up as they stare at us, unmoving.

“… GET ‘EM!” One of the ones in the back yells. They all charge at us, jumping over couches and desks in a matter of seconds before tackling me, and presumably Shadow, to the ground. I start yelling and try to get away from them, but they easily over power me and drag me inside their den.

“SHADOW! HELP! WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO!? HELP!” I struggle in vain as they pin me on my back and restrain my legs. I look between them all as they bark between themselves. What are they planning? What are they going to do? Where’s Shadow? “WHY ARE THEY SNIFFING ME!?”

I hear Shadow chuckle as the entire group of Diamond Dogs start to sniff me all over… all over. I continue to try and struggle to free myself, but they are intent on sniffing me completely. I finally get a glance of Shadow and see her on the side lines laughing the entire thing. A whistle goes off somewhere and all of the dogs suddenly jump off me. I take a second to catch my breath before looking for my savior.

“So, who is this Shadow?” Some moose asks from the doorway. All of the dogs are at her feet, looking up at her and giving her one hundred percent of their attention.

“Hey Saska, this is Rumble. My… special somepony, if he survives to dinner that is.” Shadow tells her before giving her a quick hug.

“Oh… I didn’t know you… I mean… um… hello. I’m Saska I’m watching over these pups until Lief gets back from training,” she tells me, offering a hoof to help me up.

“Oh… okay… um, Shadow, can I pull you aside real quick?” I ask her, getting a scared look and a nod in response. I take her to the corner on the room and take a moment to formulate my question. “She’s a moose?”

“Um… yes,” she responds, unsure of my intention.

“Right and those were diamond dogs?”

“Well… Jade Hounds technically, but they are related,” she corrects.

“Ah… so, a moose is watching over a bunch of Jade Hounds in the middle of Equestria, with neighboring orcs, griffins, and ponies.”

“Well… technically this is the top of Equestria, but… yeah. Saska had some… tragic stuff happen to her. My dad looked up something’s that would help her in her recovery, so she helps those who rely on her. It’s supposed to-“

“I get that there’s probably a good reason for that, and it sounds a bit personal, but… I don’t know. I think after being… sniffed… completely, I need a break-“

“Oh… I understand-“

“Not like that.” I cut her off, getting a confused look from her. I sigh and glance back to Saska, getting a nod from her before she starts to usher the Dogs out of the room. “I’m not giving up. This was… just… a lot, and I’d like to just take a moment to let everything settle before moving on. I’m not done; I’m just… overwhelmed, a bit.”

“… are you sure?” she asks nervously, taking a step away from me. “Because, there isn’t really anywhere normal here. The most ‘normal’ this place gets is my home and… let’s just say things will be weird there.”

“Weird like Orc weird, or something completely new weird?” I ask nervously.

“Weird as in my mother will be there, weird.”

“… that doesn’t sound that odd. Is there anything I should know ahead of time? Like… is she an orc?” I ask cautiously.

“No, she’s just a unicorn. She’s just… a little forward, at times. ” I look at her for a second before sighing. She’s a unicorn, magic is weird and all but she’s a unicorn. I can handle that. And she’s her mother too, so probably a lot of questions about the relationship. Not that hard. Where could this possibly go wrong? This sounds like the most normal thing in this town…

Oh Celestia… what is going to happen?

“Well… if let’s just get this over with. I’m sure your mother will be… happy, to meet me.” I say tiredly as I force myself up. I give her a smile and head for the door. Along the way I get tackled one last time by the group of dogs as the assault me with sniffs and licks all over. They leave me almost immediately, but the damage is done.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Shadow asks as she helps me up. “You seem really put off by all of this.”

“I am really off by all of this.” I tell her, getting her to deflate a bit. “I mean, I grew up in Ponyville. The weirdest thing there is Spike, and even then he’s as pony-washed as they come. Well… on a normal day that’s Ponyville.”

“Do you actually know Spike?”

“I know he’s rutting that fashion mare.”

“Yes, everypony knows that. I mean, have you ever met him before?”

“Well… a couple of times. We’re in a club together, so we-“

“Wait, you’re in a club together? Really?” she asks me in astonishment. “What club?”

“I… heh… I can’t tell you.” I tell her nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’s… sort of a guy’s club. Um… more of a bachelors club, if you catch my drift.” She thinks about it for a moment before going wide eyed and covering her mouth.

“Rumble-“

“I’m only in it because my brother is a chair member of the club! I swear!” I tell her, going red in the cheeks. I don’t think I’ve ever admitted being in that club before.

“And… and Spikes in this… club?” she asks cautiously.

“Um… yeah.”

“Is he… cheating on Rarity?”

“No, no… I don’t believe so. He never talks about his personal life, he just… listens. My guess was that he was using the club to get closer to that fashion mare-“

“Rarity.”

“He never did anything beyond that… to my knowledge at least.” I try telling her, though I can see the doubt plainly in her eyes. I start to sweat lightly when I realize how bad this sounds. Why did I open my big mouth? “Uh… how bad dos this all sound?”

“Pretty bad, but not for you. I’m sure my Dad will love you for telling us this. Spike, on the other hoof, maybe not so much,” she tells me before walking off.

“… y-your dad!? Why does he have to know!? Shadow? Shadow!?” I chase after her as she trots out of the orphanage. She laughs at me a little and keeps walking, ignoring my fear. I can’t imagine the kind of pony that keeps this place in order. He must be one terrifying pony… that gets laid way too often.

She leads me to the center of town. Along the way, everypony is staring at us, whispering to each other and pointing. I don’t know how Shadow can walk around with this kind of attention. The Shadow I know would have run home by now to hide under her blanket. Well… truth be told, I don’t really know Shadow all that well, so I guess I can’t say anything.

She brings me to a small, quaint house near the center of town. It fits in with the rest of the homes around here, having a small flower garden out front and a welcome mat. Everything seems normal enough. The front door opens up as we approach and an earth pony mare walks out. She has a dark tan coat with white hair and a pastry of some kind as a cutie mark. All around, not bad on the eyes.

"Oh... hey Mom. This is Rumble, my coltfriend. Rumble, this is my mother, E'Claire." Shadow says nervously. Her mother stands there for a moment and just stares at me, obviously lost for words. After a moment of silence I take the initiative and step forward.

"Hi, as Shadow said I'm Rumble. It's nice to meet you." I say confidently, sticking my hoof out to shake. She looks down at it for a second before slowly taking it with her own.

"H-hello. Um... I'm sorry, Shadow, dear, can I have a word with you? In private?" she asks quickly, heading inside before getting an answer. Shadow and I share a quick glance before she follows her inside. I wasn't invited in, so I wait on the front porch. A part of me really wants to spy on what they're saying, but I think I can guess what they're-

"I'M NOT A LESBIAN MOM!" Shadow yells from inside. I jumped at first, but then was awestruck by the fact that that was Shadows voice I heard. I honestly didn't think she could get that loud.

Wait... lesbian? She thought she was a lesbian! I can't help but chuckle at that. She really thought she was a lesbian! I mean, I guess I can see it... oh... I can really see it. With Applebloom, definitely.

My thought was interrupted when the door opened back up, revealing E'Claire again.

"Hi! I'm E'Claire, won't you come inside for dinner?" she asks sweetly, tilting her head slightly with a closed eyed smile.

"Oh! Thank you." I reply, eyeing her closely as I step inside. The home is small, but warm. The living room is filled with large furniture meant to seat and warm that is catered by a fireplace. A hall leads to the left while the kitchen/dinning room fill the right. I quick whiff tells me that she is cooking oats and honey.

"Just make yourself comfortable in the living room, dinner will be ready shortly," she tells me while heading back to the kitchen. I head over there and take a seat beside Shadow on the couch, enjoying the warmth embedded in it from the fire. It's the middle of summer, yet this place feels like it's the middle of fall.

"Um... so-"

"So I hear you're not a lesbian." I say quickly, making her go red and E'Claire yelp in in laughter. I nudge her a bit and wrap a wing around her, glad that the seat backs cover us mostly. "I'm teasing."

"Ye... yeah," she mumbles, still red in the face.

"So, Rumble, who are you anyway? Friend? Classmate? Stalker?" E'Claire asks as she pulls something from the oven.

"Classmates. One day I saw Shadow passing by and made it my mission to meet her. From there... well, this happened." I say gladly, squeezing Shadow a bit to get her attention.

"So, by this, you mean you're rutting my daughter." I nearly fell off the couch when she said that. Did... did she really just say that!?

"Mother!" Shadow snaps at her, scooting away from me slightly. Did... did she really says that?

"Oh hush you! You know I'm teasing you two." E'Claire says playfully. "So what do you do Rumble? Weather training, agriculture, or are you just a student?"

"Uh... I uh... I'm an athlete-"

"Ooooooh! An athlete! What sports do you play?" Okay, balls in my court now. I sit up a bit taller and look back to her, confident for once.

"I do a bit of everything, but I tend to stick to Air Ball and Hoof Ball-"

"Full contact sports, if I'm not mistaken," she comments.

"Yup! I tried my hoof at all of the other sports, but there’s just something different about the full contact ones that I like more-“

“It’s no fun without getting a little rough, right?” she asks with a wink.

“Yeah… uh… yeah.” I agree slowly, unsure of what she actually means. Shadow stares daggers at her for a moment before noticing me and forces a smile on. “Yeah, so what do you do Mrs. E’claire?”

“Oh, please, just E’Claire. Miss simply makes me feel old. And I’m a correspondent for the Spartan regiment between them and the Crystal Empire. As well as any new immigrants coming to either for sanctuary, work visas, new citizenship, all those kind of things.” She rambles, moving about the kitchen in a hurry.

“Wow… and here I thought you were just a house mom.” I joke, getting Shadow to punch me quickly and shake her head.

“Why’s that?” E’Claire asks, pausing to stare at me.

“Cause… of… your good looks, of course!” I say quickly, rubbing the back of my head nervously. “A mare as good looking as you, how do you find the time!?” Oh Celestia, strike me down now this is too awkward. E’Claire eyes me for a second before putting on a large smile.

“Watch yourself Rumble, I’m a taken mare,” she warns me with a playful wink. I force out a few chuckles before looking over to Shadow, silently pleading for forgiveness.

“*Munch* dude *munch* never hit on your girl’s mother. *Munch* never.” I hear Damian say from behind, apparently as he’s eating an apple. I turn around to find him sitting awkwardly close to me, staring me down intensely with an apple in his hoof. Sitting beside him is that griffin from before, Ellzy, also eating an apple.

“Yeah, *munch*, that’s just, *munch*, weird.” Ellzy adds, staring at me with the same intensity as Damian.

“I… uh… it was more of a compliment really.” I say in my defense, getting the two of them to take a bite at the same time. “When did you two even get in here?”

“Ellzy! Damian! Aren’t you two supposed to be training the new Spartans?” E’Claire asks, unfazed by their sudden appearance.

“I did my bit already.” Damian says quickly with a smug smile.

“And I… I’m getting something… forgot what. Well, now it’s dirt.” Ellzy says giving me a toothy smile.

“Wonderful! Why don’t you both stay for dinner?!” E’Claire exclaims, making me nearly yell out at her. Both of them!? Staying for dinner!? That just sounds like the worst possible thing to happen… and I don’t even know why!? If it was just E’Claire I could manage, makes things go smoothly. But, both of them too!?

“Aw, well I’d have to move some appointments, call off some-okay!” Damian mumbles quickly, running over to the dining room to take a seat.

“What he said!” Ellzy adds, flying over to take the seat across from him. The table only has six seats, two on each end and two at the heads, so I guess I can’t use Shadow as a shield for dinner. I glance to Shadow before standing, wait for Shadow to join me, and head over to the table. Ellzy and Damian eye me the entire way right up till I try to take my seat beside Ellzy.

“Really!?” Damian demands, sounding as if I did something wrong.

“Get the chair for the lady.” Ellzy points out, motioning to the other side. I stare at them for a moment as Shadow gets in her seat.

“I can get my own seat guys.” Shadow tells them, the annoyance in her voice ever prevalent.

“Pfft, what a gentlecolt.” Ellzy mutters as I take my seat. I give him a sideways glance before scooting forward, turning my attention to Shadow.

“So, Shadow, you live in two houses?” I ask her, hoping to change the subject.

“Oh, yeah. I lived with my Dad first, then here, and now I move between the two freely. When schools in session I tend to-“

“So, Rumble, I hear you do some really weird shit when you think nopony is looking.” Damian cuts her off, giving me a knowing, smug, smile. I blink for a second before collecting myself to answer.

“Uh… well… what you hear and what’s true are usually two different-“

“I hear you like to make muscles at yourself in the mirror.” Damian continues as E’Claire starts to set some dishes on the table. Well… I do do that from time to time. But, who doesn’t?

“Well, everyponys done it once or twice-“

“Yeah, but they don’t usually sport a massive boner.” Damian continues, getting Ellzy to chuckle. How… how could he possibly know about that? And it only happened twice! But, more importantly, how does he know about that?

“I guess he really like the way he looks.” Ellzy adds, acting as Damian’s hype man. "You know, there are ponies that'll pay for you to do that in front of them."

“I-I don’t-“

“I mean, if ya want ta look at it, look at it. But when ya start to bounce around and wiggle, that’s just weird.” Damian continues, getting Ellzy to laugh more.

“Look at his face! He’s blushing!” He laughs, making me blush even more. I look over to Shadow for help, only to see her blushing just as hard.

“I don’t-“

“Hey, so why did you suggest to compare lengths in the locker room? Or, is that just an athlete thing?” Damian asks, smiling widely at me. Oh… how… that only happened once! And it wasn’t even my suggestion- “Oh, wait, no. It was your friend to suggest it. You just agreed. And apparently you came in third at twelve inches-”

“HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?” I yell, nearly jumping out of my seat. I would have jumped out, but E’Claire held me down with a hoof on my shoulder.

“Damian, play nice or I’m calling CC. Ellzy, stop agreeing with Damian. It’s not good for his ego.” E’Claire tells them softly, getting both of them to agree. I look back to Shadow to see her trying to hide her face. She’s probably so uncomfortable right now…

“No, it’s fine.” I say, getting Shadow to look up at me. “Yeah, we compared lengths. And hey, twelve inches is average, so I’ve got nothing to feel bad about.” I tell him, glaring down at him confidently.

“Whoa now, look who just grew a pair,” Ellzy chuckles. E’Claire sets a medium pot in the middle of the table that steams lightly in the cold air. Whatever’s in there smells really good, but I know better than to start serving myself.

“Yeah… nothing wrong with average.” E’Claire says meekly, bringing me down a peg. The room falls quiet for a moment, so I sit back and rub my eyes. Somepony better serve the food soon-

“So,” god dammit, “what do you plan to do after high school? Play sports?” Damian asks.

“Uh… actually, I want to get into construction like my brother.” I tell him, getting him to pause, then chuckle. “Something funny about that?”

“What? Oh, no. So your brother’s working on rebuilding Las Pegasis. Nice, tell him I said ‘you welcome’.” He says before opening the pot and serves himself a ladle full of the soup.

“What are you talking about? Las Pegasis fell apart because of a construction error-“

“Right… that’s what happened,” Damian says, pointing the ladle at me. I was about to say something, until I saw Shadow motion something. I don’t know what she was trying to motion, but I figure she wants me to just drop it. So I do.

We all serve ourselves and begin to eat quietly. I keep glancing between all of them, waiting for somepony to say something. I hate silent dinners. They always feel… tense, like… somepony wants to say something, but they don’t. At least the food is good.

“What is this E’Claire?” Ellzy asks suddenly.

“Cabbage and carrot soup-“

“Rumble likes to wear panties.” Damian mutters quickly.

“No I don’t!” I yell, feeling my face return to its original flush state.

“And socks. He’s been looking at this pink corset-“

“No I haven’t!” I yell, getting Ellzy to fall out of his seat in laughter. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening. How could he know this? How… “Have you been spying on me!?”

“Dude… you’re weird.” He says with that same smug smile. My eye twitches as I fight the urge to punch him in the face. How could he possibly know all of this without… oh shit. Does he know about Diamond and me? I fall back in my seat and stare at him, hoping that he doesn’t say anything. If he knows about all of that… then… why wouldn’t he know about that? What’s to stop him from telling everypony right now that I slept with Diamond after our first date?

“Oh… oh god… soup came out of my nose!” Ellzy laughs from the floor, picking himself up slowly. “Panties and socks, what a sexy bitch.”

“Damian, Ellzy, can I talk to you two in the other room?” E’Claire asks politely with that same look from before. I look over to Shadow to see her hanging her head low, having her face hide behind her bangs. I look down as well as they all leave the room, silently cursing Damian. This could have been a good evening, a strange one at that, but good.

“You… you can leave now. I’m sorry for putting you through all of this,” she tells me quietly before getting out of her chair.

“Shadow.” I call out to her as I chase after her, cutting her off from the front door. She looks away from me as she hiccups slightly, trying to hold back her tears. I frown at that and bring my hoof to her chin, bringing her to look up at me.

“I… I don’t want to leave. But… if you want me to, then I will.” I tell her, moving my hoof to push her hair out of her face.

“But… after all of that, how could you possibly want to stay?” She asks, looking up at me with those big blue eyes. For whatever reason, I think back to what Applebloom told me. About being serious about this. I nod for a second before re-focusing my attention on her, determined to make her understand.

“My brother told me to avoid mares with complicated families. To save them until I’m ready for something much more serious. Because, the more complicated the mares family, the better the catch they are. I always figured he meant divorce families or families with personal problems. But, after everything today, you have –without a doubt- the strangest, rudest, diverse family. Uncles with the ability to get dirt on anypony, relatives that… eat meat, two mothers, a father that leads some new nation, and friends that make the social outcast of Ponyville high. Imagine the mare to come from all of that.” I tell her with a smile, receiving one in return.

“Rumble-“

“Now, I know I’m not the most… normal pony ever. But, I’m going to be honest with you. Yeah, I’ve worn mares clothing before. I’ve… looked at myself. I like looking around as well. I’ve llost count of the number of mares I’ve slept with… there may have been a stallion once… it was a threesome though… so I dunno if that counts or not. Anyway, and… and I’ve…” Do or die time. “And… after our little get together at my place… Diamond Tiara came over… and we had sex.” She steps away from me when I say this.

“… you… and Diamond-“

“Yeah. I… I was unsure if we were anything and she… well, she really didn’t have to do much. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?” I beg her, hanging my head before her. My heart feels like it’s going to beat itself out of my chest and my hooves feel numb. I hate admitting crap like this. But… if I’m going to be serious with her, I have to come clean. She’s not going to be some quick lay. I want more than that.

“I… I don’t know if I can.” Okay, that hurt. I look up to her in time to see another tear roll down her cheek. “How could I forgive you without trusting you?”

“… I understand. I’m sorry I put you though all of this then. I never wanted to hurt you.” I say as I start to leave. I make it to the door and turn back to her, trying to think of one last thing to say, but come up short. With a final sigh, I open the door and leave the house.

The cold air snaps against my coat, but I ignore it as I head to the station that brought me here. I’ve never had my heart break like this before, but that’s what I get. All I had to do was tell Diamond no, and I could have avoided all of this. But, I didn’t, so here I am. I pause at the station and look up at the evening sky. The sun is just setting, turning the sky a mixture of gold, orange, and dark blue. A few stars are making their appearance, growing brighter as the sun sinks lower and lower.

No. No, I’m not giving up! Not without a fight. I don’t care what it takes, but I will earn her trust back! I am going to be the stallion she deserves! Get ready Shadow, here I come!

FLASH

Before I could get to the station, a being appears before me. It stand tall on two feet and looks really pissed about something. It’s holding something to its ear, but I can’t tell what it is under its hand.

“Who the fuck are you?” It asks me.

“I… uh-“

“Nevermind.” It says shortly, moving around me. “Calling all active Spartans. Mobilize in Moosden in ten minutes and be ready for combat.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….............................

I stare at the door long after he leaves. I really wanted this to work, but… I simply can’t. If I can’t trust him, then nothing good would come from this. I’m sure it’s going to hurt now, but I’ll move on… just not now. I sigh as Damian and Ellzy move to my sides and wait for whatever it is they have to say. I’m mad at the both of them, but I’ll let them say this last thing at least.

“… I’m proud of that sexy little bitch.” Ellzy says, catching me off guard.

“Me too. I didn’t expect him to own up to that.” Damian agrees.

“Wait, you both knew about him and Diamond? How?” I demand, getting Damian to roll his eyes.

“Statera. We know everything, remember? But I wasn’t going to just throw that at his face, where’s the fun in that? I was going to wait, and bide my time, slowly plotting his destruction.” He tells me, pulling out the apple from before.

“We had to see if he was a little pecker first. And I gotta say, not bad. A bit of a whore, actually, a lot of whoredom in that one. But, he’s got heart… and whores.” Ellzy comments, getting a thoughtful nod from Damian. I look between them before sighing in defeat.

“Do you think he’s worth the trouble?” I ask them. If anypony would know, it would be the one who looked up everything about him.

“Well… he likes to get his dick wet… but… meh. He’s not the worst stallion out there.” Damian says.

“Could be worst. Remember that fat kid you told me had a crush on her? The one who touched himself in class?” …ew? I don’t want to know about this.

“Hmm… which one?” WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHICH ONE!? “The one whose failed, like, three times-“ Oh god, not Low Pressure! “-or the one who keeps picking on her for being short?” Pike! Pike likes me!? Why!? Why do they have to like me!?

“Oh! No, it was the one with the rash! Yeah, you could do worse kiddo.” Ellzy tells me happily, pulling me in for a tight hug. “If you do decide to get back with him, make him wait. You’re worth the wait, he’ll see.” He whispers in my ear, making me smile. He lets go of me so Damian could put a hoof on my shoulder. I try not to look at him, but keeps leaning over, making me look at him finally. I give in and hug him lightly, feeling slightly better.

“I know we were jerks today, but we only do that because we care. After all you’ve been through, you deserve only the best.” He tells me, making me relax into his embrace. “Oh, and yes. I will be looking up anypony else you decide to date, so now you know.”

“And knowing’s half the battle. Speaking of battle, we have to go!” Ellzy says before grabbing Damian and rushing out the door. I turn back to see Mom standing in the hallway, smiling back to me. I don’t know if I’ll take him back, but if he’s really set on being serious, he’ll wait.

“You know, if it had been a mare instead-“

“Mooooom!”

ER MER GERD ERPDERTS!!

So, updates! First up, look! A chapter! Look how pretty it is! Secondly, PONYRUN UPDATES! So, we're really heading towards the finalization of Ponyrun... kind of. We still need to work a few things over, but it's playable now! So much so that we're making the first calling for players! If you want to play, head over to the MoW universe group and send Cheesus a message. He's going to be GMing it, hopefully I will be playing in this one. Once I get internet, I may GM as well, but I will most likely only GM the in-person games. So Head over to MoW Verse,
give Cheesus a hollar, and like always,

Brony on!