“Dad!” Celsius growled. “I can tie a tie by myself just fine.” He shooed the older stallion’s hooves away with a wing. “I’m not a colt anymore.”

His father shot him an apologetic look. “A father has his concerns when his boy is going on a date. Especially when it’s with a mare that already broke his heart once.”

“We’ve been over this already. We didn’t break up. She’s pregnant and wanted to make sure I’m committed. We took a short break to think about everything. Now you and Mom will get the grandfoal you want. Can’t you be happy for me just once?”

Blazing Sky ruffled his son’s mane and sat down on the guest bed Celsius had been using the last weeks. “Son, we don’t want just any grandfoal; we want yours. We want you to be happy and cared for, like your mother cares for me.”

“We don’t live in the last century anymore. Why can’t I care for my mare too? Why can’t I be the one working while she’s at home with the foals?” His father averted his eyes to the floor and took a step back. “Sorry. I’m just sick of you badmouthing Melody.”

“You’re right, I’m the product of another time. And I know things are changing. Still, look at who’s in charge. We have three princesses, but not one prince, at least on the throne. The highest ranking stallion in the world is Blueblood, and he’s only called prince because of a distant relation to Platinum. So be realistic. Maybe the grandfoals of your grandfoals will have that luxury someday, but right now, it is what it is.” The older stallion sighed.

“You know, where Melody is from, the stallions rule the world. Well, not really rule, but they are the providers and protectors most of the time.” He faced the mirror again, fumbling with his tie.

“Maybe that is true, but we’re in Equestria, not wherever this hooman of yours used to live. Plus, I don’t see an artist without of a stable income taking good care of my son. You deserve better—in that, your mother and I agree.”

“Maybe, but this is what makes me happy. Doesn’t that count?” Celsius turned around and displayed his suit. “How do I look?”

Sky shook his head. “The knot it all wrong and the shirt should show at least three inches from under the suit at your hooves. Here, let me.” His father walked over and made a few adjustments. “Now look again.” Celsius checked his reflection in the mirror again and frowned. He had learned dress code back in basic. Why couldn’t he do that like his dad? “Don’t make a face like that—it could stick. I dated a lot of lovely mares back in the day. They like it when a stallion is nicely dressed. In the end, I got the best one,” he added after a short pause. Celsius, getting the hint, glanced over to the door where his mother smiled at them.

“Real smooth, darling,” she said with a chuckle and walked over to her husband, kissing him on the cheek. Sky nuzzled her for a moment before she sat down next to him.

“Well, it’s true. And you got the best stallion after all.” Celsius rolled his eyes as his parents started to make out on the bed. He closed the door behind him and walked downstairs. The only light came from the kitchen, where a clock as old as him ticked away. Melody should be here any minute now. The remainder of his parents’ dinner was still on the kitchen table, and he had the urge to clean the mess. However, he was already wearing his rather expensive rented suit. He couldn’t afford any stains, so he resisted the urge. As a foal, he had always helped his father in the kitchen and always hoped his mother would praise him for his good work. It was such a minor thing, a normal thing. Thousands of colts probably did the same thing everywhere, every day. Celsius realized that his father had been right. For now, that was the world for stallions, and it would need a lot of time to change things for the better. Still, somepony had to take the first step. He could raise his daughters to respect stallions and his sons to dream big.

That was an issue for later. He already could hear a pair of very unique hooves walking up to the front door. The sound her feet made were new to him, but that there were only two hooves was unmistakable. Celsius stumbled out of the kitchen and made to rip the door out of the frame, only to stop at the last second. He was a gentlestallion, and as such, one did not rush to the door.

So he waited and listened to her footsteps. In his mind, he counted down the seconds until the doorbell was finally rung. He gripped the doorknob and slowly opened the door. There she stood, Melody, his human mare. She wore a dark blue dress that bared much of her shoulders and one of her legs. All that prevented him from getting a salacious view of her womanhood was a flimsy string of fabric that tied the dress to her hips. She smiled down at him and leaned forward as he met her halfway. Her velvety soft lips touched his for a moment that seemed all too brief for Celsius. “I missed you,” she finally said.

“I missed you too,” he whispered back. A sound behind him caused his ear to twitch, and Celsius was certain that his parents were on the stairs behind him, watching, judging.

Melody’s eyes flickered past him for a moment, but found his again a few seconds later. “Would the fine stallion care for a stroll to the establishment?” Celsius had to hold back a giggle at her attempt at a Canterlot accent.

“Why yes, that would be lovely.” He stepped out of the house and closed the door behind him, perhaps with a bit too much force. “Lead the way, my lady.”

Melody, true to his words, went ahead and winked at a nearby cab. “We’ll walk the rest of the way.” She walked over to the mare pulling the cart, handed her a few bits, and waved as she vanished down the street.

He frowned. “I didn’t know you had hired a driver. We could have taken the cab if you already went through the trouble organizing one.” There weren’t many taxi drivers on the road this late, and they would be charging extra. Celsius also knew that Melody wasn’t swimming in money to throw away like that. Then again, neither was he.

They started walking. The usual Canterlot crowd had long deserted the streets, and the only sound that accompanied them was that of moths and other insects hitting the lanterns that lined their path.

“So,” Melody started, “how has your time in Canterlot treated you?”

“Ah, you know, the usual. Nosy parents, an irritating sister, and a few faces I hadn’t seen in a while.” Melody snickered.

“I hope you had time to think about us. It sounds like you’ve been rather busy.” Celsius gulped. That was the million bit question. Melody hastened to add, “You don’t have to answer now. I’d like for you to hear what I’ve been up to first.”

“I guess you have more to tell than I do?”

Melody thought for a moment. “Well, I met all the three princesses recently. Not that I want this to be a competition.” She paused. “Because I know I would win anyway.”

The stallion whistled, the sound echoing slightly in the emptiness of the streets. “Wow.” Not even in his time in the guard had he met all three of them. He was missing Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to complete the set. Even then, he had met Princess Luna and Princess Celestia years apart. Plus, claiming he had met them was a pretty loose claim. He had been in the same room while they had addressed the whole company. “Yeah, you would take the cake.”

“What? Take the cake?” She cocked her head in confusion.

“You know? You would win and the winner gets the cake? Winner, winner, cake for dinner?” he attempted to explain.

“Never heard that one. Do you know ‘when the shit hits the fan’?”

Celsius grimaced. “Who would throw shit at their fans? One wouldn’t stay popular for long, that’s for sure.”

“No, it’s used to mean when things get really bad. It’s fascinating that even with a near identical language, we have different sayings. Still, I guess that could be explained by the different way our ancestors lived. Different times make for different sayings.”

“I guess.” Celsius felt stupid. Why didn’t he know about things like that? Sure, he had completed school, but that had been about it. He joined the guard after that since it was something of a pegasi tradition. His father had met his mother during his time there. Melody, on the other hoof, had gone to university, something akin to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. There weren’t many such institutions in Equestria. There was the Cloudsdale School of Rain and Lightning, the Manehatten College of the Fine Arts and the Baltimare Circle of Learning. All were associated with a high quality of learning and costing a veritable fortune to attend. That wasn’t fair.

Melody seemed to pick up on his mood and changed the topic. “Want me to tell you a secret?”

“You know, if you tell me, it isn’t really a secret anymore.” His eyes darted from left to right quickly. “Shoot.”

The woman shook her head and giggled. “Equestria will have a new prince in about a year.” Celsius’ eyes widened. “Princess Cadance eloped about a week ago.”

Mouth open, tail wagging, he couldn’t hold back the question. “To whom?” After a moment of thinking, the answer came to him. “Shining Armor,” they both said at the same time. “You knew about them being together?”

“Who doesn’t?” he exclaimed giddily. “When a stallion gets promoted to captain, it’s a big thing. Plus, when his papers are recommendations from a princess, the news got around fast. I think the whole of the Royal Guard knew at that point.” They laughed together, warming Celsius’ heart. “But that the princess would pop the question so fast is a little surprising.”

“Well, don’t tell anyone, but they were already dating before his promotion. They only waited so long because of all the crazy stuff that happened over the past few years. And it wasn’t Cadance who asked the question, but Shining.”

“How do you know all that?”

“I was at the party where they made the announcement. I came to Canterlot because Princess Celestia invited me. Twilight joined in to visit her family, and guess who we met at the train station? Cadance and Shining out on a date. Faster that I could think, I was invited to a royal party as a friend of the sister of the groom-to-be. See, I have connections now.” She laughed and stuck her nose up haughtily in the air. “Better suck up to me now before I’m famous.” She shifted her gait slightly, setting one foot directly in front of the other. Then she spun around on the back of her heel and opened a door to her right. “After you, good sir.”

Blinking, Celsius needed a moment to comprehend what happened before he realized that they had reached their destination. The exterior of The Prancing Pony was beautifully carved from marble and layered with gold. Everything, from the door to the carpet to the napkins, repeatedly screamed the word ‘expensive’.

The maître d'hôtel, a stallion in a fine white tux, red tie, and a thin moustache, bowed as they entered. “Good evening, sir and madam. How can I be of service this evening?” In contrast to Melody’s fake Canterlot accent earlier, his was as thick as his father stew.

“We have a reservation under the name Williams,” Melody answered as she stepped next to Celsius.

The stallion nodded without hesitation and scanned the list on the lectern he stood behind. “Ah yes, here you are. If you would follow me please, I will escort to your table.” Celsius nodded, still a bit out of it. There was so much wealth in one building that a pony wouldn’t have to work or worry about money for the rest of his life. That was not counting the personal wealth the other guest had around their horns, on their ears, or around their necks. His eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw Sapphire Shores sitting at a table they walked past. She was having a conversation with Countess Coloratura of all ponies.

“Your table,” the maître announced and pointed at a secluded corner booth separated from the rest of the restaurant through a painted, paper wall with a golden flower pattern. Given the establishment they were in, it was probably made from real gold. However, it was what he noticed next that made him think the maître had made a mistake. There was already a mare sitting at the table, wearing an extravagant green dress with golden trimming. Her golden mane was done in a braid, just as her tail. Combined with her orange coat, Celsius was certain he had seen her before, somewhere.

“Howdy,” the mare greeted him with a hesitant smile. For the second time this evening, Celsius needed a moment to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. This was Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Of course he knew the mare—everyone who worked and lived in Ponyville did. However, he was certain none of them had ever seen her dressed up like this. She always had been a beautiful mare, even drenched in sweat and mud, but seeing her like this nearly made him whimper. He gulped down the emotion—after all, he was here with his mare. But why was Applejack here?

“Celsius, I think you know Applejack. She will be joining us.” Melody held out a chair for him, and he accepted the gesture. After that, Melody sat down next him on the bench of the booth.

A thousand questions ran through the stallion’s mind, but a new voice interrupted his thoughts. “My name is Golden Grace, and I will be your waitress tonight. Do you wish to order some refreshments?” The mare levitated a notepad in front of her, politely awaiting their answers.

“We will have a cider and two waters,” Melody ordered and returned the drinks menu that had been on the table.

The waitress bowed. “I will be right back with your refreshments and the menu.” And with that, the two ponies and human were alone.

After nearly ten seconds of silence, Celsius couldn’t take it anymore. “So… Why exactly is Applejack joining us tonight? Not that I’m complaining, but I thought we were far beyond the point of needing a chaperone.”

Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but a pat from Melody on her hoof halted her. “It’s because of me that she’s here. I wanted her here because, well, she’s as much a part of this as you.” The woman took a deep breath. “It’s because I love her.”

Something inside of him crumbled. He was certain it was his heart. “Well, this is still the nicest way I’ve ever been dumped,” he murmured as his gaze lowered to the floor. He should have listened to his parents.

“No one is dumping anyone, Celsius. Like I said, she is as much a part of this mess as you. I love you too.”

“So, you’re deciding at dinner?” He was surprised over how much venom his voice contained. Way too much, as he saw how Melody flinched.

“No, I already made my decision. I want you both.”

There was another ten seconds of silence. “Both?” He glanced over to Applejack, who seemed embarrassed by the whole situation.

“It’s like old times, ya know?” The mare sighed. “Look, I’m not good at speaking about feelings and all that jazz. Melody explained it to me and I’m willing to give it a try.”

“Herd,” Melody said sharply. “The term is a herd, and I want you in mine.”

The waitress chose that moment to return with their drinks. She placed the water in front of him and Melody, and the cider before Applejack. Then she placed three menus on the table. “I will be back in a few minutes so you can order.” If she had overheard their conversation, she gave nothing away.

Melody waited a few seconds until she was out of earshot to continue. “As I was about to say, I’m building a herd. Applejack is in. What we now want is a stallion. I don’t want any old stallion; I want you.”

“Why?” was all he could croak out before he took a sip from the water.

“Because Applejack and I share a dream. We want a loving home full of children, and those don’t appear out of thin air. Plus, children need a father, in my opinion. But most importantly, I fucking love you, you dolt. I want you to be happy, I want Applejack to be happy, and I want to be happy. I plan to get what I want too. You will get to know each other, and you will like each other. How do I know that? I know the both of you. I’ve seen you looking at Shining, Applejack, so don’t pretend you didn’t think about him with the two of us. And you, you little blue pervert.” She half-mockingly glared at Celsius. “You are a sucker for the unique and exotic. This is your chance at getting not one, but two mares that fit both descriptions. Where I come from, men dream about being in your situation. Get your act together and be the charming young stallion I know you are.” With that Melody stood up and rushed away, leaving him alone with Applejack.

And another one down, three to go. Yeah, you heard right. We only have two chapters and the epilogue left. All things have to come to an end and this story was always about Melody finding her place. That doesn't mean you will not know what kind of devil spawn will crawl out from between her legs. And maybe there will be even a sequel, who knows.

Thanks, as always, to JBL for correcting my mess.
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