It was nearly morning by the time the carriage dropped Honey off. The others had already gotten off back at the castle, leaving her all alone when she finally disembarked. Her arms were weighed down with swag from Surprise’s Uranus – she chuckled to herself – and was ready to call it a day. The house her herd had bought was a quaint little thing. Two stories, a sizable yard behind a white picket fence, and, invariably, smelled like coming home. It was the perfect place to make a family.

“Honey!”

Speaking of which…

Big Plow’s voice boomed as the front door flung open. “What kept ya so long?” His long, muscled legs carried him forward with long, powerful strides. His mighty, almost intimidating physique crossed the yard with half the steps it would have taken most other ponies. He was a burly figure, a good head taller than Honey, with a dirt brown pelt with his orange mane and tale cut short. The mark upon his hip was that of a plow turning up dirt. “Ya’ll almost missed dinner.”

Dropping the bags of swag where she stood, Honey ran up to her stallion and threw herself into his powerful arms. His tree trunk-sized pecs wrapped around her with a gentleness most wouldn’t expect from one of his size. He pulled her into his chest as she barely managed to wrap her arms around his back. She didn’t even mind that her skirt was wrinkling as she took in his scent and felt the way chiseled muscles pressed against her. Their difference in strength was obvious. Honey gave Plow a squeeze that would have sheered the bark from most trees, but he gave no discernable reaction. His grip remained gently firm around her, holding her in such a way that she knew she wouldn’t be escaping until he had allowed her to.

“Looks like ya’ll got you some new fixin’s fer that shrine o’ yours,” noted Plow as he looked over the bags on the ground.

Honey tried letting go, but Plow’s grip continued to hold her in place. She couldn’t help but laugh at his showing off. “Yeah, so can ya let me down, now?” she asked, kicking impotently in the air. “Ah heard it’s supposed ta rain in a bit and Ah don’t want mah new books gettin’ wet.”

“Hmm. That’s quite the pickle you’ve got yerself into,” agreed Plow. “You’d best get on that before the wind picks up.”

Honey pursed her lips and waited a moment before replying, suspended in midair as she was. “If’n ya don’t mind, Ah’d really like ta get on that.”

“Ya’ll really should,” agreed Plow. “Remember, bring in the disposables first so they don’t spoil. Although Ah think the ice box is full.”

Honey was starting to struggle now, but her efforts were in vain. “Sure. Fine! Jus’ let me go ‘n’ Ah’ll get right on that.”

“Or is it the cold food we gotta take in first?” asked Plow as he casually swung the tall mare from side to side. It was like she weighed nothing in his arms. “Sorry. Ah’m still learnin’ all these fancy big city contraptions.”

“Just put me down you big lug!” Honey demanded. It was a struggle just to keep from laughing as she was swung around. “Ah’ll jus’ get ‘em all in one go!”

“Nuh uh.” Plow’s rebuttal was strict and brokered no argument, even as his fingers glided over Honey’s tickle spots. She choked back her chortles as best she could, but Plow was relentless. “Can’t do that. We’s city folk now. That means doin’ it the city folk way, else Jona’ll have words with us.”

“Stop it! Mwa ha ha ha!” Honey pounded her fists against his rippling muscles, but it was a futile effort. She tried countering his tickling with some of her own, but Plow had anticipated that and readjusted his grip to hold her arms to her side. “Stop it! Ha ha ha! Yer gonna make me pee!”

“You’d better not,” warned a soft, almost squeaky voice from the front porch.

“Jona. Help! Plow’s holdin’ me hostage!” Honey cried even as her legs continued to helplessly flail. At least she was no longer being tickled.

“Plow. What have we said about takin’ mares hostage?” Jonagold asked like she was admonishing a foal. She was short, especially for an earth pony, but also on the stocky side. Her body was thick with muscle, which made her weigh about twice what most expected. Her gold and amber mane was done up in pigtails and tied off with red ribbons. Another ribbon was tied at the end of her tail. Jona’s fur was a light yellow and her flanks were adorned with a large red and yellow apple with a slice removed.

Big Plow turned around with measured slowness until Honey’s back was turned to their lead mare. “Ta run all negations through you?” he offered, sounding like a foal trying to get out of trouble.

Jona had crossed her arms and was tapping her hoof expectantly. “And did you?”

Plow slumped his shoulders and hung his head in shame. It would have been quite convincing, were it not for his ears remaining perfectly straight. “No ma’am. Ah’m sorry.”

Honey continued to kick and struggle. Her anxiety at the potential loss of her new swag was growing by the second as she continued to pull herself free from the stallion’s grip.

Jona adopted a more relaxed posture and smiled. “Well so long as you know what you did wrong.” She and Plow shared a smile. “Now hurry and bring that stuff in. Dinner’s almost done.”

With an affirming “E’yup,” the big stallion hefted Honey up and threw her over his shoulder. He held one arm around her upper legs to hold her in place, even as her skirt rode up and exposed everything underneath. Honey cried, struggled, and kicked even harder at the indignity foisted upon her, but the expression on Plow’s face showed he had no fucks to give as he carried out his chore. With his other hand he stabbed through the holes in Honey’s bags and lifted them all up with his forearm.

Even though Honey had calmed now that her bags were being carried, she continued to kick. It was expected at this point and to do otherwise would be rude. As she looked down, a mischievous smirk crossed the mare’s lips and she started tiptoeing her fingers down his spine. “Ya know, It’s a good thing ya’ll are behavin’ now. ‘Cause ya jus’ left yerself open in a big way.” Her fingers came to a stop less than an inch from his tail. She felt the big stallion’s body tense against her, but she knew his face would remain as stoic as ever.

“Ah take it ya’ll had fun.” His voice was as casual as possible. He didn’t want to let on how nervous he was about having his tail pulled in public. Ponies might see.

“Ah’ll spill at dinner. Jona’ll want ta know and Ah don’t care fer tellin’ the same story three times tonight.”

“Three?”

“Jus’ move that cute butt o’ yours before Ah start gettin’ ideas!”

Plow didn’t need to be told twice and his strides hit double time. He was moving so fast that Honey, in a lapse of judgement, clung more tightly to his back in an irrational fear of falling off and being sent flying; as if Plow’s grip could ever be so feeble. Plow hurried inside, up the stairs, and dropped the swag in what he and Jona were too polite to call Honey’s mare cave. He then spun Honey around and planted her dizzy hooves on the floor. It was the only way he’d feel safe turning his back on her at the moment.

“Jona’s makin’ lasagna,” he said, enunciating the ‘g’.

Honey tumbled a bit and grabbed a desk to steady herself. “Ah smell it.” Her nostrils flared as she took in the succulent odor of her herd mate’s cooking. “She usin’ garlic?”

Plow nodded and licked his lips in anticipation.

Honey beamed back. “Ah’ll be down in five!”

Again Plow nodded. However, he remained facing Honey as he took several steps backward. He didn’t turn away until after he’d reached the stairs. Then he’d hurried down like a foal on Hearth’s Warming.

Honey smiled and laughed at her stallion’s shenanigans. They were absolutely warranted as she would have most definitely tried something if the opportunity had presented itself. However, he had long ago grown wise to her wiles, which made such opportunities scarce in recent times. Oh well. Honey quickly kicked it into gear and undid the various clasps and knots of her dress. While she’d have preferred some help for this part, she was wary about what would happen if Plow or Jona were exposed to her sweaty, smelly body in such a confined place.

Dinner might get cold, and that was downright inexcusable.

As such, she quickly slipped the dress onto a rack before spraying it and herself with a healthy dose of deodorant. It would keep her smell at bay long enough to get through dinner… hopefully. Now naked and smelling like she hadn’t been shoved in a hot box with several hundred ponies for the last few hours, she paused in front of a mirror to quickly comb through her mane. After which, she spied her bags of swag and decided she had just enough time to, as her sire would say, put up her toys before dinner.

Shelves filled with comics covered about half a wall. Her new books were filed away in accordance with a very intricate and complex sorting system she had invented herself. The new Fable Mable books went on the shelves with the Fable Mable stickers, and the Justice Society books were put on an empty shelf, which she vowed to mark with Justice Society stickers at a later time. The rest of the room was dedicated to tables and stands for her numerous figurines. With her recent income as a harem applicant, she’d been able to afford glass stands for her most prized collectables. The rest of her merch was divided up among the tables in accordance to franchise, era, alignment, and several other categories few ponies had the patience to listen to.

When everything was set nice and neat, Honey gave the room one last look as she smiled in contentment. These were her treasures. When she had been little, her collection was small and often a source of teasing from her peers. Jona and Plow, while not fully understanding her fascination with comics and related memorabilia, had been quite supportive of her hobby, so long as she kept her spending under control, which was made simple by Jona enacting her privilege as lead mare and granted Honey and Plow a strict allowance for buying ‘miscellaneous items.’

The same went for Plow, who collected singing bobble heads.

“Five!” Jona called from down stairs. “Foooour!”

Honey’s pupils shrunk down to pin pricks. She spun around and put her homegrown Apple legs to good work as she tore down the hall, slid down the stair railing, and booked it for the dining room.

“Threeeee!” Jona called again. She had just given Plow his first serving, of which there would no doubt be many to follow, and was taking her time in scooping out Honey’s. “Twooooo!”

“Here!” Honey screamed. The legs of the chair scratched against the floor as she pulled it out and threw herself into her seat. She sat up, patted a few places where her fur had been disheveled, and gave her biggest, brightest smile to the expectant looking yellow mare.

“One.” With a swift swipe of her spatula, Jona had deposited Honey’s first serving onto her plate. “Cutting it close,” she said as she set the tray with the lasagna in the middle of the table for anypony to reach when they were hungry, right next to the pitcher. The table was set neatly with nice plates, new silverware, and refreshingly tall glasses of some refreshingly cool ice water. Jona then took her place at the head of the table, sitting down with a contented sigh.

“Ah made it, didn’t Ah? That’s all that matters.”

“Jus’ try not ta cut it so close next time,” advised Jona. “Ah’d hate ta send ya out ta have dinner in the chicken coop.”

Honey chuckled and nodded her head. “Yes ma’am.” They were all from a farming town, so the simple fact that none of them had ever actually owned a chicken coop had never been a hindrance to this particular threat. Apples were a simple folk who knew how to make do with what they had.

Once everypony was settled, they all bowed their heads to say grace. They paid their respects to Faust, thanking her for the blessing of alicorns that made their world so peaceful and prosperous. They prayed to Virgo, the first legend and patron saint of the earth ponies, said to have taught them the ways of earth magic. Lastly, they offered thanks to the alicorns, wishing their Princesses good health and eternal wisdom.

“Think we should start prayin’ fer some o’ that wisdom ta go ta the ponies in Parliament?” asked Honey after the prayer’s conclusion. “Ah reckon everypony could do with a little more sense.”

Jona gave a grin as she stirred her lasagna portion. “Ah don’t know. Seem like there’s a purty big difference between prayin’ an’ wishful thinkin’.”

“E’yup,” agreed Plow before taking his first bite.

Honey gave a shrug. “Fair point.” She dipped her fork in her portion and scooped out almost too much for even a mouthful. Regardless, she managed to shovel it in and gave a long, happy moan at the flavor.

Jona beamed, always happy to hear her work appreciated. “I tried a new sauce from the farmer’s market. Should I buy more for next time?” Her herd, given that their mouths were full to the brim, responded with urgent nods. “Glad to hear it.”

“So. You guys do anythin’ interestin’ while Ah was out?” Honey asked, immediately following her question with another mouthful.

“Nothin’ much,” said Jona. “Our shift finished up early, so we spent the rest o’ the night runin’ some errands, did a bit o’ cleanin’; jus’ a catchup day fer the chores we’ve been draggin’ our hooves on.”

Honey swallowed. “Sounds relaxin’. An’ the fun kind o’ relaxin’, too; not the kind where ya just lay around all night ‘n’ get antsy with the need ta jus’ do somethin’.”

“E’yup,” affirmed Plow.

“As opposed ta tonight, where Ah was able ta keep on mah hooves almost the entire time, ‘cept fer lunch.”

“If Ah didn’t know better, Ah’d think you actually did somethin’ productive,” said Jona with a playful smirk.

Honey shot the smaller mare a raspberry. “If Ah’m bringin’ home the bits, it counts as work, right Plow?”

Plow gave this question a bit of thought before he answered. “E’yup.”

“Well, have ya at least plowed the perky plump posterior of the Princess, yet?”

Honey gave Jona a long, deadpan stare. “Ya’ll think that, if Ah managed ta live out the not-so-secret fantasy o’ everypony alive after puberty, Ah’d be able ta shut up about it?”

“E’nope,” Plow said in such a way that made Jona feel somewhat castigated for not anticipating the obvious.

“Yeah. Ah deserved that.” She hung her head and her ears briefly splayed in apology.

“Anyway, Ink Con was great,” cheered Honey. “Biggest Ah’ve ever seen with ponies dressed as things even Ah couldn’t recognize.”

Jona snorted and gave a smirk. “Nightmare Night come early this year?”

“Like ya’ll wouldn’t believe,” Honey said. “But the best part was the guys, Luna an’ the harem.”

“Thomas, too?” Plow asked.

Honey gave her stallion a playful smirk. She knew he’d been curious about the human from the moment she’d mentioned him. “Yeah.”

Plow’s ears pivoted forward in a show of rapt attention. “As?”

“You wouldn’a recognized ‘im if ya saw ‘im.” Honey shoveled another forkful into her mouth and chewed quickly. “He was in a glamour that made him look like a skinny, sand colored, earth stallion.”

Plow’s face remained neutral, but his ears twitched downwards in a show of disappointment.

“Ya’ll know he’s bent, right? Only got eyes fer mares,” reminded Honey. She downed the rest of her ice water.

Plow shrugged. Everypony was allowed to fantasize.

“Ah’m jus’ sayin’ this so ya don’t go scarin’ him if Ah bring ‘im over.”

It was Jona’s turn to pivot her ears forward. She said nothing, but the look she gave Honey was anxious and expectant.

Honey served herself another portion of lasagna and filled her glass with water from the pitcher. “‘Member that potluck Ah told ya’ll about a few nights back? Well, Ah’ve been thinkin’ it over, and it really sounds like a fun way fer ya’ll ta meet everypony.”

Jona perked up in excitement. She wasn’t one of those fancy pants socialites who felt the need to attend fancy parties just to be seen attending. However, the idea of hosting a dinner for a Princess, even an informal get-together, moved the small mare in ways she hadn’t expected. However, this glint of social climbing was short lived and quickly subsided into caution. “Wouldn’t that be a little arrogant? Ah’m still a little fuzzy on the two herds thing, but it seems like ya should only invite the rest o’ the family over once everypony’s sure things are serious.”

“E’yup,” agreed Plow, sounding more hopefully optimistic than cautious.

“Ah can talk it out with somepony tomorrow. Silver really seems ta know what she’s doin’, but Thomas’d probably be the easiest ta convince. Either way, Ah’m feelin’ really confident ‘bout this,” Honey informed. Her eyes were pleading for Jona’s permission. “Ah really like these guys. Surprise is a barrel o’ laughs an’ jus’ the most generous mare Ah’ve ever met. Silver’s the short, scrappy type,” she said and gestured at Jona, making the small mare laugh, “but she’s sharp as a needle ‘n’ knows how ta take charge. Moonlight’s jus’ super fun ta talk to. She’s a unicorn, but really comes off as a good ol’ fashioned workin’ mare, always there ta do her duty and watch out fer her stallion.”

Plow cleared his throat. His face was pointed down at the plate as he ate, but his ears were focused exclusively on his green herd mare.

Honey grinned. “Thomas is jus’ the cutest little sweetheart Ah’ve ever met. He’s got a bit ‘f a cynical side and some purty big confidence issues, but he’s also super thoughtful. Even if he don’t know how, like Surprise somehow does, Ah get the feelin’ the reason he’s so quiet is ‘cause he’s busy thinkin’ about how to help everypony around him. An’ once ya finally do get ‘im talkin’,” she giggled, “the stuff that comes out o’ his mouth’ll leave ya in happy and sad tears.”

Plow shifted in his seat. The mares didn’t need to ask why. They could smell it.

“And the big mare on top?” Jona asked. “Ah know ya said a lot o’ this is s’pposed ta be all hush-hush, but come on.”

Honey nodded. Her lead mare made a convincing argument. “If’n Ah told ya jus’ how she looks when the dress ‘n’ crown comes off, ya’d probably mess yer chair,” she began, only half joking. She poked idly at her food as she gazed off at nothing in particular. “She’s… She’s jus’ great. She’s really nice, but can be scary when she wants ta be. She’s kinda like Thomas with her stories. Once ya get ‘er goin’, she’s jus’ got this… way about her that makes me feel like Ah can listen fer hours. An’ then there’s…” Honey trailed off. This next part was a little a lot personal, and it took her a bit of time to decide if sharing with her herd was a violation of the trust she’d been shown.

Her herd waited in patient silence. They could tell Honey was in deep thought over something that was clearly important and didn’t want to disturb her.

Eventually, Honey made her decision. “She usually hides it pretty well, but she’s still not all better after the Nightmare Moon stuff. Usually she’s smilin’, but sometimes it ain’t real. Sometimes it’s like she’s jus’ wearin’ a mask, ‘n’ sometimes it slips.”

Both Jona and Plow flinched at Honey’s admission. All three of them had been raised in traditional households in which it was something of a taboo to speak ill of the alicorns. Jona’s earlier comment about perky posteriors had been harmless, even if it did lack for tact. However, Honey’s admission of Luna’s weakness had left the members of her herd feeling uncomfortable, which in turn also made her uncomfortable.

The alicorns were praised as saints and saviors. Old churches still stood, and even some new ones had been built, for ponies to congregate and offer prayers to the ageless and ever-present beauties. However, not everypony worshipped, and not everypony worshipped the same. These days, many ponies viewed the alicorns as little more than uber powerful unicorns who could fly, but there were just as many who still held on to the old ways. Bat ponies in Nocternia made weekly visits to one of the last standing churches to Luna, while, where Honey was born, it was more of an unspoken rule to always pay one’s respects to the most important ponies to have ever lived.

Honey knew this. She knew that the words coming out of her mouth were bordering on sacrilege, yet still felt the need to continue. “Tonight, while we were takin’ the carriage to the place,” she breathed to steady herself, “Luna’s mask slipped.”

Honey’s herd mates flinched back as if physically struck.

“She don’t like when other ponies treat her with foal gloves, but it’s still hard fer her sometimes. Tonight, she had a moment, an’ Ah jus’ felt so happy!” Honey confessed. “It was short, but it was a moment Ah actually got ta see. Ah know it sounds selfish, but it jus’ made me feel so special how she trusted me even that little glimpse. It was kinda like that moment we had after that big storm back in Baltimare,” Honey reminded. Her ears were hot and her eyes were starting to water. “The storm took almost everythin’ an’ everypony was devastated. Fer a while, it looked like all was lost. An’ then, fer no real reason at all, ponies started comin’ together.”

Plow and Jona also became a bit emotional as they returned to that memory.

“Things was bad, but the one thing the storm didn’t take from us was each other, our family. We pulled through the bad times an’ became stronger fer it,” Honey continued. “That was what it felt like back in the carriage. It was such a little thing, but it really moved me. Ah didn’t understand it at the time, but now I’m thinkin’ it made me want ta be there forever so Ah could hold her just like we did tonight. Ah wanted ta share in those moments with her,” Honey stood and walked around to stand between Jona and Plow, where upon she grabbed both her herd mates’ hands and gave them a squeeze, “jus’ like Ah want to spend mah moments with ya’ll.”

Plow and Jona returned Honey’s grip with tighter squeezes. It was how they’d been taught to show affection. They stared at one another, misty-eyed in their reminiscing. The Apples were an old fashioned bunch with an old fashioned way of doing things. In the Apple houses in which each of them had been raised, they’d been taught the importance of making time to reaffirm your love with your herd. No big, expensive gestures were needed. All one had to do was take a couple minutes out of each and every day, and do something plain and simple to let your love know how much you cared.

Jona was the first to break the silence. “Ah’m assumin’ ya’ll’ve put some thought into this.”

Honey grinned from ear to ear. “Luna’s got guards who follow her around wherever she goes.” She paused and looked around their house. It was bigger than what they’d had back in Baltimare, but… “Ah don’t think we’ve got space enough fer a bunch o’ guards. An’ Ah know you’d get mighty sore if’n a bunch o’ ponies had ta stand outside while we all enjoyed a nice, hot meal,” she said to Jona.

The small mare nodded. If that happened, she’d inevitably demand that everypony come inside and share her hearth. The air still had the lingering chill of winter. Jona didn’t know how many guards there would be, but she reasoned that somepony as important as an alicorn Princess would have more than could comfortably fit in her house. Not only would that be a complete breakdown of the decorum, but there was the very real possibility that she’d encounter a pony staunch in military protocol who’d refuse her hospitality. Things would just go downhill from there.

“So Ah was thinkin’ mah room up at the castle would work,” Honey continued. “It’s big enough an’ Ah could talk ta the chefs about borrowin’ some o’ their wares.”

Jona clucked her tongue. “Ya still need ta ask.”

“E’yup.”

Honey beamed and wrapped her arms around both ponies’, pulling them into an almost choking embrace. Their answers had been as good as any ‘yes’ and it was only a matter of time before she could introduce her treasured loved ones to her other treasured loved ones.

The idea of the potluck has been swimming around my head for some months and it’s been a struggle figuring out how I wanted to execute the plan. As usual, I began this chapter with a simple premise of Honey coming home to dinner with her family, and things just snowballed from there. Writing this required going back to the previous chapter to talk about Honey’s emotions regarding Luna showing weakness.

This was also where I started playing with the idea of alicorns playing more of a role in pony religion. I’ve grown enamored stories from the Weedverse and its depiction of faith is of particular fascination for me. It’s logical that ponies would pray to the alicorns, especially given how they showed up in a time of strife and banished a great enemy. Now it’s a balance the characters strive to maintain, being leaders worthy of being followed while exposing just enough flaws to keep themselves relatable. And, while it’s not a thing I plan on making a prominent feature in my story, it’s still a thing I want to be there in the background, informing a little on character motivations.
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