“I don't know if we should be doing this, Twilight.”

“Oh, he's probably already awake by now. The only one I'm confident isn't awake is Spike, and that's because of him overeating ice cream without my permission again.”

Is that Twilight? Huh? What time is it? I hear voices holding a conversation in this bedroom yet again, and I can’t say that’s a good sign for me.

“But it would be rude to wake him up like that. I don't want him to yell at me.”

“Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'll handle him.”

'Fluttershy?' Okay, what's going on now? I don't even get a chance to open my eyes when I feel a flowing tingling sensation roll over my entire body, signifying that I'm being held in a magical grip again. If Twilight's in the room, I can assume it's her doing.

Under the strong grip, I'm shaken in place; my head hitting the pillow a few times before being forcefully sat up in bed. I feel pressed lightly against the bed frame and open my eyes to see my not-so-subtle aggressor staring at me with a bright smile.

“Marcus! Good to see you're awake.”

Twilight speaks in a gentle voice, but it feels more ridiculing to me. I utter a groan and glance to my side, looking out the window. Clearly, I’m not used to waking up before sunrise. When I turn back, I notice that Twilight's not alone with me in the room, as a pale yellow pony with light rosy pink hair is peering out from behind her.

First, Twilight hops in bed with me and practically forces herself on me, and now she's bringing others in here? Fantastic. Taking the initiative to at least greet the foreign intruder, seeing as she poses no harm hiding like that, I speak up semi-nervously

“Uhh, Hello. Are you alright?”

I hear a faint “meep” sort of sound come from her and she disappears behind Twilight yet again. Twilight's horn glows and I see the same pony being levitated in front of me, only this time much closer than before. She lands on my bed, where she sits fairly uncomfortably, and tries to hold a glance at me for more than a second while Twilight speaks up for her

“Marcus, this is Fluttershy. Fluttershy, this is Marcus.”

“H- Hello.”

The soft voice and cute appearance catch me off-guard for a moment. Her name must fit her personality well, from what I can see. Still, this early morning introduction isn’t too pleasant to my tired eyes, and I see fit to ask

“Why are you introducing us now, Twilight? It's kind of...really early.”

Twilight's look of annoyance on her face changes to accommodate a sly, foreboding smile that crosses her lips. She speaks up and walks a bit closer to the bed before hopping on and sitting next to Fluttershy at the edge. She looks up at me with a mischievous grin and I can already tell that she’s going to cause trouble.

“I think you know why I'm here, Marcus. I believe it's something you get in the morning that I can assist you with.”

Ugh, not this again. Alright, time to man up. “No” is easier to say than to sit here feeling sorry for myself. This time, making sure I let her know that I can't handle this right now, I raise my voice and respond defiantly

“Stop. Twilight, this really isn't right. I don't want to let you do...that to me again.”

“Oh, really? Because I think you're sending off a different message with that.”

She points to my bold erection straining to break free from the restraints of my briefs, and I unconsciously feel it twitch as my body sends blood flowing to it, mocking me by proving her point. Curse you, bodily functions.

Fluttershy thankfully ignores where Twilight points to and still struggles to even look me in the eyes. Although, when she accomplishes the difficult feat, she blushes a deep shade of red the entire time. At least she can tell how humiliating this situation is for the both of us.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I'm not going to do anything, Marcus. I brought my friend Fluttershy here for a little experiment.”

Twilight rests her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, causing her to jump a little as Twilight brings full attention to her, something I can tell she doesn't like. What I don’t like is the mention of the word “experiment,” which flew off Twilight's lips as if she's intentionally trying to make me curious. Of course, I take the bait and ask her

“What kind of 'experiment?'”

Seemingly bursting with pride and very matter-of-factly, Twilight answers me while removing her hoof from Fluttershy’s tensed up shoulder

“Well, you see, last night while you were out, I realized that since I had already seen the effects of my hooves and my mouth on your impressive thing (Nice terminology there, Twilight.), I wanted to see how it would react to a decent pair of wings. But I'm a Unicorn, and my magic can't provide me with wings for more than a few seconds. So, I figured that I would recruit my good friend Fluttershy!”

Wings? She has wi- HOLY SHIT! As soon as I think that, I see Twilight nudge Fluttershy's side with her other hoof and her wings pop out immediately like bread from a toaster. Immediately, I can see that they're stiff and spread to their full extent, reminding me of a peacock’s tail feathers, flared up to scare away a predator like that. For her, it seems more akin to a physical response instead of a psychological “I'm in danger” sense that other flying mammals have. As impressive as her wings are, I don't have a very good feeling about what Twilight plans to do with them.

“Just let me observe; that's all I'm asking.”

Fluttershy and I look at Twilight with strong concern on our faces as if she's gone crazy. Neither of us wants to make a move; we hardly know each other to do so anyway. A look of never-ending annoyance washes back over Twilight's face and she groans once more, this time raising her voice to us

“Ugh, do I have to do everything myself!?”

Without another word, I see her horn glowing and feel the tingling sensation that comes with it overtake my lower half, this time directed at my briefs. Looks like she's trying this again...yeah, well not this time! Relying on my reserve of willpower, I reach down for my waistband and hold it up to keep Twilight from pulling them down with her magic, speaking in a serious, no-nonsense tone

“I...said...NO.”

Strangely, I hear Celestia's voice echoing her words in my head.

“Humans are susceptible to magic” and it seems to foreshadow Twilight's effortless feat of using her magic to also hold my hands behind my back while sitting up against the bed frame.

I just can't win, can I?

I fight against her hold, but it’s a futile effort as the magic grips me tightly and prevents any real movement. Once again, I feel my briefs being lowered from my waist as Twilight speaks up

“Now pay attention, Fluttershy. It's kind of shocking when you see it for the first time.”

I throw Twilight an angry glare for a moment before switching my gaze to Fluttershy, only to see she's completely blocked her eyes from view behind her hooves. My hardness springs into the air and I spot Twilight gazing wantonly at it yet again (one of those odd behaviors that's more common in her than it is anyone else, and, honestly, it creeps me out a little bit). Twilight turns to her side to find Fluttershy ignoring her big reveal and barely eking out

“I- I don't wanna see it, Twilight.”

“What!?”

Oh...Huh, well, I guess some ponies, even while shy, can still be adamant enough to refuse Twilight's efforts to force her into this. Her wings fold back to hug against her sides, showing a more curvy body than I imagined for a girl like her.

Guh, Pony. Damn it. Gotta be rational.

Twilight tries to reason with her (or at least try to justify her actions and get Fluttershy to give in, which seems like it'd be fruitless for someone so...well, for lack of a better term, shy.) and eagerly calls to attention my member, pointing directly at it and saying

“Come on, Fluttershy, it's right there! I can feel how hot it is from over here! Can't you open your eyes a teensy bit?”

I think that's just you overreacting again, Twilight. Fluttershy, seemingly determined enough to shake her head “No” furiously while still covering her eyes, ends up with her back turned to me and responding

“I don't want to look at it, and you can't make me.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. Twilight lost this round, and hopefully she’ll let me go so I can go back to sleep with my inhibitions intact. I'm starting to think that living with her might not be the best of ideas if she keeps trying to wake me up like this. Unfortunately, I see Twilight tapping her chin in a thinking pose, knowing full-well that she must be trying to think of how to turn this situation in her favor.

After a few seconds of my fleeting hope, I see Twilight's face light up, as if a light bulb had turned on over her head. Once again, she slyly uses her magic to scooch Fluttershy closer to me on the bed. Although, with her back turned to me and her sitting in such a fearful, hunched over position, I doubt she can do much. Twilight then speaks proudly, and I can hear the smirk crossing her face as she does so

“Just a simple setback. It'd be easier for you to use your wings with your back to him, after all.”

Are you kidding me!? Twilight is so determined that it's freaking me out more and more as the seconds pass. Twilight drapes her hooves over Fluttershy’s shoulders and holds herself a short distance away from Fluttershy, seemingly with the intention of talking her through this and encouraging her to indulge herself.

“Now, just stay focused on me, and spread your wings out right where they are.”

Reluctantly, I see Fluttershy move her hooves away from her eyes, only being replaced by Twilight's attempt at a comforting smile. Her hooves keep Fluttershy's shoulders in place so she can't do much to turn and have a look for herself, if she even wants to. I see Twilight peering over, however, staring at her wings as they start to spread out in front of me.

Almost too slowly, they reach out and one of her feathers delicately brushes against my tip. This causes her to jolt back and her wings to retract into their original positions, obviously a little surprised at the contact. Twilight attempts to cheer her on into another try, from what I can hear, as she shakes Fluttershy's shoulders ecstatically and says

“That's right, Fluttershy. He's nice and hard, sitting there just for you. Go ahead, try again. This time get a good feel for it.”

Luckily, I didn't feel much from the small brush from before. However, as her wings spread out once again, I feel them linger for a bit longer, one of them holding against my shaft and cautiously feeling up and down. Needless to say, her exploring proves to be an entirely new sensation; the softness of her wings near-driving me wild. As new and nice as this feeling may be, it's not particularly arousing. I mean, I'm only reacting because I'm already hard, and it's just Twilight taking advantage of me again.

“It is kind of...hot.”

Seemingly finding some courage, Fluttershy's wings seem to move perfectly of their own accord and brush against me with more purpose. They're almost like hands, flexing gently and feeling up my shaft curiously. It doesn't feel...that good. No big deal, I can handle this. As she continues exploring with her gentle feathers with great hesitation, I can see her back shuddering near-constantly as she does so. Even though she's doing this, I doubt she likes it. Almost disproving my point, however, I hear weak sounds come from her and I wish I could at least see her face to see if she's alright. This is getting increasingly less awkward and more worrisome for me.

“Does...Does this feel good?”

I only squirm in response as she practically assaults me with tenderness. When compared to Twilight's enthusiasm from yesterday, though, this is nothing. I can tell Fluttershy is embarrassed and luckily I can withstand this kind of gentle prodding. I'm not mad at her, after all, I'm mad at Twilight, still holding me down with magic and continuing to urge on Fluttershy

“Good! He's reacting just like I thought he would. Keep it up, Fluttershy!”

She seems to take Twilight's cheers and moves on, now holding my rod between both her wings and stroking smoothly. Okay, this may be a bit much. The softness of her feathers caressing me is starting to become unbearable and after a few seconds she manages to grip it with her wings. This sends an uncomfortable jolt of pleasure through me, rising up through my spine and causes me to groan slightly, which she hears and retracts her wings again in strong surprise.

Only this time, instead of continuing her efforts or giving herself a pep talk, Fluttershy immediately leaps off the bed and looks back at Twilight and I while covering her view of my nudity

“I just can't do it, Twilight! I'm sorry, Marcus.”

Heh, she's actually doing me a favor. With that, she dashes out the door with her face blushing wildly all the while. Twilight turns around to call back to her unsuccessfully

“Wait! Fluttershy, come back! You didn't finish him off!”

As Twilight's attention shifts to Fluttershy when she leaves, however, I notice Twilight accidentally lets go of her magical grip on me, allowing me to pull up my briefs and stand up next to her. I loom over her with an angry stare and she cowers beneath me, obviously sensing my displeasure at her actions. In a quiet, yet clearly annoyed tone, I say

“Twilight...We need to talk.”

“I've honestly had enough of this, Twilight.”

I sit down next to her at the same table where we ate yesterday, not feeling very hungry myself, but Twilight pours herself a cup of coffee to take a sip before asking

“What do you mean? I'm only helping you, aren't I?”

I groan and try to maintain a neutral voice as I disagree, demanding her attention with a stare

“No, you're not. Doing these kinds of things without my consent is just sick! And what's worse, you bring over some pony I've never even met and practically force her into doing something like...that! I mean, did you see her back there? She was terrified.”

Twilight's face becomes a bit downtrodden as she listens, starting to take in the seriousness of what she did as I explain to her. After seeing Fluttershy run out like that, I've got to make it a point to apologize to her. Nobody should have been forced into doing that, especially not on someone they didn't know.

“I'm sorry, Marcus. I didn't know it bothered you so much.”

“Well, of course it does! I'm not a guinea pig, Twilight. You can't do things like that to me while I'm living here from now on, do you understand?”

She looks up at me with pleading eyes and tries to differ, fighting against my raised voice

“I said I was sorry! I couldn't help myself. I got curious and you weren't around to answer any questions I had!”

“It doesn't matter. Promise me, right now, that you won't wake me up like that ever again....and while you're at it, not so early.”

She sighs, but after a few moments of hesitance, Twilight thankfully accedes to my demand and gives a small nod to follow it

“I promise.”

“Good. I'm going to get back to sleep. Wake me back up in a few hours, okay?”

“Okay.”

I stand up from my seat and walk past Twilight, fully intending to get back to the (not very cozy, considering recent events) bed that I should have been asleep in. From behind me, I hear a surprised gasp escape Twilight before she quickly asks

“Marcus, what is that!?”

“Huh? What's what?” I ask, curious as to what she's talking about, naturally.

“On your back!”

I turn in place as best as I can to see, but all I see is the back of my shoulders. Noticing my failure to see for myself, Twilight levitates a mirror into my hand and another one behind me, leading me to hold the mirror parallel to the other to catch the reflection.

What the hell!? It's one of those marks that ponies have! But it's not just any mark, It's-

“Why do you have Rarity's cutie mark on your back!?”

I feel behind me to check if it's not just some lame sticker or something, and indeed it's not. Like a tattoo, it's etched onto my skin with no way of removing it with my bare hands. Without a real answer, I drop the mirror and turn to tell Twilight the first thought that enters my head, as it would anyone who wakes up to find a mark on their back (especially those with hangovers).

“I have no idea! How did I get this!?”

In a fit of confusion herself, Twilight releases her own mirror and starts pacing around the room, muttering to herself.

“This is really strange. We usually get our cutie marks when we find our special talents, and everypony's is different. You shouldn't have the same mark as somepony else.”

I remember hearing about this when Sweetie Belle went on and on about it yesterday. The real doozy is that I certainly didn't find my 'special talent' last night. I'm no sex god, and if I am, my mark would be something far more inappropriate than this. I snicker inwardly at the possibilities before Twilight snaps me back to reality with a question.

“What exactly happened when you went to see Rarity yesterday?”

Aww crap. What should I tell her? Quick thinking, Marcus. Lying is only gonna come back to bite me, but then again...I don't have to tell her the whole truth.

“I walked in, Rarity took some measurements, and then I left my clothes there for her to make some new ones.”

Perfect. I didn't allude to anything and I was clear and concise. Nice work, Marcus.

“Is that everything you did?”

Damn it, Twilight. Well, I can't blame her for being smart and asking the right questions, but it can be troublesome for me, that's for sure. I breathe out a sigh of defeat and say

“No. I kind of ended up in bed with her.”

Twilight's face flushed a deep red as she catches my meaning and asks to specify, seemingly in utter disbelief

“You mean, you and Rarity...”

While she speaks, she brings her forehooves up to her face and slowly presses them against each other, making a 'clop' sound. I get the gesture, it's just much less effective with hooves. I nod, confirming the truth once more before she continues speaking

“Wow...But that doesn't explain why her cutie mark is on your back. I'll have to do some more studying on this.”

“Somehow, I don't think 'Your Human and YOU' is going to be of much help here.”

Twilight pouts in a manner I find kind of adorable and quickly counters

“I have more than one book, you know! Although, now that you mention it, I haven't seen that one since yesterday.”

Curious, she takes a look around her, checking the floors and countertops of her kitchen in search of the lost book. Unfortunately for her, I don't think she's going to find it amongst the rest of her books. In an effort to change the topic, I call her attention back as I speak

“Still, I should go talk to Rarity. Something might've happened to her, too, for all we know.”

She nods in agreement to me and then refocuses her attention on the bookshelves in the other room, searching for the other books she has. I'm fully awake by this point, and decide it's best to go now rather than later. Before I begin my relatively short trip to the front door, I hear a knock emanate from it. Who could that be at this hour?

Once I reach the door and open it, I find Sweetie Belle yawning and rubbing her eyes, clearly too tired to be awake this early. She looks up at me uncertainly, as if she's wondering why she came here before I speak up

“Can I help you?”

“Uhm, yeah. My sister wants you to come pick up your order.”

Oh, right...Oh shit.

In through the nose, out through the mouth. Come on man, breathe! You've been here before, just remain calm.

Like before, I find myself standing in front of the Carousel Boutique. Only this time, I'm a lot more hesitant to enter than I was yesterday. What is she going to say? She somehow finished making clothes for me and I repay her by abandoning her in the dark showing my face back here in less than a day. Hell, I would hate me. Sweetie Belle notices my awkward silence and chirps up to break it

“Are you going to knock?”

“Yeah, of course. I was just...never mind.”

Gathering my courage, I raise my hand up hesitantly and then rap my knuckles on the top half of the stable door. Right away, I hear a voice call out

“Who is it!?”

I can tell that it's Rarity's voice, but I can also tell that she sounds incredibly annoyed. My voice catches in my throat, definitely intimidated, before I respond

“It's Marcus.”

More moments of awkward silence pass. The dark purple door creaks open slightly and I see a very disheveled-looking Rarity peek her head out and look towards me. I sense a hint of scorn in her voice (and who can blame her?) as she asks

“What are you doing here?”

Sweetie Belle nudges herself forward and answers for me, noticing her sister's upset mood.

“You asked me to bring him over to pick up his clothes, remember?”

Dejected, she looks away and opens the door to allow us entrance. Entering the boutique for the first time since yesterday, I see that it's in even worse condition than before. Not only are there still garments on the floor, I also see some broken furniture in pieces, as if she threw a big fit overnight. Attempting to break the tension I can feel forming in air, I ask aloud

“So, Sweetie Belle said you made some clothes for me?”

Simple agree or disagree question. I only manage to keep my eyes on her for a second or two before she disappears into her bedroom and calls back to me with her scathing tone

“That's what you wanted, isn't it?”

I close my eyes and sigh deeply. She's mad at me, of course. Maybe it'd be better if I keep my mouth shut for now. I feel something lightweight hit me in the face briefly, knocking me back a bit. Stumbling from the impact, I judge the material now clung over my head to be a small pile of clothes.

I pull them off to find Rarity looking back at me with a seemingly neutral stare in the doorway, clearly waiting for me to say something. Giving the clothes in my arms a quick once-over, I manage to speak up

“They're really nice. You didn't really have to do this, so...”

I continue to make eye contact with her and I spot the bags under her eyes, signaling to me that she must have stayed awake all last night to make these. What can I possibly say right now to not sound like a total asshole?

“...Thanks, Rarity.”

She settles for a half-hearted smile in her response (it looks forced to me, but I hope not) as she assures me unconvincingly.

“It's quite alright, Marcus. I made a promise, and I'm a mare of my word.”

She moves closer to me, still holding eye contact as neither of us speaks. Even though she's smiling as she moves towards her bedroom, I still feel like she's giving me the cold shoulder; especially when she turns away from me.

“I really should get back to work on my other orders.”

“R- Right, right. I should go.”

She looks back to me and nods before turning and walking back into her bedroom. The aura her presence radiated evaporates as she leaves the room and I in complete silence. I feel like I can barely say anything to her right now. Poking at my leg with her very unsubtle curiosity is Sweetie Belle, who whispers up to me

“Aren't you gonna go in there and talk to her?”

I glance down to her and back to Rarity's bedroom before I turn my back to the room and face the exit.

“If I stay here, I'll only be bothering her. I'll just...give her some time alone.”

Maybe if she's distracted by her work she won't be thinking about how much she hates me. I can’t talk to her now; it’s just too soon. I have a feeling I’ll make things worse if I surprise her with her own cutie mark on my back after what happened yesterday. I start walking out the door, leaving Sweetie Belle in quiet disorientation at our sparse interaction back there. Behind me, I hear a nearby sewing machine activate as the door closes.

After a quick visit back to Twilight's place and a change into some new clothes (which I feel guilty for wearing), I find myself once again exploring Ponyville. Instead of looking for a specific destination, however, I'm really only trying to clear my head. My glance is usually on the ground, but sometimes my eyes wander to catch a glimpse of the ponies all around me.

Everything here is so bright and vibrant, and the ponies are no exception. There's one with a brown coat and an hour glass cutie mark. There's one with a purple coat and pink hair… and there's even a pair of donkeys walking together a few meters away.

Hey, who’s that over there? I squint my eyes to get a better look before I hear a voice call out to me from up ahead

“Hi Marcus!”

I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Unsurprisingly, a light bluish-gray Pegasus with crossed-eyes and a gleeful smile appears in front of me. I can’t help but smile in response as I greet her

“Hey Derpy. What’re you up to?”

“I’m going to meet my friend Rainbow Dash at the track field. She told me she’s gonna show some ‘loser’ her flying skills.”

Oh, right. Rainbow Dash. I guess I kind of forgot about her.

“So, what are you doing around here?”

“Not much, just walking around. Still trying to get used to Ponyville, I guess.”

All yesterday I got choked around from one place to the next after visiting Sugarcube Corner, so I think that’s fair of me to say.

“Oh, do you wanna come too?”

Seeing as I have nothing else to do at the moment (and now that I know Dash is expecting me), I acknowledge Derpy’s request and answer nonchalantly

“Sure. Sounds like fun.”

She happily turns around and starts off in a different direction, gesturing a “follow me” motion with her head. I oblige, following after her as she asks me

“Hey Marcus, do you know any ‘losers?”

“None that I’m aware of, Derpy.”

The smell of fresh-cut grass wafts in the air along with a pleasant breeze as Derpy and I arrive at the track field. Currently, Derpy is telling me a story of one of the many escapades of her friend Pinkie Pie.

“-and then she told me that one of them was crawling on the ceiling!”

“Heh, I can see why you’d be hesitant to help babysit after that.”

While I am surprised to hear about twin babies with abilities like that, I don’t think it’s the craziest thing I’ve heard as of yet. That honor goes to pony-human relationship bomb dropped on me two days ago.

I gaze around the track field, but there’s no Rainbow Dash in sight. A single glance upwards, however, reveals a rainbow trail dissipating through the sky and passing by my eyes at an absurd speed. I feel disoriented as I look above for any sign of her, but can’t spot anything other than a blue sky and stationary clouds.

“Decided to show up, did ya?”

Immediately, I recognize the voice to be Rainbow Dash’s; the slight voice crack and cocky attitude gives it away in a heartbeat. Turning to my side, I find none other than the sky blue pony with the messy rainbow-colored mane standing proudly and withdrawing her wings to tightly hug her body.
My attention is drawn to the confident smirk she’s wearing, however.

I open my mouth for a comeback, but Derpy accomplishes a response first, answering the rhetorical question that was directed at me.

“Yup! I wouldn’t miss this for anything!”

I turn to my other side to look at Derpy, and Rainbow Dash peers her head past me to give Derpy a confused look.

“Aaaanyway…”

She trots in front of us both and strikes a pose, clearly with a strong need to impress. With her wings spread wide, she addresses us eagerly.

“I’ve brought you two here to witness my newest and most awesome trick that’s sure to impress the Wonderbolts at tryouts this year. Some of you may already be aware of my amazing skills, and some of you aren’t, but that won’t matter soon.”

I feel tempted to raise my hand like I’m in grade school for permission to ask who the Wonderbolts are, but I decide against it. Rainbow Dash paces back and forth, clearly absorbed in her own speech. I half expect her to call us “maggots” like a drill sergeant would while she looks at me with a sharp glare.

As she goes on describing the steps of her trick, I tune her out a bit and glance to my right to see Derpy’s face brightening more and more into a full-blown smile. Her eyes (still crossed) show a look of wonder, almost as if she’s star-struck by the performance Rainbow is describing.

Interrupting my thoughts, Rainbow roughly jabs my chest with her hoof, bringing my attention back to her face just a few inches away from mine.

“Not too good at paying attention, are you? Just go sit on the stands over there.”

She shoos me away towards a large set of bleachers on the other side of the field. In response, I simply shrug off the insult on my way over while casually responding

"Lookin’ forward to it."

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes and continues talking to Derpy as I take my seat on the front row of the aforementioned bleachers. Watching the two converse, I find my eyes drifting along Dash's body as she frantically describes her routine. Exaggerated gestures and sound effects litter her explanation; it’s rather comical. I can’t help but find it pretty funny to see her so excited like that. My mouth inadvertently cracks a smile at the scene.

For all she’s going through just to hype us up for it, I’m sure she’ll put on quite a show. I don’t think Rainbow Dash would be one to disappoint her audience, much less her friends. I’m just hoping that she’s got better wings than she does a big mouth. Let’s wait and see.

“Isn’t this exciting, Marcus?”

Derpy trots up to me before sitting down next to me on the stands, her rump making an audible “thump” as she does so. I keep my eyes focused on Rainbow Dash, looking as if she’s psyching herself up for her performance.

“Well, I haven’t seen much flying yet, but if she’s as good as she says she is, you can color me impressed.”

“Oh, that sounds fun! I don’t have any crayons, though, so it’ll have to wait.”

Hearing her misinterpret the saying makes me chuckle and reminds me that she might be hanging around Pinkie Pie a bit too much. Then again, her bubbly personality reminds me that they probably have a similar sense of humor.

Once we both have a nice view from the stands, I hear Rainbow address us once more

“You ready? Derpy? What’s-your-name?”

“It’s Marcus!”

I call back to her across the field, feeling only somewhat insulted that she forgot my name. I mean, my name can be considered pretty tame in comparison to names like “Twilight Sparkle” and “Rainbow Dash.”

“Whatever. Here goes nothing!”

Just like that, her back arches a bit and she lowers herself into a position like she’s ready to pounce. Her wings extend fully and push her off the ground, letting her hooves jump off to create a strong lift. Within seconds, she’s spiraling straight up at a ludicrous speed and seems completely lost in her own little world, if her intense facial expression is anything to go by. She circles back into a loop before driving forward and pulling a tight turn in mid-flight.

Along the way, she punches a hole through a nearby cloud and continues on through more clouds, trailing pieces of one to the next. Only after a few seconds more do I find that she has the nearby clouds set up in a wide circle in the sky directly above the track field. As she travels on her loop around, I see the bright rainbow-colored trails she leaves behind starts to thicken in place. The bits of clouds get closer and closer to one another as she makes her turns even tighter, eventually gathering the clouds up into a huge monster of a storm cloud.

I stagger backward in my seat as my eyes widen at the impressive feat. Derpy follows my example, only accompanying the action with an “ooh” of clear captivation. For just a second, I see Rainbow Dash dive down to the ground, leaving the giant cloud spinning wildly in place. She lands gracefully before leaping back up, wind clearly not a deterrent for her, and finally…

This pony is something else.

Bursting through the top of the cloud with pinpoint accuracy, Dash causes it to disperse into hundreds of pieces, each looking like they contain separate bits of her signature color spectrum trail. As she journeys through the air, she does so in a wide arc that…almost looks as if she’s going to crash into the stands! Before I manage to panic, however, Rainbow Dash lands safely, directly in front of us. She whips her hair out of her eyes while breathing heavily and looking at us with a cocky grin. Behind her, a massive rainbow glistens under the sun’s light, and the pieces of cloud dissipate into thin air.

All that’s left on both my face and Derpy’s is sheer amazement. Rainbow, through her unstable breaths, sputters out a question to jokingly mock our stunned expressions

“Not-…guh…Not bad, right?”

“Woo, Rainbow Dash! That was so cool!”

Derpy praises her, ecstatic while clapping her hooves together in excitement. I see her non-bandaged wing sticking out, seemingly caused by her thrilled mood in a way that only pegasi could represent. She then hops off her seat and hugs her friend Dash, jumping up and down victoriously as if they’d won the lottery. All the while, I see the transient rainbow disappearing after a few seconds.

Regaining my sense and practically picking my jaw up off the ground, I speak with a slight stutter without a good enough retort

“Th- That was incredible!”

Rainbow Dash laughs with what little energy she has left after that little flying exhibition back there. As Derpy releases her from a tight hug, I hear a voice call out from a good distance away

“Hey, Derpy! What’re you doin’ out here? I’ve been looking all over for ya!”

We each turn to look towards the source of the somewhat gruff voice. I see a flying stallion with a dark gray coat and short cyan hair styled into what looked like a mohawk approach us by landing nearby and folding his wings back. He seems to be carrying two fairly large bags attached to a saddle that appear to be filled with mail. Once again, another aspect of human society that I thought ponies would’ve overlooked.

“You were supposed to cover my ground route today after I took over your shift in Cloudsdale yesterday.”

Derpy delivers mail? Of all things I could see her doing; I never would have guessed that.

“Oh, right. I didn’t forget, Thunderlane. I’ll take care of it.”

Something tells me she did forget, but that’s not important. Derpy turns back to us while walking over to ‘Thunderlane’ and says

“I have to get going, but it was really nice seeing you both again. I’ll talk to you soon!”

Thunderlane helps her get the saddlebag he was carrying readjusted on her, which actually causes her to fall over with its weight. This elicits a small chuckle from me, but I see Thunderlane take off one of the bags to make it easier for her to carry. She’s probably got a long day ahead of her. Smiling, I wave as she looks back to us and I see Rainbow Dash doing the same.

“Bye Derpy!”
“Thanks for coming out, Derpy! We’ll hang out later!”

As the two pegasi walk away, I find myself left alone with the now-relaxed Rainbow Dash, who takes a seat next to me and lets out a sigh of contentment. Reveling in the now-silent atmosphere, I take this much appreciated chance to calm down a bit.

My eyes wander over to Dash, sitting next to me with her body sprawled out length-wise over two seats in the stands. I can’t help but notice her well-toned and athletic form when she’s laid out like that. Her wings resting at her sides now, she looks fairly relaxed with her forelimbs hanging over the seat behind her and her hind legs spread out. Just like a human would rest on a couch, Rainbow Dash does so here.

She catches me in the act, and I quickly fail at attempting to make it look like I wasn’t ogling her. Upon noticing, however, she chortles lightly at my rushed action and remarks to me

“Impressed, aren’t ya? Hey, I can’t help it if I’m awesome.”

Well, I officially can’t argue with her there. I may not be a big fan of her showboating, but who am I to say she can’t revel in her abilities? Not to mention her looks. As I think to myself, I overhear Rainbow Dash snickering in an attempt to hold back full-blown laughter. Sure enough, I look over to see her holding a hoof to her mouth and she seems ready to burst at any moment. After giving her a confused look as to what it is she finds funny, she wordlessly points a hoof to my lower regions before loudly proclaiming to the empty track field

“You got a boner! Baahahahaha!”

Gah! I quickly lurch forward and cover my fairly noticeable protuberance and try to bring focus away from it. Rainbow Dash topples over on the stand next to me in laughter, clearly enjoying my embarrassing response

“Yeah, so? It’s no big deal!”

Her wings lift her up off the stands as she gets a good look at my face, her cocky grin now widening even further when she appears in front of me. Taunting me mercilessly, even while her voice cracks, she asks

“You got hard looking at me, didn’t you? That’s priceless!”

“No, I didn’t!”

I stand up off the bleachers and casually readjust myself so my erection is less visible, but that doesn’t take away the obvious red on my face. Rainbow faces away from me, as if giving me a slight reprieve from her mocking glare. Only after a moment or so passes of more of her laughter before she ends up mocking me some more

“Don’t sweat it. Plenty of ponies have trouble admitting they have the hots for me. A human, though...that’s a new one.”

She turns her back on me and sways her flank from side to side a few feet away from my face, flashing both her privates and tri-colored lightning bolt cutie mark at me. Knowing I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day, I look somewhere else as she does her little teasing jig in my direction. After deciding she’s had her fun, she waves goodbye back at me while her wings flap and keep her flying steady

“Later, Marcus! See if you can control yourself next time, alright?”

And with that, she takes off in the direction of Ponyville, probably off to showboat some more. Honestly, I don’t know how to feel right now. A mix of stunned, attracted and embarrassed emotions combine into a mess of confusion that makes me think that I should probably just get going and forget this little incident ever occurred.

Time passes, as it always does, and night falls over the peaceful city of Ponyville on my way back to Twilight’s library/home. The sky looks especially beautiful tonight; it’s almost surreal considering where I am. It manages to distract me from my worries as my other activities have so far today.

I checked in with Ponyville’s resident veterinarian after Twilight suggested it and loaned her some books for an attempt at diagnosing my cutie mark problem. I discovered that, while this ‘cutie mark appearing on humans’ thing wasn’t entirely uncommon years ago, the cause for it was never discovered, nor was there a known solution. I can’t say I’m surprised, seeing as most of the books were either severely worn out or even missing pages (Have I mentioned that I don’t trust Princess Celestia?).

As I continue on my not-so-merry way, I spot a figure walking towards me off in the distance. Narrowing my eyes to get a better look, I see rosy pink hair, pale yellow fur, and…wings! That’s Fluttershy! I should say something to her; anything after that dreadful introduction we had this morning. As she nears me, I see the look on her face turn from quiet neutrality to stunned surprise at my appearance and it looks like she’s going to run off at any moment.

In an attempt to keep her from doing so, I stop in my tracks just a few meters away and wave my hand in a greeting gesture, showing her I mean no harm. She seems embarrassed, hiding her face from me behind her hair like a shy little girl would (to be fair, I have no idea how old any pony is here…and that thought kind of bothers me, now that I think about it.).

“Uhh, hi. Fluttershy, was it?”

She nods ever so slightly, whispering a very quiet “yes” in response. I don’t think I’m going to get much out of her if I don’t lead this conversation, so I take the initiative instead.

“Listen, I’m sorry about what happened this morning. I have no idea what’s been going through Twilight’s head lately, and I feel bad that she dragged you up to my bedroom like that.”

As if trying to think of a proper response, she manages to look up at my face warily. All the while, I’m showing a nervous smile as I try to apologize for the overenthusiastic actions of Twilight on her behalf.

“It’s okay. I won’t hold it against you or anything like that.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief upon hearing her forgiveness; good to know that she’s not one to hold a grudge or blame me for someone else’s mistake. Still, I sense that she hasn’t quite gotten over the events as of yet. I take slight comfort in that fact, knowing she was basically in the same boat as I was back then.

“Thank you. Is it alright if I just introduce myself so we can start over? Hi, I’m Marcus.”

I hold out my hand, aimed slightly downward so she could reach it. I’ve been here long enough to assume that this society functions in the same way that a human society would, so…a handshake is still a nice gesture, right?

She takes a second to look at my hand before she extends her own hoof, allowing me to grasp gently and lift it up and then down for a rather tame gesture. Even for being a rough limb, it was rather soft, and her fur only added to that feeling. Looking up at me with a newly-formed and very slight smile, Fluttershy introduces herself with a bit more confidence

“Hi, I’m Fluttershy. It’s nice to meet you.”

Even in what I can assume to be her regular voice, she’s very soft-spoken. Smiling back at her and releasing her hoof, I can say that I’m looking forward to getting to know this pony in the future, if I get the chance.

“Uhm, if you ever need someone to talk to…my friends say I’m a good listener. So, uhm, you can come see me if you want. I-…I should go. Thanks.”

With that, she starts walking fairly quickly past me, and it looks like she goes onto a path that leads pretty far out of Ponyville. That was…odd.

Finally, after a long and only somewhat exhausting day (for a change), I find myself back in the guest bedroom in Twilight’s room. I think it’s best if I get some rest and worry about my situation some other time.

I lay myself in bed and grab the nearby blanket. For some reason, it feels especially cold in here. Paying it no mind, I rest my head on the pillow and clear my mind to enjoy the sweet embrace of sleep.

Unfortunately, only a few seconds later, I can hear a voice talking. It sounds somehow familiar, but I know it isn’t Twilight or Spike’s voice.

“Marcus. We have come to have a word with thou.”

‘Thou?’ I recognize the voice’s manner of speaking to match that other Princess I met two days ago. Princess Luna, that was her name. As I look around the room, however, I see she’s nowhere to be found. I call out in response, asking

“Luna? Where are you?”

“We are communicating with you telepathically. We have many abilities during our time of power; the time when the night cradles Ponyville and all its inhabitants.”

I sit up in bed, addressing the voice as if it were coming from my room, even though I now know it isn't. I suppose I could normally chalk this one up to magic, but her talking to me in my head? That’s a bit strange.

“Indeed. Thou hath only scratched the surface of the magical prowess of Equestria’s rulers.”

Great. So she can read my mind, too.

“Thou art distressed. Please, tell your princess what it is that ails you.”

Other than being constantly bothered by the human-pony relationship thing and a few specific cases, I’m just peachy.

“If it is of any importance, we would like to apologize for our behavior two moons ago. We were not prepared for the stimulus that you caused; be it intentional or not.”

(I manage to sneak a thought about Rarity over by brain before she notices.) Are you speaking for yourself? Or is Celestia going to apologize, too?

“We can ask our sister, but we do not recall her showing any remorse for her actions as of yet. We will have to get back to you on that.”

Figures. Alright Luna, why are you contacting me?

“While our sister has been holding out hope for performing more research on thou, we do not wish for it to continue if you do not wish to be here.”

You don’t?

“Neigh. We have taken it upon ourselves to give you an option before the week is finished. Should thou choose to accept our generous offer, we will send you away from Ponyville, never to return.”

You’re giving me the choice to get out of here now? What will happen?

“The ponies thou hath encountered will remember you, but you will never be able to see them again. Thou may choose to leave Ponyville and escape from the required time here as well as the ponies you have met, or thou may choose to stay for the rest of the week and experience what lies in store. Choose wisely.”

…If I left now, I’d never be able to make things right with Rarity, but if I don’t, I could potentially ruin other ponies lives along the way. All I’ve done is inadvertently cause hardships for them, but even then…it just wouldn’t be right if I left things the way they are.

I have to follow through and make my own decisions, be they hurtful or of pure intention.

Luna, I’m staying in Ponyville for 4 more days. I still haven’t figured out what I need to, and I have unfinished business to take care of. I thank you for what you’ve tried to do for me, and I know that I can rely on you as a friend.

“A…A friend? That’s- Err- Well, thank you, Marcus. We have enjoyed conversing with thou and are looking forward to our next meeting.”

My thoughts exactly.

After a few seconds of no response, I no longer feel the cold air that surrounded me or hear her voice responding to my thoughts. She said what she had to say and left, leaving me with some time to sleep. Before I do so, however, I reach for a piece of parchment and a quill with nearby ink that Twilight has set out for me by my bedside to write dear old Princess Celestia a letter. I’m still not sure of how exactly they get sent, but they’re always gone in the morning anyway.

Dear Princess Celestia,

After another rude awakening by Twilight and a rather unusual introduction to her soft-spoken friend Fluttershy, I finally sat her down and explained that we shouldn’t be participating in those kinds of things if I don’t consent. Which I probably won’t, of course, seeing as how the only thing that taking part in those activities does is complicate relationships and disorient the hell out of me. Later, I found out that Rarity had stayed awake last night to make clothes for me, even after I left her like I did. I suppose it really speaks for her generosity, but all I feel is guilty for what happened. I attempted to cheer myself up, and when a performance by Rainbow Dash seemed to do the trick, I ended up being teased by her for something that most mares seem drawn to (I’ll give you three guesses). At least I didn’t make a total fool of myself, as Fluttershy and Princess Luna can now attest to since I believe I’ve patched things up with them. While it’s difficult for me to say that I’ve learned much or even become a better person so far, I can say that I’ve gotten myself in too deep now to give up on these ponies. I think I’m starting to understand them a little better at least, and that’s all I need to stick around for a few more days.

Signed,

Marcus Rook

Author's Notes:

Original posting date: 6/25/2012

The introduction of Marcus' relationship with Fluttershy as well as Marcus's fluctuating desire to stay in Ponyville.