Standing upon the edge of the lake, Tarnished Teapot looked down into the weedy water. He could see old trees growing in there. This was not a lake he wanted to swim in. It was… icky. No, scratch that, it might’ve reached the actual ‘yuck’ threshold. The last thing he wanted was to end up in slimy, mucky water with weeds that would tug at his legs. It was too gross to think about.

So caught up in his disgust was Tarnish, that he did not see the sneaky earth pony mare behind him. Octavia crept up, reared up on her hind legs, placed both front hooves upon his rump, and then, using her earth pony strength, she gave him a powerful shove forwards. Tarnish let out a wordless cry of alarm, followed up by a whinny of displeasure about Octavia’s betrayal.

Stumbling, he staggered forward, and when his hooves hit the water, something unbelievable happened—Tarnish did not fall in. His hooves clattered over the liquid water as though it was a solid. Still terrified, he let out a wicker as he pranced over the surface of the lake. This was super freaky. This felt unnatural. This was… magic.

Prancing, moving with exaggerated high steps, Vinyl Scratch, who had cast the spell on all of them, moved out over the water with her nose held high in the air, and her parasol out to block the sun. Her prance was a laugh unto itself. Tarnish watched her move as he took his own foalish steps, and he suffered the thought that his friend was pretty.

This troubled him, but he could not reason why.

He found Vinyl beautiful at this moment. Perhaps it was the way she tossed her head about, the way she held her parasol between her and the fury of the shining sun, But there was something about her. Unsettled, Tarnish’s brain laid into the problem, trying to make sense of it as he walked over the water.

Maud and Octavia moved together, Maud did not appear to have any sort of feelings about water-walking, but looks could be deceptive. Octavia laughed, a carefree sound, and she tried to get Maud to prance along with her. Maud, however, was Maud in this situation, and she stuck to what she knew. One hoof in front of the other.

You could say that your mom was pretty, a father could say that his daughter was pretty, a brother might say that his sister was pretty, so then why did thinking that your close friend was pretty cause so much turmoil in his mind? Tarnish, thoughtful, chewed over the ideas in his head, trying to understand his own thoughts.

He supposed that it boiled down to temptation. A brother thinking that his sister was pretty was being kind. A son telling his mother that she was pretty was just being a good son. A father saying that his daughter was pretty was just being a good dad. But finding your female friend attractive, that could lead to temptation. Vinyl was attractive. So was Octavia. There, he had thought it, he had admitted to it, the thought was now free to roam in his own mind as much as it wanted.

All thoughts of the slimy, murky depths below were forgotten as Tarnish walked out to the island. So, Tarnish had mare friends that were pretty, they were attractive, and he had acknowledged it. Now what? Well, he didn’t know what came next. Twilight Sparkle had never written this down as a friendship lesson. This was… advanced friendship. He was on his own. Friendship might be magic, but it was also sticky.

“Tarnish, be a dear and just say what you are thinking,” Octavia said as she pulled up next to him.

Before he had a chance to think about inherent trouble to be found in Octavia’s request, his brain betrayed him. “Well, I was thinking that Vinyl was kind of attractive, she’s real pretty, and that got me to thinking about how you can say that your mother is pretty, or if you have a sister, you can say that she is pretty, but if a stallion has a close friend who happens to be a mare, can he say that she is pretty and not have it cause problems? I keep thinking, both you and Vinyl are pretty, and I don’t know how to feel about it.” Stunned, Tarnish didn’t know what to do about all of the words that he had just blurted out. He half expected the water-walking spell to end and for him to sink into the lake.

Octavia came to a sudden halt and Maud almost bumped into her. A very serious expression appeared upon Octavia’s face. “Oh… that is a conundrum… and I must confess, the same thoughts have crossed my mind.”

“You think I’m pretty?” Tarnish, his face turning a shade of coffee brown, corrected himself. “Handsome. Do you think I’m handsome?”

“Well, the whole reason why I danced with Maud that night was because she was such a stunning beauty. Vinyl and I have talked about it and we’ve been very open and honest, but…” Octavia’s words trailed off.

Ahead, Vinyl twirled her parasol as she shook with silent, wheezing laughter.

“I see.” Tarnish couldn’t help it, he felt a little out of sorts at the moment. He had done this to himself and to his friends. This whole strange exchange was his fault. He found his wife pretty too, and now, he and Octavia had that in common. He floundered, unsure of what to do or say next, and his ego felt just a tiny bit bruised.

Somehow, he had to salvage this mess. He lowered his head a bit so he could look at Octavia face to face and not look down at her. His ears pricked up and pivoted forwards, a sure sign of interest in what somepony else had to say, but this gesture was lost as an effort as his ears were hidden beneath his pith helmet. Then, even though he didn’t want to do so, he made himself speak. “For me, Maud’s eyes are real pretty. They are the windows of her soul.”

“Oh,” Octavia replied in a squeaky voice, “I am not that noble. Maud has… well, there are no two ways around it, she has very shapely legs. And those hocks of hers.” Her teeth clenched together and she let out a faint hiss, like steam escaping.

“Oh, if we are talking about that”—Tarnish realised that Vinyl had stopped and was now looking at him, as was Maud—“if we are gonna bring up the physical stuff, Maud’s abs… her stomach in general. It’s how we do laundry out in the wild. Maud literally has washboard abs.”

A strange sound came out of Maud’s mouth, a sound impossible to describe. Her face reddened, her blush showing through her thin pelt, and a large bead of sweat rolled down from the hairline of her mane. She stood there with a furious blush, just staring at Tarnish.

Feeling a little better, Tarnish kept going. “Vinyl has a certain walk. It was how she was prancing and carrying on. She has a certain poise that I thought was attractive.”

“She sure does,” Octavia replied. “It’s how her cute little plot wiggles when she’s happy.”

Taking a moment to think about Octavia’s words, Tarnish’s eyebrow lifted beneath the brim of his pith helmet and he nodded in agreement.

Vinyl suffered a magical transformation, going from a pale yellow to a pale pink. She let out a curious gasping sound, and then covered her face from view with her parasol, creating a moment of stunning, beautiful shyness. She stood there, her face hidden, and her tail swishing from side to side.

Relaxing from this moment of sexual catharsis, Tarnish decided to spare Octavia from any awkward confessions. “You… you get a free pass because you are gay. You don’t have to find me attractive. You’re not obligated to find me attractive, and that’s okay.” He smiled. “As for you, you are as beautiful as your music—classical and timeless.”

“Ooh…” Now it was Octavia’s turn to blush. “Oh dear, Tarnish… I… you… why, I do believe that is just about the kindest thing anypony has ever said about me. And you were being sincere.” The little blushing mare let out a squeak and then stared down at her front hooves.

Peering out from behind her parasol, Vinyl Scratch conjured up her slate and a piece of pink chalk. Blushing a shade of neon pink herself, Vinyl scratched out a few simple words. “Oranges aren’t the only fruit. Sometimes I look at fuzzy brown kiwis.”

“Vinyl! This was such a beautiful moment between friends… why are you such a pervert? Sometimes I wonder what I see in you!” Octavia stomped her hoof down upon the surface of the water, but her temper served no good use. Vinyl was already gone, prancing off to the island on her own, and Octavia could see Vinyl’s orange tongue dangling out as she ran away.

Tarnish, who felt stupendous without knowing why, lifted his head high and let out a snort. “Hey, I have handsome fuzzy brown kiwis!” With nothing else needed to be said, he too, headed off to the island, following after Vinyl and trying to mimic her high stepping prance, his tail hiked high, leaving Octavia and Maud all alone.

Turning to look at Octavia, Maud said in deadpan, “While you are a very pretty mare, I am far too into kiwis. But we can still be friends and talk about fruit.”

“Yes, friends.” Octavia smiled, and then joined Maud in following after the others.

The island was a mostly flat boulder of massive size that sat in the middle of the lake. There was a split that ran the length of it, which had filled with debris that had decayed over time, becoming soil. A few trees grew up out of this fissure, offering a bit of shade from the sun. Wildflowers grew wherever there was enough soil to support their roots.

It was a beautiful place, a secret place, a place only to be found by those exploring the wilderness. It was not a place that would last forever though. With time and the passing of the seasons, the split would continue to grow wider and deeper. Water would go in, seep into the cracks, freeze, split the rock apart, and with each passing year, the enormous boulder drew nearer to its own demise.

But for now, it served as a lovely place to have a picnic.

“Tarnish, before we eat, I want to talk to you.” Maud looked over at Tarnish, who was pulling food out of his saddlebags. “It’s important.”

“Oh?” Tarnish pulled out a walnut from his saddlebag, held it up, and stared at it. “I wonder how long that’s been in there?” Humming to himself, Tarnish cracked it open with his telekinesis and then began to eat it, picking out the walnut bits from the shell.

Distracted by her husband busting a nut, Maud waited for a moment, and then continued, “Tarnished Teapot… I want to stop taking my birth control pills.”

“What?” Tarnish’s blue eyes flashed with a keen intensity.

“I want to pursue the mystery of life,” Maud said, offering up an explanation. “I want to see what will come of our union. But I can’t do this alone, I need a willing partner—”

“With big fuzzy kiwis,” Octavia whispered as she gave Vinyl a nudge and a wink.

Pausing for a second, Maud looked at the two other mares present, and for a brief instant, it seemed as though her face was about to make some expression. But the moment passed and Maud kept going. “If this makes you unhappy, I’ll keep taking my pills and nothing will change. I’ll just ask you about this later. But if you are interested, just tell me, and we’ll spend all of the winter keeping each other warm. Well, we’ll do that no matter what you choose. I’m not about to punish myself by withholding my body from you to coerce you into a decision.”

“Um…” Tarnish licked his lips and settled back upon his haunches.

“We’ll help,” Octavia offered, and then she turned beet red. “We’ll help with the foal rearing, not with the foal making!” With a squeak, she fell silent and sat there with a wide, embarrassed grin.

Tarnish looked at Maud and tried to think of what to say. If it was just him and Maud, he might have said no, but it wasn’t just him and Maud. There was Octavia and Vinyl. Igneous and Cloudy. Limestone and Marble. His own mother. He wasn’t facing this alone, without help, just him and Maud against the world. Friends and family abounded.

This was a choice about growing up. Tarnish could continue to linger in whatever remained of his youth, or he could take the next step in becoming a responsible grownup, whatever that was. He thought about his own father and for a second, he was overcome with a keen sensation of hatred. Shoving that thought from his mind, he refused to allow such an important choice to be clouded over by hate. His mother came to mind and he found himself staring into Maud’s eyes.

Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but for a second, he was certain that he saw blue flames dancing in the depths of her black pupils. She was a perfect, magnificent creature, and Tarnish found himself curious—what would a foal be like? Who would this foal take after? There were so many questions.

Not to mention the issue of tribe. With two earth ponies, most of the time, they made more earth ponies. The same went for unicorns. But with Maud being an earth pony and he being a unicorn, why, there might be no end of surprises. A little earth pony that took after him, with a slight, slender build and long legs. A natural sprinter that could outrun trouble with endless earth pony endurance. Perhaps a stocky little unicorn, well muscled, and she could take care of herself with or without magic.

Tarnish became enamoured with the idea of finding out what life had to offer.

Maud had the power to knit life together, a sacred gift bestowed upon the female form. She was an eager, willing recipient of the contribution he had to offer, and as for himself, he was her curious and willing partner. Together, they could survive anything, endure anything, the volcano had proven that. Surely, having a foal couldn’t be worse than surviving a volcano together, could it?

“Every day with you is a gift,” Tarnish said in a low voice that did not break or crack. He lifted a hoof and held it out towards Maud. “Stop taking your pills and let’s see what happens when life is left to chance.”

Sniffling just a little, Octavia wiped her eyes.

“I’m going to turn you into a geode, Maud—”

“A plain bit of stone on the outside with something beautiful hidden on the inside?” Maud’s face darkened quite a bit and her tail began swishing around behind her. One ear began to quiver and twitch, and then, Maud did a most peculiar thing; she giggled. It only lasted for a fraction of a second, but it was a very precious fraction of a second to all who witnessed it.

“Yeah.” Tarnish gave his head a little nod as he treasured this moment.

“You let me find out what it feels like to be a geode and at the end of it all, I’ll give you something very special in return,” Maud offered.

“I’ll take that deal,” Tarnish replied. “Now, can we eat? I’m starving…”

Author's Notes:

- Dat ass has critical mass.