The alarm clock blared, announcing the early morning. Gregory reflexively reached out to turn it off, his will manifesting as the construct hand and smashing the top of the infernal device. As he stirred, he realized the pillow he usually slept beside felt a lot different than usual; bonier, heavily scented with sweat and sex, and breathing. He opened his eyes to a face full of purple Maud mane.

A goofy grin dawned his face as the events of last night came rushing back. Maud had taken his virginity, and it felt amazing. Further, a slight shifting of his hips confirmed that his morning wood was being held in the confines of her love tunnel. With a free hoof he wrapped around Maud’s chest and pulled her close. She responded by wrapping a hoof over his.

“Morning,” Maud said drearily. “Sleep well, sweetie?”

“Oh, hell yeah,” Gregory chuckled. “I just got this new pillow.” He tightened his grip around her. “Works great.”

“You don’t say,” Maud said intrigued. “I also got a new sleep aid,” she said as she squeezed her thighs together, earning a soft grunt from her aid. “I might need to break it in a little, but I think it’ll work out just fine.”

“Well don’t go drowning me with praise or anything,” Gregory said sarcastically. “Wouldn’t want me to get a big head or anything.”

“You think I was talking about you?” Maud asked evenly, still facing forward. “That’s cute, but no. I was talking about this.” She squeezed her thighs tighter than before, earning another surprised grunt. “It needs a little work, but you’re right we shouldn’t get it any bigger. It fits fine as is,” she finished with a long sigh.

“Happy to be of service,” Gregory capitulated, not yet having the mental clarity for a proper verbal sparring. Instead he snuggled and made himself comfortable against Maud’s back. There was a slight urge to start humping and resume where they left off, but he contented himself instead to just enjoy the feeling of her sticky body against his. “You could probably use a shower.”

“You definitely could,” Maud curtly shot back. “I don’t want you sending any strange mares’ tails flagging when you walk down the hall.”

“I thought you said you were okay with me being a stud?” Gregory asked with a grin.

“That’s different,” was Maud’s simple reply. “You’re my stallion now, and other mares need to know that, but there’s no need to brag too loudly.”

“Brag?”

“The smell. It’s like a sign in blaring neon lights. Very undignified. You need to shower most of it off, leaving just enough of a subtle scent so other mares get the message.”

Gregory giggled, finding Maud’s explanation of these bizarre rules rather endearing. “Quick question. If, in whatever way this works, I belong to you now, does that mean you belong to me too?”

Maud peeked over her shoulder. “You mean it wasn’t obvious? Of course it does. I’m your lead mare,” she emphasized.

“So… does that make me your lead stallion?” he asked optimistically.

“Only if you’re open to more stallions in the herd.”

“Regular stallion is fine,” Gregory said flatly.

“Denied,” Maud cooed as she briefly rotated her hips against his groin. “You are forbidden from referring to yourself as ‘regular’. I’ll not stand for such blatant false advertising.”

“Proposal withdrawn,” Gregory joked.

“Good. Now onto other business,” Maud deadpanned. “I think it’s time I told you something.”

“Uh-oh.”

“It’s not a bad thing, but it is important.”

Gregory grimaced. Decades of media consumption had taught him to fear those words, but he reminded himself that this was Equestria. The rules were different here. And while his inner skeptic warned him to stay wary, he still felt himself believing in Maud as a mare who would never hurt him. “Alright. I trust you.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Maud sighed with clear relief. “The thing I need to tell you is that I didn’t come to Canterlot just to apply to the university. That was a secondary motive.” She paused, readying herself for his reaction to the real confession. “The real reason I came here was because of the Choosing Stone. It’s an artifact used by many clans of earth pony to help find our destined herds.”

“A stone?”

“Yes.”

Gregory’s brow furrowed in incredulity. “You let a rock choose who you marry?”

“It’s never steered my clan wrong before,” Maud said matter-of-factly. “It’s worked for my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and now it’s worked for me too.” She twisted her head around and gave Gregory’s snout a soft nip. His nose scrunched to her amusement. “Boop,” she deadpanned.

Gregory’s retaliation was swift and without mercy. “Boop back.” He grinned as her nose scrunched too. Games like these never failed to calm his nerves and he began thinking of his predicament from a different perspective. “So this Choosing Stone… how exactly does it work?”

“Depends,” Maud sighed, glad that he was staying calm so far. “Every year the members of our clan, along with any other lonely volunteers, make the pilgrimage to the Stone so it can learn our faces. Most of the time you just see the faces of your future herd reflected back at you. If there’s no response, that means you’re just not ready to be herded yet. However, sometimes the destined herd is made up of ponies the Stone has never seen, so it has to get creative with its hints. Sometimes there are guiding lights, others involve vague descriptions. In my case, I was given a vision of Canterlot.”

Gregory had propped himself up on his elbow to better see Maud’s face. He nodded along as she spoke, quietly consoling himself that asking a rock for romantic advice was normal in this world.

“The vision wasn’t clear, like a memory from a dream. In it I saw four other ponies beside me, but they were all fuzzy.”

“As ponies tend to be.”

“Hush up,” Maud chided lightly, but was eased by his good humor. “There were four ponies in the vision, but I could tell only one was a stallion.” She tightened her grip around his hoof. “I can still see it in my mind’s eye,” she whispered. “The others are still unclear, but I recognized you the moment we met.”

“Really?” Gregory pulled back in surprise. “How?”

“I had a feeling,” was Maud’s answer. “So I followed it until it led me here.” She rubbed his foreleg with her hoof. “Seems pretty definitive, I’d say.”

Gregory chuckled softly. “So, if you knew from the star, why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“I was nervous,” Maud confessed. “I know the Choosing Stone is just channeling the harmony of destiny, the same force behind cutie marks, but it was still a little overwhelming to meet the pony I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with, you know.”

“I have an idea.” Gregory nuzzled into Maud’s mane, hoping to console her. A soft whinny encouraged him to continue. “So I look like the stallion in your vision?”

“More or less, but it’s more like a feeling than a definitive picture,” she explained. “At times like this, the Choosing Stone mostly just gives us a direction, but it’s up to us to follow to find our loves.”

“So…” Gregory said cautiously. “Does that mean you’re not…”

“I’m sure.” Maud cut him off. “From the moment we met, I knew that I wanted you, and that I’d have you,” she purred throatily. “I love you, Gregory, and I promise nothing will change that.” Her tone left no room for doubt in her conviction.

Gregory beamed down at the mare, his mare, and kissed behind her ear. He felt silly for questioning how Maud felt about him, but there were still questions to be asked. “So that leaves three other mares, right?”

Maud nodded. “That’s right. Three more mares destined to love you us.”

Gregory hummed in consideration. “And you’d be fine with sharing me like that?” He felt he already knew the answer, but still needed to be sure.

Maud snorted a laugh and chose her next words carefully. “As much as you’d be fine with sharing me with our other wives.” The hardening of her Gregory’s little stallion gave her a rough idea of what was going through his head.

Gregory laughed, shaking his head to banish the thoughts of watching Maud make out with other ladies. “This is still pretty weird for me, but I don’t suppose there’s any harm in just looking around and seeing what happens.”

“Likewise,” Maud agreed. She was happy he was opening up to the idea, but decided not to frighten him with the other part of her vision. He might get overwhelmed if he knew how many foals he’d sire, and the ones she saw didn’t include those from his studding. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn’t even hear Gregory’s question. “What?”

“I asked if there are any clues we can go by. Like, did you see their colors or tribes or any other obvious detail?”

“Two unicorns, one blue and the other a light yellow, and a white pegasus,” Maud listed off. “The yellow one had glasses. Their cutie marks were there too. I can’t quite make them out, but I’m pretty sure the unicorns both have a magic theme. I still can’t really see yours either,” she added with an odd tone. “Also their manes aren’t that clear either. Sorry for the lack of detail.”

Gregory hummed in thought. Color and race helped to narrow it down, but a white pegasus could still mean any of a thousand in this city. “Were they doing anything, or were we all just posing for a photo?”

Maud tapped her chin. “You and the yellow unicorn looked like you were reading, the blue unicorn was casting some kind of flashy spell, and the pegasus was laughing?”

“Laughing?” Gregory asked. “I mean, those first two were kind of hints, but I’m pretty sure laughter doesn’t qualify as a distinctive characteristic.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger,” Maud said flatly. “I’m only telling you what the Choosing Stone showed me. It’s not so much a scavenger hunt as an I’ll-know-it-when-I-see-it kind of thing.”

“Mh-hm,” Gregory hummed as he began lowering his hoof down her body, stopping just above her teats. “That’s nice and all, but I might end up shooting you anyway.”

Maud gave him a cold threatening stare. “You do, and you’d best be ready for the consequences.”

Mustering his courage, Gregory forced a smile, thinking they were picking up on their earlier game. “Oh? And what consequences would those be?”

“Today’s your day off, if I recall.” She watched as Gregory went over his schedule in his mind, then felt her lips curl into a grin at his horrified realization. “That means I can keep you to myself for the rest of the day, and give my sleep aid all the training it needs.”

Gregory paled. The changes to Maud’s expression were subtle, but that did nothing to ease the fear she instilled in him. Last night was great, but he was still tired. The idea of going again so soon just didn’t seem plausible. But Maud is a mare who gets what she wants, he remembered, realizing his chances of leaving this bed with the ability to walk were quickly dwindling.

“Joking,” Maud said with a soft snort meant to be a chuckle. “I’d never take advantage of you like that.”

Gregory chuckled too. “Good. I was getting worried for a second, there.”

“At least not until my heat,” Maud amended.

“Oh yeah,” Gregory said somberly, recalling some of the stories he’d heard from his coworkers. “When is that exactly?”

“It varies from mare to mare, but my last one ended just before we met, so we’ve got a while.”

Gregory tried not to sigh in relief.

*Knock Knock*

Neither bedmate had time to answer before Blueblood threw the door open and pranced inside. “Good morning, dear Gregory. How are yyyyyyyow!” he exclaimed, stumbling backwards as his eyes fell on the occupants of the bed.

There lower halves were still covered by sheets, but that didn’t stop Gregory from shrinking against the mattress in the hopes of hiding behind Maud. The mare in question waved impassively at the prince.

“Good morning, your highness,” Maud greeted curtly as she stared the stallion down with an accusing glare. While not as embarrassed as Gregory, she was not fond of this posh, pampered, pimple of a prince barging in and gawking at her. She saw his nostrils flare as he took in the scent of last night’s activities. Already it was affecting him as he began to poke from his sheath, which gave her a small swell of pride at how quickly it happened. There was another reaction, however, which Maud felt obligated to share. “I’m terribly sorry,” she deadpanned, “but you’ve rendered my stallion quite flaccid. Would you mind stepping out for a moment?”

Remembering himself, Blueblood promptly scurried out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Maud snorted her amusement.

“D-did you have to say it like that?” Gregory squeaked. “Th-that seemed kinda mean.”

“Sometimes the truth hurts,” Maud said as she sat up, letting the covers fall from her body. Taking a deep breath, she stood to all fours, letting Gregory’s cock fall from her marehood with a wet pop. She mourned the loss of the feeling of fullness, but righted herself with the reminder that there were things to be done and turned to face her stallion. “For example, if we don’t get you showered, the mares aren’t going to be the only ones raising their tails for you.”

Although he’d missed seeing Blueblood’s reaction, it only took a quick explanation before Gregory threw off the sheets and bolted for the bathroom. Maud followed in after him, insisting that it was common courtesy to clean each other off after a passionate night of love making and that this wasn’t just an excuse for them to fondle each other first thing in the morning. While not believing that her motives were as platonic as she insisted, Gregory acquiesced and together they readied themselves for the coming day.

Author's Notes:

And so we see my interpretation of the Choosing Stone. Maud saw her herd, of which Gregory is the first member. So we’re gonna have a bit of fun meeting the new ladies down the road, as well as getting him used to his new role.