Waking up in a nice warm bed is always a good thing in Tim’s book. Autumn is coming soon, and he knows that winter in Equestria can get quite cold, with snow staying on the ground for months at a time. Which is funny, since the ponies control the weather. Tim snuggles against the pony, drawing the warmth closer to his body. The pony, in response, snuggles up against him, eliciting a smile from Tim’s face. Time passes without notice from the human and the pony on the bed, but soon, the brightness of the sun finally impinges on Tim’s consciousness. The girls had work today. Tim’s breathing stops as he takes more notice of the pony he currently has his arm around. The pony is sleeping, their barrel rising and falling with deep, easy breaths. He moves his hand gently, and is greeted with feathers. He opens his eyes, and a yellow-blonde mass of mane is very nearly touching his face.

With a yelp, he scrambles back, before he knows it he finds the end of the bed, and another short scream punctuates his crash to the floor. The noise seems to wake the owner, who stretches and yawns, “Good morning, Tim.”

Tim startles, “Silver!?”

“Who else? Our mares are already up.”

“Listen, about last night, I didn’t know what the girls were planning! I thought dinner, I I- I don’t really know what else, okay. I didn’t mean to drag you into an orgy.”

“Sorry? Last night went great! Cayenne was magnificent, wasn’t she?”

Tim shakes his head, “Well, she was, she always is. But I wasn’t trying to make any moves on you this morning.”

Silver snorts softly, “Oh, cuddling for warmth is the best thing ever! Well, after last night.”

Tim finds his own face heating up. “Does it usually go this quickly?”

Silver looks at him sideways, “Huh? Accepting a new stallion into the herd, things can get going pretty quickly. A herd without sex is no herd at all.”

“Wish I’d known that in advance…” Tim grumbles softly. The stallion’s ears flick back and forth a bit.

“When an established stallion brings in a potential addition, it’s usually pretty quick. It takes longer when one of the mares wants to bring a new stallion into the herd. Sometimes the stallions will fight.” He finishes with a smile.

“Fight?” Tim yelps.

Silver nods, “Oh, never to actually hurt each other, and never the lead stallion. I would never have to fight you, Tim – you were first so you’ll always be master smith around here. It’s a sort of a ritual to establish the pecking order with multiple junior stallions. Nopony ever gets really hurt. It’s not like how Griffons will do sabers at dawn.”

“That’s a surprise; back home, most guys would contemplate murder for another man trying to come in on his lady.”

“Really?” Silver squeaks. His eyes going wide and his ears flattening to the sides.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not joking?”

“Not. One Bit.” Tim stop for a moment, thinking. Then he sighs, “Honestly, Equestria’s been rubbing off on me; when I first got here, herds, let alone another male, forget it. Now.” He stops for a moment, trying to figure out how he wants to say it. He shakes his head, “Now, it’s different. The girls are really intense in bed. I love it, don’t get me wrong. But I want to make them happy, and I think some help will accomplish that.”

“And you are okay with that?”

Tim shrugs, “I think so?” He looks at Silver’s reaction, the stallion has stopped with the kicked puppy dog look, his ears perk forward and a smile forms on his face, Tim finds the smile infectious, “I guess I’m coming around to it. It’s very different from my home.”

“Tim, you shouldn’t feel as though I’m trying to horn in on your relationship. I’m adding to the whole, you are in charge on the stallion side of things. Of course, I will follow what Citrus, Cayenne, and North want, but I am also going to follow what you want.”

Tim thinks for a long moment, “And you are okay with being second banana to me?”

Silver shrugs. “It’s how it is.”

The pegasus stretches again, extending his wings for a long moment, then he folds them to his sides and sits on his haunches on the bed. Tim watches the pegasus as he brings a wing forward, running his teeth through the feathers. Though after a few moments, the human ends up getting fascinated by how fastidious the pegasus is, preening his feathers, pulling a few small down feathers, and straightening the longer primary and secondary feathers. Every so often, Silver glances at him as he works. Finally, the pegasus stops, “Did I do something wrong?”

Tim shakes his head. “No, I’ve just never seen this before.”

Silver looks at his wing for a moment, then up at Tim. “You’ve never seen a pegasum preen?”

Tim shakes his head and gets a smile from Silver, “Well, we have to keep our wings in tip top shape. You neglect your wings, you are vulnerable, though pegasi are rarely in danger in Equestria. We pegasos are proud; we used to be the primary protectors of the ponies, you know.”

Tim cocks his head to the side. “What?”

Silver nods, “Oh yeah, before the princesses, the earth ponies grew the food, the unicorns made the night and day, and the pegasi made the weather. But since there were threats to ancient Equestria, we had the army. We protected the Earth pony settlements, in return for food for our cloud cities.”

“Why are you saying pegasus, but also sometimes pegasum and pegasos, too?”

“A holdover from the old language. My family was originally Old Cloudsdale clans, so we hang onto some of that old caste stuff from thousands of years ago, even though I grew up in Los Pegasus” Silver yawns, and Tim feels him brush low.

Tim looks down and suddenly remembers he’s still naked from the night before. With a yelp he grabs a pillow and covers himself, getting a bemused expression from the pegasus. “Tim, what’s going on?”

Tim backs slowly towards the bathroom. “I think I need a shower after last night.” He flees into the bathroom quickly. He drops the pillow and opens the door into the shower. Ponies know how to get clean. The multiple shower heads are instantly the temperature he wants. He lets the water play over his body for several moments, the hot water releasing the tension in his muscles.

The door opens and hoofsteps approach the shower, but the human pays it no mind, instead grabbing the soap. The shower door opens, and Silver pokes his head in. “Get out!” Tim screams reflexively on seeing the stallion.

Silverwing flinches back at Tim’s scream, looking like a kicked puppy.

“Don’t do that! Don’t sneak up on my while I’m showering!”

“But I just wante-“

“Out!”

And like that, Silver scuttles back. The stallion’s ears flatten back. “I’m sorry.” He looks down, his eyes big, “I thought you had accepted me into the herd last night…” he trails off, sniffling a little bit as the shower door closes behind him.

Tim breathes heavily as the adrenaline starts to pass. He closes his eyes, controlling himself. Finally he turns back and opens the shower door, “Silver…wait.”

Silver’s pulling open the bathroom door, he stops and looks back at Tim. “No, it’s okay Tim, you don’t have to.”

“Silver!” Tim barks, getting the stallion to stop and look at him. He softens his tone. “Where I come from, men don’t typically share showers like that, unless they are lovers.”

Silver’s eyebrows rise, “You thought I was coming in here to continue last night with you?”

“Well…uhh….”

“Tim, I’m not into stallions, I’m into mares. So, why are you freaking out, Tim?” The stallion asks earnestly.

Tim’s hands flutter a bit, partially trying to cover himself, partially not really knowing what to do, “Well, I’m naked. With another guy.”

Silver cocks his head to the side, “I’m naked all the time, ponies don’t usually wear clothes. Your mares don’t. I don’t.”

“Yeah, well, I do.”

Silver giggles, “Okay, does being naked together mean that we are going to have sex?” Tim shakes his head quickly, Silver continues, “We are just two males, trying to get clean after a wonderful night with some beautiful mares. I don’t see a problem with it.”

Tim sighs, “I guess I see your point.”

Silver stretches out a wing and grabs a bottle of soap, “Okay, can you get my back?”

“Sorry, I’m not comfortable with that. Where I’m from, men just don’t do that.”

“Tim, I’m going to have to teach you how to stallion.”

“Probably. I’m in your land, I should learn your ways.”

Silver laughs, “Okay, lesson one: it’s only gay if both of you get hard. Now get over here and get my back, dude to dude. And I promise, no funny stuff.”

***

Tim listens to the stallion whistle in the bedroom while he takes his time in the closet, deciding what to wear. He’s got the day off, so he doesn’t really have much to deal with today. He’s been asked by Twilight to spend some of his free time working on a dictionary for her. Any word that pops into his head that he knows the definition for, he’s going to write it down for her. She is working on learning his language, so learning more words are always good. He finally decides and pulls on some white shorts over his boxers, a light blue shirt is pulled on quickly. He fingers the three cutie marks, how would he add Silver’s? Would he? He pulls the shirt on and pulls on his sandals. The mare at the Canterlot Boutique, Sassy Saddles, seemed amused when he wanted something other than boots or canvas topped shoes. She had drawn up a couple of ideas before Tim had selected the sandals he was wearing now. But they are comfortable, and worth every bit he handed to her. He walks to the door and opens it.

“Oh, Silver.” The stallion had more than cleaned up from last night. The room was looking very nearly pristine. The curtains had been thrown back to let natural light into the room, the bed had been stripped and remade with new sheets and another comforter. The dozen or so pillows they have seem to have had new pillowcases put on them, and are arranged on the bed. The stallion is hovering, a duster in his mouth as he runs it along the edge of the ceiling and walls.

Silver stops and drops to the floor, setting down the duster, “Did I do something wrong, Tim? Did you want to do all of this? I just thought I would help...” the pegasus stumbles to a stop as Tim puts out a finger. He looks up at Tim questioningly.

“Silver, I wasn’t complaining, I was surprised.” He gestures to the room, “I’ve never been much for house work, but this looks amazing.” He looks down at Silver, who is now beaming.

Silver prances in place for a moment. “I’m so happy to hear that. I like cleaning up, it’s relaxing to me to make the home look the best it can. I was planning on working on the rest of the house during the day today. Give you a day off.”

Tim frowns, “I don’t usually do all that much, I pull my weight, but the girls and I share the job.” He looks at the shocked look on Silver’s face. “What?”

Silver works his jaw a little bit, as though he’s trying to remember how to use it again, he finally brings it shut with a click, then he shakes his head, “You get the girls to help you with the cleaning?”

“Yeah. So?”

“Lesson two: A stallion’s job in the house is to make it lovely for his lovelies.”

Tim shrugs. “The girls and I are happy with how things have been working.”

Silver trots up to him and stomps a hoof. “Well, that stops now. I’m not going to demand you help, you have a job, so you can keep doing that. But I will keep this home clean and running well.” He wilts visibly, “Though I’m not the best of cooks, so if you want to help with the cooking here?” His ears flick a bit.

Tim laughs, “Of course I’ll help with cooking, but Cayenne likes cooking, too, so there will be times we might be fighting over who gets to cook a meal.”

Silver looks down, “No, I won’t fight on that; I can’t cook to save my life. I was actually told I’d never get a mare because I couldn’t cook for her.” He looks up, his eyes round. “I was really happy that Cayenne and I had hit it off so well at the party. At first, I thought I was going to sink it when she asked about what I can bring to a herd, but turns out she’s a chef, so that’s solved and she’s been looking for a housecolt.” Silver didn’t notice Tim frown slightly. The human took a mental note to catch up with her on things before he found himself blindsided again.

Tim glances at the clock. “Don’t you have to get to work?”

Silver shakes his head, “I told Pickle Spice that if I didn’t show up today, I’d have been accepted into the herd, she’ll understand.”

“She’ll understand? Why would she understand something like that?”

Silver giggles again, he hops up on the bed and sits down, patting on the bed for Tim to sit next to him. After a moment of hesitation, Tim complies, sinking into the soft mattress of the large bed, Silver leans up against him and puts a wing over his shoulder, “Tim, I don’t know how things are where you come from, but in Equestria, if a stallion lives in a herd, the mares are supposed to support him, a stallion is usually bigger and stronger than most of the mares, especially an Earth pony stallion. We have roles in our society other than to provide seed for the mares. We are protectors of the mares when they are vulnerable, we are the protectors of the fillies and colts, and we make sure the mares are happy.”

Tim was about to open his mouth, Silver was actually slightly smaller than Citrus, Cayenne, or North Point. “I hope you can fight, because I can’t.”

“I don’t look it, but I was educated in the Academia Ala Armarum Pegasorem – translated loosely, Pegasus Wing Weapons Academy. I know my way around rapier, broadsword, and melee. If you would like, I could give you lesson three: basic training for defense of the herd.”

“Maybe someday. I have to say, you’re one strange guy.”

“Really? I’m actually really normal.”

“On Earth, you’d be weird. You’re a feminine, chatty guy who loves to clean, thinks of his place as the home, loves snuggle and tummy rubs, and is somehow a sword master. You’re one weird pony.”

“I could say the same about you,” grins back Silver to match Tim’s own. “To ponies, you are quite mare-like, assertive, dominant, and you want to work to support your family. But you don’t know anything about fighting. It’s almost as the girls treat you as one of their own.”

Tim reaches an arm and brings the stallion close for a hug, Silverwing enthusiastically returns the hug for a long moment, then Tim stands up, “Breakfast?”

The stallion shrugs his wings. “I’m not in the mood for anything big, we have any hay?”

Tim shudders a bit, ponies and their hay, “I think we have some. I think I’ll have some oatmeal.”

“Oh, I love oats!”

That gets a chuckle from Tim as he heads into the kitchen. Once again, he stops, Silver had done more than a quick load of dishes last night, he had completely cleaned the kitchen. The fixtures gleam in the light from the open windows. Tim shakes his head as he goes about preparing breakfast. Oatmeal is a rather easy meal to make. Though he doesn’t leave it plain. The ponies have a definite sweet tooth. Baked goods are quite prominent, along with other candies and sweets. When he had mentioned diabetes and described it, the girls had been confused. Ponies don’t typically have that problem. Personally, he is just glad that he doesn’t have that specific problem in his family tree. Brown sugar and cinnamon are both added to the oatmeal, as well as a generous helping of raisins. Tim grabs a mini hay bale, usually sold as individual meals for the ponies and sets it next to the bowl for Silver. Silver whickers happily as he digs in. Tim enjoys the breakfast himself, thinking about everything.

Tim thinks about things for a long time as both of them eat, but finally, he looks at Silver. The stallion looks at him expectantly, “Silver, have you ever been to the Grand Galloping Gala?”

Silver nearly gags on his mouthful, but he’s able to get it down, he coughs a couple of times, “The gala? That’s the place to be in the fall.”

Tim nods. “I know, well, Princess Celestia sent us five tickets. But before last night, there were just four of us.”

Silver’s eyes widen. “Are you asking me to join your herd going to the Gala?”

Tim knows what the girls’ reactions would be. “Yeah, I think I am.”

Silver squees loudly, “Oh, Tim. That would be so awesome!”

Tim stands up and moves over to where he had stashed the envelope from the castle, he upends the envelope, letting the golden tickets land in his hand. He fingers through them, confirming that there are indeed five tickets. He turns back to the kitchen table and sets them down, “I don’t think Princess Celestia was thinking of you when she gave them to me. But I really don’t care, I want you to join us, Silver.”

Silver looks at the sheet of gold he’s holding, he looks up at Tim, then back down at the engraved invitation. His eyes well with tears. “Tim, you are the nicest stallion I’ve ever met.” He leaps over the table and lands on Tim, his weight starts tilting Tim’s chair fit to topple. Though with amazing speed, the pegasus spreads his wings as his forelegs tighten around Tim, flapping furiously he brings Tim onto his back gently, ending up lying partially on his chest. He hugs the human tightly, though Tim is certain just a tiny bit more would break bones on his part, Tim hugs the stallion back.

“Now those are some reflexes, Silver.” Tim’s able to say after a few moments of contemplating his new position on the floor rather than sitting on his chair.

Silver giggles, “I’m not a speedster pegasus, but I’m pretty good in the air.” He flexes a wing, “I like flying.”

“Speedster?”

“Specially adapted to be a fast flyer. I’m a Hurricanian.”

“What’s that?”

“A descendant of Commander Hurricane, the greatest warrior and philanderer in our history. It gives me a leg up on fighting stuff, but compared to professionals, ponies with purer blood, and ponies with it as their special talent, I’d still get wiped because I don’t practice more than a few times a year. Do humans have special talents?”

“No.”

“You know, Tim.” Silver shakes his head hard, “Your species gets more and more confusing.”

Tim laughs and shakes his head as Silver finally pulls away, he takes a moment to roll off of his chair and put it upright before he sits back down. Silver gets back in his own seat, fitting the strap for his spoon over his hoof and digging back into his breakfast. Though the accurate term for the meal would be a late brunch, judging by the time. Tim is soon scraping his bowl for the last dregs of his meal when a sparkling sound gains his attention. He looks up as magic coalesces above the table. He holds out a hand and a scroll lands in it. It’s not sealed, so he’s pretty sure of who it’s from.

“So, what does it say?” Silver asks.

Tim reads it a second time, then he looks at Silver. “I guess we need to go to the Canterlot Boutique. The girls are getting fitted for their gala dresses and they want our opinion.”

Silver drops his spoon and clops his hooves together. “Oh, Tim, that will be so fun!”

***

Tim looks at himself in the mirror. Sassy Saddles fusses around him, her magic adjusting the fabric around his shoulders, then she pulls on it, straightening the back, she hums as she works. Tim looks back at the girls of his herd, all three have chosen their own dresses for the gala. In fact, they had chosen them before Tim had arrived. The reason Silver and him had been asked to come was so they could get fitted for their own gala outfits. Citrus had read his mind, and Silver admittedly looked quite dashing in his own tuxedo, with the tails running back and hanging over his rump. He’s wearing a top hat to go with the tails. And a larger hat is sitting on a table, part of Tim’s own setup. He looks at the three girls, all three are sitting on their haunches, their eyes fastened on him as the light blue mare continues with her work. Her horn continually lit, she pulls here, stretches there. A threaded needle flashes in and works quickly. The hat is enfolded in her magic and it is placed gently on his head. Finally she steps back, a happy smile on her face. “What do you think?”

The question wasn’t directed at Tim, but at the girls. All three of them nod, getting a big smile from the taller mare. She whaps him on the rear with her tail. “Go ahead and get changed, sweetie,” she says softly as she trots over to the rest of his herd. Tim takes a moment to pull the hat off. He glances at Silver, who is hanging his outfit on a hangar. Tim heads over to the privacy screen that he had insisted that he use when changing. Which got a few laughs from the tall mare when he requested a bit of privacy to change. He shakes his head as he pulls the jacket off and hangs it on the screen. He attacks the buttons on the shirt, at least Citrus won’t be pulling the shirt and scattering the buttons everywhere. Though he has a feeling that’s going to happen after the gala. Citrus has ruined more dress shirts of his than he likes to think about. Hanging up the shirt and putting the jacket over it takes only a few moments. He glances over the screen for a moment, watching the girls as they converse with Sassy. It would be just like them to pull the screen aside to talk to him at an inopportune moment. His jeans are on in moments and he pulls his t-shirt over his frame quickly.

Finally dressed, he moves from behind the screen and walks up to the girls. He glances at Citrus then taps Sassy on the shoulder. “I’ve got a little request.”

She turns to look at him expectantly, he smiles, “Well, Silverwing here, has joined our herd. I was thinking we need something to add to the marks you’ve been putting on my shirts.”

She smiles. “So you want to add your stallion’s mark to your shirt?”

He nods, glancing at Silver when the stallion gasps softly. “We are a family now, a herd, and I think that might be a good thing.”

The light blue mare rears up, squeezing her cheeks together. “Oooooooo, that’s so romantic!” She glances back at Citrus and the other mares as she regains four hooves, “You chose a real romantic one, didn’t you!”

At his request, she floats over a piece of paper and a pencil, he starts to draw, “Well, what I was thinking was…” He trails off as he continues drawing, then finally he turns the paper to the other mare, getting a girly squeal from her. “That’s beautiful.” She stops for a moment, “What is that?”

“Family crest, it’s old. That’s about all I know.”

Citrus comes up, her horn alight. She taps the pencil on it, “That’s your family’s?” At his nod she frowns, “You have a pegasus on one side, and a gryphon on the other. Where’s the unicorn? Or the Earth pony?”

Tim smiles, “This was made a few centuries ago, Citrus. And remember, our world has never met yours. I do know that the unicorn is the official animal of Scotland.”

“Scotland?”

“Yeah, one of the nations on my world.” He shrugs, “My dad’s family is from another nation, not Scotland, though.”

“Ideeeeaaaaa!” Sassy Saddle’s sings out. Her magic enfolds the pencil and paper again, she starts drawing, she draws the coat of arms again, then Silverwings cutie mark of the punch awl with a pegasus wing on one side right next to it, then she draws the three marks of the mares around them, with Citrus’ compact at the top. She flourishes the paper at Tim\., “I so love this kind of romantic inspiration. Two strong, stalwart stallions as the core of your herd.” She points to the mares’ cutie marks arrayed around, “And the mares arrayed around, to show the strength of your herd.” She giggles, “I can even make up some saddle bags, or other accoutrements for you to wear, showing your herd!” She turns away, her tail waving from side to side as she continues, “Oh, this is so exciting!” She stops and turns to look at Citrus expectantly, “The Gala will be here just before winter, but I can have shirts for your human stallion ready quickly! But no worries, we will have everything ready on time before the Gala!”

Citrus comes over to Tim, forcing her head under his hand, he rubs behind her ear affectionally, “Thank you Sassy, we’ve always loved the work done here.” Citrus says with a giggle as she moves against him, getting Tim to start walking, she looks back. “I can’t wait to see the results!”

“Ta ta!” Sassy calls out as they leave the shop. Tim is content to walk with them as they wind their way through the streets of Canterlot.

***

Tim exits the Ponyville express. Some of the testing that Twilight has been doing has been in her laboratory in the castle, so she’s had him come to Ponyville twice a week now for the last several weeks. Between that and work, his free time has dropped down to virtually nil. He now carries his papers with him in a ruck through the streets of Ponyville. Compared to Canterlot, Ponyville is almost backward. The roads are either cobblestone or hard packed dirt, the buildings are bright and colorful, yet seem out of a different era. The ponies around here are starting to get used to him walking among them. Though having the Princess of Friendship walk with him the first couple of times has really cut down on the skittish phase that he had to deal with in Canterlot.

A glance shows that pink pony bouncing along, a pie in a carrier clutched in her jaws, another look as a bunch of foals tumbling around, playing. Another glance has a yellow pegasus mare walking slowly, leading a line of ducks through the town. He shakes his head. These ponies are always really busy it seems like. The path eventually leads him up to Twilight’s castle. Unlike Canterlot Castle, Twilights castle doesn’t have armed and armored guards at the gates. Twilight’s guard contingent is actually very small. She has her main bodyguard, a heavy bodied earth pony who looks like she could eat Tim for lunch, and perhaps a dozen other mares that rotate throughout the castle, but they don’t even seem to be armed.

One of the guards nods at him as he walks through the entryway, he knows where to go to find the stairs heading down towards Twilight’s laboratory. He heads in that direction, when a voice impinges on his consciousness, “Tim!”

He turns and looks, “Hi, Cadance, I thought you were back at home.”

She smiles, “I’m jumping between here and Canterlot, helping Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna with getting ready for the Gala, and spending time with my sister-in-law, I’m glad Shining is back home with Flurry.”

“A lot of work going on?”

She nods and moves closer to him, guiding him as he walks. At first, she seems content to merely walk, then she moves over and hip checks him, “So, have you given any thought? She could really use a herd.”

Tim scrubs the back of his neck. “Princess, I like her. Twilight is a wonderful friend. She’s cute, funny, and absolutely brilliant. But I don’t see Cayenne giving up her restaurant, and Citrus giving up her shop to move to Ponyville to be near her. And I certainly don’t see her giving up this.” He gestures at the walls of the castle. “Also, Citrus still hasn’t forgotten how her magic nearly permanently messed me up.”

She giggles, “Long distance relationships require more work. You already see her twice a week, perhaps you should show exactly how much you like her?”

“Princess, I’m not looking to add to my herd. We just got Silver a few weeks ago, and I’m still trying to adjust to having another male in with my girls.”

“She talks about you all the time, you know that? She’s told me a lot about your culture, are you adjusting to having another male after your culture is so based on monogamy?”

He nods, “Silver is just too sweet; he wants to be so helpful. And he helps keep the girls happy.”

“Sexually?”

“In the bedroom too. Though he has no stamina.” He laughs, “The moment he starts, he’s pretty much done, though the girls seem to like it.”

That gets Cadance to stop. “How long does it usually last for you?”

Boy, this conversation has gotten intimate quickly, though with her being the princess of love, she’s probably heard worse, “Well, I like using more than one part to pleasure them, I try to make sure all of their horns spark before I finish.”

“And who do you usually finish in?”

Tim finds himself blushing, “Citrus. She insists, though she’s also insisted I do in North, and Cayenne occasionally, but most of the time, it’s her.”

Cadance smiles, “She’s got good lead mare instincts.” She again hip checks him, “It’s normal for stallions to be rather energetic in bed, and with hair triggers. It took a couple of years to get Shining to settle down. But I’ll remind you, when a mare is in heat, and it’s a lot worse for an alicorn mare. We can go a little crazy there. But the pheromones we put out will get just random stallions walking by end up five legged.”

“Even Princess Celestia and Luna?”

She nods, “Oh, it’s bad for them, though they have stallions they can call upon, there are privileges to being royalty.”

Tim stops walking, “Royal privileges?”

She turns to look at him, “Well, not as pronounced as a thousand years ago, where stallions were pretty much property of their mares. The Princess could simply come up to the lead mare of a herd and demand her stallion to service her. The lead mare didn’t have any choice, and the stallion less so.” She smiles, “We are a lot different than back then, Tim. But there is a bit of a cultural norm, if a Princess asks, she gets. It’s less compulsory, but the ponies do desire to help their Princesses where they are needed. That includes in the bedroom.”

“Have you used those privileges?”

She snorts, “No, I’ve got my Shiny, and he keeps me happy.”

“Has Twilight?”

She shakes her head, “That mare is so frustrating. Before she ascended, she had one or two stallions that she was serious about. She’s not a virgin anymore, but she didn’t seem to be all that satisfied with them, and ended the relationships quickly. I’m pretty sure she is waiting for the right stallion. That makes her heat harder than it needs to be. We had to use artificial means to help relieve her last time.”

“Poor girl.”

“You can help with that. She wants you. You would be good for her.”

“But Citrus and Cayenne, North Point, and Silver?”

She snorts and stamps a hoof, “Wouldn’t they be honored, a stallion in their herd servicing a princess in need?”

“I just told you Citrus and Cayenne, Citrus especially, don’t like her. I’ve never seen them mad at anyone or anything since.”

“They’ll get used to the idea. Nopony would be able to deny the perks of bedding royalty, either. And you know you want my dear little Twilight.” Does he want Twilight in a sexual way? He has to admit, watching her wave her tail at him and showing off her winking plot has been at least somewhat tempting. But actually going all the way with her, even as a princess, it would feel like cheating without talking to Citrus first. But asking Citrus about that? Would he be signaling to her that they aren’t enough? Hell, they are almost too much for him. Finally, he shakes his head, “I’m sorry, Princess…”

“Sorry for what?” Comes a new voice. Tim turns to see the purple pony princess sitting a respectful distance away, her tail waiving back and forth, a small smile on her face as her eyes latch on him. She giggles, “I’ve been a busy pony!” She tilts her head to the side and smiles brightly.

Cadance uses a wing to tap Tim’s shoulder, “Think on what I’ve said.” She says softly and then moves and gives Twilight a hug. Soon Twilight is leading Tim into the lab, chattering happily as she bounces around. He smiles a greeting at Starlight, who is reading a book comfortably near the portal mirror.

Finally, she has Tim sit down, “Okay, I’m going to temporarily disable the translation matrix.”

He nods, used to it now. Part of his learning her language. He watches as she brings her horn close, and the familiar pop rings in his ears. As she sighs and sits down, the spell is always draining for her. She tilts her head again, “Kalapap pacha shab we?”

He nods, “Fuwa-mo” Meaning that he does understand what she’s saying. Their language is quite different, and getting used to it requires some immersion. Though actually reproducing their language is getting easier, as his magic resistance has lessened, and him actually talking to them in their language via the translation spell, he’s finding their words to not be as much a mouthful. His lips still ache when he does it, needing to form them for some very forceful pops and trills. Their p, for example, has two forms, one similar to English, but also one that’s more like popping out air without breathing, almost a kind of click. And all their b’s are half snorted half trilled. Vowels are easy, because English has thirteen of them, but the nasal accent gets him every time.

She looks like she’s concentrating, “Can you understand this?” Her voice is heavily accented, but he can pick out the words with little difficulty.

“Wow, Twilight, you’ve been working hard on learning!”

She squees, then she brings up a parchment. “Bufsh”

“Parchment! That means parchment.”

He repeats the word back at her, getting her to clop her hooves together with a whinny like laugh. He reaches into his back pack and pulls out the sheet he’s been working on since their last meeting.

She clops her hooves together as her magic brings it to her, her face again takes a look of concentration, “New words?”

He nods, and she squeals happily. She uses her magic to produce illustrations. “Peshkabsh?”

“Dagger”

“Hweenoree”

“Love”

“Fucolcp.”

“Anger.”

“Babra”

“Gallop”

“Kakfash”

“Day”

“Popfash”

“Night”

“Shk” Tim shook his head, expressing confusion. “Kakfash popfash shk.”

“Day and night? And!” Tim realized. “That’s weird – the conjunction goes between in English.”

“Osh!” Twilight popped back into English. “It means agree. “Wosh means disagree. Initial w sounds express negation at the beginning of verbs. Shpopo means I see. Wshpopo means I do not see.”

“And does fash mean time by any chance?”

“Yes, Tim! You’re catching on.”

More than an hour passes before she finally restores the translation fully. She crawls up on the couch, glancing at Starlight, who seems immersed in her book. She leans up against him, putting a wing over his back and snuggling closer, “Tell me more about your world.”

“What do you want to know?”

She snorts, “I’m tired of the politics that I’ve asked you about before. Your entire system seems to be very chaotic. You’ve told me about where you grew up. How about telling me about your job. What was it like driving those big trucks?”

Tim leans against her, in response, her wing tightens around him. He finds it very comforting, “Well, it was kinda boring at times. To be honest, the job requires a lot of concentration on everything around me, but long trips. The straight roads that just seem to never end, and after doing the same route, over and over, even on long hauls, there are some very beautiful sights in my world, but after seeing them for the hundredth time, it loses a bit of the appeal. Then you have the paperwork.”

She snorts, “Paperwork, to drive a truck?”

He nods, “There are rules in the industry, called hours of service. I have to keep track of when I’m driving, when I’m bunked out in the sleeper berth, when I’m working on loading and unloading. Though most of my freight was drop off a trailer and pick up the next one. But all of that had to be accounted for.”

“Why?”

“Well, the reason they said was to prevent drivers from driving tired. The trouble is, with the work-loads, the push to get as many miles as possible, many times those forms are called swindle sheets, because we are rarely honest on writing when we are supposed to be driving and not. Though I think the best part was the people you see while driving, and the people you meet when you are stopped.”

“Oh?”

He nods, “The state patrol, mainly, will stop a truck to check the paperwork, and many times, a driver will be frantically filling out their form before the officer gets up there. And the fines apply to the drivers, not the companies pushing them harder,” e huffs, “Then there are the people. You stop at the same place, you get to know the people working there. Some become friends, some think they are your friends. It’s interesting. Though I really liked what I did.”

She leans up against him, her wing bringing him closer. Tim glanced at Starlight, her eyes flick toward the human sitting with the pony and she frowns a bit, though she keeps mute, “What is that on your shirt?”

“You mean besides the cutie marks of my herd?” He can feel her nod, “Well, it’s my family crest, humans don’t get cutie marks like ponies do.”

Her horn lights, and he can hear movement behind him, in moments his old wallet is hanging before him, “I thought this was your cutie mark. Since the humans on the other side of the portal tend to put their cutie marks on their clothes, I thought you put it there unconsciously as a fulfillment of your destiny to drive trucks.”

He reaches out a hand and grabs the wallet. Running his thumb along the logo, “One of my favorite trucks I drove, it’s built by a company called Western Star. This is their logo.” He looks at her, then recoils a bit, his nose is nearly touching hers, he looks back at the leather, “It’s a nice wallet. Had plenty of room for cards and cash. It worked well for me.”

“So that’s not your talent?”

“Not driving trucks, it was fun, but it was a job.”

She sighs, resting her chin on his shoulder, “Tell me more about Karen.”

He shudders, and that gets her to squeeze him tighter, “What do you want to know? I’ve told you pretty much everything.”

“How did she make you feel?”

Tim takes a moment to put down the wallet and put an arm around Twilight, she sighs softly, “Well, it’s hard to describe, Twilight. She made me happy to make my way home after a long trip, she was smart. She was stubborn.”

“Tim, you are being silly, I want to know how she made you feel. Not what she did.”

He hadn’t really stopped and thought about it before. Karen and him had just clicked so well. He doesn’t even notice the tears starting, “She made my life what it was. She was my other half. We had our rough patches, but I was seriously planning on marrying her. Once we got our finances together.”

“Like how your herd makes you feel?”

He stops for a long moment, finally, “Yeah, like that. My life wouldn’t be right without them.”

“And having three mares, you find you are connected to all of them the same way?”

He nods, “I never knew, adding more didn’t divide my love for them, it added.”

She snuggles closer, nuzzling his neck softly, she looks up at a cleared throat from Starlight. “I’m comforting him.” She goes back to nuzzling. “Tim, you know, having more mares to love, means there is more love to go around.” She snorts softly, “And having a new stallion, is he loving?”

Tim shrugs, “I kinda like Silver. He’s super friendly, and he is so eager to please. It’s hard to not enjoy having him around.”

“Can you love him, like your mares?”

Tim stops dead, “Are you talking sexually?”

She leans back, laughing softly, “Not everything is about sex, Tim. It’s a vital component to a strong herd, but it’s not the only thing. It’s the connection you all have together. Let me ask you this.” She looks down, “Do you think you have enough mares in your herd? Are you all happy together?”

Tim nods, “I don’t see us adding any more any time soon. We are quite happy together. When we are all home, it’s nice to just spend time together.”

She seems to wilt a bit. She’s silent for a long time, then finally she sniffs a bit, “Mind if some time I were to come in and observe your herd? To see how well you’ve integrated in with them?”

Tim shrugs, “I don’t see a problem with that, though I’d clear it with Citrus first.”

She hugs him tighter, “I hope she says yes. I really like you.”

“Me too.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 16. Estimated time remaining: 14 Hours, 15 Minutes