Citrus Blush trots through the corridors of the Canterlot castle with a purpose, her human coltfriend jogging just to keep up with her. Her hooves and his boots ring on the marble floors as they rush through the castle. The guards watch curiously as the lone human and the little unicorn both rush towards the exit. As they get to the main doors, Citrus skids to a stop. She looks up at Tim, “You ready?”

He smiles, “I was born ready, love.”

She raises an eyebrow, “Love?” She thinks for a moment, then smiles, “I like that.” She nods to the unicorn guard, who’s horn lights and the door is drawn slowly open. They walk sedately through the doors and down the stairs onto the grounds. Tim squints at the bright light of the sun, the pegasi are apparently keeping today nice and sunny. A nice late spring day. He’s been on the grounds of the castle, including the gardens where there are many statues. Celestia had walked with him among those statues, explaining the story behind each one. Citrus’ tail starts wagging in happiness again as they get to the gate. The two guards there open them for her. Tim pauses at the threshold, looking around at the bustling city.

Citrus looks back, “Something wrong?”

Tim shakes his head, “No, this is just a first for me. I don’t even remember coming into the castle.” He smiles brightly, “But, I’ve been wanting to do this for months.” He steps onto the street, “It feels good.”

Citrus moves over and nuzzles his hand, “We’ll head to the new place first. I hope you like it.”

Tim looks around, “There are a lot of ponies here.”

She nods as they start walking together. She keeps close to Tim, his hand brushing her cheek as they walk. They turn down the street and continue, “We were in luck.” She says, “We will only be a few blocks from the castle.”

As they continue walking, Citrus starts to frown. While the streets are bustling as always, ponies pulling carts in the streets, along with the hoof traffic on the wide sidewalks, the two seem to be walking in some kind of bubble, the ponies seem to be keeping several body lengths away from them. She’s used to brushing up against other ponies as she walks, but with Tim, that’s not happening. Then she looks at the faces all around her, fear. She glances up at Tim, his head is rotating around, taking in all the sights. She puts a smile on her face, “There’s plenty of good shopping around here, Tim.” She points out the various shopfronts. She looks up at him, her smile becoming genuine, “And we can visit restaurant row, some of the best food in Canterlot.”

Tim looks down at her and grins, “Good vegetarian places?”

Citrus snorts, “It’s ok Tim, I know that you like meat. There are quite a few places that cater to both pegasi and griffons. You can get fish, or chicken there.” She bounces a bit, “I know a great sushi place that has any kind of fish you can think of, and some are spicy enough to blow your ears off.” She blushes, “Cayenne took me there on a date.”

Tim looks thoughtful, “I’ve never met Cayenne, what’s she like?”

Citrus looks thoughtful, “Well, she’s smart. She has wonderful taste in food. She’s one of the best chef’s I’ve ever met. Her restaurant is over in restaurant row.”

“She owns it?”

Citrus nods, “She specializes in spicy foods, loving to cook food that will light the belly on fire. And she manages to pack a lot of flavor into it. She’s gotten more into management over the last year. She’s trained a wonderful new chef who’s got as much passion for spice as she does. She’s a wonderful businessmare.” She looks over at Canterlot Boutique, “Speaking of businessmares, that’s the store where your clothes were made. We can go there sometime if you want.”

Tim blanches, “Citrus, I’ve got enough clothes for five humans for a lifetime.”

Her eyebrows raise, “I would think that a species that always wears clothes would want to have a lot of clothing.”

He shrugs, “Citrus, I’ve always been happy with simple clothing, jeans, sneakers, t-shirts. All that was sent, quite a bit of it I won’t wear all that much, it’s too fancy.”

She hip checks him, “Well, when we go to parties, you’ll need to dress up, at least occasionally.”

Tim rubs the back of his neck, “Citrus, I’m not much into…”

He’s interrupted by a loud voice, “Watch out!” Tim spins quickly, bracing himself. And he’s knocked back by a feathery missile. They roll on the ground, Tim curling around the pony, as they end up against a wall.

“Tim!” Citrus yelps as she rushes over to the human.

Tim shakes his head, then puts a hand to it, “Not very bright.” He mumbles. He looks down at his chest, a pegasus is curled into a ball, her wings wrapped around her head. He shakes the pegasus gently, “Hey, you okay?”

“I’m so sorry.” The pegasus moans.

“Flitter, what the hay?” Comes another voice, Tim looks up to see another pegasus hovering looking at him in return, “What the heck are you? Flitter, get away from that thing!” The other pegasus moves forward, only to be blocked by Citrus.

“Hold on, she could be hurt.” She says to the flying pegasus, she turns to Flitter, “Flitter, are you okay?” She puts a hoof on Tim’s shoulder, “It’s okay Tim, set her down.”

Tim sets the pegasus down on his legs, she shakes her head and looks up at him, “You’re too tall.” She huffs. The other pegasus comes over and puts a hoof on her withers, “It’s okay, Cloud Chaser, I was just buzzing a friend, and wasn’t paying attention until the last second, he caught me though.” Flitter looks up at him, “Thanks.”

Tim smiles, “Don’t worry about it.” Flitter steps off of his legs and moves a bit away so she can stretch.

“Oh, Tim, you’re bleeding!” Citrus shouts, she rushes over to him.

Tim looks at the tear on his jacket and brings a hand up to his forehead, “I’m okay, just a scrape.” He looks at the small scrape on his hand slowly oozing blood.

Flitter looks up at him, “I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention.” She looks down, tracing the ground with a hoof, “You’re hurt because of me.” She looks ready to cry.

Tim reaches out a hand and taps her nose gently, “It’s okay, I’ve gotten worse by tripping over my own feet.” He brushes off Citrus as he stands up, “I’m Tim, and this is my marefriend, Citrus Blush.”

Citrus stops for a long time, looking at him. Marefriend? She shakes out of it to watch the grayish blue pegasus with the light blue mane get a hoof bump from the human, he looks over at the other pegasus, “And you are?”

The other pegasus looks at Flitter, who smiles back, then back up at Tim, “I’m her sister, Cloud Chaser.” She says.

Tim holds out a hand at Cloud Chaser, “Nice to meet you, Cloud Chaser.” The other pegasus looks at his hand for a long time, then at her sister. Finally, Flitter moves over and hip checks her sister forward. Cloud Chaser looks back and gives her sister a dirty look.

Flitter giggles, “Go ahead, Cloudy, he’s not going to eat you.”

Cloud Chaser huffs and puts a hoof in his hand, and he shakes it gently, “Nice to meet you.”

The other mare looks at her hoof for a moment, as though she’s making sure it’s still in one piece, before setting it down, “Likewise.” She says slowly.

The silence starts to stretch, finally Citrus steps up, “Well, we were heading to our new home, want to join us?”

Flitter flinches. She had been staring at Tim, her mouth hanging open, and more than a little fear in her eyes, she looks over at Citrus, “Nah, we’ve got to get going.” She spreads her wings and takes to the air, without another word, her and her sister gain altitude and streak off. Citrus watches them leave, then she helps Tim to his feet. They continue walking until they get to the apartment building, Citrus smiles at the doorpony, who’s mouth drops as she watches Tim walk past. Citrus trots to catch up, pushing the button for the elevator. A quiet ding announces the door opening, and Citrus leads Tim into the elevator.

“Princess Celestia was right.” Tim says simply.

Citrus looks up at him, “I don’t follow.”

He looks down at her, tears in the corners of his eyes, “The ponies, they weren’t just scared of me, they were terrified.” He wraps his arms around himself as though he’s trying to keep warm, “That kind of fear causes those feeling the fear to lash out in desperation.”

Citrus bites her lip, he had noticed. With the way Tim had faked it, she would have bet money that the fearful glances would have gone unnoticed as they had walked through the bustling city, “Thank you for getting me out Citrus, but it may have been a mistake for me to be out here.” A tear starts to make its way down his cheek, “I should have stayed in the castle.” He whispers.

Citrus rears up and puts her forehooves around him, hugging him tightly. She’s gratified to have him put his arms around her, though without him leaning down, she can’t kiss him. She nuzzles his chest as best as she can, “Tim. They don’t know you. You just have to be patient.”

He huffs, “Citrus, I saw over a thousand ponies in that half hour walk we just did. This town is huge! What am I going to do? Personally introduce myself to everypony we meet? Let them know I’m not a danger, and hope they believe me?”

Citrus looks up at him, finally, she stretches out a hoof to touch his cheek, “Tim, pick me up, please.”

He looks confused, but he reaches down and cups his hands, settling them on her rump and pulls her up to where they are eye level with each other. She throws her forelegs around his neck to hold on to him. She looks into his eyes, “That is why Princess Celestia didn’t want you going out on your own. She wanted you to have a pony that would be by you. You need a herd. You need us. Cayenne and I will protect you.”

He snorts, “Cayenne hasn’t even met me. How do I know she won’t act the same way?”

She reaches a hoof and makes him look into her eyes, “Tim, do you trust me?”

He jerkily nods, and she reaches forward and kisses him, although she keeps it short and she pulls away, “Cayenne and I will protect you. We are your mares, you our stallion. It really is that simple.” She lights her horn and the elevator dings as it starts to move, “Trust me Tim, we will be at your new home soon.”

He lets her down as the elevator continues to rise, he watches the dial as it gets to the fifth floor and keeps going, “How high are we going?”

“The tenth.”

He looks up at the dial, “That’s the very top, the penthouse.”

She nods, he looks down at her, “Isn’t that expensive?”

Citrus furrows her brow, “Why would that matter? I’ve got a good job, I do volunteer work, Cayenne has a great job. It’s not a problem.” The elevator dings and the door opens, she leads him out of the elevator and down the corridor to an entry door, “Here we go.”

Tim stops at the door, he looks at Citrus, “I don’t know if I can get a job, considering how terrified the ponies are of me.”

Her eyes widen, “Why would you ever need to get a job, Tim?”

“To help pay my way.”

She sits down, looking at him for a long time, “Tim, paying your way is our responsibility.”

He shakes his head, “Citrus, I’m not going to be a leech.”

Her eyes widen at the conviction in his voice, she sighs, “Tim, can we discuss this later? You can meet Cayenne, and get to know her a bit, then we can talk about that part of our future, okay?”

He looks down, gray eyes gaze into rose for a long time, then he smiles gently, “Okay Citrus, I trust you.” He tugs his jacket, ignoring the rip in the sleeve, “I guess it’s time to meet her.” He reaches towards the door and opens it, he glances around the small entryway.

Her nose flares, “She’s in the kitchen.” She says, “She must be unpacking it.”

Tim sniffs the air a little bit, then he turns towards the kitchen, a short walk through the living room, and they end up in the large kitchen. Citrus glances around, the furniture is all in place, and a small pile of discarded boxes show that Cayenne indeed has been busy. The mare herself has reared up, her horn alight, her back to the entryway, “Was wondering when you two would get here.” Cayenne says as she brings a wooden spoon up, she delicately licks the spoon, smacking her lips, then she turns, and her magic sputters and fails. The spoon clattering to the floor. Cayenne sits down heavily, “Wow.”

Tim flinches, which gets Cayenne to leap up, “Oh no. I was just surprised.”

He looks down, “Like everypony around here,” he nearly sobs, only to have the other pony come and rear up herself to hug him.

“Citrus has told me all about you.” She says gently, “I’m not afraid of you.” She nuzzles his chest, “I’ve been pretty eager to meet you, Tim. And with everything that Citrus has been bending my ear about forever,” She moves her head so she’s looking into his eyes, “I’m very happy to have you here.” She giggles, “You’re really tall. I expected you to be taller than most ponies, but you are even taller than Princess Luna. That surprised me.”

Citrus moves up and rubs a hoof along his back, “It was an interesting walk here.”

Cayenne glances at his arm, “So, what mare needs me to apply hoof to flank?” She reaches out a hoof to touch the tear.

Tim laughs at that, he glances at Citrus, “You were right about her being protective.”

Citrus giggles, Tim explains what happened during the walk. When he’s done Cayenne smiles, “You handled that well. Though the ponies did not act right.” She sighs, “When we go out again, I’ll be with you. Don’t you worry Tim.” She puts a hoof on his arm, “You are safe with Citrus,” her eyes flick to Citrus, then narrow as she looks back at Tim, “and with me.” Her voice almost ending in a growl.

Tim narrows his eyes, “But we’ve just met.”

She moves back over to the stove, “Does it matter?” Her magic picks up the dropped spoon and deposits it into the sink, another spoon is picked up from a drawer. She dips it into the sauce and floats it to Citrus, who has a small taste. The spoon floats over to Tim, who also takes a taste.

“Wow.” He huffs, “Spicy.”

Cayenne giggles, “Of course it is. I love cheese sauces, the creaminess of the cheese, with the spice I put in. Wonderful counterpoints of flavor.”

Tim watches the spoon fly back to Cayenne, deciding to answer her rhetorical question, “Well, it does kind of matter.” He looks down, “Why?”

Cayenne sets down the spoon and turns around, she hops up onto the stool and gestures for Tim to sit at another stool. He folds his tall frame onto the seat. She puts both hooves onto the table, “Tim, I’ve heard about nothing but you for most of the last year since you were brought into the hospital and Citrus started helping you.” She glances at the yellow mare, who’s face is slowly turning red, “I knew she was in love with you for a long time, probably even before she realized it herself.” She looks over and sees Citrus nodding, she smiles, “We had been discussing even before she met you to make a herd. It would have happened much sooner, but she wanted us to have a stallion before we decided. We’ve gone on a few dates, and we live together. We are as close as two ponies can be.” She stops and looks lovingly at Citrus. Citrus notices the attention and her blush deepens, Cayenne continues, “I trust her. Not just in general, but I trust her judgement when it comes to other members of the herd. She wanted you, so I knew you were deserving of her love. And that means you are deserving of my loyalty and support.” She licks her lips, “As to bedroom activities, those are yet to be determined. Though judging by the look on her face.” She smiles as she watches a guilty grin spread across Citrus’ face, “You’ll find I’m quite curious.”

She hops off the stool and walks over to the stove, “With all of that being said, you are a stallion in our herd.” She works as she continues to talk, a pot zips over to the sink and drains through a strainer, the sauce is brought over to the table and plates zip out of the cabinet, “Citrus has said that you don’t know our customs. So we will teach you.” She glances back at Tim, “And I’m sure you are going to be teaching us quite a bit.” She comes back to the table and hops back up on her stool, “I want to know everything I can about you.” She looks him up and down, “You aren’t exactly bad to look at, just different.”

Tim sighs as the plate is assembled before his eyes, thick pasta, along with the creamy white sauce. Along with some lumps in the sauce, he spears one of the lumps with his fork, he picks it up to inspect it, “Chicken?”

Cayenne nods as she levitates a fork and twirls the pasta onto it, she spears a small piece of chicken and brings it up. She looks at it for a long moment, then takes a bite. She chews thoughtfully for a moment, then swallows, “Ponies typically eat plants. But it’s not a problem biologically to eat meat. We just don’t usually like it all that much.” She smacks her lips, “Though this isn’t all that bad.” She takes another bite.

Citrus looks at her plate, then at Cayenne, her own horn lights and she takes a bite as well. She smacks her lips and looks at Cayenne, “Wow, I’ve never thought it would be that good.” She smiles at Tim.

Cayenne giggles, “Well, I’ve already got a few meat dishes at the restaurant, given the amount of pegasus traffic we get. I’ll have to add it to the menu.”

Tim contemplates the food before him, after a moment he takes a bite, the fire spreads along his tongue, he closes his eyes as he chews, sweat starts to pop from his forehead, “Wow.” He gasps.

“Good?” Cayenne says as she floats a glass of milk over to him.

He smiles as he takes the milk from her magical field, he sets it down and takes another bite, “Yes, and it’s very spicy,” he smacks his lips, “I like.”

She looks at Citrus and smirks, then back to Tim, “Heat is a really subjective term. For most of us, this is just warm and flavorful.” She flutters her eyes, “Though, if you’re not used to the heat…” She takes a bite.

He gathers up a big forkful of the pasta and sauce and puts it in his mouth, “Oh, Cayenne, I can handle the heat.”

She giggles and looks at Citrus, “I like him.” Finally she settles down to eat her own food.

***

Tim is in the kitchen, cleaning up after another wonderful meal by Cayenne, dinner to be exact. Although this one wasn’t as spicy or had meat, it was equally as good. Tim picks up another plate and runs it under the water. He takes the small hard bristled brush and scrubs the plate clean and places it in the dishwasher. He hears the soft clop of hooves as he picks up a cup and starts to wash it.

“You know, we can do that easier.” Citrus says.

Tim glances over, “It’s okay, sometimes it’s therapeutic to wash the dishes.”

She rears up next to him, she slides over and rubs her side along his, “Tim. You don’t have to do all of this. We don’t expect stallions to either be working or in the bedroom. Those years are long past.”

He looks over, “I like to work, Citrus. You know that. I was going insane in the castle.” He reaches down and kisses her cheek, “You are a life saver, getting me out of there.”

She giggles, “I wish I had realized much sooner, Tim.” She huffs, “By Celestia, I was blind. I couldn’t see my feelings until the Princess of the Night herself brought them up.”

“It’s alright, Citrus.”

She wraps her tail around his leg, just enjoying touching him, “Everything is going to be okay, right?” She asks in a small voice.

He looks down again, “I hope so, Citrus.”

Another set of hooves enter the kitchen, they both look over at Cayenne, who has a big smile on her face as she looks at them, “You two are so cute.” She teases.

“Thanks.” Tim says dryly.

Cayenne comes up, “So, wanna go for a walk? See more of this city?”

Tim looks down as he picks up the last fork, “Well, the walk today wasn’t all that fun. I think I’ll pass.” He puts it in the dishwasher and grabs the soap for it. In moments the machine is humming away as it does its job. He puts his hand on it, “Let me guess, magic?”

Citrus nods as she gets back on all fours, “Come on Tim. You’ll have both of us with you.”

“I don’t even have my clothes from the castle yet.”

Cayenne grins, “You don’t have to wear anything, Tim. We aren’t.”

That gets a bright blush, “You have tails to cover yourselves. I don’t.”

She giggles, “I was kidding, Citrus told me of your thing about clothes. But…” Her horn lights, and the jacket floats up from the chair it was hung on, he watches as the fabric on his sleeve is mended, “You look really good in it. And your stuff should be delivered tomorrow.” She sets down

Tim looks over at Citrus, “The other ponies, you saw it.”

“Don’t you worry Tim, if anypony treats you badly, I’ll have some words with them.” Cayenne growls.

“Cayenne, I don’t want you getting in fights because of me.”

She saunters around him, “Who said anything about a fight?”

Tim looks at Citrus, then back at Cayenne, “The look on your face is of someone up to mischief.”

That gets a full throated laugh from Cayenne, “I’m liking him more and more, Citrus.” She moves up and rears up to put her hooves on his chest, “You are sweet, Tim. And I’ll tell you right now, if anypony is rude to you, I would kick her flank from here to Ponyville. But I guarantee you, with two mares walking with you, they won’t say a word.”

Tim sighs, he glances at Citrus, who’s ears are forward, and she’s smiling slightly. He glances down at the mare reared up towards him. He hesitantly brings up a hand and cups her cheek, Citrus’ smile widens. He reaches up and runs a finger along her ear, getting a shuddering sigh from the faintly pink mare.

Cayenne opens her eyes and looks back at Citrus, “You were right.” Getting a giggle from both mares.

Cayenne walks towards the door, her tail swaying, “While you were busy with the dishes, I was getting the dish about this morning.” She looks back at him and smiles.

He finds his face heating, he looks at Citrus, who shrugs, “Come on Tim, let’s go.”

They emerge from the main entrance to the apartment building, Cayenne looks around, “Princess Luna has outdone herself.” The night indeed is very beautiful, with wispy high clouds and bright stars visible. The moon is half full at the moment, and it’s light is complemented by the street lights. The hoof traffic all around is markedly less than it was that morning.

Though Tim notices something different, “Those aren’t pegasi.”

Citrus looks in the same direction, then back up at Tim, “Those are thestrals, Tim. They are primarily noctournal. Some of them are night watch, but most are just ponies, living their lives in the Crown city.”

Tim watches the two dark colored ponies, one with a bright white mane, the other with ink black, walk next to each other. They have tufted ears, and while the ponies have extraordinarily large eyes to begin with, these ponies eyes are even larger. They both seem to be smiling and chatting as they walk, their wings folded casually at their sides. Tim looks up, not a single pegasus is in the air, but a couple more of the thestrals are winging their way above the city streets. Their batwings easy to mark out in the dim lighting.

Tim leans down to Citrus, “I don’t see many pegasi in the air.”

“No, it’s pretty rare to see a pegasus flying at night. They will, but not very often. Remember, a crash can incapacitate a pony for hours or even days. Better to fly when they can see.”

“Ahh.” Tim says. They move away from the building and walk down the street, the girls each pointing out different parts of the city as they make their way through the city on the mountain. Tim pays attention to what they are saying, but he’s more interested in how they are acting. Both ponies are nearly leaning against each other as they walk, their bodies in constant contact. Though, occasionally, they’ll move closer to him, putting a head under his hand, wanting that close contact from him as well. It seems much of the other hoof traffic has similar goals, ponies walking together, nearly constantly touching. He soon can pick out herds as they walk among each other. Usually a mare and one or two stallions walking together, with other mares rotating either ahead or to the side of the main group, or in the main group themselves. He feels Citrus push her head under his hand, he looks down at her and meets her smile.

“See, it’s a lot better with an actual herd with you.”

He looks around, there is some space between them and the other ponies, but much less rigid compared to the morning. The looks of fear are still there, but less intense. He watches eyes flick between the two mares and up at him. Some turn away, some continue watching.

“Beautiful.” Tim breathes in.

Cayenne looks up at him, a questioning look on her face.

“Citrus,” he finds his face heating, “and you.”

That gets a blush from Cayenne, “You aren’t so bad looking yourself.” She hip checks him, “Are all of your species this visual?”

He furrows his brow, “Yeah, aren’t you ponies?”

She giggles, “While we are somewhat visual, it’s smell that really gets to us.”

“Really?”

Citrus ends up on his other side, “Yeah, Tim. And you smell really good. You are also really good to look at.”

“That isn’t the first time you’ve said that.” Tim says, a little confused.

Cayenne rubs up against him, “I never thought I would be interested in someone that’s not a pony. But I’ll admit,” She looks down, her own ears turning red, “I am.”

Tim finds his eyebrows rising.

“Ahh, here we are.” Citrus squeaks.

Tim looks up, the entire building looks like marble fashioned into rolling waves, though inside is brightly lit and very cheerful looking. He looks at the sign, he was shocked to his toes that the ponies spoke his language, though the signs are some sort of odd script. Citrus notices his difficulty, “It’s Cookie Crisps’ Magical Bites. One of the best coffee shops in Canterlot.”

“Coffee shop?”

She nods, “Oh yeah, she’s also one of the best bakers in Canterlot. You would have to go to Ponyville for anything better.” Cayenne leads the way in. The smell of brewing coffee grabs Tim the instant he steps through the doors. Though as he enters, all the conversations are immediately choked off. Tim and the two mares walk slowly up to the counter.

Citrus looks around, noting all the eyes glued on Tim. She wants to do something, but Cayenne puts a hoof on her withers, “I’ll handle it.” She whispers fiercely. Citrus rears up and puts her hooves on the counter. Cayenne walks behind Tim and Citrus while the yellow mare is ordering their coffee and sweets. “You should all be ashamed of yourselves.” Cayenne growls loudly, “Would you be acting like this for a herd with a yak? Or with a minotaur?”

Tim looks back at the ponies sitting around. It looks like they are more surprised by Cayenne’s outburst than by him.

She scuffs the floor with a hoof and snorts, “He’s different. So what? He’s also nice, and gentle, and loving.” She stops and looks back at him, a soft smile on her face, “He’s made his new herd very happy just by joining us.” She narrows her eyes as she looks around the room, “Give him a chance.” Her voice gets quiet as she finishes and whirls around to rear up next to Citrus.

Citrus nuzzles Cayenne, “You did good.” She says gently, the low conversation has started to resume. Though Tim continues looking around, and notes that the ponies are still keeping a wary eye on him. It’s not long before the coffee and the cookies are ready for them. Citrus takes the tray and balances it on her back. Cayenne leads them out a side door, onto the large patio. They find one of the smaller tables and all sit down. Tim can hear instrumental music playing through concealed speakers. Soon after sitting down, the conversation on the patio starts up again as well.

“So, are you liking your tour of Canterlot?” Citrus asks.

“Yeah, everything about Canterlot is beautiful.” Tim says, “I think the ponies will accept me, eventually.” He moves the stirrer in his cup, his latte is actually very good, but he is thinking furiously. He looks up at the two girls, “I’d like to find a job, maybe earn some money.”

Cayenne snorts a bit, and Citrus looks at him incredulously, “You don’t want to spend time with us?” She asks, tears in her eyes.

“Oh, no. That’s not it, Citrus.” He cups her cheek with a hand, “You have a job yourself, and so does Cayenne. I wouldn’t be happy being home alone.”

“But, there will be plenty to do at home.” She says, “Don’t forget, Princess Twilight will want to continue your lessons.”

Tim sighs, “I’ll make time for that, but remember, I worked back home, it feels odd to me not to have a job.”

“But we can provide for you, anything you need.” Cayenne says, “You don’t have to work, Tim.”

Tim nods, “I’ve never been one to depend on others for my needs. I drove trucks back home. It didn’t pay the best, but it paid enough.”

Citrus nudges Cayenne, “In his world, the stallions do the providing, for the most part.”

Tim shrugs, “Well, a lot of women work too.”

Cayenne looks at Tim wide eyed, “Stallions are expected to work, to provide for your herds?”

Tim nods, “Yeah. I was taught when I was young I was supposed to protect and provide for my family.”

Both mares shake their heads and look at each other, Citrus speaks up, “Tim, you don’t need to here.”

Tim puts a hand on her hoof, “I know, but I want to.”

Citrus looks down, “Can we just get you settled in? A week or two, then we can talk about you getting a job?”

Tim sighs, looking around at the ponies on the patio. They seem to be calming down as their little herd has continued to talk, though they are still being glanced at. He takes a bite of the cookie, and his eyes grow big, “This is spectacular.” He breathes.

Cayenne giggles, “Told ya.”

Citrus takes a sip of her dark coffee, “I think you are going to like Equestria. We aren’t going to just stay in the city here. You need to see all of it. Even places like the Crystal Empire, Griffinstone, and Appaloosa.”

Tim looks up at the night sky, watching the stars twinkle, “Yeah, I think I’m going to like it here.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 6. Estimated time remaining: 18 Hours, 42 Minutes