**Author's Note**
Chapters 50 and 51 were both posted today as a commemorative 50 chapter milestone special! Please make sure you didn't miss the previous one as they were just posted together! Thank you, thank you, and thank you for reading!

Also an updated commemorative art piece is waiting at the end of this chapter once you finish reading! Thank you again for sticking with me for 50 chapters!

The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Ch 51 - Five Hearts and a Birthday

“I’m sorry about my sister Rayne. I think she just has a lot on her mind right now. She isn’t normally so inconsiderate.” Maud said as she sat with her boyfriend on a grassy hillside on the edge of town. Then she reached up pulling a strawberry taffy out of his mane which they had missed earlier.

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mind. She is your sister so she's allowed to make a fuss when it comes to you dating somepony.” Suddenly having an idea Rayne pulled the taffy from her hoof and after removing the wrapped stuck one end of it into Maud’s mouth. The mare blushed as he leaned forward nipping at the other end of the treat before kissing her while they swirled the other end of the candy between them.

“Ray-Rayne!” Maud pulled back looking flushed as she glanced about in embarrassment from the public display of affection.

Being able to tell that she was only being shy Rayne just pulled back and asked, “So why was Pinkie making such a fuss? Is it only about you dating someone?”

Maud shook her head. “No, it’s more likely because it is my birthday tomorrow. Pinkie can get like this with parties.” Rayne could tell that it wasn’t just her usual tone that made her sound nonchalant about this news. However to he on the other hand definitely had a different mindset on the matter.

“WHAT?! Your birthday is tomorrow?! Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked as already his brain was racing with what ideas he could come up with for her at the last minute.

But that was when a hoof was placed over his own which brought him back to reality. “It’s because I didn’t want you to make a big deal about it. I don’t really like parties or surprises or lavish gifts. I treasure the rose you gave me when Zecora was over because it was intimate, not because gemstones themselves are valuable. You took the time to make that for me. But for my birthday I would much rather a quiet sit down with some ponies I care about than to have a big celebration with presents from the entire town.”

Now Rayne gave a soft sigh and nodded. “Of course that’s what you would prefer. I’m sorry Maud, I should have realized that from the beginning. But what about Pinkie?”

“Oh let her throw me a party. I go to them because it makes her happy. And that makes me happy. But I always tend to slip away after awhile.”

“Hmm. What if my gift for you was helping to tone Pinkie back so that you could have a party that you wouldn’t have to slip away from? And that way you still get to see her be happy?”

“If you could then that would be nice. But how would you do it?”

“I don’t know yet. But I’ll think of something. Just trust your boyfriend, he’ll find a way.”

That was when the two of them cuddled together and Maud just rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the townponies walking about below. After a little while Maud asked, “So does that mean you are going to be leaving now to plan a surprise for me?”

Rayne hugged her tighter, “No surprises for your birthday. You have my promise.” Then he kissed the top of her head. “I don’t really know what I’m doing for the rest of the day now though. I had been planning on finding Starlight to have a nice day-time date with her again but maybe I might be more inclined to spend it with you now seeing as your special day is coming up.”

Maud looked down to her hooves for a moment. “Do you know what I would like Rayne?” The stallion shook his head and she looked up to him. “You might not know this but Starlight is my best friend. After I moved to Ponyville she is the first pony I really connected with when I decided to look for a friend. Would it be too awkward for you maybe spending the day with the both of us?”

“Oh really? You and Starlight? Well as long as she is fine with it then I think I would like that. I have to break the news to her anyways. Perhaps we can do it together?” Maud nodded and then stood up first seeming ready to go.

“I might even have a good idea for something she would like to do together.” She told him and Rayne raised an eyebrow curiously.

- - -

Not more than an hour later Starlight sighed in exhaustion as she pushed a pouting pink mare back out through the doorway to her room. “Good grief, that pony is on a rampage today. But it’s understandable. I suppose if I had a sister who suddenly got a boyfriend without me knowing anything about it then I’d be a little crazy too. But a promise is a promise. I guess I’ll see if I can go find Maud and keep her busy for the day while Pinkie takes care of what she needs to.”

Just then there was a tap on the window which confused the unicorn because her bedroom was pretty high up from the ground. “Starlight!” A voice then called out from a distance which brought the mare to look outside.

“Oh a kite!” Starlight said excitedly as she saw the colorful toy streaming along through the air just outside her windowsill. Following her eyes down th path of the string, she was surprised to see Maud and even more shocking was seeing Rayne down along with her.

“Come on out! We want to see you!” The stallion called and with all thoughts about Pinkie suddenly gone from her mind she quickly grabbed her own kite to rush downstairs as fast as she could.

A few minutes later the three were laughing as a good tug of the wind almost pulled the kites out of their hold. “Wow, I can’t understand where all this wind came from. It’s like perfect kite flying weather today.” Starlight exclaimed, seeming beside herself with joy as she watched their three sky banners sailing through the air.

“Yeah imagine that.” Rayne chuckled as he leaned away so she wouldn’t notice his horn gleaming while he made use of all the pegasus magic he had stolen so far. However that was only until Maud playfully poked him in the side to get him to quit it.

Despite her enjoyment Starlight suddenly gave a remorseful expression. “I’m happy to see you again Rayne. I’m sorry that I didn’t travel home with you from Canterlot. Luna practically threw me out saying that she had it under control. I had heard about when you were back in town but I figured I’d give you some space. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on you if you were still recovering." The two shared a warm smile together as they extended their kites a but higher. "But what I didn’t know was that my boyfriend and my best friend are already know each other!”

“Yes, we’ve gotten quite close.” Maud answered in her usual tone. “But please, Rayne didn’t tell me that you haven’t seen him all week. Don’t let me stand in your way.” The stallion was surprised when the gray mare suddenly looked disapprovingly at him and then pointed over to Starlight.

“Heh, getting after me already are you?” He chuckled and then scooted closer to Starlight while being careful to not entangle everyone’s kites together. “Hey there, I missed you. I’m sorry it took me so long to come around.” He said affectionately as Starlight pushed her mane back while blushing a little. They shared a gentle kiss and Rayne stole a glance noticing that Maud seemed to smile at seeing them looking cute together.

After the two pulled back from each other Starlight looked over to Maud before saying, “And I hear that you’ve gotten pretty lucky in the field of romance yourself. Your sister definitely has some concerns but I’ll let you talk to her about that. I’ve been trying really hard to stay out of it between you two but Pinkie hasn't been making that easy for me.”

Now Maud shifted her gaze to the side as she confessed, “Actually, I had an ulterior motive for wanting to spend the day with you today Starlight. I’m sorry. My new boyfriend is actually what I was hoping that I could talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Starlight asked while looking over to give Maud more of her attention now. “Well if you need to speak to me then of course I’m here for you.”

“Rayne, can you come over here please?” Maud asked. He nodded and took hold of all three of their kite handles, fixing them into the ground a few feet apart so everypony could sit down and talk together. Looking back to her friend now Maud said, “Starlight, you are dating Rayne so I want to make sure that you know he is a special kind of pony. Has his cutie mark and his background been explained to you?”

The other mare nodded and smiled, reaching out to hold his hoof with her own. “Yes and it doesn’t bother me. I know all about him being a pleasure pony and I know all about the good things… and the bad things that go with that.” She sighed and looked guilty as Rayne stared at her in surprise. “Twilight told me Rayne. I know what could happen if you get your heart broken. I’m sorry that I didn’t mention that I knew before.”

He was about to console her but Maud spoke up again wanting to stay on track. “So since you know that Rayne is what he is, you can understand that you might not be the only mare that he ends up dating?”

“Oh.” Starlight said suddenly. “I hadn’t thought of it that way before. But I suppose you’re right. I’ll admit that normally if I had a boyfriend who tried dating another mare besides me then I’d have his hide… but I suppose, it is a bit of a different case when it comes to him. Why do you bring it up Maud?” She asked in confusion as Rayne was just sitting there blushing now while still holding one of Starlight’s hooves. That was when Maud reached out to take hold of Rayne’s other hoof just as intimately. “Maud, what are you- OH! OH, OH!!!” Starlight shouted as she covered her mouth in surprise.

Looking to her friend Maud spoke a little softer now. “Rayne is the boyfriend I have that Pinkie has been freaking out about. We just came out to her about us dating a little while ago. I didn’t know that my sister had been venting to you about it. It seems that I am doing a lot of apologizing for my sister’s behavior today.”

Now Starlight got quiet as she looked directly to Rayne. “So really? Is it true? You are dating my best friend?” She asked and he just nodded.

“Starlight, I’m okay with this if you are.” Maud said, trying to speak in earnest for Rayne’s defense.

But to this he raised a hoof wanting to show responsibility to both of these mares that he had pledged his feelings to. “It’s okay Maud. If Starlight wants to be mad at me right now then she has every reason to be. Look, I know we are just kind of springing this on you and I’m sorry for that. It’s a poor excuse for me to say that a lot has happened and that is why I didn’t tell you sooner. But we are telling you now and-”

“Rayne, just wait a second.” Starlight interrupted. “Listen, I don’t really care about you spending time with other mares. I already knew you were doing that. I just thought that I was the only one who you were actually dating is all.” She confessed to him. The expression on her face did seem a bit stern but her voice was steady and collected.

“Wait, you knew about that?” Rayne asked in confused.

“Yeah, um.” Starlight mumbled. “One of the nights earlier this week when you apparently stayed late after work in the day spa… I don’t know if it was Aloe or Lotus but one of them apparently left a window open while you were in there with them. A couple ponies in town heard you guys and rumors travel pretty fast around here. I was going to bust your chops for it later but this kind of changes things for me now.” Now Maud blushed along with Rayne because she knew that had been the night when she had also there as well. "Also," Starlight added, "I know all about Rarity too. But don't worry, I know not to let Spike find out." She said and Maud nodded in understanding.

“If it makes this any easier for you...” The gray mare said making the other two looked over to her. “Now you get to talk about your boyfriend to your best friend and know that she will always understand what you’re talking about. You know, since she is dating him too.” Contrary to her usual character Maud now gave a brief smirk across her lips.

“Maud?!” Rayne called out to her in surprise.

“Ooooh, naughty. I like the sound of that.” Starlight replied now matching Maud’s smirk and looking even more devious than her friend.

“Starlight?!” Rayne called out again, laughing a bit nervously now. Suddenly the two mares leaned away from him and began whispering back and forth while both looking to him as they did so. “H-hey, come on you two. No fair.” He sighed, not knowing whether to be happy or nervous about them getting along like this. But then the two girls just laughed together clearly enjoying that they could make him nervous when they need to.

“Alright, so fine.” Starlight said suddenly. “If you can respect that this is new for me and not rub it in my face too much then I can agree to this. And I’ll admit that it does make it easier for me since it’s with you Maud.” She said before stepping up and giving Rayne a sweet kiss. “And now, ahem, kiss your other girlfriend Rayne.” Starlight scolded him, picking up now on how Maud had done the same for her earlier. The stallion clearly didn’t mind as he leaned forward giving the earth pony a thankful smooch for her assistance. Starlight watched skeptically for a moment but after they pulled back she smiled thinking that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

That was when they all jumped as a different voice spoke out to them from behind. "So that's it, is it?" Turning around they all saw a deflated looking Pinkie Pie who was standing there staring at them. “Maud, you already knew that Rayne had been seeing other mares and you were still okay with dating him?”

Giving a sigh the gray sister nodded and replied, “Yes Pinkie. I was actually Rayne’s first girlfriend after he moved into town. But I've found that it actually excites me a little to see Rayne being so popular around other mares. So... I have actually been the one encouraging him to do so."

“Wait what?! It does? Um, why?” Starlight asked still trying to work through this new concept to her. Maud looked awkwardly in Pinkie’s direction now but then raised a hoof and whispered something into Starlight’s ear. “Ewww! Wait, really? Huh...” The unicorn mumbled but then blushed remembering that they were still right in front of Maud’s sister.

After an awkward moment of silence Pinkie looked over to Starlight. “And you? You’re not mad at my sister for also dating the pony that I wasn’t even aware until now that you also like?”

Starlight shrugged at this point. “It’s not like I planned this Pinkie. It’s still a little weird for me but yeah, I guess this is okay.”

“Well alrighty then!” Pinkie suddenly screamed, giving no warning as she snapped from gloomy to happy in an almost unnatural flash. “Phew, I am SO relieved. At first when Maud and Rayne told me that they were dating I was like ‘A wha-whaaaaaaaaa’ because I didn’t know my sister would start dating somepony that I already knew. Then I was like ‘You?!” because I mean, Rayne come on, what a great guy. He’s handsome and he’s nice and everypony seems to get along with him! But then I was like ‘You?’ because there was that time that I caught him fooling around with Applejack out in the orchard and I was worried that he was cheating on my sister or maybe that he had been cheating on Applejack with my sister. And then I was like ‘You...’ because I remembered that Rainbow Dash TOTALLY has a thing for him too, like she openly admitted it in front of all the princesses and everything so it made me think that maybe Rayne is a total player who is cheating on everypony but now I understand that it’s different and he isn’t cheating on anypony! He is just dating everypony all together like he is Maud and you Starlight so really it’s like collecting friends but being much more romantic about it and I think that is AWESOME!” She screamed and then sounding winded from that gigantic rant she just made.

“WAIT A MINUTE!” Starlight screamed and Rayne recoiled as the unicorn suddenly leaned over him while giving him a death glare. “Look! Maud I can accept because she and I are so close! We get along! And yes I have other ‘friends’ but there is a limit to how many ponies that I can be ‘extra close to!’ Just how many mares are you DATING buster?! And I mean dating, dating! I don’t even want to hear about all your trysts!” Starlight was almost backing him into the ground now from how furiously she was towering over into him.

“Heh, well there is you and Maud. I am dating Applejack too now and I’m also dating Zecora.” He told her and suddenly he felt glad there wasn’t a bigger audience to embarrass him in front of other than just Pinkie Pie.

“ZECORA TOO?! SHE’S NOT EVEN A PONY!” Starlight screamed and then quickly rubbed her forehead, “I mean, not that there is anything wrong with anypony dating a zebra but… FOUR MARES?! YOU ARE DATING FOUR, FOUR MARES?! And what’s this about Rainbow Dash?!”

“I went on a date with her too but it was just the once so far. We haven’t made anything offici-”

“Oh shut your ridiculous five mare dating face! Everyone who was there in the Crystal Empire could tell that she had a thing for you already so you might as well just consider yourselves together! I didn’t care at the time because ‘I’ wasn’t even official with you yet but now I am! Maud! Maud, tell me… Did you know all this? Did you know that he was dating THIS many different girls?!"

To this Maud seemed to have no big reaction as she just deadpan responded, “Yes.” Starlight smacked herself in the forehead. “I’ve known about every date that Rayne has gone on as well as all of his ‘trysts’ that he’s also had.”

“And it doesn’t bother you?!” Starlight screamed.

“No, not particularly. Why? Should it?” Maud asked.

“Yes!” Starlight exclaimed.

“Why?” Maud asked.

“Because…!” Starlight screamed. “Uh, because… um.” But now she faltered a bit. “Because he’s chea… Well, no I guess he’s not really cheating on you if you already knew about it. Well... because it’s weird?” Starlight guessed, not quite sure why she didn’t have a better answer for this.

To Starlight’s disappointment Maud was seeming far more confident on the subject. “I have been told all my life that the way that I do things is weird Starlight.” Now the unicorn sulked already knowing where this was going and which made her feel incredibly guilty. “Should I stop dating Rayne because it’s not how somepony else would do it? Should I stop doing the things I like or behaving in the way that makes me comfortable, just to suit others? I know that trying new things can be difficult. I almost didn’t move to Ponyville but Pinkie here convinced me to give something that was uncomfortable a try. And I am glad that I did. Because I made a friend like you.”

“Aww, Maud.” Starlight cheered softly. “Look, okay okay. I’ll try to give this a shot. But Rayne, Maud just hit the nail on the head for me there. My issue is that I am uncomfortable with this!" He nodded trying to show that he understood but not wanting to interrupt as she continued. "So here is what I propose. I want you to go and talk to Applejack, and to Zecora, and to Rainbow Dash and then back to us again. I don’t think it’s fair for you to date any of us unless everypony knows about all of us. If you come back and ALL of them are on board with this then it would make things easier for me to give it a shot. But I just can’t accept this if we’re doing it behind any other ponies back.”

“Sure thing. I don’t have a problem with that at all Starlight. That was the whole reason why Maud and I came to you about this in the first place. We both already feel the same way.” Maud nodded along with Rayne.

Now the unicorn felt glad that there was no disagreement on this point. But Starlight yelled out once more while stretching a hoof toward Rayne. “And no more new girlfriends unless you have a really REALLY good reason for it! I don’t care if you are a pleasure pony! Five is just ridiculous enough as it is!”

Rayne raised his hooves defensively and laughed, “Okay, okay. You’ve got me there. I don’t have any problem agreeing to that either.”

Now that things seemed to be settled Starlight sternly walked over to where the kites were stuck. “Boyfriend...” She said sternly, handing the handle of Rayne’s kite to him. “Best friend. And… co-girlfriend...” She said awkwardly trying to understand everyone’s place in this. Maud took her kite as well. “Pinkie, do you have a kite?” Starlight asked before sitting down on the other side of Rayne so that he was between Maud and her.

“No, but that’s okay. I can just watch with you guys.” She said as she laid down and looked up. After that Pinkie started laughing hysterically to which, as often was the case, no other pony could quite understood why.

- - -

The rest of the events following went by without much issue. Rayne, Maud, Starlight and Pinkie all enjoyed a nice afternoon together. After which Maud and Starlight disappeared to discuss a great many things for how their new relationship would proceed. Meanwhile Rayne went off with Pinkie who reluctantly agreed to a smaller celebration for her sister. They worked out their plans, both becoming excited about what they could do but then toning it back remembering what the birthday girl would actually like for them to do.

The next day Starlight had been dumbstruck when she was told that Rayne had visited Applejack and then Dash while Maud had visited Zecora and each one of them in their own way had agreed to the terms that Starlight laid out. Granted, Rainbow did state that she felt like this was Rayne weaseling his way into being official with her and added the caveat that her second date with Rayne had better be deserving of her agreeing to go steady with him in advance.

“Wow, well alright then.” Starlight stuttered. “I’ll be honest. I didn’t expect every mare to say yes. But I guess… I guess it’s fine then.” She told Rayne as Maud smiled from their boyfriend's other side. “So how exactly is this going to work Rayne?” Starlight eventually asked him as he and Maud now sat with her in the privacy of her room. “You’re dating five of us. How are you going to find the time to not leave any mare feeling lonely?"

To this Maud at looked at Starlight in surprise. “Really Starlight?”

“What?” The unicorn stammered.

Rayne just smiled to her as he pointed out, “Well, when you think about it… it really shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Yeah there are a lot of you but I am technically dating some of the busiest girls around. Applejack works on a farm. So really it’s pretty rare for her to have a day off. I expect there will be a lot of late nights with me sneaking around Granny Smith and her brother for us. Also, you work in the Twilight’s friendship school and you are also the pupil to the princess as well. You might not be giving yourself enough credit for how busy of a girl you are. And it actually makes me pretty sad to think that I might almost never get to spend any time with Rainbow Dash seeing as she also works at the school, she is also a Wonderbolt, and she also has her own weather pony activities that she does.”

“Wow Rayne, you’re right.” Starlight stated as she suddenly felt a lot more appreciative that she was getting to spend two days in a row with him after not having seen him in almost a week. With a gentle blush she quickly found herself appreciating an intimate makeout session with him but she also pulled the other mare over as well making sure to share Rayne so Maud could have her turn kissing him too.

Later that afternoon Maud’s party took place quietly outside the range of Ponyville. Rayne, Starlight, Pinkie, the birthday girl, and Rarity who had also been invited all sat upon a picnic blanket out in a field. The news was broken to their friend and Rarity joked about making matching necklaces for all of Rayne's partners as if it were a club he has starting.

Even though the party was small, they shared their laughs together and there were smiles all around. "Thank you Rayne, and everypony." Maid said to them. "This has been the best birthday ever."

Wonderful art by Rey Rosquete

Author's Notes:

Ha so I'm sure that many of you were entertained seeing Rayne getting yelled at. That sly dog... or smooth cat, as it were. Five girls and he's gotten them all to agree to it!

Okay so this wraps up the birthday episode for Maud in the show. Who likes how I tied it all together? Did you think the flying kite scene was cute?

Also it means the world to me you all have followed along with me this far. So as always, thank you so very much for reading!