You’ve never eaten at ITROT before, but after that meal, you couldn’t wait to go again. Strawberry banana pancakes, and a nice helping of scrambled eggs with a side of bacon? Delicious. Milky had more traditional pancakes, with a cup of coffee to drink, once she was finished with her water. You weren’t much of a coffee person, didn’t like the taste too much. Ironically though, you did like coffee ice cream, or blended Frappuccino’s, but coffee on its own never appealed to you.

True to your word, you paid for breakfast, despite Milky’s insistence that she’d pay for it. You couldn’t stop her from paying the tip, though. There was no fighting her on that one.

The two of you walk out of the restaurant, with you slapping your stomach in approval at the delicious meal.

“Wow, that was really good.” you say. Milky looks pleased.

“I’m glad you enjoyed that.” she says, “There are plenty of good places around Trottingham, but that is my favorite.” She gestures you to follow her. “Come on, it’s almost time for work.”

You follow her to the center of town, where her dairy market, Milky’s Way, stands tall and proud. There is already a line of eager ponies and humans, waiting to buy some of Milky’s tasty milk. The sign is a rather adorable set up, with an animatronic image of Milky Way drinking a glass of milk, brandishing a milk mustache. That thing must have cost a fortune of bits. You smile, as the two of you walk past the line, the cheers of the line can be heard, as you near closer to the door.

She unlocks the door long enough for you to go inside. She locks it again, preparing herself for the crowd.

“Your store sure attracts quite the crowd.” you say.

“It’s usually like this in the mornings, but business slows down after an hour or two.” Milky explains, as she looks at the batch of milk cartons in the fridge, making sure they are good. “Don’t expect it to be like this all the time, though.”

“Are you sure that there’s nopony out there interested in you?”

“Oh please.” she rolls her eyes, “The only thing they are interested in is my milk, not the pony that made them. And when they are interested in the pony that made them, it’s because of these…” she bops one of her teats, “…rather than my charming personality.”

“Those assholes.” you say with a smile, “Your personality is the best part about you.”

“Yeah, you say that, but I know your game, Mister.” she jokingly says, “Now, you better get ready, I’m about to let them in, and it’ll be your job to control them.”

You take a quick look around the store. There’s not enough room to let them all in at once. You make a mental order in your head to let a certain number in. Five ought to do it. You nod to yourself, ready to go.

Milky opens the door, and you get to work.

Once five got inside, you hold the rest back, telling them that you didn’t want them crowding the store. Waves of groans hit you hard, but that was to be expected. Once the five left with their purchases, you let five more in.

The process continued on, until the crowd became less anxious, adhering to the new rules of the store. No longer did you have to hold them back; they just stood there, waiting for their eventual turn. You make occasional glances back at Milky, who is appreciative of your moderation systems, grinning your way whenever she made eye contact with you. This is easier than you initially thought.

“Hey there, sweet cheeks.” one pony says as he walks in the store. Milky rolls her eyes at this colt. This isn’t the first time she’s seen him.

“For the last time, no.” she grumbles. “Now, get a bottle like everyone else.”

“Come on, Sugar.” he plunks down a bag of bits. “Just one little taste from those supple looking tits.”

You couldn’t ignore that any further. It was Milky’s scoff, combined with that colt’s rude language, which made you finally turn around, and grab the bastard by the ear.

“Hey! Watch the ear!” says the colt.

“Come back when you behave yourself!” you push him out of the store, throwing the bag of bits back in his face. The crowd laughs as the colt scampers off with a whimper and his tail between his legs. You turn to see Milky breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thanks.” Milky says with gratefulness, “It would have taken him forever to go, if you weren’t here.”

“Who the hell was he?” you ask.

“Those guys I told you about; the ones that that want to drink from the tap? That’s one of them.”

“One?” you chuckle in disbelief, “How many others are there?”

“Three…no wait…five…including a human.”

“Holy lord…” you say under your breath.

“They don’t all come here at once. Maybe like once or twice a week, at best. It’s not that big of a deal. Don’t worry so much.”

The two of you continue on with business. Eventually, the crowd begins to die down a little bit after about a half hour. It was a pretty long line out there, not including some stragglers as the store opened. Aside from that one little mishap with the perverted pony, things seemed to be moving along nicely.

Afternoon approaches, and you see Milky shifting around at the counter. A look of discomfort falls on her face.

“Are you okay?” you ask her.

“Y-yeah. I’m just…getting close.”

“Oh!” you get it quickly. Looking at your watch, you notice that it’s a little bit past the time of her milking. You look back outside. There’s more than five more customers left. “Will you be able to hold out?”

“Piece of cake.” she gives you a smile, “Let the rest in. It’ll make things go faster.”

You agree with her. You open the door up, allowing anypony waiting outside to come inside. There were actually about ten others waiting; they all come in to get what they wanted. All in all, more than sixty people and ponies showed up in the two and a half hours the store spent open. You were amazed that Milky had so much stock. It really was true; she can produce a hell of a lot of milk in a day’s time.

Once the last customer walked out the door, Milky galloped into the back room. Courteously, you lock the front door, flipping the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Closed’.

You walk into the back, it’s a dim room; all the windows are boarded up. Luckily, there’s a light switch by the door. You flip it, and you can see everything now. It’s a storage room, packed with refrigerators of milk; keeping everything nice and fresh. It’s also startlingly cold in there, compared to the warm outside of the store.

There’s no time for dwelling on this any further, as Milky is waiting rather impatiently for you. From the look on her face, she’s about to burst at any moment.

“The bucket…” she says weakly. “It’s right next to you.”

You grab the nearby bucket, and once you get to her, you commence with the milking right away. Like the day before, each jet of milk makes her voice less stressed, more calm, breathing one sigh of comfort after another. Honestly, you have no idea why the other guy before you got sick of this. Gives you something to do: not to mention that it makes you feel rather important.

“Getting sick of it, yet?” she asks.

“Are you kidding? Heck no. This is the best part of my day!”

“You’re a cheeky one.” she catches on to your jesting.

“Okay, it might not really be the BEST part of the day, but it’s certainly not the worst either. I think that colt back there took the cake with that.”

“Careful, now.” she grins, “You’re starting to sound like an over-protective boyfriend.”

“Don’t lie. You liked it when I kicked that colt out the store.”

“Yeah…that’s true.” The two of you share a laugh.

“So, if I wasn’t here…how exactly would you milk yourself?”

“Well…” she giggles, “I would press down really hard on my nipples, but I would have to aim the bursts very carefully, so I wouldn’t get any on the ground. I got the technique down rather well.”

“You never thought of getting some kind of milking machine?”

“Don’t tell me that you WANT your job taken away already?” she jokes.

“No Ma’am…” you smirk, “I was merely curious.” You take note of the covered up windows in the room. “Why are all the windows boarded up in here?”

“Keeps the cold from escaping. Plus, it also keeps the less desirable customers from sneaking a peek at the milking process.”

“Right, I remember you telling me you had to milk yourself in the middle of town, one day. I bet they got a good look at that.”

“Unfortunately.” she grimaces, thinking back on that incident. “Not my proudest moment.”

You finish with the milking. The bucket is all full of the tasty substance. She smiles, and so do you.

“There. All done.” you say with a sense of accomplishment.

“Give it a taste.”

You grab a cup, get yourself a nice helping, and down it quickly. Yep, still mighty tasty. You let you a satisfied sigh, which makes her chortle with amusement.

“Still got it.” you say, “I suppose I’ll be your official taste tester, for the next couple weeks.”

“Seems like a good idea to me.” She grins, and giggles, “You got yourself a mustache there, again.”

“Woops.” you scramble through your pockets for a napkin. There are none. “You got a napkin, by any chance?”

“No, but I have something better…” she says. She leans down, sticks out her tongue, and gives your mouth a slow, sensual lick, lapping up every drop of stray milk on your lips. You can’t help but pause in complete shock…and more than a little bit of arousal, as she cleans your lips. Once she is done, she leans back, taking in the taste. “You’re right…” she says, “It’s still good.”

You’re still utterly frozen.

“Uh…I…uh…” you stammer, red flushing your cheeks. It’s easy to tell that she notices your flustered look. “I…I’ll go put this away.” You put a lid on the bucket, and place it in a free spot in one of the refrigerators. You pause for several seconds, regaining your composure.

“I take it you liked that?” she says with a grin.

“Oh yeah, I definitely liked that.” You pause for several more seconds. Finally, you’re back to normal. “Hey Milky, I was wondering...”

“No, we’re not going to do it during work hours.”

“Umm…no…but good guess on the question, though.” you chuckle, “I was actually wondering…what happens if I feed you chocolate?”

Milky suddenly bursts out laughing. She could see the implications of that question coming a mile away.

“You’re asking if I can make chocolate milk?” she continues laughing, “Like I’ve never heard that one before!” You’ve never heard her laugh like that. It’s pretty adorable, really. It takes her a bit to pull herself together, before replying “No, believe me, I’ve tried. Unfortunately, I just have to make chocolate milk the old fashioned way.” She points to a shelf full of chocolate syrup, made especially for such occasions.

“Silly me…” you say, embarrassed, “Sorry about that.”

“About what? It’s an honest question. One would think a mare like me would be able to produce chocolate milk, if fed chocolate. Alas, it’s not meant to be. Do you think less of me?” she says with a hint of playfulness.

“Not at all. I am curious though…” she leans in to listen closely to your incoming question, “On holidays, can you make eggnog?”

“That I can do.”

“Really?”

“No.” she laughs again. “You’re a funny guy.”

“Glad somepony thinks so.” you say, “So, do we go back out there?”

“To work? No. We’re done.”

“Seriously? It’s like two o'clock in the afternoon!” you look down at your watch.

“After the rush, nopony and nobody comes to the store. Not even at night. Never saw the point in keeping a store open, if no one is going to show up, right?”

“I suppose so.” you nod, “What do you want to do now?”

“I believe you told your parents that you were going on a sightseeing tour.” she smirks, “Allow me to be your guide.”

For the rest of the day, Milky gives you your own personal tour of Trottingham. She knew all about the history of the place, from every building, to every road, she was extremely knowledgeable. Quite a smart mare, this one.

She takes you to Trottingham Castle, a beautiful piece of architecture. You manage to snag a few pictures inside, before some hard-ass security guard threatened to take your camera-phone away. You then traveled to the large marketplace in town, where the two of you got a bite to eat, and a few souvenirs to take back to your folks. A snowglobe seemed like a nice gift for them; they couldn’t get enough of their snowglobes.

Milky takes you to Wollaton Hall, a massive five hundred acre piece of architecture. Inside was packed with lush, beautiful paintings, and expensive looking furniture. A few more pictures for the phone, and another super serious Guard later, and the two of you were on your way out fairly quickly.

It wasn’t all seriousness though, Milky took many opportunities to photobomb you every chance she got. Half the time, she would pop out, making silly faces, forcing you to take another picture. It was all in good fun, though. You saved one picture of her; when she gave you a pretty smile in front of the castle. You made a note to not send that one to your parents, or else…you know.

The sun begins to set, and Milky takes you to one last place; a grassy hill overlooking the town. It was a marvelous sight, you could see everything, from Milky’s store, and her house, to the various landmarks. You sit down, just as you send the picture files to your parents.

"Thanks for the tour, Milky. I think they'll really like the pictures."

"I'm glad to be of help."

She sits down right next to you, gradually inching closer to you, till she's literally shoulder to shoulder with you.

“What do you think of the view?” she wonders, “Impressed?”

“Yeah, it’s gorgeous, but what are we doing up here?” you ask, “It’s going to get dark soon.”

“I normally like coming up here when the sun goes down. My favorite part comes soon after that.”

“Which is?”

“The moon rising.”

“I see.” you nod. She can see the look in your eyes, widening her own in confusion.

“Wait, you’ve never seen the moonrise before, have you?”

“Can’t say that I have.” you admit, “Never really bothered to look.”

“Well, I never…” she pouts, “Looks like you need a bit of a lesson! The moonrise is the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see! Princess Luna does it best.”

“Oh right, because Celestia did it before, right?”

“Exactly. Once Luna came back, the rising of the moon has been so wonderful. You’ll die when you see it!”

“I hope not. I plan to live a little longer.”

“You know what I mean.” she prods your arm with a chuckle.

The two of you wait for a little longer. The stars begin to appear, lighting the night sky. She puts a hoof on your hand, signaling that the moon will be arriving soon.

Then…you see it.

The moon, big and bright, emerging from the corner of the earth, moving upwards into the sky. Your eyes gaze upon the utter majesty of the whole thing, and your mouth agape at it all. Instinctively, you grab onto Milky’s hoof, giving it a tight squeeze. Honestly, you’ve never seen anything like it before.

“Was I right? Or, was I right?” she says with confidence.

“Oh yeah, you were so right.” you continue watching. “I can’t believe it, it’s just so…” you remove your gaze from the moon to look at Milky. You find yourself looking deep into her eyes, watching how they sparkle in the moonlight. It’s captivating, giving you a great moment of pause. It takes a while for you to talk again, saying “…beautiful.”

Milky blushes. At this point…you’re not talking about the moon anymore.

You put a hand on her cheek, slowly caressing it, before moving forward, locking lips with her for a soft, romantic kiss. It was nothing like the kiss from last night, which was more animalistic, but this was something that one would give to a loved one. Your lips part from her, and the two of you look back at one another.

“That was weird, wasn’t it?” you ask. You look away from her, removing your hand from her cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“What? What are you sorry about?”

“We didn’t agree if this was a thing or not, and the way that I kissed you…”

“Hey, there’s no need to fret. I liked it. It was very sweet of you to do.”

You look back to her smiling face. She didn’t seem the least bit offended at the way you kissed her. Still, a blush adorns your face.

“Have you decided if this is a thing or not?” you ask her, wondering just where this relationship is going.

“I’m still not sure yet.” she replies, “I'll let you know, when I eventually figure it out.”

“So, until then…we’re just friends…with benefits?” you smirk, so does she.

“It sure looks that way, doesn’t it? Think you can deal with that?”

“Yeah…” you chuckle, “I think I can.”

The two of you go back home. It’s getting late, and it’s time for bed. Unlike last night, you plan on sleeping with your clothes on. Lucky for you, you packed some comfortable fleece pajamas, as Trottingham does get rather cold in the nights. As you approach the couch…

“Hey…” Milky calls out, “What are you doing?”

“Going to sleep on the couch.”

“Nonsense, you’re sleeping with me.”

“Is that alright? Is the bed big enough?”

“You calling me fat?” she raises an eyebrow.

“Actually, I’m referring to myself.” Your eyes look at her shapely body, “I would never call you fat. You have a great body!”

“Flattery gets you everywhere with me.” she says coyly. “Let’s go, smooth talker.”

She brings you into her bedroom. It’s a roomy and very homely bedroom, with a giant bed. Once again, it looks like it was made specifically for ponies, so the prospect of fitting both of you is looking rather good. She gets in first, moving the sheets on top of her. She puts a hoof on what will be your side of the bed, beckoning you to get in.

Without another moment of hesitation, you do so. It’s very comfortable; you could almost fall asleep right then and there. You lay your head down on the pillow, turning it to Milky, giving you a look as to wonder just what you think of her bed. You nod in approval, and she smiles.

Suddenly, she moves her way over to your side, and starts kissing your cheeks, making her way to your lips. It’s quite obvious that she is preparing herself for another night of crazy antics. Unfortunately, as much as you would love to do so, you just can’t. You put a hand on her shoulder, trying to talk to her in between lip locks, but all that comes out is a series of muffled words that can barely form a coherent sentence. One word catches her attention…

“Stop.” you say. She does so.

“What’s the matter? Did I do something wrong?”

“No. It’s just…any other night, I would love to, but I’m really tired.”

“Oh.” she sounds disappointed.

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” you assure her, “Anything you want, I’ll do.” You see her ears perk up. She’s liking this idea.

“Really? Anything?”

“Anything.”

She thinks for a moment.

“Okay. But don’t chicken out on me, okay?” she sounds serious. You nod. “Okay then…” she brings her head down, resting it on your shoulder. Her forelegs move to your chest, bringing you in for an embrace. “I hope you don’t mind if I do this, then.”

“Not at all. I quite like it.” your eyes are getting heavy, “Same time tomorrow?”

“Yep. Same time. Don’t leave me hanging.”

“You know…” you yawn, “...I won’t…” you close your eyes slowly, “Good night, Milky.”

“Good night.” she whispers in your ear. “Sweet dreams.”

You fall asleep.

Milky watches her human companion fall asleep. He drifts off into dreamland faster than most beings that she had known in her life. Carefully, she sits up, studying him as she moves. She caresses his chest gently, moving the hoof up to his face. She leans down, giving his lips a soft kiss. Though he’s asleep, his lips part on reflex. Once she separates herself from him, she looks at him even further.

Slowly, she gets out of bed, and onto the floor. With great care to each step, she walks to the bathroom in the hall, closing the door silently.

Turning on the light, she inches over to the mirror, examining her face, before sighing to herself.

“What’s the matter with you?” she quietly asks her own reflection, “You can’t be feeling this way after only 36 hours of knowing him. It’s crazy!” She looks back at the door, thinking of him in her bed, sleeping comfortably.

“Still, he seems to like you.” she thinks to herself.

“I don’t know if this can work. You heard what he said about his parents. If I make him stay here, he’ll have to tell them the truth, and who knows what they’ll do to him.”

“He’s a grown man. What can they do to him that they already haven’t? Just tell him that you want to be a couple. He probably wants the same thing. He’s practically asking for it!”

“I know. I just feel like it would be rushing into things.”

“Come on, Milky. You made love with him after only hours of meeting him.”

“’Made love’ is a bit of an understatement, don’t you think?”

“I was being modest. Still, how long has it been, since you had someone in your life?”

“Too long.” she freely admits, “There’s something about him, though. Something that makes me feel…wanted.” she sighs in frustration. “What the hay do I do?”

“I wish I could tell you.”

“You’re my brain. You have to tell me.”

“Just do what you think is best. If you want to take the next step, go ahead. If you want to wait and see how this plays out…you can do that too.”

Milky continues to look at herself in the mirror, thinking about what to do. She likes him, she likes him a lot, actually. He’s a nice, charming, kind individual with a sense of humor. Very surprising, considering what he told her about his upbringing. Trauma like that could wreck a weaker person, but he stayed strong, and she finds that admirable. On the one hoof, there’s nothing wrong with starting a relationship with him, on the other, she still fears that she might be moving too fast.

“Two weeks…” she says, “I’ll figure it out after two weeks. If I want him to stay, I’ll tell him.”

She goes back to bed, as silent as ever. She gets back under the covers, and turns her back to him, preparing to fall asleep. She then feels him shift his way to her, his chest pressed against her back, hands moving around her waist, pulling her in. He doesn’t say anything; she’s not even sure if he’s awake, but it elicits a gasp from her nevertheless. She can hear him sleep; no words come from his mouth. She can feel his warm breath against her shoulder, finding the sensation soothing. It’s enough to make her close her eyes, letting the sweet feeling of sleep take hold of her.

Soon, she’s out like a light.

You open your eyes. You look down at her sleeping body; watching her breathe softly as she rests. You move your hands up to her chest, feeling her coat against your fingers. You want to tell her; you want to man up, and say that you want to start a relationship with her. Damn the fact that you essentially just met her! However, the way that she appears to avoid the topic brings worry to you. Maybe she doesn’t want a full on relationship. Maybe the fact that you are only staying for a couple weeks is scaring her off.

What if you stayed longer? What if you stayed forever? Who cares about your parents? It’s what makes you happy, right?

Still, you can’t just tell her that you want to stay longer so soon; she’d freak out! There’s something about her, though. Something that you can’t quite explain. Maybe she would be open to being your marefriend, she was the first to bring it up, anyway. But, that doubt still invades your mind like a virus.

Two weeks. Give it two weeks. If you feel the same way about her, that you do right now, you are free to tell her. Who knows? Maybe she’ll want the same thing.

Really though, you should get some sleep.