“… The duty… Being a soldier means a life of many duties and it is a life devoted to protect those who can’t fight on their own. I became a United States Marine when I was 18 and I wanted to serve my country, give something back. The training was harsh and there were times when I thought I couldn’t go on. But quitting never was an option to me. I’ve seen many comrades come and leave… I lost some due to combat and terror attacks. And now that I am here in Equestria, I think it’s only proper to use the strength I developed over the years to protect this world, so that no threat can make it back to my world.” The fillies and colts of the class looked at Rachel with wide eyes until a gray filly with blue glasses clopped her hooves together and applauded with a genuine smile. Following her example, the ponies all began to applaud with their hooves.

Rachel smiled at the class before she nodded.
“Alright… Who has a question?”

It was then when a filly with scarlet mane and purple glasses raised her hoof.
“Ranger Rachel, did you earn yourself a cutie mark like Ranger Tyler and Ranger Flynn?”

Rachel smirked at the little pony who was audibly lisping.
“Yes I did. It was when the captured Changelings tried to escape near Canterlot. And it stung badly. I had my hands in bandages for a day or two.” With that she pulled off her mitten gloves and held her hands up, so the young ponies could see her cutie marks.

Cheerilee now came to her side.
“You see that, my little ponies? Humans are able to get cutie marks as well, but they have to endure much more pain than we ponies do. If you remember the reports Ranger Tyler and Ranger Flynn gave us last month during their visits, the cutie mark of a human isn’t mandatory to appear on the flank like it does on us ponies, but happens to appear on random places. They appear on the shoulders, the legs or in the case of Ranger Rachel, her hands. Very often it appears to happen in contact with magic. And you all remember what the other rangers told us. In the world the humans live in there are no such things as magic or cutie marks.”

Snips and Snails looked at each other before they looked at Rachel again.
“No magic at all?”

“And no cutie marks? But how do you know what your special talent is?”

“That’s the main difference between humans and ponies.” Rachel began to explain. “A human can do everything, but that doesn’t mean he’s very good at everything. There are a very few that can do complex mathematics even the smartest humans can’t comprehend. Since we can do everything with enough effort, we decide for ourselves what we want to achieve in our life. It is quite different from the way ponies are. You will find the one thing you excel in sooner or later and will stick to it for the rest of your life.” Rubbing her chin, Rachel thought for a minute. “Hmmm… Think of it that way: We Rangers earned our cutie marks because we decided to excel in something. Ranger Tyler decided to jump in front of others in order to protect them, Ranger Flynn loves to run because he misses to fly in an airplane and running was the closest thing that made him feel like flying. Thus he overexerted himself just to get faster no matter the cost. And I decided to fight against the monsters that live on this world because I want to make sure they don’t find the way to my home. These decisions made us earn our cutie marks. Not mandatorily the special talents in terms of destiny, but the means we need to fulfill our self-determined goals. I chose to fight the ones who want to harm you ponies, for they will continue to harm others if they aren’t stopped.”

An excited murmur went through the class as the young ponies conversed a bit before the school bell rang. Cheerilee stepped forth.
“Alright, my little ponies. Next week we will have Ranger Sam with us telling us how he managed to get his cutie mark with the help of Lyra Heartstrings. Make sure to bring your notebooks with you again.” More and more of the young ponies left the class room and Cheerilee looked up to Rachel. “Thank you for coming today, Rachel.”

But the Ranger simply shook her head.
“It’s alright… I enjoy being among these kids. They are so well behaved in comparison to the kids on Earth…”

“No, I… I mean thank you for coming so I don’t have to organize normal class. It gets a bit troublesome during these two weeks.”

Rachel gave this another smile.
“Again… It’s alright. I enjoyed coming here.”

“Well, if it weren’t for the peculiar whereabouts of how humans earn their cutie marks, this would have been so eternally boring.” Rachel heard a voice behind her. “But picture it, Silver Spoon… a whole world of blank flanks!” Both fillies giggled now in the mischievously way only they could.

Rachel arched a brow as she turned around. During class, Diamond Tiara had paid little attention. And with that attitude she reminded Rachel of the sorry asses of spoiled rich bitches on Earth, famous only for being spoiled rich bitches. It was time for a little wake-up-call while she was still young. Tapping the filly on her back, she bent down to both of them. “With that ‘I have something you don’t have’ mindset you won’t make any friends. At least not true ones... You will learn, Diamond Tiara… You will learn that being rich and privileged isn’t everything because despite all the riches you are alone. And a bag of money can’t hug you back!”

Diamond Tiara arched back, aghast. How dared that human woman speak to her?
“My… If my daddy would be here…”

Leaning in even more, Rachel arched a brow.
“Then what, young lady? Is that your special talent? Hiding yourself behind your father and the wealth of your family? That’s pretty sad, you know?”

“Whatever… Come, Silver Spoon…” With that the two fillies went home and passed Flynn who came to school as well to accompany Scootaloo back home.

A little while after that the Cutie Mark Crusaders left the school building. As they came outside, Flynn and Rachel were conversing until Flynn recognized them.
“Hey there girls…”

Kneeling down, he opened his arms for Scootaloo who gave him a hug.
“Scoots, how was school today?”

“School was great today! Ranger Rachel already gave me some ideas for our crusading!”

Flynn now raised his index finger in a reminding manner.
“No crusading for you girls that includes firearms, Scoots. There are other things that can be your cutie mark. Shooting shouldn’t be the one you’re trying to achieve.” Looking down in disappointment, Scootaloo sighed, but Flynn nudged her into the shoulder. “Come on! Show me what you can do on that scooter!”

That immediately piqued the filly’s attention.
“Really?”

“Yeah! Rainbow said that you had some nice moves…”

“REALLY?!?” Now galloping over to her scooter with a huge smile on her face, she waited for him and after a few seconds, he nodded down to her and ran along as she scooted along the street..

“Ah never saw Scootaloo that happy before.” Apple Bloom stated while looking over to Sweetie Belle.

The white unicorn tapped her chin before looking to her earth pony friend.
“I do! Remember when we build that float to trick Babs?”

“Oh yeah! She seemed pretty excited when she thought she earned her cutie mark, a black wrench.”

“Or the day after Rainbow Dash said she would take her under her wing…”

Rachel overheard the two fillies and smiled as she knelt down to them.
“Well… Ranger Flynn and Rainbow Dash are giving Scootaloo something that she didn’t have for quite a while. Don’t worry about her, though. She will be all about crusading with you again before you know it."

Apple Bloom looked up to Rachel, mildly confused.
“That means Ranger Flynn and Rainbow Dash are now her parents?”

With a smile, Rachel stroke Apple Bloom’s red mane.
“How do you know that, Apple Bloom?”

“Because that’s what Ah would look like when mah Ma and Pa would be around again.” The country filly answered.

“Oh, that’s right… I never saw your parents either, Apple Bloom. Would you mind if I ask where they are?

Kicking at the dirt, the little earth pony evaded Rachel’s glance now. It was obvious she didn’t like this topic.
“We don’t talk much about that day on the farm, ya know? Granny only mentioned a twister on the day Ah was born… Pa was bringing Granny, Applejack, Big Mac and mahself to the cellar before he went up again to get Ma…”

Rachel held a hand in front of her mouth before she knelt down to the filly.
“Apple Bloom! I’m so sorry!”

But the farm filly just shook her head and smiled.
“Nah… It’s OK… Ah never learned to know mah Ma and Pa, so Ah can’t grief like mah older siblings. But ya better watch it when around them! There was this one stallion who insulted our parents in front of Big Mac… Whoa Nelly! Mah brother sent that guy flyin’!”

Rachel nodded.
“Can’t say that I blame him for that. Talking bad about the dead is really low. Especially if it’s about the loved ones…”

Meanwhile there was quite a ruckus in Bon Bon’s home. Galloping all over the place, the earth pony cleaned every speck of dust, no matter how tiny. Sam arched a brow and looked over to Lyra.
“Why is Bon Bon so excited today?”

The unicorn watched her earth pony friend a bit before she smiled.
“Oh, it’s only because of her cousin from Trottingham is coming today for a visit. She wants the house to be spotless by that time.”

Chuckling a bit, Sam looked at his herd mate.
“Nice! That cousin… Is he a decent feller?”

Grinningly Lyra shook her head.
“You’ll see. Usually Bonnie’s business booms with the fudges she makes once her cousin comes.”

“Wow! It must be a delicacy of some sort then…”

But Lyra only chuckled.
“It’s not so much the fudge that lures the customers in…”

“Well, I hope Bonnie has fun with him, you and I are to go to the Ranger meeting.” As they went outside, Sam couldn’t but notice Lyra’s constant giggle. Was there something about that cousin he wasn’t aware of yet?

* * * * *

Half an hour later it knocked on the door.
“Just a minute! I’ll be right there!” Bon Bon shouted before she gritted her teeth. “Ohhh… I’ll never be finished on time…”

In the next moment an earth pony with a cream-colored coat stepped in and beamed at Bon Bon.
“Hey there, Cousin Candy-flanks!”

Jumping up startled, Bon Bon turned around.
“Milky! You…” With that Bon Bon sighed in defeat and looked down a bit. “You’re already here…”

Nevertheless both mares hugged each other and Milky giggled.
“Oh, Bonnie… You’re always trying to make it spotless. I told you so often that I don’t care about your home, but I care about you.”

Smiling touched, Bon Bon nodded.
“Well then come in and let me take care of your saddlebags” With that she took off the saddlebags, revealing two large breasts under Milky’s crotch. “Had any problems on the way here, Milky?”

“No… I relieved myself this morning, so I’m quite alright. And I should be fine for another three hours. The ride was nice and I already got greeted by this Pinkie Pie earth pony. That mare sure likes to welcome visitors like they were first-time newcomers.”

When Sam and Lyra returned with Pinkie from the meeting three hours later, both Milky and Bon Bon were already working in the kitchen. Standing behind a table concealed the enormous breasts Milky had. As they entered the kitchen, Sam reached out a hand towards the mare.
“You must be Bon Bon’s Cousin. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I must say that I expected a male cousin, but I’m not disappointed. The name’s Sam O’Donnell.”

Laying a hoof into his hand, the mare nodded with a smile.
“Milky Way. Bonnie already mentioned you human guys in one of her letters. To think that my cousin lives with so many important individuals in one house…” It was then when Milky noticed something at the way Sam looked at her. “Is something the matter?”

“It’s lovely.” Sam stated with a smile.

This comment brought Milky out of context.
“Pardon?”

“Your mane cut! I must say it really suits you.” Sam answered, his smile not fading.

Giving a shy smile herself now, Milky nodded at Sam.
“Normally most stallions flatter me for other things…”

“Oh? They flatter you for your cute face?”

“No.” She answered, blushing a bit.

“Then for that cream-colored coat maybe?”

Milky giggled.
“Nope!” But it felt good for being complimented for other things like her enormous bust. Like any other mare, Milky enjoyed these things. And yet, she knew that he didn’t know about her special ‘assets’. Normally stallions changed their behavior once they knew.

Now Sam arched a brow and grinned.
“Ok… Then they flatter you for your firm rump?"

But this earned him a moderate nudge from Lyra.
“Would you stop flirting with her? We’re in the same room, you know?”

He looked at Lyra, only to give her a grin.
“Well, do you want me to lie to a mare with a mane that I like? Being with you girls doesn’t mean I have to be a jerk to others…”

Lyra now leaned over and looked to Pinkie.
“P-Pinkie! You say something to this!”

Seeing the gentle smile on Milky’s face made Pinkie beam wide.
“Well, it brought a smile to her face, so if it stays with cheering somepony up, I’ll allow it!” With that, she bounced outside of the kitchen and into the living room.

Sam tickled Lyra’s chin and shook his head.
“Come on, Lyra… How long are we together now? Do you really think I would cheat on you and Pinkie just because Milky has a cute face and a nice mane-cut?”

With this they went back to the living room as well, leaving a slightly confused Bon Bon and a smirking Milky.
“He’s a very nice guy…”

After giving a sigh, Bon Bon nodded with a smile.
“That he is. But he and Lyra go a bit over the top at times.”

Milky giggled.
“Is that so… I remember some colts from our youth that could say the same about you, cousin…”

“Hey!” Bon Bon now raised a hoof. “We were young! Nowadays I want this house to be decent.”

* * * * *

In the evening, Sam sat together with Lyra and Pinkie after having a great dinner. Sam and Lyra cooked some nice au gratin potatoes scalloped with some cheese while Pinkie made the dessert. Now sitting together at the window like so often, they gazed at the slow ascending moon and the twinkling stars. The new herd had found this as their way to come together. It was relaxing and comforting, especially for Pinkie. In these evenings, the party pony was able to bring smiles to both of her herd mates just by staying calm and quiet. It was a new way to have fun; one she was happy to learn about. Every so often they just spend hours in silence while Sam rubbed the tummies of his girls. Tonight was one of the other evenings though. It was one of their evenings spending time together playing music. It was the peace and tranquility when they harmonized with each other and Pinkie enjoyed listening to both of them.

And while Lyra played her lyre, Sam played an ocarina for a short while before looking at the blue instrument.
“This is a good ocarina, Pinkie. Where did you get that?”

“I bought it from a pony with a green jelly bag cap.” Pinkie answered with a smile. “That poor feller…. He didn’t even accepted my bits, said something about roo-peas. But I thought he meant rubies. Wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but he was absolutely crazy for emeralds. Good thing I had some stored just in case of an emerald emergency.”

Sam gave this a grin.
“It’s good to know you’re always well prepared, Pinkie. Want to try?”

Holding the ocarina to her, she giggled and shook her head.
“Flutes and ocarinas are more a unicorn thing, Sam. We earth ponies lack the magic to handle these tiny holes properly. I can play several instruments at once, but a flute? That’s a bit tricky. I tried once to save Ponyville, but decided myself for different instruments.”

Tickling her chin, Sam began to grin.
“Nice to see that there are things my Pinkie can’t do. A photographic memory, playing so many things at once and thinking so many things at once… Some would say these are the traits of a genius.”

Pinkie, blushing a bit now, looked down.
“A genius, huh? Well, what do you know…? No one ever called me that before. I’m getting more of the glances a madmare gets sometimes.”

“A madmare?” Sam arched a brow before he leaned her back. “Certainly… You are a mare that drives me mad. But mostly in a good way…” With that he slowly began to lick and kiss her neck while his hands caressed her tummy and chest. “Why don’t you bring an instrument next time around? I’m sure you’re going to fit in nicely.” He then looked to Lyra. “And we’re having so much fun playing some peaceful music togeth-“

“Sleep with me…” Pinkie now whispered into his ear, causing him to halt in his sentence.

As he looked down to her with a surprised look, she smiled up to him.
“Pinkie? Are you sure?”

“Yeah I’m sure! You should be the one who does that.”

Looking up to Lyra who still played her instrument as if nothing happened, he shook his head.
“It’s a bit off that you don’t say anything…”

“Oh, Pinkie and I have talked about it, Sam. I’m OK with this. This is part of a herd. Since we’re all three one little community, I don’t have any issues with you sleeping with her. I would have a problem if you would mount a mare not accepted into the herd. If you want to have something with a mare, have at least the decency to bring up that topic to me and Pinkie. If she’s part of our herd, no harm is done.”

Sam nodded and undressed as Pinkie laid down on her back. Since she saw Lyra and Sam at it multiple times now, she knew a bit about Sam’s favorite position. For ponies it was a kinky position to face each other during sex. Normally they would do it pony style or doggy style as humans call it. But this missionary position made Lyra cum quite often before Sam even came once. And it brought a satisfied smile on her face.

But as soon as she felt his touch on her, the pink pony shivered a bit.
“I’m a bit nervous… I know it hurts a bit on the first time. Be gentle, OK?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll wait once I popped your cherry until you say it’s fine. Alright?” Giving him a slightly unsure nod, Pinkie gave her OK. She trusted him and his eyes looked deep into hers as she could feel his member.

With a long slide he entered Pinkie in one go, causing the earth pony to clench her teeth together. Her mane deflated due to the sudden sharp pain and a tear was shed. Leaning over her, Sam turned her face to himself, pressing his lips on hers to make up for the pain he had caused. Welcoming his lips, Pinkie relaxed more and more until her lips parted from his.
“It’s OK now, Sam. The pain is almost gone.” Leaning her head back with a moan, she embraced him as he gently began to move. This would be a night of fun she would never, ever, ever, ever, EVER forget…

* * * * *

On the next day the three of them walked along the streets of Ponyville. That is, Lyra and Sam walked, Pinkie bounced along, smiling all the while. In fact, she seemed happier than before. “I can’t believe I missed this all these years! It was so much fun! Almost like the satisfaction from a good party pressed together into several seconds!”

Lyra smirked at this before she looked at Sam.
“And you were afraid it could ruin the way she goes through life…” Giving this comment a smile, Sam nodded. Yes, his fears that Pinkie’s innocent mind might get a dent from having sex weren’t justified. Quite the contrary, she embraced this experience with open arms and was happy about it. However, what he also noticed was that Pinkie bounced before them and not beside them after last night, giving him a good sight of her private parts.

As he harrumphed, she stopped bouncing and trotted along beside him, giving him a wink. “Oh? You noticed?”

“I certainly did… And although I love the view, let’s not overdo it for now, OK?” While Pinkie nodded with a bit disappointment, Sam rolled his eyes with a smile and whispered into her ear.

This made her beam again. “Really? Tonight?”

“I promise.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

Exhaling with a smile, he held a fist to his eye.
“Pinkie Promise…”

After that Pinkie walked at Sam’s side and he caressed her back as they walked together. Although Pinkie never behaved much like other mares during heat season, never went sex-crazed like so many others, the looks in her eyes spoke a language that was obvious. Pinkie was in love with Sam. Totally and absolutely in love... And Sam could feel her glances and smirks as she often caught him red-handed staring at her rump. That were the times when Sam was happy to wear clothes. It was hard not to stare when the sexual partners walked around nude all day long. Time would adapt him to that. It would become normal and the excitement would cease. Right now Lyra and Pinkie enjoyed his behavior since the almost constant erection in his pants gave them the feeling of being desirable and wanted.

And what red-blooded mare in heat wouldn’t love that? Sam then decided to humor them for a while until the topic would be changed.
“Aside from that… Say, Pinkie… Everyone ever told you that you have a great butt?"

A blush formed on the earth pony’s face.
“No, silly. But I noticed several glances here and there. And that’s very nice of you. Seems to me like the whole cake eating serves a good purpose. You like?”

Eying her rump for a second, he nodded with a grin.
“Very…” Looking over to Lyra, his grin maintained. “Lyra has more of a firm butt. Good thing you have a completely different quality.”

Lyra nodded.
“Well, yes… Diversity is said to be the recipe for a good and healthy herd. No one’s competing that much in that case. That goes for stature as well as character. I must admit that I was a bit worried that Pinkie would behave like a fool in our herd, but it’s wonderful to see that you have such consideration for all of us not to freak out.”

Pinkie blinked twice before she smiled.
“Of course! With you guys, I can learn much about new ways of fun. Sam’s very personal ‘party cannon’ Is only one of these new ways…” Only mere minutes after they passed the library, Fluttershy came out with a saddlebag full of novels.

Live was good to Fluttershy. In these days of heat season though, she wished, like every other mare, to have a bit more self-control. Even her friends, the woodland critters, noticed and hinted her at her strong odor of pheromones the timid Pegasus mare emanated. It was only a natural thing, but Fluttershy always disciplined herself. 'Oh Fluttershy, you’re such a lewd pony…' Her critter friends meant well, she knew that. But still she felt a little embarrassed. The other ponies always complimented her for being beautiful, yes, even having nature’s beauty within and wondered why she wasn’t with somepony else. There were those stallions in her past that tried to conquer her heart in several ways with burning passion, strength and wealth. But Fluttershy didn’t feel comfortable with any of them.

Those with wealth wanted her as some trophy wife. To shine and glitter with her beauty like a diamond. Remembering these stallions only made her shook her head. And during the incident with Photo Finish this kind of stallions tried to get close to her.
Then there were those with their burning passion… They had a hot temper as well and didn’t really suit her in character either. When the time came that they were told that they didn’t stood a chance to win her heart, they usually began yelling. Fluttershy was very uncomfortable with this kind of stallions. Usually she hid under her bed for a full day after rejecting such a stallion.

And then, there were the strong ones. Such as Big Macintosh. Fluttershy blushed at the thought of him. Yes, those stallions were strong and many of them were handsome as well, but they were adored by many mares and it showed that she could never compete against the hordes of mares hungry for love or sexual activity. But unlike the down-to-earth Big Mac, other stallions exceeding in strength knew of the many mares adoring them and indulged themselves in this. Big Mac himself had much to do and… No he would never do either…

As Fluttershy went on, she passed Grinko and Pinkie, who once more gave him a cake of cream and fish. This was when Grinko finally asked.
“Pinkie Pie… Why aren’t you wary of me like all the others are?”

“Well duh?” the Element of Laughter stated. “You made a promise to Tyler and from what I understand, as long as you’re not hungry, you will keep that promise! That’s because I want you to have enough to eat so you can be happy as everypony else!”

Nodding in acceptance, he bowed down to her as before.
“Pinkie Pie, there is a strange aura of wisdom around you. As always, I’ll accept your gift.”

This prompted Pinkie to salute.
“If it helps to bring a smile on your face, I’ve done my job!”

Grinko nodded.
"Indeed, you did. But you shouldn’t be around me. You should be with your partner. The one who causes you to spread these pheromones…”

“Phero-what?”

“It’s the scent a mare spreads with her body. Since this is your first time you did that during this heat season I think you have someone special to you that should get your attention?”

Pinkie beamed.
“Yeah, that’s right! And I will have it tonight.”

With a nod Grinko waved after her.
“Good. He will surely be a lucky guy.” After that Grinko bid her farewell and sat down to devour the creamy fish pie while Pinkie bounced off.

But then he noticed her. The yellow coat of hers, the gentle wings, the timid expression... She seemed so vulnerable, but this, he knew, was merely a masquerade. It had to be. Sure, Fluttershy was an herbivore and socially very shy, but there was something about her. Something he couldn’t point his claw at. What he knew was that for a pony, she was beautiful. Just looking at her made him ease down even though his heart should be pounding in excitement before slamming his fangs into her body. His oath to Tyler and his presence in this realm of ponies somehow changed him. He wasn’t sure if it was for the worse or the better, but he didn’t feel like dishonoring himself by living among these ponies. It was a constant test and temptation. And he prevailed every day. There was no routine and there never would be any.

But seeing Fluttershy in this moment, to scent her odor… This odor of readiness he scented quite often these days. But coming from her it was different. And only one word sprang to his mind describing her.

Glorious

There was no mistake that she was precisely that. Every facet of her seemed beautiful, even though she was a pony. Without noticing it himself, he followed her to her cottage. Standing before her door he gulped once before he knocked. As she answered the door, it became obvious in an instant that she didn’t know what to do.
“G-Grinko?!? What are you-“ Before her sentence ended, he leaped at her and grabbed her, causing her to scream. For a moment, Fluttershy believed she would die.

But somehow she didn’t.

There was no fang biting her neck, there was no claw digging into her flesh. This wasn’t the predatory behavior of a beast trying to kill her… Yes, his giant paws held her tightly and his tongue slid up her back when- Now Fluttershy blushed deep as the sound of purring emitted from his throat. He wasn’t attacking her, he was cleaning her. But this wasn’t very much better as well, he wasn’t aware of the delicate spots of a Pegasus mare and could do something that would cause her to embarrass herself. Wriggling out of his grasp, she tried to escape, but he held her tight. With narrowing eyes she looked up.
“Now, unhand me, um… Or I’ll do something terrible to you!”

Grinko halted for a second, but then continued, ignoring her threat. Snorting in frustration, she wriggled to face him and gave him her infamous look. In an instant he unhanded her and cowered in the corner of the room with wide eyes. Fluttershy now approached the Masar with an angered face. “I said no! And no means no! You got that, buster?” With a whimper, the giant Masar nodded. Fluttershy, however, continued to stare at him. “You promise to respect my personal space from now on?”

“I do!” he hastily nodded.

With that Fluttershy’s stare ceased and she nodded with her usual gentle smile.
“Now then… It’s a promise. And if you break it, you’ll have to eat a thousand needles.”

Grinko looked up.
“A proper punishment for betraying my own word to you.”

“Its… just a saying…” she said, forcing a smile.

What Fluttershy didn’t expect was the fact that Grinko was kneeling down to her next, bowing deep before the mare.
“Shaman Fluttershy! I’d be honored if I could serve you…”

Fluttershy gulped heavily and searched for words. This was unexpected. Did her stare intimidate him so that he wanted to be her servant?
“Oh… My… I… I don’t know what to say… I… I need to see someone!” With that she ran out of her cottage.

Meanwhile Twilight was lying on her back, snuggled close to Tyler. With her head on his lap, he fed her petals and one after another disappeared in Twilight’s mouth while he gently rubbed her tummy.
“I’m in Canterlot the next days. Luna wants to go through the plans for the new Ranger Headquarter and Celestia said something about some master spells.”

“Master Spells?” Twilight asked; her interest was piqued immediately.

But Tyler shrugged.
“I think even a princess like Celestia wants to refine her magic once in a while. When I’m back, I will tell you about the one or another spell. IF I’m allowed to that is.”

In the next moment Fluttershy barged in and Twilight looked over to her.
“Hello, Fluttershy… Back so soon? Is something wrong with your books?”

Frantically, Fluttershy turned around and slammed the door shut before leaning against it.
“Yes! I mean no! I mean… What exactly are you two doing there?”

“Well… We finished all our chores and Tyler can’t perform certain herd duties while Spike is around…” Twilight began to explain. “So he convinced me to spend some time with me like this. He already gave AJ a massage.”

Tyler grinned as he fed Twilight another petal and let his finger slide over her lips.
“And it almost escalated… You girls are so into sex during heat season it’s hard to talk with you. But that scent you emanate is so pleasant…”

While Twilight began to suck on his finger gently, he looked over to Fluttershy.
“But you didn’t come here for that, did you Fluttershy? Is something the matter?”

Blushing a bit now while witnessing the two lovebirds, Fluttershy ducked a bit.
“It’s… um… It’s about Grinko…”

Arching his brows, Tyler looked at the Pegasus before he nodded and bend down to Twilight to place a kiss on her lips.
“Sorry, my love… I’ll have to see after our friend…” Twilight whispered something into his ear, what caused him to grin before both stood up. “Alright… I hope he didn’t misbehaved or I’ll have a serious word with him!”

Half an hour later, Tyler entered Fluttershy’s cottage and was sitting at her table having a cup of coffee with her.
“He did what? Kneel before you?”

“And before that I had to make him stop doing… You know… embarrassing things to me…”

This made Tyler look at Fluttershy with an unbelieving look.
“You? Making that big guy stop something? I must say I don’t see how that is going to work… You give in so often.”

“I… um… I have my ways… Even though I rather, you know… not use them that often…”

Taking another sip from his coffee, Tyler nodded.
“Fluttershy? I know this is a very personal question and I want you to answer it as briefly as you can. I need to assess the situation a bit. Concerning heat season… How far down the road are you right now?”

Now Fluttershy turned beet red while Angel tugged a rope out of a chest.
“I… um… I…”

When Tyler saw the little bunny, his brows arched and he grinned a bit.
“You let Angel tie you down each night? Well… Better safe than sorry, huh? Alright… I think I have an idea right now.” Fluttershy, however, looked down with her red glowing face. “Oh, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, Fluttershy… I bet every mare out there is living through exactly the same. And you have such a good friend in Angel who you probably should reward for this.”

The bunny now stood up proud and held his paws up in order to receive rewards, but Tyler tipped at the chest of Angel and frowned.
“Don’t get cocky now, little one…”

Fluttershy then looked up to her human friend.
“Tyler?”

From her voice Tyler already could hear that all of this was heavily mortifying for the timid Pegasus.
“Yes?”

“I would prefer it that this stays… you know… between us two.”

Smiling gently at her, he shook his head.
“Don’t mention it. I would never betray the trust you put in me. “

“Do you promise?”

“Pinkie Promise!” With that Tyler held his right fist at his right eye socket and smiled. The sight was enough to make Fluttershy giggle. The Pegasus mare now lightened up a bit and Tyler leaned back on the couch. “You know, we two never talked much with each other, but you seem to prefer talking with animals anyway, so I gave you your space, not invading into your business…”

“It… um… It wasn’t my intention to scare you away with my shyness…”

“Oh no! No, no…” He tried to calm her down. “You didn’t frighten me, I was just afraid to startle you in a way. You seem to have quite frail nerves, so I didn’t want to be a burden. You know… being an omnivore, eating meat and all that. Although I must say that Angel sometimes behaves in a manner that makes me want to threaten him to turn him into bunny stew for treating you so roughly sometimes…”

While the rabbit hid behind Fluttershy, she arched a brow at Tyler before shoving Angel to her side with a wing, giving the rabbit a mischievous grin.
“Angel can be a real rascal sometimes… But we are there for each other… I would never allow anyone to make a stew out of him.”

* * * * *

Later that day Tyler, Twilight and Applejack were invited to Lyra’s and Bon Bon’s house. Sitting at the table, they all conversed a bit. Milky was a bit uncomfortable with sitting on a chair since her breasts were hanging a bit awkward. It was a miracle no one even noticed them until now. At the time Bon Bon brought some glasses and a big can of milk to go with the fudges that were served on a plate, Tyler filled each glass and handed each of them a glass before he raised his own.
“A toast! To Bon Bon and her cousin Milky Way! And to the best fudges I’ve eaten in years!” The mares all raised their glasses before Tyler leaned back a bit. “You know, Bon Bon… I’m currently trying to look for independent contractors for food supplies for the new Ranger Headquarters. If you let me, I’d like to propose a contract to you that should give you and your business a tremendous boost. Applejack here already told me that the Apple family would agree to that as well. Food suppliers under a royal contract to help secure the country… not only benefit from the payment, but the prestige as well.”

Bon Bon frowned a bit.
“I must admit it sounds like you Rangers are going to become a second Royal Guard.”

Tyler nodded.
“Yes, we’re about to be Equestria’s answer to the Descendants of Tacitus. And since they are having influence all over this world, we are going to fight them in several lands. Celestia is going to tell the leaders of other nations about us in detail later. I’m not sure who’s going to attend exactly, but I’m pretty sure there will be folks of Saddle Arabia, the Griffin Kingdom and the Crystal Empire.”

A few minutes later Flynn Rachel and Sam entered the room. Flynn looked at them.
“Tyler, We’ve got a letter from Princess Luna that they’re about to be clear with the former CCF. They’re now reconstructing…” Now he noticed the fudge. “Oh, can I have some as well?”

Bon Bon beamed up to him.
“Suit yourself!” While Flynn and Sam sat down on the table Rachel got some glasses. It was then when she recognized the immense breasts hanging from Milky’s crotch. Seeing the milk on the table, Rachel knew where it came from.

That’s when she placed the last glass in front of Sam and leaned to Flynn.
“That’s her breastmilk…”

Rachel’s whispering into his ear caused Flynn to spit out the milk and putting the glass down before making haste towards the bathroom. When Tyler heard what Rachel whispered into his ear, he gulped heavily.
“I… I must say this isn’t exactly my preferred kind of milk.”

Twilight arched a brow.
“Why? Nothing’s wrong with it…” But as soon as Tyler whispered into her ear what Rachel just told him, Twilight blushed a bit and smiled shyly. “Oh… I didn’t know this is possible… But it tastes fine to me.”

Applejack arched a brow when hearing about the origin of the milk From Twilight.
“Well, whaddya know? Ah thought this was normal cow milk. But it IS some good milk…”

As Sam heard of the origin of the milk, his eyes popped open, wandered to Rachel, then to Milky, then to the glass of milk in his hand. Taking another big mouthful from the milk, he emptied the glass and nodded towards Milky.
“It’s very delicious, Miss Way…” This earned him some glances from the others.

Milky blushed a bit. Once more he was nice to her without being invasive.
“Just Milky…”

Sam nodded before he glared at Rachel.
“And you? What is your major malfunction? Everything was right before you messed up with that dick move!”

“Dick move, huh? Well I say we’re among friends and should be honest to each other. What would you say if I would fill my breast milk into a glass and serve it to you?”

Sam halted for a second and sighed a bit.
“That doesn’t make it any better, Rachel. It’s true that there are worlds colliding here, but a bit of tolerance is in order!”

“Tolerance…” Rachel repeated thoughtfully before looking to Milky. “I tolerate everything, but I demand to know before I drink it. Now if you would excuse me? I’ll have to beat Flynn for being an insensitive asshole… I wanted to unveil all this, but that sucker went berserk with his reaction…” With that she left the room as well.

Applejack frowned a bit.
“Ah don’t get it. Why did she do that? Everything was right before she let that out. Ah’m all for honesty, but sometimes it’s better to shut yer yapper.”

Tyler shook his head over the situation.
“That’s because we humans don’t drink body fluids from higher beings. None of us would drink Rachel’s breast milk even if she would offer it to us. I can understand her in a way. It takes time to adapt to the fact that ponies seem to do it differently.” With that he stood up. "Bon Bon? Miss Milky Way? Thank you for the nice afternoon. And Miss Way?” With that he took Milky’s hoof into his hand and looked into her eyes. “Don’t let it to your heart. It was a little mishap. Please give them some time.” With that he went out with Twilight and Applejack. As they left, Lyra and Pinkie entered the living room.

Sam remained on his seat and sighed.
“I want to apologize. Normally Flynn and Rachel are good and decent people.” Milky looked down to the table. While Flynn’s glass was almost full, Tyler’s was half full. Sam however poured another glass in. “You know, it’s true… Normally we humans don’t drink breast milk from a sentient being. It’s a thing solely shared between a mother and her baby. Only exception is the milk from certain farm animals such as cows and goats. I guess now you understand why Flynn acted like this was something very revolting. And Tyler…”

While Bon Bon started to clear the table, Milky nodded.
“He was trying to be polite. I noticed. Well, not everypony or in your case everyone is eager to accept this. I’m used to this from some ponies already.”

Lyra and Pinkie now sat down to Sam’s sides and Lyra levitated some fudge into her mouth.
“What happened? You finally found out about Milky? Too bad I wasn’t here at that moment. I’d love to note down your reactions…”

Looking at his glass, Sam swayed it a bit like it didn’t have milk but good wine in it.
“But… I wonder… How do you manage to give such large quantities?” Milky sighed. There was no point in hiding it any longer. As she stepped forward, her breasts were revealed to him. When he saw the breasts, Sam gulped. “I must say I wouldn’t believe it if I wouldn’t see it…” As he gave her breasts a closer look, he hummed a bit before he looked over to Lyra. “What do you think, Lyra? A mare with a bust between her legs that’s similar to a human woman? Wouldn’t that make a good chapter in your Anthropology?”

Lyra tipped her hoof against her chin, not sure what to think of it.
“Oh it’s just part of her special talent, you know? Teats that size are rare, but it’s no sickness. But if you really want to put it that way… hmmm… maybe genetic endowments in the Pony gene pool leading to traits similar to the human species… Yeah, that would make a nice theory… If I can ever validate it that is…”

Milky only looked at Lyra with big eyes and shook her head.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t understand one word you said…”

“Oh that’s nothing to be concerned about.” Sam said with a smirk. “I sometimes have difficulties understanding her as well. But that only makes her more fascinating.”

Lyra first wanted to respond with sarcasm on this, but smirked instead.
“Yeah, yeah… whatever you say, you big bipedal idiot.” This caused him to chuckle and tickle her chin, what prompted Lyra to hold her head high so he could do so.

It was then when Pinkie bounced at Sam and jumped into his arms.
“Aha… Sam, you want to court her!”

Like on cue, Lyra now bumped her rump at Sam.
“Courting two mares at once into the herd? Sam, you hound you…”

Pinkie tipped her hoof at her chin.
“Well, it sure would have certain advantages. Milky needs to be milked every once in a while, hands have more dexterity than hooves, Lyra could see your hands milking her breasts and I… Well, I could use that milk for some cakes at Sugarcube Corner. If I can have it, that is.”

But Sam simply raised his hands, prompting Pinkie to bounce at the floor and back on her hooves.
“Girls, don’t haste it like that! I can’t simply milk her! That’s a private thing and should only be done by someone she trusts! And who am I to say that I should be the one?”

This visibly touched Milky.
“I like your attitude, Sam… There are stallions who ask if they can drink from the tap, but I’m glad to meet someone such as you who thinks different. It sometimes goes into harassment, but it’s never been so bad that I have to call the guard. Um…” She noticed a few drops leaking. “I would be thankful if I could relieve myself in a bucket or pot or something like that.”

Sam immediately looked up.
"Oh! Uh… Sure!” Shortly after that he handed a small pot to Milky. “Come on, girls… Let’s give her some space. Milky surely wants to be alone if she’s doing that.” With that, the herd of three left the kitchen and went to the living room.

Bon Bon, however, looked to her cousin before she intercepted Sam not far away from the door.
“I know you are a faithful man that would never betray his mares. I respect you for that, Sam. But Milky is putting on a brave face. Without her equipment from Trottingham it will take her an hour to get done with this. That is an hour of uncomfortable pain, even if it’s a minor pain.”

Sam nodded.
“You mean it would be of help if I go in there and milk her? Well, she could handle it herself… Then again: If I simply leave her, what kind of jerk would I be then?” With an unsure glance he looked over to Lyra and Pinkie. “It’s your choice, girls. I would be OK with helping, but if you don’t want me to, I won’t do that.”

But Pinkie shook her head.
“No, no, no, no, no… A mare won’t suffer because I’m with you. As for me, you should go in there and help her.”

Lyra thought for a bit.
“That aside, we should also ask Milky if she agrees to this. It is her body you are laying hand on, Sam.” Sam nodded. No eagerness to help would help Milky I she would refuse to accept it.

As he entered the kitchen again, Milky was kneeling on the floor and squeezed her left breast with her hooves and grimaced a bit while at it. Merely watching this was painful.
“Is it true? Is this process taking one hour in pain?” That spooked Milky a bit since she thought he wouldn’t come back so soon. Gulping a bit in shock, Milky only managed to bring out a silent “Yes.” With this Sam’s eyes grew sterner and he huffed a bit. “Alright! On your hooves, girl! I’ll help you so it’s done faster.” His commanding tone spooked her even more and she jumped up on all four hooves. Sam could see her little mess on the pot. She tried to milk herself just with her hooves pressing against the breast, forcing the milk out with pressure. Like this it would take longer and would be extra painful. Sitting down on the floor next to her, he looked to her head. “Milky? I’m going to start now… Please don’t feel spooked, OK?”

Gulping a bit, the milkmare nodded and looked straight forward with a heavy blush on her face. Sam didn’t blame her. He knew that if he would do this to a woman, this would be awkward as hell. His hand glided over her belly and gently slid over her breasts before he took hold of her nipples. 'What would I give to know the right technique for this right now…' he thought. And without wasting any time with anything, he tried to milk her. The first few attempts were in vain until he got the hang of it, milking a few streams of milk into the pot.

Milky tried her best to stay put, even if she was blushing heavily. Although Sam had the skill of a absolute beginner, he was a swift learner. It almost felt as pleasant as being milked by her machine at home. With every minute, the pressure in her breasts ceased bit after bit. When the pot was full, Pinkie got another one. That was when Sam noticed it. Milky was feeling it. Even if she didn’t say a word her body was giving her away. Like every other mare in Equestria, she was in heat right now and his ‘playing’ with her breasts brought her into this certain mood. There was this unspoken wish in her eyes, the readiness of her to let him climb on top of her to relieve her of this other urge as well. At this point, maybe all it would take would be just asking her. But Sam shook his head.
“Why don’t you tell me more about Trottingham?”

This really caught Milky out of context.
“Huh?”

“Distract yourself a bit! Tell me about your hometown Trottingham. That’s way better than enduring the pain.” After a short glance to him, Milky smirked. He was actually trying to get her away from these thoughts in order to spare her the embarrassment of making a fool of herself. That was very nice of him.

Once again, he was different from the stallions she knew from her daily life in Trottingham.
“If you insist… Well, where do I start…?” With that they conversed a bit and Milky told them about her life in Trottingham, her customers, her friends, her daily routines and before they knew it, the milking was over. In hindsight, Milky had to admit that she temporarily even forgot she was being milked. “It was a lovely conversation, Sam. With all of you.”

Lyra nodded proudly.
“That’s my Sam: Having the decency to treat a mare in distress even in complicated situations as well as loving his mares with passion.”

Wiping his hands clean with a handkerchief, Sam smiled.
“Big and heavy like that of a human woman… I would lie if I would say that it doesn’t intrigue me… But that doesn’t justify bad manners. If you need a reliable pair of hands coming along with a nice conversation, feel free to tell me. As long as I don’t do it with you I think Lyra isn’t going to be mad. And I’m eager to help.”

Milky nodded.
“I understand. And I must thank you for helping me out today.” With that she jumped up on her hind legs and placed a peck on his cheek. “That should do the trick…” Looking over to Lyra, Milky nodded. “I envy you. That man sure is a keeper.”

* * * * *

On the next day Tyler as well as the Elements of Harmony were sitting together in the library.
“I talked with Grinko. She understood him quite right. He wishes to serve Fluttershy.”

“But why?” Rarity asked. “Darling, Fluttershy is not a mare who has demand for a servant…”

Fluttershy looked down, embarrassed.
“He… He also called me a shaman…”

Twilight nodded.
“Yes, of course… In his culture, someone who can communicate with nature is deemed a shaman. And mostly Masar females are shamans. It is an important and respected position in their culture. It is, in fact, so respected that Masar males offer their services to the shaman to become one of her possible candidates for her closer choice of the lair mate.”

The girls looked at each other in mild confusion and looked at Twilight. “Lair mate?” they asked in unison.

“It’s the Masar way to say ‘special somepony’… “ Twilight explained. “The lair mate is the one you live together with, you share the food with this individual, you go hunting together and you…” She harrumphed briefly. “Well, you mate with each other.”

It was in this moment that Fluttershy blushed so red, she hid her face beneath her mane.
“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!! Oh my goodness!!!”

“Whoah nelly… Ah say that’s storming at Fluttershy like a hurricane. Ah mean we all know how delicate she is in these matters.” Applejack stated as she came to Fluttershy’s side, resting a hoof on her shoulders.

Rainbow nudged Tyler into the ribcage and whispered a “Virgin…” in his ear.

That caused Tyler to kneel down to the shivering yellow Pegasus.
“Fluttershy… He left the choice to you… He considered your shyness as well as your dignity as a mare important, so he won’t force you to something. You can say no of course, but then you should come up with some reasons. And those should be better than him being a Masar…”

“Tyler’s right there, Fluttershy!” Rarity added. “A true lady who is rejecting a gentlecolt asking for her attention has no right to be rude. Even if he looks like a ruffian…” The others now gave Rarity a stern look, but she only blinked at them. “Well, have you seen his mane?”

Tyler patted the timid Pegasus’ back and looked down to her.
“Someone was brave enough to turn away his pride to tell you his feelings… Don’t you think you should have the bravery to response?”

“I… I don’t know… I should do it, but… BUT…”

As she tried to escape through the door, Rainbow stepped inside her way.
“Fluttershy! Some dude confessed to you! If you run away from this, that’s not only cowardly, but unkind as well!"

This snapped Fluttershy out of her fear and she gulped heavily, before nodding at the others.
“I’m… I’m game! I’ll response to him!”

Tyler nodded.
“Wonderful! I told him to go over to Rachel; I wanted to have him supervised in this situation because frankly I don’t know about his current status. Maybe he’s in heat, too?”

All eyes went to Twilight now.
“What? We never talked about THIS topic! And I’m with Tyler! I wouldn’t ask about it if he wouldn’t mention it!”

Meanwhile Grinko stood before a mirror with Rachel standing behind him.
“I don’t know if I can do this…”

Folding her arms, she shook her head.
”The big predator behaves like a tame kitten? Are you kidding me? Come on! You must be bold… Daring!”

“Bold…” he repeated and adjusted his stance to a heroic one. “Daring!”

Rachel patted his shoulder.
“That’s the spirit! The moment will come. And if everything seems right, you’ll confess your love!”

Looking up, his brows arched.
“Yes… I’ll… I…” But then he shook his head. “No! I can’t…”

Rachel cocked her head, arching a brow.
“Well as far as I understood you, you love her. Don’t you?”

“More than anything!”

With that Rachel gave him a nod.
“Then you must tell her! Trust me, as long as you don’t become invasive and show her your persistent interest, she sooner or later will wonder about you.”

Looking into the mirror, Grinko tried to give it a smile, but as soon as he saw his own fangs, he gritted his teeth.
“Argh… It’s no USE!!! She’s deemed a beauty among pony mares and I… YEAH, WELL!!! LOOK AT ME!!! A beast with claws and fangs… Even my smile would distress her…”

As Tyler and Fluttershy arrived in this moment in front of the door to the room Rachel and Grinko were in, Tyler looked over to her and held her back. “You see?” He whispered.

Fluttershy nodded timidly and backed away with Tyler as Rachel’s voice suddenly emitted from the room.
“Fluttershy may be a beauty, but she sure isn’t unkind, Grinko. You should give her time.”

Grinko growled, visibly inpatient.
“Hmph! Where I’m from, the deeds of the individual are known throughout the entire clan. The female decides in a matter of seconds if he’s worthy or not. I’m not used to all these pony customs. Haven’t I waited long enough now?” As he looked up, Rachel shook her head, answering him already that he should have more patience. But this made him growl in frustration. “Yeah… I know… If she means anything to me, then waiting should be no sweat. But I think I might lose time. She’s a pony mare among ponies! What if someone steals her away from me before I even…”

Rachel now smirked.
“If you don’t mind me asking… Why are you attracted to her in the first place? She’s an herbivore, you’re a carnivore. Before you joined the Harmony Rangers, you deemed ponies and zebras prey.” It was in this moment that Fluttershy held her breath in the hallway outside the room. This actually was THE question burning in her mind.

Why her?

Grinko looked down.
“There was something in her eyes from the very start, something I noticed all along. You humans don’t have that much sensitivity and the other ponies? They don’t have that kind of predatory instinct. She seems timid, but deep inside of her is a beast, ready to awaken if it is needed.”

“A beast?” Rachel asked.” What do you mean with-”

“Not a beast in forms of bodily change that she goes through… but a transformation in character.” He then looked up to Rachel. “And lately, when I misbehaved to her… She let me see the eyes of this beast! And never before was I so afraid…”

Outside of the room, Fluttershy gasped. Her wings erected and she blushed.
“He means ‘The Stare’…”

Rachel blinked and shook her head.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand…”

Grinko smirked.
“You don’t have to. But I must say I don’t feel shame in announcing that I deem a mare that can send a full grown Masar into the corner like a scared kitten more than interesting. In fact, I would be more than happy to kneel down for her to give her a nice bath.”

Now Rachel blushed.
“A bath? You mean… like a cat? With the tongue?” Tyler clenched his teeth together and looked over to Fluttershy. By now her face was deep red and she breathed heavily. One could see in her eyes that the urge to flee the situation grew in her. As their eyes met, Tyler signalized her to calm down.

But then Grinko’s voice became audible again.
“It’s not necessarily something sexual, if you think that. It’s the most intimate caring a Masar can offer to someone. This is only done in family and between lair mates. I would feel no disgust in cleaning her like that. But I’m afraid she thinks I want to eat her or something… It’s not easy caring for someone if the one you have feelings for is repelled by a wall of claws and fangs…”His paws stroke over a pillow and pressed it dearly. “And it certainly isn’t easy to withhold all these feelings. I’m afraid that if I express my true and honest feelings for her to full extent, I could rip her to shreds!” With that his claws ripped the pillow to pieces. “I cannot allow this to happen! I can NOT! I would rather gnaw off my own paws before I would willingly hurt her.”

It was in this moment that a level was switched in Fluttershy’s mind and her wingboner slowly ceased. Slowly turning around, she looked at the door. He had such deep feelings for her and she was just too afraid to face him. He tried desperately to be kind to her despite his appearance and she, the Element of Kindness was too afraid to approach him. What a joke! Shaking her head, she grew bolder and snorted a bit before approaching the door. Tyler tried to stop her, but she simply slapped his hands away.
“Fluttershy, you can’t go in right now. It would be-

“It would be the right thing to do!” She interrupted him. “An Element of Kindness has to do what an Element of Kindness has to do!” In the moment Tyler tried to hold her back again, Fluttershy pinned him against the wall and gritted her teeth while speaking. Her eyes gazed hard at him, giving him the full blow of the Stare. “Now don’t try to stop me anymore, buster! Or I’ll stare you down!” With that Fluttershy gasped and caressed Tyler’s cheek with her hooves, returning to her gentle and timid tone as the Stare ceased. “If… that’s OK with you…” Tyler looked at her with wide eyes and gulped as he nodded in silence. What the hell just happened? He had been completely paralyzed. And most of his motivation, if not all, to go against her had vanished into thin air. Was that part of herself? But nothing of this mattered right now as the door opened and Fluttershy stood in it.

“You… You do have these feelings for me?” Her words pierced through the silence caused when she opened the door and echoed through her mind. A part of her wanted to flee. To run away from the embarrassment like so many times before. Grinko wasn’t very wealthy, but he sure was strong, maybe even stronger than an earth pony. And the temper of a Masar could be very short. Tyler and Twilight had told her that in her curiosity about his species. Because after all, caring about animals big and small was her special talent, even if a Masar was sentient and intelligent. It helped her to see him as a big kitty cat and calmed her fear regarding him. Big and strong and a short temper… Not exactly the things she adored. But Grinko tried, tried so hard to appear kinder. And that very trying for her sake and her sake alone was what impressed the timid Pegasus.

In her mind Fluttershy forced herself to step forward, one step after another.
“I… uh…”Grinko began to stammer. That was a fact that made Rachel smirk almost immediately. She remained silent and slowly went out of the room while maintaining her smirk. Seems like beauty once more tamed a beast…

With that she approached Tyler, who by that time had recovered from the Stare.
“Our work here seems done! Best to leave these two alone right now…”

“Agreed! Some things should remain private…”

As they left the building, Rachel looked over to him.
“Jones, are you OK? You look a bit off the track.”

A mixture of excitement and being nervous took hold of Fluttershy. Grinko yearned for the chance of being kind and who would be the best mentor for him than the Element of Kindness herself? She could help him becoming a better being, one that wasn’t feared by everypony. After hearing his opinion about her she lost almost all fear of him.
“I’d like to give you a little kiss, you big old kitty…”

“What? But what about my fangs?” he asked while arching a brow.

But the timid Pegasus only shook her head as she smiled up to him.
“Oh I don’t care… Lots of my friends have fangs, too.”

Grinko frowned a bit and looked down to the ground.
“But they’re woodland critters! I on the other hand…”

“…are a Masar. I know that. I… um…” Kicking the ground a bit, the little Pegasus looked up to him. “Did you… you know… meant what you said there?” In his mind he thought about how he would have ended that sentence. Something about a beast with claws and teeth was the thing he would have said. This little Pegasus mare wasn’t just beautiful and kind, but she gave him a chance. And by no means was he about to let it go to waste.

Grinko looked at her for a moment and then grabbed her hoof with a nod.
“I did!”

Looking at her hoof Fluttershy blushed and smiled a bit.
“Um… You know… It was very brave to say something like that in front of others… I… I couldn’t do that with such ease… I’m not that assertive.”

Grinko arched a brow before he shook his head.
“If you have to, you are more than that. This look of yours… Where did you learn to do this?”

“Well… It… it runs in the family… After all, we Pegasi once were a race of mighty warrior ponies… But I really don’t like to use it very often.”

His eyes now widened.
“Magnificent! An ancient art that needs to be refined…” He now held her hoof with both paws. “Shaman-“

In an instant Fluttershy pulled her hoof away.
“I’m not a shaman! Stop calling me that!”

“But you can talk to the animals! How else should I call you?”

"My name is Fluttershy!” With a sigh she shook her head. “If you really want to become my special somepony, you have a lot of things to learn, Grinko…” In an instant she blushed. Now she said it out loud. 'Oh Fluttershy, you’re such a loudmouth.'

Meanwhile Rachel and Tyler were on their way back.
“You say she’s able to have some sort of psychological stare or something? Now I understand what Grinko meant… Ha! Who would have thought that Fluttershy would turn out to become the dominant one in this relationship of Beauty and Beast?”

Tyler grinned as they left the cottage hill.
“Always the silent ones…”

Only five minutes later, Fluttershy’s hoof tapped on the chalkboard on which she had written certain basic rules for Grinko.
“It doesn’t hurt to start with the basics in this. I once had a certain training of a minotaur that sort of helped me to understand myself better. So pony up your mind and you will grow more kind!” With a giggle she placed her hoof to the first line on the Chalkboard. “Rule One…?”

Grinko now read the line out loud, even though he arched a brow. This felt a tad weird.
“We don’t eat ponies, zebras or humans…”

This earned him a nod from Fluttershy.
“Yes… Rule Two?”

“No eating of woodland critters outside of the Everfree Forest… But I already know-”

“Rule three?” Grinko hesitated this time. Waiting a bit, Fluttershy tapped the chalk board again. “Rule three?”

While growling in refusal, Grinko looked down.
“Do I have to?”

Giving him a sly grin, she nodded.
“Come on… Say it?”

“Grmph… Alright… Fluttershy is always right!”

With a giggle, she patted him on the shoulder.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” While he still grumbled a bit, she took his paw and inspected it. “I won’t lie to you though… I heard about your worries about your claws…”

“If you wish it, I could pull-“

“NO!” Fluttershy interrupted him. “No one will be hurt or injured for my sake! Your claws are a part of you as my Stare is part of me. You need them for your fighting and hunting! You must never get rid of them!”

“But what if I want to express my feelings for you and injure you in a way? I couldn’t bear that guilt…”

But the Pegasus looked up to him.
“We will find another way… Until then, you have my trust.”

“But…”

Fluttershy held his head with both of her hooves.
“My absolute! Unconditional! Trust!”

Later that day Fluttershy returned the novels to the library. This caused Twilight to frown.
“But Fluttershy, you just borrowed these novels this morning!”

“Oh, I know… But… um… things are different now. I have a new project over at my cottage that needs full attention.”
Twilight grasped the books with her levitation magic and cocked her head as she put them back into the shelf. “Well, if you say so…”

In the doorway Fluttershy halted and turned around once more, beaming while she did it.
“Oh and hey… stay out of my shed, OK?” With that the yellow Pegasus left the library and Spike looked to her unicorn friend and arched a brow. “Why should we stay out of her shed all of a sudden? We didn’t go in there in the first place.”

Twilight simply shrugged.
“Maybe she’s working on a new project with light sensitive animals? You know Fluttershy… She’s probably using that shed to get those animals the best caring she could muster… Let’s just stay out of her shed until she says it’s OK…”

Behind her cottage, Fluttershy approached her shed. As the door opened it was dark inside since there were no windows. As she ignited the content of the lamp, the light revealed Grinko’s silhouette. The Masar folded his arms.
“Why are we hiding in here? Are you ashamed of me being your lair mate?”

Fluttershy shook her head.
“Oh no… But we are undisturbed in here. No one comes in here and that gives us plenty of private time to learn about each other’s customs.”

Arching a brow, the Masar smirked.
“You’re just afraid someone could barge in and witness us doing something embarrassing…”

Caressing his face with her hooves, she nuzzled him a bit.
“Well… Masar baths are a very intimate moment. I think nothing and nopony should interfere with this.”

Grinko’s eyes and smile grew and he nodded.
“It would be my pleasure…”

Dear Princess Celestia,
Having an appearance that frightens others or being too shy to draw somepony’s attention might be a problem if you don’t work on yourself. But it can also be a gift if you realize that you share the wish for kindness.
Just because something, someone or somepony looks scary and big doesn’t mean that he or she doesn’t wish to share kindness with others as well.

Looking up from the letter and the quill in her mouth, she closed her eyes as the purring behind her grew in volume. Having agreed to get a bath from him without going into erogenous zones, it was a start. Fluttershy had to start trusting him and wanted to give him an opportunity to be kind and caring to her while expressing his feelings in the same time. Giving her a bath while limiting his access to certain spots, was both reward and test for him. Being accustomed to animal tongues for affection this was nothing completely new to Fluttershy. The extent of this, however, was. A Masar is a great proud feline who show its affection by bathing family and lair mate. She thought. It was important to him and it showed her that Masar aren’t just murderous beasts. “Careful with my wing muscles…” She said in a slightly seductive tone. “We’ll save them for later…” A nod later Grinko’s tongue slid over her back again as he bathed Fluttershy.

And I’m proud to report that our friend Grinko wants to learn all about kindness from me, his new special somepony.

Your Element of Kindness,
Fluttershy

Reading the letter, Celestia smiled and opened a little casket, where a small amulet in form of a tooth glittered.