By Them

It wasn’t quite hot enough for the mid morning air in Ponyville to shimmer, but the sky was bright and mostly clear as Fluttershy trotted over the Eastern Bridge heading towards the market square. The fine weather served as a testament to the organization of Ponyville’s weather captain Thunderlane. Sure, Rainbow Dash had been more ‘dynamic’ about things, but she was now the Executive Officer of the Wonderbolts, and living her dream. Thunderlane made a good replacement, though. He was a dedicated, organized, and very responsible stallion.

Fluttershy sighed to herself. When she thought about it Thunderlane sounded an awful lot like another stallion she knew, a stallion she considered a very good friend. Yet her shyness had always kept her from admitting it to anypony other than herself, especially to him.

Thinking of things like that, stallions and such, was awkward. Like the time she’d lost her virginity back in Cloudsdale. It had been a year or so after she’d gotten her cutiemark, but before she’d decided to abandon her cloud home and reside groundside permanently. It had been a vain attempt on her part to overcome her horrid shyness.

Rainbow Dash had been withdrawn from school to work under a private flight instructor hired by her father, after having been teased mercilessly for claiming to have accomplished a Sonic Rainboom. That had left Fluttershy all alone, deprived of her closest, and really only, friend. Being dreadfully shy was one thing; not needing social contact was another. She had tried to come out of her shell little more then, practically forcing herself to interact with others, and one colt had almost immediately taken notice.

Fluttershy gave a small sad sigh; it truly had been folly to get so involved at that time. Whirlaway had charmed her, disarmed her, and deflowered her in due course. He had then left her, all the while bragging how he’d covered the shyest mare in school. The emotional fallout of their affair was what had eventually cemented her decision to move to Ponyville and the safety of the ground.

It had taken a lot of courage to eventually realize the folly of her past. Pegasi were hot blooded to put things mildly. They were passionate flighty ponies, with emotions that soared as high as the clouds they called home. Still, having been asked by Applejack to lead off the teasing of her brother at the handover reception for the stud contract, that had been somewhat unexpected.

Some of these old Earth Pony traditions were, as she was finding out, every bit as wild as the St. Paddock’s day parade in Blarneigh that she’d gone to with her parent’s one year. To lead the tease was basically to be declared the ‘best mare not picked’ or ‘top contender’. But Applejack was a friend, and so was her brother, and if there was one thing she’d learned from all these years in that particular group of friends, friends helped each other, so she had agreed. What she hadn’t expected to do was to get so swept up in the moment of it that night. The music, the dancing, the food, the cider: it had been a fine time.

She’d seen Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane flirting in the manner pegasi were known to. Actually, it looked more like egging each other on, really, but Fluttershy knew Rainbow long enough to know how Rainbow worked. The barbs had been sharp, and the comebacks quick, but neither Thunderlane nor Rainbow had been particularly vindictive about it, nor had they taken their eyes off each other.

A sudden soft furry kick to the back of her left ear snapped the butter-yellow pegasus from her torpor. Fluttershy stopped in her tracks and blinked hard a couple of times as she stared at the post she’d nearly walked into. A sharp drumming of a hind paw on her withers brought her head around to look at the source, where a white rabbit looked sternly at her from it’s perch behind the back edge of her flowing pink mane.

“Oh, I’m sorry Angeline, I guess I got a little lost in my thoughts.”

The white rabbit doe just folded her forelimbs across her chest and gave Fluttershy a scathing look.

“Now just a minute young lady.” Fluttershy’s voice picked up a note of chiding resolve. “Just because your father could get away with that doesn’t mean you can.”

The white rabbit’s attitude wilted immediately at the reproach.

“It’s okay, Angeline, I miss him too, but you need to try to be your own person, not some imitation of others.” Fluttershy smiled back at the little doe who immediately perked up at the comment. “Now, what say we get that shopping done, and get it all back to your brothers and sisters, before I go meet up with Rarity and Twilight this afternoon?” The little rabbit broke into a large smile as she ducked into her mistress’s left saddlebag and withdrew the rolled parchment that contained the morning’s to do list.

“Hey thar, Fluttershy.”

The sound of her friend’s warm welcome brought the pink maned pegasus’s head around the other way.

“Oh, hi Applejack.” Fluttershy smiled back at the orange Earth Pony as she trotted over to the Sweet Apple Acres barrow stand in the market. “How did the clean-up go? I’m sorry I didn’t get to the brunch that day. I was feeling kind of under the weather after the night before.”

“I’m sure you were,” Applejack retorted with a chuckle, “and it was right nice of Rarity and Twilight to see y’ home when they did. Otherwise, y’ might have found y’rself waking up with one o’ mah cousin’s thinkin’ y’ was Mrs. Fluttershy Apple.”

Fluttershy blushed and ducked her chin slightly causing her mane to draw closed like a set of pink curtains hiding her embarrassment as Angeline stroked her mane reassuringly. She had once thought of herself as a possible Mrs. Apple, but she could never bring herself to approach the stud with her feelings.

“Was I really that bad?” the butter-yellow mare squeaked from behind her curtainous coiffure.

“Aw shucks no, Fluttershy, I was just funnin’ ya. Though, with some o’ mah cousin’s, the latter part might have been on their minds ‘n’ all after all that cider an’ such. Y’r still a famous model an’ all t’ some o’ them.”

Fluttershy swallowed hard at the thought of repeating her folly with one of Applejack’s cousins. It was her deepest shame to have given up the filly that Whirlaway had gotten on her. It was an act of kindness as well. A gift of a better life than Fluttershy could have given her as a single mare in a strange village. It was sheer fluke that she even knew the gender of the foal. She had given birth blindfolded and the filly removed immediately there after, a piece of her heart along with her. If she ever let another stallion cover her again, Fluttershy was adamant, she wanted it to be the right stallion for the right reasons.

“Oh.” Fluttershy smiled through her embarrassment at her overreaction, adding a dignified light society chuckle to finish. Applejack’s sense of humor and delivery could sometimes be too matter-of-fact for Fluttershy’s tastes at times. Still the farm pony with the dancing green eyes full of laughing pride was the brimming well of confidence that Fluttershy wished she could be.

“So where is Diamond Tiara? I thought you were going to have her running the stand now that she’s living at Sweet Apple Acres?”

Fluttershy watched as the shining glimmer faded from her friend’s eyes as a pallor of stern reality took hold on the earth pony’s features.

“Big Mac took her to the doctor’s this mornin’.” Applejack flatly stated.

“Really?” Fluttershy chimed in her querying response, “Is she okay? Do you think she might be pregnant already?”

The genuine truth, as Fluttershy knew, was conception could be quite rapid if the mare was fully in season. There also was a spell Twilight had told her of that some unicorn physicians could use to detect the fertilized zygote within a day or two. Though Fluttershy was not exactly sure if any of the unicorn staff in Ponyville had that manner of specialist among them.

“I really hope she is. The sooner she has them foals, the sooner she’ll be on her way.” Applejack mused flatly.

“You think so?” Fluttershy commented uncertainly.

“Eeyup.” Applejack grinned as a different kind of light began to dance in her eyes.

* * * * *

“All right, roll over on your back my dear.”

The white cover paper of the exam table crinkled and crackled under her as she rolled onto her back, belly up. The room smelled faintly like disinfectant solution and the barest trace of lemon to Diamond Tiara. That is to say, it smelt like a physician’s office, just like every other she’d been in. She knew Big McIntosh was waiting patiently, as was his manner, down the hall in the reception area.

“Hmm.” The pale white-blue unicorn mare mumbled as she focused her concentration. Diamond Tiara watched as the physician’s horn took on a soft pink aura about it, matching the color of the mare’s eyes in contrast to her cobalt blue mane with it’s silver-pink stripe. Then the pink pony felt a tingling sensation on her belly slowly circling closer to her …

“Himph.” Diamond let out a soft whimper as she felt a dull ache deep in her lower regions.

“Ah-hmm.” Dr. Lily Soft acknowledged as she kept her spell progressing lower and deeper.

“OW!” Diamond finally flinched as she felt a deep pain down in her intimate regions causing her to double up and roll on her side to shield herself from the probing medical spell. The pain faded along with the aura about the doctor’s horn, as the physician motioned for Diamond to sit up.

“Would you care to hear the good news, or the bad news, first?” the medial pony offered.

“Uhm,” Diamond contemplated her answer before finishing, “could McIntosh come in and hear this too? I think this kinda involves both of us, on at least one part.”

“Yes, I suppose it does.” Dr. Soft agreed as she moved to the wall-mounted intercom, “Nurse Tenderheart, could you send Mr. Apple to exam room 2-A, his marefriend would like him to join her.”

“Of course.” The reply came from the speaker.

A few short moments later there was a light tap on the exam room door, which the physician proceeded to open revealing a concerned looking McIntosh.

“Am I in the right place?” the big red pony asked bashfully trying to avoid eye contact with anything save the ceiling or floor.

“Yes Mr. Apple, your marefriend asked that you be present for the results of the exam.” The medical mare assured McIntosh as she gestured for him to enter the room before closing the door behind him.

Diamond wanted to say something to the effect of that she wasn’t his marefriend, just his contractual broodmare, but her stomach was churning so nervously as she sat on the edge of the exam table, she held her tongue instead.

Dr. Soft had talked to Diamond at length before beginning the physical part of the exam. Her sexual history with McIntosh, her estrus cycles, any previous sexual contacts, what kind of suppressants she’d used previously during her cycles. So many questions and Diamond had tried to keep her word to Mac and tell the truth. She did, however, skip the parts about her and Silver when they were younger, but admitted to her follies with her two previous apprenticeship supervisors. She’d told the doctor about her and Mac’s decisions regarding honoring the stud contract drawn up by their families. How they’d agreed that just the traditional basics were good enough to do the job, no need to linger longer than necessary.

Diamond was slightly ashamed of herself at that last part. It had been her attempt to barter favors with McIntosh in the bedroom that had been the basis for their perfunctory sexual relations. She didn’t see any reason to make herself sound like a harlot to the good doctor, sex for money and such. Oddly, Diamond found herself feeling rotten inside for it, like she was debasing herself by simply spreading her legs and letting Mac go at her plot.

Yes, Mac had said that he didn’t mind such a private little deal just between them in the bedroom if it made her feel better about it. At the time, it sort of had made her feel slightly better about it, but after just two days, though, she was starting to doubt herself.

“So, what will it be first, my little ponies; the good news, or the bad news?” The soft voice of the unicorn physician pulled Diamond from her slow submersion into her own self pity.

“Bad news, please.” Diamond replied as she slipped off the exam table, after exchanging a quick glance with McIntosh who was sitting on his haunches in the corner near the end of the table.

“Eeyup.” Concurred McIntosh as Diamond moved over to where he sat and planted herself in front of him, the big red pony resting a reassuring hoof on her withers.

“Well, Ms. Tiara.” Dr. Soft began, “You’ve got a bruised cervix and vulva, and a couple of small tears in the vaginal wall near the mouth, probably related to the tearing of the hymen. Overall, if you didn’t tell me that you were engaging in consensual intercourse I’d dare say that you’d been forcibly violated young mare.”

Diamond was about to say something in the defense of Mac and herself, but the doctor didn’t pause long enough as she immediately turned her attention to the stallion.

“And you, my good stallion,” the doctor’s tone took a harsher tone as she addressed McIntosh, “should be ashamed of your treatment of your partner.”

Dr. Soft shifted her berating to both Mac and Diamond as she continued. “I have no idea about you fillies and colts these days. You seem to think that if you shove the biggest object you can up your anatomy that the orgasms just fly out on their own, or some nonsense like that. As I can imagine you know the painful truth of that little myth now.”

“Eeyup.” Mac nodded as he hung his head in shame above Diamond’s own, Diamond just hung her head and mirrored her partner’s nod.

“And the good?” Diamond ground out through her tightening jaw. It was a bad enough time to get berated on a regular basis by McIntosh’s sister Applejack. Getting lectured about her sex life at the moment was not precisely making her day right now.

“I’m not through with the bad yet, young mare.” The doctor batted aside Diamond’s statement with a wave of a hoof before pointing it at her. “Although I’m not sure if this would actually qualify, as bad. When your mother brought you in for your pre-mating exam I told you to quit using those estrous suppressants, I seriously doubt you followed my instruction.”

“And what makes you think that?” Diamond bit back indignantly.

“Because if everything I was told a month ago was accurate, you should be ovulating by now, but you’re not. My examination indicates you’re two to three days away from ovulating. That means either the information I was given wasn’t accurate, or you didn’t go off your suppressants right away. Now which is it.”

Diamond swallowed and shrank back against Big Mac who’s hoof remained steady on her withers.

“I didn’t go off my EZ-heat right away, I was mad at my parents for pushing me into this and …” Diamond trailed off in dejection. It was true, and with Mac here there was no use in lying about it. But once again she had stumbled over her misplaced pride and fallen for it. The stroke of McIntosh’s hoof on her withers reminded her she wasn’t alone either.

“So am I ever going to be able to have foals?” Diamond whimpered sullenly, “or am I going to be sterile like my mother?”

“I don’t believe so, while your late ovulation and bruised cervix won’t allow you to conceive right now, the condition is by no means permanent. If you really want to get pregnant I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to in future. But for now you need to refrain from any form of intercourse and allow your body to heal. Also, no more estrous suppressants.”

Diamond smiled weakly with relief at the future prognosis.

“I would also recommend, that you two might want to examine your sexual practices, belly to belly might be more advisable than traditional style right now. It provides the mare more control of penetration and allows better communication between the partners. Also, as long as Mr. Apple has joined us, I’d like to examine his equipment for possible injury, so Mr. Apple, hop up on the table on your back if you would.”

Diamond turned her head to look up at McIntosh as the doctor set about straightening her office a little, only to see him staring blankly in the direction of Dr. Soft, a wide-eyed expression of fear locked on his face.

* * * * *

“Long and thin goes too far in and doesn’t please the ladies. Short and thick does the trick and brings forth the proper babies? Oh, please, tell me she didn’t actually say that.” Silver Spoon was putting a lot of effort into trying not to simply burst out laughing at the comment. After a morning spent attending court with Princess Twilight, the revelation of the doctor quoting an old Shetland tavern rhyme about sex was just too funny.

“Eeyip.” Diamond Tiara smiled back as the pair walked along on their way to the Ponyville Spa. “And Big Mac apparently has the best of both as it seems.”

Ooohh, Silver shivered inside herself at the thought of the big red stallion pushing his firm meaty mounting tool inside her friend. Her own estrous cycle only added to the sensations rising from her deep innards. The fact that her best friend had literally won the cock-lotto and was being bedded for he last couple of nights was so romantically novel. More accurately it was more like the romantic and fantasy novels she so loved to read in her spare time.

The silver-gray nearly mare-grown filly smiled at her thoughts as they turned to the image of Lieutenant Pilum Argentis, who had been her assigned escort for the last month in the Crystal Empire. The crystal colt had a silver sheen coat that complimented her own and his mane and tail were such a lovely shade of silvered aqua. Silver sighed, and he was so polite and knowledgeable too, he’d been a pleasure to be around for those four weeks. She made a mental note to ask Princess Twilight to ask her pegasister-in-law, Princess Cadance, to have Pilum Argentis assigned to their security detail on their next trip to the Crystal Empire. Yes, absolutely she should.

“You’ve got to tell me more, Diamond, I mean I know you didn’t exactly get to tell me the whole deal at the morning-after brunch. So he was a big soft romantic in the ‘Shack’ and gave you a wonderful first time. You also said you two talked a lot before getting down to the deed. I mean really, what did you talk about, positions, experiences, did you mention that time at band camp?” Silver paused as she heard her friend’s hoofsteps fall silent.

Silver looked back as she came to halt. Diamond had stopped a few lengths further back and was staring at the ground, her head uncharacteristically low.

“Oh, come on, Diamond, what’s the hold up?” Silver chided her longtime companion in a high-toned mocking manner similar to how they used to torment Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. She pranced in place in an exaggerated dressage form for emphasis.

Her parents had insisted she take the classical dance lessons as befitting a good properly cultured filly. It did have its good points; posture and emphasis of poise were two of them. She was even giving Princess Twilight pointers on the form to improve her presentation posture. Honestly, a princess with a slouched posture was soooo unbecoming it wasn’t funny.

Silver trotted back towards Diamond. Silver preferred to leave her follies in the past if she could. Yet she’d tried to make amends where she could. That had been Princess Twilight’s counseling. Silver remembered how after Princess Twilight had accepted her for her diplomatic apprenticeship it had been made perfectly clear that she was going to have atone for her earlier misdeeds towards the younger sisters of the Princess’s friends.

How fitting the young diplomatic pony found it, that the first tests of her apprenticeship would be to snuff the smoldering embers of discontent that she herself had spread in her own ignorance. Silver had to acknowledge the Princess’s wisdom in the matter, and things had worked themselves out, though it hadn’t been easy. There had been a lot of animosity to overcome.

A small sniffle from Diamond caught Silver’s ear as she approached. Having only one close friend for most of her life, Diamond had been closer than anypony to Silver. Close enough, Silver mused nostalgically, that the term ‘lovers’ wouldn’t be far amiss in many cases. They’d shared so many sensual firsts together, it was hard for Silver to see Diamond as less close even with the increasing time Silver was spending with her duties assisting Princess Twilight.

“Come on Di, we’re wasting time here, and I want to hear all the juicy goods about you and Big Mac before Princess Twilight and her friends show up, I mean none of them have ever touched a stallion before.” Silver wheedled at her recalcitrant companion.

Seriously it was true, she’d been present for some girl talk with Twilight and most of her friends at some point in the last year or so. Princess Twilight and Rarity were rather unicorn traditional on matters of intimacy. Rarity shared a love of a certain romance series that Silver had also read, but like Princess Twilight was determined to maintain her maidenhead until her marriage. The fashionista had, however, dropped hints that there were ‘personal ways’ around such problems with the right tool for the job.

Pinkie Pie simply didn’t discuss such things beyond a certain point. The pink pony’s upbringing was very, very, traditional, with both her sisters being paired to contract studs themselves. Pinkie’s view was what happened behind closed doors was between the ponies on the other side of the door. Fluttershy largely just politely avoided the subject; except to reference her animal friends and foal sitting experiences. Silver had seriously doubted that the yellow pegasus even had the will to participate in the teasing at the reception the other night, but the facts spoke for themselves.

Rainbow Dash, that was a pony of a different color, Silver Spoon had found out. The current Executive Officer of the Wonderbolts was quite firm on that she didn’t have a problem with colts, and actually thought several were really quite hot, but had never been with one despite the fact the pegasi were quite open about their sexuality. However, the fact that another mare couldn’t get you pregnant, well that opened up a whole world of possibilities the hot-blooded mare had claimed. After all, Rainbow had pointed out, getting pregnant had put a crimp in her mother’s Wonderbolt career that she’d never overcome.

Of course that left Applejack, and while Silver Spoon’s relations with Apple Bloom were respectful and civil, they could hardly be called warm. Applejack on the other hoof was pure ice. It wasn’t an oppressive grinding iceberg-like coldness, but the orange mare had kept a frosty demeanor about her when Silver was present. It did extend to the point it perturbed Princess Twilight some, causing the young alicorn to mention it to Silver in private. Silver had however learned that the farm pony was just as frigid towards the colts as she was to her, but was staunchly ‘traditional’ by her own proclamation. It made Silver want to flutter her lips every time she heard it.

“It’s a lie, Silver.” Diamond lifted her head slightly as she spoke.

Silver cocked an eyebrow behind her glasses at her best friend’s statement. A lie? What was a lie? And why, by Celestia’s horn, would Diamond lie to her?

“You mean he just went right in when he got into the shed the other night?” Silver drew her head back in disbelief, at Diamond’s statement.

“No, Silver,” Diamond turned her head aside as she scraped her hoof along the dirt aimlessly as she answered. “Mac didn’t mount me right there. He talked a lot before he covered me.”

Silver could hardly believe her ears as Diamond started to recant the story she’d been so giddy while sharing quick details of the previous day. All the same she kept her ears focused on her friend as Diamond began to slowly start walking again.

“Mac’s not the best in bed either, he tried at first, and it was okay, but the more we did it the more it hurt, and I didn’t help things by not going off my EZ-heat right away either.”

Silver scrunched her muzzle at her friend’s revelation. Talk about raining on her romantic visions. Diamond was certainly being a dry plot about this. It was sounding like the Stag King of Dragonstone Island; he bedded his wife once a year and she gave him but one daughter and many stillbirths. Silver could feel for her friend, she’d fooled around enough in bed with Diamond to know that while slightly selfish and pushy, if you could get Diamond hot in the plot she could be very … passionate. Diamond also hated the concept of ‘owing’ Silver an ‘O’, and like the Lions of Casterley, Diamond always paid her debts, in bed at least.

“So, what did you two talk about?” Silver brushed against her friend in a gesture of support as they kept walking.

“Making choices.” Diamond answered flatly.

“Like 'how do you want to do it' choices?” Silver wasn’t quite following Diamond’s line on this. It was a breeding shed, Diamond had been laid out to get covered, the choice seemed simple, mounting bench or roll in the straw. If you kinda liked the stud, roll in the straw, if not, just let him do his thing from the bench and be done with it, right?

“Other choices, about me and him.”

“Is he a colt cuddler?” Silver was finding her friend’s responses bothersomely uninformative.

“No, it not that. I don’t know, he’s nice, and strong, and thoughtful, and all, but …”

“So he’s not perfect, and he’s clumsy in the sack, and you feel weird about basically being told to get your plot plowed by the older brother of the pony whose muzzle you spent so many years rubbing in their own manure.” Silver had to do something to stop Diamond from being such a downer, and right now the flat facts were all she could come up with as they approached the spa.

“You need to relax right now. Any pony in your situation would be a little weirded out. So you know what we’re going to do? We’re going to go in there, hop in some warm mud, dry out in the sauna, get a good rub down, and forget about the whole thing for the next little while.” Silver brought her front hoof to her chest as she paused to take a cleansing breath like Twilight had shown her.

“You’re right Silver.” Diamond perked up as she spoke, “I am getting myself wound up over nothing. I’ve just encountered a setback. It’s not like Mac’s a bad colt, either. In fact he’s really a great stallion. It’s just there’s just so much I didn’t know until two days ago.”

“See,” Silver grinned at Diamond, as they headed up the front walk of the spa. “It’s like Princess Twilight told me once; things aren’t so bad with good friends to help you through.”

“Yeah,” Diamond smiled back, before leaning closer to Silver and whispering in her ear, “and it’s not like he’s all bad in bed, he’s actually a pretty good plot licker for a novice.”

“Oooh, so it wasn’t all manticore crap.” Silver smiled back at her friend in anticipation of both a warm mud bath and some hotter bedroom details as she reached for the door and opened it for her friend.

“… filly or colt, it really doesn’t matter to us, so long as Diamond doesn’t get the business.”

Silver Spoon watched her friend’s eyes go wide and the smile crash from her face as Diamond’s mother’s voice greeted their ears from the opening door.

“Oh, Tarnish …” Silver gasped.

Author's Note

Breeder's notes: Yeah Diamond wasn't really ready for Big Mac, and neither was Mac ready for Diamond. It's not the best arrangement to cover a maiden mare with an equally untried Stud as it increases the chances of injury. Injury issues can cause the mare to shy from future breeding and risk rendering the animal unable to breed.

Fortunately, McIntosh here is a kind hearted fella and want's to see to the best upkeep for Diamond.

Now ain't that too bad I had to go stab her in the heart anyway.

And now I plan to run her out on a rail, and some pony won't be happy about that.

Checkov's Gun - Macneighavellian. (Chapter 6 - To Beget a Foal)