Be Careful What You Wish For

Be Careful what you wish for

Chapter 4 – ‘Adventures in Dating’

Any doubt that I was heading toward a train wreck of an evening began to climb into certainty.  I wasn’t sure if Discord was doing this just to mess with me, or he really was trying to help out.  Our first stop was a clothing store.  It wasn’t the Carousel Boutique, but then again Rarity’s shop was basically closed while she was on Earth.  Fluttershy had explained how everyone had agreed that she needed to stay and take care of her animals.  I think that I understood the government’s reasons for it.  If Fluttershy’s stare could still work in the other world then the meat business would be out of business.

Regardless of her explaining why she was still here I found myself in a suit I didn’t feel at all comfortable with.  It wasn’t that the suit was bad, but it was a purple pinstripe suit, with a green vest, purple bow tie, and a crisp white shirt under it all.  The shoes, both purple with green soles, matched the suit perfectly.  I looked like a demented, psychotic, and sociopathic clown.  Discord looked over the suit once, and shook his head.

“It’s missing something,” he muttered.

I cringed as he snapped his claws and the suit looked perfectly normal on one side.  My left side was perfect, a fantastic black and white pinstripe suit.  I looked to my right side and saw the purple suit still there.  Now I looked like a homicidal clown with a possible multiple personality disorder.  I looked up at him and then at Fluttershy who was eyeing the suit for a moment and shook her head.  She walked back toward the racks and returned with a white shirt, red bowtie, and a pair of kaiki pants.  She passed them to me and then she looked at Discord.

“Let’s try this,” she said.

“Oh how fun.  You can dress him up, and then I can take a turn.  Although, I must ask why did you choose that suit of clothes?  They look positivity boring,” he remarked.

“He’s trying to impress a mare.  Simple is usually the best way to do that,” she said.

“Oh, simple?  Why didn’t you say so?” he asked.

I had no sooner stepped into changing room, started to slip out of the suit Discord had gotten for me when suddenly everything flashed bright and I was standing in front of Discord and Fluttershy again.  Only this time there was a slight breeze that was touching me.  I closed my eyes, covered myself, and headed back to the dressing room.

“Oh my…” Fluttershy said from outside of the changing room.

“Those huemanes do look strange don’t they?  I suppose that’s as good of a reason for wearing clothes all of the time as any I suppose,” Discord said.

“It was all… there…  I… oh my,” she said again.

I closed my eyes as I dressed in the shirt, bowtie, and slacks.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to step back out again, but I knew that if I stayed in here there would be every chance that Discord would simply snap his claws again and I would be standing in front of him and Fluttershy again.  I took a deep breath, stepped out in the clothes, and noticed the large blush the covered most of Flutershy’s muzzle.

“I like this better,” I said.

Fluttershy nodded, but she really didn’t answer.  I looked at her and saw her blushing and looking away.

“Fluttershy are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she said almost so low that I couldn’t hear.

Discord looked at his friend, back to me, and then back to her.

“Do we want to do simple again?” he asked.

“NO!” we both shouted.

“Ah, good, I had thought that maybe that was the problem.  So, this is…  it needs something.  Something that stands out and…  Oh, I know what it needs!” he exclaimed before he snapped his claws and he was standing beside me in a similar suit of clothes, “It needs a wing-stallion!  Tell me Fluttershy how would you like to go along and make sure that our new friend has a good date tonight?”

“I don’t know…  he might want to be alone Discord,” she suggested.

“Nonsense!  Things are always better when friends are there, and besides he did say he wanted to take her to the theater.  That would be a treat hmmm?” he asked.

I could see Fluttershy going over it in her mind, and desperately I hoped that she would say no.  It wasn’t that I was afraid.  Okay, I was a little afraid.  I was afraid that Discord was going to be pulling pranks all night, and any chance I had of having a good date with Lyra was going to go right out the door.  Maybe I was really expecting too much anyway.  Lyra did like me, but that didn’t mean that I should really expect to get a positive answer on asking her out for a date.  If I had learned anything back on Earth it was that women, or mares presumably, were a force that no man, or stallion, could ever hope to understand.

“Stop trying to talk yourself out of asking her out,” Discord said as he rested his arm on my shoulder.

I looked at him, and he was no longer sporting his cartoonish body.  He had long since gone back to what he truly looked like.  To be honest his features in this world conveyed more disorder than it did in the cartoon. His head really was one like one of the ponies, with the exception of a deer antler and a ram’s horn sticking out of it.  He didn’t have a mane, and that one large predatory tooth hung from his maw.  Oddly it seemed to switch sides of his mouth at will. From what I could gather it seemed to do so when he turned his head.  Every part of him was far more real than I contest to understanding.  In a way seeing him in the cartoonish form had been a little easier to deal with.  Maybe it was because I had been used to that form long before the world found out that these ponies existed.

He looked at me and grinned.

“Okay, but how do I even know she’ll want to date me?” I asked.

“Oh, well, you don’t, but that’s what makes this so much fun!” Discord said excitedly.

“Fun?” I asked.

“Yes, this is fun.  Think of it dear boy.  You have no idea of what will happen.  It’s a surprise, a delicious surprise no matter what the outcome.  She might accept your proposal, go out, have a wonderful time, and start a relationship with you, or she might tell you that she values your friendship too much.  There’s also the chance that she’ll go out with you, have a horrible time and ask that you never call her again.  It’s so chaotic, and it’s so wonderful!  Naturally I’m hoping that the first outcome happens,” he said.

I looked at him and then at Fluttershy again.

“It will be fine, and besides, I’m sure that she’ll enjoy going out with you.  You’ve already made a friend with Discord, and that’s impressive,” Fluttershy said.

I looked at Fluttershy.  I wasn’t sure if she was being serious or not, but after a few moments I figured that she was at least being sincere, and that was close enough to being serious.  I breathed out a sigh and then straightened myself up.

“Okay, let’s do this,” I said.

“You need to pay for those before you leave,” a voice said.

I turned to see an adolescent mare behind the counter.  A tiara adorned her head, and I recognized her right off.

“Diamond Tiara?” I asked.

“Who wants to know?” she asked.

“Where’s Silver Spoon?  Why aren’t you in school?” I asked.

“Silver Spoon is too busy hanging out with her little colt friend, I’m out for break, and it’s none of your business,” she snapped back.

“Okay… Then I’ll just take these clothes,” I said.

“That will be twenty – five bits, or thirty – five American.  If you’re paying in your currency I ask that you please count it out,” she said.

I held my tongue and walked up to the counter.  I pulled out my wallet, and then I began counting out the bills to her.  She looked at them, then at me, and then shrugged before she wrote out a receipt.  She hoofed it over to me and then took the money and placed it into the register.

“Have a good day,” I said.

I started to walk out before she cleared her throat.

“Sir, you did make a purchase at our store, and my daddy has told me that I have to do this each time.  So, just please give me a minute,” she said.

She walked around the counter, gave me a hug, and then trotted back around it again.

“Don’t read anything else into that.  I’m supposed to thank everypony that shops here,” she said.

“Thanks, I guess,” I said.

I walked out and looked back.  I caught the adolescent mare staring at me for a moment before she realized that she had been caught.  She quickly turned away, and I just wondered what was going on.  We walked almost all of the way back to the Doo Drop Inn and I turned toward The Little White Lyre.  Fluttershy watched me walk up to the door.  I wondered if the butter yellow Pegasus was actually more nervous than I was.  I knocked on the door, and a moment later the mint green unicorn walked out.  She turned toward me and smiled.

“Don!” she exclaimed as she stood on her hind legs and gave me a hug.

I hugged her back and let out a small sigh of relief.  If she like me this much, then there was every chance in the world that she wouldn’t be opposed to us going on a date.

“I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner and maybe catch a movie…” I said before her eyes widened.

She looked like the preverbal deer in the headlights for a second before she nodded furiously and tried to talk.

“I’d love to!  Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” she exclaimed.

“I think that I should be thanking you,” I said.

She grinned, dropped onto the ground and then looked at me as I stood there in my new clothes.

“Ummm… When did you want to go out?” She asked.

“Oh, oh man I came over here right after I bought the new.  Would tomorrow be okay?”  I asked.

She nodded, smiled at me, and walked back inside of the bar.  I had learned that she lived over it, and for the most part it looked like she was doing well enough.  I turned around and saw Fluttershy and Discord.  Both of them smiled, and I wondered if I could wear these clothes tomorrow.  I debated for a few seconds and decided that I was going to have to get another suit.  I started to walk back toward the store when something poofed into my arms.

“Here you go,” Discord said.

“What’s this?” I asked.

He grinned and pointedly looked at the bundle in my arms.

“I thought that you might want a new set of clothes.  It would save you a trip, and besides, I have a feeling someone with your tastes will enjoy them,” he said.

My first thoughts was of the psychotic clown suit he had me try on earlier.  I smiled, looked at the bundle, and to my surprise it wasn’t really that bad.  It was another collared shirt, blue, a black bowtie, and a pair of black slacks.  It was stunned.  Discord had given me a nice set of clothes.  I studied them for a moment longer and noticed the logo on the pocket was the cartoonish Discord striking a dramatic pose.

“Thanks, this is awesome!” I exclaimed.

He looked pleased, turned to Fluttershy and extended an arm.

“You had better set a time for your date tomorrow,” he said over his shoulder.

The realization that I didn’t set a time struck me.  I turned and walked back to her door, knocked again, and she opened a window up top.

“What time tomorrow?” I asked.

She smiled, leaned out, and promptly fell.  I rushed forward to catch her and found myself, and my new clothes I was wearing, lying in the dirt.

“Owwww my flank,” she grumbled.

“Sorry about that,” I said.

She shook her head and slowly got up.  When she did she winced slightly.  I could see that she was in pain.  I stood up, put my new suit of clothes discord had made me on my shoulder, and then gently picked her up.  She looked at me as I held her.  To my surprise she wasn’t overly heavy.  She still weighed in a bit heavier than she looked, but she wasn’t overly heavy.  I started toward her bar and opened the front door.

“I… I can make it from here,” she said sounding nervous.

“It’s okay.  I’m kind of the reason you fell, and I would feel awful if I didn’t help you up the stairs,” I said.

We climbed the stairs and I walked into a room.  I wasn’t really wasn’t expecting to see the number of photos I saw in there.  It wasn’t insane, but it was odd.  There was photos of people talking with ponies, photos of a guy with what looked like a burned face talking to a Lunar Pegasus.  Beyond those I could see more.  I could see pictures of Berry Punch, and a small filly walking with a human male.  Berry didn’t look drunk, and if the fandom was right the filly was Berry Pinch, and she looked excited to be walking between the two of them.

I looked at the number of photos and then I looked at Lyra who was trying to hide her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You must think that I’m some kind of stalker,” she said.

“the thought did cross my mind” I thought for a second.

“No, I don’t think so.  You’re interested in humans.  You’ve believed in us for a long time, and you want to get to know us.  I don’t see a problem with that,” I said.

She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at my words and leaned into me.  I carried her over to her bed and laid her down gently into it.  She winced in pain again, and I looked at her back leg.  It didn’t look broken, but then again I wasn’t a doctor of any kind.  Fluttershy would be closer than I was to a doctor, and I didn’t think that her expertise really walked hand in hand with ponies.  I sat down next to Lyra as she tried to relax and gently scratched behind her ear.  That was something the fandom was right about.  She leaned into it, loving the sensation of having that part of her head scratched and rubbed.

“That feels wonderful,” she remarked, “Hands, I still can’t believe it.  You humans have the most marvelous hands,” she said.

“Thanks, but are you still hurting?” I asked.

She started to sit up and her face grimaced in pain again.

“So yeah, you are.  Why don’t I go get the doctor?” I asked.

“Would you mind asking for Nurse Redheart?  I hate to do that, but she’s helped me with this kind of thing before,” Lyra said.

“You fell from your window before?” I asked.

“Not exactly…  I did however over extend my hind leg before, and she really helped with it.  That’s what it feels like now,” she replied.

I nodded, got up, and felt her hoof on her right hand.

“You’ll come back right?” she asked.

“Of course I will.  We can call this our pre-date,” I said.

She smiled, leaned back, and I walked outside.  I had a date, with a mare, and right now I was going to get said mare some medical attention.  Okay, that last part was a little weird.  I couldn’t deny how weird it sounded, even in my head, as I walked toward the hospital.  Lyra had been good enough to lead me around Ponyville a few times, and in those times I had learned where the hospital was, where Golden Oaks Library was, and of course where Sugarcube Corner was.  There was even a run out to Sweet Apple Acres.

I will never, ever, ever agree to go on a run to Sweet Apple Acres again.  The show didn’t express how far out the farm is.  It’s not a mile or two, but instead Sweet Apple Acres is a good eight and a half miles outside of town.  It’s a seventeen mile run, and not something I was really ready to do.  Luckily Lyra was pretty beat when we got back after that run, and I was able to make it to the pharmacy and get a rejuvenation potion.  Once I downed it I felt better, for about fifteen minutes, which was long enough to get back to my hotel, collapse into bed, and sleep well into the next morning.  The potion did more than wear off the pain for a short time though.  It actually did help me heal up overnight.  I wondered if that was the kind of potion that Nurse Red Heart would use on Lyra.

I arrived at the hospital, walked inside, and looked at Nurse Redheart who was busy looking at an ‘Earth’ Magazine.  Of everything that could be popular over here I was surprised to find out that International Photographic and United Today ‘Lives of the people and ponies!’ was the most popular.  In all fairness Nurse Redheart was reading a International Photographic.  She put the magazine down and looked at me.

“Is something wrong Don?” she asked.

I walked toward her and breathed out calmly.

“Lyra fell out of her top story window, I caught her, and she thinks that might have over extended her hind leg,” I said.

“Oh,” she replied as she put the magazine down.

I watched as dug around in an old style refrigerator, pulled out an ice pack, grabbed a syringe of what looked like the rejuvenation potion, and followed me back to Lyra’s place.  One we were inside she walked toward Lyra and placed the cold compress on her leg.

“How does it hurt?” she asked.

“It hurts to walk on that leg.  If I move it very much I feel some pain like it’s over extended again,” she said.

Nurse Redheart looked at it and then shook her head.

“It’s not over extended Lyra, it’s almost popped out of place.  I’m going to give you a rejuvenation shot.  It’s going to make you not feel any pain for about ten minutes.  In that ten minutes I’m going to pop your leg completely back into place.  You are going to be hurting in a little while, and you need to be around somepony that can help take care of you tonight,” she said.

“Should I come back to the hospital?” Lyra asked looking at the ground.

We were set to take our first date, tonight was a pre-date, sort of, and although I knew that I didn’t have to, but I wanted to help her out. I wanted to stay even if my reason for staying here with her was for no other reason than making a good impression.

“I’ll stay and take care of you Lyra. I don’t mind,” I said.

She looked surprised, happy, but surprised.  Nurse Redheart smiled, gave me a small nod, and began to trot off out of Lyra’s apartment.  I walked over to her and gently scratched behind her ear again.  She moved her head into it and seemed to really enjoy the feeling for a few minutes.  I finally stopped and smiled at her.

“So, can I get you something to drink?” I asked.

“Drink, sure I’d like a glass of…  Oh no,” she said her eyes widening.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I can’t work my bar tonight!  I need to work it tonight so that I can get the money together to try out for the Royal Canterlot Orchestra!” she said trying to get up.

“You play?” I asked.

She gave me a ‘well duh’ look and pointedly looked at her cutie mark.  I knew it was a harp, but I had no idea that she actually played one.  There were several well written fan fictions that had her playing a harp, but it never occurred to me that she actually played.

“I’d love to hear you play sometime,” I said.

She smiled, happily again, and leaned toward me.  I was grateful that she wasn’t feeling the absolute amount of pain that she would undoubtedly be feeling later when the potion wore off.  I hugged her, a little surprised at how confident I was being.  Maybe being here was doing it, or maybe it was because I felt something for Lyra.  I wasn’t sure, but what I was sure about was the fact that I wanted to make her happy.

“I’ll work your bar tonight, and I’ll check on you.  I don’t mind to do it, and I did work in a bar back when I went to college,” I said.

“Did you serve drinks?” she asked.

“I bartended a little,” I replied.

She breathed out and nodded.

“Okay, I won’t ask you for the tips, because those are yours, but everything else in the register right?” she asked.

“Lyra, I wouldn’t try to take anything from you.  As for the tips, just consider it my donation to seeing you be able to try out for the Royal Canterlot Orchestra,” I said.

She looked at me sort of stunned, and then it happened.  It happened fast, quicker than I imagined it would.  She leaned over and kissed me.  It was deep, meaningful, and full of promise.  I pulled her close and felt her forelegs wrap around my neck.  She pulled back and laid her head on my shoulder.

“You’re so sweet, thank you, thank you so much,” she said.

I held her.  I held her and felt the softness of her coat through my shirt.  She was warm.  That was something else the fan fictions had been right about.  Her little body was producing a lot of heat. I wondered if they had a higher metabolism.  It would explain why they could eat so many sweets and never really seem to suffer any consequences from it.  Hell, Pinkie was still scarfing down sweets on Earth, or was when I last saw her, and she didn’t look like she gained very much if any weight.  She shifted until she had her head in my lap and I was sitting there holding her.

I could stand to do this for a while.  She became comfortable, and before long I heard the slight sound of her snoring.  I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that with the exception of a garter on my arms I looked the part of a bartender in a small town at the turn of the twentieth century.  Then again I thought back to my days of bartending and remembered how my boss had told me about how the garters meant how many working girls were in a saloon.  Maybe not wearing them would be better than wearing them.

I gently laid her head down and walked out of the room and made my way down stairs.  Once I was in the bar itself I looked at a schedule she had written out on a small black board behind the bar.  It opened at six pm, so another two hours, and it stayed open until two am.  That wasn’t that different from any bar on Earth.  I checked the menu for the bar as well.  Most of the drinks were variations of the ones I had made on Earth.  Hard Cider, Trottingham Beer, Griffinale, Highball, The Trotting Dead – which seemed to be a variation of the zombie, Lunar Island Iced Tea, Temple of the Sun – which looked like it was a variation of the House of the Rising Sun, and hot dang seemed to be the main staples of the bar itself.  I noticed a small grill and read off what she had fixed on normal nights.

“Hay burgers, hay fries, Dandelion sandwiches, and fish bites,” I read off the list.

That shouldn’t be too difficult.  The fries could be fixed about thirty minutes before the bar opened.  I didn’t want to fix the burgers or the sandwiches too earlier, and if the fish bites were what I thought they were I could put them into the cooking oil a good fifteen minutes before the bar opened.  I turned around and saw that Lyra had used an older system of seeing where she was on her bottles.  Each one had been marked with a permanent marker.  I looked for a Click N’ Bic, Sharps, or a Rosey Art marker, but I didn’t see any of them.  I sloshed one of the bottles around and saw that the mark actually moved a few times before resettling again on the bottle.  It was an actual magic marker.

I laughed for a moment, put the bottle back up, and walked back upstairs.  I found Lyra sleeping soundly.  Thinking that she might get thirsty I walked back downstairs and found a tumbler, put some ice out of an older style refrigerator into it, and filled it with water.  I walked back upstairs and sat the glass of water by her bed.  I started to leave when her eyes fluttered open.  She looked up at me for a moment and shook her head.  Her mane fluttered around for a moment before settling back in place.

“How long was I…? Ouch,” she said winching as she turned over.

I sat down beside her and looked at her upper hind leg.  I hadn’t massaged a pony before, but one of the physical electives I took in college was professional massage.  It was more or less a semester of learning how to give deep tissue and Swedish massages.  I didn’t start massaging right away, but instead I looked at her.

“If you want I might be able to help make that muscle relax,” I said.

She looked at me curiously for a moment before she nodded.  I had her lay on her side, and slowly I started working on her muscle.  I could feel it corded up like steel.  I knew that there was a spa in town, and I knew that the two sisters Aloe and Lotus Blossom were the two trained masseuses here.  I hoped that what I knew was similar to what they knew, and that their physiology wasn’t too different.  I started light, with a soothing Swedish massage.  She let out a small groan that slowly turned into a moan.  As I worked the muscle I could feel it loosening a little.  That was good because in order for it to stay that way I needed to do some deep tissue massage work.  I didn’t want to chance popping her hip out of place, but I knew that I could work a little further down and it should be safe enough.  Once her muscle was relaxed enough I began working deeper.  She grunted a little and looked at me worriedly.

“I promise that I’m not doing anything to hurt you,” I said.

She nodded and I watched as she closed her eyes and tried to focus on something else.  If I knew the deep tissue work like I thought I remembered it then she would start feeling really good in about half an hour.  I worked with the muscle for a while longer, and then I pulled my hands away.  Once they were pulled back I released her leg.

In normal conditions the massage would take a little while for the effects to be felt, but it seemed that the rejuvenation potion was actually working pretty hard to make the effects felt a lot sooner.  She stretched her leg, and she didn’t wince in pain.  Instead she stood up on it.  I watched as she stepped off of her bed, stood on her hind legs, and moved her left hind leg around.

“That’s amazing,” she whispered.

“I’m just glad to help,” I managed to get out before she hugged me.

It was a hard hug, one that I returned happily.  Standing on her hind legs she was eye level with me.  She leaned in and for the second time I got a kiss.  Like before she put meaning into it.  She didn’t just kiss and turn away, but rather she showed promise of what she intended.  I kissed her back and hugged her close.  Finally we both broke the kiss and backed away.  She grinned, a little sheepishly, and then looked at the door.  I knew that she was still considering my working down there with her.

“If you want I don’t mind to help you out tonight.  Do you normally have somepony wait on tables or help behind the bar?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“Bon-Bon used to wait on the tables sometimes.  Berry usually brings over a shipment of her wine and spirits, and once in a while if she needs the extra bits she’ll help cook and serve the food, but I really haven’t had anypony to help in a good long while,” she said.

“Then consider me your help for this evening.  Tell me what you would like me to do and I’ll do it,” I said.

She stood looking surprised for a moment and then a bright smile, the same smile that I’ve seen a few times since being here, crossed her face.

“Okay, how about you come downstairs with me and we’ll prep for tonight,” she said.

The next several hours passed in almost a blur.  I worked the floor waiting, then moved to the grill, then I bartended for a while.  The entire time Lyra would sneak little peeks, and once or twice I felt something touch me when nothing was there.  I figured it was magic, and I also believed it was Lyra.  As the night progressed I learned that Ponyville also had a few other citizens that never really made it into the show.  There was Ironclaw the III, a griffon land owner who owned quite a bit of land here in Equestria and in his native homeland.  I saw him sitting next to a well groomed mare.  The mare looked somewhat familiar, but I shook it off.

Near them was a mare that every Brony knew.  She was the focus of dozens of songs, hundreds of fan fictions, and I dare say it she was actually as popular as any of the mane six.  I walked over and placed their drinks on the table.

“Thanks,” she said.

The voice was the absolute same.  I didn’t know how JanAnimations had gotten it right, but obviously they had.  I looked at Button’s mom and an Earth Pony that looked sort of like a grown up version of Button Mash himself.

“Can I get you anything else?” I asked.

The stallion rubbed his chin and then nodded.

“Actually Love and I are a bit hungry.  What do you say to an order of hayfries?” he asked her.

“That would be wonderful Chip.  Oh, if you don’t mind to remind Lyra to bring me the non-alcoholic Cider that would be great,” she said rubbing her stomach.

I nodded and walked back.  I was dating Lyra Heartstrings, and I had just talked to Love Tap and Chip.  I was king of the Bronies.

Toward two am the night slowed.  Berry Punch had shown up with her human friend.  I noticed that she was wearing a gold band on her left hoof.  I nodded to the gentleman who returned the gesture.  The two of them helped bring in Lyra’s order for Berry’s wine and a couple bottles of whiskey.  Once that was done they left and I helped Lyra stock the wine on the shelves and put the rest of it down into the cellar.

We finished up and I could smell myself through my clothes.  I had worked pretty hard tonight and it was showing.  I started to get ready to leave when Lyra stopped me.

“I thought that you were going to stay,” she said.

“I’d love to, but I thought that you just wanted me to stay to make sure you were better,” I said.

She shook her head no, and led me back upstairs.  She pointed to the bathroom, and then she led me to a guest room.

“I really like you Don, I guess better than like.  Yeah, it’s better than just liking.  If you want stay in the guest room you can, but I don’t have a problem with you staying in here with me.  I’m a grown mare, and…  I’ve never had a one night stand.  I don’t intend to start now.  You’re not going to be one are you?” she asked.

“No, I don’t have any intention of being one,” I said.

She smiled, caught me in a kiss, and then opened the bathroom door.

“Go ahead and get started.  I’ll take mine after you take yours,” she said.

I walked in and saw the tub.  It was a brilliant white, deep, and about half as long again as my tub at home.  It was also a little wider, but I figured that made sense.  I saw that she had an old fashioned shower head and decided on a quick shower.  I turned on the hot water and after a few seconds it started getting warm.  I quickly got into the shower, washed off, and was done before too long.  After that I got out, found a towel, and began drying myself off.   I wrapped the towel around me, thanking whatever deity was listening that it was long enough, and opened the door.  Lyra stood there.  She stood up, squeezed past me, and I felt her rub against me for a moment.

I heard her get into the shower, and I my mind raced with the possibilities of what would happen.  To say I was nervous would be an understatement.  I felt nervous, uncertain, and wondering if I was even going to be something she wanted.  A few moments later she came into the room and looked at me.  Her mane was still wet, clinging to her face, and she looked at me with a sort of determination.  She strolled over to me confidently, and right as she reached me she tripped.  I caught her before she fell and she gave me a sheepish grin again.

She leaned into me and kissed me once again.  I leaned back letting her push me onto the bed.  She straddled my waist.

“It’s been forever, and I only really want to do this with someone I’m certain of,” she said.

“It’s been longer for me,” I said.

She looked at me surprised and then leaned forward.

“You’re… you’re a virgin?” she asked.

The awkward feeling rushed back to me.  Here I was with a beautiful mare, and the fact that I had never been laid was stepping out and making itself known.  I expected her to say something more about it, or even poke a little fun at me, but instead she nuzzled my neck.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me.  Of anypony, and I mean anypony, you could have chosen you chose me.  You chose to give this to me,” she said.

She looked so happy words couldn't quite describe it, and then she began kissing down my neck.

“I’m going to make sure you know how happy I am you chose me,” she said.

I felt her slightly rough tongue lick down me.  It didn’t take much for me to get excited, and before long I felt the warmth of her mouth surrounding my length.  Her tongue wrapped around it skillfully, more so than I would have imagined, and soon she was bobbing her head up and down.  I felt myself grunting in time with her and I grabbed her hoof.  It seemed that she knew what I was meaning because she worked even harder.  Moments later I felt the release and she brought her head back.  I watched as she swallowed, and then she moved up me again.  She kissed me deeply, and I obliged.

There was a new taste on her tongue, something not completely wrong, but off.  I knew what it was without question, but at the moment I didn’t care.  I didn’t care about anything except for the moment happening.  I felt her hooves move onto my shoulders, and I felt an invisible hand gently stroking me.  She looked into my eyes and what I could see there wasn’t just a fevered lust.  It was a sort of trust.  It was the kind of trust that you reserved for those closest to you.  I felt the warmth radiating off of her and a moment later I was inside of her.

Every mention of doing this went out the window.  I had joked about this before with Louis, told him how if I was him things would be different between me and Pinkie.  I was wrong.  I was wrong because things would never even be close to being the same between Lyra and me.  We weren’t going to just be friends after this.  We would be a couple, and despite whatever may come I could help but fall in love with that fact.  My hands moved down her back, and I cupped her flank.  She let out a throaty moan.  I felt her hips moving faster, harder, grinding against my pelvis with a need I didn’t even know existed.

“Mine,” she moaned.

She leaned forward and bit my shoulder.  I winced a little but then she sat back up and I felt her clench inside.  That sudden force caused me to explode inside of her.

“MINE!” she screamed.

She collapsed on top of me and breathed hard.

“I love you,” she breathed out.

I knew what she needed to hear.  I knew what I needed to say, and the truth was I did feel it.  I kissed the top of her head.

“I love you too,” I whispered.

We fell asleep like that.