Living in Equestria

For the first time since I could remember after arriving in this world, nothing much happened for what felt like a few weeks.

The days passed with little but the pleasure of the company around me and hard work leading up to the Summer Sun Festival. I moved into Apple Bloom's room a day after a fun adventure of construction with Applejack, tearing both her sister's bed and Scoot's apart to construct a single large one that took up most of one wall once it was together.

It turned out surprisingly comfortable and from that night on, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo spent the dark hours of the evening snuggled with me in a colorful ball of fur and tails that sometimes became too warm and sweaty for comfort, especially on the odd nights when Sweetie Belle joined us. Even though I'd taken to sleeping in the nude to counter their body heat, there was little in the way of physical intimacy. The three of us shared a bond that was emotionally driven rather than eager for the flesh at this point. I could have initiated it with any of them almost at any time, but I'd drank my fill of sex for a while after the almost daily encounters from the last few weeks.

Apple Bloom did manage to corner me in the south orchard one day, though. Her heat had started that morning and she took full advantage of my body's appendages in an almost predatory manner, stalking me in the trees silently until I was alone and then pounced under the boughs of a large apple tree. I used every trick Rainbow Dash had taught me on the wildly energized red head and it was a quick, fast n' dirty encounter that left her panting, leaning against the trunk of the tree dazed when I walked away to return to my chores.

Her cast had eventually come off too, her leg shriveled and funny smelling until she'd had a couple of baths. Scootaloo had chided her about it once and the ensuing dust ball of their wrestling match in the barnyard was good fun for Big Mac and I who had to separate them while holding our sides from laughter. They fought a lot actually. Not real fighting mind you, but the kind of fighting that happened between two close friends with stubborn wills and both of them were tomboyish enough to take it to the ground whenever the situation called for it.

Applejack, who had become more at ease seeing me with her sister, had stayed up many a night with me down in the kitchen, drinking cider after the sun set while the girls were upstairs and talking about nothing in particular... just sharing each other's company. She confided in me on one of those occasions that she deeply regretted her earlier outburst at my involvement with Apple Bloom and noticed how much happier the red headed young mare been now that things had settled down. It had been an emotionally charged conversation, ending with the two of us sitting side by side at the kitchen table, my arm around the stubborn blond and and one of her front legs around my neck in a semi-drunken hug.

The five other ponies we knew would stop by occasionally also. Rainbow Dash picked up her training with me again and soon I knew I was strong enough to fly Scootaloo. I could keep up with the blue pegasus now even with the heavy pack strapped to me as long as she wasn't going full out. We never went back to Cloudsdale, instead choosing to stay near the farm where it was safe from the mobs. She told me that Whipwind's trial had just started and there was a circus there almost every day now. When I told her about the Wonderbolt Mark V, Dash's face melted in a rare display of tender feeling before she gave me a tight airborne hug in the clouds.

Twilight was easily the most frequent visitor. True to her earlier claims, she had taken to writing a journal about our experiences with the herding magic and we had at least one awkward session while I described the events at Pinkie Pie's.

"How would you say you performed the mating act? Less, normal or more vigorous as a result of the herding magic?" she had asked with a straight face. Her purple features showing no sign of embarrassment or hesitation.

"I dunno!... Crap, Twilight! It's not like I was keeping notes!"

"Try to remember... this is for posterity after all." she'd encouraged with patient, earnest enthusiasm.

I finally gave up on being polite and let her have the raunchy details, her face had gone from a studious concentration to wide eyed attention by the time I got to the part about the ropes and Pinkie's oral performance at the end. When I started to describe the way she had opened her mouth above the container to capture my fluid, Twilight Sparkle shook her head violently as if waking from a spell, causing her dark mane to get tangled.

"OK!! Well... that will do for this portion!" she'd said quickly and slammed the book shut on the quill that was still magically recording every word being said. She left quickly, apologizing about forgetting an appointment she had somewhere. I thought I'd finally gone too far with it and felt bad until I saw her tail was firmly pressed against her flank when she walked away, the fur there had turned a darker purple leaving a familiar scent in the air.
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A few days later, I had an unexpected and awkward visit from a young, green dragon.

I was working alone out in the south orchard that day, pulling the bad fruit from the trees to keep the rest from getting the worms that lived on the delicious red fruit. Alone and nervous he'd appeared in the corner of my eye watching from the shade of a nearby tree while I went about the chore in the hot afternoon sun.

"What's up, Spike?" I asked brightly, landing near him with the load of the worm eaten apples in a basket. I'd come to like Spike. He was the only other young male around my life in a sea of girls that could hold a conversation beyond a couple of words. Sure, he was naive and clueless about a lot of stuff, but that was because of his living situation... not by any fault of his own.

"H-Hey.. Mason." his raspy voice sounded tense and he'd taken his pointed tail up in his claws to pick at nervously. "Can I talk to you about something?" his green eyes flitted between my own and the ground.

I felt awkward... like he was coming to me for advice or something and my own self esteem just screamed at the whole concept. I wasn't someone anyone had ever come to for advice.

"Uh... sure, man. What's on your mind?"

He took a deep breath and blew out between puffy cheeks. "How do you do it, man? I mean... with the girls? I've tried everything with Rar-" he stopped and corrected himself awkwardly "... with them and I don't ever seem to get anywhere."

I stood and looked at the little green guy for a moment. I completely sympathized with his plight because I knew exactly where he was coming from. Hell, It wasn't that long ago that I was going nuts myself from wanting to experience what it was like to be with a girl. I remembered with painful clarity the relentless and never ending obsession with the desire that crept into every aspect of my life at times. The three fillies had told me about Spike's intense crush on Rarity and how long it had been going on so the dude must be lonely and desperate enough that he'd worked up the courage to come ask the only other being he knew that was getting some.

This realization didn't help me in anyway... I still felt a little weird about it.

"Spike... I... I dunno what to tell you." I shrugged. "I sucked at getting girls until I came here, to be honest. And I know about your thing for Rarity... you don't have to hide it from me, man."

His face burned red for a moment before he asked, "How did you know?!" he almost sounded offended.

"Scoots and the girls told me, it's pretty obvious..."

He relaxed a bit. "You're lucky... I wish I could spend the nights with somepony warm and soft." he said miserably.

"Aww... it'll happen! Just don't worry about it too much." I offered helpfully. I knew it was bullshit though.

"What's it like?" he asked with a quiet, shy curiosity.

"What's what, like? Being with a girl?"

"Yeah... is it like how some of the colts say? Does it really make your brain explode?" the black vertical pupils in his green eyes widened.

My awkward reluctance gave way to a curious... and maybe slightly devious... desire to see how far this little dragon was willing to go down the rabbit hole of a conversation. Brain exploding? I just had to ask...

"You mean in general... or are you talking about..." I gave him a quick universal pantomime for doggy style... I guess that translated into pony style here.

The scales on his little cheeks turned red and he suddenly couldn't meet my eyes anymore. "Yeah...that one." he mumbled.

"Well... It doesn't make your brain explode! It's just like when you're doing it by yourself but a whole lot better because somepony is there with you... it feels better too." I said in a matter of fact tone, not caring how weird this had gotten anymore. I mean, he was the one asking, after all.

"By yourself?? What do you mean?" his face scrunched up in confusion. "How can you do it by yourself?"

I almost launched into an incredulous laugh before logic caught up with me. He was a dragon... not a stallion or a human so maybe it didn't work the same? I knew this was going to get real personal, real quick... but I couldn't sit by and let him go crazy simply because no one had ever clued him in on the daily ritual every guy learns either by trial and error or a friend's advice. My sympathy had turned into pity.

"Don't dragons have... a body part for that? A part that you use when you're with a girl?"

Unexpectedly... and quite shockingly, Spike looked down his small body and hooked one of his claws on his lower belly, tugging it down sharply. A small pink and red tube of flesh fell out and limply hung there against his green scales. It was about the length of my hand and pointed sharply at the tip. He quietly looked up at me, seeking affirmation.

"Ehhh... yeah. That looks about right." I tried not to look at it, but it was fascinating in a strange sort of way and my eyes kept drifting to it. "Does it ever... change? Like get bigger or something?"

"Only when I think about Rar-" he stopped and gulped. "...ity. Oh.. and in the mornings... a-and sometimes during the day too even when I don't think about anything!" he shook his head and shrugged. "I have to go find someplace alone when it does until it goes away... Twilight got mad about it seeing all the time."

"Riiight... so nopony's ever told you about jerkin off, then?"

"Jerkin what off?"

I couldn't believe it. "Holy shit, Spike... does Twilight keep you in a bubble??!"

"A bubble of what?" he asked in innocence, tucking his little member back inside, putting it away finally.

"Just... try rubbing it with your hand, or claw or whatever next time it changes, alright?" I suggested to him. "Try it a few different ways until it feels good and keep thinking about whatever made it like that in the first place."

"What will that do?" his face twisted in confusion.

I did a facepalm... I didn't do them often, but this was getting ridiculous. The poor guy was clueless. "It makes your body think you're with a girl..." I said patiently, "If you do it right... you'll get the same uh...result and it will go away for a while."

I could almost see the wheels turning in his head behind those green eyes of his as he put two and two together. When everything clicked home, his face lit up in realization.

"Ooooh! I get it now!" he cried out triumphantly. "Thanks, Mason! Gee... you're a good friend, you know that? The other colts I asked all laughed at me... but I knew you wouldn't!"

"No... problem?" I said awkwardly as he turned, whistling a nameless tune in contentment of his new found knowledge.

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"Poke him..." I heard Apple Bloom whisper daringly.

"Nuh uh... you!" came Scootaloo's gravely morning voice.

"He's you're special somepony... you should do it!" came the whispering southern drawl.

I tried my best not to smile. This had become a beloved daily ritual between us all... who would wake me up. Sometimes Scootaloo would win the battle of wills and Apple Bloom would get the tickle machine... other times it was the other way around. Sweetie Belle had once drawn the unlucky straw when she'd spent the night and unfortunately for us all... had a full bladder when she did. The four of us agreed to never speak of it again.

"You do it! Breakfast is getting cold!" Scootaloo's whine was tinted with a hint of a smile.

Silence rang out in the room for a moment before I felt the prod of a hoof on my shoulder.

"Mason...?" came Apple Bloom's cautious voice.

I lunged suddenly at her, scaring both her and Scootaloo into a fit of laughter as I pulled the yellow pony into my lap, my hands seeking the sensitive spots under her front legs along her sides. She howled with laughter as Scootaloo beat on my back with no real effort to get me to stop as I mercilessly sent Apple Bloom into spasms.

"Oh-Ohkay!!! I give! I give!" she cried and I let her go per the unspoken agreement of every tickle master in the universe.

Scootaloo's orange legs came around my neck from behind and I felt her warm morning breath on my ear. "Morning..." she said sweetly, I could hear her little wings give a buzz.

I pressed my head into hers and nuzzled it. "Hey..." I said back before enveloping Apple Bloom in my own embrace that she returned happily. Every morning had been pretty much the same as this, and I loved it each and every time.

"Errgg..." Scootaloo suddenly groaned. "My stomach hurts..."

"Well if ya wouldn't eat all tha ice cream Granny makes ya prolly wouldn't have a belly ache now, would ya!" the red haired girl scolded her.

"No..." Scoots shook her purple mane. She didn't look good all of a sudden. "...I think..." her mouth hitched in a quick gag and then she bolted out of the room, slamming the bathroom door behind her. Apple Bloom and I looked at each other in confusion and concern.

"You think she's al-" her words were cut off by a loud retching sound that rang out in the stillness of the morning air. It was vulgar in it's intensity, giving me my own sparkling tingle in the back of my throat from nausea.

"Ewww..." Apple Bloom plugged her hooves over her ears with a look of disgust.

I got up quickly and dressed before moving to the bathroom door that was now silent on the other side.

"Scootaloo? You alright?"

"Yeah...." came a panting breath from inside.

"You sure?"

There was nothing for a moment and then the door opened. Scootaloo's eyes were watery and she looked miserable. "I hate doing that..." she grumbled.

I knelt in front of her, ignoring the wild vomit smell coming from her breath and put a hand on her orange cheek. "What's up with that? You sick?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "Nu huh... I feel alright now. That was weird..."

"Huh..." I regarded her closely... she did look better. "Well you smell terrific now...." I bopped her on the nose gently with a finger.

"Asshole..." she whispered quietly and smiled.