Gentleman's Gift

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Epilogue

Chapter 1

I tried to shoot them all, but they kept coming. The truck that was blocking the road had a machine gunner on top, and he was shooting everywhere. It seemed like the end when a magical bolt came from behind me, hitting the truck with a fiery explosion that sent a few bad guys flying in the air.

I could only blink in surprise.

“Huh,” a familiar voice called behind me. “It seems like I’m always saving your ass.”

I turned around and spotted a familiar white unicorn with a yellow-ish white coat with purple-orange mane standing on top of a burned derelict car. Her purple cape flowed with the wind, and I could have sworn that the stars on it sparkled. I smiled, approaching her. “Well,” I began, “it is an ass worth saving.”

She chuckled before jumping towards me, and I was somehow able to carry her with just my arms as she wrapped her forelegs around my neck. I enjoyed the floral scent of her purple-red hair that had just a hint of rosemary. I kissed her, tasted her for a moment, which she returned with gusto. She gave me a rather naughty look when we separated.

“Oh, is that an ancient Tibetan ritual dagger in your pocket?” she asked.

“Maybe, uh, I’m just happy to see you?” I asked back. She laughed as she let me go. I then felt her magic going for my pants, and declared, “Yowsa!” as I felt the dull edge of the blade touch my inner thighs when she lifted out the dagger I had hidden there.

She studied the ornate dagger, focusing on the gemstones situated in it. “So,” she began, “this is the key to everything.”

I nodded. “Yup. Marco Polo’s passport to Shambala.”

“So… what do we do with it?” she asked.

“Ah, that… well,” I paused, “I actually don’t know.”

She stared at me for a moment, her face amused. She turned around, looking around, giving me a nice view of her rear, as well as her cutie mark of three smiling flowers. It was rather an engrossing view until she called my name, “Wingman!”

I blinked, and looked at what she was staring at. It was another unicorn, familiar as well, white coat and light pink mane. She was standing at an angle, showing off her cutie mark of entwined rings.

“Who are you?” my companion asked.

“Ever Ring, last year’s model,” the new unicorn replied sarcastically.

I blinked. “I don’t think that’s how it was supposed to go,” I muttered to myself when I heard a familiar tune. Before I knew it, I was opening my eyes.

The rays of Celestia’s sun peeked in through my windows. I blinked, and suddenly felt the warmth of my surroundings. The scent of oranges was rich in the air. Nate’s Theme played continuously from my smartphone, with the drum section muting slightly to give the horns prominence. I sighed, looking to my side to see that Eve was absent from her place. In fact, it looked like she hadn’t slept in the bed at all.

I felt a little frustrated, but I slammed that feeling down and closed my eyes, staying in bed for a moment. I surrendered myself to the excellent instrumentals as I pushed away my annoyance at Eve’s absence, and instead started going through my plans. I had an appointment with Rarity today, and she booked me for the whole afternoon and evening as a favor. One of these days, I would pay her back.

The itinerary had already been decided yesterday, thanks to the rather surprising expansion of the telephone system, as well as the extra plans I had been working on for tomorrow night. It took a bit of work to keep it all hush-hush, but it would be definitely worth the extra effort in the end.

I stood up from the bed, looking at my now-charged smartphone connected to a portable speaker. Eve had been curious about computers—probably started when she had been trying to find ways to keep me up to date with my IT studies—and I showed her whatever devices I’d brought from Earth. They were a little outdated by a few years, but they were enough to show her the wonders of software applications, games, and the like. I remember her commenting that having a computer, maybe a tablet, would make her life a little easier.

I needed to do this today. That thought caused me to relax a bit more.

Turning off the music, I went to the bathroom and took a nice warm shower, then brushed my teeth. Dressed in a plain shirt and shorts, I made my way towards the kitchen, where I saw Eve as she was last night, surrounded by stacks of papers on the table, though now dozing. I shook my head, walked over to her, and gently prodded her neck with my fingers.

“Wha—” she muttered sleepily. Her eyes blinked slowly, almost drooping when she saw me. She blinked faster afterwards, then groaned. “What time is it?” she asked.

“Morning,” I replied, a little peevishness leaking into my tone. She looked out the window for a moment before sighing.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” she whispered. “I know I said I’d go to bed.”

“Eh, it’s fine,” I replied softly, before going to my icebox. As I grabbed out a bowl of fruits and a bottle of milk, I heard her continue.

“No, it’s not.” Another sigh. “I’m really sorry I’ve been so busy lately.”

I put those items on the table before going to my cabinet. I grabbed two bowls and a plastic bag of crisped oats—something of an Equestrian equivalent of cornflakes back on Earth. Placing it down beside her stack of papers, and one on my side, I stole a glance at her and saw her genuine remorseful look. It was my turn to sigh.

“I thought we agreed, no work on our respective days off,” I said.

“Well,” she began, her tone now turning a bit more normal, playful, “this isn’t technically work.”

I poured some oats in my bowl, offered the bag to Eve. She magically grabbed it and put some on her own bowl as I filled my bowl with milk. “I see paperwork, and lots of it.”

“It’s more research than paperwork,” Eve replied. “A favor, if you will.”

“Research for what?” I asked, before taking a spoonful. After swallowing, I added, “And a favor for who?”

“The favor is for Princess Celestia and Princess Sparkle,” she replied, also taking a spoonful. We paused a moment to eat as quietly as we could before she continued. “Some of your countries in the UN are asking us to create consultancy positions for humans to fill.”

I blinked. “Why?”

“Well, apparently, to help with the sudden influx of humans,” Eve answered. “They want to send certified Consultants to Equestrian companies so they could both assist and guide employers in hiring human employees.”

I blinked again. “Wait, hold on. Sudden influx of humans?” I asked, regretting not even being up to date with Earth news.

Instead of replying, Eve began shuffling on her stack. With practised ease, she extracted a newspaper, and offered it to me. I took it and read the page that was offering. It was from a newspaper on Earth, under the International section. It took a moment for me to realize what she wanted me to see.

“‘Immigration to Tellus Rises by Almost 400%’,” I read.

“It started with that,” Eve began. “A year ago, there was a proposal for the Equestrian Government and Gryphon Kingdom to limit the acceptance of humans once more. You know, like the time you came here.”

I nodded, remembering how Equestria only took a handful of humans, mostly technical experts that would help them in advancing their technological growth. I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree for Information Technology and had been called here for an interview before things went south. Thankfully, I met Eve who had an alternative job open for me, and started on my journey to becoming a Gentleman, an escort and companion for mares.

Yes, yes. Not quite the job you’d expect from my background, but it was—or rather, still is—a very eventful journey.

“We said no, of course,” Eve continued. “Once the initial problems of relating to one another began to disappear, there were more and more job openings that humans could fill in, especially when the city expansions began to take place. We needed more hooves to help us out, and limiting the entrance of humans willing to work with us seemed to be very counterproductive. Plus, Gryphon is still recovering after the Cloven war. They’re not going to deny themselves more workers.”

I nodded. It made sense. “Okay, so now they want Equestria and Gryphon to hire human consultants?” When she nodded, I shrugged. “I don’t really see how this relates to all of these papers you have. Just say yes. After all, you guys could use all the help you can get, right?”

“That’s what I first thought as well,” Eve said, “Then this appeared.”

Her horn glowed and she extracted a newspaper from her pile. Taking it from the air, I read the headlines.

“‘Male Exodus to Equestria.’” I began to look through the article silently, as numbers and statistics began to dictate the writer’s narrative on how most of the humans traveling were single young men. Then, there was also a little snide side comment on how these men were apparently running away from responsibilities so they could have fun with lonely, ignorant Equestrian mares.

“Wow,” I muttered. “They laid it on a little thick there, didn’t they?”

“Which part?” Eve asked. “The part where young males are running away from responsibilities, or that Equestria is just a country of lonely, ignorant mares?”

I snorted, then laughed. “Both.” I sighed. “And they left out Gryphon too.”

“Good eye,” Eve said, smiling.

I looked at the newspaper again, then sighed. “Another article about males taking advantage of mares. Reminds me of that time.”

Eve looked at me for a moment. “You’re thinking about the controversy of Five Stars’ articles, and what happened to Jackson?”

I nodded. Five Stars was the mare that actually got me into Gentlemen for Mares, a trainer who took me in and gave me shelter from a storm after my rather disastrous first interview. Well, took me in more ways than one, some would say, which for some reason, ticked off Eve in a way that they almost stopped speaking to each other. Recently, though, they were getting more amicable.

“Maybe a little,” I admitted. “Honestly, I didn’t expect her articles about Gentlemen for Mares to garner such reaction—from humans and ponies! And what happened to Jackson—damn.” I shook my head. “Have you seen him? How is he?”

“Like any sane being would be after being ambushed by a hostile crowd,” Eve replied. “He’s back at work.”

I blinked. “Already?”

“So much for retirement, eh?”

I could only shake my head. “After what he went through?”

“Platinum said he insisted,” Eve replied. “And after talking to to him, he confirmed it. He said he wanted to forget what happened on that Tartarus-damned show, and the best way to do it is to get back to work.” She shook her head too. “Scarlet agrees with him, and I guess as long as she handles Jackson correctly, maybe it’s for the best.”

I had to admire the guy. He was given an opportunity to tell his life and work in Equestria, expecting it to be an eye-opener to those that haven’t been here yet. I remember him talking about it when he came back, saying he didn’t expect such a reaction.

Before the show, he had said, everyone treated him like everything was normal in the backstage. He had prepared himself, knowing about how our job didn’t have the best reputation back on Earth. He had expected a few jeers and criticism, but he wanted to at least showcase Equestrian culture, the values, and what we could learn from them.

Instead of being able to express that, he had faced to a crowd who accused him of taking advantage of mares. His parents showing up was probably even worse.

I had watched that video—brought to us by Mike, another Gentleman who came back from Earth—and watched Jackson keep his cool against an onslaught, but even that didn’t last. Scarlet had to come out from backstage to intervene.

He called her a goddamned hero. We agreed.

“So,” I began, folding the newspaper and putting it down the table, “what was it about this article that made you wonder about the consultancy occupation in Equestria?”

“Well, initially, I thought it had to do with the cultural climate,” Eve replied.

“Initially?” I asked.

“Yes,” Eve nodded. “With what had happened with Jackson, I began to look into details of human gender issues.” She looked at her pile. “You know what I have here?” When I shook my head, she continued, “Basically, it’s every type of controversial news that has come up for the past few years on Earth.”

“That’s a small pile, considering the scope,” I said.

“True,” Eve conceded. “I’ve mostly just went for news and opinion pieces from America and Europe, and mostly on the whole man-hating aspect.”

“Man-hating?” I asked.

“Yes. Radical feminism, controversial laws, and such,” Eve said. “I’ve read more terms than I could shake a stick at.” She looked at me. “It’s really fascinating.”

“How so?” I asked.

“Human and Pony history don’t differ on some aspects,” she explained. “Maybe because humans have the same gender ratios that you have some sort of gender civil war going on.” She took a spoonful of oats, chewed them quick, and swallowed. “I mean, you’d think we’d have almost the same type of reaction, even a small one, considering we treated stallions almost as badly as humans treated their females during your medieval times.”

“Some say even after,” I added.

“Arguable,” Eve disagreed. “Your history seems to be rather spotty on some points. I’ve heard that women were treated like chattel only just a hundred years ago, yet I’ve come across books published during your early twentieth century that already have ideas that most of you would call modern.”

I blinked. That was somewhat new. “Like?”

“Well,” Eve began, magically grabbing a paper from the ‘not man-hate’ pile, and began to read through it. “Where was that? Oh, here. ‘Don’t talk down to your wife. She has much as intelligence as your colleague, and only lacks opportunity’. Hundred years ago, tell a mare that in regards to her stallion, and she would have scoffed at you.” She paused. “Anyway, I’ve noticed a pattern.”

“Really?” I asked, leaning in. “What pattern?”

“Almost every article in my man-hate pile is only there because it stirred up all sorts of controversy,” she explained.

Okay, I could see that. “News needs to be exciting to sell.”

Eve smiled. “We have a bit of that too, of course. Gossip columns are very notorious. However, this scale of sensationalism is really baffling. It gave me an odd thought.”

“Which is?”

She paused, looking unsure. “What if the whole gender issue is just one big sensationalistic movement?”

Huh, that was rather an interesting thought, and had some sense. I mean, my memory of it was a little spotty, but if I remember correctly the whole radical feminism issue did seem to spring up almost the same time the whole social justice movement went, well, viral.

Eve then added, quickly, “I’m not saying that the issues here in the man-hate pile are lies, of course. I can’t really say that. I mean, I can sympathize with the controversial rape claims. We’ve had those too.”

“You can rape stallions?” I joked.

Eve didn’t seem to get the humor, and nodded grimly. “How do you think boosters were conceptualized hundreds of years ago?”

I blinked, then shuddered. Boosters were sort of magical viagra that could shorten a male’s refractory period. Knowing that boosters were created for such a dark purpose was something I did not need to know.

“Anyway, if you look at those articles as some sort of sensationalism, then you can see a different angle of how things really go. And everything seemed to be linked, one way or another.”

“How?”

“Looking beyond what’s being written in that Exodus article,” she began, “I see young humans, men and women, traveling to Equestria for better opportunities. Yet, there are controversies every step of the way. Five Stars’ written work, Jackson’s job, and that article—they all seem discourage people from going to Equestria.”

“And they are using the currently very successful controversy of turning everything into a gender issue as an angle,” I guessed.

“Correct,” Eve replied.

I smiled, making Eve look at me. “What?” she asked, hesitantly.

“My Eve is a conspiracy theorist,” I replied.

Eve blinked, pausing, and then in the most adorable way, scratched her neck with her hoof, smiling. “Maybe just a little.” Then she blushed for a second, then looked at me, eyes blazing, and a seductive smile on her lips. “My Eve?”

I liked that look, but I knew the signs of her teasing. So, I replied with the best way I could. “Oh, look, our oats are getting soggy.” Then I proceeded to ignore her, and began eating in a faster pace.

“Harry!” Eve said indignantly.

“What?” I asked, with complete aplomb. “I’m hungry.”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled at me, telling me she knew what was up, and I was okay with that. She too began to eat as well, and the next few minutes, the only sound in the kitchen, other than the singing birds, were the crunch of oats.

When we finished, I was about to take them when they began to glow with magenta light. I looked at Eve, her horn lit up, and motioned towards the sink. The bowls did as she commanded.

“I’ll take care of that,” she said as she stood on all fours. She took a few steps before sitting right beside me. “Least I can do.”

“Don’t mind if you do,” I replied, grabbing an apple, and offered it to Eve. She smiled her appreciation, before I grabbed a banana for myself. We both began to eat our respective fruits when a thought popped up my mind.

“Your research,” I began, “is about the human consultants, right?”

“Yeah,” Eve replied with a nod.

“Well, it just seems you went off on a tangent,” I said. “Especially about the whole sensationalism.”

“To be fair, I only came to that angle when I was looking through the whole gender issue.” She frowned. “I wanted to make sure that particular culture wouldn’t cross over to here. I mean, I’ve been reading proposals for gender quotas, affecting wages, and the like. I don’t want any of those ideas to come to Equestria.”

“And you think consultants will introduce said ideas here?”

Eve nodded. “Humans and ponies are already working rather amicably, side-by-side. The whole gender issue and the ideas from it seem toxic.”

“Can consultants even have power to incorporate such ideas, though?” I asked. “I mean, this isn’t Earth.”

“I know,” Eve said. “In some ways, that makes the whole radical feminism dangerous here. Our companies are run by traditional mares. I’m scared the consultants could stoke the old ideas Princess Celestia fought hard to extinguish, and to make changes to start a precedent of treating the human workers differently.”

“Can that happen?”

“Bits talk,” Eve said. “Princess Celestia will do as much as she can, but there are many companies here that can go behind her tail.”

“Of course, you speculated that the whole gender issue is just sensationalism, so the risk is minimum.”

Eve shook her head. “I can’t be completely one hundred sure it is. I mean, I can see its existence, the patterns, but I have to take into account that I am wrong. I don’t think I have even scratched the surface of human complexity. It is very possible it’s just sensationalism. It’s also very possible it is a gender issue. I mean”—she looked at me sideways—“what do you think of the whole gender issue?”

“Something I won’t understand even if I study it for a hundred years?” I said, half-joking, half-serious.

Eve chuckled. “Exactly, that. Only thing I can do is make recommendations on what kind of power we should give the consultants, and hope Princess Celestia and Princess Sparkle will take them to consideration.”

“They will,” I said, confidently. “You helped them before, during First Contact. They will take you seriously.”

Eve just smiled and leaned towards me. I was bathed in her warmth and the scent of flower and honey. I leaned in to kiss her ear repeatedly, earning a small gratified moan from her.

“You know, I am really regretting not coming to bed last night,” she whispered, her voice falling into what I dubbed Audio Erotica—a combination of deep, husky, and feminine rolled into one.

While I can’t do a seductive voice, I do have other skills. “As you should,” I replied, before giving her horn a very gentle kiss with a ghost of a lick. She shivered, then growled.

“You.”

Before I knew it, she pinned me down on the floor, another type of hunger in her eyes. She licked her lips, which stoked my fire a little bit, before she gave me a solid, wet, kiss. I returned it with gusto, tasting the hint of the apple she’d eaten as I stroked her beautiful neck slowly. Her hooves began to roam my waist, trying to go for my shorts. I stopped her, making her growl again before our lips separated.

“Eve, I would love to, but I have an appointment.”

Eve groaned before collapsing on top of me, her mane tickling my face. I chuckled, gently brushing her pink hair gently through my fingers. “Don’t remind me,” she said.

“Considering how heavy our conversation was earlier, I thought it was deliberate,” I teased.

“I’m not that unprofessional!” she protested.

“Of course not,” I agreed. “You just aren’t too fond of her.”

“She’s been showering you with gifts for the past few months, acting like a mare suitor, and hasn’t even said a word to me about it. Can you blame me?”

“Now, now,” I began, “giving me a few extras with my order of clothes is not exactly showering me with gifts. Or being a suitor. She’s just being her usual generous self.”

“All mares are generous to a stallion they want,” she muttered.

“You are so cute when you’re jealous.”

She bopped me gently with her hoof, which got me chuckling. She smiled slightly as well, before frowning. “Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have plans tomorrow?” Eve asked.

I took a moment before nodding. “I need to visit someone, and that may take the whole day. Why?”

Eve looked disappointed, but shook her head and said, “It’s… nothing. I just thought—you know, nevermind that.”

I stroked her head a little. In the six months she had been my marefriend, I never felt as guilty as I did today.

Author's Note

There we go, first chapter in. Thank you shira, coandco, permanent temporary. Also, thanks to the additional assistance of GIULIO, Denim_Blue, TownCrier, AJ_Aficionado, and Firesight. I hope this will be to your liking.

Chapter 2

The chariot landed smoothly just at the outskirts of Ponyville. The place hadn’t changed much since the last time I visited here months ago, when I serviced probably my favorite in-heat customer—Cheerilee, a school teacher. It was also the time when I first met Rarity.

It was a bit odd to be back here again. I had been avoiding this town since that whole debacle in Neighagra, where I met Sea Swirl. She was a lonely mare who grew up with an awful life thanks to some darker aspects of Equestrian culture, which made her blame comfort horses, the equivalent of stallion escorts. She took out her anger on me. On some level, I felt she was justified in doing so, but when she—

I closed my eyes and took a breath. I hadn’t fully forgiven her, even if I did ask Rarity to talk on Sea Swirl’s behalf when she faced Equestrian courts, but thinking of her just reminded me of her actions.

I walked towards the entrance of the town, which now sported a nice gate that welcomed newcomers to the town with bright, happy colors. It was almost noon, and it seems everybody was out and about, chatting happily away as they made their way towards whatever destination they were going to. I noticed a lot more unfinished buildings, with humans dressed in construction clothes, probably out in their lunch breaks, chatting with their pony counterparts.

Passing them, I came to the bridge that connected to the center of Ponyville. Like the time I first came here, there were vendors selling all sorts of wares ranging from vegetables, fruits, and even the odd trinket here and there around the town hall. What changed though was seeing more humans in the mix, not buying, but behind the counters, calling for others to approach. Maybe it’s just me, but I thought it looked much better than what I’d find in a McDonalds. It had that timeless appeal, with a person using their own words and amiability to sell things instead of letting a faceless corporation do it for them.

I spotted a familiar red-coated stallion, and had to double-check for his sister. When she was nowhere in sight, I approached him.

“Good morning,” the stallion said deeply.

I looked at him for a moment, wondering if he recognized me. If he did, he didn’t seem to act like it. I greeted back, “Hey,” and started looking at the wares of his stall. “I’m going to need three apples,” I began, then pointed at a bunch of apples stuck on a stick and covered in plastic. “Are those candied apples?”

“Eeyup,” was his reply.

“I’ll take three of those.”

With quick efficiency, the stallion wordlessly packed three red fruits in a paper bag, and placed the three candied apples in another on top. After paying him, I gave him a smile and said, “Have a good day.”

He smiled back. “You too.”

I continued on my way, passing by that odd building that looked like a cupcake, before I came in sight of Carousel Boutique, Rarity’s shop. It had expanded a bit more than the last time I came here. It still had that basic shape—a half tent with a carousel on top—though now she’d added a rectangular structure beside it, connected by a covered hallway. I wondered if I’d get a chance later to ask what it was.

I heard some voices behind the door. I reminded myself of some of the basics, like not smiling with teeth showing, double-checking myself to make sure to look presentable. I smoothed out the sleeves on my brown jacket, made sure there wasn’t any dirt on my white shirt. I took a breath, then opened the door.

I hit someone.

“Oof!”

“Oh! I’m sorry, are you oka—”

I stopped when I saw a light sky-blue pegasus in front of me, rubbing her snout.

“It’s fine,” she said, shaking her head, allowing her rainbow-colored mane to swish around. “Didn’t expect anyone comi—” and she too stopped when she got a clearer view at me. Her light violet eyes focused on my face for a moment, widening considerably, before narrowing. “What are you doing here?”

It was Rainbow Dash, or Rainbow Streak as I like to call her. She was the first Equestrian to cross the portal, probably scaring the hell out of the military personnel that were sent to investigate the anomaly. Most remembered her as that cool pegasus that put up a show during First Contact. I remembered her as the Wonderbolt and friend of Princess Sparkle. For added bonus, I got on her bad side.

“Who’s that?” another familiar voice called from behind the pegasus. After a few steps, a filly with light grey coat and a two-colored mane of mulberry and light pink came forward. Her green eyes focused on me for a moment, before a wide smile appeared on her face. Rushing forward, she jumped up at me, making me stumble at her weight, her forelegs snaking around my waist. “Wingman! You’re here!”

I chuckled as I petted her head—avoiding her horn—and combed her mane between my fingers. “Hey, Sweetie Belle.” I gave her barrel a gentle squeeze. “Wow, you’ve been growing.”

As she let me go, I saw her cheeks coloring slightly, before it faded and she turned around, whirling her mane and tail. “You think so?”

I nodded. First time I saw her, she had that slightly chubby, stumpy cute look that all foals had. Now, her legs were extending, and she was now slowly growing into a shape of a mare. She was reminding me very much of Rarity. They had a similar coat color and style of hair. Even their cutie marks had some sort of shared theme, with Rarity having three four-pointed gems, while Sweetie Belle had three crystalline musical notes that used hearts for note heads.

“Hey!” Rainbow Streak exclaimed, getting between me and Sweetie Belle. The mare looked at the growing filly, and motioned to me with her snout, saying, “You know this—” she paused, probably looking for a safe word to use around the filly “—guy?”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Of course. He’s the guy who accompanied me to the human movies. And got me my cutie mark!”

I smiled slightly at the memory. Though I still wished she’d seen the Broadway version of Rock of Ages instead of the movie version, I guess the simpler plot the movie had been enough to make her understand herself, and in turn, helped her gain her cutie mark.

Somepony didn’t seem to appreciate the news, though, as Rainbow Streak looked at me, even more livid than before. “Alright pal, you’ve been causing problems ever since you got here!”

I tried not to roll my eyes. “This is only like my second visit here.”

“Yeah, well, uh, that’s even worse! Did you know you got Sweetie Belle in trouble with her friends?”

I blinked, then looked at the filly, who in turn looked at Streak, disbelieving. “We just overreacted because of my cutie mark! We made up the next day!”

“And with Sea Swirl! Don’t you think I’ve forgotten about that!”

I stared at her, feeling angry.

She must have noticed my change in demeanor too, as her stance changed, ready for an attack. “You think you scare me? I’m not gonna put up with you! I’m going to kick you so hard that—!”

“Dashie, stop being uncool!” Sweetie Belle admonished. Streak acted like she’d been physically slapped as she whirled around to face the filly, her mouth open wide in shock.

“Uncool?! Me!?”

Instead of replying, Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, then gently bit on my hand, and led me inside. I turned my head, looking at the absolutely flabbergasted pegasus, and stuck my tongue out at her.

Very mature, I know. It did help me feel better, though.

Sweetie Belle led me in, through the antechamber, then to a table near the center of the shop. It seemed to have expanded slightly since I last came here, with more clothes racks and mannequins, both pony and human. When I took a seat, she too sat beside me. “You and Rarity are going out on a date?” When I nodded, she smiled. “Where?”

“Canterlot,” I replied.

“Ooh, can I come?” she asked, then frowned. “Or are you going to take care of her, like Miss Cheerilee?”

If I were still new in Equestria, I probably would have found this conversation very awkward. It’s a little scary how common their culture was to Western human culture, and yet so different. I just chuckled. “You are far too young for that conversation.”

“Nu-uh,” she replied, shaking her head. “I’ve already gotten my first Heat and my cutie mark! I’m old enough.”

“One day,” I said, “you will be.”

She crossed her forelegs over her chest, pouting, “You sound like dad.”

Before I could reply, Rarity strutted in, wearing a very stylish dark grey sweater that covered her upper part of her barrel, and very feminine black pants clothing her lower body. She had her mane done in a woven ponytail, and finished the look with oval frameless glasses over her blue eyes. Her smile was dazzling as she greeted me with “Hello, Wingman.”

I felt myself getting hot for a moment. Rarity always had that effect on me, and it was most probably because she was very smart in using her clothes, as well as her understanding of some aspects of human dating. She was the only mare customer I had that covered herself in very form-fitting clothing, always carrying herself in a way that was enticing and classy.

Eve still beats Rarity with her Audio Erotica, though. And lots of other things, of course.

“Rarity,” I greeted her back with a nod. “You look very beautiful today.”

“Oho, please,” she replied, looking away demurely. She turned her attention to her little sister and asked, “Sweetie Belle, I thought you were going to meet your friends?”

“They can wait,” the filly replied. “Besides, Wingman is here! Can I come with you both to Canterlot?” Sweetie Belle lifted herself, forelegs on the table as she gave a wide smile. “Please?”

Rarity shook her head. “Sorry darling, but this is my time for Wingman.”

Sweetie Belle pouted. “It’s always your time.”

I smiled, patting the filly reassuringly. “Hey now, we’ll hang out again and see more movies. You’d like that?” She looked at me, then reluctantly nodded. “Good. And here, I bought these for you,” and I brought out the candied apples. She looked a little happier as I handed it to her. “Share with your friends, okay?”

She magically lifted them, then gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Wingman!”

When she trotted out, Rarity gave me a half-exasperated, half-satisfied look. “You shouldn’t encourage her.”

“Don’t worry,” I replied, digging into the bag and took out an apple, offering it to her. “I brought you some, too.”

Rarity replied with a That-Was-Not-Amusing look, but did look at my offering. She magically took the one I offered, lifting it near her mouth. However, before she could take a bite, she seemed to notice something behind me, raised an eyebrow, and asked, “You’re still here, Rainbow Dash?”

I turned around and found Streak walking listlessly towards us. Her mouth was still open from shock. She seemed to stare at Rarity for a moment, then back towards the ante-chamber. “She—what—uncool! Me!”

“What are you talking about?” Rarity asked.

Streak gave me a look, then suddenly seemed to blink, as if my presence brought her back to reality. “You! What are you still doing here?”

I did roll my eyes this time, then turned to face Rarity who looked a little amused as she replied, “Why, he’s here on my invitation. We’re going on a date to Canterlot.”

“Date? With him!?” There was a swish in the air, and I blinked as Streak seemed to just materialize beside Rarity. “You do know who this is, don’t you?”

“Well, I know his callsign is Wingman,” Rarity replied without a pause. “I also know his real first name. I also know it’s rude to talk as if a pony isn’t present.”

I chuckled at that, which seemed to incense the pegasus more. “He gave your sister her cutie mark!”

Now, that confused me. I had no idea what Streak was trying to imply, but it must have rankled Rarity because there was a hint of haughtiness sneaking in to her tone as she replied, “I actually can’t believe you’re using that ridiculous notion! If that’s the case, which stallion gave you your cutie mark then, Rainbow Dash?”

I blinked. What? I made a mental note to ask Eve about that as I watched Streak blush bright red. It looked pretty impressive considering the color of her coat. When she didn’t speak after a moment, Rarity finished with, “All they did was watch movies, and Sweetie Belle realized her love for singing.”

“Well,” I interjected, making both mares look at me, “she already loved singing. I think what held her back was the assumption that there was nothing more to it because she was quite talented at it. However, the movie gave her a different perspective, a look at different genres, and she realized music could be as complex as she wanted it to be.”

Rarity smiled. “Well, there you go, Rainbow Dash.”

“You’ll take his word over mine?” Streak asked, sounding hurt.

“Yes, especially since your word is as silly as it sounds,” the unicorn replied. Her tone turned even colder. “And I do not like the fact that you are trying to convince me otherwise by using such traditionalist views.”

Streak seemed to flinch at that. Hah! Go Rarity!

However, it seemed the pegasus had one more attack up her foreleg. She looked at Rarity for a moment then said, “How about Sea Swirl?”

I gripped the edge of the table a little harder.

“What about her?” the unicorn asked neutrally.

“He deceived her! If it wasn't for him, she wouldn’t have joined that Harmony Equestrians Something! What was it?”

Rarity looked really disdained. “Harmony Equestrian Reclamation Division.”

“Yeah, that! Because of him, she joined them and—”

I never seen such a scary expression from Rarity. She already looked annoyed, angry, but it transformed to something absolutely frigid. The unicorn’s eyes seemed to narrow to slits, before widening as her snout seemed to fold, giving her an expression of either full rage or utter disapproval. I wasn’t even staring at it full force, yet I felt my stomach crunch up on itself. Streak didn’t even stand a chance, as she started blubbering, and if possible, visibly sweating.

“Rainbow Dash, if it wasn’t for him, she would have been imprisoned, and for good reason,” Rarity said, her tone cold as ice. “She led a HERD mob to beat a human up and put him to a hospital. Wingman’s friend, in fact. He then asked me to talk to the court on her behalf, sparing her the more fitting punishment, and I almost wouldn’t do it until she turned against the group. If you’re going to start blaming him for her actions, I suggest you leave, Rainbow Dash, before I get even more cross with you.”

Streak looked at her, defeated, then looked at me, defiant. I had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t going to end there. Flapping her wings, the pegasus snorted, then kept staring at me as she slowly flew away. Out of sight, I felt the wind rush, and when I turned, Streak was gone.

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking back at Rarity. The unicorn shook her head.

“That’s my line, Harry,” she replied.

I felt myself scratching the back of my head. “Every time we meet with your friends, it doesn’t seem to end well.”

“Yes, well, I can assure you, Applejack settled down on that issue.” Rarity looked behind me. “Rainbow Dash still seems to have a bit more that she’s working on.” Shaking her head again, she looked back at me and smiled. “Don’t fret. Applejack is more hardheaded. If she worked out her issues with you, Rainbow Dash will soon follow.”

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t darkened her door since the, uh, first time? Out of sight, out of mind.” When she giggled, I felt a bit more comfortable. “So, uh… nice stare.”

“Not as nice as Fluttershy’s,” Rarity replied, also seemingly setting back to normality. “I asked her to teach me after that disastrous first meeting with Prince Blueblood.” She looked at me teasingly. “Don’t worry. I won’t use it on you, darling. Unless you become uncharacteristically rude, of course.”

I smiled. “I’ll try not to disappoint. And… thank you for this, Rarity. I know this is an inconvenience. I mean, you have a business to run and you’re spending money to set this up.”

“I thought it was rather sweet of you when you told me, so of course I am happy to help,” she said. “I am, of course, expecting compensation.”

I nodded. “Of course. It’s a little tight now, but I can pay you back—”

“Harry,” she interrupted. Her look turned sultry. “I meant compensation other than monetary. I expect once your business is done, you’ll attend to me completely.”

I chuckled, offering my hand. She extended her foreleg, and I gently grabbed it before kissing the top of her well-manicured hoof. “Of course, my lady Rarity. Shall we?”

Author's Note

Chapter 2 is here. Four more to go. I'd list all of my pre-readers here again, but come on, I think you guys don't even read that part anymore. :rainbowwild:

Thanks again to shira, coandco, permanent temporary, GIULIO, Denim_Blue, TownCrier, AJ_Aficionado, and Firesight.

Chapter 3

One thing I learned throughout all my years being a Gentleman was that the job was a neverending study. Getting a customer was tricky enough, but to keep her was another ball game, especially when you have quite a few of them. You would need to remember their likes and dislikes, interests, passions, and at times, learn to play around it. The last was always tricky as you needed a solid understanding of the mare to know when you were going too far.

Basically, more art than science.

For example, Rarity was a mare with high-class tastes. Every date we’d had was always rather, well, blue-blooded. We’d visited expensive restaurants, which contributed to my extra spending on more formal clothing. A part of me even had wondered if this was some sort of plan Rarity had in mind. However, knowing her personally (and adding a bit of common sense), I came to a conclusion it was just a part of her core personality and nothing quite sinister.

We did have simpler dates, but I could count all of them with just one hand. I preferred those as they were the more intimate ones I’d had with her, which allowed me to learn about her in a more personal manner—like the fact that she truly is, as much as she’d want to deny it, a traditional mare, but was no less of a great pony in spite of it.

“You’re wearing your thinking face again,” Rarity said, snapping me out of my reverie.

I smiled at her. “Sorry, I was just thinking of an amazing mare, and how lucky I am to be in her presence.”

She blushed slightly, but returned the smile. “I am amazing, aren’t I?”

“Quite modest, too.”

She giggled. “Oh hush, darling.” She magically grabbed a spoon to scoop some ice cream from her bowl, and daintily ate it. “How do you find Canterlot, Wingman?”

I looked around for a moment. The city was almost impossible to not notice in Equestria since it was in the middle of a high mountain overlooking the whole country. A large part of the city was one situated inside an opulent castle, with some parts of it carved out of the mountain itself. Everything gleamed with white walls, gold accents, gemstones situated here and there, and watched over by pony gargoyles.

The culture here was the very opposite of the simple life of its closest town, Ponyville. In fact, it was an interesting contrast. Both towns were relatively the same size, with Canterlot winning out because of the Royal Sisters’ castle extending outwards. Shops had no salesperson in front, trying to convince customers to patronise. There was also a distinct lack of fresh selections. If I could compare, Ponyville’s commerce felt like a farmer’s market. In Canterlot, it felt like a mall.

The ponies too were a contrast. There was some sort of curt professionalism in the air. Manners were very formal, yet lacking in warmth. Ponies passed each other, greeting, going on their own way without even chatting. The clothing too was another example. In Ponyville, they were more or less unclothed. While Manehattan and other bigger cities did have ponies in clothing, they were more practical than the frippery the ponies in Canterlot wore. I’d seen ponies wearing high-quality shirts, gilded shoes, collars and jewelry, and even saw mares wear rather unpractical saddles that seemed to double as skirts.

“Different,” I finally answered.

“Is that good or bad?”

“Just different,” I said with a shrug.

Rarity looked at me for a moment. “You’re not very impressed by it, are you?”

I studied her. “No,” I said, gauging her reaction. She still looked neutral. “My parents taught me to live within my means, to be satisfied with what I have yet always plan for the future. If I tried to live here with what I earn, I’m probably going to find myself pretty miserable soon.”

“If you had the means to be able to live here, though, would you?” Rarity asked.

I looked around again, imagining myself here. I shook my head. “Most likely no. Probably because I enjoy the simpler life a bit more. Or maybe I’d rather be with more social ponies. And besides, I’d look pretty stupid with a saddle-skirt.”

Rarity broke into a wide smile and giggled. Somehow, I think I just passed a test without knowing it. “As much as I enjoy Canterlot’s scene, I agree with you. I tried living here for a while, but I just… couldn’t. Even if I could, I probably wouldn’t leave Ponyville.”

“Shame,” I said.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and why is that, Wingman?”

“Because I think you’d look pretty good with a saddle-skirt.”

Rarity leaned in, crossing her forelegs in the table. “Maybe we can arrange that,” she said, smiling rather seductively.

I showed my appreciation by caressing both her forelegs with my hands. We looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, with me studying the different shades of her blue eyes. I gently lifted her hoof, and she turned her head slightly, blushing as I kissed her hoof without breaking eye-contact.

“That would be lovely,” I replied. She smiled wickedly, licking her lips subtly. I would squeeze her foreleg a little harder, just to silently tell her I was ready to launch myself after her.

“I can’t wait for later,” Rarity whispered. “It has been a while.”

“We can always check in the hotel early,” I said. “I am yours for the whole day.”

She shivered. “Oh, I do like that.” Then, she shook her head. “However, business first, dear.”

“Hmph. Tease.”

When we got out of the restaurant, I stuck close to her, touching her barrel and shoulders gently. In turn, she would flick her tail to give ghost touches to my thighs, and she would send gentle kisses along my arm once in a while. It was the game we usually played. She was a pony who loved the attention a stallion (or me, in this case) would give her. In turn, she would do her utmost to make sure that she was the forefront of their minds.

All proper by Equestrian standards, of course. As I said, Rarity was a classy lady.

We spent a few minutes with idle talk, backed with some subtle hints on what we’d probably do to each other in the hotel, when we finally arrived at our destination—a building with white marble walls, gilded windows, and a red carpet to welcome us. Royal Guards were on standby, gleaming armor and spear standing tall. We approached what looked like registration booths, and the stallion attendant seemed to go bug-eyed when he saw Rarity.

“Shall I register us?” I asked my unicorn companion.

“Oh, please do,” she replied.

It was really a quick procedure, especially since the attendant was a little too starstruck. I put Rarity’s name first, then my call-sign, and when I turned back, I blinked as multiple flashes of light seemed to erupt around me.

“Miss Rarity! Miss Rarity! Over here, please!” one unicorn called.

Rarity smiled dazzlingly as she posed for one of the cameraponies, before facing another with another pose. I chuckled, shaking my head and gave her some space. After her fifth pose, she seemed to be done, and began walking towards me. They still followed her, though, their cameras clicking and flashing.

When she was near, she mouthed at me to ‘smile’. I felt a little uncomfortable; this was the first time I had my picture taken, especially with a client. It was normal, of course, especially if the client was a public face. Even Sal had to face that when he was with Gilded Spiral. So, when she stood by my side and faced the cameras, I tried to act naturally, imagining myself with Eve and that we were taking photo booth pictures.

I absently found myself putting my arm around her. The cameras went absolutely wild—it was almost blinding.

“Miss Rarity! Who is your companion?”

“I’m sorry, but we must get inside,” she replied easily, then gently bit my hand and led me inside the building. Camera flashes still followed us, but I saw the Royal Guard moving towards us, intercepting the cameraponies. One stayed behind to open the door for us, and closed it when we got inside the antechamber. When the door went completely shut, the chaos of the outside seemed to mute, as if it gone far away.

Rarity looked around for a moment, and when she was sure we were alone, nodded to me appreciatively. “Very nice, Harry. You’re a natural.”

“I don’t know about that,” I replied. I looked at the closed door again. “Is that normal?” When she looked at me, I clarified, “The press?”

“It is the annual convention of the latest human-pony technology in the heart of Equestria,” she began, “and hosted by the rather prestigious Fancy Pants. I’d be more surprised if they didn’t show up.”

“Well, if you put it that way,” I said.

We walked through the door leading into the main hall. There were only two words to describe it: huge and bright. Walls were of a warmer color, decorated with gemstones and silver lines. The window curtains were drawn to a close, allowing the chandeliers, which filled the expansive ceiling, provide the lighting. They were all arranged in a way that light would be refracted and sparkle with flashes of color from the countless gems hanging down from it.

The whole place was packed with tents and podiums arranged into separate blocks, yet spaced far enough to allow ponies and humans to go between them with ease. Each block had some sort of item or machine on display, with quite a collection of different models showcasing the said products. They had women in beautiful short dresses and men in casual shirts and slacks, joined by mares in more saddle skirts and stallions with fancy tops. It was definitely a convention, in every sense of the word, reminding me of similar ones back on Earth. Well, except for the rather obvious difference of the male models outnumbering the female ones.

It was an odd, yet familiar sight.

“Miss Rarity,” one mare greeted. Rarity smiled and motioned me to follow as we both approached her. “Fancy seeing you here. Oh, and who is your companion?”

“His name is Wingman,” Rarity replied. “Wingman, may I introduce you to Rose Tint? She oversees a spectacles company, and has been expanding her business to Earth.”

I bowed a bit, and she in turn curtsied slightly. “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” I said.

“Charmed, I’m sure,” Rose returned, then proceeded to ignore me in favor of Rarity. I didn’t mind, really. It gave me time to look around, watching ponies seemingly at awe with some items.

There was a pony advertising the new fridge models, allowing others to approach and open the door, to feel the frigid air it produced. Then there was a tent that showcased different types of light bulbs; I recognized some of them as using LEDs, or at least, the pony counterpart thereof. There were other simpler-looking machines, like the one being advertised by what looked like twin unicorn stallions, complete with striped shirts, bow-ties, and boater hats. They were singing a song, and from what I could tell, they were selling a portable cider-maker.

Then, Rarity’s conversation with Rose Tint grabbed my attention as the latter began talking about a certain machine.

“I have tried it out, just once, and I am very impressed with it,” Rose said. “I think it could change the world.”

“Really?” Rarity asked. “From what I heard of the others, it seemed to be just a fancy toy.”

“Ignore that prattle, Miss Rarity,” Rose replied. “While they seem basic to the ones used by the businesses on Earth, these new toys will change our world. Or at least, make our lives a bit easier.”

“That is actually the reason why we’re here,” Rarity said, patting my thigh with her hoof. I looked at her and Rose Tint, and smiled. “Do you know where they are displaying it?”

“The center,” Rose replied. “It’s the showcase of this convention.”

“Thank you, Rose,” Rarity said and curtsied, which signaled the end of their conversation. I followed up with a slight bow. Rose replied back with her curtsy.

“Nice meeting you, Miss Rose Tint,” I said, just as she was about to leave. She looked at me for a moment, then gave me a warm smile before turning away.

“I’m sorry that she ignored you,” Rarity said when Rose had gone out of audible range. “She was not being rude, you have to understand. She just doesn’t take well to strangers.”

I shook my head. “I don’t mind,” I honestly replied. “It gave me the chance to look around.” I pointed towards where the identical-looking unicorns were. “Did you know there’s a cider-making machine there?”

Rarity, who had been acknowledging a few ponies that approached her, blinked, then looked where I was pointing before she made a face. “Oh, Flim and Flam,” she said with some level of disdain.

I blinked. “Let me guess… you’re not a fan?”

“My friends and I first met them when they brought their cider-making machine to Ponyville years ago,” Rarity replied. “They called it The Super… Something Cider Maker Six-Thousand.”

I looked at the banner. “Super Speedy Cider Squeezy?”

“Yes, that.”

“It must have made quite a terrible cider if you can’t even remember the name,” I said.

“Oh, no.” Rarity shook her head, then began walking. I followed. “The cider they made was quite good. Almost comparable to what Applejack makes—good afternoon,” she greeted another pony. She turned back to me. “The problem is when they made a business proposal with the Apple Family, and wanted to split the profits with a ridiculous cut in their favor. And when Applejack rightly refused, they tried to instigate a competition, the winner being who would make the most cider.”

“Of course, Applejack ignored that, right?” I asked.

“Well,” Rarity smiled slightly, “remember when I said Applejack is hard-headed?”

I looked at her, and said, “No!”

She giggled. “They maneuvered her to respond with her pride, and she fell for it. She was losing at first, of course. She didn’t have the fancy machine Flim and Flam had, and did most of her cider by hoof. Flim and Flam were making at least five barrels every time Applejack made one.”

“That was pretty lopsided,” I commented.

“I know!” Rarity said, her tone taking a more dramatic effect, another part of her personality which entertained me a lot. “Of course, as a friend, I convinced Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie to help out. As we steadily caught up with them, the brothers panicked, and began to make cider faster, but at the cost of making it taste absolutely horrid. In the end, they won.”

“But no one would buy their cider,” I concluded, nodding in understanding.

“Quite right,” she said. Another pony greeted her, and she gave him a small smile and continued, “With dissatisfied customers, they left Ponyville.”

“Same on Earth in a way. Even when we mass produce, there’s quality control and return policies that help customers when they get a faulty product.” I looked back at where the brothers were. “I hope they have the same with this new machine of theirs.”

“If they are here at Fancy Pants’ invitation, I think so,” Rarity replied. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t be here.” She paused. “I have to say, I’m a little impressed how far they have come. Their next venture to business after that Cider Squeezy incident was their rather successful fake miracle tonic, until Applejack exposed them.”

“Successful? They must be brilliant salesponies.”

“Unfortunately. Then again, I guess that’s what keeps them in business.”

I thought back of other companies on Earth that relied heavily on convincing people that their products were worth the money by spending large amounts of capital in advertisement. It was almost similar, in a way. I chuckled internally, wondering how the brothers would cope on bringing their business to Earth, before I realized they might not fare so badly.

Bumping into Rarity brought me back to reality, and I looked questioningly at the suddenly still unicorn. She seemed to be staring at someone in the crowd, and gasped in surprise, “Twilight?”

Princess Sparkle was here? I looked at the crowd, trying to find a purple alicorn, when Rarity began to trot in a certain direction. I followed her at the same pace, and we both stopped in front of a purple unicorn mare. I blinked, then checked the mare’s other details like her mane, eyes, and cutie mark. I blinked again when I realized that other than the absence of wings, mane style, and size difference, the unicorn in front of us was indeed Princess Sparkle.

So there I was, standing beside an Element of Harmony, in front of her best friend, a Princess. I’d never personally met Royalty before, and I was a little curious and maybe a little excited to hear what a Princess would say.

Princess Sparkle smiled at Rarity, and said, simply, “Oh hey, Rarity. Surprised to see you here.”

Author's Note

My usual thanks to shira, coandco, permanent temporary, GIULIO, Denim_Blue, TownCrier, AJ_Aficionado, and Firesight. Enjoy.

Chapter 4

Princess Sparkle—the first alicorn seen by humans after Rainbow Streak made a show during First Contact. How could I describe her? Well, the first thing I’d say was that she seemed simple. Not in a bad way, of course, but very down-to-earth. She didn’t seem to exude the power and authority the Royal Sisters have, and frankly seemed quite normal. As the two friends began to engage in conversation, the disguised alicorn didn’t feel the need make a weird joke to try and break the ice.

Okay, maybe that was a little unfair to Princess Celestia, but I would always remember her as that one Equestrian ruler for her unfunny little jest in the UN summit.

Maybe it was because these two friends shared a deep bond of trust that Princess Sparkle didn’t need witty lines to start or continue their conversation. Hell, if I didn’t know she was a Princess, I would have thought these were two normal ponies just catching up. They talked about familiar places, and even a dragon named Spike. They seemed to be ignoring everything around them, whilst the crowd seemed to stop paying attention to them.

Which was odd, actually now that I thought about it. Rarity had a few greeters earlier. Where did they go? Even if the Princess was unrecognizable—which I already found rather curious as other than the mane style and missing wings, she looked exactly the same—I should have seen a few ponies trying to greet my companion. No one did. It was as if we three weren’t here. I looked around, took a step back, and found myself a little confused for a moment. In front of me were two indistinct white and purple ponies in front of me. I was sure I was with Rarity earlier. Where was she?

The white pony looked at me for a moment, then grabbed me by my arm with her extended foreleg, pulling me forward. I blinked as the two ponies suddenly got more detailed, revealing Princess Sparkle and Rarity. They looked at me, the former looking a little apologetic, and the latter quite amused.

“What happened?” I asked.

It was Princess Sparkle that spoke. “Sorry about that. My Notice-Me-Not spell has a limited safe range, and you stepped out of it.”

“Notice-Me-Not?” I asked, then realized I heard of something familiar from the fantasy books I read occasionally. “That’s like a spell that makes sure no one else is alerted of your presence?”

She seemed to smile, nodding. “That’s a simple way of putting it.”

“Wow,” I replied, a little excited. “So, what is its limitations? I mean, would all of your actions, no matter how odd, keep you from getting noticed? You said a field, right? How far is it? Is it like a dome, or a square? And how would you keep a spell like that active? Do you need to constantly concentrate or do you need to—”

Rarity coughed, then giggled, making me realize I was bombarding a Princess with what might seem to be stupid questions in regards to magic. Yeah, sue me. I loved the Potter books and the Dresden Files, and not just because I share my name with the protagonists. Still, Rarity was right to stop me as I was potentially annoying a high-ranking Equestrian official. However, instead of looking irritated, she looked very happy with my questioning.

“I’m sorry for my rudeness,” I said, offering my hand. “My name is Wingman, Princ—” I stopped when I noticed Rarity shaking her head. “Um… Miss Sparkles?”

“Twilight is fine,” the purple disguised alicorn replied, also offering her foreleg. It felt warm, and the coat felt well-maintained and soft. I almost hesitated before I thought, what the hell, went to one knee, and kissed it gently. When I looked back up, Twilight seemed to be a little flushed. Then again, with the color of her coat, it could have been a trick of the light as it faded after a moment. She then looked at me curiously. “Wingman?” She looked at Rarity. “Isn’t he—?”

I felt myself swallowing nervously.

“A Gentleman of good standing and very respectable manners,” Rarity interrupted. “I trusted him with my sister’s well being, and he didn’t disappoint. You won’t find a better pony.”

“High praise coming from you, Rarity,” Twilight replied, chuckling. She then looked at me. “As for your questions, yes there are limitations. The spell actively makes the crowd not look too carefully as long as I look like a part of the group. Hence my disguise.”

“That’s also why I stopped you from revealing her title,” Rarity added. “If somepony hears that, it will likely cause them to look twice.”

Okay, that made some sort of sense, yet not as well. Then again, what did I expect of magic?

Rarity wasn’t done yet, though, as she looked at Twilight a moment. “And really, Twilight, hiding your beautiful wings I can understand, but what is it with the style of your mane?”

Twilight smiled. “Do you like it? I got it done at Day Spa.”

“It’s very nice,” I replied, honestly. Rarity looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I gave her a shrug. Well, yeah, I thought it was very cool, the way her dark-purple mane streaked with pink was done in layered spikes. It was cute in a punk-ish way.

The disguised alicorn’s smile went even wider. “Thank you, Mister Wingman. As for your other questions,” Twilight paused, as if to remember my questions, “yes, it’s a field. A dome encircling me a few hooves away. That’s why you were confused earlier, and needed to be pulled back in or you’d have wandered away. And while the spell does take a good amount of concentration, I have these to help.”

She pointed towards her necklace, which was a very stylish silver chain threaded through amethysts that seemed to glitter unnaturally.

“It took me days to store the spell to the gemstones, and it’ll probably just last me until dinner,” Twilight said. “I’ll probably try and find some way to extend it, but it seems to work out well.”

“It does,” I replied, then paused. “But how did Rarity recognize you then?”

“Wingman,” Rarity began with a mock-hurt tone that had me looking back at her, “it’s like you don’t think of me as a well-versed unicorn. Of course I recognized Twilight’s spell and saw through it.”

I raised my own eyebrow, then looked at Twilight. She giggled. “Don’t believe her, Wingman. I designed the spell to let my friends recognize me and see through the field.”

“Twilight!” Rarity declared dramatically. “How could you?”

I chuckled along as Twilight’s giggling became stronger. Rarity began to pout, which got more pronounced as we continued our laughter unabated. The white unicorn sniffed. “I changed my mind, Twilight. Mister Wingman here is a very rude pony. Why don’t you banish him?”

I stopped laughing, looking at Rarity. That was a joke, right?

Twilight seemed to think so, because she just rolled her eyes. “I’m not doing that, Rarity.”

“Well, some best friend you turned out to be,” Rarity replied, before giving me a smile and wink. Okay, so it was a joke. I think? She turned to Twilight again, then asked, “Which reminds me, Twilight, what are you doing here?”

Somehow, the disguised alicorn grew even more excited. “Have you heard of the new breakthrough of human-pony research?”

I stood a little straighter at that, and Rarity nodded. “That’s actually why we’re here,” the unicorn replied.

“I was about to try it out,” Twilight said. She looked at me and Rarity. “Why don’t you join me?”

I was about to agree when Rarity suddenly said, “Actually, there is some business I must take care of.” I looked at her questioningly, and she gave me a small smile. “Wingman, why don’t you accompany Twilight. You have some fair knowledge about it, and both of you can entertain each other without the uneducated mare stepping on your hooves.”

I wondered if that was sarcasm. “Rarity,” both Twilight and I called, only for the unicorn to shake her head.

“Now, don’t let me interrupt you two.” She looked at me. “Wingman, I’ll be back in a moment, so please, treat my friend with the respect she deserves. I hope you don’t mind, darling.”

I looked at her for a moment, wondering if she had some sort of plan. However, without a reason to protest, I just gave her a solemn nod. “I’ll try my best, Rarity.”

“I know you will.” And without a word from us, Rarity walked away, disappearing from the crowd, leaving me a little confused.

I looked at Twilight, and asked, “What was that?”

Twilight looked at me for the moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know. If you’ve known Rarity long enough, you’ll know she can confuse the Tartarus out of you. Not as bad as Pinkie Pie, but it can come off as odder, as Pinkie is just naturally… odd.” She looked at the crowd. “Um, I think you can still chase after her.”

“And have her mad at me because I left her best friend alone?” I asked rhetorically. “No thanks.”

The disguised alicorn laughed. “Well, then I guess you should do as she says.” She motioned me to follow her. “Shall we?”

I looked at the crowd, then back at Twilight, and shrugged. “Lead the way.” Staying close together so I wouldn’t come out of her magical field, I asked, “Who’s Pinkie Pie? I heard her name once, back in Ponyville. Rarity mentioned her too, earlier.”

“One of our best friends,” Twilight replied easily. “She’s… unique. Speaking of friends, I do want you to be aware that I have heard about you from my other friends.”

I absently scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah, I got the notion you had.” I paused for a moment, enjoying how unobstructed we were as we moved forward. People and ponies around us stepped away as we approached. “Not all bad, I hope?”

She smiled rather ruefully. “You’re an oddity, Mister Wingman,” Twilight replied. “I have had Rarity, Cheerilee, and Cadance speak on your behalf.”

I blinked. “Cadance?”

“Mi Amore Cadenza,” she clarified, and that was all that I needed to hear.

“I’ve never met her,” I replied, finding it a little odd I had an actual Princess speaking up for me. Well, it did make me feel better, but still, strange.

“Maybe Rarity talked to her about you,” Twilight explained. “They’re also friends. And on the other side, I have Rainbow Dash and Applejack talking against you. The former more than the latter nowadays, though.”

I grunted at Streak’s name.

“Then there’s that whole HERD mob incident with Sea Swirl.” I bit my tongue before I could say anything. I really didn’t want to be reminded of her. “All in all, I’m still making up my mind. Ah, here we are.”

I blinked, and realized she was right. We were now in the center of the room, showcasing what I was looking for. There were rows of it displayed in wooden tables. It was rectangular in shape, its clear display showing off sharp looking backgrounds, and little icons that I was sure were applications, ready to open. As we approached a recently vacated space, Twilight’s field seemed to have caught the others around us, leaving it alone for our use.

“Wow,” Twilight said. “So that’s what a tablet looks like.” She looked at me. “Do they look the same as Earth’s?”

I looked at it more closely, slowly picking it up with my hand. “It’s surprisingly heavy,” I replied, “and a little thicker than usual, but yes, aesthetically, it looks like most tablets on Earth.”

I sat down on the seating pad and began to run my fingers around it, shifting from one screen to the next. Blinking, I placed my finger on the status bar, which displayed the energy level and time, and slid my digit downwards. I got a few more options, and I clicked on the gear symbol. I pushed another icon that brought me to the system settings, and clicked on software version. I laughed when I saw a familiar looking green mascot, and the word P*ny.

“What is it?” Twilight asked, sitting right beside me and looking over.

“Nothing,” I replied, “just familiar with this interface.” I let my fingers travel through the familiar steps, checking out its features. It felt like my own smartphone, except it was strangely slower. There was something odd with the display, some sort of flickering that lasted less than a second, before it smoothed out. I checked out the keyboard; it was QWERTY, though it did have options to change it to a keypad and Dvorak as well.

I shook my head, confused. “It’s like any tablet, but slower,” I said. “They said this was supposed to be designed for Equestrians, but I don’t see it. It doesn’t even have an Equestrian option on the keyboard.”

Twilight looked thoughtful. “Let me try.”

I gave her the tablet, and to my amazement, once she touched it with her hoof, it began to go to a multiple-window selection option, and just as quickly, opened a notepad application. No keyboard appeared, but somehow, Twilight began to produce words—first in Equestrian alphabet, then to the human alphabet. Just as quickly, the message was erased, and the program closed. And she didn’t even move her hoof.

“What the hell,” I muttered.

Twilight stared at the tablet for a moment, then nodded. “Oh, I get it. They’re using smart-crystals to allow ponies to use it. Very innovative.”

“Smart-crystals?”

Twilight nodded, looking at me. “You know how we use gems to store in magic to perform different tasks, right?”

“Like your necklace,” I replied.

“Yes, like my necklace, or a fire-gem,” Twilight said. “They work by expending stored magic, and perform certain tasks. Smart-crystals are oddities though.”

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, to explain, I’ll have to go back to the time of Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“You guys consider him the father of modern magic, right?” I asked, getting an enthusiastic nod from Twilight.

“He was an amazing unicorn stallion, and probably the smartest pony ever. He earned that title. Anyway, during his time, magical gems were already in common use, mostly as a means to help start fires for the pegasi or earth ponies. However, he was interested in these clear crystals that seemed to channel magic, and at will, could start a fire, teleport somepony, or even mimic dragon-fire magic.”

“But don’t regular magic gems do that already?” I asked. She nodded, happy.

“Yes, but only one type of gem can be specifically used for each spell,” Twilight responded. “For example, fire-gems can only be used to store fire spells and nothing else. It has to do with their properties that only seem to resonate to specific spell wavelength and—” she stopped, then looked at me. “I’m boring you, aren’t I?”

I shook my head. “Overwhelming me, yeah. Boring me, not really.”

“Really?” she asked, her tone slightly disbelieving.

I nodded. “Please, continue.”

Twilight smiled. “Okay, but I probably should just continue with the smart-crystals. So, these crystals are a little different because they can be used to cast any type of spell.”

“Sounds very useful,” I commented.

“Very, except for the fact that it wouldn’t store any energy at all,” Twilight replied. “Star Swirl noted that while the crystal could mimic any spell, it wouldn’t be used to store the magic for long term use as it would activate almost immediately before becoming inert again. However, thanks to his experimentations on the crystals, he discovered what would be his foundation of modern magical theory.”

“Which is?”

“That magic is basically our intentions pushed outwards, acting as an extension of our will.” She motioned towards the tablet under her hooves. “The crystals are basically reading what my intentions are and translating them the best it can. For example, if I want to check the time”—the screen flashed, and the clock application opened—“it will give me what I need.”

Okay, now I was scared and awed. This was way more advanced than anything I’ve ever encountered outside science fiction. While I could probably translate the crystal as a very fancy mouse and keyboard, I’ve never heard of any type of input device that would actually read the intentions of the user, and accommodate with its best possible guess. The programing on that tablet must be absolutely, insanely complex.

“Of course,” Twilight continued, “that’s why it seems slow to you. You don’t have any innate magic, and I’m guessing the crystals don’t respond to your touch.”

I nodded. “It still does have an interface for human input, I guess.” I paused for a moment. “Wait, hold on, if the crystals can only read magic, then does that mean that earth ponies or pegasi can’t use this?”

“While they don’t have a flexible focus like unicorn horns,” Twilight explained, “earth ponies and pegasi still have innate magic in them, though extending outwards a little differently. The former have an intimate connection to the ground. That’s why they are stronger, and have an affinity to earthen talents. The pegasi, despite having smaller wings compared to their bodies, can fly because they have connection to the air, and gives them talents required for skywork. If I would guess, almost any native Tellurian could use this tablet.”

Wow, that was a rather big breakthrough. “These crystals seem really useful. Do you think it can be applied to anything else?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes! In fact, these crystals have already been extensively used by another pony adaptation of human technology.”

I blinked. “Which one?”

“The new telephones,” Twilight replied. “Have you seen them?”

I nodded, remembering my phone back in the house. I had thought it was odd when I first saw it. They changed the larger, more pony-friendly keypads to something more similar to what humans use. After the whole talk with Twilight, though, I finally learned why.

“The keys in the new keypads are crystals,” I guessed. “Ponies can just touch them and just think of a number, and the crystals respond to it.”

“Correct,” Twilight said with a nod, then looked at the tablet. “If this is just what both our species can do right now, can you imagine the possibilities in the future?”

I looked at Twilight, and for a second, I was reminded of my conversation with Eve months ago, that I might have gotten a crush on Princess Sparkle. It was mostly a joke, though, and more of my liking her for speaking highly of humans in an article. Now, having met her, listened to her, and saw her in person, that joke could now be a little true.

The disguised princess seemed to blush at my gaze—this close, I could confirm it. “What? What is it?” she asked, softly.

I just smiled. “You’re an awesome pony, Twilight.”

That darkened her cheeks even more. “Oh, you’re just saying that.”

I chuckled. “No, I’m serious. You’re smart, beautiful—I mean, I’ve only been around you for a few minutes, and I think you’re someone fun to be with.” After a moment, I added, “And have an awesome hairdo.”

Twilight laughed at that last part, moving her free foreleg over it. “It is a nice hairdo, isn’t it?”

“Very awesome,” I replied, gently grabbing the hoof touching the tablet. I squeezed it reassuringly, trying to silently tell her that I meant every word.

She felt good, warm. This close, I could smell the odd, yet pleasant scent of rose and fresh parchment. Her eyes seemed to look away, but only for a moment, before going back to me. She smiled demurely.

“Thanks,” she said softly. After a while, she chuckled, gently touching my hand over her hoof. “For what it’s worth, I think Rarity is right. You are a good pony. Person,” she corrected herself.

“Thanks. I’d rather not have a pony that I admire not liking me.”

“Admire?”

“Well, you did earn your title after extending the hand—hoof,” I corrected myself, “of friendship to humans.”

Twilight blushed. “I just did what I thought was right. I mean, I know how a lot of ponies initially saw your race, but I always felt humanity, on the whole, is an impressive civilization with a rich varied history that showcases their creativity and bravery in facing a world as harsh as Earth’s. We could learn a lot from each other.”

I smiled. “I also remember you disagreeing with a duchess a few months ago. You know, the one that talked about how humans didn’t belong in Equestria?”

Twilight blinked, surprised. “You remember that?”

“Quite,” I replied. “Eve and I went out for lunch, and I read the article there.”

“Eve?” Twilight asked.

“Ever Ring.”

“Oh, yeah.” Twilight nodded. “Ever Ring does work in Gentlemen for Mares, doesn’t she? As a Handler?”

“My Handler, actually,” I admitted.

She smiled. “You must be pretty close to have lunch with your Handler.”

“Well, she has been one of my best friends since I came here in Equestria,” I said. “Helped me out in a jam more times than I can count.”

Twilight nodded. “That sounds like her. Though, I always was a little confused why she chose that profession, actually.”

“You have a point. I think, with her voice, she’d be better as a radio host.”

That got her to laugh. “Not that! Okay, maybe. She does have that deep, smooth voice when she wants to.”

I nodded with agreement. “Like smooth jazz that allows you to slide all over the place.”

If possible, her laugh got a little louder. Was that a chortle from a Princess I just heard? “Jazz?” she asked, still giggling.

“It’s a type of genre of music on Earth,” I replied. “You should check it out.”

“Alright, I will,” Twilight said, nodding, “Anyway, what I meant that she has an uncanny gift of research. Did you know she was actually one of my lead researchers back in First Contact?”

“I knew she was part of it, but not that she worked with you personally,” I replied. “She is helping you out again, though, right?”

Twilight blinked. “And how did you know that?”

“She mentioned it.”

She looked at me for a moment with an amused expression before saying, “Friend, huh?”

I nodded as convincingly as I could. “Best friend.”

Twilight opened her mouth, then seemed to have spotted something to her left. “Speaking of best friends…” and she let the sentence linger. I blinked, then looked at my right, where she was looking, and saw Rarity, with a somewhat excited smile on her face.

“Well, aren’t you two thick as thieves,” the white unicorn said.

Twilight didn’t miss a beat. “We’ve found some common ground. And I think you’re quite right about Wingman.” She looked at me and gripped my hand hard. “Wingman, please take care of my friend, alright?”

“Uh—”

Before I could say anymore, Rarity interrupted me with a breathless, “Let’s go.”

I blinked. “What?” I asked, rather stupidly.

“Let’s go,” Rarity repeated, less breathless but still flustered. She looked at Twilight at the moment, biting her lower lip with a strange indecisive expression. Twilight seemed to understand as she shook her head, smiling.

“It’s fine,” the Princess said.

Rarity looked grateful, then bent her head down slightly, rubbing her cheek on my shoulder. “Wingman, please, let’s go.”

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll just have to reserve a tablet—”

“I took care of it,” Rarity replied. “Now, we must go.”

Then, without another word, she bit my hand gently and helped me up. “Go where?” I asked. She didn’t reply and just dragged me away.

Author's Note

Thank you editors and pre-readers. Enjoy guys.

Chapter 5

I thought Rarity was mad for some reason. I mean, what would you expect if your date grabbed you, and just told you to go with her without question? Twilight was no help at all as she just rolled her eyes and said, “Really, that mare,” as I was dragged away. I took notice of a parcel tied at Rarity’s back, but couldn’t ask about it as she just breezed through the crowd. She even ignored the greeters that approached her, which I found rather odd as it came off a bit rude.

It was only when she finally had dragged me to the hotel room, closed and locked the door, that I realized what was up. It wasn’t obvious to me in the open, but here, alone, I could smell strong musk emanating from her. Her words also clinched it.

“Take your clothes off.”

I raised one of my eyebrows, then smiled. “This is new.”

When I said that, she flushed red. “Oh, sorry, that was a little too forward, wasn’t it?”

“More so than usual, but I’m not complaining,” I replied, beginning to unbutton my shirt. Rarity looked a little guilty and unsure, and moved towards the table near the wall at the base of the bed. A parcel she had been carrying was magically placed top of it.

As I fully exposed my naked torso, Rarity’s eyes gleamed slightly before she licked her lips. “I think I understand your appreciation when you watch me undress.”

“Not yet,” I replied.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

I lifted my arms perpendicular to my sides, smiling. “Miss Rarity, my pants seem to be stuck. Would you mind if you help me?”

Rarity blinked, then smiled. As she approached, she magically began to remove her clothing. Her sweater, her pants, and lastly, her spectacles, all while swaying her rear delicately without a missed step. Her rather predatory stance was quite alluring, as if she was barely controlling herself from just running and jumping at me, and her eyes seemed to hold seductive promises that she was willing to keep.

I didn’t say or move as her snout seemed to gently touch my abdomen. She took a breath, smelling me, then licked me; her tongue felt like a warm, wet, gentle jolt of lightning. It flicked at my skin, touches lasting only seconds, before she took a really long lick—upwards, downwards, and lastly, in circles. I gently caressed her cheek, smoothing her coat with brushes of my fingers, before her snout slowly began to travel downwards.

She sniffed out my growing hardness, then began to lick it over my pants. I grunted, and began to roughen my ministrations to her. She groaned as I let my fingers dig into her coat, mane, and as my hand began to steadily travel upwards, to her now-glowing horn.

I felt a tug near my pants, and I was impressed as she was able to magically unbutton them. With practised ease, Rarity bit on the handle of the slider, and slowly, teasingly, began separating the teeth of the zipper. My pants fell down, leaving me with only my black boxers.

“This is rather fun,” Rarity said huskily. “It’s like unwrapping a present.”

Yeah, Rarity should meet Trixie. They might get along. Unless they’d already met, and they didn’t click. Somehow, with all the coincidences I faced in meeting ponies, I wouldn’t be too surprised if they were mortal enemies.

Rarity, with some force, pushed me back, making me fall to the comfy bed. She clambered up, letting her coat run over my naked legs and thighs, slowly going upward. I felt a surge of excitement go over me as she climbed steadily, stroking, teasing my erection trapped in its cotton confines. I felt her tongue once more going over my stomach, and I shuddered as she began to use her hooves to help herself up my prone body. The sucking sensation they gave, along with with her warm gentle tongue, began to send me a little bit over the edge.

“I love the way you look, Harry,” Rarity whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. “Are you enjoying this?”

Her forelegs pushed against my cheeks, forcing me to face her. Her eyes gleamed with wicked excitement, before she leaned in and kissed me. Our tongues clashed together, dancing, entwining. I could smell the floral rosemary of her coat, mixed in with the musk of her arousal. It was intoxicating.

I felt my boxers being magically tugged downwards. It wasn’t slow. It was a frenzied action of a hungry mare who wanted to free what she desired from its confines. Exposed, naked, I continued to be kissed, to be dominated by this beautiful mare, until she broke contact.

She didn’t say a word. She just lowered herself. I could feel her wet, warm folds touching my abdomen, leaving a snake trail of her wetness. However, she didn’t want me to enter her yet. She smiled, positioned her hind legs to trap my thighs, and began to stroke me with her stomach.

I groaned as I felt the short hairs of her coat prickling at my hardness. I tried to grab her, but she trapped my arms with her forelegs. I could feel her every stroke—upwards, downwards. She even teased me by letting me feel her wet folds with my erection, only to move it out of the way. She would even let her hardened nipples make circles around my already sensitive head, before pausing, letting me calm down, then stroke it once more.

“You have the cutest moans,” Rarity said huskily, leaning forward, and licking my chest. Her first mistake.

“Not as cute as yours,” I growled, and when the opportunity came, I licked her horn. I wasn’t being gentle or subtle about it. I made full contact, earning me a surprised yelp and moan, before she collapsed on top of me.

Freeing my arms, I grabbed her barrel and rolled her, trapping her under me. Her thighs tried to keep my legs in place, but my hands, trained and honed by years of service, familiar with the body of this beautiful unicorn under me, worked as I stroked, massaged, and prodded the right spots of her neck and barrel. Whatever resistance she had left, it collapsed soon afterwards, leaving herself wide open.

Rarity wanted me to take that advantage. Her forelegs were spread open. She wanted me to touch her, use my fingers in her inviting wet folds. However, I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction yet.

My left hand grabbed her mane gently, pulling it down, leaving her prone. My lips kissed her left hoof. I let her feel those as my right hand began to stealthily creep over her horn. She gasped, realizing too late what I was planning. Encircling her horn gently, I began to stroke it, lightly, gently, upwards, downwards. The same way she treated my erection. Her moans steadily grew louder, and when I felt her whole body shaking, close to release, I stopped.

“Harry,” she groaned, desperately. There were no other protests as I began to kiss her, touch her in a way to keep her wired, before my right hand once more encircled her horn. I repeated my ministrations, felt her shake with anticipation, before I stopped once more.

There was no protest this time, just a begging squeal. She looked at me, half-mad, half-lost, wanting a release. I gave it to her. Climbing down, letting my lips kiss and lick her belly, before I came to her marehood. It was pink, gushing, and winking.

I kissed it heavily; we were well past the point of gentle teasing. I tasted her juices, squirting out in waves as I encircled her folds with my tongue, before going towards her exposed, red, sensitive clit. When I sucked on it, she screamed.

Her hind legs trapped my head between her heavily musky sex, shivering as it showered my chin with thick liquid. The salty, delicious taste of her orgasm. Her back arched with each shot of her juices, frantic at first, before slowly dying down to a shiver, until finally, her hind legs freed me. I wiped the juices from my mouth before I climbed up the bed, enjoying the visceral joy of her face, as I kissed her cheek, holding on her foreleg gently, yet firmly.

After a while, she seemed to regain some sort of awareness. Her eyes darted towards me, smiling. “You can be such a tease, Harry,” she whispered.

“Only because you love it,” I replied softly.

I felt her foreleg travel downward, her hoof gently tugging on my still raging erection. She looked at me, still shaky after that orgasm, yet like a starving mare, she wouldn’t let that stop her. Hungrily, she said, “I want to be on top.”

I removed the pillows and placed my back to the headrest of the bed. She kept staring at my hardness, standing ready to receive her. She smiled, climbing on top of me, her hips slowly joining mine. There was no teasing, this time. Without another word, she pushed herself downward.

Encircled by her tight, warm walls, I grunted as she began moving. Slowly at first, trying to gain a better position. I helped, using my hands as they held her rear as a support. Steadily, her rhythm began to increase. We stared into each other’s eyes. Her’s were predatory, aroused and excited. Everytime I moaned as her lips swallowed me, her smile grew more satisfied. Enjoying my reactions to her movements, she too grew excited. Her walls began to tighten, and her moans too became louder. In the end, there was no rhythm. We began to pound on each other like wild animals. There was no bed. There was no bedroom. There was only us, sex, musk, and in the end, satisfaction as I felt like losing myself as she squeezed me so tightly just before I came inside her.

Rarity milked me for all I was worth, making me twitch and moan as she continued to pump me. After a while, she too stopped, also satisfied, as we collapsed on each other, breathless, tired. I felt her forelegs hug my neck, letting me breathe in her musky, floral scent, before everything faded.

It was growing dark when I woke up. I felt Rarity calling to me, her hooves gently pulling on my arm. When I was finally aware of my surroundings, we were lying on our sides. I was hugging her, my nose on the nape of her neck.

“Harry?” Rarity called again.

“Yes, Rarity?” I mumbled.

I felt her squeeze my arm firmly. “Thank you.”

“I live to serve,” I replied, smiling, kissing her neck. I felt her shiver. We stayed silent for a moment, with me contemplating on today. After a while, I chuckled. “Wow. Today was quite a different you, Rarity.”

“Really?” she asked.

“You, jumping at me,” I said. “Most of the time, it would be me doing that.”

“Oh. Yes.” Rarity sighed. “I apologize about that, Harry. It’s just,” she paused, “after I did what needed to be done, I came back to the displays and saw you and Twilight together. And you two were so… cute together.”

I blinked. “Cute?”

“Adorable,” Rarity expanded. “Lovable. Sweet.”

“Okay, I get that,” I said, chuckling. “I’m just wondering what does that have to do with you being forward.” When Rarity mumbled something, I asked, “Uh, what?”

“I was imagining you two together, rutting,” Rarity said, a little louder.

“Me?” I blinked in disbelief. “And the Princess?”

“Well, I don’t see her as a Princess,” Rarity explained. “She was my friend before that. We shared adventures, stories, gossip. She is one of the ponies I would love to share my stallion with.” She turned, looking at me. “I wanted to share you with her.”

I understood. Culturally, Equestria practised something they called herd-family, which was a means to adapt to just having just one stallion per every five mares born. Normally, their family structure would have one or two stallions shared by multiple mares. There were exceptions of course, but that was the norm, as strange as that sounded to someone from a Western human culture.

“A little hypocritical of me, isn’t it?” Rarity suddenly asked. “I always talked about being part of a Matched Pair, to be the only mare for my stallion. Yet, seeing you two together, imagining you both in the act… it turned me on. Hard.”

I squeezed her reassuringly. “That’s why you were acting like some sort of mare in Heat?”

“Maybe,” Rarity whispered. “I wonder if growing up in a culture that celebrated herd-families is too strong to overcome.”

“I can relate,” I said solemnly. “I grew up in a culture where the ideal family is monogamous.” I felt her squeeze my arm again before I continued, “Sometimes, I still feel guilty when I entertain customers. It doesn’t matter that Eve reassures me that she is okay with it and understands. It doesn’t matter if it’s normal to Equestrians. It’s not normal to me.”

“Do you feel guilty now?” Rarity asked.

“No,” I answered honestly.

“Why’s that, Harry?”

“Because I’m with a friend,” I replied. “Maybe I am adapting to your culture, one step at a time, and being intimate with friends is something I can live with. Or maybe I’m just trying to make excuses to settle a guilty conscience. Or maybe I’m just losing my mind.”

Rarity chuckled at that. “Leave the melodrama to me, Harry.”

“Hmmm, you’re right,” I mumbled, digging my head deeper in the nape of her neck, making her shiver. “You are the best at that.”

“Stop it before I start mounting you again,” Rarity replied, giggling. When I desisted, she sighed. “You know, Harry, I’m glad you consider me as a friend.”

“Even if I didn’t, after today, letting me see the tablet and reserving one for me to buy it tomorrow, you’d have earned the title of being my best friend for life.”

“Oh, is that so?” Rarity asked, something naughty in her tone. “What if I did one better?”

I blinked. “What do you—” and stopped when I remembered the parcel Rarity had placed on the desk earlier. I hugged her tighter. “You didn’t.” When she giggled, I kissed her neck repeatedly. “You. Awesome. Mare.”

“I know, darling,” Rarity said, hint of mock haughtiness and arrogance in her voice. “I know.”

I laughed. “I love you, Rarity.”

There was a slight pause before Rarity asked, “Oh?” with a tone that hinted a smile. “Do you love me enough to have Twilight join us now so we can both enjoy you?”

“Uh, yeah… though only after you pay triple of what you paid Gentlemen for Mares.”

If someone played a disc scratch sound, it would have been perfect as Rarity suddenly turned to me with her Are-You-Serious expression.

“Wait, triple?” she asked, disbelieving. “But I memorized your rates. Two mares should be only count as one-and-a-half of standard payment, with the additional costs for boosters.”

I nodded, a little embarrassed. “Yeah. However, our initial contract was only for one mare, one night. Two mares is grounds for a breach of contract, which carries a stiff penalty fee. All in all, it will be triple to what you paid for.”

Her eyes blinked, surprised, before narrowing to a more sultry look. “You won’t tell anyone though, right?”

I just smiled at her. “Rarity, new best friend or not, powerful mare or not, you don’t scare me as much as Platinum Corona does. She takes contracts really seriously.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Of course she does.”

I wondered, briefly, if Rarity knew Platinum. I guessed they probably did. After all, powerful mares tend to move in the same crowd.

After a moment of contemplative silence, Rarity sighed. "Maybe it was a good thing Twilight declined."

"Declined?" I asked.

"I may have tried to invite her before I dragged you away," Rarity clarified. I then remembered her strange expression, and Twilight's answer to it.

Part of me wondered how it would be to handle two mares at once. Another part was relieved Twilight declined. One mare was already a handful.

Still, if Rarity wanted to, I would have done it. She deserved that much. So, I kissed her gently on the lips, and said, “You can always imagine Twilight in the room—”

“Harry, stop,” Rarity warned.

I ignored her. “—watching us kiss. Hug. Rutting each other senseless.”

“Harry, shut up, and let me mount you again.”

Epilogue

When I entered my house, I spotted Eve. She seemed to have transferred to the living room area, which I thought was a much better place than the kitchen, as well as having more comfortable seats. She also seemed to have done away with the tall piles of paper, opting for a smaller, neater stack.

“And how was Miss Rarity?” Eve asked in a business-like tone. I smiled. Even in her day-off, she was still my Handler.

I shut the door, my arm a little shaky as it held a small bucket bag which hid the parcel Rarity gave me. “A little aggressive today,” I said casually, walking towards her.

“Oh?” she asked, not looking at me. The closer I got, I noticed that she was busy sealing a letter in an envelope.

“She was even inclined to try and invite her friend back to our hotel room,” I replied, placing the bag on a chair, joining her in the couch. I let my arms brush the nape of her neck, and when she looked at me, smiling, I hugged her, kissing her on the lips. She returned it with gusto.

“You did tell her that would be a breach of contract, right?” Eve asked when we separated.

“Of course,” I said. “It was a little tempting, though. It won’t be everyday that a Gentleman would have a Princess as a customer.”

Eve blinked. “Princess?” She mulled it over a bit, then said, “Princess Sparkle?” When I nodded, she added, “Well, I seem to remember that you said you had a crush on her at one point.”

“Considering she is a much more awesome pony in person, it’s justified.” I shook my head sadly. “However, I wouldn’t dream of tarnishing your perfect record, especially since you are so close to overthrowing Platinum.”

Eve snorted, chuckling after a moment. She looked at me for a moment before her gaze turned blank. I blinked.

“What?” I asked. I sniffed myself. “Do I still have Rarity’s scent?”

Eve shook her head, smiling. “Your obsession with coming home to me without smelling like another mare is odd, but endearing, Harry. I was actually more curious about”—she motioned towards the bag I put on the chair—“that.”

“Oh, that,” I said, stealing a glance at it. “It’s actually a shirt and jacket. Rarity had a new design, and wanted me to try it out.”

Eve growled. “Okay, that mare is really pushing the boundaries. I’m going to have strong words with her and see what she really is intending.”

“Eve,” I said, calmingly, stroking her mane. She gave me a guilty look. “She just wanted me to try it on and return it to her. It’s not a gift to me. I promise.”

Eve sighed, nodding. “Okay. I still think she’s acting a bit too much like a suitor.”

“I trust Rarity to act properly,” I said. “And please trust me to tell you if she crosses the line.” That seemed to satisfy Eve, and allowed me to change the subject. “So, sealing your recommendation about the Consultants?”

She nodded. “I’ve recommended against it, and also added a small compilation explaining why. I hope they consider them.”

“They will,” I said, rubbing her shoulders a bit.

“Mm-hm, I like that,” Eve muttered, leaning to me. I smelled her scent, with a hint of soft perfume that relaxed me. I kissed her mane, which smelled freshly washed with a scent almost like lavender. “Yeah, I shouldn’t worry so much. I went for a more politically-friendly angle.”

“Like?”

“Power,” Eve replied. “I argued that Consultants given the powers they are requesting would possibly undermine the laws Princess Celestia put into place. I pointed out that some human hiring policies will clash with Equestrian ones. I also added the climate of human gender issues as a small example.”

“Stop talking,” I said and kissed her neck. “Let me enjoy the way you smell.”

Eve giggled. “Harry, I have an appointment.”

I mock-acted getting stabbed in the heart. “Using my own words against me!”

“Yes, well, now you know how I felt,” Eve replied with a smile. Her forelegs snaked around my neck, pulled me into a deep delicious kiss. I tasted the mint of her toothpaste, the heat of her tongue. When we separated, she looked dejected. “I wish you’d be available later. We could finish this.”

I looked at her. “How long will your appointment take?”

“Well, including the trip to Canterlot and then to Manehattan, I’ll probably be back right after lunch.”

“Okay, how about this?” I asked. “I’ll go straight to your apartment after I’m done with my meeting. I’ll try to make it before dinner, that way, we can have something nice. I’ll have a couple of boosters ready, and we’re going to make a proper mess of your room.”

“Sounds delightful,” Eve said with a longing sigh. She looked at me, shaking herself, transforming from a crestfallen mare to one ready to face the world. “I will hold you to that, Harry.”

“I won’t ever let you down,” I promised.

Eve smiled, giving me one last wet kiss before she trotted out of the living room, files and envelope ready. I grabbed her saddlebag and helped her put each of her files inside, smiles never leaving our faces. As she walked out of the room, she added a nice gait, pausing just at the door frame, and lifted her tail, just a little, tantalizing me, giving me a rather wonderful view. Then, as quick as that came, she was outside, door closing behind her.

I took a deep breath, feeling very hot, then moved. Walking towards my phone, I dialed a few numbers, making sure what I had arranged in the last few days was ready, and added a few more before calling one last number. When the call connected, I said, “I’m going to need a chariot.”

The next few hours were a bit of a rush. I went to Manehattan, visiting Eve’s favorite restaurant and reserving a place for us for dinner. I had to move quickly, checking on the time, and grabbed a few more things, including a few boosters. When I was done, I made my way to Eve’s apartment, with a few hours to spare.

Letting myself in with a key she gave me, I made a few last-minute arrangements in the dining area, placed the wrapped parcel on the table, and waited. And waited.

I don’t know how long it it was, but I kept still, staring at the antechamber that led to the dining area. Finally, I heard a key being put in place, the gears in the lock tumbler turning and clicking. I heard a heavy sigh, a plop of something to the ground, and hoofsteps going towards me.

When Eve saw me, her eyes widened with surprise. I gave her my best smile. “Welcome back.”

“Harry?” she asked, unable to believe my presence. “When did you—? I thought you were in a meeting?”

“And miss spending time with you on your birthday?” I asked.

“You… remembered,” she said, whispering the last word. Her eyes glistened with a few tears, but she wiped them away immediately. “I thought you forgot.”

I approached her, slowly, went on my knees in front of her, and hugged her neck. She returned it, gladly. “I didn’t,” I said. “I just wanted to make sure I got your gift, and I thought it was going to take me the whole day. However—” I looked at the parcel on the table “—someone was kind enough to help me get it early.”

I led her to the dining table, and handed the parcel to her. She magically lifted it, undid the tied ribbon, letting the wrapper fall to reveal its contents. Her eyes widened when she saw it.

“You didn’t!”

I smiled in response.

She opened the box packaging, removing the new tablet inside. The screen was blank, but after putting her hoof on top of it, it came to life, going through the familiar phase of booting up.

“How did you get this?” Eve asked, looking at me. Her eyes were wet again, but she didn’t seem aware of it. “I thought this was only going to be sold tomorrow?”

“Well, tonight, if you’ve made reservations,” I corrected. “I asked for a few favors, and I got an even more favorable response than I expected.”

Eve looked at the tablet, and it began opening random programs, like a writing application, clock, and even opened a few card games I didn’t know was already built in. Gently floating it back on the table, she suddenly lunged at me, crying, “Thank you,” repeatedly, and a random kiss here and there. I hugged her back, also feeling slightly misty-eyed.

“Anything for you, Eve,” I said softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” was her only response, the only one I needed.

We stayed like that for a few moments, before we let each other go. Her eyes were wet, but her smile was undeniable. She was glowing. Nodding, knowing I did good, I said, “Well, why don’t you take that tablet while we go out, put it through its paces. I made a few arrangements to make my birthday mare happy.”

Eve chuckled. “I’m sure. But before that—” she bit my hand gently, and began to lead me out the dining area. I blinked as she led me to her room. She let my hand go, giving me a knowing glance, and finished with “—let’s start a little early on that promise of messing up my room.”

I grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

Author's Note

And that's a wrap. Thank you everyone for reading, and hopefully you guys enjoyed that short journey.

Shout-out to shira, coandco, permanent temporary, GIULIO, Denim_Blue, TownCrier, AJ_Aficionado, ponyboy245 and Firesight. This story wouldn't have been half as good without you guys.