Gentleman in Training

by Denim_Blue

Chapter Six: Gentleman 101

“... and it was around this time that the push for equal rights for stallions in Equestrian society took place. While there was much resistance from the nobility and upper class, the vast majority of Equestria’s populace felt that equality between genders was not just morally sound, but necessary for our country.”

I jotted down notes with a practiced ease as I listened to the voice of our current lecturer standing before the five of us in one of the small conference rooms of the Gentleman for Mares building. Luckette was her name, and while she was one of the teachers here—Arnold’s earth pony teacher, if I remembered right—she had also worked as an archivist for the Manehatten Museum of Equestrian History. As such, her knowledge on Equestrian history was rather extensive.

She was also rather cute, and I will admit the way she hummed as she wrote notes and erased them on the chalkboard was adorable. Her upbeat attitude really helped keep the lecture interesting.

“Are there any questions so far?”

Alex’s hand rose as he finished the last of his notes.

“Yes, Alex?”

“You mentioned something about Princess Celestia herself being involved in this movement. I imagine that probably helped a lot for everyone trying to push for equality, right?”

“Mm!” Luckette nodded, her curly blonde mane bobbing as she smiled. “Princess Celestia has always been known for her rather laissez faire policy on society unless it poses a detrimental affect to the country. This was one of those instances where there were recorded instances of her advocating a change. It shocked more than a few of the traditionalists who had been long supporters of hers.”

“How… bad was it for stallions?” asked Martin. “I mean, you mentioned that they were seen as property for a long time. Earth went through some ugly stuff like that, but it was revolving more around women instead…”

Luckette’s smile faltered for a moment. “It… was pretty bad. It’s part of the reason herds exist, really. Mares would simply keep stallions around as a means to reproduce and provide them with… relief, if you catch my meaning. They were used as comfort horses, but with far less freedom and no pay in many cases. Mares of higher standing were even known to have a few stallions to choose from. Most stallions had little in the way of being able to escape this unless they were farming or serving in the military, or somehow managed to gain enough money to keep themselves in a position of power.” She shook her head. “Even then, it wasn’t uncommon for a mare to pull a stallion away from such duties if she herself had enough influence and power to back up her actions.”

Alex grunted with a hint of wry amusement. “And… there are mares who still favor these traditional beliefs today?”

“Not exactly to this extent, at least not very often.” Luckette waved a hoof. “Most often, when a mare is considered ‘traditional’ these days, it’s a way of saying she’s more inclined towards the idea of being the head of the household and being the main provider in a family; it’s a bit of a dominance thing in many cases. It’s actually quite similar to the older gender roles of Earth’s patriarchal societies.” She raised a hoof as she continued. “Traditional mares of today shouldn’t necessarily be seen as bad ponies, though, let me make that clear. I know of a few mares who are considered ‘traditional’ by today’s standards, and they are wonderful individuals. They just don’t like the idea of having the attention of their stallion divided between other mares, and tend to be against herd relationships. Unfortunately, they tend to be given a bad reputation since most of Equestrian society is pro-herd family.”

“What about you?”

Luckette and the rest of us looked to the back towards Arnold.

“Hm? What about me?” Luckette asked, her ears flicking a bit with curiosity as she looked at Arnold.

Arnold gave her a small, knowing smile. “Luckette, forgive me if I seem a bit rude, but would I be wrong in saying you favor a few traditional values?”

Luckette, for her part, didn’t seem all that flustered at all by the question. If anything, she stood a little taller. “Some would say so, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a ‘traditional mare’. For example, I don’t like the idea of a mare treating her stallion as nothing more than free field labor and a walking sex toy. However, I do believe in a few of the less… extreme values that traditional mares have, I suppose.”

“Like…?” Arnold asked encouragingly.

Luckette nodded as she went on. “I’m of the mindset that a mare shouldn’t have to be at a stallion’s constant beck and call, or be treated as just another number to add to his growing herd. A relationship should be a give and take for both mare and stallion, something that I can assure you a traditional mare would never believe in. Traditional mares, as we discussed today, were all for maintaining the authority and were against the concept of gender equality.” She paused, as though collecting her thoughts. “Even so… with that in mind, I’m personally not a major fan of the modern herd family that Equestria tends to favor.” She adjusted the red beret on her head while walking around her small podium. “If two ponies feel that they want to spend their lives together, then they shouldn’t be pressured into taking in a few more individuals just to meet the expectations of society. That’s not to say that those who want to form a herd shouldn’t be allowed to do so. I just feel there should be freedom to choose without public disdain. I personally like the idea of a relationship where there’s no need to divide attention when neither party wants to. The same can be said for a relationship between two mares or two stallions, I suppose. As long as the feelings between the parties involved aren’t being hurt or neglected, it’s fine with me.”

Arnold’s smile widened a little, and he nodded. “I see. Thanks for be open with me about that.”

Luckette flushed ever so slightly in the cheeks, but maintained her poise and simply nodded. “Of course. It doesn’t seem to be a problem with you boys, but we want you to know that while you are receiving an education here, we don’t need to maintain the same formalities as a school at all times. Your jobs are rather personal, after all. It’s only right that you come to understand the ponies you’ll be working with and tending to.”

I couldn’t help but smile a bit as the mare concluded her lesson with a quick recap of what we had covered in regards to Equestrian society and the history of stallions’ rights. She definitely carried herself in a manner that exuded confidence and pride, something that was comforting to see in someone responsible for our education… even if such education was merely to make us good at giving pleasure.

“Right, well, tomorrow I’ll be lecturing again, but we’ll be covering the topics of Canterlot’s social norms and the reasons they seem to vary so much from most of Equestria. I’ll also have a written exam for you all to take this coming Friday—” A series of groans could be heard from Martin and Gabe cut her off. “Oh, hush, I’m a generous grader, as long as I can tell you’re improving.” She looked to the doorway, and smiled. “Ah, and there’s my replacement foalsitter for you boys. Hello, Pizzelle.”

I was the first to turn to the doorway, and sure enough, there was the Wonderbolt mare, looking as stern as she had when I first met her. She was not in her flight suit this time, and had a whistle tied along her neck while a pair of sunglasses rested on her forehead. I noticed her adjusting a clipboard under her wing as she walked in.

“Morning, Luckette,” Pizzelle greeted as she reached the front of the room where the chalkboard was. She turned to face the five of us, and cleared her throat. “Alright, did all of you bring clothes for exercising outdoors with you?” All of us nodded. “Good, because otherwise I’d be making you run around in your birthday suits, depending on my mood.” She smirked. “You’re welcome to see if I’m joking about that, too.”

“Damn,” Gabe chuckled, turning to me. “You got roped with her for an instructor, Darren?”

“Something funny, Einsworth?” Pizzelle asked, calling Gabe by his last name.

Gabe spun around to face her. “Nope. Not a thing, ma’am.”

“Uh huh. Let me just make this clear; by the time I’m done with you boys, you may very well hate me a little, if not a lot. However, you will also learn that while I am harsh, I am also fair. So let this be a warning to you, Einsworth, as well as the rest of you boys; buck with me and I will buck with you, and no, not that way. Only Halverson will be getting a piece of this.” She gestured to herself with a hoof. “Get dressed and meet me out back in five minutes, fillies.”

With that, Pizzelle made her way out the door. Luckette appeared to be holding back a laugh as she looked at all of us. No doubt we all looked a little dumbfounded by Pizzelle’s blunt statement.

Martin was the first to speak. “Huh. Okay, yeah, Darren, I have to admit, I’m more than a little jealous right now.”

“That was… oddly arousing,” murmured Gabe, who looked a little shamefaced at the moment.

I simply massaged my temples and fought down the blush rising to my own cheeks. While I was a little flattered that Pizzelle was only interested in me, whether it was because of her job or otherwise, I didn’t really need her to publicly remind everyone about that.

“Halverson, if that’s all the stamina you have, you might as well quit now! I would wreck you in the bedroom! Move it!”

I had learned one particular thing about Pizzelle in the last hour or so of physical training.

“Move your ass, Halverson, before I move it for you! That last lap took fifteen seconds longer than the previous one!”

She either expressed her interest in me through verbal brow-beatings, or she secretly harbored resentment towards me for being the Gentleman she was given responsibility in teaching.

“That’s better, Darren! You just lapped Lorentz. Keep at it and Ortiz will be eating your dust as well.”

Well, perhaps it was a bit of love and hate. She only called someone by their last name when she was tearing them a new one, or when she was lecturing them. First name indicated she was proud of you, as far as I could tell, at least.

I was a bit happy with the fact that only Arnold and I had been called by our first names since we started.

Speaking of Arnold, the man was a machine, especially for his age. He was by no means fast, but goddamn that man was keeping a steady pace. Pizzelle had initially complimented him on it… then proceeded to ream him out for not picking up the pace.

Gabe, on the other hand? He was by no means out of shape, but he was winded. He had taken plenty of drama and theater courses throughout the time I knew him, and he was actually fairly limber from what I’ve seen. But he wasn’t an athlete. He did a bit of jumping and pole vaulting back in his high school years, but he barely committed to it. He was more geared towards the leisurely sports of golfing and disc golf.

Alex was about the same as me when it came to this sort of stuff. He and I had played football back in high school, and he was a terrifying linebacker during those days. I can attest to this since I had been a lineman, so I was often in charge of blocking him whenever he blitzed. He was a surprisingly fast guy for his size, but he wasn’t much better than me for endurance.

I didn’t know much about Martin, but he apparently had done lots of track and field back when he was in college, namely the areas that focused on sprinting. He was ahead of all of us right now, but he was beginning to show fatigue as well.

Now, I’m not going to say it was Pizzelle’s words of encouragement that spurred me forward, but I liked the idea of staying on her good side. When she called out last lap for both Martin and I, that’s when I dug deep into what was left of my strength and began to pick up speed. My legs and lungs were burning with every step and breath I took.

Martin must have felt me breathing down his neck, because he did the same.

“That’s it Martin and Darren! Almost finished, come on! Come on! Give it all you got!”

I was now side by side with Martin. I decided to keep my eyes ahead and not focus on him. This was me I was concerned with… though if I managed to get ahead of him, I wouldn’t be against it. Much to my dismay, Martin still managed to pull ahead of me, but he was breathing out in gasps now.

We crossed the finish line, Martin a second ahead of me. We came to a steady stop, running onto the grass to make way for Alex and Gabe who made a final lap before coming to a stop after crossing the finish line, followed lastly by Arnold. I forced myself to remain standing, putting my hands over my head and taking slow, steady breaths.

“Alright, not bad, not bad!” Pizzelle said, trotting over to us. She paused and scribbled something down on her clipboard, holding it with a wing while using her mouth to hold the pencil. “Darren, Martin, that was a nice first time on the track here from you.” She gave the two of us a nod, then moved over to Alex. “Lorentz, I want to see you knock off a few seconds on your time halfway through next time. I know you’re a big guy, but you can do better.”

As she approached Gabe, she sighed. “Einsworth, I know you’re all about being goofy and having fun, but there’s more to this job than just being a smooth-talking charmer. You’re going to find yourself in a world of pain and weakness if you don’t improve that stamina of yours, especially with an earth pony client, or heaven forbid, a skipper.” She let a ghost of a smile spread across her lips. “I did notice you pick up the pace on your last lap, though. Decent effort.”

Gabe, who was currently trying not to dry heave, simply nodded.

Pizzelle finally walked up to Arnold, who was in a noticeably better state than Gabe. She smiled approvingly. “I take it you jog a lot?”

“It’s a nice thing to do when you’re retired and can’t shake the habit of waking up early every morning.”

She chuckled, “I guess so. Nicely done, Arnold.”

“Oh, come on, you throw us scraps but give Arnie nothing but praise?” Martin asked, though his tone was clearly not all that serious. His smile was a definite indicator that he was mostly just pulling their leg.

Pizzelle let out a snort and shook her head while laughing. “Arnold is almost twice your age, Martin. I’d expect him to be a little slower. He’s hardly winded though, unlike you boys.”

Ouch, my pride.

“Alright, cool down for a few minutes, drink some water and use the restroom if you have to, then come back out so we can finish up with some stretches.”

Five minutes later I had gone inside and took in a few mouthfuls of water before heading back out. I was treated to a pleasant sight of Pizzelle and one of Gabe’s instructors, Sugar Belle, stretching on the lawn.

“Unf, my cannons have been killing me,” Sugar Belle said offhandedly as she stretched out one of her back legs. “Thanks for letting me join you, Pizzy. I know how you told us girls that you want to have control over the boys' exercise routines for the next few weeks, but I just wanted to see how they are.”

Pizzelle was currently on all four hooves and stretching down and forward, leaving herself in a rather evocative pose. Her wings were fully stretched, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t sexy.

“No problem, Sugar Belle.” Pizzelle slowly got up and fluffed out her wings. “I told you to stop calling me that, too.”

Sugar Belle ran a hoof through her magenta mane. “Oh really? Sorry, musta slipped my mind, hehe.”

Pizzelle sighed and looked towards my direction. She straightened up a bit, and nodded. “Darren, go ahead and take a seat. Stretch out your calves a bit; I noticed you rubbing them after you had finished.”

Damn, she was good. I had to admit they did feel a little tight right now. I did as she asked, grunting as I began working out the tightened coils in my legs.

Sugar Belle watched me with a bit of fascination. “Soooo… you’re Pizzelle’s boy, huh? Darren, right?”

“Mmhm,” I gave the unicorn a nod. “Darren Halverson; I believe Gabe is being taught by you, right?”

“Yep, he’s a real cutie.” She bounced in place a bit, then said. “I hear he’s got a marefriend. Is that true?”

“Yes, Sugar Belle, I told you that when I was first introduced to you, remember?”

Sugar Belle blinked and looked over my shoulder. “Gabe!” She trotted over to him and gave him a friendly nuzzle as he plopped down on the grass. He returned the gesture with a light scratch on the back. “I forgot about that, sorry. Her name was… Amber, right?”

“Yep. And before you ask, yes, I’m sure she’d love to meet you someday.”

She giggled, “I’m pretty forgetful, huh?”

Gabe just smiled as he switched began to stretch. “Only about minor things. Don’t worry.”

“See? Isn’t he a sweetie?” Sugar Belle asked, looking to me.

I gave a snort at that. “No comment.”

“He’s just jealous,” Gabe replied when the unicorn looked to him with confusion.

Eventually, Arnold, Alex, and Martin joined us in the stretching. Pizzelle and Sugar Belle both lead us throughout, and we only had to stop a few times so we could get an explanation on a few of the stretches that were admittedly more geared towards equines and given a human-friendly equivalent to work with. We then finished with a few sets of crunches and pushups before Pizzelle dismissed us, explaining that our respective teachers were waiting for us in the front lobby.

“Darren, hold up for a minute,” Pizzelle called to me as I got up. She collected her clipboard and gave her wings a final stretch. “You’ll be with me, today. You can shower up and meet me back out here by the pool.”

I grinned. “What, are we going to do some laps in the pool?”

She smirked. “Only if you take too long to get back out here. Go on, I’ll be waiting.”

I showered up inside the building's public bathrooms and changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt I had brought then made my way back out to be greeted by the sight of Pizzelle lounging on one of the large, wooden chairs by the poolside. She had her wings stretched and looked to be preening them. When she saw me, she sat up and and gave me one of her rare, genuinely friendly smiles.

“Okay, Darren, normally Silky would rather have me cover this topic with you after about a week or two into your training, but I’d rather get it started now, seeing as you have a marefriend and know a thing or two about navigating around ponies’ body.” She tapped a hoof on an open space of the chair, and I sat. It was a little odd to see the mare who had been on my ass an hour ago and pushing me to run harder now acting so… quiet and calm.

“I guess I should ask you first; is your marefriend a pegasi?”

“No, she’s actually a unicorn.”

“Mm,” she nodded. “No worries.” She adjusted her sitting position so she was side by side with me, a wing draped over my lap. “Darren, what do you know about preening?”

I blinked in surprise. I had a feeling this was going to be a topic on something rather intimate, given the fact that she was putting her wings in a vulnerable position before me. Preening, though…

“I know a little about it, though I’m not sure if preening for griffins and pegasi in Equestria is the same as preening for birds.”

She gave me an approving nod. “They’re fairly similar.” She stretched out her wing a bit and her feathers spread for me to see clearly. “Pegasi have a gland beneath the base of either wing that secretes an oil used for preening. It doesn’t have a real strong smell or taste to it, but some ponies prefer using healthcare products as a substitute for the oil.”

“Really? Do they work any better?”

She gave me a shrug. “Personally, I’m not too crazy about them, but they’re okay, I guess. I figure my body’s got the stuff for me to work with, free of charge. Why waste it?” She gave a slight nod to her shoulder and continued. “If… if you want to see the gland, it’s just beneath my wing. Just be gentle.”

Clearly this was a rather sensitive area for her. That and I’m sure there was implications of it being a rather personal matter. Preening was a social activity for many birds in the wild and in captivity, but could the same be said for pegasi or griffins?

“It’s probably good of you to get acquainted with pegasi wings now instead of later, if you ask me. They’re pretty strong, but we pegasi need to take special care of our wings, otherwise it can lead to lots of problems later on for us.”

I gently placed a hand on her wing, taking special care not to move anything too quickly. She didn’t flinch or move that much, but she watched my hand intently as I slowly lifted her wing that was draped over my lap.

“I always thought it was kind of cool how the feathers and fur of pegasi can blend so well together,” I commented aloud as I looked over the base of her wing.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just neat how there’s a sudden transition from fur to feathers. You don’t see anything quite like it on Earth. Feathers are found only on birds, and fur is nonexistent with avians. On the other hand, mammals have fur, but no feathers. The two features are sort of hard to have at the same time, given their structure and such. Yet, with you pegasi and griffins, the transition is flawless.”

It was true, too. I studied the feathers as they ran along her wings, noting idly that there was fur on the portion of her wing where the joints met with the shoulder. It was here where her feathers came to a stop and were replaced completely by pale, white fur. Honestly, if I weren’t studying her wings this closely, I probably wouldn’t be able to see where one ended and the other began.

“See them?” She asked me, referring no doubt to her preening gland.

I gently brushed away some fur and she let out a sudden gasp. I let go quickly and put my hands up. “Sorry!”

“No, no, it’s… it’s alright.” Pizzelle blushed a bit, but didn’t appear hurt. She chuckled a softly. “It’s just… I’m not used to having physical contact with someone there. I’ve been doing it myself for years.”

She gave me a nod, silently permitting me to resume. I lifted her wing once more, and after a moment, I spotted a small fleshy nub with a few feathers surrounding it. It actually was fairly similar to what an average gland on a bird would look like, except with the addition of fur.

“So, is preening a pretty solitary thing with pegasi?”

“Not necessarily. My mom and grandma would preen me all the time when I was a little filly, and I would sometimes help one of my pegasi fillyfriends in my school days with preening if they asked. It’s just a very personal activity.” I let the wing rest on my lap once more as she continued. “To be honest, I think it’s a fairly common way for a family to bond. Pegasi aren’t the only ones who can run lips over a wing to readjust a feather or break off the sheath of an encased feather.”

“Um…” I gave her a sheepish grin. “Are you asking me to run my lips over your wings, Pizzelle?”

She blinked, then gave me a smirk. “We’re not anywhere near ready for that kind of personal time, Darren. Nice try, though.” She straightened out her wing, and nodded to a saddle bag I hadn’t noticed until now. “Dig into the saddlebag and pull out the box of preening oil. You can’t miss it.”

I did as she asked, pulling out box that contained a decent-sized glass vial of Fair Weather Preening Oil. It was labeled ‘odorless’ and ‘tasteless’, for a ‘more natural experience’. I studied it a little longer, and noticed a few more descriptions. ‘Helps clean feathers and provides a cooling, relaxing sensation for your skin’. The box itself had a small folded paper in it with some advice on tips for massages, and ways to ‘spice up an evening’.

“It… it was the only one I could find at the convenience store,” Pizzelle explained after a drawn out moment of silence between the two of us.

I gave a nod, prying my eyes away from the paper just before the section labeled ‘Advice for Human Partners’. I figured she could help me with that instead. “So, what do you want me to do?”

“Are your hands clean?” She asked.

“Yep,” I replied, holding them up for her to study.

She gave them a cursory look and nodded. “Alright. The instructions say to just dab your fingers with the oil as needed. The stuff is slick enough that you won’t need too much to do this.”

“We’re going with the ‘artificial’ method, huh?” I asked with a grin.

“Hey,” she said, giving me a small smile. “Impress me enough next time we run P.T. drills and I’ll maybe let you go all-natural with me.” She brushed my nose with her wingtip and giggled when I fell back a little. “For now though, you’ll have to settle for manufactured oil.” She then added quietly. “It’ll still be nice for the two of us, though.”

I got to work without further prompting, holding up the vial of oil. I pulled off the cap and carefully dabbed the oil into the palm of my right hand. I then rubbed my fingers into my palm, and set down the vial.

“Okay…” Pizzelle flexed out her wing once more, and cleared her throat. “Just… run your fingers gently over my feathers. If you see any barbs that are separated on my feathers, just run a finger over them and they should lock together again. Try to adjust my feathers so they’re aligned the same way. Let me know if you have any questions about certain feathers if you're confused, okay?”

“Alright,” I replied, and slowly spread out the feathers at the tip of her wing. I gently ran my oiled fingers over the larger, primary feathers first. Sure enough, there was still a copious amount of oil left on my fingers after finishing up a portion of her wingtips. I continued downward, running barbs together and gently realigning any stray feathers. I quickly fell into a rhythm: dab, spread, adjust, spread, repeat.

“You’re pretty good at this,” Pizzelle said with a barely noticeable stutter. “Definitely better than what I had been expecting.”

I glanced up from my task and gave her a smile. While I was half-tempted to tease her, I decided not to push it. She still was my instructor and fitness trainer, and giving her a hard time for being a little flustered was hardly worth whatever she would mete out in return later. “Thanks. I noticed a few feather sheaths on your secondaries along the edge here… you want me to take care of those?”

“Yes, please,” she answered. “I’m surprised you noticed those so easily; I was about to say something about taking care of them.”

“My brother and I had a parrot growing up. He liked getting his feathers preened by my brother and I. You learn which feather sheaths are ready to be broken apart after several years of doing it.”

The feather sheaths that were ready to be broken off crumbled easily beneath my thumb and forefinger. The newly freed feathers were given similar treatment, my fingers gliding over the new barbs and weaving them together, though I made sure to be gentler with the newly grown feathers. The smaller, more numerous secondary feathers seemed to take to the oil a lot easier than her primaries did. When I asked about it, Pizzelle simply stated that feathers on pegasi are made to be resilient and moisture resistant, doubly so for primaries.

“Pegasi can move clouds and control the weather, after all. They need to be able to handle strong winds, heavy rain, and even blizzards.”

That made sense, I suppose.

By the time I had finished the wing and glanced up, the sun had moved to the middle of the sky. It probably had been over an hour since I had started, but I barely noticed.

“Ready for the other wing?” I asked her after returning my attention to her wings.

Pizzelle nodded, and adjusted herself so that her other wing was lying over my lap. I resumed my procedure, moving with a bit more ease than the previous wing.

“I’m no expert, Pizzelle, but your wings appear to be in great in shape.”

“Hey, they’re my livelihood outside of Gentlemen for Mares. I gotta keep them in good shape.”

“True, true.” I agreed. “So, you train new Wonderbolt cadets, right?”

She let out a hum. “It’s one of the things I do at the academy.”

“How is it?”

She was quiet for a moment. When I turned to look down at her, she was staring up at a stray cloud that was lazily gliding across the sky. “I enjoy it, really, I do. Sometimes, though, I wish I could do more of the touring and shows that Spitfire, Soarin’, Fleetfoot, and Rainbow Dash, and the others get to do.”

The hint of melancholy in her tone was hard to miss. “Yeah? I saw a show of theirs about six months ago when they were on tour. It was pretty cool. I don’t know most of their names, though.”

Pizzelle chuckled. “We’ll hammer those facts into your brain, don’t worry. Just remember that Spitfire is the captain, and Rainbow Dash is the poster filly for us right now.”

Okay, definitely a hint of bitterness in that last part. “Sounds like there’s some bad blood between you two.”

She looked to me, only to sigh and shake her head. “No, no… not really. I didn't mean to sound like that. I’d say it’s more like a bit of one-sided jealousy. Actually, I don’t think she even knows who I am, now that I think about it. Spitfire was in charge of her initial training, not me.”

“What’s there to be jealous of?”

“Rainbow Dash is the epitome of what a young Wonderbolt wants to be. She’s got a lot going for her: she’s fast enough to break the sound barrier, she’s confident, she’s athletic, and she’s a fast learner. She’s more than earned the spot she has among the Wonderbolts, and I am happy for her.”

“What, and you’re none of those things?” I asked with some disbelief. I hadn’t seen much of Pizzelle’s flying abilities, sure, but I found it hard to believe she was unfit to be a Wonderbolt.

“Not like her, no. I mean, I’m fit, I know my stunts and I know what I’m capable of… but it takes time for me to get speedier stunts down. I’m not the fastest flier, either. I’m more about endurance and grace. It’s something that the Wonderbolts have sort of put off to the side for the past decade. Their shows are mostly about speed and synchronized flight stunts. Crowds eat that stuff up, and it’s what most of the recruits joining the academy are concerned with. Few care about solo performances or skydancing.”

“Skydancing?” I repeated.

Pizzelle sighed, “Some call it that, at least I do. Skydancing is more focused on grace, finesse, balance, and the ability to fly without using as much speed.”

“Sounds like ballet, almost. It must take a lot of strength, huh?”

“It does,” Pizzelle answered. “Especially in duet performances. There are times when you need to keep both yourself and another pony floating with your wings alone, all while lifting them up above you with your forelegs. It can take months for a pair to get a performance down.”

And they do all this while in the air? Yeesh, that’s more than a little scary. “I can imagine accidents aren’t all that pleasant, huh?”

Pizzelle barked out a laugh. “No, no they aren’t. We try to keep a large cloud hanging below us to serve as a safety net during performances, but I’ve still gotten a sprain and fracture on occasion.”

“Nothing too serious, I hope.”

“Nah,” Pizzelle waved a hoof at that. “I’m pretty sturdy for a pegasus. My mother’s side of the family has a long line of earth pony heritage, from what I understand. Must run deeper in my blood than most pegasi. That and magic helps with recovery from injuries.”

“I can imagine,” I said with a smirk. “Sometimes I wish humans could use magic like you ponies.”

“You do have magic, though, don’t you?”

I arched an eyebrow at Pizzelle’s question. “Uh… this is the first I’m hearing about it if we do.”

Pizzelle frowned as she turned to face me fully. “Well, yeah, what about all your technology? I mean, you can grow crops how you want to without any earth ponies, you’ve had those machines go into space and send back pictures of different planets, you can communicate with each other instantly from distances that would take weeks to travel across by wing and hoof…”

“Well, that’s not magic. That’s just…” I waved a hand as I thought of how to best define it, coming up with only one word. “It’s just technology. Genetics to modify plants, using physics to launch a space probe and keep it running with solar power or what have you, and different wave frequencies and electronics to keep in touch…” I shrugged.

“Sounds like magic to me,” Pizzelle said as she glanced down at her feathers. “Speaking of magic, I’d say you did a nice job on my feathers.” She lifted her other wing and studied it with an appraising eye. “Almost too good…” She narrowed her eyes, then looked to me. “You sure your marefriend isn't actually a pegasus and you forgot to mention that when we first met?”

“Nope, it’s the truth. I just got lucky with this first preening session, I guess.” I cleared my throat. “It was… actually kind of nice. Really relaxing.”

“Mm.” She nodded as she got down from the chair and stretched slowly. She groaned and a few joints popped as she rolled her shoulders and hips. “Ugh, that’s better. Now then, how about we get some lunch? Silky wanted me to get you used to conversation and such while on a date. Lunch sounds like a good enough opportunity for a little practice.”

“Just as long as I’m not going to be forced to eat hay, I’m all for it.”

“You’ve been a part of the Wonderbolts for that long, huh? Wow, no small wonder you look so fit.”

Pizzelle and I had chosen to dine at a small eatery that overlooked the other side of the river. It was one of the growing number of establishments that had a menu—albeit, still vegetarian in selection—with dishes humans were more familiar with. I had settled for a pita pocket with chickpeas and mixed greens with a small dish of yogurt on the side while Pizzelle was going to town on a large salad bowl with a side of fruit.

She arched an eyebrow while dabbing her lips with a napkin.

“I… that was a compliment, I promise.”

She let her lips settle into an amused grin, and laughed quietly. “I know, Darren. It’s just… I wasn’t expecting a compliment on my figure.”

“Just saying what I see, that’s all.”

She let out a quiet snort of contentment and returned to her food.

“So, you got a few older brothers?” I asked.

“Just two, no younger siblings,” she answered after finishing another bite of her meal. “My younger-older brother works in Cloudsdale as a technician in the weather factory, and my oldest brother is a claims analyst for an insurance company based in Manehatten.”

“Yet the little sister is a member of an elite flying team,” I remarked with a grin.

“My dad was so giddy when he found out I was accepted into the Wonderbolts,” she said with a fond smile. “He held a party so big, you’d think I got my cutie mark all over again. My mom had to stop him from inviting the entire neighborhood when he started printing out invitations.”

“Manila told me your parents are in the Royal Guard and police force.”

“Well, my dad was close to retirement when I was born, but I remember seeing him in his full armor a few times when I was little. My oldest brother’s mom—she’s a member of the cooking staff at the castle—was actually the one who I spent most of my youth with.” Pizzelle’s smile faltered a bit. “It’s not like my own mother avoided me, but… she worked a third shift job as an officer, so I only really got to see her on her days off or whenever she got home early and I was getting up for school.”

I nodded in understanding. “My own father worked a lot when I was little, and was usually out of state. Until my older brother was able to look after me, we spent most of our time living with one of my uncles.”

“What about your mother?”

I pursed my lips. “Long story.”

She nodded and didn’t press further. “Anyway, my mom... I mean, my brother’s mom, she would sometimes take me to the castle when my dad and brothers weren’t able to look after me. She let me cook and bake things whenever the kitchen wasn’t busy. I actually got my cutie mark while she was teaching me how to make cookies for Princess Celestia's midday tea.”

“That explains your pretty unique name, heh,” I said with a grin.

“Yeah, my mom was so happy when she got home from work, she asked for the next two days off and threw a huge party for me.” Her expression became somewhat wistful. “I kind of miss being a filly sometimes, you know?”

“I only wish I could be younger sometimes. Less headaches and bills.” I took a sip of my iced tea, then added, “Though, if that were the case, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now, and I’d rather be spending time with you then doing algebra homework or practicing football after school right now.”

“Mm, same here. You’re alright, Darren. I mean, you’ve got a ways to go before I’d consider you a strong candidate for being a full-fledged Gentleman, but that will come with time.” She fluttered her wings a little, and added. “You’ve shown me you’ve got an interest, so I’m invested now.”

I stared at her wings for a moment, admiring how the early afternoon sun gave them a brilliant sheen. I noticed more than a few mares and stallions passing by give her wings a moment’s glance before continuing on with whatever they were doing.

Say what you will, but I was more than a little proud of my handiwork. Those wings looked pristine.

I smirked, and decided to have a little fun with her. “Hmmm, what exactly am I interested in, though?”

Pizzelle’s own smile was priceless as she folded her wings back and adjusted a few stray locks of hair covering her face. “I have a few ideas.” She stretched her neck out a little as she took a bite of her salad and chewed with purposeful delicateness. She swallowed and dabbed her napkin over her lips again, then added in a smoky voice. “For example, I know you have an interest in me. You hide it well, but I could see it, even yesterday.” She leaned forward and deliberately wrapped her tongue around the straw in her glass of tea before slowly sucking on it, maintaining eye contact the whole while.

Damn, she’s good.

I laughed as she gave me a wink. “Okay, you win, you win.”

She pulled away from her drink, flashing me a smug look. “You think that’s good, you should see Ribbon when she’s at her worst. Give her a half hour and she could probably convince most strangers she sees on the streets to hop into bed with her.”

“A good speaker makes for a good politician. No surprise there's so many stories about scandalous affairs with politicians all the time.” I said in agreement. “Should I be worried?”

Pizzelle just chuckled.

“Is that a yes? No?”

“Let’s go with a maybe. If you must know, Ambrosia will likely be the mare to break you in. It’s too bad you’ve already been with a mare, though; she was hoping to be our Gentleman’s first-time experience with a mare,” She added after a moment of thought. “Not that you have anything to apologize for; it’s nice that you have a marefriend.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t found anyone yourself.”

Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as she sighed. “Y-yeah… I… can be a bit intimidating.”

“You’ve warmed up to me pretty quick, I think,” I noted with a smile.

“Yes, but I think that’s in part due to you and I being partners here. I trust Silky’s judgment, and she has an eye for picking good males out of the crowd. So, I suppose I’ve been a little more lenient with you just out of principle.”

That explains why she hasn’t been so gruff with me, I guess. “Well, thanks, then. I’ll do what I can to not destroy your expectations in me and your faith in Silky’s judgment.”

“Oh, make no mistake, Darren, I’m still going to break you apart and mold you into something even better. I just think there’s a lot of you that’s worth keeping whole, too.” She licked her lips at that last part.

“Hm.” I took another drink of my tea and gave her a challenging grin. “You sure I’ll be the one that breaks? I like to think my marefriend would attest to me having some skill already.”

Pizzelle’s laugh was loud and full of amusement. After a minute, she settled down and shook her head. “Silky was right. Taking this job was definitely a good choice.” She sighed, “I’m going to have fun with you, Darren. It’s going to be tough for you, but I promise you’re going to love it as well.”

After we finished our meals, I pulled out my wallet, only to have her raise a hoof and shake her head. “I can pay for this.”

I frowned, and paused for a moment. This could be a test…

“Nah, I got this.”

She let out a hum. “You know, in Equestrian society, it’s usually proper for the mare to offer to pay first. Paying together is a pretty common thing nowadays, though, too.”

“Pizzelle…I don’t mind.”

Her ears flopped a bit as she studied me, then gave me an approving nod. “Alright, but only because this isn’t an official ‘training’ date for you. Most of those will probably be covered by the company itself, since we’re ‘on the clock’ while dating.”

“Well, when I start actual work, doesn’t that mean I, in a sense, will be paying anyway?”

“Yes, but the mare pays for the meal on a first date most of the time. This wasn’t really any official lesson for you; just a chance to break the ice between just the two of us.”

“Good thing I’m not a stallion then, huh?”

Pizzelle shrugged, but that challenging glint in her eyes was still present. “We’ll see.”

As we made our way down the road back to the headquarters building, she asked me. “So… your marefriend doesn’t have any problems with you working here, huh?”

“Yep. She’s actually been giving me a few tips, but her experience in actually teaching this stuff is not as extensive as yours, I guess. She still thinks what I’m doing is nice, though. You know, helping give company to mares and that kind of stuff.”

“It’s nice that she supports you. We’ve… had Gentlemen in the past who’ve been in relationships that ended because of work. Although, in most cases the relationship wasn’t that great to begin with. Usually just lots of sex and not much else.” She gave me a smile. “I’m happy to hear she’s at least finding ways to be involved in teaching you.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty awesome…” I paused for a moment, then added. “She’s not you, though.”

“Hm? What was that?” Pizzelle asked, her ears perking up.

“She’s not you. I really am glad I have you as an instructor, Pizzelle. You’re pretty laid back when you’re not running me through the gauntlet in physical training. I… it’s nice. I can tell you’re going to put me through hell before we’re done, but in a weird way, I’m looking forward to it, just because you’ll be the one training me.”

Pizzelle’s eyes widened a fraction, and she quickly looked to the ground. Her cheeks became flush with pink, and I couldn’t help myself. I kneeled down and gently took her hoof in a hand. Her gaze locked onto my hand, and she began. “W-what…?”

“Luckette mentioned this briefly today when Arnold walked in. He actually did this in the classroom, but it was only me and Alex in there besides them, so there wasn’t much of a crowd.” I slowly pressed my lips to her hoof. “Sorry I forgot to do this earlier. It… just came back to me…”

Pizzelle remained speechless as I slowly pulled my lips away from her hoof. When the silence continued to drag on, I let out a forced laugh. “I wasn’t supposed to do that, was I?”

“H-huh? Oh!” She shook her head and smiled. “No, no, it’s fine, really, it’s just…” She gently took her hoof back and cleared her throat. “Wow. You’re… you’re catching on a lot quicker than I thought to the little things.”

I waggled my eyebrows a bit.

She surprised me in turn by leaning forward and planting a chaste kiss on my cheek. “Keep it up and Ambrosia might find someone jockeying for her spot as first one to test you out when that time comes.”

Later that night, Full Bloom had stopped by and said Mel had invited us to join her for a get together at Flanky’s. Apparently, now that Alex was dating Sugar Sweet, the place was to be made into a hangout of ours.

Not the worst choice of places to meet everyone, I suppose.

“So, have you told any of the boys about us being together?” Full Bloom asked as we made our way down the darkening streets of Hoofington. The street lamps were starting to come on and shops were closing their doors for the evening while other establishments began to open theirs.

“Nope, I was going to tell them tonight, actually.” I gave her a sideways glance. “If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Oh, I want to let them know, too. I was just thinking we could shock them a bit. I asked Mel to keep it a secret. I still owe Gabe for tricking me into thinking that horse milk was a common staple for his culture for two weeks…” Her expression grew devious as she continued. “Feel like helping me get revenge?”

“So as long as it doesn’t end with us having a body to hide or ill-gotten funds, sure,” I said with a grin.

“Good,” she looked ahead, and there was our destination. “Just act natural, and don’t do anything to indicate we’re seeing each other until I say so. I’ll give you a nudge or wink… or something.”

Full Bloom’s playful side continued to surprise me, but I welcomed it. “As you wish, milady.”

We walked into the bar after a quick show of our IDs, and made our way to a corner where our group of friends were waiting. A smoky beat filled the air as a pegasus mare danced around a pole, shaking her hips while the waiting staff flirted with patrons as they took drink orders.

“And there’s the last of our intrepid party!” shouted Gabe as he raised a glass in our direction. Sitting beside him were Amber, Mel, Alex, and Sugar Sweet, the last of the group wearing a cute short skirt and form-fitting shirt that looked similar to the ones worn by the waiting staff.

“Evening, Gabe, I hope you’re not too deep in your cup already,” I greeted, taking a seat at the round table across from him. Full Bloom sidled up into the chair next to me. “Okay, Amber, Sugar Sweet, this is Full Bloom. Mel or Alex hopefully told you a little about her.”

Sugar Sweet gave Full Bloom a friendly wave. “Nice to meet you, Full Bloom! Alex has told me about you before.”

“Same here. I’m glad Alex finally found a nice girl to look after him.” Full Bloom cast a look Alex’s way. “Does this mean you’re finally going to shave the goatee?”

The unamused expression Alex shot at her forced me to choke down a laugh. “What.”

Sugar Sweet just rolled her eyes and gave Alex a playful nudge. “I like it, Alex. It makes you look even more like the big ol’ teddy bear that you are.”

Full Bloom snickered, but said nothing further. Looks like she was going to spare Alex any further torment, at least for now.

Amber raised an eyebrow. “Full Bloom…” She turned to Gabe, narrowing her eyes a little. “Is she the poor mare you’ve told me about before?”

Gabe paused for a moment. A smile slowly formed on his face. “Heh, yeah.”

Amber sighed, though she was clearly fighting down a grin. “I’m sorry for any wrongdoings done to you by this goofball. Please forgive him; he knows not what he does.”

Full Bloom’s giggled. “It’s alright, I’ve come to that conclusion after they started working with me.” She waved a hoof dismissively. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you girls.”

“Hm,” Gabe began, looking between Mel, Full Bloom, and I. “You know, Darren, I think one of the mares working at the bar was asking if I had a single friend that I could introduce her to. If you’re at all interested, I could hook you up with her later tonight.”

I shook my head. “Thanks, but no thanks, Gabe.” I felt Full Bloom’s leg slowly rub against mine. When I looked to her, she just gave me a small, knowing smile.

Gabe shrugged, “Suit yourself, though you have nothing to lose, really.”

“So, Riley’s going to be coming to town sometime later this week.”

Alex, Gabe, and Mel all smiled upon hearing this.

“Really?” Mel replied. “That’s great! How’s he doing?”

“From what I can tell, he seems to be doing okay. He’s going to crash at my place for the time being with a griffin he served with during the war. She’s a mage, I guess.”

“A Magus Knight? Wow… you know, I hear they use staves to channel their magic. Kind of like… that Gandalf person that was in that story that one showmare talked about… The Hobbit, right?” Full Bloom asked, having tuned into the conversation.

I chuckled. “Yes, and I guess she wants to see the movies that are based off of that book series.”

“They’ve made movies about The Hobbit?” Full Bloom’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Yep, as well as movies for the stories that took place after it.”

Amber frowned. “Are you guys talking about those human movies that everyone’s going crazy over in the big theaters across the country right now? The one with that wizard and that evil necklace or whatever?”

“It’s a ring, Amber,” Gabe corrected. “It’s called Lord of the Rings for a reason.”

She rolled her eyes while smiling. “Forgive me for not being up to date on human pop culture. I’ve spent too many years as a pony, I guess.”

“We’ll correct that in time. Darren here happens to be a huge nerd, and has all the movies.”

“So does Alex, and Riley has his collection back on Earth with our Uncle Lenny,” I replied. “Besides, I’m not the one that has a statue of Alduin that he just had to bring with him through the portal sitting on his nightstand by his bed.”

“Is that what you call that dragon?” Amber piped in again, looking at Gabe with an amused grin on her face.

Gabe just chuckled. “Hey, that thing is a wonderful conversation starter, Amber.”

“That’s because it creeped me out,” Amber retorted. “I’m sure Darren here doesn’t have any scary looking dragons sitting next to his bed while he sleeps at night.”

“No, he has something a little nicer than a statue to keep him company at night,” replied Full Bloom.

Next thing I knew, I felt a tug on my collar as Full Bloom pulled me in with her magic and locked lips with me.

Okay, this is one way to deliver the message.

When we pulled away, Full Bloom was giving Gabe a self-satisfied grin that could put even the most smug expression of his to shame.

“Huh,” Alex remarked after a moment silence. “You know, I’m not even that surprised. Way to go, Darren.”

Gabe continued to blink slowly, looking between Full Bloom and I. “So… wait…you two…?”

“Yep,” I replied.

“For how long…?”

“About a week,” Full Bloom answered.

“Oh, well—wait, a week?” Gabe frowned. “You never told me this!”

“Darren and Full Bloom are grown-ups, Gabe. They can make their own decisions,” Amber said, patting Gabe on the hand gently.

“So, does that give me bragging rights for knowing before you two?” Mel piped in, turning to Alex and Gabe.

“You told Mel before you told me?” Gabe asked, clearly laying on the theatrics now. “I am hurt, Darren. Devastated, even!”

“For what it’s worth, I was going to tell you tonight,” I defended.

Gabe gave a grunt of understanding, and raised a glass. “Cheers to you, bud.” He nodded, then took a pull from his glass. “Full Bloom, don’t play too rough with our Darren. He’s a real delicate flower that needs to be nurtured and loved before you get to the fun stuff with—”

“No need to worry, Gabe. Darren and I have already gotten past that point.”

Gabe blinked dubiously, then shook his head and shot me a pointed look. While pointing an accusing finger and shaking it, he said, “She’s bewitched you, Darren.”

“Eh, I like to think it was her natural charm that caught my attention,” I countered. “She is a unicorn, though, so she might have used a spell on me—”

Full Bloom cut me off with a light jab to the side, earning a laugh from me and the rest of the group.

“So, Full Bloom, you want to go with the girls and I and get some drinks over at the bar? I can tell you about the specials if you want. They have a strawberry daiquiri that’s to die for!” Sugar Sweet suggested.

Full Bloom looked at me. “Want anything while I’m up there?”

“Just a whiskey and cola if they have it. Otherwise, a cider will be fine.”

With that, the four girls headed to bar, leaving the three of us to ourselves.

“So, Full Bloom, huh?” Gabe asked, his playful grin replaced with a genuine one. “You know how to pick them, Darren.”

“To be honest, she asked me out first.”

“You know, Sugar actually did the same with me, now that I think about it,” Alex commented. “What about you, Gabe?”

“Hm? Yeah, heh, Amber used to see me all the time at that one café I always stopped at during lunch when you guys were out in the field for work. One day she just asked if there was anyone I was seeing, and then she invited me to join her for dinner that weekend.” He swirled the drink in his glass a bit before taking another sip. “I never thought I’d go as far as meeting her parents. I thought she was just looking for some human to try out for kicks.”

“Oh yeah, how was meeting her folks?” I asked. “You never told us about that.”

“Surprisingly nice, actually. She has two… hm, would you call them herd-mothers? Well, either way, she comes from a herd of four, one stallion and two mares, and her mother. She’s got a younger brother and sister.” He laughed. “Her mom and dad didn’t take in any other herd mates until Sugar was about ten years old, so there’s a bit of an age gap between her and her siblings. I think her brother is only eight right now, and her sister is five.”

“Did they get to meet you, too?”

Gabe chuckled. “Her sister’s a unicorn. She kept asking me if I knew any magic spells and where my cutie mark was. Her brother wanted to show me his buckball card collection the whole time.”

“Is he a Cloudsdale fan?” Alex asked.

“Sorry, Alex. Starbolt is a Comets fan.”

“Of course he is. Everyone is a fan of the Baltimare Comets. They win three championships in a row and everypony says they’re a dynasty. You know, if I ever figure out which human introduced the term ‘dynasty’ to Equestrian sports, I’m going to find them and coldcock them right in the back of the head…”

“You’re still upset over the Comets beating the Twisters in the championships last year, aren’t you?” I asked.

Alex frowned. “Cloudsdale was ahead by forty-two points, then all of the sudden the referees start making some crappy calls and the Comets won in the last period. You know that game was rigged.”

“The only reason you’re a Cloudsdale fan is because their team captain has a nice ass,” Gabe said between sips.

“It’s a good enough reason as any, but that’s not entirely why I like them. Aura Chaser is one of the best captains in the Equestrian league.” Alex pointed at Gabe and waved his finger a few times. “She’s due for a trophy, damn it.”

“I don’t know, Brigidette Ivoryclaw is still in the top five for best captains of the year, and she’s been playing longer than Aura…”

Alex gave me a deadpan look. “Darren, the Manehatten Archers haven’t won a championship in over twenty years.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, but I give them credit for being one of the first teams to have griffin players. Brigidette’s a damn good athlete, too. Give them another season or two and they’re going to have a real strong team. They’ve been making it to the final four brackets for the past fifteen years, but they always lose to Baltimare or Fillydelphia.”

“Oh no,” interrupted the voice of Mel, “Who started talking about buckball?”

“Mel,” Gabe began, whirling around on his stool to face her. “Tell me, are the Manehatten Archers likely to win a championship in the next season or two like Darren claims?”

“You’re asking me?” Mel chuckled. “Hell if I know.”

“Bah, you’re no fun.” Gabe waved a hand at her. “Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, her siblings are all sorts of adorable. It did get a bit awkward when they asked Amber if she was going to start a herd, though.”

“Oh man,” I said, cringing a bit. “Did her parents’ hear that?”

“Yes, and they were really cool about the whole thing. They told little Merry Bell, that’s Amber’s sister, not to worry about that sort of stuff…” Gabe went quiet, his smile softening. “It was nice, actually. I didn’t feel any huge pressure to act like someone else around them. They liked me just the way I was, or at least pretended to.”

“Gabe,” called the voice of Amber, who made her way to the table. “Sugar and Full Bloom won’t believe me when I told them you slapped a minotaur once when we were in Fillydelphia.”

I looked from Gabe, to Amber, and then to Full Bloom and Sugar Sweet, who were arriving back to our table with drinks in their magic. Full Bloom simply shrugged while Amber gave me an embarrassed smile. I leaned closer to Gabe and asked just loud enough for him to hear. “So… how did Amber fall for you, again?”

He just smirked and gave me a friendly pat on the back. “I make her laugh, Darren. That and she’s told me time and time before that I’m skilled when it comes to the art of rutting.”

I snorted in laughter. I should have expected such an answer. “Right, of course.”

“Oh, don’t listen to him, Darren. He’s just a real sweetie once you get past those layers of snark and sauntering.”

Gabe shot Amber a look of mock pain. “Amber, c’mon, you’re supposed to make me look good!”

“I’d say the fact you’ve managed not to drive away a young mare like Amber here is an accomplishment in of itself,” Full Bloom commented with a smirk. She turned towards Amber and said. “Seriously, you must have the patience of a princess to have stuck with him for this long.”

Amber just smiled happily. “You get used to him… oh, Gabe, don’t start pouting, sweetie. You know I only tease because I care.”

Sure enough, Gabe was staring into his drink, though knowing him, he was likely just yearning for Amber’s attention.

“What about you, Full Bloom?” Alex asked, thumbing towards me. “How’d you end up with this guy? I never took you as one to go for the nerdy types.”

Full Bloom giggled. “Darren’s got a charm to him that I don’t think either you or Gabe could ever have. No offense…”

“Eh,” Alex waved her off. “None taken. I’m just surprised, I guess. I didn’t take you for a mare with an eye for humans.”

By now Full Bloom had taken her seat beside me, scooting a little closer to rest a hoof on my leg while leaning on me a bit, allowing me to wrap an arm around her side. “Love is rarely that simple to figure out, Alex. I never pegged you as someone who’d get together with a mare as peppy and cheerful as Sugar Sweet, yet here you are, surprising me.”

Alex arched an eyebrow ever so slightly, only to nod in approval and smile. “Touché, Full Bloom.”

Full Bloom slid a drink in front of me that I hadn’t noticed before. She gave me a soft smile as she lifted a bottle of cider to her lips with her own magic. “You’ll be happy to know that the human bartender working tonight made sure to keep plenty of whiskey and cola available for human patrons like yourself.”

I gave Full Bloom’s foreleg that rested on my leg a gentle squeeze. “Thanks.” I held the glass before her and smiled. “Want to try a bit?”

She studied the fizzy mixed drink, her ears twitching a bit as she took a tentative sniff. “Is it any good?”

“I like it, but that’s just me.” I took a sip, and nodded in approval before setting the glass in front of her. “Try a little bit. Maybe you’ll like it, too.”

She gave me a wary look before taking the thin straw floating in the drink between her lips. She took a sip, only for her eyes to scrunch up and her lips to pucker. “Bwah!” She let her tongue hang out of her mouth for several seconds before taking a sip of her cider. “Blech, I’m still not a fan of whiskey. Ugh, and the cider’s only making the taste worse!” She shook her head a bit and smacked her lips. “You have a weird taste in drinks.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Says the mare who’s dating me.”

“I said you’ve got weird tastes; I never said that’s a bad thing,” she replied with a wink. “You’d be boring if you liked everything I did without complaint.”

“You think that’s bad, you should see Mel when she’s given a bottle of peppermint schnapps. She can put that stuff away like water and feel fine,” I remarked, giving Mel a playful grin as she arched an eyebrow at me.

“You really want to go there, Brandy Boy?” Mel asked with a laugh.

Gabe began coughing as he choked out a laugh. “Oh god. Brandy Boy…” He looked at Mel as he caught his breath. “You think they ever figured out who left that note on Rachel’s front porch?”

I sighed, placing my face in my hands.

Full Bloom looked between the three of us, then asked, “Okay, what’s the story behind this?”

“It was Darren’s twenty-first birthday, and he overestimated his tolerance and drank a sizeable portion of a bottle of brandy we bought him,” Alex answered. “At some point he was running through the neighborhood near our campus, and eventually passed out on the front porch of the house one of our college friends was living in at the time. We found him there the next morning, sick as a dog.”

“I emptied out my stomach on the porch the night before, and must have written a note on some scrap paper I found in Rachel’s recycling bin.” I waved a hand. “I could barely read what I wrote, but I think it said, ‘Sorry, I was drunk’.”

Full Bloom snickered a bit. “I can’t say I ever got to that point.”

Sugar Sweet laughed as she stirred her own drink, which had pieces of fruit floating in it. “Same here. You humans have some strong alcoholic drinks, though.”

“Fifteen bits says Princess Celestia has an expensive bottle of whiskey in a drawer that she keeps for when she’s had a rough day in court.”

Amber gasped and gave Gabe a light slap on the arm as she began to giggle. “Gabe, don’t talk about Princess Celestia like that.” She continued to laugh, despite trying to reprimand him.

“What? Celestia seems like a classy gal. I bet she enjoys a good, aged whiskey now and then,” Gabe continued. “I can’t see her drinking wine, though. That seems more like Princess Luna’s thing from what little I’ve seen of her in the news and such. She’s got that wine connoisseur air about her.”

The time passed in the comfortable company of our friends. A few drinks had been consumed between the lot of us by the time we noticed it was going onto nine in the evening.

“So, Darren, Alex,” Amber said, stirring her drink with a straw as she leaned against Gabe a little. “Any fun stories to tell about work yet?”

Alex, who was now a little flushed in the cheeks, let out a grunt as he nodded. “One of my instructors wants to take me to Cloudsdale this next weekend so I can see what it’s like to walk on clouds and see the sights. Cultural education, she calls it.”

“Wait, seriously?” I asked.

“Yep.”

I shuddered. “Have fun with that.”

“What?” Full Bloom asked, noticing my discomfort.

“I don’t know, I just don’t like the idea of having a layer of condensed water vapor being the only thing holding me several thousand feet in the air. Even if there are potions to allow ponies and humans to walk on clouds… it’d still bother me.”

“You get used to it,” Sugar commented with a wave of her hoof. “I have an aunt who lives in Cloudsdale. I visit her at least twice a year. The first few times I stepped onto the clouds was weird, but after a while you just get used to the feeling. It’s like walking on a mattress pad, but… wetter.”

“You know, I’ve always wondered," Gabe began, "how does Cloudsdale deal with its sewage with it being so high up in—”

“Alex?”

Our conversation was cut off as a mare’s voice called out Alex’s name. Everyone looked up to see a unicorn approaching us.

“Spanner?”

Sure enough, as she stepped into the light near our table, my eyes recognized the mare to be none other than Alex’s unicorn instructor, Silver Spanner.

Alex stood up and walked towards the mare. “Spanner, what’s up?”

Spanner looked awful, to say the least. Her mane was in a disheveled state, and she looked like she had been crying, judging from the streaks of tears staining her fur as well as the puffiness of her eyes.

She hiccuped a bit before speaking. “C-can I… c-can I talk to you for a moment?” She looked at Sugar Sweet, who had approached the two. “Um… if that’s not a problem? P-please?”

“Uh, yeah,” Alex looked to Sugar Sweet, who simply nodded in understanding. “Is everything okay?”

Silver shook her head. “No… well… I guess, but… not really, no, things could be better.”

Alex frowned, worry creeping into his expression. “Let’s go sit down over there, you can tell me what the problem is. Sugar, you don’t…?”

Sugar just patted him with a hoof. “It’s fine. I’ll be over here if you need me.”

As Alex and Spanner sat down at a nearby table that a little ways from us, Sugar frowned. “She smells like a hospital.”

That caused the lot of us to perk up. “A hospital?” I repeated. That could mean a variety of things, and my mind was already drawing up possible conclusions. Did a loved one of hers pass away? Some kind of illness? “What, like disinfectants and such?”

Sugar simply nodded.

“Who’s that mare?” Mel asked us.

“Silver Spanner,” I replied. “I met her briefly at orientation for our job. She’s Alex’s unicorn instructor. She seemed pretty nice when I first saw her.”

At that point, the faint sound of crying was heard from Alex’s table. Spanner was being held by Alex, who was gently rubbing her back as she sobbed into his shirt. A few minutes of awkward silence passed over our table before Alex returned with Spanner at his side. She was still sniffling, but looked like she had at least calmed down a bit.

“Silver, you don’t have to do this if you’re uncomfortable…” Alex said quietly to the mare.

“No, no… I don’t think I want to be left alone tonight.” Spanner sighed deeply.

“That’s fine,” Alex said with a gentle sigh. “Um, everyone, this is Silver Spanner. She’s my unicorn teacher and also a supervisor at Perfect Precision Hardware.”

The mare gave us an unsteady smile. “Um, h-hi, everyone. Sorry, I just… I came back from a physical with my doctor a few hours ago; it’s a mandatory part of my job.” She chuckled a little at that, then slumped a bit. “Sorry for bothering all of you…”

At this point, Alex leaned down and whispered something to Sugar Sweet. Her own eyes widened, a myriad of emotions crossing her features before she settled into a look of sympathy. She walked up to Spanner and pulled the mare into a hug.

Spanner let out a few choked sobs as Sugar gently hushed her while continuing to hold her. “It’s okay… oh, sweetie, you have no reason to apologize.” Sugar looked around at Mel, Amber, and Full Bloom. A silent conversation passed over the four girls before they got up as one and headed to the bathroom.

“We’ll be back, Alex. Thanks for telling me,” Sugar said before continuing onward with Spanner.

As Alex sat down, Gabe and I watched him, expectant looks on our faces.

“Well…?” I eventually asked.

Alex shook his head. “I… I’m not sure it’s my place to tell you guys.”

“Well, clearly she didn’t have a problem with the girls knowing,” Gabe said. His expression grew worried. “Is… it’s not cancer or something, is it?”

“No, no, nothing that bad, thankfully…” Alex waved a hand at the suggestion. After another moment passed, he sighed. “What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave our group of friends, got it?” We nodded. “Good. Okay, so… Spanner just found out at her physical that she’s going through the pony equivalent of menopause, and she’s still pretty young.”

A moment passed between the three of us.

“So… she’ll never be able to have foals of her own, in other words?”

“That’s… more or less what she told me,” Alex replied with a shrug. He took a long, hard swig of his drink, emptying it. “She was… in a relationship with a mare and stallion, I guess. Sounds like they were planning to start a herd together in the future after they had a few things squared away. They were open to her working at Gentlemen for Mares, but when she told them about the news… I guess they sort of took it badly.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“They said in a roundabout way that perhaps they should ‘see other ponies’.”

Gabe frowned. “What, just because she’s unable to have foals they decided to end things with her?”

Alex nodded. “Yep, sounds that way.”

Gabe snorted in disgust. “This country is so hypocritical sometimes. Peace, love, and harmony, my ass.”

“Easy, Gabe.” I said, though I couldn’t really fault him for being upset.

We had all seen Spanner a few times in passing over the few days since we had started working as Gentlemen. She always had a smile to offer and upbeat attitude, and from what Alex had shared with us, she had a love for raunchy humor and action movies. The idea of someone wanting to break off a relationship with a pony like her, based solely on her inability to become pregnant was…outrageous. At least to me it seemed that way.

Then again, Equestria isn’t the United States, let alone the planet Earth. Even if Equestrians were taking well to us humans, such beliefs don’t just fade away overnight. If I were to be honest with myself, I couldn’t say that humanity as a whole didn’t have similar problems as well, both in its past and even today. Heck, any number of stories in the past about human royalty and the need for bringing proper heirs into the world could be seen in a similar light to this.

“Is she going to be okay?” I asked. “I mean… bad news and the crap she’s dealing withstanding.”

“Yeah. I guess she wanted to find some place to drink herself into oblivion. Apparently, Flankey’s stood out to her…” Alex ran a hand through his hair. “Good thing she saw me. I…” He rubbed his eyes with a finger and thumb. “Things may have gotten a lot worse for her if she didn’t have someone to talk to, I think.”

He didn’t need to elaborate on what ‘worse’ meant.

“Does she have a place to stay?” Gabe asked, picking out an ice cube from his glass and crunching it with his teeth.

“Mmhm. I offered up my place, but I think it’d be better if she was with Sugar Sweet for the night. She… she needs someone that can relate to her problem, at least a little bit.” He shook his head helplessly. “I mean, I’ll be there for her, but… I’m a guy. There’s only so many ways I can relate to this while having no clue what it’s really like.”

The jovial mood had long since gone sour for us, but none of us seemed to be angry about it. We sat there, none of us feeling up to talking at the moment. When the girls eventually came back to our table, Silver Spanner seemed to be at least a little less upset. Her mane had been brushed, and her face appeared damp with moisture, probably from a quick wash.

“Alex, Silver’s going to stay with me tonight, okay?” Sugar said with a soft smile as she gave Silver a gentle smile.

Silver, for her part, looked rather shamefaced by the whole ordeal. “Really, you don’t need to do this for me… there’s always a spare room at my work that I could—”

Sugar wasn’t going to have any of that, and held up a hoof, gently quiet Spanner. “Nuh uh. I know you said you feel a little better, but I’d rather that you be in a place where you have somepony to talk to and keep you company, at least for tonight.”

“Okay…” Silver gave a slow nod and sighed, relenting herself to Sugar’s reasoning. She mumbled a bit, just loud enough for me to catch the words, “... appreciate it…”

In reply, Sugar gave her a gentle nuzzle and then turned to Alex. “I think we’ll be heading out early, okay?”

“Want me to walk you two home?” He asked.

Sugar gave Alex a small smile and walked forward to plant a chaste kiss on his cheek. “No, you just enjoy the rest of the night, okay? We’ll be fine.” She leaned forward and whispered something to him, and Alex simply nodded. “Okay?”

“Alright, will do,” Alex said in reply to whatever she had told him.

Sugar shared a quick hug with Amber, Full Bloom, and Mel, then looked at Gabe and I, and grinned. “It was nice seeing you boys. Don’t get in any trouble, okay?”

“No promises,” Gabe answered while leaning back in his chair and folding his arms behind his head, earning playful giggle from Sugar.

Much to our relief, even Silver seemed to cheer up a little at Gabe’s antics. She shot Gabe and I a small smile and nodded, then approached Alex once more and nuzzled him.

“Thanks, Alex… I… I’m glad I found you all here.”

“No need to thank me. Just promise you’ll get some rest, okay? See you tomorrow?”

“Y-yeah,” Silver Spanner replied. “Um… I’ll probably have to find a new place to live soon, now. I… don’t think I can live with Gear Grinder and Drizzle Drops anymore after… well, you know.”

“You’re welcome to stay with me as long as you need,” Sugar said with a gentle nudge. “I love having company, anyway. It gives me an excuse to make lots of sweets.”

Silver smiled. “Better keep me away from the oven, then. I’m horrible at baking.”

“Aw, it just takes practice.”

“Unless you’re me,” Gabe said with a shrug. “The only thing I can bake is a frozen pizza.”

Sugar Sweet chuckled, “Looks like you’ll have someone to learn with, Silver.” She gave us a final wave before gently nudging Silver Spanner towards the entrance. “Later, everypony!”

As soon as the two left, Mel flopped down into her seat while Amber and Full Bloom took their seats next to Gabe and I respectively.

“Is… does stuff like that happen a lot?” Mel asked Amber and Full Bloom, her tone laden with exhaustion.

Amber shook her head and shrugged while Full Bloom just frowned and gave her a look of uncertainty. The orange coated mare sipped at her drink that she had been tending to earlier and rubbed a temple with a hoof. “Seriously, that poor girl. Sugar handled it all pretty well, though.”

“Something tells me Sugar’s dealt with stuff like this before.” Full Bloom waved a hoof at our surroundings. “Not everyone goes to a bar to have a good time, even bars like this one.” She leaned against me as she continued. “Some pretty filly’s flank dancing in front of a client while they down a few glasses of booze in hopes of forgetting something isn’t too hard to picture.”

“I guess you have a point…” Amber agreed.

Unfortunately, none of us really felt like going to any other bars after the incident with Silver Spanner. Amber and Gabe left shortly after Sugar and Silver, followed by Alex, and then finally Mel. By the time Full Bloom and I decided to leave, though, the lights were coming on in the bar and the bartenders were calling for last round. We both found ourselves a little hungry, so we stopped at a small diner down the road and split a jumbo sized veggie submarine sandwich. By the time we had polished off our food, it was going onto three in the morning.

“Ready to head home?” I asked, nodding towards the direction of my apartment.

Full Bloom quirked a smile at me. “Home, huh?”

“I mean… well, your place or mine.” I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. “Sorry, I didn’t—”

“It’s okay,” she said with an amused grin. “For what it’s worth, I did give you a spare key to my place as well. You’re more than welcome to call my place home if I can say the same about yours. It’s kind of sweet of you to think of it that way.”

“More like embarrassing,” I replied with shake of my head.

Full Bloom clucked her tongue and nudged my leg with her snout. “Hey, no more frowning tonight. We had enough of that with poor Silver.”

“Well, in all due fairness, that was a solid reason to be frowning.”

“Yes, I know, but at least she has ponies who are there for her.” Full Bloom looked to her hooves as we made our way out into the streets of Hoofington. “Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done if Sugar wasn’t there. I mean, I get it, really, but… I’m not like Sugar Sweet. I don’t have the will to stay positive around a pony who’s hurting like Silver was back there.”

“Hey, I thought you said no more frowning,” I chuckled, giving her a light flick behind an ear as I saw the corners of her lips curl downward.

“Hey!” She looked up and grimaced a bit, only to shoot me a sheepish look as she realized what she was doing. “You’re right, though. I just… it bums me out that things like that happen to others. I barely know her, but I was worried about Silver Spanner when we were in the bathroom. She was going on about how she was being stupid and that her two partners were probably right about breaking up with her…”

“Wow, that bad?”

Full Bloom nodded. “Yeah, but we managed to talk her out of saying those things about herself. Whether she still believes them to be true or not is her choice, but… I like to think that we managed to at least convince her that she’s not worthless for her infertility.”

“If having and raising foals is that big of a deal, why not adopt?” I suggested. “I… I didn’t want to ask that back there for obvious reasons, but… is infertility really that big of a deal?” I let out an exasperated sigh. “Seriously, what is wrong with people… er, ponies, I mean.”

“Honestly, I never thought much about it, but I can’t say the same thing for others. Who knows? As for adoptions, that’s definitely a possible alternative. There’s lots of fillies and colts that just need a place to call home and someone to care for them… especially after what happened to all those families in the Caleponia area.”

“The Cloven attacks, you mean?”

“Mmhm,” Full Bloom replied in a quiet voice while nodding. “Equestria and the Gryphon Kingdom are still trying to connect families back together that were separated by that mess. What’s even worse is that lots of fillies, colts, and young griffins probably have no family to return to.”

Without even realizing it, I had placed a hand along Full Bloom’s neck, running my fingers through her mane as she softly hummed in contentment. The feeling was mutual, though; it helped take my mind off the troubled thoughts rolling through my mind. I didn’t know Silver Spanner all that well, but… how could anyone break off a relationship, just like that, without any thought on how the other might feel? I suppose I didn’t have both sides of the story, but it sounded like Silver had been just cast aside without too much trouble on her future herdmates’ end.

“Hey,” Full Bloom’s voice cut through my thoughts. “You alright?”

My face must have been reflecting my thoughts at the moment if Full Bloom was taking note of my current state. “Y-yeah, just… getting a little taste of pony culture’s less-appealing features.”

I give Full Bloom credit for not getting upset by my reply. I could have worded that a little better, I suppose.

“For what it’s worth, Darren, you’re not the only individual that’s had trouble figuring us out. I’m pretty sure we ponies don’t know what we’re doing half the time, anyway, so don’t feel bad about it. We’re a pretty peaceful species, but there’s always going to be a few bad apples in a bushel, you know?”

“You’re talking to a human being, Full Bloom. Most of us would probably agree on that sentiment regarding ourselves.”

“Would it make you feel better if I said the griffins still have trouble understanding us sometimes, even after all this time that they’ve been allies to us?” Full Bloom asked.

“Sure,” I answered with a chuckle. “Humanity has trouble figuring itself out just as much, and we’re all the same species.”

“Good.” She gave me a soft smile and nudged the side of my leg with her snout. “Let’s head back to your place. I want to see a little bit of what this Lord of the Rings is all about.”

I let out a laugh. “There’s not nearly enough hours left in the night for us to get a good start on the movies without losing several hours of sleep, Full Bloom.”

“Just a little bit? Please?” She pouted. “I’m curious.”

I relented, knowing full well that we would probably both be paying for this in the morning via lack of good sleep. Still, it was nice, having someone to share things like watching a movie with.

I suppose it was true, what Full Bloom had said. There’s always going to be some bad mixed in with the good. Though, if I thought about it, that just made the good things all that more important to cherish.

I leaned down and planted a kiss on Full Bloom’s ear. She turned to face me, blinking in surprise as her ear twitched a little. “W-what was that for?”

She still has a thing for being touched around the ears. I thought to myself. I just smiled and shrugged. “Just because you’re wonderful.”

Full Bloom cleared her throat as a smile crept across her lips. “Oh… well, you’re even more wonderful.”

I arched an eyebrow. “This isn’t a contest you’re going to win, Full Bloom.”

“We’ll see about that. I might just have to show you how wonderful I think you are if you keep pushing me,” she purred.

My grin grew mischievous as I stopped walking and knelt down. Without warning, I planted a few quick kisses along her ears and trailed down her jaw, stopping when I reached her lips. I held her lips in mine for several long moments. When I pulled away, I hummed in thought as a taste touched my tongue that I hadn’t noticed before.

Huh… she tastes like… raspberries and citrus…?

“Hm,” I said, leaning forward and capturing her lips a second time. She moaned into the kiss, and I could feel her knees wobbling as her tongue began to tussle with my own. The taste ran across my tongue again, and my eyes widened a fraction.

That’s what it is! Raspberry lemonade! Huh…weird… but cool!

I vaguely recalled Gabe stating during lunch yesterday that ponies tended to have a scent or taste that was unique to them, sort of how the same could be said with humans. I never imagined it’d be a pleasant one like raspberry lemonade, though!

Although, I recall Gabe saying once that apparently Amber tasted a lot like caramel.

I felt myself slowly being pushed away from Full Bloom. She was sucking in air as she looked at me with wild, lust-laden eyes. She eventually found her voice, and stuttered out. “O-okay, forget the movie, I’ve got a better idea of how to spend the night!”

I chuckled quietly as Full Bloom’s mouth found my hand and began tugging me in the direction of my apartment, her tail swishing in excitement.

Yep, definitely not getting any sleep tonight.

End of Chapter Six

Author's Note

Phew! This was a bit of a doozy compared to the others. Well, either way, here's the sixth chapter for you folks. A little taste of the Gentleman for Mares classroom for you, as well as some pony culture. Hope you all enjoyed it.

I'd like to extend a big thanks to AJ Aficionado and Firesight for their help with pre-reading this chapter, as well as Demon Eyes Laharl for his help by offering input on my ideas and relating them to the Gentlemanverse. Check out their stories if you haven't already, they've all got some gems in their collection of works.

A few recommendations I'd make:

Firesight's Before the Storm: The Rise of Firefly is the first on the list. It blends a bit of the pony culture you've probably seen in the Gentlemanverse and other works with an Equestria from days long past. War between the griffins and ponies is just on the horizon, and times are hard for the Equestrian military. The story is told from the perspective of Firefly (hence the story title), a pegasus mare in the Royal Guard who has yet to become the hero that history sings about.

AJ Aficionado has two great stories featuring Roseluck in the Gentlemanverse, both of which are complete: The Scent of Prey and A Gentleman's Price. They tell of how Rose falls for a Gentleman named Richard after a heated night of fun and some rather risqué misadventures... well, at least by pony standards, I suppose. It's scintillating, and it's a nice exploration of a mare's love life as well as her friendships.

Demon Eyes Laharl currently has a story he's working on called Changeling Roun. It too takes place within the Gentlemanverse, but with changelings as the main focus (which is always a nice addition if you ask me). It follows the story of a changeling going by the name of 'Lumi', who is exploring her first relationship with a human named Shaun. While there is romance, there is also mystery and suspense; somepony... or something... is killing changelings, and risking the safety of the many changeling communities that have safely lay in hiding within Equestria. It's romance, but with the thrill of a murder mystery blended in!