[~Two Weeks Later…]

“Morning, Limestone!” Eric greeted with his usual flair as he entered into the kitchen. Bright and early as always, Eric, dressed in his work clothes, was ready to begin another hard day’s weekend work. As he had come to expect, Limestone, also dressed as per usual, was waiting for him and Marble with several bowls of freshly-cooked oatmeal. The aforementioned mare was in the middle of chewing, and she opted to flash him a full-mouthed grin and a wave of her fingers in the meantime.

“Hey Eric,” she returned his greeting properly with a much more friendly tone, one that Eric had been thrilled to hear gradually change over the course of his stay; Limestone almost seemed to be happy to see him now! Perhaps this was because Eric fell into his farm work routine fairly well, and he had a firm grasp over all the tasks that would be expected of him on a given day, as well as how to perform them to the highest standard he was capable of. “How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty well, actually. All rested and ready for whatever you throw at me today,” he replied jovially, getting a head start on his oatmeal. This time, he also noticed that there were various berries mixed in… he could definitely get used to this. “How about you?”

“You’re not crying in agony from the work yesterday… you’re getting better,” Limestone added with a sly, diagonal smirk to go along with her little quip, nodding as if she was impressed. “And I’m just fine; slept like a log as always.”

“Awesome,” the human said, shooting her a friendly smile… one which Limestone returned with one of her own. It was the little things like this that really made his whole experience with the Pie’s that much better. His relationship with Igneous and Cloudy had also thawed… though they were never really ‘cold’ to him necessarily, just stern, if anything. Hell, his grades had been stellar thus far, he had dropped a few pounds of weight (and gained some more muscle for his efforts), and so far his host family enjoyed his presence… Eric could not have been happier.

“Good morning, everypony,” a familiar, meek-sounding voice intruded into the silence, and Eric’s smile brightened immediately. Marble entered into the room, clad in her usual tank top that was a shade darker than her coat. Work pants fitting her legs and butt exquisitely, Eric took little issue in letting his eyes wander up her form.

Oh wait, I can definitely be happier, now.

“Hey Marble,” Limestone greeted her sister, continuing to munch her oatmeal. Marble, however, defaulted to Eric’s side and smashed herself into him with a deep, affectionate hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her cheek elatedly into his.

“Heh, good morning to you too, Marble,” Eric added with equal enthusiasm, returning her hug with gusto. The both of them nearly forgot to let each other go after a few seconds, drifting well-past the realm of a proper hug… especially true when Eric felt eyes upon him. Marble took her seat, and the human glanced towards Limestone as he resumed eating, finding her staring right at him. Still visibly chewing, she stoically cocked a lone eyebrow at the duo’s little display of affection. Eric internally paled.

Shit… she’s onto you! Do something!

Feeling it was the only logical thing to do for some reason, Eric mimicked her gesture, responding to Limestone’s curiosity with faux-inquisitiveness of his own. As the latter finished chewing and downing the last portion of food that lay in her bowl, Eric could have sworn he saw the right corner of her mouth upturn in an almost knowing smirk… it was subtle, but assuming residual tiredness was not clouding his perception, his stomach sank at the possible implications.

Their little staring contest ended and Limestone nonchalantly set her bowl into the sink, filling it with water before wiping her hands clean.

“Well, today we’re gonna do something different,” Limestone began, going into her lecture mode. “As you know, we’re finalizing a crystal shipment, so I’ll be preparing the numbers with mom and dad today. While it’s not gonna be really a short day today like several weeks ago, it’ll be easy for you two.”

She coughed suddenly, clearing her throat before continuing.

“I got up earlier today to get more work done on the last cart that needs to be filled up with crystals from the mine. Just take your time and finish it up before the end of the day. It’s a bit of an interesting task that we’ve never exposed you to, Eric, so Marble will show you the ropes. Sound good?” she asked after elaborating appropriately, though her last question was more rhetorical than an actual inquiry; she wasn’t too concerned about Eric’s and Marble’s ability to work efficiently together.

“I’ll keep him out of trouble,” Marble quipped softly, hiding behind her mane when Limestone chortled at her remark and Eric simultaneously shot her a playfully hurt look. Her older sister walked by, chuckled, and dragged Marble into her chest as she delivered unto her a noogie of epic proportions. Eric gave the two loving sisters some space, laughing as Marble squealed at being helplessly subjected to the stronger Limestone’s wrath.

This is a nice family.

“Well, no rush to finish your breakfasts, you two. As long as this is done by around three or four-ish, we should be fine, and that’s more than enough time,” Limestone said, releasing Marble’s head from the crook of her arm, leaving the poor mare red in the face and her mane dishevelled.

“You got it, Limestone. See ya later!” Eric replied, saluting as she walked out the kitchen door, the mare in question responding with her own salute in kind. Marble fixed herself back up in the meantime.

“Bye Limestone!” Marble called out as well, and upon the departure of her older sister the human and her were left to their own devices. Knowing the two of them were alone, Marble turned to Eric and smiled, though she hid behind her mane when Eric returned a smile of his own. The human did not know how she pulled it off, but each and every time that she hid behind that flowing, perfectly straight mane of hers, he felt his heart just explode with butterfly shrapnel… just like the first time she smiled from ‘behind the veil;’ it never went away and in fact, it only grew stronger. As such, her antics demanded action!

Confident that the both of them were indeed on their lonesome, Eric wrapped her up tightly in his arms and finally returned the little greeting she gave him a few moments earlier. There was no hesitance in Marble hugging him back, the two unable to control their smiles nor their hearts racing when their chests were pressed together. As an added token of Marble’s own feelings, she pulled back, closed her eyes, and happily brushed her nose against Eric’s, giggling all the while before going back to eating.

Now, it was Eric’s turn to blush. He loved the ‘nose rubbing’ and thought it was ‘the cutest shit in the world.’ With his brow lowering in relaxation and another grin tugging at the left corner of his mouth, he, too, let himself face the table and finish his food before they would inevitably get right to work. Still, he had to get his heart rate under control, and if this kept up with Marble, Eric felt that he’d probably have to enroll himself in a pregnant mares’ course so he could learn how to breathe properly again.

He had never felt this way about any girl, nor did he want to about anyone but Marble.

“How’d you sleep?” Eric asked, both of their bowls clinking softly each time they dug their spoons into their meals.

“Wonderfully,” Marble replied, shooting him a ‘look’ between bites. Eric knew exactly why that was the case and the resulting ego boost was more than welcome; she just liked sneaking to his room now to literally sleep; nothing nefarious at all.

“Fair enough… I guess I could say the same thing,” he added.

“You better!”

A few clouds dotted the wide blue sky on this particular day, seemingly strategically placed just by the sun to provide ample shade from the mild heat if necessary. Eric, however, was less caring this time around to the scenery; literally none of it changed on a regular basis. His attention was more appropriately focused on a certain mare that was leading him towards the crystal mines, namely Marble and her luscious backside… he couldn’t get over how perfect her butt looked in her denim pants. If it wouldn’t freak her out or be disrespectful at this point, he would sneak up behind her and dig all ten of his fingers into her flanks.

He could wait, though… what further placated his rising desires was the fact that Marble was the perfect eye-candy.

As per earlier discussions, Eric and Marble agreed to cool off their more intimate banter while they were in ‘public,’ and resolved to try and keep their antics confined to the evenings when the others retired for the day. Over the last two weeks, nopony had been the wiser, and up until breakfast where Limestone had shot a curious look Eric’s way, there had been no incidents that warranted any questioning.

Eric also decided not to tell Marble about Limestone’s silent inquiry; nothing came about it anyway, so what was the point in potentially worrying her over nothing?

“Well, here we are,” Marble spoke up when the two had descended into the small quarry and stood at the mouth of a cave. Said cave was framed on both sides with rock that had undoubtedly smoothed over through the years, and a gentle light emanated from its depths, one which held a faint, violet hue. Focusing his eyes, Eric had trouble seeing anything due to the contrast of light, but he could make out small shapes as a result of the colored glow from within. It was enough to pique his interest and more exploratory side.

“It’s funny, I thought I would’ve been here by now during my stay,” Eric thought out loud, prying his eyes from the mine entrance and looking at Marble.

“The mine has some of the most valuable crystals and can also be dangerous at certain places; Limestone was a little hesitant to let you in at the start,” the mare explained, pivoting her foot in the ground and averting her gaze as if her explanation would draw Eric’s ire.

The latter bobbed his head, taking Limestone’s concerns to heart with no problems.

“Fair enough. Can we go inside?” he asked excitedly, wanting to see the natural wonders within. He had never been in an actual mine before, though admittedly, the ones back on Earth that he could have ventured to were abandoned and dangerous… probably haunted as well; hopefully if the latter was the case here, it would be one of those advertising ghosts for Pizza Hut or something.

As Marble watched Eric brim with excitement, a welcome, familiar heat rose to her face; every time that Eric showed his more outgoing side or just talked about anything he was passionate about, she couldn’t help but take in how cute he was. This was especially true when she would ask innocuous questions about his biological studies, and even though she might have been lucky to understand a small fraction of his words, she just loved watching him animatedly lecture about something he loved.

In her opinion, it made him more… kissable.

With this reminder fresh in her head, she stopped herself from letting him venture on ahead, and instead, a conniving smile formed on her muzzle.

“Sure! We need to get some tools though; follow me,” she directed, waving Eric behind her as she headed towards the nearby tool shed that was built at the bottom of the quarry entrance. For extra emphasis, she brushed him with her tail and helped ‘drag’ him along, a little gesture that Eric had always found endearing.

“You got it,” Eric confirmed, winking at her and falling into step. As the days and weeks progressed, Marble had started to feel the signs of when her human friend’s gaze would drift to more… intimate parts of her body.

This was one of those times.

Further, she liked it.

Contrary to what Eric might’ve thought, he wasn’t as sneaky as he’d like to believe. Marble knew from day one that he had eyed up her backside and chest once or twice out of the corner of his eyes… and at first she wasn’t really sure what to think of it since she was still dealing with her knee-jerk anxious reactions to someone new. Of course, after the last couple of weeks, every time he did, she felt flattered and… sexy.

In fact, she wanted him to look at every opportunity. It helped her confidence swell to unprecedented heights... to know that she was pretty, in his eyes.

With that in mind as they neared the tool shed, Marble felt she had to step up her game. With a sultry smirk, she started setting one hoof in front of the other—which gave her hips that extra sway to them—all while moving her tail high and out of the way.

In Eric’s perspective, though he hadn’t been glancing at her for very long, he did notice that subtle change in her immediate walking habits… and his face blanched at the thought that she knew. Marble had to have known, considering she had never done that in the past! If that was the case, then she had probably figured out his occasional glancing in her direction long ago. Eric meant no disrespect by it, though. He genuinely admired her figure and person as a whole; to him, she was drop-dead gorgeous… especially so when Marble would carry herself with that extra air of confidence she was working on.

Regardless, Eric wasn’t going to pass up on the opportunity if she was presenting it to him on a silver platter.

“I see what you’re doing, Marble,” Eric said jokingly, earning him a sly smirk from the mare over her shoulder.

“And I don’t see you complaining,” she simply put, startling Eric with her sudden forwardness. Eric, however, was not one to back down in the face of playful banter; his job as a professional shitposter on the weekends back on Earth prepared him for this day.

“Oh trust me, I have no intention to... I love what I see,” he shot back, emphasizing his words by flicking his eyes down to Marble’s butt.

The mare fronted a valiant effort… but Marble was no match for that remark, and she showcased this fact fully when she pulled her face back behind the curtain of her mane and faced forward again. Her entire face burned something fierce, but it was fortunate that the two had arrived to their destination: an unassuming shed, as expected.

She could put her hastily concocted plan into action.

“Come on in, help me grab some things,” Marble bade Eric inside, opening the shed door and entering first. Unaware of anything out of the ordinary, the human casually followed after her, and the moment he crossed the door’s radial threshold, Marble struck. She pointedly closed the door and latched it, leaving the two of them sealed inside for the time being.

“Hmmm?” Eric uttered, turning around at Marble’s unexpected action but his implicit question was met with the mare wrapping her arms around his neck and smashing her lips against his. The sudden contact made him widen his eyes for the briefest of moments, but ultimately he decided to roll with it. Letting his hands slide down her sides and rest on her hips, Eric allowed himself to press up against this mare who daringly assaulted him orally.

Their lips held firm, keeping each other chastely joined for a few more moments before separating with a satisfying ‘smack.’

“Whoa…okay then!” Eric remarked dreamily; Marble was getting really good at kissing. Then again, practice did make perfect, and the two have had plenty of practice.

“I’m sorry,” Marble voiced, tracing one of her fingers on his chest as they just held each other. “I couldn’t wait ‘til later; you were being too cute,” she added, peppering his jaw and cheeks with little kisses; she simply could not get her fill.

“Look who’s talking,” Eric shot back, pulling Marble’s face back into his for another round with their mouths. This time, the two let their lips separate and their tongues reintroduce themselves. The human also decided to lean against the door, allowing Marble to support herself on him as they continued their secret little makeout.

Nothing else was said for a while as their lips battled for dominance. As they both had come to expect, Marble’s larger tongue continued to reign supreme while exploring each other’s mouths, though Eric’s gradually had been learning to put up a much better, sexier fight before submitting.

Marble separated briefly and reoriented her hands, placing them on Eric’s jaw before resuming her onslaught on her human friend who was quickly becoming more than a friend, in her eyes.

“Mmmm…” Marble moaned throatily into Eric’s mouth, relishing in the feeling of her tongue against his, her lips against his, and his taste. Each and every time the two kissed, all that happened upon the end of their ‘sessions’ was more than a deep sense of satisfaction for her… but such a satisfaction would inevitably turn into a festering hunger for more...

...just like now. Since that first time, Marble was insatiable, and Eric always wondered how he got any more studying done.

He let his hands lower down to her butt, the prime staple of makeout sessions, and gave her cheeks a firm squeeze. This had become fairly standard, and Marble no longer ran away… in fact, she loved it! She let loose a little moan as a testament to that. Then again, no matter where Eric touched her while they toyed with each other’s lips, he always made her coat stand on edge.

A small chorus of gentle gasps, hums, and ravenous groans heralded another separation, both of them breathing heavily as they fought to recuperate their breaths. The two knew they would be diving back in for more, but that didn’t stop them from keeping their eyes glued to each other.

Eric pressed his nose against Marble’s, letting the both of them bask in the gesture they mutually loved while their hot breath broke upon their necks. It was a relatively mild day in terms of temperature, but Eric himself felt constrained in his clothes at the moment as the heat of their more local, intimate atmosphere soared to unprecedented heights.

The egress of blood-flow southward, and the resulting, almost painful tent being pitched in his work-pants made things that much more difficult, however. To distract him from his own plight, Eric dove into the mare’s neck and began gently nipping and suckling her sensitive flesh, dragging his teeth upon every contour he could come across.

“Ohhh!~”

Marble cooed involuntarily, and by reflex, she craned her neck rightward to allow Eric the maximum amount of room. She, clearly, was not faring any better. With a modicum of remnant shame, she squeezed her inner thighs together and could feel the accumulated dampness in her panties… unfortunately, it provided her no respite from that burning itch that was becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.

“Kiss me…” Marble demanded, and Eric wordlessly complied, locking lips with her once more. This time, both of them allowed their hands to roam boundlessly over each other’s bodies, and Eric’s gladly affixed them to her waist… only to slip under her shirt and feel up her smooth, toned tummy that he had only laid eyes on by virtue of her shirt riding up her midriff once in a while.

They separated yet again and Eric buried his face in her neck to resume his previous ministrations.

“Mmm, you smell nice…” Eric complimented breathily, having taken a nice whiff of the residual lavender body wash that she used the night before. It smelled even better this time for some reason, and Eric felt it had to do with their current activity and its side-effects… because in the end, Marble didn’t just smell sweet at the moment; she smelt like sex.

“Mmmph!” Marble groaned and whined, pressing herself tightly against Eric and pressing her chest against his. Her actions, from Eric’s perspective, appeared to be much more frantic as she nuzzled herself against him almost helplessly.

“Marble… are you okay?” he asked. His answer stared back through her eyes as they locked onto his, her pupils visibly dilated and seemingly glazed over. In truth, Marble was overcome with lust and pleasure, every little touch that Eric bestowed upon her seeming to amplify through her.

Simply put, she was horny as fuck… and having no sexual contact other than her hand up to this point in her life was sending her deeper senses into a tailspin.

“Eric please just... touch me!” Marble ordered with uncharacteristic weight behind her words, though with clear restraint on her vocabulary. The human was not in any better straits, and as such, had few qualms with obeying her every word. With his hands still on her stomach, he let them retreat from under her tank top and slid them up her torso towards the very prizes that he had longed to touch. Resting his palms just under her chest, Eric flicked his glance once between her bosom and her eyes, conveying that wordless question of whether he was allowed to continue.

Marble answered by lowering her eyelids purposely, taking his hands in hers, and sliding them up to cup both of her breasts in full. Eric’s eyes widened as he finally got his hands on his ultimate goal… granted, through fabric and a bra, but still!

Marble looked up at him with her lip bit as she allowed Eric to start massaging her two, heavy orbs through her tank top, letting him relish in what he desired for a little bit… and it was not like he didn’t get anything out of it! Her breasts were a teeny bit on the sensitive side, and every motion, every squeeze, gyration, and pinch sent her breathing ragged and her head swimming with more wanton thoughts of the human fondling her. Soon enough, she had a better idea, and pressed half her side into Eric which allowed her to kiss him again, and allowed him to continue playing with one of her boobs; a win-win, in both of their books.

Eric upped his game, tugging on her lip after he was able to latch onto it with his teeth, evoking a hearty, lust-driven giggle out of Marble before she repeated the same action on him. All the while, Eric attempted to pinch and tweak her nipple through her top; the effort was valiant and it had the intended effect on her, but it wasn’t the same… he hoped to get these pesky garments off of her at some point.

Marble felt the seemingly solid bulge in Eric’s pants press against her lower stomach, and through their continued makeout (which was running their lips raw), she gave into her curiosity and used her free hand to cup him.

Feeling her hand cradle his compacted length through his jeans, Eric thusly felt that he had some more implicit permission to explore more of Marble’s body. Letting her do what she wished to him (which was morph her hand and trace the outline of his member as they pecked each other’s lips), Eric, reluctantly, eased his grip on Marble’s breast and traced down her stomach, gently circling her navel as he made his way to her pants. There, he opted to utilize the same treatment she was lavishing him with.

Marble’s breath hitched in her throat when Eric palmed her directly between her legs, feeling his firm grip compress on her aching marehood and only serving to further augment her growing neediness. She felt her ruined panties press up against her and demonstrate just how soaked she was from Eric’s touch, presence, and attention.

Again, it wasn’t enough.

Eric tugged teasingly at the hem of her pants, showing her just how easily he could undo the button and zipper, but he did not proceed. He wanted to, certainly... just to feel how wet for him she was… but the last thing he ever wanted to do was assume wrong.

“Marble…?” he broke away from her lips to utter her name in such a way that conveyed all she needed to know.

“YES!” she instantly replied, nuzzling her face into his neck to get another whiff of his natural scent that was driving her nuts. She angled her lower body against his hand and grinded once against it, if to just hammer home the message.

In reality, she had no idea what she was doing, and allowed instinct to take over for her. By Eric’s actions, he had clearly been experienced in this matter, and opted to just let him take care of her like she knew he would. She wanted this...

...no, she needed this.

With all the assurance he needed, Eric leaned in and kissed his mare for the umpteenth time today, undoing the button on her pants with his free hand and tantalizingly slowly unzipping the front. He could sense her impatience; it cascaded off of her like an aetheric waterfall as she silently begged for him to have his way with her.

He just couldn’t say no to those lavender eyes of hers.

Eric lifted the hem of her tank top a tiny bit to expose her smooth, lower abdomen. He drummed on her for a few seconds and finally slid his palm into her pants, unsticking her panties from her person in the process. He bypassed the troublesome garment and palmed her bare lips, letting his digits memorize each and every soaked contours of her aching crescent.

“Uhhnnn…” Marble let slip a gentle moan at his touch on her most vulnerable area, instinctively spreading her legs a little wider and leaning on him more for support. All he had to do was just touch her there and suddenly her entire mind was useless, awash in electrifying pleasure that could never in her wildest dreams be replicated with her own hands and fingers.

Eric had little desire to keep Marble waiting, so, unceremoniously, he began letting his middle and ring fingers contract over her slit, framing her entrance and lightly squeezing her lips. This elicited another squeak from the mare, and Marble gripped onto his clothes that much more tightly.

Going further, Eric let his middle finger slip inside her, burying it up to his knuckle and just allowing her to get used to the intrusion. All the while, this thumb was in perfect position to trace slow, teasing circles around her swollen clit… all within the parameters of her cramped pants.

“GAh!!” Marble cried as Eric’s thumb made contact with her little button, and to help silence herself, she resolved to press her snout in his neck and pepper him with encouraging kisses as well as speak her pleading words of encouragement. “Please…”

“What do you want, baby?” Eric asked huskily, using that particular pet name for the first time. Marble’s heart was sent racing (more than it already was!) at that word… she was his baby? She was practically in love with that idea.

“Y-Your fingers… please?”

Marble, frustrated, adjusted her position yet again and—with some ingenuity in making use of the adjacent workbench—lifted her left leg, but bent at the knee.

Eric heard her loud and clear, and inserted his ring finger into her, letting her take the entirety of his digits before he agonizingly slowly withdrew them… then sinking them back into her.

Marble, in response, let her jaw go slightly slack as she breathed out the heaviest sigh. She felt both of his fingers throb inside her depths in tandem with her own walls. All brainpower had been devoted to just feeling everything Eric did to her, and through the lack of any coherent thought, there was only one thing Marble knew for certain:

This was so much better than masturbating.

“Like this?” Eric asked.

“Yes! Just like… Ahhh!... that…” Marble urged him on. Her eyes were shut tight as her head was pressed firmly against his neck.

Eric knew he was getting somewhere, and by how Marble was squirming in his grasp and begging for a release, he got the feeling she would not hold out for very long. He sped up his penetration, letting his fingers spread out slowly within her so he could, by extension, spread out her walls. He pressed his palm into her clit during each downstroke, grinding into it and sending those particularly intense jolts of ecstasy surging straight to Marble’s core. Despite her dutifully restrained moaning and words, Eric could also hear just how wet she was each and every time he thrust his fingers into her.

He loved seeing her like this, even though this was the first time he ever had. Marble was under his control, and each little movement he made with his hand and fingers elicited an often different reaction from her. Time, however, was not a luxury at the moment, and as much as he’d love to lay her down and explore every bit of her body on their own time, they both knew that they could not take the risk of getting caught, whatever that chance may have been.

“There we go…” Eric whispered into Marble’s ear, encouraging her moaning while he sped up his actions. Curling his fingers upward toward her uppermost wall, he ground his digits against her while lavishing her clit with more of his palm. “Cum for me, Marble…”

At the mention of her name, Marble whined and bit her lip, dropping her resistance and allowing herself to fully embrace each and every bit of pleasure that Eric was heaping onto her. The latter gyrated his hands inside Marble, and spread them nice and wide.

“YES!”

“Come on, baby… you know you want to…”

Eric reversed the roles and played the cheerleader this time around. He withdrew his fingers for a few moments so he could properly rub her pussy and thumb her clit. Before long, his fingers were sheathed inside her slit once more ,and Eric resumed pistoning in and out of her with abandon.

“Right there… rightthererighthererightthererightthere...!” Marble’s words suddenly became muddled as they fused together in one long, incomprehensible mess. Grinding her needy mound against his hand by reflex, she was millimeters away from that edge she had toppled off of many times, though this time, she was ready to soar off of it from new heights… and that new height established itself when Eric hilted his fingers particularly hard inside her.

Immediately covering her mouth, Marble silenced her orgasmic cry as she came powerfully. A small rush of her juices accompanied a much more substantial rush of euphoria flooding her entire body. All restraint went out the window and a small shiver emanated from her lower body, diffusing throughout.

“Thaaaat’s it, baby… there we go~...” Eric further cooed, cheering her on and letting Marble further bask in her peak that she never wished to descend from. Hell, on Marble’s end, she started questioning why they had not done something like this sooner! Something that felt this good had to be right!

What would happen when (she hoped, at least) they would go all the way?

Their first sexual act together had been done, and Eric withdrew his soaked, sticky hand from between her legs and out of her pants. Though Marble was still coming down from her orgasmic plateau, her whining and moaning gradually weakening, she was still watching his every move. With that knowledge, Eric brought his ‘spent’ hand to his face and noticed how it reflected the light that entered into the shed.

In Marble’s perspective, he seemed to scrutinize her ‘essence’ but much to her immediate shock, Eric gave into his curiosity and stuck his fingers in his mouth, licking off the remnants as if he was cleaning his hands from a messy meal. Her faded blush returned at an instant as she watched with wide eyes, her nethers throbbing at the sight.

To Eric, her taste was neither sweet nor strong, but she tasted…

Huh… earthy? I like it!

He likened her flavor to overly-mineralized water; neutral, if anything… and he did not hate it in the slightest. After licking his hand clean of Marble’s wetness, Eric shot her a reassuring, lustful gaze.

“You smell and taste good… I might have to get a second helping straight from the source if you’ll let me, later,” Eric so smoothly uttered.

Marble colored further at the implication, retreating behind her now somewhat-disheveled mane. Likewise, Marble felt overcome with the ‘wobbles,’ as she had slight difficulty with standing on her own at the moment; leaning on Eric as she had done for the entirety of their little act was still not a bad idea.

As well, Eric’s suggestion sat perfectly well with her.

“Y-You promise?”

Thankfully, the two did have to actually get tools from the shed.

Work continued much more enjoyably for the remainder of the day, and Eric got to erase two things off his bucket list: see the gorgeous crystal mine that was underneath a part of the Pie Rock Farm, and fingerfuck the cutest mare he had ever gotten the pleasure to know. Even better than that, when the work day ended and night fell upon the land, he even got himself a second serving…

Marble had wanted to take that time later in the evening to do something for him as a token of gratitude, but somehow when things were getting started, it ended up with Eric’s head and hand between her legs, as well as her begging him not to stop. So, much to the mare’s chagrin, she did not get to toy with him as she passed out almost immediately after she came.

The man was just not able to help himself around her, much like Marble was not able to around him. While he looked forward to the prospect of getting ‘reciprocated,’ he didn’t mind in the end. It was a simple act of rubbing one out in the shower to the thought of Marble’s tits and that took care of that. Besides, he could wait.

Thirst, however, won out as the night progressed.

Eric quietly crept down the stairs, watching his every move and minding all the oddities of his path as he made his way to the kitchen in the dead of the night. While he still exercised caution to prevent accidentally killing himself and waking up the entire house, his ability to give a steady stream of shits had gone out the window… rather, the assembly-line which manufactured the shits to give was temporarily out of service. This was no surprise to him, as his thoughts drifted to the ‘previous activities of the evening with a special somepony named Marble…’ whom Eric was really starting to care for more and more, if that was even possible.

Perhaps that was just the post-coital high that got him all loopy and ‘love-struck’ in the head… or maybe it was the truth; definitely the truth. He truly did adore Marble, after all, and for all intents and purposes, they were pretty much a couple without official title for obvious reasons.

So, unofficially, she was his marefriend.

“YUSS!” he whispered to no one, pumping his fist into the air victoriously.

The whole slew of happy thoughts breached their way into Eric’s mind at the very mention of ‘marefriend.’ He damn-near bounced and slid into the kitchen; hell, he even felt like dancing as he grabbed a cup out of the cabinet and began filling it with water. The only thing that prevented him from doing just that was the fact that he had no style, nor did he have any grace… he was proud of the fact he didn’t have a funny face, though, so Eric at least had that going for him.

“Is that thou, Eric?” a booming voice pierced the late-night silence and the human nearly stood ramrod. He fumbled with his glass as it slipped out of his grip but he caught it just in time; thankfully, nothing spilled, either.

God? Is that you?

“Y-Yes, sir?” Eric called back meekly at the mention of his name, though with a voice that could only dream of measuring up to the sheer manliness that Igneous exuded.

“Wouldst thou please enter into mine bureau. I would like to have a word with thee,” Igneous added. Not wishing to keep the patriarch of the household waiting, Eric briskly set off towards the office, which was straight through the common room and facing the front door.

There, not knowing how he missed the presence of life inside, two candles flickered and set the room awash with a soft light. Peeking his head in respectfully, Eric found Igneous in his usual getup, save for his hat resting on the top of a vertical coathanger and his sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows. He had a quill in his hand and paid the newcomer no mind as he continued writing.

“Please, have a seat,” he said with a much more restrained tone on the account of their proximity. Eric entered into the cozy office and took the left-most seat that sat opposite of Igneous. A fierce sense of awkwardness suddenly pervaded the atmosphere as Igneous continued to not utter even a single peep. Eric became much more aware of his own heartbeat and breathing patterns, on top of the loaded sound of the stallion scribbling onto a parchment.

It was getting a bit awkward for Eric’s liking, and he opened his mouth to ask the question that was on the tip of his tongue… but Igneous beat him to it.

“Thou art doing well, and building quite the few friendships here; Maud likes thee, as do Limestone and Marble… Cloudy and I like thee,” Igneous opened with a general observation, and with those words the artificially tense atmosphere seemed to dissipate. “Indeed, dost thou enjoy it here?”

“Definitely, sir!” Eric answered with conviction; it was an easy question, after all, and one which had a genuine answer. “I’ve learned quite a bit here, and you’re right… I’ve come to see Marble, Maud, and Limestone as friends. It’s nice to hear from someone else that they feel the same way.”

Igneous finished writing whatever sentence he was on and gingerly set the quill aside. Then, he folded his arms on the desk and gave Eric his undivided attention. Nodding at Eric’s words, his air of stoicism faded, if only subtly.

“Very good,” he commented. “Most wonderful to hear. We, too, have enjoyed thy presence and help around our homestead. Thou hast eased many-a burden, and for that, we cannot thank thee enough,” he also added with a slight smirk.

“Of course, sir… I’m more than happy to help,” Eric said.

“Mhmm… now, there is something else I wish to discuss with thee,” Igneous began anew, reclining in his chair but never taking his eyes off the bed-headed human. Eric knew he wasn’t presentable in the slightest but he wasn’t sure if that mattered or not at this point, especially since the conversation topic switched suddenly.

“I wished to speak to thee regarding Marble…”

Eric felt as if his stomach dropped several feet inside him, and that he was about to shit it out. Of course, being able to carry himself comfortably under pressure, his exponentiating despair did not show on the outside.

Oh no…

“S-Sir?” he asked. “What about her?”

Igneous adjusted his position again, leaning forward as if he was about to deliver unto Eric some serious words of puritan wisdom.

“In all mine years, neither I, Cloudy, Maud nor Limestone have seen Marble as she has been these past several weeks,” he went on to explain. “So… jubilant; happy.”

You deny everything! Repeat the mantra: Marble is for hug, not for fug.

“Oh?” Eric said, a cue for Igneous to continue.

“She is more affectionate with us all; she laughs more and talks more… and strangely enough, this change catalyzed around thy arrival. You wouldst not happen to have a hand in this?” Igneous’ fateful question was finally fielded, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he awaited Eric’s inevitable response.

There it was. For Eric, he knew at some point this question would be asked of him… further reinforced by the subtle inquiry that Limestone had when Marble was getting a little too close to him at breakfast. Maybe she’s the one that tipped off Igneous? Why would she do that though… Limestone liked Eric. Of course, Marble is her little sister, and the well-being of her lil’ sis would always trump her friendly relationship with him.

That, or this was just a bunch of hilarious coincidences; attempts by the universe to ream Eric over the table with the long dong of fate.

“W-Well,” Eric uttered his first word, but his throat instantly dried up and he ended up choking on his own spit. He held up a single finger to ask for a moment before continuing.

“I’ve definitely clicked with Marble, and I feel she and I umm… have developed a really nice friendship. So uhh, yeah. We’re good friends. She’s also nice company when I’m hitting the books,” he added, letting his last sentence slip out naturally and as a result, wanting to scream at his stupidity. The last thing he needed right now was Igneous standing up in all his hulkish pilgrim glory, sweeping everything violently off his desk, and proclaiming with utmost contempt ‘you were in a room alone with my daughter?! Scoundrel!’

That didn’t happen at all, actually. In fact, to Eric’s great surprise, Igneous only nodded thoughtfully at his words.

“So it would seem…” he replied cryptically, as if thinking out loud and mulling on what Eric had told him.

“Eric, I am not one to pry much into the lives of mine daughters; Maud and Limestone, especially, as they are more than capable of handling themselves,” Igneous continued. “Marble, however, has always worried me with her innate reticence. Nopony tries harder, but I and Cloudy still held our reservations, and attempt to guide her when possible.”

Eric nodded as Igneous plodded on with his words; his tone was not harsh at all, and in fact, held a thoughtful air to his words. The human had the utmost respect for this stallion, a respect which had matured dutifully as the days turned to weeks, and so on. Still, he was on edge as to where Igneous might have been potentially going with all of this.

“And to see her as she is, going about her daily routine with renewed vigor… well, it warms all of our hearts and brings us back to younger days when Pinkamena showed us the true power of a simple smile .” Igneous grinned. “So, to thee, I say this...

“Whatever thou callest this bond you have forged with Marble, know that I approve.”

Eric blinked twice at that last sentence. To him, it sounded like, by proxy, he approved of their relationship.

“Uhhh, sir?”

“Whatever thou dost with Marble that allows her to express herself so freely, I would like thou to continue just that and to remain ‘good friends,’” Igneous restated his wishes, adding extra emphasis to his last two words. To Eric, the subtle air quotes were conveying to him that not even the head of household believed his little half-truth in entirety.

Eric certainly didn’t lie, but Igneous possibly knew there was more to it than that.

“It does an old soul well to see his daughter smile,” he concluded his little lecture with a much softer smirk.

“Nothing would be more awesome, frankly,” Eric assured him of his own stance. With the high pseudo-approval of their fledgeling relationship, things would be a lot smoother and more interesting from here on out.

Igneous nodded deeply, his eyes closing in mild reverence.

“Very well. Now, run along; you have class in the morning,” the stallion said, gesturing with an open hand towards the office door. Being dismissed, Eric reciprocated a nod in kind and stood up, smoothing out his shirt.

“Goodnight, sir,” Eric said before turning and making his way out. Just before he was about to exit into the common room and hang a left towards the stairs, Igneous called out to him.

“Oh, Eric?”

“Yes?” the human called back, pivoting on his heels and facing the sitting stallion once more.

“Thou truly must stop calling me, ‘sir.’”

Author's Note

Righto! There's chapter 4 done. Oh, if you're THAT much of a stickler for archaic conjugations and speech, let me know if I screwed anything in Igneous' part and I'll fix it up when I get the time.

Those of you who didn't get the memo via blog post, I'm extending the story one chapter because of reasons. So, two chapters left!

EDIT: Love waking up to comments all pointing out a bajillion errors that I remember explicitly fixing in Drive. Thanks google, for making me look like an illiterate fuckwit.