A pair of green eyes overlook the back end of the farmland accompanied by a family of five, plus one visitor. Shuffling his shoulders to adjust his saddlebags, Cedar trots his way onto the official property, pacing with haste toward the homestead.

Chestnut is up early for the first time in a week, his birthday having passed the day before yesterday. Gathering breakfast for himself and his partner since the elder residents are out of town, he looks out the window to see a figure making its way toward the door. Typically he wouldn't be bothered by the occasional visitor, but he'd recognize that face from a mile away.

It's his older brother, Cedar.

Most siblings would be happy to see each other after a while of being apart, giving each other a warm, embracing welcome. Upon hearing the front door creak open and slam shut Chestnut winces, holding his breath as he listens, hoofsteps coming directly to the kitchen.

Cedar stands in the doorway, leaning against the frame of it as Chestnut stares for a moment. As much as he's not a fan of Cedar's company, Cedar is his older brother, and Chestnut isn't one to start drama. It'd be best to start nice and go from there.

"Well hi!" he greets with a warm smile, looking down at the ingredients he'd gathered for himself and CJ after. Pancake mix, eggs and fish—though of course the fish isn't for him. He has no idea how to cook meat, so he's glad she loves it raw.

"You eaten breakfast yet? Makin' pancakes and eggs," Chestnut asks, politely offering for Cedar to be involved. Cedar tilts his head, eyes locked on the raw fish. Cocking an eyebrow, the elder sibling shows his curiosity.

"Ah ate already. When the fuck didya start eatin' fish?" Cedar asks, nodding his head toward the orange-colored seafood.

Chestnut attempts to look past the doorway, wondering where CJ is. It wouldn't need explaining if she were in here. She probably won’t be long...

"Ain't for me," he replies. Cedar smirks, deciding to test the waters.

“No one in this household eats fish, c’mon now. Ain’t gotta be embarrassed,” Cedar says with a roll of his eyes, Chestnut pursing his lips at the comment.

“Actually, I do,” Cloudjumper says, meandering her way past Cedar and into the kitchen. Those paws of hers are awfully quiet! Cedar’d jumped at the sudden reveal of another right beside him, looking over at the cat to realize that the fish isn’t, in fact, being eaten by Chestnut.

Cloudjumper walks over to Chestnut, giving him a little smooch on the cheek before turning to face Cedar. Having no knowledge of siblings, she finds it a bit strange that they share a strikingly similar color scheme, though Cedar’s is darker and inverted. Also, Cedar’s eyes are green while Chestnut’s are blue. They’re both clearly the same breed, their body sizes are comparable, Chestnut being roughly a quarter of a head taller, and they even look pretty similar in the face. She’d think they were brothers!

“Nice to meet you, I’m Cloudjumper,” she says with a nod, though she doesn’t entertain any formal greeting.

“Cedar,” the ‘new’ stallion returns simply, looking at her and then at Chestnut.

“Never thought I’d come here t’bare witness to mah little brother actually havin’ a lady-friend,” Cedar says pointedly, that smirk of his returning.

Cloudjumper had caught that—brother? Really? Why hadn’t Chestnut mentioned him before?

“Mmh, woulda happened eventually,” Chestnut returns, starting to mix the pancake ingredients together while their conversation starts.

“How long y’all been together?”

“Uh… ‘bout a month now,” Chestnut replies while he mixes the pancake batter together thoroughly. Cloudjumper is mostly listening, while examining Chestnut’s body language. She’s getting a strong vibe that he’s not super comfortable, so she keeps her eyes peeled for any sudden changes or triggers.

“Took you twenty damn years. ‘Bout time,” Cedar says, eyes wandering around the kitchen. Looks like not much has changed, which results in a bored expression overcoming the older brother’s features.

“Yep, not like I was bustin’ my ass for the past few years or anythin’.”

Cloudjumper cocks an eyebrow. She’s heard Chestnut curse before, but never in casual conversation, not once. His ears are partially folded back, another sign of discomfort.

“Fair ‘nuff, though y’can’t say ya didn’t turn down a couple hussies in highschool.”

Chestnut’s ears fold all the way back now. He’s becoming agitated. Cloudjumper looks at Cedar with surprise. Hussies?

“Maybe I wasn’t interested in girls that my brother was busy fuckin’,” Chestnut says as he stops his mixing, his expression having changed in a single moment, his tone lightly seething. He is most certainly not happy. Cloudjumper is incredibly confused—he’s usually so calm, kind and level-headed, why’s he so… volatile all of a sudden?

“Shit, yer gettin' me in cahoots—you know us drafts are strong breeders, boy,” Cedar says, to which Chestnut slides the mix of pancake batter away from himself and removes himself from his seat. CJ can see him gnawing at the inside of his cheeks in an attempt to not go off. There must be some bad history between them; Cloudjumper has never struck him as the type to be so short with someone.

“I know yer antagonizin’ me and I ain’t stickin’ around for it right now,” Chestnut says, walking out of the kitchen. Cloudjumper’s eyes widen as her partner makes his way out of the kitchen and out the front door, even letting it slam the same way Cedar had.

She looks at the only stallion left in the house with bewilderment, before shaking her head and following Chestnut. She’s not gonna be left here with someone she doesn’t know more than the first name of, and the way he’s looking at her as she walks out is rubbing her the wrong way. It hasn’t even been three minutes and she can say that she’s not much of a fan of Chestnut’s brother.

“Enjoy yourself now,” Cedar says, even daring to wink at her. She grimaces, disgust on her face before shutting the door behind herself. Chestnut is already down the driveway, almost at the path to town already. She opens her wings and takes off into the air landing beside him shortly after, joining him in his trot.

“Are you okay?” she asks, receiving a sigh from the stallion just after.

“Yeah. Sorry for the way I was actin’, it’s just, well… you’d know if you knew Cedar. He ain’t very fun to be around. Thinks Equiis revolves around his head or somethin’..” Chestnut says, giving her a little of his mind when it comes to what he thinks about the stallion back at the house.

“He was workin’ his way up to pissin’ me off ‘cause he gets a laugh out of it. He does it every time he comes over,” Chestnut continues, looking back at the house briefly before returning his line of sight toward town. It’s Cloudjumper’s turn to let her ears fold back. If Chestnut isn’t having any sort of bias and what he’s saying is absolutely true, then it’s no wonder he wanted to get out. It’s just a shame that even after only a few minutes, he couldn’t stand to be around his own brother.

“Have you ever considered giving him a black eye?” Cloudjumper asks, to which Chestnut snorts.

“Violence don’t solve nothin’.”

“Neither does walking away from him to let him win,” she points out, to which Chestnut grumbles. She knows it’s directed at her, but she can’t help but feel like it’s kinda cute.

“You’re just letting him know that he’s getting to you. If it isn’t at its worst now, imagine what he’s gonna be like when we get back.”

Chestnut speeds up his trot, though Cloudjumper has no issue meeting his pace. Chestnut groans as he feels his stomach rumble.

“Ain’t even had breakfast,” he says.

“We could get something in town. I don’t mind not having fish,” she says. It’s a daily thing (eating fish, that is) for her thanks to him, so missing a morning of good ol’ salmon or tuna is fine if it means he can avoid conflict.

“Yer gonna turn into a fish one day,” Chestnut jokes, looking over at his partner as she jogs alongside him. It’s strange how loud his steps are in comparison to hers. He's always been used to the sound of hooves, always clippity-clopping along—but she's virtually silent, even at a fast trot. Seeing steps hit the ground with no noise being made is unusual, in a fascinating way.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" she asks, noticing him staring, snapping him out of thinking about her silent steps.

"Yeah, just uh… thinking, I guess."

"About?"

"What we're gonna get to eat, mostly."

"While staring at my paws?"

"I'll eat those too! Beans are good for yer health!"

Cloudjumper grins.

"Mostly just wondering how I'm gonna deal with Cedar. Usually when he comes over, it's for a few days. Guess he gets lonely over in his little cabin," he says. Cloudjumper doesn't really know anything other than the little bit of what she's just been told, so knowing exactly what to say doesn't really come to mind.

"Maybe you should just approach him and ask him not to mess with you?" she decides to suggest. It's something at least.

"Tried that before, it worked for an hour 'n' he was right back at it."

Ouch.

"Well, rile him up a little bit. Fight fire with fire." she suggests, though she knows better. Chestnut isn't the type to tease outside a friendly boundary.

"He's persistent, that won't get to him. He'll see it as a challenge."

The feline gives up a mildly defeated expression. If what Chestnut is saying is true, then it really does sound like Cedar needs a little wake up call. She's pretty confident that Chestnut won't get physical, and he's already said that violence won't solve anything, which it typically doesn't.

"For now, let's just get breakfast."

Cloudjumper agrees with a nod. She's hungry!

The duo makes their way into town, finding interest in a small restaurant befitting the countryside. Chestnut settles for exactly what he was making at home, pancakes and eggs, CJ ordering the same since the rest isn't super interesting. Enjoying breakfast together seems to calm Chestnut down considerably, that gentle smile returning as he eats. By the time they're finished, he's looking and sounding pretty content!

After paying their bill, they leave the premises with full stomachs and happy faces.

"I ain't exactly rushin' to go back to the farm. Wanna do some shopping?"

“Yeah! Did you bring any bits with you?" she asks, receiving a head shake from Chestnut.

"We'll stop by the bank and get some."

Said bank is only a couple doors down, so once that's accomplished, Chestnut gives CJ some bits to spend and they begin their shopping.

She'd felt a bit opposed to taking money from him, but tried her best not to make a fuss over it. Knowing him, he would've insisted…

CJ's first stop is a clothing store, interested in what sort of apparel she may be able to pick up for a particular night out with her partner. Most of it seems to be related to the area's residents; plaid, checkered or complimentary to the earthy style of the surrounding area, but there's a few sections that really catch her attention with things more befitting of her style. Nothing too flashy or revealing, but enough to go with her colors and body style. A couple of cute fully-sleeved shirts mostly fits her wants for now, considering the choices are a little limited…

That is until she'd managed to discover the adult apparel in the back. Not at all embarrassed with her findings, she picks out some fishnet and regular stockings, the latter luckily having a hoofless option for her paws to move freely. She decides the food market would be a good next choice while Chestnut adventures the shop designated mostly for domesticated animals, or at least the kind that can't talk to ponies.

He'd wound up finding a rather big ball of yarn! Feeling humorous, he decides to buy it out of curiosity—CJ might like it, or she might take offense to it, he's not sure. He recalls seeing her rolling around in a field in the west side of the property where wild catnip had been growing as well, so he picks up a jar of the stuff since she seems to really like it. The two cross paths as they're moving to separate stores, agreeing to meet up within a certain time frame at the middle of the market.

It's Chestnut's turn in the clothing store, and he also decides to pick up some shirts. He picks a couple of white t-shirts to go with the jacket his father had gotten him for his birthday, as well as a hemp-braided necklace with an assortment of earthy colored beads on it to go with an outfit. Having been in this store before, he heads to the back due to, again, his own curious nature…

There's lots of revealing clothing back here, though most of it seems more centered for females. Unwavering to the idea that he's in a section that mostly girls browse, he looks through the aisles anyhow, making discoveries and keeping mental notes in case his new partner mentions liking anything.

When he stumbles into a rack of collars, he becomes a little confused. As inexperienced as he is in the bedroom, still pretty new to it all, he doesn't quite get the gist of anyone wearing a collar for any reason other than aesthetic. Spotting a white collar held together with a hollow silver metal heart in the middle gives him the idea that it might look nice on CJ, so he picks that up as well. It's meant to be bought with a leash, but he doesn't know that. It's just one of those choker things, right? Like a necklace, but closer fitting. It would contrast her brown fur nicely!

Each of them spot a few more things that either they like, or that they think each other may like. With the hour coming to an end, they meet up at the center of the market, though they don’t share their purchases with each other just yet.

“Pretty quiet for a weekend at the market,” Chestnut notes aloud, his eyes scanning the surroundings. There're about a dozen ponies in comparison to the usual, sometimes going upward of forty or fifty.

“Ready to go?” he asks, receiving a nod from his feline companion. She’s carrying her bags neatly between her teeth, ready to return to where they came from. He picks his own bags up, the couple once again returning to a trot as they return to the farmhouse and put their things in Chestnut’s room, or at least for now. They’re surprised to find Cedar wandering around the apple trees near the backend of the property, just walking around.

“Looks like he got bored,” Cloudjumper says, pressing her cheek against Chestnut’s neck as they look out the kitchen window at the stallion roaming. Cedar makes another round, circling the trees before starting to walk back toward the house.

“I gotta use the restroom real quick, be right back,” CJ says, giving Chestnut a little smooch on the cheek. She plods off, leaving him to do his thing for the moment. Deciding against staying indoors, he moves out to the porch and plops himself on the patio’s bench. With the season fading into fall and without the summer heat beating down on pretty much everything, it’s actually pretty comfortable!

Chestnut hears hoof steps on the patio, silently hoping that Cedar isn’t gonna turn the corner just to pick at him more. As those steps draw nearer, he looks up to see his darker-colored, green-eyed older brother turning the corner to take a seat beside him. Feeling a little annoyed, Chestnut remains quiet for the moment. He doesn’t want to engage in conversation when he’s just trying to peacefully relax.

Cedar has other plans, however.

“Ya got pretty pissy earlier, you feelin’ better?” Cedar asks, already prodding at his younger brother. Chestnut simply nods, doing his best to just stay calm and not escalate things. He would try to ignore Cedar’s clear want to antagonize, but that often results in Cedar just doing it more if anything.

“Saw you two carryin’ bags on the way back up to the house. Whatcha get?” Cedar asks, clearly prying.

“Some food,” Chestnut lies, resting his head on the cushioned arm of the bench.

“Yer tellin’ me they use those fancy bags at grocery stores now?” Cedar asks, prying harder. He knows darn well that they didn’t get just food.

“I guess,” Chestnut responds simply, trying to convey the message that he’d like to enjoy some peace with his tone. The older brother pokes his brother’s flank with a hoof, trying harder.

“Y’sure you weren’t gettin’ yerself somethin’ fancy fer yer cat friend?” he asks, before wiggling his eyebrows. Chestnut gives him one of those looks, the one that asks without words: Really? You’re questioning this?

“I got some shirts for the jacket dad got me on my birthday. There, ya got yer answer, now lemme get some peace,” Chestnut huffs, frowning at him. He’s doing well enough at remaining calm, so there’s that.

“Sounds like you need some ass, not some peace, partner,” Cedar says with yet another prying poke and a laugh to pair with it.

Cloudjumper had just started to head back to the patio, quietly making her way out of the door. The two brothers out front on the porch are a little too distracted to hear her, and she can hear them talking quite clearly as she approaches the front of the household. Deciding against getting in the middle of it, she doesn’t go around the corner, no—instead just opting to listen in to make sure things go smoothly.

"That is, assumin' she lets you get it,” Cedar says, continuing. Chestnut gives him an annoyed look, his ears half splayed.

"What?" Cedar asks, noticing the look from Chestnut.

"Don't tell me yer twenty-one and still ain't had yer dick wet."

Cloudjumper grimaces, wondering why Cedar would think he has the right to know something that personal.

"Don't tell me yer twenty-four and you still pick on others like a school kid," Chestnut counters, though instead of receiving aggression from Cedar, he gets a laugh.

"Yer defense tells me what I need to know."

Chestnut stares at Cedar, squinting. Why is he like this? Why does he feel the need to act the way he does? Trying to process what exactly Cedar means, Chestnut pushes.

"Whattya mean 'what ya need to know'?" he asks.

"You don't talk to others much, do ya?"

Chestnut recoils slightly, knowing well enough that that's true.

"Still not seein' the point."

Cedar rolls his eyes, looking at him as if he's a child.

"Yer still too focused on the farm, ain't ya. Took granny almost dyin' to get yer bum ass from bein' lazy, and now yer sittin' out here waitin' patiently for her like a lap dog."

The fur on Chestnut's neck starts to stand up, and he sits a little more upright. It seems Cedar wants to continue.

"I wouldn't be waitin'. She's fuckin' cute. That cat's got a nice ass on her," Cedar says, smiling. That causes Chestnut to make a turn in mood rather quickly, prodding his brother roughly on the shoulder with a hoof. Cloudjumper almost even steps in, wanting to voice her disdain, but she keeps herself quiet for now.

"That's enough," Chestnut says sternly, glaring at Cedar. Cedar cocks an eyebrow, his smile widening.

"What? You act like I'm gonna fuck her," he replies, bringing his hoof to his chin as if to think over it.

"...That wouldn't be a bad gig, actually. I’d bargain she’d be a fine romp in the hay—"

Cloudjumper's claws come out, digging into the porch as she starts to head toward the two siblings, well, that is until she hears a loud thmp!, a noise of pain follows before she flinches as a fully grown stallion flies through the air. That’s… a rare sight. It would appear the older earth pony has been gifted the ability of temporary flight, courtesy of his younger brother.

Cedar crashes through the porches' wooden fencing, landing on his shoulder before rolling through the garden into the yard. The older stallion is holding his nose, cursing loudly as Chestnut bounds off of the porch over the side garden, quickly walking up to his grounded brother and slapping his hooves away from his face.

Cedar, with his nose busted and his eyes watering, looks up at his assailant. Chestnut's headbutt really did a number on him—he's bleeding all over his own face.

The younger brother doesn’t say a word, simply staring down at his older sibling as if to bore holes with his eyes alone. It’s painfully clear that Cedar’d struck a very touchy nerve.

Cedar attempts to look up at his brother trying to say something, but instead winds up coughing as he realizes being thrown knocked the wind out of him. On top of that, his shoulder feels like someone had just stomped on it, he can't see anything with his eyes watering, and he's certainly not speaking while his nose is bleeding the way it is.

"Get up." Chestnut demands. Cedar isn’t exactly on the winning side of this battle, so obeying feels like an obligation.

So he obeys, rolling to his good side while he wheezes for air, his nose dripping blood into the grass. All it took was a headbutt and a throw—he knew Chestnut was capable, but not that capable. Coming to a stand, he turns to face his younger, but bigger brother. He can't stand on one of his forelegs, his shoulder hurts too much. Usually he'd feel enraged in a situation like this, but getting this kind of treatment from someone he's known for as long as he can remember, well…

“Yer lucky I don’t have the heart t’keep goin’,” Chestnut mutters, staring daggers at Cedar. The latter pony swallows thickly, avoiding eye contact with the farmhand that’d bloodied his nose and messed up his shoulder. Cedar never felt scared of Chestnut up until this point—the younger of the two always seemed scared of conflict, be it physical or verbal. It would seem that he has something to fight for, something Cedar should’ve foreseen rather than used as a utility to piss Chestnut off.

“Gettin’ a rise outta me feels a lot less worth it now, doesn’t it?” Chestnut asks. Cedar seems fixated on the grass for a moment, before catching something in the corner of his eye: Cloudjumper. He was already hurting, but now he just feels stupid. Judging by the look on her face, she’d heard what was said before Chestnut threw him.

Chestnut walks in front of Cedar to block his brother’s line of sight from CJ, lowering his head just enough to be eye level with Cedar.

Cloudjumper, still on the sidelines, is surprised by Chestnut’s attitude. In her weeks with him he’s been calm and collected, busy and focused. In a way that’s not demeaning, she’s never really envisioned him as a commanding or dominating type. With her involved, however, it’s clear that he’s wanting to get a message across.

And despite Chestnut’s description of Cedar’s antagonistic habits, it seems to be working.

“I’m sorry,” Cedar finally manages to get out. Chestnut remains where he is for another moment before turning toward the house, walking to the porch. Meeting his gaze with the part of the porch that’s now in need of repairs, he mentally kicks himself. Mom, Dad, Granny and Gramps? They won’t be pleased.

“Are you alright?” Cloudjumper asks as Chestnut walks onto the porch. He nods, before nodding toward Cedar.

“Probably a better question for him.”

“Fair enough,” she smiles weakly, looking at Cedar. Despite what the asshole’d said about her not even five minutes ago, she can’t help but wince, sympathizing just a tiny bit for him. Cedar’s nose is dripping like a busted faucet, eyes watering from the pain of being headbutted right on the muzzle. She’s accidentally smacked her nose against things and that’s no fun, but having Chestnut’s forehead and weight thrown into someone’s face…

She grimaces, Chestnut catching her expression right as he goes back into the house. Cedar plops himself onto his ass in the grass, muttering as he tries his best not to sniff, knowing he’ll only wind up swallowing blood.

Cloudjumper starts turning to go into the house after Chestnut, but is surprised to find him walking right back outside, carrying two towels in his mouth. One is wet and the other is dry—Chestnut bounds over the porch’s garden and steps in front of Cedar, dropping the towels in front of him before turning around once more, going right back inside. She gets a good look at his face, and...

His expression sends chills down her spine. Mostly, because… well, he was expressionless. Such a stone-cold stare, giving no particular attention to anything other than looking straight forward. He doesn’t even give her a passing glance, which surprises her even more. It was probably just in her head, but the air almost felt chillier around her when he’d passed by for that moment.

Determined to help him feel better, the sphinx look-alike follows. She can tell, expressionless as Chestnut may’ve been, that he wasn’t feeling well at all regarding what he’d just done to his brother, even if Cedar was deserving of being put in his place, violent or not. She hears Chestnut going upstairs as she goes inside, following with some distance in mind as he heads toward his bedroom. He’s being completely silent, not even letting his ears pivot back to acknowledge her presence.

She can’t shake it, sensing his instability. Maybe giving him some space is a better idea? She’s never been this unsure of what to do before, caught in between following or retreating back downstairs. Standing beside the banister at the top of the stairs, she watches him walk toward his room with a worried look on her face.

“I’d like your company.”

She flinches, startled as Chestnut breaks the silence and turns to look at her. She scans him, hesitant at first, until she sees his eyes again.

They’re… glazed, watering. He’d looked inscrutable moments ago, even feeling scary to be around, but now?

He’s crying, tears rolling down his cheeks. He’s no longer so hard to read, those crying eyes clearly articulating sadness, grief. Seeing the massive lug who’s usually so warm and kind crying is certainly a disheartening sight, almost heartbreaking for Cloudjumper.

That creates a couple of realizations for the winged cat, one of which is realizing that she loves this guy. The other she’ll think about later, focusing for now on plodding along after Chestnut, walking with him at his side when she catches up. They gather together on his bed, Cloudjumper unfolding one of her wings in an attempt to wrap around his shoulder to pull him closer. He seems to have other plans, laying down on his side, pulling her with him.

When her head hits the sheets, she discovers her face is level with his neck. She looks up, silently questioning what he’s planning.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, clearing his throat, sniffling once.

"Don't apologize. You feel bad for hitting Cedar, right?"

"Yeah. I… still don't think violence solves anythin'. Just hurts others."

Cloudjumper frowns slightly, agreeing but also disagreeing. She believes some creatures may need a firm slap to the face. Sometimes it's hard getting a message through to others purely because they're incapable of listening to anyone else's reason but their own.

But she agrees that it only serves to hurt others. That's… kinda the point. She's kicked some ass before, and made friends with the same ponies just after. It didn't always end badly! Bruises heal!

"I know he's your brother, but don't let him pick on you, okay? I'm glad you stood up for yourself, personally," she says with an assuring smile. He shakes his head, seeming to disagree.

"I didn't stand up for me, I stood up for you. He was talkin' about… well, unsavory things, and—"

"He was talking about fucking me."

Chestnut purses his lips, nodding and clearing his throat again.

"Y...yeah. You heard?"

Cloudjumper's brows raise slightly, resting a paw on one of Chestnut's hooves. Her tail flicks gently, thumping against the sheets as her smile grows a little wider.

"I heard. I didn't expect to see you hurling him through the porch railing, I was on my way to giving him an earful," she says, kneading her paw against his hoof in an effort to assure his comfort. His ears fold back slightly, so she pulls a string that might make his attention shift from getting upset at himself.

"You could've just told him you fucked me, I wouldn't have minded. It's already happened, right?"

Never has she seen a stallion turn so red so quickly, his cheeks flushed in record time. Wriggling in place, he pointedly frowns at her, nose wrinkled in protest. He also seems a little confused.

"What's lyin' gonna solve? He'd just ask for details," he counters.

"We ain't uh, tied that knot anyhow. And that's fine. I'm plenty happy waitin'."

Cloudjumper struggles not to laugh, before lightly tapping his nose with a paw, tossing him a smirk as if to ask, 'Are you sure about that?'

"But you have fucked me. Remember?" she asks, winking at him, a small portion of her tongue poking out of her mouth, wiggling… oh!

Chestnut is at a loss of words for a moment, swallowing a metaphorical lump as he remembers having lodged her throat full of… him. He still remembers the sinful scene of his batter dripping languidly from her used maw, her moans trickling through the sound of her gasping for air.

"That's… different," he manages to weakly protest, but she had a feeling he'd say something like that.

"Not that much different. You still had your dick in me!" she confidently chirps, playfully patting his hoof with her paws. The feline raises her head to kiss his cheek, trailing her nose up to his ear just after.

"If you'd like to tie that knot, though, we're in a pretty good place to do it…"

Cloudjumper nips the base of his ear, a gentle purr rising from her throat as she retreats back to original position of laying beside him. She doesn't expect him to jump at the opportunity so much as she expects him to get flustered. She watches him for a few minutes as he continues silently blushing, his ears folded against his head with his tail lashing around behind him.

She doesn't expect what follows.

"D'you want me to mount you?" he asks.

That's… actually a really good question. She's by no means a small creature, bigger than the average stallion even! But…

Does she really want him to mount her? That'd actually be pretty fucking scary. As gentle of a giant as he may be, that doesn't stop the fact that he's enormous, and strapping to boot. She'd be sore for at least days, not counting the fact he'd probably pound her cervix into a coma. She's had some wild sex before, but…

Chestnut is in his own league of size and strength. Without restraint he could actually hurt her, even though she's by no means frail.

She reminds herself of the fact that she'd just witnessed him throw a stallion a head taller and far heavier than herself not even fifteen minutes ago like he was a sandbag.

Or how he operates a solid steel plow through heavy, damp mud like a hot knife through butter as if it's a cakewalk.

Or the other day, when he'd almost entirely uprooted a tree stump. A dead tree stump, but still. That takes some borderline herculean strength!

She ponders over that question for a little while, unsure of the answer. Well, until she realizes her inner loins feel like they're on fire and she's been rubbing her thighs together. There's no mistaking the feeling of her own twitching sex, or the result of her ongoing arousal; she's soaked, and she's been kneading at his hooves with her paws for the better part of the past ten minutes.

He's just been patiently waiting for her to answer.

So, does she want him to mount her? Well, the horny half of her is screaming yes, to finally let herself fully submit to a stallion—this one especially!—to get completely and utterly railed by him until she can't do anything but breathe for the remainder of the day.

But the sensible part of her is screaming to consider rationality, to keep in mind that it'd be his first time. If she were to redo her first time, she'd want it to be more memorable, something she could look back on positively. Her first time was, at best, 'Okay, I guess'.

Probably because the guy just wanted to get off and go. Chestnut doesn't strike her as the type to resonate with that, thankfully.

"Yes. Absolutely! But.. a part of me is saying no," she finally responds.

Chestnut, confused but not complaining, blinks curiously at her. He seems to be expecting an explanation which is understandable.

“I value my uterus, no offense. But at the same time… goddesses, yes.”

Chestnut still seems equally as confused. Right, he’s never had sex. What she’d just said was clearly an exaggeration, but she can’t help but feel like he’d batter her internally pretty hard if she just let him do what he wanted. Maybe elaborating for him is for the best.

“What I mean to say is I’m kinda worried you’ll get carried away like how you did with my throat,” CJ continues, twirling one of her paws to show she’s thinking of what to say.

“And you aren’t exactly a… small pony. That thing is practically a weapon,” CJ says with a little giggle, pointing toward his sheath. Chestnut peers down at his ‘weapon’, his confusion only continuing.

Goddesses, she has so much to teach him.

“It’s a metaphor. You have a huge dick.”

“Oh.”

He blinks once or twice, before shrugging.

“Again though, I can wait for another day. Right now honestly feels… poorly timed. I’m not really happy with myself and I don’t think sex would solve anything.”

That’s… honestly something she never thought she would hear come out of most stallions. Viewing personal problems before bedroom endeavors as priority is usually a girl-centric thing in most cases… sort of. That, or she’s heavily overthinking it.

“No offense, of course.”

“Oh no, none taken!” CJ responds in a comforting tone, patting Chestnut’s shoulder in an attempt to soothe her stallion. He smiles appreciatively, before tucking his head into her chest, taking a deep breath to admire her scent, finding comfort in his partner so close to him. It’s really sweet to see for the feline, such a goliath of an equine showing so much of himself to her outside of physicality.

Honestly, it’s refreshing.

“You wanna take a nap and sleep this one off, big guy?” CJ asks, to which Chesnut shakes his head ‘no’.

“No, I still have a couple things to do. I had an idea for that check that granddad gave me.”

Oh?

“What’s the big idea?” she asks. Chestnut stirs, hugging her a little tighter, though she can sense some anxiousness in his actions.

“It’s a surprise.” he answers, sounding somewhat short. It’s clear he wants to keep it to himself, at least for now.

“Mnnh, fine.” CJ insists before she gets herself in too deep. She can’t help but think about what he has in mind, though. It could be anything.

She rests with the stallion for a few minutes, absorbing the silence as she listens to the gentle rises and falls of his breathing. One of her paws traces along his side gently, helping the large earth pony to relax.

She must be doing something right, because that signature, gentle smile of his gradually returns to his face. As he calms down, she continues her affectionate actions by throwing in a few smooches and whispers of admiration for the brown-colored stallion in front of her.

It seems to perk him up quite a bit over the course of an hour.

Eventually, Chestnut decides that getting up and actually doing something rather than moping would be a better idea. Having essentially assaulted his brother earlier is still weighing on him some, but he’s at least feeling better now.

“I’d like t’go check somethin’ out. I’d like it if ya came along.”

Cloudjumper’s ears perk, her paws still rubbing against his side and flank. Oh?

“And what might that be?” she tries again, hoping he’ll slip up.

“Mmh… my statement implied it bein’ a surprise, so I’d like t’keep it that way.” Chestnut claims, before coming to a rise. Cloudjumper watches the massive earth stallion lumber about his room for a few moments before coming to a rise herself, stretching briefly before she follows him out of the house.

Cedar seems to be hiding somewhere. CJ picks up his scent, but she’s unaware of his whereabouts.

“Fair enough. Is it down in the market?” she asks, plodding alongside him. He seems content on indeed keeping it a surprise, his cheeks reddening as he smiles a little wider. If anything, she’s more than happy to know that he’s in a better mood.

If anything, she’s more than happy to know that he’ll only continue to get in a better mood. She’s never felt that way for a guy before, typically uncaring on whether or not they’d give half a shit about her, but now?

Goddesses, she’s unsure how she’d react if they were to suddenly separate. After today, and after him assailing his own sibling, after their escape to a more comfortable place to soothe his nerves…

He’s put in his effort in seeing that she’s comfortable in as many ways as she can think. She’d really, really like that next step with Chestnut. Sex has… honestly? Appealed to her since the start, but that’s probably because of her libido. Well, that and the fact that that’s what she was used to. Things have clearly steered course during the time she’s met Chestnut, but…

“You hungry?” he asks her, her face warming up. She’d been deafeningly quiet in the time they started heading toward town, and she’s only realizing it now.

“Yeah, a little. I could go for a bite.”

Chestnut steps closer to Cloudjumper on their walk, his side brushing against hers. It seems his mood is picking up!

With a nod, he continues toward the marketside of the nearest town. And when they’ve reached their destination, well… she can see what he seems to be up to!

Till then, though? Well, she’s perfectly happy being at his side, trotting alongside him. The smile on his face is contagious, and the way he acts makes her belly tingle in a wonderful way. Not to say any stallions she was screwing around with before were inherently bad, but she can tell that this one is certainly, at the least, good within heart.

Maybe she’s thinking a bit far ahead of herself, but… she could see herself spending a long, long time at Chestnut’s side.

She’s definitely looking forward to it.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay. Life is hell, but I'd promised myself I'd pump this story out. I'm sure there are plenty of flaws within this chapter, as I forced myself to rush and glance over it in a night while drinking, but fuck it—it's still following the same general path I'd wanted it to.

Enjoy.