Equestria Handyman

“At last, my latest creation is complete!” Rarity boasts in pride taking a step away and taking off her glasses to admire her latest creation, wearing her usual white formal shirt with long sleeves, long purple skirt with matching high heels and a measuring tape wrapped around her neck.

In front of her was Mark, currently wearing a formal uniform with blue pants, black and tall boots with yellow diamonds encrusted in a pattern at the edge of each, white gloves. A red cape with an even darker and thick red piece of cloth acting as a belt as well as a brown one going sideways in the waist area and a long shirt covering most of the pants with long sleeves having the same yellow pattern at the edge.

At the moment he was trying to remain as still as possible with his arms raised while Rarity inspected the uniform with a critical eye, and smiled in satisfaction when she didn’t discover any flaw on it.

“Yes, with this I have proved that there is no attire in Equestria I can not create for either mares or stallions! You can lower your arms now dear.”

Mark complies and nods, rubbing the stiffness out of his shoulder “Congratulations Rarity, you really outdid yourself with this piece.”

“Aww thank you Mark, and thank you for agreeing to be my model for this little project of mine, both the measurement and the photoshoot session tomorrow.”

“It was my pleasure, it sounded like fun and hey I’m flattered that you considered me an ‘exotic eye catcher for your new line of clothes.” Plus it means I get to pose with beautiful mares for a whole day.”

Rarity smirks and raises an eyebrow as she crosses her arms “Oh really? I wonder why?”

“Ah come Rarity! Don’t be like that, I’m not made of stone and well…a man can have dreams too” He says with a blush causing the tailor to chuckle at his reaction.

“Oh I’m just joking dear, there is nothing wrong with finding joy in your work, and who knows maybe that special mare for you could be among those models” She teases him with a wink.

“I…I don’t think that wouldn’t be too professional for my part Rarity, I bet most of them are already married or have a herd or a coltfriend” Mark dismiss her remark as he looks away

“Oh I wouldn’t turn that possibility down just yet dear, you could be surprised.” She tells him with a knowing smile, while passing him his cloths folded and clean from when he arrived and a bag of bits at payment “Remember 8 am sharp.”
“Got it” He picked up both and went to change. “And since you brought it up, you pique my curiosity. If hypothetically one of them or even if it turns out that all those models were single, what would you do exactly?”

“Well first of all I suppose I would ask how is that even possible, and probably will start wondering if every stallion in Equestria is blind.” He replied honestly while leaving the changing room and handing her the ensemble she just made. “Then probably I would be a bit nervous, remind myself that this is a job and not a place to find dates and be as professional as possible. I mean this is really important to you Rarity. It would be cruel and unprofessional just going around trying to pick up girls when all they really want is to do their job.”

“Well that is really sweet of you to say Mark, but that doesn’t exactly answer my question.” She stopped him with a raised eyebrow.

“Rarity I swear I would not try anything, other than maybe take small peeks.”

“And why not?”

That reaction takes Mark completely off guard as she sighs and looks down before continuing “You still have difficulties assimilating some of our culture don’t you? Mark, in Equestria the birth rate of stallions might not be as bad as before but it is still very low.”

“I know that, Twilight taught me how now a days the birth between colts and fillies is one male for each six females and forty years ago it was even wider with one for each fifteen or so I think, making Equestria a mostly matriarchy nation, although now days stallion rights and reforms have been working hard on…”

Rarity stops him by raising her hand. “…Yeah, you know the facts but it appears you haven't exactly assimilated the social implication of what that represents.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me Mark, does Earth allow romance and the pursuit of relationships in the workplace?”

“Oh no, that is very frowned upon.”

“Well in Equestria it is the opposite, no pony cares about shows of affection and it is actually encouraged in some companies, as a sort of stress relief. A worker in love is an efficient worker.”

“What?!” Mark exclaims in complete shock at the news “But…how I…that doesn’t make any sense!”

“And that is the point. It really looks like you are still clashing with some aspects of our culture.” She smiles and puts her hand on his shoulder “But that is ok Mark, that is why your friends are here for you. To help you out to understand things better”

She let go as her eyes widened. “As a matter of fact I have the perfect book on the subject.” She goes to the living room and picks up a magazine from a coffee table. “Aha here it is” She hands it over to him and he looks at the contents of the cover page.

“Fashion week?” He reads out loud in front of the tailor.

“Read the subtitle underneath silly.”

He inspected it some more until something caught his attention “Top ten most common forms of flirting on the platform?”

“Exactly! It’s an article of the most used moves mares used to catch the attention of the stallion they wish to court, or be courted by.”

“Wait, in Equestria it’s the mare who flirts with the stallion?”

“Oh Marky, you still have a lot to learn. It is really hard to say for sure to be honest, sometimes the stallion engages the conversation, sometimes it is the mare. It makes no difference to be honest. But anyway, back on track, take this magazine, read the article and tomorrow if one mare gives you a signal don’t be afraid to ask her out, trust me mares love confident stallions.” She ends with a wink.

“Rarity I’m still not sure about this, I told you about that mostly as a joke!”

“Noneses! You are very sweet, kind and attractive young stallion Mark. Any mare would love to have a date with you.” She ends up kissing his cheek surprising the human as he looks at her with some heat on his face as she lightly pushes him out of the house “Remember! 8am sharp, and you better have read the article by then!” She calls before closing the door.

Ah, what just happened?

The human is left blinking in the middle of the street as he simply keeps walking toward his home with the magazine in one arm trying to figure out what just transpired unaware of the giggling fashionista peeking out of the window to make sure the human left.

Oh how I love playing matchmaker!”

Taking out her scroll she speed dialled a number “Lyra?…Yeah he just left, everything is set and ready!…It was just like you fear, our stud doesn’t know much about courtship, but I gave him a crash course. Is Milky ready too?…Excellent, oh that mare is just gonna a fall in love once she sees him with the ensemble I made…remember 8 am sharp, romance will be in the air~” She mentions in a sing-song voice.

Later that night

Reading the last sentence in the article Mark put down the magazine and sighs while rubbing his eyes. His mind was in turmoil with emotions and different thoughts at the moment.

God I need advice.

He took out his scroll and was about to call Celestia but stopped considering how things had gone so far with her and ultimately shook his head.

She would probably just tell me to take advantage and find a date, and Molly would probably suggest I sleep with all the models, not to mention, she has worked really hard to be where she is now. I can’t keep risking her having a relapse just because I was a pervert. I will not let her fall into old habits.

“Sorry Celly but I can’t keep relying on you for every romantic problem I have.” He starts to scroll through his list of contacts “Besides this seems more like a job for another princess” he smiles when he spots the name he was looking for and presses it to start the call.

“Young Mark! What a pleasant surprise hearing from you”

“Hi Luna, hope this isn’t a bad time”

“Nonsense, I always have time for my friends, and tonight was a slow night anyway. So I was mostly just painting my nails at the moment”

“That is good to hear because I could really use some wise advice from someone that knows what it’s like not knowing how things work in Equestria.”

“Oh you come to the right mare young Mark. There is no other mare that knows the feeling better than I, so tell me, what is on your mind?”

“Well, some days ago I took a job helping Rarity with a new line of clothes she wanted to try out. A stallion selection to be precise, she thought I would give her an special exotic edge to her line by modeling them as well, so one thing led to another and after doubling my salary and offering a copy of her creations free of charge I end up agreeing to a photoshoot tomorrow.”

“And the prospect is making you nervous?”

“Kind of, but not because of the photo session, the problem is that there will be supermodel mares there too, and I have the feeling that Rarity is trying to set me up on some sort of blind date with one of them…or at least I hope it is just one. I’m still trying to figure out the rules when it comes to herds.”

“I see? And you are not interested in seeking that kind of relationship at the moment?”

“That is the issue, I’m not completely sure, a part of me would like to try and learn what would it be like to form a herd, while the other, well…I'm terrified Luna, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the concept of polygamy being the norm here, where is the line between flirt and cheating? Is there a limit of how many mares one single stallion can have? Is it rude to even ask that question? Asking it makes me a pervert? How does a date work? By god how does a double date work? I…”

“Mark! Mark calmed down.” Luna says stopping him from his barrage of questions increasing his panic more and more, making him stop, signaling for her to continue “Deep breath, close your eyes and just clear your mind.” She instructs him to help him slow down his racing heart until he manages to relax.

“Ok…Ok I’m better now, but you see the problem now? I want to try but I’m not sure if I’ll ever have what it takes”

“Oh young Mark, I see your issue and to be perfectly honest this appears to be a subject my niece could be of greater help than I could but if you seek my advice I would say not to stress over it and simply let your heart take charge.”

“...You’re joking” Mark asks her in disbelief

“Like I told you many moons before, here in Equestria we are far more liberal and open in contrast to how they work on Earth according to what you told me.”

“Yeah I remember, I still can’t believe that you didn’t even know the concept of monogamy, or that it was something that rare to happen here.”

“Precisely! Call it a common custom, tradition or survival instincts. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter, most of the time in Equestria mares simply enjoy partaking in group activities, including intimate ones”

“Even you?”

“Sure, of course the issue there was more if a stud will ever have the courage to approach either my sister or I, and then if he would have the endurance to handle either or both of us.” She tells with a chuckle “Why the question? Are you perhaps offering some sort of arrangement?”

Mark's face turned red at the implication and was left speechless until he heard her chuckling “Just a jest young Mark.”

He joined in the laughter when he heard that. “Man Luna, you really caught me off guard just now.”

“I could tell by the silence, but don’t worry I know you are not ready for me or Tia yet”

He got stiff the moment he heard that.

Yet?

“Back on topic, if it eases your worries, before any herd begins a stallion needs to find that special alpha mare that he can confide with. A mare who can share his worries and discuss when and who could join their group. So you see? You don’t need to jump straight away into a group of mares, like any other relationship it needs work and to grow gradually at its own pace with cooperation and understanding of everyone involved. The only times a herd starts right away is when the stallion and/or mare invite over their friends with benefits into their circle and they agree. Yes Mark before you ask it’s far more common than you think, by my stars there are even cases where studs of pre existing herd after approval by his mates go and keep those relationships going, to ease the pressure of lonely mares until they find a herd of their own.”

“Are all relationships in Equestria really this casual and well…kind of promiscuous in general? No offense.”

“None taken and yes, they pretty much are, I mean if they weren’t, creating herds could be far more difficult don’t you think?” He could feel the sass from her voice.

“Point taken.”

“Of course this will always be your choice, young Mark. I'm not forcing you into something you feel uncomfortable with. I’m just telling you right now, there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to courting mares, just take it one step at a time. And remember, your friends will always be there for you when you are confused, or need any advice or wish to learn more about our culture.”

“Thank you Luna, that actually takes a huge weight off my shoulders.”

“Anytime young Mark, so what would you do in the end?”

“I’m not sure yet but for now I think I will simply let things flow naturally and see how things develop, and if by the end of the day I land a date, you will be the first one to know it”

“I wish you the best of luck then, let me know if you wish to speak with my niece in the future, for more advice this is her field of expertise after all” A ring is heard from Luna side. “Oh my pizza is here! We’ll talk later young Mark”

“Until next time Luna have a good night.”

“You too my friend” Luna ends the call leaving the human alone with his thoughts.

Find a marefriend, have I really gone this native? Oh who I’m kidding of course I have.

Mark chuckles to himself after some self reflection before looking at the stars in the sky.

Screw it! Any man dreams of having a harem at least once. If things work out maybe I could even invite Celly to join, and like the expression goes, when in Rome.

The next day

“Mark over here!” Rarity waves enthusiastically as the human makes his way to the park where various tents are lined up to change, a line of outfits were lined up nearby and photographic equipment and a stage were assembled to start the session.

“You are early, there are 10 minutes left before the session starts.” Rarity points out as she checks the watch on her wrist.

“Didn’t want to risk being late” Mark shrugs before smiling and looking around at the equipment. “Plus I was too excited to wait, it really looks like you really went all out with this photoshoot.”

“Well of course, if you wish to shine you need to use only the best!” Rarity proclaims with pride inflating her chest, resulting in a small chuckle from the human from her showboating.

“So where is everyone?” Mark asks with a raised eyebrow looking everywhere for the camera and modeling crew.

“None of the other models have arrived yet, and the camera crew are setting everything up in their tent, so let me introduce you to the team.” Rarity says in excitement as she grabs his wrist and guides him inside one of the tents, where four earth pony mares were hard at work setting everything up for the photo session, all wearing unusual outfits making them look more like models rather than part of the crew.

“Ah Rarity, why are the models setting everything up?”

She only chuckles at the comment. “No silly, those are simply the crew of Photo Finish each and everyone of them had a flare to pop and catch the eye the moment you see them, that is how she does things.” Rarity explains.

“Is this my star?!” Mark was startled when he suddenly heard a female voice with a german accent behind him, and when he turns around he saw a light blue earth pony mare with white straight mane and tail wearing black and purple sunglasses, a striped long sleeve shirt, a black long skirt with purple diamonds and a white string at the edge and a purple scarf currently inspecting Mark with a critical eye.

“Oh hi Pho…” Rarity starts to speak but the mare stops her without looking at her.

“Ah! I’m inspecting Miss Rarity, pleasantries can wait, now...” She raises her hand pointing out without saying anything before suddenly pointing at Mark “Introduce yourself!”

“Aw…hi? My name is Mark, and I’m here to help with the photo session by modeling some of the clothing lines, who are…”

“Aha! So it is you then! Yes, you will be the star of today! I can see it radiating from you, boy.” She exclaimed in an overly dramatic pose. “As for me I…am Photo Finish! One of the best fashion photographers in all of Equestria! With my camera I’m capable of finding and exposing…the magic!”

She then starts to circle around “And you my star have aroused my intrigue! Hmm…no tail, no fur, no horns” She started to list while getting closer to him.

“Hey what are you…?”

“Yes, yes indeed! I have never captured an image of a model like you before. I can see the raw beauty of you, powerful yet dormant, no that would not do it needs to be awoken! To be properly seen! This is the challenge that will fall on me: Photo Finish! And I...will find it!” She keeps narrating in her overly dramatic tone before returning to normal without saying anything for a moment “Now…I go!” She suddenly runs and helps the rest of the crew putting together the final details for the session leaving Mark blinking at the whole ordeal.

“What just happened?”

“Oh don’t give it too much mind dear. That is how Photo Finish does things, is part of her ritual to find the perfect photo, if anything you should feel pride, she is laying eyes on you! That means you have piqued her interest and believe me, for somepony that works with a lot of models and has seen it all. Doing so is nearly impossible, you really gave her a good impression.” Rarity tells him, giving him a wink.

“Now let's change your clothes while we wait for the rest.” Rarity guides him to the dressing room “So…did you read it?” She whispers once the two were alone.

“I read the article, yeah. And after giving thought I decided to to give it a try.”

“Wonderful!” Rarity virtually skipped at the news “Oh I love it when love is in the air!” She says while passing him the set of clothes he was modeling yesterday.

“Don’t get your hopes too high either Rarity, I’m not just going to say yes to the first mare that winks at me, I’m just saying I will keep my eyes open and let things develop naturally.” Mark replies before going to change, as Rarity smirks.

“Of course, completely reasonable, just know if you need any advice I’m always here~” Rarity says before leaving to give him privacy while he changes.

Once he was ready, Photo Finish didn’t waste any time and placed him on the set to take some pictures as she instructed him to do various simple poses to lose him up as she put it, before stopping and inspecting him once more.

“No, no, no this will not do.”

“Am I doing something wrong?” Mark asks in worry.

“Yes! You are not giving me anything! The energy is there but you are not doing anything with it. Boy what do you think this is it?”

“Ah…a photo session?”

“Wrong! Oh I see the problem now, you are not seeing what your role is, you don’t understand what a star's intent is. Are you a boy?”

“I thought you meant like a…”

“Of course not, so let me tell you, when you step into that set you are no longer Mark the boy of the stars, you are a symbol for all stallions in the world to look up to! When boys see you they must see a role model to imitate a symbol that shows power! Confidence! Self sufficient! They must see a stallion that can tame the hearts of any mare they set their sights on!” She proclaims in excitement.

“Ah I’m not sure how to reflect…”

“That is it! You are overthinking it, boy you must stop thinking at once!”

“Stop thinking?”

“Yes! You are only following instructions but are not showing me anything that I listed, I know it is there, I’m never wrong when seeing the magic, yours is definitely there, is screaming to be seen, but you refuse to let them play! Why are you torture them? I need a model not a puppet! Now from the top! Let try this again” She tells in frustration

“Miss Finish, the rest of the models have arrived.” One of the assistants mentions.

“Are they now? Hmm Good, change of plan, send them in, and you boy! Stay right there, I want you to see how the magic shines! Maybe all you need is the right motivation.”

Entering the tent, Mark saw three beautiful mares walking in, wearing formal night dresses like they were getting ready for the grand galloping gala.

The first was a bat pony that had a gothic air, with half closed eyes with dark blue shadow that matched her tail, short spiky mane similar to Rainbow Dash’s, and light blue fur. She was wearing a dark black formal one piece sleeveless dress with sparks that resemble stars, a blue corset, and white pearls. The whole ensemble gave her an incredible look but her expression made her look like she was tired or annoyed to be here right now.

“Can we move this along? I would like to be anywhere but here right now.” The bat pony mentions in complete disinterest looking away.

“Ah come on Umbral! Don’t you at least want to say hi to the new model? He looks kind of cute” A cheerful white pegasus mare with golden mane and tail suddenly comes close to Umbral for a hug. She was wearing a vibrant sky blue one piece dress with a pink belt with a V opening to show some of her cleavage, and a silver necklace with the pendant of the sun on it.

“Surprise, I told you to stop hugging me.” Umbral reproaches, still annoyed but making no attempt to push her away as Surprise only chuckles while pestering, before noticing Mark and letting go, waving hello at him. He does the same and then looks to the final mare that, contrary to Surprise and Umbral, seems to be the most reserved as she kept her head low and was wearing a dark green hood to cover her face.

She was also wearing a two piece dress with a cloud white top with semi transparent sleeves and a long forest green skirt bottom as well as what appeared to be a gray bow tie and green globes. For what he could see, she looked like an earth pony with yellow fur and blue mane and tail. Looking up she made eye contact with him before immediately looking down in embarrassment.

Needless to say all 3 look simply gorgeous and Mark just couldn’t keep his eyes away from them being mesmerized by each and everyone of their unique charms. A fact that Finish didn’t waste time in notice and smiles as an idea formed in her head.

“Yeah, now we’re cooking”

“Oh, Oh, Photo Finish! Can I go first? Please, please, please I promise I will stay still” Surprise insists on wanting to be placed yet, she stops her dead in her tracks “No! You! Get in position!” Photo Finish commands pointing at Umbral and then at Mark, much to her surprise “Me? You want me to have a session with a noob?” She says in frustration.

“Don’t question my art! Now move, move, move!” Photo points at him once more making her shrug and roll her eyes. “Whatever, if it means I can get out of here quickly!” She says in disinterest as she goes to stand next to Mark “Hi my name is…”

“Not interested, listen buddy here is how things are gonna be I do my thing you just stay there and smile and we will be cool got it? You wouldn’t want to be on my bad side.” She warned him, flashing her teeths. Irking the human with her attitude.

Geez what a diva, maybe someone should teach her some humility, in fact, why not have a bit of fun?

He starts to ponder, starting to get an idea on what to do.

“Now…we improvise! Show me what you can do boy, teach me how you would enchant a mare, woo my model!” Photo Finish instructs as she ready her camera

“Ja! This I want to see.” Umbral says not impressed at all looking at Mark with a raised eyebrow “Friendly warning boy…I bite.”

“Fine by me...” He smiles and extends his hand for her as if they were about to dance which makes her roll her eyes and take it only to be brought forward as he grabs her waist and extends their arms while smirking forcing her to look him in the eyes “...I can bite back.” He proclaims much to her surprise as Photo captures the exact moment Umbral looks at him in surprise and had some pink tint on her cheeks. “Let dance, sweetie.”

“Wow, did it just get real hot in here?” Surprise asks looking around.

“Yes! That is it, the magic at last, keep going! We are not here, embrace your fake setting!” Photo instruct as Mark starts to lead, actually making them dance as Umbral was caught off guard by his actions and how his hands keep moving her like a puppet with subtle and slow actions, caressing of her waist, sudden spins and dips and he making her hug herself with his hands intertwined with hers that just keep catching Umbral unaware as he keeps her focus on his eyes, teasing her repeatedly with small breaths near her mouth taunting her to move forward. .

At the time she wanted to gain control but each soft touch, each whisper of nothingness, each proximity of his lips just kept her in a sort of calmed trance, that implores her not to ruin the moment and just enjoy the sensation as much as she could, and make her want him to stop the tease and actually kiss her already, something that unfortunately never arrived.

It wasn’t until she heard the sound of Photo Finish firing at a quick pace that she managed to snap out of it and realized that they both stopped dancing and were giving their audience a quick show. “Friendly advice? You don’t want to be on my bad side either.” Mark tells her with a smirk making her blush and look away in anger. “Show off.” She mutters, refusing to make eye contact.

“Yes! I have uncovered a treasure trove ready to be seen! Next model! Do the same, enchant these models! Make them want you!” Photo instructed as Surprise takes her friend's place and things soon start to flow more naturally for Mark, as after taking a deep breath he lets his instincts do the talking and lead each mare according to their personalities, in different settings. With Surprise being more as if the two were just playing pretend, making her hard to read, not sure if she was genuinely interested, or found a way to tease him back, as they dance a bit faster, and with the third mare whose name he found out was Milky Way, had a stiff beginning but once they relaxed they kept enjoying the session, as she was friendly although not as energetic as Surprise, and whose movements feel more natural and organic, instead of wanting to tease or have fun like the other two were.

From a formal gala, to a day in the park, to an exercise session all four of them keep going through the motions and wardrobe changes without even caring or noticing the camera rapidly firing shot after shot.

The beach setting was probably the most challenging for Mark as he had to face all three models wearing two piece swimming suits that allow them to show how they each have fairly big breasts, and made sure to engrave it into his mind.
With Umbral using the chance to take revenge by ‘accidentally’ almost making him cup one of her breasts on more than one occasion. Surprise, constantly hugging him pressing her breast against his arms, chest or even part of his face and Milky Way whose boobs were easily the same size as Celestia’s, was almost impossible not to notice.

How he managed to complete the session hiding his boner was nothing less than a miracle, on his part, as he had to muster all of his will power to power through.

Starting to get lost at one point he briefly stops the session to approach Photo Finish with an intense glare “What is it?” She ask with neutrality but rather than answer he simple approach her and took hold of her glasses

“Nothing, I simply couldn’t continue watching you hide your own magic either” Caught off guard Photo Finish was surprised when he removed her glasses so he could see directly, her purple eyes staring back at him as he smiled “You have beautiful eyes Photo Finish, you should let the world see them more often.” Still semi paralized she didn’t stop him from hanging said glasses on her scarf and returned to the set to continue the session.

Returning from her stupor, Photo Finish brought up her camera again. “Continue!” She proclaimed like nothing had happened and kept taking photos.

I must be careful, this boy's magic is too intense, I almost got caught on the blast! Photo Finish thought gulping at the still fresh memory in her mind.

Soon everyone present started to lose the notion of time as Mark was able to find his own pace and model on his own with more assertiveness, as the models needed a moment to recover and give Photo Finish enough material to work with.

“Will that be enough?” Mark stopped posing to look at Photo Finish who remained quiet for a moment before standing up, putting her glasses back on and passing her card to him “Yes, I have seen more than enough, I have seen the latent magic in you my boy, and I love it. If you ever want to model again, call me…at once! I would make sure that all of Equestria knows your name” She exclaimed in an overly dramatic voice, before grabbing his checks and kissing both much to his surprise. “And now…I leave!” She then turns around and rushes off to the tent with her crew grabbing all of her equipment and leaving as well.

“Oh! A career as a model? You should keep that card darling! You never know, maybe it could be a side gig” Rarity teases him a little before starting to pack her clothes up. “Thanks again for doing this for me Mark, you really helped me promote my new line”

“It was nothing Rarity, it was kind of fun. A bit more intense that I expected at one point, but fun”

“Really now?” Rarity looks back at him with a smirk “And when was that moment exactly?” She ask with a knowing smile as he smirks back and look at her

“You set up that swim suit section, didn’t you?”

“I just thought it could help you open up to the idea of entering the dating game darling, and I’m sure you weren’t the only one that had fun” She tease pointing at the rest of the mares who were currently chatting with one another with their regular clothing, Umbral wearing jeans, a spiked bracelet on her right arm, a leather jacket and dark purple tank top. Surprise wearing a pink skirt, and a yellow t-shirt that matched her mane and Milky a long blue skirt and white button up shirt with short sleeves.

“You really left an impression on them, Marky dear.”

“Ah come on you are just saying that.”

“No I mean it Mark, I’m not sure how or what exactly you did back then but Surprise was right, things sure heated up once you loosened up, even I was half wanting to have a turn dancing.”

“Really?”

She nods with a smile “Really, so much so I would love to take you dancing later on but for now.” She gives him a little push. “Go ahead, talk to them.”

“What? No, I’m not sure I could trust myself. The bikini session is still very fresh in my mind and…”

“Come on!” She insisted, “Be daring, live a little I promise, none of them bite…well maybe Umbral but she won't do it, I promise.” She gave him another shove as he looked back at her confused for a moment before ultimately deciding to comply and approach them. He was nervous but knew Rarity was right and more importantly he wanted to know more about those three.

“Ah excuse me” Mark called the attention of the models who all looked at him. “Sorry to bother, I just wanted to say that all of you did an incredible…”

“Aww, you’re nervous! Don’t be. We are all friends here.” Surprise suddenly exclaimed bringing him into a hug “My name is Surprise by the way, I know you pretty much, know it by now but I like to introduce myself” She gave him a big grin as she let him go.

“And live up to your name I noticed.” Mark tells, still shaken by being caught off guard, making her chuckle. “Guilty as charged! And these are my friends…”

“Oh no!” Umbral suddenly rushed forward and pointed an accusing finger at her “You are not introducing us again, last time you said I was a biker gang leader and Milky was a secret agent.”

“It was a joke” Surprise defended herself.

“We know Surprise but sometimes you can be a tad bit intense.” Milky Way tells her, placing her hand on the pegasus shoulder before looking at Mark “My name is Milky Way by the way, nice to meet you…Mark was it?”

“Yep, Mark Stars. The last one isn’t my last name by the by, just a title I kind of sort of got”

“You got that title? Ok now I want to hear that story. The name is Umbral” she points at herself “Don’t tick me off or mess with my friends and we will be cool, so what is the deal with you Stars? What exactly are you?”

“Umbral! Could you try being more delicate?” Milky reproaches her friend as she only rolls her eyes. “Please, like you two don’t want to know as well.”

“She’s right, I would like to hear the story.” Surprise replies casually.

“Well…yeah but we could have asked more nicely.”

Mark only chuckles at the antics before answering. “It's ok, I get that reaction a lot and to answer, my race is called humans, and I suppose you could think of me as an alien…not that kind of alien! No I don’t have strange alien powers or a spaceship” He was quick to answer before Surprise could ask the obvious question making her look down in disappointment

“You get those questions a lot, eh Stars?” Umbral question with a raised eyebrow.

“More than what you might think, unfortunately. And sorry to disappoint you but not even I know how I came here, one day I simply appear and crash through Princess Celestia's ceiling in the middle of Day Court, with almost no memory besides my name”

“Wait, wait, wait! You figuratively and literally just crashed into the Princess day court, and lived to tell the tale?” Umbral asks in shock.

“That is one heck of a surprise, Marky.” Surprise tells with a big grin.

“How did you survive that? Or didn’t get arrested?” Milky asks equally invested.

“Oh it's a long boring story, you don’t want to hear it.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Milky mentions with a smile. “I for one would like to know more about that, say maybe while drinking a coffee?” She asks him, fluttering her eyelash catching him by surprise.

“What?”

“Come on girls, that would not be fair! We should tell him about us too” Surprise adds, causing Umbral to chuckle “Ah what the heck not like I’m doing much at the moment, so what do you say Stars? One coffee tomorrow at say noom?”

Did she…are all three asking me? No, I’m overthinking it, this is probably just coffee

“Sure I would like that, where do we go?”

“Oh! What if we don’t know? Let's meet at the center of the plaza, and THEN find a place to drink coffee! That way it will make it more interesting.” Her companions simply shrug and nod.

“Works for me, see you there Stars, oh and about that modeling gig?” She gets closer to him “I say go for it at least part time. I still need to get you back.” She practically whispers with their faces real close and she blows him a kiss and wink before leaving with her friends “By Marky! It was nice meeting you!” Surprise wave before following her friends leaving him frozen in shock, until the smirking face of Rarity appears in his field of vision.

“Mark Stars, you little liar!” She playfully reproached giving him a light shove “And you were nervous about entering the game, you are a natural!”

“What?”

“Not only did you make three new friends, you got yourself a play date like it was nothing”

“So?”

“So? Mark dear, do you have any idea how many drink invitations eventually become a date?”

“A date!?”

“Relax, darling it's not like anything out of the ordinary is gonna happen, you will only be four friends exchanging stories, how things develop from there is completely up to you. But it felt nice right?”

“Yeah it really was. Maybe you are right Rarity, perhaps it’s time for me to enter the dating world”

“That is fantastic dear! And I will be more than happy to help you out if you need anything else, but for now just have fun with your new friends…and if any of them catches your eye, let me know and I will teach you how to court your alpha mare”

“Alpha mare?” Mark looks at her confused, as she put her hand over his shoulder. “We have much to discuss.”

As they advance Rarity looks at Lyra looking at them from the bushes as she winks and gives her a thumbs up, making her jump from joy.