About a month and a half later after the “little incident”, I found Suzanne surrounded by some people again. I was half ready to step in (this time less violently though) when I realised that those were different people. They weren’t bullying her either. To my surprise, they were laughing, chatting and trying to pet her.

When Suzzane saw me, she excused herself and rushed towards me.

“She’s yours?” Some younger kid asked.

“Yeah, my girlfriend.” I replied. I kind of wanted to say “wife” but I didn’t feel like explaining.

“Girlfriend? Like that you kiss her and-...?” He glanced at me with certain shock and disbelief.

“Brother, we do a lot more than that.” I chuckled and hugged the mare. “Mind if I take the lady away?”

“Uh, sure! No problem.” He stepped aside, still a little stumped, probably wondering whether I really was serious or not.

I noticed that in the small crowd, there was also some girl that goes to the same class with me. I didn’t pay that much attention to her presence that day though. We didn’t really even speak because there were too many people for my taste and I just longed to be on the way again. Me and the girl merely glanced directly at each other. It wasn’t until the next day, however, that she somewhat awkwardly approached me. We were in between classes and I had gotten to my desk early to work on some drawings when she came up to steal my attention.

“Hey, you’re Anon, right?” She seemed a little nervous and fidgety, and was trying to play it off as if she hadn't been spending the better part of the morning summoning up the courage to come and talk to me. Not because of me though, rather, she didn’t want to be seen talking to a weirdo like me. Suzzane being popular with a bunch of freshmen didn’t change the fact that my classmates still generally looked down on me.

“Yeah… Lucy?” I put down my sketchbook.

“Yeah.” She nodded, pausing with hesitation in her internal debate on whether or not to continue the conversation she started. Struggling to get her words out, she turned partially to walk away, but then abruptly turned back. “Hey, um… I wanted to ask about the pony.”
I lifted a brow in curiosity, and slight annoyance. I didn't mind talking about Suzanne, but having to justify my personal feelings and her intelligence was something that was already starting to get real old, real quick. "Was she always like that?"

Here we go... I picked up my pencil and started to open my book. "Like what?"

"I mean, she speaks a little weird and broken, but she seems pretty smart too, like she really does understand what you're telling her and stuff, right?" Her demeanor was difficult to read. I couldn’t tell whether was genuinely interested or someone was making her do it. Nonetheless, I answered.
"She had to learn the language from scratch, and is still working on the finer details. Why do you ask?"

“I kind of have a similar one at home but he-...” Lucy scratched her head, becoming increasingly and more visibly nervous about admitting that; I think I might have even seen a little sweat on her forehead as well. “I dunno, he just doesn’t seem to be like that.”

I set my book aside, “You have a pony? And you say it’s a “he”?” She suddenly had my full attention, curiosity piqued..

“...Yeah?” The girl seemed to be relieved about finally admitting it.

“I thought there were only females?” I almost stood up. This was news to me, though it probably wasn’t any kind of secret, really. If I just turned on the TV once in a while, I might have known it too but after I learned about Michelle, I no longer had a reason to watch TV or any other media; that’s why it came to me as a surprise.

“Probably not~” She made an awkward smile, rolling a strand of her straight brown hair around her finger.

“And, how long have you had him?”

“About two weeks or so and,.. yeah, there really weren’t any male ones before if that’s what you’re asking. He might be one of the first.” Lucy was kind enough to skip all the questions leading to what I really wanted to know. A little more relaxed now, she let go of her hair and sat down on an empty chair next to me. “He’s really nice but he’s a bit of a dummy. I mean, he definitely isn’t as smart as yours. Do you think that will change?”

“Well, it took a little time before Suzzane developed to the point where she is now.” I leaned on my desk with my elbows, holding my chin with a thumb and an index finger. “They leave the place completely oblivious of the world outside. They basically think they’re dogs because all their sped up youth, they’ve been raised alongside them.”

“How do you know so much about them and not even know that there are male ones too?”

“I uh, knew a woman who dug into this little mystery.” My finger automatically began drumming onto the desk. “But then I stopped searching.”

“Knew?” Lucy raised her eyebrow.

“She dug a little too deep…” I looked away, trying to hide my face for a moment. Thinking about Michelle again brought all kinds of memories.

“What do you mean?” The girl leaned over, moving her head in an attempt to look at me.

Instead of answering, I slowly dragged my finger across my neck when I glanced at her with as neutral of an expression as I was able to conjure.

“You’re just making fun of me. They wouldn’t kill someone for it.” She banged her fists into the desk.

“If you think so...” I frowned with a bit of a blank expression. I was still wondering what really happened to Stacy. Just when I finally almost forgot about her, she was brought up once again.

The girl stood up and seemed to consider leaving. I wouldn’t even try to stop her in all honesty, they weren’t memories that I was particularly interested in exploring and reliving at the moment anyway, but then she turned around:

“...What else do you know then?”

“Don’t know that much. But I think that the only truly sentient ones were the very first ones, who were probably the closest clones of the original sample of the salvaged DNA. Like Suzzane. I heard that the unexpected sentience was a ‘problem’ that they were trying to solve since the beginning. It could be that they’ve solved it already and your pony really is just an animal.”

“Well, how can I tell?” Lucy looked at me, as if I was to blame for all that.

“I dunno, you just do.” I didn’t really want to explain to her under which circumstances I found out. “Look into his eyes. Try to teach him some words. See if he will be able to construct some basic sentences.”

“...Could you have a look at him maybe?” She sort of nervously looked around. She was near my table for way too long and it wasn’t considered very cool to be spending time with someone like me.

“You know what? Fine, I’m actually kind of curious but I can’t really promise anything.” I decided to no longer prolong her suffering. “It’s not like I’m a professional at telling this stuff.”

“Cool. Saturday afternoon in the central park? Near the pond, where the big rocks are?” She came closer and spoke silently to make sure no one else could hear it.

“Alright. Be there at like 2, or something?” I gave a thumbs up.

“Okay.” She nodded and quickly withdrew back to her table. Not very long after, the bell rang and our teacher arrived.

…

Just as we agreed, I arrived at the park on Saturday afternoon. I had a slight suspicion that it might be some kind of intricate revenge for what happened with Tyler, so I hesitated taking Suzzane with me. However, when I told her what that was about, she insisted she’ll go as well.

At 14:06, Lucy was there and by her side really was a male pony, just like she said. He was even more colourful than my little pony, with only a tad shorter mane and slightly more prominent jaw. Other than his head, he was very similar in stature to Suzzane.

“So that how pony boy look like.” Suzzane exhaled. “Never see.”

“There weren’t any until some time ago, apparently.” I reminded her.

“Yes, right. He look…” The mare squinted her eyes.

“...Pretty?”

“Pretty funny.” She chuckled. “Like girl.”

“Well, real horses also look similar. I dunno. Maybe to him you look like a boy.” I grinned.

It made Suzzane laugh out loud a little, which made the two aware of our presence. The male pony rushed first towards us. He went straight to Suzzane, trying to sniff her like a dog would. She sort of sniffed him back, although a little bit more politely. It was there when you could truly see just how much human mannerism has rubbed onto her. Like when Suzzane was standing next to Stacy a year before, except switched places. Sure, Suzzane wasn’t yet as refined as Stacy and the colt was incredibly more feral than Suzzane was back then, but the similarity was there.

“Well, hi.” Lucy finally caught up. She looked a little bit more relaxed now, when out of the classroom. Nonetheless, she still seemed cautious about not being seen by someone who she might know. She gestured down at the boy pony, “So, that’s him.”

“Hi, I can see.” I waved with a little grin. “What was his name again?”

“Popper.” The girl sat down on an empty bench nearby.

“Hey Popper.” I glanced at him and sat next to her, leaving some space between us. I didn’t want to get too close.

“Pop!” the pony exclaimed and rushed towards me to slightly bump his head onto my face. Then he zoomed away again. I used to think that Suzzane was a severe case of ADHD but this one was something else. Then again, experiencing the world outside for the first time after being stuck in the facility must be quite overwhelming.

“So..? What do you think?” Lucy nudged me.

“I dunno, it’s really hard to tell. Suzzane was kind of feral at first as well but it is hard to tell at this point. I think you’ll just have to invest some time in him to see.” I rubbed my chin, then I turned to my right. “What do you think, Suzzane?” I asked the mare, but that was when I realised that she was already gone and they were already chasing each other around the park. Popper was after all the only one that was able to catch up with her at full speed. I mean, at least without a bicycle.

At some point she caught up to the colt and tackled him to the ground. A colourful ball of two ponies was rolling over the grass, impossible for anyone to tell who is who. Then, when they untangled, the positions switched and Popper started chasing after Suzzane.

“Wow. Huh.” I exhaled. For a split second, I felt a little jealous about not being able to have this kind of synergy with her. As a human, I was just too slow. “I guess she needed that.” I added after swallowing the unpleasant emotion.

After some time, Suzzane returned back, all tired yet gleaming.

“He silly but not stupid. Think there po- um, pot-... Potential!” She finally found the word that she was looking for. “Maybe not animal.”

“Really?” Both me and Lucy said simultaneously.

“Not know. But think.” Suzzane smiled and glanced at Lucy. “You want find out, yes?”

“I guess I do.”The girl admitted.

“Why?” Asked Suzzane suddenly.

“I mean, isn’t that obvious?”Lucy seemed a little confused.

“No. You want him feel more from life? You want to know him?” The mare continued.

“I dunno, I didn’t think about it that way. I was just curious.” The girl shrugged her shoulders, trying to look nonchalant.

“You love him?*

“What?!” Lucy widened her eyes.

“...You care of him?” Suzzane adjusted her sentence.

“I guess I do. I just-... Thought that if he had the potential to be more than this, I should help him?” Lucy said through her teeth, red in her face. “Jeez, I wasn’t prepared for this kind of question.”

Neither was I, but I was merely quietly chuckling in the back.

“Good. Anon also want that for me. That why I love him. Popper love you also.”

With that strange piece of dialogue, she returned to the chase game as if nothing ever happened.

“...Just to be clear, I am not trying to have the kind of relationship that you have with her.” Lucy glanced at me when the mare was gone. “I still think it’s pretty weird.”

“Oh yeah, I guess it is.” I chuckled. “I probably wouldn’t want it any other way though.”

…

Since then, Suzzane and I have been seeing the two at least once a week after school. If it was summer, it would likely be more often but as the fall slowly progressed, we had less and less pretty days without rain.

The two of us usually had to go to Lucy’s house first to pick Popper up, because he wasn’t allowed to go outside on his own; just like Suzzane back then. Then we’d go to the park or some other spacious place for the two ponies to play/teach. If the weather wasn’t ideal, we’d just stay in Lucy’s garden.

While at school, Lucy still kept her distance as she was still a bit afraid of being associated with me. Once we were alone though, she would become a different person. Her detached and disdained mask dissolved and underneath all that, she was actually kind of fun! She even apologised many times about her act but I didn’t really blame her in the first place. She wasn’t very popular in the first place and hanging out with me would not really help it. I knew very well just how cruel other kids can be to someone they don’t like or saw as different or weird.

About Popper, my feelings about him were mixed. At first, he was pretty much like a riddle to me. I wasn’t sure whether he really isn’t a lost cause, despite what Suzzane said. After all, Michelle stated that the newer generations were most likely dumbed down to an actual animal.

Is he special? Or is this just a waste of time? Or was Michelle plainly wrong about no more sentient ponies being produced?

Regardless of the infrequent visits, soon I had to admit that Popper really wasn’t stupid. He actually began showing a little bit of progress. He seemed to me a little more wild than Suzzane was back then but the male pony was making steady, albeit slow improvement with human language, just as well as with using some of the basic human instruments that would come in handy.

I have to say, while Lucy was also trying to teach Popper all kinds of stuff besides language while she was alone with him, Suzzane could always transfer the information better to the colt. After all, she underwent the same process before and, being the same species, she could reach out and understand him better than anyone else. Also, who else could teach him picking up objects using his hooves, other than someone who has the said appendages instead of hands? Suzzane turned out to be an amazing teacher: Thanks to her, Popper somehow learned to use his hooves the correct way even before being able to create his first short sentence. She was so efficient and enthusiastic, that with her around him, I actually felt almost redundant there. It was as if I was present merely to bring them all together so Suzzane could do her magic while I was chatting with Lucy and watching them.

…

Something that slightly troubled me about Popper, however: After I found out that he indeed wasn’t stupid, I didn’t quite know how to treat him. A young man that’s learning to live in a big world? A kid? An animal, until he progresses further enough? Or somehow all of that at once?

One would think that after going through a similar process with Suzzane, I’d know but I really didn’t. It was complicated with Suzzane and it was even more complicated with Popper. I didn’t find petting Suzzane weird because I thought that she was an actual animal at the very start and later on, when she became my wife, it was also normal because touching your significant other seems like a normal thing to do.

However, when Popper would come to me for head rubs like a dog or a cat would, it just felt so awkward. While my eyes saw the silly miniature colt that wants to be petted, my mind was already visualising him as the future “man” he’d eventually come to be. He was an adult after all and you wouldn’t just go and pet some guy. Even if he was your friend or a co-worker or whatever. That said, I hesitated to give him physical affection. It could be this uncertainty that made me keep my distance somewhat. I did like him though, it wasn’t as if I hated him because he made me feel a little uncomfortable or anything like that.

One day though, when I finally decided to pet the colt’s mane, I found out that he did not have the tiny little horn hidden underneath his hair like Suzzane had. I wondered if that meant anything but so far I could not see that many drastic differences in his development.

Maybe he was just a tiny little bit slower, given that he was being actively taught, but he was making the same progress. After a few months, it was obvious that his brain was of the same complexity as Suzzane’s or mine.

…

When the winter arrived and snow sat on the town's surface, I started using my bike less and less. Most of the time, when the roads were all splashy and wet, I had to rely on a bus to get to school.

You can probably see where this is going, because I also no longer had Suzzane following me to school and back. She’d have to have a ticket each time and since we’d just be sitting on a chair throughout the whole ride, there would be no pleasure in it either.

However, I still needed to get both of us to Lucy’s house after school. It wasn’t a problem for Suzzane to navigate herself there though and I realised that at that point that I could just skip my ride to Lucy’s altogether if her parents would simply let Suzzane in. I guess I was just lazy and also wanted to save the bus money when I came up with the idea.

However, the idea quickly caught on and everyday I found myself at home sooner. Alone.

I didn’t mind it very much at the start. While I still deeply loved Suzzane, I was used to not being together all the time. We respected each other’s freedom and both of us knew how to deal with our time alone, which I always considered healthy.

Soon though, I had more time alone on my hands than I hoped for. Suzzane began often venturing to see Popper on her own while I was at school and returned late after dark.

I did trust her that she was loyal but as time went on, I started to feel somewhat neglected. What was worse, she always returned all happy and smiling, while I just somewhat pathetically sat at home, waiting for her to share some of that joy with me through the stories of what she was doing. Of course, I still visited Lucy and Popper too, just not as often as Suzzane.

Gotta admit, that particular winter was not very pleasant, being stuck between school and my empty room, studying or playing video games. All I wanted was for the lonely time to end. I dreamt of spring and summer, of the days when I’d be able to get around the town on the bicycle once more and what was most important: with Suzzane by my side.

…

Eventually, the first signs of spring finally arrived. The snow melted and the sun finally dried up the streets as well. Even though nothing was blooming yet, you could feel nature’s fresh start for the year was in the air.

On my first ride to school with Suzzane by my side, I felt ecstatic. However, after school, she wasn’t waiting for me to go to Lucy’s place together. We didn’t talk about it before, but I sort of hoped that she would do it out of her free will. Just like back then, when the school year started. Instead, she must have gone there a few hours before I even left the school grounds. I ended up walking my bike next to Lucy, who was on foot.

Throughout the upcoming days, I started taking Suzzane on frequent dates or making silly excuses for both of us to not see Lucy and Popper so often so I could have her more for myself. While Suzzane was generally happy to be with me, she also wanted to spend time with Lucy and Popper and kept talking about them even while it was just the two of us. I never wanted to restrain her, so I’d never force her to go with me instead. However, each time she said she’d rather go see the duo than go for a ride along the same boring city for the 100th time and have a falafel, it was breaking my heart a little.

Soon enough, even though I was good friends with Lucy by that time, I was wishing that I never met her or at least not accepted to have a look at Popper.

…

As the spring progressed, along with my frustration that kept steadily growing, Suzzane’s heat arrived again. Finally I had a perfect excuse for us to be together more often. Even if it was through some of the more primitive forms of love.

As you can guess, we made love that day, in a manner that could probably be described as “fucking silly like rabbits”. It was feral, wild, dirty yet still loving and compassionate.

At the end of it, I was lying exhausted next to my pone wife in bed, our room illuminated merely by a dimmed nightstand lamp. I watched her gently breathe and smile to herself. I loved staring at her sometimes, not in a creepy way, but just… watching her being herself simply made my heart tingle.

At some point of her sleep, her legs began kicking a little too, which I always found extremely adorable. It’s been occasionally happening to her ever since I remember but I never got tired of it. Even if she’d wake me up in the middle of a night with a slight kick to my back or belly. Sometimes she’d also quietly laugh or mutter some gibberish.

What escaped her lips that night though, did not exactly tingle my somewhat freshly stitched heart. Rather, it gave those stitches a proper pull, ripping some of them out. In the middle of her sleep, the mare quietly laughed a little and vividly said “Oh Popper…”

I am not sure if it was because of all the winter season throughout which I felt so ignored, or if it was some kind of jealousy that has been inside of me the whole time and only just began surfacing. I simply felt that after spending a wonderful day together, topped off by a loud, celebratory sex, she shouldn't be grinning in her sleep with his name on her lips.

I didn’t wake her up but I immediately shut the lamp and tried to sleep. And bada bing, as you have guessed, it was in vain. I couldn’t sleep at all. All I could think of was whether I was not being played for a fool the whole time.

In my head, all the odds were playing against me. The love of my life had spent more time with Popper than me for the past three months and the spring didn’t change it as drastically as I had hoped it would. I had to wait for her lowest instincts to kick in for her to start giving me more attention and even then, her mind was somehow with him. Not me.

I felt like I was slowly, yet steadily losing her and I couldn’t stop it. What was worse, I had arranged it myself.

I started pulling my own hair in the bed as the thoughts of desperation and hopelessness crept further into the depths of my mind. At some point, I even stood up and began punching myself as well. Can’t say exactly whether it was to punish myself for being such an idiot and letting it happen or to try to pummel these thoughts out of my head. Nonetheless, thanks to the penance combined with physical pain that was stronger than the thoughts in my head, was I able to finally drift off into a restless sleep.

…

In the morning, finding myself in an embrace of my beloved one and only, I briefly forgot about everything that was troubling me just a few hours before that. I just wanted to enjoy her presence and cuddle her, as if I didn’t have a care in the world.

She was still half asleep, as was I, save for her eyes being closed while mine had just opened. I watched her beautiful face breathing gently right in front of mine. Her completely dishevelled mane was partly covering it but it was making her even more beautiful in my eyes. I very gently nuzzled her, putting my lips against hers and just as I hoped for, I received a kiss in return. The mare then smiled and opened one of her eyes. The one that was still visible underneath all that colourful hair. It was a beautiful moment, although way too short:

“Oop,.. need go pee!” Suzzane blurted and dashed out of bed.

To be fair, she did not go before going to sleep last night and instead fell asleep in my arms after the third round. I could understand the bodily needs and I didn’t want to hold it against her. Still though, as much as I rationally knew that it most likely wasn’t intentional, I felt a little pushed away. As if, in my vulnerable moment, in which I craved her presence more than ever, she left.

I did not tell her about anything that happened after she fell asleep, nor my feelings about all of that.

She can usually tell when something is wrong with me, why can’t she now? I wondered though.

I only had little time to lose though that morning, because I slept longer than usual and had to hurry to school. I merely had time to grab some quick breakfast, get dressed and before I could have any longer conversation with the mare, I had to go. She automatically left with me, which lightened my mood a little. We kissed each other goodbye in front of the school and in I went.

After the school day was over, I pretty much expected to see Suzzane again; Just like it used to be before I even met Lucy and Popper. I was looking forward to our way back the whole day. However, she wasn’t present and when I got home, she wasn’t there either. I figured she was already in the park or at Lucy’s place.- Just like many times before.

Seemingly, her heat didn’t change things that much.

I grabbed my bike once again and pedalled towards the park. They weren’t there though and so I continued on to Lucy’s house. When I arrived at the garden, I didn’t immediately enter, despite Lucy’s parents being plenty familiar with me by that time. Instead, I crept up silently towards the fence to see what the two were up to. I probably could not have picked a worse time for that though.

Through holes in a fence, I saw Suzzane’s raised butt as she was kneeling towards the ground and Popper, standing a step or two behind her. To my greatest shock, his goddamn ding dong was out and throbbing! I immediately looked away as my heart started to race over my whole world starting to crumble.

The next second I heard a *plap* and a girly “Eeep!” Then another *plap* and some whining which I presumed was out of pleasure.

Did he just fucking penetrated her? Crossed my mind. - At least that’s what it non-negotiably sounded like to me. THAT is why they weren’t in the park. And also why Suzzane didn’t tell me anything about her plans for today.

My whole being was filled with stress and anger. While I considered jumping over the fence, kicking Popper in the face and yelling something very offensive at both of them, I didn’t do it. Even in my rage, I realised that I’d be making a horrible scene on someone else’s property. I didn’t want to do that. I just kicked the fence as hard as I could without breaking it, grabbed my bike and rode away. All my rage combined with my desperation, I fueled into the pedalling and I pedalled around the whole town, taking the longest way I knew. Even then, I continued even further to the fields and back, until I could barely stand.

I thought it would clear my head and help me think straight but when I exhausted myself out of all the anger, I simply deflated straight into misery.

By the time I was arriving at home, I was crying behind the handlebars. The bike, I merely left lying in front of the house, didn’t even hide it in the shed. Instead, I dove straight into my bed to continue my self pity there.

Somehow, I thought that with Suzzane, I might be spared these horrible emotions I only ever saw in shitty movies. That her, being a completely different species, would prevent other males from trying to steal her away from me. Instead, fate made it that the male ponies were created just to spite me.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I’m not sure just how long I was choking myself on these thoughts but when Suzzane got back, I just woke up from a depression nap.

“Hello Anon!” She greeted me cheerfully at first but then, when she saw my expression, she added somewhat worriedly: “...You okay?”

“You tell me Suzzane. Do I look okay?” I gave her a contemptuous glare.

“No... Why? Something happen?” She moved closer, trying to put her hoof onto me but I slapped it off. “...Something wrong?”

“Aww, come on please. Don’t play dumb now. You’re better than that, Suzzane.” I buried a finger in her chest fluff “Finally it makes sense why you’ve been spending so much time out there with Popper. - Why you’re speaking his name in your sleep!”

“What, I-” The mare’s pupils shrink in a dumbfounded expression.

“Look, if you want to be with him, I get it.” I fell down on my back, staring into the ceiling. “He’s everything I’m not. He can run as fast as you while I have to rely on that stupid bicycle. He’s the same size too and of course,.. He’s the only one who can give you children. While I… can’t. So please, just go and leave me alone.”

“But I don’t want leave you alone. I don’t want Popper.” Suzzane walked in my field of view and sat there.

“So that’s why you two fucked at Lucy’s garden today? Huh?” I sat up again to be at the same height as her.

“That not is true!” The mare exclaimed and stood up. “I never!”

“Well I’ve seen it.” I started calmly. However, as I continued, my anger and frustration projected more and more into my tone. “When I couldn’t find you anywhere after school, I went to Lucy’s garden and through the fence I could see your ass raised up for him while the fucker was preparing to mount you from behind!” I almost yelled at that point. “I hope the horse dick was worth-”

*PLAP* The mare bitchslapped me with her right hoof before I could finish.

“I NEVER let Popper do things to me.” Suzzane’s furious gaze pierced deep inside of my soul as I sat there in shock, holding my cheek. I never saw her so passionately angry about something before. Definitely not enough to resort to violence (defence not included).

It took me a few seconds to process what just happened and I almost got angry too. I wanted to say something nasty with a high chance of regret but then I realised something crucial. Something that would change everything. Suddenly it all made sense.

“...Anon?” Suzzane’s rage diminished and quickly turned into fear when she saw me completely unresponsive and frozen. “Anon! You okay? Sorry, I-”

“No Suzie, I deserved that.” I put my hands on the mare’s shoulders. ”I shouldn’t have doubted you. And this is honestly better than asking for forgiveness. Feel free to do that again.”

“...What?” The mare couldn’t grasp my sudden change of attitude. “I don’t want to do that again. I didn’t mean to…” she whispered meekly.

“You’ve slapped Popper like this today as well, didn’t you?” I let go to glance into her eyes.

“Yes?” The mare slightly frowned in a puzzled expression.

“Thank the Lord!” I laughed out loud over my own stupidity because all those thoughts that I was torturing myself with, were in fact made up. I knew because when her hoof hit my cheek, it made the same kind of sound which I heard before in front of the garden. “I really thought that you and him were secretly- you know…” While the left side of my face had already a red hoofprint on it, the other now reddened as well. On one hand, I was really happy to be wrong but I also felt like an idiot.

“Anooon.” Suzzane stretched out my name in what seemed to be a slight frustration. “Popper for me like little brother. I love him but not…” She had to search for the right words in order to continue “...not like that. Not like you. You and I together before this life. You suffer in past so much for us to be together, Even save me life in the snow. Why want anyone different if you are my other half, hmm??”

“I dunno, I just thought that he’s better than me because he’s your kind.” My head hung lower. I found it difficult to look straight at her; especially with what I was about to admit. “He can do all the things with you that I cannot. And most of all, he can probably give you kids.”

“But I not want kids with Popper. I want see the world with you. Remember?” The mare smiled and put her hoof under my chin to make me look at her; A gesture she learned from me, ironically. As I glanced deeply into her endlessly black pupils, I knew she was telling me the truth. It made me feel relieved but also petty for doubting her in the first place.

“...I know Suzie, I’m such a retard.” I said weakly.

“But you my retard and I love you.” Suzzane reached out to hug me; I had a feeling that she didn’t really know what that word meant. It made me chuckle in her embrace.

It was warm, loving, sincere and most importantly, it was as if it had definitely mended something that hurt inside of me. Nonetheless, after we let go, I still had to ask:

“...What really happened at Lucy’s place that Popper deserved such a slap? Did-... did he try to rape you?”

“Well.” Suzzane’s gaze slid down on my chest as she was somewhat nervously recalling the moment. “I kneel down because I want look inside the hole in ground. Popper dig it because there mole was inside. But then Popper smell my heat and he put hooves on my back.” Her head raised up to look me in the eyes while saying the last part: “I slap him before he-... he don’t really even know how. He just try sex into air. I still slap him.”

“Well, he definitely deserved it. The second one too.” I frowned a little, eyeing to the side as my awareness turned inwards. I was imagining myself giving him a proper beating.

“Anon, you hate Popper now?” The mare moved her hoof on my shoulder to get my attention back. Of course she could tell.

“Sort of…” I grumbled.

“Please, don’t. He confused before.” Suzzane pleaded. “But I explain that he cannot do that. He learn lesson.”

“Think so?” My brow slightly furrowed.

“Yes. He cry like girl after.” She stated with complete confidence, which made me chuckle shortly. It also explained the whining sound I heard after the second bitchslap. “But I also explain why he cannot do. He need know why.” She continued. “Understand, he don’t know before.”

The truth was that Suzzane was really confused about her sexual urges back then too. She didn’t know what was happening to her body at first or why she suddenly felt so damn horny. As much as one part of me still wanted to bash Popper’s skull in, the other I knew it would probably be wrong of me. Since emotions need time to calm down, I changed the subject: “Goddamn… But all those late night returns. Why?”

“Because for the first time I can do something important!” Suzzane’s eyes lit up. “You Anon, have important work, important school… Better than I with everything. But to teach Popper - finally something Suzzane good for! Better than everyone. That is why it make me so happy.”

“I-... never thought of it that way.” My cheeks reddened with honest shame. “Back then I really thought you ignored me because you didn’t love me anymore.” I felt really, really stupid. Maybe if I just talked to her more openly about it and didn’t just expect her to tell automatically from me, it wouldn’t escalate so far. Then again, I was lucky that it didn’t get any further. “I’m sorry.” Was all I could say.

“It okay Anon. You see, I hurt you also.” She gave up trying to lift my head and instead hung her own as well. “...Too busy with Popper, I forget about us. Not speak enough together this winter. Not make enough love either.” She smiled briefly, then frowned to herself. “...Do not even see you grow upset, like I can before. I make mistakes also.”

I’m not sure why, but hearing that made me dimly chuckle. “Heh, I guess that’s true.” We looked at each other simultaneously. “Nonetheless, you’re still perfect to me and I love you.” I buried my pointing finger into her chest fluff.

“And I love you.” The mare grinned. “With all mistakes. Don’t need to say sorr-”

I could no longer hold myself and I sprang up to kiss her before she could finish. Merely slightly shocked by the sudden quick movement, Suzzane stiffened up but immediately melted in my arms; Except for her wings, which involuntarily sprang up in excitement.

Given that Suzzane was still in heat, you can probably easily imagine where it led to from there. Oh yeah.

It was one of those times that I remember more vividly than the others because it felt “different”. Similar to one the first times we made love. You don’t have to imagine it but should you, then it would start quite messy but turn out into one of the sweetest moments we had together…

Actually, I might get into details about this, for old times sake. After all, it’s one of the last things I might do:

I initially really just wanted to kiss her out of pure affection at first but as tender as I was trying to be on her, the more rough she was on me in return.

That’s right I almost forgot about her heat.

Eventually she toppled me over on my back, without breaking away from the make out session. Only after she was done almost choking me with her tongue, did she finally let go to give me a few seconds to catch my breath.

“You MY human, Anon.” She grinned while slowly grinding herself against my shirt. I could already feel her wet excitement on my chest and belly even through the piece of clothing. “And now…” Her right hoof moved on top of my head as she positioned herself closer to my face. “Time to face consequences!”

Before I could protest (Which I wasn’t going to) she planted her puffy horse privates straight onto my lips and began humping my head like a feral dog. While shocked by Suzzane’s sudden change of attitude, I probably couldn’t get any more erect at that point. She’s usually been mostly submissive or at least less “aggressive” about this kind of stuff; Usually she’d at least ask. It could have been the deeper sense of trust that we’ve established that day or her heat getting the best of her, but for a moment, it was as if there was a wild animal on top of me.

It didn’t take that long for her to be done though, given her fervency and overall excitement. After what could have been less than two minutes being almost without oxygen, she pushed me with all her force into the mattress and both my mouth and nose were getting filled with thick mare juices.

“Haaaaah…” The pony finally stopped pushing against me, giving me some space to gulp down or snort out the liquids and catch my breath. She was still gently rubbing herself against my chin, occasionally twitching but mostly calm now. That was when she suddenly came back to her senses, her face visibly reddened even through the fur. “Oh! Sorry Anon, I just want you so much I don’t even-”

“Joke’s on you. I liked it.” I laughed. “My turn.” With that, I sprang up.

“Eeep!” Suzzane exclaimed in surprise. This time it was the mare who was on her back and at my mercy. Compared to a few minutes before that, she looked suddenly so small and fragile, with her front hooves tightly tucked to her chest. However, her face was decorated by a pervy simper, eager to get ravaged back.

I quickly threw away my shirt and pulled down my pants to finally free the stiff rod that was trapped inside and let it plop down onto the fluff on Suzzane’s chest. I considered giving her the very same treatment she gave to me and I poked her snoot to make her open her mouth. As expected, my little pony gladly did so, using her tongue to wipe away all that pre-ejaculate that formed on the head while I was eating her out. Then I pushed against the inside of her cheek, gliding against her teeth for a moment, before abruptly pulling out with an audible *pop*. Before she could ask or even think about what was going on, I grabbed her whole and shifted her further away from me. In the same motion, I grabbed her hind legs and without warning I forced myself as far as I could through her dripping wet vulva

“Eeek!” She yelped almost a little too loud, considering that other people in the house might already be asleep and covered her mouth with her hoof in shame. However, as I began to pump inside of her, slightly bulging out her abdomen with each movement, I could see that horny smile once again, underneath the appendage which she was covering her face with.

Given the tempo and the fact that it was my first time that day, it didn’t take long for me to climax though, just like her before. Soon enough I could feel the pressure building and in the next moment, I was filling her insides with a grand load. Instead of slowing down though, I continued on with stubborn ferocity, wanting to give her one more orgasm before I’d go flacid again. What do you know though, it didn’t happen. That was actually the first time I managed to do such a thing and even though the sensitivity on me was driving me literal nuts, I carried on until the mare underneath me was nothing but an utter mess, squirming in pleasure.

What a way to assert dominance. Flashed through my spinning head while watching Suzzane moan and whine in the highest material bliss. Only after she went completely limp underneath me, did I allow myself to slow down and eventually stop.

Thoroughly exhausted, I collapsed next to her and pulled her surrendered body closer to mine to plant a small kiss on her cheek. She was so hot to touch, it felt like embracing a pony shaped stove. In between our common panting, we’d smile at each other and eventually close our eyes for a little while.

Despite the sticky mess everywhere, we laid there comfortably in an embrace until we both calmed down, almost enough to fall asleep. Emphasis on the “almost” though because as much as it would be pretty to just drift off, a pony signora in heat has to be treated with appropriate care. And mere two times would be just disrespectful.

At some point, I could feel Suzzane gently nibbling on my ear while moving her hoof in circles along my chest and belly. When I opened my eyes, there was no longer that shameless kinky expression on her face though. Rather, a loving and relaxed one. ‘It was time to do it like real lovers and not just animals.’ was what I read in her eyes.

I reciprocated by rolling on the side and embracing her body as close to mine as possible. Then a gentle kiss on the lips. Then another one and soon it was a makeout session again. Except this time it stayed slow, gentle and mostly eyes open.

Eventually, I decided to take it to the next step and I slowly began penetrating inside of her once more, all the way without breaking eye contact. We kept it slow; Slow enough to be able to relish each stroke, each kiss, each breath, each smile and each look.

It felt like an endless moment as I slowly began losing myself in her eyes. Silent but speaking. Ablaze but tender. Lost but found.

We could probably keep that up for a whole night if the sleepiness wouldn’t get the better of us both eventually. With merely a slight speed up of the tempo, I could feel myself going over the edge, or was it Suzzane? I could barely tell who was who at that point. When the bliss clouded our vision, we both fluently drifted out of the rest of consciousness we had before that, straight into sleep.

…

Anyway, I guess the point of all this is that communication is the key to most things. After that day, things finally changed. It wasn’t the same as last fall. It was better. Knowing what exactly it meant for Suzanne to work on Popper, I started being a lot more supportive of her. I showed up more often for her and in return, she started giving me back the attention that I longed for so much.

Looking back, it was pretty simple, if one could only know the story from more than his own perspective.

However, we only had a few more months with Lucy and Popper left, so it wasn’t possible for Suzzane to walk Popper through the whole process of assimilating in the human world. From then on, it was up to him and Lucy. Our plan was to go back to Sasha’s hotel for the summer and winter. Both of us were kind of looking forward to it too.

We got to see our favourite Russian family again, share all the stories worth mentioning, show off Suzzane’s progress and of course, Suzzane could see her tree spirit friends too. It’s funny, she mentioned that Popper couldn’t see them either. Back then I thought that my wife must have really been a little bit of a loon after all. That or it had something to do with the tiny little horn on her head. I never got to find that out though because I never again met another pony who also had it, besides Stacy.

Speaking of Stacy, I briefly saw her one more time in my life when we returned from the hotel to spend the mid-season back with my parents. We met at a train station where Sasha dropped us off after the summer season. She really did find herself a human boyfriend, just like she mentioned the last time I saw her. We didn’t have time to speak too long, nor did she want to remind herself of losing Michelle, but from what I understood, Stacy went out for a date that day when her friend was murdered. It saved her life because she wasn’t there. After that, she stayed with her boyfriend and hid there until they stopped looking for her. I didn’t know the guy, nor I had the chance to talk to him that day but if he risked so much just to keep her safe, I guess that he must have been good for her.

We bumped into them just when they were moving out of town for good, to stay as far away from Stacy’s old life as possible. She didn’t want to speak about their findings too much either but she mentioned one thing, and that is: “Sentience wasn’t the biggest problem that the corp was facing. Nor was it the reason why the military suddenly started funding their project.”

I figured it was the psychic powers which these ponies sometimes exhibited. Ones that Popper didn’t have access to. I didn’t dare dig deeper into said topic either though.

* * *

We spent the mid season with Popper and Lucy, then the winter at the hotel again. And after that, when the spring came around, our first big journey to see the world had finally kicked off.

We packed our things, I grabbed my bike and we departed into the sunset. Like in the movies. That is, until we realised that we were going the wrong way because we were supposed to head south.

It wasn’t easy at the very beginning, I'll tell you that much. Soon though, we started to get the hang of it. Should I overly simplify it, it all came down to packing up the “camp” in the morning, finding something to eat and then finding a place to sleep again. Of course, it was never the same and some days were harder than others. Having saved up enough money did help us on our journey though. An occasional hotel instead of a tent, being able to buy our food instead of picking berries, tools for the bike repairs… You name it. Luckily though, I had my guitar with me and Suzzane had her angelic voice always ready as well. When crossing through cities, we’d make some extra money on the way so that we wouldn’t have to live off the limited budget we had. It was that way that it had been a sustainable way to live.

Also, we soon ditched the tent and replaced it with a durable, insulated hammock with a little roof, in which both of us could fit. It weighed a lot less and took less time to prepare than the tent. It goes without saying that it was wayyy more comfy too.

We travelled down south, hoping to escape the cold once the summer passes, so that we wouldn’t have to abandon our journey because of winter. Our plan worked flawlessly and we ended up far enough to enjoy December in hot climates, where it was as warm as a summer in our old country.

Then we went back, that time a different route. In the end, it took two years on the road to get back home. Many things happened on the way. So many that I could write twenty more chapters about it. Eventually we found ourselves in the same house where we started, with a lot to share with my parents.

We wanted to visit Sasha and his family too but when we arrived there, the hotel was sold to someone else. I never found out why they had to move out.

It isn't a goodbye forever though, I swore to myself the last time I saw them, promising to show up again one day. Little did I know it was. Suzzane and I turned the distance there from the house of my parents into another one of our journeys. We hoped to surprise them by our sudden visit. You can imagine our expressions when we knocked on the familiar door, yet we were greeted by an unfamiliar man.

I never found out where or why the trio moved away. It could have been to Russia, or literally anywhere else… If I knew, I’d come to visit sooner. Or at least give a call while Sasha’s number was still in service (when I did try to reach him on the phone, it had already been disconnected).

I guess that’s just how life sometimes works though. People come and go and it doesn’t always have to be just because of death. Sometimes you just… lose them. I used to struggle with this but after so many more years on the road, I sort of just accepted that no matter how nice some people you meet are, you can’t keep them all in your life forever.

The only thing that stayed permanently in my life was Suzzane.

A little disappointed, we returned from the hotel and stayed a few months at home, working to earn some money and catching up with my family. The next year though, both of us were itching to get back on the road again. After all, I promised Suzzane to see the world. And the world is a pretty big place…

Author's Note

At last, here is the last chapter. As always, it took way longer than I hoped it would (except doubled this time). My personal life was going up and down and I was really self conscious about publishing this because it felt to me as if the overall quality went down suddenly and I didn't know how to fix it without rewriting the whole thing. (Ironically, the same issue I had with the original green) In the end, I have to thank my friend Golly4Ever for going through the text for me and giving me enough confidence to actually publish it. Hope it didn't disappoint in the end.

I also hope that the final clop scene didn't upset too many people, as there were a few of you in the comments who preferred the story without the NSFW stuff. Although it isn't crucial to the plot, I thought it might be a nice way to end the story. I still flagged it as a spoiler, so that you can just skip past it, should you want to.

There'll be a short epilogue coming soon too, just to close it up and explain some things but other than that, the story is pretty much finished.
It was a long ride and I appreciate all of you who stuck around, even though I was unable to do things on time. Ya'll real Gs.