Royal Guard Program II: A Familiar Debate

Following the shower, as well as the quick drying Shovel had to do, Starlight presented some clothes to the mare. It wasn’t exactly casual, but it would do. A simple long shirt, with a shirt skirt. Starlight had a slightly harder time finding some clothes to wear, but thankfully still owned some gender neutral attire. A simple pair of pants, with a somewhat tight fitted shirt. It was cramped, and a little small, but it would do.

“Okay, so I’m guessing we gotta go clothes shopping today?” Shovel asked, looking herself over in her new clothes. “I mean, you might need to. But if we go back to my place, you can have some of my old clothes.”

“Thanks, but no thank you.” Starlight replied, rubbing her temples for a moment. “I’m not really much of a hand-me-down type of pony. The only reason I’m letting you use my clothes is so we can wear something.”

“Couldn’t I just wear what I was wearing yesterday?” Shovel asked, raising a curious eyebrow. “I mean, it still fits.”

“No, no, no, you’re a mare now.” Starlight replied, shaking his head back and forth. “Try and take some pride in your appearance.”

“I mean…okay, yeah, the shampoo was definitely more than I expected.” Shovel replied, blushing a little as she didn’t want to look at Starlight as she did so. “But anyway, what else did you have in mind?”

“Well, once we get some more clothes. I was thinking we can hit the gym.” Starlight nodded, looking over everything. “But yeah, we’ll need to go shopping first.”

“Why the gym?” Shovel asked, raising a curious eyebrow. “What’s the point in that?”

“I feel we should go.” Starlight explained. “I figured, given our change, we don’t know what our limits are anymore. And as members of the guard, we should keep our physical fitness as pristine as possible.”

“Urgh…fine…” Shovel groaned, sighing a very frustrated breath. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Don’t be a brat about it.” Starlight replied, finishing picking out some clothes for Shovel. “These should do for the meanwhile, but then you’ll be wearing your own clothes after this.”

Following another long and boring shopping venture, the two ponies made their way to the Canterlot Gym. The facility was massive, and though there were dozens and dozens of ponies of all ages working out, there was a constant fragrance of sweet flowers and comfort. No doubt an enchantment to cover up the scent of sweat and bodybuilding, so it was nice. Shovel maintained her annoyed look, while Starlight was somewhat optimistic.

Approaching the front table, the two of them only needed to show off their Royal Guard badges to be allowed in. A luxury that came with being members of the Royal Guard, among other things, was access to the most advanced and private section of any Equestrian Gym was to be used for whatever needs they had. Thankfully, today it was empty, leaving only Shovel and Starlight to work out on their own.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” Shovel commented, dragging herself over to the locker room. “You know I always hated the gym.”

“Yeah, well you’re not you right now.” Starlight pointed out, going to the other locker room. “So we should see what you can do.”

After several minutes, the two of them emerged from their respective locker rooms. Shovel was wearing a sports bra, but given her size, it hugged her chest tightly, leaving little to the imagination, while her bottoms were a pair of shorts that equally squeezed her flank. Starlight’s attire wasn’t much better, having grossly underestimated his new sizes. His sleeveless shirt was baggy, but his jogging shorts were a little tight against his bulge. It wasn’t completely uncomfortable, but it was a noticeable feeling.

“Alright, I think I’m gonna try some stretches.” Starlight commented aloud, looking over to a matted area. “What about you?”

“I don’t know, I guess jogging.” Shovel shrugged, her tone made it apparent how little she cared about any of this. “Just let me know when we can leave.”

Walking over to the treadmill, Shovel set up her usual speed settings. Though this was what she was used to when she was a stallion. As soon as the machine started, she nearly fell over. Thankfully, the earth mare was able to catch herself and start jogging. Shovel wasn’t going to openly admit it, but this speed was still more than she was expecting. Stubbornly, the mare continued to jog, not wanting to fall over.

While she jogged, it became very apparent that she wasn’t going to make her way at her current pace. But more than that, the way she was jogging, caused her large breasts to bounce up and down, heaving her body forward, which in turn caused her to try and balance herself with each stride of her legs. Pacing herself as best as she could, Shovel was still dealing with the extra weight on her chest bouncing and partially throwing her strides off balance.

“What the fuck?!” Shovel grumbled under her breath, struggling to work herself as she was jogging. Groping herself, she tried to steady her pacing. “What’s with these things?! Do mares have to run a certain way not to make them bounce?”

Starlight said nothing, despite hearing what her friend was saying. He was busy trying yoga. As a mare, she found it to be peaceful and relaxing. But as a stallion, he was straining on even the most basic positions he had long mastered. As well as this, he just so happened to be looking at Shovel when she was jogging. The sight of her large, bouncing tits was sending a rush of blood throughout the stallion.

‘Oh no.’ Starlight thought to himself, trying not to look, but felt captivated by the jiggling chest fat in front of him. ‘First I can’t even stretch properly, and now I have to see those things bouncing so…so…’ Shaking his head, he noticed the bulge growing in his pants. ‘Shit…fuck…no way am I gonna let Shovel see this. Need to try something else, anything else.’

Looking around almost frantically, Starlight saw something that might help; some weight lifting equipment. Normally, he wouldn’t have considered doing it, but if the alternative right now was this embarrassing erection, he didn’t feel he had much of a choice. Quickly, Starlight rushed over to the weight lifting bars. Grabbing at the smaller, but no less heavy weights, he lifted them with surprising ease. So much so, Starlight nearly fell back from the force of his lifting.

“You okay?” Shovel asked, stopping her jog; or more accurately, giving up on it. “Never lifted weights before?”

“Not this easily.” Starlight commented. “Maybe our bodies have changed more than we thought?”

“Yeah, no shit.” Shovel groaned, rolling her eyes. “Well, jogging is out. Cause my tits keep getting in the way.” Crossing her arms, she looked around. “What would you recommend for a mare’s body?”

“Have you considered yoga?” Starlight asked, looking at Shovel, but working especially hard to only look at her face. “It can be very relaxing, and maybe you’ll find out how flexible your new body is?”

“Well, better than nothing I guess.” Shovel sighed, walking over to the yoga mat Starlight already had out. “I’ll be using your mat, since it’s already out.”

“Sure, no problem.” Starlight replied, not looking at Shovel, only focusing on the weights in his hands. “I think there should still be some simple positions on a panel nearby.”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s see.” Shovel commented, looking for a bit until she found some panel with different poses. “Alright, it shouldn't be too hard.”

Copying the poses as best as she could, Shovel felt an almost straining feeling, followed by a sharp sting. Wincing a little at it, the mare was ready to call this quits, but something seemed to tingle in her joints as she was struggling between each posture. It was hard to explain, but the more Shovel was stretching and angling herself, the more this strange tingling was spreading out. From the elbows, knees, shoulders, and wrists at first, it began to slowly flow throughout the rest of the body.

“So…how does it feel?” Starlight asked, still not looking at Shovel, but focusing more on the weight lifting. “I know it probably hurts now, but it can be really relaxing.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Shovel replied, groaning in frustration. “But it’s weird. Like my body is burning, but not in a bad way. And even though some of these positions hurt, it’s not that painful after a while.”

“Yeah, yoga can be intense if you’re not flexible.” Starlight commented. “But maybe having a softer body is helpful. I know it was for me when I was a mare. Speaking of changes, I’ve never been able to lift this many weights before.”

“Well yeah, a stallion has more durable muscles compared to a mare.” Shovel replied, sounding smug as she spoke. “They’re just naturally stronger, so you can lift more weights than you could’ve before as a mare.”

“I’m pretty sure as a mare, I could’ve done this eventually.” Starlight replied, rolling his eyes as he shook his head a bit; grumbling under his breath. “If I had pushed myself to work out more.”

“Well, in any event, I’ll try more of this yoga crap.” Shovel commented, switching to a different position. “You have fun seeing how much you can lift.”

Starlight only sighed again, but wasn’t going to argue with the mare. So far, the gym has been a strange success. And while there were still a few more days left, the two of them had so much more to do. But what would be next? Clothes shopping? Cooking? Cleaning? Just chatting with others of their new genders? They had the time, and while Shovel didn’t want to admit it, Starlight was curious and eager to see what was next to come.