A Herd in Maretime Bay

When Misty woke up the next morning she was briefly confused as to why there was a blue mane in her face, especially since her mane wasn’t blue anymore. But then she felt another body pressed against hers, and remembered that she was currently sharing her bed with Izzy.

“Iz?” Misty whispered, checking to see if her friend was awake.

Misty felt the other Unicorn shift in the bed next to her and the mane in her face pulled away. A second later Izzy’s face came into view above Misty’s.

“Hey.” Izzy whispered.

“Hi.” Misty responded.

“How are you feeling?” Izzy asked as she started playing with Misty’s mane. “I know you offered to share your bed with me, but if you’re uncomfortable with someone sleeping next to you…”

“Izzy,” Misty interrupted, reaching a hand up to play with Izzy’s mane. “If I‘m uncomfortable with something, I’ll say so.”

Izzy smiled, before her eyes flickered down to Misty’s lips. “Is it alright if I…” she trailed off.

It took Misty a second to figure out what Izzy was asking for permission to do. She’d never been kissed before, but she was so used to Izzy being physically affectionate with her that she was a good partner for her first kiss.

“Sure.” Misty said softly.

Izzy smiled wildly, before leaning down and pressing her lips against Misty’s. Woah, Misty thought. Izzy’s fur and mane had always been soft, but Misty hadn’t expected Izzy’s lips to be soft too.

Eventually the two broke apart and Izzy giggled softly. “You’re so sweet, Misty.” She said as she nuzzled her cheek against Misty’s.

Misty giggled and gently rubbed her thumb over Izzy’s other cheek. “Right back at you, Izzy.”

“Izzy, Misty, are you two awake?” Pipp called from across the room.

“We’re up.” Izzy called back as her horn lit up and she used her magic to pull back the curtain around the bed.

Hitch and Sparky had decided to stay the night, meaning they had five beds to share between seven people. Izzy let Sparky have her bed while Hitch chose to sleep with Sunny for the night. Misty offered to let Izzy share her bed and Pipp asked if she could sleep with Zipp to avoid feeling left out, which her sister agreed to.

“Alright, time to rise and shine, everypony.” Sunny said from her bed.

The group all got out of bed and stretched before gathering in a circle in the centre of the room.

“So what are we going to do about the shower situation?” Pipp asked.

“It’s big enough to fit all six of us,” Zipp replied. “It’s just a question of if Misty is comfortable with it.”

The other five turned to look at Misty, who thought about it. She had briefly seen the other mares naked on a few occasions while they were getting dressed, a result of the five of them sharing the same bedroom. Hitch on the other hand… she didn’t feel ready for that just yet.

“Um, is it alright if Hitch waits while us girls shower together? She asked.

“Of course,” Hitch said politely. “I have something I need to do in the garden anyway.”

Showering with the other girls turned out to not be awkward like Misty thought it would be. She still had plenty of room to herself, and no one entered her personal space uninvited. Sunny and Izzy were putting shampoo in each other’s manes while Pipp was laying on the floor with Zipp tickling her tummy.

“Gah! Zipp, stop.” Pipp squealed between laughs.

“Sorry Pipp, what was that?” Zipp asked teasingly.

Misty watched the scene with amusement before an idea occurred to her. When Zipp finally stopped tickling Pipp, Misty grabbed her from behind.

“What the-“

“Get her, Pipp.” Misty said.

The younger sister didn’t need telling twice. She instantly reached up and started tickling Zipp all over.

“Hey! No fair, you two. No double teaming.” Zipp cried as she was tickled relentlessly.

Sunny and Izzy both burst out laughing at their friends’ antics.

When the group got out of the shower and went back to the bedroom to change something fell out of the pocket of Misty’s hoodie when she picked it up.

“What was that?” Zipp asked, looking up at the sound.

Misty bent down to find it was the invitations her dad had given her the day before. She frowned as she picked them up. After Misty agreed to join the herd the others decided to celebrate and didn’t ask any further questions about what happened at the cafe. Still, Misty knew she would have to bring it up sooner or later.

“I’ll explain downstairs.” She said as she stood up.

Rather than simply walking down the ramp her friends elected to slide down the banisters, so Misty did the same. As the five reached the bottom the front doors opened and Hitch walked in from the garden.

“Hey, girls.” He greeted.

“Hey, Hitchy Hitch Hitch.” Sunny said cheerfully as she walked over to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

“My turn, my turn.” Izzy bounced over to let Hitch take her hand and kiss the back of it.

Zipp rolled her eyes playfully, before walking over and let Hitch kiss her cheek.

“Don’t forget about me.” Pipp said as she flew over and planted a quick kiss on Hitch’s snout.

Misty giggled as she walked over to the others. “Is this how you five usually greet each other when I’m not here?”

“It certainly is,” Hitch confirmed. “Speaking of which…” he gave an over dramatic bow and offered his hand to her. “Misty,” he said playfully. “Just the mare I was hoping to see.”

Zipp chuckled. “You dork, Hitch.”

Misty raised her eyebrows curiously. “What’s all this for?”

“I have something to show you outside.” Hitch explained.

Misty took his hand. “Okay. Lead the way.”

Hitch led Misty out into the garden and over to the Cutie Mark flowerbeds, where there was a new addition. A fifth flowerbed containing mostly light blue flowers with purple, pink and yellow flowers forming the shape of a butterfly.

“Do you like it?” Hitch asked as Misty stared at it.

Misty didn’t say anything, but her wide smile and bright red cheeks said it all.

“Wow, Hitch. It looks amazing.” Sunny complimented. She and the others had come outside to see what was happening.

“Yeah, well…” Hitch rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I should have given Misty her own flowerbed right from the start. Even if she wasn’t part of the herd yet, it was wrong to leave her out.”

Misty thought about it for a second and got an idea. “You know, there’s still something missing.” She said as she walked over to the other mares.

Hitch raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What?”

Misty stopped next to Sunny and whispered something in her ear. Sunny smiled and nodded in confirmation. She walked over to the flowerbeds and kneeled down, tapping her hand on the ground and releasing a burst of Earth Pony magic. A sixth flowerbed sprung up of mostly yellow flowers with orange and green flowers forming the shape of a badge with a horseshoe on it and little green hearts at the bottom of the badge.

“Now it’s complete.” Sunny said as she stood up again.

Hitch looked surprised. “I don’t…” a smile broke out across his muzzle. “Thanks, girls.”

Sunny giggled as she pulled Hitch into a hug. “No problem, Hitch.”

“So how are you adjusting to being part of a herd?” Izzy asked Misty.

“I like it,” Misty answered. “Thanks for letting me take things at my own pace by the way.”

“Well, of course we would.” Pipp wrapped her arms around Misty from behind. “You’re our friend, and herdmate now. We wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Yeah,” Zipp added. “If you ever feel we’re pushing your boundaries, all you have to do is say something.”

Misty nodded in acknowledgment.