Everfree Village

While the Chief was drinking Wonderbolts under the table, Granite and Lodestone came back to his hotel room. The mare was wearing a very curious, interested expression on her muzzle. She sat right on the floor and looked at the stallion expectantly as soon as the door was closed. "So... how does this work?"

If she had heard rumors that preening was a very private thing for a pegasus, Granite didn't show it. She was just incredibly interested. "Need me to help - I dunno, hold your wing or something? I can do that!"

Lodestone hopped up to sit on the bed and gave Granite a little shrug. "It's not really something you help with, it's... kinda personal, you know? You preen a foal until they can do it themselves, but among adults it's as intimate as sex... hay, maybe more."

He shuffled awkwardly, not meeting her eye. "Even doing it near other ponies is very forward... though I don't mind if it's you."

"Ooooh!" Granite said, suddenly unable to meet his eyes and blushing furiously. "So that's why you never see pegasi doing it out in the public!"

She let her mouth run on automatic, just for something to distract them both: "I saw a very, um... frazzled mare a while back in the town square and I thought 'why doesn't she fix her wings'? I guess that's why..."

Granite fell silent and finally looked at Lodestone. Her ears went instantly flat, but she managed a weak grin. "You really don't mind if I watch? Um, where do you want me? Should I move further away?"

"No, it's okay. You can come up here if you want."

Blushing slightly, he rubbed his mane awkwardly with a hoof, still not meeting her eye.

"...You wouldn't be able to see anything from over there anyways."

"Okay!" the mare said, none of her usual candor or joking. She walked over to the bed and jumped up. It looked like it was going to be one of those super awkward, can't-meet-each-other's-eyes kind of things, but she decided against it and suddenly gave the stallion a nuzzle.

"Hey, relax. I won't judge, okay? I don't even know what to judge here. If it gets weird, just tell me and I'll go, yes?" She was nervous, even trembling a tiny bit, but the pony stood her ground. "Here, maybe this will help: Moo!" That made her giggle. "There, that's probably the most embarrassing thing anypony is about to do up here."

Chuckling, he relaxed slightly and returned her nuzzle. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's only as awkward if we make it awkward, right?"

He laid down and rolled slightly to one side, splaying his wing out between them. It was easier to preen with the wing vertical, but Granite would be able to tell what was happening easier this way. Trying not to block her view too much, he bent his head low and started with a preliminary pass over his primary flight feathers. He quickly combed his muzzle through each feather to set it approximately in the correct position - he would fine tune the angle in the second pass.

He got to a loose feather and pulled it out automatically, then suddenly remembered the one she had tucked into her mane. He dropped the feather and slowly looked up at her.

"Oh yeah, uh... you shouldn't keep my feather in your mane like that. I mean, it looks really cute and I'm flattered, but in pegasi culture that's basically announcing you're... in a relationship together."

"Moo!" Granite panicked for a moment and reached up to pull the feather out, but then she froze. Her gaze went to Lodestone and the mare slowly began to smile her mischievous little smile that said she had something sneaky on her mind.

"Oh, it does, does it?" she asked, voice all sweet and innocent. Before Lodestone could react, she darter her muzzle forward and snatched his newly removed feather right from his muzzle. Of course she misjudged the distance and have the poor stallion a slight bump, but it worked in her favor. While he was distracted, she added it to her mane so now she had two.

"How about now?" Granite asked. "I thought we were dating, you dummy! I mean - moonlit walks in the clouds? Kissing? Or do you need to pull out some more feathers for me to wear before you get it?"

"N-No, I mean..." He trailed off, his blush darkening as he looked away, suddenly awkward again. After a moment, he continued.

"It's more than dating, Granite, it's a sign things are 'getting serious,' so to speak. Any pegasus that sees that will assume we're engaged... or at least lovers."

Finally he managed to glance sidelong and meet her eye, a shy smile playing about his muzzle. "And I don't think we're quite there yet... do you?"

Granite lowered her gaze and it looked like she would pull the feathers out again. She paused and looked back up, muzzle incredibly red and radiating heat like a small sun.

"D-Do you wanna b-b-e?" she said, almost too quietly to hear.

His ears turned back slightly and he was silent for a moment.

"I already told you," he said quietly, "I won't push. I've pushed before and always wound up ruining things soon after. I want this to work."

He bent over and continued working through his primaries, more to distract himself than anything else, straightening each feather and twisting them into alignment.

Granite didn't know what to say for a while - it wasn't something that happened to the mare often. More than once she opened her mouth to speak up, but shut it again with an audible click. She still didn't remove the feathers.

"Well," she managed at last, but there was still nothing useful coming out of her muzzle. "So..."

The pony heaved a sigh and lowered her head down to the bed. "You could push a little," she mumbled against the fabric. It was muffled and she probably didn't intend Lodestone to hear it, but there it was.

A few moments of this self-reflecting quiet and then Granite was up again with a fresh smile on her muzzle. "Yes," she told the pegasus. "I mean- I wanna take it slow, but I don't mind if people think we're... y'know... doing it."

She looked away and her blush threatened to set fire to the bed, but she forced the rest of her thought out. "We'll be- uhm... d-doing it someday, right? I kinda like how the feathers look."

Lodestone didn't reply, hoping the act of preening was enough of an excuse. He started a second, slower pass over his primaries and took some time to think.

He'd noticed all the hints she'd been dropping the past couple days of course, but as he had hinted to the mare, Lodestone's previous relationships had all quickly jumped to sex and failed miserably soon after. When he and Granite first met, he had thought her too young and thus hadn't even considered bucking her, but as they spent time together, he found himself caring for her more and more. He'd eased into this affection almost accidentally and had never cared for the other mares like this. Together, these two facts made him extraordinarily worried that sex would ruin the relationship that seemed to be bubbling just below the surface of their every action.

He snuck a glance at her as he moved to the next feather. She was watching him, but seemed deep in thought herself, not really paying attention. She was so close to him, her head tilted down to see better, only inches from his muzzle and wing. The things she'd been saying... she clearly wanted it, but didn't know how to proceed. Maybe she was right. Maybe he could push... just a little.

Lodestone lifted his head and her eyes seemed to refocus themselves on his face. Absently, he noticed his pulse was racing.

"Uh... you seem really fascinated by this. Do you want to... to try?" His ears were folded back and his muzzle glowed bright pink, but he stretched his wing slightly toward her to emphasis his meaning.

Granite's eyes grew large in both wonder and amazement. She pressed a hoof against her barrel and breathed out: "Me?!" As if there was anypony else there. Her ears went completely flat and she looked around nervously. "I d-dunno what- I don't even know where to start."

Despite her self-deprecating words, the mare shuffled closer yet, eyes glowing with excitement. "What do I do?" she asked. Before Lodestone could give her any guidance, Granite pushed her muzzle closer and carefully ran it over the feathers - trying not to move anything, but rather just to feel the texture.

She was awfully close and leaning precariously over the stallion, so of course the cowpoke lost her balance. "Whoop!" she squeaked and gripped the pegasus around his belly to steady herself.

Even the light brush of her muzzle sent a tingle through his back and he suddenly realized why pegasi regarded this as so intimate. She fell against him and he held her up gently with a hoof.

"Just... lay down next to me so you're steady, then you sort of... poke the base of each feather with your muzzle and slide toward the tip." He grew a bit more comfortable as he explained. "It'll straighten easily enough but you have to make it twist yourself. Line each one up like these ones here, so they're angled a bit and overlap this way." He gestured with the tip of his muzzle to indicate what he meant.

"That sounds complicated," Granite said nervously, "I'll mess it up. How about I just feel them a bit more?" She closed her eyes and ran her muzzle through the wing again, sighing in pleasure. "So soft..."

It took her a bit to remember where she was, but then Granite smiled at Lodestone. "Why'd nopony tell me wings were this soft?! That's so cool!" And back she went, just feeling with her nose and muzzle.

After a bit it gave her enough confidence to try something. She spotted one feather obviously misaligned. "Um, this one?" she asked, but didn't wait for a reply before very gingerly tugging it to try and get it into place.

There was a tiny twitch of his wing and she stopped instantly, obviously worried about hurting him. He leaned his head in closer and spoke in a gentle, reassuring tone.

"Don't worry, they're tougher than you'd think. You don't need to push or pull it into place, just slide down the side and it'll move into place by itself." He met her eye and felt his muzzle grow hot. She had laid down beside him and was so close he could count each strand of her mane.

Granite nodded silently, holding Lodestone's gaze, but then suddenly darter forward to give him a still somewhat sloppy kiss. She was getting better at it, though and this time she didn't end up licking most of his muzzle in her enthusiasm.

"Okay," the mare said breathlessly once they parted. "Lemme try another."

She felt around again - of course Granite could simply look for misaligned feathers, but this way was a lot more fun. It sounded like it was fun for the pegasus, too. Eventually she chanced upon another, smaller feather and slid her muzzle down it a couple of time until she'd patted it into place. "Like this?"

Her voice was still too soft and almost a little bit choked up. "Yeah," he murmured, "That's right. Now just twist it a bit so it overlaps the next one."

She did so then looked up again, looking almost eager. "...A-And I just do that a bunch. I have to go through the whole wing and straighten every feather like that."

He met her gaze and shuffled uneasily. 'Push!' he told himself, 'She even told you to, just do it!' But he could only stare dumbly into her eyes, so bright and brilliant against her dark muzzle.

Granite waited for a moment longer, but then smiled and said brightly: "Okay!"

She bent down to her task, even if it wasn't all that methodical or precise. It ended up being more about the mare feeling up her pegasus coltfriend than any kind of serious grooming, but eventually it ended up done.

By the time she was finished with that one wing, Granite was breathing heavily and looking decidedly sweaty. "Boy," she said with an embarrassed grin, "this stuff is hard work, isn't it?"

It was a small lie to hide why exactly she was this flustered, but a single glance at her wildly swinging tail would make it very obvious, even if Lodestone couldn't smell it by now. Unfortunately Granite didn't seem to realize she was making a mess on the bed.

"Uh... yeah," he said, obviously flustered, "I guess maybe I'm just used to it."

He was feeling somewhat heated himself. Her muzzle had felt amazing as she'd dug through his feathers, and some places she touched had been even more sensitive than he realized. He looked her over under the pretext of examining his wing, realized the state she was in, and slowly inhaled her scent, relishing the way it was making him feel.

"So... wanna help me out with the other wing?"

"Um," Granite said, lowering her ears and looking down. "Would you mind if I... went to the little fillies' room first?" She shuffled uncomfortably and her hooves twitched, obviously wanting to move down and try to extinguish that fire. The mare managed a brave, almost-nonchalant smile for Lodestone. "I'll just be a minute and then I'll help you on the other wing, okay?"

She hadn't said it, but it was obvious what she would do in the bathroom.

Lodestone hesitated, inhaled again, then gave her a sly grin. "No, I don't think you can. I'd much rather you stay here and work on my other wing."

He tucked his wing in and rolled toward her onto his side so his belly was facing away from her and he had to twist his head back to look at her upside down. The messy wing was folded against his side directly under her muzzle so he spread it slightly, which had the effect of obscuring anything between his legs.

"Eep! Okay," Granite squeaked, but didn't resist being marehandled. She apparently realized about the bed, because her tail clamped firmly against her backside to prevent any more 'spills'. "Okay, here we go. I know how to do this," Granite babbled, more to reassure herself than Lodestone.

Ste started nuzzling along the wing, but this time her movements were a bit more jerky and uncertain, and she kept letting out small gasps or tiny, barely audible moans. There was no way her ears could go any further down, nor could she get any more pink in the muzzle - at least in the white parts.

A particularly strong jerk had her tug on a feather, which made the mare hiss through her teeth, even if it wasn't her who would feel the sharp pull. "Sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Sorry!" she quickly apologized.

She was so distraught, Lodestone couldn't help but chuckle at her expression. He twisted his head around and nuzzled the side of her neck reassuringly.

"I said they're tougher than you'd think. They take a lot of force when I, say, pull out of a dive."

He was breathing a little harder than normal and his blush had returned. He wasn't doing anything to himself behind the cover of his wing, but her scent was definitely starting to affect him down there.

"You're amazing, Granite," his wing shivered slightly, "I'd like it if you kept going."

"Okay!" the mare said, again in a squeak. It seemed all she could do lately was squeak or moo, or that 'moosqueak' that one time. She still gave Lodestone a brave smile and plunged on.

After a few minutes of numbly fixing the wing with no adverse effects, Granite began to relax a bit. She went back to feeling the feathers and enjoying the sensations. A few times she even nuzzled her face against the wing with a very comfortable sigh.

"I think I'm in love," the mare said, but realized a moment later what she had just uttered so she completed the sentence in a rush: "with your wings! Wings! I love how this feels! Oh, buck..."

She heaved a sigh, then gathered her resolve to look Lodestone right in the eye. "I love your wings, and I think I'm falling in love with you, but I don't wanna say it yet, okay? Wait, that came out wrong... ugh!" Granite buried her head down under a foreleg, completely forgetting the fact that she was essentially pressing her muzzle into Lodestone's wing.

A flush that had nothing to do with the physical contact spread through Lodestone's body and he felt nearly drunk with the myriad of good things he was feeling. He lifted his own foreleg and wrapped it around her neck, pulling her gently toward him. She lifted her head a bit to peek at him and he pulled a little more until she finally lifted her muzzle and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Granite, I..."

His breath caught in his throat and he felt her gasp more than heard it. He looked away, took a deep breath, twisted his body slightly so he could face her without twisting his neck so much, then tried again.

"Granite... I think I do love you."

"Aww!" was the mare's first reaction, followed quickly by a deeper blush. "So I suppose we should... y'know?" The poor pony was at the same time thrilled about it and scared as Tartarus. She didn't want to say no to Lodestone, but she kept licking her lips nervously and looking away.

"H-Here," she said almost in a whisper and quite out of breath, "I should finish your w-wing..."

It would give her a minute or two to pull herself together and get ready. Right now, Granite had trouble thinking, what with the way they were embracing and with what was happening to her... down below.

He squeezed her closer, not letting her pull away, but his expression turned slightly anxious. "I mean it. You said I should push a little... well, this is me pushing. I love you, Granite." It came easier now that he'd said it once, but he couldn't hold her gaze anymore and looked away, embarrassed. "I won't mind if you want to wait, as long as I'm still with you. I just... The way you look at me and touch me..."

He trailed off, his wing rustled slightly and his blush intensified. His forelegs were still wrapped around her neck and withers, pressing her against his side.

"Okay. Yes, good. That's what I asked for," Granite said, then swallowed and tried a faint smile. "Um, I think I love you too..."

Again she realized what she was saying and ended in a distraught 'moo'. "Dammit!" the mare swore. "Look, I just have to get used to saying it."

Her eyes were as big as saucers and the pupils like pinpricks. "I love you too."

The smile instantly returned. "There, that wasn't so hard, you cowpoke," Granite berated herself, then chuckled weakly. "Um- I can be honest with you, right?"

He'd covered it well, but he'd been deathly nervous after he first said it. Now that she responded in kind, he could only spin around where he lay and hug her tight against his chest, gently nuzzling the side of her face.

"Of course," he murmured, "you can tell me anything.*

"Okay, um, this will probably sound weird," Granite admitted. Her ears went up for a moment, then back down as she began talking. "I really, really like you, okay? Um, I wanna see where this goes - like really see."

She was getting to the hard part and started averting her eyes and fiddling with her hooves. "I'm just- I don't-"

Granite let out a breath and gave it another go: "I don't know any of this. I'm n-new..."

Lodestone would get a nice, self-deprecating grin from the mare for his patience, while she swallowed again and sought for more words. "I wanna... y'know... do it. J-Just maybe not now. I gotta get my mind around it first. Um, you probably can't see, but I'm- moo-"

This next bit would be super embarrassing, judging from her legendary blush. Granite even lowered her voice to a whisper, so nopony would overhear. "I'm really... um, horny right now. That's why I wanted to go to the bathroom..." Then she looked at the stallion expectantly, as if he was supposed to magically understand what exactly she wanted.

Lodestone pulled his head back and smirked, "You think I didn't know that? I knew that's why you asked, but I wanted to see you squirm a little instead."

He gave her a tiny kiss to silence any moos or squeaks in response. When he met her eye again, his muzzle was bright red but his expression was serious.

"Listen... if you don't want to do it yet, go ahead and get up, go to the bathroom, I don't mind. But," he interjected just as she tensed to stand up, "if you do want to do it and you're just avoiding it because it's new and scary... no, I won't let you go." He grinned and tilted his head questioningly. "So... which is it?"

"Umm... Uh... Um," the mare was severely flustered. Which was it, really? She didn't have an immediate answer that. "I guess," she began, but fell silent when no further words presented themselves. "Actually-" the poor, distraught pony tried again, except this time she powered through it. "Please don't laugh," she implored. Taking a very deep breath and focusing her gaze out the window to avoid distractions, she continued. "I think it's too fast. Buck, how do I explain?!"

She stalled for another minute by giving the stallion a very enthusiastic kiss. "I really like where we are right now - does that make sense? The- um, moonlit nights. The, uh, kissing and stuff. Dating. I kinda wanna do that a bit more- before we, um, start doing... the next bit. Am I making sense?" The mare heaved a sigh. "I guess if we- um, right now, that'd be fine, but I'd always kinda wonder what I might have missed out on."

Granite shook her head and put a foreleg over her eyes. "I'm probably just being a stupid filly, right? Just some silly, inexperienced country cowpoke..."

"No, you're not stupid, Granite," he said, chuckling gently, "You might be inexperienced, but you learn fast." He nuzzled her foreleg lightly and she peeked at him from underneath it. "But what makes you think any of that stuff is going to stop? I love going into the clouds and I'll bring you up there any time you like. We can keep dating as long as we like. Doing more doesn't change that."

Her foreleg had lowered completely and now he gave her a long, gentle kiss.

"I understand if you think it's too fast. Really, I do. I just... listen, I was afraid to push before because that's always gone badly for me before, but... I've never felt this way about anypony else, Granite. I've never loved anypony before. If you feel the same... doing more should make things better, not worse. I think that's why they call it 'making love'."

The mare teetered on the edge for a while, held back mainly by her fear. Of course she had heard all sorts of rumors, which were now going through her mind.

At long last, she lowered her muzzle into Lodestone's fluff and peered at him from the corners of her eyes. Her voice came out muffled by the fur. "You'll be gentle?" she asked, the final few walls breaking down.

Mere thought was enough to make the mare shrugged and exhale, her breath hot against Lodestone's belly. "What will it feel like?" she wondered quietly. "W-Will it hurt?" At the word 'hurt' Granite gripped her coltfriend more tightly, then barked a short laugh. "Tartarus, it almost hurts now and I'm only thinking about it."

She was warming to the idea now, but he was still worried about pushing her, so Lodestone decided to back down a bit and see if she wanted to wait. If she didn't want to wait and started pushing herself, it would reassure him this wasn't too soon. He nuzzled the top of her head before he spoke.

"I'll be gentle, I promise... but let's not rush things, okay? You think it over, make sure you're really okay with it... and maybe we can try something in the clouds tonight. How does that sound?"

Having the option really helped. Granite's smile became a bit more self-assured and there was even some of her old mischievous grin in there. "Mmmm, moonlit romance? Sounds lovely. It's just-" The mare stood up and stretched a little, which incidentally caused her to wave her tail about a little and spread the scent around some more. "I got all worked up and everything. I still gotta take care of this, or else I'll leak all day..."

The pony climbed off the bed very slowly, meaning her forehooves were on the floor and her rump was still pretty high up. "Wanna, uh-" despite her act, Granite wasn't quite as suave as she tried to portray. This was evident in her blush as she fumbled the next invitation: "Uh, with me- wanna. Moo! Wanna w-w-watch?"

Lodestone openly appreciated the show as she climbed out of bed, rolling over to get a better view. Her offer surprised him, but after a moment's consideration, he shook his head sadly "Tempting as that is, there's no way I could hold myself back... Honestly I'm having a hard enough time with it as it is." He hesitated, then looked down in embarrassment and continued in a quiet voice, "You smell really good, Granite."

Granite put some extra sway in her hips as she walked away. She kept glancing back with a grin that was a mix between nervous and sultry. Her tail flicked away on her third step and she paused, looking back and grinning fixedly at Lodestone. She was fully on display in all her wet, naked glory. Some of it had leaked down the inside of her back legs. It seemed preening in company wasn't erotic for pegasi only, after all.

Just then the mare winked. Her bits happened to be a darker patch of her skin, so it was especially noticeable, flashing pink for a second. She wasn't quite expecting it and it made Granite blink and shudder down her entire body. "Mmm," she moaned quietly and took one more step which brought her to the bathroom door. "Sure you don't wanna watch?"

She didn't wait for a reply, but she left the door open just in case as she went in. At first there was quiet, but slowly Lodestone would start to hear sounds - slight grunts as Granite put some effort into pleasuring herself, the slick motion of her hoof and an occasional gasp when she winked and hit an especially sensitive spot. The speed gradually increased and the grunts were no longer subdued. They became interspersed with quiet moans. The mare was openly panting now.

The pegasus had no choice. Her little show as she walked away had driven him well past the point of no return and by the time her first moans were trickling out the door, he had already fetched a small rag to catch his mess and began to stroke himself with a hoof. Almost without realizing it, Lodestone timed his motions to match her grunts and squeaks. He glanced up at the open door and could see a bit of her outline in the shadow cast on the ground. His imagination filled in the rest and a small moan escaped his muzzle. As if in response, Granite's movements intensified and he had to slow down or he would finish too quickly.

Soon it was obvious she was getting close and Lodestone switched to a wing, stroking furiously, intending to finish at the same time. He didn't realize it, but he was grunting deep in his throat and Granite would easily hear him. All his attention was on her soft moaning and the small section of silhouette he could see. She tensed and shuddered and Lodestone squeezed tighter, rapidly sending himself over the edge. He let out a long, low moan and just barely grabbed the rag in time to catch the mess as he convulsed and shuddered, then collapsed back onto the bed, his chest heaving.

As he came back to himself, he realized he'd been quite loud and looked to the bathroom door, but it had closed and the shower was running now. He wondered what she was thinking as he wiped up a small spill and placed the dirty towel somewhere out of the way. He could rinse it off in the bathroom sink later.

The mare was a bit red-faced when she finally exited the bathroom and came over to the bed. Her nose wrinkled and she seemed to explore the scents with some curiosity. She hadn't smelled a stallion's... results yet, so it was something new.

"Had fun? I hope I wasn't too loud and bother you..." Granite asked, blushing despite her attempt at a confident tone. "Wanna shower, by the way? Maybe if we're going out again..."

She spotted the rag, but then purposefully ignored it.

Instead, she stepped on the bed and brought her muzzle to Lodestone's for a quick kiss. "Anyway, that was kinda fun. We should do it again sometime. Then, maybe..."

The mare looked away and turned completely pink on her white patches, "... for real?"

She put her head on the bed and sat down on the floor, relaxing until they would have to leave.

"Yeah... maybe."

He leaned over to give her another kiss, then hopped off the bed and walked toward the bathroom. He was still somewhat swollen from earlier and he assumed she would look as he walked away, but he didn't embarrass her by checking. He grabbed the rag he'd soiled and closed the bathroom door behind him.

It wasn't long before he stepped out again as he'd always been quick and efficient in the shower. Granite was lying on the bed and watching the town out the window, so he hopped up with a casual flick of his wings and snuggled up beside her, resting a wing over her withers.

"Y'know... we should probably go and find Barbara. I'm sure Rarity is done by now. Hopefully she hasn't run into trouble without us..."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Granite confirmed. She shuffled a bit closer yet and leaned her head on Lodestone's withers for a moment. "I like this. This is nice," she said, unrelated to the conversation.

A few quiet moments later, Granite heaved a sigh and stood up. "We'll cuddle later. Now I've... done it I wanna go out and see stuff. It always makes me so energetic, dunno why..."

She was getting better and only blushed slightly when alluding to her activities in the bathroom. "How about you? Somepony once told me stallions get real sleepy... y'know... after. You can take a nap and I'll go find Barbara and check on Rohan."

As if to prove her words, the mare leaned down and gave Lodestone a peck.

"Nah, I'm alright. It's not the same by myself."

He winked at her and chuckled at her expression, squeezing her with his wing. They sat in amiable silence for a moment, just staring out the window, then Lodestone turned to face her again.

"I just realized if Barbara isn't waiting at Rarity's, we'll have no way to find her. If that's the case, you want to go check on Rohan? I bet he's already much better and he might be lonely and confused, wondering what the hay is going on."

"Yeah, that's a good plan!" Granite agreed. Now that the plan was set, the cowpoke was eager to get going. She shrugged free from Lodestone's wing and jumped from the bed, then pranced a little in place. "Come on, come on, slowpoke!" she teased, sticking out her tongue for emphasis.

As soon as she saw Lodestone moving, the mare cantered out the door, full of some new, manic energy. "OH!" she exclaimed loudly and rushed back and right into the bathroom. She emerged a moment later with both Lodestone's feathers stuck in her mane. "Whaddya think?"

Without waiting for an answer, the pony giggled and ran back outside, not caring what the townponies thought about her having the stallion's feathers. She hadn't known about the significance until he told her, but it seemed close enough.

Her enthusiasm was infectious and Lodestone chuckled, trotting out the door after her. When he caught up, he quickly snatched one of the feathers before she could stop him and held up a hoof apologetically.

"Sorry, Granite, but two feathers is just obscene. It's like walking around with your tail hitched up." He nuzzled her to try and quell her protests, then began trotting casually toward Rarity's boutique.

"Huh? I didn't know that!" She blushed a little, but then she stared at the pony in curiosity. "What exactly does two feathers mean? Tell me, tell me!" Apparently the mare didn't care about the stares they might be getting as they passed townsponies - either that, or she was purposefully ignoring them to keep from blushing even more than she already was.

Their easy trot took them through the town relatively quickly and they were soon mostly alone again. The cow-pony took the opportunity to steal a kiss.

"It's... complicated." Lodestone smiled and blushed lightly as she snuck him a kiss. She was doing that a lot now and while Lodestone was pleased by it, he was also a little worried that she was only so eager because it was her first experience with any sort of relationship. It had been less than a week since he'd stumbled onto her in the forest and he was concerned the multiple rapid shifts in lifestyle and culture around her would cause problems as time went on.

Granite's tail flicked his rump and he started slightly, then gave her an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry, got lost in my thoughts for a moment. Anyways... there's a whole system of customs around wearing somepony's feather. Even the placement can change the meaning - like right now, you have it placed behind your left ear, facing up, which means we're dating and happy with each other--usually implies we're sexually active, too. There's another meaning if it's in the middle on the top, in the middle halfway down your neck, if it's behind an ear but angled backward instead..." He rubbed the back of his mane awkwardly. "And then two feathers are even more complicated and can vary wildly depending on who you ask, but most of the time it's some variant of saying we're very sexually active and open to threesomes or other group activities."

"Oh. OH!" Granite exclaimed, turning from black and white patches to black and red instead. "I don't want that! Sorry, I didn't know. We're not looking for a third..."

The mare shuddered a little as she imagined the sheer awkward embarrassment. "We are... um... 'active,' right? I mean- just now. Does it count? I'm saying it counts."

Granite angled her gait so she came close enough to brush herself against the stallion briefly just before they reached the famous carousel boutique. A very brief knock and a chat later, it became obvious that Barbara was no longer there and the pair decided to follow their plan and go see Rohan.

Granite continued chattering nervously as they made their way to the small hospital and Lodestone mostly just listened amicably, as she usually didn't even give him time to respond before moving to a new topic.

When they entered the medic, the receptionist led them back through a maze of twisting hallways longer than Lodestone would have thought possible for the tiny building, finally opening one door identical to the others. Lodestone thanked her, then turned and raised a wing in greeting.

"Hey, how're you feeling? Sorry for leaving you here alone so long, but things have been pretty crazy since we arrived."

“I had a feeling. The “nurse” told me most of what I needed to know. How I got here, why I’m here, why I should stay in this bed. I also saw Chief and another pony here earlier, one who makes clothes.”

Rohan shifted in the bed so he could better face the pair of ponies, though stayed mindful of his lack of clothes.

“She left a little while ago, actually. I’ve been wondering why it is that you aren’t with her. Will she be alright without a familiar face around?”

"Uhh..." Granite said uncomfortably and looked at Lodestone. Then she brightened up. "Yeah, sure. Everypony here is very nice. Um, Barbara will be okay. How are you doing? We were so worried!"

Granite walked over to the bed and gave Rohan a very relieved nuzzling. She was obviously happy he was feeling better, as demonstrated by the enthusiastic licking of his face. "Thank Celestia you're okay!"

Too late the mare remembered that Lodestone might be jealous, so she looked back and gave the stallion a panicky smile, trying to gauge his reaction.

Her affections were more adorable than anything else and Lodestone wore a big grin on his face as he watched her.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be fine. The reporters might bug her but worst case scenario, she can always run back to the Castle of Friendship or City Hall."

He reared and set his forehooves on the edge of the bed, looking him over more carefully. It was obvious he was nude under the cloth but neither of the ponies seemed to care much about that.

Rohan gave the mare a few pats on the head for her affections and sat back against the headboard.

"I've only seen a small part of your home, and yet I can tell that it is leaps and bounds ahead of our own in terms of knowledge. I can only hope that Barbara is not upset by that, as I'm sure many in the village might be."

He hadn't realized that he continued to stroke Granite's mane while lost in thought of what could be.

The mare in question didn't move away - it seemed to be giving human some comfort so she didn't mind, especially if Lodestone didn't mind either.

"I dunno about that... we can probably teach you everything you need to know, right? I bet in a couple of years, your village can look just like Ponyville!"

What Granite didn't say out loud is that this was a much larger and fancier place than she herself was used to back home. She was quietly impressed and a little bit awed. Maybe it was a good thing they didn't go to Canterlot.

The pony at least had a lifetime of hearing about such things, whereas for the humans it would be quite a cultural shock.

She snapped out of her contemplative silence and smiled again. "Me and Lodestone are dating now," she explained, shooting the statement completely out of the blue.

Lodestone's ears flopped back as he suddenly felt awkward and self-conscious.

"Oh... uh, yeah, I guess we are. That's probably not really important to you though."

He tried to quickly change the subject back.

"Actually, Barbara's been taking the change pretty well, from what I can tell. She seems eager to embrace the advances and technology we can offer. Though when we talked to the Mayor, we decided we should move slowly to avoid upsetting the villagers with too much change too fast."

"Yes, I can't imagine if the people in our village were subjected to another series of changes so quickly. Having food and safety is one thing, having your entire culture changed as a result of knowledge is another."

Rohan finally stopped petting the mare and looked between the two as he thought about what she said.

"I suppose I should congratulate you two. When will you be wed?"

"Uuuuh... ummmm," Granite was suddenly embarrassed and backed away a little. She blushed a vivid red and looked at Lodestone. "I dunno... we're not quite there yet."

It made her think of the longer-term future and suddenly the cow-pony was afraid. Marriage and then... gulp foals. She obviously wasn't ready to think of anything like that and shook her head to clear it.

"We've got time, right Lodestone?! We can decide later..."

Her nervous hoofsteps brought her right next to the stallion and Granite pressed her side against his, as if for comfort. "H-How much longer do you have to stay h-here?" she asked the warrior. "Do you want us to find the Chief and bring her over?"

Laughing nervously, Lodestone rubbed her side with a wing to comfort her.

"Yeah, uh, Rohan... I guess maybe humans are faster about this sort of thing, but ponies uh... we take these things slow. Even if Granite and I were very confident in our relationship, it might be a year before we even started thinking about foals."

He tried to shrug casually.

"Maybe it's because we're not in constant danger? I guess you can't afford to be slow and careful."

“I suppose that’s true now, but people were quick to marry even before. I suppose you could argue that those were arranged and were to continue strengthening ties with other nations though.”

He shrugged that off and looked away from the two.

“Since that probably isn’t part of your customs, we may need to teach people in the village not to try such a thing if trade is established. I don’t quite know how your kind would handle men using their daughters or sons as bargaining tools.”

"You used your daughters and sons as..." Granite gasped, covering her muzzle with a hoof. "That's awful!"

She realized she was disparaging the man's culture and quickly changed it: "I mean, maybe sometimes it's okay for... um..."

The pony gave up and hung her head. "Sorry."

Now she was extra uncomfortable in the room and clung to Lodestone for courage. "I guess we should go look for the Chief. Any-anything we can bring you, Rohan? Maybe some fruit or s-something?"

"Sorry, Rohan... you're right. The idea of trading your foal like they're just property will definitely shock ponies."

He looked away and sighed, then gave him a cautious grin.

"But hey, that's what we're here for, right? The spirits chose us to help you assimilate into pony culture. We'll help you learn our ways and you and Barbara can help us learn your ways, then together we can work out the safest way to mesh everypony together."

“I suppose that is true. They probably knew that your leaders have come far since they asked for guidance.”

He’d never thought of it that way before but it made sense to him. The spirits had to have known the ponies could do more from their own civilization than directly for the people within the village. Halfway through his thoughts, his head shot up.

“The chief, where is she now? I know you said she will be alright, but she has a rather straight-forward personality. I would hate that something happened while nobody was around to help her.”

"Yeah, we really should go find her," Granite agreed. She was still shaken a bit from the marriage idea and the 'selling your foals' trading strategy. She stepped from hoof to hoof, gently bumping Lodestone's flank without really realizing it.

"Where do we even search? Do you think she might be with Princess Twilight?"

Visiting royalty in their own castle seemed to have caught Granite's fancy and she looked eager to go check. "Or- or," she added hurriedly to hide her enthusiasm a little, "maybe the Mayor will know?"

Lodestone knew Rohan was trapped here at the medic and didn't want him to worry, so he discretely flicked Granite's rump with his tail and knocked her hoof with his before he spoke, trying to smooth things over.

"Oh no, I'm sure she's fine. Princess Twilight is keeping close tabs on her - and probably you too, I'm sure. Leaders from a brand new civilization that's obviously capable of war? I'm sure she'll do everything she can to make sure she's treated kindly and diplomatically."

"I see. That does make sense. I will be here until tomorrow, but I regret that I don't have a lot I can do but wait. Perhaps, if you would like to keep me company for a bit longer, I wouldn't mind that."

Rohan crossed his legs so that the pair could sit on the bed with him if they wished.

The mare flashed the human a nervous grin. "Y-Yeah, I suppose that's okay..."

She looked around the hospital room, then went to push a chair closer. She wasn't going to sit on the bed with a naked human - Granite had spent just long enough in the village to understand a little about how they viewed clothing - or lack thereof.

"Anything we can talk about? Maybe we can explain, um... about writing?"

She remembered how curious Barbara had been about that. "Or maybe I could go fetch something to eat, like some fruit or maybe something else?"

That was the only chair in the room, so Lodestone simply sat on his haunches beside her, slowly rubbing her withers with a wing. He worried she was still a little freaked out about the mention of foals. Hay, he had been a little shaken himself, but he did his best to brush it off, hoping it would help to relax Granite, too.

"I don't mind waiting around here. I'm sure Barbara will stop by here eventually, with or without Twilight's help."

Granite went to fetch a fruit bowl from the cafeteria and they settled in relative comfort. They mostly talked about pony technology, but occasionally would just chat about minor stuff or something important to the village. It was several hours before anypony disturbed them.