Everfree Village

Barbara untied him from the net and scooped him up in her arms. While he wasn't small compared to her, she had enough muscle to carry him, though maybe not for too long or too far.

"Okay, lead us towards their healer. The sooner he is healed, the better for our village."

She did her best to keep up with the stallion, though the weight slowed her down significantly. With the sun setting, there were less ponies about. Those that were out looked on in curiosity and maybe slight fear of the muscular creature jogging through the town.

Lodestone had taken it somewhat easy while they approached Ponyville, but once they got into town, he put on an anxious expression and started rushing forward, forcing the Chief as fast as she could manage with all the weight. If anypony got in his way, he flared his wings out and shouted something about a medical emergency. Eventually he spotted somepony that looked important and he pointed a wing at them imperiously, using his most authoritative voice.

"You there! We urgently need to go to the medic, but it's important I speak to the Mayor at once. My name is Lodestone, tell her I found a new sentient and friendly species within the Everfree Forest. Go now!"

Then he marched hurriedly past the confused onlookers, making a beeline for the clinic.

Granite, who had taken a nap in Lodestone's room and - guiltily - wrapped herself in his blankets and scent, was woken up by commotion outside. It wasn't hard to guess what might be happening so the mare rushed to the window.

She tried waving, but of course the pegasus and his human escort didn't see her, so she tumbled over herself in her haste to get down to the street with them.

The pony stopped in the middle of the steps and ran back to lock the room, then she legged it outside.

"Hey! I'm here! How can I help?"

A few passers by glanced around and the mare smiled nervously. "I'm with them. Excuse me!"

She had to push past a few ponies to join the little procession.

Lodestone saw her coming and said, "Keep... uhh, keep our path clear! We need to get to the doctor as fast as possible!"

With Granite now able to help, they were much, much faster at getting towards the local Ponyville hospital. The pony that had ran ahead to get help had warned them, but it didn't truly prepare the medical team for what they saw. When Rohan was plopped on a gurney, they sat in stunned silence, at least until the chief clapped her hands.

"Excuse me? I don't mean to be rude, be he needs your help!"

That seemed to get them moving, as well as blushing with embarrassment as they rushed the man into the hospital.

Assuming the medical ponies knew an infection when they saw one, Lodestone relaxed once Rohan was taken in. He stopped Barbara from following them and reassured her they would take care of him and that they could visit him shortly. As he eased her into one of the larger chairs, he gave Granite a friendly wave and started toward her when Mayor Mare burst through the door.

"Lodestone? I came as quickly as I... oh dear..."

When she spotted the large human she quailed for just a moment before getting control of herself. She stepped closer and extended a hoof in greeting.

"Why hello there! I am Mayor Mare. Let me be the first to formally welcome you to Ponyville. Please, everypony, follow me. We should continue this in my office instead of crowding this little clinic."

The group proceeded out of the building and the mayor led them down the street and toward City Hall.

"Um mayor?" Granite said quietly as she followed the delegation at the tail. "As in, the actual mayor? Does Ponyville even have a mayor?" She leaned her head to the side and gave it some thought. "But why? Doesn't Princess Twilight live here?"

It didn't make sense, but the mare shut up once they were in the office and the formal part was about to start. She made sure to stay near Lodestone, just in case something would be expected of her.

Everypony was just getting settled in when the door burst open again, glowing purple in a magical grip. "Sorry! Sorry! I came as quickly as I could!" yelled a purple, winged and horned pony who had just joined the meeting. There was a press of others outside, but Twilight Sparkle deftly slipped past them and shut the door again.

The bustle was dampened somewhat and the small group in the Mayor's office could relax.

The newcomer walked over to the Mayor, apparently oblivious to the strangers. "So - uhm, Mrs. Mayor, somepony came yelling to my castle that we have strangers in Ponyville. Some kind of tall, two-legged creature from the forest? I couldn't gather much more than that."

A book floated in the air beside the alicorn and was leafing through it even while she spoke. "I know I never read anything about bipeds in Everfree in either Zephyr's Zoology, nor in the Mythical Creatures of Everfree!"

Her eyes landed on the human, then slid up to Chief's full height and the mare fell silent. "Oh..." That was all she could manage.

Barbara smirked at the pony's antics as she said, "Well, to be fair, humans aren't really from the forest originally, it's just where we're stuck now."

The lady looked between the two leaders with uncertainty. One, at least, had a familiar form in that she was an earth pony, while the other had a horn and used magic outright. The thought of a flying, magic wielding pony from a "superior" civilization was enough to worry Barbara.

"I am the chief, the one who runs the village and ensures their protection. These two have promised to aid us and have brought me here."

Holding out a hand, she tried to shake the mayor's hoof first, since she didn't get the chance earlier, then the princess's. Mayor Mare shook her hand eagerly and grinned up at her. Her tail was twitching nervously but that was the only sign of the fear she felt for the giant creature before her.

"Um, hello Princess Twilight. This is Lodestone, he visited me a few days ago to get permission to enter the forest to prospect for a mining site. He's the one who discovered these people." She hesitated for a moment, then turned to address Granite directly, "And, um... hello, dear. I don't recognize you from Ponyville. Are you a friend of Lodestone's? What's your name?"

"Granite!" the mare says, suddenly bashful in the presence of royalty. She flashes the mayor a brief smile, then went to openly staring at the Princess. It's pure luck the mare is too cowed by an alicorn that she doesn't keep babbling on.

For her part, Twilight didn't seem to notice the extra ponies as she gapes at the human. "You can talk?!" she asks, lifting up a notebook and pencil which seemed to magically appear from somewhere. "This is so fascinating! What else can you do? Are there different varieties of-" She leaned her head to the side and the pen stopped its scribbling. "What did you say you call yourselves? Hummus? Hoo-gan?"

"Human. Uhh, is she always like this?"

The lady turned to look at the mayor, figuring that one leader would know the other well. The way Twilight looked at Barbara only freaked her out more, though she wouldn't allow herself to appear intimidated or frightened.

"Oh yes, this is quite normal." The Mayor leaned forward and continued in a stage whisper, "To tell the truth, I think she'd rather be a scientist than a Princess." She stepped back with a giggle and nudged Twilight with a hoof, "Stop analyzing her dear, you're scaring the poor creature!"

Barbara shrugged, "Now may not be the best time to learn about us. Lodestone, you brought me here so I can get things I need for the village. I'm gonna need your guidance here."

Lodestone finally stepped forward and spoke, "Princess Twilight, Mayor Mare, this is Barbara, Chief of a primitive tribal village of people called humans that Granite and I accidentally stumbled onto while exploring the forest. Princess, I think you'll want to hear about something I found there." He hesitated, hoping the Chief would understand him sharing their secret. "They have a cave with a massive crystalline structure containing the spirits of some ancient deer-like creatures who claim to have once given advice to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna themselves."

"Deer?" Twilight exclaimed. "I know I read about that at some point! Blast, I don't have my books with me! Hold on, let me go check quickly!" The mare crouched and her horn glowed brilliant as she readied a teleportation spell, but then she caught the Mayor's eye and relaxed. The glow winked out. "On second thought, it can probably wait." She gave the human a nervous smile and finally offered a hoof. "Hi. Um, my name is Twilight Sparkle and of course you're welcome in Ponyville. If there's anything we can do to help, please just ask!" That was about all the diplomacy Twilight was capable of in the face of the discovery and her weird, obsessed grin quickly reasserted itself. "Do you think I might be able to go meet these deer spirits?"

"No." It was firm and resounding. The woman crossed her arms and took a step back so she could lean against the wall. "We took these two there because we felt there may have been a reason they were guided to us. The spirits of the forest are not to be summoned on a whim, certainly not because someone is curious. The only time we commune with them is when we have great need of their guidance."

Barbara kept her gaze to make sure that what she said was clear. It may have come off as somewhat rude, but these were parts of the very fabric her culture was being based around. Revered beings that should be treated as such.

Twilight's ears flopped down instantly, but she rallied. "Oh. Yes. I un-understand. Of course. Yes."

She collected herself and the smile was quickly back. "I'm sure we can still learn a lot from each other! Would you mind stopping by my castle when you're done trading so I can ask you a few questions?"

The alicorn turned to the mayor next: "So - I think you have this all in hoof, Ms. Mayor. Please show them our full hospitality and then send the bill for anything they need to Spike. It's no trouble - we have diplomacy funding for a reason!"

With that, the pony took a few steps away and lifted up her notebook again. She scribbled for a moment, then lowered it and looked at Lodestone and the human. "Um - you don't mind if I sit here and take a few notes, do you?"

When Twilight brought up the subject of funding, Lodestone spoke up again.

"Princess, I uh... I don't think funding will be an issue. The village has a large mine they've been working with and they've found a fair amount of raw gold," he gestured for the Chief to bring out the ingot, "Which they have no need for, being a very practical people. Of course, we can't just give shopkeepers a whole gold ingot and expect them to make change, so I'm hoping you'll be able to trade us it's equivalent value in bits."

The Mayor leaned forward with an appreciative gasp and said, "My goodness, and this is just some of what they have? Well anyway, I don't think we'll need to trouble the Princess with that, our treasury ought to be able to exchange you some bits easily enough."

She pulled out a little notepad and fell silent for a few seconds, then glanced at the Princess.

"I think twenty-five hundred bits sounds fair, don't you?"

Twilight sparkle nodded happily. "I'm sure that'll be fine!"

With that, the Princess went back to her notes, muttering a little to herself: "mine... raw gold..."

Barbara smiled and said, "Twenty-five hundred? Sounds like a lot! Maybe we'll be able to get what we need to expand our farms out. Only issue there is having to move the wall to increase the amount of land available."

That would take them a long, long time. Building the wall in the first place was rough, but now they needed to make sure to have enough stone to build the wall outwards.

"I'm getting ahead of myself though. I'll need to see what else there is that we can use to improve our village first. Mayor, what would be the best place to do that?"

Lodestone politely held up a wing and when the Mayor nodded to him, he turned to the Chief.

"I don't think we need to trouble the Mayor with our little shopping list, Granite and I should be able to handle it."

"Oh, it's no trouble!" The Mayor said quickly, "Half my job is Diplomacy, after all."

The pegasus bowed his head graciously, "True, but there's more to the story about the spirits. When Granite and I entered the cave..."

Lodestone went on to explain the story as best as he remembered. He occasionally asked Granite for confirmation of various details, but her responses were short and almost too quiet to hear. She was clearly intimidated by the big goings-ons around her. He explained about the task the spirits gave them and how the Chief was offended by his initial suggestion to shirk responsibility to other ponies, which the Chief reiterated firmly to everypony. Mayor Mare seemed to only be listening to be polite, but the Princess looked as if she might explode, she was so full of questions.

As he was nearing the end of his tale, his speech slowed and he began yawning frequently. He was exhausted and starving after all the flying today and was eager to get back to his room at the inn, but he continued as long as he could manage.

Granite seemed about ready to slink off quietly when nopony was looking, but she remained beside the pegasus even while all this attention was on them. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was done, only to freeze up again when Twilight walked over with an inquisitive look on her muzzle.

The Princess nearly pranced in excitement. "Oh, this so so cool! You have to tell me more about this rune magic! And you said their plants grew in a couple of days? One of you should come to the castle - that way we can get that gold bar exchanged and you can answer some more questions for my notes!"

She looked from Lodestone to Granite, as if deciding who it should be. The mare gave a small whimper when the look landed on her.

Resisting another huge yawn, Lodestone said, "I don't suppose it can wait until tomorrow?" He glanced back at Granite and saw the fear in her eyes. "We've both had a long day and would like to rest up. I'm sure Barbara is worried about her injured friend as well."

Barbara shrugged, "Healers always need their concentration, right? I was never allowed in a hut for more than a second while our Shaman and Priest were working. I figured I'll see him in the morning." That was how they had to do things in the village, at least. Maybe in this one instance, it was useful, since she probably shouldn't be without a guide. "I can go to this castle and exchange the gold for these 'bits.' You get your rest, Lodestone."

"That's a great idea!" Twilight exclaimed and almost danced to the door. "This way, please!"

She opened the door and the crowd automatically made way, even while still gawping at the stranger.

The alicorn waved goodbye to Mayor Mare, but she was visibly excited about the prospect of some questions answered and some research started, especially when it came to a new, talking species to make friends with!"

At least it dragged attention away from Lodestone and Granite, who were able to sneak off in the other direction unnoticed.

The flashing of cameras as the door opened had Barbara on edge. She didn't know what those strange things were, she had no clue why they were all trying to talk over each other or sticking strange metallic sticks in her face. It would have shown on her face too, but she decided maybe the best approach was to ignore them like the princess was doing and simply move past.

Twilight was so used to the attention and the press by now that she didn't think to shield her guest from it. It was sheer luck that ponies eventually got the idea and eased up. A crowd still followed them all the way to the castle, but at least they didn't push in once the two were inside and the door was closed.

"Now! Walk this way! Um, can I offer you tea or something to eat? SPIIIKE!"

There was a grumble from somewhere inside and approaching footsteps.

"Tea? What is... uh, sure. I'll take whatever you have to offer."

Barbara had a feeling she wasn't going to understand much of what the ponies had. The palace itself was only further evidence of that. It was a smooth, crystal tree, yet it was filled with lights that weren't torches. She did find herself wanting to touch every fabric she could see though, if only because she had grown weary of fur and leather.

"Splendid!" Twilight looked around for a small, purple dragon who had just appeared with an annoyed look on his face. "Oh, there you are, Spike. Tea for me and our guest, please! Oh, and some ginger biscuits, if you would!"

The dragon nodded and happily rushed off again. "Sure thing, Twilight!" he said as he was leaving.

That done, the pony turned down the hall and pulled a door ahead of them open with magic. "Through here, please! Make yourself comfortable, I'll just go and grab some more paper for my notes!"

The Princess herself galloped down the corridor and into a different room.

The place she had ushered the Chief in was a nice, lavishly appointed meeting room. The chairs were a bit low, being pony-sized, but the cushions were thick and comfortable. There were some paintings on the walls and some bookshelves lining the room. A large window let in plenty of evening sunlight so that magical light was not yet needed.

She inspected every inch of the room while she had a chance. The paintings, the books, even the chairs were all made from materials either out of her realm of understanding or out of the scope of her people to make. That would be a problem for the chief. Her people should not have to rely on others to get what they need, they should be self-sufficient enough to make anything, but also have the ability to trade for extra resources. But she immediately knew that wouldn't be the case. She was out of her depth.

It wasn't much later when Twilight burst back into the study, laden by many scrolls, blank pieces of paper, books, quills and pencils. It all floated in a kind of cloud above her as the mare shoved her way into the room and to one of the chairs. Her supplies landed on any flat surfaces that were available and the pony immediately opened a few books before her. "Please, have a seat!" she offered, albeit absentmindedly.

It took the pony a few seconds to organize herself, then she looked up at the Chief with a big smile plastered across her muzzle. "I guess we should start at the beginning?" she said and chuckled at her own weak joke. "What can you tell me about the history of your people? Have you always lived in the Everfree forest or did you move from someplace else? Do you have any books on your history? Or-" she took in the woman's appearance, "maybe scrolls? Cave paintings?"

"As Lodestone said, we didn't actually come from the Everfree, or anywhere from this land, in fact. We lived in a larger village and had many trade routes with other humans before. As for how we got here, well..." She leaned forward and rubbed her hands together as she thought back. "We believed that our gods had forsaken us. That we had wronged them in some way. The ground shook, the winds howled and uprooted trees, and a light blinded us. when the light cleared, we found we were in an unfamiliar place. What little shelter we had was soon destroyed by the beasts in that forest and we began to wander."

She talked about how they struggled to survive with almost no stored food, very little weaponry, and no knowledge of the closest river. A voice called out to them, guiding them towards the rocks, where they made there home. Eventually it called some of the people up the mountain, where the spirits blessed them with wisdom and guided them. Though that did not mean their troubles were over.

"Oh my," Twilight said a few times. She listened in rapt attention, only breaking her stare so she could scribble down notes. Soon she was accumulating pages and pages of tiny, neat script. She asked a question here and there for clarification, but mostly let the Chief continue at her own pace.

"We have a wall to try and keep out the beasts, but still the monsters of the forests come. We have not had a thunder roc attack in some time, but we always know they will come, eventually."

At long last, the story wound down, and the alicorn gave the human a bright smile, then asked the obvious question: "Have you ever thought about relocating? I'm sure if we talked with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, we could give you some land someplace to make a new village. Everfree forest isn't really a good place..."

"And forsake the spirits that saved us? We owe them our very being, this is a matter of respect and honor. The people of our village who wish to leave are allowed to do so. If you want to help them to a safe place, I have no objections, but I will not abandon the spirits of the forest."

In that respect, the chief was showing the signs of the beginning of a true religion. If nothing else, she may even die as a result of that dedication the respected dead.

"Oh," Twilight said, ears folding down in apprehension. "I didn't realize. Sorry. Um..."

She looked for a safer topic, but was saved by the small purple dragon who brought in a tray with a tea set and some - by the smell of them - freshly baked cookies. That was probably the reason it took so long, but Twilight wasn't complaining. She levitated one and bit into it to hide her embarrassment.

"Please try some!" she offered the guest while she was carefully pouring two cups of tea.

She sniffed at the things curiously before taking a bite. Eyes widened in delight, she began to scarf down the cookie. The tea, however, was hot enough that she knew not to simply take a sip without testing it. Unfortunately, it tasted bitter without any sugar added and after the sweetness of the cookie.

"I miss having herbs, spices, and honey. We used to have a steady supply, when we were a trade village, but now we barely have the room to grow crops, not to mention our farmers barely knew how to farm until those two came along."

"Well, ponies would be happy to trade for those things, especially if you have gold. I don't think any of that should be a problem."

She held up a bowl in her magic. "Sugar?"

Spike, ostensibly waiting around in case Twilight needed something was staring at the newcomer until the pony noticed. "Um, that'll be all for now, Spike."

He raised a claw: "But-"

"Thank you!"

Grumbling, he left the study, closing the door behind him perhaps a tad too strongly. "Now, where were we?" Twilight went on. "You can mine - I guess that means you know how to work metal. Do you have writing of any sort? Runes? Pictograms? Hieroglyphs?"

The mare levitated up one of her books to show an example of each.

"Runes... yes, we have runes. We do not use them for records like you do, instead they are used for inscribing magic. We have a runecarver in the village, but some people have worked out how to cast spells. That had never happened before the forest, nobody had magic."

The lady took a few of the sugar cubes and watched them dissolve in the hot tea. Like she had seen from Twilight, she used a spoon and stirred it in before taking a sip. The once bitter tasting drink was now a delight for her.

"Oooh! Rune magic!" The alicorn exclaimed, clapping her forehooves together with delight. She busily scribbled for a while, then couldn't hold it anymore.

"How does it work? Is each rune it's own spell, or they do just contribute an effect? Oh, oh! Or do the runes need to be in certain combinations for each effect? How long does the magic last? What do you write the runes with? Does it matter if it's different materials?"

The pony was all but bouncing on her seat as she poured a seemingly endless tirade of questions out her muzzle.

"I don't know about all that..." Hands held out, Barbara wore a nervous look that told Twilight to calm down with the questions. "We're still learning about it ourselves, but it seems like there are combinations of runes that do specific things. It doesn't seem to matter what they are inscribed on, but the runecarver actually channels magic into the symbol either as they are carved or after."

"Oh..." the mare visibly deflated, but then quickly brightened up. "Do you think I could speak with this... runecarver? Magic is my specialty, you see? Maybe I could help you get better results!"

The pony stood up to show Barbara her flank where a picture of a star almost glittered in the light. "Oh, this is so exciting! A completely new form of magic... well, maybe."

She got thoughtful for a moment, then corrected: "Well, it may be similar to early second century northfolk runic magic, but it's still so exciting! You came up with it yourselves?! That's amazing!"

It looked like the dialogue would continue in this manner until one or both of them dropped from exhaustion and it didn't look like it was going to be Twilight. The alicorn completely lost track of time, food, sleep and all other obligations when she was like this.

"Princess, listen, I'd love nothing more than to keep answering your questions, but a lot of what you want to learn is something you'd learn better by going to the village. But for now it's already night time and I'm fairly tired. I... don't know where lodestone or granite went..."

With that, she realized she wouldn't have a proper place to sleep. She couldn't ask the princess for a place to sleep, not when she was trying to display good leadership qualities to these ponies.

Twilight deflated a little and looked out the window where the sky was almost completely dark. "Oh! You're right! I kept you up this late - where are my manners!"

The mare went to the door and opened it, then yelled out: "SPIKE! Please get the guest bedroom ready!"

Just like that, without even asking, Twilight seemed to have decided to set the Chief up in the castle for the night. "There- I'm sure the bed in the guest bedroom will be perfectly fine! We'll go to the bank tomorrow morning and sort out your gold bar, okay? And maybe you can answer a couple more questions?"

Judging from this day, 'a couple more' would mean answering questions all day.

"How about this instead: For your hospitality, I will give you a tour of the village... minus meeting the spirits, of course. That way you can see for yourself how we live."

She always was more of a hands-on learner, so she rather hoped that the princess would accept that offer and leave it at that. With a promise to think it over, probably due to the dangers of the forest, Barbara shut the door and made her way towards the bed. It was, without a doubt, the softest bed she had ever laid upon. No doubt, once she had stripped her clothes, it would be a simple matter to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Lodestone was trying desperately to get back to the side of town where he was staying, despite Granite's constant excitement over this 'enormous city.'

"Yes, Granite, I know we just passed a market. This is another one, for a second residential district over there. I think there's three altogether."

Just then, he spotted a familiar building and turned in that direction, waving for Granite to follow.

"C'mon, the Golden Pony is over here. We can have a quick bite to eat then talk all you want as soon as I can lay down."

"Ooooh, okay!" the mare said, excited about what she imagined would be a romantic, candle-lit dinner in an exciting strange town. "Yes please!"

Moments later her steps faltered yet again and the girl gasped. "Is that a clothing boutique?!" She looked about ready to bolt for it, but then caught the pegasus' glare. "Oh, sorry. Yes. The dinner. Right. After you!"

She still watched it with longing as they walked past.

He trotted up to a small café he had found the night he flew into Ponyville. It was cheap and simple, but the interior was cozy and the food was surprisingly high quality.

"I promise we'll look around the town before we leave. I doubt Barbara will want to leave until Rohan is better and that will be a couple days at least."

He smiled reassuringly to her as he pushed open the café door.

"Besides, the whole point of coming here was to go shopping, right?"

"Well..." Granite began, but then deflated a bit and lowered her ears. "I don't have any money..."

She blushed as she admitted it, even thought it must not have been a big secret. The pony had nothing on her when she wandered into the Everfree forest and she hadn't picked up anything in the human village.

"I don't think I can pay for this," she admitted and started backing out the door.

Lodestone chuckled and batted her rump with his tail, halting her backward progress.

"It's going on the company account, don't worry. Plus this place is cheap, but still tastes good. I tried it when I first got here in Ponyville."

The server mare was waiting patiently and Lodestone finally turned to address her. Soon the two ponies were comfortably sitting in a booth in a quiet corner of the room, sipping on their drinks and waiting for their food to arrive.

Granite couldn't stop looking around. She knew about going out for dinner, of course, but she'd never had a chance - at least not alone. These were always a family affair, full of relatives.

"This is nice," the mare said brightly, trying to make up conversation where she had zero experience. "I like the... um. The..."

The cow-pony looked around for inspiration. "The lights! The lights are nice!"

She pointed at a couple of enchanted lanterns in the middle of the room. "And the seats- um, super comfy!"

After that, her inspiration seemed to dry out and she just ended up opening and closing her mouth for a few moments.

Chuckling gently, he patted the air with a hoof in a calming gesture.

"Relax, Granite. Wait 'til you try the food before you start complimenting anything... though I could always ask for a bottle of wine and turn this into a real date if you like." He tried to give her a sly grin but it came out a little more nervous than he'd hoped.

"Um, okay!" the mare was game. Mention of wine got her strangely excited for some reason and she was grinning in anticipation. "I like wine!"

She plugged her mouth, but not in time. Then the blush followed, as if she had said something deeply humiliating. She wouldn't meet Lodestone's eye.

"It's funny," she tried to cover her blooper, "we've been sleeping in the same bed for days now, but this is our first real date!"

"Well, it's not like we had a choice," Lodestone added quickly, "I don't think they had room anywhere else. Besides, it was cold."

He flagged down the waitress and asked for a reasonably priced bottle of pink wine that wasn't too dry. There was an awkward lull in the conversation until she returned and Lodestone took a careful sip, then nickered pleasantly, pouring Granite a glass.

For her part, Granite emptied her glass greedily, as if it was a race. She swallowed the last bit, then stood up to pour more, tongue poking out as she concentrated. "It's good! Better than-" her words were interrupted by a small moo and she nearly dropped the bottle. "Better than... some other wine I tried," the pony finished lamely and colored. She downed her second glass just as quickly, but this time didn't pour a third. "Um, where's that food? I'm starting to get a bit hungry," Granite asked nopony in particular.

The wine wasn't very strong, but Lodestone slid the bottle away from her all the same. "Since it's slow, I expect it'll arrive any second. Drink some water," he added, nudging her glass toward her, "You should always balance alcohol with plenty of water or you'll regret it in the morning."

'It'll also slow down the alcohol,' he thought to himself, 'keep it from hitting you too hard, too fast.'

Granite obeyed and gulped down a glass of water, but then she got right up and reached her hooves for the bottle. "Another, please?" she begged.

Lodestone poured her another glass but kept the bottle on his side of the table. "Just sip that one, alright? Take your time to enjoy the flavor, don't gulp it down so quick. I've carried enough today, I don't need to carry you to bed, too."

There didn't seem to be any sign of stopping her, but luckily the waitress came with their plates and the cowpony was momentarily distracted by her boiled veggies and hay fries. "Shame they don't serve meat here, eh?" Granite said, again too loudly, causing a gasp or two from nearby tables, which of course she didn't notice. "Are there any pony restaurants that serve meat?" That last bit was with her mouth half full.

He munched some hay fries, then said casually, as if it wasn't a big deal, "Keep your voice down about meat, yeah? We're not in a wild village of hunters anymore."

Then as if brushing off the topic, he gestured to her plate.

"So how is it? I haven't tried that yet."

"It's good! Eggplant and lettuce and peas," Granite began listing. She paused for a moment to take a large gulp of the wine, but at lest she didn't drain the whole glass this time.

Her eyes were already starting to get a bit unfocused, since she had started drinking on an essentially empty stomach.

Then she waved a hoof dismissively. "Don't worry, you won't have to carry me. I can walk just fine!"

The fact that she had answered his questions out of order didn't seem to register. "I can handle my wine just fine, don't worry about me. Don't worry!"

"Yeah, that's what they all say," he said with a laugh.

There was a long silence while the two of them focused on their meals. Simple as it was, it seemed especially tasty after a day in the primitive human village. Granite quickly finished her third glass but Lodestone flatly refused to give her a fourth until she finished her food. As soon as she did so, she drained the glass again and had now drank about half the bottle by herself by the time Lodestone had finished his first glass. He insisted she drink nothing but water from then on, claiming it wasn't 'fair' that she get more than half the bottle.

Finally Lodestone put the bill on the company tab and, holding the bottle in a wing, slipped out of the booth to stand next to where Granite sat. He thought she would be okay - it was a fairly weak wine after all - but he wanted to be ready if she stumbled just in case.

"Alright come on, I'm ready for sleep."

"Oh, my! Such a gentlecolt, helping a filly to the bed!" Granite exclaimed, then giggled a lot. She slid from the seat and landed on all four hooves. She seemed quite steady, if swaying a bit, but then she took a single step and stumbled badly. She nearly bonked her muzzle on the floor, but caught her footing just in time.

She ended up standing, barely, with all four hooves quite far apart, all the better to help her balance. "Um... what was in that wine?" the mare asked suspiciously. "It didn't taste all that strong. M-Maybe a glass to steady my hooves?" she pleaded.

Lodestone eyed her suspiciously.

"It wasn't all that strong, but I guess anything hits hard when you drink half a bottle of it. Definitely no more tonight, though."

He steadied her with a wing and helped her outside. Thankfully the Inn was just down the street and Lodestone got her upstairs without much incident, though she did get a nasty look from another pony when she giggled and commented on her hat in what she had thought was a whisper.

Some of her clumsiness left Granite when she was in the room and she galloped, then leapt, landing spread-eagled on the bed and bouncing a couple of times from sheer momentum, causing the mare to laugh happily. "It's so soft! Now this--this is what a real bed feels like, Lodestone! Come feel!"

She patted the fabric beside her, then hiccuped as her sudden antics caught up to her stomach. "Oh. Sorry!" the pony giggled. "C'mere and lesz have another kiss!"

He just stood there by the door, staring at the pony. He glanced down at the bottle again to double check that it was indeed a very mild drink, barely stronger than your average beer. Glancing back at the mare, he sipped some wine straight from the bottle and swished it in his mouth. Yep, barely even alcoholic.

"Uh... I think maybe I'll just sleep on the couch."

"Nooo!" Granite moaned and reached out her hooves. "At lea- luh...least gimme some cuddles!"

She was trying to look forlorn and sad, but was only making herself go cross-eyed. "I'm fine! I'm not drink, here, I'll prove it!"

Granite rolled off the bed and deftly caught herself on all four hooves . She was swaying a bit, but managed a couple of steps towards the stallion. "Come one, loosen up. I thought we were- um... we were- uhh.. dating.. since the thing in the clouds, right?"

"Well... yeah, I guess," he said hesitantly, "But Granite, this stuff really shouldn't be hitting you this hard. I'm getting a little worried." She started to scoff at him again but he waved a hoof. "Look, we can cuddle, alright, but if you want to do anything more it'll have to wait until you've sobered up some."

That seemed to mollify her at least temporarily, so he climbed up into bed and made her lie down facing away from him. He wrapped a wing over her and around her front, then hugged her from behind, trying to avoid any more contact than necessary.

While she was being marehandled, Granite frowned again and waved a vague hoof. "You sayin' I'm a lightweight?!" she demanded almost angrily. "I can take a drink, like... like any-anypony else!"

She calmed down nicely once she was being cuddled. "Sorry... sometimes I'm... get carried away," Granite admitted.

The 'no contact' policy was never going to work. As soon as they were still, the mare shuffled backwards and pressed against Lodestone's belly. Even that wasn't enough and she flailed until she was on her back. A hoof went down to pat the stallion's flank. "Small kiss?" Granite suddenly asked.

Lodestone hesitated, feeling extremely aware of the contact between their bodies, then he shrugged to himself. One kiss should be fine, and maybe it was all she wanted, then she would go to sleep.

He lifted his head slightly and pressed a hoof into the side of her muzzle, drawing her into him. There was the faint scent of alcohol on her breath, but she mostly just smelled like... her. He couldn't describe it, it was just her scent.

The kiss lasted significantly longer than he had intended, but damn if it didn't feel amazing. It was only her second smooch but she was already much better at it. 'It's probably just because of the bit of wine I had,' he thought.

When he pulled back he felt a little out of breath and simply held her gaze, holding himself up on one foreleg.

"Mmm," the pony murmured, smiling. "D- dat was niceee."

She seemed to shudder all over, then somehow squeezed herself even more tightly against the pegasus. The hoof went up and forward, starting to clumsily fiddle with his wing and at the same time she pushed her muzzle down to - apparently - taste his chest fluff.

"Sweet fly boy," Granite sighed, apparently more to herself then anything else. She seemed to be moving quite a lot and her tail swished up every now and then. "One more?" she begged. "Y'really know how to- to..." the sentence was interrupted by a yawn, but Granite just went on when it ended: "to make a filly fall for you..."

Breaking eye contact to nuzzle his chest almost seemed to snap him out of a daze. He relaxed, lowered himself back onto the bed, then chuckled quietly.

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that one."

He gave her a little peck on the side of her muzzle, then firmly pressed a hoof into that same spot, gently pressing her head down until it sank into the pillow.

"Go to sleep, Gra--," he was interrupted by a long, jaw-cracking yawn, "Uuuugh... yeah. Go to sleep. Try again in a few hours I guess, if you really think you want to."

Then his head plopped down onto the pillow and he adjusted his breathing, pretending he had almost immediately fallen asleep. Hopefully that would be enough to convince her...

For some reason, the mare seemed a little out of breath. Now that they were both lying down, relatively still, Lodestone would become aware of a rhythmic motion and a look of concentration on Granite's muzzle. She lowered her ears and pouted her lips. "Please? I just need a bit more..."

Her tongue poked out and her eyes half closed. "Al-almost..."

Granite was getting really hot. As in, Lodestone was starting to sweat and needed more air to try and stay cool. Shuffling slightly as if he wasn't comfortable, Lodestone pulled away from her, rolling most of the way onto his back. His wing slid halfway off her but one foreleg was still tucked snugly under her neck.

Just in case, he pretended to catch his breath in a snore to drive home the act, then shifted a bit more, turning his head to the side. His wings were throbbing slightly from the days efforts and now that he could actually relax, he found the comfortable bed far too distracting to notice Granite's tiny movements.

The mare, for her part, kept trying for a bit longer. She followed the stallion, at least with her head and experimentally smooshed their lips together a few times. "Come ooon," she whined. "Wake uuup! I want kisses!"

When there was no reply, she slumped down and stopped fiddling with herself. Then she heaved a long-suffering sigh. "You got me drunk and in a bed, what more does a filly have to do?!"

Even that got her no real response, so Granite grunted in annoyance, turned away from the stallion and plopped herself down. Another sigh turned into a yawn.

It was remarkable how quickly she had gotten inebriated and also how quickly it had passed.

He had to resist the urge to laugh. He didn't know how or why the alcohol hit her so hard, but it was definitely something to remember next time. Assuming she would forget about it by morning, he allowed himself a small grin as he began dozing off for real.