Stallions

It was early in the morning, and the mists from the Everfree Forest had crept into Ponyville. It was too early for the birds to chirp and the bees to buzz around, but it was not too early for a certain red stallion.

Big Macintosh clutched his head and swayed. He had a hangover the size of an Ursa Major, and he groaned as he made his way to the outer limits of Sweet Apple Acres, carrying a paint can and brush in his mouth. He’d promised Granny Smith that he’d paint the last of the picket fence, and the early morning was the best time to do it. Normally he wouldn’t paint in the mist, as the low-hanging clouds had the tendency to make the paint run. But the mist wasn’t as bad as it had been before, so he’d dunked his head in a bucket of ice water to wake himself up and ventured out into the cool morning fog.

He reached the fence and began to work. Sure enough, the paint did not run, and in about five minutes he had already finished two of the remaining twenty posts. The silence was deafening, but he was used to it. He always used quiet times like these to gather his thoughts, and after seeing the gorgeous stallion the other day, he could think of very little else.

“Shining Armor,” he said to himself, letting the name roll off his tongue. “Ain’t ever been a stallion as he, no sir. Not that I’ve seen. Cuter than a bunny rabbit wrapped in puppies.”

Alone, he didn’t feel as awkward saying such things, but he had to watch what he said in public. There had never been a same-sex couple in Ponyville, or in Equestria. Marriage was a tricky thing in the land of friendship and harmony. Nopony really talked about stallion love.

Needless to say, it tormented him. The loneliness was the worst part. Normally he passed it off by being disinterested in love. There had been that fling with Cheerilee, but now they were just friends, nothing more. Some of the not-so-kind folk in town had spread rumors for awhile about what he liked to do to his Smarty Pants doll. Nopony really believed these rumors, and the simple truth was that Smarty Pants was the closest thing to a companion that he had. Well, that and Winona, but she belonged to the whole family, and rightfully so. Smarty Pants was more than just a raggedy stuffed animal. He was Big Mac’s only love.

Until yesterday.

He sat down by the fence and watched as the morning sun began to burn away the mist.

Shining Armor was an early riser. He liked to wake up at the crack of dawn and get some exercise in before breakfast, and one of his favorite ways to burn off calories was by jogging. He usually only jogged in Canterlot’s gardens or in the back alleys of the city. Ponyville was new territory for him, and the morning mist wasn’t helping.

He decided to wait a bit before going out, pulling on a sweatshirt and doing a few warm up trots around the inside of the tree house. Owlysius, Twilight’s pet owl, watched from his perch high above the bookshelves. Shining Armor smiled up at the owl and then bounced on his hooves, eager to get outside and jog on new ground. The big hand on the wall clock struck nine. It was a quarter to six. He pulled the hood over his spiky cobalt mane and silently stepped outside.

Already the sun was starting to scatter the fog, and as Shining Armor trotted around the house a few times, the mists lifted completely. The sound of twittering songbirds filled the air, and he could think of no better way to spend the second morning of his week off.

“Ahh,” he sighed. “I think today’s gonna be a good day.”

With that, he set off, jogging up Main Street, his hooves clicking on the cobblestone. The sweatshirt kept him warm as he went to the town center and circled around to the outskirts of town. A few ponies were starting to wake up, but they probably would prefer a cup of coffee rather than a morning jog.

As he ran, he let his mind wander. Useless thoughts and distant reminders floated around in his head, but one thing kept popping up: that red stallion from the other day. Big Macintosh.

Shining Armor had seen how the stallion had looked at him. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the elder Sparkle for the entirety of Twilight’s party. And try as he might, his own eyes had kept wandering toward the gorgeous crimson stallion. It is always amazing how so much can be said with so few words. In a single look, the two had told each other all they needed to know. There was love in the air.

But could he be sure? Shining Armor had nearly made the mistake before when he had fallen for a new Royal Guard recruit. It turned out that the rookie stallion’s feelings for the elder Sparkle were merely work related. He was the fawny, obsequious type that aimed to please but sometimes aimed a little too high…or too much. Shining Armor had nearly wrecked the stallion’s whole life, and from that day forward vowed to not pursue love any longer.

That was three years ago, and now, during his first unofficial visit to Ponyville, it seemed he had found the one. But what troubled him most was, would he accept his love? How was he to know whether or not Big Macintosh felt the same way about stallions as he did?

He continued jogging but noticed that the weather pegasi were starting to come out and clear away the morning clouds and mist. He smiled up at them and continued jogging, taking a shortcut and ending up on a long, winding road. For a few minutes, he could see nothing but dirt road and green grass.

Then, as he came up over the hill, he caught sight of a red pony painting a white picket fence on the side of the road.

“Mr. Macintosh?”

Big Mac looked up, placing the paintbrush across the bucket. The voice was familiar, but who…?

“Shinin’ Armor,” he whispered to himself.

On the outside, he was composed. In his head he was squealing happily like a little colt. He waved as Shining Armor made his way over, sidling up next to the fence, his sweatshirt speckled with sweat.

“Uh…hi there. Mhm. Good morning,” he said. Big Macintosh smiled. Was that sheepishness in his voice, or merely drowsiness? Maybe the big white stallion was as nervous as he was.

Then his eyes widened. Could it be? Could Shining Armor also be a stallion lover?

“Mornin’, Mr. Sparkle. Please, call me Big Mac.”

“Oh, okay. Well, uh…you can call me, er…well, most ponies just call me Shining Armor.”

“Ah’m fine with that,” Big Mac replied. “What can ah do fer ya?”

“Oh, I was just…just…heh heh, I was just jogging, and I thought I’d stop by and say thanks for coming to my sister’s birthday party.”

He smiled. “Yer welcome. Good party.”

“You thought so?”

“Eyup.”

A pony of few words, Shining Armor thought to himself. Interesting.

“So, uh, you’re painting a fence?”

Now Big Macintosh began to look nervous, dodging his eyes and casually kicking the ground with his hoof. “Uh, erm, yeah. Ah mean, yup. Got out early before it gets too hot, y’know?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Reminds me of when I used be just a plain ol’ guard at Canterlot, standing for hours on end in the heat, without moving at all.”

“Betcha looked good in that armor.”

The two stallions’ eyes went wide at the same time, and Big Macintosh, sweating a little, backed up. “Er…ah mean…I, er…”

But Shining Armor put up his hoof. “Yeah, I got that a lot. It was heavy, though, and a real pain in the rump to wear. The Captain’s armor is much more comfortable.”

Images of the stallion stripping off his armor flashed through Big Macintosh’s mind. He had dodged a bullet, and he needed to end this. He was going too far too fast.

“Um…ah should…probably get back to the fence.”

“Oh, um…okay. Well, it was nice seeing you!”

“Yeah,” Big Macintosh said, waving as the white stallion galloped off. “Yeah, you too.”

Shining Armor still couldn’t be sure, and he was no fool. Big Macintosh was definitely nervous about something. But he couldn’t be sure.

Was he a stallion lover? Shining Armor pondered this as he slowed to a peaceful jog outside the Apple family orchards. The big guy was nervous, unsettled. But then, he could have always been like that. Shining Armor didn’t really know anything about him. He could have been a poor, insecure mess for all he knew.

He chuckled. A poor, insecure mess indeed. He remembered how scared, how surprised he himself had been when his lust for stallion first arose. He had kept it a secret, and fortune had blessed him so that nopony yet knew that he loved male ponies. As the years went by and Shining Armor transformed from a small colt into a big, powerful stallion, he came to realize that he could not bring himself to love mares. This was a problem, as he was one of Canterlot’s most popular bachelors, and mares were constantly falling head over hooves for him. But he remained a bachelor, sticking to his work and leaving himself little time for courtship…again, until now.

But he could not be sure. He could not risk another incident. He could not…

“Shining Armor! Wait!”

He turned around and immediately thought he was dreaming, because Big Macintosh was trotting toward him, his mane gently flowing in the soft morning wind. He stopped in his tracks just as the big red stallion came up to him.

“Ah’m sorry, it’s just…” He cleared his throat. “How would ya feel about comin’ over for dinner tonight? Yuh could bring Twilight with ya, she and mah sister Applejack are really good friends…”

Shining Armor’s legs nearly gave out, he was so nervous and excited. This had to be a sign. This had to mean that he was into him. First there were the long looks, then the awkward conversations, and now he was inviting him to dinner?

“How can I say no?” he chuckled. “I’d love y…er, I mean, I’d love to come over to dinner. I’ll bring Twily with me. We’ll have a lot of fun.”

“Ah, fantastic!” Big Macintosh exclaimed. “So ya’ll come ‘round six?”

“We’ll be there, of course!”

“That’s great!” He offered his hoof. “Well, nice talkin’ to ya. I gotta get back t’paintin’ that darned fence.”

“You too!” Shining Armor took his hoof and shook it. He then took off down the road as Big Macintosh returned to his fence.

As they left each other, each pony’s heart seemed to quicken, and a tingly feeling crawled up their legs. They couldn’t wait for tonight. It was going to be an experience that neither pony would soon forget.