"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! Please forgive me! I wasn't thinking!"
The party had ended about ten minutes ago, and I was walking back home with Zecora by my side, pressing herself against me comfortingly, while Scarlet flew in front of me, a terrified expression on her face as she continued to apologize for the kiss. I wasn't mad. I didn't hate her. I was just more confused now than ever.
"Scarlet…it's alright, I'm not angry or anything," I said with a small sigh. "I'm just…well, why did you do it?"
Scarlet lowered her head. "Like I said, I wasn't thinking. I was so caught up in the moment that-"
"It is not wise of you to deceive, do not a web of lies interweave," Zecora interrupted, looking up at the Pegasus with a stern expression.
Scarlet looked even more terrified now. "B-But-"
"Cat's out of the bag, Scarlet," I said. "If you have something to say to me, please don't hide it."
She took a deep breath, then landed in front of us. Zecora and I both stopped, looking at the gray mare who was trembling with fear. Zecora walked up and put one hoof on her withers. "We'll listen to what you have to say, I promise."
"Can…we talk back home then?" she asked softly. The tone she used reminded me of her first interaction with me back at the hospital. She was scared and vulnerable, and talking in the open was not the best idea.
"Sure, let's go talk back home," I said, resuming the walk.
The walk home was one of silence as the two mares walked beside me. The night air was crisp and cold, and I could smell some rain in the air. I knew we were due for a night of rain, but not as bad as the storm we had a couple nights before. The moment we got back to the house, the rain had just begun to fall. We were inside before the windows of heaven were opened.
I used my magic to start a fire in the living room, then I sat at one of the couches, with Zecora by my side. Scarlet chose to sit opposite us, looking down at the floor and rubbing her hoof on the couch. The three of us sat in silence for a bit. Scarlet took a couple breaths after a while, then straightened up and faced me, a determined look in her eyes. "Jethro Bethridge, I'm in love with you."
Silence again as the words washed over me. Zecora put a hoof on my leg reassuringly, but I kept my gaze on Scarlet for a bit as I tried to wrap my mind around this new development. A few moments passed, before I finally asked, "Why?"
And that was when the floodgates opened. "Why? Why?!" She stood up and walked over to me, sitting in front of me. "Jethro, ever since we met, you've done so much for me! You took me to the hospital when you didn't need to, you paid for my treatment, you gave me a home and a chance to repay all the debts I've racked up since coming to this town! You showed me so many amazing and wonderful things from your world that brought me laughter and joy!" She looked up pleadingly at me now. "I know I use a lot of innuendoes with you, and if that bothers you, I'll stop, but I only did that because I didn't know how to tell you my feelings!"
"You just did," I said with a sigh.
"And do you know how hard that was for me?!" she shouted, tears in her eyes now. "I know you have a different way of thinking than Ponies! The idea of a herd scares you, I know that! But I couldn't help myself! I fell in love with you despite that and I couldn't take it anymore!"
As she started to collapse, I caught her and pulled her close into a hug. She wept into my shirt as Zecora rubbed her back gently. "Shhh…let it all out, Scarlet," I whispered.
Scarlet's cries grew louder as she buried her face into my shirt. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" she continued to apologize.
"You don't need to apologize for your feelings," Zecora said.
"She's right," I added.
"But I kissed you!" she said tearily.
"Yes, yes you did," I said, "and that was just the wakeup call I needed."
She looked up at me, now confused as she wiped tears from her eyes with her wings. "What do you mean…?" she asked.
"I've put this off for far too long," I whispered. "Tomorrow, I start thinking about this seriously. Thinking about the idea of forming a herd."
There comes a time in every man's life where he makes a solid decision to make irreversible changes to how he lives. Maybe he gets a doctor's report that his cholesterol is so high that he's at major risk of a heart attack so he makes the decision to either start a new diet or ignore it out of pride. Maybe he hears from his wife or loved one that he is about to be a father so he makes the decision to either man up and take responsibility or run away from his responsibilities. Maybe he decides to get a new job, but the dream job he wants requires a degree, so he goes back to college at a later time in life than most college students.
For me, it was that kiss that Scarlet gave me.
The kiss itself wasn't the issue itself. I'd been getting kisses from Pinkie for a while, and while surprising, they never really made an impact on me, although they probably should have. No, the kiss from Scarlet had something more to it. There was passion there, sure, but there was something more. A desperation, perhaps? No, there was genuine affection in it. Genuine love, which only added to the confession the night before.
Needless to say, it snapped me out of my assumed ignorance. I wasn't blind, after all. Celestia had told me about Luna's supposed crush on me, which I now all but knew to be fact judging by the jealous look Luna gave Scarlet mere moments after the crimson eyed Pegasus broke the kiss. I wasn't blind to affectionate glances from other mares or affectionate gestures. I was just a coward, too afraid to even think about it or even make any kind of decision.
Oh, I could easily say something to the effect of "I've had no time to think about the idea of even indulging in a herd, thank you very much," but that would be a lie. I had plenty of time in Canterlot while I was recovering from Eris' attack, but I chose to ignore it.
That kiss, unexpected in the moment, was just what this cowardly bastard needed, which is how I found myself flying behind Rainbow Dash towards her original hometown.
Cloudsdale during the fall was not that much different from how I remembered it from my first visit. The Pegasi living there were wearing cold weather gear, for one, and the clouds the city was made of looked a bit thicker and darker, like they were constantly threatening to precipitate on the landscape below. The Ponies, when they saw Rainbow, waved, but then hesitated when they saw me flying behind her. They were more than likely still anxious about what they'd seen or heard from Eris. That, and they had more reason to be nervous around me, since from what I heard, a good number of Ponies perished here.
But I pushed my own anxiety at being here down. I had a purpose here. I had someone I needed to talk to. Or rather, four Ponies.
Rainbow Dash, being a Pegasus, wasn't blind to the reactions of her fellow Pegasi, so she moved back and flew beside me instead of in front of me. Moving as close as she could (my wingspan was larger than hers) she called out, "I've told them that it wasn't your fault, you know? But I guess it wasn't enough."
She was definitely the Element of Loyalty. I smiled gratefully at her. "Don't go beating yourself up. I'll make the time to talk to them. But…I have a more pressing matter that I need to deal with pronto."
Rainbow Dash flew in front of me, stopping me midflight over a small intersection in the floating city below. "Is it really that big of a deal? Scarlet likes you. Zecora said she's fine with you being in a herd, so why not try?"
"Rainbow, it's not that simple for me." I rubbed my forehead. "Humans find it next to impossible to have successful polyamorous relationships."
"Poly-what now?"
"A human version of a herd," I simplified. "It almost never works for humans. I mean, there's been polygamy in the past and even in modern times, but that's more of a male power thing than anything else."
She approached and poked my chest hard and looking at me sternly. "You'd better make a definite decision then, mister, because I know Scarlet isn't the only Pony who feels this way."
"Why do you think I'm here today?" I asked, poking her back with my finger, giving her an equally stern expression before it faded and I looked at the sky. "The problem is there isn't another human I can talk to in Equestria who can help, or relate to my religious upbringing…"
Rainbow sighed. "I'm not an egghead, but I do know when somepony's in love. And isn't love enough between two or more Ponies?"
"Do you know why I fell in love with Zecora?" I asked.
She thought a bit, then shook her head. "Nope."
"Well, it started out because we were kindred spirits," I said, then noticing the look of confusion on Rainbow's face, I clarified, "We're both non-Ponies in a Pony dominated land. We're both aliens, she from a different continent, me from a different universe. It was nice knowing that I wasn't alone in a sense. But then as we got to know each other, we became best friends. I found a new love in crafting potions with her, and she and I shared a love of the night and stargazing. I've also showed her a lot of human media, and she's eaten it up. Not as much as Scarlet, but still enough. And the fact that she was willing to temporarily give up her normal form for me just made me fall for her even more. All she's done for me was more than enough for me to fall hard for her. Love is a powerful emotion, but it's not all there is to a relationship, you know. Sure, it's a big part, but still, not the whole picture."
"And what about Scarlet?" Rainbow asked.
"Scarlet's one of my closest friends, and I care deeply for her," I said, "but there's a way of thinking in my world that says that if you fall for two women, you should go for the one you fell for second because there was something in the second that made you forget the first. It's a loyalty thing."
Rainbow's eyes widened a bit. "Now that I understand, but I just said Zecora is perfectly fine with it, remember?"
"But am I okay with it!?" I asked, nearly shouting now. "If I do decide to try and go out with Zecora, Scarlet and whoever else might like me, not only is that a hell of a lot of work, which isn't as big of a deal, but I can't promise to love them equally like they would deserve. There'd always be a favorite, and there'd always be that lingering guilt that would seep into my soul. What if we were in some life-or-death situation and I was forced to choose between, say, Zecora and Scarlet? How could I make that choice?!"
I was hyperventilating now, trying hard not to break down in front of my friend and flight instructor and the other Pegasi below. Rainbow looked stunned for a bit, then in an instant her front hooves were thrown around my neck, hugging me as tightly as she could. Her wings weren't flapping anymore, so it was only me holding us up. I lowered myself down onto the nearest sidewalk and hugged her back. "Jethro," she whispered, "There's no set rules on how much love to give in a herd. All that really matters is the happiness of said herd. As a family. As best friends. And lovers."
I sniffed. "When did you get so wise?" I joked.
She broke the hug, smacked my arm and hovered in front of me, smirking. "I'm not an egghead, but you did call me smart once."
"And you are," I said.
"Nopony's gonna force this on you," she said.
"No, maybe not, but I need to make a decision. I've sat on my ass for far too long," I replied.
"And what a sexy ass it is," Rainbow said with a smirk as she flew down the street, laughing.
"You've been hanging with Scarlet too much!" I shouted as I flew after her, laughing along with her.
"Here's their house," Rainbow said about ten minutes later. We were standing in front of a two-story house on the west side of the city. Like most houses in Cloudsdale that I'd seen, the place was massive and had large windows that any Pegasi could fly through at any time, which made sense when I thought about it, but that wasn't why I was here.
"What were their names again?" I asked.
"The stallion of the house is Stormy Chaser, and his wives are Lilly Sunlight, Bookend Order and Emerald Cake," Rainbow said. "I knew Stormy and Raindew back in Junior Speedsters flight camp," she further explained as she knocked on the front door.
The door opened a few moments later to reveal a bright blue Pegasus with a long yellow and green striped mane and tail and yellow eyes. Her cutie mark was a ledger and a pen in an inkwell beside it. The moment she saw Rainbow, her eyes widened and she shouted, "Crashy!"
"Booky!" Rainbow replied as she threw her hooves around her friend.
"How've yuh been, yuh daredevil yuh?" Booky, or Bookend as I assumed she was, said in what sounded like a Brooklyn accent.
"Same old, same old," Rainbow said. "And how about you? Still keeping order in this place for that husband of yours?"
"Like yuh woun't believe!" Bookend said as she rolled her eyes. "Emerald's been spendin' mawh than we have in our budget again, so we've had tuh cut out some of de date nights dis month befawh we all get paid."
"How's everypony else doing?" Rainbow asked with a wide grin.
"Dey're doin' great! Stawhmy and Lilly are a bit busiuh than nawhmal preparin' fawh wintuh, but dey're all off today." Bookend finally noticed me, and her smile faded. She pointed to me. "Crashy, why is he here?"
Rainbow's own smile faded. "Now hold on, Booky, before you say anything, nothing you saw was his fault. Eris is back in stone, and the princesses promised better protection. Besides, he's a knight now! And I can vouch for him." Rainbow flew back towards me, putting one hoof around my shoulders.
I bowed respectfully. "I take it you're Mrs. Bookend Order. I'm honored to make your acquaintance, ma'am."
Bookend looked at me cautiously, then back at Rainbow. "Yuh sure he's on de level?"
"I'll even Pinkie Promise if it'll make you feel better," Rainbow said.
"No, yuh doan need tuh do dat. If yuh say he's okay, den I believe yuh." She turned to me and nodded politely in my direction Nice tuh meetcha, Mr. Bethridge. Or is it Sir Bethridge, or what?"
"You can just call me Jethro," I said.
"Well, what can I do fawh yuh den, Jethro?" Bookend asked.
"It's…a rather unique topic for me," I explained. "It has to do with herds."
"What about dem?" she asked nonchalantly.
Rainbow sighed. "Booky, back where he's from, herds aren't a thing. And there are a few other mares showing interest in him."
"And I need to know how herds work from someone actually in one," I said. "If it's too much trouble, I can ask someone else-"
"Doan wawhry about it, alright? Come on in and I'll get de others." She stepped aside. "Yuh comin', Crashy?"
Rainbow hesitated for a bit, then shrugged. "Sure, why not? Maybe I'll learn something. And maybe I'll get to try some of Emerald's famous chocolate pie!"
Bookend laughed. "Dere's a few slices left in de fridge. I'll getcha one. Yuh want somethin', Jethro, or what?"
"Just some water if you don't mind," I said.
"Alright," she said as she led us down a small hallway into a large living room with two couches, one right against the massive front window and one against the wall right next to the hallway. On the wall opposite the latter couch was a large desk with papers strewn about and a light focused on said paperwork. "Take a seat anywhere and I'll get de others and your refreshments." And with that, the Pegasus walked off.
"I thought you absolutely hated pies," I said as I took a seat.
"Emerald's pies are an exception," she said. "She makes them just right!"
"I'll take your word for it," I said. "By the way, you don't have to be here, you know?"
"Are you kidding? After how Booky reacted to you? I'm not leaving. Besides, I wasn't lying when I said I might learn something about herds."
I smirked. "Egghead."
"Don't tell Twilight," she grumbled as four sets of hoofsteps began approaching from down the nearby set of stairs.
The first to come down was a stallion with white fur, dark blue mane and fur, blue eyes and three clouds in a triangle with lighting attaching them for a cutie mark. Behind him, Bookend came down before heading towards another room, presumably the kitchen. Then a second and third mare walked down, the latter carrying a newborn baby foal on her back. The second mare was bright yellow with dark orange and red striped mane and tail, along with blue eyes. Her cutie mark was of a sun shining on a small plant. The third mare had bright green fur, a darker shade of red on her mane and tail, and one green and one red eye. She had a slice of cake with a candle sticking out of it for her cutie mark. All of them were Pegasi, including the cream colored Pegasus with chartreuse eyes, mane and tail.
Upon seeing who was in their living room, the three new Ponies all hesitated. All except for the foal who immediately jumped off of the third mare's back and flew up to me, eyes wide with curiosity. The third mare gasped and, in a soft voice, called out, "Sunstone, don't!"
Sunstone didn't seem to hear the bright green mare, who I assumed was Emerald. Instead, the young foal started to smile and giggle as it flew around me, laughing. I couldn't help it: I reached out, gently caught the young Sunstone and stroked the mane. Sunstone cooed at that.
"Well, I'll be," the stallion, presumably Stormy, said in awe, "She never warms up that fast to anypony."
I smiled down at the diapered young filly. "She's adorable," I said, "she'll grow up to be a heartthrob one day."
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Stormy said gruffly.
Emerald rushed over to me, hiding one eye behind her mane shyly. "I'm sorry about my daughter," she said apologetically, in a tone that vaguely reminded me of Fluttershy and the show's version of Marble Pie.
"It's alright," I said with a smile as I lifted the little filly up and handed her back to her mom. Sunstone didn't seem to like that, and whined a bit, but I gently touched her nose and smiled. "Be a good filly for mommy, okay?"
As she took the little filly back, Stormy looked me up and down with an appraising eye. "So…" he began, "you're the alien everypony's talking about, eh?"
"Stormy! Be nice," Rainbow said defensively.
Stormy finally saw Rainbow Dash, and a friendly grin formed on his face. "Rainbow Dash, nice to see you again. Crash into any teacher's lately?"
"You crash into one teacher…" she mumbled in frustration as the four Ponies laughed. I held in my laughter since I was still unsure as to their view on me. "Look, Jethro needs some help here, you guys."
"What kind of help is it?" the bright yellow Pegasus mare asked. Her accent sounded slightly British.
"It…has to do with herds," Rainbow said, looking a bit embarrassed herself suddenly.
Stormy raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "Herds? Why would you need to know about herds?"
"Well…" I started, taking a deep breath, "back where I'm from, my home planet, herds aren't a thing for humans. We find it impossible to have more than one romantic partner, but you Ponies seem to have that down to a science. I'm in a loving relationship with someone right now, but I've been made increasingly aware that other mares are starting to develop feelings for me. I wanted to know more about how a herd works, and what better place to start than from an actual herd?"
Stormy looked back at the two mares in the room, then back at me. "Well…is Rainbow Dash is vouching for you, I don't see why we can't answer a few questions."
Bookend came in just then, carrying a small plate with a chocolate pie on it and a glass of ice water for me. She handed them to us then went to sit with her fellow wives. "Where do yuh wanna start?" she asked.
I bit my lower lip. "Oh God, where do I even begin? Well, I suppose my biggest problem would be the issue of favoritism. How do stallions not favor one mare over the other? I mean, surely you love one mare more, right? Or am I completely off the mark?"
Stormy nodded in understanding, then replied, "You're half right and half wrong. I can't speak for other stallions, but for me, I love all of my wives in a different way, but I do love them. I love how organized Bookend is. She's the one keeping this house in order. It shows me that she cares for my wellbeing and the wellbeing of her fellow wives and the household in general."
"Doan yuh go makin' me blush now," Bookend smiled, a bit of color in her cheeks.
He gave her a loving smile, then turned back to me. "I love how Lilly's devoted to this house as well by the hundred and ten percent she gives at work. You can vouch for that, Rainbow." Rainbow nodded, a bit of pie crumbs on her face. "She was my first wife. I met her about ten years ago at the weather factory, and our friendship grew into love. She's the Prime Mare because of that."
Lilly blushed hard and giggled. "Flattery will get you everywhere, dear," she crooned.
Stormy chuckled, then concluded, "I love how Emerald has a love of making our stomachs happy," he said jokingly, causing the poor aforementioned mare to blush as well, "but in all seriousness, Emerald cares for this household and brings not only good food, but a wicked sense of humor, plus our first foal Sunstone."
"But how do you not favor one over the other?" I asked.
"We have schedules for one-on-one date time with him," Lilly said, "and we have group outings."
"Seems a bit…mechanical, don't you think?" I asked.
Stormy sighed. "Well, we four make it work," he said. "Sir Jethro, you need to understand that Ponies have been doing this for many hundreds of years. We've come up with a lot of different systems that work for us. I won't lie, it's work, just like any relationship, but the rewards are worth it. You help to meet the needs of your herd and they help you. You love them, and they love you back. In my case threefold. They also are the best of friends and love each other dearly." He grinned conspiratorially, moved closer and whispered, "And if I'm a lucky stallion, I can watch them go at it together."
My jaw dropped at that, and the image of how the hell lesbian sex worked for equines flashed in my mind. Oddly enough, I'd pictured Zecora and Scarlet together. I shook my head clear of the image, then returned Stormy's grin with my own. "Lucky bastard," I whispered back.
He threw back his head and roared in laughter. "I know I am," he said after he calmed down.
"Hey, I've got a question," Rainbow said, turning to the mares. "You think it's possible for an interspecies herd to work?"
"I actually knew a stallion back in Great Britmane who was in a herd with two Zebras and three Ponies," Lilly said. "I'm of the firm believe that as long as there's open communication between each member of the herd, it can work out beautifully. We have weekly check in dates where we air our grievances and make the best amends we can to each other," she added.
"I know we're not perfect," Emerald said softly. "I do have the tendency to spend more money than I should, but Bookend is helping me curb that behavior."
"Din't stop yuh from buyin' those signed copies of Darin' Do's books," Bookend grumbled.
Emerald came out of her shell a bit. "They were signed copies, Booky. Signed!"
"Sweeties, not in front of our guests," Stormy said. He turned back to Rainbow. "Rainy, anything is possible if you work hard for it, but it looks like your friend here might not want it."
"I'm an alien in a world completely foreign to me," I replied defensively. The room went silent at my tone, and I sighed. "I'm sorry…I want to make the right decision, and this one is the hardest one I've had to make here. Whether to even attempt a herd or potentially ruin some of the best friendships I've had in years."
"Making a herd isn't for everypony," Emerald said kindly. "Your friends will understand."
"I know they will, but I've never liked the idea of hurting the feelings of anyone like that, accidentally or intentionally," I said.
"Nopony does, ya dig?" Bookend said.
"You shouldn't have to give up your own happiness to make somepony else happy," Stormy said.
I knew all this, but I was still confused and worried. But I'd come too far to back down now. "Well, if you're okay with it, could I ask a few more questions?"
Rainbow, Zecora and I were walking to Sugarcube Corner where Scarlet was working that day, after a long Q&A with Stormy and his herd. It was just past three in the afternoon, and I knew she was about to get off work. I'd asked a bunch of questions and gotten plenty of answers along with the names of other herds to talk to in case I needed more advice. Rainbow and Zecora were both silent, a thoughtful expression on Rainbow's face face, which wasn't something I saw on her face very often. Pulling out a copper bit from my coin pouch, I held it up. "Bit for your thoughts," I said.
Rainbow looked up, a bit startled. "Huh? Oh, guess I was just thinking about a few things."
I ruffled her mane. "Don't go thinking too hard there, 'Crashy'," I teased before I turned serious again. "But seriously, what's on your mind?"
She looked down at the ground for a bit, then sighed. "Just…there's a lot I didn't know about herds, is all," she said. "I thought it was just one stallion and a few mares loving on each other and fucking."
I snorted and grinned. "Is that what you think Zecora and I do?"
"Um…" she had enough sense to look embarrassed.
I laughed. "Sure, we do love on each other and make love, but there's a lot to even a relationship like ours that makes it work. We spend time doing things we love together, like stargazing, dates, potion making and watching human TV shows. Hell, I've even asked her to teach me some Zebra meditation techniques at some point."
"But there's also compromise," Zecora added. "There are certain things that I enjoy that he does not, but he still engages in them with me. The same is true in reverse. But we still love each other even if we don't share the exact same hobbies."
"Exactly! I mean, look at the two of us, Rainbow!" I gestured between her and me.
Rainbow looked a bit startled. "What about us?"
"Well, we do share a couple of interests, but at the same time, not. We both like to fly, although you probably like it more. I love a good practical joke as long as the one I'm pranking is okay with it and as long as it's a safe prank, but at the same time I like reading sometimes, and you don't." At least, currently you don't, I thought. "And yet despite that, we're really close friends."
As we arrived in front of Sugarcube Corner, I thought I saw Rainbow Dash blushing a bit, but it was gone by the time I tried to get a closer look. She had a grin on her face, then said, "You got an answer yet?"
"I have…something, I think," I said, tensing up as I faced the door to the famous bakery and sweet shop.
"Well, get in there, then," Rainbow said, getting behind me and shoving me towards the door.
She pushed me with enough force that I didn't just stumble through the door, but fell flat on my face the moment I was inside. I hit the floor rather hard and groaned in pain as I tried to stand. "Damn it, Rainbow!" I shouted as Zecora rushed in to help me up.
The cyan Pegasus was beside me instantly, laughing a bit nervously. "Ehehe, oopsies?" she said as she too, helped me to my feet.
I glowered at her, but froze when I heard a familiar gray Pegasus calling out my name hesitantly. "J…Jethro?"
I looked up and saw a nervous and somewhat flustered looking Scarlet looking at me with some concern. She was carrying a platter of cupcakes behind the counter, and a few steps away Pinkie stood, her mouth full with a platter of ice cream cake. Pinkie put down her platter and rushed over. "Jethy! You okay?" She pulled me up and brushed any dirt off of me quickly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Pinks," I said, but my attention was solely on Scarlet. I gently stepped past Pinkie, and walked right up to Scarlet. "Scarlet Dusk."
She put the tray down, trembling a bit at my neutral tone. "Y-Yes?" she asked.
"I've thought a lot about what you said and did last night," I said, keeping my face neutral, "and today I spent some time thinking long and hard about it."
She looked at me, eyes wide. "And…and what…?" she asked.
I took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I can't promise anything definite, but I want to give this a chance. I want to give this herd thing a chance. I want to see if I'm capable of it."
I felt like her eyes might pop out of her skull at this. "Are you-?"
"Scarlet Dusk, I'm asking you out…out on a date."
She screamed in pure joy and flew up to me, tossing her hooves around me and hugging me close. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she said excitedly as the two of us fell onto the floor again, me on my back groaning in shock as the excitable mare continued thanking me over and over.
I looked up at Zecora, who was snickering with amusement. Rolling my eyes, I said, "Yeah…regretting this already…"