Several days had passed by for the thestral since his meeting with the princess. Most of his time had been spent either walking around the castle or scouring the library for any decent books to read. Luckily, his new body came equipped with the ability to read and speak the native language, an ability his was most thankful for. Aside from that, he also begrudgingly spent some time with Skylight to sort out his arrangement of living off castle grounds. Unfortunately, because of the restriction of always having a guard with him, this narrowed the results to several large mansions in the more upscale part of Canterlot. Despite his objections to such a large living space, the contract was drawn up and Devin was given the deed to the house. All that mattered now, was moving there.
“I fucking hate these shitty roads,” the distorted voice of the thestral complained. Across from him, a smiling Streamline chuckled at the stallion’s misery.
“You get used to them after a while. Besides, would you rather walk there?” the mare questioned. She quickly received the middle finger as a response, causing the mare to just chuckle even more.
“Quit complaining. We're almost there. And if you behave for the rest of the way, I might even give you a treat,” Streamline teased in a seductive voice.
“Psh, please. Knowing you it would be more like a punishment,” Devin countered.
“Only if you’re into that sort of thing. If so, I could punish you all night long.” Devin rolled his eyes at the lewd comment from the mare. It was true that during the last few days he had gotten to know Streamline much better. She was a playful and teasing kind of mare, though very serious when needed. Suffice to say, she had an attitude quite similar to his, making her what he could describe as his first actual friend in this new world.
“Like I said before Streamline, you are going to have to wine and dine me if you ever hope of having a chance to,” the stallion was saying but was cut off by the sudden halting of the carriage. Unfortunately, the stallion’s body lurched forward from the motion, resulting in his snout buried between the legs of his flush-faced friend. It took a few seconds for the stallion to recover, but when he finally did, he noticed the intimate position before quickly pulling himself away from the mare with a crimson blush adorning his features.
“Holy shit, i’m sorry about that Streamline. It was an accident,” Devin tried to apologize. The mare’s wings were slowly twitching along her back as her tail wagged side to side. Her cheeks were obviously red from embarrassment, though she also held a small smirk across her face.
“W-what was that again about having to wine and dine you?” Streamline asked. Silence soon filled the inside of the carriage as Devin and Streamline locked eyes with one another.
“I fucking hate you sometimes,” Devin lamented before the door of the carriage opened. Taking this as his signal to get out of the current situation, the thestral scrambled out of the carriage, followed by a still grinning Streamline.
“We have arrived our destination sir. Is there anything else you require?” Silently musing to himself, the stallion shook his head.
“Nothing I can think of. Thank you for the offer though.” With a simple nod of her head, the mare headed off to store the carriage in the garage area of the complex. Sighing to himself, the stallion took this moment to look at the mansion that now stood in front of him. It was by no means the biggest house or property along the street, though it was still large enough to house him and several guards comfortably. If he was recalling correctly, his new residence sported at least ten bedrooms and baths, along with a communal bathing area, game room, and detached garage for carriage storage.
“So what do you think about the place. Seems pretty cool, right?” Streamline asked. Shrugging his shoulders, the stallion took off towards the entrance with a giddy pegasus in tow.
It took almost a full hour to scout out every room of the mansion. Despite his reluctance at first, Devin did have to admit that it was rather nice, especially the kitchen area. If there was one thing that he missed, it was enjoying the ability to cook for himself whenever he felt like it. He wasn’t able to cook at all when living at the castle, and he knew he would make good use of the kitchen. He was also pleasantly surprised of the master bedroom. Despite the over-the top decorations littering the walls of the mansion, the master bedroom took on a more plain feeling, which the thestral didn’t mind. The master bathroom however, was a completely different story. The entire bathroom was almost as large as one of the many guest rooms. It sported dark, gem-embedded granite countertops, along with a large sized bath and full walk in shower. There was even a small steam room near the back, though he had no urge to use it. All in all, it was nice house, much nicer than anything he would be able to afford back on Earth; though the thought soon ruined his mood.
“What’s wrong Devin. You ok?” The sudden voice quickly snapped the thestral out of his thoughts as he looked up to see a face he wasn’t expecting.
“Lemon-Scent? What are you doing here?” The mare just giggled at the stallion with a smile on her face before responding.
“Well, I’m here to assist you of course. My higher ups thought it would be a good idea to let somepony you actually know keep your new home tidy, versus a complete stranger.” Devin nodded his head in understanding at the mare’s reasoning. It was true that he would feel more comfortable with Lemon-Scent keeping the new house clean, versus some other random maid.
“Alright then. I’ll try not to make much of a mess. Feel free to take any room that you like as well, since I believe you will be staying here with us. My room is the master bedroom, and don’t really know what room Streamline picked. Just go ahead and make yourself at home.” Lemon-Scent quickly pulled the thestral into a tight hug.
“Thank you Devin! I’ll pick out my room before tidying up anything I might find. Oh, and if you need any help with your clothes again, don’t hesitate to ask,” the mare said before hurrying of with few giggles.
“Oh, and what exactly does she mean by that Devin? You already scored some tail before we got here?” the voice of Streamline suddenly accused as she walked into the room. Devin scoffed at the mare’s attempt to tease him, before quickly growing a small grin on his face.
“Why Streamline, you aren’t jealous of Lemon now are you?” Streamline’s cheeks tinted a small shade of red, though she waved her hand to dismiss the accusation.
“Yeah right. I don’t get jealous. But anyways, what did she actually mean by that comment though?”
“It’s a long story, though she did bring up a good point. I have next to no clothing aside from the few outfits I was given. Seeing as I now have a place to store them, is there any place that sells clothes for stallions around in here?” Putting a hand on her chin in thought, the mare nodded her head.
“Yes there is. Actually, there is a mall not too far away from here, though it isn’t as big as the Canterlot Central Mall.”
“That doesn’t really bother me as long as they sell clothes for stallions. I just need something casual to wear, and maybe some jeans and a hoodie. Damn I miss my jeans.” Streamline chuckled at the stallion’s ramblings before swinging an arm around his shoulder.
“Don’t worry Devin. By the time i’m through with you, you’ll be getting all the mare’s,” she teased. Devin responded with a simple eye-roll as he was led out of the house by the chuckling mare.
It took about half an hour for the two to finally arrive at their destination. It would have been much faster taking the carriage, though the thestral insisted on walking due to the lack of good roads and suspension.
“Alright, here we are,” Streamline said. The mare noticed that many of the patrons were staring at the two, or more specifically the stallion.
“They’re staring at us,” Devin chimed in, solidifying the fact.
“Yes they are. It’s probably because not many of them have a chance to see stallions too often, especially one that isn’t with his herd.”
“Wait, you mean that every stallion usually has his entire herd with him when they do something?” a befuddled thestral questioned.
“Yes. It actually has to do with the safety of the stallion more than anything else. When a stallion forms a herd with multiple mares, the number of slots in the herd decreases. Of course, no stallion has a set limit to the amount of mares he can have, but they usually fall around the range of eight. So when a stallion without that many wanders around in public, it’s more of an invitation for them to join if the stallion is interested. And you would be surprised what some mares will do for a chance like that,” Streamline explained. Devin couldn’t believe the response he had just received. He wasn’t so much worried about being jumped by a bunch of mares, seeing as he had Streamline with him, though it would greatly annoy him if he got pestered every minute while he tried to shop.
“Well let’s hope nothing bad will come. Besides, I have you to protect me after all. And if you do a good job, I will buy you a cookie at the food court,” Devin playfully stated. The look in Streamline’s eyes said it all, as the mare pressed her body against Devin’s in a protective fashion.
“You better not be joking about that cookie. Because I swear, I will do terrible things to you if you joke about something like that,” the mare threatened as the two made their way through the front entrance of the mall.
When the two equines entered inside, they were met with a fairly large food court along the left hand side, along with a few stores near the right. Walking past this area, Streamline began to salivate as the smell of fresh baked cookies bombarded both of their senses. Devin had to admit, the smell was divine and that he probably wouldn’t be able to stop himself from picking up a dozen cookies for later. Though he would most likely have to hide them from Streamline if she was being serious about the cookie threat.
“So what stores actually sell male clothing here? I figured there wouldn’t be many seein as how there isn’t a high number of stallions.”
“There are a few stores that I know of down a ways, though it’s mostly the larger department stores that do. We can also stop at any store that interests you. I’m also sure there is a directory somewhere that can tell us every store that sells stallion clothing.” With a simple nod, the two continued their way for a few minutes before walking into one of the many stores. It was rather large compared to some of the smaller, more mainstream stores, but sported a small male section that Streamline happily escorted her charge too.
“Alright, here it is. Doesn’t look like much, but see if you can find anything you like,” Streamline happily stated. It didn’t take long to paw through the many articles of clothing, though the thestral did manage to find a few pairs of jeans in his size and some boxers with the help of Streamline and two very enthusiastic employees. He also managed to snag a new pair of shoes, seeing as how he had been wearing sandals for the last few weeks, along with an assortment of socks. By the time the stallion had finished trying everything on checking out, he had to practically run out of the store to avoid the two mares tailing behind him.
The next store the two visited was more of a success in terms of quality of items and staff. Devin picked out a hoodie and several casual shirts that caught his fancy, along with a few short sleeved button ups in case he need to look somewhat formal. The only problem the thestral encountered was the fact that he was still having trouble getting his wings through the slits on certain shirts, prompting Streamline to go into the changing room and help him out. The mare seemed to enjoy accidentally feeling up his body every time he needed a shirt on or off, while the thestral’s cheeks burned bright red with embarrassment.
“So where to now?” Devin questioned as he and Streamline walked out of the store. Despite only visiting two stores, Devin was content with everything he had purchased, especially his new shoes. He just figured that if he needed to get any more clothes, he would find a store in Canterlot that catered to nothing but stallions.
“Oh, do you mind if I stop at a store real fast? After that we can head on out,” Streamline asked. Of course, Devin nodded his head as it was only fair, though quickly regretted his decision as he wound up in front of the pony equivalent of Victoria Secret. Giving him no time to argue, Streamline grabbed the stallion by the hand before pulling him inside with her. As soon as the two entered the store, every mare’s gaze was upon him before Streamline led him to a bin of panties.
“Do I really need to be here for this? I honestly think you are just teasing me at this point,” Devin whined.
“Well of course i’m doing this to tease you. Besides, I need to figure out what kind of panties you like more. So tell me, these ones or these?” Streamline questioned, holding up two sets of panties. The first set was a striped pink and green pair of boyshorts, while the second set was a hot pink pair of bikini style panties with outer black lacing. Despite the embarrassment he felt, Devin answered honestly as he pointed towards the hot pink pair of panties in her right hand.
“I think I would like those more.” Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Streamline grabbed a few more pairs of the same style, along with two thongs that quickly flustered the stallion. To make matters worse, several mares including employees of the store, kept on brushing up against the stallion as he stood next to Streamline while she shopped. He could swear he even felt one taking in his scent as she leaned a little too close to sort through one of the bins.
“Can we go now Streamline,” Devin asked, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. Seeing the unease of the stallion, Streamline nodded her head before taking her items to the register and checking out.
“Alright Devin, i’m done. All we have to do is get those cookies and then we can head back,” Streamline said as she finished paying for her items. Honestly, he had forgotten about the cookies ever since he had entered the last store. He knew though that Streamline wasn’t going to drop so for the final act of the trip, Devin ordered a dozen different cookies that Streamline was squealing about. Though for payback, Devin made the mare wait until they arrived back at the mansion before she could partake in any of the sweet deliciousness of the cookies. He even went as far as slowly eating one in front of her on the way back, all the while commenting on how amazingly delicious it was. All in all, it was turning out to be a rather good day.