//------------------------------// // 16 A Prodigious Hand // Story: Alternate Beginnings: Year Four // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// May 25th, 996 Another beautiful day, but this one is going to be cut short by some evening showers. Mayor Mare had received a few requests by a number of ponies to cut down on the number of daytime hours that are focused on rain. The ponies instead want the rain that occasionally happens in Ponyville to occur in the evenings. And, unfortunately, the requests went unheeded for five days before they got noticed by an intern (found under a Sugarcube takeout box) and hastily sent to a weather office in Cloudsdale. Which, to the intern's credit, looks a lot like the weather scheduling office but instead is the weather factory scheduling office. Where they languished in a inbox that rarely gets used for five days before being routed to the correct office, which is located in Ponyville. Specifically, at Sweet Apple Acres. After a week of not noticing anything different, the ponies again complained to Mayor Mare, about why their requests have gone unfulfilled, and what the hold up is, and when they can expect a change in the weather. Or at the very least an explanation as to why their requests aren't able to be complied with, or when the expected changes will happen. Mayor Mare, as any good representative would, resolved to get right on it and promptly sent an express letter to Cloudsdale, inquiring as to when the amended schedules will be delivered. This letter arrived at the correct office, and a new letter was sent back later that day to the Ponyville office, inquiring as to when the amended schedules would arrive. The next day, another new letter was sent back to Cloudsdale, informing the office that the schedule had most recently been amended a week ago, the amended schedules had already been sent, and here is another copy just in case. Cloudsdale promptly rerouted that the same day; in fact, the pegasus who received the package had immediately opened it, took one look at the contents, scribbled the Mayor's address, slapped on a new stamp, stuffed everything in the old package, and hoofed it back. At this point, a certain gray mailpony was starting to get pretty perturbed at the constant express flights to and from Ponyville. At least the pay is good. Mayor Mare looked at the 'amended' schedules, compared them to the previous schedules, and discovered they were the same. The process repeated itself, this time with the response being that no requests for amending the schedule had been received in the last nine days, or at the least none concerning the time of rain. On the tenth day, the weather scheduler of Ponyville (and most other areas in Equestria) opened a letter, postmarked that day, that included requests marked from ten days ago. So, here Doug is, wracking his brain to try to figure out how to modify the upcoming week of weather in Ponyville, as Mayor Mare promised that she would do everything in her power to resolve this situation to the ponies satisfaction. Which meant that it would rain this evening. When it really, really shouldn't be. At least the fillies he is ostensibly watching can take of themselves. Mostly. Doug is sitting outside, under a tree, his compact reference guide next to him and a series of charts and requests for the upcoming week spread around him. Laying next to him, resting against his leg, is Silver Set, the earth pony mare swapping between reading her book, watching her herd's fillies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, scamper around the field, and watching her two foals play in the grass. Sometimes the two foals watch the fillies play, sometimes they'll wander back to their dam, sometimes they fall asleep. As long as they are in eyesight, it doesn't matter too much. Doug's fillies are currently engaged in a heated match. The trio introduced the concept of soccer to the other fillies in their class and the game quickly became quite popular. They have two goals, pretty much just sticks dug into the ground, and the concept of out of bounds is still a little nebulous. But, they have fun, and things generally stay pretty low key. The teams this time look to be, well, a little uneven. Whoever the other team nominated to be captain had gone for the biggest fillies first, or their friends, and allowed DT and Scoots to team up. Well, their loss. Otherwise the teams looked pretty even: Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, Twist, Snails, and Snips versus Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, Rumble, and Featherweight. "Oh, no." Doug stops watching the fillies at their game, turning to the side. Silver Set is pushing through her large bag, trying to find something. Most of the contents of the bag are already on the grass: empty bottles, some chewy food, and spare diapers. Lots of spare diapers. But apparently none of those are the item that the mare is looking for. "So, you forget something?" "Yes." Silver Set sighs, dropping her empty bag and rolling back to her previous position, "I left my... oh, never mind." "Suit yourself." Doug goes back to alternating between watching the fillies scamper around, one large pack of fillies chasing around a bright orange ball. He shakes his head; young kids, or fillies, played soccer the same everywhere. One large pack chasing after the ball, little thought to passing or teammates or strategy. Just kick the ball towards the opposing goal. Or miss, and hope one of your teammates can pick up the slack. "Ugh." The mare next to him groans; Doug stops rubbing her side and looks over. She looks uncomfortable, her mouth briefly twisting before she tries to relax, settling against him again. Doug shrugs, going back to his reports as some filly scores. Some of the fillies cheer as they canter back to their side of the field while the other team looks around, seemingly resigned to another loss at the hooves of Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara. The two did make a good team; Diamond Tiara is a power hitter, and a little lazy, often playing midfield and waiting for the ball to come to her. Scootaloo plays forward, and is one of the more tactically minded of the fillies. She sometimes chases the ball, but she isn't the fastest or the hardest hitting. So, instead, she waits for Diamond Tiara to kick the ball up the field, and starts in a position to take advantage of that. Sometimes her teammates think she isn't helping, but her impressive number of scores beg to differ. Doug watches as the two set up their game plan again. The other team gets the ball, kicks it to the middle of the field, Diamond Tiara charging forward and- The mare next to him gives an irritated rumble, shifting around and pushing her hooves down her chest. "You okay?" Another cheer from one side of the field. "I'll live, just uncomfortable. Nothing you can help with." "Oh?" Doug glances over, curious as to what would be making Silver Set uncomfortable. Silver Set nods, "Yes. If you must know, I left my... equipment at home. I thought I returned it to my bag, but I must have forgotten after I pulled it out for a quick pump before coming here." Doug raises an eyebrow as Silver Set continues, pointing a hoof at her two foals, "I'm trying to wean those two, get them used to the bottle, but I just get so uncomfortable. I'm afraid I'm going to get a blockage, and these," she waggles her hooves back and forth, "aren't exactly made for the task, if you know what I mean." "I thought ponies could grasp things pretty well." Doug says, his mouth slowly turning to a smirk; after Spoiled Rich remarked to him and Rarity about ponies and their ability to grasp things his mare had tried it out, with good results. Not as good as the normal way, but still entertaining. Silver Set rolls her eyes, "Well, yes, they can, us earth ponies especially, but a firm grip is worse than nothing if you can't grab the right spot. And it can be difficult to grasp close enough to the body to force everything out instead of farther in." "I imagine that would be pretty bad, yup." Doug turns to the next page, making a few notes on the paper. The mare next to him shifts, twisting one way and then another. Doug starts to make another note as Silver Set bumps into him again. "Sorry, sorry, just trying to get comfortable here. Ugh, I may just walk home to grab it; you okay watching the fillies?" "Um..." comes the hesitant reply. Some of the other mares aren't terribly comfortable with Doug being the only creature watching their fillies, only agreeing to leave their them around him if there is another pony also available to watch. "Oh. Right." Silver Set frowns, remembering after Doug's hesitation. She drops back to the ground before shifting again several seconds later. "I'm sorry, normally it isn't this bad." "Mmhmm." Doug glances back to his request sheet; maybe if he pushes back the rain on the outskirts east and west parts of Ponyville a day, he could keep everything balanced and not need to redo the whole month. "Hey, um, Doug?" comes the hesitant question from his side. "Yeah?" "I... Um... If it wouldn't be too weird, would you help me?" "Weird? What kind of help do you need?" Doug glances over, Silver Set turning her head and giving him a forced smile. "You see... Mm, I'll just push through it. Don't worry about it. Shouldn't be too much longer, anyway." She shifts awkwardly again, pushing Doug's arm as she turns her head. Doug sighs, setting down his book, "Alright, what is it?" "Well, it's not something a mare would ask a stallion to help with, especially one outside the herd... although that could be because of the hoof thing, but even with a pump it really isn't done." "You... want me to help you pump?" "Please?" Silver Set looks up at Doug, a hopeful smile on her face. Doug motions to the fillies still engrossed in their game, "Do you think they would notice?" "Oh, um... you might want to be a little discreet about it. Can your arm reach me from there?" Doug looks over as Silver Set shifts forward, her two engorged teats now in easy reach. His hand slowly traces a line down her belly, Doug watching the fillies as his hand gets close. "Oh, wait, almost forgot." Silver Set leans over, grabbing one of the empty bottles and holding it up to her body. Silver Set giggles as he reaches her lower belly, Doug raising an eyebrow and pausing. Silver Set settles down, "Sorry, sorry, just a little ticklish there. You can keep going." Silver Set holds the bottle up to the nipple as Doug reaches the teat, looking back up at him as he stops. "Something wrong?" "Um, you just seem remarkably okay with this. Human women... how shall I say... never would be." "Why? Just a part of life." Silver Set sighs in relief as Doug starts squeezing, "Oh, that feels so much better. But, you do this to the cows, right? Or are you worried about touching them as well." "Hmm," Doug says as he continues, "You know, sometimes I do help them with milking. I guess with cows back home it is a common thing for humans to do. I suppose you could do it with horses too, they just didn't make as much milk as a cow, so it wasn't really done." "Oh, you're getting a lot out of me. Can you swap?" "Sure." Silver Set moves the half full bottle from one teat to the other, Doug swapping as well. Silver Set lets out another long sigh as Doug starts. Of all of his mares, Doug would put Silver Set most similarly to Pinkie Pie. Both foaled recently, and are producing, though Silver Set is a little bigger because of her twins increased demand. Not as firm, but that could have just been the extra milk. Applejack is as large as Pinkie but much firmer. Close to Rarity, though the unicorn's teats had quickly returned to normal after Sweetie Belle was weaned. Rainbow and Fluttershy are similar, both quite small, neither pegasus standing out much at all from their belly hair. But that will change for Fluttershy in the coming year. Doug breaks the silence, "So, you enjoying this?" "Hmm? I mean, sort of?" Silver Set looks down at Doug's hand grasping her, "I would say more like scratching an itch than anything truly pleasurable. Why, do you enjoy it?" A quiet cough, "Probably more than I should." "Oh." Silver Set turns her head to the side, "Well, if it is making you uncomfortable we can stop. I'm sorry." "Nah, it's okay. So, you really don't see this as anything more than one friend helping out another?" Silver Set shakes her head, "No, not really. I mean, it's not commonly done, but that's because it's hard to do it without equipment, and if you have the equipment it's pretty easy to do yourself. Kind of like helping out with a cooler, when a mare is in heat but needs some relief and doesn't want to get pregnant. Do you see it as something more?" "To be honest, I do; I think I've trained my mares to see it as a form of foreplay, letting them know I'm in the mood. So, they respond to it differently than you do. Though they certainly don't get, how shall I say, excited when their little ones are there." "Oh, okay." A shy smile comes over Silver Set's mouth, "So, are you excited now?" "Um, a little, yes." Silver Set turns, winking at Doug, "Glad to know I still got it. Hold on, let me get another bottle." The mare moves away, grabbing the second empty bottle as her two foals come towards her. She splits the contents between the two bottles before grabbing a third bottle. She uses a hoof to ward off the two foals trying to get to her teats, "No, dears. Here, take these." She hoofs each foal a bottle, their disappointment disappearing as they start on their meal. Silver Set returns, laying next to Doug and looking up at him, watching him watch the foals. She nudges him with a hoof, "Hey, you got a job to finish." Doug rolls his eyes as his hand goes back to position. Soon enough the mare is dry on both sides; she takes the bottle from Silver Hoop, adds half while the foal protests vociferously. She merely waits until Silver Stud finishes his bottle, swapping it out for the other during the foal's loud protests. Doug leans back, relaxing against the tree; he had found a solution, though a few of the farm ponies on the west half of Ponyville would need to be notified of the no-notice change in their weather. Hopefully they didn't hold it against him, but such is life. He looks over, seeing five fillies approaching. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Silver Spoon are beaming, laughing with each other. Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara have somewhat less of a smile, but still look pretty pleased with themselves, Scootaloo dribbling their blue ball. "So, how did the game go?" Scootaloo answers, "Uh, pretty well. We lost, eight to seven. We were doing really well at the start, something like five to one. But once they learned to kick the ball past DT instead of at her we started to do a lot worse. Rumble is really fast, too. I was the only pegasus on our team, and he's faster than me, so nopony else stood a chance at catching him." Apple Bloom smiles, "Yeah, Ah was the one kicking the ball to him. A lot like your set up, Scootaloo. You and Diamond Tiara, you know?" Scootaloo nods, the trio waving goodbye to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as Silver Set gathers her herd. The Rich herd waves back, starting their trek back home before the evening rain starts. Scootaloo says, "Yeah, didn't know how long it would last, before somepony else figures it out. I mean, it still worked whenever DT got the ball, but that just happened less and less." Doug looks over at Sweetie Belle, remarking, "You're being quiet, Sweetie Belle. How was it for you?" Sweetie Belle looks to the side, "Oh, it was fun and all, I suppose." Doug gathers his materials, standing up and waiting for Sweetie Belle to elaborate. When she doesn't, he prompts her, "And?" The four start walking, Scootaloo slowly dribbling the ball as Sweetie Belle sighs, "I dunno, I'm just not doing as much as Apple Bloom, or Scootaloo, or a lot of the other ponies on the field. I'm not that fast, and I don't kick that hard. I just get in the way." "Well, it's impressive that you're noticing that, Sweetie Belle." Doug motions at the three fillies standing within a hoof's reach of each other, their blue ball at Scootaloo's hooves, "However, you can play the game with more than just how fast you run or how hard you kick. For instance; if you wanted to play that ball downfield, how many of you could kick it?" The three fillies look at each other, Scootaloo venturing, "One of us?" Doug nods, motioning for Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to back off, "And, Scootaloo, how about now?" Scootaloo looks back at her sisters, "Um, just me? So, one of us?" Doug nods again, "Exactly. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle being there next to you didn't actually help you play the ball. Only one of you can kick it. By spreading out, you do two things. One, you cover more area, making it more likely that one of you will be able to field the ball when it gets kicked towards you. Also, you are then able to pass to each other, in order to set up the breakaway situations you have found to be so effective at scoring." The trio look at him in confusion, a chorused, "What?" Doug motions to Scootaloo, "Right now, Scootaloo has the ball, right? Let's say I'm the opposing team. So she's going to have a hard time getting the ball downfield." "Right, it's tough to dribble the ball downfield. It just gets taken away from me." "Exactly." Doug motions to Sweetie Belle, "Scootaloo, kick the ball to Apple Bloom." "But, that's going backwards." Scootaloo looks back at Apple Bloom, then at the ball. Doug smiles, "I know, but just do it, okay?" "Okay." Scootaloo kicks the ball back to Apple Bloom, the earth pony attempting to trap it, then chasing after the ball when it bounces off her hoof. Her dribbles aren't as coordinated as Scootaloo's, but she is doing okay. "Now, what is the other team going to do?" Sweetie Belle says, "They're going to go after Apple Bloom!" "Correct!" Doug starts moving towards Apple Bloom and motions at Sweetie Belle, "Now, Apple Bloom, kick the ball to Sweetie Belle." "Okay!" Apple Bloom kicks the ball, Sweetie Belle doing a decent job at trapping it, though her dribbles are about as good as Apple Bloom's. Doug starts walking towards Sweetie Belle, "Now, what does this look like?" The three fillies pause, observing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle in the back, Doug slowly walking towards the ball, and Scootaloo out front. "It's a breakaway!" exclaims Sweetie Belle, looking at the ball at her hooves and at Scootaloo. "Very good!" Doug points, "Now, kick the ball past Scootaloo, but not so far that she can't run to it and catch it." Sweetie Belle takes a few careful steps forward before spinning around and bucking the ball with both hooves. It shoots off into the air, Scootaloo giving a chirp of surprise and chasing after it as it rolls into the apple orchards. Doug laughs, "Okay, we might need to work on our aim when we hit the ball like that." "You mean, you aren't gonna yell at me for kicking it too hard?" "Well, how else are you going to learn? You can't be afraid of trying new things just because it might not work out, or you might get yelled at. How else are you going to improve? Just by watching others?" "Yeah!" Sweetie Belle says, "We shouldn't be afraid of trying new things, or other ponies making fun of us." The other two fillies nod in agreement as Scootaloo brings the ball back, the four heading back to the Apple farmhouse.