//------------------------------// // Chapter 55 - Feathers in Fall // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// It was a calm afternoon as Hat Trick and Winter Gem strolled through the park. An orange leaf fluttering in the breeze came to a gentle landing upon the pegasus’ nose where it was promptly eaten. “Y’know, fall’s always been my favorite season,” he said after finishing the leaf. “It’s not too hot, not too cold and nature gives you tasty and crispy free food.” “Yeah, it’s pretty neat.” Gem’s eyes didn’t meet Hatty’s. Her attention seemed elsewhere. “Gem?” the purple pony stretched out his wing, brushing her chin with the tips of his feathers. “Is something wrong?” “Well… not wrong per say,” the snowy mare replied as she placed a hoof upon his wing. “It’s that… I’ve been thinking about our wedding…” “What about it?” Hatty tilted his head as he drew closer. “We haven’t really talked about it since before we went to the empire.” “There’s a bit of a reason for that, Hatty.” Gem’s grip on his wing tightened. Strong enough to show her worry, but not enough to hurt the pegasus. “I’ve been thinking about it and been wondering… are we rushing into things?” “I’m… I’m not sure I follow.” Hatty drew ever closer, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Lots of ponies in our day were married and had foals even younger than we are.” “Yeah, but there was a big reason for that.” Gem pulled her hoof from Hatty’s wing, a hint of frustration in her voice. “Back then, not only were we at war, just trying not to become a griffin’s lunch, but ponies just lived shorter lives then too. Now there’s peace and there are ponies that are older than a hundred. Those things would’ve been considered impossible back then.” Hatty gave the side of her head a soft nuzzle. “What are you saying, Gem?” He asked with clear concern in his tone. “I was just thinking about some of the couples I’ve seen around town.” Gem leaned into his nuzzle. “Belmont and Bouquet apparently dated each other for about seven years before they finally got married and about another four before having foals. That’s apparently not too uncommon with relationships these days. They even said they don’t think the amount of time they spent before marrying was odd.” “Meanwhile,” Hatty said as he leaned more against the earth mare, the hoof on her shoulder shaking a bit. “We knew each other less than two weeks before we first laid together and we’ve known each other… shoot, it’s gotta be getting close to three years now.” “Yeah, and I’m starting to worry about rushing in too quickly for marriage.” Gem pulled away to look Hatty in the eye. “Don’t get me wrong; I do love you and I want you to be my husband… but I think we got together too fast. I want us to take things slower and try to learn more about each other.” “I… I think I see where you’re coming from…” Hatty nervously looked away for an instant and swallowed. “But could you give me an example about what you mean by the whole, ‘get to know each other better’ thing?” “Well…” Gem scratched her neck before she looked back to the pegasus. “What’s my favorite food?”  “It’s… apple… stew?” Hatty said unsurely before sighing in defeat. “Sorry, Gem. I don’t know.” “This is a bit of my point dear.” Gem placed a hoof upon his shoulder before giving him a comforting kiss. “We may love each other, but we don’t know too much about each other… By the way, it’s grilled chicken with rice.” “Alright.” Hatty returned the kiss. “Mine’s pizza with mushrooms and red peppers on it.” “At least we’re making a start,” Gem said as a smile started to cross her features. “We’ve just got to take our time to get to know each other more before we get ready to tie the knot.” “Sounds good to me.” Hatty’s tone became more perky as he nuzzled Gem. “So, any other questions you’ve got for me, love?” “Hmm…” Gem tapped her hoof against her snowy chin before looking towards the pegasus once more. “Was I your first mare?” “To be honest…” Hat Trick bit his lip before his eyes darted back and forth for an instant. “You can tell me, dear.” Gem leaned closer. “No matter what, I won’t be mad or anything.” “...No… My first time with a mare was just before I left Manehattan.” Hat Trick rubbed his neck nervously while trying to keep eye contact with his mate. “She was a mare adopted from Paradise Estate that frequently came back to check on us and lend a hoof. Her name was Patch.” “Hmm…” Gem hummed as she walked by his side. “Interesting.” “How about you?” Hatty tilted his head once more. “Well, my answer’s ‘no’ too,” Gem replied. “My first was this one stallion that would frequent my family’s trading post. His name was Tex. Last time he visited before my father and I set off for Canterlot, I took Tex up to my room.” “So…” Hat Trick swallowed, unsure of his next words, “how was he?” “You mean, in comparison to you?” Gem’s eyebrow quirked, making the pegasus stallion look away. “Well, where Tex had size, you have technique.” “So… I’m better overall, right?” the stallion nervously inquired.  “Ehh…” Gem looked away and rubbed her neck so he couldn’t see her biting her lip to keep from laughing. “Well… I love you, and that’s what matters.” Hatty groaned and covered his embarrassed face with his wing before Gem started laughing her flank off. “I’m kidding, dear.” Gem patted him on the back once more before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You know you’re my number one stallion.” “Thanks, Gem.” A smile graced Hatty’s features as he set his wing down. “Y’know, this ‘getting to know each other better and going at a slower pace’ thing is seeming more and more like a good idea.” “Right?” Gem moved a bit ahead of him. “I figured it would be after observing couples like—” “Verdant and Erica.” “Well, I haven’t really been watching them too much. I mean, I still find pony-griffin relationships kinda weird, but—” “No, I mean they’re over there.” Hatty pointed past Gem, drawing her eyes to the pair off in the distance. Erica was leaning back against a tree and running her talons through Verdant’s mane as he rested his head in her lap.  “Wanna do some date watching?” the pegasus asked as he ran over to a nearby bush. “Eh, I don’t see why not.” Gem gave a shrug before following along, coming to rest at Hat Trick’s side. “We don’t really have any other plans.” *** Verdant gave a dreamy sigh as he felt his head being gently caressed by Erica’s sharp digits. “This feels so nice,” he said as he nuzzled against her lap. “Glad you’re enjoying it.” Erica gave his head a light pat. “Your mane’s feeling really silky. You use that shampoo I told you about?” “Yep,” Verdant replied as he rose up from her lap. “It took a while to get used to since I really dislike the smell of mint, but the results speak for themselves.” “It really does.” Erica leaned forward, giving his mane a nuzzle and a quick sniff. “You may not like mint, but I love the smell.” “Maybe later, I’ll get you some mint ice cream,” Verdant said, drawing a chuckle out of the griffin as she slung her arm around the shamrock stallion’s shoulder. “Thanks for the offer, but I actually hate the taste of mint.” Erica brought her talons up to her chin as she thought. “Dunno why though, but it’s similar to onions being cooked. Hate the taste, love the smell.” “I get what you mean.” Verdant looked up into her eyes. “So, anything else you’d like to do?” “Oh, well,” Erica’s tone seemed nervous as she pulled her arm away before tapping her talons together. “There’s this one thing I’ve been wanting to try. It’s an idea my mom put in my head and some part of me thinks it would be a really good thing to try, but another part of me thinks it’s gonna go bad?” “Bad? How so?” Verdant tilted his head before drawing a bit closer. “As in, ‘I think you’ll want to break up with me’ kind of bad.” Erica found herself unable to look Verdant in the eye. She soon felt him gently putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Erica, I really don’t think anything we could do together could make me want to break up with you. Whatever you want to try, I’m willing to give it a shot.”  “Alright…” The griffin gulped and slowly turned to face him. “Okay, I’m gonna need you to hold still and open your mouth.” “No problem,” Verdant replied as Erica placed her talons on his shoulders. He opened his mouth wide and closed his eyes. Erica swallowed once more before leaning forward and tilting her head. She opened her beak wide to make the closest she could to a seal with her beak and his lips. *** “What the hay are they doing?” Gem tilted her head in confusion as she gazed at the pair from behind the bush. “Not a clue.” Hatty carefully looked at the pair. “Maybe they’re trying to kiss or something with her beak or—” He suddenly stopped as he saw a bulge quickly rise up in Erica’s throat before Verdant’s eyes suddenly shot open. “Oh dear Faust, I think she just threw up in his mouth! Gross!” “What the…” Gem squinted as she watched Verdant pull away from the hen, a bulge quickly going down his throat. “Eww! Poor son of a bitch just swallowed it!” “Urgh… I’m gonna be sick!” Hatty looked green as he slammed his eyes shut and looked away. “Let’s get out of here before things get worse.” “Agreed,” Gem said as she picked up the pegasus and tossed him onto her back before running off, completely unseen by the interspecies couple. *** Verdant coughed and sputtered, trying to clear the gross taste from his mouth. He’d been caught off guard by the sudden flood that had filled his mouth, making him pull back and swallow whatever it was on reflex. “Verdant,” Erica asked with nervous concern. “Are you okay?” The stallion coughed once more before looking up at her. “What the hay was that?” “Well… y’see…” Erica nervously tapped her index digits together, her eyes falling on the tree they sat beside. “It’s a thing that ponies call a griffin kiss… it’s something my mom told me about… it’s a thing really close griffin couples do. They share a meal together by having one regurgitate it for their partner.” Verdant took a step back towards Erica, seeing the worry in her eyes. “Why’d you want to do this?” “I… Well, my mom told me about this and said that I should try it… that and a small part of me, like in the back of my mind was telling me, ‘This is normal, a fine griffin tradition. This’ll show Verdant how much you care about him’.” A small smile crossed Verdant’s features as he moved closer before giving her arm a nuzzle. “Well, I do appreciate the thought.” “R-really?” Erica swallowed before looking down at Verdant. “You didn’t think it was gross?” “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not really fond of it, but the sentiment is appreciated.” Verdant looked up at her.  “Well, thanks.” Erica placed a hand on his head. “So… do we still plan on catching that movie on Friday?” “Of course, Erica,” Verdant said with a chuckle as he gave her side a hug. “That’s good to hear.” Erica rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand and wrapped a wing around the smaller stallion. “I was really worried that you would want to break up after this.” “Nah,” Verdant replied as he nuzzled into her chest, hearing her frantic heartbeat starting to slow. “One not-so-good experience isn’t gonna make me want to break up with you.” Erica gave a sigh of relief before she fell back onto the grass, taking Verdant along with her. “Thank the ancestors. I really didn’t want to screw things up since… well, I’ve never had a boyfriend before.” “Oh?” Verdant rose up to look her in the eye. “How come?” “Eh.” Erica shrugged before pushing herself back up. “Just weren’t really many ponies that were interested in dating a griffin in highschool, save for this one unicorn with a fetish, and I wasn’t really into any of the tiercels or hens there.” “And me?” Verdant’s head tilted as he leaned closer. “Well, when it came to us, you were a stallion I got along really well with.” Erica licked her beak as she felt her throat starting to feel as if it were drying up. “We just sorta clicked together and we seemed to be interested in the same stuff… so I rolled the dice and asked you out.” A coy smile came to Verdant as he leaned closer. “I’d say I hit the jackpot there.” He gave her a quick kiss on the tip of her beak. “We both did.” Erica smiled as she pulled Verdant into a hug before giving his face a lick.  The two held each other in relative silence for a bit before Verdant pulled back. “So… that was maple barbeque chicken, right?” Erica chuckled as she ran a talon through his mane. “Yeah. I wanted to make something we’d both like for this meal.” “It was pretty good, all things considered.” Verdant gave the back of his neck a rub. “Still, I think plastic would make a better food container than your stomach.” “Agreed,” Erica replied before the two started to giggle which soon grew into a hearty laugh as they leaned against the tree once more. When the laughter died down a few moments later, a thought occurred to the shamrock stallion. “Hey Erica,” Verdant looked to face her. “Do your parents know I’m a pony?” “Y’know…” Erica gave her chin a quick scratch. “That might explain a lot…” *** Barrier stood by the stove, carefully observing the nervous Forge poking at the food in the frying pan with a hovering spatula. “Alright…” Forge delicately lowered the spatula into the sizzling pan and flipped the contents. “I think it’s ready.” With a flare of his horn and a click, the flames of the stove died off and he levitated the small sampling of food onto a plate. Barrier leaned in, carefully examining Forge’s end result. “Congratulations, Forge.” Barrier smirked as he pulled back. “You successfully managed to make a grilled cheese sandwich without destroying the kitchen.” “Fantastic!” the cobalt stallion excitedly exclaimed. “At this rate, I’ll be able to make Snow something instead of just going to restaurants.” “I just wish you did this stuff at the community center instead of here. After last time, knowing you’re risking the kitchen…” Barrier replied, taking a seat at the table. “I… I don’t think I could do that…” Forge didn’t look Barrier in the eye as he came to the table. “I’m still not sure about… her.” “I’m sure Erica’s just—” Barrier was interrupted as the front door was slammed open. From what little he could see, he spotted Gem and Hatty looking rather winded and green. “What’s up with you two?” “Verdant… Erica…” Gem wheezed as she made her way towards the kitchen.  “What?! What’d she do?!” Forge shouted, running in front of her and gripping her by the shoulders. Gem could see a cold sweat pouring from his brow and his pupils were shrunken. “Erica threw up in Verdant’s mouth,” Hatty said as he pulled Forge off of Gem. “It was disgusting.” “Ah. So she gave him a griffin kiss,” Barrier said as he leaned back in his chair. “I should have guessed something like that would happen.” “A what?” Forge reined himself in as he looked at the charcoal stallion. “A griffin kiss?” “Yeah. It’s a bit of griffin culture I learned about as a cadet. Apparently, one way they express love for one another is by regurgitating food for their mate.” Barrier slowly came out of his chair. “It’s supposed to be something pretty intimate, usually only done between close couples or parents and their young children.” “Yuck!” Hatty winced at Barrier’s words. “I think I’ll be skipping dinner for a good long while. If you need me, I’ll be lying down and trying not to think about that stuff.” “Right behind you,” Gem said as she and the pegasus headed for the stairs. “I’m just glad I kept my lunch down.” “Is… is that true, sir?” Forge looked to Barrier in surprise.  “As far as I’m aware, yes.” Barrier shrugged before walking off. “At any rate, if you need me, I’ll be in the den. Remember to clean the dishes once you finish your sandwich.” “I… right, sir,”  Forge replied as he picked up the sandwich in his magic before slowly walking up the stairs, passing Hatty and Gem as they headed for the door. When he made his way into his room, he set the sandwich on his nightstand and sighed. Looking to a shelving unit he’d set up in the far corner of his room. He looked over the various Kre-O sets he’d built. The largest was a set on the third shelf; a replica of Canterlot Castle. In front of the palace gate was a figure of a unicorn standing tall while a collection of pieces that resembled a griffin in parts laid by the unicorn’s hooves. “Is… is it really possible?” Forge whispered, his gaze moving from his toys to his hooves. “Could I be wrong? Could a griffin really love a pony?” A light tapping snapped Forge from his thoughts. Looking to the window, he spotted Snow Sweeper hovering outside. Forge rose up and used his magic to toss the window open, letting the gray pegasus in.  “Hey there, Forge.” Snow gave Forge a quick hug. “Something on your mind? You were looking a little lost in thought there.” “A few things, to be honest,” Forge replied as he returned the hug. “But at any rate, I’ve made you something and I was wondering how’d you’d like it.” “Oh?” Snow pulled back before spotting the sandwich. “Oh! Is it that grilled cheese?” “Well, you did say it was your favorite.” Forge offered him a smile as he guided the now grinning pegasus to the bed. “I tried hard to make it.” “It looks delicious.” Snow licked his lips before giving the sandwich a deep sniff. “Wanna split it?” “I’d love to.”