Joy giggled at the sight of her shocked friend. “Did ya really think you wouldn’t attract male attention lookin’ like that, hon?”
Golden Touch smiled reassuringly. “Don’t let it bother you, Jewel – Mover isn’t the type to like a mare just for her looks.”
Jewel turned her astonished gaze on the unicorn mare. “Didn’t he tell you that on Earth, I’m a male human?”
“He did mention it, which made us curious enough to want to meet you. Now that we have, I’m not seeing any stallion in the mare in front of me. What do you think, Breezy?”
“Gotta agree with you there, Goldy. Our stallion has picked out a fine mare.”
Jewel gaped at them both for a long moment. “I… I mean…”
The two herdmates burst into giggles.
Fast Mover said, “Don’t mind them, Jewel – they’re just teasing you. They do that to everypony they like.”
Jewel sighed in relief. “So, you’re not attracted to me after all?”
The stallion grinned. “Oh, I never said that. Now let’s go see my foals. They’ve been left alone too long as it is.”
Mover took the visitors into the living room where two fillies, each about nine or ten years-old, were playing. One was a unicorn and she was busy building a large construction that was much taller than she was. Fortunately for her, she could levitate more of the small colorful building blocks to extend its height even further. However, the other foal was a pegasus and she was hovering over the edifice. She took the blocks as they were lifted, placing them judiciously. They both turned when the adults entered.
Mover frowned. “Sparks! How many times have we told you that there’s no flying allowed in the house without supervision?”
“Sorry, Daddy,” the pegasus filly replied guiltily as she settled to the floor.
The stallion sighed and then faced his guests. “Ladies, these are my girls, Flying Sparks, the naughty one, and Graceful Spire. They’re budding architects and engineers, as you can tell from their latest project.”
Jewel stepped up to the tower to look at it more closely. “Hmm… it looks a lot better than anything I ever put together with Lego bricks. Perhaps you fillies can give me some pointers?”
The siblings’ faces lit up.
“Sure, pretty lady!” Flying Sparks blurted out.
“My name is Jewel. Tell me what you two have planned.”
As the fillies started enthusiastically explaining, Mover turned to his wives and lifted an eyebrow. The mares looked at each other before coming to an unspoken agreement. They faced their husband again and nodded. This did not escape the notice of Joy whose smile grew wide as a thrill of excitement went through the mare. Her goal of getting her marefriend to open up to others was showing unexpectedly early results and she was very glad that she had managed to persuade Jewel to accept the dinner invitation.
Conversation continued while Jewel enjoyed interacting with the foals. She did contribute to the chat occasionally despite that, but it was Joy who did the most to fill in their hosts about their backgrounds and the work they did for Harmonic Composites.
“But enough about us,” Joy said firmly. “Tell me about yourselves and how you met up with our factory manager.”
Golden Touch nodded. “Fair enough. I’m an architect by profession, and I met Mover when I went on site to consult with the forepony about some aspects of the design that they were having problems with. I was impressed with the stallion’s grasp of the complexities then and on the several subsequent visits.”
Fast Mover grinned. “I, on the other hoof, was glad to have a conversation that wasn’t about the latest hoofball game or where to go for drinks after work.”
Goldy continued, “So, when I found out that he was still single, I asked him out on a date—”
“Which I happily accepted!” Mover interjected.
“And we started going out regularly. Three months later, we were married. Mover and I just clicked together perfectly. We were able to talk about many things we found mutually interesting, so coming home from work meant that we could relax in each other’s company after a hard day. And when it came to bedtime, we were almost always in the mood, if you know what I mean.”
“Ah understand, although Ah’m ace,” Joy replied.
Golden’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean by that?”
“Ace? Ah’m asexual – sex doesn’t interest me although Ah have nothin’ against anyone who feels otherwise. Ah’d rather just socialize with everyone and make more friends. That’s how Ah get my kicks.”
Both Golden Touch and Subtle Breeze were stunned by this revelation.
“I’ve never met a mare who wasn’t interested in sex,” Breezy said. “In this world, a mare almost has to be prepared to offer sex if she is going to attract a stallion, especially if he’s already married.”
“Ah suppose that if you’re competing with several other mares, it makes sense, but it don’t seem to me lahk the best way to pick a mate.”
Breezy grimaced. “You have a good point, and it’s a major reason why I ended up with Mover.”
Joy tilted her head, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. “So – what do you do for a living and how did you meet Fast Mover?”
“I work for Zippy-Ship, a courier company, but it was Goldy who introduced me to our stallion.”
“On the face of it, there doesn’t seem to be anythin’ in common,” Joy commented.
Goldy replied, “What Breezy didn’t say is that she started the company with a partner. She was a business major at the same college I attended and we were friends. We continued to meet up regularly after we graduated. After I met and married Mover, Breezy was a bit down on the fact that she wasn’t having much luck finding a stallion of her own.”
“It was my own fault,” Breezy confessed. “The average mare is happy just to be able to get into a herd. It’s not often that we get to meet our match before he’s already hitched. Any married stallion who is willing to date another mare is usually just interested in sex. While I didn’t mind giving them that, I wanted a herdmate that was interested in a real relationship and to raise foals with me. Not one impressed me and all my first dates were also the last dates.”
Goldy said, “I decided to introduce Breezy to Mover. He’s very interested in raising a family, but while I found time to have a foal, it seriously ate into my professional life, so I wasn’t in a hurry to have another. Breezy, on the other hoof, was ready and eager to have foals with the right stallion. It only remained to see if he liked her.”
Mover shrugged. “I like smart mares, and it was immediately apparent to me that Goldy’s friend was intelligent and motivated. Her company is a Vanhoover success story and I found her tale of founding and growing the business to be quite fascinating.”
Breezy nodded. “I could tell right away that Mover was a potentially good fit and after a wonderful evening with him and Goldy, I made my usual offer of a roll in the sheets. You know what he did? He asked Goldy if he should! Joy – I don’t know if you know this about us ponies, but stallions have the absolute right to accept offers of sex from mares regardless of their marital status, and without having to give a reason. If they couldn’t, it would severely impact the ability of a huge portion of the population to find a herdmate.”
“No stallion wants to take a mare into his herd only to find that she’s not interested in foals, or she’s lousy in bed,” Mover explained. “Sex may not be everything, but it’s certainly very important to a herd.”
“Exactly,” Breezy agreed. “So, when he asked Goldy if he should, it was quite a shock to me. But it was also the best possible thing because he was just as serious about relationships as me.”
Goldy said, “It’s the lead mare’s responsibility to look out for possible additions to the herd, and Breezy was smart and motivated just as Mover likes. I’d already decided that if my husband wanted her, she would make a perfect herdmate, so I urged Mover to take the offer for her to spend the night with him.”
Breezy sighed happily. “It was the best night I’d ever had. We had several dates after that before Mover told me to ask the question. I joined his herd and got pregnant the first time I went into heat.” She slid a hoof over her swollen belly. “And now, we’re expecting our third foal soon.”
Joy’s eyes shifted to where Jewel was engrossed in supervising the placement of a flying buttress by Graceful Spire who was perched on her back. “Ah can tell why Mover is so interested in Jewel. She’s smart and she likes your foals. When we were havin’ a barbecue on the weekend with our neighbors, Jules spent more of his time with the young folks. He threw a Frisbee and shot a few hoops with them. Ah practically had to drag him away to introduce him to the adult neighbors.”
Mover chuckled. “Don’t make me out to be perfect, Joy. I’ll admit that I was fascinated by her gorgeous looks long before I realized that my new boss was also a very capable business mare. I’m just fortunate that I got to talk with her so often that I could see beyond the fashion model exterior.”
“You got that raht, Mover. Ah’m goin’ to haveta work hard to keep up with her.” She then smirked. “So, why did you invite me tonight also?”
“Because you live up to your name, Joy,” the stallion explained. “It’s always a pleasure to be in your company and I reckoned my wives would enjoy meeting you.”
“So, not lookin’ to add two mares to your herd?”
“It wasn’t topmost on my mind, no. Are you interested in joining a herd despite being … umm… ace?”
“Gotta leave mah options open, don’t Ah? Just ‘cause Ah’m ace don’t mean Ah don’t lahk the ahdea of bein’ in a large, happy family.”
Goldy smiled and nodded. “I can agree with that.” A bell rang in another room and the mare’s ears swiveled toward the sound. “Dinner’s ready. Breezy – see our guests to the dining room and then help me serve up the meal. Mover – drag the foals away from their project. It won’t go cold like the food will!”
After an excellent dinner of artisanal hay frittata and roasted vegetables, conversation went well into the evening. Joy and Jewel eventually had to leave for home, and they parted with their hosts after fervent hugs. They strolled back to the factory down Vanhoover’s well-lit streets in companionable silence. Joy waved to one of the bat-winged Night Guards who was perched on a nearby storefront and he nodded back. Eventually, Jewel spoke up.
“I did notice you talking about me before dinner, y’know?”
Joy looked at her and lifted an eyebrow. “Oh? Were they right about you?”
Jewel was silent for a long time before she replied. “Well, I suppose they weren’t wrong.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Scared. Excited. Confused. I do like children, but to be considered as a potential herd mare – that’s something that I would never have dreamed of a week ago. Heck! Just over a week back, I had always been a man!”
Joy gave Jewel a reassuring nuzzle. “If it means anything to you, Ah reckon you’re already a mighty fine mare, and the longer you are one, the better you’ll become at being one.”
“But what happens to Jules the man?”
“Nothin’ you don’t want to happen, hon. Take your time and discover what you want from your lahf on both worlds. There ain’t no deadline to figgerin’ it out. An’ remember – Ah’m always here to help you.”
Jewel smiled and leaned up against the slightly smaller mare. “Thank you, Joy. You’re a good friend.”
“Y’all are very welcome, Jewel.”
As Fast Mover and his wives settled into bed that night, he asked, “So, what are your verdicts, ladies?”
Goldy replied, “I think it’s obvious that we all like Jewel. However, she still has issues to work through. I can’t imagine what it’s like to change sex as well as species, but it can’t be easy on her. Give the mare some time and I think she’ll be open to the possibility of a relationship. Invite her over again soon.”
“Agreed. And what about Joy?”
Breezy said, “Joy lives to make others happy. When she eventually realizes that she might want somepony to make her happy, perhaps she’ll come asking one day. She might not want to contribute with foals, but she has so much else to give to any herd that takes her.”
“I know I find it hard not to smile when she’s around,” Mover said. “We’ll see what the future brings.”
“Enough about them,” Breezy said firmly. “Your current mares would like a bit of attention.” She rubbed Mover’s chest and licked her lips suggestively.
The stallion rolled his eyes. “Again?”
“You know being pregnant makes me horny.”
Mover grinned. “What a coincidence – pregnant mares make me horny too!”
“Oh, for Celestia’s sake!” exclaimed Goldy. “Will you two just get in on already? I want my turn sometime before midnight!”
Breezy giggled as she turned her full attention to her stallion. “I have just the thing to get your mind off adding more mares to the herd.”
Mover quickly forgot all thoughts about Jewel and Joy for that evening.
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