//------------------------------// // A Steady Heart - part 1 // Story: Mark My Words // by Goldfur //------------------------------// As was usual for a Saturday, I was in Ponyville in my Marklestia form. What was not typical was that all my herdmates were with me as well as my daughter, Pearl, and interdimensional visitors, Cadence and her wife, Chryssy. My best friend, Steady Flight, had been accompanying me to my home away from home for several months now, and the final two guests were Fancy Pants and his wife, Fleur de Lis. The latter was a sure indication of why so many had joined me here today – it was time for Rarity’s Summer Fashion Parade! Frocks, swimwear, and other warm weather-inspired garments were in my future, not to mention the spicier gear. We were currently gathered at Twilight’s castle, the venue for the event, having a light lunch. At least, I was. My modelling coach Fleur De Lis recommended I eat sparingly before a show, investing my energy in strutting the catwalk instead of digestion. And if my wives chose to eat lightly to maintain their gorgeous figures, I was never going to complain. Besides, with less attention paid to eating, there was more time for conversation, and we caught up with the news from our friends. Cadence looked over to me with a smile. “By the way, thank you for using your pink-maned form. With two Celestias in the room, neither of whom is my auntie, it’s a little disorienting, and I don’t have my wife’s extra senses to tell you readily apart.” Chryssy giggled. “Until Mark opens her mouth! She may sound like Celestia, but she certainly doesn’t talk like her. I do wonder though – how is it that she can change her mane length and color when the original pony can’t?” Celestia said, “Actually, if I use spells, I can emulate those changes, but it’s not an innate ability like Mark’s. However, I believe I have worked out how he does it.” My eyebrows rose. “Oh? Do tell. The changes come so naturally to me that even I don’t know how I do it.” “First of all, I have a question. Have you ever been able to do a pink full-size mane version?” I frowned as I tried to remember all my past transformations. After a long moment, I shook my head. “I can’t recall any such occasion. My pink mane and tail have always been average-adult- size. Let me try…” I attempted to go full-size while retaining its current hue. However, as soon as it began growing longer, it switched to the pastel stripes. Several more tries gave the same result. “Nope – can’t do it.” Celestia gave a satisfied nod. “That jibes with my theory. The chaos magic that enables you to take on my form doesn’t just take into account my present-day appearance. My mane did not always wave like this, and of course it took a long time before it grew this large. And, as you already know, my natural mane color was pink before my growing power changed it to the auroral colors. I believe you are regressing – taking the forms of my younger selves. I propose an experiment. Mark – deliberately try to turn into a young version of me.” I was intrigued. I got out of my chair and thought about how to go about that, then shrugged when I realized I had no clue. So, I just tried to think younger. After a long moment when nothing happened, I felt something change. “Oh! She’s gotten smaller!” Pearl exclaimed. Loopy trotted to my side. “’Tis true – Mark is now slightly shorter than me.” Rarity studied me from horn to hooves. “Is that it though? Can she get younger still?” Celestia said, “I’m over eleven centuries old, Mark. You should be able to regress a hundred years younger than when I was that size.” I tried again, recalling how the change felt and attempting to apply it. This time, I definitely noticed the difference as I was only a little bigger than Rarity. “Hey, Cadence – could you come here, please?” The Crystal Princess trotted over and stood side by side with me. She grinned. “We’re practically twins size-wise now.” Celestia laughed. “Oh! It’s been so long since I have seen myself like that. However, if I’m right, I believe you should be able to regress a bit further.” “I don’t want to turn into a toddler foal,” I objected. “I might not be able to change back.” “Don’t worry,” my much larger doppelganger replied. “I don’t think that will happen, and even if it does, I know an aging spell.” “Okay, here goes.” I tried imagining myself as young as possible. This time, I came out shorter than Rarity. My wife cooed with delight. “You make such a gorgeous filly, darling!” Celestia nodded in satisfaction. “I was a teenager when I ascended, exactly as Mark looks now. My theory is that your transformation magic emulates me as an alicorn irrespective of age, but since I was not always an alicorn, this is as young as you can get.” “That’s a relief,” I replied, momentarily startled by my younger-sounding voice. Then I grinned and easily switched back to full-size wavy-maned form, then a moment later to Luna-sized pink-maned form, then back to filly before returning to my pre-experiment configuration. “Now that I know what’s going on, I’ve got a handle on it. This does open up some interesting possibilities.” “It certainly does, darling!” my wife exclaimed. “I can already envision a new fashion line for fillies that you can model for me.” Not what I was meaning, but inevitable, I guess. # # # As always, the fashion parade was a roaring success. I already had set aside a bathing costume for the next time we went to the beach. After the show, Rarity, Steady, and I took the portal back to Canterlot and my private quarters where I kept my ever-growing collection of gowns, evening dresses, business and casual attire, and of course, lingerie. Some time back, Steady had suggested that we take a few glamor shots of all the outfits before putting them away, and Rarity had not only thought that to be a wonderful idea, she also insisted that she accompany me to ensure that they were fitted as perfectly as when they were paraded down the catwalk. Steady volunteered to do the photography, to which I readily agreed. It was his hobby and I’d seen his work. Besides, one encounter with the likes of Photo Finish was one too many in my books. Steady’s work was just as professional in my opinion. Steady made two albums of each collection – one for me and one for Rarity. Then my wife realized that we could do the same with all the past collections, so after every show, not only did we do a photo shoot of the latest designs, but a number of my past favorites were trotted out once more. “I’m so glad that I get to see all the outfits that you modeled before I began coming to your shows,” Steady said as I posed with one of the very earliest sexy outfits that I had in my collection. I still loved how the lace looked on me. I gave Steady a coy wink. “It’s a good thing that you’re still single – I’m sure I’d be making your wife quite jealous right now.” As my best friend blushed, Rarity asked, “Why are you still a bachelor, darling? A stallion like you should have many mares looking for a relationship.” Steady shook his head. “I lost my heart to a mare a long time ago, but she’s already taken. No other mare measures up to her, so I have no interest in making a romantic relationship with anypony else.” “Ooh! Have I met her? I’m curious to know what kind of pony makes your heart soar.” Steady smiled sadly. “You see her regularly and I know you would like her.” “Have you ever told her how you feel, darling? Even if she’s in a relationship, she may be flattered by the attention. Or she might be able to let you down gently so that you can move on to somepony else that would be happy to have a stallion like you.” My friend chuckled humorlessly. “It’s a lot more complicated than that. Besides, if you’ve already found the perfect mare, it’s hard to make do with the next best pony, and unfair to them too. I’d always be making comparisons and finding them coming up short.” I said, “I think you’re overthinking this. I know I was conflicted back before I married Trixie. I had several mares interested in me then, each of them marvelous in different ways. And while I did make a choice eventually, it was only after I got married that I found out that there was always more to learn and love about my wife, and that I could love more than one pony. Take it from a former confirmed bachelor – waiting for the perfect woman is dumb. Almost everybody has to settle for good enough. I got lucky, I know, but I understand now that I could have been happy with any of the mares who wanted me.” I looked over to Rarity and gave her a smoldering look. “And one of them persisted and made my life even better, starting an ever-growing herd of wonderful mates.” She blushed and smiled coyly before I turned back to Steady. “So, either tell that mare how you feel or forget about her, but either way, move on with your life.” Steady sighed. “Perhaps if she wasn’t a friend and I didn’t see her so often, forgetting her might work. But I’m afraid of hurting the relationship we have by seeking more.” Rarity said, “If she truly is a friend of yours, then telling her how you feel won’t harm that relationship. But since you’ve implied that we all know her already, perhaps I can help ease you into that revelation. Maybe even suggest the best way of doing it?” My best friend had forgotten all about his camera by now. I moved up to him and laid a comforting wing around him. “You know we’ll have your back, Steady. I’ll be your wing-stallion… or wing-mare if you prefer. I’m sure a few words from a prince or princess would add clout to your true feelings.” Rarity joined us, giving the stallion a chaste kiss on the cheek. “I’m certain all the girls will back you up too. So, tell us – who is this mare who has stolen your heart?” For a long moment, I thought Steady was going to refuse to tell us, but then he sighed in resignation. “You’re not going to give up on this, are you?” We both shook our heads. “You have no idea yet what complications this will bring, but you asked for it. Her name is…” Steady turned his head to look me straight in the eyes. “…Marklestia.” # # # # # # # # # #