Like you can guess, the kitchen at my place was usually a bit of a circus in the morning. According to Autumn, it was a BYOB-type deal that just sort've happened. It took some getting used to for me at first, but that changed pretty quick. It definitely helped make the whole "candle" incident a lot more bearable.
Weekends though, where a lot more quiet.
While I downed some of my coffee, Autumn was leaning into my side using her Force powers to cut up her plate of waffles. We just let the whole moment sit and enjoyed the quiet together. It was...nice.
At the same time, my thoughts kept drifting towards my status-move training.
While I could use Protect on command, the other three moves were being a giant trio of bitches. I...mostly knew what the moves were, but the damn things refused to activate! I think one of them is fire-type...maybe? It....kind've felt like it ran on the same energy as my Flamethrower, now that I thought about it. The other two felt...weird. One felt kind've hazy and cold while the other felt...sinister.
Before I could really dwell on that, Autumn cleared her throat to get my attention.
"What's up?" I asked, floating my mug down to the table.
She fidgeted, tapping her hooves together while smiling nervously at me.
"Um...do you have any plans for today?"
"Not...really?" I blinked. "Why?"
"Well..." she nervously chuckled. "Dahlia and I were going to the Spa today and I was wondering if maybe...you'd want to come with?"
The spa, huh? Not my usual scene. I wasn't too big on having strangers touching me, even before the whole...incident. At the same time, now that I thought about it, I did wonder what they did in a place like that here. I doubt they gave "happy endings", but I could live with that. Hell, if Dahlia of all people was going to give it a shot, then why not?
"Eh, why not?" I shrugged, floating my mug to my mouth.
"Great!" she cheered, then nervously asked, "Um...totally random question, but...do you know anything about....herds?"
"No?" I frowned, lowering my mug. "Should I?"
Suddenly blushing, Autumn just gave me a nervous laugh before she started shoving pieces of waffle into her mouth.
I raised a brow at her for a few seconds, then let the topic drop and dug into my own stack of waffles.
Must be a woman thing.
Then why would she ask you if you knew about it?
The hell if I know.
***
Sid sat at Wallflower's table, calmly sipping a cup of tea. A look of blank acceptance dominated his face while he stared blankly into the distance. In spite of the bubble of calm that surrounded him, a heavy wave of malice filled the living room. The source of this intense rage sat at the eastern side of the coffee table, the solid green mare smiling stiffly while she slowly stirred a spoon in her tea with a hoof. Treehugger weathered her hostess's rage with a calm smile, her dreamy gaze meeting Wallflower's piercing stare.
Sid let out a faint tired sigh before he took another sip from his cup.
The visit had started out well enough. A couple of hours ago, the two mares were chatting merrily with each other, Wallflower in particular ecstatic to meet yet another creature that remembered her even without deactivating her special talent. Sid watched the whole thing with a smile, happy to see his friend so happy. That all took a sudden turn the second Treehugger revealed the main reason for her visit. The second the word "herd" left Treehugger's mouth, all of Wallflower's friendliness turned into intense animosity.
That vicious aura trapped the room in a heavy silence that lasted for an impressive twenty minutes, one that Sid was smart enough not to break and Treehugger was more than willing to wait through.
I knew something like this was going to happen, he thought, frowning into his cup, feeling a small tingle in the back of his head.
While the two mares continued their silent stare-down, he took careful note of every available exit in the room. Whether those exits were for him or one of the mares depended entirely on what happened in the next few minutes. In the meantime, all he could do was wait for the coming storm to either pass or rage itself dry.
Eventually, Wallflower broke the silence.
"I am not going to accept this," she frowned, letting go of the spoon in her cup. "We don't need to form a herd."
"Do you think I would take your place?" Treehugger asked, taking a casual sip from her cup.
Wallflower's posture stiffened.
Treehugger gave her an understanding smile.
"That would not be the case. You would be the main mare and I would be your herd sister."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Wallflower pressed.
Treehugger's smile turned a bit impish as she replied, "Because the love you share with Sid is too strong for me to take away."
Both Sid and Wallflower blushed at that, the latter far heavier than the former.
"I thought we talked about this already," Sid frowned.
"We have," she nodded. "And we both know what my strength will unlock."
She ended that with a playful wink, earning a confused look from Wallflower.
Sid let out a tired sigh.
"What...are you two talking about?" Wallflower asked.
"It is...simple," Treehugger sheepishly smiled, a tiny blush coloring her muzzle. "I...want to be worthy of Sid's foals, but I also want to help break down the barrier between your's and his hearts."
A great deal of Wallflower's aggression fell out of her, a heavy sense of intrigue taking its place.
"What do you mean?" she asked, raising a brow.
Treehugger gave the both of them a knowing smile, then said, "I think you both know the answer to that, soul sister."
***
I honestly don't think I've ever been this relaxed in my entire life. In the last couple of...hours? Minutes? Whatever. After getting massaged, steamed, and soaked in a hot tub, I was already on a new level of chill. Now, the three of us were laying out in a dim room with smooth jazz and some kind of metal box that was letting out a slow stream of purple mist. Yeah, I was a bit iffy on the thing at first, but the spa pony (I think she was Aloe, but don't quote me on that) reassured me that it was just lavender essence and that nothing sketchy was going to happen. I still had my doubts, but Autumn told me that she could vouch for the mare, so I decided to give it a chance.
I took a long deep breath and laid my head on a pillow on the ground. Autumn was curled up at my side covered with my tails. Dahlia was...doing the same on my other side and had a couple of her tails on my back. That, among other things, was what kept me from fully enjoying the whole thing.
Ever sense we met up with her today, Dahlia had been acting...weird. Not only had she been acting all fancy, but she seemed kind've nervous around me. She was also being really affectionate for some reason. Nothing too crazy; just stuff like leaning into me in the hot tub or wrapping one of her tails around mine in the steam room. That last bit didn't piss me off for some reason, but I just chalked that up to us being old friends. Even weirder than all of that was the fact that Autumn was totally cool with all of this. Hell, it almost looked like she was encouraging Dahlia at some points.
Is this some kind of kirin thing? A ninetales thing? What the hell is going on here?! Brain? Wanna help me out here?!
I'm just as confused as you are here. I think we should wade this out and see where this goes, for now.
Right...
Pushing the whole thing to the back of my mind, I closed my eyes and tried to make the most of the moment. Thing is, with Dahlia this close to me, it was hard not to notice a couple things. The first thing I noticed was that she was smaller than me. Maybe it was because we were different types of ninetales or because she was a girl, but I couldn't help noticing that she was about half a foot smaller than me. She was also colder than Autumn. Not, like, arctic cold or anything like that, but it was enough for me to notice. Even her fur felt a little different from mine; a lot softer and fluffier.
"How are you feeling?" Autumn asked, nuzzling into my side.
"Good," I sighed, too chill to move,
Autumn giggled, then asked something that made my ear twitch.
"Do you...remember what I asked you this morning?"
"About herds?" I asked back, peeking an eye open.
I felt Dahlia fidget a little.
Sneaking a peek at her, I saw that she was hiding her face under a paw and....was she blushing?
Autumn clearing her throat pulled my attention back to her. She...was blushing too. Okay...what was going on here?
Autumn took a deep breath and nervously asked, "Alex, what would you say if I told you that there was somecreature that...had feelings for you? O-Other than me, I mean."
I let out a small chuckle and raised my head towards her.
"I'd say "that's a good one". It's already a miracle that I have you in my life. Other people? Hah! I doubt a hot mess like me could pull that off."
Autumn gave me a worried frown.
I let out a sigh and said, "Right...I know, I know. Old habits. Still, I really can't see anyone being into me. Well, there was that whole thing with Rarity a few weeks ago, but I'm blaming the booze for that mess."
"What?" both girls asked, sounding a little like they wanted to murder someone.
"Long story," I sighed. "I think Vermillion could fill you in on the details, later."
"She better," Autumn grumbled.
Taking a deep breath, she continued.
"Anyway, when two or more female creatures...like the same male, it is possible for them to form a...group with him. For kirin, ponies, zebras, and donkeys, these groups are called herds."
"O-kay, I'm following," I nodded, raising a brow. "So, where exactly are you going with this?"
"Well..." Autumn nervously chuckled, looking at....something over my shoulder.
Slowly, I turned my head towards where she was looking...at a sheepish Dahlia.
It took me a couple minutes to piece everything together. When I did, I could only numbly ask one question.
"For how long?"
Dahlia gave me a sad smile and sadly said, "For...a really long time. I just never had the guts to go for it."
"I-I see," I stammered out, then turned my head towards Autumn and asked, "And you're okay with this?"
She nodded, then asked, "Are you?"
"I..."
I looked back and forth between the two of them, both of them giving me worried looks. I didn't know how I felt about this. I mean, I was just getting used to having one girlfriend, but two? The fact that it was Dahlia of all people just made my head spin even more. My first instinct was to doubt that this was happening, but the looks Dahlia and Autumn were giving me proved that wrong. Still, I could feel the mental tug-o-war between my doubt and facts the longer I looked at the two of them.
Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes and looked down.
"Alex?" Dahlia asked, worry in her tone.
"I...don't know," I grunted. "A part of me wants to give this a try, but..."
"You don't want to screw up our friendship," Dahlia softly cut in.
I opened my eyes and looked at her in shock.
She gave me a sad smile and continued.
"You're afraid that you're not good enough. That you'll do or say something that will ruin everything and we'll hate each other. Am I right?"
I nodded, still stunned.
"H-How did you-?" I forced out, but Dahlia gently cut in.
With tears in her eyes and still smiling, she said "Because I've been living with those feelings for way too long."
I...was too stunned to say anything to that. So, instead, I just did what felt right. I let one of my tails slide off of Autumn's back and wrap around one of Dahlia's. She took a quick look back, then gave me a bright smile. I gave her one back, but I think mine was a bit more nervous-looking than the one hers turned into. She quickly wiped her tears away and went back to nuzzling into my side. Autumn did the same, while I laid my head back down onto my pillow.
I still didn't know what to think about this whole thing, but I did know how I felt about it. I was going to give this whole thing a shot. Well...I guess we were going to give this a shot.
***
"Another shot!" I shouted, trying to get the bartender's attention.
The stallion gave me a nod and went to get a bottle of rum.
The bar was just as lively as the last couple of times I was there. Everyone was loudly throwing back drinks and talking about random stuff that I didn't really care all that much about. Sid sat at the bar table with me looking like he had a few things on his mind. I probably looked the same, all things considered.
"Sure you shouldn't just ask him to leave the bottle?" Sid asked, nursing his own drink.
"Good idea," I sighed.
When the bartender got to us, I asked him to leave the bottle and then grab three more.
"Long day?" Sid asked.
"Crazy day," I chuckled, downing about half of the first bottle. "Get this. Apparently, Dahlia's had a thing for me for a few years. Autumn found out somehow and the two of them agreed to...share me? I think? Honestly, I'm....still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing."
"She already told you?" he as- wait, WHAT THE HELL?!
"You knew?!" I barked, turning towards him.
"It was on the day you were caught in that slime," the bastard sighed. "Sis had a huge breakdown after you left in front of everyone. Autumn took her back to her place so she could get her head on straight."
"Really?" I frowned. "How bad was it?"
"Really bad," he frowned, downing his drink. "I think....she blames herself for what happened to you."
I froze, my thoughts instantly jumping to what Dahlia had said a few hours ago. Anger slowly boiled into my veins.
"That's stupid," I growled. "She had nothing to do with that."
"That's not how she sees it," he frowned, gesturing for the bartender to refill his cup. "She was the one that introduced you to her. As far as she's concerned, sis is the one that almost got you killed."
My anger got hotter from that. How could Dahlia know how much of a psychotic cunt Sandra was? She had no reason to beat herself up like that! None of us did! If anyone deserves to suffer, it was that bitch Sandra! No one will hurt my mates! I'LL TEAR HER THROAT OUT BURN HER SOUL TO ASHES!!! I'LL MAKE HER PAIN LEGENDARY!!! HER NEXT TWENTY LIVES WILL BE IN SLOW AGONY!!! SHE! WILL! BURN!
Wait...what?
I blinked and whatever-the-hell that was suddenly stopped. Groaning, I rubbed a dull ache out of my forehead with a paw.
"Are you okay?" Sid asked, a worried look on his face.
"I...think so," I groaned, looking at him. "Might need to pace my shots a little, here."
"Right," he nodded, giving me a raised brow. "So, how are you and sis going to do this?"
I let out a small snort then answered with a smile I barely felt.
"Well, Autumn's talking about letting her move into one of our guest rooms until we can get our room set up for her."
"How'd sis take that?" Sid chuckled.
"Uhhh," I chuckled, looking away from him as I (sheepishly) calmly said, "Did you know Dahl looks really cute when she blushes?"
Sid just burst out laughing at that.
Asshole.
"Sh-Shut it!" I sputtered. "At least I'm not bullshitting everyone about my love-life."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he chuckled, sipping his shot.
I rolled my eyes at that.
"If you keep that up, Wallflower's gonna turn into a yandare."
"I doubt that," he snorted.
I reached out to grab my bottle, but froze about half way. I could remember Wallflower, like completely. If what she told me yesterday was right then that meant-
I looked around and, sure enough, Wallflower had just walked into the bar. Treehugger wasn't that far behind, for some reason. When Sid turned to see what I was looking at, his whole body froze. That got a raised brow out of me.
"Are you okay?" I asked, giving his shoulder a nudge.
A second after I asked that, I saw the pair start heading our way in my peripheral.
Sid just let out a rueful chuckle and said, "If you think your love-life is complicated, wait a few seconds. I think my herd and I have a real story for you."