The world of Equestria is filled with many different sentient creatures and others that are less intelligent but still a far cry from the dumb animals on Earth. Yet, even with this diversity a lot of ponies refuse to associate with non-equines out of fear, mistrust, prejudice or just plain ignorance. It's for this reason that the group S.A.F.E. was created. The acronym stood for "Species Acceptance For Equestrians" and it was composed of those ponies and others that felt that other species were being unfairly maligned or excluded from Equestrian society even if they should have the same rights as everypony else.
Precious Gem, of Ponyville, had heard of this group and being the young, socially conscious but impeccably styled mare that she was felt that she could make a difference in this group. Her goals were pure in that she believed that all species and races could live together in harmony and had to look no further than her parents or her extended family. She was a unicorn, sired by a dragon and another unicorn or at least she thought this was the case. While she shared her father's draconic colouration and her mother's horn, she had in fact been sired by an earth pony who she currently thought of as her uncle. He wasn't really her uncle, but their families were so close that he and his wife and their foals had been there her entire life and it was just easier to call them her aunt and uncle than Twilight Sparkle and Rick. And they were the other interspecies couple that showed that they could live together as ponies did even if one of them wasn't born a pony.
Rick had been born on Earth as a human and through a spell cast by Twilight Sparkle had found the doorway from his bedroom connecting to the library here in Equestria. At first, as Gem understood it, he was human when he came to Equestria. But now he was human only on Earth and a pony in Equestria just like Twilight was a pony in Equestria and a human on Earth. In fact, anypony going through the portal arrived on Earth as a human. It was part of the magic that Princess Celestia had set up on it when she created it.
So it was that she became the Ponyville representative for S.A.F.E. They held meetings, demonstrations, and tried to educate ponies on why some non-equines were just as good as any other pony out there. It was at one of these meetings that she saw a familiar face hiding in the background so she made sure she had to speak to him before he snuck off at the end.
"Sterling! I'm so glad you could make it to our meeting. You should join! Your sire and dam make you perfect as a spokespony for this group."
Sterling looked a little uncomfortable with this. He snuck in for a reason and that was so that Precious Gem wouldn't notice him. He wasn't really interested in joining the group so much as he was just interested in meeting some young socially minded filly around his age. Actually it didn't matter if she was socially minded so much as she was an activist of some sort because he had heard from his friends that they had a tendency to be an easy rut. However there were only older stallions and mares here so he wanted more than anything else to leave but Precious Gem found him and he needed to think fast.
"Oh yeah... I've been thinking of that a lot lately. I mean Mom and Dad are great even if they're not really interspecies when you think about it. I mean they're ponies here and humans there so..., " he said a little evasively.
"That doesn't matter. They were different when they met and fell in love just like my parents. You really should join and maybe you'll even meet a young filly. We get them all the time although I don't know where any of them are tonight. Recently there's just been a huge upsurge in the fillies wanting to meet stallions and colts that aren't ponies. I guess they see the lives that my parents have made, your parents have made and even Apple Bloom and her human friend. And, you're part human too so that ought to count for something right?"
Sterling thought about it and it totally made sense to him. He was part human and if fillies were looking for a human style coltfriend then he could be that guy. "Yeah, that sounds cool, " he said as casually as he could. He didn't want to look too eager for this but at the same time he didn't want to look like he was disinterested either.
"Great! Here's some flyers, could you put them up around your school tomorrow? If we get enough colts and fillies to join then we'll be better positioned later on. Oh this is going to be so great, us working together like this, " Precious Gem said with a smile. Sterling accepted them, promised he would put them up tomorrow and left the meeting to go back home.
Walking back through the portal, he stashed the flyers where his parents couldn't see them before getting dressed and making his way upstairs. As usual, he found his Dad in the kitchen fussing over dinner. Sterling loved his Dad, but never could figure out why he was such a perfectionist in the kitchen when he was totally not like that in any other part of the house. "Hey Dad!" he called out as he walked into the kitchen to see what he was making. Glancing into the pot he noticed the tomatoes and olives simmering gently in what appeared to be a red wine sauce. "Are we having Mediterranean Chicken tonight?" he asked in a slightly upset way.
"Hey Sterling. Yes it is and is there a problem with that? Not that it matters because that's what I'm making and you're free to make whatever you want if you want something else."
"Nah, I'm just thinking that we're ponies and maybe we ought to be more... vegetarian or something."
"On this side of the portal, you're human even if your mother is a unicorn. And we don't eat like this in Equestria so we keep all veggie over there, but over here we don't. So is there a reason for this sudden gastronomic change?"
"Nah, I was just... thinking of other things."
"Good, it should be done in about 20 minutes. So if you could set the table and let your mother know we can eat then."
"Okay, " he sighed before going upstairs to throw his things in his room. On the way he stopped off in the study to say hello to his mother who currently had her nose stuck in a book. "Hey Mom, " he said coming forward and giving her a hug and kiss in greeting.
"Hello Sterling, " Twilight said as she greeted him in kind. "How was your day?"
"Okay I guess. Nothing too exciting. Dad says we're going to be eating in 20 minutes and to let you know."
"Thank you dear, I'll be down soon, " Twilight said before going back to her book. In reality Sterling knew he'd have to come get her when the time came for them to eat. If there was one thing that happened when his mother was reading, it was she lost track of time.
He threw his stuff into his room and puttered around for a bit before heading back downstairs to set the table. As usual he did have to go back to tell his mother that dinner was ready once his Dad started plating everything.
"Chicken tonight?" Twilight asked as she was seated and served. It had been several years since she finally had made the transition to eating poultry. The change had been less due to cultural norms than it had been to simple pragmatism. She ate eggs and chickens weren't what anybody or anypony could call a sentient species especially in Equestria so she tried it one night and liked it. Admittedly she felt a little strange after but that was more cultural than anything else. Rick happily started including chicken as part of their meals from then on in although it was still not that common a dish. She still didn't like beef or pork as she felt they were a little too close to being ponies with the four feet and all.
"Mom? Dad? I gotta question for you guys, " Sterling asked partway through his meal. "Did you guys face any... problems when you were first dating? Did like ponies look down on you, or not accept you because you two were so different?"
"You're full of questions tonight. There a reason for this?" Rick asked.
"No, just wondering because I ran into Precious Gem earlier today and it got me to thinking that her folks are different, and they were mostly accepted but you guys were like the first ones right?"
"We were the first in recent times and it wasn't all smooth sailing. While most ponies in Ponyville accepted me as a person and the two of us as a couple, there were quite a few that felt that your mother should be with another pony and that I should go back to the jungle with the other monkeys. But as time went on and more ponies got to know me, the number of neighsayers fell. And then by the time we had come back to Equestria, those sentiments were pretty much gone and everypony was fine with me."
"There were still a few that resented you, but once you showed up as a large imposing earth pony they were too afraid to say anything. And the mares that didn't approve of you as a human suddenly did an about face." Twilight turned to her husband and asked, "do you remember Honeysuckle?"
"Honey coloured mare with the apiary? Three bees as her cutie mark?"
"That's the one. When you first showed up she was one of the ponies trying to get rid of you. She didn't want you to know because like most of those ponies, she was afraid of you so she would talk behind your back. When you turned into a stallion she changed her tune and was suddenly interested."
"So was half of Ponyville. A new stallion shows up and suddenly every mare for miles around suddenly needs to get to know him. Even though we were married and I made it clear that we were, I got propositioned three times at the party that first night back. And no, I'm not complaining about that, " Rick said with a grin.
"You shouldn't. I had to field about a dozen requests to get you to stud that night."
"Ewww! Gawd! I don't want to hear about that!" Sterling complained.
"It's a fact of life in Equestria buddy and when you're finally of age you're going to be on the receiving end of it and your foals are going to be saying the same thing to you. But yeah, back to the point. Eventually most of Ponyville got over the fact we were interspecies. By the time we came back they seemed to have accepted this and just look at Spike and Rarity. Their relationship has not hurt them in the least in fact Rarity says that it's actually helped her business."
"How would marrying a dragon help her business?" Sterling asked.
"Some ponies feel that it makes her more open to new and different ideas so they can ask her to something that a regular seamstress or dressmaker might not consider, " Twilight answered.
"Okay, I guess that's cool and all. Look, I have some homework to do before tomorrow's class so I'll be going upstairs now." Sterling cleared his plate and brought it back into the kitchen before placing it in the dishwasher and then disappearing upstairs.
"Twi? Since when does our son willingly go and do homework?" Rick asked rhetorically.
"I don't know, but he must have his reasons, " she responded as she finished her wine.
"I'm betting all this has something to do with a filly. Earlier, the boy that never turned his nose up at meat didn't like that we were having chicken tonight. I bet you anything that he's got his eye on a filly and he's afraid that if she finds out he eats meat when he's here that she won't like him or something."
"That's possible, or maybe it just means that he needs to find a filly that's more adventurous and doesn't mind that little extra thrill of danger, " Twilight said with a bit of a leer.
"Excuse me? Are you saying that dating me felt dangerous?"
Twilight toyed with her wineglass a little, a slight blush on her face before answering. "Your canine teeth. The first time I saw you had them, you reminded me of a predator. I actually shivered the first time you smiled because you showed all your teeth. Then the first time we kissed, the idea of putting my tongue in your mouth was scary and exciting at the same time."
"Grrrrrr!" Rick growled at his wife, baring his teeth and making claws with his fingers.
"Ooooh scary, " Twilight said without emotion. "Or it would be if I didn't know that underneath it all you're just a big old teddy bear, " she said with a gentle smile.
"Well, I tried, " he said leaning back in his chair and draining the rest of his wine.
"But that's okay, I'd much rather snuggle with a teddy bear on a cold autumn evening than with some ferocious beast."
"I'm going to hold you to that promise later."
"I'm sure you will and I wouldn't have it any other way, " she said with a twinkle in her eye before standing up and helping him clear the table. A quick kiss once the dishes were in the dishwasher, Twilight went back to her books leaving Rick to clean up the kitchen.
Meanwhile, in his room, Sterling was practicing his pickup line in front of the mirror. "Oh hi, my name's Sterling, " he said in what he hoped was his most suave fashion. "I'm new to S.A.F.E. but I think it's such an important organisation. I'm actually half-human myself. No really, my folks... yes that is a human term but my folks are interspecies. My Mom is a unicorn, you might have heard of her, she's 'Twilight Sparkle' and my Dad is the original human in Ponyville. I could show you Earth if you wanted. Sure, it's not a problem. You'll love it over there."
Every so often he would change a line, or his delivery. His goal was to get this down so that when he needed to speak to a filly, he could do so without getting all tongue tied. His hope was that he could not only do this but she would be so impressed that he was half-human she'd overlook certain other weaknesses or problems that he had.
Eventually he started getting tired so he got ready for bed and fell asleep dreaming of a bevy of unicorn fillies all striving for his attention.
The next day, after he had put up the posters at school, he dropped by the Carousel Boutique to speak to Precious Gem and see when the next meeting would be. She unfortunately wasn't there but Rarity was nice enough to let him know.
"Sterling! Darling! Come give your aunt Rarity a kiss!" she called as she saw him enter her boutique. He did as he really liked Rarity. She always made such a fuss over him, giving him compliments and making him feel like a grown up.
"I was actually looking for Precious Gem, is she around?"
"Just one moment dear, let me get her." Rarity trotted to the back of the boutique and a moment later Precious Gem came out front to talk to Sterling.
"Hi Sterling. What can I do for you?"
"I put up the flyers at school like you asked and was wondering when the next meeting would be?"
"Meetings are every week at the same time and place. But you know what? I'm happy that you came and saw me tonight because I'm just on my way to a meeting with some of the other regional members tonight at Sugarcube Corner. I'm sure they'd love to meet the colt of two such famous individuals."
"Sure I guess I could go. Uhmmm, will there be any colts or maybe fillies my age there?" Sterling asked trying to fish for information.
"I believe so. Midnight Sparkler is supposed to come in from Manehatten and Dusty Bottoms from Appleloosa should be there as well. It's also a good night to meet some one of our newest representatives. We've got our first delegate from the Griffon Empire flying in tonight so it should be interesting."
"A griffon? Seriously? Aren't they a little... psychotic?"
"Not all of them are like that, most of them are perfectly normal. It's only the crazy ones that you wind up hearing about."
"I don't know about that. I've heard stories about them. I've never actually met one but then if it wasn't for Spike I wouldn't know any dragons either."
"Trust me Sterling, Glenda is perfectly normal in every way. So if you want to come along, we'll head over to Sugarcube Corner and you can meet the rest of them!" the perky young unicorn said before bringing Sterling with her.
The two of them trotted along the streets of Ponyville, Sterling trying his best to calm his already rapidly beating heart. When they got to Sugarcube Corner he was afraid that he'd start to hyperventilate when something literally took his breath away. He stood in the doorway, frozen as he saw the griffon delegate for the first time in his life. She wasn't what he had expected. Whereas most griffons were bulky and powerful, she was more lithe and slender. When she moved, he was able to make out her muscles as they flowed gloriously under her skin. It made her look a lot more feminine and attractive than he would ever have imagined. He heard a voice calling him from far away before Precious Gem stepped in front of him, cutting off his view and bringing him back to reality.
"Are you okay? You look a little freaked out, " she glanced over to where the griffon was currently talking to some other ponies and completely misunderstood Sterling's reaction. "You don't need to be worried, she's not going to eat you or anything. Come on, I'll go introduce you to her."
Half-pulling, half-dragging Sterling, Precious Gem made her way over to the griffon and called out to her, "Glenda?" The griffon turned to look at Precious Gem and her cargo and noticed that the colt was actively trying not to look in her direction. "This is our newest member in Ponyville, his name is Sterling and he's also half-human."
"Pleased ta meetcha!" Glenda said with a bit of a smile. She held out her front claw for a hoofbump and he returned it a little timidly. "So, yer the son of the famous Twilight Sparkle and the human?"
Sterling nodded his head weakly in response but offered little in response to her.
"Yer the shy type I guess. That's cool, nothin' to be ashamed of. Well, it was nice meetin' ya. I'll probably see you around. Take care Silver, " she said before walking away. Sterling, watched helplessly as she walked over to the refreshment table to get a glass of punch before Precious Gem called the meeting to order. As the representative of Ponyville, it was her meeting to run and she did with all the professionalism at her disposal. She ran through the minutes of the last meeting they had in Manehattan, introduced Sterling to the group as the half-human unicorn which got some impressive murmurs from the crowd and introduced Glenda to the group as well.
One by one, the different delegates talked about what they had accomplished this month and how it was they were trying to advance the values of S.A.F.E. to their respective territories. When this was done they broke off to do whatever networking and paperwork they needed to get done. Sterling was effectively left to fend for himself but his eyes kept being drawn to the griffon as she went about doing her things. It was about that time that a pegasus representative from Cloudsdale sidled up to Glenda and they started chatting. Sterling saw him make a couple comments that got Glenda laughing and the two of them seemed to really hit it off.
Depressed and more than a little embarrassed by it all, Sterling left the meeting feeling like he lost the one chance he would have had with the first non-pony he ever had a crush on. It didn't take long for him to get home, dinner was already ready but he wasn't hungry and just went up to his room. Flopping on the bed, he stared listlessly at the ceiling.
"Sterling dear?" Twilight asked as she knocked on the door, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine Mom, just not very hungry at the moment."
"I'll put your plate aside in the fridge and you can heat it up later if you want."
"Thanks Mom, " he called towards the door and heard his mother leave.
It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.
The next morning he felt better, or at least he felt hungry which pleased his parents to no end. When a teenage boy doesn't eat, there's usually a problem which explains why Twilight was so concerned last night. Sterling instead looked forward to the next meeting of S.A.F.E where hopefully there'd be his special somepony waiting for him. But while he went to every meeting in the hopes that Glenda would show up, she never did and even though several unicorn and pegasus fillies tried to attract his attention he paid them no mind.
Two months later he had finally given up and decided to maybe try with one of the unicorn fillies. He arrived early to the meeting as he did every week to get a good seat when Gem called him over.
"Hey Sterling, glad you're here. Could you help me with something in the back? " she said while ushering him into the back of the hall. She led him to a storeroom filled with boxes and said, "I need some documents for tonight's meeting but I've got too much to do right now. Can you look through these until you find an article from a couple years back talking about Twilight and your Dad?"
"Sure, I guess, " he said looking at all the boxes. "Any idea where it might be?"
"No, sorry. All I was told was if it was here it would be in a box dated sometime in Celestial year 1015. Don't worry if you can't find it but I'd appreciate it if you looked."
"Okay, I'll give it a try. Just make sure nopony uses my seat."
"Sure thing Sterling, and thanks!"
Sterling poured through the boxes trying to find the document in question. But each one he looked at proved not to have it as part of its contents. He had finally gotten to the last box and had his nose stuffed into it when he heard the door open behind him.
"Almost done checking, although I haven't found what you were looking for, " he called.
"Now that's a shame, cause I seem to have found somethin' interestin', " came a voice he never thought he'd hear again. Throwing the box to the side he saw the griffon he had had his eye on and mind for the longest time standing there like something out of a dream.
"Glenda?" he said weakly.
"The one and only Silver. So I guess youse is what Gem sent me to find in this here storeroom. Gotta admit, that is one sharp filly. I never thought she knew, " she said as she slowly made her way towards the young unicorn. The image that came to Sterling's mind was of a lioness stalking her prey. Glenda walked slowly towards him, head bowed, her body almost seeming to flow effortlessly as she moved.
Without wanting to, Sterling backed up a couple of paces until his rump was against the wall and there was nowhere else to go. Had he been a little clearer headed he could have used his horn to escape but his eyes were locked on the predator that was practically on top of him and he was too mesmerised to do so.
Glenda leaned forward and with a surprisingly tender gesture planted a kiss on his lips. This was unexpected but it meant the ice was broken and he timidly leaned forward to give her one in return. It was just supposed to be a peck but Glenda wanted none of this. Her claws flew around his neck and she not only prevented him from leaving but deepened and intensified the kiss.
From her vantage point down the hall, Gem closed the door to the storeroom with a self-satisfied smile on her face and trotted out front to start the meeting.