//------------------------------// // One Year Later // Story: Stallions on Strike! // by Aegis Shield //------------------------------// Stallions on Strike Part 15: One Year Later ONE YEAR LATER... Golden Oaks library was closed that particular day, and its two residents had big days ahead of them. “Spiiiike! C’mon you’re gonna be late for school!” Twilight stomped up the stairs and was just coming to the bedroom door when Spike burst from it. Rucksack on his back and pencil in his ear, he smiled up at his mistress. “There you are. All set?” “Yep! Miss Cheerilee is supposed to give us a spelling test today, I just had to make sure I had everything right!” he held up a page of scribbles. He’d been writing the same ten words over and over as practice, so he’d get them right for the big test that day. “I know you’ll do really well. You’re a smart dragon.” Twilight said lovingly. Igniting the magic in her horn, she grabbed his sack lunch from the fridge and teleported it from the kitchen to the floor between them. “Okay, remember, don’t just throw the whole thing away and eat the gem, okay? That’s your dessert!” “You say that every day.” Spike rolled his eyes with a smile. They went to the front door as he checked his backpack that he had all his school books. He smoothed his head spikes a little, grinning up at the purple mare. Twilight kissed the top of his head, seeing him off. “Bye Twilight!” he rushed off and down the street towards the school house. Twilight waved, smiling as he went. He was so smart, she was so proud of him. Sure, it had been some adjustment to have him gone most of the day, five days a week, but he was happy. And that made Twilight happy, in the end. When the purple dragon had passed the corner and was out of sight, she checked the clock over her shoulder. “Oh jeez, I’m gonna be late too!” Twilight eeped. Going and grabbing her saddlebags, she slung them onto herself. Rushing down the street, she made for the Ponyville courthouse. Galloping frantically, she made it to the steps just as the clock tower struck nine-thirty. “Whew! Made it!” The other members of Twilight’s herd were waiting in the lobby. Fluttershy was a little hunched, looking back and forth nervously. Applejack was tapping a hoof impatiently. Rainbow Dash was gliding in slow, tense circles near the ceiling. Only Rarity seemed poised and ready for the new day (as any lady should be!). When they saw her come in, they smiled and lined up. “Heya Twi!” Applejack said enthusiastically. “We’re all set. You all set?” she asked eagerly. Twilight checked all of her friends faces. The herd waited for the alpha mare’s lead. The purple pony nodded, smiling wide. “Let’s do it.” Turning, the group of five mares came into the courtroom. A judge sat behind the raised seat, smiling at them. “Judge Ban Hammer, good morning!” Twilight said brightly. “Good morning, my little ponies!” the middle-aged mare said, smiling. “Today’s the big day, huhm? Have you got all your paperwork and such ready?” she leaned when Rainbow Dash hovered up to her, presenting the thick stack of registration papers. “Mkay… mkay…” she flipped through each page slowly, checking all the dates and signatures. “This appears to be in order, yes. You’re sure this is how you want to do this? I’m sure the Elements of Harmony could throw a heck of a wedding if they tried!” she said with a smile. “I ain’t wearin’ no wedding dress.” Rainbow Dash snorted. Fluttershy blushed, mumbling. Applejack shrugged, she didn’t care much for frou-frou weddings either. Rarity seemed sad, but this wasn’t just about her, it was for her herd. “We’re sure.” Twilight said with a giggle. “Is Sombra…?” she said softly, looking around. “He’s in my chambers, yes, one moment.” Judge Ban Hammer turned, getting off her high seat. She opened the door to fetch the stallion. Sombra came out into the courtroom, looking rather bashful. The five mares smiled, each in her own way, as he joined them. He’d brushed himself to a sheen, had had his mane trimmed, and shined all of his regalia bits. Even his crown shone nicely under the courtroom skylight. “Er, here I am.” He said in his deep, syrupy voice. They nodded, making a space so they could all stand before the judge properly. “Well then, here we are.” Judge Ban Hammer leaned and checked the paperwork one more time. “Sombra’s signatures are… yes, all accounted for. You all want to be in a registered herd together, with Twilight Sparkle as the alpha mare and Sombra as the herd’s stallion?” she made it perfectly clear so there would be no mess-ups. There was nodding, broad smiles from all of them. “Very well then!” the judge stood, “I love getting to do this, pardon me.” She giggled a bit, looking much younger in the face for a moment. She smoothed her judge’s robes so she would look nice standing up. “Ahem! By the power invested in me by the diarchy of Equestria and all of my office’s legal powers, I now pronounce you stallion—!” she gestured to Sombra. “And herd.” She made a sweeping motion at all the rest. “You may kiss your stallion.” The Judge said, smiling grandly. Sombra was suddenly smooshed between five happy mares, and they all crashed to the floor with a cry when each of the five tried to get the first kiss. “Hah!” the judge laughed. “That never gets old!” She shook her head at the moaning pile of hooves and confused bodies. =-----=-----=-----=-----= Meanwhile at Sugarcube Corner, Mr. Cake lay on his side, sore and happy in an achy way. The bedroom was hot, and smelled guiltily of sex. He shuffled a little, but didn’t have the strength to move much. Mrs. Cake was on one side of him, and Pinkie Pie was buried somewhere under the covers. None of them had moved in the past few minutes, and all that could be heard was the audible panting of intimate satiation from all of them. They’d pressed together for warmth. Yeah, it was the middle of the day, but sometimes the Cake herd just had to take a day off for bonding. They were a team, a model family, a— Pinkie popped out from under the covers, wiping her mouth with the back of her foreleg. She giggled animatedly, nuzzling up into Carrot’s waiting embrace. Draping an arm around her, he gave a tired sigh while she cuddled up next to him. “Carrot, honey?” Mrs. Cake whispered, looking at him lovingly. “Huhm?” Mr. Cake mumbled, slitting an exhausted eye open to look at his wife. “Pinkie and I have been talking and… well… we were wondering about the bed.” She said, gesturing a little. “What about it?” Carrot murmured, smiling sleepily. Pinkie smiled a little bashfully, tucking her ears back in a coy way. “That maybe if we got a bigger one, we could share every night instead of me being upstairs alone?” she looked at him sideways, expecting rejection. It was very unusual for a mare other than the alpha mare of the herd to share a bed with the herd stallion on a regular basis. “Oh is that all?” Carrot purred, limp and warm all over. He turned to one side to hug Pinkie to himself. Mrs. Cake spooned behind him, stroking his belly. “Sure, we can put in for a bigger one,” he said softly. He didn’t see their herd getting a third mare anytime soon, so it wasn’t a bad idea really. “If you promise to not have any sugar past a certain hour.” He added quickly, making both mares giggle a little. The three of them embraced, determined to rest, relax, and not rise until they wanted. Even Sugarcube Corner had its off days. =-----=-----=-----=-----= Outside, a visibly-pregnant Derpy Hooves leaned, delivering another hoof-full of letters into a mailbox. One of her husbands, hitched to a cart, passed her a set of three royal packages. “Here y’go, honey!” he said happily. The home that went with the mailbox had three ponies inside, so they got three royal packages. Princess Celestia had had hundreds of thousands of them sent out. “Don’t strain too much, remember the foal!” her husband piped when she straightened with a huff of effort. “I’ll be okay, the foal’s not coming for another couple of months.” She smiled kindly. “But thanks for your help, I don’t think I could deliver mail and those packages at the same time.” Opening her wings to stretch them, she started towards the next house on the street. Checking her mailbag, she pawed through letters thoughtfully to make sure she got the right ones. Closing one of her wall-eyes so she could get a good depth-perception into her bag, she finally fished out the ones she needed and got them into the mailbox. “There we go!” she got another couple of royal packages for that house from her eager hubby, and closed it again. “Hey, there goes Derpy.” A mare across the street whispered. “Is it true? She’s got five stallions all to herself?” she gossiped behind a hoof. “Isn’t that, y’know, greedy?” she said with a disapproving frown. “Eh, we gotta get with the times, I think.” The other mare shrugged. “With all this newfangled social change and herd restructuring goin’ on, it’s not surprising to see at least one reverse herd, y’know?” she gestured at the stallion pulling the cart behind the pregnant-bellied Pegasus. “Besides, she and her daughter were alone for so long I imagine she’s makin’ up for lost time—” “If you know what I meannnn.” The first mare giggled scandalously behind her hoof, gesturing to Derpy’s foal-swollen belly. The gossiping mares giggled loudly at each other. “I can’t say I’d mind havin’ five stallions to myself, though…” she mumbled. “Oh I know, right?” whispered the second mare jealously. They both snickered as the happy mail Pegasus turned the corner. =-----=-----=-----=-----= Princess Celestia suffered greatly in the public eye because of her poorly-timed ‘mare establishment’ joke. Being broadcast to all of Canterlot during a historical moment in history, during a charged social time had not ended well for her. As an apology to the masses, she created something great indeed to soothe the populous to her pure intentions. That something great was arriving in mailboxes all over Equestria that day. It was the early morning, just after the sun had risen about the mountain of Canterlot and began to light the land. Dew was still on the grass, and the crisp morning air was refreshing to anypony out to enjoy it. Big Macintosh leaned his muzzle into the Sweet Apple Acres mailbox, getting the contents in his teeth. He sat in a soft patch of damp grass to inspect the stack of letters. Bill. Bill. Junk. Bill. Letter from Appleoosia… and a small set of envelope-packages? The royal seal on them was telling, and the return address was Canterlot. There was one for each member of his household, including himself. He picked up the one with his name on it, shaking it a little. No sound. Blinking with interest he held the tiny cardboard envelope between his front hooves and tore the side open with his teeth. A bit of sealed plastic with something metal inside fell out, along with a letter: Dear Recipient, citizen of Equestria, I hope this letter finds you well. I apologize once more for my rudeness one year ago today. The Stallions on Strike deserved more respect, and my moment of amusement was a tarnish on their victory for social change. Hopefully this will help to make up for it, and remind everypony what the S.o.S. fought so hard for. It is their victory as much as yours, that our society continues to live in peace, harmony, and with equal rights and privileges for everypony. Enjoy! Signed, Princess Celestia Big Mac picked up the sealed plastic and tore it open, emptying the contents onto his hoof. It was a red coin, as red as his fur. It was slightly larger than a bit, and just a little bit thicker. On one side was the skyline of Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Five bits, it said. A coin worth five bits? The stallion cocked his head. As far back as anypony could remember, bits had been the only currency in Equestria. Princess Celestia had made a new coin? He smiled with interest, flipping it over. On the other side was… his face?! The stallion gave a start, his sprig of straw falling from his mouth. A profile of the stoic-faced farmer was centered nicely in between a set of laurels, smiling gently. Around the rim the coin read ‘justice and equality for everypony— stallions and mares alike’. “Aw jeez…” he mumbled, looking over at the other packages. Everypony in his household was gonna get a coin like this… his eyes slowly widened. He checked the letter. 'Dear recipient, citizen of Equestria', it said. It wasn’t personally addressed. But, that more than likely meant—! His pupils shrank and he blushed, turning his head slowly towards Ponyville.If this didn't cause a ruckus, he didn't know what would. THE END