Night led the way out of the castle, trotting along at a decent pace. "I don't envy the flightless races."
Silver lifted an ear towards her. "I managed many years without it. It's not that bad."
"My condolences." She smiled back at him. "Come on, let's see how durable we really are." She broke into a gallop, and they raced around the castle. Nefertari's obstacle course came into view some two hundred feet away and they continued their run towards it.
Rough Tumble was in the middle of the mess, dodging back and forth as a heavy and weighted ball swung at him. He spotted them coming and raised a hoof to wave, only to catch the ball in the midsection and get knocked a foot into the air before coming crashing to the ground in a pile.
Nefertari appeared beside him with a soft 'tssk'. "What's distracted you so easily? In a true battle, you would be cut apart, instead of bruised." She looked up at the galloping ponies approaching them. "Ah. Friends of yours." She tweaked one of his ears. "Go. You are not an Anubian. Ponies need to play as well, silly creatures."
Rough climbed to his hooves and caught his breath in several ragged pants. "Not my friends, exactly?" He trotted towards them with a cautious trot. "Hello there, who are you two?" They looked like sister and brother, almost identical, though one wore fancy things. A necklace of metal, and one that shone purple. Iron horseshoes as well? Why was that familiar?
"Hello Rough Tumble," said the stallion with a smile.
"Good day," joined the mare. "We're here to take you out on a date."
Rough recoiled with confusion. Was this a joke? He took a half-step back. "I don't think we've met before? And, uh, I..."
The stallion closed the distance and pressed his nose gently to Rough's, nuzzling with warm tenderness. "We've met before. She's here to keep us from doing anything silly, and because she loves me very much."
Rough felt warmth growing. The stallion was showing his affection openly and with not even a hint of reserve. Who was he, and why did he feel so good? It suddenly clicked and he reached for the mysterious stallion's purple bauble. "Prince Silver Stars?"
Silver smiled. "Got it in one."
The mare looked amused. "We are serious. It's date time."
Nefertari suddenly appeared beside Silver and grabbed his cheeks, turning him to look at her as she frowned at him. "You've become a pony, and a simple one at that. Can you even access your war spirit like this?"
Silver tossed his head back and forth and scrambled away from her. "I'm not here to test that. I'm spending the rest of today with Rough Tumble, thank you."
Nefer rolled her eyes. "Fine. Enjoy your 'passion of blood brothers', if it amuses you."
Rough looked interested. "Wait, do Anubians have... colt cuddlers?"
Nefertari smiled at Rough. "Why would we not? After a hard-pressed battle, to emerge victorious. Sometimes there is no greater looser of the passions, and if you do not find an available bitch, your fellow jackal may do. It works the other way around, and some even prefer it. We care little, provided the battle was well-fought." She crossed her arms under her chest. "I've enjoyed the company of a few other shamans. Always worth the time. We see things in a... unique way."
Rough colored as he imagined the proud Anubian warriors engaging in wild acts regardless of the sexes of those involved. "S-so, a date?"
Silver nuzzled him, snout to snout. "We can go wherever you like. I'm Wispy Night, and this is Wispy Sunset. We're siblings, for today."
Night moved in on the other side of Rough and trapped him against Silver. "And today, we are both your date, lucky stallion. So where are you taking us?"
Rough tensed, but began to relax between the two as they showed him ongoing affections without seeming catches or surprises. "What... if we just hung out?"
Silver perked an ear. "We could, but we could have done that without 'dressing up' for it. Don't you want to go anywhere specific?"
He looked between the two blue earth ponies. "You have a point. Wait, you're Silver, who are you?" He pointed at the mare.
She giggled a little. "No guesses? Come on..."
Rough frowned a little. "He wouldn't just pick a random mare. If you were Fast Change, you would have already done something more than nuzzling, and I don't think Twilight would have even nuzzled... Night Watch?"
Night smiled. "See, I knew you would guess it. I'm here to keep you two out of trouble, but not to get in the way of kissy time, if you decide to do that."
Rough colored softly and looked to Silver. "Is this really OK?"
Nefertari made a grunt of annoyance. "Stop asking if it's alright a thousand times. They invited you, whelp. Go and enjoy yourself."
Rough nodded towards his teacher, then led the two blue horses away at a canter. "First stop..."
He never actually said, leading them away to his truck where it was parked near the castle. He hopped aboard and threw open the other door. Silver hopped up beside him and Night jumped up onto the back. "Everyone ready?" He coaxed the truck into motion and rolled down into Ponyville. He stopped at the Rose Trio's stand and leaned out of his window. "I need two polite date carnations."
The three mares tittered at Rough Tumble. "What are their favorite colors?" asked Rose Luck.
Lily flashed a smile. "Or you could get one that they like the taste of. Who's the lucky mare?"
Night sat up on the bed of the truck, coming into their view. All three jumped in surprise, but didn't collapse at least. "Just make it two blue flowers with a sweet aftertaste."
Rose gestured to Daisy, who had two flowers cut and put in a little bag before being passed up to Rough Tumble. As Daisy passed it up through the other side of the truck, she spotted Silver in there and blinked in confusion. "I... huh?" She dropped the bag limply and Silver caught it, setting it beside Tumble.
"Thank you, ladies." He threw out a few bits, and zoomed away.
Daisy staggered towards the other two. "His other date's... a stallion!"
Rose gasped with alarm. "Wait... are they siblings?"
Lily's eyes went wide. "Can you do that? Can you date twins like that?!"
Unseeing of the fainted mares they left behind, Rough Tumble nudged the bag towards Silver. He pulled out the two cut flowers and passed one carefully back to Night.
Night munched into hers softly. "Mmm, it's lovely, thank you, Rough Tumble. You are already on the right track."
Silver became curious and chewed softly on his own. It tasted sweet and a little nutty. Good...
Rough stopped in front of a large lake and brought the truck to a stop before hopping down. Silver moved to hop and found Rough already under him, catching him and swinging him around. He squeaked with surprise as he was flailed before being brought in for a fierce, but brief, kiss. "Thank you."
Silver wobbled a bit and giggled. "You're welcome..."
Suddenly Silver collapsed to the ground under the weight of his 'sister' landing on his back and they came down in a tangle.
Rough gently pulled the two apart and got them up to their hooves. "Welcome to my favorite thinking spot of late. It's really quiet here. Sometimes there are others, but usually it's quiet." He quirked a little smile. "Rainbow Dash likes to hang here, sometimes with Pinkie Pie, but usually only on hot summer days, so we should be safe."
They settled side by side on the shore, capturing Rough between themselves. Rough let out a little sigh. "I... I feel safe." He closed his eyes and rest his head on Silver's side as his legs wrapped around Night and held her close. "I feel loved. You aren't... This isn't a nice way to break some horrible news to me, is it?"
Silver nipped at his ears gently. "No. If I had something to say, I'd say it, and we'd work through it, instead of dancing around it."
Night nuzzled into his chest softly. "You make me curious. I know you prefer stallions, but is that because you think mares are mean-spirited?"
Rough bit his lower lip a moment. "That's... hard to say. I feel good right now, with both of you. I know you two wouldn't hurt me, and that you like me."
Silver nuzzled at one of his ears. "When you had that mare, back when we first met, was there any love?"
He sagged. "No... We used each other, until she got bored with me." Reaching for Silver's cheeks, Rough went in for a kiss. He pushed his tongue forward and invaded Silver's mouth, at first unopposed, but Silver recovered and softly returned the exchange, and ran his tongue over the intruding one in his mouth.
Rough drew back with a sigh. "I never wanted anything that big. Just someone that... you know, loved me."
Night sat up and ran a hoof slowly along his side, petting Rough gently. "It sounds to me that you really are just learning what love is. You might just be in love with the idea of love, and maybe, in that construct, only stallions can give that love without some kind of catch involved."
Rough slowly pushed up, the three of them now seated beside one another. He glanced at Silver, full of uncertainty. "Y-your wife... What is she saying?"
Silver perked an ear. "I think she wants a chance to show some love too." He pressed nose-to-nose with Rough. "She is a very loving soul. She cared for me when I was at my best and at my worst. She ran away with me, away from everything she knew. She knows what it means to be loyal."
Silver suddenly smiled. "Perhaps we can reverse what Fast did?"
Rough Tumble looked confused a moment before his eyes went wide. "Seriously?"
Night raised a brow lightly. "What did Fast do?"
Silver began nuzzling Rough towards his hooves and followed him. "Fast coaxed me up onto her, and while I enjoyed her, Rough came and showed me what it's like to be the bottom for another stallion. This time, I can ride him, and while he enjoys being ridden as a stallion, he can try to enjoy the love of a mare."
Rough raised a hoof. "Maybe, but not tonight. Tonight, I just want to be with you two." He gently nuzzled Silver, then Night. "Thank you, both of you, but no excitement right now. Maybe you're right, maybe 'the right' mare would be all I need, but I didn't come here for sex anyway. I just want to hang out with my friends."
Night smiled. "That sounds like a lovely idea. I apologize if we sounded like we planned to force you into this." She suddenly turned to the water, hunkered down, and jumped into the water with a splash. She emerged a few moments later with a big fish flopping about in her mouth. Rough and Silver moved quickly to help her wrestle the thing onto the shore.
"What prompted that?" asked Silver with a raised brow.
Night set a hoof on it. "Dinner's served. I'll get a fire started."
Rough Tumble smiled, watching Night get to work. He whispered to Silver, "You have a very talented wife."
They talked, enjoyed the fire, and the fish. A lot of nothing happened, and none of them left disappointed.