The Start of Something New

by Rhino

Chapter 19: The Favor

After having collected his wife from the market, where she said she would be around if he needed her, the two start making their ways over to their friends house, both curious about what will await them there. Tails entwined, they turn off from the main street onto a less populated one as they approach their destination.

"You know," the nymph speaks up, playfully bumping his side, "this would be our first time at their house." She faces forward, eyes shining with excitement. "I wonder if they have a music room. Or maybe even a ballroom!" She giggles and pulls closer to him. "Would you share a dance with me if they do?"

He smiles and kisses her cheek. "Only since it's you asking. You know how self-conscious I am about my dancing."

"Thank you, love." She taps her chin, a small smirk on her lips. "Maybe we can use some of the music you like to play in your head."

He nudges her lightly. "Well, I do always make sure it has a beat.... I wonder what music you would bring though..."

"I don't know." She frowns slightly, her gaze turning upwards as she gets lost in thought. "I'm not that good when it comes to making music..."

"Well, if nothing else," he leans over and whispers into her ear, "I hear we make beautiful music together." He punctuates his statement with a wink.

Gel doesn't respond at first, but the growing blush on her cheeks shows just how she feels. She shyly smiles at him, leaning up and tenderly kissing him. "You are such a sweet talker... and I love that." She notices a flash of color out of the corner of her eye and looks forward, craning her neck in an attempt to see through the trees. "Is that their house?"

Rhino regards the bits of the house on the hill he can see through the foliage. "It should be... I know they live in this neighborhood, but they said their house was a little bit away from the others."

"I just know they live on a hill..." She wraps a wing around his foreleg and uses both wing and tail to pull him along. "Let's go check it out, love. If we're wrong, I'll just take to the skies to look for it."

He follows her, but can't resist getting in one last quip. "Not if I keep you down here with me~."

"You know I'm strong enough to lift you." She sticks her tongue out at him as they cross the treeline.

He sticks his right back out at her. "And you know I could hold you down with my magic if I wanted to."

"Probably true." She turns to look at the building in front of them, regarding it for a few moments.

"Thinking of ways to improve how our house looks, or just admiring what they've done with the place?" Rhino asks.

"...is it me, or is theirs bigger than ours?" She frowns at him, unsure what to think.

"I'm pretty sure it's just you." He chuckles. "We custom made one of the biggest houses in town whereas they just got a nice one from the housing market."

"Oh." She blushes softly, scuffing the dirt road beneath them with a hoof. "It's big enough to fool me..."

"I'm not saying it's not a good sized house," he comments as they start walking again, "but it might also be the fact that it's on it's own on this hill, making it seem bigger."

She nods slowly, examining each facet of the house as they approach. "I guess that's true... still, it's definitely beautiful." She points to the eaves of the roof. "Especially with those. They give a French Renaissance-era air about it."

"Umm... I guess so. It does look nice either way." He looks over the front door as they arrive at it. "Seems like they just went with the... more architecturally elaborate homestead than we did."

"Well, it's definitely nice." Gel sighs, knocking on the intricately carved door. "I prefer practically, personally, but mom always loved design..."

He nods. "She does strike me as more of the 'artist' type."

"I wouldn't expect otherwise." She stops as the door opens, revealing the indigo nymph.

She smiles and politely nods, stepping to the side to let them in.

They enter, Rhino nodding to the other changeling. "Good to see you again, Luster."

She bows to him as a familiar pressure forms in his mind.

He pushes back, the link between their minds forming. Been a while since we did this. Still feels familiar.

I know. We should visit you more often, but that's beside the point. She gestures to the doorway on their right. Fiddlesticks is waiting in the living room. I’ll go put your cold groceris into the fridge while you’re here. She takes his bags and walks into the kitchen with them, coming back out a moment later.

All three enter the living room to find the yellow mare in question fiddling with a lock of her blue mane, twirling it around her hoof as she sits on the couch. She looks up at them, a small smile coming to her face. "Hello you two, thank you for coming on such short notice."

"It's no problem at all." Gel giggles, sitting down on the couch facing the mare's. "Love the design of your house, by the way."

"Thank you." Fiddlesticks smiles. "We were lucky to be able to grab one of the non-thatch roof houses, then it turns out they went all out on the decor."

"I see." She smiles back, then turns to the other changeling as she sits down, curious. "I still don't know why you asked us over."

Oh. The indigo nymph turns to her wife, her chitin turning a shade brighter. Well, it's simple enough of an answer. We wanted to ask you two for a favor.

Rhino smiles. "Well that's easy enough. We're your friends, so we'll do everything we can to help."

The mare rubs her head sheepishly. "It might be better to wait until you hear the request before you say that..."

You see... She frowns softly, tenderly nuzzling her love. ...we found out a few weeks ago that... that... She bites her lip, tightly closing her eyes.

Gel, sensing the hesitance in the former general's tone, looks to the earth pony, concerned. "...that what? What's the matter? "

Fiddlestick's eyes betray hurt a moment before she straightens up. "Well... maybe it would be best if we explain a little first." She looks to her wife, bringing her closer as she turns back to the other couple. "as you may or may not be aware, Luster and I want to have a foal."

The navy nymph's eyes widen in surprise. "Oh, wow. I-I had an idea, but... w-well, I guess... something went wrong?" She scoots up to the edge of her cushion, her gaze flitting from her friend to the mare and back.

Luster nods, looking up at the stallion. F-Fiddle's... unable to bear foals...

Rhino's ears fold back. "Oh dear... I am so sorry... Did they tell you when you were looking into artificial insemination?"

The mare nods quietly. "Yes... something wrong with my uterus..."

He winces. "What about Luster then? Can she go through the procedure?"

Not exactly... She grimaces, her eyes darting away briefly as her thoughts waver. ...you see, they use needles to inject the donor's gametes into the womb. She taps her chest with a hoof. You've found out first-hoof how hard my chitin is. Remember?

Gel looks to him in confusion. "You did? When?"

"When we first met and... fought." He looks back to Luster. "Couldn't you just change to that pony form you use for concerts when doing the procedure?"

"That wouldn't be possible, love." Gel frowns, shaking her head. "It wouldn't take if she changed back. During the transformation-"

Everything inside our bodies is instantly assimilated into our body. She sighs silently, gesturing to the other nymph. Didn't you wonder why Gel didn't transform at all while carrying Ruby?

The stallion turns to the blue nymph. "That makes sense... honestly I thought you were just not changing because you didn't need to anymore."

She sniffs, leaning up against him. "I wanted to every time those... certain ponies appeared... I didn't want you to be harassed because of me..." She shakes her head, looking at the yellow mare. "...why are you coming to us, though?"

She taps her hooves together. "Well... since Luster will have to be the one to bear the foal, and due to the limitations because her body, there aren't really that many ways for it to happen. We decided on one, and that's why we came to you... to ask if you'd help us with it."

Gel blinks, staring blankly at the mare. "...what do you mean by that?"

If it's alright with the two of you... Luster looks at the stallion, sheepishly smiling. ...we'd like Rhino to 'cover' me.

His eyes widen. "Wait... you want me to... father your foal?"

Fiddlesticks nods, blushing but giving a hopeful smile. "Well... yes. You're our friends, we trust you. We both decided that if anypony was going to be the one to do this, it would be a stallion who we both agreed on." She smiles a little wider. "Plus... we both said we would have no problem with the foal having any of your traits. Both mentally and physically."

Gel's foreleg wraps around one of Rhino's own, and she bites her lower lip nervously. "...you really want him to do that? B-but... what about the love? You can't conceive without it... not without consequences."

I realize that. The indigo nymph closes her eyes, bowing her head reverently. I... haven't thought of a solution, yet...

Rhino looks between the two of them. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." His wife sheepishly smiles, rubbing the back of her neck. "...do you remember that morning when I... forgot to take my heat suppressant?"

He nods. "Yeah... you said something about it not mattering without love, but I thought you just meant the act."

"I did... but if a changeling conceives without love..." Her voice trails off, nervous.

Then the pupa - or, in this case, foal - would lack the love to jump-start their empathy. She looks to Rhino, frowning solemnly. They would be almost incapable of feeling emotions, and it can be severe enough for them to starve. She shakes her head, turning to her wife and nuzzling her tenderly. I couldn't stand for that to happen... Fiddlesticks would be heartbroken...

Gel glances from the stallion to the nymph and back, confused. "...love? Why did she suddenly stop like that?"

Rhino realizes that Luster had only directed the parts after the word 'empathy' to him and him alone. He nods knowingly at the purple nymph. "I see... and I'm flattered that you would choose me, really I am. It's just..." He hangs his head. "I'm... really having trouble wrapping my head around doing... those things with anyone but Gel."

We understand... She nods, smiling softly. ...take your time to consider it. We have a few days before my... well, you know.

Gel returns the smile, albeit nervously. "T-thank you." She glances at her love, then the mare beside Luster, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "W-we'll let you know on... is Wednesday a good day for you?"

Rhino holds up a hoof before anypony can say anything else. He takes a deep breath before looking at Gel seriously. Answer me simply please. Are you okay with me doing this? To... 'cover' her?

I... I don't know... She bites her lip, glancing at the couple sitting across from them. Her eyes fall on their hooves, seeing how they're holding on to the other anxiously. After a second she gives a small, almost imperceptible nod, turning to her husband. ...they're our friends. I did say we would help them in any way... and they're clearly devastated about Fiddlestick's infertility... so I think you should...

He sighs, turning back to the other females. "I'll do it... but if we could, I'd like to discuss some details of the arrangement so I can... get my head around it easier. I'll still need to convince myself of the actual deed in the coming days, but I'll work through that, since it means so much to you two."

That's fine with me. Luster leans forward, the tension leaving her form. What did you want to discuss, specifically?

"Well, let's start with this: would the foal know? Would she know that I was her sire and that she has a sibling?" His face is neutral as he asks this.

She blinks, tilting her head to one side. Honestly, I think that'd be up to you. She gestures to him, smiling warmly. If you want our foal to know, then you should tell him or her. I'm not going to force you to tell, nor force you to be silent.

He nods. "Ok... if that's what you want." He thinks a moment before coming up with another question. "When the time for this comes... do you think it'll need to happen all three days or just one?"

I... I honestly don't know. Her smile melts into a frown, and her gaze falls to her hooves. I guess... one day, two at the most?

He nods again, turning to Gel. "Do you have any questions for them, while I see if I can think of any more?"

The navy nymph nods, turning to the mare. "...do you... think we should be there? Love is needed, so... m-maybe we could be there to help create it?"

Fiddlesticks blushes. "I... don't know. I admit, I'm not sure exactly how it would work." She looks at Rhino, who paled a bit at the mention of this suggestion. "It looks like he wasn't expecting an audience, but maybe it would help... what do you two think?" She looks between the two changelings.

"Well, maybe not an audience... more like..." Gel blushes brightly, fidgeting with her tail. "...p-participants?"

Luster blinks, tilting her head to one side. So... you're talking about a foursome? She covers her lips, shaking slightly. While I'm sure that's a dream come true for most stallions, I don't think your husband will cotton to that idea.

Rhino reflects this assumption as he covers his face with both hooves, the females barely able to see how beet red he is behind them. "Oh Celestia... I did not start this day thinking it would turn to this..."

Gel nudges him, her face full of concern. "Love? Love, please look at me..." She gently pries a hoof away from his face. "It was only a suggestion. I realize how odd it must seem, but... we both remember how you acted the other time... how mechanical you were..."

"I know... I know... it's just a lot to adjust to after, you know, being used to one on one with the one I care about most." He takes a few deep breaths. "...I hope I don't get performance anxiety..."

"I understand." She tenderly hugs him, nuzzling his cheek. "We still have time to decide, though...that's good, right?"

He shakes his head. "There's no decision... I'm going to do this like I said. I just... need to resign myself to that fact and focus on making this effective."

"For what it's worth, Rhino..." the yellow mare begins, "We're both eternally grateful to you for helping us with this. Especially with how hard it is for you."

And we want you to know, the indigo nymph bows respectfully, we hope to someday return the favor.

Gel smiles, gently kissing him before whispering into his ear. "You're incredibly brave for doing this. Thank you for doing this for our friends." She pulls back, giving him a serious frown. "This will be the only time you're allowed to bed someone else, though. I hope you realize that."

He nods, smiling softly. "I hope you know this is the only time I'm going to, and only because it helps our friends."

Fiddlesticks stands. "Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do then." She walks over and hugs the stallion, emotion clear in her voice. "Thank you... so very very much." She lets go quickly, looking to Gel and nodding. "You've got a good stallion here."

"I'm glad to hear that." She giggles, wagging a hoof at her. "I already knew, though!"

Luster smiles, walking up and hugging Rhino as well. Thank you. She pulls away, blushing slightly as she turns to the doorway. I'm going to get started on dinner, sugar. Anything specific you wanted?

“Whatever you feel like, dear." The yellow mare responds. She turns back to the couple. "Did you want to stay for dinner?"

Rhino shakes his head. "Sorry, we've got to get back to the house and Ruby. I want to see how she fared during her first time away from us."

"Thank you for the offer, though." Gel gets up off the couch, smiling warmly at the earth pony.

"It's the least we can do considering what we asked you to do for us." She walks them to the door, Rhino’s bags floating out of the kitchen, covered in Luster’s magic. "Be sure to talk to us if you have more questions or something. It should be Wednesday or Thursday when the time comes."

"I'll keep that in mind." She bows and then exits, waving over her shoulder. "Have a nice day, okay?"

"You too!" The mare waves them off for a bit before shutting the door.

Gel looks to her stallion as they walk, nervously laughing. "W-well... that was unexpected, wasn't it?"

He nods shakily. "Yeah... just a bit..."

***

After an uneventful walk through town, the couple soon find themselves in the clearing where their house rests. The sun is at its peak in the sky, bearing down on them with its rays on this rather warm fall day.

Gel pulls a small paper fan out of her bag, huffing softly as she starts using it on herself. "I thought the weather was supposed to get cooler."

Rhino responds, a small bits of sweat threatening to appear on his brow now that there is no more shade. "Well, it is the season between the two extremes, I guess we can expect pretty much anything... I'll be glad when it gets cooler though." He looks over at Gel. "Do you think I should grow my beard this winter? Just something random that occurred to me."

She blinks, turning to stare at his chin for a moment. "...I think it'll be fine. Besides," she smiles, leaning up to kiss him, "I want to see what it'd look like. Maybe make you look more masculine?" She sticks her tongue out at him as they travel down the dirt path, holding him back with a hoof to make the trip last a little longer.

"Heh, I guess." He nudges her lightly. "Though if my reaction to my dad's mustache when i was little is any indication, Ruby is going to pull all sorts of faces when she feels it."

"Really?" She giggles, bumping his side. "I guess it'll be a cute thing to see. Maybe I can even get a picture of it..." She trails off, her gaze growing distant.

As they get closer to the house, Rhino looks over to Gel. "How do you think she did?"

She quickly pulls herself from her thoughts, turning to him in confusion. "...I'm sorry, what was that?"

He repeats himself. "How do you think Ruby did without us?"

"Honestly?" The nymph sheepishly smiles at him as they stop in front of the door. "I worry that she might have been a bit much for mom and Hydro to handle..."

"I just hope she wasn't too upset..." He digs in his saddlebags as they bulge with groceries, coming up with the key and unlocking the door. He holds it open for her. "After you, love."

She playfully rolls her eyes, stepping forward with a sway in her step. "Always the gentlestallion." She enters and stands in the foyer, looking around carefully and visibly relaxing.

Rhino steps in, closing the door behind him. His ears perk as he checks the living room but finds it empty of life. "Hmm... where are they..."

Gel pokes her head into the kitchen before turning to him, shaking her head. "Not in there, and I doubt they'd take her into the basement, so that leaves..." She glances at the stairs, tilting her head to one side. "...our room?"

He looks up towards the second floor. "I guess so." He heads up the stairs, curious as to the scene he'll find.

His wife follows closely behind him, watching the floor below just in case.

The stallion opens the door to find a quiet sight. His daughter lies sleeping on the bed, her faithful silver fox curled around her. Both of her foalsitters lay prone on the foot of the bed. They are on opposite sides of the checkerboard, the numbers about even for both colors.

Hydro and Dior look up as they enter, the red stallion jokingly commenting first. "Well, took your sweet time didn't you?"

"We ran into a couple friends of ours..." She furrows her brow, pointing at the two of them with a hoof. "...have you two been playing checkers this whole time?"

"No." The silver nymph jumps two of his pieces in succession, removing them before continuing. "We were playing chess earlier."

Hydro rolls his eyes. "She keeps saying I cheated..."

"Hey, I stepped away to get baby powder. When I returned, you beat me in seven moves." She pokes his chest, eyes narrowing at him. "Either you did something, or... I don't know. Something!" She throws her hooves up in the air melodramatically.

Rhino holds back a chuckle as he looks toward Gel. I'm glad you're a better loser than she is. He turns his head towards the filly on the bed as he asks the question that was bothering him. "So... how was she?"

“Great, for the most part." Dior props herself up on one foreleg, gesturing to the pink filly and her furry friend. "Started panicking when you weren't around, but your fox calmed her back down."

"Panicking?" He repeats, his ears folded back as he looks at the foal with concern.

Hydro waves a hoof to get his attention again. "Hey, we said she calmed down. She was depressed at first, then she had her episode, then Merc came into the picture and she calmed down. She didn't really want to do much and she wasn't laughing, but it wasn't too bad." He looks to the filly. "Apparently she tired herself out enough to fall asleep again, but she's been shifting a lot so she's probably only dozing."

"Poor baby..." Gel steps forward and nuzzles the smaller unicorn. "...I didn't mean to make you upset..."

The other nymph sighs, shaking her head. "I guess we shouldn't be watching her, if she gets this disturbed without you." She shrugs, resting her head on her folded forelegs. "Sorry we couldn't do better."

Rhino walks over, heading for his daughter. "She got better by the end, so it's not that bad. We just didn't take into account for her to have someone else very familiar around." He pets the fox. "I think between the three of you, she should get better at dealing with periods of us not being around." He leans down, nuzzling the filly just as Gel did. "Doesn't mean it's going to happen often, but still, you know what I'm getting at."

As he nuzzles Ruby, she shifts, a few noises coming from her before she yawns and opens her eyes. She locks onto him immediately. "Dada!" She latches onto his muzzle tightly, nuzzling him back as she hums, pleased.

The father smiles, motioning for Gel to join him down with the foal. "Did you miss us, Ruby?"

Dior gives him a confused stare, frowning slightly. "I think that the answer is obvious. I mean," she points to his muzzle, "she's clinging onto you rather possessively." She ignores her daughter as she tries to gently pull the filly off her husband's face.

Ruby giggles as her mother dislodges her, only to turn around and latch herself onto Gel's face. She gives her the exact same loving treatment she gave Rhino, nuzzling her intensely and not letting go.

She turns to her husband, mildly amused. So this is how that feels. Definitely better than a starfish that clung to my face a while back. She sits down and brings her forelegs up. She quickly tickles the filly's sides, careful to not use too much force.

The pink foal squeals, releasing her mother and flailing her hooves.

Gel smiles, kissing her forehead and cradling her in her forelegs. She taps her nose, giggling softly. "I missed you too, sweetie."

Ruby wriggles a bit closer to her mother, snuggling down into the crevice created between her forelegs and chest. "Mama..."

Rhino looks on and quietly summarizes the situation quite nicely. "Aww..."

Dior watches the happy family, wistfully sighing as her daughter moved next to her husband, both facing away from them. "Oh, I miss those days... and sharing them with someone special, too..." She turns to the board, staring at it for a moment in silence. "...you know, I was only kidding." Her voice is low, quiet enough for only the red stallion across from her to hear. "You don't seem like the kind of pony who'd cheat, anyways."

Hydro reaches over and nudges her lightly with a hoof. "I know. Why do you think I only smiled and laughed when you said that." He jumps one of her pieces. "And you're right, I don't cheat."

"Good." Her voice is slightly strained as she slides one of her own to the far edge of the board. "I hate cheaters. Queen me."

He places one of the pieces he had jumped earlier on top of the specified one to show its higher status. "I understand." He looks back at the couple, both still occupied with their foal. "Want to continue this downstairs?"

"Gladly." She grabs the board in her magic, pieces and all, and hurries out the room. "I'll wait for you in the basement."

Hydro blinks at her rapid exit. "I didn't meant that downstairs..." He shakes his head and turns to the couple. "I guess you know where to find us if you need us." A green hoof waves to acknowledge his words before the stallion heads after the nymph.

As she said, she is in the basement, laying on a cushion pulled from the nearby couch. She smiles softly at him before turning back to the board. "It's your turn. Though, admittedly, I think you're going to win this game, too."

He looks over the game, thinking. "Maybe... personally I'm thinking you're going to pull something crafty." He moves a Queen to take one of her pieces that hadn't moved.

"That's wishful thinking." She jumps over a piece, ending so he couldn't take it. "Frankly, I've always been terrible at board games."

He scoots a piece forward. "Even so, Rhino has one board game whose motto I think summarizes board games fairly well: a minute to learn, a lifetime to master. I guess you just don't have time for stuff like this in the military."

"No, we did." She slides one of her own to one side of the board. "I just made short-sighted decisions during them..." She pauses, scowling down at the game between them. "...I guess you could say that's... how I am every day..."

"Nothing wrong with being a little impulsive." He performs a quick double jump, leaving her with barely any pieces left. "I know I do that or overreact sometimes."

"Impulsiveness is one thing." She glances at the three black disks she has left. "I just never thought. I fought and defeated the previous general because I hoped it would let me avoid battle. You know," she rolls a hoof as she tries to think of her next move, "due to the administrative work. Boy, was I wrong."

He looks at her, thinking he knows the answer. "More combat than ever?"

"That and paperwork." She sighs, pushing one of her lesser pieces out of its safe spot. "Not to mention carrying Gel, a few years in.Your move."

"Sounds rough..." He takes he vunerable piece. "Well, it's been eleven years without things like that. Are things better for you now?"

"I suppose." She rolls her eyes, a small smirk on her lips. "Of course, one could say I'm luckier, now." She grabs up her queened piece and hops over five of his nine pieces, ending on the edge of the board. "Thank you for moving that, by the way. I needed that space free to go." She stretches with a small groan, turning to her side. "Anyways, I don't think I'm that lucky. If I was, I wouldn't have almost starved to death."

Hydro chuckles after the initial shock of half of his pieces being taken out. "Well, I consider myself a good judge of luck, or making your own luck as some may say." He moves a piece, trapping her queen so that it can't move without being taken. "And I say this: if you weren't lucky, you wouldn't have been given a second chance for all the important things in your life." He gestures to her form then towards upstairs, where her daughter and granddaughter are.

Dior blinks, staring at him for a moment before haltingly nodding. "I suppose." She glances down, frowning as she thinks out loud. "I can't help but feel guilty, though..." She picks up her one regular piece, sliding it closer to his side of the board. "...if I'd just beaten Mimic..."

"Then what?" He scoots a piece closer to hers. "Rhino is usually better at these 'alternate universe' theories, but I'll give it a shot. What do you think would have changed? Yes, you would still be you, but what about the invasion of Canterlot? What of Gel's mission here, meeting Rhino, the events that led to changeling's being accepted into society?"

"Didn't you know?" She pushes it further, one space away from the edge. "Mimic lead the Queen to believe that the invasion would be a good idea. I still have no idea how, though." She looks up at him, brow furrowed in confusion. "Wouldn't she have requested the same mission, regardless of whether or not Mimic was the General?"

The stallion shakes his head, scooting a different piece. "Not from what Rhino told me in a letter. He said the only reason Gel took this mission was as a front to find him, somepony she only met by chance just before then during the invasion."

"What?!" She leaps up, nearly knocking the board over. She grabs the fur of his chest, pulling him close and glaring at him, breathing heavily in an attempt to stay calm. "You mean she broke her word? Something I specifically taught her not to do?"

He frowns, prying her smaller hoof off him as his voice gains a small edge from her sudden aggressiveness. "Sorry, that was a misquote on my part." He still holds her hoof in his own so she can't grab him. "He said the 'main' reason she chose this assignment was to find him. She still did her actual mission though."

She blinks, his words sinking into her mind. "Oh. Sorry for the outburst." She nervously coughs and glances down briefly before turning back to him. "...I thought you didn't like me like that." She brings their hooked forelegs up into his line of sight. "Isn't this a sign of affection?"

His face is completely neutral as his eyes look to their hooves, any blush he may or may not have is all but invisible under his dark red coat. Slowly, he uncurls his hoof from hers and lays back down on his cushion, focusing on the game board. "It's your move."

"Teach me to try teasing you." Dior sticks her tongue out at him and puts it at the end of the board. "Queen me."

He blinks, stunned at how she managed to sneak one past him. He grins before moving his own queen towards hers, limiting its options. "Queen or not, you're running out of pieces, wonder how long you can hold out..."

"I don't know." She shrugs and jumps one of his regular pieces, ending on the same side as her other queen. "Frankly, I'm surprised I lasted this long." She rests her head on a hoof, looking at him in silence for a few seconds. "...Hydro..." She sighs, opening her mouth just as her stomach growls, causing her to blush fiercely. "...n-never mind."

The silver stone nymph quickly stands, a small bead of sweat trailing down the side of her face. "I should probably go find Rhino... hopefully he isn't too busy." She sheepishly smiles and gets off the cushion, starting towards the door.

He tilts his head. "I guess you need your daily dose of love, huh? Good friendship really isn't enough to keep you going..."

“It's nice, yes," Dior giggles, winking at him over her shoulder, "but I prefer something a little more substantial." She pauses with a hoof on the first step, her ears twitching slightly. "...of course, you... you probably wouldn't want that."

He says nothing, simply looking at her with a curious gaze. After a minute he slowly turns back towards the board, but his voice still comes out clearly. "We'll see."

Her head snaps over to him, her silver eyes wide in surprise. After a couple seconds, she simply smiles and nods, starting up the stairs and leaving him down in the basement.

Comments

[Mystic Deadman]

Dear Hydro and Di:
Push Rhino to finish his research faster so that you two can get a room already.

[NecroLeprechaun]

3621482 hmmm. At this rate I give them two weeks and at least one official date before they're ready for that.

[Shinola]

No beard, please!
Also nice pairing :)

[Luna Secret Stallion]

3621482 Ah yes changeling sex is the best sex.

[Brother Roga]

Inb4 new chapter on the Private Moments story with Dior and Hydro.

Oh, and yes, I would want to see it.

[Booster Spice]

Best reason for building a home on a hill in a place with plenty of room and a relaxed attitude to planning, is that at the fence at the bottom of the hill, you can run drainage in near flat, then have all that space under the house to build lots of room.

Its a pity that for thousands of years builders have used light wells, chimneys, walls, because they didnt have reasonable illuminations sources, and these days, theyre blocked up for so called insulatio, when all you need is a couple of translucent internal layers to solve that problem.

I wonder just how much acoustic shielding would be needed for Dior to enjoy Hydro, without Canterlot hearing about it.

[Forrest Hunt]

So, will the child be named Enigma?

[Remissis]

loving this story

[Bakmah Genesis]

So.....we shipping Dior now?

[GunsmithPete338]

Knew this chapter would be awkward. Also, loving the development between Dior and Hydro.

[Brony Khaos]

I miss finding bee-related puns in the comments.
Also, I feel that we are approaching the shipping singularity: Every major character is quickly becoming shipped with another major character. Eventually everyone will be shipped to someone and the world will achieve infinity shippage as the readers then begin holy wars over which ships are the cutest/best ships.
But we all know in the end that Ruby is still cuter than any ship, right?

[anyone675]

3623491 just BEE yourslef.
and the S.S. Ruby is best ship.

[tsaukpaetra]

Yeah, rock changeling and ship engineer...
Keep going!;)

[Jamu]

Question about the side story (with the nsfw stuff), I assume the chapter numbers there correspond to the chapter numbers here, but which happens first, the chapter on this story or the chapter on the side story (as in read chapter 1 here first or chapter 1 there first)

[Atomic Vortex]

I am suffering from Flick x Silk OTP withdrawl...I guess this "half-shipping" of Dior and Hydro'll have to do for now...

[Rhino]

3627194

Generally, the chapters in the side story happen after the chapters in this one, aside from the first chapter. Usually though, if you read this one, you'll see where the associated side story one goes.

[Raybony]

So you mentioned multiple dimensions does that mean we can expect someone from ERBoMLP or another Rhino to appear? No, even better, rule 63 Rhino and Gel! Oh the awkwardness.

[ThornFlametooth]

YEAH!!! TROMBONES FOR THE WIN!!
#marchallyear
#TBones
#trumpetssuck

[DarkPinkie]

French Renaissance-era

How would they know what French is in a world where French doesn't exist?

It would be fine if you used it as a way to describe the building to the reader but it felt incredibly awkward when between two quotation marks.

[dadab22]

3625111 That would just be awkward. "Hey best friend, I am now your father in law!"

[Razzy]

For some reason the idea of Hydro and Ruby ending together makes me giddy.

[Mary-Rowland]

3684495 u got one of Vavacungs OC cards nice to find anther fan of his work he did mine too lol