Differences in Marriage
Fluttershy hummed cheerfully to herself as she poured a measured amount of chicken feed into a shallow pan. “Alright, everybody, time for dinner,” she said gently.
Several chickens quickly crowded around the pan and began pecking furiously.
“Now-now everyone, no fighting,” said Fluttershy. “There's plenty of food for everyone.” She was pleasantly surprised when the chickens actually listened to her and began to eat in a more civilized manner.
Satisfied, Fluttershy checked on a nearby bear that had its snout shoved in a honey pot.
“And how are you doing, Beary?” she asked.
The bear pulled its snout out with a pop and made a series of grumbling and growling noises.
“Oh, I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to have seconds,” Fluttershy apologized. “The instructions said that you've been putting on some weight, so you have to cut back on the sweets, okay?”
Beary grumbled, but nodded. Setting the pot down, he lumbered away to play.
Fluttershy chuckled lightly to herself. She had never gotten that close to a bear before.
Looking around, she spied a bird feeder hanging high up in a tree. There were several kinds of birds fluttering around it, taking turns pecking at the seeds. Flapping her wings carefully, making sure to keep them at the correct angle, she slowly floated up into the air until she was at eye level with the birds.
“Is everything alright up here?” she asked. “Is everybody getting enough food?”
The birds chirped to assure her that they were fine.
A sharp whistle called Fluttershy's attention back to the ground where a little white rabbit with a grumpy expression was tapping his foot impatiently. He held a tin pan in his paw and was waving it insistently in the air.
“Oh, I'm so sorry Angel Bunny. I'll get you your food for you right away,” Fluttershy called down. She carefully started lowering herself down, but she must have flapped her wings or twitched her tail wrong at the last minute, because without warning, she suddenly flipped upside down and landed hard. Fortunately, she only fell a few feet, so the only bruise she suffered was to her pride.
“You okay, Shyshy?” a voice asked.
Fluttershy looked up to see Rainbow Dash looking down at her. Angel Bunny was also there, his cranky expression replaced with one of genuine concern.
“I'm alright,” she said. “I guess I still need more practice with these wings.”
Rainbow Dash grasped her hoof and helped her to her feet. “Don't worry; just a few more lessons with me, and you'll be soaring through the skies like a pro.”
“Oh, I hope so. Flying is ever so much fun,” said Fluttershy wistfully.
Angel Bunny cleared his throat loudly and pointed at his dish. Now that he was sure Fluttershy was alright, his stomach was once again his first priority.
“Oh, right,” said Fluttershy. “Let's get you your food.”
“So what do you think of Equestria so far?” asked Rainbow Dash as she walked with Fluttershy to the cottage.
“Oh, it's simply wonderful,” Fluttershy gushed. “Being a pony is a dream come true for me, and all of Ponyshy's animal friends are so well-behaved.”
Fluttershy had received an incredible bout of good luck recently. Her teachers had not assigned her any homework, and since she was not scheduled to work at the animal shelter, she was free for the entire weekend. Unfortunately, all of her friends had already made other plans and couldn't spend time with her. Then Princess Twilight invited her to Equestria for the weekend. She had quickly accepted. She had felt bad about telling her parents that she would be helping Applejack with farm work, but they weren't ready to know the truth about what was happening at school. Fluttershy doubted that they ever would be.
Fluttershy had just set Angel Bunny's plate of carrots on the floor when she was alerted by the chattering of the animals outside of the cottage. Poking her head out the door, she saw another pegasus who looked just like her (because, technically speaking, she WAS her—or at least, she was the version of her native to Equestria... it was a little confusing) landing on the ground with a lot more grace than Fluttershy previously had. The animals immediately crowded around her and began to nuzzle her happily.
“Oh, I missed all of you too,” she said warmly, hugging each of them in turn.
“Welcome home, Ponyshy,” said Fluttershy, walking up to the other “Fluttershy”. Rainbow Dash was right behind her.
“Thank you, Shyshy,” “Ponyshy” replied. “Did everyone behave themselves for you?”
“Oh yes, they were all such sweethearts,” Fluttershy assured her. “We all had so much fun together. Thank you so much for letting me look after them.”
“Oh no, thank you for agreeing to it at the last minute.”
“So, did you have any trouble with the roc that was messing with Stalliongrad?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“It was no trouble at all,” Ponyshy answered. “It turns out the poor dear was just upset because the noise from the factories was bothering her chicks. Once a sound-dampening spell was cast over her nest, she was perfectly happy. By the way, did I receive any mail while I was gone?”
“Yeah, you got a letter from your brother,” said Rainbow Dash, handing Ponyshy an envelope.
Fluttershy leaned forward in interest. She hadn't thought about what the Equestrian version of her family would be like.
Holding the envelope in her hoof, Ponyshy cut it open with her wing and pulled out the letter with her mouth. Holding it in her hoof, she read silently for a minute before frowning.
“Oh, Zephyr Breeze,” she moaned, shaking her head. “When will you learn?”.
“What's wrong? He's not moving in with your parents again, is he?” Rainbow Dash asked frantically. “Or is he moving back in with you?!” Her face turned pale, which was a bit odd, considering it was covered in fur.
Fluttershy swallowed a lump in her throat. She knew that her younger brother was lazy and irresponsible, but would he really go so far as to refuse to move out when the time came?
But Ponyshy just shook her head.
“Oh no, nothing like that; Zephyr Breeze is doing great at his new job, and he's not having any trouble paying the rent on his apartment. It's just that he tried to apply for a herd license a few days ago.”
“That might be even worse!” cried Rainbow Dash. “Please tell me that they didn't actually give him one.”
“Of course not,” Ponyshy assured her . “In fact, they threw him out of the office when they learned that he only got a job a few weeks ago. Of course, according to him, it's actually a conspiracy to suppress the rights of working class ponies so that they can never rise to the level as the corrupt elites.”
“He needs to be 'suppressed', alright,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
“Um, excuse me, I don't mean to butt in,” Fluttershy spoke up, “but what exactly is a 'herd license'?”
“It's just a thing that allows you to marry more than one spouse,” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Oh, I see,” said Fluttershy. “I didn't know that Equestria was a polygamist society.”
“What's 'pull-egg-ah-mist' mean?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“It's a society that allows a man to marry multiple wives, which humans call polygamy,” explained Fluttershy. “It's not a very nice custom in my world. The wives are generally treated as trophies to show off the husband's prosperity, or as means to secure beneficial connections, and their children are often used as a 'workforce'. It's a bit similar to slavery.”
“Yuck,” said Rainbow Dash, making a face.
“Well, it's nothing like that here in Equestria,” said Ponyshy. “For one thing, it's not one stallion marrying multiple mares, but rather several ponies marrying each other; the mares are as much each other's wives as they are the wives of their husband. And according to law, each pony has equal marital rights and responsibilities; anyone who can work does so to provide for the entire household, and if one of them wants to bring someone new into the herd, all of the current spouses have to unanimously agree to it. Also, if one of them wants out, then he or she can file for divorce.”
“I guess that sounds fairly reasonable,” said Fluttershy. “But why do you even have polygamy, or herding, in the first place?”
“Well, in the past, it was the best way to keep our entire race from going extinct,” answered Ponyshy. “When you were in Ponyville, did you happen to notice that there were a lot more mares than stallions?”
Fluttershy thought back to when she first stepped foot in Equestria. At the time, she had been too excited to be among countless talking ponies to really notice much of anything, but looking back now, she realized that the majority of the ponies she had talked to had indeed been mares. “You're right,” she said. “Is that normal?”
“It is for us. Nopony understands why, but there have always been quite a few more mares than stallions. No other race seems to have this quirk. It used to be a lot worse than it is now; just a few years after Equestria was founded, the birth rate of stallions dropped dramatically to the point where there were only one of them for every ten mares.”
“How did that happen?” asked Fluttershy.
“Nopony knows,” Ponyshy admitted. “Some think it was a spell cast by the unicorns who initially refused to join Equestria. Others believe it was one of Discord's sick jokes back when he was still a bad guy, although if he was responsible, he hasn't told me yet. In any case, in order to keep our entire population from plummeting, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna legalized herding so that one stallion could marry and have children with as many as six or seven mares, if not more.”
“And they still do that today?” asked Fluttershy. She felt rather appalled by the idea.
“Oh, no. After a few centuries, whatever was causing fewer stallions to be born ended as suddenly as it began, and now there are almost enough to... well, you know... enough to... to...”
“Go around?” Rainbow Dash supplied.
“Um, I was actually kind of hoping to put it in a way that didn't make it sound like they were property or something,” said Ponyshy.
“And I'm sure that all the guys who couldn't hear you appreciate it,” Rainbow Dash retorted, rolling her eyes.
“Yes, well, in any case, while herding is still legal, it has largely fallen out of practice. Nowadays, it is extremely rare for ponies to form a group marriage, but every now and then a couple will marry a third spouse.”
“Well, I'm just relieved that Equestria isn't a place that treats girls like they're property,” said Fluttershy. “Although now I need to make sure my own Zephyr Breeze never comes here,” she added grimly.
“Two Zephyr Breezes in Equestria?” Rainbow Dash whimpered. She began to tremble violently. “Oh, sweet merciful Faust.”
“So did your Zephyr Breeze explain why he wanted a herd license?” asked Fluttershy.
Ponyshy looked back to the letter. “Well, he says that it was his fillyfriend's idea—for whenever they decide they want to 'spice up' their relationship.”
“Wait, what did you just say?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I said that it was his fillyfriend's idea,” Ponyshy replied. Her eyes widened as what she had just said dawned on her. “His fillyfriend... my brother has a fillyfriend, who wants him to...”
She began to sway on her hooves. Fluttershy rushed to hold her before she could topple over.
“I'm getting us all some booze,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “There's no way we're dealing with this sober.”
“I have a bottle of vodka in my refrigerator,” said Ponyshy, so quietly that she could barely be heard.
“I'm on it.”
“Um, technically speaking, I'm not really old enough to drink yet,” said Fluttershy nervously.
“Don't worry about it.”
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And I agree with Rainbow Dash. Everything ABOUT Zephyr Breeze having a girlfriend AND wanting to herd deserves several shots of vodka.
I like these shorts. The past few were very entertaining (Princess Twilight burning a book on scientology made me laugh), and this chapter was no exception. I don't blame Rainbow Dash at all for wanting to get drunk at the thought of Zephyr Breeze actually finding a female who won't deck him at every opportunity.
I also like the herding system shown here-a relic of a gone era when ponies nearly went extinct, but in modern Equestria it's more or less a 50/50 split between genders.
So who's his fillyfriend?
Another great chapter! I liked how this one had a human come to Equestria and focused on different members of the mane 6 instead of Twilight, a good change of pace. I actually have to agree with your point when it comes to so many female only pairings, I can handle seeing a few but with so many of them then there is a point where it is too much. I can kind of accept the bisexual idea but the idea of this chapter seems way better.
Also, Zephyr with a girlfriend? That seems like a scary thought.
7735807 Bulk Bicep's twin sister, Grand Bouquet...
7736095
A religion with two goals;
1. To brainwash you.
2. To take as much money from you as possible.
Seriously, they do some shady shit.
7735739 Vodka? bah.... not strong enough...
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/df/25/ef/df25efa2219a65e97211324450092782.jpg
ah, Polyamory then...
Wouldn't Rainbow be happy that Breeze has a Mare? After all, that would mean he's given up bothering her.
Next chapter.
Pony mating habbits
Loved the 'Shys' new nicknames.
And indeed, Vodka is needed after considering Zephyr Breeze fathering children in the future.
7737481
Kinda, yeah. She was happy for him when he graduated. But, you know, he's not a cute mare, so he doesn't get any slack from the fandom.
7736165
Isn't the original definition of polygamy non-gendered? Fluttershy's own was a bit narrow and coloured.
7737481 I would agree with you if not for the fact that he just applied for a herding license. That kind of puts a damper on the "relationship means less open hitting on Rainbow" thing.
7737481 You would think so, but Rainbow Dash knows Zephyr Breeze well enough to understand that his attempts to get a herd license (and at his fillyfriend's own request no less) means that he is not liable to stop hitting on her any time soon. To make matters worse, she understands better than most that a mare who would actually consider staying with him for the long run would have to be just as obnoxious as him.
7738645 You are reading way too deeply into this. Queen Faust (and by extension, her EG counterpart) have no real affiliation with Lauren Faust. They share some physical characteristics, but little else. Queen Faust isn't even necessarily my own original character; I'm borrowing her from the fandom.
7735807 You'll find out in a different fic.
7735739 Save the really hard stuff for when they have kids.
7739515
So I probably am.
Incidentally, I'm with 7735807 in wanting to know who he ended up with. A very fitting choice would, of course, be Tree Hugger. They both know Fluttershy, they're both weird, TH has the kind of unflappability that suggests she's high as a kite most the time so she wouldn't be really bothered by Zeph, and they might find happiness in their mutual strangeness.
Also, this:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/8/16/1226479__safe_shipping_blushing_straight_bedroom+eyes_floppy+ears_smirk_boop_fluffy_annoyed.png
7739626 Sorry, but it is an original character. I'll introduce her in an upcoming fic about older siblings.
7739673
Tis fine!
Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see Zephyr talk about his older sister to somepony else.
Heh, cute.
Ending doesn't really make sense, though, since horses/ponies can't get drunk on alcohol.
(Their gut fauna naturally ferments all they eat, to aid with digestion of plants. Due to that, their livers are very good at dealing with alcohol.)
7739626
7735807 My guess is Lightning Dust in a Rainbow wig.
7739673 But seriously, I look forward to this fic.
7741375 Equestrian ponies have a different biology from earth ponies.
while I have mixed feelings on the concept(s) of marriage displayed here, I'd like to point something else out:
I think this should be Ponyshy?
So, Zephyr's significant other: Concussed or just badly delusional?
Last 2 lines, just absolutely perfect
7927125 About as delusional as he is.
7926601 Crap. Thanks.
The human equvilant of "herding" is called Polyamary not Poligomy. Ployamary is were multiple partners are married to each other, everyone is not nessacirly married to everyone else, but all parties consent and work together. Poligomy is where one person has multiple spouses, normally it's a many and a "tradional marriage", where women are property.
I heard about this one man that lives at Arabia 14 centuries ago. He married 11 wives and treated all of them fairly until his death and all of his wives carried on his legacy. Polygamy is not a bad thing, if you can hold them. Jealousy will come around your wives and force you to divorce one of them. Or because of degrading morality, they now become 'property's back in the Arabian Dark Ages. Believe me, back in those days, wife was treated as a breeding center, only to gave birth. Female babies were considered an insult, so they buried them alive, in sand. Be lucky that you are dicsplined and moral.
7736127 So does Jainism, Hindu, Buddha and Islam created only to make money? Put 'some'in your comment. One more thing, you're on the wrong chapter.
7927201 you'd thing that would a difference to discuss
Personally i think it was teen discords idea.
Make more mares to increase his chances of getting laid :P
What you described here is polyamory, which is something that real humans do, though I don't think it's legal. Personally I'm totally okay with it, though I do agree polygamy it's not a practice that should be continued.
Also out of curiosity, what's everybody's problem with Zephyr Breeeze, sure he's annoying, but so is discord and we all love him. Besides he reformed at the end of the episode and got his degree in what? hairdressing? Yes there are far more annoying characters in this series, I can't think of them at the moment, although now that I do think about it, I've never even hated any character this show. Except maybe Diamond Tiara's mother, Spoiled Rich. But she's the exception, and while some characters may annoy me I still like them.
8262186
It's not so much that we all have a problem with him, he's just one of those characters that everyone can get behind on hating. For what it's worth, I'm planning a chapter in a fic that'll portray the pony version in a much more positive light; he'll be more mature and responsible, but still just as obnoxious.
...you know, I might be the first one to say it but I'm kind of glad Zypher has found someone to, you know, get along with. Good for him. I get why people hate him... I think, but I don't get why most people seem to want to abuse him and lock him up in tartarus.
Also kind of sad polramory has such a bad rep.
8262186 It's not illegal (at least inmost places where you have reasonable personal freedom)... it's just not legally supported. There are no laws saying what you can do in what situation and no legal presidents set. EG, you can't have a legally binding multi way marriage and therefore divorce would be equally fuzzy. There just isn't enough popular support to set anything up for it and probably a fair bit of opposition to it at all. Or at least that's how it is most places.
Zepher Breaze has a fillyfriend.
it is a sign of the Apocalypse