Able bodied

by The Sumareian

A new normal.

Harper let out a sigh of relief when the wagon pulled to a stop. After a three days of worrying entirely about Able he was back to his humdrum job. Pulling in saplings on some of the worse dirt paths in Equestria.

"Hey Harper," He looked up to see Tiller offering him a canteen. "Take five, I need somepony to help me haul this thing."

Without a moments hesitation he used his magic to undo his harness and flop to the ground. Its was nothing compared to his bed, but then again if it meant getting out of that ridiculously uncomfortable harness and be able to breath without being poked in the ribs.

"Really that beat?" Tiller asked as he too undid his harness and sit down next to his employee/coworker. " Shucks I cant imagine you being anything less, with all that happened recently." He took a gulp of the canteen, and then placed it on Harpers chest.

Harper glanced over to Tiller, then back to the canteen. It seemed like every time he slowed down a bit Tiller would always stop and let him take a break, he remembered hearing some of the others on the replanting team joke that Tiller only stops when his stomach tells him to.

"Thanks," He said as he opened it and took a few gulps of the cool water.

"Come on, give it here, cant have drinking it all up you little seapony." Tiller said jokingly as he grabbed the canteen back from him.

"Shoo-be-do." Harper chuckled, causing Tiller to join in.

After a few minutes their laughing died down Tiller casually got back to his hooves.

"Hey Harper could you hitch me up?" He asked as he trotted over to the wagon. "Can't have Manny and the others think we up and left them now can we."

"Sure." Harper said as he lit up his horn and started to secure his hauling partner.

Though he greatly appreciated the break as he and Tiller made it further and further down the road he noticed that their progress seemed to be slowing.

"Something up Harper, cause your usually not this tired this early on the job. Does it involve our towns newest resident?" Tiller looked over to him.

He was right after all, they had only been working for three hours and they still had another four to go. But he felt like he had gone three rounds with an Irsa minor.

"No, not really. Able, seems to be adjusting pretty well thanks to Lyra."

"Lyra," Tillers swooned for a second. "I mean, hows she doing?" He looked away quickly.

"She's doing good. You still have that crush on her?" Harper smiled slyly to Tiller, it was a rare day when he get him to blush and he planned on milking every second of it. "I remember she said something about how none of the other stallions she met were as big strong and as handsome as you were."

*****

Lyra sneezed into Ables face, causing both of them to lose the intense staring contest that they were in the middle of.

"Lyra," Able wiped his face, with his sleeve. "cover your mouth, my mouth was open that time."

Blushing Lyra shrank slightly in her chair. "Sorry."
*****

"Oh really," Tiller looked up, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Tell me is she still single?"

"Actually no, shes dating somepony else." This time Harper felt a bit of guilt as he shot down his friend.

"Oh." Tiller slowed to a crawl. "Well I hope shes happy with her coltfriend."

Harper though riddled with guild couldn't help but take one more stab at Tillers ego.

"Actually, its her marefriend." He looked to Tiller whose ears perked for a moment.

"Harper, I need you to level with me," Tiller looked over to him. "On a scale of, 1 to 10, how would you rate her marefriend?"

"What?" Harper only met Lyras marefriend once and he could barely pick her out of a line up.

"1 to 10. Come on stallion to stallion here." He waved his hoof around proving that there were no eavesdroppers.

"Well, I would have to say like maybe a 7. She was cute but, I cant help but feel that there was something off about her when I saw her last." He remembered his brief interaction with her, after the accidentally backed into each other.

"So their a solid 8.5," Tiller pumped his hoof in the air. "Sweet, hey Harper. Is she in the market for... you know?"

Harper felt his heart skip a beat. It was common in Equestria for same gender couples to be dating or married, but if they wanted to have a child they would marry in a friend of the opposite gender into their herd to help them achieve that goal. Harpers mind pictured his nieces and nephews all running around with Tillers face. He shuddered slightly.

"I... umm don't know actually." He felt a bead of nervous sweat slide down the side of his head. "I mean, we aren't close enough for me to.... well know her opinion on the matter."

"So, you have no idea at all?" Tiller picked up his pace again, before he smiled slightly. " Well then, guess I may need to swing by one day and say hey."

*****

"So, your telling me, that ponies technically have open marriages." Able leaned in closer to Lyra, who was laying across the armchair. A bored expression on her face as she explained once more relationship dynamics in Equestria.

" No, if anything its more like the two ponies are married, but if they want their family to grow. They could seek out somepony of the..." Lyra blushed slightly, as she swallowed. "Fairer sex, to well...."

"Knock you up." Able sat up in his chair. He still couldn't wrap his head around what Lyra was implying. "So its a mutual thing? Like one of you decided to be-"

"Yes, the biological parent, while the other is more like a stepparent." She rolled her eyes. "What so difficult to understand about that Able. Don't humans do something similar?"

"Well..." Able had to think about this a bit, he had heard of it working out like that, but he never expected the practice to be so commonplace for a bunch of ponies. "Yes, but for the most part the more traditional male, female relationship is the norm."

Lyra ears twitched at what he said. "So Able, do you think other humans would find our society strange?" She looked up to him. Of all the things they talked about and learning more about each other she was curious what would happen if more humans arrived.

"Well, yes and no." Able looked over to the coffee table and took a sip of his glass of water. "I mean, a society of magical talking creatures would defiantly be viewed with some skepticism at first." He chuckled slightly. "But hey, kids would be into it, hell maybe some of the older ones will join in to."

"Older ones?" Lyra raised an eyebrow. trying to picture more humans who were older than Able skipping around Ponyville.

"Yeah. Love and tolerate, you said it yourself ponies don't tend to judge one another unless its something major or serious," Able took another sip of his glass before leaning back into the couch. "Some of us are bound to be attracted to that."

"What do you mean by some?" Lyra used her magic to pick up her glass of water and calmly swish it in the air.

"Those of us, who would like the idea of a magical world where they would never be judged for being themselves." Able looked up at the clock. "Shouldn't Harper and Stormy be getting back by now?"

*****

"Watch and be amazed but the great and powerful Trixie."

Stormy watched as the energetic showmare conjured up a brilliant swarm of fireworks just above her impromptu stage. All the ponies oohed and awed as the cloud of colorful sparks started to flow together in the air. She then saw her bring out several large gems and place them on stage, she fired a beam of magic into them, each one made a hologram of some figure in history. As Stormy looked at them she could of swore she saw the hologram of Princess Luna wink at her.

"For my next trick I will need a volunteer." Trixie conjured up a small glowing ball with her horn. Just then the holograms dissipated in another cloud of colors.

Stormy looked around at the crowd, who though entertained by the showmares performance thus far seemed to shrink slightly at the whole idea. Apparently she picked up on that and started pacing the stage eyeing the crowd like a lion would its prey.

"You."

Everypony parted just to the left of Stormy, where a rather lanky minotaur pointed at himself nervously.

"Yes you, come. The great and powerful Trixie does not have all day."

Stormy watched as he made his way to the stage. While he made his up the wooden stairs however she turned her attention to Trixie how had three more glowing orbs orbiting above her horn. Stormy looked over to her right where a unicorn happened to be standing next to her.

"Excuse me," She nudged the mare next to her. "But those orbs above her head what are those?" Stormy realized that the obvious answer was magic, but she felt that there was something more to it than that.

"Looks like she prepping some type of..." The mare squinted towards the stage and thoughtfully scratched her chin."Long range teleportation spell, although I don't know why the crystals are there."

"Ladies and gentlecotls. Tonight you shall an act of magic so profound and ancient, that the only ponies who know how to perform it number in the few, neigh the three." The stage lights darkened as Trixie urged the minotaur into center of the crystals. "Those three, are known as the most powerful unicorns in the history of the world. Our beloved princesses and," The glowing orbs above Trixies head started to float away from her horn and towards the gems.

"Me," Trixie flourished her cape as the gems started to glow brighter and brighter. "Now watch as I the great and powerful Trixie as makes.." She trailed off as she looked at him.

"Umm..... Wellington." he said shyly.

"Wellington, disappear before your very eyes." She smiled as a unknown wind started to swirl around them.

Everypony watched as the gems started to float around the minotaur who was eventually engulfed in a blinding white light. Stormy blinked her eyes just as a loud crack echoed through the air, when she looked at the stage she could hardly believe what she saw. Trixie was still standing there a smugly satisfied grin on her face, but where Wellington was was now replaced with a pile of smoking ash. Somepony in the crowd screamed in horror, as the startling implication of what the showmare just did.

"Please remain calm." Trixie flipped of her hat and pulled out a small prop wand. " I did say he would disappear." She looked down to the pile of ash and scoffed. " But, what is a disappearing act without the grand reveal." Trixie looked at her foreleg as if she were waiting for something. "And," She paused for a second before looking up. "Now."

Just as she uttered that the gems began glowing again. Another gust of wind swirled through the air, causing some of the pegisi who were hovering over head to almost crash. Then another blinding white light flashed over the crowd, then came the deafening roar of thunder. Stormys ears perked momentarily at the sound, something about it seemed strange about it.

When the light show was over, the whole crowd gasped in surprise. There standing on stage was the lanky minotaur covered in a thick layer of what looked like baked beans.

"Tell, the audience, what did you see?" Trixie asked as she used her magic to move the gems offstage.

"I....I" Wellington looked down at his body, and tried futility to brush off the sticky mess running down his chest. "Saw beans..... Lots and lots of beans."

There was a tense silence that hung over the crowd as most everypony was looking back and forth between Trixie and Wellington. Then somepony in the crowd started clopping their hooves on the ground,then more and more ponies joined in. Soon Stormy was the only pony who still dumbfounded by the sound that the flash made. In the back of her mind she knew she recognized it from somewhere, she just couldn't remember where.

****

"Come on Harper for real?" Tiller sat back in the booth cushion. "You never even thought about it."

"No, me and Stormy are friends," He felt his cheeks start to warm up, as he took another sip of his hard cider.

Tiller sat back up and looked over to the three mugs in front of him, each one was empty, and the waitress hadn't come by yet to see if they wanted any more.

"But Harper," He looked up to him and gave a sly smile. "You two share the same bed, and who knows maybe she was getting the same idea."

Harper almost choked on his drink. "Your drunk, you know that right." He tried thinking of ways to change the subject but couldn't think of anything.

"And, your in denial," Tiller lazily pointed his hoof at him. "You have a drop dead gorgeous mare living with you. Not only that but she also comes to your work just about everyday to see how you're doing, and if you want her to cook up something for dinner."

Tiller looked out over the rest of the bar. A bunch of other ponies had the same idea as them to start their weekend of with a toast to the end of a busy week of work. For the most part everypony was content with just sitting by themselves and drinking in silence, that is until somepony they knew came over to them. Harper let out a small sigh of relief no one had even caught a whisper of their conversation.

"Excuse me," Tiller shouted over to the bartender. "But whose rump do I need to kiss to get some more drinks over her."

Harper looked at his half filled mug of cider just now barely starting to feel the drinks effect. He sometimes wondered how he and Tiller became friends, but then again whenever they hanged-out it was always Tiller picking up the bill.

"Make that a double." Tiller turned his head to him and smiled.

"Now that's the spirit."

Harper gave him a cocky smile."Don't you mean spirits."

*********

"So she is your girl... I mean marefriend?" Able pointed to a picture of a tan mare with a blue and pink mane. Lyra nodded before nuzzling her head further into his chest.

"Yeah, that's her." She laughed slightly. "She's probably mad at me right about now."

"Why is she mad at you?" Able looked down to her, fully aware that she was being more affectionate as of recent.

"Because, I wrote her a letter, and told her I was here in Flapstaff. Oh and about you." She shifted so she could look up to him, a silly smile crossing her face. "You got to love the pony express. Getting mail where it needs to go, lickity split."

"Take it you know shes made because she wrote back."

"Did she ever. here look." Lyra lit up her horn and pulled an envelope from a table with more mail piled on it.

As she pulled out the packet of paper the front page of which was completely scribbled out save for 'Dear Lyra,' Able guessed from how hastily scribbled everything was, Bon-Bon was either trying to censor herself or she was so furious that her anger litteraly wouldn't let her write. Lyra flipped through three more pages just like it until she reached the end. Able looked it over save goodbye part there was one line that wasn't scribbled out. ' I'll be there in two days.'

"Wait, when did you get this?" Able looked down to Lyra that silly smile still plastered on her face.

"Two days ago." The grin on her face growing even more.

As Able looked in horror at what the mare was implying, an loud knocking echoed through the house. Able turned his head to the door.

"Lyra Alberta Heartstrings. You better open this door in the next five seconds or I'm bucking it down." Able looked down to Lyra who was curling back up into Ables chest, then back to the door.

"Able, be a dear and get that before she actually kicks in the door would you." she lazily waved her hoof towards the door.

Able sighed before standing up from the couch. He looked down to Lyra, this mare had almost killed the both of them on more than one occasion in their down time no less, had simply pushed a commitment she had on to him. He laughed in his head, in a way she reminded him of Michelle aside from the fact that one was a pony they started to seem to become more and more similar in his mind.

"Thats it, I'm breaking the door down." Able jumped as a vicious crack came from the front door.

"Oh shit."

He ran as fast as he could as another loud crack filled the room. As he opened the door he saw a set of hooves pointed square at his chest, and without thinking he moved out of the way as they shot forward. As the set of door busting hooves dropped so did the pony they were attached to,

"Oww." The mare moaned as she picked herself up. "Very funny Lyra." She fumed as she started to turn around. "But next time you try to....." The mares blue eyes narrowed in numb shock.

"Hey there." Able waved to her, causing the mare to stepback in numb horror.

"Y.... you.... you're a," She took a huge gulp, as if uttering the last couple of words had filled her mouth with sawdust.

"A human, yes." Able nodded, a devious idea on his mind. "And I enslaved your friend Lyra, she is now a part of my harem. With her I shall integrate my species into yours so we can conquer Equestria."

"What!?" Bon-Bons voice cracked as she started looking for an escape route.

"Able, stop goofing around we both know that you are about as magical as a rock."

"Lyra." Bon-Bon almost chirped exitedly charging past Able and into the living room.

"Hey there gorgeous," Lyra sat up and reached her forelegs out to hug her marefriend. "How are your parents doing?"

"What happened to my door." Everyone turned around.

There stood Harper clearly a bit tipsy looking at his door in surprise.

"She did it!" Both Lyra and Able pointed to Bon-Bon.

Author's Note:

Yeah that reference took me two days of typing it to notice that I put it in there. Bon-Bon was also throwing her whole weight when she was trying to open the door causing her to fall when she made contact with the air.... Oh and Equestria has a even ratio of same sex parents to not same sex parents (Thus why Lyra and Bon-Bons relationship is considered common.)

Comments

[JimboTex]

"She's doing good. You still have that crush on her?" Harper smiled slyly to Tiller, it was a rare day when he get him to blush and he planned on milking every second of it. "I remember she said something about how none of the other stallions she met were as big strong and as handsome as you were."

*****

Lyra sneezed into Ables face, causing both of them to lose the intense staring contest that they were in the middle of.

Ah, the good ol' Sneeze Cut. A classic of comedic anime series. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Rarity_lolface.png