Bard Quest MMP CYOA : intermission

“Ah, Silver, you’re back.” The druid mare answers as the formerly noble mare sits near her and Night Sprout.

“I went to claim my reward.” Silver says. “I wouldn’t have thought it would take me so long, but it turns out the contractor was an acquaintance of mine, and we ended up… talking for a good while. She needed a bit of comfort after this misadventure.”

“Ah… That is quite the coincidence.” Pear Plum reacts, adverting her eyes while she blushes a little. “I too came back not so long ago since Ebony Vine needed some… support.”

“I spent the afternoon on a date with Little Spoon.” Night Sprout states. “It was my first date.”

 

“Oh, my!” Silver Willow giggles to herself. “I must admit I’m quite curious to hear how it went. But how about we make ourselves comfortable for that? Since Little Spoon and Fen Flower are out for the night, the three of us could have a little evening between girls! A slumber party, just the three of us! I feel like we didn’t get any good occasion to know each other yet, so what do you say?”

“What’s a slumber party?” Night Sprout asks. “I guess it’s not just about sleeping in the same room?”

“We end up doing that, but before we can play games and talk about stuff we don’t want stallions to hear, like our lady secrets!”

“Lady secrets?” Night Sprout quizzically tilts her head to the side.

“Yes!” Silver Willow gleefully giggles to herself again. “I’ll tell you some of mine if we get to that party.”

“Then I want to try a slumber party.” Night Sprout nods.

“I don’t see why not.” Pear Plum accepts too. “I never went on one either. This could be fun.”

“Aw, I promise this will be pleasant!” Silver Willow shows an elated smile. “I haven’t had mare friends to share such a time with for a while too. The other mares I usually spoke with would have dismissed this as filly games... But anyway, let’s start the preparations! I’ll find ourselves a room a little more comfortable than in here, with pillows and some snacks and drinks. This is my treat! Aside from that, we only need some jimmies or clothes to get comfortable in. Do you girls have any?”

“I only have this dress Little Spoon bought me that fits.” Night Sprout answers, showing the garments.

“I’m not a fan of fashion either.” Pear Plum adds. “I merely carry my hat and glasses around.”

“Then let us hurry to the shops while they’re still open!” Silver Willow promptly stands up.

 

About an hour later, the three mares find themselves in front of a hotel, bags of clothes, food, drinks and other articles in their hooves. The steward guides them to their room for 5, with all the spare pillows they could have as requested by Silver Willow and a bathroom large enough for all of them.

This would normally be a rent for a whole family, but for the three mares, two of which are 6’ tall or more, this is just one comfortably roomy place.

 

“Oooh! This suite is nice!” Silver Willow grins as she sees the luxurious room. “I was right to ask for more than the space and bed for 3. Big ladies like us wouldn’t want to feel cramped while we sleep, right Pear Plum?”

“Ah, yes…” She nods meekly. “I just hope we’re not taking the place of another group of ponies.”

“Nonsense!” Silver Willow waves her hoof at the druid mare. “Have you seen our size? We certainly need a big room for us, and I’m sure this is not an issue for this establishment.” Silver turns to the steward. “Isn’t that right, sir?”

“Ah, uhm…” The steward, a young pegasus stallion, blushes as the eyes of the 6’ buxom mare and her 7’9’’ druid companion fall on him. “O-of course! It’s our job to accommodate our customers, p-please make yourselves comfortable in here.”

“Aw, aren’t you adorable?” Silver giggles at the embarrassed colt, before giving him a sizeable tip. “Now go fetch these pillows please.”

“Sure thing ma’am!” He nods vigorously, now a big smile on his face, before turning around to answer Silver’s demand.

 

“Now, let us take a shower first.” Silver offers after the three of them went into the room. “We can’t slip into our new jimmies while we’re still all sweaty from the day, can we?”

The bathroom is like a private bathhouse of its own, almost as large as the bedroom itself. There are two showers and a hot bath that would normally allow for several pony to rinse themselves into. As spacious as it may be, this will only be for Silver or Pear at a time, accompanied by the smaller Night Spout maybe.

Silver Willow and Night Sprout disrobe from their respective outfits before going in and Pear Plum lets her glasses and flower hat behind to enjoy the feeling on hot water against their bodies.

As the mares wash themselves in a mist of steam, Silver Willow approaches Pear Plum

 

“Oh, Pear Plum honey!” Silver says as she passes a hoof over Pear Plum’s back, while the other cups a lock of the druid mare’s neck-length brown hair. “I didn’t know you had such a beautiful mane!”

Despite being 6’ even, Silver had to rear on her hind hooves to do so.

“Ah, th-thank you.” the druid mare answers.

“’Never thought about styling them? I’m sure you’d look gorgeous with a ponytail. Or with a fringe. Or some braids too!”

“Ah, thanks Silver, but… I feel more comfortable with just my hat.”

“Of course, of course, but have you tried something else though?” Silver pleads. “Come on, this is what slumber parties are for too! We can try stuff in here and it will remain between us. No need to show it to the world if you don’t want to next, but how do you know you won’t like it if you never experiment? It’ll be fun!” Silver then turns to Night Sprout. “Don’t you want to see what Pear Plum looks like with braids? Or I even have what we need to make her some streaks!”

“Streaks?” Pear Plum exclaims worriedly.

“What colour?” Night Sprout eagerly asks.

“Oh, I couldn’t decide so I took every colour!” Silver giggles to herself. “I got blond, red, auburn, but also some greens and blues and purples!”

Night Sprout turns to Pear Plum.

 

“Please Pear Plum, I want to see you with purple streaks.” The fairy asks resolutely.

“She’s got good taste!” Silver adds with a grin. “I’m sure it’s gonna blend well with your natural tone.”

“B-but, uhm…” Pear Plum is obviously reluctant, but she can’t bring herself to refuse this to the two other merry mares. “A-alright! But then you need to get blond streaks too!”

“That sounds fun. I want some blond streaks.” Night Sprout readily answers much to Pear Plum’s dismay and Silver’s delight.

“Then I’ll go with some green for me!” Silver adds. “And you’ll see, when you have a streak of colour, there’s a whole new world of make up you can work with!”

“Y-you brought make up too?” Pear Plum sounds worried again.

“Oh, don’t you worry Pear honey.” Silver tells the bigger mare. “Again, this is just between the three of us. We’ll start on myself, and then you’ll see if you want some for you.”

 

The middle-aged mare vanishes back to the bedroom for a moment, and indeed returns with everything necessary for a temporary mane coloration and some other products.

“I also have everything for a hooficure while we wait for the colours to dry if any of you are interested!” Silver chimes in. “Oh, and, do you want to try a face mask too? Perfumed coat oils maybe?”

“L-let us start with just the colour!” Pear Plum attempt to curb the other mare’s enthusiasm.

 

Still, the druid mare accepts to subject herself to this act of fashion. Silver Willow carefully applies the paint on one wide strand of Pear Plum’s mane and then tail before letting it dry. In the meantime, Night Sprout gets the face mask she started to ask for, and then Silver starts doing her mane. Seeing the enthusiasm of both other mares, Pear Plum eases up at the idea, and Silver did guarantee it was all temporary…

Silver accepts to have her own colour done by Night Sprout under her directions. The fairy manages this quite well, merely painting her own hoof green once after forgetting to use the cup to hold the hair.

 

The mares then get into the clothes they prepared for tonight. Silver already had a transparent white nightgown of her own that she put on as well as an assorted sturdy bra to keep her puppies stable. Meanwhile, Night Sprout found herself some loose pyjama with kittens drawn on it. There weren’t many clothes at the size of Pear Plum available on short notice, but one artisan was able to put together two pairs of fine wool socks that climb to the middle of her ample flanks and the top of her front legs respectively, coloured with rings of green and white.

 

All freshened up, the three mares settle inside the bedroom whose floor has been practically covered with poofy pillows, probably the work of one zealous steward. A wealth of drinks and snacks have also been provided to them.

“So, Night Sprout.” Silver starts with an eager grin. “I’m very curious about your first date with Little Spoon.”

“You are?” Night Sprout asks sheepishly.

“Indeed. If you’re comfortable with it, would you accept to tell us about it?”

“Mmh… Can you tell us about your first date instead?”

“Me? Well, of course.” Silver pinches her lips for a second. “But you should know my first date somehow has a tragic ending since it is my first husband we would be talking about… Or, if you’re ready to hear it, I could tell you about the first time I met an adventurer and got intimate with him. Now that would be a story that would involve some real alchemy! Or maybe I could even tell you about this afternoon, my memories are a lot fresher about this one…”

“Mmmmh…” Night Sprout ponders for a second. “Can you tell all three?”

“I suppose I could.” Silver Willow nods after a slight hesitation. “Alight then! Let’s start at the beginning! First, you have to picture me a little more than twenty years younger, a hundredth as feisty as I am today, and with teats that had yet to double in girth from motherhood…”

 

And thus, Silver tells a tale of a noble marriage without romance, from a time when upholding the standing of her name and carrying out the will of her family had meaning to her. She and her husband met at a rally of the high society of the region at the time. What they came to appreciate about the other was their mutual capacities and cunning in business. It was their assets that were the missing pieces of each other, they found out, rather than their souls. Working together, both their estates experienced an outstanding growth in wealth, putting them at the centre of the economic matters of the region in mere months. They married, and Silver gave birth to a daughter to become the heir and definitive cement of this joined success of them.

 

And that satisfied them. They no longer had desires for adventurous enterprises now that a young filly was growing around them. And while both gave her the best care they could, they somehow didn’t do so together for it was not on such a basis they united. Boredom came eventually. And when their daughter was old enough to go study on her own, away from the family estate, Silver and her husband had nothing left in common at all.

 

“So… You never went on a date with Silver Oak, right?” Night Sprout asks after the end of the story, between two nibbles on a biscuit. “Because you never needed to know if you liked each other?”

“Ah, you might be onto something here Night Sprout.” Silver Willow utters a bitter-sweet chuckle. “We went out together, but it wasn’t for the sake of our relationship. It was either making connexions or showing ourselves to the world. The closest to actual dates we got was when we were out just the two of us to celebrate our business successes.”

“Then that means… I’ve been on more dates than you did, Silver!” Night Spout proudly says, pointing at the other mare.

“’Getting a little cocky here, Night Sprout!” Silver says as she throws a pillow to pomf on the head of the small fairy. “Jokes aside, I don’t think it’s a good idea to make it a race. And anyway, I had a lot of datey times with other stallions, like the next one I planned to talk about. My first story spanned a couple dozen years, this one will merely account for a couple days instead. And do tell me if I’m getting into too much detail for you, girls!” Silver giggles with a slight blush.

 

Opportunity makes a thief, they say. In the case of Silver Willow, the handsomely hunky barbarian made an adultery. Though, the stallion was certainly no innocent bystander that time. The first mouthful from her appetite for adventurers was spoon-fed to Silver by the boastful stud. That first time, Silver only let herself be tempted into some something that may have been slightly more romantic than with her husband of the time, but infinetly more erotic.

 

“With the experience I have today, I can tell you the guy was actually so clumsy, and so rough! And only thinking about himself! And the concepts of preliminaries or basic courtship were visibly unknown to him! For real, I would spank him good to put some manners through this thick skull of his if I met him today, and then teach him to use his tongue for something else than bragging! But at the time, to finally get some, and to finally do as I wished at the moment I wished it instead of making a 3-entries risk-profit-time chart about it before, truly it felt like heaven! Oh…” Silver moans theatrically, getting a giggle and a blush from Pear Plum. The fairy remains silent, but there’s a bit of red on her face too.

“Is it really a good memory, then?” Pear Plum asks. “I mean, you made it sound like this stallion was kind of a brutish pony there…”

“Eh. He could have been gentler in the bedroom indeed, but I didn’t get to know what kind of pony he really was in the end and I don’t think that matters.” Silver shrugs. “With time I learned that getting thirsty after these…” she smugly cups on of her teats. “…Transcends good and evil. That was a long time ago anyway.”

“You should have gone on a date with to know him better, then.” Night Sprout comments.

“Well, well… and so, dear little miss one-time-date expert, you heard my story alright. When should I have asked him out? And to go where, since I had not to be seen with him in this village? Mmh?”

Night Spout remains completely silent this time.

 

“There we go!” Silver shows a victorious grin to the fairy. “But really, do not take this as an advice to not go on dates and roll in the hay with just any stranger. You liked your date with Little Spoon? Then go on dates! With him! With somepony else if you want! Or try something else! Really, it’s all up to you. Like I told you in my stories there’s been ups and down in all cases anyway.”

“Like the daughter you had with Silver Oak?” Night Sprout comments.

“Aah! The audience is difficult, but at least they listen to me I see.” Silver Willow gives Night Sprout’s mane a playful ruffling. “But may I suppose that your date of this afternoon had more good than bad then? Please Night Sprout, I just can’t resist this kind of gossip.”

“Maybe… But you said you had three stories to tell.” Night Sprout mercilessly denies Silver Willow.

“Alright, fine…” Silver playfully rolls her eyes. “I guess I did say that. But how about I help you try some lipstick on while I’m at it? I think the dye is completely dry too at this point.”

 

And so Silver tells the two other mares about this afternoon, and it turns out the owner of the Sweet Grape club didn’t just merely hand over the reward. The distinguished middle-age mare ended up trying her luck with Silver Willow, who was all too happy to follow her in one of the bedrooms of the club.

 

“You know, this affair felt more unexpected than others, but in a good way.” Silver narrates. “I knew Wine Sip before since I had done business with her in the past, and I appreciated her company as she was a mare of my age I shared some interests with, but I had no idea she kept such desires about me. Obviously, before all this, two business mares having that kind of affair would have been unreasonably damageable for both our reputations, and thus unthinkable for us. But now that I am an adventurer, we don’t have such constrains on us anymore, and Wine Sip too had more freedom to act upon her desires, which meant a delightful afternoon for both of us. In a way, it made me more confident in my choice.”

“It is nice to hear.” Pear Plum nods. “But I must say, I’m still surprised. I thought you were… ahem, that you were only attracted by stallions…”

“A-hahaha!” Silver laughs out loud. “Don’t worry Pear honey, this night is no trap of me to prey on you girls. And look at yourself, a slap from you would knock me out on the spot if I tried anything. Besides, I definitely prefer stallions over the rest when it comes to bedroom activities. You could say that I don’t dislike doing it with mares in general, and Wine Sip being somepony I appreciated, I saw no reason not to indulge myself with her. And seeing how excited and grateful she was to explore my bigger body I certainly do not regret it.”

 

“Mmmh…” Pear Plum ponders. “Well, it’s a bit strange. You see, I found myself in a bit of a similar situation earlier, though, it didn’t end as well for me as it did for you I believe.”

“Oh? Do you want to talk about it?” Silver perks up. “You don’t have to if you don’t. I’m comfortable with such subjects, but don’t force yourself Pear honey.”

“Thanks. I’m alright, and it didn’t go down that path in my case, even though...” Pear Plum ponders, but shakes her head. “Well, Ebony Vine wanted me to stay and look over her recovery this afternoon. I think I realised she was… infatuated with me to some extent, but I decided to pay it no mind. She could use some actual medical attention after all. But after a while she, well… confessed her love to me altogether.” Pear Plum blushes heavily at this point. “And, well, yes, she spoke of love, but she also made it clear she was attracted to me, ehm… physically too.”

“Oh, that must have been really strange for you.” Silver comments. “I suppose you’re not used to that kind of declaration, are you? Was that the first time sompony got interested in you in that way so openly?”

“Well... Second time actually.”

“I see. And… You haven’t been in many relationships before either, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s true…” Pear Plum admits.

Silver nods, then she approaches to give Pear Plum a friendly pat on the arm. “Well, all I can say is… don’t worry too much about it! Ponies get feelings, they get a crush and most of the time it only goes one way. Ebony Vine is quite young and probably inexperienced too. It certainly wasn’t on purpose, but she sure couldn’t read the mood well if she ended up making it so uncomfortable for you.”

“Mmh…” Pear Plum nods. “I did tell her I didn’t feel that way about her, but then it was really awkward to stay around Ebony Vine. Again, I tried to pay it no mind and pretend this didn’t happen, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I left not long after… And I’m still feeling a little bad about it.”

 

“Aw, what are you feeling bad for, Pear honey?” Silver asks.

“Well… I thought that maybe, I should have… I don’t know, kissed her maybe? To give her what she wanted, a little like you and Wine Sip did?”

“Oh, heavens, that is not what I meant Pear Plum!” Silver gets serious all of a sudden. “I mean, the way I am, I can enjoy doing such things with mares, but you absolutely should not force yourself just to please somebody else. Again, do not pay it too much mind. Ebony Vine will get over it, and so will you. You’ll get more experienced over time, and in time you’ll be able to manage these situations more comfortably.”

“Really?” Pear Plum pinches her lip. “I am gonna be more comfortable making ponies sad like this?”

“She. Will. Get. Over. It.” Silver asserts. “Again, Ebony Vine is young. There are many teens and young adults like her who feel like the world is collapsing when their love isn’t immediately reciprocated. But I believe that is part of maturity to learn to live with that. Because the thing is, she only got sad because you made her happy in the first place. In fact, they didn’t tell you so, but I bet you brightened the day of many ponies who saw you today.”

“What?” Pear Plum jumps slightly on the bed she sits on.

“Oh, you better believe it Pear honey!” Silver grins. “Like that vendor who made you the socks. That guy definitely liked what he saw when you were trying them on, and when you smiled to him, he was definitely on cloud nine. Trust me, I know how to spot those things.”

 

“But…But…” Pear Plum blurts, a deep blush on her face. “I’m not… I’m not a pretty mare like you, Silver!”

“Are you kidding? You’re a splendid young pony, Pear honey! You’re the most genuine mare I know, and pretty as a doll. Everypony can see that! And if you thought you were plain looking, you gotta know that thick flanks like yours drive ponies wild these days, and yours are magnified tenfold with how big you are.”

 

Red as a beet, Pear Plum reflexively tries to cover her flanks with her hooves, but at the size of them she hides maybe a tenth of these vast tracts of land.

“Please relax, Pear honey.” Silver says. “I meant that as nothing else than compliments.”

“I… I know, but…”

“Are you afraid of something?” Silver smirks. “You’re aware you could knock down about any kind of rude stallion bothering you, right?”

“Uhm…” Pear nods. “I know that. But… I can’t say what it is, but I’m still feeling scared.”

“Alright. Then let me ask you this question.” Silver says. “Would you rather be as unremarkable as a mare can be? Or be a bombshell and comfortable with it?”

“Well… the later of course. But I don’t think I have your confidence, Silver.”

“Pear honey, confidence is just another word for experience if you ask me.” Silver says while shaking her head. “You better believe I wasn’t so at ease when I started growing down there. The other mares were cruel with me. I’ve been called fat, a cow, and a variety of other names about being a disproportionate monster. I tried to conceal these for the couple first years even, wearing the tightest dresses and undergarment. Oh, I still remember how sore I was in the evening. My teats were all red and throbbing from having been constricted all days. And with the heat of summer, I sometimes couldn’t even sleep at night with how much I was in pain.”

 

“I… I have trouble imagining you like this, Silver Willow.” Pear Plum reacts. “I mean no offence, but it looks to me that you… well, that you’re not one bit shy about your assets.”

“That was over 20 years ago, Pear honey.” Silver smirks. “Honestly, I hope you’ll get rid of your complexes faster than I did.”

“Oh… I don’t think that’ll happen…” Pear Plum lets out a meek chuckle.

“And I’m ready to bet it will.” Silver says. “See, I got more confident when I started to have some accomplishments under my belt. During the first years when I started doing business in my own name, I was annoyed by ponies who would stare at me down there. But as time went, and as I climbed the ladder and raked in success after success, something so trifling stopped meaning anything to me. It’s only much later, when I started getting bored that I started to flaunt my puppies. I found it fun to see the reaction of colts. But you don’t need to go that far if that’s not your thing. All you have to do is to do your own thing without thinking of what others will say.”

 

“Well… That’s what I tried to do, but when Ebony Vine confessed to me, I couldn’t move past it…”

“Alright. Let’s think about it rationally then.” Silver nods. “Now that you’re not in the heat of action, what do you think would have been appropriate to say?”

“I told you, I still don’t know.” The druid mare shakes her head.

“Then how about something like… ‘I’m flattered, but I’m just here to take care of you. Is that alright with you?’” Silver offers. “How does that sound?”

“Well, it isn’t rude.” Pear Plum nods. “But what if she insists?”

“Then discuss her with her.” Silver says. “Like we did. She’s young, and she’s got a lot to discover yet. Tell her she’ll find somebody, and then continue taking care of her like nothing happened, even if she keeps talking. Going that far, she would be the rude one leaving you no choice anyway!”

“Ah, I wish I could do this…” Pear Plum says. “I’m not sure I have the guts to tell somepony off and remain unphased like that.”

“Then how about you train yourself a little first?” Silver turns to Night Sprout, who’s been content to listen to the two big mares the whole time. “How about you tell Pear Plum that you love her? And then she replies, gently but firmly, that she’s not interested?”

 

Without waiting for her to accept, Night Sprout turns to the druid mare.

“Pear Plum.” Night Sprout says with her usual near-deadpan expression. “I love you. I want to go on a date with you. Also I like your big butt.”

 

And after a few seconds of silence, both Silver Willow and Pear Plum burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“I’m serious. I really like your big butt.” Night Sprout adds in the same manner, only causing the two mares to laugh even more. It takes about 20 seconds for them to calm down enough to be able to speak.

“So-sorry Night Sprout.” Pear says between two fits of giggling. “The way you said that…”

“The way I said I liked your big butt?”

And thus Pear and Silver laughed for a dozen more seconds. After taking in some deep breaths, both mares eventually manage to calm down a little.

 

“You’re…” Silver snickers. “You’re doing great Night Sprout! But now, laughing at the face of ponies might actually be rude. Pear Plum, do feel ready to actually try this time?”

“Mmh.” The druid mare nods. “I’ll do my best. Please ask me again Night Sprout.”

 

What follows is a dozen minutes of Pear Plum politely telling Night Sprout off who in turn finds increasingly ludicrous ways to ask the druid mare out and to compliment her flanks. Of course, the speeches are often interrupted by giggles from Silver Willow or Pear Plum, which leads Pear Plum to add some jokes of her own. Regardless of how quirky this interaction went, at the end of it the druid mare sounds like she could be more comfortable in such situations, and all three had some fun with this little interlude of roleplay.

 

“Sounds to me you’re ready for the next pony who won’t be able to contain his admiration for you!” Silver Willow states. “And you better believe this will happen soon enough, Pear honey.”

“Well…” Pear Plum smiles. “I suppose I’ve been meeting lots of new ponies lately.”

“There’s not only that.” Silver shakes her head. “I was a little dubious at first, but height DOES add to a mare’s appeal. I believed breaking into superequine heights could have deterred some stallions, but from the looks I got today, these must be outnumbered 10 to 1! I don’t know how much more we’ll grow if we stay around Little Spoon, but I’m about certain the next couple feet will bring even more stallion and mares to adore us!”

 

“And what if we grow more than that?” Night Sprout asks. “Will ponies think we’re too tall?”

“I don’t know actually.” Silver Willow shrugs. “I just had one day to see how crowds liked me at 6’, so I have no idea what they’ll think should I reach 10, or 15… or even 20 feet tall.”

“Well…” Pear Plum speaks up with a bit of a blush. “When Fen Flower grew really big the other day, like 30’ tall I believe, a whole LOT of ponies came to see her, and they ended up throwing a big party around her.”

“Then it sounds like it is the next couple DOZEN feet that will each bring more suitors around us.” Silver nods to herself.

“Goodness…” Pear Plum fiddles uncomfortable on her seat. “I… think I’ll need some more training if we get to the point ponies gather around me all the time…”

 

“Just ask, then!” Silver replies with enthusiasm. “If we’re around, we can help you think this through. And it would be a pleasure to have another of those night together!”

Night sprouts nods to that.

“Ah, thanks. The two of you.” A little awkwardly, Pear Plum reaches around Silver Willow to take her in a hug. The older mare readily lands her head against the druid mare’s chest as her own arms go around her midsection. Night Sprout is quick to nestle herself between the two bigger mares too.

“You’re right. We’re here to support each other after all. I feel… I really feel like this would be nothing impossible to overcome right now.”

“That’s the spirit.” Silver softly chuckles. “Each of us is one different kind of awesome mare already, but the world is not ready for when we’ll come together!”

 

Pear too chuckles to that in response, and the trio of mares remains in the embrace for a few more seconds.

“Now that I have you at hoof.” Silver Willow breaks the silence. “Are you ready to tell me how your date went yet, Night Sprout?”

 

“Well... Yes.” Night Spout gives in. And after the mares let each other some more space to breathe, they listen to the fey mare’s story. Which happens to be quite… quick.

“We bought some clothes for each of us. Then we had lunch. We talked about each other too. We hugged, we kissed and I grew. Then we flew over the city together, and then we read some books too. That’s it.”

“My, that sounds like a good first date!” Silver says with a smile. “Did you like it?”

“Yes. I want to go on another one.”

“It sure sounds like it!” The older mare chuckles. “Was Little Spoon kind enough to tell you when already?”

“No. And…” Night Spout stops in her sentence. “And then Little Spoon went on his date with Fen Flower.”

 

Silver and Pear exchange a quizzical look.

“Do you feel alright Night Sprout?” Pear Plum asks. “Do you want to talk about how you feel?”

“I feel…” The fey mare fiddles with her hooves uncomfortably. “I feel a little bad to know he is on another date with Fen Flower after being with me.”

“Aw… Come here Night Sprout.” Silver invites the smaller mare for another hug, and Night Sprout is quick to bury her face in the fluff of Silver Willow’s chest.

“It’s okay to feel bad.” Silver whispers, gently caressing Night Sprout’s mane. “That was a bit rude from Little Spoon to take a maiden’s first date under such circumstances.”

“I knew that was going to happen beforehoof.” Night Sprout says.

“Of course.” Silver replies. “It’s good that you understand this is how Little Spoon is. But if you’re honest with yourself, and even if you know this can’t happen, wouldn’t you have preferred to have Little Spoon all for yourself?”

 

After a few seconds of hesitation, Night Sprout nods against the larger mare’s chest.

“There’s no shame to admit that to yourself, even if you know Little Spoon will probably not change the way he is.” The older mare says “Like I told Pear Plum, I believe you should enjoy the good you have with Little Spoon, but if you’re not satisfied, you can always find other things to look forward to.”

“But… I don’t know what else I would want, aside from another date with Little Spoon.”

“I might have something to help with that.” Silver says with a little giggle.

 

After letting go of Night Sprout, Silver goes to pick something in the bags he prepared for the party. A calendar of some sort. And as she drops the wide stack of paper for the two other mares to see, they can contemplate the handsome warrior in skimpy mail on the cover.

“Ta-da! The adventurer’s guild calendar! This year’s ‘For the ladies’ edition, of course!” Silver Willow proudly states.

“The guild publishes such a thing?” Pear Plum sounds sceptical.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect it either. I stumbled upon it when I was figuring out the logistics of adventuring at the guild, and I thought it could be fun to see what do the adventurers who pack some heat look like.”

 

“And so they sell these… kind of pictures of stallions from the guild?” Pear Plum still sounds bewildered as she speaks, but there’s also a faint blush on her face.

“A welcome surprise I say!” Silver chuckles, before turning to Night Sprout. “Now, I want you to flip through these pages, and then you’ll tell me which of these stallions you wish you could go on a date with.”

“You mean the stallions in this would go on a date with me?”

“Absolutely NOT.” Silver shakes her head with a smile, much to Night Sprout’s confusion. “Of course they don’t even know you, and they’re probably not your type. I mean, they’re quite literally posers!”

“What is the point, then?”

“For you to figure out the kind of stallion you could like!” Silver answers “I bet you didn’t have many occasions to imagine what your dream colt could be like. Yet that’s important I believe! This could be the first step to decide what kind of relationship you want and with what kind of pony. So do dream away, Night Sprout! It doesn’t matter if the stallion on the picture isn’t actually the love of your life. It’s just like when ponies get an eyeful on pretty mares like us on the streets. As long as those thoughts remain in their head, they can fantasize about anything with anybody. There’s no harm in this, so why stopping ourselves?”

 

Night Sprout ponders for a couple seconds, but then in silence she starts to browse through the pictures of the different kinds of charming stallions. The elven bard of January doesn’t get the favours the fey mare despite his cascading blond locks and intense green eyes. The distinguished gunslinger unicorn of February doesn’t get any more luck, and neither does the muscular and nonchalant druid of March. The burly dwarf monk, extravagant halfling mage and jolly pegasus ranger too are rejected by Night Sprout. But then she seems to remain a little longer to contemplate a paladin in shining armour smiling warmly at her.

 

“Seeing something you like, Night Sprout?” Silver asks with some tease in her voice.

“He seems like a nice pony.” The fairy says.

“He does look like it.” Silver nods. “So what? If you could, would you like him to hold your hoof? Give him a hug maybe? To have him whisper that he loves you in your ear?”

“Yes.” Night Sprout just says, a blush on her face.

 

“And what about you Pear honey?” Silver turns to the druid mare to let Night Sprout some time to process what she sees. “Was any of these studs to your liking?”

“Ah, uhm!” Pear Plum jumps slightly in surprise. She’s been a little red I the face for quite some time. “I’m not really interested in… b-but you didn’t tell us which one was your favourite, Silver!”

“Come on, Pear honey.” Silver shows devious grin to the druid mare. “I’d be down to spend some quality time with EACH and ALL of these guys!”

“That’s not an answer!” Pear protests. “You’re dodging the question here!”

“Oh, Pear honey.” Silver scoffs. “Do I really need to tell you in detail what I would do with each of these stallions if I had some intimate time with them?”

 

Pear Plum harrumphs embarrassedly, but after a little while she calms down.

“A little more seriously though.” The druid mare asks. “If you don’t mind me asking… do your really have no desire to commit to a relationship at all?”

“Well, no, yeah.” Silver nods. “I have no such plans indeed. I hope adventuring will help me discover many new horizons, and that includes partners.”

“But could it be because of how it ended up with your husband?”

“Ah, touché…” Silver looks away for a second. “That is probably part of the reason. But, well, maybe later. I sure am not feeling like getting myself in any long-term thing right now, but still I want to meet new ponies.”

“Uhm. If you ever feel like changing your mind, you can talk to us about it, Silver.” Pear Plum offers.

“Aw, thank you Pear honey…” Silver smiles back.

 

The three mares keep enjoying themselves in this night. Trying out some more make up Silver brought, or playing some board game while sharing some more of their memories until late into the night.