Champions of Mareth 2: Mare Harder

Now I'm at the forest, now I'm at my campsite. Now I'm at the forest, now I'm at my campsite! "Whee, this is so much fun!"

I had quickly discovered this game's ability to warp you between places you've already been, and I am having a crazy amount of fun with it.

"Now I'm at the forest, now I'm- ASDFGL!" Out of nowhere, a vine comes whipping round at me, smacking me in the face and throwing me about ten feet. Before I can even hit the ground, more vines have snaked their way out of the trees, tying themselves around my limbs and catching my fall.

I'm facing the ground, but turn my head to look behind me, and see a large bush-monster looming over me. The vines seem to be extending out from its body.

"I don't think I want to be at the forest anymore..." I whimper, trying to warp myself back to my campsite.

Cannot fast travel while in combat!

"Ahh, lemme go you big meanie!" I yell, tugging at it and trying to free myself. As I twist my way out of its grip, one of my legs slips free, and I manage to kick it square in the... branches? I'm not sure, but whatever it was, it clearly hurt, as the bush lets out a shrill cry, flinging me away from it.

I fly through the air, and my spine smacks into a tree trunk, winding me badly. I lie on the ground a while, thinking any second that the bush is gonna grab me again. When I finally get up, I see it still sitting there, watching me, I think.

RPG combat was always too slow for me to get into, but it was starting to look lively as heck now. Nonetheless, I knew from watching my friends play that levels were important, and this bush was five whole levels above me! It was time to get out of here. I turn away and try to run, and see the vines come flying at me once again.

"Eeeek!" I cry, ducking as I run full pelt, hearing the vines smash through tree trunks all around me. A vine swings at my legs, but thankfully my Pinkie sense kicks in, and I manage to leap over it.

Reaching the edge of the woods, I cross my arms in front of me as I break through the branches. Once I land, I keep sprinting, not even bothering to look behind to see if the bush is still following me. Forgetting even about my fast travel for the time being, I run all the way back to camp, yelling "nope nope nope!" all the way home.

After vowing myself away from the forest for a while, I carefully explore some more of the wilderness around my camp, and am soon rewarded by a much more calming sight. A beautifully clear lake, surrounded by plants and trees, stretches off as far as I can see, and the cool breeze flows over me, soothing my battered body.

I eye the nearest tree suspiciously. "I'm on to you, buddy..."

Once I'm satisfied that it knows its place, I feel safe enough to walk along the lake shore, taking in the sights and smells the fresh water has to offer. A calming quiet seems to hover over the area, disturbed only by the sound of my footsteps in the soft mud.

Squish, squash, squish, squash, squish, clop, clip, clop... clip... clop?

Curiously, I look down at my feet, and notice the outline of a wooden plank hidden just below the dirt. Tracing my eyes forwards along the ground, I see a full pathway of planks leading away, guiding me towards a shrouded clump of trees.

"Oooh, a clue!" I cheer. Though I don't know what the mystery is, I'm pretty sure I just got one step closer to solving it. With a hearty clip clop, I follow my way along the path, giving the trees another warning glare as I duck under a branch.

After spending an uncomfortable amount of time walking through the trees, the path opens up into a wide clearing. Looking around, I find myself standing in what looks like a town, or at least, it was once.

There don't seem to be any houses left completely intact. The walls lay collapsed, the grass looks scorched and dead, and there are what look like claw marks scratched out all over the place.

Looking at all the destruction, I feel my good mood rapidly deflate. I can't help thinking about what must have happened to all the people that lived here. They may have lost their homes, friends, family, snacks, everything!

Perhaps the part that makes it worst of all, is how much this town reminds me of Ponyville.

I shake my head, trying to liven myself up. It's just a game, I remind myself. The town was probably designed pre-destroyed. No-one suffered, or got scared, or hungry, or dammit I'm crying again aren't I?

Brushing the tears from my face, I keep trekking forwards, searching through the maze of broken buildings for any signs of what exactly happened here, who the people who lived here were supposed to be, or where they might have gone.

A glint of light catches my eye. "Ooh, shiny!" I exclaim, jogging excitedly to the pile of rubbish that it came from, my woes forgotten. Digging through the trash, I pick out a shimmering gem, something that would look less out-of-place on one of Rarity's dresses.

Just then, my knee twitches.

Before I can turn around, I hear a whizzing go past my ear, and the gem clenched between my finger and thumb shatters into shards. With a thunk, the dart embeds itself into the stone wall, trembling at the impact.

"Don’t make any sudden moves!" The voice comes from behind me. It sounds high pitched and squeaky, like me after I've inhaled a balloon, but it also manages to sound strong and commanding, like Princess Luna if she inhaled a balloon.

"Stand up and turn around, slowly," the voice instructs me, and I get to my feet with my hands raised, wearing my best disarming smile, taught to me by Gummy.

The girl that the voice belongs to looks very strange indeed. She has a humanoid shape, but her features are definitely those of a mouse: Big ears, muzzly face complete with whiskers, paw feet, and a whole covering of auburn fur to top it all off. Her clothes are a simple pants-shirt combo, like my character's current equipment, but hers are dirty and tattered and look like they'd be too small for her if she wasn't so skinny. Speaking of which, her muscles look tough and wiry, like they've been hardened not just by exercise but by hunger as well. I don't think I've ever seen anyone in as much need of an emergency cake as this girl. Not even me after I've just woken up, and that's the point at which I've had to go a whole eight hours cake-free!

The girl is eyeing me as warily as I eye the trees. Her blowpipe is poised, no doubt ready to shoot another dart at me, and her fingers are hovering over the dagger at her belt.

After a while, she sighs, and lowers the pipe. "I'm sorry about that, but I thought you were another demon."

"Ah, that's okay," I tell her with a wave. "I once thought a bag of flour was a French noble lady. But then I realised we didn't even HAVE a France, so I mean, what is up is that, right?"

"Uh... right," the mouse-girl nods, looking a little uncertain. "But yeah, sorry again... I guess I shouldn't be quite so jumpy. It's just the demons destroyed this place years ago, and some of the damn scavengers still drift through occasionally. Although, their numbers are starting to dwindle lately. You could say I've made an impression on them..." As she says this, she caresses the blade of her knife, almost sensually, as her muzzle turns up into a malevolent grin.

"I like this girl."

"Hmm?" She seems to snap out of whatever she was picturing in her mind. "Did you say something?"

"Oh, I've said lots of things," I inform her. "My favourite thing to say is 'Hi, my name's Pinkie Pie!' What's yours?"

"I uh, don't get much opportunity for conversation these days." She seems to ponder something for a little while, before stashing her blowpipe in her belt, and extending her hand towards me. "My name is Amily, the last survivor of this village. All of my people are gone now; they’re scattered, dead, enslaved, or worse. What about you? Are you one of those... humans, I've heard sometimes wander into this world?"

I take her hand and shake it, beaming widely. Handshakes are the first step towards a good friendship, after all. "Nice to meet you Amily! Yeah, I'm a human. Although, if you wanna know a secret, sometimes, I get this weird feeling, like I'm actually an animal born in a human body. Can't really pin down what animal though... seahorse maybe."

"Interesting... Well I don't know about seahorses, but if you eat enough of some of the food in this world, you'll certainly end up as some kind of animal," she tells me, but then quickly bites her lip, as if regretting having let something slip. "Just uh, be careful. You don't want to lose your humanity too much, after all."

"Ooh, sounds fun! But I think you're the one out of the two of us who could do with some food," I say, eyeing her midriff.

She glances away, sighing. "...I get by. I have to gather my own food now, but I don't like going too far afield from the village. So I tend to just take what I need, although lately what I can get isn't even adding up to that..."

"That's awful!" The thought of this girl being out here all alone, and being hungry to boot... I can feel the tears welling their way back up, but I'm distracted when I remember my initial curiosity.

"So, how come you live out here by yourself? What happened here?"

"I was born here," she states, giving me a determined gaze, "I grew up here, and I would have gotten married and settled down here if it hadn't been for those demons." She gives the hilt of her dagger a white-knuckled grip as she spits the word "demons." "After it was all over, I had nowhere else to go. So I stayed here. I've still got nowhere else to go, to be honest. I haven’t found any other settlements of my own people, and I’d sooner die than give myself over to the demons. But it seems that if I’m ever going to see more of my people living free, I’m going to have to take the leading role..."

"Ooh, yeah, you should do that!" I excitedly encourage her. "You could be like a warrior queen, rallying your people and leading them to victory!" I give her a wide grin, and then notice the intense stare that she's giving me. "What? You wanted to be the warrior king? That's cool too."

She shakes her head. "No, it's not that. You see, that role I was talking about? I've had a long time to think about it, and there’s no one else for it. If there are ever going to be more of my kind born into freedom, they’re going to have to be born. Literally; I need to find a mate that is pure, one that can give me strong and pure children of my own kind."

"Wow, that's quite the responsibility. But if there are no others of your kind, how're you gonna do that?"

"I didn't say there were no others, but..." Her eyes are trailing along the ground at this point. "But you're right, that way won't work. The few males of my kind that I've managed to find are demon slaves – far too corrupt to make suitable mates, even if I could free them. I've heard, though, that humans are strangely weak breeders; your seed would be free of taint, and you would father more of my own kind. Unlike, say, an imp or a minotaur."

"Seed?" I tilt my head, picturing Applejack planting seeds on her farm, to grow into trees. Hmm... I wonder if her trees are trustworthy? I should have a word with them when I get home.

When I step off of that train of thought, I find Amily has edged her way closer towards me, her face inches from mine as she stares into my eyes. "Please, will you help me? If you lay with me and help me bring more of my people into this world, free of the demons and untouched by their perverse taint, you will be striking another kind of blow against their corrupt stranglehold on Mareth."

A moment passed while the gears ground in my head, until they finally managed to click into place. "Ohhh, you want my babies!"

Amily blushed, but managed to maintain eye contact. "If you want to put it so bluntly... yes. Please, will you do this for me?"

"But..." I furrow my brows, remembering what Mrs Cake always told me. "But aren't you only meant to make babies with people you love?"

Amily sighed, clearly disappointed. "Of course, a chaste champion, I should've guessed... Dammit, you were the best hope I had... the only hope I had."

"I mean, of course I'll help you, but I just wanna make sure that you're sure you're sure."

Her head darts back up, looking at me with wide eyes. "You... you meant me? You were considering my feelings?"

"Well sure, silly," I laugh, petting her head. "I love all my friends, so that'd never be a problem for me."

"Wow..." She blinks, clearly surprised. "I've never met a male who actually cared if a female wanted sex or not..." It's subtle, but I see her mouth turn up into gentle smile. "It’s nice to meet somebody who can still care about people as something other than fuck toys. Please, come with me."

She quickly struts away down a path, and I follow close behind her. Her hips sway as she bobs happily, her tail swishing from side to side. I feel a warm glow inside myself; I made a new friend, and I've already given her something to smile about.

We take a twisting, confusing route down side streets and through crumbling buildings, but eventually Amily enters a particularly ruined house. She arrives at what looks like it used to be a bedroom, but which now lays in tatters. A large mound of vaguely clean rags and frayed cushions is the closest thing to a bed in here.

The floor is covered in a thick layer of dirt. It's more than would seem normal to have built up over time, it's more like it was specifically dragged in from outside. Amily notices me noticing, and looks a little sheepish.

"I have to stay hidden, I can’t afford to make it too obvious that anyone lives here. That dirt actually helps warn me if anyone else has found this bolthole."

I nod, turning my attention back to her. As I watch her, she idly takes her tail in one hand, absent-mindedly stroking the tip.

"So... here we are?" she says hesitantly. She's blushing more profusely now, and her gaze is rooted to the corner of the room.

I recognise the symptoms almost immediately. She has Fluttershy syndrome, or shyness for short. Now, what am I supposed to do with people like this again? Don't invite them to busy parties without warning them, give them space when they need it... ah! Don't leave it to them to initiate social interactions!

The poor girl is still trying to work out how to start things off. Her eyes flicker towards me briefly. She opens her mouth, but then closes it without saying anything. She inches towards me, but it's so slow she's barely moving. Yeah, I really need to help her out here.

I stride over to her, closing the gap between us. As she turns her head to look up at me, I act on instinct, and bend down to plant my lips softly against hers. I feel her tense up in surprise, but she soon relaxes, putting her arms around me, and I quickly return the favour.

As we remain in this kiss, lips simply pressed together, Amily's hands start to explore across my body. Glad to find that the girl is acting a little more confidently now, I mimic her actions, caressing her body as well. I feel like I have a bit of an advantage on her though, since I have an idea about the parts that feel best on a girl, but neither of us have a clue as to where to best touch a guy.

Nonetheless, her soft hands do feel pretty nice, and I feel the beast reawakening inside my pants. She must be feeling good too, since her hands get bolder in their pursuits, slipping under my shirt and lifting it over my head. I follow suit for hers, and though I can't see her breasts, I can feel them in my hands. Though some may call them small, I call them pert, and the little squeak she gives out as I hold them skin-to-fur is just too adorable.

Our hands slide down to each other's waistbands in unison, and as we each fumble with the fasteners, we open our eyes, gazing at one another as we let our trousers drop to the floor.

Slowly, I step back, just far enough for us to get a look at each other, while still not entirely breaking our embrace.

Though I've no idea why, the sight of her naked body fills me with so much glee and excitement. I've been naked with the girls loads of times before, but never felt anything like this. Is it because I'm a guy? Or...

Amily seems excited as well. She looks down between my legs, and gives me a blushing smile. "It’s nice to see a man who hasn't gone insane about that part."

"Actually, it's proven itself pretty good at driving me insane already," I tell her matter-of-factly.

"Heh, I see..." She hugs me tight to her body again. "I guess that's just how men are."

"Seems soOHHH!" I'm caught by surprise when Amily's tail suddenly wraps itself around my shaft, and starts stroking it up and down. "W-wowee! That feels even better than my hand!"

Amily looks up at me in surprise. "You've only done it with your hand?"

"Well, sure, what else am I gonna do it with?"

She smiles softly, resting her head on my chest. "Nothing..."

She tries to lead me to the bed, but is unwilling to let go of me, so we end up awkwardly crab-walking over to the sheets. Once there, we flop ourselves down, with me landing underneath the mouse-girl.

Though seeming reluctant to do so, Amily releases me from her grip, and sits herself up astride me, positioning her crotch at the tip of mine.

"Now, are you sure you're sure you're sure about this?" I ask again. "Once this goes inside you, you'll be pregnant, after all."

She laughs, an adorable, girlish giggle. "There's a little bit more too it than that. And yes... I'm sure." With that, she leans forward again, pressing her lips against mine. I feel her part her lips slightly, and her tongue gently works its way into my mouth, caressing itself along my own.

So there was more? I guess I should've actually read the textbook Twilight gave me when I asked her how babies were made, rather than just looking at the pictures.

Her vagina hovers along the tip of my cock hesitantly, as if she's preparing herself to take the plunge... and plunge she does, skewering herself on my shaft in one quick motion.

We both gasp, which tightens our kiss very sensually. My brain seems to struggle to process all the feelings suddenly assaulting me, so it decides to just fire the YES signal over and over to get the point across. But through the mind-blowing pleasure, I'm still able to notice Amily wince, to feel her muscles clenching all up her body. I hold her tighter, letting my tongue caress hers in return, and attempt to comfort her from the pain she is evidently feeling.

We lie like that for a few minutes, neither of us moving. The beast tries to order me to buck my hips up towards her, but I push it aside. There's no way I would hurt a friend.

After a while, I feel her relax, and she starts to rock her hips slowly back and forth, working my shaft in and out of her.

Releasing her from my hug, I put my hands to another use, caressing her body. One hand slides round to massage her breasts, and the squeak she let out when I pinched her nipple vibrates sensually against my lips. My other hand slides down to squeeze her tight butt, guiding her hips when she became unsure or unsteady in her rhythm.

All too quickly, I could feel the familiar welling of energy coming from my balls. I try to warn her, but she won't let up the kiss, so all I can do is moan and grunt into her mouth.

Whether she got the message or not, she starts to pick up her pace, her own breathing rate spiking sharply. Suddenly, she thrusts her hips downwards, taking in all of my cock, and holds herself there, her body shaking from head to toe as she finally breaks the kiss, throwing her head back and moaning loudly.

The trigger is pulled, and the beast charges the gates. All I can do is moan myself, as my cock shoots out all of my salty cream inside of Amily's pussy. It feels way more intense than before, and I feel like I spurt myself dry by the end of it.

Amily's orgasm ends around the same time mine does, and her body drops down to lean over me, her eyes gazing passionately into mine.

"...That was... wow. Uh, I mean." She hastily corrects herself, blushing. "I guess you weren't so bad... I knew I had a good feeling about you." She smiles. "You do know I’m not necessarily pregnant, right? We’re going to have to do this again."

I smile back. "As many times as you need, I'll be there."

She blushes so red it’s almost like the fur on her cheeks has turned red.

I want to stay with her, but it's clear she's pretty tired after all that, so I give her one more kiss, before sliding myself out of her grip, dressing, and excusing myself.

"I'll be back later. Pinkie promise," I tell her. She seems satisfied with this, and gives me a tired wave, as well as a smile, as I head out. Once I'm through the door, I hear the sound of her head hit the pillow, accompanied by the most adorable giggle of glee I've ever heard.