"Spinel? Spinel!"
Dusk Shine huffed loudly and trotted out of his kitchen. That little dragon had been absent all morning and now that he really needed her she still wasn't around. Probably off sketching Elusive again or writing about him in her 'super secret diary'. She was, he reflected, getting near that age where she wouldn't settle for a simple infatuation.
"Spinel, if I have to take my horn to you, I'll-"
The door of the basement creaked open and Spinel strode through it smartly with a smug grin.
"Today's the day you wanted to start your new experiment and you wanted me to clean your lab, remember?"
Muttering under his breath, Dusk closed the door after her. Well, at least now he'd be able to send her out, get some peace and quiet so he could work on his...
"Listen, Spinel, I need you to stay with Elusive for a while, I'll be leaving the library for most of the day."
"Did he ask you to send me over? I bet he wants me to check how his new suits look on him in different light- Hey!" Spinel paused mid-stride to the door to shoot Dusk a dirty look. "You mean I spent all morning cleaning up your lab for nothing?"
Levitating his saddlebags onto his back, Dusk winced at those words. Luckily he'd been keeping some cloudy topaz out of her reach for just such an occasion.
"No! No, I'll still need to start my experiment later this week... Look at it this way, you got the work out of the way now so you've more time to spend with Elusive."
Spinel looked ready to argue but upon hearing Elusive's name her features softened and she nodded. Using him to lever her emotions may not have been Dusk's prouder moments but needs must, he assured himself.
"Just try not to bother him too much!" His admonition was mostly lost as Spinel zipped out the door and away. Figures; sometimes it was if everyone in the town had someone they needed to spend time with. Romance. Time that could be better spent elsewhere wasted on sentimentality.
Dusk tightened the straps of his saddlebags and looked back over the library. Wasn't that the very line of thinking which left him disdaining friends for so many years? Now the idea of not having them in his life left a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. To have never known the splendour of friendship's magic... Perhaps sentimentality had its place.
For now, though, he had one more friend to visit with. Passing through the town there were plenty about, enjoying the good weather. Zircon would probably still be back in his tree-house, though, Dusk had noted he most often visited on Thursdays. And that was something else; despite that, Zircon could just as easily be lost in the crowd, just another pony in a town of ponies.
Zebra, though. He halted in his tracks, mind turning the word over. Zebra. It even sounded exotic and spoke of the kind of mystique that followed Zircon. Were they all so enigmatic, such fonts of wisdom or had their town been blessed with one such as him?
Picking up his pace again, Dusk set those ideas aside. Whatever the case, he was glad Zircon made his home here. Butterscotch was a good guide when it came to herbalism but Zircon had knowledge far surpassing even his. And that was to say nothing of the kind patience that saw him through Tristen's last encounter.
Lost in his thoughts, Dusk hadn't noticed that the buildings of Ponyville gave way to rolling hills and thicker clusterings of trees. To the east would be Whitetail Wood and Butterscotch but further south lay the Everfree and his goal. While still mostly shrouded in mystery, the forest felt much less intimidating now that he knew Zircon made his home just inside it. A home of odd trinkets from his homeland, strange spices and stranger tastes from his brews.
Dusk slowed to a canter as he approached the dark edge of the Everfree. Even just inside it, he'd need to keep aware. The roots of the trees grew wild and thick and all sorts of creeping plants might catch an absent-minded pony's hoof. But despite all that, the way the light filtered through the canopy and speckled the ground; the way the air was filled with strange and wonderful sounds; the way every turn presented something new to be discovered made it all worthwhile to come out here.
But nothing tugged at his curiosity quite like the zebra who made his residence in the forest. A youth spent pouring over books left Dusk with an open mind when it came to other species and none quite captured his imagination like the zebras of the Zebrican plains. A species who still lived by the old magics of shamanism and rarely could be found outside of their native land. Stories about the caravanners and even a few of the Prince's old tales made it all sound so terribly romanticised.
The stallion smiled as he passed into a clearing and spotted Zircon's tree home just ahead. Despite the dimness of the forest, light spilled out from the windows of the converted tree and the air was thick with strange, spicy scents. Zebrican cuisine, no doubt, born of a region where foodstuffs were bland but spices were plentiful. Perhaps if he played his cards right he might convince the zebra to share a meal.
"Oof!" Dusk grunted, falling back from the door he'd walked into. A youth spent pouring over books had also left him with an adulthood of absent-mindedness.
"Who is that there who knocks my door so? For a guest seeking entry I would never say 'no'."
About to open the door himself, Dusk was pleased to see the face of Zircon as he pulled it back himself.
"Dusk Shine, this is a most welcome surprise, what is it you have come seeking to find?"
Rife with shelves of herbs and other reagents, masks decorating the walls and a massive iron cauldron seated in the centre of the room it was a sore sight from the homes in Ponyville. Made even more so by the zebra smiling kindly at Dusk.
"Hi Zircon, I don't need any thing from you but I am in need of your help."
Standing aside, the zebra beckoned him in with a hoof. Dusk followed as Zircon led, his eyes continually straying to a point just above his legs. Despite being a stallion there was a bounce to his rump that was captivating; every step he took and every swish of his two-tone tail only drew his attention further.
"My good friend you need only ask and I will gladly help you in any task." Trotting around his cauldron, Zircon took a book from one of his shelves and lay it on a table. "Has another curse befallen Applejack's trees? Or is it something that we may solve with ease?"
Dusk pulled up beside Zircon and sat next him, casually looking over the book. Judging by the illustrations it was something like his copy of Super Naturals.
"Actually... that's the thing, I need your help. Personally." Turning aside to hide a small blush, Dusk continued in a quieter tone, "I've been having some trouble concentrating on my studies lately and I was hoping you could go through some of your practices for meditation with me."
Rising suddenly, Zircon trotted over to his cauldron and, taking a wooden, spoon sampled some of... whatever was in it.
"This is a matter I can aid you with but first we must eat so please, come and sit."
Again, watching the zebra trot off to grab two bowls, Dusk was struck by the shapeliness of his body. Apart from his rump, he was well muscled; a life led simply and with the kind of labour necessary to build a home by himself would lead to that kind of physique. And then those lines... those black and white lines that almost seemed to trace the contours of his body, that bespoke only of how foreign but also how beautiful this zebra was.
"Dusk?"
"Hu-What?"
Chuckling softly, Zircon lay a hoof on the pony's back and gave it a small tug to get him moving.
"I think I see now where your problem lies, we will eat and then speak and you will be satisfied."
Oh bright Solaris, did Zircon catch him ogling? Why was he even doing that? It's not like Ponyville hadn't a stallion in it. Or mares, for that matter. And yet apart from his friends, none showed him the level of patience and kindness in equal measure that Zircon had.
Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Dusk offered his friend as much of a smile he could before following him to an arrangement of cushions. Keeping a little way back to catch one last glimpse of his rump and if he was lucky, something else nestled between his legs.
"This was a terrible idea," Dusk muttered to himself.
Seated on the forest floor, nought save the sound of a few animals broke the silence. Still, the stallion couldn't maintain his concentration, not with Zircon balancing himself on that bamboo stick. Upside down. With his hind legs spread.
It was as if the zebra knew what he was doing, affording him such a perfect view of his thick sheath and fat balls. Dusk tried closing his eyes but images of the zebra seated in front of him with all on display were his only reward. He tried looking to one side but every time his mind settled, his eyes would start wandering back to drink in that beautiful sight.
Zircon was perfectly balanced, eyes closed and a small smile on his face. How in Tartarus did he so easily maintain his composure like that when everything was on view! It was unfair, expecting Dusk to sit and meditate when all his mind wanted to do was titillate him with thoughts of what he could do to the zebra.
"Or what he could do to me," He growled, cracking an eye open to take another peek.
There in front of him was the smiling face of Zircon and with a cry of surprise, Dusk fall back.
"I am afraid, Dusk, that this is not what you need, for in your mind has been growing a seed." He stalked over Dusk, his eyes never leaving the pony's. "You came to me seeking aid but it is not to meditate that you need me, I am afraid."
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Why did his throat feel so dry so suddenly? And why was his heart racing the closer Zircon came to him.
"There is much that you can learn from your books but some things require a physical touch. Whether your own or of another, trying to resist can be too much of a struggle."
His body was swaying gently from side to side and Dusk was caught between trying to hold Zircon's gaze and taking in the gentle motions. Despite standing over him, he could still feel the heat of his body, could get a better sense for his scent: earthy and primal, like no other stallion he knew.
"I-I don't... I don't know what..."
He followed Zircon's piercing blue eyes as they travelled down the length of his body, over his stomach until their gaze fell on his... Oh no. No! He was just looking at him, he wasn't even at a point where he should be... and yet there it was.
"Zircon, wait, I can explain!"
Still taken up by the sight of his own arousal, Dusk didn't notice the zebra leaning in close to his ear.
"Tell me Dusk, my closest of friends, where have your wandering thoughts of late found their end?"
"My... thoughts?" Absent-minded, unable to concentrate, that's what he'd said. "I... Well, I've been thinking... I mean I didn't want to but I was just thinking about seeing you about this for a bit."
Dusk squirmed, hoping to get out from under the zebra. In this position, his own organ was mere inches from Zircon's and there was no doubt in Dusk's mind that he was far outclassed in that area. Imagining that long thing drooping from its sheath and pressing against his own...
"Ah, so your thoughts often wander to me? Hmm, I wonder why that could be."
It was... it was his hot breath! And the spices he used in that stew, the humid air in the forest and the closeness of their bodies, it was all clouding his mind. He couldn't think straight, that's all it was.
"I don't... I don't know." His breathing hadn't calmed down but had only increased in intensity.
"Could it be that you see something in me, something that could help to sate your needs?" That voice, rich and deep left Dusk feeling like it was shaking his bones. It certainly left him shivering.
"My... needs?" That word pressed down on him with a weight, recalling all his attempts to keep a focused mind for the past month and failing continually. Only to be greeted by the sight of Zircon meditating or quietly talking to him over tea or... anything. Anything involving that zebra.
"You are a fine stallion of that I am sure but perhaps others could not see that truth."
Dusk couldn't find any reply as his mind slowly pieced together the events of the past month and Zircon's rhyming.
"So speak of your need and do so plainly and I give you my word I shall help you-"
"You!" Dusk blurted out, gasping from a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "I... I don't know why, Zircon, I can't explain it but I need you! Solaris, you're all I've been able to think of; I can't even write a report to him and my mind starts wandering to you and I know it's wrong of me to even say that you probably don't even share the same cultural values as us so I shouldn't even assume that it's possible you might look at stallions as-"
A pair of black lips pressed to his own wiped all thought from his mind.
"Come." Was the only word spoken and when he rose to follow Zircon he had eyes only for his swaying tail and hips, for the odd glances at something more between his legs. Perhaps coming out here hadn't been such a bad idea after all.
"When I was still young and ran among my tribe, I stood apart and unique in my desires. There was not a place for me among them, we knew that to their needs I could not bend."
Zircon didn't seem to mind Dusk trailing behind him, if the way he'd started talking at a volume loud enough for the stallion to hear was any indication.
"I am glad I came to know you, Dusk, my friend, for you are not alone in the thoughts that plague your head. In the setting sun of each day I see only your face, in the peace of the night I feel the emptiness of this place."
They were back at his home now, back into the soft light and simple comforts. Zircon took his time walking to the cushions and Dusk was sure he rolled his hips purposely; this time he didn't hang back but readily sat at the zebra's side.
"Then why didn't you tell me you felt that way?" When Zircon only smiled and looked at him evenly, he lowered his head. Misunderstanding had plagued his arrival to the town. "Does... that mean you'll forgive me?"
"Dusk, oh Dusk, my gentle friend." There was the feeling of Zircon's body against his own, the sensation of those muscles flexing and tensing. "Did you truly believe I would let our friendship end?"
If there was any doubt left, the gentle nuzzle into his neck that Zircon offered dispelled them. No one had ever really shown any interest and deep down he knew it was all that time he'd spent pouring over books, eschewing friendship and romance alike. Only now he knew the wonders of one and couldn't imagine his life without his friends. Something else began to unfurl within him, some strange but wonderful feeling that he desperately wished to pursue.
"I guess I just didn't want to risk offending you like the others had. You deserve so much more than that, Zircon." His words trailed off into a whisper as he buried his face into the zebra's thick mane. It was slightly spicy smelling, enough to awaken that excited feeling in him again.
"What we deserve and what we get are often so different but in this I believe I have gotten more than I bet."
"What do you mea-" His words were lost once more at the touch of Zircon's lips on his own. They were lost in the way he gently pushed Dusk back onto the cushions and let their bodies press together.
Something hot and hard began to strain against Dusk's stomach and the stallion moaned softly against his companion. Once before had he dared to fantasise about something like this; seducing the strange but exotic zebra from afar, offering his own interpretation of Equestrian diplomacy. He'd cringed at the time but now it didn't matter.
"Zircon," He gasped, breaking the kiss, "Zircon, wait!"
And wait he did but the look of hunger in his eyes caught Dusk off guard and he lost his breath. Out here he was completely at his mercy, the zebra could easily restrain him and do anything he wanted.
"I know what it is you ask, do not fear. Let us move to my bed where we may grow near."
It was a simple thing, more akin to a cot than Dusk's own thickly quilted bed back in the library. But as his eyes rove over it he could only think how much like the zebra it was, serving its purpose without pretension.
He didn't say another word as he slid out from under Zircon and took the lead, making for his bed and hesitating for only a moment before lowering himself onto it. It was far more comfortable than he'd been expecting and filled with the strong, masculine scent of the zebra. Dusk hugged a pillow and tried not to squeal in delight.
Lying there, with his view upside-down, he was afforded a perfect view of the zebra's member as he trotted over, bouncing against his stomach with every step. The thought that anypony but especially Zircon could find him arousing was... giddying. More than that, it was exactly like one of his more closely guarded fantasies.
"Wait." He called again as Zircon was about to climb onto the bed. "C-Come around, here in front of me."
Up close, the organ between Zircon's legs looked a lot more intimidating. It was shaped like a pony's but slightly longer and certainly thicker than his own. But what caught his eye was the fluid dripping from the tip.
"Zircon, I... I'd like to taste you. Please." The few romance novels he'd grudgingly read might finally prove themselves to have some use.
"Dusk, I do not wish to cause injury, perhaps you should give control to me."
Despite his calming tone, those words had only the opposite effect on Dusk. All he could think of was that smooth, seductive voice that had captured his heart and imagination so long ago. He wanted to know what it was like to be wanted and here he had found somepony that wanted him. Now he would give Zircon a reason to want him.
"Please." He reached up with a hoof to stroke the zebra's chest, struggling to keep his breathing even. "I've wanted this for so long, Zircon, I want to know what it feels like."
There was a moment where he feared he'd overstepped his bounds and asked too much but he quickly relaxed, seeing Zircon step towards him.
"Open your mouth."
It was said with a kind of quiet reassurance. It's going to be okay, just so long as you do as I say; that's what he was thinking, Dusk suspected. It really was just like that particular fantasy.
Keen not to disappoint his partner, Dusk opened his mouth as wide as he could but still feared the head of Zircon's member might prove too large. There was no time to air his fears, though, as the zebra quickly closed the distance and pressed the head of his cock to Dusk's lips. He tensed up suddenly, so unused to the sensation but taking a few quick breaths through his nose the stallion calmed himself.
"Use your tongue, be quick in getting it done."
The only indication that Dusk had done the right thing in slowly swiping his tongue against the source of Zircon's pre was a long, low groan from above him. The scent he had picked up from the bed was magnified a hundredfold in the tasting of the zebra, he found, and his tongue danced in quick lines around and across the tip.
What he did not expect was Zircon to buck his hips suddenly, forcing the head of his member in. Shocked, Dusk stopped in his ministrations momentarily only to realise this was as far as it had gotten. The sight of those two, fat black balls swinging further back did nothing to help his worries. If Zircon was to suddenly... finish, would he be able to take it all? It was too precious a thing to waste.
"Unf-You want me to continue, do you not? Ahh... Once I start I cannot stop."
Dusk hoped the way in which he swirled his tongue over Zircon's member indicated his desire for him to go ahead. Despite the way his own cock begged for attention, he had only thoughts for the one jammed in his mouth. Even moreso when the zebra pulled back and gave another thrust, forcing inches more in.
He had read about this too, though only once and it formed the basis of his fantasy. Oral sex was common enough but to be used by somepony so utterly, to have his mouth and throat rutted like a mare in her first heat... He moaned as one of his hooves absently reached down to stroke his member only to be brushed aside by Zircon who peppered it with kisses and quick licks.
His eyes rolled back in his head as Zircon gave a stronger thrust before pulling back and forcing himself in again. Dusk rolled his tongue against and over the intruding cock as best he could but his mind was quickly losing itself to the desire to more and his hooves snapped up and against the zebra's ample rump, sinking into the soft flesh. Planting his hind legs on the bed, he held himself stable and pushed.
What he lacked in experience he more than made up for in sheer tenacity, or so he hoped Zircon would think. He knew that once the zebra's member went deep enough he'd have to hold his breath and hope he was satisfying enough that he'd continue. The trickle of pre down his throat spurred him on with the promise of something more substantial.
"Dusk... you... you're going too far..." Zircon had begun to buck his hips, his breathing erratic and the smooth cadence gone from his speech. "I... desire more."
Dusk felt the bed dip as Zircon dug his forelegs into it, giving a harder thrust. The organ inside him was stretching him but it felt... good? To think that Zircon could so easily use him for his own desires, that he was doing it right now was maddening.
And then when he began to pull out, Dusk feared that he'd pushed him too much or that it was too hard for him. When Zircon thrust back in with a grunt he held his grip firmer on the stallion's rump. No, he had to keep him inside, had to have more of that delicious fluid, had to have more of him. Even with it filling his mouth and throat, Dusk strained to keep his tongue moving and working the shaft of his partner. Anything to get that zebra fucking him harder.
When he felt two hooves cup his rump and grip his hips, he tensed his muscles expecting Zircon to pull him back but instead he began to pull out again. Only this time when he thrust back in, Dusk was held in place enough that Zircon could force even more of his member in, far enough that it poked down into his throat.
It felt... frightening and Dusk smacked Zircon's rump wildly which had the opposite of his intended effect and spurred the zebra to grunt and roll his hips from side to side in an effort to force more of his length in. At his retreat, Dusk gently pushed him back far enough to pull out and take a breath.
That wasn't something he was expecting but maybe it was just something he had to accustom himself to. Taking a few more calming breaths he gave a gentle tug on Zircon's hip to signal him to resume.
"You must tell me if I go too far." Zircon lined his cock up at Dusk's lips. "But I think that for us... there is no too far."
Dusk was almost frightened by the force of Zircon's thrust, hard enough to see his cock down into his throat. But he needed this, as surely as his need had brought him out here and kept him here. And as Zircon pulled back to thrust further in, he found himself relaxing.
The sensation of those heavy balls hitting his head was enough to bring him back to his senses though and he had just enough time to close his eyes before Zircon made another thrust. With the way he was pulling all except an inch or two of his member out before ramming himself back in, Dusk wiggled himself back as Zircon spread his hind legs. Both were more than eager for more.
Soon, the small tree dwelling was filled with the wet sounds of Dusk having his throat stretched by the zebra. Every grunt, every wet smack, every dull thud of his balls against his head was more than he could've imagined it being in his fantasies. At most, he thought he might bob his head as far as he could but to have his throat fucked with such force was scratching an itch he wasn't aware was there before.
He couldn't have prepared himself for Zircon picking him up, though, nor for the way he threw himself onto Dusk's body and wrapped his hind legs about his head. Keeping his cock jammed down the stallion's throat, he bucked his hips frantically, desperate to subdue the pony beneath him.
Dusk dug his hooves deeper into the plush rump and tugged the cheeks apart, letting his tail swish over them as he kept a tight tug. Until the hind legs keeping his head in place moved aside and Zircon resumed his fucking. Whether from lack of air or lust that left his mind in a fog of desire for Zircon's semen, Dusk lay his head back and let the zebra do his work.
"Dusk!" Zircon pulled himself back out in one, smooth motion. "Before I finish, you must tell me clear, do you wish me to fill your need?"
Still struggling to take as many breaths before he resumed his duty, Dusk said the only thing that came to his mind, "Fill me up, Zircon."
That was all the zebra needed as he thrust back into Dusk's waiting mouth. Grunting with every thrust, he dug his hind legs into the frame of the bed and gave all he could. Tighter than any stallion he'd lain with before, Dusk's throat gave him little time before his body finally gave out.
Wrapping his hind legs around his head once more, Zircon gave a few last thrusts before crying out and spilling his seed. Dusk was beyond the point of caring or acknowledging that the flood of zebra cum was easily too much for him but instead drank deep of all his partner gave.
To the last drop, Zircon bucked his hips against Dusk's mouth, only pulling off when he was sure there wasn't anything left to give. Though exhausted and covered in sweat, both knew that it was worth it for their shared contentment.
