You Think This Is A Joke, Sacrifice?
It was after pouring the umpteenth hoof-ful of seeds for the numerous birds that nested around Fluttershy's cottage that Twilight realized she had come here for a question. Not trusting herself not to break the bowl in her hooves, she balanced it on the branch and tried to drop from the sky according to Rainbow Dash's training.
Her wings warped and flapped as her body began to lean onto one side and with a shaky gust of wind, Twilight crashed into the grassy floor but with less pain than usual. Flying was something that you had to spend a lifetime learning so... Twilight didn't feel too bad about it while feeling the ache of twigs and pebbles jabbing into her coat.
From her mouth getting re-introduced to the taste of dirt, she gargled. “Fluttershy, I'm pretty sure I came here wanting to ask you something.” Something hard tapped against her teeth. Twilight's tongue licked and balanced it as she tried to determine whether to swallow or spit out. “Did I actually say it?” She spat out the stone, watching spin as it smashed into a nearby tree.
“Well...” Fluttershy replied, helping Twilight up with a gentle tug on the tail. “Maybe you did? I definitely remember you saying something about wings but I was just a tiny bit too distracted with that bag of seeds over there to hear you.”
“You couldn't hear me because you were trapped under it, passing out.” Twilight deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. “What if I hadn't come? You could've been trapped under that thing without anyone noticing for hours!”
“Oh Twilight, I'm sure I would have gotten free eventually.” Fluttershy trotted over her mega-sized industrial bag of bird feed and gave it a soft pat. The bag trembled greatly, threatening to fall over the yellow pegasus and Twilight lit her horn, magically holding it in place until Fluttershy was done admiring it. “And I do have my animal friends to help me... But you did help me first and you did have a question to ask. So if you would like...”
The unicorn felt a wave of broiling heat surging from her horn, to her hooves and finally her dignity. Fluttershy wanted to talk about it out here, in the open where any pony passing by could here it?! Twilight held a hoof over her frantic heart, firing on all cylinders as the unicorn's vision began to seep red. She crossed her legs and crossed them again, acutely aware that she began hyperventilating on the spot. Fluttershy stepped closer, lifting a hoof to Twilight's head with a un-audible question resting on her lips. Twilight couldn't resist. She grabbed her.
The two of them collided and rolled down the slope of the land around Fluttershy's home before safely being nestled in some rough bushes that scratched and smelled old. “Twilight, is there something you want to tell me-” What? Not here. This isn't safe. Who know what two-bit animal could be listening? Twilight clung to the yellow pegasus, struggling as she lifted two of them up into the air and into a tree. “I'd like to think I'm good enough with my wings that I can fly without assistance, Twilight.”
But did Fluttershy know how to fly sneakily without letting the enemies know of Twilight's weakness?
She thought not!
The two of them sat on a branch surprisingly with a bowl resting there. Ah, she forgot about that. Twilight handed the bowl to Fluttershy who stared at it. “Um...” Fluttershy held the bowl up and flipped it over. “I think that this is my bowl. Thank you for returning it but I didn't exactly need all the um...”
Twilight could hardly hear Fluttershy's question over the pleasant chirps, tweets and squeak of the dozens of songbirds pilling into the tree, looking for their daily meal. Birds could talk! Birds could talk to ponies! Ponies could talk to ponies! This place wasn't safe at all! Twilight took hold of Fluttershy's waist and pushed them off the edge. “This is getting a bit too excitable for me, Twilight. I do have a pot on in the house.” Fluttershy flipped them over, spread her wings and glided over to her front door, Twilight dragging her quivering form onto the ground as she let go.
Fluttershy opened the door and walked in, “You can come in. The pot isn't just for me.” Twilight stood in the doorway, basking in the smells of potato and cabbage stew. “And your question...” The unicorn sighed and entered, passing by the many homes and holes for the animal creatures Fluttershy took care of and to her kitchen where the pegasus stood on a stool, mixing the stew with a ladle.
“Looks like it hasn't boiled to right amount yet.” Fluttershy said, taking a sip and using one of her wings to pass her some herbs. She stepped down and moved one counter to the left, pulling out a knife and a cutting board. Getting herself aligned, Fluttershy a odd-shaped block of salt looking more like a crystallized almond and started to shave it. “Your question.” She said again, prodding Twilight out of her non-existent thoughts.
“I have a problem.” There! Twilight said it! She had a problem, a gross problem.
“Go on.” Fluttershy said with a nod of her head. Twilight looked left and right, eyeing the opened window and considering to come back tomorrow. Her hoof pressed against the table and Twilight was about to- “That window is too small. Trust me. Rainbow Dash has tried plenty of times. I'd like it if you take a seat to the chair.”
Twilight complied, slumping on the chair and dropping her head to the table with a loud thump. “That's better than Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy said with a smile on her voice. “She likes to kick it.”
“I... uh... have a pegasus problem.”
“Okay.” Twilight turned her head, watching as Fluttershy cleaned her knife and sat it aside. Then as she lifted the cutting board, emptying the fresh salt into the pot before giving a slow stir. “Go on.”
“I know how to clean down there. I know how to clean up there but I don't know what to do about them.” Twilight's wings twitched as she noted them. “They took to my normal body wash before but now...” The unicorn took in a shaky, long breath. “You can't smell them because I piled on the perfume this morning and cast a thin shield around them... But they...” Twilight gulped, feeling the blood rush to her face. “They smell ripe. And it's not just the feathers. It goes straight to the skin no matter how much I scrub.”
Fluttershy didn't respond. There was only the sound of a wooden ladle hitting the floor and the frantic sound of hooves turning the stove off. Twilight stared at Fluttershy's bent form, noticing how her wings unfurled to their full length and gave off a scent of their own. It wasn't a smell-able scent per say but it gave off the aroma of nervousness, anxiety and something else. Fluttershy was saying something Twilight couldn't pick up. Feather?
Was Fluttershy trying to remember the solution for Twilight's problem? Did she need bird feathers?
Her friend turned around, her face a halo from the light bouncing off her wings and from the window.
Twilight shivered, Fluttershy almost looked sinister.
“Mmh Twilight, I can't help you if I don't know what the smell is.” Sweat ran down Fluttershy's forehead as her lips wiggled as if she was trying to control them. “Odor could mean a lot of things. Your hormones might be kicking up, you could have eaten something that didn't agree with you.” She rambled, forcing down her wings and moving to touch Twilight's shoulder. “So if you would?”
“The smell doesn't smell bad.” The unicorn confided as she reluctantly broke the spell. “It's just the smell is potent. Like musk which isn't something you want to be circulating in a library all day. I was wondering if this was a common thing for pegasi and if I should use a palm or lotion for it.”
Fluttershy took in one whiff, her body visible crooning in delight. “Fluttershy...!” The yellow pegasi pushed the seat into the table, causing a painful oomph to come from Twilight's mouth. She felt hooves extend her wings open and a muzzle breathing down on the folds where the wings began. The moment the heat hit, Twilight felt a wave of something wrong and wicked run down her spine. Then the strangest thing, a wet and hot liquid dripping down. It took her a stunned while to realized it was Fluttershy's tongue before her teeth nipped at her skin.
The unicorn cast a quick teleportion spell, appearing in the hallway.“What are you doing, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy's amused and dry laughter filled the room, her wings free and laughing with her. Fluttershy's eyes grew cold and calculating as her hoof made an odd gesture. She giggled when Twilight said nothing, only staring at her in horrified silence.
“Feathers.”
“Feathers?” Twilight tried to clarify. “My feathers? I don't understand why you are acting like this.”
“Feathers for the Featherlord.” The pegasi chanted, stomping her hooves in place to some disturbing rhythm. Twilight could hear the unspoken words in her head. Yan-K. Yan-K. Feath-ER. “You'll do well, sacrifice.” Fluttershy leaped forward and Twilight teleported outside of the cottage.
“Fluttershy, get a hold of yourself.” Twilight ran as Fluttershy dived in a sharp arch, nearly catching her until Twilight teleported to a safe distance. “Listen to me!” The monster wearing her friend's skin only recited, 'Feathers for the Featherlord' until Twilight ran down the road and hopefully out of sight.
Twilight huffed down the road, seeing Ponyville in sight until she caught a familiar blue blur clearing the sky. “Rainbow! Rainbow Dash.” She shouted at the top of her lungs. “I need help.”
“Calm your pipes.” A voice said right next to her air. Twilight jumped. “I'm right here.” Rainbow Dash cracked a smile before taking a pointedly sniff towards Twilight's wings. “So you're the one whose been smelling like that. I'd been wondering since I didn't see... And you are a alicorn...” Rainbow turned from her and sniffed at the air. “I guess it really doesn't matter now.”
“Do you know what's wrong with Fluttershy? I showed her my wings and she started acting weird. Saying, 'Feathers for this Featherlord' and licking my wings, violating my personal space. She was aggressive and... and...”
“She scent-marked you and you better thank your lucky stars that she did.” Overhead a swarm of pegasi flew up out of the town of Ponyville, flew into a lazy circle before making loud sounds of displeasure. Rainbow Dash held a hoof to her jaw-slacked mouth. “History lesson time first. Earth ponies worship the sun for obvious reasons. The sun provides light for their crops, a daytime where they don't have to worry about predators and it's good for their bodies. The sun has a name. Its name is Princess Celestia.”
“But what does that have to-”
“Shush. I'm not done yet. Unicorns are too good to admit they worship anything but if I had to guess, it would either have been the moon before Princess Luna went psycho or one of the most magical unicorns of them all, Starswirl. The moon provides mystical energies, eggheads like yourself like to read at night and she wields dreams where anything is possible.”
Rainbow Dash pointed to herself, spreading her wings a little as she did a strut. Twilight rolled her eyes waiting for her friend to get to the point. Rainbow Dash strutted a little more before turning on her heels and sticking her face very close to Twilight's. “So you worship the Featherlord. Is that why Fluttershy went all crazy on me?”
“Twilight, please.” Rainbow leaned back with a slow shake of her head. “We don't worship.” Twilight heard a second flap of wings and a thick bag went over her head. “We serve.”
Twilight woke up bound and gagged, her front hooves and head locked in a wooden stock with her hind legs and wings forced painfully wide. She drooled through the ball gag as she stared at the shadows of candles lit behind her and the smell of incense burning her nose. Twilight tried to teleport and found that the could only let loose a weak grunt. Something was wrong. Her wings itched. Her wings felt so heavy. Twilight struggled against the ropes holding her in place, her saliva pouring buckets on the floor as she longed to stick her muzzle in her wings.
“Feathers for the Featherlord. Feathers for the Featherlord. Feathers for the FEATHERLORD!”
A drum was pounded. A flute played a single note.
Twilight squirmed, howling as she felt the heat take over. Her wings. Her wings. Her wings. Feathers. Feathers. Feathers. Feathers!
She felt two pairs of hooves stroking her sides, trying to get her to relax. She tried to rub her wings against them and they took a wing and stretched it even further. It felt so good. Twilight stomped her hind leg, her tail twitching in excitement. She grunted, rubbing against the stock. There was so much heat and pleasure rushing through her body that she could hardly stand it.
Tongues ran across her wings, licking and nipping through the set of feathers. Taking their time as they preen the feathers and pulled out a few that had Twilight yelping. Soon their tongues met the center of Twilight's back, licking in circles a certain spot that had Twilight moaning until she was hoarse. “Feathers for the featherlord!” The pair chanted one more time and then suddenly, the stock was open. Twilight was pulled out, the ropes were untied and the unicorn stood there, anxious and needy.
“Oh Twilight, let me help with that.” Fluttershy tugged the ball gag out of her mouth and gave a nervous smile. “You did good for your first time. When I'm in the stock, I... um... get out of control.”
“That's true. Fluttershy can sound like a wanton whore the way she asks for someone to stick it-” Fluttershy gave a sharp jab into Rainbow Dash's side. “I mean,” She rolled her eyes. “The stock makes me frisky too.”
“That's it.” Twilight shook her head, pawing at the ground as she tried to get her thoughts together. “I thought you were all in a cult where you were going to take me by force.” Twilight said with a sharp blush, her gaze meeting the ground. “Violating me as you yanked all my feathers out and sacrificed me to the Featherlord.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy shared a look before busting out in laughter.
“No Twilight, the Featherlord is a foal's tale, you big old pervert. It's the code we use when we talk about pegasi hush hush.” Rainbow Dash cried, holding her sides. “You had a baby primary feather growing in the middle of your back. We pegasi get those baby primaries growing in weird places when we reach a certain age. It's how you know you're growing up and all.”
“If you don't take care of it right away, it gives off a scent that you're ready for mating.” Fluttershy stepped in. “But that's not what happened with you. It's your very first baby primary which marks you as a fledgling. Everyone wants to mark a new fledgling, even if you're way too old to be considered that. They would have gang-piled you the moment you stepped in Ponyville and that would have been awkward seeing what taking out a primary does to a pony.”
“But what about all the-”
“Tradition.” The two pegasi chimed together. “Don't question it.”
“But still...” Twilight glared at both of them, tucking her wings to her side and trotting past them. “If you just told me instead of foal-napping me and tying me up, I wouldn't have been so-”
“Slutty and begging for it like a wanton whore- Ow, Fluttershy. I wasn't talking about you that time.” Rainbow Dash whined. “Can't beat tradition, Twilight.”
A large, heavenly stallion adorned with four wings and feathers growing out his neck like a plume, descended down to where Twilight's feathers were discarded. He took a few in his mouth and flew away. “Yes, Twilight. You can't beat tradition.”
