Chapter 7 - In which Zenith plummets to his death. Twice!

She was beautiful, but then again, she was always beautiful. White marble perfection. A living statue. Slender, graceful, she was the epitome of beauty. Entranced, Zenith drank in of her beauty, but no matter how much he looked, he could not slake his thirst.

“How do you want me?”

The sound of her voice inflamed him. He wanted her in any way he could have her.

“Do you wish to lay upon my back and nibble upon my neck?”

Shaking his head, Zenith looked Celestia in the eye. “I want to see your face. I want to look into your eyes and see the rosy shade of dawn so I can feel the sun shining upon my soul.”

On the bed, Celestia shifted from her stomach and rolled over onto her side, stretching her hind legs behind her. A lone white feather rose up, borne on unseen currents. Everything about her was graceful, all smooth curves and soft velvet. Standing beside the bed, Zenith had trouble breathing as she scissored her legs apart. He could have looked down, he could have looked upon her now visible pink folds, but his eyes remained locked upon hers, entranced by the windows into her soul.

She was white everywhere, except in the places where she wasn’t. The tips of her teats were a soft shade of pink. There was a faint line that traveled from her teats to her navel where her pelt was thin and a peek of tender, pink flesh was visible.

“I have never known you to be shy, Zenith… why must you be so now?” Celestia gave him a sultry, smouldering stare. “I know you want me… am I not desireable? Or do I need to beg you?”

Focused on his teacher, Zenith lept up into the bed, the soft mattress sagging somewhat beneath his bulk. She was larger than him, but she was larger than everypony. He straddled her hind leg, settling upon his haunches, and lifted her other hind leg in his forelegs, cradling it. He smooched her fetlock, then began planting tiny, loving kisses on her leg, going from her fetlock to her hock, his eyes never once leaving hers.

Thrusting his hips forward, his balls sliding up along the inside of her silken thigh, he pressed his tip against her hot, searing flesh. He whimpered, it was almost too much to bear. He didn’t want to seem too eager, but he could hardly restrain himself. He didn’t want to start slamming into her, roughing her up, or mistreating her. He angled himself, pressed forwards, and with an almost apologetic whimper for disturbing her perfection, he slid inside of her, parting her like the sun parts the clouds.

He heard Celestia giggle, a strange sound, and then she became insubstantial. He pitched forwards, screaming, and then fell through the mattress as everything turned to clouds all around him. Blue sky and green earth appeared beneath him, and he plummeted down, powerless to prevent himself from falling.

He saw Pound flying alongside him, smiling, not a trouble nor a care upon his face. “It’s hard being queer!” Pound shouted over the roaring wind. “You gotta be brave and go after what you want!”

And then, laughing, Pound flew away, leaving Zenith Zephyr to splatter into the ground.

Sweating, his balls aching, Zenith rolled out of bed. There would be no more sleep tonight. Grumbling, he cursed Luna. Luna, who loved to tease him. Luna, who loved to plague his dreams. He tried to ignore the erection slapping against his belly.

Still muttering, he went into the bathroom, stepped into the shower, and let the water fall upon him. The shower started off cold, which brought some relief, and then he turned it over to be as hot as he could stand.

At least he had finished Moondancer’s paper. One less thing to worry about. He pondered the events of the past few days. Meeting Princess Buttermilk. The day after that, there had been a surprise exam. Pumpkin had come to Canterlot with Twilight Sparkle for a lecture about trust and intimacy between friends, the value of foalhood friends, and the special bond of growing up together. Zenith could not help but feel that Twilight had been staring at him during the entirety of the lecture, and Pumpkin as well.

Afterwards, he and Pumpkin had gone off, roamed Canterlot, and Pumpkin, as she was wont to do, wandered into a piercing parlour. She had come out with a new piercing, a second ring added to her labial lip. He had watched it happen, feeling both fascinated and horrified as the mare took a long, hollow needle and pushed it through Pumpkin’s tender flesh.

The day after, he had returned to Ponyville to meet with Princess Buttermilk. There was now a shiny lightning rod on the shaped tree, making it safer during storms. The princess herself had taken to performing odd jobs in Ponyville, doing whatever work she could, trying to earn enough bits to keep her and her subjects fed.

Zenith, standing in the shower, recalled that she looked weary. Heavy was the head that wore the crown.

Princess Luna gave him a haughty sniff as he approached. She was right where he thought she would be, out on the open mezzanine and staring down upon Canterlot. He glared at her, almost daring to be angry, but he knew he needed to be mindful of his manners.

“Have pleasant dreams?”

“You, regal diarch of the night, are a horrible pony,” Zenith replied.

“Oh ho ho… this one has no fear of me.” Luna’s eyebrow raised and a sarcastic smile appeared upon her muzzle. “How was the fall?”

“Fantastic.” Zenith stared at Luna, squinting, wondering how far he could push the line tonight. He was tempted to see if there even was a boundary that he could cross. Luna wasn’t even looking at him anymore. She was staring off at the distant stars, ignoring him. He cleared his throat. “I wonder, how would your sister would feel if I told her that you were showing up in my wet dreams to torment me, using her form?”

“Oh my… Zenith, are you resorting to blackmail?” Luna continued staring skywards, as if the colt beside her wasn’t worth her attention. “What would my dear sister think of you if she knew you’d stoop to such a base act?”

Gnawing his lip, Zenith wished there was some way of getting even. He thought about calling Luna a cocktease, but that wouldn’t help him at all. He was already pushing his luck and he knew it.

“Zenith, you are young and blessedly innocent.” Luna’s head swiveled and she focused her steely gaze upon the colt beside her. “You cannot even fathom why Celestia must resist your advances. You are too lovesick to even apply logic, reason, or understanding. Do you really think that with your intellectual shortcomings that my sister would even give you the time of day?”

Hurt, Zenith’s lip curled into a snarl. “Must you be such a bitch about it?” The words slipped out before he could even think about what was being said. He took a step backwards, preparing for punishment, figuring if there was a line, he had just crossed it.

“Oh my… you are brave. I’ve collected heads for such infractions.” Luna’s lip protruded in a pout. “Either that, or you are very foolish. Perhaps both. I’ve seen your dreams… listen to me, foolish colt, and hang upon my every word.”

Raising his head, Zenith looked Luna in the eye.

“You… you are a weakness. You are small, you are frail, you are fragile, and you represent weakness. My sister and I… we have enemies. We have things that desire to hurt us in any way they can. We have evils that long for our torment that your pathetic mortal brain cannot even begin to imagine.” Luna took a deep breath. “And you, with all of your good intentions, would be a weakness to my sister… a means to hurt her. A means to cause her anguish. A means to cause her grief. If she gave her heart to you, if she allowed herself to love you, do you not understand the bullseye that you would be painting upon your back? You would have to live wondering if every bite of food was the one with poison in it. Which maid might be mind controlled by some changeling that wants to murder you in your sleep… and you, lovesick colt, thought of none of this.”

“It’s worth it.” Zenith, undaunted, refused to look away from Luna’s gaze, refused to give her the satisfaction, and refused to back down. “One day of making her happy would be worth a plateful of poison.”

“But what of my sister? What of her feelings?” Luna asked.

“I think you do your sister a disservice. She is no coward. She takes risks with those who give consent to take risks with her. She never veers away from danger… she is fearless!” Zenith took a step forwards and got into Luna’s personal space, almost bumping into her, his muzzle a scant inch away from hers. He snorted. “You… are… a… bitch.”

“By the stars, you are a special kind of stupid.” Luna rolled her eyes. “You really would, wouldn’t you? You’d waltz right into a room full of our enemies and offer them up your own heart on a platter if you thought it would give Celestia a few minutes to think of a plan. You are a blithering, bleating, lovesick idiot!”

“And you are a cocktease!”

Luna’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock. She recovered fast, shaking her head while raising her hoof. Her eyes narrowed as she pressed her raised hoof into Zenith’s chest and shoved him away from her.

“Very well then… that’s the sort of courage I was hoping to see… no more beating around the bush… that’s the sort of pony I could imagine at my sister’s side… congratulations, you’ve gone from being a sniveling, lovesick, teat nuzzling milksop to one of the few ponies I have respect for.” Luna paused and then smiled. “But don’t think for one minute that your dreams will improve at all. Expect them to worsen!”

Breathing hard, Zenith glared at the night blue alicorn, not understanding her at all. He was furious with her, but she seemed happy with him, or at least happy about what he had done. He didn’t understand what had just happened or what was going on.

“My sister is suffering a sleepless night.” Luna’s head jerked around, looking for any guards that might be present. Seeing none, she stepped forwards, angled her head down, and stared into Zenith’s eyes. “There is a secret door in the stained glass gallery. It opens to a passage that leads outside. There is a narrow walkway along the peak of the roof. There are no guard rails and it is treacherous. Celestia and I are the only ponies who know of its existence. My sister likes to go up to a secret balcony when she’s broody and moody. Now, pay attention, and I will tell you how to find the secret door…”

The switch was right where Luna said it was. Zenith could not understand Luna’s actions, or why she was helping him. He was still angry, very much so, but now also confused, bewildered even. So often Luna’s actions seemed contrary.

The mural on the wall slid open just wide enough for a pony to slip through. Zenith darted through it, it started closing the moment he let go of the switch, and, feeling stupid, he realised that he could have just held the switch open with his magic.

With the opening shut behind him, Zenith was in the dark. He lit up his horn and had a look around, his magic casting a green glow all around him, matching his glass green eyes. A narrow, steep staircase was ahead. He began to go up the stairs, still feeling angry.

Two dozen stairs later, he bumped into a hatch. It was heavy and made of rusted iron. He gave it a push with his hoof, but nothing happened. He gave it a hard shove with his telekinesis. With a creak, it opened. Zenith slipped through and immediately wished he hadn’t.

There was a small landing, small, just outside the hatch. He closed it behind him. There was a walkway, just as Luna had said. The guard rails had long since fallen away, perhaps because of ice and snow. The walkway was perhaps a foot wide and covered in pigeon droppings. On either side there was a steep roof that dropped away. On one side, there was a courtyard a long ways down, and on the other side there were various roofs of different buildings.

A fall would be fatal.

Swallowing, Zenith took the first step forwards, many said that the first step was always the hardest. As he made his way along the narrow, treacherous walkway, each step was just as difficult as the last. He turned, following the peak of the roof, and continued along his dangerous trek. He passed a few tall chimneys and then, he saw her.

She was gleaming white in the moonlight, alone, standing on a circular hidden balcony, out of reach for all except those that flew. Most of the rail around it was gone. Seeing her like this was breathtaking. Unable to take his eyes off of Celestia’s perfect beauty, Zenith stepped forwards, ready to cross the last few yards of roof to reach her, and he slipped on a pile of fresh pigeon poop.

With a cry, Zenith slid down the roof, plunging towards his death.

Author's Note

Real smooth... way to impress your teacher.