[Three Weeks Later…]

The light of the four strategically-placed candles flickered about a nonexistent breeze, casting dancing shadows along the walls of the dim room whilst competing valiantly with the natural moonlight which shown through the four-paned window of Eric’s abode.

The human, however, was much more concerned with more pressing matters, namely the textbook in front of him.

Situated comfortably on his usual, top bunk with his upper back against the wall and book resting upon his knees, his eyes scanned over the words diligently while his finger dipped low in preparation to turn the page.

A comfortable, weightless silence pervaded the warm, welcoming atmosphere, further helped by the second individual in the room.

Taking space on the opposite side of the bed was one whose presence had come to be paired with Eric’s upon the culmination of the day, proper. Marble, clad in a faded white, baggy t-shirt and mesh shorts, was occupying herself with a small piece of her namesake in her left hand and magically-powered chisel in her right. She knew well that Eric had to study, and she was no stranger to keeping quiet.

Still, the two liked having each other around now since the ‘incident’ three weeks prior, and neither needed to say much to enjoy each other’s company.

Eric gently bit the inside of his cheek, rolling the flesh around in his teeth as he absorbed the words of the study guide in front of him, doing his best to make sure he understood all the highlighted points before he inevitably turned the page. Aiding him in his efforts was the combination of pseudo-white noise of a nonintrusive breeze outside and the gentle ‘ting’ of Marble’s chisel delicately striking her to-be sculpture.

Averting his eyes for a rest as he turned the page, Eric angled his gaze over toward Marble, who in turn glanced up at him. He flashed her a smile and Marble reciprocated the gesture from behind the veil of her mane, lowering her head just a tad and blushing as the duo resumed their work.

Eric, however, realized that the next page detailed the introduction to another whole chapter he had to review, so he figured this would be a perfect place to stop for a legitimate break.

“Alright, that’s enough for right now,” he said to no one in particular, placing a bookmark and folding the book closed as he set it aside.

Marble weighed in softly:

“How’s studying?”

Though her voice was as non-imposing as ever, Eric had been noticing that she spoke with more resolve behind her words as of late.

His answer came nonchalantly in kind.

“Pretty good so far. A lot of material but I should be good. Exam’s on Tuesday so I’ve got time to review more if I need it."

He scratched the side of his face and released a pent up breath. Adjusting his sleeping shirt, he then turned to face Marble who was still plenty occupied with her little project.

“How about you? Sculpture coming along fine?”

“Mmmmmhm~!” she replied vaguely as she continued her work, Eric not being able to see exactly what she was making, and her hand plus chisel orientation was not making the identification any easier.

“What’re you making?” he asked, scooting over to her.

But, an impish look instantly formed over the mare’s features and Marble suddenly turned away from him.

“Wouldn’t you like to know…” she teased.

Eric was more than willing to play along with her.

“I would, actually,” Eric added.

Sitting next to her and trying to peer over her shoulder, Marble was persistent and refused to let him see what her delicate hands were crafting… along with a mischievous giggle to accompany her actions to boot.

Sparing an inadvertent, fleeting glance downward in his quest to see just what this mare was hiding, he was greeted with a sufficient-enough gap between the collar of her shirt and her chest to get a figurative ‘down-shirt’ glance at what lay beneath; apparently Marble wore plain black bras when donning more casual clothes.

Though, Eric was a bit more drawn to what the cups of said undergarment held… mainly, their size. They had enamored him since he met her.

Lawdy… For her height and figure, double-D’s; easily.

“Hmmmm~… no,” she pondered cutely. “You’ll find out when it’s done, but until then…” she set the unknown sculpture aside, covering it with a portion of the blankets before turning around with a much more devilish grin; one that Eric hadn’t seen at all.

“M-Marble…?” Eric inquired quizzically. “Why’re you looking at me like tha—GAH!” Eric’s words were instantly silenced and simultaneously, his question was answered when Marble lunged at him.

Wrapping her arms around his midsection, she tackled him to the bed and pinned him under her in a position that had become a norm for them since the first time: Marble happily embracing Eric’s torso and snuggled against his side with her head on his chest, just under his chin. Arms still spread wide and reeling from his sudden change in position, Eric, faking annoyance, rolled his eyes and let his arms fall to the bed.

Her breasts were pressed firmly against his side and chest… so that made it better in his mind.

Nah, I’m just fine where I am.

“Uhhh, Marble, I kinda have to study…” Eric noted, not convincing anypony of his plight; token resistance at best.

“You have until Tuesday,” Marble replied, her speech muffled when she nuzzled into his chest, eyes already resting.

“Yeah…” Eric alluded. “But I’d rather get more done now so I have less to do later.”

“Hmmm… nuh-uh,” Marble added resolutely, entrenching herself further as she held firmly onto his midsection.

She intertwined her legs with his which, Eric had to admit, felt quite nice; despite having a thin coat covering her entire body, Marble’s legs and arms often felt as smooth as fresh skin with a slight velvety texture to them. These little details did not help him at all in his quest at finding out how to exactly approach his growing interest in her.

“You’re denying me my sole purpose as a student… to study?” the human questioned mockingly, earning a giggle from the mare as well as her immediate response.

“Mhmm!”

Pursing his lips, Eric sighed out in a similar mock acquiescence, throwing his arms up and letting them fall onto their most natural places: one around Marble’s back and the other just resting behind his head.

“Well, then I guess that settles it for now.”

Marble could tell that those words were playful and sarcastic in nature, but her old friends, uncertainty and reticence, did well to remind her of their existence.

Moving herself off of him, she propped her trunk up on her elbows and affixed her gaze on Eric’s, who also adjusted his position to see what was wrong, if anything.

“I umm…” Marble’s courage suddenly waned, falling back on one of her most natural instinct: shielding her face with her mane.

“I’m not being… y’know… weird, am I?” she asked in such a way that begged for her concerns to be assuaged and allayed. Eric had truly helped her feel much more calm around him and in general over the last few weeks, and as odd and fast as it was (especially for her) she liked just being near him.

Eric, on the same note, never considered Marble any form of a nuisance, even if the two had been spending most of the evenings together doing little else but study and sculpt (respectively), or simply sleep.

Often times, the two would rarely say more than a few sentences to each other over the course of any particular night. Doubly, since he was coming to terms with being romantically interested in her, he found little to complain about having her around by her own volition.

If anything, it was a massive ego and confidence boost that she wanted to be around him as much as she did.

Still, it begged the question of ‘why?’ One that Eric had every intention of asking at the right time.

“Of course not! What do you mean?” Eric asked, sitting up against the headboard so he could get a better look at the mare and ease the strain on his neck.

Marble glanced away and pursed her own lips as she marshaled her thoughts into a coherent idea; the last thing she wanted to do is embarrass herself yet again after about a month of knowing the human.

“Well, I just…” Marble began to say, but her thoughts eluded her as she herself, truth be told, was not entirely sure what she wanted to say.

Pouting (cutely, in Eric’s unbiased opinion), she struggled to jog her brain. She knew the idea of what she desired to express; that she just really loved being around him for a multitude of specific and not-so-specific reasons. However, she did not want to risk sounding potentially clingy... or worse, desperate.

She did not want to potentially lose that tingly feeling in her stomach every time he so much as smiled at her.

“Are you getting annoyed with me?”

Eric blinked harshly at the sudden question, but there was little hesitation in his answer.

“No!” he asserted boldly… but instantly realized how much zeal he put into his response and quickly lessened his tone, lest he give off the impression of something he’d rather not explain at the moment.

“Ahem… I mean… I’m definitely not annoyed at you. Yeah, you’re coming over to my room all the time during the evenings now but I actually like the company; yours in particular,” he added to help smooth over any of her fears or insecurities.

Marble was showing telltale signs of self-doubt, and with Eric’s mild enamoration with the mare, he’d rather keep her coming back.

Even so, he felt he was treading on broken glass, afraid to admit to her just yet that he had developed certain feelings for her… and risk putting her off altogether.

What a time to be alive.

At the mention of his last few words, Marble could do little to stem the heat flowing to her cheeks as well as a little squee that forced its way out of her throat… to which her ‘self-bred’ humiliation fucktupled in size. Relying on more of her usual coping mechanisms, Marble buried her face in her hands, sleeves from her baggy shirt providing extra cushion for her cheeks.

“Y-You always know what to say, huh?” she uttered her muffled response, lifting her face just enough where her eyes could peer over her hands and back at Eric.

She scooched closer to him on her stomach, smiling brightly at him once her bout of insecurity was quashed expertly by his genuine words of reassurance.

With a chuckle, and feeling that his head needed to be scratched at this very moment, it was Eric’s turn to struggle with what to say next.

“Heh, well… you know…” his words trailed off, and he being stumped was enough to elicit a tiny giggle from Marble.

On her end, she always found it cute when Eric got flustered…

...though thinking he was ‘cute’ was terrifying to her on several levels. So with equal trepidation, and smiling and chuckling awkwardly from behind her mane, she replied with a simple:

“W-Well… I’m glad you think that."

There, the two shared a small moment, reconnecting their halfheartedly averted gazes and flashing each other a smirk. Not wanting to ruin the moment, Eric lay back to relax, realizing that he, in fact, did need a bit more of a break from studying than he had originally planned.

This, of course, was an implicit invitation for Marble to resume position… and resume it she did. Beaming, she snuggled into his side and wrapped her arms around Eric’s midsection once more and nuzzled back into his chest.

She had reclaimed her rightful mantle!

Wrapping his arms around her in kind, the two lay there as they had for the last three weeks, letting silence do most of the talking on their joint behalf. Eric’s eyes felt a bit heavy, and as such, he decided on a little bit of a nap to refresh himself before hitting the books one last time this evening. He adjusted his position under Marble for his own comfort, wishing to siphon more heat from the unsuspecting mare before letting himself drift off.

And he did eventually give in and drift off… but not for long. Coming to about ten minutes later he realized there was a foreign, thin, velvety object that his right hand had been massaging between the fingers absentmindedly.

Forcing away some of the post-power-nap sleepiness, Eric shot his glance downward and discovered that he had been playing with Marble’s ear.

Sleep was instantly banished from his mind as his brain took in the implications.

I’ve technically been fondling this girl...

I’m just gonna have this fuck off outta here…

Releasing Marbles outrageously soft ear from his grasp, he exaggeratedly put distance between his hand and her face and let it come to rest on the much more chaste place which was the mare’s back.

Marble, however, grumbled at the change. Her voice was muffled and sounded as if she was about to cry"

“Why’d you stooooop…~?” she whined.

Clearly she too had been on the fringes of a nice little catnap with his direct help.

“Oh… I didn’t even realize I was doing it ‘til just now, honestly,” Eric answered, running his hand up her back and replacing it on her ear, continuing his previously unknown ministrations, much to Marble’s delight.

She hummed her approval and tightened her hold on him so she could scoot up a bit more, a comfortable heat diffusing between the two of them.

“Hey Marble?”

“Hmmm?”

“You know how we talked about you always being over here in the evenings?” Eric asked.

There was a little bit of hesitation from her part, mostly from wondering where he was going with this, but Marble eventually nodded.

“Mhmmm...”

“Well… and please don’t take this the wrong way… but I’m just curious as to why you still want to come back. I’m surprised you just haven’t gotten bored of me already,” Eric said with a chuckle, lacing his implicit inquiry with some mild humor as he always tended to do.

For Marble, this was an interesting question, and one which had many answers that were more or less correct; some more than others. However, in keeping with her virtue of honesty and timidity, she concisely uttered one simple sentence:

“You… make my nervousness go away…,” came her soft, still-muffled reply.

“What was that?” Eric asked, not having heard anything she said. Marble adjusted herself, angling her head upward to hone in on his gaze.

“Y-You make my nervousness go away,” Marble spoke up, seemingly clutching Eric that much tighter for the added punctuation of her words.

At that very moment, Eric felt he was hit with a bombshell of a revelation, evident by actually recoiling his head and widening his eyes at her words… not in a bad way by any means, but what Marble said was tantamount, in his opinion, to saying that she felt secure around him.

And that was always something that would get any man to smile…

...and smile he did.

“I just…” Marble continued. “...like, I can be myself around you and not have to worry about anything. I don’t have to talk to you constantly to hold your attention. That, and you’re just so sweet in helping me when you don’t have to at all and I…” she blurted out her confession, disconnecting their eye-contact as things became much more personal.

“I just like being around you, Eric.”

Her tail subconsciously wrapped around his right shin.

As great of an ego boost as this was, Marble’s honesty demanded a response. Eric was keen on giving it, but her words only further validated his feelings for her, and the human felt compelled to hug her right then and there.

“Oh… damn your nice words,” he joked, scooting down and wrapping his arms tightly around her, embracing her entire form to which Marble gladly returned the gesture with a bright, face-spanning smile.

Their cheeks pressed together as the two shared in yet another moment; a metaphysical receipt of sorts for the instantaneous strengthening of their little relationship.

“Well, just know that you’re always welcome here whenever you want, okay?” Eric added the extra reassurance, and the corner of Marble’s lips upturned in a half-smirk, along with an accompanying raise of her brow. She then propped her trunk up again to get a proper look at him.

“I just may take you up on that, mister…”

“You better.”

The two took in each other’s visage for a few moments, and for some unforeseen rhyme or reason as per the universe, Eric gave into the urge to brush aside a few errant strands of Marble’s mane back behind her ear where they belonged.

As beautiful as she was with her signature bangs shrouding her lone eye in a look that was Marble’s own, he personally felt her entire face should be on display for the entire world to see.

Similarly for Marble, she immersed herself in the feelings of comfort and security that Eric’s friendship brought her, leaning her face into that one hand that he had extended to fix her hair.

That allowed him to effectively cup her cheek, and Marble absolutely melted at his touch.

At that very moment, she felt that ethereal warmth spread from his hand to her cheek; to her face and all the way to her core… she could not deny what she had been so terrified to admit to herself any longer.

Marble liked Eric… the silly human.

At that point, words didn’t need to be said, at least for now, and Marble rested her head back under Eric’s chin, sighing out blissfully as she molded into her usual position.

Uncharacteristically, however, the two were holding each other that much closer, as if their unspoken feelings about one another had already been conveyed through the channel of magic.

Somehow, Eric knew. As he fearlessly ran his fingers up and down Marble’s side (earning a few gentle twitches and breathy sighs for his efforts) his conscience had told him to just take a breather and relax… things were already working themselves out beautifully.

But his mind, however, was more than willing to try and go that extra step.

Tell her how you feel…

Say it. Give her the D!

“M-Marble?” Eric beckoned her attention.

“Yeah?” she responded, looking back up to him with an almost hopeful expression on her face… though it was probably just a trick of the light on Eric’s part.

SAY IT, YOU TIT!

“N-Nevermind, I umm… I forgot what I was gonna say, heh,” Eric lied through his teeth.

Marble seemed to stare right through him, as if scrutinizing his words but in the end, she only shrugged and returned a soft smile.

You could’ve given her the D…

“Okay,” she said, accepting his answer and laying her head back down. Eric resumed his earlier ministrations and after internally chastising himself, the two lay down, eyes closed and just resting as they had become so accustomed to.

Eric opened a single eye after a while when he felt Marble’s right hand remove itself from around his torso and plant itself on his chest. Following up with that, she began twirling her finger, tracing various patterns while her eyes remained dutifully open. Had she been awake this entire time unbeknownst to Eric?

“Can’t sleep?” he asked, startling her a little bit at the sudden reveal that he himself was barely napping. Glancing away and looking back to him, she shook her head silently. “Yeah, me neither.”

Since he already had implicit permission from before, Eric, consciously, went about playing with her ear. He twiddled the little flap of flesh between his fingers and, again, was rewarded with the heart attack-inducing sight of Marble melting into him. Of course he got a sick pleasure in seeing how she reacted to not just his touch, but his very presence as of lately… but it was also a gargantuan honor, in Eric’s eyes.

And a firm reminder to not abuse her trust in him.

Never.

“Mmmm… that feels nice,” she whispered, shutting her eyes and basking in the precise touch of his fingers for just a little while longer. Marble reopened them soon after, affixing her orbs straight onto Eric’s and engaging in an unknowing but quite loud conversation.

“Well… your ear feels nice, too,” Eric remarked, which earned another blush and a cute giggle from his partner in crime.

Even so, he vomited on the inside at the egregious amount of cheese in that comment.

Fuck it!

Their looks soon morphed from warm, almost kindred expressions to those of hesitance and uncertainty. Eric knew for a fact that he didn’t want this moment to end… by his current feelings and internal ramblings, he’d cuddle Marble to the end of eternity if he had the option to.

As well, the timid mare was not that dissimilar in her own assessment of their current predicament… all she wanted to do was be in his arms and bathe in the physical and metaphysical warmth that their exponentially-strengthening friendship was providing her.

This was the time that both parties simultaneously realized how close their faces were. After all, Marble had been laying her head on his chest, and in lifting her head up, their mouths were barely over an inch apart from one another. Marble and Eric knew well what they wanted to come next, and all it would take would be a little initiative from either party to realize that mutual desire.

Still, neither moved.

“Marble…” Eric whispered.

“Y-Yeah?” the mare in question asked in return, her underlying tone begging him to continue.

Even then, Eric had trouble rallying his thoughts; he had to say something to her at this point. His chest felt it would explode like a grenade, but instead of deadly shrapnel which would certainly eviscerate both of them in the blast, it would be dickhead butterflies and pure warmth that would erupt from his chest cavity... probably still likely killing Marble with his undisclosed desires and feelings.

He had to prevent this at all costs, and he made one last ‘do or die’ resolution: if he couldn’t find the words to say, he would tell her through actions.

Now was the right time.

Carefully, he brought that one hand he had by her ear and cupped her cheek, and then gently pulled her face downward.

Extending his neck just a little bit to meet her, Eric committed to his action and pressed his lips to hers so gingerly, so tenderly and tentatively that he might as well have barely grazed her skin. There was absolutely no resistance from her, and in fact, Marble sighed out and moaned, almost relieved, before letting her hands slide up to his shoulders.

That was exactly the sort of reaction Eric was waiting for, and so he continued to apply his lips upon hers with much more firmness and conviction.

That first, magical kiss just felt… right! The sheer amount of emotions flooding into Marble’s core was enough to produce a lightheadedness, a fog of ethereal courage and desire that manifested in the form of heavy breathing and colored cheeks. An involuntary moan escaped her throat when she fully processed what was happening: she was kissing Eric…

And Eric was kissing her!

Marble, unfortunately, was forced to separate when she realized the distinct lack of air in her lungs, which necessitated her (and both of them, really) breathing heavily to recuperate.

They literally took each other’s breaths away.

Eric stared at the mare above, their eyes fiercely locked in a waiting game of bated anticipation on who would move next.

Marble’s innocent look, coupled with her flushed complexion were enough to drive him absolutely insane at the unadulterated, genuine sexiness that the mare was exuding. Her eyes, formerly averted and fearful, were now a window to something else entirely; something that Eric had never seen from Marble before, nor wished to ever stop seeing ever again:

Lust.

Marble took initiative this time, inching her muzzle ever closer to Eric’s face and, like with Eric’s foray, barely grazing her lips against his own… oh how she longed to feel their touch upon hers again.

They had not gone even twenty seconds beyond their first kiss and she already, irrationally feared she would never feel them ever again; she craved it.

Her reticence had dictated all of her actions up to this point in her life. Her parents and sisters always encouraged her to get a feel for the world; though conservative, they never held her back, readily visible by Maud’s and Limestone’s efforts and achievements.

No, she herself was the only obstacle, especially in the way of finding a special somepony… something that she had always enjoyed entertaining the idea, yet found equally frightening a prospect. She promised herself that she would come out of her shell, and Eric was making it all the more easier for her. Thus, the choice could not have been clearer.

She craved him...

And she would have him.

The spark within her had been placed; the pilot light in the depths of her core lit ablaze the pent up desires that she never had an outlet for… and she pressed her head forward to lock lips with Eric once again.

The kiss was soft; tender… but the touch was all push needed to ignite their shared passions in full, melting into each other as Marble lay herself flush upon Eric’s prone form. Her hands, as if magnetized, clamped down on Eric’s cheeks and held him firmly in place, letting her body and instincts do all the work as her mind became absolute, useless putty. Her ears flattened against her head and her entire body was hypersensitive, stimulated by every brush of Eric’s fingers while they traced vertical lines up and down her back.

She shivered at his touch, moaning softly yet deeply into his lips. If this was how vulnerable (in a good way) she became when Eric would simply kiss her and run his hands over her clothed body… what would happen if he were to touch her bare?

Seemingly reading her mind, Eric did just that, sliding his hands down towards her butt but quickly turning back and slipping under her shirt. There, he took the liberty of feeling up the toned, sexy back-muscles that he had been spying on every time Marble turned around in her work clothes.

He smiled against her lips, and the inherent contagiousness of such a gesture ensured that Marble, as well, produced her own giddy smile while they continued their quickly-deepening makeout session. Eric could not believe what was happening; this had to be a dream… a dream that became much too cohate as the product of an overactive imagination and his own desires.

And he dare not try to wake up.

The candlelight continued to flicker, providing the necessary ambiance to fuel their raging emotions for each other.

Their lips worked tirelessly, making up for all the denial and pent up attraction, both emotional and sexual. Eyes were closed, and they only allowed themselves to simply feel and listen... feel their wet lips grind against each other chastely yet sultrily while listening the most beautiful ‘smacking’ sound each and every time they separated for air. Those necessary, second-long breaks for life-giving breath were only the harbinger for either one of them to immediately dive back in for more, ready to taste the other yet again.

Eric wrapped both his arms around Marble and pulled her in as tight as possible. Her breasts were compressed tightly against his own chest, but neither party cared.

Adding fuel to the proverbial, lust-driven fire, Eric could just barely feel Marble’s nipples hardening through her shirt and thin bra against his chest, feeling them grind against him each time she made minute adjustments to her position atop of him.

In a daring move by anyone’s standards of Marble, she pressed her tongue to the forefront… just the tip, though… and allowed it to slide against Eric’s lip, pleading for entrance. She had been told by Maud that stallions liked that, and she, in her inexperience, decided to give it a go in her endeavor to taste more of Eric.

It worked flawlessly.

Eric, surprised by more of Marble’s forwardness, immediately allowed her entrance, and their two tongues met half-way for the first time under the cover of their joined mouths. The new, foreign wetness against Eric’s tongue was certainly unusual considering the size disparity between a pony tongue and a human one, but no less pleasurable as they tenderly embraced and massaged one another.

Shit, she’s bigger than me… heh.

Eric slid his hands down her back and cupped both cheeks of her butt. He squeezed them firmly through her shorts, making sure to dig his fingertips into her fleshy behind (which held a good bit of muscle underneath) and eliciting a sexy squeak from Marble.

Hot breath from their respective noses was traded, breaking upon each other’s faces like stunted gusts as they fought to intake air during their relentless kiss and stave off their inevitable separation. Their hearts raced together, only separated by some thin fabric and their bare chests, but the mutual realization of just how close they were sent feelings of nigh tangible ecstasy through their whole bodies.

No face-sucking session could feel this good if they weren’t made for each other… this was too good!

...and just like that Marble’s aforementioned reticence sprang forth like a figurative spring-wound toy from her heart.

Eyes widening at the full implications of what was happening right this moment, Marble separated herself from Eric at an instant. Two thin strands of saliva kept the two technically connected until they broke.

Marble was hyperventilating at this point, and the sudden loss of pleasure as well as seeing the mare that was kissing him seeming to have a panic attack set off every single warning alarm in Eric’s brain.

“Marble?! Are you okay? Fuck… I’m sorry I’m sorry what did I do wrong?” Eric pleaded with her, sitting up fully and going into damage-control mode to make sure he somehow didn’t overstep his boundaries.

He placed his arm on her back as she regained her breath, providing that extra bit of physical support while she clearly reined in her thoughts.

“No no it’s… i-it’s fine, Eric I just…” her words failed her yet again. “What time is it?”

“It’s ummm…” Eric scratched the side of his arm as he glanced to the room’s clock. “Just before midnight.”

“Oh… I should probably go,” Marble revealed, downtrodden, as she hastily smoothed over her shirt and wiped her mouth.

She quickly threw her arms around Eric in a hug before releasing him and dropping to the floor. Of course, she didn’t forget to employ some sleight of hand to retrieve her marble sculpture she had been working on.

“Goodnight Eric, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Marble rattled off as she exited the room, instantly taking off down the hall toward her ever-welcoming refuge of her own room.

Eric barely had a chance to wave her off and respond before she was already out the door.

“G...oodnight, Marble…” he said. At an instant, his mood changed from ‘high on life’ to ‘fuck it all.’

In the end, he felt that he only had himself to blame for most likely overstepping his boundaries.

Good going, jackhole… you shouldn’t have grabbed her ass!

God, I’m fucked… I’m FUCKED.

Eric wasn’t even convinced on that front.

If anything, he was just looking for an excuse as to why she suddenly broke the whole moment off if it was going so well. He had to remember, it had only been a month since she was running away scared from him… it was goddamn divine intervention that she even went this far.

Shrugging and sighing, Eric shook his head and resolved to try and put it out of his mind for now. His only hope as he snuffed out the candlelight and lay down for true sleepy-time was that he didn’t do any irreparable damage.

Rolling onto his left side and pulling his covers over him, he settled into a comfy position and allowed his less-than-desirable thoughts at the moment to whisk him away from the waking world.

Well, it was fun while it lasted, I guess.

“Stupid… Stupid… STUPID!” Marble berated herself, flopping onto her bed and beating her pillow to a pulp…

...well, at least she’d like to imagine that she did.

Eventually, she just resolved to bury her face in said head-comforter and scream out her frustrations.

Like Eric’s room, her own quarters were lit up by a few flickering candles, but this time, Eric wasn’t here, much to her chagrin.

Marble was alone with nopony else but her thoughts.

And being honest with herself, her thoughts were shit company.

“It was so magical and he was so sweet and… UGH!!” Marble continued to whine into her pillow.

“And you had to get all worried again and go fuck it all up!” she cursed herself, uttering a word that she rarely used in hostility.

With another unsatisfied groan, she rolled onto her back and took a few long, much needed deep breaths.

Reflecting on what had went down naught a few moments ago, the mare came to terms with the fact that she had just had her first, true kiss and heavy-makeout session.

Such a thought was enough to clear away some of the internally-aimed indignation but in no way cancelled out her frustrations with herself.

...especially since much of said frustrations also came from elsewhere.

Marble lay on her bed with her arms splayed out, pouting and more than aware that her lower-half was screaming for attention.

Her little session with Eric had gotten her quite hot and bothered for obvious reasons, and while she never in her right mind would have let things continue that far, even if she didn’t cut things short, there was still little shame (even for her) in admitting things flat out:

She was horny.

Marble was not a stranger to masturbation, and, to even her surprise, she did it quite frequently. Perhaps it was the side-effects of being essentially a shut in? As Marble stared at the ceiling with a blank look on her face, she tossed around some ideas in her head… but they all led to the same conclusion: giving herself some much needed attention and relief.

Sighing, as if relenting to some unknown, higher power, Marble lifted her hands from the bed and slid them up her waist, her fingers making contact with her exposed midriff which was still somewhat sensitive from her earlier ‘escapade’ with Eric.

By virtue of almost automation at this point, she closed her eyes and pictured the one pony she wished to be with right now… a certain human that had taken up residence in her home down the hall.

“Hmmm…” she hummed to herself, letting all ten of her fingers dip unceremoniously below the elastic band of her mesh shorts.

With a gentle exhale, she allowed her fingers to trace her lower abdomen and feel the small presence of the ‘V’ musculature that connected her stomach with her pubic area… all before letting her right hand make contact with its prize.

“Ooohhh…” Marble cooed breathily, the feeling of her fingers finally touching her neglected, quickly-re-moistening labia in all of its glory.

She allowed her index finger to commence tracing her slit from end to end, finding a steady rhythm while the middle finger of her left hand honed in on its own target: her pulsating, swollen clit.

“Mmph!” Marble groaned, stifling a moan at the very touch of her little button by biting her lower lip.

Normally, Marble would allow herself to get lost in the moment, treating herself and building herself up to her eventual release… but not this time. She was too… frustrated to make herself wait for that release she so needed.

With every single feature of the human ingrained in her mind, she allowed her imagination to take her to a place that she longed to eventually go. To her, Eric was the one running his finger over the length of her quivering netherlips, and likewise, it was his middle finger toying with her clit, circling it and teasing her to the absolute limit.

“Please…” she moaned to her imaginary lover, dipping one of the lone fingers into her inviting depths with a subtle, satisfying squelch along with the feeling of her walls being parted, even if just a little bit.

“Ah… Ah…” came the small chorus of pants and groans as Marble began pumping that finger into her needy tunnel.

All the while, her left hand’s middle finger was more than occupied with pivoting upon and flicking her clit. Her lower half began to grind itself against her mechanical ministrations on its own accord, sweat quickly forming on her brow as her body temperature skyrocketed.

“Eric…” she called out his name silently, doing her very best to shush herself but knowing full-well that she was a moaner.

Her imagination ran wild, and if for only a few fleeting moments, her finger inside her was his thick, throbbing length… pistoning in and out of her equally-throbbing slit. Her breasts were squeezed tightly together between her biceps as a result, and the only thing missing would be Eric playing with ‘her girls’ while he assaulted her most sensitive area below.

“Ahh! MMM! Right there…” Marble encouraged her nonexistent dominator, spreading her legs as wide as her shorts allowed for better access.

Her abs were tightly flexed as she bucked into her hands, effectively allowing her to deepen her range of motion. Sinking a second finger inside of her added the extra effect of stretching her walls out, and with a lack of experience despite her rather frequent masturbation sessions, this still sometimes hurt her.

Though by all that was holy… it was a wonderful pain.

Her moaning and tender talk continued in earnest, though she had to quickly come up with a solution for her outbursts and resolved to moan into her pillow.

By now, her actions had born fruit; her climax was approaching. The peak she so wished to ascend and tumble off of without a single care in the world was not at all far off!

“MMM! Eric, YES!” Marble cried out into her pillow when she flicked her clit particularly hard whilst burying both her fingers inside of her as deep as she could possibly sink them.

As if the simultaneous actions were the key to unlocking her figurative treasure, her pussy quivered as she came with incredible force.

Resorting to biting the pillow fabric to prevent herself from nearly screaming at the much-more-powerful-than-expected orgasm, she coaxed all of it out of her by continuing to rub her now-sensitive vulva in firm, fast clockwise motions. Her hands were absolutely drenched from the entire act and only when she was finally coming down from her euphoric high did she realize how much of a mess she made of her hands, her shorts, and even her bed.

She leaked through her shorts…

...like Marble cared at this point.

Removing her hands from between her legs, she let them fall to her side while she returned her gaze to the ceiling.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as her body reined in her heart-rate and breathing, further encouraged by the cooler air that surrounded her within her naturally temperate room. Marble, however, was not keen on this in the slightest, evident by her dopey, victorious grin that she flashed to nopony.

Her satisfying orgasm had long faded by this point, and only then did she become concerned with being mildly damp with sweat… but soaked elsewhere, and not with water.

Further, Marble had no inclination to change her sheets at this hour, nor take another shower. Ultimately, she just wished to wash her hands and crawl back in bed, and unless she thought of something better, that would be exactly what she’d do, regardless of a soiled comforter and the night’s most recent events.

Bleh…

Night still held its reign upon the world at two in the morning, and through the shadows cast by the moonlight, a lone figure trotted trepidatiously yet with a purpose down the hallway towards Eric’s room. Hoof-falls were nonexistent as the entity made well and sure that they moved gracefully and with utmost stealth in each and every step that was taken.

Finally reaching their destination without disturbing the peace, said figure grinned victoriously as they gripped the doorknob and turned it, letting themselves into the human’s darkened room.

Of course, the room wasn’t entirely darkened, courtesy of the massive window that allowed Luna’s Moon to bathe the abode in an inviting, calming light.

Said light was enough to reveal the giddy smile on Marble’s face as she entered into the window’s field. With a teeny bit of cautious planning, she hefted herself up to the top bunk where Eric lay peacefully on his side, the cyclic rise and fall of his torso giving Marble the confirmation that she needed; he was fast asleep.

Just as planned.

With an extra stroke of luck, Marble spied just enough room behind Eric’s back and gladly helped herself.

Crawling cautiously but still taking advantage of the knowledge that the human was a semi-heavy sleeper, she slid herself into the welcoming embrace of Eric’s sheets and comforter. They were already warm and bathed in his natural scent, a non-odorous, ‘fresh musk’ that she had been enjoying ever since she took the liberty of laying her head on his chest for the first time.

Her eyes lidding out of fatigue, she wasted little time in pressing herself flush against his back and molding to his shape, wrapping her right arm around his waist in deciding to be the big spoon. There, she thought this would be the end-all, and Marble would gladly fall asleep in this position despite it not being the epitome of comfort.

It turned out Eric was not sleeping so heavily tonight.

“H-Huh…? Marble?” he whispered groggily, glancing through slitted eyes over his shoulder at what, or who, was holding him so tenderly.

Even in a drowsy state of mind, he was already getting used to the identifying feel of Marble’s breasts pushed up against various parts of his form.

Turning to fully face her, and confirming that it was indeed her, the two shared a glance with each other through the darkness but before Eric could even say what was on his mind… or apologize for anything he might have done to upset her, Marble preemptively silenced him with a quick peck of her lips on his.

“Shhhh…” she cooed, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling into him more. With Eric gladly accepting her presence, she placed her snout in its rightful place under his chin, one side being hugged by his pillow and the other open to the night air.

She allowed her eyelids to drift shut and another smile traced its way through her features, this time the result of being at absolute peace.

“Goodnight, Eric…”

Eric, though unsure of what to make of this development due to him mostly still being half-asleep, was more than willing to accept this. Clearly, Marble was not mad at him in any sense, or else why would she come back and immediately join him?

Questions could be asked later, but for now, lest anything else take this mare away from his hold, Eric opted to enjoy his new predicament and just roll with it.

“Goodnight, Marble.”

Both drifted off into Luna’s domain with placid smiles on their faces.

Synchronized, rhythmic breathing was the ultimate indication that both parties had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. The two could deny things all they wanted, but Eric and Marble both knew in their own, odd little minds that these developments… these powerful feelings for each other, were most definitely real.

Sure, it had only been a month, and that was a valid cause for question and potential internal pilgrimage, but neither Eric nor Marble was in any rush to see where this was headed.

No words needed to be exchanged; only actions, both public and private.

They knew.

Author's Note

Sorry this was a bit late, had to make some change of plans in the clop scene to not make things look TOO forced. So, you all get a little teaser with some masturbation. Next chapter is the sauce. I plowed through this and it's 3AM right now typing this, so I hope you enjoyed!

"What are your intentions with Marble?"

Eric: