Custodian: Pegasus Nights

Fluttershy couldn’t see it. But she knew it was there.

It wasn’t so much a physical feature discernible with the naked eye. The surface of the moon remained unchanged throughout the entire process, and as a result it was all less quantifiable through formula and fact. Other tribes of ponies had come to accept it as a natural process, but to a pegasus, attempting to describe how it felt was like trying to explain an orgasm to a rock.

Fluttershy watched the sky from her living room window. It looked no different from any other night, but she could feel the change in the wind that heralded the arrival of that time. It was a sensation that had become, at this point in her life, as familiar as the back of her hoof.

A warm summer breeze that smelled of lilac wafted through the open window, caressing every inch of Fluttershy’s sunny coat in a persistent shiver. She closed her eyes and drank deeply of the scent, allowing it to swell within her as her lungs expanded to accommodate it. She felt a wobbly sensation, and looked down to find that she had climbed into a perch atop the back of the couch without even realizing it. The furniture beneath her was tipped askew and threatening to collapse.

Shunning her wings, she carefully climbed back down to lay on the cushions proper. She glanced at the full-length mirror that had been hung in the foyer a few weeks ago, and her eyes fell upon exactly the scene she expected to see.

She lay there and stared at herself, her cheeks deeply flushed. There was a certain buoyant, feminine luster to her mane and tail that seemed to beautify her purely on instinct. She couldn’t even remember when she had curled her lashes and added a slight spritz of apricot perfume to her neck, but the results were clear. She batted her bedroomy eyes at herself and flipped the tip of her pale pink tail until the movement became involuntary.

It had begun a week early this year. Fluttershy had made plans with her friends this evening, but they were not pegasi, and thus she ultimately could not be with them. Thankfully they understood when she excused herself and vanished into her home to await the appointed hour, as so many of her winged brethren had. She could feel the pressure on her wing spurs, and the tingle in that special tuft of fur that lay just in between them. She wanted to turn her head and lick herself there like a cat engaged in grooming, but it was already taking enough of her willpower to keep from taking wing prematurely and inviting disaster.

“Shhh...” she said softly, smiling to reassure herself. “No flying yet. Just sit still for a little while longer.”

Every pegasus that was old enough to understand knew to fight the urge to sail into the sky too soon. When the time finally came, nature would chose the venue, and the alluring breezes would congeal around a certain spot in the clouds. The scentless scents would then change, and everypony who bore wings would simply know where to go. To spread one’s wings before the appointed time would invite getting lost in the jet stream of desire; the pied piper leading an unsuspecting pony off course on an exhaustive, earthbinding journey to the middle of the Everfree, the dragon lands, or worse.

Ironically, the appointed evening always began with a need to exist as the opposite of everything a pegasus was - to resist all urges to fly.

Realizing her intense need for a distraction, Fluttershy rose from the couch and walked across the room with an uneven gait. A rumpled, unassuming cardboard box lay there. She had dragged it out from under the bed and down the stairs as soon as she had gotten home and properly locked her door. Within were objects she had never allowed any other pony to set eyes upon.

They lay before her, tucked into the box like knotted, ridged, bumpy or feathery puzzle pieces constructed from gel, metal, or icy glass. She took one up in her teeth with determination, flopped over on her side, and arched her neck to simply touch it to a place most ponies would not venture near in polite company.

“...ngh...”

Fluttershy tensed as a sharp sensation of cold blossomed beneath her. She had chosen the twisted glass toy - a work of art on its own merit - for a reason. It felt cold, and the icy sensuality it gave rise to was like a temporary cold shower.

Or at least, it used to be.

The chill through her body had been a helpful deterrent in the past, but it had also given rise to a certain side effect. As her body became used to this sort of mollification, Fluttershy found that the cold had become a source of titillation as well. Each time she exposed herself to it she hoped the cooling effect would calm her, but tonight was just like all the rest. She tossed the toy away and watched as it clattered in muted bumps on the rug. Frustrated, she rubbed her thighs together and bid the lovely toy a regretful farewell.

The lone pegasus shook her head, tousling a mane that had become pleasantly fragrant even to her, and poked her muzzle back into the box. Rooting around, she soon came upon a small object that emitted a constantly oscillating, translucent glow which shifted in spectrum from cerulean blue to deep indigo, violet, and back again. She wrapped her lips gently around the item and extracted it, dropping it into her waiting hooves.

The item was a simple cylinder, not much different in size and diameter from her secret toys. It was perfectly straight, had a smooth surface, seemed to shine with less luster than it had six months ago when she’d first obtained it.

“Twilight said...” she spoke aloud, rolling the object on the floor between her hooves, “That it would be potent until the light faded enough that I could see the red line.”

She squinted. A very faint hint of red was indeed prevalent, in a thin band around the object’s center. It was so fine, however, that she never would have noticed it if she hadn’t been specifically looking for it.

“...does that count?”

Fluttershy stroked the surface of the small object as if to encourage potency from the promising glow within. Though it appeared perfectly smooth, she could feel the nearly microscopic perforations all over it. Magic was designed to release from the object’s ‘pores’ when it detected...appropriate dampness and warmth.

She stared at the tool, worrying as was her habit, until resolve struck her. This would have to do. She knew full well that on this, of all nights, nature would not be cheated. She could rub herself raw all night long, but unless she found a proper release, in the morning she would have nothing to show for it but a debilitating passion that would claw at the back of her mind and distract her from her life clear into next year.

Fluttershy rolled onto her back, her hind legs in the air, and pinched the cylinder between her hooves, guiding it downwards. She let out a small whimper when it slipped inside her, but managed to keep her composure until the tool’s warmth spiked and then faded. With a small sigh, she then extracted it and placed it on a nearby towel to dry. It was still potent, and thus it would still protect her womb from the...complications that could result from such a night as this.

That’s what she thought, anyway.

Fluttershy sniffed the air with growing impatience, but her reverie was broken by the jarring sound of a hoof rapping on her door.

“Wh-wha!?”

Daring not to beat her wings even once, she scrambled to her hooves and searched in a panic for a place to stuff the box.

“Commmming!” She cried. “Just a minute pleeeeease!”

The rapping resumed, scaling up in intensity with every moment Fluttershy dallied and scooted the box ineffectually into one corner or another.

“Oh dear, oh dear, u-uhm...uh...”

Finally she lifted the rug and shoved the box unceremoniously under it, kicking it a few times with her hind leg in a vain attempt to make the new bulge on the floor look less obvious. Hastily she smoothed her mane, took a few calming breaths, and hooked her hoof around the door handle, pulling it wide and bathing the foyer in the light of the full moon.

“H-hello!” She announced with exasperation, already searching her mind for ways to shoo whatever wingless pony had mistakenly come calling. “What can I do for--huh?”

Before her stood two stallions and a mare, but so young were they that they were only just barely deserving of titles beyond that of colt and filly. Each of them bore the same squirmy flutter in the wings that marked their flanks.

“M-miss Fluttershy?” The lead stallion, a chocolate-brown pegasus with a ash-yellow mane that glowed in the moonlight, spoke for his companions. “W-we, uh...we’re sorry for bothering you, but...we didn’t know where else to go.”

“We feel funny,” The sage-green mare with a foofy blueberry mane complained. She appeared as shaky on her legs as Fluttershy felt.

“What’s going on?” Queried the other stallion, orange with an ebony mane; his brow knitted with confusion.

Fluttershy gaped.

“You...you don’t know?” She asked incredulously. “None of you?”

As one, the three young adults shook their heads. It occurred to Fluttershy that she knew these ponies. The lead stallion had only one parent who was an earth pony. The other two, siblings, had parents whose vocations frequently took them away on business.

They really don’t know, do they, Fluttershy thought. She stood aside and waved the ponies into her home.

“You poor dears, come in, come in.”

Bewildered and lost, the trio trotted inside. Before the last one had cleared the threshold, they all began pelting their elder with questions.

“Are we okay? Are we sick?”

“I wanna fly, but I dunno where I wanna go. Why?”

“I can’t sit still and I can’t concentrate on anything. What’s going on?”

Fluttershy ducked in and out of the kitchen, returning with a tray balanced on her hoof that bore three cool glasses of orange juice, which she promptly passed out. “No, no, you’re not sick,” She assured them. “But you musn’t try to fly. Not yet.”

Her service was partially to calm her guests with refreshments, and partially a means by which to explore a theory that was quickly confirmed as she walked among them. Bobbing beneath each young stallion was a strong, twitching erection, and the scent wafting from the mare was easily noticeable. When she completed her rounds, Fluttershy sat the tray aside and held up a hoof to silence their nattering questions.

“You’re all going to be just fine,” She told them. “It shouldn’t be long now. If you’ll wait here with me, I’ll take you to a place that will help to calm you down.” She smiled brightly, “Can you do that for me? Try to be patient until then?”

The ponies, all with straws in their mouths now, looked between one another and nodded. The mare spoke.

“My wings feel funny. Like itchy. I wanna go somewhere.”

“I know dear,” Fluttershy replied. “It’s because...well...it’s because you’re a pegasus. I promise you, what’s happening is completely normal. It’s something all pegasi go through, and all three of you are going to be just fine.”

The orange stallion blushed and flattened his ears. “I uh...um...” his voice softened and he nodded slightly towards his flank, “...I can’t make it go away. I can’t just...uh...walk around town like this...”

Fluttershy knew what the young stallion was referring to without having to ask. “It will go away. But you won’t be able to do it on your own tonight.”

“...but it always went away before,” The chocolate stallion said, after the pair exchanged confused looks.

Fluttershy felt a small measure of pride welling up in her breast. This was a topic that she knew full-well would normally have sent her bolting under her own bed to hide. Nevertheless, she felt a certain instant kinship with these three. Their innocence engendered in her a mothering instinct that allayed her personal fears.

“What’s this?” The sage green mare poked at the bundle under the rug.

The hairs on the back of Fluttershy’s neck rose in alarm, but she fought the urge down. It felt unfair to default to embarrassment after inviting them into her home and barely scratching the surface of an explanation. Instead, she approached the young mare and looked her over again. She was as young as her companions, and Fluttershy reasoned that if she didn’t know what was happening here, certainly she was not prepared for it.

With a commanding air, Fluttershy stepped over to the rug and turned to face the boys.

“If you don’t mind,” she instructed, “would you both please turn around?”

The boys glanced at one another, shrugged mutually, and finally obeyed. When they were each looking in the opposite direction, Fluttershy reached under the rug and dragged out the tool that was still laying on its towel. The mare looked on, uncomprehending, but she seemed intrigued by the tool’s shifting colors.

“This...” Fluttershy sought for an explanation, “This will help to...protect you.”

“Protect me?” The mare looked suddenly frightened, “From what?”

Fluttershy sighed at her own lack of eloquence. She took a deep breath and kept her eyes on the swirling, peaceful colors of the toy. The twitch in her wings was becoming intolerable, but the need welling up inside her had the added benefit of emboldening her. She began to explain, speaking loudly enough for the stallions to hear.

“Tonight is a very special night that only comes once a year. Every tribe - unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, have a special time when nature calls to us. It’s as ancient as Equestria, a-and...” She paused, pondering - searching for an analogy they could understand. “I-it’s like salmon that swim upstream to spawn, or heat cycles in rabbits. It’s just a part of who we are. Our special time only calls to us - to pegasi. But pegasus or not, it won’t call to you until you’re old enough to listen.” Fluttershy completed her explanation with some measure of pity for these three, whose confusion resulted from a simple lack of understanding of their own nature.

The young mare blinked, and in her eyes Fluttershy could finally see a measure of understanding. She glanced back at her twitchy wings, and considered the persistent warmth in her core that caused so many shifts of weight from one hind leg to the other.

“Wait, you mean...? B-but...I don’t wanna get--”

“Shhh,” Fluttershy cooed, reaching out to stroke the mare’s blustery mane. “Some ponies use this time for what nature intended. Others don’t.” She ran her hoof along the mare’s neck and shoulders, knowing just a simple touch would distract her sufficiently enough to quickly and easily quiet her. “You have to go. You’ll never get it out of your system if you don’t. But this,” she indicated the tool, “this will keep complications from happening afterwards.”

The mare turned to watch the yellow hoof exploring her withers. She had an even deeper confusion marring her delicate features, and her blueberry mane had taken on a pleasant shimmer much like Fluttershy’s own. Beyond her the two stiffly erect stallions were staring out a window, lost in whatever fantasies their minds couldn’t help but tantalize them with.

“I-I’m not...uh...” the mare lowered her voice to a whisper. “...I’m not in season...”

Fluttershy kept her smile warm and friendly. The textbook explanation gave her a sense of clinical detachment that made her feel more like a doctor comforting a patient. “Our special night doesn’t follow our heat cycles. For as long as it lasts, we all go into season. It’s nature’s way of, well...making sure our tribe goes on.”

The young mare’s shoulders shrank. She began to paw at the rug with a hoof, and turned her gaze to the pensive task. Dismayed, Fluttershy stepped up next to her and gently touched the fluffy spot between her wings, stroking lightly at it, while she filled her voice with the tone she reserved for calming bears with thorns in their paws.

“Does this feel nice?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.

The mare hesitated, but eventually she turned her face to the ceiling, closed her eyes, and smiled softly. “...mm...mmhmm...”

Fluttershy leaned in and whispered gentle litanies into the youth’s ears. “Don’t be frightened. This is a special time, and we’re all pegasi - we all understand. Nopony will hurt you.” As she spoke, she slid the tool into the mare and mentally counted off the number of seconds it typically took to complete its work. The mare shuddered, but Fluttershy kept a soothing pressure on the spot between her wings. Soon enough, the mare’s tail began to swish.

“Can you trust me?” Fluttershy asked.

“...y...yes...yes, Miss Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy smiled and slipped the tool out, its work done. She pulled away from the mare and patted her gently on the cheek. “Then I promise you, you’re going to have a good time tonight.”

“Wh-what do I do?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Don’t worry about that. You’ll know what to do.” She thought about something she was once told when it was her time to learn, and reiterated it, “It’s as natural as a newborn foal learning how to breathe. Just come with me, and you’ll understand. Okay?”

The mare nodded vigorously, and Fluttershy was overjoyed to see a renewed sparkle in her eyes. She turned to the stallions, addressing them softly.

“Boys.”

The two young males nearly tripped over one other turning around. They snapped to attention like soldiers - the orange one blushed deeply and pulled his hoof away from his penis, where he had been casually stroking himself. Noticing the movement, Fluttershy sought to lighten the mood with a sing-song giggle.

“That’s okay,” She nodded to both of them. “Tonight, it’s okay for you both to do that. Nopony will judge you.” Her forgiving tone turned pitying as she finished her thought. Unlike many ponies who participated in the battle of the sexes, Fluttershy had always felt a measure of sympathy for stallions. They couldn’t hide it after all, and it wasn’t as if every mare trotted around in masking Saddle-Arabian robes all the time.

Despite her offer, neither of the stallions dared touch themselves again. The quartet might have stood in awkward silence indefinitely, but the wind changed, and all of them took in deep breaths that made each one in turn involuntarily flutter their wings, their hooves lifting slightly from the floor as though gravity were cutting in and out. Only Fluttershy met the new sensation with understanding. Still proud of her ability to help these ponies, she stepped to the door and pulled it open, gesturing to the yard outside.

“It’s time now. You can all follow me, but do you think you know where to go anyway?”

The mare pointed at a gathering of clouds high in the sky, tucked between the border of Ponyville and the western hills. “It’s there...isn’t it,” she stated. “I...I dunno why but...I wanna fly there.”

The stallions voiced their agreement, stepping out into the warm night as a small but constant trickle of pegasus ponies passed by overhead. Fluttershy spread her aching wings and finally let them have their way, as she felt herself being involuntarily lifted into the sky. She watched the flow of winged salmon as they flew upstream. It was so easy to join them, she was certain she could have done so blindfolded.

“Come on,” She addressed her new students as if she were encouraging ducklings to cross a street. “Let’s go and take our places with our own kind.”

* * * * *

Despite the urgent presence in her loins, Fluttershy’s wings cut the breeze with a lazy gait. She knew there would be time enough - unlike the young ones, who flew too close behind her out of impatience. She took another deep breath of the indescribable, pegasus-only mating scent, letting it flow through her again - it had a pacifying effect, and she had learned over time not to try to fight it. In her youth, she was terrified that she might do or say the wrong thing and upset somepony, but now she knew that it was enough to find a quiet cloud somewhere in a dark pocket, relax, and let nature take its course.

She would do the same tonight. Stay out of the way.

The scene above the clouds was exactly as she always remembered it. The many clouds, large and small alike, had been arranged in the sky like cascading platforms in a great fountain of night. Pegasus ponies from Ponyville, Canterlot, and surrounding settlements mingled playfully. Some sat together and laughed with their fellows, kicking their legs from the edge of clouds as though the sky were a great wading pool. Others courted one another in the heavens like sparrows in springtime.

Fluttershy paused to enjoy the sight of so many happy ponies, yelping when she was subsequently bumped into by her trailing entourage.

She turned. The three young minnows behind her seemed to barely notice the collision. They were looking all around - marveling at the sights, sounds, and smells. The orange stallion was gently stroking himself again as he watched an older couple fondling one another on a cloud; his sister was giggling under the nuzzling affections of their mutual chocolate-brown companion.

Fluttershy smiled affectionately at them. She might have thought herself lewd for encouraging such behavior, but in the cradle of her tribe’s special night, she knew there was no harm. The young - especially the young - couldn’t be asked to control themselves all the time with no sense of release. She cleared her throat to summon their attention, and waved her foreleg at the scene before them all.

“Go on, have fun. And please don’t worry, okay? Just follow your hearts.”

The sage green mare smiled laboriously and flitted away in the embrace of the chocolate stallion. Her orange brother watched her go. He glanced at Fluttershy again for confirmation. She smiled and tilted her head until he looked excitedly in several directions and was finally off.

Alone, Fluttershy let out a deflating sigh. It felt better than ever to stretch her wings, but there was a certain ache still present within her that required attention. Never one to mingle, she began to glance around for a cloud that was blocked from the attention of the moonlight by its larger brothers. She would perch there like a pigeon and make herself known, the darkness emboldening her, until a stallion caught her scent and followed its tether anonymously into her parlor. The call of the wild would be satisfied once again, and tomorrow would be another day.

“Fluttershy?” A voice called out, “Hey, is that you?”

Fluttershy shook her head. Even in a moment of idleness, rapture was already beginning to erode the precipice of her reason. She turned.

Hovering before her, his strong wings pumping, was a stallion anypony who wasn’t living under a rock could have easily recognized. Pale light from Luna’s grace brought out the luster in Soarin’s cornflower blue coat. A fine specimen of masculinity, Fluttershy found herself noticing the swaying tip of his tail in the breeze and the light in his emerald eyes more than she otherwise would have on any other day. The goggles he wore strapped to his forehead gave his mane a lovely ‘mussed’ look. Around one foreleg he sported a bright, reflective orange band that labeled him as one of the custodians for the evening’s revelry.

“Fluttershy?” Soarin repeated.

Fluttershy blinked, only then realizing she hadn’t answered him. Her eyes had strayed down to his proud, fully bloomed erection - she couldn’t even recall how long she had been staring. She let out a slight gasp and looked away. Soarin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Oh, heh...sorry,” He shrugged, his musky scent already invading Fluttershy’s feminine sensibilities. “Can’t really help it, you know?”

Fluttershy took a breath and made herself look at him again. Every pegasus that this evening touched would quickly blossom with sexual excitement, and none of them would be able to do anything to hide the signs of it until dawn’s early light. She couldn’t blame him for the twitching spire between his legs any more than she could blame herself for the constant, frisky swish in her own tail.

“I...I understand,” She finally replied, the pitch of her voice even higher than usual.

The two of them hovered silently amidst their active brethren until Fluttershy’s ears caught the sound voices engaged in activities other than speech. Blushing, she cursed herself mentally for her shyness. She could educate the young about this night, but now that the moment was here, and a virile stallion floated before her, she could do nothing but bat her eyelashes coquettishly. Even her urge to flee and hide herself under a cloud somewhere was stayed by the power of instinct.

“So, hey,” Soarin smiled. “I saw you fly in with some other ponies, but I haven’t seen them around before. They looked kinda young--” He asked his question anyway, knowing the answer, “Did it get them for the first time tonight?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Mmhm. A-and they um...well one of them doesn’t have a pegasus parent and the other two, well, their mom and dad are out a lot and...I guess they...weren’t properly prepared.”

Soarin whistled. “Wow. Must have been a shock. But you took care of ‘em, huh?”

Fluttershy brightened under the praise. Soarin’s smile was chaste, but Fluttershy found herself getting lost in it anyway as the twitch inside her responded to his closeness. “W-well, they needed a guiding hoof, and...I couldn’t just turn them away.”

“Gee, you sure are a heck of a nurturer, aren’t you.” He rubbed his chin, hovering there, casually exposed to her. “You think I could ask you to...do something for me?”

Fluttershy felt her heart skip a beat, “R-right here...?”

“Uh huh.”

“R-right...right now...?”

“Yep.”

Fluttershy’s eyes darted around. Eventually they fell on a pair of stallions who were happily swallowing one another in midair. Beating their wings in opposite directions, their bodies created a floating, fuzzy circle in the sky. Nearby, a fuchsia-tinted mare brimmed with glee as another mare tickled her with the tip of her tail like a filly, while a grinning stallion took her in a floating missionary position.

This spot was neither quiet nor secluded.

Fluttershy laid a hoof over her chest. She’d seen it before, but she’d never actually tried to copulate in midair before. Did it take skill? What if her wings gave out? What if she kicked him by accident? What if he fell? What if she fell?

“...what if...but what if...”

Noticing her distress, Soarin reached out and unabashedly stroked Fluttershy’s lemony cheek. Such a gesture may have been in violation of personal space bubbles under other circumstances, but here it was practically expected. Every nerve in her body alive with desire, Fluttershy let out a sigh and allowed him to touch her until the racing in her heart calmed somewhat.

“O-of course I will,” She finally admitted, as much to herself as to him. She knew nothing good would come of refusing him, and Soarin was a gentlemanly stallion by reputation. “But i-if we could, um, go somewhere else, s-since...I don’t really know how to--”

“Great! Thanks!”

The sudden declaration rattled around in her head like billiard balls being broken. Before she knew what was happening, Soarin was sliding one of the orange bands up her foreleg, until it finally snapped in place just below her shoulder.

“We’re a little short-hooved tonight,” He explained. “And everypony knows how kind and patient you are. We could reeeally use the help - thanks so much for volunteering!”

“W-wait,” Fluttershy stammered, “What...?”

“You know,” Soarin replied, brandishing his own legband, “Custodians. Helping ponies out. Answering questions. Making stuff go smoothly and all that.” He laughed, “The Wonderbolts usually take care of it, but, well...” He ran his hoof through his mane and giggled dryly, “There are more pegasi in our region than there used to be and, well...it’s not like we’re exempt from what happens to everypony up here.”

Fluttershy felt as though her cutie mark had gotten loose and was flying around in her stomach. “B-but, I...I couldn’t...I can’t...I mean I...I...”

“Relax!” Soarin announced, his erection still bobbing in the wind. “It’s easy! All you gotta do is make sure everypony has a good time!”

Fluttershy felt a thickness in her throat she couldn’t swallow through. Her eyes went wide. “E-e-everypony??”

Soarin shrugged, “Well, not like everypony everypony. Just, you know. Help out where you can. Like you did with those kids!”

“B-b-but I--”

Soarin clapped Fluttershy’s shoulder. “We all really appreciate this. You know what this night means to us pegasi. Let’s all work together to make sure everypony has a great experience, huh?”

“S-sure...b-but...”

“I knew we could count on you.” Soarin cleared his throat. His penis twitched again. “So, uh, listen, I’m gonna go...take a break. For a little bit. Okay? Make sure you do too!” With that, the sporty stallion was gone. Fluttershy stared at his retreating rump until it vanished under the undulating waves of darkness outside her field of vision.

Fluttershy shook herself out of the dull throb of want and glanced around. She’d never spent more than an hour in the clouds on this night before - just enough to see to her needs and retire to her bed, where she could deal with the remaining directives of her species on her own. But custodians couldn’t leave until the event was concluded.

It was going to be a long night.