Author's Note

Hot stuff? It gets a bit hot. A fair warning. You can skim past the steamy part. It doesn't last that long and they get back into the story of things fairly rapidly.

Beware the typos that lurk among the petals.

4 - I'm Home

Noah worked the key into the door of his house and had it open swiftly. It didn't have the usual amount of give though. Had he forgotten to lock it that morning? Shoot. At least the ponies in Ponyville didn't seem very inclined to steal things.

He rolled his shoulders as he pushed the door open and stepped inside, to find things... different.

Candles lit the place in gloomy dimness. Rose petals were showered on the ground.

A familiar voice called out from that gloom, "Is that you, Noah dear? I'm in here."

Was Rose playing a joke on him? What was going on!? He closed the door behind himself as he glanced around. It was neat, clean. His place hadn't been so clean for... ever? It looked and even smelled like a female had gotten their, um, hooves on it and had made it as spotless as it was ever going to be.

He walked towards that voice. "Rose? I don't really like surprises." Telling the truth was the right thing, right?

"You'll like this one."

He entered the kitchen where the voice was coming from. There was Rose. She was dressed in tall socks, sheer nightie, and a smoldering look. She was also standing on two legs as if she belonged that way. The unicorn raised a hoof and gestured for him to come closer. "My poor baby. You've been working so hard. It's time to come here and relax. I have your reward all worked out for you."

She was the 'sexiest' he'd ever seen a pony try to be. She was still a pony, of course, which was part of the problem. Not that... he thought ponies couldn't, or didn't, do... that. Of course they did! But... "Umm..."

Rose sauntered towards him, hips swaying with every step. "Tell me all about it. I want to hear about your day."

Noah was floundering! What should he say, or do? "Y-you're looking... nice?"

She smiled, bright and white. "You charmer, but we're not here for me, oh no." She reached out a hoof and brushed it against his left leg slowly, making the muscles beneath twitch with nervousness and excitement. "We're here for you, Noah."

Part of him wanted to toss caution to the wind. The rest was screaming incoherently. His new friend was hitting on him, but it was like being brained by a war-hammer rather than any gentle coaxing. Had he done something wrong, or maybe something horribly right? "I..."

Rose trailed upwards, hoof teasing the flesh beyond his pants on a journey to where his legs met. She was touching him, right there. "Stop looking so scared, Noah my dear. I'll take care of you. No more struggling, not tonight. You just surrender to my touches and I'll handle the rest."

Despite any amount of quailing, his dick knew exactly what it wanted. His dick was a simple creature. There was a female that wanted to pet it and stroke it and maybe even more. Who cared about any other detail?

For good or ill, he was more than just his dick. Even with an increasingly firm stiffie, he took an awkward step back. "R-Rose, we just... met. Isn't thi--?" She pressed against his lips with her magic, her horn glowing that green shade.

She pulled him down with the same magic and kissed either of his cheeks with a feathery touch, her fur tickling the skin. "No more worries."

More like all the worries! Or so Noah's mind flailed. Sure, it... wasn't all bad, but she was still a pony. A pony on two legs, sure, but even if he ignored the fact that it was kind of like kissing a teddy bear, she wasn't shaped right. She was just the right size and configuration that it was... It triggered all the wrong places. He didn't want to be kissing on a pre-pubescent female, even if ponies never really did become what a human would think was 'mature'.

Too much, too fast!

Somehow, he heard the sound of a zipper. A glance down showed that green glow pulling his zipper down, then pulling his boxers open gently to allow his traitorous cock spring free into the air. No!

He fled. It was far from his proudest moment, but he was suddenly in his bedroom, with the door slapped shut and locked securely. It was far from the manliest thing he'd ever done...

Rose settled down, her rump becoming pony haunches as her tongue flicked over her lips. She had gotten a much better taste. A precious gulp that took the edge off of her ravenous hunger. He could be what she wanted, but she had failed, somehow. She looked around the candlelit room. She thought she had performed the courting ceremony correctly.

She was ready to do as the females of his tribe did!

Maybe she had failed to take him properly into account, as an individual?

She walked up to the sealed door to his room and gave a soft clopping knock. "Noah?"

There was no reply.

"Noah? I'm sorry."

"It... I'm sorry," apologized Noah through the door.

She thought she was the one saying sorry! "What are you sorry for?"

What was he sorry for? Noah really wasn't sure. Everything had become so confused in short order. "T-thanks, you know, for cleaning up."

Rose smiled at that. "I've made a mess with rose petals... Don't like them?"

"They're... alright?"

They were speaking at least. That was a step in the right direction. "I'll clean them up, Noah. Can we talk?"

"You should find a nice stallion, Rose. You don't need a, um, me."

Rose frowned. She hadn't chased her prey down to getting so close just for... "Noah, you're just fine."

"Am I?"

"You are. Now tell me what I did wrong. I'm the one that messed it all up."

There was silence a moment before she heard the faint click of the lock being undone. The door opened to reveal Noah. He had gotten himself 'decent' again. "You didn't!" How could she mess up? Noah was the one with the problems. "I just don't know how to handle a, uh, marefriend."

She tilted her head a little. She knew her mistake. Trying to avoid the parts she had deemed 'unsavory' had made her less than ideal as romantic partners went. He needed udders. She couldn't ask a bull to be pleased with a cow without udders, why did she think she could work past it with Noah? She brought up a hoof to her chin. "Is it because of the mare part or the friend part?"

Noah let the door fall open, no longer holding it. "You really want to know? God." He couldn't believe he had run into a pony that wanted to get through to him so badly as to ignore his failings. Maybe... Maybe he just should be happy he had it? Or maybe that was exactly what he should run from. What was he running from? "A little of both?"

Her tail swayed a bit as she rose to all four hooves, then stood up on two. "See, I can be your lady friend, if you'd rather." She ran her hooves down her front. "Isn't it nice?"

She looked quite... nice... Nice and scary all at once. He decided to fall into a clinical mode about it. He crouched down and pointed to her forehooves. "When two, you know, humans decide they want that, there's a lot of touching.

She took a step forward and put a forehoof on his chest. "I wouldn't mind touching a friend."

His cheeks warmed, knowing she was happy doing a lot more than touching. "With hands, fingers." He wriggled those odd extremities he had. "Our fingers, they're, hm, very sensitive and kind of make up a large part of our--"

"Oh!" Rose's ears perked. "That's why touching, with passing things, is so important. That makes sense." She reached out, but not with a hoof. Her magic wrapped around his right hand and gently squeezed. "It's about... vulnerability, sharing what you don't normally share."

There certainly was something she didn't normally share, but sharing that... It would torpedo any chance they had. She didn't want that.

He flexed his fingers against the magic. "You're a very nice mare, but I'm not... sure I can do what you want."

"I pushed too hard." She pulled his hand carefully with her magic and kissed one of his fingertips. "Let me try again. I'll do better, promise."

He wondered what exactly she would do 'better'. It was scary to consider, but... maybe he was a little lonely. Maybe he kind of liked being chased just a little. Maybe it was flattering, even if was also scary as heck. Maybe... "Alright." She smiled so brightly. "But, for tonight, I need to get some sleep and to clean up. Go on home."

She took a step back on that two-legged gait she had adopted. "Do check out that book," she reminded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Rose walked out on two legs as naturally as any human might, only falling back to fours when she reached the door. "Sleep well."

"Be safe, Rose." Noah waved timidly, and she was gone.

He found the book she had brought. It was with his borrowed book on the dining room table, rose petals scattered about artfully. It was almost kind of funny, imagining her putting out the petals and trying to gussy up just for him.

Why?

He picked up the book, fearing it could have tawdry contents.

"10 Places to Visit in Equestria", announced the cover with a picture of two ponies smiling in front of a huge pyramid.

It was a travel book, and it had all sorts of shots of wondrous places and marvels from across the pony land. Noah smiled as he settled with it. It was a far cry from the adult book he had feared a moment. It was... It was lovely. He really did want to see some of those places. He never knew Equestria even had half the places mentioned. Some of them, like Las Pegasus, were exactly where he had no interest in being, but others...

Yes, it was a fine book, and Rose had been thoughtful in selecting it for him.

Maybe she really did care, rather than just being a mare that wanted some from a very curious source.

He imagined visiting some of those places. He'd have a camera. Rose would have a notebook floating beside her. They would...

Why was Rose in his fantasy?

He flipped from the canals to that big pyramid. He replaced one of the ponies in that shot, smiling. Rose took the place of the other pony. She was close to him, also smiling. She would protect him gladly, because she...

Did she? Oh god...

Noah put a hand over his face as confusion mounted. Just what did he feel for that pony, and what did she feel in return?

He let the book close gently and set it down on his table. He would have to face it. For good or evil, he had to make it clear, to himself, and to her, exactly what they felt about each other, and where she wanted to go, and where he would go, with or without her.

For the moment, it was time to clean up and get to bed.