Bright Nights

The day was turning to dusk, the unbearable heat of the afternoon sun was cooling to a much more welcome temperature, when the weary and dust stained party of six ponies crested a hill, and the sight of a large coastal village below was a very welcome view. For them, it meant the first hot bath they had in weeks, warm soft beds to sleep on, not the hard ground  with only their woolen traveling cloaks for any kind of softness on the hard and cracked terrain of the Griffon Kingdom. But the only thing going through all their minds was the prospect of hot, freshly cooked food. The various dried fruits, vegetables and nuts that made up their trail rations, while nutritious, always became bland and boring after the first few weeks of just having those to survive on.

“Thank, fucking goddess,” Autumn Delight, the first unicorn and leader of the small group, said, wiping the back of her hoof over her sweating forehead, brushing a few strands of her messy mane out her eyes. “I was worried you got us lost when we took that shortcut through Talons and Claws river crossing,” she admitted, only half jokingly, to Aziza Fears, their navigator, and his wife and group scout, Nedra Fears.

Aziza didn’t rise to the bait, they were too close to their soft beds and hot meals to bother getting into one of their famous squabbles. Instead he raised his head and sniffed deeply, closing his eyes as he sampled the scent on the air. The rest of the group looked at him expectantly. “Fish,” he began. “Wood smoke, sweat, dinners being cooked and a tiny hint of copper underneath it all.” He twitched his ears in several direction. “Seems quiet enough.” He opened his eyes and met Autumn’s gaze. “Not as bad as the last village we came to, I think we can stay here longer. Rest, regroup and gather fresh supplies.”

Autumn bit her bottom lip, frowning slightly as she thought. The last village they had stayed in had reeked so strongly of copper and been so noisy even she, with her inferior senses, had noticed it a hundred meters out. They had only stayed there for a couple of hours so as not to draw any unwanted attention to themselves in such a violent and lawless environment. They would never back down from a fight, but they would never seek a fight out either, and fighting with the locals in the smaller villages this deep inside the Griffon Kingdom was a surefire way to get a target painted on your back. But this village was perhaps one of the most calmer one they had come across, so as team leader, it was up to her to decide how long they stayed before setting off once more.

“If the village is as peaceful as it seems, we’ll crash in a local Inn for a few nights.” With a confident nod of confirmation, Autumn began leading the way down the hill, following the rocky, ill maintained trail that to the village. The rest of the group followed, the excited aura of anticipation for peace and relaxation hung thickly around the group of adventurers. Autumn hoped there was some kind of brothel at the village, for the past few weeks the only attention her burning pussy had gotten, was her hoof and magic and the occasional pity fuck Aziza and Nedra gave her. And because the married couple had no issues about rutting each other whenever the chance arose, with no care about keeping their sexual antics discreet, Autumn’s libido was constantly on fire with arousal. If there was a brothel at the village, she planned on paying for at least half a dozen ponies to satiate herself. “Pick it up, ponies!” Autumn snapped, trotting more briskly down the path.

With no second invitation needed, the smal group picked up the pace, clearing the distance in a matter of minutes. As they came into the village the alluring smell of freshly cooked food hanging in the air made their tummies rumble, and their tongues to lick across their lips in anticipation for a delicious hot meal.

“Fuck that smells so good,” Feralia, the second unicorn and healer of the group commented, taking a deep whiff of the deliciously scented air.

“Anypony been here before?” Autumn asked her group, coming to a stop just outside the borders of the village. Everypony shook their heads, mumbling ‘nos’ and ‘nopes’. She sighed just a little. “We’ll split up and see if we can find the best Inn that caters to us herbivores.” She briefly glanced at the Aziza and Nedra. “Tonight you two are gonna see if you can find any updated maps of this area.” She turned to Diedra, a mare earth pony, and Sedia, her younger brother. “You two, do an inventory check, buy whatever ingredients you need for cooking in the next few days, and make sure we have enough trail rations to see us through ‘til we reach the Caves of Sectari.” She blushed just a tinge at what she was about to say next. “And all of you, let me know if there’s brothel anywhere in the village. Goddess knows how long it’s been since I’ve had a good rutting.”

With their tasks in mind, the six ponies walked into the village, splitting up in various different directions. The welcome they got was not a warm one, nor was it dismissive. The locals of the village walking the streets merely gave them a suspicious once over, a brief glare for intruding on their domain, then went to completely ignoring them. Autumn was used to such behaviour, griffons were not the most gracious hosts. As she trotted through the village, she kept an eye out for a saddlebag repair shop. She needed some fresh leather to make repairs on her boots and the various leather straps she had secured around her body, hidden under her traveling cloak. Each strap was equipped with various small pockets or sheaths for her belongings. She only had a small saddlebag for some of her larger, or more valuable items, but that was it in terms of baggage. Walking miles everyday was hard enough on its own, even harder with big clunky saddlebags. Thankfully Diedra and Sedia had no problems carrying the two large saddlebags containing their food and other essential supplies.

She found a local shop selling genuine leather at a reasonable price, and after purchasing a good amount, she made her way to the village center where she met up with Aziza carrying several new maps, some blank map parchment, a new compass and a scout’s journal, no doubt meant for his wife.

“All set?” Autumn helped him with carefully storying the maps in a weatherproof, enchanted folder. Aziza gave a little shrug tucking the folder beneath his leathery wings.

“They didn’t have any map quills or ink. I can get away with sharpening my quill tips one more time, but the ink...” He sighed with annoyance. “At this point I’m desperate enough to water down some normal parchment ink and use that.”

Autumn bit her bottom lip with concern. They were heading into unknown territory and terrain, and while they had local maps of the area, they couldn’t be relied upon for accuracy and details. There had been one time while traveling through Saddle Arabia they had been expecting to refill their canteens at a watering hole, but their map hadn’t specified the watering hole had been bonedry for decades. That was why it was important for the navigators and scouts to make detailed notes and make the required updates on their maps of such discrepancies, in case they ever wanted to visit the area again.

“Can you make do with what you have? We’re so close to finishing this.”

Aziza rolled his emerald, catlike eyes and ruffled his wings with obvious agitation. “I’m going to have to, aren’t I?” He shot an accusing look at Autumn. “Next time bring your own damn quills and ink when you want to write letters to your friend back in Canterlot.” Autumn had the good grace to blush ashamedly and look away with a sheepish grin.

“I just wanted to tell Starsong how close I was to finishing this mission and going back home.”

A shadow briefly flitted over them as Nedra swooped down from a nearby rooftop, landing next to her husband, nuzzling and squirming her way beneath his wing. She gave her husband’s cheek an affectionate grooming lick. “I struck out on the ink and quills as well, honey.” Aziza returned his wife’s lick and nuzzled through her mane.

“It’s fine,” he practically purred in her ear, giving its tip a little nibble, making her squirm and moan softly with a little blush. Autumn left them, not wanting to intrude on their intimacy, at the same time, not wanting to stir up the fire burning beneath her tail. Those two could make anypony horny, just with their furiously intense make out sessions. She really needed to find that brothel, failing that, the first bar where she could find one or, hopefully two sex partners.

Half an hour later a sullen, pouting Autumn followed the directions to the Inn her team had selected, her failed quest for looking for a brothel putting her in a sour mood. She had been tempted to look for a partner in the first tavern she could find, but her stomach demanded a fresh hot meal, her dusty body a steaming bath and her mind a comfortable night’s sleep before she tried seducing anypony.

The Inn she came to was a wooden three story building, the second and third floors for travelers to sleep in, the first floor for any paying diners to eat and drink to their heart’s content. Griffons may not like the strangers that came into their villages, but they loved the coin and gold the strangers bought with them and were forced to spend in order to get real food and a decent night’s sleep.

“You look like beaten crap scraped off a sidewalk,” Diedra commented, as Autumn made her way through the dining room to the secluded table her team was seated in. Autumn gave her a brief glare, too agitated and frustrated to bother with any other quip.

“Where’s your brother?” Autumn asked, finally noticing the absence of Sedia. “He better not be lost again.”

Diedra shook her head. “He’s not lost, just kinda busy gathering more food and supplies for the rest of our trip.” She perked up and glanced behind Autumn. “Speaking of, here comes our food now.”

Autumn glanced over her shoulder and saw a young, annoyed looking griffon waitress walking over to their table with several platters of steaming hot food and of course a platter stacked high with juicy rare steaks, and several roasted chickens for the thestrals. The entire table was deathly silent, staring intently, hungrily at the slowly approaching waitress. Autumn would have gladly let the griffon take her in any way she wanted, if it meant getting the food to the table faster.

As soon as the platters of food were on the table, they tore into it snatching up as much baked, steamed or boiled vegetables as they could, fighting over the best pieces. They weren’t on the trail where they had to share out their rations anymore, here it was everypony for themselves. Autumn went for a platter filled with baked potatoes smothered in some kind of gravy, only to have her hoof smacked away by Nedra as she claimed it for herself and her husband to share with their steaks and chicken. Autumn was hungry enough to not be put off by the sight of the meat but as soon as the married thestrals ripped into the rare steaks, eagerly scoffing it down causing blood to tail down their chins, Autumn had to look away and try her best not to throw up.

The platters of food had only lasted for five minutes, but there was still a small pile of potatoes left and Autumn was about to snatch them up when Diedra beat her to it, placing them on an over flowing platter of food no doubt meant for her little brother. Autumn blushed and apologized. It was her job as the team’s leader and protector to make sure everypony in her team were properly fed and nourished, and for a moment her gluttony had clouded her thoughts from that responsibility.

Once the platters, practically licked clean of food, had been cleared away, each of them were now nursing tankards of cold, crispy apple cider. Autumn downed the last of her drink and lit her horn briefly, summoning a silencing barrier around their table. Her companions looked at her expectantly, eager to hear what plan she had come up with for their task of locating and entering the Caves of Sectari.

“Sorry I’m late!” Sedia blurted out, collapsing with exhaustion in the empty seat next to his sister. She helped pull the heavy, bulging saddlebags off his back, placing the massive platter of food in front of him. Like the rest of them had previously done, he tore into the food like a savage beast, moaning with pleasure at how good it tasted. Autumn glanced at Aziza and gave him a little nod. It was time to start getting serious.

“I’ve asked around about the Caves,” Aziza began, pulling out his maps and notes of the area. They cleared a space on the table for him. “Everything I’ve heard about them suggests the entrance is somewhere to the north and well hidden. Some stories and rumors I’ve heard say the caves are haunted by angry specters. Others suggest that a pack of direwolves has made their home inside the Caves, but the more likely explanation is just some kind of monster has claimed the caves for itself.”

“Another dragon?” Autumn inquired.

“No, not a dragon. No livestock has been found burned, but plenty of it has gone missing. The farmers are far away from the Caves. I’m inclined to think a basilisk has taken the caves for itself.”

Autumn sagged in her chair and sighed with resignation. “That... fucking sucks.” She gave Aziza a hopeful look. “Would it hibernating?”

Aziza shrugged. “It’s late enough in the year, livestock killings have gotten drastically low, almost disappearing entirely. So, I think so.”

Autumn chewed on her bottom lip, deep in thought. “We go on as planned,” she informed her group after a while. “We were expecting something like this to come up when we got to the Caves. And between us, we should be able to handle a basilisk should it wakeup.” She turned to Feralia. “If there is a basilisk hibernating in the Caves, would you be able to construct a portal, link it to the base I made in Equestra’s northern mountains and keep it open if I distract the basilisk long enough for us to get the gems and ourselves through it?”

Feralia looked quite nervous and pale at the prospect, but she nodded confidently. “I’ll need your portal weaves, but yes, I think I can manage that.”

Autumn turned to Aziza and Nedra. “You’re confident you can locate the entrance tomorrow night?”

Nedra smirked cockily, nestling and snuggling closer into her husband’s embrace. “I can locate a needle in a haystack two hundred feet in the air. I believe that’s why you made me the scout.”

Aziza purred, stroking a hoof down his wife’s back. “And I think I have enough information to pinpoint the general area of the entrance. Between us it shouldn’t too long.”

She turned to Diedra and Sedia. “I want you two to stay with Feleria outside the Cave.” Before they could protest, Autumn went on to explain further. “Aziza and Nedra are the stealthiest out of all of us, and I’m the battlemage and team leader here, we want to be as quiet as possible in those caves, so stealth and smaller numbers are our best defence.” She grinned wildly and leaned back in her chair. “Colts and fillies, if all goes right, this time tomorrow night, we’re gonna be the second richest ponies, right below Luna and Celestia, themselves.”

<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>

The bath house in the village was a massive stone building sectioned off into rooms each room containing several rock pools filled with water varying from lukewarm to steaming hot. Autumn selected a room with the hotter rock pools, discording her boots, leather straps and taking the pink bow from her mane, letting it flow freely. As she lowered herself up to her neck in the pool of steaming water, moaning loudly, feeling the hot water relax her stiff, and sore muscles cramped from long nights of hard walking.

“Oooohhhhhh... Fuck, that feels good.” Autumn closed her eyes, losing herself to the bliss of the rock pool.

“You don’t have a stallion in the bath with you, do you, Autumn?” Aziza Fears asked as he stepped into the room with his wife snuggled under his wing. Autumn grinned slowly opening her eyes and looking up at Aziza, giving him and his wife a teasing wink.

“I wish I had a stallion. If Nedra doesn’t mind, you can totally get in here with me.”

Nedra giggled lightly, used to Autumn’s antics of hitting on her husband. She didn’t mind, as long as the flirting remained playful. “Auuuuuuttttttuuuuummmmnnnnnn...” she whined teasingly. “Stop trying to steal my husband, you slut.”

Autumn gave the mare her most extreme and sexy ‘fuck me, please!’ bedroom eyes. “I wouldn’t mind stealing you along with him.”

They both blushed brightly, Aziza using his wing to guide Nedra to the second rock pool. Autumn watched them, slightly envious of the pure trust and love they had for each other. Aziza stepped into the bath first and gently helped his wife into the hot water with him. Once in the water, Nedra was grabbed from behind by her husband who gently unfurled his wings, wrapping them around her body to form a protective, loving cacoon. Autumn watched them, smiling with genuine pleasure for the couple. She was nowhere ready to start settling down with a special somepony, there were still corners of the world to be explored, treasures to be found and monsters to be fought. A shot of adrenaline pulsed through her body, making her  shudder with excitement at the thought of potentially fighting against a basilisk, one of the seven deadliest creatures of the world, rivaled only by dragons themselves.

Aziza now had his muzzle buried in the crook of Nedra’s neck, licking and nibbling at her flesh, making her coo and purr with pleasure. They had a truer, purer treasure with each other. Gold and gems were cold, hard and temporal, while having somepony’s heart and giving somepony your own heart was something that lasted an entire lifetime. Autumn closed her eyes, just focusing on the hot water soaking into her fur, dislodging the built up grit and relaxing her tired muscles. Her heart and love were devoted to adventuring and treasure hunting, while the only kind of intimacy she had was with the strangers that she chose to have one night stands with, if they were really good she often gave them second and third night stands. The longest stand she currently had was with a Saddle Arabian prince, that lasted for an entire week and she hadn’t walked straight for several days afterwards.

The water of the pool rippled around her as Diedra, her brother and Feralia joined her in the water. Each of the ponies moaned or sighed with pleasure and Autumn gave them a brief glare of displeasure for intruding on her pool.

“There are other baths that don’t have me in them, you know?” she helpfully pointed out.

Diedra giggled and much to the chagrin of her brother, she pulled him into a hug and began using a provided cup to pour water through his mane, washing out the accumulated dirt and grit. “Autumn, this is the hottest pool in the house and we don’t wanna disturb Aziza and Nedra, theyr’re too adorable.” Finished with washing out her brother’s mane, Diedra shifted him so she could scrub over his back and belly. Sedia silently endured the mothering and babying his sister put him through, it was her coping mechanism to work through the absence of their mother, dead from cancer. Diedra still saw him as that vulnerable, lost colt despite being a proven warrior along with his sister.

“Why do we have to stay outside the cave?” Sedia blurted out, giving Autumn an annoyed glare. “Seriously, a basilisk!”

She shared a discreet look with Diedra. In the very first few days Diedra had joined with her brother they had discussed keeping Sedia out of danger whenever it was possible, Autumn had sworn to do so, Diedra had already lost her mother to cancer, she’d do anything to keep her brother alive. “Aziza, Nedra and I need you and your sister as backup. If something goes wrong in the cave, your strength as earth ponies and skills in combat will be essential for getting any injured ponies out of the cave as fast as possible.” Autumn lit her horn and ruffled Sedia’s mane, adding to his annoyance. “We’re also in a hostile, unknown territory. Feralia’s concentration will be focused on constructing the portal so you two will also be in charge of keeping her safe.”

Diedra kept her look of pure relief hidden from her brother, once more switching his position so she could massage the tension and stress out of his back and rump muscles. Feralia giggled at the sight of the flustered stallion and lit her horn, using her magic to gently massage each of his hooves under the water. Feralia’s attention was the last little bit of pressure that made Sedia completely melt and relax against his sister’s body, surrendering himself to her loving ministations.

“I still hate it when you do this, sis,” he muttered quietly, giving her a brief glare as token resistance.

Diedra stroked a hoof through his already immaculately cleaned mane. “I know, bro,” she cooed softly, comfortingly. “Now shuddup and let me love and take care of you.”

Autumn lit her horn, pulling one of her discarded brown leather straps to the edge of the pool. Everypony stopped what they were doing at the movement and stared with deep disapproval at her. “What?” she asked opening one of the pockets, pulling out a small glass vial filled with a finely ground, dark pink powder. “We’re not on the trail anymore.” She opened the vial, poured the powder in a generous line on a small metal tray and sniffed the entire line in one go. Mind numbing pleasure shot through her entire body as the arcane dust shot straight through to her magical mana reserves. Her entire body shuddered, felt weak, tingling intensely with unchecked magical energies. “OH! Sweeeeeeeeeet... Fuuuccckkkiiinnngggg... Goddess that feels so good,” she softly cooed out, basking in the orgasmic-like pleasure of her high. Giggling like a little filly on a Christmas morning, she poured out another generous line and snorted it all in one go. She arched her back and screamed loudly as more intense and pleasure filled sensations shot through her entire body. Magical crackles of amber energy danced along the surface of her horn, the arcane dust leaving none of her magical reserves closed.

Her team watched her abusing the combat drug with a mixture of wariness and disapproval, Feralia herself was now being extra observant looking for any sign of something going wrong. Autumn gave her a casual grin. “Seriously, don’t worry about me, I’m fine.” She sighed blissfully and relaxed further into the pool of hot water. “I’m not gonna flameout.”

By the time Autumn exited the bath house, her coat was back to its shiny honey color, her blonde mane and tail with pink streaks were silky soft, and the high from the double dosage of arcane dust had lasted several hours, each minute a pleasure filled power trip. Now that her magical mana reserves were once more under control, she could use her magic to levitate her boots and her body straps back to the Inn where her entire team was waiting for her in their room. She dumped her stuff in the corner of the room and joined Feralia on the second of the two beds in the room.