One With the Pack

Speckle, Lovelace and Sirena were all sitting outside of the cave, in a clearing.

Both unicorn and pastel pink pegasus were teaching the lilac pegasus Prench, which she was starting to pick up, albeit slowly. “Essayons encore une fois. Sirena, que penses-tu des ailes de Lovelace?” (Let's try this again. Sirena, what do you think of Lovelace's wings?)

“Ils sont assez jolis, Speckle.” (They are quite pretty, Speckle.)

Lovelace clapped her hooves in approval. “Vous allez mieux, Sirena! Et en seulement une semaine. Je suis fier de toi.” (You're getting better at this, Sirena! And in only a week's time. I'm proud of you.)

Sirena beamed, a faint blush painting her cheeks. “Je vous remercie. Je suis heureux d'avoir de si bons enseignants.” (Thank you. I'm glad to have such great teachers.)

They all looked up as Ember and Collin appeared, smiles on their faces. “Well it seems to me that the lessons are going over well, don't you think so Ember?”

“I would agree. Although I think a certain someone needs to head in for the night.”

Speckle frowned. “I’m not a filly, Ember. I can go to sleep when I wish.”

“You say that now, my dear, but you forget what happened the last time you stayed up late.”

Her ears lowered, and she slowly stood up. “Alright, I'm coming. Bonne nuit mes amis.” (Good night, my friends.)

“Bonne nuit.”, the pair of mares said together in unison, watching as she followed the earth pony back into the dark tunnels.

Early the next morning, before the break of dawn, Ember was shaken awake by his second in command. His eyes opened wearily, and he glared at the other stallion with a low grunt. “There better be a good reason as to why you’re waking me up this early.”

“There is, Sir. But I want you to see it for yourself.” Ember muttered under his breath, but he rose to his hooves, shaking his head to get rid of the sleep induced fog he still had. He trailed behind the pegasus, squeezing his eyes shut at the harsh light from the slowly rising sun shining in his eyes. He blinked a few times before glancing over at Collin.

“So what did you want to show me, Rooks?”

Collin merely pointed to a spot above him. It took the red stallion a second, but he soon noticed the bright light that illuminated the top of the mountain beside them. It appeared to be pulsating, growing dim then getting brighter in a steady pattern.

“What is that?”

“I don't know. Maybe we should go find out?”

Ember scoffed. “As if. There’s no way I'm climbing all the way up there. That's a death wish.”

“I could ca-”

“No. I'm not saying that I don't trust you, but no.”

Collin pouted, but stayed silent. Ember then suddenly shivered, gasping as he felt a rough tug at his ear. His back arched, bones shifting and readjusting as others aligned into new positions. Collin started to panic, unsure of what to do. “E-Ember? What’s happening to you?!” The stallion opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a pained cry as he felt the skin on his back stretch, a pair of wings emerging, then falling flat against his sides, feathers sprouting at random times. Ember’s eyes were closed, and he waited for the pain to go away. When it subsided, he cautiously cracked open an eye, seeing Collin's shocked expression plastered to his face.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Collin?”

The pegasus's mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no words were being said for a few moments. “B-By the stars… Ember… you have wings!”

“ I- What?” Turning his head, his face paled at the sight of two light red wings dragging onto the ground. He lifted them, examining the feathers. “How did this happen?” He got his answer when a cold tingle ran down his spine, spreading out to his new wings. “C-Crimson?”

“Good morning! Long time no talk, eh?”

“Crimson, what did you do?”

“Nothing big. Just transferred my shapeshifting abilities to you for a bit. I feel like I should be getting a thank you for helping you with your little problem. Anyways, have fun!”

“Wait, I-” The Infecto already had vanished from his thoughts. He sighed. “Well, guess we're going to see what's up there after all.”

Once up in the air, Ember tightly gripped onto Collin's hoof, using it to steady himself. The Alpha smirked. “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you? You seem a bit unstable.”

“Don't push me, Collin. Unless you want to start a little aerial brawl, which I would be very happy to commence.”

“I’ll pass. Now come on. Let’s go see this thing and come back before anyone else wakes up.”

“After you.”

The two started their way up the side of the mountain, the wind swirling around harder the higher they got. At one point they had to hold onto each other so they wouldn't get separated. At last they reached the top, landing on the flat, rocky surface. Ember shivered at how cold it was, his feathers ruffling to keep him warm. His eyes flickered in slight annoyance as the light went off again, pulsating faster this time. “Ok, we get it. Your shiny. Now if you could stop flashing for a few minutes, we’d be grateful.”

As if the thing could hear him, the light stopped. The pegasi walked towards the center of the peak, searching for what was glowing earlier. Collin found it, carefully pulling it out of the hole it was in. It was a large stone, pale white in color. It glowed and glistened in the light, sparkling in different colors as the stallion tilted it. “For something so small, it sure is bright. I wonder…”

Before Ember could get another word out, another flash from the stone interrupted him. The two shielded their eyes, lowering their hooves once it faded. “Geez! You've already blinded us more than once. Do it to us again, why don’t you?” He then glanced over to Collin, his eyes widening. “Rookie? ...Bud, you alright?”

The other stallion's face was blank, devoid of emotion. His body was trembling, and he was sweating profusely. Ember looked concerned. “Collin, you're kinda starting to freak me out a bit. Speak to me, bud.” No response. He went over to shake him went a low growl stopped him in his tracks. Collin's eyes were stuck in the middle of changing, the top part of his irises red while the bottom half was blue. He growled again, spreading his wings. Ember paused, then inched forward. Gently, he pressed his forehead against the other’s, making him stiffen in surprise.

The touch triggered something, as the dark blue pegasus backed up and shook his head. His eyes opened, back to red. He looked perplexed, not knowing what just happened. Ember shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing what happened himself. “Let's just head back, please? Any longer and I might turn into a popsicle.”

Back on the ground, the pair were sitting side by side, staring at the stone. Ember’s wings had crumbled into bits moments after he landed, which for once he wasn't surprised at. Collin poked at the shiny rock, still confused by what happened earlier. One thing was for certain, though: the instant Ember's forehead touched his, he felt… different. Not in a bad way. It felt like the gesture deeply calmed him, and that it further strengthened the bond between the two Alphas. Was it just speculation? He wasn't sure. Ember cleared his throat, catching his attention. “So you say you haven't seen the light before this morning?”

“That's right, Sir.”

“Hmm… the way this stone looks reminds me of something. Like of an old legend.”

“You mean the legend of the Moonstone? Because that fits its description almost perfectly.”, a voice sounded behind them. They turned to see Speckle standing there.

“Aren't you supposed to be asleep?”, Ember mused.

“Possibly. But it’s hard to sleep what with all of Crescent's whining and whimpering. Poor thing is still having nightmares. I woke up at least three times to go calm her down.”

“I’ll go check on her in a minute. Do you remember what this thing’s supposed to do? Besides being good for a dance party.”

Speckle racked her brain for a second, then her eyes flashed and she blushed as she remembered. “ I… um, would rather not state that.”

“And why not?”, Collin quipped.

“I-I just can't, ok? Besides, you’re gonna to find out soon enough if it keeps flashing. I’m going to go before I get it too.”

“Speckle, don't go! What do you-”

“And she's gone. Guess she doesn't like being pressed for answers.”

“Guess not.” They resumed their staring at the Moonstone, noticing it was starting to light up again. They were better prepared this time, turning away from the flash of light. Tingles ran up and down their spines, and they looked each other. “I feel… weird.”, Collin stated.

“Me too. It's probably just a bit of motion sickness from being up so high. Let’s head inside.” They did so, Ember deciding to bury the stone near the cave's entrance.

Speckle gently ushered her daughter into Nicky’s chamber, the earth pony mare still sleeping soundly. Crescent curled up beside her, quickly falling asleep again herself. The unicorn smiled fondly at them, slipping out of the cavern as quietly as she could. She suddenly felt her body jerk, a flood of emotions overtaking her mind. She had to lean against the wall of the tunnel to keep herself from toppling over. Slowly she made her way back into her own chamber, finding Ember lying on the floor, his body twitching wildly. “Ember?”, she called, sitting down and groaning as her head spun. The stallion lifted his head and faced her, and the mare could see that his eyes were a color she’d never seen them be before: a bright pink. He crept towards her, voice low as he said

“S-Speckle? I-I don’t know what’s happening to me. I don't feel right.”

She was going to ask when a tapping noise answered her. Looking down, a gasp escaped her as she gazed at the thick, dripping member in between his legs. It had doubled in size and length, the flared head grazing a few inches below the upper half of his waist. Her eyes widened as she put the two and two together, then narrowed. “I told you to be careful with that stone, and now look what happened.”

Ember whined, feeling too sensitive to take a scolding now. Speckle sighed, closing her eyes briefly. When they reopened, a dark ruby color took the place of sapphire. She raised an eyebrow at the stallion's slight change in behavior. He appeared to be almost desperate when it was usually the other way around. Thinking nothing more on the matter, she leaned forward and held onto his shoulders, pulling him up and pushing him against the wall.

His breath hitched, and he purred blissfully as her eager hooves ran along his shaft. Getting a little daring, she raised one of her hind legs, resting it against his side. Rocking her hips forward, she smirked as she heard him moan. He was at her mercy now, and just the thought of that made him shudder. She nipped at his chest, taking a small patch of skin between her teeth and sucking on it as her hips dipped down again.

Hearing him start to pant, she pulled away and turned around, easing herself onto him, moaning herself as the hard flesh penetrated deeper than she thought possible. Feeling a bulge start to form, she hooked her other leg around his, bringing them both to a sitting position with one quick motion. Leaning back, she felt his forelegs snake around her stomach, planting little love bites on the back of her neck as she continued to move.

Eventually, the pent up tension between the pair was broken, a fountain of fluids warming up the mare’s already hot insides, and she cooed happily as he rubbed at her stomach in a comforting manner, soothing her. He started to lift her off of him, pausing when she tightly gripped his hooves. “Mhmm... Not yet. Just… give me a minute.” The stallion obliged, resting his head on her shoulder.

“You sure know how to make me lose my mind…”, he noted softly.

She nuzzled him. “In a good way?”

“In the best way. I love you, Speckle. Don't think anything's going to change that.”

“I love you too. Just, give me a warning before you go bringing back magical love rocks.”

Ember rolled his eyes, but he chuckled. “Wasn't my fault it was as bright as a beacon. But I will, for you.” And as the minutes passed, they both fell asleep peacefully in the other's embrace.