I awoke in the night, rolling over and finding myself alone in the bed. Luna’s moon rode the sky, full and bright. I sat and looked out the window, seeing a silhouette in the portal.
“Shy?” I asked. “You ok?”
She nodded, and as she did, I caught the tufted ends to her ears. “It’s not bad tonight,” she whispered, her voice deeper and stronger than her daytime voice. “I can control the urge.”
I slipped out from the blanket and padded over to her, nuzzling against her. Her scent was slightly different when the curse took hold, the honeysuckle smell yielding to a smell of wet leaves and apple blossoms.
“You know you don’t have to do it alone,” I whispered. “I’m here for you, Shy.”
She glanced at me, her warm smile holding a touch of smoldering lust in them. I watched as her pupils dilated and her wings shifted a little.
“I know,” she replied, not looking directly in my eyes. We had learned long ago the effects that her gaze could have when in this state. I had fallen under her thrall a few times before we learned what was occurring. Fortunately, just like her transformation, any commands given when under her thrall fell away when the sun crested the horizon. “And you have no idea how thankful I am for that, Sunny.”
She turned and gazed at the moon again, drawing in a deep breath. “Harvest time is near,” she commented, setting a hoof on the windowsill. “I can smell the ripeness on the air. It’s so tempting.”
I reached over and rubbed the junction of her wings, eliciting a purring sigh from my marefriend. “I’m going to go bucking with AJ tomorrow, sweetheart,” I reminded her. “We always get a bushel this time of month, just for you.”
She stretched, arching her back to allow more space for my hoof to reach those spots she loved having massaged. No matter her form, my Fluttershy loved having the muscles in her back and wings rubbed. It relaxed her, and from the slight flush starting to spread across her face, made her more willing to be coaxed into bed.
“Do you have any idea how good that feels?” she purred, spreading her wings, the leathery pinions glimmering in the moonlight. Her head lolled back as she sucked air in between her teeth, the fangs glimmering in the moonlight.
“I have an idea,” I cooed, moving my hoof in circles across the spot between her wing bases. She whickered a little, a forelimb twitching. I giggled. “It seems like you like this.”
“Quiet, you,” she growled, trying to guide my hoof back to the spot I had just hit, but I playfully kept moving it. “Sunny,” she whined, her voice sounding pained.
I shifted, coming face to face with her and capturing her lips with mine. She pushed into the kiss, her aggressive nature in play tonight. Strangely enough, even when not caught in the influence of her curse, she was somewhat dominant in our more romantic engagements. I think she enjoyed the fact that she could set the pace. She was not gentle now, though, my bottom lip caught in her teeth as she pulled back.
“You taste like basil,” she whispered, her eyes still shut.
“It was in dinner, you know,” I whispered back, running my muzzle against hers and nipping at her ear.
“No,” she insisted. “Always, faint hints of it. Hints of basil, tarragon, and cinnamon. Like a tasty curry.” She drug her teeth against my neck. “I would have thought you to smell like sunflowers.”
“Maybe I’ll start washing my mane with a sunflower oil shampoo,” I teased.
“Don’t you dare,” she growled as her wings curled down to pull me closer. “I like the way you smell now.”
I closed my eyes and listened to her rapid heartbeat, and then opened my eyes and looked directly into her eyes for a moment.
“I love you, Fluttershy,” I whispered before shifting my gaze to the middle of her forehead before her Gaze could take effect. She ducked her head at my statement, her regular self appearing in her eyes for a flicker of time.
“I love you, too, Sunny,” she whispered, pulling back slightly. “I don’t know how you put up with so much. I know this isn’t easy to deal with.”
“It’s worth it,” I said firmly. “Even in your worst state, you’re still Fluttershy, and I still love you. In fact…”
She frowned as my horn lit up, a teal light in the darkness. A small box lifted from my bedside table and floated over to me. I held it in my aura before her and opened it, revealing within a carved gem of citrine set within a silver collar on a similar chain, carved to match her cutie mark and within a small shimmering sun was visible. She gasped as she looked at it, the glimmer of the honey-colored gem dazzling in the moonlight.
“Sunset,” she breathed, a hoof going out to touch it.
“I know it’s not exactly Pegasus custom,” I admitted. “But you’re not exactly a normal Pegasus, and I’m not known for traditional things.”
She hadn’t moved save for blinking. There were tears forming in her eyes, and her curse was receding slightly.
“And I had this whole speech planned,” I pressed on, lifting the pendant from the box. Her hoof never lost contact with it. “But looking at it now, I can’t remember a word of it.”
“It’s so lovely,” she whispered.
“For a lovely pony,” I responded, settling it around her neck. “Fluttershy, would you make me one of the happiest fillies this side of the Canterhorn? Would you…”
She tackled me, lips locking against mine as she kissed me fiercely.
“Yes,” she said as we broke, her eyes meeting mine as the citrine sparkled between us.
And I held her gaze, no fear within. Those eyes were of my Fluttershy, and I would not turn away.
Not for all the bits in Equestria.
