The Nowhere King

Princess Luna sealed the scroll in front of her with a quick flick of magic applied to the sealing wax. She rubbed the head of the gray opossum sitting to the side of the table. “Be easy, Tiberius,” she said. The little creature cooed softly, unaware of and thus unperturbed by his mistress’s plans. “I’ll be back shortly. I’ll be sure to have the kitchen prepare extra kibble for you before bed.” The opossum’s eyes lit up at the thought of food. Luna smiled and rang the bell at the back of her chambers.

After a moment, her loyal assistant opened the door. “Yes, Highness?”

“Please see that this scroll makes its way to my sister.”

The albino unicorn bowed. “Of course. Shall I wake her?”

Luna pursed her lips, considering. “Best not, I think. The morning shall suffice.”

“Of course, Princess. Is there anything else?”

Luna floated her crown onto her head. “Please have the kitchen prepare extra kibble for Tiberius. The dried fruit went over well, I think?” The opossum stood and made a grabbing gesture with his front paws. “Yes,” the alicorn smiled, “I thought so. Thank you, Astra.”

“Of course, Princess.”

Gallus drew a steadying breath. He was less nervous than the last time he had been standing in the same spot. That wasn’t saying much, he thought, considering the last time had involved Sandbar’s coming out to his parents in dramatic fashion. Still, incremental improvement was still improvement. Gallus rolled his eyes, realizing he was echoing one of Headmare Twilight’s lectures. That helped him fight past the last resistance of his nerves.

He raised a claw and rapped on the wooden door. After a few moments, he heard loud hoofsteps from inside the house. “One moment, I’m coming!” a voice called. Gallus stood up straight as the door opened. “Oh!” a middle-aged earth pony stallion said in surprise. “Gallus! What brings you here?”

“I’ve, uh, got a few questions about your family I was hoping you could answer.”

Beachcomber pulled the griffon into a quick, tight hug. “Of course!” the stallion said warmly. “You’re basically family now. Come in!” Gallus followed the stallion in, filled with a strange, queasy happiness at being welcomed as family.

Sandbar’s father gestured to the small couch to one side of the room. “Can I get you anything to drink? Water, juice?”

The griffon’s instinct was to refuse—griffons didn’t impose on their hosts, as a rule, but pony’s seemed to enjoy providing for their guests. “Water would be nice,” he said. Gallus felt strange being back in the house without Sandbar by his side.

Beachcomber nodded and walked off towards the kitchen. A few moments later he wandered back towards the living room, a small glass held in an upturned hoof. The stallion poked his head into a doorway to an adjacent room. “Sweetie, Sandbar’s griffon is here. You should come say hello if you get a minute.” Gallus heard a non-committal grunt in reply. Beachcomber handed the glass to Gallus, who took a slow sip.

“So!” the earth pony said, as he settled onto a large chair beside the couch, “family things, huh? What can I do for you?”

Gallus set the glass down carefully on a small side table. He felt his nerves return, suddenly. “You know how I feel about Sandbar,” he said.

Beachcomber smiled warmly. “And how he feels about you, yes! I must say I think you’re good for him. He’s come out of his shell, so to speak, since going to that school.”

Gallus gently toyed with the jade turtle necklace sitting against his chest. He was not going to get embarrassed just because some pony approved of his relationship. Even if Beachcomber wasn’t just any pony. “Well,” the griffon said, pausing to clear his throat, “he expressed his love to me the griffon way.” He held up the turtle in explanation. “And, uh, I want to return the favor. By asking for his hoof in marriage in the earth pony way.”

Beachcomber let out a loud whoop, startling Gallus. “Yes! My colt’s getting married!”

A yellow-muzzled mare’s face poked around a doorframe. High Tide’s eyes bored into Gallus. Gallus didn’t sense any malice, though, and no shocked despair, much unlike the last time he had seen Sandbar’s mother. She hadn’t taken her son’s announcement well at all.

Gallus swallowed roughly. “I just want to be sure I ask him the right way,” he said, addressing the stallion, “I’ve done a little digging, and it sounds like your family might do some kind of ceremonial flower exchange?”

Sandbar’s mother walked slowly into the room.

Beachcomber nodded. “Oh yes,” he said. “Both sides of our family are partial to flowers.” He tapped his front hooves on the arm of the chair. “I remember the night High Tide proposed like it was yesterday. She gave me the most delicious bouquet of day lilies and marigolds. Oh!” He said, as he noticed his wife step up beside him. “And what were those little purple ones, dear?”

High Tide gave the stallion a slow, small smile. “Bergamot.”

“Ah, yes! Those were good, too!”

“Crud, I should have brought a quill and paper,” Gallus said. “Was that lilies and marigolds? Are those the traditional flowers? Should I use those or something else?”

“You…” High Tide said slowly, turning her attention to the griffon. “You care about our traditions?”

Gallus nodded. “Well… yeah.” He shrugged. “They’re important to Sandbar, and he’s important to me, so…”

Sandbar’s mother pursed her lips. She turned to her husband. “You’re in my chair, dear. Go grab us my mom’s book on flower meanings?”

Beachcomber hopped up off the seat and wandered over to a nearby bookshelf.

High Tide sat down gingerly in the chair. She cleared her throat and then looked right at Gallus. Her gaze was still uneasy, but for the first time, Gallus thought he saw kindness there, too. The griffon sat up a little straighter. “If you’re going to do this,” she said, “let’s make sure you’re going to do it right.”

Shade shook her head. “This is absurd!” The unicorn backed away from the dark blue pegasus. “You claim to have found the amulet, but you need unicorn magic to retrieve it? Why?”

Midnight regarded her coldly. “Princess Luna appears to have layered several strong spells upon it for safekeeping.”

The unicorn balked. “I am no wizard,” she said, “I doubt my magic is strong enough to break an alicorn enchantment.”

Midnight chuckled dryly. “Unless you were physically present here, of course.”

The unicorn felt a chill speed down her spine. “No. Out of the question.” She shook her head fiercely. “Nothing you could say would convince me to put my life in danger.”

The pegasus turned away from her slowly. “Our King will be most disappointed to hear you have disobeyed his order.”

Shade felt as if she had been struck. She didn’t trust the pegasus as far as she could throw him, but she dared not risk disobedience if he was telling the truth. “Midnight, wait,” she said, keeping her voice level, “tell me where.”

Gallus groaned, laying his head down on the extended edition of Pillars and Possibilities. “You know what? Maybe I’ll just take a zero after all.”

Sandbar clucked his tongue. “Come on, don’t do that. Stygian’s tales not exciting enough for you? What’s wrong?”

The griffon gave his pony an irritated glare. “Other than the fact that I’m doing a book report on a weekend?”

The green stallion laughed. “Yes, besides that.” He flipped his comic book closed. “I’m here for moral support instead of hanging out at the lake with the others, right? If I can give that up, you can do a little catch-up work instead of napping. Not that hard, right?”

Gallus’ eyes turn on a wicked gleam. “Not hard at all, yet.”

Sandbar felt a twinge of excitement in his groin. “No. No! You are not sidetracking us with sex.”

The griffon fluttered his wings and let them settle back against his body. “Maybe I could work better with a little… incentive?”

Sandbar knew it was a bad idea—he was supposed to be helping Gallus study, not helping the griffon get his rocks off. On the other hoof… He shifted his position on their shared bed, until he was sitting back on his tailbone. His sheath poked out forward, just above his fuzzy balls.

Gallus made a low, growling sound, and made to stand up from his desk.

“No,” Sandbar said, gesturing him back with a hoof. “You have to keep working until that report is done. And done well! No sloppy work.” He fondled his orbs with his other hoof. “I’ll be here. Waiting for you.”

Gallus whimpered.

“Hush,” Sandbar said. “You said you wanted incentive. You don’t get to touch me until you’re done.” Sandbar felt his shaft peek out from its sheath. “Mm,” he said softly. “So keep working.”

“I don’t see how I’m supposed to focus with you moaning like that,” the griffon mumbled.

The earth pony laughed. He moved a hoof along the underside of his extending member. Sandbar was happy to see Gallus’ face buried in the book. The stallion began stroking a hoof up and down his length. The griffon glanced up for a brief moment and Sandbar gave him a wicked smile. That earned a frustrated grunt from Gallus.

Sandbar touched himself slowly. There was no rush, and he certainly didn’t intend to get off before his boyfriend finished his homework. Minutes past, and Sandbar rolled over onto his flank into a more comfortable position. He gave the tip of the dark staff a small squeeze, and clear fluid jetted out onto the bed. A low moan from the desk made Sandbar look up. Gallus had one claw under the desk, and it was moving slowly back and forth.

“How’s the reading going?” Sandbar asked.

Gallus groaned. “Are you sure I can’t just copy your paper?”

“Keep working,” he admonished. Light, though, he hoped the griffon worked quickly.

Sandbar rolled onto his back, letting a bit of sunlight from the window wash over his length. The glorious warmth felt so good. Almost like having a warm, furry griffon rubbing up against him. He felt himself surge and his staff flared. “Nrg,” he moaned. He had to calm down, or he was going to get too close too fast.

Gallus was going to make him pay for all the teasing. Sandbar smiled at the thought. Maybe the griffon would give him a good pounding. Light, he hadn’t had the griffon inside him since… had it been the Canterlot trip? He felt his shaft throb against his barrel as he remembered how the griffon had taken him in that gloriously soft bed.

“Okay, okay!” Gallus said, nearly screeching. “I finished reading. Can we fuck now?”

Sandbar shook his muzzle. “Write your report.”

Gallus whined. “That’ll take forever!”

“Headmare Twilight only wants a few paragraphs. Plus,” the pony continued, “that’ll give me time to get warmed up.”

“Fuck, Sandy,” the griffon said, openly ogling the puddle of clear fluid on the pony’s stomach. “You look pretty hot already.”

“Just get to work!” The pony teased. As the griffon turned his attention back to his desk, Sandbar leaned over the side of the bed. Where was it? After a few moments of shuffling, he found what he was looking for. He lifted a long object wrapped in a towel and set it beside himself on the bed.

Sandbar grabbed the lube from the bedside table and unrolled the towel. He smiled as he stared at the length of black rubber. He was familiar enough with his boyfriend’s dick now to see the subtle differences in shape and girth between it and the dildo beside him. He smeared the length in lube. The pony turned his head to see Gallus staring intently at him, but the griffon couldn’t see the dildo hidden on the other side of the pony’s body.

Sandbar lifted the rubber length dramatically, and Gallus crowed. “Holy shit!” the griffon cried, his wings shooting out behind him. “Where did you get that?”

Instead of answering, Sandbar pushed the tapered end of the faux griffon dick into his backside. He moaned loudly and felt his staff twitch. “Ohh fuck, Gally,” he whimpered. “You better finish that report quick.”

“Sonofabitch,” the griffon whimpered. Sandbar heard frantic scribbling.

The length slid in. Sandbar breathed slowly, letting his insides stretch to accommodate. He had only used the dildo once—right before Gallus had fucked him for the first time, and it had been a struggle. He was not surprised that he found it a much easier go since he’d had plenty of practice with the real thing.

The pony blew out several long, slow breaths and then pushed the dildo inward. He felt his ring stretch and the immense fullness of the rubber knot slid inside him. Sandbar moaned.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck fuck fuck,” Gallus whined from his desk.

Sandbar’s glans flared and precum rushed out, wetting his chest fur. The earth pony shivered. He slowly moved a hoof along his length, every movement sending electric tingles down his entire length.

After a few minutes (maybe less, as Sandbar found it hard to focus on time with his hole filled), Gallus leapt away from the desk. His entire groin was soaking wet with precum, and his red, knotted cock throbbed beneath him. “Done!” he crowed.

The griffon flew at reckless speed to the bed. Sandbar smiled dopily up at his boyfriend. The griffon mashed his beak into the pony’s muzzle. They shared an intense, brief kiss before Gallus pulled away. “Get that fucking thing out of your ass so I can fuck you!” he commanded.

Sandbar shuddered in anticipation and pulled the end of the dildo. Once the knot cleared his ring, Gallus added his claw and pulled, popping the rubber out. “Holy shit yes,” the griffon mumbled. His claws gripped Sandbar’s flanks tightly and lifted the pony’s rear up off the bed. Sandbar felt the immediate sting of a rock-hard griffon cock pushing into him. Gallus pushed in fiercely, filing the pony up, until Sandbar felt the griffon’s knot pushed against his hole.

The pony’s staff flared and leaked as the griffon’s cock rubbed against his prostate.

Gallus pushed in.

“Aw! Fucking Light!” Sandbar cried. It was so much better than the dildo. The rubber didn’t throb and shift. And it wasn’t attached to a panting blue griffon who moaned and grunted in pleasure.

Gallus thrust, pushing their bodies together, their wetness and musk rubbing together when they joined. Sandbar bit his lip and tried to keep from coming immediately. The griffon flapped his wings, driving his body forward, mercilessly pushing his fully-inserted length into the pony with force. He would pull back, the knot dragging Sandbar’s body back with it.

Sandbar was flared. His cock sprayed his fur with clear fluid every time the griffon pushed in. “G-Gallus,” he moaned. He was going to cum.

Gallus had a fevered look in his eyes. The griffon pounded away, shaking their two bodies in unison. The pressure built inside Sandbar. He felt the ache build and build and-

“Fuuuuck,” the pony moaned loudly. His dark gray shaft twitched and lurched and a torrent of his own cum suddenly flooded his open muzzle. He shook and gasped as his insides cramped and released, spilling his seed over his face and onto his barrel. Onto the bedsheets beside him and up onto the headboard, as his body bounced in Gallus’ grip.

The griffon crowed, throwing his head back and screeching. Warmth flooded Sandbar’s insides. Gallus’ thrusts slowed in speed but gained in intensity. Sandbar could feel the griffon’s cum rush into him after each fierce push. “Oh Light, oh Liiiight,” the pony whimpered.

Gallus slowed and finally slumped forward, letting Sandbar’s back down onto the bed again. The griffon’s chest landed wetly on the stallion’s spent seed. His thin tongue snaked out stealthily and lapped at the mess.

Sandbar blushed and sighed happily.

“That,” Gallus said after a few shaky breaths, “was probably the worst paper I’ve ever written.”

The pair laughed happily, laying together in post-coital bliss.

Luna stepped through the small portal, letting the magic unravel as she entered the Umbral Realm. She gritted her teeth. There were so few things that scared her—a lifetime as a Princess and an alicorn had taught her to handle most threats with ease. A nearby tree swayed in the non-existent breeze, and Luna nearly jumped out of her skin. She drew a long, slow breath of air and chided herself for being ridiculous. The Umbral Realm was her second home, her domain. She had spent nearly as much time here as in the real world.

The panic fled as she held that breath. But the worry remained. Luna could not ignore that she was in her domain in the flesh. The shapes were sharper, the ground beneath her hooves more substantial. The threats to her body more substantial.

She blew out the breath and shook her head. She was wasting time. She shifted her presence to the Castle. Or she tried.

“Oh, this is most frustrating,” she muttered. No way to shift so easily with her real body. She nearly teleported herself before she remembered what the young griffon had done. She could not move, but she could control the Realm itself. The ground between the alicorn and the horizon snapped downward and the distant ground rushed to meet her. Luna stepped across and the land behind her snapped back into place. She repeated the process, covering enormous spans of distance with every step. She laughed lightly. Surely much different than she usually traveled here, but delightful in its own way.

A few more steps, and she reached the ancient castle.

A yellow glow filled the window of the room that held the amulet. Luna’s breath caught and she took wing. As she approached, she heard voices.

“Where, Midnight? I don’t see anything there. I swear to Celestia’s tits, if you made this up as a lark, I will have your feathers!”

Luna saw two figures in the room, both looking toward the small cabinet where the amulet hid. Both ponies wore dark cloaks with swirling patterns. “YOU!” the alicorn boomed, using the Canterlot voice. The pegasus was the same one she had chased out of the young stallion’s dream. She lit her horn and prepared to strike the villain. The ponies’ heads whipped around. Too late, as Luna released a powerful bolt of energy.

Something heavy and fast knocked the princess from where she hovered. Luna hit the ground hard, as the magical bolt of energy ripped through the ceiling instead of its intended target. Luna gasped for air. A large, silver-furred earth pony lay astride her. The stallion kicked one hoof swiftly. Luna flinched, the pain flooding her brain with panic.

“It’s the Princess!” the unicorn shouted.

“I see that!” the pegasus snarled. “Get the damn amulet!”

“Oy!” Luna heard the pony on top of her cry out. “A little help?”

Luna snapped a defensive ward into place as the stallion kicked again. He yowled in pain as his hoof met an indestructible shield. Luna sucked in air, refilling her lungs.

The pegasus bit and tore at his cloak. He flapped his wings, sending the cloak skyward.

Luna pushed the ward outward, using the magic to shove the earth pony away from her.

The fabric in the air shivered and trembled.

Luna dropped the ward and took aim at her earth pony assailant with her horn. The dark gray unicorn yelled something, and a yellow shield appeared between the alicorn and the earth pony. Luna nearly laughed. Her magic would rip through a weak shield like a spear through paper.

A horrific tearing sound filled the air. The cloak swelled and bloomed, its awful shapes stretching to fill the room. A monstrous, horned head appeared. After the merest moment legs, arms, and wings followed.

Luna switched her aim, turning her horn on this new monstrosity. A white-hot bar of energy erupted from her horn. The emerging horror writhed and the air around it shimmered. Luna’s magic attached twisted impossibly, curving as no magical attack could ever do, flying harmlessly around the creature.

“Inconceivable!” the alicorn cried.

“NIGHTMARE MOON!” the sound tore at the air, shaking the room in which they stood.

“Cage her!” somepony shouted.

Luna growled, hating this impossible creature who dared misname her. Green fury erupted from her horn: Balefire—a forbidden spell, one that tore at the reality of the plane.

The behemoth swallowed the green light in its claws. It shuddered but remained unmoved.

A splitting pain ripped through the alicorn’s mind. Great steel bars suddenly surrounded her body. Luna kicked violently with her back hooves. The steel cage rang and shook, and Luna doubled over with pain as light and sound lanced through her brain.

“Ya got ‘er!” The earth pony stallion shouted.

“Shut up and help me hold her, Crow!”

The steel bars suddenly flashed with laced gold. Dark, obsidian thorns sprouted a moment later. “Now this is delicious!” the haughty voice of the pegasus added.

Luna heard her breaths coming in panicked gulps. She realized now what they had done. This was some form of mind cage.

“I KNOW YOU.” The shattering voice sounded almost pensive. “SLEEP,” it commanded harshly.

Luna felt a wave of exhaustion hit her. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. Her mind sagged and slowed, but she fought to keep her eyes open. She had no doubt only her physical presence allowed to resist even as much as she did.

“Nowhere King,” the pegasus said proudly, “the Amulet of Waking is here, in that cabinet.” Luna hated him. Hated his smirking face. “I brought Shade to break the enchantments.”

“NO NEED,” the Nowhere King roared. “HOLD THE CAGE.”

The three ponies surrounded Luna’s cage, their faces tight with concentration. The Nowhere King turned to the cabinet. A faint glow of cerulean magic sprang from its head.

Luna gasped, fighting sleep as it tried to overtake her. That was unicorn magic.

Darkness snuffed her consciousness.