Author's Note

Over 20k words into a "Fetish" tagged fic.

And here we have two pixies chatting on a balcony.

For those who have made it thus far, thank you for your downvotes.

The sham must go on.

Where Sky Meets Sky

“Quite the sight, huh?”

Flash Sentry had no immediate response. He trembled from where he stood in the center of the balcony, wringing his delicate hands together. His blue eyes reflected a cylindrical world of skyline against skyline against skyline. Seeing the world out of a window was one thing; bearing the full visual brunt of it from the neck of a skyscraper was another. The longer he stared, the more details he gathered: of mid-air tracks filled with hover vehicles scouring the inner sky, of floating platforms loading and unloading emergency VTOLs fitted with flashing lights, of pockets of green vegetation and blue lakes filling the gaps between the gray steel urbanity.

Flash looked harder, and he saw that there were layers of platforms far below and above them—so that the “true floor” of the habitat was next to impossible to discern. On some of these elevated districts, he spotted courtyards and shopping districts where the wandering dots of humans strolled to and fro. Flashing advertisements and holo-screens added color to the tiny splotches of life, giving the extreme pockets of this place much-needed character and levity.

“Flashie...?” Cherish asked, her head cocked curiously to the side as she shuffled adorably into his peripheral.

“It's... uh...” Flash gulped. “...it's something alright.”

“Hmmm...” A calm smile crossed Cherish's lips. “I'm... kinda glad.”

“Glad?” Slowly, a dazed Flash turned to blink at her. “Glad for what?”

“To see you look so mesmerized.” He watched as she wandered into a cluster of plants. A flower garden hugged the inner edge of the balcony, complete with shiny, colorful buds and sparkling petals. “It really truly is the first time you've seen anything like this. I know that now.”

“Did...” Flash ran a shaky hand through his hair, glancing back at the hollow of the sprawling habitat. “Did you have your doubts?”

“It's not so much that...” Cherish gently watered and tended to the garden, one flower at a time. “I mean... in some ways, yes. I'm still tr-trying to process the Flash I know being gone as much as you're processing being here.” A melancholic sigh. “I guess it helps to know that the gravity of this situation is as real for someone else as it is for me.”

Flash thought of asking more about that particular friendship, but he decided to hold back. At least for a bit. “Is this your garden?” he asked.

That made Cherish smile, which lit up Flash's heart momentarily. “Yes. Do you like it?”

“It smells good,” Flash said. “Sorta like you—” He winced at spouting that out loud. After a brief face palming, he sighed. “It's very nice, Cherish. Certainly makes this place feel more... more...”

“Pleasant?”

Flash fidgeted. “I was gonna say 'girly,' to tell the truth.”

“Oh?”

“But... I guess it all means the same.”

She put a watering can down and turned to face him directly. “You... do like all things sweet and pretty, don't you?”

Flash bit his lip. He could already feel his cheeks blushing.

Cherish let out a gentle giggle. “It's just... so obvious.” She walked closer, filling the air around Flash with unmistakable vanilla. “The... the other Flash... he was so desperate to distance himself from all of the typical 'fae' tropes that he went overboard.”

“Yeah...” Flash tugged at the loose lengths of his bulky, black sweatclothes. “I can tell.”

“There was no showing of affection. No giving in to cute and adorable things. No flirting with valks. Barely any smiling—if he could help it.” Cherish sighed, but it wasn't all too terribly woe-some in tone. “Despite all of that, I could tell... I knew when he was sliding hidden feelings between the cracks. He did his damnedest to hide it all beneath a cold, black-and-white veneer, but part of him—I believe—part of him was inescapably fae.” She hugged herself, sniffling back an urge to cry. “In the end—it would seem—he got what he wanted. I... I at least hope that's the outcome he's enjoyed.”

Flash chewed on his lip not to say anything.

But Cherish was just as observant as she let on. “Go ahead,” she murmured. “Don't hold back for my sake.”

Flash gave in—but just a little, pivoting the subject a tad. “You... uh...” He ran a hand through his hair, smiling awkwardly. “You seem to have the whole 'cute' and 'adorable' thing down pat.”

Cherish giggled. Then she giggled again. Her smile was as rosy as it was sincere. “Thanks. I try my best.”

Flash shrugged. “What's to try?”

“I was... always pretty girly,” Cherish said. Flash watched as she wandered over towards a recliner chair facing the balcony railing. “Even well before my blossoming, I was... I-I guess you could say I was 'prepared' for the transformation to come.”

Flash blinked. “I thought... uh... boys who 'blossom' into fae don't see it coming.”

“True. But I felt something,” Cherish said. She squatted down in the center of the chair—which enormously swallowed her. It looked built for a valkyrie, and so she sat hugging her knees like a tiny pixie in the pink blouse and shorts, surrounded by glass, sky, and steel. “Since I was an infant, I... gravitated towards the pretty and delicate. Everyone around me joked that I was gonna blossom. Guess it was just a prophesy confirmed.”

“Must have been a dream come true when you... changed.”

“Mmmm...” Cherish brushed a hand over her blond feathery strands. “I certainly didn't hate it. Things turned out a bit more challenging than I expected. But I found my place.” A sweet smile. “And it's a most wonderful place.”

“Do... uh...” Flash wandered over to a matching chair adjacent to Cherish's. “...do most fae have a hard time changing?”

“Unfortunately, it's usually a less-than-positive experience. At least at first,” Cherish explained. “Unlike valkyries, fae metamorphosis is a lot... subtler and more psychological from the get-go. Boys becoming fae experience a lot of mood swings... followed by shrinking body statue... muscle fatigue...”

“Yeesh...” Flash winced, squatting in the chair beside her. Both individuals looked like tiny mannequins on chair-sized rafts adrift in concrete. “And what about valks? What do they go through?”

“Well, right away, they lose their natural-born metabolism to manaflux,” Cherish explained. “Then they grow rapidly in size and strength. At the same time, they lose their womb to... well...” Cherish exhaled with a shudder. “...a very different set of organs.”

“It's... gotta suck to lose your ability to give birth with no choice,” Flash said.

Cherish merely nodded. “It's an emotionally-charged issue for the ages, no doubt. But most valkyries—especially when they're still young—feel incredibly empowered by the transformation.”

“Why? Cuz they have huge dicks?”

Cherish rolled her eyes. “Because they're suddenly taller, stronger, and more assertive than any other person around them.”

“Oh...” Flash sweated. “I knew that.”

“No you didn't.”

“Fair.”

Cherish waved. “Valkyries usually maintain their social groups for a while after changing, only now they're now stronger and a lot more inspiring. But with fae—the change happens a lot later in teenagehood. Most have already fully adapted to gender roles and expectations.”

“So when the transformation happens...”

“...a lot of fae feel betrayed by fate. They have a lot of trouble keeping ahold of past acquaintances. And—as much as I hate to say it—but society is a lot less nice to fae. In a lot of ways, the transformation is looked on as a downgrade.”

“That's...” Flash grimaced. “...horrible.”

“It's only a perception, and a shallow one at that.” Cherish gave Flash a hopeful smile. “Thankfully, there's blossoming counseling. And beyond that—fountains. It takes a while, but fae soon learn to adapt, acclimate, and ultimately find their place.”

Flash leaned in his seat. “I've been dying to ask—”

“What are fountains?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, we are,” Cherish said. A beat. She cleared her throat and said: “What I mean is... everyone in this apartment—myself, Melody, Fannie...”

“The other Flash.”

It was her term to nod. “Fountains are social groups for fae. Support groups. Typically no less than three per household. Sometimes as much as a dozen.”

“Sorta like... sororities?”

“That's a term commonly used for valks.”

“Oh... uhhh—”

Cherish giggled lightly. “It's okay. Between your world and this one—there's gotta be a lot of criss-crossing terms.”

“I guess.” Flash rubbed the back of his neck as he gazed beyond the balcony. “So, this fountain...”

“Yeah?”

“It's helped you out, huh?”

“Well—I mean, it's not the first fountain I've ever been a part of.” Cherish's little fingers played against her spotless knees. “But it's gotten me to where I'm at. And that's a good thing.”

“That's nice.”

“I... … ...should re-phrase that,” Cherish murmured. “Flash Sentry got me to where I'm at.”

He looked at her, blinking curiously.

“This particular fountain... has all been thanks to him.” Cherish looked over with a bittersweet smile. “For all of his emotionless stand-offish ways... he really truly was the glue that kept us all together.”

“I think I heard Sunny Flare say something about trying to keep this place from falling under—”

“We're in a somewhat... pricey part of town,” Cherish explained. “Not that money is much of an obstacle. The Allowance Covenant makes it so that fae like us will never go wanting.”

“Uhhhhhh—”

She continued. “But it's still a very nice apartment for just four faeries. It's all because of Flash Sentry.”

“His... job at Cinchcorp.”

Cherish nodded. “All things considered, he was the princess of this fountain.”

Flash blinked. He looked down at the plain black clothes he was wearing, then back at Cherish. “Uhhhh—”

“Oh, dear me...” Cherish leaned sideways to face Flash. “It's a title in this universe. Used both domestically and officially.”

“How so?”

“In... new sex society, 'princess' is the official term for the most powerful fae sorceress of a community. For example, there's Princess Feather Bangs, Princess Tender Spritz, Princess Spire. It's a relatively small list—at least compared to Valkyrie Queens—but it does go on.”

“Gotcha...”

“But when it comes to households—to fountains—there's almost always a faerie who shoulders the weight of keeping everything proper and afloat.”

“And this is... was Flash Sentry...?”

“Mmmmm... technically, yes.” Cherish lay reclined on her side, relaxing as she nuzzled the chair's surface with her cheek. “He reached out to Melody and Fannie—formerly Caramel and Rumble—back when he made the move with Cinchcorp to board the GSS Equestria. He met me even before he hit it off with Cinchcorp, so I too was given an invitation.” A soft sigh, and it was accompanied by a matching smile. “It's all thanks to him that I got to come out here in the first place. That I got to make friends with so many fae. That I got to meet Mom...”

Those last few words struck Flash curiously. Nevertheless, he tried to keep on topic. “So, all this time, Flash was a princess.”

“Only... he rejected the status of being a fae.”

“I thought he was a wizard and shit.”

“Oh, h-he was! He was amazingly gifted at fae manaflux potential! But...” Cherish curled up a bit, sighing. “...he just never cared for the lifestyle. He never wanted to dress or look the part. Which—y'know—is totally fine. He more than earned the right to pursue his own fashion, and who are we to dictate who or what he is?”

“Is... it considered taboo for fae to... be unlike fae?”

“No. Erm... n-not quite.” Cherish rubbed her pixie hairdo and stared off past her garden. “Oh gosh... it's kinda hard to explain.” She gulped, then her ocean eyes looked at Flash again. “But—traditionally—each and every fae have a duty to perform for new-sex society.”

“Is ittttttt... boinking valkyries?”

“No. I mean, technically, no. It's more delicate than that. To make a long story short, fae who don't deliver on what's expected of them in accordance with the covenants are... more or less deprived of the things that are most rewarding in being fae. But to Flash—that was more than fine. He embraced his chosen lot in life, and he found a way to make do despite being non-traditional. And the rest of us—his special fountain—only benefited from his courage and zeal.”

“I'm... not sure I quite understand all of that,” Flash said. “But I'm glad that Flash was able to find his way. If not for himself, then for all of you.” He bore a sweet smile. “It sounds like an incredibly special fountain.”

“It was!” Cherish giggled... but slowly that giggle broke down into shuddering breaths. Tears lined the edges of her eyes as she looked back towards her garden.

Flash bit his lip. He fumbled to change the subject from his doppelganger once again. “S-so... uh... Caramel and Rumble... th-they got their names changed?”

“Mmmmm...” Cherish sniffled and rubbed her eyes dry. On a dime, she relaxed and answered him. “Oh yes. It's... a lot harder for fae to maintain their given names post-blossoming than it is for valkyries. Some manage to keep it—like Flash did, since he wasn't very keen on being fae—but the majority of us change once we reach the point of Felicity.”

“Felicity?” Flash asked.

“Oh. Uhm...” Cherish blushed, smiling tenderly. “Remember how earlier I said that blossoming is usually a less-than-positive experience for fae?”

“Yeah...?”

“Well, that eventually changes. And praise Goddess. You see, new sex lifestyle isn't exclusively pleasurable for valks. There's a great depth of joy, contentment, and euphoric expression for all fae to experience... to explore. They just... don't really see it at first.”

“But after they meet up in fountains—”

Cherish giggled, nodding. “Yes. We make lotsssss of new girlfriends and that's when the Felicity kicks in.”

“Sounds like a contact high.”

“No, that's the Allure. But it contributes all the same.” Cherish gestured. “Between the Allure and a newfound camaraderie, fae discover boundless joy and potential in their new lifestyle. And it's a good thing too, because it is... so not easy to be fae on a daily basis.”

“And this phase of... embracing life—”

“Is called the 'Felicity.' Sometimes we like to call it the 'Second Blossoming.' It's the final hump we all pass before fully becoming our true selves.”

“Whew...” Flash slowly shook his head. “This universe and its terminology.”

Cherish giggled again. “Yes, well, a rich tapestry of existence needs its interwoven threads, hmmm?”

“Poetic.”

“Thank you.”

“I'm curious. Were you...” Flash squinted. “...always 'Cherish?'”

She shook her head. “No. Before the blossoming, I was called 'Garnet Star.'”

Flash nodded in silent contemplation.

“Why?” She sat up slightly, eyebrows raised. “Did you know a 'Garnet Star?'”

Flash exhaled. “Can't say that I ever have.” It was an honest truth.

“I see.” She leaned her head aside. “But... you knew Caramel and Rumble?”

“Barely. And—for what it's worth—I knew a Sunny Flare as well. Along with her two companions I met.”

“And... if they weren't valkyries in your world—”

“They were women.” It was Flash's turn to hug his knees to his chest. “I'm tellin' ya... it's so weird that this is actually happening and not some dream...”

“You...” Cherish's eyes narrowed. “...expected all of this somehow?”

Flash clenched his jaw. Goosebumps spread across his shoulders. He hadn't expected her to glean anything from that. Or maybe he was just a stupid blabbermouthing idiot. Perhaps both.

Cherish remained quiet. Curious. Patient.

With a stifled groan, Flash murmured: “This... is going to sound very weird...”

“You've handled 'weird' all this time, I think it's only safe to say that it's my turn.”

“That's not fair. Your world isn't weird.”

Cherish shrugged with an angelic smile. “Understandable if it is to you.”

“Even still—”

“You cried when you saw your reflection a while ago,” Cherish said. Her breath was pressing, yet gentle. “... … ...was this something that you wanted, Flash?”

He bit his lip.

“Something about this universe... this reality... is dreamlike to you?”

He hugged himself tighter. “At... mmmm... at the risk of sounding grossly disrespectful of all the things you and the rest of your kind have been through... valks as well...” He clenched his eyes shut. “... … ...I have always... always fantasized for a world like this.”

“Fantasized?”

“Erm... what I mean is—”

“Like a sexual fantasy?”

Flash winced.

Cherish winced because he winced. “What? You have a problem with that?”

Flash blanched. “Shouldn't I have a problem with that?”

“Why would you ever feel bad about fantasizing about people and places?”

“Cuz... cuz...” Flash fell in and out of a cold sweat. “It's putting them in an exclusively sexual light!”

“Flashie...” Cherish's eyelids hung heavy and casual. “...I think you're bound to discover that everyone here on the Equestria—and in all the solar systems for that matter—are incredibly sex-positive.”

“Uhhhh...”

“We've had to be.” Cherish giggled, blushing a bit. “Nobody can really abstain from anything around valkyries. Certainly not valks themselves.”

Flash slowly shook his head. “I don't think you get it. I don't think anyone can get it.” Flash gestured. “In my world... society is nothing like what I've learned so far about this one.”

“Uh huh...”

“We've got so many hang ups. So many things to fear and worry about—a lot of them self-imposed. I... I-I couldn't quite blend in, and my only escape was... w-was...” He gulped dryly, his feminine voice cracking. “...was this persistent fantasy about being somewhere else. Somewhere innately erotic and pornographic. And... and what's more, I... I-I quite specifically imagined that fantasy world filled to the brim with fembois and futanari—”

“Filled with what?” Cherish asked, her lips pursing.

Flash rolled his eyes at himself. “In short—I imagined a world that was creepily close in fantasy as this one is to reality. I... I was born a man... but I-I couldn't stop dreaming about stuff that muddled the image of that with forced-feminization... and vice versa, I guess. It was... just so damnably niche and all-encompassing a dream and I went back to it every night and... and...”

“And you find this world to be a close match to it?”

“... … ...” Flash looked worriedly at Cherish. “It can't be a mere coincidence that it's so on the nose.”

She gave a solemn nod. “I'm starting to think that the Flash Sentry I knew might have the same thoughts about your universe.” Her nostrils flared. “No mere coincidence, that too, I wonder...?”

Flash blinked.

She looked inquisitively at him. “Tell me. How many sexes are in your world?”

“In my world?” Flash remarked. “We have two. Wait. No.” He winced. Hard. “Shit. Fuck.”

Cherish's brow furrowed in confusion.

Flash ran a hand over his face, sighed, and explained: “It's... a lot more complicated than that. There are... people who are biologically born with 'male' sex organs and people who are biologically born with 'female' sex organs. Such individuals can have heterosexual relationships and procreate. But... the absolute status of one's sex is quite often complicated by the notion of gender, which many find to be far more fluid than is traditionally maintained... or perhaps even nonexistent whatsoever.” Flash cleared his throat. “Not everyone adopts the role that is ascribed to them, and every culture has varying degrees of pressure.”

“Are your referring to transgendered people?”

Flash gave Cherish a surprised look. “People in this universe can be transgendered?”

“Why not?” Cherish shrugged. “You think a world with twice as many sexes would somehow have less gender roles?”

“... … ...holy shit, you're right.”

She smiled gently. “Flash Sentry... never quite 'came out' with it himself, but I came to believe long ago that he was a man trapped in a fae's body.” A sweet, sad sigh. “A blossoming that was never meant to happen.”

“Is that why you and the rest of the fountain are always referring to him with male pronouns?”

“We do that because it's what he's always preferred.” Cherish shrugged. “Simple as that.”

Flash blinked. “Oh. R-right...”

“Lots of fae stick with 'he' and 'him.' Some valkyries also have masculine identities.”

“Sounds like a lot to juggle and get used to.”

“As much as one can 'juggle' and 'get used to' each individual person,” Cherish said. “Such is life, I suppose.”

“Yeah...” Flash exhaled heavily, contemplating that. “You're... pretty on the level, Cherish.”

“Could the mirror still reflect true?” She leaned forward. “Would you consider yourself transgendered, Flash?”

He gave her a double-take. “Huh?”

“In regards to your fantasies...” She shrugged. “Maybe you were just someone else trapped in your male body.”

“Oh no no no no no.” Flash shook his head. “It was never like that.”

“It wasn't?”

“I was just a lonesome, freakish pervert whose fantasies made light of the not-so-happy reality of gender dysphoria.”

Cherish chuckled. “Now I don't think you're being very fair.”

“Aren't I?”

“For one, stop being so hard on yourself.” Cherish gestured. “For another... in all that time—did you ever once think of hooking up with a transgendered person?”

“What??” Flash clenched his teeth. “No!!”

She jolted from his explosive reaction. “Uhm... why not...?”

“Cuz... I-I didn't want anyone crossing paths with my gross, obsessive fetishes!”

“You...” Cherish's eyes narrowed. “...don't think transgendered people are capable of feeling pleasure or lust?”

“... … ...” Flash blinked. Hard.

“...or that beneath any of that surface-level pleasure, there'd be a mutual love that could be shared and make you shed all of that 'gross' and 'freakish' perspective of yourself?”

“I... that...” Flash slumped back into the chair, staring at the hollow sky beyond in a numb state. “... … ...Damn.”

Cherish smiled. “What we enjoy in life shouldn't become barriers. I'm not sure what you struggled with in the world that you come from, but it sounds frightfully imprisoning.”

Flash closed his eyes. After a deep, meditative breath, he spoke: “I'll be the first to admit that there are several hangups I never got past, even at my best. But...” He gazed at Cherish. “...in the end, it just... d-didn't feel right to hook up with anyone solely through the motivations of an erotic fantasy. It would have been... disrespectful. Maybe there's room for something eternally satisfying beneath the outer layer of one's desires, but... I-I never learned to see past that. All I perceived was my own shortcomings and failures, and I never... ever wanted to put that baggage on another person. I had many... many opportunities to improve, but I didn't.”

Cherish nodded. “I still don't fully understand, but I will respect your restraint. Still... I can't help but sympathize.”

“If there was ever one word to describe my past life, it's 'pathetic,'” Flash said. “That's for sure.”

“Oh sweetie, that's not what I meant.”

“You didn't have to.” Flash took a deep breath. “The way things were going—to be perfectly honest—I might not have continued living.” He gulped, his eyes growing misty. “At all.”

“... … ...” Cherish gazed calmly at him. “But... here you are. Now living.”

Flash gulped. “And seemingly another life.”

“A better life...” Cherish winked. “If your... uhhhh... 'dreams' are of any indication.”

“But...” Flash hugged himself. “...it still doesn't feel right?”

“Why not?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Flash looked at Cherish with a weak expression. “It's not my home. It's not my body. All of this... it belongs to your Flash. I mean... it's all happened so fast. I'm here and you girls are short one super close friend. I can still tell that you want him back.”

“We never said that—”

Flash sniffled, on the edge of a sob. “But isn't it obvious?”

“Even so...” Cherish spoke steadily, but tears were forming along the edges of her eyes as well. “...even if I could get him back somehow... back in our fountain...” She slowly, sadly shook her head. “I know it's not what he would have wanted. After all... none of this is our doing... or your doing...” She looked at him. “But Flash's.”

Flash bit his lip.

“So... just as I did when I blossomed...” She sat up and swung her lithe legs off the chair's edge. “...I have to buck up and shape up. Besides... it's not all about me... or us...” She smiled down at him with her hands on her hips. “But you've got a new life ahead of you. Seems only fitting that you get some much-needed help along the way.”

“I...” Flash trembled, still very emotional. “I-I'm not sure I can handle this new life.”

“Even if it's possibly everything the past you has ever wanted?”

“Because it's everything and more.”

Cherish gave a nod. “Well, that's to be expected, I guess. What say we both take things one step at a time?”

“You'd...” Flash bit his lip, shivering slightly. “You'd really do all of this? For me?”

“Ohhhhhhh honey...” Cherish reached down with a tender hand and helped lift Flash to his feet. She drew him into a close, fragrant hug. “I frankly don't care where you came from or what fears you have. You're here. You're beautiful. And you need love. What are fae for than to look after one another?”

“I... uh...” Flash's mind rippled back to Sunny Flare, her friends, and their not-so-little friends attached to them. “...I can think of a few things.”

Cherish seemingly mind-read him. After a girlish laugh, she patted his shoulder. She was a teensy bit shorter and had to look up into Flash's eyes—smiling rosily the whole time. “Well, let's push that to a safe distance for the time being. Now...” She clasped her hands together. “...does somebody like princess movies?”

Flash's heart fluttered, skipping more than a beat. His pupils shrank above a blushing complexion. “Can I marry you?”