Photos of Fillies

Chapters

Chapter 1: Photos of Fillies
Chapter 2: Tender Little Rose Buds
Chapter 3: Loyalty to a D - Part 1
Chapter 4: Loyalty to a D - Part 2
Chapter 5: Poisoned Dreams
Chapter 6: Promises Best Kept
Chapter 7: A Colt Occurrence
Chapter 8: A Dinky Loveboat
Chapter 9: A Rocky Ship
Chapter 10: Pulpy Fiction
Chapter 11: Curious Cuties

Chapter 1: Photos of Fillies

The day was hot and humid. It was sweltering, the type of day you really couldn’t go outside and not expect to come back in covered in sweat, with your shirt stuck to your skin. I couldn’t understand how these ponies survived like this, and with a fur coat covering everything, too; I was almost dying as it was.

Celestia had really not wasted her time in raising the sun that day, and if anypony were to ask me, I’d tell you she was leaving it there far longer than it had to be. It was almost noon and it already felt like the sun had been up for eighteen hours straight.

Although, days like these were not always without their benefits...

~ ~ ~

I had been sitting there for what felt like hours, crouched low inside the bushes beside the skate park, hoping beyond hope that I’d get another chance to see her again. I almost dropped my camera when it happened. Unbidden, almost out of nowhere in fact, an orange filly rode into view through the break in the leaves.

I’d memorised her schedule to a T. She'd come here every day after school to practice her scooter tricks, then stop on the side to take a breather before heading home.
Her coat was matted with sweat and her form was lithe. If I’d known anything about pony anatomy—and believe me when I say I’ve had plenty of time to do my studies—I would have to put her somewhere in her early ‘tweens, between twelve and fifteen, though she already had her cutie mark, so maybe a little older than that, but definitely not as old as her mentor, of that I was certain.

I watched carefully as she withdrew her head from her helmet and stepped off her ride. The filly looked around, first left, and then right. My breath caught in my throat as she seemingly looked directly my way—past me and through the bushes, and then I released it as she shrugged and continued her own business.

She hooked her helmet over the handle of the scooter. I heard her smack her lips as she bit her lip, and then watched as she turned her rump my way, and I caught a glimpse of her tender folds as they revealed from behind her tail.

The filly arched her back, lifting her tail as she gingerly drew the tip of her hoof over her soft hood. It was already wet and dripping and her panting from earlier effort only added to the hotness of the scene.

I snapped a picture before I had any mind, then turned the dial over to ready for the next.

The foal didn’t even flinch from the flash. She just kept rubbing, drawing slow little circles over her labia, spreading it tentatively as she kneads the delicate flesh. A dribble of mixed sweat and arousal traced a dark trail down the inside of her legs, and I heard the filly moan, her tiny, high-pitched voice music to my ears. Celestia kill me, if only I had a video camera, or even just a tape recorder right now.

But alas, I was stuck with just this one little camera. I snapped a second picture before she moved on to the next attraction.

She slumped over onto her back and raised her back legs, now fully presented to me with her hooves hooked behind her hocks. Her pussy winked my way, oh so enticing, and then she leaned down and began lapping at her own folds, moaning in tiny little squeaks as she tasted her own flowery scent.

I snapped a few more pictures and then, carefully and silently, I beat a hasty retreat to leave my darling to her private fun, though not without catching one last glimpse of her pert behind. I had to be quick, though, lest somepony catch me. They would have surely noticed a big lumbering ape trudging out of the forest, and I did not want to be caught answering questions about why I was found hiding in the bushes with a camera next to a children’s skatepark.

It just wouldn’t be right.

~ ~ ~

On the way out of the park, I slung the Polaroid with my prize over my shoulder and put my head down to act casual. Nopony seemed to pay me any notice—thank Celestia; they were all too preoccupied with themselves or each other. Even this mint-green unicorn—I always forget her name—was too lost in her best friend’s eye to even give me a second glance as I strolled past—a considerable victory given her past record with humans.

Once at the gate, I made a hard turn left, intent on getting away from here as fast as possible, but a yellow blur escaped my notice, and collided with my chest, causing me to drop my camera and stumble away.

I gave a yell as I stepped off the pavement and she did too, squeaking in a scared little yelp. “O-Oh, I’m so sorry!” she cried, tears welling by her side. She pushed the pink locks out of her face and scurried to pick up the items I’d dropped. “Here, let me get that for y—”

I threw myself at the camera. “No!” I shouted, then quickly withdrew. “No, I mean—” She seemed hurt so I back-pedalled, stumbling over my words to correct myself. “I mean ‘no’, th-thank you.” I offered a smile as I retrieved the camera from her hooves, all the while watching her face for any signs of flight. “It’s...” I swallowed. “It’s quite alright. The-The camera’s delicate.” It wasn’t a lie. I’d already broken the flash one time before, in precisely this sort of situation back on Earth, wouldn’t you believe. “I don’t want it to... I’m sorry.”

“No, no, I-it’s my fault.” She pushed back. “I should have been looking where I was going, but I was too distracted, and I wasn’t, but I should have, and I—I...” Her eyes shrunk to tiny pinpricks as she retreated back behind her mane. I could’ve sworn she’d made a tiny squeak as she did so.

This mare was quivering like a leaf. I’d seen ponies this scared before—the first day in Equestria still burned itself in my memory,but they were nothing like this. She was so gentle, so shy, like a sheltered butterfly.

She was a... shelterfly.

The image of this mare’s face on a pink butterfly floating through the orchard made me smile, but I couldn’t well leave her like this. So, I decided, I would do the only thing I could: I extended my hand. “I’m sorry,” I said, in my most earnest, softest voice. Kneeling, I made sure to keep eye contact as I lowered myself to her level. “I, um...” I glanced to the ground and back up to her. “...don’t think I got your name?”

Her ears perked slightly, a sign I’d learnt meant I had her attention, though she remained shielded behind her mane. I thought I had done something wrong, that she would soon gallop away in tears and I’d never see her again, but instead she spoke up in a little whisper. “I-I’m Fluttershy...” she said.

Of course! I would have kicked myself right then and there. Of course she had to be named that. “It’s a nice name,” I said, smiling.

This garnered a thin smile from her, but nothing more. The silence was palpable. I could hear the screeching of mares and fillies in the background as we both stood there, together.

Fluttershy took a step forward out of her mane, one leg raised as she looked up at me with a new interest. She gestured to my camera with her nose, the one I’d forgotten I had clutched to my chest like a baby girl. “Are you, am... a ph-photographer?”

I laughed, half-jokingly, and said: “Y-you could say that, yes.”

“Can I see them?”

I spluttered. “No-N-The-They’re not ready.” I snapped, shaking my head as I recoiled away from her. I hid the camera away, out of her reach, and then quickly threw in: “Y-Yo-You won’t like them.”

“Why?”

Fluttershy stepped forward. Her ears were forward and I saw a bright keen interest sparkle in her eyes. Suddenly she felt a lot larger than she was before. I took a step back, trying my best to ignore those giant eyes and keep her from rearing up on me.

“I’m very open-minded,” she said. Fluttershy nuzzled at my shoulder, curious if she could catch a glimpse of what I was hiding. “What are they pictures of?”

My heart stopped right there. Damn it, why did she have to be so adorable? I wouldn’t dare spoil her innocence, not like this. “They’re pictures of—” It was my turn to mumble. “The subjects are—n-nature,” I lied.

“Oh-Oh...” Fluttershy shrunk back almost instantly; her cheeks tinged a soft red. She covered her mouth as she reverted to sitting on all four hooves, and whispered. “I-I love nature,” she said, “A-Are you a Nature Enthusiast too?”

The way she’d inflected that, it gave me pause, but I decided to roll with the lead I’d been given regardless. “Uhm... Something like that.” I nodded. “I do enjoy nature,” I said.

“Shh-shhh!” She reared back up and shoved her forelegs in my face, silencing me with a violent shush. “Not so loud!” she whispered. By Celestia, if she wasn’t that shy—“Somepony might overhear you!”

She dropped back to the ground, bit her lip, and waited a moment whilst some other ponies walked by. “I like to...” She looked around. “... appreciate nature, too, but with all my responsibilities to the animals in the shelter, I rarely get enough time...”

Her blush was deepening by the minute, and I could tell this mare was having trouble standing still. Her wings would keep twitching and she’d have to pause to clamp them back at her sides.

“Can you... um,” she swallowed, then lowered her voice to an even tinier whisper. I had to almost lean directly over her to hear. “Can you do me a favour and take some photos for me? There is this park across the road from the schoolhouse with the” —She licked her lips, and rolled her eyes as she said, “the most beautiful tender little rose blossoms you will ever see.” Fluttershy fidgeted her hooves and lowered her head as she said, “I’m not really allowed to go back there after...” Shaking her head, she looked back up at me with bright, hopeful, eyes. “But you can! Will you do it for me? Please?”

What could I say? “Of course!” My heart was melting, and besides, a few pictures of flowers couldn’t hurt, especially not for this precious little butterfly. “I’d be honoured to take some pictures for you.”

“Oh thank you!” She wrapped her legs around my waist and pulled me into a tight hug. It took me resisting the urge in every fibre of my being not to pet her mane, she was so cute. Fluttershy backed out of the hug and said to me: “You can bring them to my cottage. It’s on the edge of town outside the Everfree.” She then looked around, and hopped up into the air to whisper in my ear. “If I’m not there, put them in a brown envelope and push it through the mail slot.” She winked then flew off. “I’ll pick it up from there~”

I stood there for a long while, watching as Fluttershy fluttered further. Dancing across the road, she picked up altitude fast then disappeared over the rooftops where I continued to stare. I turned over the camera in my hands as I contemplated her instructions.

I grinned. “... ‘across from the schoolhouse’, aye?”

Chapter 2: Tender Little Rose Buds

The next morning wasn’t quite so bad. All the heat had been burned off with some midnight showers and the garden was glittering with fresh dew as I stepped out into the patio. A cool breeze blew from the west and the neighbourhood was eerily quiet at that time.

I’d decided to get out with an early start, as it was my understanding blossoms liked to open before the sunrise, and I wanted to capture them while they were still fresh, so I grabbed my coat and the camera and headed out to find that park.

The park, as it turns out, wasn’t one I was particularly unfamiliar with. It was contracted using the princess’s emergency funds, since my arrival had nothing short of destroyed the previous winging arrangements and left the schoolhouse with nothing for recess that entire month.

Princess Sparkle was livid, as too was the class president at the time. Neither still trust me to this day.

~ ~ ~

As I entered the front gate, I was bombarded with a smattering of different sights and sounds. The scent of daisies and dandelions hung fresh in the air. The voices of fillies and colts of all manner of ages echoed numerous around me as I stepped my way up the cobbled stone path.

They all darted around, laughing and playing cutely, whilst I spotted only a few teachers overseeing the chaos. One, a cyan pegasus, seemed to be jeering on a gaggle of pegasus foals, whilst two, a maroon mare with flowers on her rump, Cheerilee, was watching over the sand pits and swings.

My attention was quickly drawn to one group of fillies in particular, acting strange as they parted from the playground and made their way towards the trees in the back. Two of them—the one was pink with a tiara, and the other seemed grey with glasses—were buffeting along a younger foal as she led their way across the grass into the long, overgrown weeds.

Even as I squinted, I’d barely made out her appearance before they were gone. They scurried through the thick undergrowth where I couldn’t see and that was the last I saw of them.

I decided to ignore them for now, rather choosing to focus on my reason for coming. The flowers had to be around here. I could smell them. It was just a matter of seeking them out.

~ ~ ~

Fluttershy was right! The blossoms were beautiful, and it had only taken me a few hours to find them. They were lined up along the back fence, tucked away behind the row of trees where they wouldn’t be trampled or plucked.

A collection of whites, reds, and blues, fire oranges, yellows, and pinks, danced in the gentle breeze as the flowers sunned themselves in the light. I didn’t know exactly which ones she wanted, so I snapped some pictures of them all, being sure to only get the best angles and lighting.

I even tried something new with an experimental technique.I held the camera at an angle close to the ground. I found I could focus on the petals and get the light to come off just right to articulate the speckles of pollen from the bees, balanced by the darker greens and browns of the other plants’ leaves.

Heck, I was starting to think I might actually be good at this photography thing. Hah. The guy with the camera? Good at photography? Imagine that.

The sun was already well past the horizon when I was done, and with it peeking past the mountains of Canterlot, I leaned back, capped my lens, and stood to admire the breeze after a long day’s work well-done.

“No, Diamond, stoop... Let me go...”

A little whining voice drifted my way from the trees behind me. At first I thought it was some trick of the mind, that there was no way it could be that close, but then I stiffened as what I thought was the innocent rustling of leaves turned to anything but. The bushes behind me shook with the grunt and clamours of struggle, more whispering voices too faint for me to discern.

I assumed the position, crouching low as I inched my way into the bush, my camera at the ready as it lead my way towards the sounds at the source.

As my nose poked through the leaves, the gap gave way, and my eyes widened as they beheld the most perfect little dream: three foals, one with a spoon and the other with a tiara I recognised from earlier. They were both grunting with effort as they pressed their haunches into the dirt, crowding over a third, pink, younger filly with a mixed-coloured mane.

Two of them looked fourteen, but the other didn’t even have her cutie mark yet! And she was struggling. “Nooooo... Diamond, T-Tiara,” she whined, pulling against her friend’s restraint. “I don’t wanna!”

“Cover her mouth, Silver Fool!” Diamond Tiara snapped. She was flushed red with a scowl. They had the third foal pinned down between them, her dock pressed to the ground under Diamond’s weight whilst Silver held firm, supporting her back. The latter had her hooves around her waist Diamond worked to pry the innocent foal’s legs apart to reveal her untouched folds.

“What do you expect me to do!?” Silver spat back with bile. Grunting, she pulled down hard, placating their victims struggles with a shove. She adjusted her positioning so she had her forelegs over her shoulders, pressing her back against her own. If you hadn’t guess—“ She was cut off, barely dodging a bash as the filly thrashed. –“If you hadn’t guessed, my hooves are a little tied up at the moment.”

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. I was forced to retreat back into the bush as she rolled off from her seat, and made a quick pace around the tiny space. Diamond picked up a small rock, then some leaves and some sticks, before finding a dusty rubber ball and discarding the rest.

She brushed it off with her hoof, and silently shushed the fily, stroking back her tousled mane as she forced the red toy into her open mouth. “Shh~shh~shhh~” Diamond cooed, “There you go now.” This caused the filly’s brow to crease, and her panicking only increased as Diamond returned to her seat and spread her legs back apart to claim her prize.

Diamond licked her lips. “So,” she said, “what are you going to do now, Toola-Foola?” A tiny chuckle escaped Silver’s lips as Diamond Tiara laughed at her own clever joke.

I simply rolled my eyes. These human terms were getting around too fast, and of course the foals had to be the first ones to ruin their innocence and drive these words into the ground. At least my only consolation had to be that they hadn’t yet learned the word—

“Fuck, you ‘Blank Flanks’ think you’re so great.” I could’ve sworn she’d made air quotes as she said that, and Diamond quickly rolled her eyes, the expression screaming ‘la-de-da’ through my mind’s ear. “Well what do you think now”—She punctuated with a hard pressing down on Toola’s flanks, causing a pained mewl to come out from the plastic toy, “without your precious Coconut Cream?”

It was quickly becoming clear I’d somehow fallen in the middle of some kind of spat. A feud? I didn’t think these innocent ponies were capable of that. I didn’t want to go any further, and I didn’t want to find out.

I made to leave.

But then, as I was inching my way out of the bushes, I heard Diamond’s voice pipe up again with something that made me go stiff.

“Don’t worry...” she cooed, her voice almost sultry in nature. It sent shivers up my spine to hear such a young voice make such a... seductive tone. I almost didn’t want to look back, but as I did I heard the rest of her say: “I might have to act like a ‘goody-two-hooves’ around the Crusaders, but with you...”

Slowly and sultrily, with a practiced deliberate move, she dragged her hoof over Toola’s foalhood and brought it up to her face to delicately lap at the sticky sweet secretions.

“We’ll make sure you have plenty of ‘cream’ when I’m done with you.”

~ ~ ~

At first I couldn’t believe my eyes, or my ears. I stared; my mouth fell agape as Diamond Tiara went right back to massaging the foal. She’d start high, wipe the wetness from her hoof against Toola’s breast, and then slowly dragged down... lower, and lower.

I watched as Diamond trailed her hoof over Toola’s abdomen. The little filly flinched as the tip of Diamond’s frog flicked past her hardened teats. They were so tiny, just barely visible from their spot, nestled in the crutch of her belly, a couple fair pink tips poking out through the mounds of soft fur as they slowly grew erect.

Then, the heat rising, Diamond continued her journey down. My lips felt wet, watching her, transfixed, as Diamond drew the tip of her hoof further south, eliciting a gasp and a muffled, pathetic little whine from the foal in her hold. Toola tried to struggle, but Diamond’s hold was too strong, and the earth pony had no trouble prying her legs down to put all on display.

Toola’s folds parted to dribble a thin trail of clear fluids as they were pulled open by a twitching, tentative wink. As Diamond’s hoof grazed over the sensitive hood, she ground the tip in, pushing it back to reveal the ripe pink flesh beneath.

Then, just as quickly, her hoof moved away, closing the love tunnel behind her where it shivered, quivering from the undue attention. This all played out with the sound of a faint panting, and a needy, pained squeak, though I knew not by whom.

Diamond loved every minute of this. Her face had gone a peach red, her tongue just barely peeking from her mouth as she panted. She’d lapped into a complete silence. It was cute, innocent almost, in the way she looked. A filly determined to do a good job. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on her ministrations, pushing further, arching her back, and leaning in closer to take in the scent of Toola’s own arousal.

The only sounds were her cute, foolish, panting, and soft schlick, schick, schick as her hoof glided over wet fur a flesh. Growing faster and harder with every pass, Diamond grit her teeth, biting her tongue a bead of sweat rolled down between her eyes until finally, finally—

A loud smack, and I was snapped out of my trance. The hair bristled on my neck. I hadn’t even realised I’d been drooling until I ran my dry tongue over the edges of my lips.

Diamond leaned over to admonish the filly. “No cumming!” she harshly whispered, then went on to grind her hoof against her own sex as she pressed her muzzle against Toona’s nose with a grinning smile. “’Blank Flanks’ aren’t allowed to cum!” I heard her say. Then, with a loud squelch, Diamond Tiara slapped her hoof back against Toola’s folds, causing a flinch and a squeal from the filly as she moistened her with her own wet juices.

As Diamond Tiara rolled off of her captured prey, I caught the briefest glimpse of her own pert pussy lips. They were red, hot, puffy, and swollen with need. I caught just the beginnings of a wink, her clit came out to wave at me, before her tail draped back in to obscure my view.

Diamond resumed her work. Spreading Toola’s pussy lips with the edge of her hoof, she took the gap between the foal’s winking clit and her lips as her chance to gradually force her hoof inside. This resulted in an immediate change as Toola began thrashing and whining against her gag. Silver forced her back to the ground, drooling herself as she watched this unfold from behind some only slightly fogged pair of glasses.

Silver’s tongue hung out wide in the open, drooling over Toola’s mane as she watched this display, and the scent of sex hung heavy in the tight space.

In a moment of lucidity, I remembered that I’d had a camera, and if I was going to be witness to a foal getting hoofed against her will, I was sure as hell going to document it. Fumbling with the Polaroid to remove the cover, I discarded the cap and brought it up to my eye, steadied the viewfinder, and snapped the first shot.

There was a bright, blinding flash, and the distinct, unmistakeable ker-klack as the mechanism shunted to the next place. Then, there was, a long, drawn-out whirling as the film reeled to completion.

Time itself ran at a crawl as the blood drained from my face. Silently, a part of me hoped they wouldn’t notice. Maybe they were too into it to hear the flash? Then another part of me smacked me across the head. Of course they would’ve noticed that! What was I thinking!?

The fillies’ pupils shank, confirming my worst fear, blinking the stars from their eyes. Diamond’s nose flared and she whipped her hoof out, causing a shower of mixed secretions to splatter across her face from Toola’s hole.

All eyes pinned to me as Diamond Tiara screeched, like some creature born of Hades. “Get Him!”

It was at that moment, that I knew I’d fucked up.

Author's Note

There's a phrase that applies here... what was it now? Something about escalators and their rate of ascent.

Chapter 3: Loyalty to a D - Part 1

“GET HIM!!”

The fillies’ howls were like the hellish screams of a creature right out of Tartarus come to claim my soul and consume whatever I had left behind. My world turned to a hellish landscape scented by the heady musk of sex and my own impending demise as Diamond was the first to make take chase. Naturally, I did the only thing that any sane person would do in such a situation.

I ran.

I fucking ran for my life. Usain Bolt wouldn’t have had a chance against me, not when I’ve got the Hounds of Baskervilles on my tail.

The bushes shook and rocked around me as I hurriedly scuttled through them. l shoved the leaves out of my way as I clamoured for the precious glimpse of sunlight. All the way, I could hear the sounds of angry hoofsteps scuttling just behind me. They were practically nipping on my tail; the occasional grunt and shout reached my ear from not-too far. “Come back here you litt—“

They were cut off as I got out into the open and equally broke into a sprint. Little attention was paid to the flowers and hedges as I dashed over and through them back into the park proper, my safe haven away from the jaws of those chasing beasts.

Luckily, nopony seemed to have noticed a lumbering ape trundle out of the bushes with sticks and twigs messing up his hair and looking white as a ghost—and why should they? I certainly did not look like that. No—n-n-no. No I did not.

My haphazard stumble turned into a steadier walk. I was finally able to loosen the grip on my camera when I heard the hoofsteps fall away behind me, and I breathed a much-needed sigh of relief. My heart was racing and my face felt flush with exertion, but at least I wasn’t dead yet.

I didn’t dare look back to see where they were and risk giving them a better clue at my identity. I’d gotten out alive, and that was enough. I was little scuffed, covered in leaves and twigs, and looking like a crazed person who’d just been mauled in the middle of the apocalypse, but at least I was alive!

My breathing eased and I slowed to a more leisurely walk, taking a slight detour around the play area towards the open fields. I’d seen the teachers there earlier, so there was no way they were going to follow me out here, which meant I was safe.

I reduced my gait to an even slower stroll, glancing to the ground and then the trees around me. The sounds of the foals playing in the distance were about the only constant. They were the jolly giggles and cries of innocence as they repeatedly mounted and rode the swings and jungle gyms behind me.

I heard the rustling of the trees and other ponies’ shouts come into clarity of the beating of my heart and I was finally able to catch my breath, and take stock of my inventory. I turned the Polaroid over in my hands, searching it for any damages.

This thing was a gift from my grandfather, an antique and delicate. It was one of the only things Celestia had allowed me to keep in Equestria—the rest was burned in a ‘totally not revenge for destroying our playground’ bonfire, outside the school—and by Celestia’s swollen flanks, I couldn’t bear living with myself if anything were t—

Wait.

I stopped in my tracks, my blood running cold. I double-checked, then tripled checked. I looked under my shoulder. There weren’t any bags there, but I had to look anyway. I checked my pockets and I patted down my trousers, too. “Wh-Where is the lens cap?”

“Yooohooo...” A faint called crept over the wind, causing a chill to run up my spine. My muscles tensed and my jaw clenched, already recognising the voice as I turned around.

It couldn’t be—I assured myself—There was no way. M-Maybe it was something else, another foal, maybe, or one of the caretakers, a mare, calling to one of her family. Anything but that.

The dread solidified into mortification—and a growing pit in my stomach that sapped all my energy as I laid my eyes on the source of the call.

There they were: Diamond and that stupid ‘Spoon filly. They were just standing right there; just behind the edge of the trees. They were shaded in their cover but I could make out thei9r forms and the glint of their smiles against the darkness. They weren’t so far out that anypony could see what they were doing but you could bet to Celestia that they were making sure I could see them.

But more than anything, my eyes were drawn to what Diamond was holding: She was leaning against one of the trees, the smirk growing into an evil, malevolent grin as she watched the expression of horror that must have been covering my face by now.

She licked her lips and threw her mane back behind her head, giving the lens cap in her hoof a twirl on the end of her hoof—My heart skipped a beat when it looked like she was about to break it, but she didn’t. She gave it a lick, lapping off a little of fluid coating its surface and then went back to teasing me.

She was doing just enough to get under my skin before switching hooves and giving a slight nod to her side.

I frowned. My gaze was drawn next to her almost on autopilot, my mouth dropping slightly, as Spoon whipped her tail over her back to smack her lips open for me to see. She was dripping wet and visibly red, as if she’d been masturbating.

Masturbating with... I remembered Diamond’s actions, and how wet the cap looked, and looking back to Diamond—her nod confirmed my suspicions.

She turned around, still pressing her body to the tree, smacking her lips as she blew my a kiss, and gently rubbed the cap between her folds, slicking it further with my own fluids as they both jeered and chortled their own victory.

~ ~ ~

The rest of the day was spent in fear. I say that sounding all melodramatic, but it was true. There wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t looking over my shoulder. The fillies were far out of earshot, but I still felt like I could hear them in the distance, like they were peering over my shoulder, plotting, biding their time.

I had to get the lens cap back but, of course, but there was no way I was about to go find for those little monsters now. Knowing them, they were probably counting on that. They couldn’t come out and attack me in the open, not with so many other ponies about, so their best choice of action would be to wait for me to come to them.

But still...

I shifted slightly where I was kneeling in the dirt. The ground had grown hard throughout the day. The sun was getting hot and my ankles were beginning to ache. My clothes were sticky from the sweat, despite the light cotton these ponies had provided for me, and I was starting to build up a sweat, due to the hot sun—from the hot sun, I told myself.

I lined the visor up with the clutch of flowers in front of me and snapped another picture.

The familiar, mechanical ker-click of the old mechanism put a smile to my face, and the whirring of the film caused the old Polaroid to tremble between my fingers as I lowered it from my face, looking past the lens to the bundle of flowers. A jasmine-like plant, and several big purple, almost spotty plants had taken up residence in one of the farthest corners of the park.

I couldn’t really understand why nopony came down here, but as soon as I’d spotted them I simply had to get a photo whilst the time was right. I’m sure Fluttershy would love this, even more so than the rosebuds, I thought.

As I was standing, my first instinct was to return the lens cover, but that only put me back into a sour mood as I thought back to earlier and how I’d lost it. It put my nerves back on edge and I couldn’t help but check over my shoulder again, listening for any signs of ponies sneaking up on me.

Of course, there was nothing, just like every other time I’d checked. Just the subtle breeze ran through the trees whilst the distant yells of ponies playing on the swings echoed not far away from here.

All things accepting, this was actually quite peaceful.

The tension left my neck and I allowed myself to relax for a moment. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting the cool air blow past me and carry with it all of my worries.
I inhaled.

And exhaled.

“Aaahhh...” A gust wind and the fluttering of the breeze passed above me as the gusts changed. I could hear a pony yelling, but I ignored it for a minute. They sounded far away, not something I had to worry ab—

“Get down!” I was tackled sideways as an orange blur whipped past my head, almost bowling me over into the bushes as it fle4w past. I let out a yelp as I landed, clutching my chest as a mare galloped through the flowers, crushing them beneath hoof.

“Sooorryy, mister!” I heard the faintest squeak pass me as the blur made a second return, this time slow enough for me to make out the she of some limbs and a head. Naturally, I was almost scared right of my skin, and jumped back, falling almost fully into the patch of purple flowers.

“Get down!” I heard the other mare repeat, before pulling me to the ground next to her. We both hunkered close to the ground, me doubled over uncomfortably as I was forced to train my eyes to the sky—scanning for whatever it was that had just buzzed me.

The wind was still gusting all over the place, and the sun caught in my eyes as I tried to trace its path across the sky. Flopping and tumbling chaotically all over the place with the direction of the wind.

“Sorry, man,” she said. A hoof patted my scared form, and I glanced; now properly for the first time, at the mare that had accosted me. She was a blue pegasus, kind of familiar, with a prismatic mane done up into a bun. She was smiling at me, though obviously hiding the hints of a laugh. “I didn’t mean to hit you so hard, just you’re—

She turned away from me, gesticulating wildly as she screamed into the heavens. “You’re doing great!”—she practically burst my eardrums. “Keep it up!” Her expression turned into some weird mixture of surprise, horror, and frustration as she spread her wings, yelling: “No, no-Keep your back straight! Flap your wings, glide. Now flap your wings! For the love of Celestia, don’t cover your eyes! Look where you—okay, good, now read the air currents!”

“Sorry about that.” She turned back to me.

I took one glance into the sky, and my stomach lurches watching as—I guess it’s a pony?—the pony tumbled backwards through the sky. She dropped several feet before her instructor shouted in my ear again:

“Use your primaries! Angle them west!”—the pony changed shapes and started dropping faster—“West! West!” My ear was ringing at this point, then she said: “Left! Your other left!”

Orange blur suddenly stopped losing altitude. I had to squint, and even then, I couldn’t even see what she was doing differently, but no soon as she had done that did she start picking up altitude again.

It also helped that the wind changed direction.

“Wh-What’s going on?” I finally said.

“I’m teaching her to fly,” she whispered back moments before she pulled us both closer to the ground to avoid another collision with the orange tornado. The blur whipped around us, and then circled back into the sky, narrowly missing some trees on the way. “The wind is good for ponies who need some extra lift, so I dropped her from a few hundred hooves up.”

The filly was trying to catch herself, but was losing altitude fast. I felt myself flinch as she just barely missed the tree line and made a beeline back towards the clearing where we were both standing. I leaned my head close to the pony next to me, everything else forgotten as I asked in a whispering, shaky voice. “A-Are you sure this is safe?”

She gave me this incredulous look, like I’d said something incredibly stupid, and she frowned. “Uuuh... yes? Isn’t that the point?”

“... you just... drop your kids ‘to teach them to fly’?”

She huffed and crossed her hooves, stuck up her nose. “Stop looking at me like it’s a bad thing,” she said.

I stammered, flabbergasted. “B-But—” I gestured to the sky, then to the filly just as she did a back-flip and into another nose dive through a flock of geese. “You... Dropped. Your. Kid.”

She huffed again, and this time I sure she meant it. “First,” she practically spat the word, “She’s not my kid “—

“That makes it even worse!”

— “and second,” she continued, giving me the death stare. “How do you expect her to learn if you don’t take any risks?” She leaned closer, spreading her wings as she raised herself above me—I was sitting, not in the best position to be in an argument with a pony, most definitely not one that might have steel shoes. “Or are you one of those ‘colt coddlers’ who believes in wind tanks?” she hissed.

I fell back onto my haunches then my ass as I retreated away from her slightly, through the—now destroyed—flowers. “I—I don’t even know what that is!” I yelped.

“Good,” she said.

She leered over me a second longer, her gaze unwavering to make sure I was properly intimidated, and then she glanced up to the sky—I followed her gaze, but couldn’t make anything out beside the blue of the sky. Was this going to be the last thing I ever see!? My life flashed before my eyes as she lifted her hooves over me, a smile spreading on her face as she did so.

I flinched when she spoke. “Watch this,” she said, and she was gone in a flash of wind, replaced by a cyan and rainbow-coloured smear as she shot into the sky above me.

Then, moments later, she as the orange blur from earlier collided mid-air and they both came floating back down.

“Wooohooo!” The filly’s screams were the first things I could hear of them approaching. I almost had to roll out of the way as they both landed almost on top of me—the orange filly squirming and hollering in her mentor’s arms. Her wings buzzed and I could tell her fur was caked with sweat as she cheered. “Did you see me, Rainbow Dash!” She was evidently not very perturbed by being in mortal danger. “I was actually flying! I did it!”

“You sure did!” Rainbow chuckled heartily. She gave the filly a little squeeze and a nuzzle as they both hovered back to the ground beside me, just passing eye level long enough for me to properly get a good look at the filly in her arms.

My mouth went dry and a sudden cold feeling came running up my back as I felt goose bumps. “Uuh—“ I heard someone moan before realising it was myself. I backed away, stumbling back to my feet, trembling as I locked eyes with the foal—the orange filly with a scruffy purple mane.

She was missing her helmet—The scooter was probably somewhere nearby. I’d never properly learned her name, but there was no mistaking that raspy course voice—the kind I’d only heard muttering little squeaks and moans as she gently played with herself in the—

I bit my lip.

Keep calm

Author's Note

Rip pacing

Chapter 4: Loyalty to a D - Part 2

I had to contain myself. She probably didn’t know. There was no way she could know. I’d been sure to cover my tracks every part of the way. I’d even made sure to hide the photos back in my—I remembered earlier and made a mental note to kick myself in the face.

I couldn’t let them find the camera, otherwise they would—Wh-where was the camera!?

My sudden panic attack was brought to a halt by Rainbow Dash’s voice. “Dude, are you okay?”

I shook and I croaked. “UGH!” My screams only caused them to look more concerned. Rainbow raised her eyebrow as the filly looked directly at me—those eyes were painted with concern. Innocent, happy, but concerned. This was the last thing I needed.

“N-No!” I said, almost too quickly before redoubling back, correcting. I clenched my teeth and smiled. “I-I’m fine. I just—” I just my camera, I wanted to say, but I couldn’t tell them that.

“Are you sure?” This time it was the filly’s turn to speak. She rolled over in her mentor’s hooves to give me a look. I could have sworn I saw something when she moved her tail. “You look a little pale.”

“N-no, I’m—” I raised my hands to hold them back, retreating a step as I trudged further into the flowers we had both most definitely, utterly, destroyed.

Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground with a crunch of her hooves into the soft mud,l and Scootaloo was quickly shifted to her back, where she watched from over her mentor’s head.

“I think he dropped something.” I heard somepony say, and my stomach dropped as I was left motionless, unable to do anything but watch in agonising silence as Rainbow Dash leaned to the ground and lifted up the missing camera, strap between her teeth.

“Mmfmmfmmm...?”

Her brow creased and I responded in a similarly perplexed expression, awkwardly holding my hands out. She set the camera on my palm, where it rocked momentarily, and then spat out the strap to speak. “Is this yours?” she repeated.

My mouth hung slightly agape, but I still managed a half-hearted nod. Did that... just happen? “Thanks,” I said.

Rainbow—and the filly with her—nodded.

“You need to be careful where you drop those things, you know. “ Rainbow Dash was still glaring at me, though her expressions had softened a little. It now looked a little more sorry for me rather than angry. She gestured to the Polaroid and I turned it over in my hands—the lens, luckily, hadn’t been damaged, though it was a little muddy. “That needs to be covered.”

“Oh—Oh—” I stuttered as I slung the strap over my shoulder. The feeling of it pulling taught against my back sent a wave of relief through me. It wasn’t gone, thank Celestia. If this thing had gotten into the wrong hands—or—hooves, I couldn’t tell you what would have become of me.

Just knowing what was on it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the news went straight to the top. Princess Celestia—or—oh fuck—Luna—would personally come down to see me to my dungeon. Maybe they’d vaporize me on the spot, or worse--The mental image of being shoved into a cannon and shot to the moon flashed through my head. That was, unfortunately, one of the eventualities Twilight had, repeatedly drilled into me upon my arrival, sometimes almost literally.

But, nevertheless, I took a deep breath and pushed it to the back of my mind. There was no point in dwelling on something that hadn’t happened—or that had almost happened.

I put a grin on, clutching the strap with my right hand, and stood up straight, bringing my eye line almost to level with the filly topping Dash’s head. “Y-Yeah, thanks. I know. I had a cap, I just—” A glint out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

There was nothing there, just the trees and the playground, and yet still, I felt like I’d just seen the reflection off a pair of glasses, or silver, like a tiara.

I gulped and ignored it, tightening my grip slightly to steady the tremors. “I had a cap,” I said, “but I kind—”

Rainbow Dash snorted and threw me off my swagger. I was thrown back by her sudden, and loud, proclamation: “You lost it, didn’t you?”

“Wha—“ My head snapped around, glancing every which way as I struggled to hide the sudden rising blush. Nopony heard that, did they? No? Good—there wasn’t anypony in earshot, despite the feeling of being watched. “N-n—NO!” I shouted, stuttering still. “I didn’t lose it, it was—It was misplaced!”

Dash’s giggles were joined by snort from her back, and Scootaloo glanced down to her, smiling wide. “He totally lost it,” she said.

They both nodded in agreement and I face-palmed. “No...” A sigh of exasperation escaped me. Somewhere, another giggle drifted on the breeze, too distant to make out clearly whether it was from the fillies on the playground, or from somewhere more close by. “I misplaced it,” again, I repeated, stressing the misplaced. “There’s a difference.”

“Dude,” Dash raised her eyebrow, looking me in the eyes with a knowing mirth, a smirk, and a glint in her eyes that says ‘dude’ more than anything else. “You can’t fool us”—Scootaloo nodded, bobbing on her head with each motion—“I’m, like, a pro’ at bullshitting. You can’t bullshit a bullshitter.” She gave me a nudge with her shoulder. “So come on; what actually happened to it?”

“I told you. I misplaced it.”

Her grin was wild. “Mouth says ‘misplaced’, your face says otherwise.”

“We—“ I licked my lips and relented. “Well—Okay, fine, I lost it.” Huffing, I crossed my arms and turned away my back. “I was taking photos earlier and must have dropped it somewhere and now I can’t find it.”

“There you go!” She bopped me in the shoulder, causing me to stumble under the weight. I had no choice but to face her when she spread her wings, puffing the fur on her chest out as she beat against it with a hoof. The loud thump was all I could hear as she rasped. “Now isn’t that better?”

Granted, it did make me feel a little better. I smiled. It felt nice to be able to tell somepony the truth, even if I was leaving out a few more... sensitive details.

“Y-Yeah, I guess...”

“Don’t ‘I guess’ me,” she said, teasing. Dash kicked off the ground and started a hover. She did a spin in the air and almost gave me whiplash as she darted to my other side, leaning a fetlock over my shoulder whilst Scootaloo bobbed against the back of her head. “Now, do you wanna go find it, or what?”

“Y—” My nodded stopped mid-jolt as what she was implying sunk in. My words suddenly turned into a yelp as I screamed, “N-NO!” Then, moments later, I corrected myself with a mental slap to my forehead.

Here she was, trying to help me, and I’d just screamed ‘no’ in her face! It didn’t matter if I couldn’t let her find out about my other hobby, there were no excuses for being a jackass.

“I-I mean—”

Dash had this hurt look about her, and she was glaring at me with those daggers again. I reeled to try and recover, pulling away from her—out of safety, raising both hands to try and fend off her attacks. “It’s not that important,” I said, almost too matter-of-fact. Hopefully she didn’t pick up on anything else. This mare was unusually smart.

“Why?”

Oh fuck, she knows! Just by the tone alone, I was screwed—“B-Because—” My eyes darted to the sides, scanning the surroundings for a way out. Rainbow Dash felt a whole lot bigger when she was angry, and I remembered how again her horseshoes—steel horseshoes. I should’ve checked if she was wearing any when I had a chance. I swallowed, steadying my racing heart. I repeated, again, with a slightly calmed tone.“I-It’s not that important,” I said, “I—I can just get a new one.”

Her eyes narrowed. It was like being inspected from inside out taken apart by a merciless killer. If they found my body, would they be able to recognise me? Does Equestria even have dental records?

Her ears lowered slightly. Was that a sign of defeat, or a warning? I couldn’t remember. Her eyes looked sad, like I’d wounded a puppy. “Oh... okay.” She said.

I flinched, awaiting the inevitable—“I-It’s not—”—but nothing came.

I looked up and Rainbow Dash had dropped back to the ground. She was quiet, but not angry. Just a little disappointed. She refused to look me in the eyes.

Scootaloo then broke the silence—and the tension, oh thank Celestia!—She piped up from her mentor’s shoulders. “H-Hey,” she whispered. “Aren’t you the guy who, you know—” She waved a hoof, giggling at me—“That crashed our recess a while back?”

A pang of guilt rang through me, calling back to the scene of destruction I’d left in my wake upon arriving in Equestria. It had taken weeks for them to get that crater cleaned up, and I still felt bad about destroying the playground.

Dash raised her eyebrows, though. Her ears perked back up as she glanced up at Scootaloo, and then looked at me with a glint of recognition. “He is?”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo said.

As if there were any other humans in Equestria, I felt like saying, but instead nodded, bracing myself for the inevitable tirade I’d gotten used to getting. I nodded, “Yeah.”

“Oh.”

Silence.

What? No ‘you monster! How could you do this’? Nothing!? Not even going to ask me to explain myself? You’re just going to accept that and move on!? I could live with this, but really!?

“Hey, Dash?” I said. Both eyes suddenly turned back to me, sparkling for a moment of curiosity. I had to tense myself to keep from keeling over from the combined cuteness, and instead grit my teeth, clenching my hands. “So you’re...” I gestured to the filly on her back, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, and muttered. “You’re teaching her to fly?”

That seemed to do it, as the mood changed like a switch. Dash’s face lit up and her regular, proud self floated to the surface as she spread her wings, making herself large and impressive. “Oh yeah!” she shouted, “And she’s doing awesome. I already have her doing the basics. Soon she’ll be flying on her own and doing tricks, just like her ma—” Dash stumbled slightly, before recovering. “Mentor.”

“My physiotherapist says I’m an anomaly!”

I nodded. Dash continued, “Yeah, she’s progressing super fast, though she still has a long way to go before I’ll let her do anything out of my sight.”

“Aw...”

Scootaloo’s ear dropped and then she slumped against Rainbow’s back, sliding almost all of the way down to her flanks. We both laughed and Rainbow gave a quick buck, jolting Scootaloo up to the crux of her back, where she wouldn’t fall off. “Yeah, well, keep it up, squirt,” she said. “Continue progressing as fast as you do and soon you’ll be as fast and as awesome as yours truly.”

Scootaloo’s face lit up, and she jumped up onto Dash’s shoulders again, leaning in beside her as she shouted. “Wait really!?” She looked at Dash, then at me, and then deflated, sighing, “But I want to be Rainbow Dash now, Dash!”

“Hey,” I ruffled her mane. Oh wow, it was so soft. She always looked so coarse and rough, but now that I had a proper chance to see her up close, she was more cute and soft than I could ever imagine. It was like touching a literal cotton ball, and she seemed to agree.

After a short hesitation, the filly responded with a purr, leaning into my hand as I stroked her head.

I pulled my hand away, smiling, and pointed a thumb over my shoulder, not really anywhere in particular, but just up. “From what I saw back there, you’re already pretty awesome. Doing loops and dives and everything? Terrifying, sweet, and amazing. You should be proud.”

She pouted at the word ‘sweet’ but still blushed at the compliment. “Thanks,” she said, but then blushed, muttering, “The wind helped, though...”

“Still,” Rainbow Dash said, “You did really well.” She pulled the filly off of her back and gave her another squeeze against her chest before booping her snout. Scootaloo immediately sneezed like a kitten, and the whole interaction alone was enough to kill a lesser man—“So well, in fact, that when we get home, I think you’re in a little reward!”

“Oh my fillies, Celestia!” She gasped, practically vibrating with excitement. “You don’t mean it!?” Dash nodded, and Scootaloo practically squee’d. “Sweeeeeeet! Do we get to try the new toys, too?!”

Rainbow Dash gave off a startled ‘eep’, giving me a glance before pulling Scootaloo to her chest. She said something under her breath in Scootaloo’s ear, though I couldn’t tell what it was, and then turned to give us both a half-smirk. “S-Sure,” she said, and then shoved Scootaloo back onto her back.

Dash licked her lips. Her ears lowered slightly as she ascended off the ground. “Hey, so—I-I should really be going. It was to finally meet you, though.”

Scootaloo, on her back, nodded too. “Yeah!” she said. “Don’t go cratering another school yard, okay?”

“Th—” It was my turn to shine red—something I felt like had been happening way too often—and I stuttered. “Th-That happened one time!”

It wasn’t even my fault. There was no way I could control where I’d landed, and if I could, that would’ve been one of the last places I would pick!

Before I could protest, though, Rainbow Dash stuck out one of her legs for a hoof bump. “Like, see ya around?”

I looked blankly at the hoof for a second, before the notion had clicked and I pressed my knuckles against hers. “Y-Yeah,” I said, at a loss for what else to say.

Her hoof pushed against my hand for a moment, then gave way as Rainbow turned to leave. Her entire body tilted, and in a flash she shot into a low glide across the lawn, heading away from me at a speed of a slow-travelling robin.

There were a few glances my way, and I could’ve sworn I heard Dash saying something to Scootaloo, but by this point they were already too far, and were actively climbing to get over the trees, I couldn’t make out what she was saying, yet still, they seemed friendly enough, and Rainbow Dash accompanied Scootaloo in waving when they spotted me staring.

She was acting strange, but no stranger than any embarrassed parent would. I figured she just didn’t want anypony to know she was treating Scootaloo like her own kid, buying her toys and everything.

They picked up height and vanished over the treetops, finally, and once they were gone, I let out the breath I’d been holding.

Finally, I’d done it. I’d survived.

My muscles relaxed slightly—not completely—a part of me reminded myself that I still had to worry about those two fillies. They were out there looking for me, and with a probable means of blackmail too if they decided to go to the royal guard first.

The creeping feeling of being watched etched its way in the back of my mind as I wearily started in the direction of the exit. Checking that there was nopony behind me, I was sure to avoid the flower beds at every turn.

Hopefully I’d be able to get home alive and have this film developed by tomorrow. Fluttershy surely wouldn’t mind waiting another night for her flower pictures, right?

I figured not.

I picked up my pace, now going at just under a sprint.

Still, the creeping feeling like I was being watched refused to leave my back.

Chapter 5: Poisoned Dreams

Scootaloo was standing alone in the orchard. The sun was low and Rainbow was slung around her neck, dangling by her hooves like a luscious little charm. They were both red, no orange. They were blushing as Scootaloo looked my way with a steely gaze.

She had balanced herself on three legs, swaying slowly into view with a rubber object held firmly in her grasp. The studded little nubs filled the park with a lone, ominous humming, squirming and buzzing as it gyrated against the underside of her hoof.

I couldn’t help but stare. The name of the phallic object—this thing she was holding front of me, looked completely alien and yet somehow familiar with its ridges and curves, its veined exterior. It was bulbous and elongated, seeming to only grow larger as its bearer took each step across the expansive lawn to meet me.

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as Scootaloo lifted the appendage in front of her, letting her tongue peek out ever so delicately.

Slowly, methodically, with a practiced ease I’d only ever seen once, she gently dragged her tongue along its length. I stared, mouth gaping, as she teased the tip against her lips, dipped it for a second, then wetted the studs with her tongue.

All whilst watching me out of the corner of her eye—both she and Rainbow Dash around her neck—she trailed the end down her body until it was almost to her chest, then let it sit there, as if waiting.

“Won’t you come join us?” one of them said. Scootaloo’s voice was distant, dreamlike, as it echoed from Rainbow Dash’s mouth “Watch us, as we play with our new toys.”

Their words were impossibly scrambled, intelligent, as if spoken backwards.

Her smile turned into a frown as Scootaloo whispered, slowly, “Neb, em kcuf.”

My skin scrawled and a lump formed in the back of my throat. Various sordid images of Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, together, flashed through my head. I was holding my camera, clutching it, with this feeling like I was looking for something, or something was looking for me. I had to take a picture, capture this moment.

More flashes, more sex. Scootaloo and Dash entwined together in a bed, their backs to me, and I in the closet as they thoroughly went at each other. Another flash, and it was a filly I didn’t recognise. She was spread out on her back, her tiny body just barely visible by the candlelight of her bedside table. She had a book beside her, but it had been long since dropped to the wayside as she pressed her lips into her lover.

An older mare; her mane was a deep purple, filled with curls and held back into rollers as she kissed and caressed her lover, pressing her chest down with a firm, guiding hoof as the other traced little circles over the younger one’s folds, ever so carefully teasing at her, edging out a tiny orgasm on the back of her desperate mewls.

Her panting was restrained and elegant as the filly shuddered and her horn sparked with a dim green glow.

I held up my camera, brought the viewfinder to my eye, but there was something wrong. The camera was the wrong way. It was facing me, and I could barely move.

My breaths were coming in short, laboured breaths like I had been running a marathon, and my voice, it was unusual, pale almost.

Rainbow Dash approached out of the shadows, her eyes not leaving mine with that look of utter disgust. Alarms, sirens, the blue and red lights flashed just out of sight.

I-I croaked out a response, but it was already too late.

She passed me by, shaking her head as she sighed. “Sorry,” I heard her whisper, “but I’m not into mares.”

Again with the jumbling words. I wanted to ask what she meant, why she’d said that, but I felt like I was rooted to the ground. Helpless, stuck, frozen in place as the form of Rainbow Dash and her young ward faded into the distance.

Then another voice spoke up behind me. This one was soft and melodic, attractive, familiar, yet the voice of a stranger. It was threatening in its own little way.

“Oh, but I am,” she said. Her voice—It was unmistakable. It gave me chills as it cut through the blackness even as a heavy hoof pressed down on my shoulders, stilling me.

My heart skipped a beat. Racing, as my breathing became rapid. I still couldn’t move. I was terrified, shaking like it was the coldest winter out of Dublin’s coast. A flashing of memories, long distant, was washed through my head. I was spun around suddenly, brought muzzle to muzzle, standing inches away from her.

She was towering over me. Her wings were erect and her cheeks flushed. The pink locks of her mane were like a dark veil between us as she slowly approached, breathing heavily—her breaths meeting mine.

“F-Fluttershy,” I stammered. I didn’t know what was going through me. Excitement? Regret? It was all a confused mess. I heard myself say, “Your photos. I-I have them! They’re—” As I looked to my side, I realised that I wasn’t carrying my saddlebags. I muttered. “N-No. They’re here. I have them!” I looked back up.

“Shhh...” Fluttershy pressed a hoof against my lips, silencing me instantly, and then she came closer. Her breathing was warm against my cheeks. I could feel her mane brushing against my fur as she gently pushed my dark green locks out of my eyes.

The space was closing in around us.I was feeling claustrophobic, hyperventilating. The older pony pressed her body against mine. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. I was frozen helpless as the soft frogs of her hooves grazed under my tail. Gently pushing the dock aside, I was exposed to the cool air.

A sudden, chilling breeze grazed my nethers—a firm wetness growing below my tail at her every touch. She steadied my withers with her foreleg as she whispered into my ears. “I love little fillies,” she said.

~ ~ ~

My whole body shuddered awake. I was gasping for breath, disoriented and floundering. Somewhere in the darkness a clock tolled. The deep brass of a grandfather clock signalled the hour.

What time was it? How long had I been out?

I settled back into my chair, breathing in the night air. The condensation of my breath formed a cloud of mist in front of me, and the chill of the night had given me a shiver.

It was only a dream, I told myself. My recollections of the night were already fading, just a distant memory, a flicker in the candle light of the past that was my life. Whatever it was, whatever it meant, it was over now.

I plucked one of the photos off of my face and set it back down on the workbench in front of me, among its brethren. I then straightened them out into a neat line, taking extra care to align them and check their contents.

There were eight photos in total. Two personal.

I separated them and pulled them aside. One was of Scootaloo—unknowingly—presenting herself to me. I still salivated a little when I looked at her form, stretched out on the back of that scooter. She was athletic and lithe, not an ounce of young pudge remained. She was perfectly toned from hours of training—what I could only assume to thank Rainbow Dash for.

What could only have turned it from perfect to amazing was the way she had hiked her tail, and daintily stroked and spread her pussy lips for me, and in broad daylight too. God, but it was almost like she knew I was there.

Everything about it felt like a dream, to think I was actually there.

The other was of Toola getting spread deep by a couple of school bullies. The lighting was bad, which was unfortunate, and the surrounding greenery had made the scene blurry and hard to recognise, but I could still make out enough.

The rest of the photos were all miscellaneous flowers, roses, and buds, all the things Fluttershy had asked for and then some. I’d decided to leave out the big purple ones. It felt strange keeping them in, especially considering I was the one who had destroyed them, so that left only five photos remaining.

I frowned and scratched the side of my nose and as I did, I pulled the remaining photos into two piles: The fillies in stack to the left, and the flowers on the right. I then leaned back to admire my work.

With everything in place, I was ready for the next day. All I needed was an envelope and a bit of wax, and I could seal it and be on my way. Another itch, this time on my shoulder, gave me pause.

I glanced at my wrist and then looked around for a clock. The one on the wall said it was just after 3:00 AM. Sugar Cube Corner only opened at six. My shift began after that, plenty of time to get one more hour of sleep, right?

Silence and the chirping of crickets was all the confirmation I needed.

Chapter 6: Promises Best Kept

There was something calming about Fluttershy’s cottage, like an air of mystery that hung over the place, inviting one in, imploring one to delve deeper to discover its mysteries.

Somewhere between the babbling of the crystalline brook and the meandering tingle, and tinkling of the wind chimes above—wrapped together with the scurry of critters and chirping of birds unseen It was like a sanctuary all of its own, her own little garden of Eden cloistered away from the rest of pony-kind.

I could easily see why somepony would want to live out here. Added to that are the scurry of squirrels I was sure were watching me and the calming, yet inviting warmth of the early morning sun through the thick canopy of the Everfree trees, if I were here I’d dare say I might never want to leave.

A gust of wind rustled through the wrinkled old willow trees all around me, adding its own song to the scrambling of the leaves, and I stood still for a moment. My eyes drifted closed and I took in a deep breath, letting in the cool air, the scent of dewdrops and the din of nature enveloping me.

But for a moment, I was alone. The worries and pains, the weights of the world, all but the weight of the satchel over my shoulder were a distant memory and my mind flickered back to those autumn days back on Earth, where I would take a walk through the countryside to clear my head. Our family farm had the exact same trees, willows that seemed to stretch on forever as they dotted the line all across the river.

It was a difficult feat not to stay here forever, dwelling on the past, of days long past, but, sadly, it couldn’t be. I begrudgingly opened my eyes again, casting one last glance over the small glade of Fluttershy’s garden.

The river below, bubbling and sparkling as it passed beneath the tiny stepping bridge, gave my heart a yearning to be back in the old times, but I couldn’t let it consume me. After all, I had an errand to run, a job to do, and a life to get back to.

Breathing in one last time, I straightened my back, readjusted the strap over my shoulder, and patted the brown sack hanging at my side, and turned to face the cottage, and the front door of Fluttershy's place.

I ascended the last three steps and sat myself on the front porch, then reached out to knock; three times, quick and hard.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

The hollow thumping of my knuckles sent a ripple through the silence, shattering the harmony around me with a loud, and foreboding crack, echoing all around me, like somepony had struck a rock with a stick.

“Eeep!” Somepony squealed from inside, but before I even had a moment to react, the world exploded into a din of violent screeching. Feathers and claws, sharp beaks and loud caws assaulted my senses and I was flung back, gaping in horror as the trees themselves seemed to change shape, explode, and swirl with a cacophony of colours.

I screamed, fell back against the door with my forearms raised to protect me, moments before the wave hit—I squeezed my eyes shut—Shit, is this really how I was going to go? Pecked to death by a billion rabid budgies!?

The birds swarmed. The noise got louder, into a thunderous roar of wings, and I felt the wind on my face as they all swooped over me, and my entire body tensed, awaiting the inevitable pecking and scratching—but then nothing came.

The noises continued, a terrifying whirlwind of wings flapping and repeated chirping, but as the storm went on, I felt them growing more distant, slowly fading into a synchronised hum of movement all around me.

Hesitantly, I opened one eye, then the other, and slowly lowered my arms, looking up at the surrounding mass of birds.

It was like an ocean of blues, swirling all around the cottage—like some magical display of nature. The swarm twisted and turned, swooped over itself, forming a common collective as they danced through the air above.

It felt like minutes, hours maybe, as I watched, horrified, and yet mesmerised by the display. Every nerve on my body was on fire, screaming, my instincts racing, and my heart beating a rhythm against my ribs that would give any doctor back home heart palpitations, and yet I couldn’t move, couldn’t stop staring. My mouth was dry and I realised I was gaping—then licking my lips; I closed my mouth and swallowed.

At length, the swarm of birds cleared the air, filtering out to the open skies through gaps in the treetops, and I was again left alone, with nothing but the nature around me, and the babbling brook below.

“Wow...” I mouthed in silence. ‘Wow’ was the least I could do to describe it.

There was a metallic clink above me, of a chain being moved out of place and a roller being jutted aside. The wall I had my back slumped against shuddered, and then inched backwards, causing me to slump lower against the opening door.

A pink mane and then the yellow fur of a pegasus peeked through the gap, confused at first. I looked up, staring into her eyes as she looked past me, glancing over the abandoned glade with a look of worry etched into her brow. “Oh no, Mr Blue Jay, did somepony—” She glanced down then, and let out a tiny gasp.

My heart almost melted on the spot.

Fluttershy covered her mouth as she whispered. “O-oh my.”

~ ~ ~

I was leaned against the doorframe—now opened wide—whilst Fluttershy crouched at my side. She was biting her lip, trying not to cry I was sure, as she looked over my wounds for the millionth time. The bandages on my hand were starting to itch, but I couldn’t touch them without Fluttershy hurrying off to get another ointment, so instead I simply remained still, tried not to worry her, and assured her all I could.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked for the millionth time. Her eyes were shimmering and teary as she doted over my like a mother hen. She pressed a hoof to my forehead to check my temperature as she whispered: “Mr. Blue Jay and his friends didn’t hurt you or anything, did they? I keep telling them they should stop playing their pranks—I really thought they’d learned their lesson after the last time with Rainbow Dash. I just don’t know what could cause them to—”

The wind picked up that moment, and through the rustling of the trees, I could have sworn I heard a filly’s giggling—that gave me a chill, and I shivered, my muscles stiffening slightly.

Though however much I tried, there was nothing I could do to hide my reaction from Fluttershy. She went silent, looking up at the trees for a moment. Following my gaze, she said, “I’m going to have a strong talk with Mr Blue Jay”—She turned her gaze back to me, setting a hoof on my shoulder as she leaned in to inspect my face. “But please...” she said.

I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe. Somehow, despite her tiny stature, she was well past my shoulders, towering over me as I was gifted the honour of coming face-to-face with her adorable muzzle; though turned down into a worried frown, it only served to make her all the cuter, sweeter, and more precious.

“Please,” she repeated. Her voice was lower than the snoring of a field mouse. Her eyes were watering and I couldn’t focus on anything other than the sparkling of tears at the corners of her vision. “Please tell me you’re okay?”

Oh mother of Celestia, Luna, whatever gods were out there. Why did she have to be this cute? If it wasn’t bad the other day, now she had to be—My eyes widened as I realised she was within booping distance and my hand almost moved of its very own accord.

I pressed my back against the doorframe, putting a little distance between us even as Fluttershy stepped closer. My left hand went to her wither and my right fingered hovered for a moment, before finally, taking a deep breath, I nudged her gently aside to sit next to me.

“I-I’m fine,” I spluttered out, though as softly as I could. I let my hand rest on her shoulder a moment longer, letting the sensation of her warm fur linger. “Really, I’m okay. It was only a scratch,”—I pushed the itching under my bandage aside in my mind, instinctively stretching my right hand. It really was just a scratch, nothing worth justifying the multiple coils of gauze Fluttershy had wound over my wrist, but what could I honestly do to stop her? Anything I said was just going to worry her more. I smiled at myself, and then looked up into the canopy of trees. “Actually... I kind of liked it,” I said. “This place, your home, is beautiful, Fluttershy.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy shivered. It was almost like seeing her sneeze—adorable couldn’t even describe it—and her face shone with an embarrassed grin. She giggled under her hoof as her cheeks began to burn. “Y-You really think so? Nopony has ever...”

“Are you kidding!?” My own cheeks were starting to tingle, and realising our position, I withdrew my hand from her shoulder, retreating back to myself. I positioned my hand over my lap, avoiding eye-contact with the pegasus. “I-I mean—” I coughed. “It’s a perfect fit for a pony like you,” I said. Trying as I might to keep my voice level, the faintest hint of a squeak still made its way in when I whispered. “Where better for a Nature Enthusiast such as yourself than to be surrounded by... nature?”

The giggling stopped suddenly and Fluttershy’s eyes went wide. Her ears perked fully, darting left and right as her eyes did a take in of our surroundings, and then she leaned into my side, her cheeks flushing red once again. “You didn’t...” Closer, she pulled, tugging on my shirt with her right hoof. Her voice dropped to an even more hushed tone as she trained her eyes onto mine. “...tell anypony, did you?”

“What?” I raised my hands, pulling my shirt free from her grasp. “No. Why?” It had never come up, I was sure. It’s not like it was anything very embarrassing, right? “N-No! Of course not!” I feigned a shrug. “I didn’t tell anyo-anypony.”

She looked at me critically for a moment, sceptically, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. Her gaze was unusually harsh, like it was cutting into my very soul. Did it really matter that much that nopony knew she was into horticulture? Was she really that shy?

At length, she relaxed. “...good,” she said. Seemingly satisfied by my response, the air cleared and the calming atmosphere of Fluttershy’s glade returned to wash over us. I was really going to miss this place. Maybe she’d let me visit here again...

“Now,” she said. Her tone was relaxed and subdued, though her cheeks hadn’t gotten any less red—maybe even more so as she turned her body to face me, leaning close so her whispers might carry. “Did you bring the photo I asked for?” she asked.

“Photos,” I corrected, and reached for the satchel at my side—In all the excitement, I’d completely forgotten that it was even there—and pulled out the brown envelope, stretched and creased by the stack of images contained within. “And yes,” I admitted, shamefully as I held out the parcel for her to grasp, “I know it’s not a lot, but—“

“Not a lot!? Fluttershy gasped and snatched the envelope out of my grasp.

I jolted back, pulling my hand clear of her teeth as she quickly turned to inspecting the thin brown paper, trying as she might to feel the contents, and guess the contents. Her wings were starting to flare and she was practically drooling as she said. “How many did you get!?”

I blinked, looked at my hand, counting the fingers remaining, and looked back at her. “Uhm... Two or three?” I guessed. “I got a few more on the ride up here, but they’re not developed yet so...”

“Two or three...” Fluttershy repeated, not really to me, but to herself. She was starting to look faint, and her wings had flared to their full length. She licked her lips, sweating a little as she whispered something else under her breath I couldn’t make out.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“’Not a lot’.” Fluttershy’s gaze unglazed, replaced with a look of unrelenting joy. She was grinning from ear to ear, almost tearing up as she smiled at me. “I didn’t expect you to get so many!” She threw herself against me and the air was crushed out of my lungs by the vice of a hug she squeezed through me. “Oh thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me, Mr...”

“Hrnk—” My eyes crossed and I could have sworn I heard a rib popping as my vision began to blur.

Moments before the world was about to go dark, Fluttershy finally loosened her grip. I gasped as the fresh air flooded into my lungs, and I stifled a cough, heaving between gulps of precious oxygen, I said. “You...” I breathed. “You really love those... photos, don’t you?”

“Of course!” She looked at me sincerely, like I’d grown a horn. “They’re so hard to find. I can’t normally get these and...”

She went silent for a moment, as if thinking of something. Her eyelids lowered. “Say...” she said, wetting her lips. Her wings remained erect as she rolled back over onto my lap, giving me a seductive look. Her smile turned up against the dimples of her red cheeks as she leaked against my chest and whispered, more of her shy self: “You don’t want to come inside and we can...” I caught the flicker of motion behind her as her tail flicked, and I could have sworn it was getting hot out here. “...’enjoy’ these photos, together, don’t you?”

My skin chilled with goose bumps where her hoof brushed against my outer leg. Memories from long ago, a previous chapter of my life, jolted through me giving me this sense of déjà vu. I shuddered and pulled myself out from under her, stumbling to my feet and clutching the strap of the satchel in my hand.

“S-Sorry—” I yelped. “I didn’t mean to stay—I mean I can’t stay. I-I have work at Sugar Cube corner in a few minutes: I really have to go.”

“Oh...” Fluttershy’s ears and her wings wilted. She looked up at me from the ground. Though her smile remained, her eyebrows raised. “You’re working with Pinkie Pie?”

I halted my retreat at the bottom of the first step—my heart sunk. “I guess?” I rubbed the back of my neck, a gesture that quickly turned to scratching. “We work separate shifts,” I explained, “so I don’t get to see her that often...”

“I see...”

There was a moment of awkward silence, before Fluttershy shifted in her position, and rose to her hooves. She trotted to the edge of the top step, reared up on her hind legs to bring her eyes level with mine, and smiled.

She used me for support and my hands went instinctively to holding her hooves, to keep her from falling—I told myself, and she laid a gentle peck on my cheek.

“I won’t keep you,” she said, then made a slight shooing motion with her hooves. “Go on, shoo. And say hello to Pinkie for me...”

I held on, standing strong. The inklings of regret were starting to sink in, and the longer I stayed, the less I wanted to leave. What might have happened if I’d chosen to stay, I wondered. “Will I see you again?” I asked, on a whim.

This caused her smile to grow, to radiate with the sweetness I’d grown to love. The ever so slightest hints of a blush touched her cheeks.

Fluttershy pushed her mane out of her eyes and nodded. “You will always be welcome here.”

~ ~ ~

As I was leaving Fluttershy’s cottage, I couldn’t help but think back to what had just happened. It was strange. I had all kinds of new questions. Could she really be...?

I paused at the outside gate, turned back to glance over my shoulder at the cottage on the hill. Fluttershy had locked herself away inside and the curtains were drawn. I could only imagine what she was doing in there, all alone.

Alone

What if she was a...

I opened the gate, went to grasp my bicycle, and as my hands wrapped around the handles, the cool, twisted metal creaked against my hold. I pulled to straighten it in front of me and the handlebars snapped clean off, brakes and all.

“OH FOR FUCK’S SA—”

Author's Note

I didn't plan for there to be shipping in this chapter. It just kind of... happened.

And hey! Looks like somepony might be following our boy~ OoOooOooo~

Chapter 7: A Colt Occurrence

The bicycle creaked and groaned at my side, the tiny spokes of its wheels rattling as I led it back down the hill towards Ponyville. The sad tick, tick, tick and the crunching of the tires against the gravel were the only meter in the silence to my thoughts.

There were birds chirping in the distance—I thought for a moment the blue jays had followed me, but they whenever seemed to get any closer; just a small din in the background, a backdrop to the nature that surrounds.

I was still fuming, lamenting the loss of my handlebars: Though I’d been able to reattach them, however best I could with my limited knowledge of engineering and metalwork, I couldn’t for the life of me tighten the nuts at the base, and one them had even gone missing—I could picture a poor mailmare somewhere down the line leaning over to take a snack just to crack her crowns on a rusty hunk of metal—My bicycle’s missing nut.

The break-lines, too, were cut, which stretched the limits of this being nothing more than an accident. There was no way the entire thing could have failed in the short time I’d left it. Absolutely. No. Fucking. Way.

It had to be those fillies again. I knew it.

Either they were following, or they had some lackeys trailing behind to cause some trouble. I bet they were behind the blue jay incident as well. However unlikely that might be, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that even the simple fillies must have some kind of magic at their disposal.

I was grinding my teeth—the pain in my jaw muscles reminded me—and my hands were clenched so tightly that they were beginning to sweat under the heat of the sun. Another of those annoying itches cropped up on the back of my head and I scratched at it with a free finger—then another on my elbow. What was happening with all of these itches?

I scratched them away and then stretched my hands out behind my back, pulling the muscles taught in my shoulders as I pulled both hands out, and reached into the sky above. There was a very definitely clack, and crackling of tendons rippled down my back and shoulders as the tension left my muscles.

Finally, breathing a sigh of relief, I let my arms back down. I let a thin smile show as I looked out over the view in front of me.

The canopy of the Everfree forest had been long left behind, now broken and sparse with only the occasional tree and shrub to fend off the sun’s heat. The ground had levelled out as well, so I pulled to a gentle halt at the top of the hill overlooking the rest of Ponyville and took a breather.

Equestria was still as beautiful as ever. That was something I just couldn’t get used to. No matter how much time had passed since my...arrival, I could always find something to amaze at, whether it be the fantastical way they managed the clouds—Pegasi could literally kick the weather into submission—or just the astonishing landscapes.

From up here I could get the full lay of the land: Flowers and trees, thatched roofs dotted the landscape, with gentle rolling hills leading off into the distant horizon where the towering fortress of Canterlot overlooked it all. Beyond there, even further, were the misted mountains of the North. I was told even more distant and strange kingdoms lay beyond, but I failed to imagine what could be more amazing than what was right over here.

Nopony seemed to pay it much attention but Ponyville really was something special. It was a quaint little town, an island of normalcy in what I could only describe as an ocean of land right out of Lord of The Rings. Dragon, monsters, hydras, and here we were, cloistered in the middle of a small forest, one train station, and no worries other than what was for sale at the Sunday market.

True, there was the Princess’ castle, but from my perspective it was behind me, far out of sight. Without it, this was nothing more than a normal town. The only point of interest was the bright red of the schoolhouse—which stood out like a beacon in the earthy colours right beside the central park.

Leading up from there, over a short bridge and dipping with the incline of the various hills, were a narrow stretch of dirt trails heading up my way. There were a few ponies trotting its length, though I’d imagine most wouldn’t be out this early in the morning—Mondays were always a slow day in Ponyville.

Most of them were heading into town, though there were still two figures trotting up towards the Everfree. I had to squint and get onto the tips of my toes, shielding my eyes from the sun’s light to get a better view, but all I could really make out were rough shapes of a stallion and a mare.

The sun reflected off of them as they crossed of the bridge, revealing a metallic, almost orangish glow, or some metallic surface, though before I could make anything else out, something rammed into my side.

“AH!” I yelled, clasping a hand over my shins as I pulled away.I almost stumbled into the bicycle and had to catch myself to keep from falling.

“S-S—” I heard a small voice yelp below me, and in the confusion I saw a light and dark blue blur jump out from beside me, as if deflected off of my shins. Something clinked against the ground as he dropped whatever he was holding. He let out a squeal—“Sorry”—But he suddenly went silent, biting his lip.

The colt was a deathly pale and shivering. My hand, instinctively, had gone to the satchel at my side and he was watching it like a hawk. I reached a hand out. His wings were flared, and he took a step back, away from be. Before I could say anything, though, he piped up again:

“S-Sorry mister!” he chirped, then turned tail and ran.

“Hey, wait—” My eyes widened—I didn’t mean to, but somehow my eyes were drawn to his backside as he cantered away from me. His tail was hiked, and I saw something trailing from behind him. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could have sworn I’d seen his sheath dropped.

My cheeks started burning on the spot.

What had he been doing all the way out here? I asked myself.

What would any colt be doing out in the middle of nowhere, alone, with nopony watching?

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

It couldn’t be, I had to tell myself. Yeah. Maybe he was a mailcolt? Did they have those sorts of things? He did seem to be carrying something...

I glanced back at the bicycle—that accident had unfortunately damaged it further. Thankfully the handlebars were still attached, but they were hanging at an odd angle, and were looking like they might snap off at any moment.

I reached to readjust them when another sound had my interest peaked.

The birds were chirping, as before. The wind was gusting, but still, my ears pricked to the sound of something else. Something unusual. Something close.

The bushes were rustling nearby, and between them might had been.. No, there was a voice.

There was a small parting in the underbrush across the path from me. Not much, but just enough for a small animal to fit through; a deer, or a young pony. Maybe even a little colt...

My mouth was getting dry, and the sun on my back had started me sweating again. Swallowing, I wiped the beading sweat from my forehead.

The rustling continued, though—now I could see it. The bushes were moving, and there was something—“Ah...” —No someone was in there.

Again, another sound came: “Ah...”

It was faint. Soft enough that nopony might ever notice unless they knew what they were looking for. My mouth began to water. In between the rustling of the leaves were the tell-tale sounds of a filly’s voice, barely-perceptible little gasps and pants that tickled my ears.

I licked my lips.

Did I dare do it, though?

We were basically out in the open here. Sure, she might have been hidden by the brush, but I was a lot larger than filly, and there weren’t any thick trees to hide my movement either. We were on the top of a hill, right by the main road. Outside of town or not, if anypony were to look up right now, they’d spot me in an instant.

My eyes went back to the countryside below. The path was just as deserted as ever, less so than I would want it to be. There was still the one couple I’d spotted from earlier. They were progressing slowly from the bridge, trotting up the hill at a steady pace. I still couldn’t make out who they were, but no matter what, I couldn’t let them find me up here doing... You know what.

If it was Fluttershy, at least I’d have an alibi. But what if it was Rainbow Dash, or a townspony? The Royal Guard, the Mayor, or even The Princesses!?

I laughed. Okay, admittedly—I had to stifle the giggles I was giving myself to keep from alerting whoever was in the bush. What were the chances of any of those things happening? I was probably safe, but I had to be careful.

A deep breath and I steadied myself. Easy; I was taking photos, and I happened to find her. I thought she was hurt, so I came to help—simple as that.

With the details worked out, I was finally able to relax a little. My shoulders slumped, and I exhaled, letting the air leave my lungs—and a cool, deep inhale, followed by one last, slow, calming exhale to steady my nerves.

Seemingly the decision was made, but there was just one thing holding me back: The spokes of the bicycle rattled as I pulled my legs away from it. The entire frame seemed to slump against the ground, and I sighed.

The bicycle. “Dammit,” I swore. I couldn’t leave it out here, not like this, but at the same time—An extra loud, almost guttural sigh emanated from the bushes, causing the hairs to stand on end at the back of my neck.

She was getting louder.

I frowned, looking at the broken handle-bars and the bike. The satchel on my shoulder was getting heavy, and the sun was making my skin sticky with sweat. My heart was starting to race slightly. I had to make a decision, and fast.

Leave her, or...?

Dropping the bicycle, I dropped to my haunches and ducked towards the other side of the trail—I’d have to think of that later. Now was the time for action.

Still, I couldn’t help but grimace at the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I encroached into the bushes. The sound of the filly’s voice was getting closer, more detailed, and more desperate. It was stuck somewhere between crying and laughing, sneezing and a cough. At this point she was making so much of a noise of the leaves I didn’t even have to care about how I entered the bushes.

So long as she didn’t see me, I was in the clear...

Chapter 8: A Dinky Loveboat

I was being dragged through the bushes by the end of my hoof, almost too quick to follow. I stumbled and stubbed my toe against a stone. Leaves whacked me across the side of my cheeks, and the searing stinging caused my eyes to water as I was dragged further away from the open air into the undergrowth beside the street. “Wh-Wait—” I croaked, “Dinky, where are you taking us?”

“Shhh...” She spun around to press a hoof to my lips, shushing me as she did so, and then giggling like a school-filly as she turned back around. Her tail flagged high, giving me a brief glimpse of her marehood, and then down with a sultry, teasing sway of her hips. “You’ll see,” she whispered, “Just a little bit further...”

I gulped.

My cheeks were beginning to burn red—now not only from the bruises I’d obtained, but from something else—I could feel my little colt starting to get excited underneath me, poking its head out to kiss the cool air in the shade of the trees. Dinky had been like this ever since we’d ditched class together and I just couldn’t figure out what it was she was planning.

Never-the-less, against the better of my judgement, I swallowed and tucked my tail down. I held her hoof tight, grasping the picnic basket under my wing, and was tugged off the beaten trail and between the trees, into their encompassing embrace.

~ ~ ~

We came to a tiny clearing away from the open and Dinky let go of my hoof. It was only then that I realised she was blushing as well, and that she could only go a few steps each time without giving me a glance over her shoulder. Her step had a slow, sultry sway to her hips as she did a little trot, inspecting the perimeter before settling into a stance in front of me, her eyes narrowed, and a half smirk on her lips.

I swallowed again. I licked my lips, tasting the dry air in my mouth to clear my head, all whilst trying my best to keep my mind away from the second head poking between my legs.

Dinky looked over me. She seemed to be inspecting me, quietly, in the seconds that followed. My eyes followed hers as they flicked to the ground, and then back up to my face, a shallow blush joining her cheeks. Did—Did she just look at—My blush flourished as my colthood did a little nod, as if to confirm my answer.

My ears, and my wings twitched, feeling erect as the air started to thicken. It was getting difficult to hold the basket and I attempted to cover my pride, but Dinky didn’t make any response, instead turning sideways and lighting her horn as she whispered to me: “I found this place yesterday when I was helping my mom with the deliveries,” she said.

The basket moved, and I instinctively released it from under my wing—breathing a sigh of relief as its weight was relieved off my back muscles, though quickly stiffening my muscles as the feathers, now freed up, burst to full erection behind me.

Dinky continued. Ignoring my excitement, she pulled a checked red and white blanket from the bottom of the basket and proceeded to unfurl it, spreading it on the ground in front of me. “It’s out of the way,” she whispered over her shoulder as she worked, “It’s hidden, and not many ponies walk this way on account of the Everfree..”

She finished straightening the blanket and then levitated the basket to the ground on the side, pinning the corner where it was. She then lay herself down on top of it, rolling onto her flanks as her horn dimmed, and offering a glimpse of her lips, clear and puffed out, red.

She winked, and a string of clear fluid that leaked out of her dribbled to the blanket below, forming a darkened wet patch before I had the presence of mind to avert my eyes.

I felt a throb run up the length of my colthood and the heat of the moment was starting to rise to my head—It felt like I’d been running a marathon. My heart was racing, and my head was swimming as I trained my eyes to the ground below—pebbles and fine sand formed mounds around my hocks where my hooves sunk to the soft dirt—and yet I could still hear Dinky’s soft laughter.

“Oh come now, Rumble,” she cooed, coyly teasing me from beyond the edges of my vision. I could practically see her smirk as she said the words. “It’s not like this is something you haven’t seen before.”

My ears swivelled and I felt like I was about to turn into a tomato with a mushroom underneath. My stomach churned. “H-How-d-“

“I know what you’ve been doing with Kettle outside of art club, you know...”

“Bu-Wha—“ My wings flared and I bolted upright, ready to tell Dinky off, but the words caught in the back of my throat in an instant, choking me when I saw what it was she was doing.

Dinky had flattened herself out onto her back. Her legs were spread, with her tail laid flat and out of the way on the blanket. She had a sly, thin smile as she locked eyes with me, staring not at me, but at something much...lower as her magic worked to coax the edges of her hood open for me to see inside.

“... I want you to do the same to me,” she said, almost forcing the words out with a choke. Her expression softened for a minute and she glanced aside, as if having second thoughts. But just as soon as I’d seen it, it was gone, and she was back to looking at me with a pleading gaze. “Please...”

My mouth opened slightly. My jaw worked like it was trying to figure out the right words to say. What could I say to this? When Dinky invited me out to play hockey I was expecting a roller rink, not—Not something like this!

I started a step back, trembling slightly as I did so. My balls were beginning to ache and I could feel the sweat leaking from my head. Yes!, my colthood wanted to say, but my head was telling me something different. Run.

“A-a—You’re in that th-that thing—H-heat?”

She nodded. A hint of shame flashed on her features, and her magic paused, retracting from her ministrations. “...Maybe,” she said, almost too quiet for me to hear, “I-It’s my first time...”

“I-I don’t know”—another step back—“if this is a good idea,” I said, “What if I—inside you—and...?”

Her eyes widened. I saw a bud of pink flesh emerge from between her folds—her wink flicked for a moment, pressing a fresh layer of sweat to the blanket below. She fidgeted uncomfortably and put a hoof down, then lifted herself up closer to a sitting position, though still with her teats and mound on clear display. “W-Will you... pull out?”

I nodded half-heartedly, though my hooves remained planted to the spot—neither willing to leave, nor get any closer. It was indecision incarnate. My heart was still racing and my voice still cracked. “Well...”

Dinky sighed. I saw her roll her eyes, but she persisted. “L-Listen,” she said, speaking slowly, carefully, “I... Um, brought my mom’s ‘oops’ pills, j-just i-in case.” She glanced behind me, unable to point as she said: “The-They’re... in m-my saddlebags.”

“Oh.”

A beat of silence.

I looked at the bushes around us, and then at her. I turned slowly, prepping myself to go back out there to get her bags, but then Dinky called out over my shoulder. “Wait,” she flinched, and I stopped.

Dinky lowered herself back to the ground—another wink escaped her, and another trail of fluid further ruined the picnic blanket. A shiver ran up Dinky’s spin as she squeaked out, “A-After—Get it after,” she begged, “Please...”

~ ~ ~

I pushed my way through the bushes and came to a small clearing inside. The space was cramped and claustrophobic, so much so that the sticks and twigs were sticking to my back, poking through the thin fabric of my shirt to scrape the sensitive skin beneath. My hair was getting pulled out of line, and I had to hold my satchel in close to keep it from being dragged away from me as I plunged deeper into mother-nature’s snatch.

The mare’s sounds were getting closer, a little clearer with each step I took—slowly coalescing into the more distinct, feminine, moan of a young voice in the throes of her own pleasure. I had to crouch, slowing my breathing, as I drew into the enclosed space, and began to circle in on the source of the enticing sounds.

We were almost completely hidden from the path, though I could still sense it in the back of my mind—my imagination filled in the gaps. Every gust of breeze was like the rustling of a pegasus’s feathers; every crunch of stones, the crunching of hooves behind my back. My nerves were beyond on-edge and my ears were straining with every muscle taught, coiled and ready to fly at the sight of danger.

A beating of drums had me frozen in my tracks, like a staccato rhythm mixing together with the uneven breathing, and moans of my prey.

DA-DUM

“Ah...”

I was close.

DA-DUM

“Oh...”

Very close. Tentatively, I took another step, wincing at the comparatively loud crunch of the grainy sand under my feet. The air was far from still—a rustling breeze blew by me, shaking up the leaves all around us and momentarily hiding the beating of drums from my ears.

DA-DUM—DA-DUM—

I took a deep breath. I held it. I let it out again.

DA-DUM—DADUM—DADUM—

My heart was like a sledgehammer against the inside of my chest. With every racing beat, I felt the coursing adrenaline running through my veins, and the inevitable shaky, jittery motions that would accompany it.

As I took another step, the clearing opened up around me, pinpricks of sunlight dancing through the darkness as the green veil was pulled away bit by tiny bit.

Something red—no, white—Patches of red and white were shining in the sunlight, flicking into view through the gaps in the trees.

I slowed my pace, holding my breath and forcing my heart to stay its rhythm. It was starting to look like some sort of picnic arrangement, with a crumpled and scuffed blanket spread out in the dirt—its red and white checkers muddied and soiled with the brown splotches of the wild.

There was also a basket—or what I guessed was a basket. The shape of a handle and the hatching of braided reeds flashed by my vision as the leaves jostled across my view, sandwiches and napkins strewn across the ground where it had been obviously kicked over.

I slowed to a halt, thinking better of approaching any further, then, after considering for a moment, I took a step back and crouched in the dirt on my haunches.

It was clear there had been somepony here—though where they had gone I could hardly tell? Had there been a struggle? “Was this what that colt was doing here earlier?” I wondered to myself out loud.

Maybe.

But why?

The wind dropped and the rustling of the leaves slowed to a stuttering halt, obscuring what little view I had of the site. With the din gone, the voice came back loud and clear, like a siren in the darkness...

“Oo-oh..” she cooed, loud enough that it made the hairs on my back stand on end.

My breath hitched in the back of my throat as I sucked in a lungful of the air. It was thick and pungent with a scent I couldn’t quite place. It was sweet and intoxicating, a welcome embrace that wanted to pull me in further, like a magic spell magnetising me towards its source, all the while my senses were inundated by the cacophony of the soft, whimpering, feminine moans.

My ears felt like they were on fire, my gut clenching, and my legs yearning for me to get a little bit closer. To just take one more step.

DA-DUM

I swallowed the lump in my throat, holding myself back the best way I could., by planting my feet into the dirt and willing my mind to think of other things—unsexy things—until I could feel the tightness in my pants subside just a little, enough that I could think clearly.

I had to take this slow, I told myself. I couldn’t afford another mix up, not like the one from two days ago. I had to make sure I wasn’t going to be spotted, which meant I had to control myself.

DA-DUM

Again, I steadied my breathing, allowing my heart to return to normal, and the flushing of my cheeks to feel less hot.

The air was just as thick as ever, maybe even more so with every second that passed since the wind had stopped. I likely only had a few more minutes to do this—so I acted quickly.

Moving as deliberately, and carefully as I could, I inched my way forward and aligned my eyes up with a gap in the leaves, a space just enough for me to get a glimpse of the blanket from before, and the basked, and the sandwiches—I shifted my stance, focusing my gaze a little further, beyond the initial edge, but I still couldn’t make out what was there.

I had to move the leaves, gently, slowly, with the back of my hand, but once I did, there she was.

“Ah.”

She moaned quietly into the back of her hoof. Not quite biting down on it, but pressing it firmly against her tiny snout enough that she wouldn’t be vocal. I’m sure she thought she was being quiet, and by any measure she probably was—but she certainly wasn’t inaudible.

Anypony else who stood at the right time, and stopped to properly listen, would have surely found her.

She was a small filly, younger than Scootaloo, I thought, though it couldn’t have been by any more than a few years. Her mane was a mess, dotted with dust and the ends of some sticks, obscuring what looked to be a stubby horn in the middle of the bushel of hair.

“A unicorn?” I whispered, surprised.

Sure enough, as I watched her move, wide-eyed, the rounded tip of a horn poked through between the tufts of mane, letting off a short little spark and a faint glow with her latest mewl.

She was a unicorn foal, and a cute one at that.

She was leaning against the opposite side of the clearing, her back to the trunk of a bush whilst her legs spread out in front of me. She looked like she had just kicked the blanket out of her way as she rubbed her right hoof down between her—

The leaves obscured the rest of the so I had to move over, careful to not make a noise—I couldn’t stop my satchel from catching on the branches. I inched my way left and a little further to line my eyes up with a slightly bigger opening.

She had changed her position. No longer breathing into her hoof; the filly used her left hock to hook under her thigh and pull it up higher, closer to her head as she continued to play with herself.

The new position only served to give me a more complete view of her behind. With her laying down on the dust like that, I could clearly see her tiny, pert little anus trembling as she chased her release. Her teats were small and flat, but clearly reddened by her own arousal—it almost looked like they’d been neglected, and were begging for someone to come in and give them a gentle rub, a massage to help her release that tension.

Meanwhile her lips, flexing, velvety and slick, winked invitingly my way as they were spread under the force of her ministrations.

“Aaa...” she moaned again, cutting her cry short with a gentle bite of her lip.

Between the sight in front of me, the smells, and the excitement of being so close to the street, I couldn’t help but bite my own lip with her. A shiver ran up my spine at the sound of her latest moan—a desperate call of a foal in the throes of her first orgasm.

Her whole body tensed as she finally mounted that edge.

I was feeling hot. My motions were shaky as my hand reached for that satchel.

The filly’s breathing was fast and short. No sooner as she had begun to moan, she stayed her hooves, tensing her entire body, staying herself before she went too far.

She winked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

I saw a trickle of white fluid, a sticky mass that leaked from between her folds. The glimpse of more teased at me through the gap as her clit shot out to kiss at the open air from underneath her hoof.

I raised the camera under my chin, waited a moment—I swallowed as I watched her return to her work, rubbing slow circles over her mound, spreading the white excretions into the matted fur that surrounds—coaxing little driblets from her folds with every pass she made.

I lifted the Polaroid to my eyes, letting the cold steel of its trimming weigh heavy in my hands, a vice to steady my nerves and the viewfinder—I took a deep breath. I found the shutter, and I took the first snap.

KER-CLACK

Then one more.

CLICK

And a third.

CLICK

The soft, satisfying click of the camera was like music to my ears. The mechanism rolled on, not a care in the world, silent and obedient as I took shot after shot, and then I heard her speak...

“Mm.... Rumble...” she said.

I watched her a moment longer through the visor, enjoying the view. The perfect framing of this perfect filly so perfectly spread out and presented to me. Not in a million universes could a sight line up like this for me, and I was lucky enough to be in one of them.

I lowered the camera, checking the lens for scratches and then returned it to its place in the satchel at my side. I adjusted the strap’s position one more time, taking a final look at the foal—a foal I regret not knowing her name, that remained in her moment of bliss.

When I finally started to move again, my legs were already starting to ache from sitting in the same position for so long. I wince as I started to turn around, pulling myself away from the bushes I’d found myself entangled in.

There was no doubt that I’d lost a lot of time by doing this—not that I’d have done it any other way—but that did mean I was short of an explanation to bring back to Mrs. Cake.

I smirked, and had to suppress a giggle, then whispered beneath my breath as I started trudging my way back out. “I wonder if she’d believe me if I told her I was on a nature hike?” I certainly looked, and smelled, the part, that was cert—

CRACK

A twig snapped, with an almost resounding, echoing, blood-curdling crunch, and my face blanched as a familiar foal’s voice piped up behind my back. “R...R-Rumble?” she said, “I-Is that you?”

Author's Note

I certainly hope that was worth the wait. I certainly spent way too long working on this one. :facehoof:

This is essentially double the length of a normal chapter. I could have broken it in two, but I didn't! :pinkiecrazy:

Chapter 9: A Rocky Ship

Dinky flinched out of her stupor at the sudden noise. Her ears flicked back, and then up, searching the source of the commotion. What was that? The thoughts flashed through her mind quicker than she could react, immediately pulling the hoof from between her legs as she looked up and around.

Nothing seemed out of place: the shrubbery around her was thick and overbearing. They offered their comforting warmth, a blanket of privacy around her, but yet also—it was so hard to see anything. Could there really be somepony watching?

No, that couldn’t be. Nopony knew she was there other than Rumble...

A gentle breeze brushed through her mane, wafting with it the smell of fresh-cut grass, and the scent of flowers and course dirt. The crushing silence descended around her as Dinky opened her mouth to speak.

The words came out meek, her voice crackling as she whispered. “H-Hello?” she called out.

There was a shuffle of motion in the bushes, a figure like a tree lumbered in the shadows and Dinky’s heart jumped into her throat. She pushed herself up slightly against the base of the bush’s trunk. Retracting her hoof further from beneath her, she closed her legs. Attempting though she might to cover her shame with her tail, she wiped the excess secretions into the blanket below.

“Hello?” she asked again, slightly louder, more direct this time. She felt exposed, like there was somepony watching her, somepony dangerous. Squinting into the shadows, Dinky’s mouth crunched into a frown.

There was somepony there. She knew it.

“Is there anypony there?”

At the next sign of motion, Dinky worked up her courage, hazarding a guess. “R-Rumble?” She couldn’t help but stutter. “Is t-that you?” she whimpered.

~ ~ ~

“H-Hello...?”

The filly’s voice was small and attentive, wavering with uncertainty as they bored into my back, cutting deep like a warm knife into butter. I could already feel her presence weighing behind me, like a sledgehammer ready to fall. The images of that Diamond filly flashed through my mind, the horror with which they looked at me etched into my mind.

I couldn’t move. My chest felt tight, my legs wouldn’t budge as my heart raced into oblivion. I could do nothing but my best impression of a tree as I listened, my ears straining into the silence as the filly moved behind me.

There was the snapping of twigs, the rustling of leaves. A breeze blew through my hair, rustling the satchel on my shoulder and carrying with it the scent of freshly-cut grass. I could already hear it, the unmistakable sound of hooves falling, the crunching of stone and gravel as somepony trotted by, growing ever nearer. There was no telling where it was coming from. Behind me? In front?

I spun around, putting my back to the road, and retreating away from the foal as he voice called to me once again. “Is there anypony there?”

The words cut to my gut as I spotted the foal—our eyes locked onto one another before breaking apart after a second. She looked down, away from herself and towards the branches and leaves—She seemed to be scanning the surroundings, searching for something.

I managed to just barely make myself smaller, crouching as close to the dirt as my legs would allow—my calves were already burning from being hunched over for so long, but the adrenaline turned the pain into a dull ache, a distant memory as I watched from between the broken leaves for what she was about to do.

She moved her body, squinting as she seemed to look almost directly at me. Her golden eyes shimmered in the dim light, sparkling with the inkling of teardrops, waiting on the corners of her cheeks as she whispered something I could barely hear, a colt’s name.

“... Rumble...” She looked tired, distressed, wanting, as her chest heaved. A vein sliver of excitement flashed through her features—“...I-Is that you?”—and then vanished when she realised nopony was there.

My heart clenched. I couldn’t help but bite my lip, trying not to make a sound as I leaned forward, bracing my hands against the branches in front of me as I strained my ears to hear just a little bit more. “Who was this Rumble?” I whispered beneath my breath, my curiosity peaked. “Was it that colt I’d met before? Is this what he was doing—”

Who he was doing, a small voice in the back of my mind corrected, causing a slight chuckle and smile to grace my lips.

I could only watch in absolute silence as the filly’s gaze passed me over, looking into the distance past the veil of leaves that separated us. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, guilty in a way. She was here waiting for him and I’d had to come along and scare him off. Chances are, the colt she loved was miles away from here, and probably still running.

Maybe this was the only chance they had to ever meet, and I’d ruined it.

My vision was starting to blur, and I quickly pulled my hand away to wipe the tears from my face. I sniffed quietly, and then looked back up to check what she was doing.

The filly had quickly returned to her own ministrations, though with less vigour than before. She’d squeezed her eyes shut and was tracing little circles around her swollen lips. She emitted a sigh, her chest heaved, and my muscles tensed when her eyes opened again.

Slowly, as if in a stupor, she looked down at herself, licking her lips, then picked up her hoof to inspect the layers of fluids clinging to it—thick white lumps of something—my breath caught in my throat when it finally clicked.

Cum

She was dripping the stuff, soaking the blanket further even as I watched.

She picked up her hoof and lifted it closer to her mouth—My breathing was hot, in short pants as I watched her inspecting the white fluid that dripped from the tip of her frog. She tested it with a sniff, and then, gingerly, she licked a piece of it off with her tongue.

I had no idea how long it had been before I realised I was staring. My mouth agape, I licked my lips and swallowed; now feeling the weight of the satchel on my arm and the burning of my knees from crouching in the shade for so long.

The filly was still distracted, and though it pained me to leave her, it wasn’t looking like there would be any better chance to get out of here than right now. Thus, slowly and carefully, I withdrew from the bushes, letting them naturally open and close around me as I backed away from the foal, my eyes never leaving her gaze, as if waiting for her to look up and suddenly recognise me.

At one point she inhaled suddenly—My own breathing stopped and I waited, I watched, my breath bated, but she quickly went back to teasing her pussy lips, whispering another string of faint words... Her coltfriend’s name drifted to the tips of my ears, bringing with them a shiver and a twisting of my gut.

“Rumble... P-please... Don’t leave me.”

~ ~ ~

I backpedalled my way out of the bushes. The sudden, loud crunching of the gravel under my boots were abhorrently loud, almost startlingly so—It took all my strength to keep from jumping out of my skin as I stumbled back into the street, panting and out of breath.

I leaned onto my knees, gasping for breath—I was assuredly blushing profusely. Sweat beaded my forehead as my mind reeled from what I’d just seen—Or possibly worse, what I’d just missed.

The image of the colt from before—his features were foggy and unclear, but the way he stammered and retreated away at the sight of me—there was no mistaking it. That must have been Rumble. He was here, and he was—

I gasped, swallowing down my dry throat.

The calming breeze was already cooling against my skin, and the sound of the filly’s moans were a distant memory, barely even a flicker, though her scent still burned in the back of my mind—that hot, sticky, smell of the inside of the bushes were something unmistakeable, something I knew well.

The smell of sex.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to clear my head. I tried to focus on my surroundings, the grounding, cool breeze and the sounds of ponies and birds flitting through the sky in the distance behind me—I could hear hooves trotting, far off, barely a thought.

There was a shuffling, and a sudden whisper, something unintelligible as I stood there. I crouched to my shins, holding my arms close over my stomach as I let the moment wash over me, the weight of the satchel weighing heavy on my shoulder.

It slid down slightly, but with a shrug of my shoulder, I managed to tug it back in place—and there was a tingling of stones but I paid it no mind.

As my mind started to clear, I slowly began to become aware of more of my surroundings, of the bushes and sparse trees and the movement of pegasi moving back and forth between the clouds up ahead.

The bicycle was still there, right where I’d left, bent handles and everything—discarded in the middle of the road. It had been pushed to the side—Had I done that?—and lay half tipped into the ditch on the opposite side to me.

I couldn’t remember ever throwing it that hard—There was a crunching of hooves, like somepony scurrying behind me, and my eyes snapped away from the bike—just barely tracking the motion as the bushed fluttered in the wind.

There was a clinking of metal—and the sudden crunch of a pair of hooves right over my back. “Wait—” A familiar giggle. Now I knew I’d heard it that time. “Who’s—“

I spun around, ready to trade blows with that tiara’d tyrant, but my punch was stopped in its tracks by an iron-clad hoof as a pair of Royal Guards towered over me, flanking on either side, their gilded armour reflecting in the sunlight as they leered down over my crouching form—though, granted, I was still just barely taller than them.

A toasted brown stallion and pear white mare, both of their ears lowered as they glowered at me from behind their identical armaments. “State your business, human,” the first of them spat.

“Uh...” It only just occurred to me how terrible this must look. I was crouching in the street acting like a creep with a camera in my pocket whilst a foal—

An especially loud moan called out from nowhere. I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but it put the three of us on edge as the guards’ glowers turned into glares.

“Oh f—”

Chapter 10: Pulpy Fiction

“—Fuck.”

The words passed my lips, a whisper unhindered as I retreated like an injured dog. I could feel my stomach clenching, an almost fight or flight response, urging at my nerves to get out of here as quickly as my legs could possibly carry me.

I almost did.

My eyes went to the bicycle on the side—sweat sprinkling my brows as I ran the scenarios—If I made a jump for it, I could possibly be on the bicycle and out of here before they even knew what was going on, but that left one thing—One thing a part of me couldn’t forgive myself for if I did.

The rustling of the leaves and the slightly muffled tone of a filly’s panting clamoured at my mind, as if reminding me of what I already knew.

That foal, whoever she was—I hadn’t caught her name and at a time like this I was glad that I hadn’t—was still hiding in there, almost in plain sight. If I didn’t warn her, she’d very likely be found out, and then—A shudder ran up my spine as my mind went to the inevitable conclusion.

‘What were you doing in those bushes?’ they would say. ‘I didn’t know!’ I would try to respond, only to be shot down by the evidence—‘you monster!’ the mother would say. She’d slam her hooves on the table, screaming in my face, tears dripping down her cheeks. ‘We found her just after you left, she was clearly’—she’d sob—‘Violated! We trusted you!’

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end; a tremor running through my spine as my muscles began to lock up. I swallowed the lump in my throat, accepting the only course of action—The only one I could allow.

I stood firm, putting my body between the guards and—from my best memory—the approximate location of the bushes where the foal lay. I was ready. I’d say what I had to. They weren’t going to find her. I’d be sure of that.

The guards had clearly noticed how pale I had become. It almost looked like a flash of concern across the mare’s stoic complexion, but no sooner had it appeared, had it vanished beneath her professional demeanour.

The mare moved to my right, flanking me and cutting off my one escape route as the stallion took a more direct line of questioning. His voice was stern—it almost reminded me of home, of my own father, as he whispered. “We asked you a question, sir. State your business. What are you doing so far out this way?”

The lump in my throat was making its reappearance. I gulped it down and held back my trembling voice. “N-Nothing, officer,” It sounded like a squeak, barely a response in comparison to his deep baritone command.

The mare next to me piped up, her voice rumbling against my eardrums. “Commander, is this not the...” her ears flicked as she averted her eyes and, then, cupping her hoof over her mouth, she leaned into his ear to whisper. I just barely made it out. “...human?”

The stallion’s ears flattened. His eyes narrowed, and I watched him turn to strut, inspecting me as he turned my left side, his tail flicking with... agitation? Was that what it meant?

I turned with him, side-stepping to keep myself in front of them—and away from what I was hiding. They couldn’t get past, but what was I going to do? I couldn’t keep them distracted forever.

“...Indeed,” he said, finally. He went back to his mare’s side and I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. “What do you take to crashing playgrounds, human?” He smirked. “Do it often?”

“Wha—“ I almost tripped, bit my tongue as I flailed. “Wha—No—It was an accident, I didn’t mean t—“

“Hold on, now.” He raised a hoof, chuckling as he did so. The mare beside him similarly had to cover her mouth with a to hide her own smirk. “We got the security briefing. I’m just pulling your leg, son.”

“O—Oh...” My cheeks flushed red, not in all part of the embarrassment and shame of my arrival taking hold. “Y’mean you’re going to let me go?”

A second roll of laughter and I had my stomach sinking out from under me—at the same time, there was a flutter of motion out of the corner of my eye, the faint crunching of gravel that was drowned out by the stallion guard’s roaring laughter. “Hah!” He slapped my back, almost knocking me off my feet. “Get this, he’s a joker too!”

“Y-you’re not?”

“Of course not!” Wrapping a foreleg over my shoulder, he pulled me down to his level and jabbed me in the chest with the tip of his hoof—a gesture that left a tiny mark of dust on my shirt, not that he cared any—“You’re still up for a hefty fine!”

My eyes widened, and I pulled out of his hold, stumbling slightly as I stepped back away from the pair of ‘guards’—“Wh-why?” It was at that moment I noticed another movement, this time more distinct, as a shadow emerged from under the treeline behind the two guards—a cloaked figure I hadn’t managed to make out yet. “W-What kind of fine?”

“You’re not aware that it’s illegal to block the roads with your trash?” He shared a glance with the mare, who was giving him a harsh look—then looking back to me, his tone softened slightly. “Okay, we understand this is not really a oft-travelled path, but the law’s the law... I’m sorry.”

The figure shifted and turned, revealing more of itself behind the stallion’s backs—or rather herself. My chest tightened and my breathing quickened as a familiar pink filly—the devil herself—revealed from the shadows.

She was crouching... staring. Watching.

The stallion’s words barely registered as my eyes widened, my mouth going dry as I watched her, intently, consumed by the sight of the worst thing to ever happen to me in my life—and yes, that does include ‘getting sucked into an alternate reality filled with talking pastel equines from TV’.

Her coat appeared freshly-groomed, though she hid most of it beneath the brown of her thick robe, which was adorned with several twigs and branches, dried leaves that made it look like she’d been trudging through the outback, and yet not a hair was disturbed.

Had she really been following me all this time? How did I not notice?

That was a lie. I knew somepony had to have been following me. The itching on my neck had practically turned into a veracious burning—I could swear I tasted green as she slowly reached into her robe.

Her eyes never left mine as the tiara’d tyrant pulled out a silver object dangling from a ribbon secured around her neck. I watched as her grin grew, revealing the pearly whites of her teeth as she raised the object to her lips, inhaling as she did so.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I felt like deer in the headlights, frozen, unable to do anything as my mind tried to process what I was seeing. Over the shoulder of a golden-clad royal guard, a filly was eyeing me as she lifted the whistle to her lips and—

I screamed. “NO!”—Throwing up my hands, | immediately regretted my decision as the guards both jolted to attention. Broken from their friendly demeanour, they were all over me like a crazed felon—the mare practically tackled me from the side as the stallion’s eyes flashed from astonishment to concern.

He was about to turn around—His ears perked to the rustling of the bushed behind him, and in the seconds that followed I caught glimpse of the filly in the shadows lower the whistle—her grin just as ferocious as ever—as she gestured a silent “shhhh...” my way.

My stomach dropped—so did the penny—as I realised what her plan was. The fact of the matter was only driven home by how she slunk further into the shade, until the only thing I could make out was the darkened silhouette of her cloak and the whites of her teeth, until finally those too began to fade.

“Uh—I—” I cleared my throat.

The stallion’s ears perked back to me. I could sense the air had thickened—it hung over me like a dense fog---or maybe it was the grip of this mare—I could feel the tips of her hooves dig into my skin as she forced me to my knees, and the stallion loomed over me, every sense of his previous, light-heartedness, gone for good. ”What was that?” he said.

“I—Uh—“ I spluttered, coughing—“S-Sorry, I thought there was—“

“If I may interject, Paprika—” The mare spoke right over me. Her armour clattered loudly as she stepped closer, her right hoof not leaving my side—if anything, her grip only strengthened. “You don’t think it’s a little suspicious that we happened to find this human all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere, alone?”

I gulped. I tried to stand, or at least let off the pressure of the stones on my legs, but the mare was having none of that. Paprika—I assumed that was his name, eyed me again.

He nodded solemnly. “She’s right,” he said.

“L-Listen, this is all a misunder—“

“Don’t give us any of that horseapples,” she spat and swore. Paprika saddled up closer. He his eyes level with mine and jabbed a hoof into my chest—A sudden and very sharp pain rang through my ribcage as he ground the nib into my chest. His eyes narrowed as he did so, glowering. “Only ponies with a home or a mission are willing to venture out this far to the Everfree.

He clicked his tongue.

“Now I’m a nice stallion. I like to think that I can be fair, Celestia forbid we become like the Night Guard, so I’m going to give you one chance: Tell me what you saw behind me.”

“I-It was nothing—“ I had to suppress the trembling in my voice, My entire body was growing sweaty and disorderly, and it was getting harder and harder to not grasp at the straps of my satchel—I couldn’t let them get ahold of that, or get past me, or—“I—I just saw a...a thing and it was going to...”

A rustling of leaves; maybe it was the wind that had picked up, but my eyes momentarily darted to the bushed behind me. Of course there was nothing that had changed, but that didn’t stop the guard from jumping on me for that—

He cut me off, pressed his muzzle against my nose as he stared into my eyes. “What are you hiding?” he whispered, like a deathly sigh.

“N—” I was out of breath. I was almost hyperventilating, shaking, as the guard leered over me. “N-Nothing, I swear! There was nothing behind you! I didn’t see anything—I-it was just a prank!” I managed to blurt out.

Silence.

“...”

The guard’s expression was blank. I couldn’t read a single bead on him.

“You’d prank an officer?” he whispered, eventually.

I hesitantly nodded. Dear Celestia, Luna, whatever gods out there that doesn’t already hate my guts, please let the prison cell be empty. “... yes?”

There was a snort and a muffled guffaw. “Pfft—“ The mare’s grip listened as she moved to cover her mouth. “Ppfft—He got you good, Papi.”

Paprika’s face flushed a deep red and he stumbled backwards with an indignant groan. “For Celestia’s sake, Poprocks!” He facehoofed. My mouth dropped and I could only watch in astonishment—confusing astonishment—as the former battle-hardened rogue flipped characters like the edge of a dime. “We’re on duty! I told you not to call me that!”

“I-I’m sorry!” Poprocks shouted. Suppressing her own laughter, she said: “But even I could tell what was going on!”

“You’ve been enlisted for a week!”

“Five days!” she corrected, “Come on, you’ve seen the Princess’ reports! Do you honestly believe“—I ducked as she swung a hoof my way—Metal and face do not mix, believe you me—“He is one of the Marefia?”

“Marefia?”

They both ignored me as Paprika shot back: “They could have enrolled him!”

“Why would they hire a giant, lumbering, hairless ape for their covert ops unit?”

At this, Paprika frowned. He offered a hoof. “Well, they did hire Iron Will.”

“For like five minutes!”—Now it was Poprocks’ turn to facehoof. She sighed through her teeth. “L-Listen, let’s just—Let’s just collect the fine and be on our way. We can’t be late for another assignment this week.”

Paprika rolled his eyes. “F-Fine,” he said, at which point both ponies turned their attention back to me.

I jolted slightly, sitting up straight as the feeling of both sets of eyes scrutinizing me set me back on edge. “Uhm...”

Paprika pulled out a notebook and a pencil which he flipped over in his mouth, and then quickly scribbled something out onto the first page. Then, dropping the pencil, he tore off the page and passed the carbon negative to his partner—Subordinate? At this point I wasn’t really sure what kind of relationship these two had—whilst also passing the original over to me.

“Here,” he said, as he shoved the slip into my hands. “It’s a five-thousand cubits fine for the littering, plus an extra thousand for wasting our time.”—The garnered a silent glare from Poprocks, but she remained silent nonetheless.

Paprika continued: “You can pay it now, or you can bring the bits to town hall where you can explain the situation to Mayor Mare.”

The Mayor? I swallowed the lump in my throat. The hair on the back of my neck prickled at the thought of being dragged to the mayor’s office in town hall and having to explain everything in front of everyone there. Did Princess Sparkle attend these things? I didn’t know—it was all new to me.

“I-It’s okay—” I glanced at the slip—His mouth-writing was like that of a toddler—a very gifted toddler that was able to write with their teeth, but a toddler nonetheless. I could sense his eyes burrowing into my scalp, as if he was waiting for me to comment on his writing abilities, so I hurried along and located the amount.

True to his words: six-thousand cubits was scrawled on the dotted line, with a signature of his cutie mark beneath.

I quickly reached into my satchel and dug out the leather pouch from the bottom, loosening the ties as I counted out six bits, and held it out. “H-Here. Is this the right—“

He snatched the coins from my palm, counted them out again and nodded, stowing the collection beneath his garment. “That should do it,” said Paprika. Then, with a tort nod to his partner, they both trotted past me, almost shoving as they hurried along their way.

I was left standing, half in shock, and bewilderment as the guards trotted off, back the way I’d come. They paused at the top of the hill, and I quickly averted my gaze to the ground, pretending to tie my shoes, and when I looked up again I caught the final glimpse of them galloping into the distance towards the clearing near Fluttershy.

“Well that was certainly something,” I whispered to myself, half grateful I’d even survived.

Chapter 11: Curious Cuties

With the previous encounter behind me I was finally able to relax and compose myself. I breathed a sigh of relief, the first order of business was to steady my nerves and try to focus on what I was doing. Second was to pick up my bicycle and inspect the damages.

I stowed the bag of bits and slung the satchel over my shoulder, taking a deep breath and letting the cool air carry away my stress and the memory of the filly that had just tried to doom me—“Celestia damn it” I swore, and stomped my foot.

If I’d only known she was going to cause me this much trouble I would have never even tried to take that photo. Granted, it was half of my fault—I should have expected the camera would be out of film. I’d taken so many photos since I’d arrived it was basically a given that I’d be replacing the roll every few days.

What was more a miracle was that I was somehow able to find replacements all the way out here, on an alien world, but that mare in the photography studio—Films and Filaments—had assured me their films were almost identical to my Canon film, nearly to a T.

I pulled the bicycle out of the embankment, and almost immediately the handlebars flopped to the side like a flaccid dick, and however much I tried to get them up, there was nothing doing. The brakes, too—I frowned at the cut lines, dangling useless in the dirt beneath—were completely trashed.

It was becoming painfully obvious that I’d never be riding this thing ever again, not without the work of some kind of miracle.

I sighed, again, gritting my teeth, and pounded a fist against the seat—“Celestia damn it, you bucking f—“

Something metallic clinked against my foot and I paused, looking up suddenly, and then down at the ground. My immediate thought was that I’d either dropped something, or the bicycle had lost yet another critical function, but the object I saw on the ground gave me pause.

My brow furrowed as I stared at what looked like a silver locket. It was covered in dust and visibly dented by how it had fallen, and then subsequently stepped upon, but it was clearly some sort of ornate container—far more expensive-looking than anything I would be carrying.

“Huh?”

Leaning down, I picked up the locket and turned it over in my hands, inspecting the delicate carving of the floral pattern. It was about the size of my fist and about half as thick—too big to be a pocket watch, but somehow not the right shape to be a regular locket. It was almost clamshell shaped, with a clear lever mechanism to open it up.

I looked around, left and right, to make sure there was nopony around—I wasn’t about to make that mistake again, and rested the tip of my thumb against the lever. It creaked as it began to bend, and the locking mechanism inside released with a soft click.

The seam cracked open, and I was about to look inside when, suddenly.

“Ahem.”

The ruffling of leaves broke me out of my concentration and I jumped on the stop, almost dropping the locket and its contents. I slapped it shut, and spun around, sweating as I stammered. “N-n-n-Nothing!” I shouted, “I wasn’t looking at everything!”

The filly—I immediately recognised her from before, let out a startled squeak and scurried back into the bushes—the same bushes I’d hidden from the guards just minutes earlier. “Eeep,” I heard her squeal.

“Oh—“ I mentally facepalmed—I’d forgotten about the filly, almost completely. I had to discard the bicycle, letting it stand on its own as I lowered myself to my haunches, putting on the best smile I could muster. I adjusted the trap of my satchel and held out a hand, as if calling out for an injured puppy. “Hey, hey, it’s okay...” I said; my voice low.

I had to be careful, something inside told me I had to take it slow, try not to scare her, I thought. “Are you still there?” I said.

The bushes parted and first the tip of a tiny horn, then her mane, and finally face of a scared, shivering foal poked out from between the greenery. Her eyes were wide, sparkling with the inklings of tears as she looked both ways, and then a hoof or two revealed the rest of her from the shadows. “You didn’t have to do that...” she whispered.

I smiled, taking a step closer, just an inch.

The filly flinched, and retreated back by a centimetre. “What do you mean?” I asked, my voice staying as warm as I could without literally coating myself in honey. “Do you mean earlier?”

Her head jerked as she nodded. “Y-Yes,” she said. Her voice grew slightly more confident, and she wiped her nose, sniffling. Had she been crying? “W-With the guards. You didn’t have to protect me.”

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Dinky, mister.” she whispered.

“Okay, Dinky-mister.” I grinned, letting Dinky snicker. She covered her mouth, but I could tell she was smiling. I continued, “I couldn’t just leave you here alone to fend for yourself. It wouldn’t feel right to me.”—and it probably wouldn’t do me any good either if you were caught, though I didn’t want to say that part.

She smiled again, and took another step out of the bushes. Dinky’s eyes were still darting around, cautiously as she did so, though I could tell every time that her gaze settled on the locket that was now in my lap.

I glanced at it, and then back at her. Dinky squeaked, and averted her eyes, her cheeks flushing red, and only then did it click.

That colt from earlier, the silver object he’d dropped, the fact that Dinky was seemingly waiting for somepony to come back—I pin dropped, and my mouth opened in a silent...Oh.

I held the locket out to her, and whispered. “Is this yours?”

Dinky nodded, though hesitant at first. It took a slight bit of encouragement, but she eventually reached out and took the locket from my hand in her mouth.

She scurried back to the edge of the bushes where she dropped to her haunches and grabbed the locket from her mouth. She smiled again, her ears pricking up as she wagged her tail gratefully. “Th-Thank you,” she said.

It was my fault.

As Dinky was fiddling with the latch on her locket I considered leaving her there to do... whatever it was she needed that locket for, but there was just something holding me back. Call it a morbid curiosity, of a sort, that had me glued to the spot, almost craning my neck to get a proper look as she cracked the seam around the container.

There was a little click and I couldn’t help but stare as she manipulated the tiny mechanism with her hooves, and the mechanism began to turn.

“H-Hey,” I whispered.

Dinky’s ears perked, as if she was suddenly aware of my presence. She snapped the locket shut and a pair of wide eyes turned up to look at me—sending a jolt of pain through my heart at the scene of the adorable filly, cocking her head in confusion. “Yeah?” she said, causing a secondary palpitation through my heart.

I clutched my chest and took a sudden intake of breath, tensing myself, steeling nerves as the sharp stabs of pain passed.

At length, I asked. “Um...” Leaning in closer, she pulled the locket away from my gaze, hiding it under her hooves.

I quickly retreated. It didn’t look like she was going to let me get a look at it, and who was I to blame her. What if it was a photo of a loved one? A mother? Her grandmother? It didn’t matter to me, and it felt terrible that I was even trying to pry.

Averting my gaze, I scratched the itch behind my neck and looked around, before my eyes settled on the bushed across the way and an idea crossed my mind.

“I was just wondering...” I said, “D-Did you see any other fillies here? Earlier, I mean,” I quickly corrected, “When I was talking to the guards?”

She glanced to the bushes in question, and Dinky’s brow furrowed in thought. I caught another glimpse of the locket as she shifted it to another hoof to tap her chin, but then it was gone again in the crux of the space under her shoulder.

Where did ponies put things? I quietly wondered, but not for long as Dinky suddenly spoke.

“...Unfortunately...” she said. Dinky’s ears lowered, her teeth bared as she practically spat the next line of words—If I’d ever made a bet that ponies could be filled with so much bile, well, I would never had made that bet—“That was Diamond Tiara”—

My memory flashed back to the image of her in the bushes yesterday, where she was wearing a tiara and was looking menacingly at that other filly whilst coaxing her clit, and the words ‘Hold her down, Silver’ flashed through my memory.

It was like an icy shot in the back.

“She and Silverspoon are the biggest, baddest, bulliest meanies in town. Nopony messes with them.” Her gaze steeled as she waved me closer so she could whisper into my ear—I leaned down, almost getting onto all fours as Dinky had to jump onto her tippy toes to reach my ear.

She whispered: “I heard even Mayor Mare is afraid of them.”

“B-But—“ I whispered back, “You can tell an adult, can’t you?”

She shook her head and signed. “It doesn’t work. Nopony listens to us. Everypony thinks they’re the ‘most perfect little angels’, and as far as Scootaloo and their friends are concerned, Diamond and Silver were reformed months ago when the three of them got their cutie marks.

I was flabbergasted. My mouth dropped as I finally sat flat in the stones. “B-But—” If there’s nopony who would listen to this filly about them, did this mean Diamond was doing the same thing to others? Was she just going around raping fillies, with nopony able to speak up!?

“But—Doesn’t anypony catch them? There has to be something you can do?”

Dinky shook her head solemnly. She sat down on her haunches in front of me and pulled out the locket again, fiddling with the clip as she spoke. “Nu-uh,” she said, “They’re super careful. When adults and the crusaders are around, they’re nice, but if you’re alone they’ll be the worst. They threaten us, and say that, I—” Dinky went suddenly silent.

I reached forward. Hesitant to touch her, I tried to encourage her to keep going. “They didn’t...” I had to choose my words carefully. I couldn’t scare her away, not now, when I felt like we were on the precipice of something, a revelation. “...Do anything to you, did they?”

Was that too direct? Sweat was starting to bead the back of my neck—a spot that hadn’t stopped itching all day—and I suddenly became imminently aware of how exposed we were.

How was I sure Diamond wasn’t watching us now?

The bushes could have eyes.

Dinky shook her head—immediately raising the weight on my chest. “N-No. Nothing to me, but she’s... She threatens things, bad things, if anypony tattles.”

My stomach twisted at the sounds of her words. Diamond Tiara was going around threatening other ponies? She was being violent, raping, doing...I couldn’t think what else, and I wasn’t the only one that was a victim of this.

There had to be something I could.

My knuckles whitened and I almost seethed my next words. There has to be something I can do. “You mentioned.... Scootaloo’s friends? Are they the ‘Crusaders’?”

“She, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle,” she nodded, “Yes.” Her mouth wrinkled and she cocked her head in that cute way again. “Do you know them?”

“You could say that...” I whispered.

I stood again, ready to bare my farewells. I trudged over the bicycle and pulled it upright again. Straightening the strap of the satchel on my shoulders, I walked the bike back in the centre of the path and pulled the handlebars to a somewhat straight position atop their perch.

“Thanks, Dinky,” I said, over my shoulder.

“Where are you going?”

I smiled. “I have an appointment with a pegasus.”

As I pushed off, I jumped onto the back of the bicycle and glanced over my shoulder to watch the foal disappear into the distance as the path picked up speed below me.

The last glimpse I got of her, she’d just opened the locket and I could see, just faintly, what looked like a circle of pills inside.

Wait, was that—