Everfree Village

Tired as she was from all the excitement and the flight, Granite had no trouble whatsoever in falling actually asleep. She didn't try any more funny business, at least not intentionally. A few hours later saw her sprawled over Lodestone's chest after she'd pushed the sleeping stallion to his back. One of her hind legs moved every now and then, grinding in a presumably very sensitive place.

Granite slept quietly, except for letting out a very faint moo every once in a while when a particularly vivid scene in a dream made her shift.

Suddenly she gasped and jerked awake. It took her a moment to realize where she was, then the pony smiled and brought her nose in contact with Lodestone's. It looked like the poor pegasus wouldn't get all that much sleep that night.

Though he was a very light sleeper, Granite had been moving so much throughout the night that he had been forced to get somewhat used to the movement and that, combined with how tired he was, meant that for once he didn't immediately wake up at the contact, though he did stir slightly and mumble something that might have been Granite's name if you tried hard enough.

Grinning to herself, Granite licked her defenseless friend right on the lips. Then she tried for a simple, non-invasive kiss.

It was apparently good, because she ended up moaning slightly to herself. There was no use trying to get back to sleep, so the mare, out of desperation, called out: "Lodestone? Are you awake? Please wake up!"

It was a whisper, but a loud one. While she waited for any result, Granite gave the prone stallion another peck.

It seemed that was finally enough to rouse the poor stallion. He groaned and twisted away slightly, then cracked an eye open.

"...'Ranit? What time izzit? Somethin' wrong?"

As he regained consciousness he became aware of three things: that they were both lying on their side facing each other, one of Granite's hind legs was between his own, pressed up against someplace sensitive, and his muzzle was damp. So far he lacked the wits to decide how he felt about these realizations.

"You're awake!" the mare exclaimed happily. "Come on! Kiss! Please!?"

She didn't wait for an answer but just went for it, hoping confusion would be on her side. Of course she missed and just ended up licking his cheek, but that was also good. Her giggle made her move and her hind leg... rubbed.

"I know you're happy to be here, you can't lie to me Lodestone!" Granite giggled. She became a tad more serious and lowered her ears - just a silhouette against the moonlit night outside. "Sorry about earlier. I get drunk easily..."

Lodestone shifted awkwardly, trying and utterly failing to pull his hips away from the leg that was pressed up against him, but in his half-asleep confusion, he also pressed his muzzle closer to hers without really realizing it.

"Oh, yeah... it's fine. A little warning ahead of time woulda been nice but no harm done."

His head tilted back as he yawned and that quickly turned into a full on stretch, with all four legs reaching out above and below him and both wings arching out behind him, though he had to twist slightly to get one wing out from under him. When he finally relaxed, his blood was flowing strongly now and he felt much more awake... then he suddenly realized how closely Granite pressed up against him, even while he stretched.

The mare took her chance and almost jumped on top of Lodestone, pushing him fully on his back. This way she could straddle him, which meant her essential... warmth would be radiating down. "Aha!" she whispered and went for another kiss.

"We're dating, right?" Granite asked when it was over. Suddenly she sounded worried, even though she didn't quite move from her position on top of Lodestone. "It's not... wrong, right? I mean, if we-" She trailed off and refused to finish the sentence.

She had caught him entirely by surprise and he just stared up at her for several seconds before he could sputter out a response.

"Uh... n-no, not wrong, I suppose. Uh, just... I dunno, a little fast, maybe?"

As if realizing that might make her stop and also that he didn't want her to, he quickly added, "N-Not that I mind, of course. I'm just a little... surprised, is all."

"Yeah, me too..." Granite whispered. She slid off, brushing him, but this time entirely by accident. Once she was away, the mare just sat on the bed and stared out the window. Her ears were lowered and she was looking down at her hooves.

"I'm sorry... maybe I should take the couch." Suddenly Granite sounded on the verge of tears. When she turned to look at Lodestone, her eyes were full of tears.

"I'm just a stupid filly. I'm sorry." With that, she starts sliding to the edge of the bed. Luckily it's dark, so she isn't all that fast about it.

"Whoa what? Hang on now..."

Lodestone quickly sat up and tenderly wrapped her up in a wing. After how she had been acting, Lodestone had been rapidly warming to the idea, but it had all been so fast he wasn't really that worked up yet.

"Hey, listen filly, if you're unsure about doing this, that's okay. I wouldn't dream of pushing you."

Inside his wings, he gently rubbed her withers with a hoof.

"But if you do want to, that's okay too. There's nothing wrong with it. Oh," he added as an afterthought, "and maybe this is TMI, I dunno, but you should probably know I'm not, er... hard. Uhh shit, what I mean to say..."

He took one long breath before he continued.

"Sorry. I mean I'm not just saying this to try and get some tail, alright? If you were some whorse I was expecting to rut and run, sure, but... I really like you, Granite, y'know? I want... I want this to work."

He had slumped somewhat, his head drooping low while he said more than he had ever intended, so he couldn't see her face. His voice was beginning to trail off, getting more and more quiet until it seemed he was more talking to himself than to Granite.

"If I pushed, sure I could probably get some tonight... but what of tomorrow? Would I push and push and then just push you away?"

The mare sniffed a little, but eventually relaxed in his grip. She still seemed on the verge of tears, but it hadn't started yet. "I just don't kno-know," she said with a quiet little sob there.

"I really like you-" this part made Granite look up, eyes shiny in the moonlight. She even smiled a little. "I never thought this would happen to me. I always thought all those lovey-dovey fillies were faking it to get some..."

She shook her head and tried another line of thought. "I really wanted it. But then I realized what I wanted and I got scared. It felt like I was just a hussy..."

At this point, the mare was rambling about what was in her mind at the moment. She made herself stop, then took a deep breath. "I..."

She tried again: "I think I want this, but I don't know. I just feel horny. Maybe I should go and-"

What she was about to say made her clamp her mouth shut, but not before a small moo escaped.

"Well," he said, "I dunno if it applies to mares too, but everypony tells stallions to... well, do that before they make any decisions of the heart, just to make sure we're not thinking with our... you know."

In the moonlight, Lodestone noticed something odd in the way Granite was holding herself. He stared at her for a moment before realizing it wasn't embarrassment she felt... it was shame. Considering the topic and remembering she came from a small po-dunk farm town...

He scooted a little closer and nuzzled the side of her neck reassuringly.

"Granite, what you're suggesting... I'm gonna guess you were raised to believe it was something wicked, maybe even unholy, like Princess Celestia herself would know and come to smite you down if you tried it."

She stiffened slightly in his hold and he knew then he had guessed correctly.

"Well listen, that's an ancient belief and completely rump-backwards, hardly anypony thinks that way anymore. It's perfectly normal, natural, and very, very common. You would be hard pressed to find anypony that had never tried it, and almost everypony does it from time to time, mares and stallions alike."

The only reply Lodestone got was a sob, before Granite hid her muzzle in her hooves from embarrassment.

At first it didn't look like she would reply, but then she tentatively felt the air, so to speak: "Y-You wouldn't t-think less of me if I..."

She swallowed and hunched up her shoulders, as if expecting a whip across her back for just suggesting it. "Go in the bath-bathroom and..."

That seemed to be it, but it was clear enough what she meant.

A moment later the mare barked a forced laugh. "Not that I really feel like it anymore. Buck, can you forget everything I said please? I dunno if I can look you in the eyes again, not after this..."

Lodestone chuckled softly.

"No, of course not. It's really okay, I promise. I mean, I'd rather not know while it's actually happening, but not because it's shameful or anything... just because my imagination would be run wild and I'd probably need to do it myself."

He grinned and winked at her, then realized she probably wouldn't even be able to see it, so he squeezed her shoulders instead.

"And no, I won't forget, but I won't bring it up again if it makes you uncomfortable. I just... just wanted to make sure you knew it's okay."

An idea flashed in his head and he experimentally stretched his wings out behind him. His flight muscles were tight, but already felt much better. It had been a lot of work, but he did fly whole pallets of stone around for a living.

"Hey... would you like to go up in the clouds again? There's good cover tonight and the moon is almost full, so the view should be wonderful, but more importantly, going up there at night has always calmed my nerves and helped me to think through any difficult problems I'm having."

Even as he suggested it, he wanted to bring her up there more and more. His wings began to tremble as his excitement grew.

"I'll even stay silent if you want. You can just lie up there and think and pretend I'm not even there until you decide to talk. I really think you'll like it."

The gaze Granite turned on Lodestone looked brighter than the moon. Her eyes were just thin rims of color around enormous black pupils. "Oh, yes please!" the mare breathed. "I think I'd love that, actually!"

Before she really knew it, Granite was hugging the pegasus for all she was worth. "Thanks," she said right into his fluff. "I promise we'll... someday. Soon, I think. I just have to get over it in my head, okay?"

This time, when she pulled back, the blush was visible even in the dark. "I really... um, l-like you. Like, really."

"Great! It might be a bit cold on the way up though, wrap up in the blanket."

The pegasus practically bounced toward the door, then stopped and turned toward the window instead.

"Actually, this'll be quicker and less ponies will notice."

He opened the window and climbed out, hovering just outside the window so Granite could step easily from the windowsill and onto his back, gesturing at her with a hoof.

"All aboard! Last call for the cloudy sea!"

His joy was infectious and Granite giggled at his invitation. She did as instructed and wrapped the blanket around herself before gingerly stepping out the window and flopping against Lodestone's back. "Okay, ready!" she said, voice tight with excitement.

Already her hind legs were gripping around his rump and her forehooves were crossed under his neck. She also nuzzled him a little as they pulled away from the building.

"You know, a filly could get used to this. You better watch out, or you'll have to take me up all the time."

"Well I already go up there all the time," he said as he surged forward, "I love it up there."

He was still a little slow and careful, but he didn't baby her on the way up like he did the first time, hoping that she trusted him well enough to brave the ascent. He pushed a bit to rise straight up above the rooftops, then swooped forward, beginning a slow upward spiral. He spotted a large, flat building with a black roof and was pleasantly surprised to find it still carried enough residual heat to give him a decent updraft. He whooped as they began to rise quickly and he turned his head to grin back at Granite.

"You alright back there? This is when I had you close your eyes last time."

"I'm fine!" Granite assured the stallion, but her voice was small and shaky. She was holding on to him for dear life and her limbs were quite stiff, but the mare wasn't panicking. This part of the journey, it seemed, would take some more getting used to.

"Fine," she repeated, mainly trying to convince herself. "It's n-n-not so bad!"

She pressed her face against fur so she didn't have to look, but other than that Granite seemed fine with the situation. "Tell me when we're above clouds, okay?" she asked, voice muffled.

With a light chuckle, he eased back on the spiral and reached back to rub the side of her head with a hoof.

"It's okay, thermals take everypony some getting used to."

He continued more gently and before long they rose through a large empty patch of the sky and he turned to glide toward one of the larger clouds nearby.

"Alright, here we are."

Granite lifted her head to look and immediately gasped. "Oh..."

It took some time for her to find words and even then it was just: "Oh wow!"

She bounced a little on Lodestone's back and urged. "Land! Cloud! Land land land, quick! I wanna kiss you!"

He'd been so sure she would love it up here but it was still nice to have it confirmed. He twisted back to look at her, his muzzle spread into a wide smile.

"Hang on, not yet, I wanna try something. It's gonna be a bit scary at first... we'll be spinning around and flying faster than you're used to for a little bit, but no more than a minute. Trust me, if I can pull this off, it'll be worth it, okay?"

Granite visibly swallowed, but then nodded, if a bit hesitantly. "O-Okay."

Just in case, she gripped Lodestone extra hard with all four legs and laid her head down right next to his, even though the mare didn't know how much that would help.

Lodestone would need all four hooves for this, so he released her forelegs, even though Granite clung almost painfully tight around his neck without their reassuring pressure. He swooped low over the cloud and scooped up as much material as he could manage, then eased into a spiral around the floating lump. He slowly accelerated until he was going pretty much as fast as he could manage - significantly slower than most pegasi, but hopefully it would be enough. They were angled more than halfway to the side but he knew the centrifugal force would make it feel like Granite was still being pressed straight down onto him.

As he spun, he wove the lump of cloud into a dense ball, then lowered it to the surface of the larger cloud, still spinning around it. This had the effect of sucking up more substance and Lodestone had to concentrate to weave the incoming material into the lump of reinforced cloud he was building.

Finally, he thought he had crafted a dense enough lump for his purpose. He slowed down carefully and wrapped his hooves around Granite's again, knowing she would be incredibly dizzy after all that. When he came to a stop, Granite would see what looked to be a very solid blu-ish white orb floating just above the surface of the cloud.

"Huh? Wha'?" the mare asked, having real trouble focusing on anything for the moment. If she weren't holding on to the pegasus, she'd be spinning in place. "What is it?"

Something struck her as funny and the mare laughed. "You were so worried I'd get dizzy from the wine and now you're doing it yourself!"

At least she wasn't too shaken from the strange flight. As they hovered Granite slowly 'stabilized', then inspected the cloud before them. "It's pretty, but what is it for?"

"Ah, yes," he said dramatically, "Now for the good part!"

He approached the orb and squeezed it between his forehooves. It deformed very slowly, as if it were a thick taffy. After a couple minutes of effort, Lodestone had a flat ovular disc about the size of a pony. He lowered it to the cloud, then held his hoof up beside him.

"Your blanket, madame."

Bemused, Granite handed it over and Lodestone folded it three times into a thick cushion of about the same size as the disc. He grinned over his shoulder again and swung the blanked through the normal cloud, showing that it still passed right through, then the blanket struck the disc he'd made with a soft 'whomp.'

Draping the blanket over the disc, he finally landed on the cloud beside it and turned to Granite.

"This is what we call cloudcrete, like concrete. It's how we keep stuff like beds and furniture up here in the clouds. The thicker you weave it, the longer it lasts."

He gently pulled one of Granite's hooves from around his neck and pressed it onto the cushion.

"And it's not like it'll just drop you suddenly - it'll just slowly start to sag and eventually begin to dissipate, but it's very slow - there's tons of time to climb off and back onto me."

His face beamed back at her, overjoyed that it had worked properly. He wasn't the best of cloudcrafters and cloudcrete was tricky stuff, but this had turned out better than he'd hoped.

"Oh. Okay," Granite said, a lot less impressed than she should be. She gingerly put weight on her leg, then, when she saw it was holding, added another.

In short order she was standing, if a little wide-spread and nervous. "This is actually kinda cool," she admitted, "but I'm really up here for the view."

The mare sat down on the blanket, a little bit to one side so Lodestone would have room, then she looked at the moon and the way it illuminated cloud tops.

"Almost perfect," she whispered.

"Ah," he held up a hoof, "but you see, now we can do this:"

He settled down on the cloud beside her, slid the cloudcrete down a bit so they were the same height, this scooched closer to cuddle up beside her.

"Now you only have to straddle me if you want to," he said with a sly wink.

That made Granite snuggle up against her pegasus darling. "This is nice," she said. "Now it's perfect.*

A stray thought made the mare gasp. "Lodestone! Is it weird if I want my first- um... time," her voice trailed off as the pony blushed, but she forced herself to finish the sentence. "... to be up here?"

For a while she wasn't able to meet his gaze. "Does it work with all the fillies or just earth pony ones?" she finally asked in mock annoyance, more to cover her bluntness than anything else.

Lodestone wrapped a wing around her and laid his head down near her hooves, looking up at her with one eye. He decided to ignore her awkward question for now, thinking she'd rather forget the embarrassment.

"You know, coming up here at night, I always thought this was the best place in all of Equestria... but no, you're right. Now it's perfect."

He snuggled a little closer so the side of his head now rested directly on top of her foreleg.

"And I wouldn't know. I've never tried this with anypony else... not even another pegasus."

"Oh," Granite said, sounding flattered. She leaned down for a quick nuzzle, then lifted her head once more to watch. The scene didn't change, but she still couldn't stop looking at the splendor.

"So quiet, too. I never realized how much I liked quiet. The farm was always so noisy, even at night..."

After a few moments of that, Granite laid her head down and drew in a deep breath, which turned into a luxurious sigh. "How long can we stay?"

"As long as we want, really."

He nudged the disc with a hoof, taking note of how it was beginning to bend under her weight.

"This will probably only hold for another half hour before it starts to really sag, but I can just make a new one before it begins to disperse and without your weight slowing me down, the next one would be even stronger."

Normally Lodestone could do little else but stare up into the infinite specks of light above them, but tonight he was having trouble looking anywhere at except at Granite. He closed his eyes and pressed his muzzle into her chest, giving her a tiny nuzzle before falling still.

The mare didn't seem quite aware, but the pressure made her turn to her back. She was careful not to fall off. "Here," she said, patting her belly. "Pillow."

She didn't seem to realize just what kind of a view it would give Lodestone, mainly because she was enraptured by the sight above her. So many stars, so twinkly. The pony was smiling up at all that splendor.

Not sure what she meant at first, Lodestone lifted his head to see and his face immediately began to burn hot with blush. His eyes lingered on her for just a moment before he wrenched them away and turned to her face again, trying to ignore the now familiar stirring in his loins. She hadn't even noticed - she was held rapt by the lights above.

An almost wicked grin spread across his face as he realized the perfect way to get her back for that. Casually he rolled onto his side and laid his head on her chest so he was facing the underside of her muzzle. He wrapped his forelegs around her and stretched his hind legs out comfortably behind him, kicking up a bit of cloud to better suit his needs. All she had to do was glance to her side and she would have a perfect view of everything he had to offer.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? I can stare at them for hours."

Unfortunately, the view above kept Granite's attention. She seemed almost to be counting for a while. "Lodestone?" she asked at last. "How many do you think there are?"

It was an idle question and the mare didn't really expect and answer. While she thought, her hoof went to the stallion's head and started patting. For a while, all movement came from her belly rising up and down with the rhythm of her breathing.

Lodestone lay silent for a long moment before replying.

"They say the first Wonderbolt once spent one hundred nights laying up here, just counting. Other pegasi would bring her food, clean her chamberpot, refresh her bedding. By day she would sleep, by night she would resume where she left off. On the hundreth night, she had counted over ten million lights. Then she looked around her and realized she had only covered a minuscule fraction of the sky, one hundreth of one hundreth of a percent."

He paused for a moment, then added almost as an afterthought, "She never was very good with numbers after that."

"Oooh. Wow," Granite said softly. She was enamored for a moment, then chuckled. "Lovely story. True?" Her tone said she doubted it, but it was still a nice tale.

"I think I'll be on a night like this I tell somepony I love them..." She hadn't meant to say that bit out loud and gasped when she realized she did. "Oh! I didn't mean-"

She mooed a little in apprehension. "It'll probably be you! Oh, cowbells..."

Granite would have curled up in a bright red ball, had she not been playing a pillow for the stallion. She was trembling a little as it was.

He turned a bit to look up at the mare's head. She was still focused on the stars above. Lodestone's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I think it'll probably be you, too."

It had meant to only be a thought and he would have sworn his muzzle moved of it's own accord. A chill that had nothing to do with the temperature ran up his back and he shuddered slightly, vibrating against her chest for a fraction of a second.

Granite stiffened, but after a bit started chuckling to herself. "Heh, look at us," she finally explained. "Why do I keep putting my hoof in my mouth all the time around you?"

She sat up, which would make Lodestone's head slide lower, until she caught it. Just before it strayed to a naughty area. Then she lifted him up for a kiss. "One day, okay? I think I wanna enjoy this a little longer. There's no hurry, right?"

She sounded a bit unsure, as if at the same time eager to move to the next stage, but also afraid of it.

"Maybe we should go down and get some sleep soon. I think it's gonna be a busy day tomorrow."

Thoughts raced through Lodestone's head as he watched her. There were a thousand things he wanted to say and none of them felt good enough for her. They simply stared at each other in silence for a moment, but eventually Lodestone broke eye contact and it almost seemed the two ponies were released from a spell then. They stirred and shifted almost in unison and the pegasus finally found his voice, but still couldn't choose his words, so he took the easy way out.

"Yeah," he said, unable to keep the disappointment from his voice, "You're probably right. We should head down and get some sleep... me especially."

"You don't sound too happy about it," Granite noticed. "Aww, poor thing. Did you want more?"

She giggled in mischief, her old self reasserting itself for a moment as the spell faded. "Tell you what - up here, where nopony can hear, you can call me a cowpoke. How's that?"

From her voice it sounded like this huge, privilege and a grand gift.

He eyed her suspiciously, unable to tell if she was baiting him.

"...I think I'll hold on to that card for now."

Her expression was marvelous and he silenced her protests with a kiss.

"Besides, you're far more adorable than any bovine I've heard of."

It took her breath away, but only for a moment. "It's only valid up here, understand?" Granite said with a dangerous gleam in her eye. "Try and say it where anypony might hear and I'll-"

She couldn't immediately think of a threat, which made her give a quiet moo of frustration. "I'll..."

The mare looked around the cloudscape for inspiration. Then she got it. It was like a small light had come on above her head and the pony smiled nastily. "Oh, that's a good one!"

Just as the light bulb came on, Lodestone shifted and her exclamation died away as she was suddenly very distracted by the stallion pressing his body against hers. He leaned in close, eyeing her suggestively as he brought his head closer. There was a tiny peck on her lips, this his snout slid up the side of her muzzle with the lightest of touches, just barely brushing her fur. He leaned further, tracing the line of her jaw with his nose and giving her cheek a tiny lick as he passed, making her twitch and let out a high-pitched moo. The sensation continued and a tingle shot up her spine as he past the side of her head and she felt the tickle of his hot breath against her sensitive ears. In the supreme silence around them, she could hear the faint click of his muzzle opening and the faintest hiss of air as he inhaled. Then, in the most gentle whisper imaginable, a single word trickled out and into her ear.

"Cowpoke."

At first Granite was unable to respond, but then she giggled in delight. "Oh..."

She didn't quite find the words on her first try, at least not until she tore herself away. "Well..."

Third time seemed to be the charm and the mare let out her breath and relaxed. "Do that again and we'll be doing it in five minutes- eep!"

The pony shook her head, as if to clear it, then finally managed to look at Lodestone's face. "That was... nice," she said, completely needlessly, "but now we really should go before I do something completely stupid and end up hating you for it. Okay? Mr. Charmer?"

She was already standing beside the stallion and put a leg over him in preparation of riding him back down to the hotel.

At her flabbergasted response, Lodestone broke into such a fit of giggling that he couldn't even respond. Granite let out a little 'hmph' and dropped onto his back a little harder than necessary but that only made him laugh harder. He swooped the blanked up with a wing and pranced in place over the cloudcrete he'd made, rapidly dispersing it.

Choking back another laugh, he hopped into the air and angled down into a steep spiral. He accelerated until Granite's limbs started to tighten around him, then he backed off and maintained that speed nearly all the way to the ground. Still bursting into a huge dumb grin every couple of minutes or so, he leveled out well above the ground and began to bleed their speed, then carefully maneuvered down to their still open window.

He smirked as Granite climbed roughly off his back and through the window, then scrambled clumsily inside himself. He climbed up onto the bed beside her and began to settle in to hug her snugly from behind.