Everfree Village

When Fluttershy and Rohan left the hospital, they were met with the gazes of many curious ponies. However, since the press knew Barbara was the leader between the two, they opted to simply take their pictures and give him some room rather than pestering him with more questions. Fluttershy, needing some supplies for dinner, took him through the market as quick as she could, since it was getting rather crowded. Rohan was used to the markets of his own home and noticed all the eyes on him, some curious, some "curious," and some in open awe. It was only once they left the market that Rohan began to feel at ease again.

"There are quite a few ponies living here, it seems. Is this a famous trade town, perhaps? Or maybe it is because of that great big crystal tree that ponies want to live here..."

Fluttershy shook her head with a giggle, "Oh, Ponyville is just a small town, kind of like suburbs for the royal city of Canterlot."

She pointed with a wing to the nearby mountain, where the royal castle could just barely be seen jutting out from the side of the mountain.

"We do have our castle of friendship of course, but that's kind of new... everypony is still adjusting to it. Manehatten and Fillydelphia are much bigger and louder and there are so many more ponies... and they all move so fast..."

Her voice gradually slowed and weakened as she spoke, lowering her head until her mane covered her muzzle like a protective mask.

"I can't imagine... This is about as big as my home was before the forest, and ours was a trade hub. Nearly five hundred people in it."

His eyes wandered over the town, taking in the architecture and the beautiful flowers that adorned most of them. In truth, it was far grander than either of the homes he had come to know. There was something missing in ponyville though.

"Fluttershy, I've not seen any guards throughout this whole town. Who protects this place?"

"...Um, guards?" She looked up at him, her confusion distracting her from fearful thoughts of the big city. "Why would Ponyville need guards? The royal guard protects the Royal Palace in Canterlot... I think because it has a lot of artifacts, maybe... and they guard the Crystal Kingdom Castle, but... I'm not really sure why, since King Sombra is safely locked away." Fluttershy hesitated, looking a little doubtful, then shrugged. "I guess even if we don't really need guards, it's good to keep them around in case we ever do..."

"Exactly. Someone may break a law or you may be attacked by a beast from that forest. It would be better to be prepared than not." He noticed that they were headed out of the town fully. Within minutes, they would be on a path that led towards a rather remote area. He assumed it was because of her animals, whatever she had. "Ponies are helping humans, so maybe there is a way that we could send some men to guard ponies from all manner of beasts."

"Break a law?" Fluttershy frowned thoughtfully, her muzzle scrunching with distaste. "I've heard of ponies that will do stuff like that... like maybe sneak in at night and steal somepony's bit pouch, but those are just rumors from Manehatten and other big cities. I don't think anypony here would do that."

She looked around her at the little houses on the edge of town. They were old and a little shabby, but the road was clean and the ponies they passed seemed friendly enough. She shook her head stubbornly.

"No, I can't even imagine somepony doing that in a place like this. The worst thing I've ever heard of is a little bullying among the foals. Mares and stallions know better than to trot all over somepony else."

"Perhaps ponies are simply different, but humans who were in bad situations would do many things they might not have otherwise. Still, the beasts in the forest could come through, no?"

It wouldn't be the first time. The ursa-minor was one such time when something truly dangerous from the forest came to Ponyville. If guards had been watching, they may have stopped the foals from going into the forest to get the bear in the first place.

"Regardless, we will have to find a way to repay your kind properly for the help it is giving so far. Had I no need to stay and protect the village, I would see to that myself."

"Oh, please don't feel like you owe us for this!" She flew up in front of him, making him stop and meet her gaze, her expression earnest. "We're not helping you to force you into any kind of debt, we're helping you because you're nice and it's the right thing to do." She drifted closer and pressed a hoof into his chest, smiling gently. The sun reflected brilliantly off her coat and she almost seemed to be radiating a tender warmth at him. "We just want to be your friends, Rohan, and you're supposed to help friends when they're in trouble."

"That's exactly why I must repay the kindness bestowed upon me. If everyone learned to be kind for the sake of being kind, then you would find a world where everyone helps each other. It's my belief that it starts with repaying acts of kindness. Not because you owe them, but because you can make their life better, as they did for you."

Rohan's friendly smile faltered as he stared at her longer. There was something about her that he couldn't make sense of. A kind of beauty all her own that was not like he had imagined as a younger man. Far too late, he realized where his thoughts were taking him and that he had been staring for too long.

"Ahem, Yes, well, all the same, humans should find a way to get closer to ponies too."

When he broke his gaze away from hers, she lightly floated back away from him, feeling strangely breathless. For a brief moment there had been a look in his eye that she couldn't place. It had almost felt like he was hungry for her... but that couldn't be, could it?

She settled onto her hooves and they walked in an awkward silence for a while, but then her musing was interrupted as a distressed looking squirrel leapt out of a nearby bush and began chittering frantically.

Her wings twitched nervously, empathizing with the critter's anxiety, and she held out a hoof as if to ward off the flurry of information.

"Oh! Oh my, um, wait... please, slow down, what?"

The squirrel stopped, shook itself, then in a slightly more controlled chitter, it explained that just as its mate had leapt from one tree to the next, a gust of wind shook the tree and she had grabbed only one small leaf and there wasn't a branch below to scramble to so she had fallen from very high up and hit the ground badly and was laying twitching and wouldn't get up and begged her to come quick, help, please save his mate and oldest friend!

Fluttershy blinked, slowly processing everything it had told her, then tensed and stared up at Rohan fearfully.

"I n-need to go! Um, follow me if you want."

Then she turned back to the squirrel and whispered urgently, "Run!" and she tore through the bushes after it.

It took him a moment to even process what he had just seen. The mare seemed to have talked to the squirrel! That made him question so many things, but he shelved the questions for the moment and followed after her. After all, her cottage was on the edge of the everfree and he could not, in good conscience, leave her alone. Even if he didn't have his sword, he would do whatever it took to protect her should something happen.

The squirrel was much faster than them in the dense underbrush at the edge of the forest but it stopped every few seconds to poke its head up from inside a bush or around a tree trunk to make sure Fluttershy was still following. It didn't seem bothered by the massive creature lumbering along behind her - if it was with Fluttershy, it was safe.

Within a minute, the pegasus nearly stumbled over the poor creature. She squeaked with alarm and flared her wings and to keep her balance as she suddenly pulled up short, then immediately bent low over the broken little thing to coo soft words of comfort while carefully assessing the damage.

To Rohan, who had been struggling to keep up and could barely see her through the leaves, it would look as if she had reared up in sudden alarm and was now cowering with her hooves over her muzzle.

"What?! Is something there?!"

Rohan readied himself to fight and stood over her protectively. Looking around, he didn't see anything that should have caused her any fear, nor did he hear anything unusual. When he finally looked down, he noticed that she was actually bent over an injured squirrel. Relaxing himself, he stepped to the side and stared down.

"If you would like, I can easily carry it without jostling it much. It would be safer at your home than out here, no?"

Fluttershy slowly raised her head to look at him, ears drooping, muzzle trembling, and Rohan knew there was no use carrying it. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes as she turned back to the first squirrel, who was watching her anxiously, his little paws clasped at his chest. A sob silently shook her tiny frame, then a pathetic little voice choked out of her muzzle.

"I'm so... so s-sorry... I c-can't..."

The squirrel looked down at the twisted, twitching body of it's mate, then back up to her. She flinched from his gaze and hiccupped quietly.

"S-She... she's already... oh!"

She flung herself away, bursting through the leaves beside Rohan and galloping back the way they came, her wretched cries echoing through the forest behind her.

It was a good while before Rohan left that part of the forest to head back towards Fluttershy's cottage. From the look of things, she had rushed through the door and left it ajar. He was a little surprised to see that the inside of her home was basically dedicated to animals, what with all the bird houses, food bowls, and the mouse hole in the wall. But as he walked through, he noticed all of them gathered at what he assumed was the door to her room. Birds, rodents, snakes, lizards, and even a bear, of all things, barred his entrance. Upon smelling Fluttershy's scent on him though, they stepped aside to let the strange creature go by.

Putting his ear to the door, he could clearly hear the sound of her sobs. With a deep breath he pushed the door open and made his way inside. He made sure to keep the other animals back, at least for the moment, as he shut the door behind him and approached the bed. She didn't immediately face him when he sat on the bed, but she did react to the feel of his hand on her shoulder.

"Fluttershy? I'm sorry about the squirrel, I wish there had been a way to save him but I don't think that even the best healers could have done anything. The fates... simply decided that it was time."

If she were to look back, she would notice that his hands were covered in dirt and his nails were cracked. Small drops of blood oozed just under the surface of them, though he was careful not to rub that into her coat.

The poor mare sniffled and wiped her muzzle with a hoof, then lowered her head and nodded slowly.

"I know... it's n-not the death that b-bothers me. When you're around this m-many animals, some little critter dies every other day."

She hiccupped and let out a pitiful little squeak, wiping her muzzle again.

"You just get used to it eventually. No... the hard part is looking into that p-poor squirrel's eyes after he t-tried so hard to s-save her and... a-and saying..."

It was too much. Her whole body tensed up into itself, eyes closed, jaw clenched, hooves curled, wings trembling. Then such a horrid cry tore out of her throat and she threw herself at Rohan, clutching desperately with hoof, wing, snout, anything, seeking whatever comfort she could find in the warmth of his body.

He tensed when she grabbed him at first, but slowly he wrapped his arms around her and pulled the mare into his lap. Gently, and with the less dirty hand, he stroked her mane and rocked her back and forth.

"Shhhh, sh sh shhh, I'm here for you."

He didn't really know how to respond to what she said. He'd told so many people about the death of a hunter that was outside the walls, or when people died during a roc attack.

"When I, uh... I have to tell people their family member died, I always leave them with some kind of prayer. I know... that you're still hurting, but would you follow me back out there? Please?"

She didn't respond for a long while and simply laid limply in his lap. The sensation of his fingers flowing through her mane was so nice it almost felt wrong to enjoy it in her current state, but it gradually eased her tension and helped her bring her breathing under control.

Finally she murmured, "I don't know... what if he's still there? What if that little squirrel is still just standing there, clutching his l-little paws..." She broke off and took a long, shuddering breath, then raised her head to meet his gaze. "No, you're right. Even if... we should show respect and I should apologize and do what I can to help him." Her eyes fell back to her hooves. "Because right now that poor squirrel must feel even worse than me..."

"I'm hoping he is still there, I asked him to stay, not knowing if he could understand me like he can you."

Holding Fluttershy in his arms, he lifted her up and carried her so that she would continue to feel his supportive embrace. For her, it might have been reminiscent of stories where a princes carries the damsel in distress away. As he drew nearer and nearer to the forest, he set her down and let her walk alongside him. The squirrel was indeed still there, as well as a little mound that made up his mates grave. Fluttershy would know that she squirrel wouldn't have been able to dig the hole to bury his mate in.

"Thank you for staying, erm... Mr. Squirrel. As promised, I will let you part ways with her more properly."

Rohan knelt down by the grave and clasped his hands together. When he spoke, it was in a tongue that neither Fluttershy nor the squirrel would recognize. His hands held a faint glow to them and magical runes appeared on his chest under his shirt. As they formed together, it made the shape of the face of a wolf. Once his chant was complete, he placed his hands on the grave and it lit up. The very spirit of the squirrel rose from the grave to stand in front of her mate.

"There, you have about a minute to properly say goodbye."

Fluttershy gasped and fell heavily to her haunches, causing the spirit to look up at her. Recognition flashed across its translucent features and it turned to the squirrel with an apologetic smile. The squirrel sniffed the air and reached out tentatively with a paw, but it passed through the spirit and distorted the ethereal shape like mist. It seemed to concentrate intensely and only just managed to hold its form together. It stepped forward and gently laid a hand on the squirrels cheek with a tender, forgiving smile, holding that smile as it began to drift slowly apart, dispersing into the breeze.

The squirrel followed the floating particles through the air long after they had vanished from sight, but eventually it stopped and just stood there, staring in the direction it had flown. Fluttershy choked on a little sob, then got to her hooves and stepped up behind the squirrel and touched its shoulder with the tip of a wing. It turned around and they gazed at each other for a few seconds, then Fluttershy scooped him up in her hooves and hugged him tightly to her chest, both of them making little squeaks of distress.

Finally, Fluttershy set the squirrel down and flew up to Rohan. Her eyes were still brimming with tears, but she smiled at him, set her hoof on his shoulder as she had done in the clinic, and silently mouthed, 'thank you.'

Nodding, Rohan watched the squirrel for a moment longer. He wondered just how much the squirrel understood of what just happened. He didn't have to wonder for long: it hugged his leg fiercely before sitting back down in front of the grave. Taking that as his cue to leave, Rohan started to make his way out of the forest. He didn't know what to say, or even if he should say anything about what had just happened.

With nowhere else to go, the pair headed towards the cottage. Rohan's gaze kept shifting over towards the pegasus, both to make sure she was okay and that she was still there. Each time their eyes would meet, he would avert his gaze immediately, feeling supremely awkward in a way he'd never felt around anyone else.

Fluttershy was silent as they walked to her cottage, but she watched Rohan intensely, as if he were a puzzle she couldn't solve but stubbornly refused to give up on. She didn't really know what she was looking for, but the way he kept glancing at her then averting his eyes was oddly flattering, and she couldn't understand that feeling either.

He followed her into her cottage and she gestured a wing at her little couch, then gently nuzzled some of the more worried critters, murmuring her reassurances. She left Rohan as she put a small kettle on and put some bread, cheese, and apple jam on a tray and silently brought that into the living room. The kettle was already beginning to whistle so she fetched that and pulled out her favorite tea for calming nerves and set two mugs to brew and added sugar to both, assuming Rohan would be too polite to ask for as much as he would want.

She was really just fussing and busily distracting herself from the thoughts that pressed at her mind. Angel, always keenly aware of her mood, hopped from the counter to her shoulder and pulled sharply at her ear. He scolded her for dodging her problem, pointing out that she had been specifically trying to get better at exactly this sort of awkward avoidance. He was right of course and she sighed and nodded, then gave him a little hug as thanks, promising him fresh grilled watermelon later, his favorite.

Finally, she took a deep breath, steeled herself, then brought the tea out and sat on the couch next to Rohan and...

She didn't know what to say. All the thoughts she had about Rohan were a confused jumble of emotion she couldn't make manes or tails of and as a result, she simply fidgeted nervously, desperately wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

Sensing there was an awkward tension, Rohan sipped from the hot mug of tea. It was soothing, though a little too hot to fully enjoy right away. With that option gone, his eyes darted about the room until they fell on the hallway that had led to her bedroom.

"I just remembered--you have a pet bear here? I've never known them to be particularly friendly, is there some sort of-"

As he spoke, he realized another thing: She could speak to animals. All of his previous questions floated back to the forefront of his mind.

"Wait, no, before that, You can speak to animals? Is it all animals then? Like... if you met Skoll and Hati, would you be able to understand them as you understand me?"

"Well... not like I understand you, no. It's not like I can hear words in a bear's roar or a bunny's squeaks, they're still only animals."

She blew on her tea and sipped it gingerly. It was still too hot but she wanted its calming effects now.

"I just sort of... feel what they're trying to say. The stronger their emotion, the better I can understand. I don't know if I can explain it any more than that."

She tapped her flank with a hoof and smiled.

"I guess it's because of my cutie mark more than anything else. After all, it appeared right when I touched the ground for the first time and felt what all the creatures around me were saying."

"Cutie mark... I wonder if that is something like our spirit signs. When we use magic, the symbol of the clan that blessed us becomes clear. We're... still learning more about how it works, but mine is connected to the "soul." It's one of the reasons I can do what I did in the forest."

He brought a hand to his chest and ran it over the spot that he was referencing. The thought of what his spell did brought a smile to his face, though it wasn't how he usually used it.

"Still, it's amazing to have a deep connection to the lives of others around you. It seems like you've used it to make many fuzzy friends."

"Maybe... it sure sounds a lot like a cutie mark." She stared at his chest where she knew the runic marks lie dormant on his chest and sipped her tea again, feeling herself flush a little at the thought of his bare chest.

"Cutie marks only appear when you discover your true talent, but they usually go even deeper than that... like how they tend to be related to a pony's name, even though your parents choose that without even knowing what kind of pony the foal will grow up to be. Maybe it has to do with the 'soul' you mentioned?"

Her eyes flitted up to his and she realized he'd been watching her stare at him and averted her eyes self-consciously. "Though, um... I've never heard of any other creature than a pony having a cutie mark... even if they speak and have towns and music and all that..."

"Your mark is related to your true talent and name... I fear ours may be different to yours then. Here I was hoping ponykind could help us hone our magic." His gaze shifted to her cutie mark and then abruptly away. It was on her flank which made him feel like he was staring at her butt any time he wanted to look at it. He couldn't seem to catch a break with those thoughts and decided it best to simply down more of his tea and focus on something else.

"Ah, so... there are other types of creatures that have their own towns and such? Is that part of why ponies are so... accepting of humanity?"

As he spoke, Fluttershy set down her tea and ate a small cube of cheese, then began spreading some jam onto a slice of bread. "No, I don't think so... we weren't friends with some creatures like the dragons until very recently. You can thank Twilight for that... she is the Princess of Friendship after all."

Her ears perked and she looked up at him with bright eyes. "Oh, speaking of Twilight; don't think ponies can't help with your magic just because I couldn't help. My special talent is all about animals, and you've seen how much it helps that... Well Twilight's special talent is magic. Just, all magic. She's amazing at it! Though it does mean she gets a little kooky from time to time."

She giggled nervously and held the slice of bread out toward him, laden with almost too much jam for one slice. He didn't seem to mind as he took the slice and bit into it. For the faintest of moments, his eyes lit up and he looked like he was on top of the world. "Hmm, thank you, it's quite good."

Just like that, he slipped back into his reserved, polite self and took smaller bites to savor the meal. As he thought about what she said, he realized that he was probably a little late on finding that particular pony.

"That's the one that I hear ponies whispering about, yes? The one with my chief. If that's the case, then she will have already enlisted your friend to help us, which means I can... er, relax."

The uneasy way he said that last word made it seem like he didn't like the idea... or perhaps that he didn't do it often enough. Fluttershy giggled at his expression.

"You sound just like Applejack. She always acts like relaxing is a waste of time, but it's not really. It's like my dam always used to tell Zephyr, 'Too much relaxing is bad, and not enough relaxing is bad. You have to relax or you'll go mad, but you can't only relax or I'll get mad'."

She rolled her eyes, the sarcastic expression seeming out of place on her kindly features.

"He never listened though and she never would get mad... I guess that's why he turned out the way he did..."

She trailed off and stared blankly into her tea.

He stared into his own drink and gave a small chuckle.

"I've never had the luxury of letting myself relax for long periods of time. If I ever stopped, I would lose everything I was working so hard to achieve, but now... I suppose things are different now."

His thumb traced the tip of the mug as he continued to fix his gaze upon it. He didn't even realized he had started to frown, then the reflection in the cup reminded him and he go himself back under control.

"I suppose now I have to work towards different things. Maybe I can give myself just a moment to relax and contemplate."

They sat in a companionable silence for some time. Fluttershy slowly drained her tea and spread significantly less jam on a slice of bread for herself. The animals generally knew not to bother her when she had a guest and were keeping a respectful distance, but Angel, always welcome, hopped up onto her lap and glared at her, folding his little arms across his chest. She still hadn't mentioned what she'd been burning to say earlier.

Her eyes widened and she tried to subtly shake her head. 'No, not yet!' she wanted to say, 'I don't even know what to say yet!' but Angel knew better. His little black eyes glittered with intense disapproval and he hunched his shoulders, pointing a harsh finger at Rohan. Fluttershy's ears drooped and she let out a quiet sigh. He was right, of course. He usually was. It was time to talk or time to say goodbye.

She still remained silent for a while to think about how to broach the topic, but Angel could see he had convinced her and relaxed, curling peacefully on the armrest beside her.

"Erm... your rabbit friend seemed... bothered... by me?" All he could make out of it was an angry scowl and the pointing. Unlike Fluttershy, he knew he was not the animal translator that she was. "If I'm doing something to upset it, just let me know. I'm just a guest while he is a permanent resident."

Fluttershy stiffened, her thoughts interrupted, then forced out an awkward giggle. "Oh, no no, that's just how he is, nothing to do with you." Angel cracked his eyes open, squinting his disapproval of her lie, and she let out a little 'Eep!'

She hadn't really meant to lie, but she was all flustered and didn't know what else to say, so she whispered 'Sorry!' to the little bunny, then turned to Rohan and blushed, trying to reassure him with a smile as he only looked more concerned now.

"Mhmm... You know, one of my specialties back home was picking out a lie, Fluttershy. Thieves liked to do it often, so I'm fairly confident in saying that that was a lie." He turned to face her fully and set his mug aside. Now she had the full, undisturbed attention of Rohan. "So, would you like to tell me what your friend really said?"

With disapproval on both sides of her now, she could only try to shrink down onto the sofa and hide behind her mane with a faint, "Ohh!"

Angel rolled his eyes and gestured at the man to tone it down, don't push so hard. He waved at himself and then at Fluttershy, indicating that he knew how much force she needed to get stuff done but if anyone else jumped in and made her feel worse, it usually threw her over the edge and made her close up. Finally he held up a paw and nodded toward the trembling pegasus, telling him to wait for her to calm down before he tried anything else like that.

Rohan understood none of this, of course.

"I... don't understand you, but... let's try. Do it one more time more slowly."

He watched the first gesture, the paws moving down and away. Simple enough, the only time he had ever seen people do that was when they wanted someone aggressive to back off. Then himself and the mare. That one was tricky, since it could mean anything followed by "back off."

"I need to back off.... I am getting in the way of you and her? Ohhhhhh, I get it now! She didn't want to tell me because it might sound rude if one of her animal friends told me to back off. You have nothing to fear there, I won't take her from you."

Angel sighed heavily and passed a paw over his eyes, clearly frustrated at the lack of communication. He tried to keep it simple and held out his open paw telling him to wait, then covered his mouth asking him to be quiet. This the man seemed to understand--or at least he realized he hadn't understood something and was frustrating the bunny. Angel hopped down and carefully stepped over Fluttershy's foreleg and through her curtain of hair.

He began by apologizing, realizing that the man had seen their conversation and misunderstood his intent. He could see she cared deeply about the human, but he knew she was cautious in even the most casual of friendships, and the way this man was slipping past her defenses and has somehow instantly become like a close friend was scaring her.

Fluttershy began to calm down and gave Angel a tiny nod of agreement, but now he hardened his gaze again, just a bit. He made it clear that if she didn't bring it up now, whatever feelings he had would probably vanish the instant he returned to his village, and this sort of initial flush of feeling can never happen again. In other words, he concluded, if she didn't do something about it now, she'd probably never get the chance again.

He let that sink in for a moment, then gently set a hand on her muzzle. It was okay if she didn't want to do anything about it; he wouldn't be disappointed or pout and groan about it for the rest of the night. He just wanted to make sure she understood this was her only chance and didn't accidentally waste it.

Fluttershy nodded and smiled at him, whispering her thanks. Tonight he wasn't just getting grilled watermelon - she was going to bust out the honey this time!

The whole conversation had taken less than a minute, and when Fluttershy looked up at Rohan, he was still convinced the bunny just wanted him gone. In an attempt to correct this, and as a sort of apology, Angel climbed over her other forehoof and up onto the man's leg, curling up in a sleepy little ball in his lap.

"Oh, I see that whatever is wrong has been resolved."

He stared down at the rabbit with only one thing consuming his thoughts: the need to pet the fluffball. It just looked like a small, white ball of cloud sitting on his lap. Tentatively, he reached out with a hand and very, very gently began to scratch behind Angel's ears and also at the base of his neck. Angel twitched an ear, then rolled onto his side and curled up tighter, pressing the back of his neck against the man's fingers. Fluttershy let out a little "d'aww," as he was especially adorable in that pose. He peeked an eye at her and she knew what he meant. He might have claimed it was okay if she didn't do anything about it, but he knew as well as she that if she didn't, it would only be because she chickened out.

She ate another bit of cheese, stalling for just a few more seconds, then turned where she sat to face Rohan more properly. She spoke quickly, occasionally glancing up at him, but mostly averting her gaze and fussing with her wings, running her hooves through the feathers.

"So... Angel looked angry, but he only does that to help keep me in line when I'm making a mistake. Sometimes it feels like he knows me better than I know myself. I, um... got flustered and lied a little when I said it wasn't about you... b-but it's not what you think! He was just reminding me to tell you something that I'd been avoiding, a-and so it kind of had to do with you but not really, but he still scolded me for lying, and then you did too, and I couldn't... oh..."

Angel had lifted one ear straight up and aimed it directly at her, making her wince. She was rambling, avoiding the issue even as she talked about it.

"S-Sorry... um, I just... oh..."

Rohan waited patiently as she struggled to find the words, and eventually she took a deep breath and sat up straight, staring him full in the face.

"Listen Rohan, I don't make friends very easily. I've gotten better at it over time, but usually my first conversation with anypony new is spent being quiet and hoping nopony asks me a question. But you?" She was slowly leaning closer without realizing it, watching him intently. "You're different. Talking with you is so easy... It's like you're an old friend and we're simply catching up after years apart, but still just as close as ever."

Her voice had dropped almost to a whisper and she was so close he could feel her warmth on his cheeks and lips, but all she could see were his eyes. "A-And maybe I'm just being a silly filly and you don't agree at all, which is fine, it's okay... but I just had to find out because... because if you do feel the same, isn't that... special, somehow? What would that mean?"

He stared back at her nervously, given how close she was. If anything were to nudge either of them the right way, they would be forced into one of those corny, comical accident-kisses.

"W-Well, uh... I can't say I disagree, Fluttershy. It is much easier to talk with you than much of anyone else,. It probably is special, but I'm not sure what it would mean... exactly."

He tried to back up ever so slightly, and she subconsciously followed him. She didn't notice that he had leaned away but she certainly noticed herself leaning forward when she suddenly lost balance and stumbled forward. Her squeak was cut short as her muzzle banged into his shoulder and she reflexively lifted both forehooves to her snout, which only made her fall even more. Her wings automatically flared out to catch her but her left wing only slapped against the sofa, though her right wing did extend. The half-asleep bunny had startled and leapt away instinctively, pounding Rohan's inner thigh painfully and slamming into Fluttershy's right wing with a dull "POMF."

Angel tumbled to the floor in a puff of yellow feathers and Fluttershy flopped sideways into Rohan's lap with her belly pressed up against his. Even with her forehooves covering her muzzle, her blush was obvious all the way up to her ears.

Rohan tried to catch her as well, but between getting kicked in the thigh and the left wing that ended up smacking his face after it hit the couch, he was effectively useless. By the time he recovered enough to see, he found her laying across his lap which only served to stun him further. The fabric of the shirt he wore didn't help matters any either, since it was thin enough that he could feel exactly how soft and warm her belly was. Given that she was blushing too, he couldn't seem to make himself do anything.

It was Angel that saved Fluttershy, as usual. Her wing had slowed his fall enough that he hit the ground relatively lightly and only dashed halfway across the room before getting a hold of himself. He looked back at the couch and immediately sprang back, leapt up to Fluttershy's muzzle and rapidly tapped her between the eyes. It was something he only did in the most urgent and dire of circumstances and her eyes flew open at once. He gestured frantically then hopped away, hoping he'd been too fast for the stunned man to notice. The last thing he wanted was to make things worse.

Fluttershy slowly lowered her hooves and her muzzle grew even redder as she looked up and gave him a tiny shy smile that was utterly adorable.

"W-Well... um, I was planning to ask it was okay before I, um... you know, climbed into your lap..."

Her wing was pinched uncomfortably under her barrel and she shifted slightly to get more comfortable, not really conscious of the way that pressed her body into his.

"So, um... is it okay?"

"Uhh..."

He struggled with that question, since the human equivalent would have been wholly inappropriate. But he wasn't with a human right now, he was with a pony. Shutting his eyes tight, he took a deep breath to calm his mind and get words flowing again.

"Y-yes, that's fine, you may just want to adjust for a bit. I-I'll just... uhh..."

He tried to put his arms up across the couch, but that made him feel sleazy. Putting them at his side made him feel awkward and he had all of zero clue whether or not to touch her with his hands and where.

Fluttershy just stared at him blankly for a few seconds. She genuinely hadn't expected him to say yes and when her brain finally caught up to his words she let out a little "Eep!" of surprise. She rolled onto her belly and tried to curl her legs under her, but she was too big for that. She stood up and turned, accidentally brushing his face lightly with her tail, and tried to curl up in a ball like a cat, but his knees pressed painfully into her side.

Her last attempt was to simply sit sideways in his lap and lean against his chest, twisting slightly to rest her head on his shoulder. She had to shimmy around a bit and tuck one foreleg around his waist or it would be an awkward lump between them. It was surprisingly comfortable and she let out a contented sigh, careful to speak low as her muzzle was very close to his ear.

"Mmm... you're really warm... are all humans this comfy or is it just because I like you?"

His face had gone beet red when her tail brushed against it. Not only was it as silky smooth as it looked, but it was the only layer between him and her mare-bits--she may as well have rubbed her panties across his face. Things only got worse when she had settled in though, since she was breathing her hot breath on his ear and sending a shiver down his spine. Not to mention that her words sounded all too forward.

"Uhhh, w-well, uhh... Y-You... ahem."

Now he was a stammering mess, though he wasn't exactly happy his pants were not as loose fitting as his armor. In an attempt to conceal himself, he shifted and tugged at the pants just slightly.

"Oooh, are you getting even warmer? Can you do that?"

She tucked her muzzle into the crook of his neck, pressing her lips and snout against his bare skin and laying her other foreleg over his shoulder.

"Rohan," she mumbled against his neck, "your skin feels amazing. You humans are probably used to it, but every creature I've ever hugged has had scales, fur, or feathers... well, or been a pig covered in mud. I've never felt just... skin. It doesn't warm you like fur, it's actually hot, like... like a heated bag of water..."

An idea struck her and she gasped. "Oh Celestia, what if you took off your shirt!" Her excited face pulled back suddenly and stared into his. "I bet that would feel INCRE...dible...."

She trailed off as she saw Rohan was nearly as red as Big McIntosh's flank and his eyes seemed as wide as her hooves. She looked down and saw his hands held awkwardly at his side, then her eyes snapped up to his, suddenly worried.

"Oh no, what's wrong? Rohan, are you okay? Am I too heavy, did I hurt you!?"

"N-no, Fluttershy, you uhh... you just...."

It was becoming frustrating to try and stay calm and reserved with her pushing so many of his buttons. She acted like she didn't know, but he felt like she had to with how much she kept pressing her face and lips against him, especially around his neck.

"You're-just-making-me-feel-really-awkward!"

It came bursting out of his mouth in one rapid-fire sentence. Once it was out in the air, he found he was able to think clearer.

"Listen... do you remember what I told you in the... healing place? About how much human contact there was? I know I said you can sit on my lap, but you have your face and lips pressed into my neck and you brushed your tail over my face and I have no clue what any of that means to a pony so I just double back on what it means to a human and it's exactly what a woman would do if they wanted to court me but I tell myself that's indecent and that there's no way and... and now I'm just rambling which I never do around other people so it's even more awkward and I just--"

Angel was the one to help with that via throwing a slice of carrot at him that hit him in the face. It was just enough of a distraction for Rohan to clamp his mouth shut.

"Oh." She stared at him for a couple seconds, then gasped. "OH!"

Her ears flopped back and she immediately pushed herself away, ignoring the sudden shock of cold all along her torso.

"Rohan oh my goodness I am so sorry, I completely forgot! I tried so hard to remember all day but then you were just so warm, I couldn't help myself! When you explained earlier you didn't say it was a... a m-mating thing! I... I never meant to imply we should... um, n-not that I'd mind, but--"

As soon as she said it, her eyes went wide as dinner plates and she squeaked in alarm. Her hooves slammed into her muzzle and she just stared at him, horrified.

Rohan said slowly, "The other thing wasn't courting... but you were basically kissing my neck, Fluttershy. What... could that possibly mean for a pony? If I picked you up and kissed your neck, what would you think I was doing?"

He decided it was best to just treat the last part of what she said as a slip and to try and understand what her actions meant instead. At the very least, if he knew, then he could tell himself that's what it was.

"I... Ponies nuzzle each other all the time!" There was a bit of indignance now too, and it was helping to burn away her embarrassment and speak her mind. "I was just going to rest my head on your shoulder, but I could feel the heat on my snout even from there and I just thought a nuzzle would feel nice, and it did, but then I held it a little longer than normal a-and maybe pressed up against you a bit m-more than I should have..."

Her voice trailed off as she realized he had a point and the emotional fuel she'd been riding suddenly flickered and died. She was still sitting across his lap and she turned away, lowering her head. "No, you're right... I'm s-sorry, Rohan... I've been s-so s-s-stupid!"

Rohan felt her shudder and a hot tear dropped onto his arm, then Fluttershy lurched, flung herself sideways, glided to the floor, and galloped upstairs for the second time this hour.

In the corner of the room, Angel slapped his face with a paw, letting out a tiny, frustrated squeak.

Rohan sat quietly contemplating things for a while. He wanted to give Fluttershy a moment, but he also wanted to think about what he should do. He was coming up empty on a good plan to fix things. She was pressing his buttons in ways no other woman ever had, and it almost scared him. Why was it that he had always been so disinterested in the women that he had met before? Was it because they were just not what he ideally wanted? Had they never shared the right interests with him? Or was it because his status was always a factor before?

After questioning things in his head over and over, he finally stood up and sighed deeply. No matter what, he had to set things right. He would explain himself, explain his culture's ways, then perhaps look for a bridge between the two. Almost before he realized it, he was frozen at her door. If he failed, he would lose one of the only people to have ever brought him out of his shell. Time seemed to stop as he brought his hand up to the door and knocked.

There was no sound from inside, but Angel simply hopped up and swung on the door handle, bracing himself against the wall to throw the door open to let Rohan inside. Fluttershy was sitting up in bed, wrapped in her blanket and staring silently out the upstairs window at the head of her bed. Her ears drooped to either side and they twitched slightly at the sound of the door opening, but otherwise she didn't react.

Angel quietly hopped onto the foot of her bed and climbed up the blanket onto Fluttershy's shoulder to give her a little nuzzle. After a brief moment he hopped back down and met Rohan's eye, pointed to the bed beside Fluttershy, pantomimed slowly sitting down and laying a hand on her shoulder. He hoped that was straightforward enough for the man to understand. Then he bounded to the corner of the room and laid down in his little wicker bed, his whiskers quivering nervously, but it was out of his paws now, he just had to leave them alone and hope for the best.

Rohan had already planned that part out, so he had no problem in sitting beside her. The gentle touch of his rough hand pressed against her shoulder as he sighed.

"Fluttershy, I think maybe we misunderstood each other in there. I wasn't trying to reprimand you--quite the opposite actually. I liked the touch, I just didn't know how to deal with it or what to think. Our kinds are.... different, after all."

His hand slowly shifted down her back to give her a comforting rub. Seeing that she stayed silent for the moment, he decided to reach down and lift her up and back into his lap. With a nervous blush, he craned his neck and pressed his face into her neck to nuzzle her the way that she had done to him.

"Th-that's how ponies do it, right?"

As he pulled Fluttershy into his lap, the blanket slid down her shoulders and pulled at her lower back, forming a sort of chair around her. A rush of cold air had enveloped her shoulders as the blanket slid down, and he was shockingly warm against her side and she began to press hungrily into him, turning her muzzle toward him and spreading a wing over his shoulder.

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, she froze, wing half extended, her snout dug into his hair. Then she let out a little "Eep!" of shame and drew back into herself.

"S-Sorry! I just... um, I didn't mean to... you're just so warm..." Her hooves shuffled awkwardly in her lap, causing the blanket to rustle suggestively around her waist.

"Like I said, it's ok. I'm more prepared for it now." He pulled her back in and let her stay there while one of his hands ran along her back. "I just don't want to be left guessing at what you are doing. I am a guest in your house and in your village. I was raised to respect other cultures and to learn their ways, so if you tell me what you are doing and explain what it may mean or why you are doing it, I can accept it without incident."

"Oh... um, ok." She stayed where Rohan placed her and rested her cheek on his head. Despite his words, she tried to resist the urge to cuddle more vigorously, worried about pushing him too fast again. She sniffed quietly and when she rubbed her muzzle with a hoof, she realized it was still wet from her tears earlier and hoped she hadn't gotten his hair wet.

Laying her head on his again, she let out a little sigh, but it caught in her throat and a little whimper escaped. She tried to relax but she felt like she was supposed to say something, though she didn't know what.

"Um... t-thank you, Rohan. I know... well, I've had to do some strange things in other cultures... It's not easy when something is strange at home but normal to the creatures you're with."

She sat up again, pulling away from his face. She was a little worried holding the nuzzle for too long would make him uneasy, but really she just wasn't sure she could resist cuddling him more thoroughly for much longer.

"You know, a little while ago I was trying to befriend a family of birdies I found at a lake nearby... but they had this tradition of preening each others wings just as a kind of friendly greeting... Well, I guess you wouldn't know... Um, for pegasi, preening another pony is..." The thought of those rough, gentle, warm fingers running through her feathers made her blush vigorously and her wings trembled slightly. "It's, um... very, very intimate. Even more so than, um... s-sex," she could only whisper the word, then hurried on in a rush of words, "B-But if I didn't let them preen me, it would have been so very rude in their minds, so I had to let them, even though it made me... um..." Remembering the experience and unable to stop thinking about his fingers, she turned away and shuffled her legs uneasily, pressing her thighs together.

"What?" Rohan exclaimed. He had to make sure he was hearing things correctly, since she just talked about doing something more intimate than sex. At least before, she was only "courting" him, that was something he could decline and didn't necessarily lead to sex. But something like she was describing? Would he go that far if it meant not enraging the ponies that were helping his people?

"L-let's avoid that topic, shall we? It's a little... intimate for the two of us at this stage, I think. Maybe instead you can... teach me more about what ponies do together that would be more befitting our circumstances. What do two friends do together in the privacy of one of their homes?"

Her shoulders hunched and she rubbed her neck awkwardly with a hoof.

"O-Oh! I-I didn't mean... I was just trying to relate... b-because you said what I did earlier was like courting to you, so it's kind of like what I went through with those little birds..."

She lowered her head, shamefaced and glowing up to her ears.

"S-Sorry... I made you uncomfortable again. M-Maybe you should just go..." her voice caught in her throat, "T-Then I won't b-bother you anymore..."

Rohan let out a little sigh. "No, Fluttershy, I want to learn more about pony culture. I understand why you said what you did, but it's just something we'll have to avoid for now. How about instead you teach me more about what ponies do together that would be more befitting our circumstances. What do two friends do together in the privacy of one of their homes?"

He repeated himself more slowly and clearly, hoping she would take in all of what he was saying and what he wanted to accomplish. That is to say, he wanted to do something with her still.

She hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and slowly brushed her mane back over her ears. It was a huge effort for her, but she was trying to stop hiding behind her mane so much, and Rohan's voice was so nice to listen to...

"Um... w-well, usually we just eat and talk like we were doing earlier, but... oh, I can't send you away, you're my patient now..." she sighed gently, "Some doctor I've been..."

She could almost feel Angel's disapproving frown on the back of her head and shook her head a little to break that line of thought. "S-Sorry... that means we have a few hours together which is too long for just a little lunch."

With a bit of a shock, she realized she had no idea what they could do. "...I'm not really... used to, um, having guests..." she perked up suddenly, "Maybe we could do something you humans do with friends? After all, you've been putting up with a lot of pony customs... maybe I can do something for you instead?"

“I- well... hmm...” There were things he knew that people liked to do, but none of t was something Fluttershy would enjoy. He doubted they could watch trained warriors fight, he wasn’t much of a drinker or smoker, there weren’t a whole lot of options. “To be honest, men and women don’t typically spend time together unless they are family or betrothed. And none of what other people like is very appealing to me, so... hmm...”

Instead he tried to think of what he learned from ponies thus far. While there wasn’t much, one thing did stick out. “Actually, a pony in town gave me an idea. A lady named Rarity told me that she was impressed by my physique and expressed an interest in a training routine. Would that be something we can do together?”

Fluttershy glanced sidelong at him, then covered her muzzle with a fetlock and giggled lightly. "Oh, I don't think she meant anything you would want to do with me." Her wings puffed out slightly and she averted her gaze, still smiling.

"Rarity quite fancies a well-built stallion. She doesn't believe she'll ever find one ranked highly enough to suit her, so she's not interested in actually dating one, but she'll take any opportunity to watch a big, strong colt at work, and sometimes she'll even... um, well, you wanted to avoid that topic." She giggled again. It felt good to laugh after all the emotional turmoil she'd gone through and her mood was rapidly improving.

“Oh. Oh! Ohhhhhhhh” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his clothes. It was suddenly clear to him why she had chose something that hugged his frame. He couldn’t complain, since it was a gift, but that made him feel a little... dirty. In fact, it left a question in his head.

“Wait, are the purpose of these clothes to draw a woman’s attention? Have I unwittingly been teasing mares while I was in town? And you as well? It’s no wonder they were all watching me so closely!”

"Oh no no... er, well, not exactly. These clothes aren't specifically supposed to draw a mare's eyes, but ponies usually only wear clothing for special occasions, so any clothing is going to draw some attention."

She turned and playfully pulled at the fabric of his shirt with a hoof. "It's not the shirt that's drawing the eyes of every mare in town, it's you." Her eyes widened and snapped up to his. "Um, I-I mean... w-well you do look good in it, but... eep!"

She tried to cover her face with a wing, then stopped suddenly and slowly lowered it again and sighed. She set a hoof on each of his shoulders and stared at him with huge, imploring eyes, her ears splayed out sadly. "I'm sorry, Rohan. I'm not trying to embarrass you or anything, really, but... oh, I don't know, I just can't seem to concentrate around you! Everything just keeps going fuzzy in my head..."

“Any clothes will draw attention... so that was part of why you mentioned something about me without my shirt earlier. Hmm...” If it was just his shirt, that wouldn’t be too much issue. Other ponies and even people had seen him like that before. Reaching down, he pulled the shirt up slowly until it was off of him.

“That is an easy enough request. As for your concentration, I’ll admit that I’ve been a little flustered, but that may just be because we are... compatible with each other. I’ve not known anyone else that can get me to be so expressive.”

Fluttershy lifted her hooves from his shoulders as he slid the shirt up and over his head and stared openly at his bare chest. She tentatively reached out and pressed a hoof into his breast and gasped at the surge of warmth in her sensitive hoof. Hardly even aware of what she was doing, she slid her hooves under his arms and around his back, pressing her chest against his and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Ohhhh goodness..." she exclaimed softly, "So waaaarm..."

Armed with a bit more knowledge, he focused on the sensation instead. As her fluffy body pressed into him, he realized he had never felt something so soft. In her eagerness to press into him she ended up pushing him down so he lay on his back. Like that, she was laying on top of him with her underside pressed into his chest and her face tucked up against his neck.

“If- If you give me a moment to get comfortable, I will be more than happy to let you go about this... pony ritual”

It sounded stupid even as he said it, but he didn’t have a better way to call what she was doing. Full-body nuzzling? Could this be considered a cuddle? He didn’t have the answer, so he decided to trust Fluttershy.

She shuffled slightly, pressing her chest against his and tucking her face into the crook of his neck, then her body tensed and she whimpered faintly. She slowly lifted her head to look at him with worried eyes. "I've... made you uncomfortable again, haven't I?"

The side of her hip pressed into his thighs, both hindlegs off to one side, but she was twisted so her torso was facing him, forelegs under his arms, mane hanging down to lightly brush his neck and chest. The sun was getting low in the sky and cast its light at a sharp angle through the window, and her coat almost seemed to be glowing from within.

"Not this time you haven't."

Rohan was a little in awe of the way she looked when the light hit her just right. His hand moved to brush a little bit of mane out of her face and cupped her cheek afterwards. He couldn't deny that there was something familiar about her, like she pointed out. A kindred spirit, albeit in a completely different form than what he might have expected. His free hand moved along her body but flinched when it brushed against one of her wings.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to touch your wing, I know you said those are special." The wing he touched twitched slightly but she smiled at him.

"It's okay to just touch them or even hold and move them around, it's only preening that's special, so don't carefully brush any individual feathers around." She turned her head and stretched her wing out to press the wrist joint into his hand, letting it relax in his grip. Then she bit her lip nervously and gently laid her head down again, careful to keep her voice low. "Um... are you sure this is okay? I'd really hate to make you uncomfortable..."

"I've gotten used to it now, Fluttershy. It's how you ponies spend your time, right? Close together, only worried about specific touches. I think maybe humans should be more like that."

He let his hand pass over the wing, feeling the limb from tip to base. There was just something so interesting about the way it felt powerful, yet vulnerable. Obviously it needed to have a good amount of strength to lift her without a breeze, but he could tell that it wouldn't take much, just a bad hit, to really hurt her wing.

"Why is preening more intimate than handling your wing like this? Wouldn't you have to put trust in the other, um, person in both scenarios?"

Fluttershy didn't answer immediately. He couldn't see, but she was blushing furiously. The only other time she had cuddled somepony like this was at a sleepover with Rainbow Dash when she was young, and that was only because they were both half asleep and it had been cold. He was just so warm...

She tried to ignore that problem and answer his question instead. She knew it was wrong, but she wanted to enjoy this a little longer before she told him the truth, because she was certain he would want to stop if he knew they were being fairly intimate even among ponies.

"W-Well... it's just that preening involves holding and adjusting each feather one by one, so one little twitch could twist, crimp, or even yank the feather right out." Talking about preening made it impossible not to think about it, and her wing trembled in his grip. "Um, that's all it is for most feathers, but the primaries are different. They're very, very sensitive in order to feel and move according to each little eddy of wind, so letting somepony adjust them would be like... I don't know, are the ends of your fingers really sensitive too? I suppose it would be a little like letting somepony lick them clean."

She couldn't stop herself: she imagined his fingers delicately brushing down the length of her wing and gently pressing a primary into place and couldn't suppress a tiny shiver and gasp. If this continued much longer, she was going to leave a damp spot on his lap.

"I see, I suppose that makes sense. I have to say though, I really like the way your wing feels in my hand."

With his other hand, he opened up her other wing and moved up from the base all the way to the tip and back down again. He was trying to see if there were any differences between the two, since he knew that some people's preferred arm sometimes tended to become more muscular more quickly. But with her, there was no difference in either, most likely because she had to use both to flap at any given time.

"I'm not really sure there's a human equivalent to what you were explaining though. I suppose it would be rather intimate to have you "lick my fingers clean," as you put it. Though, it might be more intimate to ask you to... well uhh... to suck my fingers."

The way he was stroking her wings was much closer to preening than to simply touching and holding, and combined with the direction her imagination had been going, she was quickly becoming overwhelmed with sensation. Fluttershy tried to stay quiet, she really did. She clamped her muzzle shut and held her breath, and for a moment she thought she had succeeded in suppressing all but a tiny shiver Rohan might not even have noticed.

Then she winked.

An electric shock ran up her spine and she gasped sharply as her wings popped open. She panicked and tried to muffle the sound by pressing her muzzle into the closest surface, but that happened to be Rohan's neck and only made her involuntary moan all the more suggestive.

The sensation ended almost as quickly as it had begun, but the damage was done. Fluttershy just laid there, petrified with terror, holding her breath as she waited for him to react with shock or even disgust, push her roughly away and storm out her bedroom, cursing her filthy body.

Rohan's hands stopped as he heard the moan. With it right by his ear, he was forced to listen to a very, very feminine voice ring out with pleasure. His own body reacted and he ended up sitting stock still. In that moment, he realized that what he had been doing had to still be a somewhat intimate gesture. Maybe not quite like preening, but close to it.

"I... Fluttershy, did... did I- erm..." He was trying to focus with all of his might, but she was breathing heavily with her face buried against him. "S-sorry, I... did something I shouldn't have, right? I-I guess I'm the one who pushed it too far this time. Umm... how... do I make it up to you?"

Fluttershy could hardly speak, she was so surprised by his response. She squeaked out a nervous laugh, then struggled and failed to close her wings. "M-Make it up? Heh... hehehe... um... p-pretend it didn't happen?"

She shuffled her thighs together and her horror grew as she realized she was already becoming damp. If she hadn't been sitting on her tail, she would have already leaked onto his leg, and it was only a matter of time before she soaked her dock through and began to drip. She let out a little whimper. "I'm s-sorry, Rohan, this is all my fault... I n-never should have started this cuddle."

She made no move to rise, only mumbling pitifully into his neck. "Ponies don't... really do this. We, um... we hug and nuzzle, m-maybe even lie down beside each other... but cuddling like this... even for ponies..."

She couldn't continue. Another whimper leaked out and she curled up onto her side, covering her muzzle with a hoof. Her movement had pressed her weight into his groin and even in the state she was in she felt the hard lump in his pants rub against the side of her flank. Some small part of her mind realized that could only mean he was similarly aroused and she felt a distant flicker of hope.

He flinched when she had put pressure into his groin, which only made it more clear that his body had reacted to her. Looking away from her, he cleared his throat and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"W-well, if it's all the same to you... I quite like cuddling. It's new for me though, so I apologize if I make you uncomfortable."

He tried to outright ignore the feeling in his nether-region, instead opting to simply hold the mare in place . Of course, he began to feel the need to shift into a better spot, which only ended up pushing the mare's body more against his growing erection.

To Fluttershy, it simply felt as though he had pressed against her in response, and the way she was laying on his chest meant she could hear his heart pounding just as rapidly as hers. She could hardly believe it... despite all his formality and awkwardness, he - or at least his body - actually wanted this!

Her imagination began to run wild as she remembered the way his hands had felt on her wings and she winked again. This time the jolt that ran through her body only left her feeling empty and desperately craving more. Without even thinking, she blindly licked, expecting to simply lap up a bit of the sweat on his chest, but completely by accident she had just happened to place her muzzle in the exact center of his breast.

She was nearly as surprised as him when her tongue gently flicked his nipple.

He barely managed to contain his gasp in response to the sensation fluttering though his body. No matter his thoughts, his body was determined to betray him as his lower half began to grind against her. While one hand gripped the bedsheets, the other went to his face so he could stifle a groan. Whether it was because of his movement or a desire to see his reaction, she looked up at him.

“Fluttershy...” The word came out in a husky voice as he stared into her eyes. Like her, he held a hunger, though he was trying to restrain it. “You... are you sure about this? Really sure?”

She stared up at him, her chest pounding and her breath coming in short, quick bursts. He was breathing quickly too and she could feel he was beginning to sweat. For a moment, she just laid there and watched him, her mind gone blank with the taste of him still fresh in her mouth.

"No," she eventually whispered, "No, of course I'm not sure... We've only just met and... and I've never even k-kissed anypony before!" She averted her gaze and she could feel him tense with alarm, suddenly unsure if he should continue. "But... oh, Rohan, I don't know how or why but somehow you just... this just feels so right."

Her eyes flicked back up to his and she shifted her hips against him again. Her dock felt slick and she was sure she must have dripped on him by now. "Am I going crazy? I... I don't even think I can stop now, it's like I need this, but... I don't understand, I'm scared and it's all so sudden but I... oh, Rohan, I want you."

He opened his mouth to start to say something, but he just couldn’t. It wasn’t like he was anymore of an expert in these situations, maybe even less so than Fluttershy. Down below he could finally feel something drip into his pants and his eyes widened in alarm.

“Oh, oh gosh, you’re really serious about that. Uhh...”

Everything about this was so against what he knew his society had demanded of people before. But that was his old society, a place that he was no longer a part of. With that, he threw caution aside and pulled Fluttershy closer till her face was barely an inch from his.

“Maybe we can fix the kissing problem then, hmm?”

Her muzzle trembled and she softly gasped. His voice did something exciting under her tail and she tentatively licked his face. His lips parted in surprise and something broke inside her. She hungrily jammed her muzzle against his mouth and twisted until she straddled him, her wings spread wide and trembling. Her hooves thrust between his arms and hooked around his shoulders, pressing their bodies together. Her hind legs slowly slid up and down his thighs, the movement causing her flanks to gyrate slowly on his pants, soaking them rapidly.

In the far corner of the room, Angel climbed out of his bed and hopped through the door, silently pulling it shut behind him with a satisfied smile. He wouldn't be getting his grilled watermelon for a while now, but somehow he didn't mind.

While the situation had quickly gone out of Rohan’s control, he found himself strangely fine with it. He let her set the pace and parted his lips to allow her eager tongue inside. His hands now explored her body more openly. One ended up at the base of her wing to rub at the sensitive limb, while the other snaked down towards her flank to grope. His erection pressed painfully against his pants and her grinding was only serving to tease him.

Her wing shuddered at his touch and a little moan squeaked out of her when he grabbed her flank, her lips vibrating against his. Sweet Celestia he actually felt hot, as if he was on fire and she couldn't get enough of it. Her hooves scrabbled against his side and pressed into the curve of his lower back, her barrel slid across his chest, her hind legs squeezing against his hips and hooking around his thighs. One of her hind hooves caught in his pants and slid them down a little, but slipped free as his waistband caught on his member and caused it to angle up.

She hadn't actually meant to do that, she was just sort of... moving, not really knowing what to do. She broke the kiss and stared down at him, a string of saliva still connecting them. Holding eye contact, she slid down slightly and pressed her marehood directly against him through his pants, making her gasp and bite her lip.

Her face lowered to his again and she stared into his eyes. Her gaze bore down on him, into him, her bright, teal blue eyes filling his mind. Her voice was soft but it resonated through his skull like it was the only sound in existence.

"Rohan... Rut me."

It both scared and aroused him to be commanded like that, her need and desire made plain for him to see. Pushing her off, he stood up and yanked his pants down, freeing his member. She only had a few seconds to study it before he moved her into position. He pushed her front end down and leaned over her so he could whisper into her ear.

“Just so you know, I plan on being here with you for a while.”

The brief time apart had somewhat brought her back to her senses. What was she doing? She barely knew this man... and he wasn't even a pony! Then he bent over her... and oh, that voice sent such a thrill down her spine!

He stood back up and wrapped her tail around his hand to pull it out of the way. Her marehood was wet with arousal and he could see the little nub as she winked. Smirking, Rohan ran his member along her folds and she jumped, a little squeak forced from her throat. She stared up at him with wide eyes, torn between her body screaming for his warmth inside her and her mind screaming for her to slow down, stop, what was she thinking?

Rohan let his instincts take the reigns as he slowly pushed his way inside. He never expected there to be so much resistance, but then he didn’t know what to expect. His eyes screwed shut as he managed a couple of inches, yet something stopped him from pushing further. He tried to gently prod his way through, but his frustration only grew as his attempts failed. Finally, he decided to put in some force and felt the barrier finally give way so he could slip in further.

Fluttershy tossed her head back with a small yelp, effectively stopping any of Rohan’s movements.

“Fluttershy? Are you alright?”

Fluttershy hadn't even made up her mind yet when he pressed into her. She understood it all quite well from a medical perspective, but she had no idea what it felt like and was a little disappointed by how little sensation there was, just a vague sort of pressure. Then he pressed harder and the pressure spiked into a sudden, sharp, stabbing pain as he punched through what a distant part of her mind recognized was her hymen. Her startled yelp made Rohan freeze, but the pain was rapidly being replaced by pleasure and a more intense sense of closeness than she had ever dreamed possible.

She gasped and even as the words formed on Rohan's lips, she was raising her hips and leaning into him. Her flank pressed up against his hips and she moaned deep in her chest, the sound seeming to vibrate her entire head. She pushed herself up by her forelegs, arching her back until her head was beside Rohan's and she could just turn her head to look into his eyes. She slowly gyrated her hips and smiled at the sounds she could force from his throat.

His free hand went up to rub the side of her face and than shifted down to her shoulder for a grip. Now that he knew she was fine, he was able to match his thrusts with her slow, steady motions. He almost regretted having taken her from behind now, since he would have loved to embrace her properly. It did allow him to focus on the feeling of her warm walls hugging his member. On how each time their hips met he was greeted by the soft smack of her rear.

“You’re so beautiful, you know that?”

The only response she could manage was a soft "Mmm," followed by a high squeak as her flank pressed into him again. The way his hand pulled her tail up and pressed into the small of her back excited her in ways she didn't fully understand and soon she was slamming into him, grunting and moaning as he thrust in time with the motion of her torso. Something was rapidly building up inside of her and her movements began to grow more urgent, almost desperate. Her flanks slapped loudly against him and she felt as if she might burst...

Pleasure exploded inside of her, coursing through her with such intensity that her forelegs collapsed and she was left squirming helplessly as Rohan leaned over her and pounded deeper, faster, clutching a fist in her mane and growling in her ear. Every part of her was vibrating and she tried to scream his name but all that came out was a long, shuddering moan. His arm wrapped around her hips and he thrust into her, his blazing chest pressed into her back, his face warm against the side of her head, and he began to shake violently. She twisted around to jam her lips against his as he shuddered and twitched inside her, both of them grunting and moaning as orgasms overtook them both.

Eventually her trembling eased and Rohan slowly relaxed his grip around her waist and in her mane. Chests heaving, soaked with sweat, stinking of several different bodily fluids, they flopped onto the bed and held each other, gazing into into each others eyes, more happy than either of them could ever remember feeling before.

It was several minutes before either of them could catch their breath and come down from the high of their orgasms. Rohan inched closer to give her a quick gentle kiss before bringing his forehead to hers and shutting his eyes with a smile. He didn't have the words to describe how it felt or how he felt after everything, but he somehow felt more complete. Like he had been missing something in his life--and that something might have been a yellow pegasus that talks to animals.

As time passed, they slowly pressed their bodies back together to cuddle up on the bed. Fluttershy used one of Rohan's arms as a pillow and in turn she draped a wing over his torso. A grin began to form on his lips till he started to chuckle to himself, something he could see had confused the mare. "I was just thinking that you told me earlier not to do any "strenuous activities." I thought you wanted me to recover from sickness?"

It was just a tease, of course, and his face mirrored the humor in his voice. "You're right! Oh dear..." She feigned a worried expression, studying his body intently, then nodded seriously. "Yes, I see no alternative. If you insist on ignoring your doctor's orders and continue to engage in strenuous activities, I have no choice but to keep you bedridden overnight so I can be present to observe any further activities."

A dainty fetlock covered her muzzle as she broke into a little giggle, but her eyes betrayed her anxiety. She had effectively just asked him to stay the night and wasn't sure what she would do if he refused.

"I think I can follow those orders, Doctor Shy." He pulled her hoof to his mouth and gave the end of it a little kiss. "If it's ok with you, I actually wouldn't mind a nap now, unless you have things you need to be taking care that is."

Fluttershy twitched and squeaked a bit as his lips touched her sensitive frog, then blushed and gave him a small, shy smile. "I would love a nap, but..." She gestured down at her flanks and the nearby bedsheets, which were soaked and spattered with various fluids. "First I think I would like a shower."

“A shower? I assume that is something like a bath. Allow me to join you, I can carry the buckets we will use for bath water.” She had to explain to him that it wasn’t quite how things worked In Ponyville. Instead they spent the better part of the next ten minutes with him in awe of heated water seemingly in an endless supply.

Eventually Fluttershy simply shut off the water again, smiling fondly at the dumbfounded man. Maybe she hadn't scrubbed herself down as thoroughly as she liked, but at least the bulk of the mess was rinsed off them both. She nudged him out of the shower with her muzzle and quickly toweled herself off. Fortunately Rohan at least knew of towels and soon she was neatly folding the dirty blanket into a hamper and Rohan was covering the bed with a clean comforter she had pulled out.

As they finished, Rohan began getting ready to lay down, but Fluttershy hovered in front of him, her ears splayed out nervously.

"Um, Rohan?" She set her hoof on his shoulder and smiled, her eyes glistening in the fading sunlight, "...Thank you."

"I feel like I should be thanking you, Fluttershy. I haven't felt this relaxed in ages."

He left a clear spot for her to jump up onto the bed and waited for her with a gentle smile. As soon as she was up, he guided her so she was laying with her back to him and they both started to close the gap. Once her back was against his chest and belly, he pulled the blanket over them and wrapped an arm around her barrel and under her wing. A small hum of contentment escaped him as he buried his face into her fruity smelling mane.