Everfree Village

As the ponies followed the humans toward the gates, instead of great cheers, the villagers were deathly quiet. Granite, who was too short to see through the crowd, was allowed by untill she could see what was happening. Rohan, leader of the small group, limped through the gate with the assistance of one of the other hunters. It was obvious they took some of their makeshift clothing to try and patch him up, since the man looked like he was on the edge of death. His right arm hung limply at his side, broken, battered, and useless. His left leg looked like it had been mangled by a large cat, and the metal plates on his torso were either cut open or heavily dented. The look in his eyes gave the impression that he was only half-aware of where he was headed. After only a few steps in, some of the villagers stepped forward to carry him off towards one of the huts. Two of the other hunters dragged two of their kills along. A gigantic looking fish, probably from the large swamp, and a scaly, four legged beast that was home to the forest alone. While the hunt was successful, there was no cheer to be had with one of their own so damaged.

"Oh no!" the mare exclaimed, a bit queasy from all the carnage. She hurried after the people who were carrying Rohan and pushed her way into the hut, which wasn't too difficult for a strong earth pony.

"What happened?!" she demanded of the human nearest the center. Now that she was this close, the mare was afraid of going and nearer, for fear of causing more problems than helping. Instead, she looked around for anyone she knew, like the Chief or the Shaman or the Priest.

The hunter who had been supporting Rohan glanced down at the mare.

"Hunting always carries this risk. We went out by the river leading towards the swamp when we caught sight of that fish. We figured it would be easy, just spear it and be done."

With a loud sigh, he clenched the bridge of his nose between his pointer-finger and thumb.

"That... Drake, or whatever it is, came up on us as we were pulling it out of the river. Rohan fought it so we could either get somewhere safe, or surround it. This is the result of that fight."

"Eep!" Granite squeaked, trying not to look at all the blood and swallowing nervously at the associated smell. "W-What can I do to help?!"

Hopefully, the mare thought, it would be something that required her to fetch something or someone, which would take her away from here.

Despite the scary sight, she made her way closer to the bed where they'd laid the hunter and gave his face a lick. She grimaced at the blood-taste, but tried not to show it. "It's gonna be fine!"

"We're going to need a few buckets of water, to wash his wounds. Otherwise, this is a job for our priest and shaman. When they start, we just need to give them space."

Neither of which were in the hut yet. The building in question was one that had both the voodoo items that the shaman required, but also had simplistic things like prayer beads carved from wood.

"Okay! Water! On it!" the mare babbled, and, giving Rohan another lick, rushed off. She was fast on her hooves and by now had somewhat recovered from her earlier heat stroke. Adrenaline did the rest.

What seemed like moments later she rushed into the hut with Lodestone, already yelling: "Rohan was hurt! Get the priest and the shaman there as quickly as you can!"

Unfortunately she didn't know how to explain which hut, but the stallion would undoubtedly see the people milling about. As for her own part, Granite ducked out before the poor pegasus had a moment to reply and ran to the farm, where she last remembered seeing buckets, then to the river.

Lodestone was sitting upright with his back facing the entrance to the hut when Granite burst in. He hadn't actually been doing anything but he'd been thinking about it. He started guiltily, stammering an excuse, but she was already gone. Then he realized what she said and swore under his breath.

He twisted around and bolted out the door, galloping down the path. At first he grumbled, not understanding why it had to be him to get the shaman, but then he rounded a corner and blew past one of the humans running as fast as he could - still far slower than him and he wasn't even straining.

Not sure where the Priest stayed, he went to the Shaman's hut instead, since he knew where it was. He hesitated for the briefest moment, glancing warily at his throbbing member, before banging a hoof on the Shaman's door.

"Shaman! Rohan's badly hurt, you're needed near the main gate and I don't know where the Priest lives!"

"What has da fool boy done dis time?! Iffin he need da priest, I'll need ta gather me tings. She can be found in a stone buildin in da middle of where people be livin'."

She took to gathering up a few of her trinkets and ritual items and pushed the stallion out as she left. She waved him off in the direction he would need to go in order to find the priest.

Granite was just walking quickly, but carefully with a couple of buckets of water on her back and one in her mouth, held awkwardly and making her head bend at a weird angle. She almost ran into someone, but stopped in time.

"eeh oh o' 'e 'aay!" she said and pushed past, not caring that it was unintelligible. In moments, with a few more headbutts and muffled yelling, the mare was back in the hut with the water. She put the bucket in her mouth down first.

"There! Water! Lodestone is getting help! Anything else?"

While she waited for further instructions, the pony carefully unloaded the other two buckets from her back.

"Yes, I only just got his armor off, we need to wash him up a bit so they can see exactly where the wounds are."

The hunter took a waterskin pouch and thrust it into the bucket. Once it was a little over half full, he took it out and handed it to the pony.

"Here, try to rinse the blood away while I wipe with these fur scraps. He should be good by the time help arrives."

"Okay!" Granite said and gripped the thing in her mouth. She was skilled with using objects this way and it only took her a minute to understand how to do it properly. Other than this, the mare would make herself useful by fetching and holding any small items and comforting the patient as best she knew how. This mostly included licking and nuzzling.

At the Shaman's urging, Lodestone began to turn toward the center of town, then hesitated and looked back, speaking quickly.

"If she's in the middle, surely somepony's made it there already? Maybe I should help you get there faster instead - I can carry your gear... or hay, you could even ride me and I'll fly you there direct."

"I no be flyin on yer back! What you want to do, give me a heart attack?!"

Realizing she would need an armful of items or so, she opted to grab a fur bag she has and tossed the items in. With that, she grabbed a cane and gave the pony the bag.

"Take it an go, der be a table in da hut he'll be at if he was near da gate. Lay da stuff on it on I'll be right der."

He nodded and grabbed the sack with both forelegs, then flew off as quick as he could manage. Just to make sure, he flew over the center of town and saw a human standing anxiously by the door to the priest's house. Satisfied, he angled his wings and turned toward where he saw humans gathered around a small hut near the gate and glided in a tight circle over them. He shouted at them to make room for him to land, then tossed the sack to his back and landed, keeping his forward momentum to rush inside.

Luck would have it that Granite was standing in the way so the pegasus smacked right into her as he swooped in. All the mare had time for was a strangled yelp, before the ponies rolled on the floor and came to a stop against the far wall.

It was only through sheer luck that the Shaman's items weren't damaged as the sack landed on the floor.

As for Granite, she found herself straddling the pegasus, who was lying on his back, panting. Despite the confusion and the seriousness of the situation, she couldn't suppress a small grin.

"Aww, did you miss me sweetie?"

Then she leaned down and gave him a light peck, right on his muzzle, before sliding off the poor stallion. "Are the priest and the shaman coming?!" she asked, turning serious once again. "What's in the bag?"

The pegasus lay there for a moment, stunned more by Granite's actions than the crash, then scrambled to his hooves.

"Y-Yeah, they're on the way. Uh, I don't know exactly but it's stuff the Shaman needed. I figured she'd get here faster without lugging her stuff around."

He shuffled back against a wall and sat self-consciously, trying to ignore the renewed throbbing in his loins.

The priest was first of the two to join. Like before, she had on a fancier robe than what most of the village had available, and she had some kind of ceremonial bronze staff with her.

"Oh my gosh! Rohan! You can't keep doing this..."

As she moved to his side to check the damage, the old shaman stepped inside and huffed at the appearance of the man.

"Ya never change! Always be putting ya own self in da way to save da others."

The hunter, having seen the two appear, started to nudge the ponies out of the building.

"Alright, we did was we needed to, rest is up to them. Let's get out of their way."

"Are you s-sure?" Granite mumbled, staring at Rohan with some concern. "I can stay and h-help if you like? There must be something we can do!"

Finally remembering that Lodestone was there, too, Granite stepped closer to the stallion and nuzzled him.

Her muzzle was covered in blood from her giving the human comforting licks and she was trembling in fear and excitement.

At the hunter's words, the pegasus hopped up, almost eager to leave.

"Come on, they've got it from here. We'd just be in the way."

He pushed her gently ahead of him with a wing.

Once outside, the hunter looked at the crowd and took a deep breath.

"Clear the area! Rohan is being healed as we speak! Do not sully his name by letting the quarry he fought for go to waste! Make ready for night and keep him in your prayers if you must!"

His voice was loud enough for the entire crowd to hear and the people slowly started to disperse. The village chief, who was near the back, stayed leaning against a nearby hut and stared at the ponies while lost in thought.

Granite allowed herself to be pushed out, only flinching a little at the yelling. She caught the chief's eyes and gave her a bright, hopeful smile. She really hoped their hunter friend would make it.

She turned back to the pegasus nudging her along. "I'm going, I'm going! Jeez. I can see you're impatient, but you're not getting any tonight, okay? I agreed to one date!"

He stopped short at that. His ears flopped down and his tail swished in agitation.

"What? N-No, I just... you--they were..."

Noticing the Chief staring at them, he trailed off with a groan. There'd be no end to the teasing for this, he was sure of it. He sighed and started trotting toward their hut, not waiting for Granite to catch up.

The lady barely noticed when they came closer. When she had finally realized they were just in front of her, she gave a faint smile.

“He’ll pull through. Always does. Reckon that it would take a full blown dragon to finally kill Rohan!”

She tried to laugh at the little joke, but just didn’t seem to have the energy for it.

“You mind if I join you for dinner tonight?”

"Sure!" Granite said without even consulting with Lodestone. The stallion might have preferred some alone time, but it seemed he wouldn't get it. "Actually, we were just about to go find something to eat," the mare explained incorrectly, "before... um. Before all of this."

She looked worried for a moment, then shrugged and relaxed. "I'm sure Rohan is in good hoove- hands."

Lodestone merely grunted noncommittally and continued toward the hut, though he did slow to a walk. He doubted he had any real choice in the matter and wasn't looking forward to the teasing he was sure to get while he ate. Earlier he had been game for it, but he was tired, hungry, stressed, worried for his new friend, and he felt sure his groin matched his mane by now. He simply wanted to eat, sleep, and move on to tomorrow.

“Right, food. I know you said you were strictly grown foods, no meat. But you...”

She looked to Lodestone curiously, as if something didn’t make sense.

“I heard you ate bacon. Can you stomach fish? Cuz that’s what we’re going to be eating tonight. The other animal is going to be stored so that he’ll last to the next set of meals.”

"You've been... what?! What kind of meat is bacon?!" Granite demanded, turning on the stallion. "You never said you ate meat. Why are you eating meat? Ponies aren't supposed to eat meat!"

She was completely befuddled by the sudden revelation and didn't even know what to say, so she just kept going in circles. "We don't eat meat, Lodestone! Ponies don't eat meat. You eat meat? Why do you eat meat all of a sudden?!"

Stopping where he stood, he let out a long sigh and spoke in a weary tone.

"Ponies shouldn't eat meat, but we can. You saw that pathetic farm. They barely have enough vegetables to feed one pony, nevermind two."

He looked up at her then and, though he tried to look grim and annoyed, his expression softened as soon as he met her eyes.

"I've been eating meat so you don't have to."

“Oh, didn’t realize that was how it was...”

Clearing her throat, she held an awkward, unsure expression and looked away.

“Yeah, uhh, so I should just get you roasted vegetables then. I’m sure some people won’t mind an excuse to take a little more fish and a little less veggies.”

Granite had a suspicious look on her muzzle as she regarded the stallion. "So you've been eating meat to spare me, is that it?" she asked, voice all sweet and polite. It was clear that something was brewing, but at this point the mare managed to keep it somewhat hidden.

"That's very nice of you. How come you never mentioned it?"

As if suddenly remembering the chief was there, Granite faced the woman and gave her a bright, grateful smile. "That'd be wonderful - just a bit. I'll graze a little in the morning to pad it out, so we don't eat your entire supply, okay?"

The pegasus huffed slightly and made a show of trying not to roll his eyes.

"Because I remember how you reacted that first night. I've been avoiding eating meat around you because I knew it disgusted you and I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

It was a plausible excuse and clearly he had been rehearsing this conversation in his head.

"Hay, I've even been rinsing my mouth out afterwards to mask the smell on my breath! I thought you'd appreciate it."

He looked away from her gloomily, showing the barest hint of an indignant pout.

"What I'd appreciate, Lodestone," Granite said slowly, but with an icy-cold tone of voice, "would be if you told me stuff. Let's give this a shot, okay?"

The mare sat on her haunches and spread her forelegs theatrically, before taking a breath and making her voice all gruff and low in a crude mockery of the stallion: "Say, Granite, I think I should try this meat stuff so we don't wipe out the humans' food supply between them, how's that sound like?"

Then her voice took the falsetto tones of a mare: "Sure thing, buddy - give it a try, just please don't make me smell it!"

The mare watched her pegasus friend, then took another breath. "Now, let's try it like this..."

Again she did the stallion-impression: "Oh yeah, I've been gobbling down ... bacon and- and meat and all this stuff."

In her normal voice, Granite finished: "How am I supposed to respond to this? Any ideas?"

Lodestone sat suddenly and rubbed his forehead with a hoof.

"For Luna's sake, Granite, I had one meal! You watched me try that jerky and then this morning after you left for the farm, I went to get some breakfast and all they had was bacon, eggs, and this tiny pile of potatoes."

He turned away, no longer needing to pretend to be upset.

"And just when exactly during all the shit that happened today was I supposed to poke you and go 'oh by the way, I ate some fried strips of pig meat this morning, hope you don't mind'."

The mare realized very quickly just how she's been acting. The ears went instantly down and the blush crept it. "Oh," was all she could say.

There was some silence and then Granite walked over and hugged the stallion from behind. "I'm sorry. I was just shocked when I heard it from the chief..."

Looking around, she spotted that the woman had gone. "... who we drove away with our arguing..."

She heaved a sigh, which meant she blew a very hot breath right down Lodestone's back. "Sorry..."

Then, unable to help herself, the pony asked: "You really don't mind eating meat?!"

He was glowering now, half upset because there was actually a fair bit of truth to his words, and half because he was deeply embarrassed of how much he had enjoyed the bacon. He shrugged off her hug and continued walking toward the hut, but he didn't want her to think he was giving her the cold shoulder, so he turned to mutter over his shoulder as he walked.

"You almost puked just by watching me eat some old dried jerky. You can't eat meat. I can. It doesn't matter if I mind, it's just necessary."

Granite was feeling just a tiny bit snubbed, but she didn't bring it up now of all times. Instead, she hurried until she caught up to Lodestone and slowed down when she was walking beside him. "Well, okay. If that's what you feel you have to do. I'm not gonna stop you."

She giggled a little. "So, our dinner will be fried broccoli for me and this... bacon stuff for you? That could get interesting. We could make faces at each other while we eat."

She laughed a bit and slapped the stallion lightly with her tail. "Cheer up. I said I was sorry, okay? Or do you want me to do something else?"

"Sorry is nice, but..."

He glanced sidelong at her. His muzzle was still set in a slight scowl, but his eyes danced with faint amusement.

"I wouldn't say no to 'something else'."

They turned a corner and saw their hut ahead of them. As they walked up, Lodestone was disappointed to see no food had arrived yet. He sighed, but wasn't really surprised. With all the confusion around Rohan's injury, he hadn't really expected the man to remember he asked for food.

Granite scrunched up her muzzle in thought. "Something else like what? Should I bake you an apology cake? I heard that's what they do over in Ponyville."

She shook her head. No way would she find all the necessary ingredients in the village, so it couldn't be that. "Hmm, no, that's not it."

The mare went to sit down in the pile of hay and leaned her head to the side. "I could dance for you a bit, but my sister always told me I suck at it. Or maybe you want me to kiss and make up?"

The last one caused her eyes to widen and the pony to gasp in shock. "Oh..."

Her ears went flat and Granite looked away, swallowing. "Well, I guess I could lend you a hoof, maybe?"

That got a chuckle out of him and he flicked her playfully with his tail.

"It's okay, Granite, I was mostly teasing."

He stepped into the hut and laid down in the hay, then looked up at her, his face somber again.

"Being sorry is plenty, I just wanted you to understand. Don't do anything you aren't comfortable with. Like I said, I'm not going to push you."

Then he was overcome with a yawn and stretched where he lay. He didn't mean to, but he gave Granite a good view as he did so. As he relaxed, he turned to look at her again.

"What do you say to calling over another errand boy like you did before and see if we can finally get some food?"

"Actually, I'll go fetch it myself. Chief said it's fish. I think I can stand bringing you fish."

Granite was getting an eyeful of stallion belly. "I'm glad you got over that at least. Otherwise I really would have to help you."

The mare didn't intentionally tease, she just didn't think her words through carefully. "Heh, I once heard if... that goes on for a long time it can fall off. Wouldn't want that to happen, eh?"

She leaned down to give the stallion a nuzzle, right in the chest fluff. "If it's ever an emergency, I'll help, okay?"

Before she could leave, The Chief made her way into their hut. She was balancing the plates of food on her arms, two for the ponies and one for her.

“You two done arguing? I didn’t want to interrupt your lovers quarrel, so I stepped away to grab some food. Had them roast the last of our potatoes and cook up some of the other green stuff we have.”

Their two plates were set down in front of them, while she kept her own and sat by the wall. From what they could see, she didn’t have any veggies, just fish on her plate.

“So I know Rohan brought you here cuz nobody lived in those one, but you’re just laying in hay. You could always stay with me and share my bed.”

Her eyes were mostly on the stallion, though she looked between them enough that they would realize the offer was for both.

Lodestone was immediately suspicious of her offer, expecting this to turn into some joke at his expense.

"I... don't mind it here. The privacy is nice."

He turned to look at Granite.

"But it's up to you. If you want to move to her place, I won't argue."

While he waited for her response, he began munching on his potatoes, doing his best to hide his disappointment at not getting any meat.

Granite, on the other hoof, didn't mind in the slightest a fully vegetarian option. She swallowed about half her plate in a hurry before giving her own answer. "I... think I'd like to stay here. Um - you can go, if you like, Lodestone?"

The blush betrayed her thought. Granite had seen the chief and the stallion flirting a bit and it would give him some relief from her own, clumsy, fearful and inexperienced attempts. It would also be a huge disappointment, but Granite was willing to live with that.

"After all, you both like meat and... um. Well, I think you could have fun living together."

It ended up sounding far lamer than she'd imagined in her head and Granite sighed sadly. "Don't mind me, just being silly. Silly, silly cowpoke..."

“Or, you could both come and I could pull out an extra blanket for whoever. It’d be a heck of a lot more comfortable, plus it’s just me over there.”

She paused to take a bite of the fish. She didn’t realize that she let out a small moan of delight at the flavor of the fish she was eating. When she finally swallowed it down, she looked more to granite.

“People also think twice before just barging in, like I’ve seen Rohan do here. Might be nice for you, hmm?”

Lodestone looked at the Chief and imagined how much nicer her home must be compared to this dank little hut, and thought of the way she looked at him earlier and the things they could try together...

He turned to Granite and saw the way her face fell and she slumped where she sat, munching half-heartedly at her leafy greens. He imagined leaving her here alone while he had some 'fun' with the Chief, then remembered all Granite had done and said today.

"No," he said firmly, causing Granite to look up at him, surprised. "I'm not going over there without you. If you want to stay here, then I will too."

He looked back to the Chief and bowed slightly where he sat.

"Though I deeply appreciate it, ma'am. You flatter us simply by offering."

Granite quickly brightened up at this choice. She was immediately smiling at the news. "Oh. Okay! I mean- I wouldn't mind if you wanted to go. I think I'd be fine..."

She gave up the pretense and put her empty plate down so she could rush over and hug the stallion around his barrel. "Thanks though. I really appreciate it!"

Only then did the mare realize the chief was still there and faced her, a bit red in the muzzle. "Um, if that's okay? Yeah, we're flattered, but I t-think I wanna stay here. The hay is very comfortable!"

She clucked her tongue and bit into the last piece of fish she had on her plate.

“Alright, your choice I guess. Can’t say I’m not disappointed though, would have loved to see if you’re as soft a cuddle as you look.”

Pushing her own plate away, she stretched out and stared through the window.

He winced and tried to look apologetic.

"I'm sorry to disappoint, ma'am."

Then a thought occurred to him and he voiced it cautiously, watching to see how Granite would react.

"Though... there's plenty of room in the hay here, if Granite doesn't mind joining in the cuddling."

The mare in question gave this some thought, then shrugged a little to herself. "Sure. That's okay with me."

She paused and the glint came back to her eye along with a suggestive grin on her muzzle. "Just- if you two get busy tonight, let me know so I can go for a walk or something..."

“If that was the case, then why refuse taking a bed? It’s plenty big enough for all three of us. You two don’t have to stay forever, just the night is fine. Besides... hay is really itchy for people.”

She looked at it with concern and figured that the ponies coats were probably what made them able to enjoy it.

“C'mon, try it once at least. Don’t make me carry you over there!”

Glancing rapidly between Granite and the Chief, Lodestone seemed to realize what he had just suggested and suddenly became very nervous. He wouldn't last ten minutes between them without... 'poking' one of them.

"Uh... on second thought, maybe it's not such a good idea..."

His anxiety caused his imagination to run rampant and his ears flopped as he began to grow again. He was pretty sure neither could see from this angle, but he shifted a bit all the same.

Granite, meanwhile, was all for it, now that she'd had the idea in her head for a bit. "Actually, why not? A bed would be a lot more comfortable and it's not weird if it's all three of us, right? It's just cuddling. Everypony likes cuddling!"

The mare got to her hooves and went to stand beside the human. "You coming, Lodestone? Hay is great, but I wouldn't mind sleeping on some proper sheets for a change!"

Lodestone stared wide-eyed at Granite, then sighed deeply, seeming to deflate. There was no way out of it now.

"Alright, let's go then..."

He swallowed the last of his potatoes, then slowly stood. This close, and with them still sitting, his erection was impossible to miss.

“Exactly! C'mon, you’re gonna enjoy a bed tonight.”

She led them through the town and almost to the bazaar, where her home sat. It was wooden, though much more well constructed than the huts. Leading them inside, she sighed happily.

“Built it myself. Figured it would save manpower if they didn’t have to focus on things I wanted. Beds over in the corner. I say lode gets middle spot.”

Her bed was a lot simpler that maybe Granite expected. It had a somewhat familiar wooden frame, but was longer than ponies normally needed. The covers were fur, probably from an animal, and the mattress was some leather that seemed to be filled with a soft material. Her pillows also seemed to be similar, though it was definitely filled with feathers.

"Um... okay," Granite said carefully, eyeing the bed things. She hadn't expected it all to be basically made from animals, but she was too deep to complain now. The mare stole a glance from the stallion to gauge his reaction - after all, he liked meat, why not this?

Despite her misgivings, the pony carefully climbed up on the bed and shuffled to the far side. She made herself comfortable, even while trying to touch as little of the bed as possible. Her eyes sought out Lodestone hopefully - if she held on to a warm, pony body, she might forget about the fur and the leather.

"Come on! It's... um, it's fine...," Granite called and tapped the mattress with a hoof.

Of course she had seen his recurring 'problem', but didn't draw attention to it.

Somewhat reassured that neither of them were teasing him for it, or even seemed to care, Lodestone stood up and placed his forehooves on the bed. With the Chief behind him, he didn't bother to hide his disgust as he thought of how many animals had died just to make this bed. Yes, tomorrow night he will happily return to the hay!

He met Granite's eyes and saw she was similarly disgusted but hiding it well. If she could tolerate it, he would too. He hopped up onto the bed and laid on his belly directly next to Granite, immediately blanketing her with a wing. The fur was marvelously soft and he shuddered slightly at the sensation.

The lady was the last to get up on the bed and she immediately snaked her arms around the stallion. Her hands began to scratch through his fluff and into his chest, though she seemed to be searching for spots that he liked rather than keeping them in one location. Like Granite, she pushed as close to the stallion as she could.

“Night you two. Sleep well.”

A bit later in the night, as Granite started to snore, the Chief sleepily let her hands wander the stallion. One stayed in his fluff, scratching the spot she saw he liked, while the other moved down his belly to give long, slow scratches there.

“You still awake?”

Her voice was barely a whisper. Even with granite snoring as she was, the lady didn’t want to accidentally wake her by talking loudly.

He had been sleeping but he'd always been a light sleeper, and the pleasant feeling of her fingers in his fur was helping to rouse him.

"Nnnnhuh? Now I am..."

Realizing it was still dark and Granite was gently snoring behind him, he quickly dropped his voice to a soft whisper.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

Worrying helped clear his sleepy mind and his ears perked, immediately alert for any unusual sound.

“Not exactly...”

Her hands kept getting tantalizingly close to his nether regions, but always managed to pull short in the end. His body turned away from the woman, he would feel her breath on his ear as she spoke.

“Just have a lot on my mind and can’t sleep. I-I probably shouldn’t have awoken you... sorry.”

Lodestone shifted awkwardly as her fingers approached his groin again, as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to pull away or press in closer. He slowly turned his head to meet her gaze.

"It's alright, I'm just a light sleeper."

He hesitated for a moment, an ear twisting toward the sleeping mare, then brought his muzzle closer to the Chief's ear.

"I'd ask if you wanted to talk about it, but I'm worried about waking Granite. She had a hard day and badly needs rest."

Her hands stop for just a moment and just by his groin as he says that. Shuffling just a tiny amount, she pressed her breasts more into his back.

“Just... do you think I’m pretty?”

From the tone of her voice, this was definitely something bothered her and luckily something that could be given a short answer.

Lodestone hesitated, but only for a second. He wasn't brilliant with mares, but he knew there was only one right answer at a time like this.

"Well... of course. Even being a different species I can still see you're very attractive."

Sitting up on her elbow, she angled Lode’s face so she could pull him into a little kiss as her hand slowly moved further down his belly and finally into that area she’d been teasing.

Only the fact that he had already been concentrating on not disturbing Granite kept him from jerking in surprise. Even so, a small grunt escaped his muzzle and he broke the kiss, whispering urgently.

"What? You... Really!?"

He tried to silently squirm back and away from Granite, but all he really accomplished was pressing himself into the Chief's bosom. He hissed into her ear, trying to sound angry and nervous, but his hips shifted almost of their own accord, pressing into her hand and he was already starting to swell.

"Now? With Granite right there!?

She flinched but kept her hand in place when she felt him not only press into it but also grow.

“I-it was- umm...”

She tried to get the words out and for the first time, the stallion wouldn’t see a big, dependable leader, but a shy, meek woman.

“I-I couldn’t- your answer... umm... most... men avoid me. Cuz of my physique and role...”

He gawked at her, both confused and surprised. When he spoke again, his tone was gentle.

"Really? I assumed you pretty much had your pick of the men in town..."

If what she said was true, she might be even more desperate for this than him. He glanced at Granite laying directly in front of him and began to blush.

She could still feel him in her hand and soon her other went down to join it. Her eyes stayed locked on him and she even half smiled as she felt him.

“You need relief too, don’t you? We could step outside. If she wakes, we can say you are going to relieve yourself.”

It wouldn’t be untrue, by any means, but maybe not what the mare would think he meant.

Somehow the thought of going outside where all the guards would see was even more embarrassing than in here. His ears flopped back anxiously as he tried to pick the lesser of two 'evils.'

"Outside? Uh... couldn't we just... I dunno, go over there and be quiet?"

He pointed the tip of a wing at the far end of the hut. It was larger than their own, but they would still be awfully close to where Granite lay sleeping.

With a huge grin, she walked over to the far corner of the room and sat against the wall. Waving a hand, she beckoned him to follow and sit in front of him. Lucky for them, Granite was faced the other way and it would be easy to see if she turned.

Feeling nervous but a little excited, Lodestone carefully rolled away from the mare and slowly approached the Chief. He thought about how she reacted earlier and decided she would probably appreciate some flattery and boldness.

As he drew near, he made a show of eyeing her and grinned, then cautiously leaned forward to nuzzle her neck, just under her ear.

She bit her lip and pushed her face against the side of his head.

“Tonight, let’s focus on your relief, hmm?”

She knew he was a little pent up, given what she saw earlier in the day. Using her hands, she turned him around and guided him so he sat with his back against her chest. It was an awkward position for a pony, but manageable with her supporting him. Like before, she brought her hands down to his crotch and began to feel up what she had to work with.

Almost instantly, a shiver ran up his spine and he struggled to suppress a moan. He leaned back and laid his head on her shoulder so he could meet her eye and whisper.

"And yet I don't even know your name..."

He sighed as she stroked down again and pressed his face against hers.

“Barbara.”

She gave him a quick kiss and while one hand pumped his length slowly, the other reached down to his sack. Her dexterous hands had no problem fondling him, and somehow they turned out to be softer than her muscular physique let on.

So pent up was the poor stallion, he could already feel the climax building, though it hadn't even been a full minute yet. He licked her cheek and gasped as a bit of pre-cum leaked out.

"Barbara? It's a... p-pretty name."

His leg shook with a light spasm as he said the word 'pretty,' and he knew he wouldn't last much longer.

She presses her face against his cheek and looked down at the rod she was handling in her hands. Feeling him throb, she picked up the pace.

“You’re near, right? Let it all go. Just let it all out.”

The hand that was fondling him moved so that if he spurt, she would be able to catch at least some of it instead of making him coat himself.

It was too much. Her increased speed, her hot breath on his cheek, her sensual voice in his ear...

His hooves flew to his muzzle and he choked down a groan as he began to shake. He arched his back, thrusting into her hand, pressing back against her chest, her neck, rubbing the side of her face with his. One hoof released his muzzle to wrap around her head, hugging her closer as he practically exploded onto her hands, a hind leg curling around her thigh.

He struggled to keep silent but still, a shuddering gasp racked his lungs. He turned and buried his muzzle in the crook of her neck, nostrils flaring as his chest heaved.

She could feel the large amount of seed spill out on her hands. It was lucky for him that she kept a filled waterskin in her house, since he would need to rinse off whatever she didn’t catch.

“So much...”

Bringing her hand up to her face, she gave the stuff a tentative lick. When she noticed the stallion looking at her out of the corner of his eye, she smirked and licked up the rest of it till it was all gone.

“Feel better?”

All he could do was slump against her and smile weakly. He took a moment to regain his breath, oddly fascinated by the way she licked up his seed. Nopony had ever done that before.

Finally, he managed to whisper, "You're incredible," and twisted slightly to nip at her ear.

She held the stallion there for only a little while before gently pushing him off.

“We should rinse this stuff off my hands and your fur outside. C'mon.”

When he was off of her, she stood and made her way to the waterskin by the door. Even full, it wasn’t a whole lot of water, but she figured it would be enough to do the job.

He stumbled slightly as he followed her out the door and scrubbed his belly with a hoof as she poured some water over him. When she turned away and began rinsing off her own hands, he leaned forward, wrapped a hoof around her thigh and licked a bit of exposed skin near the side of her hip.

"What about you?" he murmured, looking up at her surprised expression.

“Another night. When we’re not worried about waking someone and have the time.”

Of course, this was all assuming Granite didn’t become possessive or otherwise keep it from happening. When she felt her hands were clean, she rinsed her mouth out and took a small drink, then dried her hands on her clothes. For the stallion, she handed over a fur scrap.

“In case you want to feel dry. Up to you though, the bed should be fine to handle your damp fur.”

Rather than rub himself down with a bit of dead animal's pelt, he politely waved the scrap away and instead flew straight up into the sky, circled once, then dove down at the Chief again. His wings flared to slow him at the very last second and he came to a halt mere inches off the ground.

The whole maneuver only took about fifteen seconds, and once he touched down he stroked his belly with a hoof. It came away damp, but only just. He smirked up at Barbara.

“Huh...”

She hadn’t thought of something like that, though she never had wings herself. Regardless, she followed the stallion back in and both found the mare still snoring away. As they got back in bed, her snoring wavered a bit, but the mare soon fell back into her pattern and the two breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good night... again.”

Lodestone, feeling immensely more relaxed than when he had first laid down, happily snuggled down between the mare and the woman. He gently tucked a wing around Granite to make her a bit more comfortable, then snuggled up against the Chief, sighing contentedly.

"Good night. And... thank you, Barbara. I needed that more than I realized."