It's going to be up as soon as I'm finishing up the wrinkles with my editor. I decided to share this little piece of goodness because it's Valentine's day. Enjoy!

When he pushed aside the flap, he noticed by the candlelight Fluttershy, curled up on the thin rags, hidden by her pink mane. A turquoise eye was peeking out of a curtain of pink, watching Noble come in. That single eye was eager, but distressed.

Seeing her in such a pitiable condition made Noble feel irrationally outraged. Here was Fluttershy, the most pure pony out of the Elements of Harmony, and she was shivering on a filthy rag in a cold black tent. Such a pony deserved better. His girlfriend deserved better!

He had been in the spare tent while recovering, and during that time, his bed felt empty and cold. He could only imagine Fluttershy feeling the same way now. She was alone and cold and in need of him.

She was also dirty, frail, tired, and smelled bad, but at that moment Noble thought there was no sight more beautiful than the one on the dirty little rag they used as a blanket.

He leaned his sword on the side of the tent and settled down next to her. He cradled her head in his hooves and settled it in his lap, and began to comb her mane gently, pressing on her skin to soothe her.

“What's eating you?” Noble proffered her. “You don't look so good.”

The yellow pegasus nodded weakly, but didn't look up to face him.

“Fluttershy?” Noble asked, running a hoof through her long, smooth, pink mane. “Speak to me. I can't heal you until you tell me.”

Fluttershy turned over to regard the handsome stallion, and tears nearly broke out again when she saw how loving he appeared to be. “I-I...nearly...lost you…” she stammered. She pushed her face into his chest, taking care not to ruin the bandages. “You were almost...eaten! And we're trapped down here, and it's dark, cold and lonely without you in our bed, and...” Fluttershy broke off and hugged him around the waist tightly. “I don't know...what to look forward to anymore! What more is there? I can't see a ray of hope down here in this musty old cave! What are we going to do? I can't lose you! What are we-?...I can't see...the end…”

“Shh. Shh.” Noble gently rubbed her back as she laid next to him. “Don't fret. I'm here.”

Fluttershy, overwhelmed by the distress pent up inside her, did indeed take him in gladly. His soft but firm body, the distinctive smell of steel and spice, the feel of his heartbeat, strong and regular, beneath his skin. She could hear it, feel the vibrations, if she pushed her cheek hard enough against his chest. It calmed her own beating heart and reassured her fears. All that mattered now was him.

“You. Are. Not. Going to sleep sad.” Noble kissed the top of her forehead. “I will kiss you until you say you're satisfied.”

Fluttershy pulled away from his chest to look him in the eye. There was a warmth in those dark, deep blue eyes that made her tense up until she began to shudder. It was that very warmth that made her own heart beat faster.

“K-kiss m-me?” she whispered.

Noble answered with a peck on the lips. Then a peck on the snout. Both made her flinch back adorably.

“Hold still,” he said in an even voice. “If you squirm, I might miss and kiss you in the eye.”

“You want me to…” Fluttershy bunched her hooves to her chest. “...surrender?”

“Surrender,” Noble whispered. He pecked her on the lips again. “And let me make you feel happy.”

Fluttershy’s heart was going a mile a minute. She felt the urge to move around, to do something, to be active. But Noble Blade was here. Right now.

“Kiss me,” Fluttershy whispered.

Noble did. He kept his lips on hers, and the both of them moaned gently, quietly, into their mouths. Love flowed between the other's lips. It was a full twenty seconds before they pulled away, breathing deeply.

“Slower,” Fluttershy panted when she caught her breath.

Noble obliged.