> Passion with a Batpony > by Gulheru > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter I > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Love me, Midnight...” The faint, whimsical echo of Twilight’s last sentence was still dancing around the cavern. And around her mind. For a moment she wasn’t sure if she had actually found courage to say that, or was it but a figment of her imagination, invoking the sentence so vividly. Those words sounded so... simple. So plain, compared to the depth of emotions she felt at that very moment. So clichéd, to be honest... but so right at the same time. For Midnight Wind, her Midnight, was right before her, his body unburdened of armor and clothing. Thanks to her help. Eager help. A repayment for what he had been doing himself, disposing of her own travelling gown, leaving her... naked before him. Not “without clothing”. Naked. A blush of embarrassment invaded Twilight’s cheeks in vivid scarlet. Even though she had already conquered her doubts about what was going to happen that day. She wanted it. She craved it with this basic, natural instinct. That did not stop the nerves from gnawing at her as they both looked at each other. Their breaths deep. Their gazes intense. Their intentions blatant. ... truth be told, Twilight had little idea how to proceed from that point. N-not that she didn’t know what... what it was about, she wasn’t that sheltered! She just... wasn’t obsessed by the idea and, well, she never made it a real goal of her life to find somepony she could... gain experience in the topic with. At least, not up until this point. Realizing what the moment meant for her, for them, with all the perils that were besetting them all around, made her shudder at the unknown. Midnight grasped her trepidation well, that much was obvious. He closed the distance between them. To nuzzle into her neck in a tender, calming way. His smoky voice being most attentive at the same time. “Iau lumn? What’s wrong, my light? Anxious?” “Y-yeah...” she confessed without shame, pressing into him. Trying to find her comfort in the warmth of his body. It was much easier to formulate sentences when she could close her eyes and feel his loving presence that much stronger. “I love you and... and I want this, I really do. It’s just... it’s...” “Yes? Tell me, please.” “I... I haven’t... I mean, I get what... what this is about, but... uh...” As she spoke, Midnight did not stop in his gentle caressing. One that was as pleasurable as soothing. Showing that he understood. “I believe I know what you are trying to say... I’m not sure about the Equestrian expression, but... ia rozumt,” he murmured assuredly. Twilight was aware that he wanted her to feel as safe and protected as it was possible. That was his duty as a Nightguard and her assigned guardian, yes, but that time, the reasoning behind his actions was much less formal. The batpony continued, running one of his hooves through her mane with the prudence of a dutiful warrior and considerate stallion alike. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, iaa dilece. It’s just that this will be new to you...” “This will be new to you...” Twilight parroted him in a nervous, borderline hysterical tone, only afterwards realizing her mistake. “I mean ‘me’! ‘Me’! Yes, this will be new to me! Very, very new!” She groaned, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Way to make the mood crash and burn, well done, Twilight Sparkle! Midnight said nothing in response and she shivered even more at that. Did she really kill the romance so easily...? Yet then he pulled her gently closer. He sat down, inviting her to do the same. With a quiet shuffle of his leathery wings he encompassed her tenderly. The mindful touch sufficing for words, for he was allowing her to take all the time she required to calm down, protecting her from her own tension. It was a small gesture, perhaps... but important. So important. Twilight drank from the closeness and warmth of his thicker, grey coat and listened to his steady breathing. She wasn’t sure how long this sweet stillness lasted, interrupted only by two rhythms of loving hearts, yet only after she utterly relaxed in his embrace did Midnight speak again. “There is no need for being ashamed, my Twilight. And, considering your mistake from a moment ago, ab Bogine, I think I should be the one asking if you are alright with the fact that there was... somepony before you...” Her reply was in the form of pressing into the batpony that more securely. As much as she had her own doubts about lack of any... experience, she was anticipating the other side of that topic being brought up by him. Had she considered it? Yes, a number of times. And her answer couldn’t have been more sincere and clear, considering what she had learnt of his and his wife’s fateful history. “I can hardly blame you that you loved before me, Midnight... and that you wanted to show it. I understand as well...” she said tenderly, nuzzling him and causing a deep exhale to encompass her neck. It did invoke a most appealing shudder. “That... is still a great relief, my light,” the batpony admitted and she felt him smiling. “Even though I had faith that I knew your answer, I couldn’t stop worry from filling my veins...” “For no reason, Midnight,” Twilight responded in a soft whisper... which turned into a small hiss as he gifted her with a playful nip to her neck. “Right back at you, my panicky Princess...” “Hey, that’s—” She really wanted to finish her protest, but another nibble transformed it into an incoherent, if remarkably pleasurable sigh. “... that’s not fair...” she still managed to exhale afterwards, much to Midnight’s amusement. Chuckling, he leaned back a little and took her muzzle in his hooves. His saffron gaze, boring into hers, was truly mesmerizing. “You will have to live with my cheats, iau lumn. I want to show you just how much I grew to cherish and love you. With every red droplet of my ver.” Twilight could not help the pure, happy smile blooming on her lips. She didn’t need to hear anything else. Now she just wanted to feel it all... Their lips were joined again that morning. She would find it hard to describe how wondrous it felt. How... enticing. Not that she had any intention of overanalyzing it, especially when their tongues began dancing with each other slowly and sensually. In that basic, primal way, known to everypony. Yes. Known to everypony. Regardless of such trivial matters like race and culture. Twilight managed to realize that much even against that irresistible pull clouding her mind. Love meant more than mere aversions. More than a tangled and difficult history of nations, religious taboos or anything else, as Midnight, her foreign, Immaculate Moon-worshiping, leathery-winged beloved was clearly proving to her. What they were sharing was exotic. It was dangerous. It was utterly inappropriate between a Princess and her assigned sentinel... and borderline, as she was certain many batponies would declare, blasphemous. But Twilight would dare confess that it was all just making it more enticing for her. Every now and then she could feel Midnight’s sharp canines scraping against her lips and tongue and she couldn’t help but shiver at that sensation. It was making her distinctively weak in her knees and causing every nerve to flare up with heat and readiness. She felt like his prey. A helpless, fairy-tale maiden that had been hunted down by a true predator. A true “wampir”. Not a vampire of Equestrian legends, not a cheap horror story, but a stallion of flesh and blood, a warrior of an ancient race. One that had entranced her heart, seduced her mind... and was ready to claim her body. “Twilight...” her beloved murmured her name right into her lips and she shuddered all over. One of those wonderful, sublime shivers that were meant to become increasingly heavenly. Leaving behind a warm, tingling sensation, emanating all over her body. Clouding her reasoning and focusing her entire being on one, very specific goal. One that she had just asked Midnight to accomplish. She hummed when he paused the caressing... then hissed when he bit her on the neck once more. She felt his whisper as much as she heard it. Soft and tender. “Any less nervous, my light?” “I... mmmm... don’t know yet...” she managed to say, battling the overwhelming kisses dotting her sensitive skin. “You might have to convince me some mor—ah!” Midnight interrupted her by reaching the base of her neck and nibbling right there. Invoking a, rather new for Twilight, sequence of coos and delighted sighs. “Oh, I’m planning to...” he whispered when he put that brief, teasing torture on hold. “I need to show you how much I want you...” Twilight felt yet another rush of color and warmth behind her cheeks. She felt her eyes fluttering and closing in helpless pleasure. “... please show me...” she managed to feebly utter and his lips began finding even more of her coat and skin to please. Oh, Midnight must have known that primal dance well... She might have had no practice of this nature before, but the tenderness of his motions was speaking of his prowess. His nuzzles were soft but meaningful... and the way he almost cradled her with the practiced strokes of his webbed wings, nudging her ever closer into his embrace... It was enough for her mind to melt completely into warmth and pleasure. Her own wings were quivering happily time and time again and her lips parted, letting thrilled whinnies escape her without restraint. She had to bite her lip just to try and form coherent thoughts. She never felt anything like that before. Nothing this strong, nothing this... intoxicating. At that moment, when there was nothing else but the hidden hot spring, them and their love... she wanted nothing more but to be his. To be his entirely. Right there, on that spot... Midnight, however, had other plans. At least for the moment. Making sure not to leave her unattended for even a blink, he again met her gaze. Not an easy task, as his touches were robbing her of sight, her eyes crossing underneath her eyelids from the sheer volume of sensations. “Let’s take our time...” he whispered and she followed the warmth of this exhale, seeking his lips. She felt him chuckle into the kiss as he steadied her muzzle with his hoof and stood up. Then, he started gently trotting backwards. Compelled as she was by instinct and pleasure both, Twilight followed suit, not wishing to be parted from him for even a shaky breath. Besides, considering the direction he was taking, she could not complain... ... well, maybe a little, but only because he had managed to excite her quite so much already. The pond that occupied most of the cave was prudently and graciously waiting for them, its teal hue hidden behind the delicate, warm mist. Like a final piece of cloth to be removed to witness the wonders it was secreting. Midnight must have checked the water’s heat with his hind hoof, as Twilight heard a little plop... then, by chance or fate, she spotted a spark of lovable mischief in his gaze. ... oh no. Pleasure might have been clouding her mind, but she wasn’t completely gone. “... don’t you dare,” she warned him. As convincingly as she could, considering her flushed cheeks and shaky breaths. “Dare what...?” Midnight innocently asked, stepping closer to her, revealing his fangs in a wide, irresistible smile. “You know what.” The stallion only chuckled, that roguish stare she had quickly learned to adore hiding any and all intents. Bar one, of course. He leaned past her muzzle and next to her ear. “Don’t you trust me?” Twilight felt this devious breath well and bravely fought the flood of sedating warmth it invoked. To save remnants of reason. “I know you... a little better...” Midnight let out a happy exhale. “Ha, then you should not really be surprised...” he muttered. Twilight felt him reaching out to hold her steadily with his forelegs. She, however, was not planning to simply be a passive victim. Not to his gift for endearing pranks, at least. Successfully, though with some understandable difficulty, she focused on her own specialty and flared up her horn, bathing them both in a raspberry gleam. “Neither should you...” she whispered just before releasing the swiftly gathered energy. Well... she had read on the topic regarding unicorns using magic when... distracted. She had considered comparable results with alicorn spellcasting, but empirical evidence had definite merits. “Merits” in this case meant not gently pushing her batpony paramour back and into the water, preempting his ambush, but sending him with a most surprised and astonished expression into a low-arc, violent dive into the pond. Accompanied with a substantial and hefty splash that sent water as high as the stalactites above. Much to Twilight’s absolute horror. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Repeating those words with intensity that even Pinkie Pie would not be ashamed of, she barely stopped herself from jumping in right after Midnight, her panic shoving aside all other feelings and easily cooling any heated thoughts with frigid dread. Especially since, after the said splash that turned the calm pond into a turbulent sea, she could not outright spot her beloved, capably turned into but surfs of the water and swirls of hot steam, as perturbed by the disaster as she herself was. “Midnight? Midnight?!” Great! Marvelous! Spectacular! Here she was going to have the most incredible moment of her freshly budding love life with a stallion she had madly fallen for and she had just managed to, this time successfully, destroy the mood... and potentially her dearest as well! Just as that hysterical idea formulated in her shook mind, a darker shape formed below the water’s surface, right near the edge she was standing at. And with as much sudden energy and speed as that of the spell, a batpony silhouette emerged from the depths. With a borderline crazed smile and sheer mischief in his saffron gaze. Twilight screamed in fear and relief alike, sending a frantic echo bouncing around the cavern, just before the miraculously reformed Midnight grabbed her around her withers and pulled her into the warm water. She would protest for several reasons, but the moment that he soundly wrapped his wings around her and joined their lips in unmistakable desire, everything ceased to be important. Up or down, sinking or floating, panic or fear. Good thing she had managed to take enough air into her lungs to stay in this wonderful, suspended embrace for a while. Safe in the way he decided to repay her for the arcane mishap. That moment of floating up in the comfort of balmy water, joined with him in this close embrace... it felt incredible. Alien and familiar alike. It was as if the world focused on nothing else but the two of them. One place, one moment and one, deep feeling that was manifesting itself in the flesh so potently. Before they actually managed to reemerge from the pond, Midnight had most thoroughly and mindfully explored her coat with his hooves and she attempted to return the favor just as much. No touch was enough yet. It only made Twilight want more. As she finally broke the surface, panting deeply due to holding her breath and all of the underwater ministrations, she could spot in before her something that resembled a cobalt curtain. It was smiling and she would recognize that fanged grin anywhere, even coming from such a bizzare pond monster of wet coat and mane. And hungry monster, as Twilight soon found out. As she reached to get the hairs away from his eyes, Midnight shot forward with the help of both hind legs and wings and almost forcefully pinned her to the pond’s edge right behind her. He shook his head around to regain vision from all the mane and granted her with a gaze of yearning that she had never experienced before. It was primal. It was bestial. It was so arousing. “M... Midnight...” Twilight just happened to have found her voice, despite the pleasurable chaos of thoughts. He didn’t reply. Not with words anyway. He was radiating unbridled and wild passion. With his forelegs having skillfully trapped her own to the sides of her head and her unfolded wings likewise spread against the rocks, Twilight felt defenseless against him. And she could tell that it was pleasing him. She felt it well through their closeness. Her batpony paramour revealed his fangs once more in a broad, irresistible smile. “I see we are rightfully warned of your Lost Gift of magic, ha...” He exhaled with a deep chuckle and Twilight almost melted from his very proximity. He felt so dominant against her. So immense. A Princess of Equestria subdued by a foreign warrior. Twilight quickly decided that she absolutely adored that scenario, however banal it appeared. It felt unbelievable. Still, even in her muddled mind, the first idea of a response to his declaration was an apology. “Speaking... of which, I... I’m so, so sorry about that, Midnaaaahight!” She could not at first grasp why did she accentuate his name like that exactly. Only after a sufficient moment did she understand that her lover clearly cared not for any atonement and was assaulting the tender skin just under her jaw with countless pecks. The strength of which attack had lured the initial, loud and remarkable moan from her, followed by a multitude of others. “I’m... ah! Trying to... say...!” He kindly laughed at her futile attempts. “I know, iau lumn...” She felt one of his hooves releasing her foreleg and reaching for her muzzle, but she made no efforts to change her helpless posture. Instead, she gazed as if mesmerized into his saffron eyes, leaving her throat open for more caresses. His whisper was most sensuous. “There’s nothing to apologize for... Met with a sudden attack, a wampir simply answers with twice the strength...” “Should... I... toss you into... water with magic more often, then...?” Twilight asked as sheepishly as her state was allowing her to and she heard a sinister chuckle in reply. “If you don’t mind me... returning the favor for such an unprovoked prank...” “I... now, wait a minut—oh!” She again tried to protest, but the feeling of his lips and fangs against all the sensitive places of her neck made it all dissolve into a pleasured whimper. Still, she had to try! She couldn’t just... let go completely. Well... maybe. But not yet! “You... mmmm... you were the o-ah! One to try and a-ambush me first.” “Drobnosti, drobnosti...” Twilight believed her beloved meant “details”, but that was her last more coherent thought for some time. He was, after all, continuing his insufferable and yet wonderful teasing, his muzzle finding better and better parts of her neck to pleasure. Letting go felt like the best idea in the world for Twilight... Closing her eyes and focusing entirely on more and more delight hitting every nerve in her body. She would have doubtlessly sunk down into the pond’s hot embrace, if it weren’t for a stone step just underneath the surface that she could brace her hind legs against. Exactly where he pinned her to the edge. That wasn’t pure coincidence, she was certain, so she let out a small laugh. The more sincere due to his undivided and gratifying attention. “What’s so funny?” he inquired, still very busy with her contentment. “Ngh... just... happy...” “ ‘Happy’? So not ‘nervous’ anymore? Not ‘stressed’?” “Mmmm! N... no. Happy...” she confirmed, fighting back the shameless coos for a breath. “That’s very good,” he whispered keenly, “but it’s just a start...” She had no reason to doubt him. Especially not when, while making sure her neck was still getting all the attention it desired, she felt his hoof snaking its way down from her muzzle to her chest... then exploring the coat of her barrel... then venturing lower... The practiced pace of its descent was torture. The sweetest, most wonderful torture she could ever envision. She knew where it was heading from the start. The fact that it wasn’t there yet she could only bear with... no, not even with dignity. Every inch of this travel she accentuated with at least a hum, if not outright moan. Midnight knew what he was doing. Twilight knew that he knew. He knew that she knew that... that... Well, that was all that remained of her thought process when she was, for the first time in her life, caressed in such an intimate way by a stallion she had given her heart to. She couldn’t imagine it any other way. It was not a spur of the moment thing, not a passing romance, it wasn’t anything else that pushed her into this, but pure, wonderful love. And this was its incredible, physical manifestation. Becoming very physical. Twilight tossed her head backwards, onto the pond’s bank as soon as Midnight reached his intended goal. Or a pair of goals, at first... His touch was mindful, gentle. Considerate and yet with strength that she couldn’t hope to contest as he kneaded and massaged her sensitive flesh. She could feel her mind yielding, seduced and sedated by pure craving. That sweet feeling that was taking away all of her thoughts. Freeing her of worries and focusing her on one, simple desire. “M-Midnight!” she moaned profoundly as he teased her without remorse. “I’ve never...! Oh my...! Ah...! I...!” she tried to somehow express how wondrous it felt, but the longer the caressing lasted the shorter her attempts were. To further render her speechless the batpony continued kissing her now entirely exposed neck, as well as her muzzle. And chuckling quite overtly. “I’m aware that I’ve always known how to please a mare, but...” he paused to prove his point and double his tender efforts, which did not really help Twilight in focusing on his words, “I didn’t realize that I am that good...” “Th-ah! That’s... oh! Obvious!” she told the ceiling, but the stalactites were kind enough to echo her words back at her beloved. “B-but! It might...! Ah! Might be als-oh! Me! I’m... I’m not really... mmm... used to...!” She had to bite her lip to even try and continue, but Midnight seemed to have caught onto what she was trying to convey in between the coos of building ecstasy. “Helping yourself, so to speak?” Twilight wanted to nod her head, but ended up just writhing it around chaotically. “Just... nah... not my thing!” The batpony stopped for a moment to nuzzle into her neck a bit more. She wanted to tell him, to order him to continue. Before she could express it, however, he leaned in to whisper in the softest way she could ever recall. “I shall be mindful... just enough...” ... and then his hoof slid lower. Twilight forgot where she was. And who. And what was actually happening... although she could feel exactly what. It was incredible. Such a pleasure from such a simple gesture should have been unthinkable and yet there she was, experiencing it to her very limits. Or so she considered. It was more than she could have hoped for and more than she ever felt and yet... it only kept growing, building, gathering. She squirmed against the hoof exploring her most tender regions with passion and diligence, hoping her beloved could show her just how far was she able to drown in this feeling. She thankfully recalled that she needed to breathe, and when air then escaped her lungs, she could manage only a wail of euphoria, which somehow formed into his name. “Midnight!” He paused outright, his goal immediately shifting from pleasure to care. “Am I being too rou—” That’s all he managed to utter before her free hoof rushed underwater. She grasped onto his pastern as hard as she could. “Don’t... you dare... stop again!” she commanded as much as simply whined in a most forlorn, impassioned way. She wanted nothing at that moment but to guide his hoof, so that he could push her further into this uncharted bliss. Her desperation managed to make him snicker at first. But he wasn’t cruel to ignore her order. Quite the opposite. Soon enough Twilight found herself singing a tune she never conceived she had in her. That of euphoria unrestrained. Her wings, until this point spread wide against the pond’s rocks, joined this performance and tried their best to envelop him. To push herself further into his embrace and, subsequently, his caresses into her being, to make his ministrations as intense as she hoped for. Each stroke was heavenly. Perfect. Her passion reached places she had not on her very life envisaged. And she wanted nothing more than to share this unadulterated feeling. To be with him in this rapture, with nerves set ablaze, thoughts melting into pure feelings. Twilight never felt more free, more unrestrained. More confident. “Aaah! M...! Midnight!” “Ia bid hic, iaa dilece...” he murmured, which allowed her to find his lips and multiply the sweet fire consuming her entirely. Prompting her to strive outright for the even greater goal. “Ah! I n-need you! Mmmm! Now!” she whinnied with exquisite desperation. “My light...” the batpony purred, giving her another, lustful kiss. It stole away Twilight’s breath and awareness both. She wasn’t certain how she managed to get out of the water, feeling like her legs would just give out completely at the very attempt of trotting. Nevertheless, she somehow made her way to where Midnight had previously spread the blanket for them. Though the only facts she could recall were frantic caresses, her delighted moans and the magnetic taste of his lips guiding her on. When he laid her with her back on the soft wool and stood above her, she followed his eyes, boring through her with the bright blaze of love and fervor. She felt no shame as he was examining her entire body, one she was exposing eagerly to his wanton gaze. “Bogine, you are so beautiful...” A few months ago she wouldn’t dare think to ever be in a position like this with anypony. Her wings splayed wide, the strands of her tail laid out on the fabric in all directions, leaving nothing to imagination. Hearing such a compliment would only cause her a harrowing fluster or worse... but that day, love made it all different. Rather than humiliation, she felt pride. After all, she wasn’t the only one compelled by what they were sharing that morning. Midnight’s body responded to their intimacy in the stallion way. Her less-than-demure glances could now confirm what she thought she felt in the pond. The batpony easily spotted what caught her attention momentarily and granted her a truly rascal grin back. She took her cue from that, reaching out for his neck and dragging him down and onto her. She wanted to feel the weight of his body. The heaviness of a stallion against her. She wanted to grow that much familiar with his warrior’s physique. To learn yet more of his heat. Of his size and his shape. She shivered intensely at her new findings. Midnight wasted not a moment and she cooed loudly as he peppered her oversensitive neck with even more kisses. His needle-like fangs were scraping her skin, leaving behind trails of burning ardor. “I... Ngh!” she tried to speak up, but he knavishly ran his hooves against her sides, turning her into a quivering mess. “Yes?” he whispered with sultry malice in his voice. “Just... Mmmm!” Her next attempt was interrupted with but a small shift of his weight, which made her feel what awaited her that much more prominently. She wasn’t going to give up in her pursuit, however. Only plead and beg of him, lost again in the depth of sweet, sensual pressure, gathering somewhere in her core. “... please, Midnight... oh...!” He kissed her just under her jaw, determined to tease her impossibly. “... I want to—ah! I need to...!” she squealed under his assault. “I have to...! Please!” Twilight did finally feel him answer her desperate requests and support himself on his forehooves. She managed to lock gazes with him somehow, spotting her own, flushed face in his eyes... but more importantly, a spark. A flicker of anticipation that made their minds become one. She felt him move his hips back. They both took shaky, expectant breaths. In the momentary silence, two sets of frantic beats made their hearts become one. And then a steady, passionate and confident motion made their bodies become one. Twilight inhaled through wonderfully clenched throat. Sharply. Distinctively. This feeling of being... fulfilled was so incongruous and so natural altogether, so invasive and so welcomed that her mind numbed for what felt like hours. For that brief yet endless moment, there was nothing else. Only her, him and the two of them. United. For the first time and forever more. Only after she finally managed to exhale in a breathy sigh did the feelings flood in. The warmth of joining. The strain of it. The sharp, piercing pain of yet unaccustomed indulgence. She whimpered but a little, braving this necessary hurt. He praised her courage with kisses and caresses, the language of his hooves telling her that everything was fine and that she was in the safest place in existence. Twilight had no reasons to doubt her love. Not when the throe evolved into thrill. Into realization of the change that she had just experienced. She held him close, drinking from, gorging on his closeness and affection. He gave her time to do just that. And then he began moving. Twilight was always analytical in her thinking. She understood that sharing one’s body with another was to be an incredible, unique experience. Only at that moment, however, did she understand why precisely everypony would romanticize about it. They weren’t exaggerating. Every shift, every motion, every advance took her further, into unknown regions of her own heart and soul. To places filled with bliss and joy. She cried at those rhythmic realizations, her hips meeting his as much as she could muster. She needed it all. She needed this new knowledge, this new wisdom, to its very pinnacle. Midnight wasn’t holding back on it. He allowed her to wallow in this indulgence, this intoxicating debauchery that left her gone, afloat near-limply in fresh, delightful comprehension. “Twilight,” he grunted into her ear and hearing her name invoked like that was enough to conjure a depraved moan from her. That was her response, the only one she could muster. That and embracing him as if her life depended on it. It did, truth be told. It leaned on their love, on their closeness. On this incredible bond that was being strengthened by the passion and immoderate intimacy. Every inch of her skin was burning. Every nerve was writhing, thrashing with delight. Twilight would have to thank her survival instinct, as she barely had any clarity of mind to keep breathing in between the coos and the whinnies and the moans that erupted from her without moderation. Smothered under her paramour’s body, ravaged in an ancient, primal manner, she felt whole. Pure bliss. It must have been paradise... Silverheaven, that divine abode of the Immaculate Moon that the batponies aspired to reach. Twilight did her best to seek Midnight’s lips. She needed to thank him for giving her a glimpse of utter comfort. She needed to dive even further into this euphoria. When she prevailed and opened her eyes, fighting them rolling back inside her head from the overdrive of feelings, she managed to find his gaze. What she saw was petrifying in its intensity. His slit pupils were so narrowed they almost vanished. Focused, piercing, transfixing. The saffron of his eyes had turned to gold, as they glowed in the delicate shade. Commanding and intimidating, yet making the ferocity of his stare entrancing and supernatural. It was reaching into her very heart. Or that which was being pumped by it, rather. Twilight, even in the lust’s very charm, understood. His deep breaths, the exhales that were enveloping her neck like a warm veil. Bared, sharp fangs, two focal points of a thirst the volume of which she could barely even imagine. Midnight’s face was flushed with craving that must have surpassed even that of carnal longing. So that was it. That was the reason behind all those caresses her neck had already endured. Behind his fangs inspecting her soft skin. That was the “red desire” he had told her about. The batpony paused his wondrous thrusts when he saw that Twilight spotted his... condition. One that made his exotic, predatory features become that much more prominent and startling. Concern glimpsed in that acute glare. She felt no fear, however. If her one, true love, the stallion that was ready to risk the stigma and wrath of his Lord, his Family, his kin only to be by her side really thirsted for her that much... she would not deny him. Not deny him anything. She exposed her neck. Vulnerable. Defenseless. “... go on...” She expected all that would follow. A deep, satisfied exhale from the back of his throat, but a moment of hesitation and then the vicious strike of two, natural daggers, piercing her coat with ease... An excruciating second of anguish and panic, with instincts protesting and kicking, yet soon subdued by mounting and entrancing lightheadedness... A thrill, building up alongside her blood being sipped, replacing every droplet with arousal, until finally pushing her over the peak that she desired and desperately needed... What Twilight had not anticipated was his lips kissing her neck in the most tender, reverential way she could fathom... and nothing coming next. She opened her eyes, confused beyond measure, and looked back at him. Instead of satisfying this inner and deep-seated drive of his nature, he was but delicately nuzzling her. So close to his crimson reward, but never claiming it. “... Midnight?” she whispered and heard the amazement in her voice, fatigued as it was with all the audacious declarations of joy. But he only smiled one of those charming, roguish smiles that she so adored and reached out to cup her muzzle. “I don’t want it, my light...” “But... but I saw that...” “Tac, to bid vere,” he admitted profoundly. “I was there, at the very brink. One more push, one more goad... would have been enough.” She couldn’t yet understand. Why deny himself that... that highest pleasure for a batpony? A bond and experience so strong she had found it hard to believe when he explained it to her those months ago, when her interest in his species, in him in particular, was only subtly beginning to veer from professional to personal? That almost mystical, perennial connection that could have been established between lovers and made them one, flesh and blood, heart and soul? “... you don’t want... to share it with me?” she asked, distress creeping seditiously into her tone. Midnight reached out to gently caress her cheek, his expression as soothing as the gesture. “My light... I don’t need it. I don’t care how pleasurable rubearu desader is supposed to be. Neskaza Lunee... as my witness, I don’t have to try and invoke it to be certain.” He was speaking the truth. She knew it. She felt it. When he leaned down and reached for her lips, their kiss consumed all the anxiety that tried to ruin their moment. The shift of his hips soon after, evoking a deep coo from her, only strengthened Twilight’s certainty. When Midnight spoke again, the tone of his conviction was unrivaled. “I could indulge it, yes. But I don’t want to be... compelled. Ordered into this by anything or anypony. This...” His hooves ran all across her sides, making her squirm. “... is my choice. Free choice, consequences be burned in Peraure!” Twilight felt her lower lip quivering from the excess of emotions. Hearing those words... could there have been a more sincere declaration? “Oh, Midnight... I love you so much...” she whimpered, reaching to hold him closer yet. “Ia amat tue tez, my light. My Twi-light.” She let out a breathy giggle as they cuddled together for a moment. But neither of them was going to be satisfied with just that moment of unquestionable affection followed by a silly pun. Especially considering their never broken... connection. This time, Midnight’s pace was growing much faster. Exactly how Twilight wanted it, once again feeling that overwhelming surge of thrill, returning with its rakish vengeance. She held onto her paramour, repaying his acts handsomely. He might have resigned from biting her neck, yes, but she wasn’t going to stop herself in any way from assaulting his lower lip with her own teeth. Nor from reaching out all the way to his back, around the bases of his leathery wings, exploring his thick, grey coat all along the way. Nor from assuring that his every motion could be more and more accomplishing, met with the help of her own hips. Throwing aside all inhibitions in the name of revelry... Oh, the very stallion-like grunts and hisses that Twilight managed to draw out and add to her own aria of moans made her sink into pleasure that much faster. To be able to, in some way, openly and lustfully declare to the world their love, though hidden from the sight of his kin, was perfect. When Midnight’s thrusts achieved the frantic tempo of an unobstructed urge, she knew she was close. Though she wasn’t sure to what, exactly. Her mind, assaulted by waves of joy, could barely fathom this feeling of... wholeness that was gathering in her entire body, from her hooves to the tips of her ears, wings and horn. Then her beloved leaned towards her ear and, despite the labored breath, murmured her own words back at her. “Go on.” She didn’t expect all that would follow. Existence became... bright for what felt like forever. Bright and warm. Bright and warm and sweet. Bright and warm and sweet and many, many other expressions Twilight couldn’t even consider using... She was gone. Lost. Thrown into a place of pleasure she had no words of describing, reaching a peak which height she couldn’t grasp. She was simply... there. Her heart soaring, her soul rejoicing, her body screaming with every inch of her skin, every hair of her coat and mane. She became one with bliss. She needed him to join her in it. That faint, high-pitched squeal which escaped her, so unassuming in comparison to what was truly happening, was all she that could muster... but she knew Midnight heard her call. He let out a hiss that reached her even in the dimension she was in. He added to her ecstasy new, yet unrecognized heat, filling her writhing being abruptly and then in gradually weaker flows, leaving behind a sense of nurturing accomplishment. She thanked him for it with a snug, desperate embrace that loosened only when she knew his motions settled. ... and only then did Twilight return to her senses. Somehow, at least. Her entire body basked in tiredness of the perfect kind. She realized that even without the panting Midnight resting on her, she couldn’t possibly be interested in moving. Not when she had just experienced the most intense pleasure of her life. It didn’t matter that she was covered in sweat, her mane was a tangled mess and her throat ached from indecent overuse. Not to even mention the state of her mind, immodestly drunk on the afterglow. Perfection. Twilight took a moment to sort out her breathing, fighting the last few whinnies reminding her of what she had just experienced... and daintily suggesting seeking more. The warmth of the hot pond just nearby helped significantly in prolonging the delectable relaxation. And Midnight’s even warmer and still close proximity could be a motivation indeed... but she felt absolutely spent for the time being. As was he, she could tell, but that did not stop him from shifting his head and gazing at her with an almost coltish achievement in his saffron stare. “... so... how was it?” She summoned a drowsy smile, even though she had to first fight her eyelids, rapidly growing heavier and heavier. “Do you... really need to ask?” He chuckled, one of his hooves sliding sluggishly to caress her cheek. “Nye, but... I’m pretty sure I love you, Honored Princess, so... I thought I would ask. To be a dutiful guardian... and all that...” She thought of a number of mean names to call him, but the thick curtain of approaching sleep covering her mind more and more made it impossible to focus on any one in particular. “I love you too...” was the soft reply that came to her the easiest. Shortly after, snuggled safely against her love and engulfed in sweet fatigue and leathery wings alike, Twilight drifted off into slumber.