Sky’s eyes blinked with the strain of waking up after a century-long nap. As his vision cleared, he focused on two blurry purple shapes that were getting bigger the longer he looked at them.
Before fully knowing what was approaching, he felt two fuzzy sets of hooves wrap around him as he was knocked backwards by the force of the impact. Looking down, he was greeted by the sight of two purple pegasi hugging him with teary faces buried in his chest.
“You’re back!” Flitter cried, squeezing his armor so hard he feared it would bend. “I’m so happy to see you! I was afraid you weren’t going to make it.”
Slightly taken aback, Sky embraced her and whispered, “Of course I came back. I promised I wouldn’t leave you, didn’t I?”
Turning to look at the other pegasus clinging to him, he chuckled, “I never expected you to be so cuddly, Cloud. Have you been holding out on me, or am I still dreaming?”
Cloud wiped her watery eyes with a hoof before slugging him on the shoulder. “Don’t be stupid, man! I always knew you were going to return. I wasn’t worried for a second!”
Sky smirked as he pulled her into another embrace. The three of them stayed there for a while, basking in the warmth and comfort of the group huddle. Eventually, Sky broke the hug and asked, “What happened while I was gone? Are you two okay?”
Flitter sniffled into her wing and choked out, “After you stepped into the spell, you just vanished for over ten minutes! I was terrified that we were never going to see you again.”
“Yeah,” Cloud agreed, “You gave us a real scare there, dude. What did that spell do to you?”
Flashing back to his ethereal experience, Sky sat down and took a deep breath. “You girls better hold on to something because I’ve got some big news…”
Half-an-hour later, Sky let out a sigh of exhaustion. “Finally, once we destroy Salamander Slytherdrake’s locket, Dragon Lord Torch and all the others it has corrupted will be vanquished, and a new ruler would have to take his place as Dragon Lord.”
Flitter and Cloudchaser stared at him with wide eyes. Finally, after several tense moments, Cloud barked, “You’re being serious, right? This isn’t just some prank?”
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but I do have proof. Once we go into the final chamber of this prison, The Sword of Griffonstone is going to choose you as its champion and bless you with the strength and courage of the late Gilbert Griffonstone.”
“Well, what if I don’t want the power? I mean, attacking a magically buffed giant Dragon Lord doesn’t really sound like the safest mission,” she balked, flapping her wings in anxiety.
Sky thought about her question. “I don’t think we have much of a choice at this point. Flitter and I have already been chosen, and I don’t think that door is going to open unless you accept your place as champion of the sword.”
Cloud snorted. “Ugh, that’s so typical. These founders don’t give a changeling’s hoof about our lives. They just want to use us to finish the fight they couldn’t win.”
“Regardless, we’re still going to have to accept their mission if we don’t want to starve to death here.” Sky stood and picked up his shield. “Come on, we need to get moving if we want to get back home before the sun goes down.”
Flitter’s wings expanded as she squeaked, "wait…”
Sky turned to look at her. “Yeah? What’s wrong, Flitter?”
Her face blushed as she mumbled, “it’s just… what you were saying before… did you really…”
A confused expression plastered itself on his face. “Like I told Cloud, I was being serious about what I said. That’s why we need to get back home quickly.”
Flitter turned even more red as her wings extended to their full length. “oh… I d-didn’t know you wanted to do it so s-soon… shouldn’t we wait a bit before…”
Sky’s voice became impatient. “Flitter, I know you’re scared because I am too, but if we don’t do it now then we may never have another chance! Now, let’s get the sword and leave so we can get started.”
The three of them crossed the prison floor, Flitter’s wings twitching and jerking all the way. As they entered the final chamber, a shining gleam reflected around the room and blinded them for a moment.
There, in the middle of the chamber, was The Sword Of Gilbert Griffonstone, its shiny, ruby-encrusted handle sticking out of a boulder in the ground.
Cloud huffed, “So, that’s it? It doesn’t look all that impressive.”
Sky stepped forward and grabbed the hilt. “Gilbert said the sword would choose you somehow. Let’s pull it out now so we can leave this depressing pla-” His voice cut out as the hilt glowed red and blasted him backwards, throwing his battered body against one of the cave walls.
“SKY!” Flitter shouted, running to his side as Cloud laughed her head off.
“Are you okay, Sky?” Flitter asked, frantically checking him for injuries.
He groaned as his body protested any movement. “Ow… what the hay? Gilbert didn’t say anything about the sword having a bomb in its hilt!”
Cloud’s raucous laughter echoed throughout the chamber. “AH HA HA! I take it back! This thing is awesome!”
Sky growled at the hysterically laughing pegasus as he rubbed the bruise forming on his snout. “Jeez, where’s all that hugging and affection from just a few minutes ago?”
“Oh? Do you want me to kiss it to make you feel better?” Cloud swooped down and planted a gentle peck on his muzzle. Instantly, his wings stiffened and erected to their extended positions as his legs went ridged. Flitter gave a muffled squeak of horror as her sister’s lips made contact with Sky’s.
Pulling back with a giggle, Cloud wiped a hoof across her muzzle and smirked, “How do you feel now?”
“Uhhhhhhhhhhh…”
She gave a self-satisfied grin and turned around, flicking her tail to the side as she sauntered away. “Now that you’re all better, I’m going to grab the sword. I have a feeling it won’t jettison me like a cannonball this time.”
Her teeth gripped the ornate handle as she pulled on the sword. A red glow emerged from the ruby-encrusted hilt the moment her muzzle touched it, and the sword’s blade slowly started rising from the enchanted stone. “Oh, yeah. Come to mama…”
Inch by inch, the flawless steel blade emerged from the rock’s confines until the tip finally broke free. The torch light reflected off the pristine metal and blinded them for a moment before Cloud slashed it through the air, creating a beautiful whoosh as it cleaved through its surroundings.
“Not bad… not bad at all!” Cloud murmured, staring at the impeccable weapon like it was made of diamonds. “Hey, do you think Kaya will mind if I keep the sword for a while? I wouldn’t mind taking it into a couple fights.” The sword’s blade seemed to glow brighter as if agreeing to her proposition.
Flitter, however, shook herself out of her kiss-induced stupor and growled, “Don’t even think about it. We promised to return it to Kaya in order to preserve griffon history and honor its founder.”
Cloud chuckled, “Too late! But, you’re right. We promised to bring it back, so we need to uphold that contract if we want to keep our ‘reputation’. Isn’t that right, sis?”
“Yes, that’s right. Now that we have the sword, let’s get out of here and go home already!” Flitter adopted a bashful expression as she glanced at Sky. “I mean, w-we still have s-something to do before fighting the Dragon Lord, right?”
Sky staggered to his hooves and exclaimed, “That’s right! We need to get back to San Hoof soon if we want to have enough time to finish.”
Flitter’s fur turned scarlet as she nodded. Together, the three of them made their way back through the prison, past the now unlocked cellar door, and into the castle’s entrance hall. Raising his shield, Sky whispered, “Wait! Stay behind me in case someone is trying to ambush us.”
Inching out of the basement staircase, he looked around for any sign of trouble, particularly watching for any indication of The Wind Slashers. However, like they had promised, it seemed the assassin guild had better things to do than wait in ambush for their hunting party. “Ok, it’s clear!”
The three of them flew over the collapsed entrance gate into the fresh forest air. Glancing up, they could see an orange tinge starting to stain the sky as dusk approached. “Wow, I had no idea we were in that castle for so long. We really need to get a move on if we want to get back into town.”
Turning to Cloud, he asked, “Since you’re so attached to it, can you bring the sword to Kaya and collect our payment? Remember, we still need to eat and pay rent, so no funny business, okay?”
She rolled her eyes and socked him in the barrel with a mocking gasp. “Ah stuff it, I was just joking about keeping it. I’ll deliver it safely and get the payout, so don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
Sky huffed in disbelief as she took off towards the marketplace. “I’ll believe it when I feel some gold coins in my hooves.” Turning around, he said, “Flitter, you and I need to get back home. We need to get started as soon as possible if we want to be ready when Cloud gets back.”
Flitter’s eyes widened as a scarlet blush rose to her cheeks. “W-Wait, you want to get Cloud involved too!?”
Raising an eyebrow, he replied, “Of course I do! I mean, wouldn’t it be better if all three of us were there before starting? We’re all going to be doing it anyways, so it’d be better if we practiced together before doing the real thing, right?”
“I-I suppose you have a point, but I thought for our first time… we’d be able to… you know…”
Sky gave her a caring smile. “I understand how you feel. I’m scared of messing up too, but we all need to improve our techniques if we want to stand a chance at lasting more than a few seconds.”
“I-I can last more than a few s-seconds…” Flitter mumbled, mortified at what she was saying.
“I know you can, but we’re still going to need all the practice we can get. Now come on, we really need to get moving before Cloud beats us there.”
Flitter stood outside her front door as Sky landed a second later. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as the moment of truth approached.
Shaking his windswept feathers, he said, “Great, looks like Cloud isn’t back yet, so we still have some time.”
Flitter made a small noise of agreement as her trembling hoof turned the key in the door lock. With a click, the two entered her apartment before settling into the living room. Sky placed his travel pack near the door as Flitter whispered, “Um… Sky?”
He turned to look at her with concern. “Are you alright? You’ve been jumpy ever since we left the castle.” Then, adopting a cautious glare, he asked, “Did you see another assassin guild following us?”
“N-no, I didn’t see anypony. I just wanted to let you know before I went to go change.”
His expression relaxed into a relieved grin. “Oh, right. I should probably get out of my armor too. It’d probably be uncomfortable to do it with it on, huh?”
Too embarrassed to speak, Flitter nodded before entering her room and closing the door behind her.
Loosening the straps on his armor, Sky stepped away from the metal plates and picked up his shield. Staring at his printed cutie mark, he smiled and swung it through the air. “Well, I’m not really sure how empathy and negotiation is supposed to help in a fight with a demonically possessed Dragon Lord, but I’ll do the best I can to protect others from harm.”
The sound of a door handle made his ears perk up. Turning, he said, “Okay, now that we’re both ready, let’s start training each other on how to use our powe...” His voice faded as his brain started to process what his eyes were claiming to see.
Flitter sauntered out of her bedroom wearing one of the most erotic night dresses he had ever seen. Just like before their quest for The Sword Of Griffonstone, she was wearing a pair of low-cut indoor slippers and thigh-high leggings, but this time the form-fitting fabric stopped just above her knees, leaving very little of her legs to the imagination. Her normally cute bow was replaced by a hot pink string of easily removable silk. However, unlike their intimate date to the market, Flitter had forgone a skirt or top, leaving her angel-white panties on full display. This caused her cutie marks to be half-hidden under the alluring material, making his eyes wander to her irresistibly tempting flanks and honeypot.
After several moments of stunned silence, Sky clamped his hooves over his closed eyes and yelled, “FLITTER! What are you wearing!? Have you lost your mind!?”
Flitter’s seductive expression evaporated, being replaced by one of embarrassed shame. “I-I’m sorry! Do I not look good in this? I thought you’d like it given how you reacted to my outfit a few weeks ago!”
Sky spluttered, “T-That’s not the issue here! Why are you wearing that!? You know that I’m a guy, right!?”
“I t-thought that you wanted to… do some things together. That’s why you wanted to get back home so quickly!”
His mind felt like it was on fire as he shouted, “N-No! That’s not what I meant at all! When I said that we needed to get back fast, I meant that we needed to help each other practice using our new powers! You know, the abilities we gained when the ancient founders chose us as champions!?”
The room fell silent as the red-faced ponies stared at each other. When the realization of her mistake crashed down, Flitter’s face turned beet red as she let out a tiny *squeak* of humiliation. Covering her vulnerable body with her wings and tail, she sprinted back into her bedroom, slamming it behind her for good measure.
Sky didn’t have time to calm his body down as the sound of another opening door reached his ears. Looking around in horror, he saw Cloud entering through the front door with a satisfied smile and a large bag of bits in her hoof.
Not wanting to greet her in his compromising position, he immediately covered his barrel and sat down, wincing as his sensitive flesh impacted the ground at high speed.
“Woah! Chill out dude, it’s just me!” Cloud said, waving a hoof at his startled expression. “Hey, these bits are kind of heavy. Would you mind bringing these to the counter while I take off my armor?”
Sky fidgeted as his own sword refused to return to it's sheath. Thinking quickly, he stammered, “Uh… I don’t think that’s a very good idea… can you do it yourself?”
Cloud raised her eyebrow at his deflection. “Are you okay, man? You sound kind of scared. Were you and Flitter attacked by another assassin guild?”
“N-no, we’re fine… it’s just, I’m kind of tired right now, so I don’t want to stress my legs… heh heh…”
Losing her patience, Cloud dropped her armor in a heap and started towards him. “Alright dude, time to fess up. I know there’s something bothering you, so why don’t you just tell me before I have to force it out of... your...”
Her voice trailed off just like his had when Flitter exited her room. Sky’s hooves were crowded around the bottom of his barrel while his tail created a translucent cover over his most private region. The heat emanating from his cheeks seemed to double as his Excalibur stood tall and proud to the startled mare's calculating gaze.
Once again, the noise in the room fell away as she stared wide-eyed at his shame. Shaking her head to clear away the awkwardness, she grabbed the reward pouch and muttered, “R-Right… I’ll just… take the bits to the counter then.”
As she stumbled away, Sky shuffled over to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Gazing at his harassed reflection in the mirror, he covered his heated face with his hooves and grumbled, “Things can not get worse…”