My eyes slowly open to a sky of orange and red. The sun is sinking below the horizon, bathing the land in a soft orange. I smile softly and stare at the mare I have wrapped in my forelegs. My grip on her tightens ever so slightly and I kiss her mane gently, not disrupting her peaceful sleep in the slightest.
I stare at the outer edges of the clearing. The sunlight dances off the nearly invisible shield, causing the light to change to a slight silver color mixed in with the orange. I glance up at the clouds floating over the edge of the shield. A purple wing pokes out of the edge, stretches out then disappears as it drops out of my visual sight.
I lay back down and stare up at the slightly distorted sky caused by the shield. Eventually, the orange and red fades to a dark blue and stars appear along it.
"The sky always makes me wonder," I whisper lightly, gently stroking Marly's chest with my forehooves. She smiles softly in her sleep, taking comfort in the fact that somepony she cares about is close by. Her happiness radiates to me and I smile as I feel it invade me.
Silence descends upon the clearing once more and I sigh softly but happily.
Yesterday, I never expected somepony like her to spring into my life like this so quickly. Once before, I questioned the logic in this whole thing. I worried and worried that it would fall flat immediately. Much like with Shy, I was desperate for some sort of relation. Desperation calls for quick measures and this was almost as fast as being friends with Shy. I wonder how well she will take to the news.
I glance back up at the unmoving cloud and sense Shy still sleeping on top of it. A quiet moan snaps me back to Marly. She shifts in my hooves and her eyes open, turning her head to gaze at me.
"Hello there Marly, I trust you slept well?" I say with a soft smile.
She yawns and nods, "I slept really well thanks to you. I have never been so close to somepony and felt so protected in my life."
"I'm glad you feel that way; you have been the first to say that to me," My smile widens ever so slightly and I press her back against my chest.
"You like to be close to certain ponies eh?" Marly giggles.
"Well I certainly do not disappoint," I quip, resting my head on her neck.
"I know you don't, you haven't yet," She grins and kisses my neck softly, sending a shiver through my body. That shiver was then replaced by a warm feeling in my chest. She kisses again, holding it on my neck for a little bit longer before staring up at me.
"N-neither do you," I whisper, heart fluttering with the close physical contact.
Her ears perk up at my words and she flashes me a smile. "I'm a good pony and a good lover?"
"You definitely are, you need to show me more sometime." I say, grinning as well as my hoof strokes her chest. I realize that being this close to her makes me feel especially relaxed and I wanted more of it.
"Maybe I will sometime, you never know." I smile contently, watching her chest rise and fall.
Two hours slowly pass, I was very much awake and Marly slowly drifted off a hour ago. I glance up at the cloud as I sense Shy wake up. Neither of us moved during that span of time, neither one of us wanted to move for fear of loss of comfort.
Shy descends upon the shield and taps it. She tilts her head and knocks on it, sending vibrations through the whole thing. I create a gap in it below her and she glides down, hovering just above the ground, staring at us.
"What?" I softly ask.
"Oh... it's nothing," Shy responds, darker green eyes flicking towards Marly. "She must be tired."
"No, she's comfortable. There is a big difference you know." I reply. "We got our naps in earlier, when you were sleeping on that cloud." I nod toward the cloud still suspended over the clearing.
"Wanna go ahead and visit the Everfree Forest?" She asks. "Sometimes, I wanna see what lives inside there. By the way, where did Shadow go?"
"How should I know where he could've gone. You're actually worried about him?"
"Sort of, he has been kinda different since Marly was revived. He has been more snappy, do you know why?"
"Tch... no, I don't even know why." My foreleg tightens around Marly's chest instinctively. "Even if I did know, I wouldn't care. Maybe ask Cyrus, he may know."
Shy sighs softly and glances at the both of us. "Fine, but do you care about him in any way?"
"Maybe if he stops being so overly attached to Marly here," My hoof waves to her and she opens an eye.
"Hi there Shy," Marly says, smiling faintly before moving out of my foreleg and standing up, stretching. "That cloud comfortable up there?"
"Yeah, it was," Shy stares at the shield around the clearing. "What's with the shielding?"
"Just in case Shadow came back," Marly's gaze darkens slightly. Shy steps back, slightly shocked at the change of emotions in Marly's eyes. Marly sighs and turns to me, holding out a hoof. I take it and she helps me up, smiling as our hooves touch.
"I kinda do want to go to the Everfree, I haven't really been there much, if ever." I say, smiling and breaking the shield around the clearing. Shy dashes upwards for a bit and hovers, looking at me expectantly.
"Um... ah... go ahead of me Shy, I don't really feel like flying right now." I say softly, hope gathering in my eyes. She picks up on it and nods, suspicion hidden in her gaze. I silently cheer, watching her depart without words.
I knew there was something hiding underneath Shy's gaze but I paid it no mind as I glanced at Marly.
"She doesn't know?" Marly asks, surprised at the outcome.
"I wouldn't quite say that she doesn't know, I'd say that she won't say anything about it," I smartly reply, knowing Shy had a glance at my happiness.
"Oh well," Marly bounds forward playfully, glancing back and continuing forward. I chuckle and follow her towards Ponyville, keeping up with her surge in energy.
Eventually, the Everfree Forest comes into view and I stare into the darker areas. I shiver softly as a wind moves through the trees.
"The Everfree Forest, it's even more intimidating up close," I say, mind flipping back to the dream I had a while back. Marly nudges me, smiling warmly.
"No need to fear the forest Golden, you have Shy and I for support," She trots forward and I tag along, expression mixed between fear and comfort. Those two feelings battled inside me and climaxed as I stepped into the forest. The sun immediately hides behind the extensive canopy and I feel the temperature drop. I shiver heavier and fly up to one of the branches, using it as a lookout for Shy.
"Nothing yet," I call down. "Maybe she is further in, this is quite the extensive forest after all." I leap off the branch and glide back to Marly.
"Well, if she wants to go to the Everfree to do her things, why should we track her down?" Marly asks, plucking a blade of grass and looking at it. "We can do our own little things too."
"I do want to find her just in case," I reason. "Although, I would sense anything wrong through our link so we can do our own little things." A smile creeps up my lips.
"What things would you like to do?" Marly asks, nudging me playfully. My side strikes the tree softly and I bump her back.
"Oh, I dunno," I respond, feeling our bodies touch when I bump her. "Shall we figure that one out?"
"Yeah! I think we should!" Marly says enthusiastically, sudden pep throwing me off slightly.
"Excited to be with me, alone in the forest? Not that it'll mean anything." I chuckle nervously, pawing at the ground. A variety of thoughts involving her and I flashed through my mind. I cut off the thoughts before they became too obscene.
Are you kidding me? I think, sighing softly. Marly stares at me, noticing my reaction.
"Yeah, I suppose I am excited to be with you, alone in the forest. That makes me think that we can get away with different things that we normally can't get away with when she is around."
"Like wha-" I was then silenced unexpectedly when Marly planted a long awaited kiss on my lips. It was soft, enough to silence me but not enough to satisfy my desires. The kiss didn't last long, leaving me out of breath from surprise.
"Well, I suppose 'shut up and kiss me' is loads more appropriate for the both of us," Marly says, tail swishing back and forth.
"I-I... i-it..." I stammer, eyeing her tail. Before I could say anything else, I feel her lips touch mine. It feels like she did it because she wanted to instead of keeping me quiet. The initial half-suprise faded into the faint, but fiery inklings of coming passion. Her lips part from mine, but that wasn't enough.
She rubs up against my side, nudging me with her cheek. "I can already feel it, I know you want more of me." She says, nudging again. "I can see it, and I feel the same way about this. What is holding you back?"
Absolutely nothing at all. I think feverishly, realizing that Shy is nowhere to be found and we are alone in this section of the forest.
I kiss her on the cheek softly, moving toward and soon touching her lips. She melts right into it, a calming sensation spreading to the both of us. She unexpectedly breaks the kiss and pulls me down onto my side, wrapping forelegs around my neck and repeating the kiss.
I never saw that gesture coming at all but it didn't catch me off guard in the heat of the moment. My tongue prods her lips gently but she doesn't respond to it. One of her hooves begin stroking my mane as the kiss subtly becomes more affectionate. Her touch is soft and gentle much like mine.
The kiss lasts for several more minutes. When we pull apart, my emotions are all toward her. I never felt any emotions this powerful toward Shy or any other pony before. I grin and stroke her back as she continues running her hoof through my mane. Her body was extremely soft, reminding me of a cloud. I drape my wing over her and pull her close, nuzzling the side of her neck. She smiles as I do this and nibbles on my ear.
"Ya know, I don't think Shadow has ever treated me this way," Marly quips, continuing to toy with my ear with her mouth.
"Really? Glad I could be the first to treat you affectionately." I say with a slight grin, licking her neck softly much to her enjoyment. She stretches out slightly, resting her head on my neck, hoofs releasing their soft, affectionate hold on my body.
"I... yeah..." She sighs happily. "You are the first, and only one to treat me this way. I love it and I... love you Golden," Her cheeks flares up slightly as she announces her love. I try and say something in return but fail and manage a nice smile to compensate.
Inwardly, I am happier than I have been in a while. The world around me seemed slightly brighter, more vibrant even though the silence was overtaking the clearing. Being with Marly has been a totally refreshing change. Gone was the pony that protected me from anypony and everypony and it was replaced with one that filled the gap in my heart.
"Where...?" I whisper softly, hoof tickling her chin. "Where have you been... my whole life?" She snorts and tilts her head back, allowing me to scratch it more.
"Wherever I was, I missed out on this." She says contently. "Where have you been?"
"Elsewhere, not here... I wished I was though " I nip on her ear again. "Then I would have met you earlier."
She nods in reply and gently nudges my hoof away from her chin. I let it drop to the ground.
"I... love you... too," I say with a grin, mentally cursing when it took me that long to respond. "I always will too, I feel like nothing could separate us. Can you agree with me?"
Marly nods, sending reassurance through my mind and making me relax even further. I nip at her mane affectionately before nuzzling it softly. Marly returns the gesture by gently kissing my neck and cheek, happy to be with me.
Elsewhere in the Everfree, Shy is laying on the banks of a nearby stream, hoof dipping into the water. She turned her thoughts to my link and finds that her thoughts are being repressed. She sighs lightly and looks back.
"I knew I should've stuck with them," She says, resting head on forelegs. "Oh well, he'll find me later."
I try looking through his mind, but I don't find much. Is that a good or bad thing? I never felt anything adverse happen... so why is he hiding things? Shy thinks. She then gets up and trots toward the location where she last sensed me.
I am in the exact same location with Marly. My wing is idly stroking her side and I am nuzzling her neck affectionately. She smiles and closes her eyes, feeling the various movements on her body.
"This is... so nice," She mutters, shifting her body so my wing can gently rub her stomach.
"I don't want it to end," I say, wing stiffening as Marly rubs it with a hind leg. There was something about her rubbing my wing that I especially enjoyed. A slight moan escaped my lips and she began stroking the underside. She continues the stroking motion for a while and I loved every minute of it. I was so relaxed while she rubbed my wing that neither of us noticed a third presence land on a branch. It was Shy
"Having fun you two?" Shy calls, staring at us. The both of us freeze and glance at the source of the voice. When we see her, I smile faintly.
"Oh Shy... hello there," Marly says, giggling as Shy glides down from the branch.
"Becoming affectionate already Golden? I... never expected this, especially from you." She trots to me slowly.
"Please tell me you aren't mad," I say quietly, looking over Shy. "It, Marly makes me happy... ever since she woke up I felt attraction toward her, actual feelings." I glance down but Shy uses a hoof to tilt my chin and gaze up.
"Hey, it's okay if.you find a mare you love, that you always want to be with. And I accept that," She wraps me in a hug. "No, I am not angry, why would you think I'd be angry?"
"W-well, I was afraid that you were lonely..." I shakily say.
She chuckles and lets me go. "No, I have an actual husband. I just hang with you when he isn't around. Sadly, he isn't always around, leaving me alone at my house." A hint of sadness is heard in her voice and I hug her again, sending comfort through the shared bond.
"You never told me you actually have somepony in your life." Marly quips, getting up and stretching. "I don't think you told Golden either."
"Neither of you really asked, I'll let the both of you know when he shows up. I would feel bad if I stayed here because it would make me feel that I would be intruding."
Marly and I frown as she tells us and I speak up. "N-no! Please, your company is as good as Marly's."
"Wait, really?" Shy asks, smiling faintly and tightening the hug. "Good, I'd hate to be alone. How do you two like the forest?"
"Heh, I love it! It is so quiet and peaceful, perfect for developing relationships," I say, nudging Marly. "Although apparently starting out slow wasn't an option, I don't mind it one bit."
"As for me, it is quiet, but that doesn't mean it's empty. Am I right?" Marly asks, Shy nodding in response.
"You are correct, there are other monsters in this forests. Most of them you really wouldn't want to meet. Thankfully, said monsters are rather secluded in caves and such." Shy glances around, scanning the general vicinity.
I'm not worried about the monsters at all, I'm pretty sure of my abilities to take them down. If one is several times the size of me, however, taking it down would be a totally different story. My imagination began to run wildly at the thought of what kind of monsters would reside there. I sensed the slightly elusive minds of manticores a few times before but never seen one in person.
I totally know that we are the only two ponies in the forest. I just was more concerned about the minds I couldn't really detect. Shy arouses my attention from my personal thoughts by flapping her wings, going into a hover.
"It's safe here, I done all I wanted to do." Shy flies to me and gently pokes my chest. "What do you wanna do?"
"Hm..." I muse, glancing to Marly then back to Shy. The temptation of staying with my newfound marefriend is rather great but the thought of spending time with Shy also is pretty good too. I hastily make my decision, turning to Marly.
"Sorry Marly, but I kinda want to spend some time with Shy if you don't mind." I say, softly touching Marly's side.
"N-no, that's alright," Marly says, not expecting that decision. "Want me to come with?"
"Um... sorry but... no because she is as important to me as you are and I also don't want to forget that she exists," I say. Marly steps back, slightly hurt but she flashes me a reassuring smile.
"T-thats alright I guess, I'll be somewhere in the forest if you decide to come back." Marly trots off.
"Well, shall we go?" Shy asks, smiling. "We have a while to do things still."
"I know," I respond with a smile, bounding ahead of her, spreading my wings. I leap into the air, weaving around the trees. Shy follows closely behind me, mimicking my movements.
"I know you know!" Shy says happily, doing a twirl. "It feels good being in the air with you."
"Heh, I do agree with you there. Sometimes, I totally forgot that I am a pegasus and have a perfectly usable pair of wings." Shy giggles and speeds ahead of me and looks back.
"Well? What are ya going to do about me being ahead of you huh?" She says, slowing and flicking her tail so it hits my face.
"That tail is rather soft, are you sure you want it to hit me square in the face?" I do a barrel roll, gold trail following behind me. I then flip over so my belly is facing up and continue flying normally. "I mean really, that tail is also useful for tickling ponies."
"You saying you want to be tickled?"
"No, I'm saying that you can use it that way." I slowly descend upon one of the buildings in Ponyville, hooves landing atop the roof. Shy lands on the ground next to the building, staring up at me.
"Yes, I know you can use tails for tickling, and hitting ponies like you in the face." She laughs, grinning when she circles the house.
I glance at her figure moving about the outer perimeter of the house. Her bright, almost neon blue tail flicked softly behind her and I smile faintly.
Nothing would certainly seem to break this peaceful streak. Or at least, anything in Ponyville. I know that there are threats against me and I also know that nothing could really stop said threats. At least I have Shy to keep me company and protect me.
Elsewhere...
My father sits outside the very same place I was born and raised in. The house was two stories and painted white, a porch wrapped around the back, showing off the barely cut grass and the surrounding forest. He gets up and turns to his wife, worry hidden deep inside. Her controlling gaze flicks to him and she smirks.
"Ready to bring him back?" She cooly asks, gray mane moving in the wind.
Father remained silent, wanting to disapprove but knowing the consequences. "A-alright," He manages. She nods and trots into the forest, the stallion pegasus following closely behind her.
I swear, if I fail in doing this, he is going to regret ever meeting me... his wife cooly thinks, keeping head low and mind attuned to Ponyville