Chapter 1
Nightmare Night, a night filled with festivities, games and free candy. But not for Fluttershy, for her it mean a night full of fright and horror. Ever since she was old enough to even use a wingblade she had been trown into the frey. Just like her parents, their parents and all of the Wisperwing-clan before them.
It saddend her, her clan and hers alone were the ones who stood guard over the ethereal line.
The Line, such a deceiving name for such a dangerous thing. Especially on this night, the one night that the natural magical field of their home-realm would be thin and even breaking in certain places. And on those places to sat horrible things would happen would be the understatement of the milennia. But she had faced those horrors before, she has seen it all before and it has left her a broken mare.
Her clan has the name of cowadice, of being skittish and jumpy and generally being afraid of just about anything. A name of being a utter disgrace to the normally proud and warriorlike Pegasi.
A small tear formed and dropped to the floor. A single tear shed for the sacrifices made by a few to save the many. True, there had been times she wanted to speak up but ancient rules disaproved of that. Especially since the celebrations of nightmare night were making her mission even more difficult, as she was sworn to secrecy, none may ever know of the shadow hunters and their prey.
That single rule, stick to the shadows to protect the innocent mind. Just a few simple words yet so powerfull and true. The unbreakable rule, and she had just broken it. And for why? Because she saw one of those things attack the only thing in her world that still really mattered. The only pony who had ever really believed in her, who had been there for her ever since that faithfull day she had received her element. The only pony who had ever truly pierced the shield of kindness crafted arround her heart and gain true affection.
But it was also the only pony she knew that was so completely oblivious that it was simply to painfull to even look at.
Her armor would hide much of her appearance and would be able to fool any regular pony, but to a mare like Twilight who was so intune with magic it would be impossible to hide her aura. Her own personal magic as it was often called.
A single sound pierced the silent darkness, stepping sounds hailing from the forrest near their location. It seemed that damagecontroll would have to wait.
Softly poking her friend she wispered “Twilight, Twilight listen to me. You have to trust me on this alright?”
The lavender mare`s head rose slightly and looked towards her savior. Bound in black enchanted cloth covered in deep red splotches, two painted wings each sporting a sharpend outergaurd known as a wingblade. But the normally inquisative eyes were dimm with shock for they had seen this figure slicing the beast that moments before wanted to kill her in half with a single clean cut.
Again Fluttershy spoke, repeating her words this timedesperation clearly ringing in her voice. Midnight had fallen, and that meant only a few more minutes before the creatures would be casted out of this domain and back to their hellish realm. But it also meant that they were driven to seek out as much blood as possible before that happened.
She needed to get to safety, not even the most experienced of her clan dared to be out hunting in the final minutes. Wasting no more time she started to lift the Unicorn onto her back hoping to retreat to the safety of her house before the creatures could be upon them.
It was during the first attempt that she saw it. A large thorn imbedded in the flank of her friend hidden by the fur. The odd location and its coloration made clear what had happened. How it was possible that the mare who could defeat a Ursa minor and resisted Discords direct influence could fall pray to a monster like that and why she was not responding. Nothing fatal, atleast not for a good long while, but it could prove troublesome especially with the antidotes after effects.
A loud snap of a twig snapped her out of her thought. Three ponies shambled towards their location. A sigh of relief escaped her. The arivals she had feared turned out to be infected. Poor souls who had worshipped the damnable creatures from the other side. How they got a fresh bag of these idiots was a secret thousands of years of hunting had not revealed and had driven many a clanspony to drinking trying to figure it out.
But like every year these cultists had been infected with a vile magic, turning them into what was the known cause of the zombie myths.
Their aura had been used to pierce the line, and without their aura they were nothing more then animals. Animals who`s body was slowly falling appart if they would not feed on the mana-enriched flesh of living ponies. Not that they ever posed enough risk to actually succeed. The strips of mangled fur and rotting flesh falling in a trail behind them was more then enough evidence of that.
Carefully she nuzzled her drugged friend while wispering that she would need to stay put for just one meezly little moment.
Raising herself and facing her foe`s her normally gentle and kind eyes hardend. Her wings flared and with a fluent push the mare raced towards to the soon to be double dead corpses.
Within mere seconds her left front hoof connected with the head of the first of the three infected. Its skull shattered, and allowed the repainting of the two behind it with its contence, before it even see what was coming.
The second one placed one hoof in a stepping motion towards her but a single wingswipe took care of the offending hoof. Confused the infected sluggishly moved its head to the now hoofless leg, still dripping something that only marginally resembled blood falling out in think chunky drops. A mistake on its part as a second later a flick from the other wing had send its head rolling over the dirt.
The third one actually had a still functioning brain and was trying to shamble away. But to no avail, a set feathershaped daggers flew out from Fluttershy`s wings due a heavy wingstrust and all eight found their target. It dropped without a sound.
Now it was vital to get Twilight and herself to safety, before anything really dangerous would find them.
*About 10 minutes later in Fluttershy`s cottage*
The poisons secondary effect had finally kicked in and Fluttershy was rushing about in her kitchen seemingly picking herbs from various cabinets at random. She knew she still had plenty of time before the poisons effects would do permanent damage. It was only in its second stage, painfull? Yes very, but nothing deadly or necrotic yet.
And that it was painfull for the mare was obvious. Fluttershy had placed her friend in her own bed upstairs, but the agonising cry`s of pain could still be clearly heard.
Each painfull moan brought a tear to her eyes and pierced her heart. Nopony deserved this fate, not even Sombra or Chrysalis, and yet that wonderfull Unicorn she knew as Twilight was laying upstairs going through it. She had never dared to act on her crush, not wanting to lose the friendship they had build over the past three years.
And besides, why would a pony as smart, beautifull and powerfull as her want with a pony like her? A akward and shy pegasus who was trained to hunt monsters that were not supposed to exist and who`s neverending hunt had scarred the mind enough to be afraid of just about anything.
Even with her mind occupied by thought the brew was created swiftly. Adminstrating it, well that would be a chore. Her friend was not laying still and the pain made it almost impossible to swallow what little Fluttershy could get in Twilight`s mouth. The incredebly foul taste was not helping either.
She had used all of the tricks she knew about administrating a potion to a unwilling patient and she was running out of time and antidote. Sighing she took the last bit of antidote in her mouth and nearly spat it out from the vile taste before initiating her last resort.
In one swift movement she had grabbed the Unicorns head and placed her lips on the other's.
During their kiss, if one could even call it that, the bitter fluid was transferred and it was being made sure that Twilight could only swallow it.
As the last drops of the herbalbased liquid passed through the Unicorns troath Fluttershy withdrew. The normal yellow had been replaced by bright red. That had not been how she had ever thought about sharing her first kiss with another pony. The blissfull little smile on the now calming Twilight gave a glimmer of hope. Hope that she just now had not destroyed their friendship, but instead had opened the door to something better. A life where Twilight was not just her friend, but a life where in the sight of seeing the other mare sharing the bed with her would be very common.
Moments later the groaning of pain coming from the laying mare had stopped, Fluttershy knew that the worst was behind them now. The musclespasms would be stopping aswell within a few minutes.
A few precious moments she needed to spend on explaining to her friend what had happened.
Still deep in thought and becouse of the haste of creating the antidote Fluttershy had not even thought about getting out of her combatgear. A minor oversight she would soon realize as she felt a something tapping on her shoulder. Startled she snapped her head towards the source. A lavender hoof had been carefully prodding her in order to get her attention.
Her own bright blue eyes looked at a set intrueged purple ones. Her brain immediately noticed something was wrong. Twilight was always a curious one, but where were the questions? Where were the accusations? They never came, only a soft voice full of pity and sympathy complete with a soft hug.
“Your a Wisperwing? Ooh Fluttershy I `m sorry. If only I would have seen the signs then you would have known that you do not have suffer your tasks burden alone. That you would have somepony to talk to.”
“You, you know?”
“Of course I know. I was the one who created the shield enchantment for your robes. I stumbled upon records of your clan during research on the hypothosis that teleporting was actually a form of transdimensional travel wherein the caster rips open a tear in time and space and passes through a different dimension to shorten travel*. Celestia forbade me to ever speak of it ourside of her or any of the Wisperwings themselves. A year orso ago a clan-elder aproached me asking if i could examine the armor and perhaps enforce the enchantments.”
By this time their embrace had ended and they were sitting acros from eachother. Twilight still on the bed and Fluttershy on the floor.
A few thoughts went through Fluttershy`s mind, some confusing others happy for if Twilight already knew of her clan`s mission then maybe just maybe she would escape punishment. But those were not the dominant thoughts. That one was a question.
'What's going on? Did i make a mistake in the formula? The antidote is supposed to induce a heavy depression. But Twilight seems fine. Whats going on?'
It was only when a slight scent found its way to her nose that she realised what was happening.
'Ooh no, please let it not be so. How could I forget Granny`s teachings! Not good, not good at all. A strong inner lay-network combined with a crush will result in....'
And that was the last of her musings as a set of lips found her own. With effort she ended the kiss and pushed Twilight a bit backwards. As good as it might have been, it was wrong. She wanted Twilight, but on her own terms not due some after effect of a drug.
But no matter how valliant her effort it proved completely futile as she felt the slight tingling sensation of Twilight's magic brushing against her fur as her armored robes were being removed from her body.
The other mare looked at her with a hopefull gaze “Please 'Shy, let me. Think of it as a rewards for saving me if anything else. And there is no denying it that you want this aswell. I`ve seen how you look at me when you think i`m not looking.”
The Unicorn pressed in for another kiss. And like before was met with resistance. But unlike last time Fluttershy`s assaulter was not backing down as easely as before. The enticing and heavily pheromomend scent coming from Twilight combined with the fatique of a night of hunting had begun to wear on her defences. Defences that were on the brink of shattering when Twilight had distracted her by softly rubbing the base of her wings. Causing her to open her mouth a little, in delight from the gentle ministrations, and subsequentially had given the scholar all the opertunity needed to pry her mouth open a little bit more and start a wrestling match between their tongues.
When they broke appart the look in Twilight's eyes were all that was needed to break any resistance Fluttershy still had left. The little voice in her head that had told her that it was wrong to take advantage of her friend's pseudo-heat had simply tossed its figurative arms in the air in surrender and had retired for the night.
Without to much trouble she had allowed her clothes to be stripped from her body as she began to stand up. While she was a little glad to be out of the near skintight armored cloth she had little time to enjoy her new freedom. Not paying attention to Twilight had given the mare ample time to step into the second phase of her plans for tonight. A hoof gently trailing her left side all the way down to her flanks. A soft movement behind her had started to brush her tail away and without warning something wet and slippery was gently flicking at her marehood, as if sampling the wares before her friends muzzle drove straight in.
And from there it all went down the hill, or straight to heaven depends on your point of vieuw, at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous.
*A hour or three later*
Fluttershy could still not believe what had happened. Somewhere along the the ride the effects of the antidote had worn off. She had expected Twilight to trow her off and start to yell. Instead the scholar had simply froze up, started to blush with a intensity of a sun. But when Fluttershy had aproached to see if her friend was alright she had found herself being drawn in yet another passionate surprise kiss that sparked off another round of their previous activities.
But with early dawn peeking over the world`s edge Fluttershy found herself simply basking in a wonderfull afterglow with Twilight deeply snuggled in her hooves and head laying on the chest of the Pegasus. But something was weighing heavy on her heart. Something she needed to say.
Gently stroking the Unicorns mane in a loving manner she started. In her typical shy and withdrawn way she spoke.
“I`m sorry Twilight, for ruining your Nightmare night. I know how much you had looked forward to it. You`ve been talking about your special plans for weeks.”
Her appology only got her a hearwarming giggle and a soft nuzzle from the mare in her hooves.
“Ooh 'Shy, there is nothing you need to appologize for. Infact I say it went better then planned, well exept for being attacked and poisoned by a otherwordly monster.”
The puzzled look on the mare`s face seemed to only work to spurr Twilight on with the explaination. Fluttershy could not believe her ears. Twilight had actually planned something like this? Could it really be that she felt something similair that she felt herself?
“True I had not expected to be attacked so close to town. But I wanted to see you. To be with you tonight. I had it all planned out exactly like my books told me to.”
The Unicorn looked a bit up and gently smiled before laying down on her chestpillow and continueing.
“I had a basked with me, suppose its completely destroyed now though, with a few of Bonbon`s finest chocolats and a bottle of wine i`ve been saving for just that occasion. Just the two of us, away from the busy and noise towncentre, under Luna`s moon and stars. Ending with me expressing what i`ve been dying to say for a long time. How I feel about you.” A soft giggle followed as she went on. “But I think you`ve guessed what those feelings and thoughts are by now right? So what do you say, will you be my marefriend?”
For a few moments it was silent, not becouse she was offended. Far from it, Fluttershy was just shocked about the brazen suddenness of it all. Well sudden, having explored her friends most intimate parts as thuroughly as they had just done with mutual gusto would have been a decent telltale. But even in shock she knew exactly how to respond. By craning her neck and gently placing a kiss on Twilights forehead. “Of course I will sweety. But right now, no more talking we can do that enough tomorrow morning ok? Just sleep and know that I would like nothing less then being yours.”
No reply came so Fluttershy gently closed her eyes. But before she fully went to sleep she could have sworn she heard Twilight mumble something in the likes off.
“Ruining my Nightmare night? Far from it, I got to see a few tricks and both got the best tasting treats in my life. Ruined? no, perfect is a better word.”