Bonding
”Knock Knock!”
Instead of actually knocking and politely waiting to be allowed inside, the brash pegasus simply trotted right on in. Still wearing his armour but he had at least been casual enough to leave his helmet back in his room.
Flash Magnus looked around until he found the pony whose room he was invading. The grey, scrawny unicorn looked up in surprise from his desk. Well, the desk of the room he was provided during their stay in Canterlot. Quickly closing a book and putting an ink quill aside.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Magnus..?” he asked carefully. Not expecting a surprise visit this late.
“Just checking in on you is all, Stygian,” Flash replied, trotting over with that confident grin of his. “I expected as much, finding you up this late instead of getting some decent sleep.”
“Well, yes,” Stygian said, rubbing the back of his neck which was feeling a bit stiff after hours of hanging over books in hope to at least start scratching the surface of all the history and knowledge he had missed out on the past thousand years. “I have always been a bit of a nightowl, I guess.”
“Are you not the one who should be getting some decent sleep,” the unicorn then shot back at the intruder. “Are you not leaving for Cloudsdale tomorrow once the sun rises?”
“Just a bit restless in them old bones,” Flash chuckled, stretching his wings and kicking out a leg playfully. “I’m used to be at the ready in case of any emergency. Takes a while to get the tension out after a battle.”
Stygian went quiet, looking away. Yes, after the battle against the Pony of Shadows. Himself.
Seeing this mood change, Flash rolled his eyes. Extending a wing to pat his friend at the back of his head. “No moping! You got nothing to mope about!”
Despite it had just been a light pat, Stygian flinched and rubbed at the back of his head as if to make sure he hadn’t truly been struck. “I beg to differ,” he mumbled.
“We already talked about this. That was the Shadow, not you.”
Stygian looked away again. Flash sighed loudly and dramatically to get his attention back.
“I’m not checking in on you to assist on your moping.”
“Then I apologize for wasting your time, Mr. Magnus.”
“That’s all in the past!”
“Same as everything else you and the other Pillars were forced to leave behind, a thousand years ago, just to deal with me.”
Another heavy sigh. Flash was a soldier, he cheered ponies up by inspiring their will to battle. A moping unicorn who was anything but a soldier was far trickier to deal with
Everypony had more or less tried to help. They made it clear to him he was forgiven if he was willing to forgive them as well. He was their friend and despite his mistakes, they too had great part in his actions and what lead to the situation they were all stuck in now. Everypony was set on making the best of it, all planning to head home, or at least to see what home looked like now, before exploring the rest of this new modern Equestria.
With Stygian not joining them in their planning, keeping to himself.
What kind of friends would they be if they left him in the dust again?
“And so what?” was the best Flash could think of for his retort.
“And so what? Your friends, your family, your homes, all gone, just because I-“
Flash silenced the incoming monologue about all his bad deeds, simply by sticking his wing tip into the unicorn’s mouth. Not caring that said unicorn began spitting and spluttering in surprise until the feathers was removed from his mouth.
“And so what. Can’t change it now anyway. We are making the best of it the best we can, as always,” Flash declared, his chest pushing out proudly. “Hanging over details that already happened and can’t be undone won’t change anything either way!”
As Stygian prepared to continue on his moping, the pegasus pulled his friend in close with a wing for a hug. Stygian was completely unprepared for the sudden hug. But even less so for what came with it.
Warm lips pressed against his - lips belonging to another pony, a pony who was a living legend, a living legend who saw him as a friend. Now kissing him. Stygian seized up completely, frozen in the awkward pose he was in from being pulled into a hug, and a kiss, unprepared. His mind going completely blank as his eyes were opened wide in shock and surprise.
“Ha, that quiet you down,” Flash chuckled as their lips parted again. Stygian pulled in a sudden, sharp breath, as he had forgotten the function of his lungs during the shocking moment.
“Wait, wh-wh, whu..?!” he spluttered, unable to form sentences, his head a mess.
Flash chuckled at his friend’s frantic attempts to realign his thought pattern to something that made sense. “What, don’t tell me that’s how you react every time somepony kisses you.”
“I h-ha-have n-never b…” Stygian finally managed to put together words that worked like a sentence. Progress!
“What? I’m your first kiss? Really?” Flash blinked in surprise.
“R-Really!” Stygian replied, his voice nearly a panicked shrill.
“Hey, calm down, what’s wrong?”
“Wh-What’s wrong?! Yo-You just… You j-just-!”
The unicorn managed to push himself free from Flash’s wings, turning away just to stumble over the stool he had been sitting on moments again. Landing on the floor in a mess of flailing limbs and a cape.
“Hey, you okay?” Swiftly Flash pulled his friend back up from the floor, getting him on his feet and checking him over for any bruises. He always looked so frail, who knew how easily he bruised.
“Why would you kiss me?!” Stygian cried out as soon they were face to face again.
“What? Why wouldn’t I?” Flash asked, blinking confused. “I’m done letting you feel left out.”
“Wh-What..?”
“That was the problem, wasn’t it? We kept forgetting you. You always stayed in the back; sure you had all the strategies and did the research, but always ended up left behind as the rest of us went to fight. You’re still as important part of the squad as the rest of us.”
“B-But what does that have to do with kissing..?”
“Is this a unicorn thing? Is this why all you hornheads always act so stiff and formal?” Flash asked, raising a brow.
“Wh-What..?”
“You don’t bond with your comrades?”
“Bond with my…?”
“Yeah, did it all the time with my old squad. It takes off tension, builds bonds and gets ponies closer together.”
Stygian blinked, more confused than ever. “What?”
“Ah, I see. Heh, guess a good thing I never tried with Starswirl then. The stick up his bum can only be massive.”
Stygian blinked again. “What?”
Flash breathed out his nostrils. “You do know about the birds and the bees, right? Being a scholar and all.”
“Wh-Why yes, I, I do.. B-But-“
“Well, how much do you know about the fun parts of it?”
“Fun… parts?”
“Yes, the fun. Great stress relief,” Flash declared, a wing wrapping over Stygian’s shoulder. “And it helps with bonding. I want you to know you’re my brother in arms.”
“Brother in arms, but I… I never thought with you.”
“Heh, you might not been on the battlefield with us, but you still fought by our sides. It’s not about what you tribute through brute strength or raw magic. You were still just as big a part of our battles as anypony else. You brought us together, you did the research, you made the strategies.”
Stygian blinked. He had never thought of it like that. He never thought of what he did to really contribute to the fights at all, as it was everypony else who took action while he had to stay back, out of harm’s way.
His line of thoughts were derailed as he felt the pegasus’ lips on his once more. He froze up like before, but didn’t dare to push away and fall over again. His mind reeling, trying to make sense of the situation. Flash Magnus had said something about this was not to leave him out. About something he did with his old squad as well. Mentioning not trying with Starswirl...
His thoughts catching up to him and reminded him he was indeed kissing another stallion right now and who knows for how long. With a gasp he pulled back, parting their lips while Flash had been prepared enough to keep his wing secured around the unicorn she wouldn’t fall all over himself again.
“Wa-Wait, have y-you with the… with the others..?!” Stygian spluttered.
“Wha-? Yes, I enjoy bonding with my team mates,” Flash replied, he couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at Stygian’s red face. That was quite a colour, still spreading and nearly changed the colour of his whole coat.
“Rockhoof was my first non-pegasus, to be honest,” he continued. “Seems like the Mighty Helm has same traditions for open bonding between team mates.”
Stygian’s jaw dropped. “B-But he’s… stallion!”
“Well, as far I’ve noticed, so are you.”
“B-But… he, you…!”
“Oh, you wonder about the size difference? Heh, we are both soldiers in our own way, we can handle each our own perfectly well.”
Stygian’s mind went reeling again, trying to keep out any mental images his brain tried to conjure based on what he was being told. He wasn’t sure he could handle to even imagine how any of that would work.
“Somnambula was quite excited to try it out. Though she’s pretty excited by anything really. She’s a fun mare,” Flash continued on, seemingly not noticing Stygian’s jaw finding ways to keep dropping further without unhinging completely.
“Meadowbrook made it clear she was saving herself. A shame, you ever seen those backflips she can do? Imagine somepony that athletic…” Flash Magnus sighed with a dreamy expression for a moment. “Mistmane let me kiss her but no further - said I shouldn’t waste my time on an old pony like her. Although we both know she ain’t as old as she looks, but that’s her loss.”
By now Stygian’s jaw was about ready to unhinge, he could feel the starting pain.
“Hey, you still with me?” Flash waved a hoof in front of his friend’s face, trying to recall him back to Equestria from wherever his mind had decided to banish itself.
“Like with the others, it’s up to you to say yes or no, of course. Not going to force you,” Flash assured him, as Stygian finally blinked again. “I just want to show you we are equals in this. We can be as close as you will allow, I’m fine either way. But I’m done leaving you to feel left out.”
Stygian slowly focused back on his friend before him. Equals. He never felt he was equal with any of the Pillars. They were living legends, even back when he first met them. Barely believing in each other’s existence. Saviors of the new land, saviors of Equestria once again, a thousand years later.
At most he was the greatest villain himself for a very long time.
Yet here Flash Magnus, the Flash Magnus, was looking him straight in the eyes and told him they were equals. Brothers in arms. Despite how little he did. Despite all he had done.
“Let’s just take it slow, seems like a lot for you to take in, eh?”
The unicorn nodded, it sure was. Sitting down abruptly, his mind still all over the place. Barely noticing the pegasus was pulling him in closer with his wing, letting him lean against his chest.
This was kinda nice. Just sitting close to somepony. One of the things he had noticed once returned to himself, was how modern ponies today seemed to hug a lot. Especially that pink menace who would leap out of nowhere and scream something about hugs and give him a heart attack. Less startling closeness like this felt quite nice though.
Then he noticed his cloak had been loosened while he was sitting in his thoughts. It started gliding down off him, guided by the wing which had been wrapped over his back. Finding this startling his head turned to face the pegasus doing this, only to freeze up again when his lips where caught by Flash’s own once again.
It didn’t feel nearly as terrifying this time around. He was still caught by surprise and shocked, but might been adjusting to it by now. Actually starting to notice more to it than just being a pair of lips pressed against his. They were warm, made him feel somehow even closer to the other pony, even closer than the hug and the wing wrapped around him. Without his cloak he felt naked, but the wing was warm and soft.
He noticed Flash titled his head a bit, changing the pressure between their lips. Starting to move, creating an entirely new sensation. He could pull back any time he wanted, yet he let the kiss go on. This was like nothing he had ever experienced before.
Flash Magnus was the one to pull back this time, slowly. Smirking slightly as he caught Stygian moving forward a bit, as if not wanting the kiss to end, before he caught himself. Looking away with that deep red blush still on his cheeks. The smirk faltered when noticing the look of… shame in the unicorn’s eyes.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“I…” Stygian wasn’t sure how to put it into words. To have it make sense. This was supposed to be wrong, wasn’t it? Two ponies, two stallions, doing this sort of thing. Just for ‘fun’. Yet Flash had told him how the other Pillars seemed fine with this, whether or not they participated.
A hoof under his chin turned his head to face the pegasus again. “We can stop any time you wish to. Just say the word and it’s fine. Just kissing is fine. Ever tried cuddling though?”
“C-Cuddling?”
Chuckling the pegasus stepped back, Stygian felt a shiver as that warm wing left him. It wasn’t cold in the room. He was just not used to exposing himself like this. Why were so many ponies naked in modern Equestria, he just didn’t understood it.
His eyes widening as he witnessed the pegasus before him begin removing his armour and uniform. Not like it covered much, just essential parts of the body that was best kept protected during a battle. But actually watching a pony undress. Stygian’s head spun around to look away fast enough to make his neck crack ans hurt a bit.
The shuffling sound of cloth made him look back, to see Flash move onto the luxurious bed provided in the room. Well, quite luxurious for somepony used to sleep on hay or the ground.
He hesitated as Flash looked back, patting the spot next to him on the bed. Plenty of room for the both of them. His armour left on the floor, next to Stygian’s cloak. Both of them naked. They had been kissing. And now about to share a bed.
Despite everything he had been taught through his life about this kind of scenario, Stygian finally pushed himself forward. Stumbling unsure towards the bed. His front hooves made it up on the mattress before he hesitated again. Given no time to keep dwelling more on his uncertainties, a hoof grabbed his and he was effortlessly pulled up onto the sheets.
On the bed, Stygian found himself wrapped by those strong, warm wings again as he was pulled close to the pegasus. A warm body so close to his own, grey coat touching orange coat, hooves and wings around him. He had never been this close to another pony before - no cloak to shield him from the physical contact. Yet this didn’t fill him with dread as the thought alone had done just moments ago.
Flash Magnus had made it clear that this was fine, nothing shameless. And it did feel… nice. Comforting.
Just the two of them sharing this comfort and closeness. When he felt Flash’s lips against his once again, he didn’t freeze up anymore. It still felt odd, yet a good kind of odd. A different kind of closeness than how it felt with their bodies against one another. Feeling the lips move against his, Stygian was surprised kissing could be more than just a pair of lips pressed against each other. There were movement, change in pressure and heat. A hoof on his cheek helping to guide his head to add to the movements, like a facial dance. The silly expression not even seeming odd to him, at least not at the moment.
Then a new sensation presented itself. Something poking at his lips, something unexpected. Did Flash have something in his mouth? His own lips parting for a small gasp of breath, the mysterious object pushing through at the chance given.
Eyes widened as Stygian realized what it was, this strange, flexible meaty thing now pushed into his mouth. It was Flash’s tongue. Still holding the unicorn’s head, the pegasus explored his mouth, feeling him shiver and squirm in his hold. But not pushing away, not pulling back.
Stygian found himself panting for breath, something about this change in kissing making his body feel hotter than before. This odd sensation only growing more intense as he dared to move his own tongue, letting it rub against the other. This was so odd, couldn’t possibly be hygienic. But right now those were thoughts he didn’t care about, pushing the nagging inner voice to the far back of his mind.
Flash’s hooves were moving, no longer just wrapped around him but exploring his body, while they explored each other’s mouths. Causing the unicorn to shiver, his own hooves barely daring to feel the pegasus’ strong chest and shoulders.
Then the hooves reached a place that suddenly made all this feel invasive. Letting that nagging inner voice return in full strength. With a gasp Stygian pulled back, pushing the pegasus away. Although, with the size and weight difference, he mostly just pushed himself away rather than move Flash by much. Nudging the wings away as he frantically tried to cover his shame with his hooves.
He hadn’t even noticed it happening, lost in the heat of the moment. Never crossing his mind that any of this, with a stallion, could cause such a shameful reaction.
Trying to roll off his bed, hoping to escape before it went out of hoof, he was stopped by those powerful wings wrapping around him. For things covered in feathers able to float through air, these were strong and held him in a hot cocoon he only wished to escape from.
“Easy, easy! You are gonna fall out of the bed like that,” Flash Magnus called, trying to calm his frantic friend. “What is it? Come on now, calm down. Did I do something wrong?”
Unable to make a run for it, Stygian managed to at least roll over to better hide the problem from view. His breathing coming in sharp gasps. “I-I’m s-sorry..!” he squealed.
Flash pause, confused by this extreme reaction. “About what?”
The unicorn was unable to respond beyond a horrified whimper. Flash put a hoof around him, trying to calm him down.
“Come on, take deep breaths. You can tell me…”
With the unicorn not speaking, Flash surveyed the situation. The way he curled up, trying to cover something with his hooves in the lower region as he trembled.
“I, wh- Stygian, look at me!”
Flash grabbed him to turn him around and force the unicorn to face him. He flinched like he was afraid of getting hit. Flash held him firmly, looking him in the eyes. Seeing the shame and fear.
“You did nothing wrong, come on now…” speaking softly, he tried to calm down his friend. “Calm down, deep breath. Nothing’s gonna happen.”
Following the instructions his gasping breath began to calm, at least a little bit. “I-I…” he stuttered, ears pinned down. Every time he turned his head to look away, Flash would turn it back to face him with his hooves.
“Don’t tell me this is your first erection.”
“N-No! I –mean, I-I, n-ngh…”
“Hey, relax. It’s natural, especially with some stimulation. Nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I-I shouldn’t…”
“Is this really a unicorn thing? Making yourself ashamed of your own urges?”
Stygian had no answer to that. It wasn’t something he had read into, to know that kind of cultural differences. As a studious magic user, he was expected to be focused on mind over matter. Hit the books and ignore physical matters. With nopony interested in him as a potential spouse, such urges were… to be ignored, suppressed.
“It’s what I mentioned earlier. The fun part of the birds and the bees,” Flash chuckled. “It can feel really good. Why else would your body react eagerly to certain things?”
Stygian turned his head away again. Avoiding pressuring him too much, Flash didn’t pull his head to look at him again. “Nothing even has to happen,” he continued. “Heh, take a look down, come on.”
Stygian hesitated, looking down between them. Expecting to only see his hooves covering his shame from view. Instead his eyes widened as they caught sight of something else.
Flash Magnus was erect as well, uncovered for the world to see like he didn’t care one bit.
Spluttering at the sight his hooves shot up to cover his face and eyes. Causing a panic when realizing he had just exposed himself for the pegasus to see. But… was that as great a shame as he thought it to be, since Flash was erect and exposed too? It was hard to drown out the nagging inner voice now screaming at him for his indecency.
“Just relax. Don’t think, just feel. Not thinking in whatever words you have been taught about this, how do you feel..?” Flash asked softly. He hadn’t moved, holding himself up enough to ensure some air between them while still leaving himself exposed enough for Stygian to see everything whenever he dared to peak down.
His hooves trembling, Stygian was in a bind. Not knowing if to cover his face or his lower region. “H-Hot,” he stammered. He did feel quite warm. His skin burning, more areas than others. “T-Tingly…”
“Anything unpleasant?”
Stygian took a moment, still trying to rearrange his thoughts to something more coherent. The heat was feverish yet he didn’t feel sick. Nothing hurt. No divine punishment swooping in for him daring to be on such a display with company.
“I... Ga-ah!”
Stygian cried out in surprise with a jolt, feeling something entirely new. A hoof gently caressing his member down below.
“Did that hurt?” Flash asked with a soft smile.
The trembling unicorn shook his head. It was big a shock, a surprise, rather invasive. But no pain.
“For as much as they say about the perversion of dark magic users, you sure are clueless on these things, huh,” the pegasus chuckled at the unicorn. His smile growing to a grin as Stygian’s response was to splutter embarrassed, blushingly heavily. A playful jab at the dark past and he didn’t immediately go into a sulky mood, purely because he was rather distracted by the current situation above all. As far Flash was concerned, this was an improvement.
Stygian gasped sharply again, feeling that hoof stroking his member gently. His hooves trembling again, twitching as they instinctively wanted to shoot down and cover himself, yet held back as he felt almost as afraid of touching Flash’s hoof.
“Have you never even touched yourself before?” Flash teased, his hoof still working the slim member gently. Just light contact, no applied pressure. This pent up and flustered, Stygian might not last long due to lack of experience alone.
Stygian could only reply with wordless spluttering, his mind going blank. Even the nagging voice in the back had gone quiet, or just drowned out by the white noise filling his brain. The only voice he heard was Flash’s, to which he had no coherent thought to reply with.
It was quite adorable, Flash thought to himself. Watching the unicorn finally drop all those dark thoughts he tried to hide from the others, the self-loathing, blaming himself, unable to truly hear the insurance and encouragement from the others. Now he was just lost in the moment, not worrying about the past or the unsure future.
Flash Magnus leaned down, letting their lips meet once again. This time Stygian wasn’t pulling back, flinching or gasping in shock and surprise of it all. He pressed back against Flash’s lips, letting the two of them melting together into one.
Needing some attention too at this point, Flash leaned down enough to let their members meet.
Stygian’s wasn’t a big as his, a bit slim and long. A soft pink with grey speckles, against the darker orange brown of Flash’s. Rubbing their lengths together, his hoof now stroking and caressing both of them.
Flash let out a groan into their kiss, Stygian whimpering softly. It wasn’t a pained or fearful whimper, it was a more needy sound. Flash was more than happy to provide for that need.
His hips starting to rock back and forth, rhythmically rubbing against Stygian’s length. His hoof stopping its work to grab Stygian’s hoof. Guiding it to their members to let him touch and explore the source for these all new sensations.
His mind lost to the moment it seemed the unicorn’s hesitations had vanished. The quivering hoof letting itself be guided to touch and feel, starting a stroking rhythm matching Flash’s rocking hips. Flash’s wings shuttered as he felt the hoof to start explore on its own without needing more guidance. Letting him plant both hooves firmly on each side of Stygian, getting a better stance over him.
The room filled with their panting and groans, as his hips added a bit more force and speed to the pace between them.
Mouths open to pant for breaths and moan, their tongues dancing against each other. Stygian’s mind was blank, nothing but the hot sensations from where their bodies connected and felt like they melted together. The rising heat which had been growing stronger since the first flustered blush caused by the pegasus, damping their coats and adding to the growing scent of musk between them.
For once in his life not analyzing, observing, categorizing everything happening, Stygian only felt that hot breath against his, that building up sensation of intensity between them. Whimpering softly, squirming as he pressed himself upwards to meet with Flash’s trusts. His hoof feeling every inch of their members pressed together, every touch, every little bit of contact making him shiver.
The pace changing, Flash’s movements coming in bucks instead of steady back and forth movements. Stygian shivering underneath him, feeling himself getting pressed more firmly down into the mattress below them, that gentle and careful pegasus now adding more of his strength into the effort of the friction between them.
“A-Aah, a-aah!” Stygian cried out, the intensity building up as Flash grunted with each buck. Mouth agape he moaned breathlessly, his hips unable to keep up with the force of Flash’s despite their best attempts.
Unable to build up much further, Stygian felt it like an explosion of sensations overwriting every of his senses with a bliss never before explored. Laying his head back, mouth wide open without making a sound he didn’t even felt the strings of white shooting out of his member, painting his stomach and chest.
His twitching and outcry only made Flash Magnus intensify his efforts of frotting down on the unicorn, grunting harder as he went faster with his moments. Letting himself follow suit, twitching twice before his member shot heavy ropes of cum to mix with Stygian’s release between them.
Stygian’s leg kicked out, twitching and squirming as he panted sharply for air.
Flash having far more endurance from daily training didn’t sound nearly as bad as the small unicorn, who panted like he had been forced through a marathon.
The pegasus let himself drop to his side on the bed, basking in the afterglow as he listened to those adorable noises Stygian had been making throughout the session. Pulling him into another cocooning hug of hooves and wings, Flash nuzzled their cheeks together affectionately.
The sense of relief, the shared moment of bliss between two ponies, knowing he made somepony feel as good as he did, was among the favourite things of Flash Magnus. Relieving Stygian from his stress, tension and worries, at least for the moment, was as great a bliss to him as the release and afterglow itself.
“This wasn’t half bad now, was it?” Flash asked with a breathless chuckle. “How about next we tr-“
He was cut off by a snoring sound. Further investigation revealed the unicorn had fallen asleep right then and there.
Guess there would be no second round. At least not this time around.
Smiling he nuzzled Stygian, wiping his mane from his face as, clinging to the sweat. It was getting late and this must been quite exhausting for the inexperienced unicorn. Best he got some rest.
Flash Magnus was planned to leave early morning for his track through Equestria, to find his old home and find what changes had happened during his long absence. For now, it was time to rest. He was in no hurry, had nothing to pack or prepare.
He had a friend to lay entangled with for the rest of the night as they slept together. And disappearing into the night after their bonding might been rather rude.