Chapter 31

The coastal village of Kem’bozo, Zebrica

Shining Armor and his entourage finally reached a village after several days of hiking through the dense Zebrican jungle. Hilde and Hail were the least exhausted considering that they could fly and didn’t need to hack through vegetation just to move a few inches. Mort, on the other hoof, complained the entire way…much to the group’s dismay. But Shining had expected as much from his donkey compatriot and was very much relieved when they found out the village ran a modest inn. Once inside, they were immediately greeted by a diminutive earth pony mare with a sandy blond mane and a rusty red coat. Her flank displayed a wooden mug.

“Howdy folks! My name’s Daisy. What can I get ya?”

Shining rubbed the back of his neck. “My crew and I have been trekking through the jungle for the past few days and we were wondering if we could possibly rent out a few rooms. Oh…and a nice meal and some drinks would be nice too.”

“Hmm is that so? Well it just so happens that I have a few rooms available. How many do ya need?”

“Five should work.”

Hilde held up one of her claws. “Now wait a minute sir. You shouldn’t be spending our bits on so many rooms. Some of us could bunk together right?”

Hailfire nodded. “She’s right sir. I can share a room with Mort, while Hilde and Tash take another. You can have a room to yourself, since you’re the commanding officer. Everybody’s happy da?

Mort’s eyes narrowed as he shot Hailfire a glare that could’ve wilted a sunflower. The donkey sat on the floor with his hooves crossed and grumbled about snuggling stinky drunks. Meanwhile, Shining rubbed his chin in thought. It wasn’t as if he had a lot of bits to spend and they would need as many supplies as they could get their hooves on, if they hoped to journey anywhere else.

He’d still have to put up with Mort’s bitching but sometimes sacrifices had to be made. Shining’s thoughts were momentarily disrupted when he felt a hoof tap his shoulder. He spun around and found Tash’s ruby red eyes staring at him pleadingly.

“I don’t mean to be a bother dear husband, but I have a better idea.”

“Ermm ok Alitash go ahead. And I’m not really your husband…”

“It is apparent to me that Mr. Mortimer enjoys his privacy. Might I suggest that he be the one to room by himself instead?”

“But who would you be rooming with?”

“Why you of course, my dear husband! It is only proper that we share a bed. If the griffoness and the pegasus don’t object, perhaps they could share a room instead.”

Shining blushed. “T-that’s hardly proper at all! I mean yeah Mort would certainly be happier with this arrangement but that doesn’t change the fact Hailfire and Hilde would be fraternizing.”

Hailfire shrugged. “Meh…I’m not really into birdies. Besides sir, she isn’t part of the Equestrian military so it’s technically not fraternizing.”

Shining sighed heavily, wishing that his lieutenant would’ve said that with a little bit more tact. The last thing he needed was to offend the griffons all because the lieutenant was about as subtle as the explosion cutie mark on his flank.

Griffons, especially the female ones, were known to have quite the temper…especially if you even remotely insulted them about the way they looked. Shining slowly shifted his gaze over to Sgt. Hilde to find that her chest feathers were puffed out slightly, indicating irritation. She walked over to Hailfire and poked him in the chest with her claw.

“Not into birdies? Are you implying that I am a weak, twiggy, hatchling?”

Hailfire’s ears flattened as he waved his hooves. “Nyet! I didn’t mean to imply you were weak! What I meant was that I don’t find griffons very attractive…”

“SO WHAT? I’M UGLY NOW TOO!? You have some nerve pony.”

“Ah…now wait a moment I didn’t say that. I’m sure that you’re plenty attractive within your own homeland but I am only interested in fucking mares…not you. Oh der’mo…that didn’t sound right. Please don’t claw my eyes out!”

Hilde balled her right claw into a fist and punched Hail right in the muzzle, sending the stallion on a collision course with the floor. Her chest feathers puffed out once more and then she stormed out of the inn, heading towards the jungle. Once she was gone, Hail rubbed his sore snout, shooting Shining a look of confusion.

“I have a feeling I’m going to be sleeping outside tonight…”

Shining rubbed his temples. “Damn it Lt! What in the name of Celestia’s mane possessed you to say something so stupid?”

“I-I’m sorry sir! I didn’t think that she’d…”

“That’s exactly right, you didn’t think. Hailfire, you’re an excellent officer but you really need to work on how you interact with others. Griffons are extremely prideful creatures. That means they put a lot of effort into how they look and they care a great deal as to what others call them.”

“Oh…I really fucked up didn’t I?”

“Royally. I suggest that you get your plot in gear and go apologize to Hilde. I don’t care if it takes you all night to find her but I want you to understand one thing. You will not, under any circumstances, consume any vodka before you meet her. Do I make myself clear?”

“As crystal sir. I apologize fair comrade bar-mare. I have shed my blood upon your floor, which is a grave offence to all of your hard work. Please, allow me to clean it up. It is the least I can do!”

Daisy tossed him a rag. “I want that floor spotless, soldier. If it isn’t, then you’re scrubbing all the toilets with a toothbrush.”

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Hilde continued to fly over the jungle’s thick, forested canopy until she began to feel tired. She slowly touched down in a small clearing, cursing herself for letting her temper get the best of her. Now she was completely lost and in the middle of the damned jungle! After taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself down and tried to get her bearings. The one thing she needed to do above everything else right now, was to find some clean water to drink.

Flying was a more laborious task for griffons because they weighed nearly twice as much as the average pegasus, so as a consequence they exerted quite a bit more energy. This left Hilde tired and dehydrated, in a jungle that was already making her sweat by the bucket load.

She remembered from her survival training that the best way to find water was to listen for it. Now, on any given day the jungle was teeming with thousands…perhaps millions of creatures that all added up to a cacophony of sound. Add to the fact that little pesky insects liked to hover near your face…well it was enough to drive anyone crazy.

Hilde knew that if she didn’t at least try to hear running water, then she was as good as dead. Luckily for the griffoness, she could just barely hear the sound of water flowing. It wasn’t the kind of trickling sound one hears near a river or a stream, but the sound of water hitting a surface. It was the sound of a waterfall.

The sergeant flapped her wings as hard as she dared, venturing towards the sound of rushing water. She was rewarded thirty seconds later when a beautiful waterfall oasis greeted her. As far as waterfalls went, it wasn’t terribly large, perhaps only going up about thirty feet. Beneath it was a pool of water so clear, that she had no trouble seeing the bottom.

She scrambled to the water’s edge, greedily gulping as much water as she could without choking herself. With a satisfied sigh she contemplated what to do next. Seeing as how she wasn’t in danger of dehydration anymore, she decided that a nice, refreshing swim was in order. So without further ado, she dove into the water.

The water enveloped around her like a refreshing spring breeze. It was neither too cold nor lukewarm like old bath water. For a few moments she closed her eyes and allowed her body to drift, melting away her stress and cares. Taking a deep breath she dove deeper into the pool, until she felt her paws hit the sandy bottom.

She stayed down there as long as her breath held and then broke the surface, sucking in a deep breath of air. Feeling sufficiently refreshed, the griffoness waded over to the waterfall and began to clean her feathers in earnest...until she heard something rustling in the foliage above.

“H-hello? Is there anybody there? I swear that if you’re here to mess with me, I’ll gut you like a fish!”

Hilde was surprised when she saw a pegasus suddenly appear out of the bushes. For a brief moment she thought it was that idiot Hailfire, but the colors were all wrong. No, this pegasus had a khaki toned coat, not the buttery yellow she was so used to seeing. Once Hilde got a better look, she realized it was stallion and boy was he quite the specimen.

His mane was a rare mixture of greys and blacks, accompanied by a stunning set of cerise colored eyes. Oddly enough he was actually wearing clothes. The stallion sported a worn, brown fedora accompanied by a light green shirt adorned with a plethora of pockets. He smiled at her with a cocky grin.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything private.”

“O-oh well…I was just freshening up a bit. You just surprised me is all.”

“Ah good. I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of pervert. Although…I think the whole ‘wet feather’ look suits you. Especially how all those tiny droplets of water make those indigo feathers of yours shine like sapphires.”

Hilde blushed heavily. “T-thanks I-I guess. You certainly know how to compliment a griffoness.”

“I call it how I see it miss and that’s all there is to it.”

“So…umm what exactly are you doing here?”

“Well, that’s a funny story actually. I was just about to do the same thing you were doing. It’s been a long day and I need to wash off all of this sweat and dirt. Do you mind if I join you?”

“N-n-not at all! C’mon in, the water’s perfect.”

Hilde mentally cursed herself for acting like a nervous little hatchling on a first date. Why did she feel so embarrassed? It’s not like he stumbled onto her doing anything shameful. Maybe it was just her nerves getting the better of her. She watched carefully as the pegasus neatly folded his clothes and slid into the pool, diving to the bottom and surfacing in much the same manner as she did. He looked positively gorgeous with his mane slicked back and those eyes…ok so she might be nervous because he was a smoking hot hunk of stallion meat.

“You were right! The water is perfect. I can just feel all the grime lifting away. Oh say miss, I never introduced myself did I?”

“No, I don’t believe you did. I’m Brünnhilde by the way. But…umm you can just call me Hilde.”

“Very well Hilde. I’m Doctor Audacious Act, distinguished professor of history and archeology at Canterlot University. It is my pleasure to meet such an enchanting creature such as yourself.”

“The feeling’s mutual Dr. Act. So what brings you to the jungles of Zebrica?”

“Hilde, my dear, there’s no need for honorifics around me. I insist that you call me Audy, all of my friends do. Dr. Act was my father’s name, Celestia rest his soul. As for why I’m here, well that shall take a bit more explanation.”

“I don’t really have much going on right now, so I’ve got time.”

Audy smiled. “Splendid! It all started about two months ago. I wanted a write a new thesis on the ancient sheep culture and as such, I needed to do some on-hoof research about them. Now before you say ‘But we’re a whole ocean away from the CISS’, know that they had extensive colonies spread throughout Zebrica before their empire collapsed.”

“What exactly are you looking for?”

“Mostly ruins and believe me, I have found a few crumbling remains of them but nothing too extravagant. Although I’ve noticed a very curious thing, there’s a large CISS encampment about three miles south of this oasis. Perhaps the sheep have taken an interest in their ancient culture? In any case, it’s quite unusual to see so many of them in Zebrica.”

Hilde ruffled her wings. “Yes, I remember my CO telling me that our scouts reported seeing increased CISS military activity. Do you think they might be planning an invasion?”

“I honestly can’t say for sure. The only thing I can do now is continue to monitor the situation and contact Princess Celestia if need be. But enough about that, what brings you to Zebrica my dear?”

“I’m part of an international team, headed by Equestria, to keep the peace down here. I usually do most of the scouting…when I’m not getting lost that is.”

Audy laughed. “It’s ok Hilde, we all get lost sometimes. But luckily for you, my talent has very much to do with finding things. Tell you what, I just so happen to know the way back to Kem’bozo, which I’m fairly certain is where you’re staying. Am I right?”

“Yeah…”

Audy quickly hopped out of the pool and shook himself dry, very similar to how a dog might go about the same process. He donned his clothing and extended a hoof to Hilde. She gladly accepted and the two began to make their way back to the village.

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Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville

Molly sat sprawled along the couch with her muzzle buried in one of the pillows. With a deep breath she inhaled the scent of the pillow, realizing that it smelled faintly of lavender and sweat. She absolutely adored that scent; it was the smell of Dusk. Her stallion’s musky essence only served to further her state of melancholy. While it was true that he said he had forgiven her, he seemed…more distant now. It was almost as if he shouldered Celestia’s disappointment, in place of herself. She could have handled Dusk being mad at her but she couldn’t bear to see him like this. It made her feel even worse for losing her temper with Discord.

The alicorn’s thoughts were momentarily disrupted when she felt something fuzzy brush up against her stomach. She turned her head to find that Sullivan had curled up next to her and was slowly nuzzling her side. Molly smiled and levitated him into her forehooves, gently petting his back.

“Hello dear, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. So…what have you been up to?”

Sully slowly pointed one of his claws towards the edge of town, which Molly could only assume was a reference to Fluttershy’s cottage. Noticing the look of comprehension on his mistress’s face, he proceeded to place both of his claws on the top of his head, waving them a few times.

“You were talking to Angel Bunny?”

Sully nodded. He then looked over towards the kitchen and made a soft groaning noise, then poked Molly in the chest.

“I’m not sure I follow. Do you need something?”

The sloth let out a hiss of frustration, then rubbed his stomach. His mistress still looked confused so he decided to nibble on a piece of her mane to get the point across, and then pointed to his stomach again.

“Oh you’re hungry…well alright let’s get you out to the kitchen.”

A few minutes later, Sully was happily munching on a carrot while his mistress combed his (admittedly) scruffy fur. He loved his mistress but he really wished she was as attuned to animals as Fluttershy was. Maybe he would bother her purple colored mate to cast a spell on him sometime, so that he could communicate better with ponies.

Unfortunately, he noticed that the purple one seemed to be depressed, which in turn had also made his mistress depressed. He didn’t like that one bit. Sully had to make the purple one do the one thing that always seemed to make his mistress happy. They needed to mate.

And so, with grim determination the sloth brought one of his claws up to his mouth and blew a shrill sounding whistle. This immediately drew the attention of Owlowiscious, who grabbed Sully in his claws and carried him upstairs to where the purple one was hiding. Sure enough, that silly stallion had his muzzle buried in some book but it didn’t look as he was reading it intently. Sully couldn’t quite put his claw on it, but he swore the purple one’s eyes looked a bit glazed over and distant.

Dusk felt something furry plop onto his back. The book he was reading was interesting but he just wasn’t really into it for some reason, so he placed a bookmark where he stopped and craned his neck to see what fuzzy intruder was disturbing him. He was greeted by none other than Molly’s pet sloth, Sullivan.

“Oh…hey Sully. Is there something I can help you with?”

The sloth bopped him on the snout and hopped down onto the floor. With another sharp whistle he summoned Dusk’s owl once more, only this time he came with a piece of paper and some crayons. It took him a few moments, but Sully managed to draw a cartoonish picture of Molly and pointed to it with his free claw.

“Umm yeah that’s Molly. So what about her?”

Sully grabbed another piece of paper and few more crayons and began to scribble furiously. Dusk thought it looked rather adorable seeing the sloth stick his tongue out in concentration but…if he laughed it might upset the poor little guy so he stuck to holding his breath. Once Sully was finished drawing, he let out a hum of satisfaction and shoved his artwork in front of Dusk’s muzzle.

Dusk nearly choked when he saw what was on the paper. It was nothing like the sloth’s earlier depiction of Molly. It was a highly stylized (and rather graphic) depiction of him and Molly…engaged in some seriously naughty activities with a small, yellow happy face drawn on the bottom. With a heavy blush, the unicorn crumpled up the paper and threw it into the trashcan.

“W-why in the seven burning hells did you draw something like that Sully!? Where did you even learn how to draw so well, for that matter?”

The sloth merely crossed his arms and titled his head towards the stairs.

“Yeah ok, so Molly’s been depressed but…wait a second. Are you suggesting that I should…have sex with her to cheer her up?”

Sully hopped onto the bed and gave Dusk a sloppy smooch on the lips, then patted him on the back.

“Eghhh…ok well weird tasting sloth kisses aside, I guess I should at least talk to her. Oh who am I kidding? It’s time for me to take the initiative and pound her until she can’t think straight! I know she’d do the same for me if I was in her hooves.”

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Molly was just about to doze off when she felt somepony nibble on her wing. She was about to buck the moron who dared sneak up on her when she realized it was just Dusk. Her glare immediately melted away as she wrapped him in a warm embrace.

Dusk stroked her mane. “Hey, you looked like you needed cheering up…so here I am.”

“Oh by the creator do I ever! And let me guess, a certain little sloth put you up to this?”

“Sully might have thrown me a couple hints. So umm…I was thinking that we might have a little fun time. Is that ok with you?”

Molly nibbled on his hear. “You. Have. No. Idea. How ok I am with that. What would you like me to do first? How does a fellatio sound? I know you…”

Dusk silenced her with a kiss. “Nope. You just sit back and relax. Let me take care of MY mare.”

Molly felt her face flush with a mixture of lust, embarrassment, and happiness. Before she could even sort out her thoughts, she felt Dusk’s warm tongue exploring the moist folds of her marehood. It had been so long since she had let a stallion take the lead for her and she had to admit that it was…nice.

The alicorn let out a soft moan of pleasure as her stallion nibbled on her clit, sending a fresh wave of warmth coursing through her loins. She knew that Dusk’s muzzle had to be positively drenched with her essence by this point, and it was driving her insane. She desperately needed him to penetrate her.

Molly whinnied. “Dusk, please stop being such a tease! I really need your cock right noooo-unhhhh…”

Dusk gripped the back of her flanks and thrust as much of himself into her as he dared. Normally he would’ve been a lot gentler if Molly was a normal mare, but he knew she could handle it since she was an alicorn. He increased his pace, creating a meaty slapping noise every time his balls collided with her rump. Molly dug her hooves into the couch, while her wings twitched uncontrollably. She could barely think straight through the haze of please but she did know one thing. She was very close to having a positively earth shattering orgasm. A tiny thought crept into the back of her brain. She hoped that they wouldn’t have to buy a new couch after this.

Dusk let out a primal grunt of pleasure as he released several spurts of cum, followed by Molly’s own scream of pleasure a few seconds later. He pulled out and promptly collapsed into Molly’s eager hooves. Once she recovered, Molly spooned up to her stallion while burying her muzzle into his mane.

“Dusk…I can’t thank you enough for that. It was just what I needed.”

Dusk frowned. “I’m sorry that I didn’t notice how bummed out you were earlier. I feel like such an idiot.”

“Shhh. You’re not an idiot. It just takes you a bit longer than most stallions to recognize their partner’s emotional problems.”

“See that’s what I’m…”

Molly put her hoof on his lips. “But unlike most stallions, you put so much more effort into making your mare happy. And that, my dear, is what makes you so much better. Now why don’t we stop talking and just snuggle for a bit.”

Author's Notes:

I hereby dedicate this chapter to Burnasius. I didn't give you the Hilde shipping you wanted, but the Hilde shipping you deserved. Oh and that whole clop scene with Molly and Dusk well I did that just for shits and giggles. I've been reading quite a few clopfics during the past few days, so I felt inspired to write a scene myself. Eh, what can ya do?