A warm, soft wetness lapped around my face as I awoke. “Mmmm….Meadow…”, I murmured, gently reaching out and giving her a little squeeze. She hugged me back and nibbled my ear, oh Celestia ! I’d just woken up and the horny little filly was teasing me already. I’d play along, until the investigation was concluded, I had all the time in the world to spend with my loving little filly.

The warm tongue explored my muzzle, them my ears. This was new, and quite erotic in a way I hadn’t expected. “That’s nice….let me…”, I opened one eye slowly and stared straight into a glowing red Thestral’s. “SHIT !” I yelled, pushing the thing off me and jumping to my hooves, “Shades ? What the hell are you doing ?!”. The creatures pointed ears drooped and he let out a sad sounding chirrup.

“Look buddy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, but…I don’t, you know, I don’t swing that way. I’m really, really sorry.” Come to think of it, why was I sorry ? I didn’t ask for this kind of attention, maybe he was just being friendly in his own way. In any case, I felt shaken and….sad, somehow. Shades was the only Thestral I’d seen here, there must be more, but where ? Was he alone, like me ? Perhaps he was simply lonely and hoping for some physical comfort from a friend ? I felt like I’d kicked a puppy.

I trotted over to him as he slunk away with his head down. The miserable looking thing looked dejected. “Look Shades, I’m sorry okay ? You startled me and I snapped at you. You’re my friend and…I respect you. I do….really.”

Shades squawked, shaking his mane. Head bowed, he stretched out his wings and advanced on me, forcing me to back up.

“Swing that way ?”, the thought pounded into my head making me wince.
“That’s right, I don’t, you know. I’m not into dudes. Goddesses Shades, not so loud !”
“Dudes ?”

“Guys, Males, Stallions. I’m not gay, look, I like girls, mares, females, you understand ?”

Shades flapped his wings hard, causing huge gusts of wind to buffet me, I shut my eyes against the sand.

When I opened them, Shades was nose to nose with me, eyes blazing red hot.

“Give me”, he said in a tone that brooked no nonsense. “What ?”, I asked him. I didn’t like the way this was going. With an exasperated shriek, the Thestral side stepped until he was virtually side on to me. A bony foreleg shot out and grabbed my hoof.

“Give me”, he said again, gently this time and I closed my eyes as he passed my hoof under his belly. Oh Goddesses, I was starting to freak out, adrenalin was pumping through me unbidden as I thought about escaping this insane creature.

To my horror, the Thestral gently rubbed my hoof between his haunches, letting out a low rumbling sound. Did he look… embarrassed ? “Shades ?”, I asked swallowing, “I don’t understand what you’re trying to…….Oh!”. Poor Shades, imagine having an idiot like me for a companion.

My skeletal partner in the Wither world released my hoof and turned to face me with an expectant look. Finally, dullard that I am, I understood. Shades, the Wither world Thestral….was a girl.

“Oh, bollocks”, I muttered to myself. Shades let out a rattling cry and trotted off ahead of me without a backward glace to see if I was following.