Author's Notes:

We have now started the typo adoption program. For any readers who wish to adopt a typo, please locate the typo you like, and let me know, and its all yours. After a small service fee of course.

Special thanks goes to my proofreader Peerlmagination for adopting so many typos, and giving them such a good home to live in.

When Celestia woke up, she could hear birds singing outside.

Blinking her eyes open, Celestia looked around, and found she was lying on a bed of straw, inside her home. Ash and Strongbuck were murmuring quietly to each other, on the other side of the room, while they tossed pebbles at a bowl.

Her memories of what happened during the night were vague and fragmented. She remembered running to her sister’s still form, and the pain she went through, giving some of her light over to her. After that, things got really foggy. She remembered being somewhere else, but she couldn’t remember where, or even what it even looked like. She could recall that there was somepony there, who was kind and comforting to her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall what that pony looked like, nor what her name was.

Sitting up, Celestia set her hoof to her chest. Something felt different inside. The light within her seemed stronger somehow, and it pulsed in a slow, steady beat that seemed kindred to something she could sense above her. Looking up at the ceiling, she knew, somehow, that right at that moment, the sun was standing at its highest point of the day, and she was sure she could point her hoof right at it, even though she couldn't see it.

"Celestia, you're awake!" Ash exclaimed, when he saw her looking up. Celestia watched as he hurriedly limped over to to her.

"What happened to your leg!?" Celestia asked, alarmed that Ash had somehow gotten injured, during the night..

"The colt's a hero," Strongbuck answered, with a smile as he looked over at her. "His leg was bit, when he stopped a wolf from getting inside, by stomping on the beast's face, before turning and killing another one with his spear!"

"You did all that!?" Celestia exclaimed, giving Ash a surprised look.

Ash just shrugged his shoulders at her. "I just did what Papa told me to do."

"Papa did not tell you to stomp on a wolf's face!" Celestia said, in a slightly mocking tone, while giving him a level gaze. She loved Ash. He was her brother, and best friend, and possibly much more. So when he does something as stupidly brave, like stomping on a wolf's face, it made her feel a confused mix of pride and mortification, for what he had done.

Ash, to his credit, didn't wither under her level gaze, instead he gave her that infuriating crooked grin, that Papa sometimes used whenever he did something stupid. "It seemed like the right thing to do at the moment."

Celestia laid her ears back, as she considered him and his brave idiocy. What was she to do with him? She thought to herself, as she felt a complete sense of hopelessness for him.

With a sigh, Celestia suddenly made her decision, and hooked a hoof around the back of Ash's head to pull him close enough to plant her lips to his. She didn't make the kiss short or quick. Oh, no! She wanted him to suffer! With her lips mashed against his, she held him there, until she felt his body begin to shiver against hers, and his breath began to huff out of his nostrils.

With a remarkably loud pop, Celestia broke the kiss, and watched as Ash wobbled weakly on his hooves, while looking like he was about to fall over with a smile.

"Wow!" Strongbuck exclaimed from across the room, watching the pair with wide eyes. "That was... wow!" He gave his head a shake. "Is it getting hot in here? I ah... yeah, I think it is. I'll just ah... scoot over here where I think it's a bit cooler, and ah... just... stare at the wall for a bit."

Celestia licked her lips as she glanced around the room, "I'm starving! What is there to eat?"

Standing on a hill, Dusty Stride looked back at the distant settlement, and was amazed he had traveled so far in such a short time!

The dust-yellow pony knew what he was doing was stupid and foolish, but he felt that he had to do something to prove that he was a stallion, and not just a colt. It wasn't fair! Just because, his mother’s sister’s colt, Strongbuck was born a half season before him, he gets two mares to choose him as a mate, while he gets stuck, up in the cave with all the little colts and fillies, while the Herd Mother and Herd Father, Meadowlark and Dark Storm, formed the new herd.

He'll show them all he was no colt! A stallion didn't just hide under his mother, and wait for everything to be alright again. No! He did something! Just as Dark Storm did when he stood up to Thunder Step, Dusty was going to do something by finding where the wolves’ den was! And that would show every pony what kind of stallion he truly was, including his mother, Pebble Stream!

He had lied to his mother, in order to slip away from her today, when he told her that he was going to help out with the new longhouse. He felt bad about lying to her, but he felt it was his only recourse. His mother had always treated him like a little foal, by constantly keeping him close by, and never letting him go off to play with the other foals, when he was younger. He was older now, and he knew he could take care of himself!

Rolling his shoulder, Dusty adjusted his willow packs across his back. He had to spend two days gathering willow branches for Dew Sparkle, and Dandelion Fluff, before they would make him one, and now that he had it, he never took it off. Stuck under the straps that ran over his back was the spear that Dusty had to keep hidden from his mother, who would have been absolutely mortified if she knew he even had one.

It had taken him longer to sneak his way out of the settlement then he had thought it would, and now that it was just past noon, he was growing rather thirsty. Glancing back at his pack, he suddenly wished he had remembered to bring some water along. All he had in his packs was a small wood chopper he had gotten for helping out the wood workers one day, six small apples, some short scraps of the new rope he had picked up, and a sharp flake of stone that was given to him by one of the stone knappers.

Standing on the hilltop, Dusty looked around, as the breeze blew his dark mane back. He knew that the stream curved south a little ways east of the settlement, so that would probably be the best place to get a drink. The problem was, it was completely opposite of where he thought the wolves’ den might be, somewhere in the west woods.

His thirst making up his mind for him, Dusty set off for the stream to the east. It wasn't far, but his need for water was becoming quite unbearable by the time he walked through the thin veil of trees that grew along the sides of the stream. Rushing up, Dusty happily dipped his muzzle into the cool clear water and began to eagerly gulp it down.

The rustle of a nearby bush suddenly startled him into swallowing water down the wrong tube. Coughing and spewing water out of his nose, Dusty struggled to get his spear out. After spinning himself in circles three times, Dusty managed to grasp the shaft of his spear in his teeth and yank it free, before holding it out towards the bush with a shaky hoof.

With his heart hammering in his chest, Dusty carefully stepped closer to the bush. With a great act of bravery, he suddenly lunged forward with a cry, and thrust his spear into it. Keeping his eyes shut, Dusty waited for something to cry out, as it died on the end of his spear. When nothing happened, Dusty cracked his eyes open to peer carefully into the bush's interior, but found nothing within.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Dusty sat back, and started to chuckle to himself. Setting his spear to the side, Dusty slipped his pack off, and rummaged around until he found one of the small apples he'd packed earlier, and held it out on the flat of his hoof, to admire its bright green color, as he licked his lips.

When he felt something touch his right shoulder, Dusty quickly looked around behind himself to see what had just touched him, and found nothing there. Figuring that it was probably just a butterfly, Dusty shrugged, and turned back to his apple, where, much to his surprise, he found it gone!

Blinking at his now empty hoof, Dusty quickly looked down, and around himself for where he had dropped it, but, oddly, no matter how much he searched, he never found his missing apple. The only explanation he could come up with, was that it had somehow rolled into the stream.

Letting out a snort of annoyance, Dusty went to his pack and took out another apple, he was about to toss it into his mouth, when he suddenly felt something tap his left shoulder. Quickly turning his head, Dusty found nothing behind him that could have tapped his shoulder. He knew it wasn't his imagination. Something had definitely touched his shoulder.

Looking back at his hoof, he found that, once again, his apple had gone missing. Like last time, a quick search around turned up nothing. What is going on? He asked himself, completely vexed with having lost a second apple.

Taking out a third apple, Dusty walked over to a nearby log, and set it down onto it. Backing up, Dusty set his rump down, with the small river just behind him, and watched the apple to see if anything happened to it. Swiveling his ears about, Dusty listened for any telltale sounds of anything that might be moving about in the foliage.

After a while, Dusty began to grow bored of staring at the apple, and let out a yawn. Suddenly there was a splash from just behind him, and he was abruptly doused in cold water. Whirling himself about, Dusty glared out at what had just splashed water on him, and found nothing there. How could something have gotten behind him without him noticing!? And how did it get away!?

Looking back at where the apple was, Dusty was dismayed to find that it was gone. Letting out a snort, Dusty stomped his hoof in anger, and glared all about, as he attempted to find the culprit.

As he looked around, something suddenly bonked off the top of his head. "What the!?" Dusty exclaimed, as he looked down at what had just hit him, and found a partially eaten apple laying a few steps away. Something was definitely playing with him!

"Okay! Who's out there!?" Dusty called out in irritation.

The only answer he got was a very feminine giggle, that came from a nearby tree. Snatching up his spear, Dusty stepped closer, and peered up into the branches. At first he didn't see anything, until he caught sight of a pair of sky blue eyes, that were peering down at him, which vanished into the foliage a moment latter, followed by more giggles.

Leaning his head all about, Dusty continued to peer up into the branches, as he continued to try to catch sight of the mysterious creature that was up there, until he felt something jab his rump, from behind.

Whirling himself quickly about, Dusty came nose to nose with the most beautiful filly he ever laid eyes on. His nose was touching hers as he stared into her sky blue eyes. The filly let out another giggle, as she suddenly lifted up into the air and flew around him. Dusty blinked in disbelief at the sight of a filly flying around with wings! Staring up at her, Dusty felt his spear drop out of his grasp, into the grass, next to him.

The filly flew around him in a quick circle, before she abruptly dropped down, and landed just before him, where she then tucked her wings against her sides. Looking at her closely, Dusty saw that she was either his age, or a season older. Her coat was light grey, and her mane and tail where both white; with little streaks of blue, that matched her eyes.

"Ah... hello," Dusty greeted her. The moment he spoke, she suddenly shot up into the air and fluttered there for a nervous moment, before she settled back down. Tucking her wings away, she took a few nervous steps closer, and stretched her head closer to curiously sniff at him.

Not wanting to scare her off, Dusty stood as still as he could, while she stepped ever closer, as her curiosity overcame her nervousness. She walked around to his side, as she speculatively sniffed at him. Her soft nose brushed up against his neck and sides, as she moved back along his body, and he nearly yelped out in surprise, when she abruptly stuck her nose under his tail, to give him a good sniff there too.

"My!... my name is Dusty Stride,... what!... what's yours?" He asked, as her soft nose tickled his dangling bits. Her strange, intimate attention was making him feel weird, as a funny tingle ran down to his loins.

Finally she seemed satisfied, and pulled her nose out from under his tail, with a soft snort. "I'm Sky Twirl," she said, stepping back around to the front of Dusty. "You're from the ground ponies that are nesting nearby, aren't you?"

Dusty figured she meant the settlement. "Yeah, I guess I am" he answered, as he admired her beautiful wings. "How do you have wings?" he asked, holding himself back from trying to feel them.

"Wings?" Sky Twirl unfurled one of her wings, and held it up, as she glanced back at it. "I was born with them. All pegasi are born with them," she answered simply.

"Pegasi?" Dusty asked, cocking his head in confusion. Is that what she was? "Does that mean you're not a pony?"

Sky Twirl laughed, and fluttered up a little into the air. "Of course I'm a pony!" she said, settling herself back to the ground again. "Haven't you've ever seen a pegasus before?"

Dusty shook his head, "We've only run across other herds like ourselves, although, there was a rumor that winged ponies were seen flying around in the sky once, but nopony really believed it." Sitting his rump down, Dusty scratched at the side of his head. "I guess there are more types of ponies than we knew of.”

Sky smiled and nodded happily as she fluttered up. "Oh yes, yes! I was taught that there are three types!" She then pointed her hoof at him, "There is you, the ground pony. There is me, the sky pony, and there are the unicorns, the star ponies."

"Unicorns!?" Dusty was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Not only were there flying ponies, but there were star ponies as well!?

"I was told that they always keep their noses held high, like they smell something bad. And I was told that they never want to have any fun and play." Reaching her hoof up, she touched her forehead and extended her hoof upwards, "They have a horn up here, and with it they move the heavens, to make day and night."

Dusty didn't know how much of this he could take. It was all just so unbelievable. "They can really do that!?"

Sky quickly nodded, "Oh, yes, yes! And Mommy says that it's the horn sticking out of their heads, that makes them all so grumpy, and mean!"

Dusty looked around. "Where do you live? Is your family nearby?" Where would flying ponies live? On top of rainbows? Were there lakes and fields of grass up on top of the clouds? Sometimes it seemed like when you gaze at clouds from the side, they look just like hills and mountains.

Sky's expression darkened, as her wings drooped down. "They are all gone now. I am the last of my flock." Her gaze lowered to the ground.

Dusty's heart wrenched in his chest, as he realized the meaning of her answer. "What happened!?"

Dusty could see Sky's body start to shiver. "My flock liked to nest in the trees. We enjoyed being where the birds nested, and it had always been safe before. But that all changed when they came." Her voice quivered as she spoke, showing her fear and grief quite openly to Dusty, as he listened to her. "When they came, they made no sounds, as they climbed up the trees, and many of the flock was taken, before any of us even knew that something was happening. Once the alarm was raised, many pegasi took to the air, to fly to safety, but something unseen grabbed them, and held them in place, as the shadow crawlers moved in, to collect them.

"Mommy saw this, and took me to the hollow that was in our tree and shoved me into it, telling me to go down, as far as I could, and to stay absolutely quiet, no matter what." Tears began to drip down Sky's nose as she spoke. "I did as she said, and stayed down at the bottom of the hollow, and waited.

“Only when morning came, did I finally decide to come out. When I did, I found that my entire flock had vanished during the night, including my mommy. None of them ever returned. That was a season ago."

Sky broke down and started bawling. Dusty didn't know what to do. His heart felt like it had been twisted in his chest and stomped on a few times, and that was only from listening to her heart wrenching story. Not sure if his action would be welcomed, Dusty moved over, and sat next to Sky so he could put a comforting hoof around her shoulder. The moment his hoof settled around her, Dusty was surprised when Sky suddenly turned herself, and buried her face into his neck, to let out muffled wails, as she wept into him.

As Dusty sat there comforting Sky, he thought about his own mother. When he had last seen her, he had been so angry with her for how she was still treating him like a foal. His idea to go out, and find the wolves den, suddenly felt stupid and foolish. Doing such a stupid thing would most likely have him ending up as food for the wolves. Sky had lost her mother, and her herd that night, and Dusty couldn't imagine what it would be like if the same had happened to him. Her story had opened his eyes with how petty his anger had been.

After a time, Sky's weeping settled down, and she pulled away. Dusty couldn't believe how wet his neck now felt, when Sky leaned herself back, to wipe the back of her leg across her dripping nose. When she saw what she had done to his neck, Sky gave Dusty an embarrassed look.

Dusty smiled at her and shook his head, "Don't worry about it, I'm fine with it." Turning, Dusty hurried over to his willow pack and rummaged around until he came up with two more apples, and quickly returned to Sky, to hold them out to her. "Here, have some apples."

Sky blinked at his offering in surprise. Her eyes quickly looking back to him as she seemed to seriously consider something about him. With a strange smile on her lips, she reached out and took the apples from him, and ate them both. When she finished, she then bent down and picked a flower, and stepped close to Dusty, before she reached up, and slipped the flower into his dark mane, just by his ear.

"I accept your gift," she said with a strange smile, as she rubbed her cheek against his. "I find you worthy to sire my foal."

Dusty's thoughts suddenly lurched back a few mental paces, as he attempted to understand what had just happened. "Wait, what!?... what do mean!?"

Sky continued to rub her cheek and neck against him, as she let out pleased humming sounds. Turning she gave Dusty a light nip on the edge of his jaw. "Among the sky ponies, when a stallion brings a mare fruits during her heat, it means he's asking to sire her foal. I'm in heat. I accept your offering, and wish for you to sire our foal."

Dusty felt his body begin to shiver with excitement, as his brain tried to understand what was happening. The pleasing feeling of her body was making it a struggle to think straight.

"But!... but I'm too young! I'm not a stallion yet!" Dusty managed to exclaim, around the pleasing feelings her tender touches, were sending through his body. His heart was racing, and he was finding it hard to form coherent thoughts, as she nipped, and rubbed her cheek down his side.

Pausing, Sky lowered her head under his belly, and Dusty felt her sniffed at his now stiffened colthood. Or was it a stallionhood? He wondered, before her tail swiped at his face, and drew his attention to other things.

He had noticed when he had first met her, that there was a pleasing scent coming off of her. As he reached his muzzle closer to the base of her tail, he found that her pleasing scent grew thick and heavy to his nose, and made his head feel fuzzy. Was this the scent of a mare in heat!?

He wanted more of it! Shoving his muzzle under her lifted tail, Dusty took deep sniffs as he took in her sweet musky scent, and as his nose came closer to her winking marehood, Sky abruptly let out a stream of pee, that nearly caught him in his muzzle. The powerful scent that was sending his mind into a fog, suddenly redoubled in strength, while a multitude of new and enticing smells assaulted his senses, as he brushed his nose along her marehood.

He found he needed more than just smell her! He needed to taste her! Licking his tongue into her opened marehood, Dusty lapped at her, and took in her sweetness, on his tongue. All resisting thoughts about being too young, suddenly vanished out of his lust ladened mind, as he savored each lick of her marehood.

As his tongue delved into her, Sky panted for breath as she let out pleased little whinnies, as her body began to hunch up. At one point, his tongue rubbed up along a little nub that lay at the bottom of her slit, and Sky let out a loud and very pleased moan, as her body suddenly hunched up and quivered for a short while, as her slit frantically throbbed against Dusty's busy tongue.

Whatever was happening to Sky soon passed, leaving her panting in place, as she suddenly pushed her rump back into him, and turned her head to look around at him with pleading eyes. "Please, my stallion! Claim me and plant your foal within my womb! I am ready!"

Dusty managed to question for a brief moment if he was really ready for this, but any doubts he held suddenly vanished, as he felt her rub her rump against his chest.

He had seen other stallions breed their mares before, so he knew what he needed to do, as he reared up onto her back. Sky had her wings partially opened, and she fluttered them in excitement, as Dusty gripped her sides to pull himself over her back.

Thrusting his hips, Dusty poked his stallionhood around, as he tried to find his way into her. He felt it bump and flop all around her rump, and Dusty was panting in frustration by the time he finally felt the tip of his stallionhood press into something incredibly warm and wet. Shoving his hips forwards he felt his stallionhood plunge a short ways into Sky, who let out a pleased whinny, as she finally felt him moving into her.

The feeling along his stallionhood was incredible, as her warmth encompassed him. He couldn't take much more of this. His heart was hammering in his chest, as he delved his stallionhood deeper within Sky. As her warm inner walls pressed tightly around his stallionhood, Dusty found he could feel her heart racing against his shaft, as she moaned and panted under him.

He was almost all the way inside her, when he felt an intense tingling feeling, along his loins. His stallionhood began to twitch, as he felt his tip begin to flare wide, and everything inside him, was now screaming for him to plunge himself as deeply as he could into her. Gripping her sides tightly, Dusty thrust his hips forwards, until his hips smacked into her rump, as Dusty plunged himself fully into her.

An intense rush of pleasure surged through his loins, as he gripped Sky's sides. Reaching down Dusty bit her crest, to hold her under him, as he gave her a few powerful thrust, before he pressed his hips into her rump as hard as he could, as a surge of intense pleasure rushed along his stallionhood, as he felt his seed spurt out deeply into Sky, in gushing torrents of intense pleasing surges. Sky’s wings flared wide open, and she let out a piercing whinny, as her stallion bred her.

The gushing waves of his releasing seed, quickly began to ebb down to a few final spurts. After a short while, Dusty released Sky’s crest, as he felt his body sag down, while he panted for breath.

Beneath him, Dusty could feel Sky was also panting for breath, as she turned her head to nuzzle at his cheek and muzzle, as he did the same to her. Pulling himself back, Dusty felt his stallionhood slip out of Sky, followed by the sound of their mixed fluids being released, and splattering onto the ground below them.

Once he was off her back, Sky stepped a few paces forward and settled herself into the grass along the stream's bank, and turned her head to wait for him to join her. Still in awe of what they had just done. Dusty stepped up to her, and settled himself down next to her, and cuddled up against her side. Dusty felt Sky’s wing unfurl, and settle over his back, as she started to hum happily to herself.

Dusty couldn't believe he had just mated with a mare, especially one with wings! The thought of becoming a father next spring terrified him, but also excited him, as he thought about what his foal was going to be like. Would it have wings like it's mother?

Turning, Dusty nuzzled Sky behind her ear, as he listened to her hummed melody, as a sense of absolute contentment settled over him.