Baggage Claim (Ch. 1) (Dusk x Audience OC, Clop)

A sharp jolt in the movement of the train jerks you to consciousness, and you lift your heavy-lidded eyelids and blink a few times, trying to discern shapes from the blurred and indistinct colours.

It takes a few moments for you to realise you're alone in a train compartment. You don't exactly remember how you got here, or where you're going, but you're sure it'll come back to you in a minute, once you've had a chance to wake up.

You frown quietly to yourself and rub your eyes, trying to remember your name... What was it now...?

You decide instead to take a look around, maybe get an idea of where this train is headed. You yawn and stretch until the joints in your back and hooves are creaking and cracking, and shake the tiredness off and slip off your seat.

You take a glance out of your window, but on this side of the train all you see are some mountains and forests. That's not to say they're not very beautiful mountains and forests- but you're pretty sure that's not where the train is stopping.

You turn to open the sliding door to your compartment and almost trip over your luggage. Clumsy pony. You bring yourself to your feet and reach a hoof out to pull the sliding compartment door open and step outside... And then stop.

You put your hoof back down to the floor and peer in both directions through the door's window, to make sure nobody is coming.

Then, in concentration, you clench your eyes shut and tense your muscles. A bead of sweat forms on your brow and rolls down your muzzle, tickling your nose. Your horn does not respond, merely throbbing at you from the effort. Tauntingly. Teasingly.

You sigh despondently and open the door with your hooves, with great resignation.

It's a problem you've had to put up with your entire life, for as long as you can remember. Your parents were worried at first when you didn't try to float away, animate your toys and send them on a rampage, or set fire to your crib- but they assured themselves that it was just a phase.

Well, the years rolled on and you never emerged as a 'late bloomer' in the magical arts, as your teachers predicted you would. You suffered your fair share of teasing from your classmates for what they perceived to be a disability, but you've honestly never felt like much was missing. It was the words and the whispers and the pointing of hooves from huddles groups of giggling colts and fillies that hurt the most. You learnt to make do with your hooves, and developed a surprising degree of dexterity and precise manipulation with them beyond that of most unicorns as a result.

And then, of course, puberty rolled along. And you found the other things you could do with your horn and your hooves...

You're pulled out of your head by the scratchy and reverberating voice of an unseen conductor travelling up and down the carriages, emitted by horns hanging above your head;
"We are now approaching Ponyville Station. Disembark here for Ponyville."

Ponyville sounds like the right kind of place to visit, so you reach for your pockets to find your ticket, but remember that you don't have pockets. You are naked almost all the time. Silly pony.

You trot back into your compartment and quietly close the door, and start to look for your ticket with greater and greater urgency. It's not on your luggage or anywhere on the floor near it, but that doesn't worry you too much, since it probably just means you put it down on the seat next to you.

When checking all the seats doesn't turn up results, you run your hooves down the cracks between the seats. Still nothing. Panic starts to rise in your heart. What will you do if somebody asks to see your ticket? They might fine you, or imprison you, or beat you up or execute you! You're not actually all that sure what they do to people who don't pay their fares, but it's probably inconvenient and embarrassing at the very least.

After one last look of desperation in the baggage holds above the seats, you make a snap decision. Opening the compartment door and dragging your luggage through with the handle in your teeth, you unclasp one of the windows of the train carriage that looks down on Ponyville and pull it down as far as it will go.

The carriage is filled with the whistling and roaring of air and the mechanical grinding of train wheels, and you hear activity from the people in the other compartments. You must act fast.

Lifting the luggage once more with your mouth, and briefly thinking with a pang of shame that this is one of those times when it would be really useful to be a unicorn with a horn that could actually do magic, you bring your head around to your side and swing it forward- sending your luggage flying out of the window and plummeting to the ground below.

The sliding of doors confirms your fears that other passengers are coming to check what the noise is and, now driven to carry out your plan to completion by the threatening stigma of public embarrassment, you take a few steps back and leap forward, out of the window, and out of the train, twirling dramatically through the air as the sudden wind tussles your mane and ripples through your coat.

Fuck. This was a terrible idea.

You tumble through the air, rolling forward for a handful of adrenalin-fuelled seconds that feel like whole minutes. Your heart races and questions flash through your brain. Is this it? Are you going to die? How long is this drop? Five-hundred feet? A thousand? Two-thousand? Four-thousand?! Will there be enough of you for the authorities to identify? How big of an idiot are they going to think you are? Where the hell did your luggage land?

This lightning-fast train of thought is interrupted as your entire left side connects painfully with the dirt incline that rolls just-slightly-less-than-gently down from the train tracks to the same sort of altitude that most of Ponyville rests at. You roll over and over, seeing alternately the brilliant blue sky, the harsh dusty ground, the confused faces of other passengers observing your descent from the train shrinking off slightly into the distance as it pulls into the station, and then the sky again.

A number of sudden bumps in the ground, thorned bushes and unyielding rocks do their utmost to try and halt your fall, but your roll and bound through and over them, not even stopping to thank them for their considerate attempts to help break your fall, and most of your bones.

Finally, aching and sore, your rolling slows as the incline levels out, bringing you to a stop sprawled on your back, gazing up at the blue sky which continues to roll and wobble disorientatingly, and the alarmed but concerned face of a stallion looking down at the strange colt who has come to a halt against their hooves.

You gaze up, uncomprehending at the shifting purple mass staring down at you as it grows more and more indistinct, merging with the steadily darkening blues of the sky which throb painfully and give rise to a steadily escalating need to close your eyes, which grow heavier by the second.

A second, purple-green shape joins the first in evaluating your prone form, and you're just about to slip back into the sweet embrace of sleep before a rich, velvety voice calls to you from somewhere across the shifting valleys of your senses. It sounds like an angel, you decide (quite reasonably, you think). You hadn't thought the fall was quite THAT bad, but maybe you misjudged it.

You're not really sure what the angel said, but you somehow summon just enough presence of mind to mumble out a string of words that carry out with them your last breath of conscious thought;
"... Sorry... Couldn't find... My ticket..."

And then you're gone, just late enough to hear the purple-green shape say
"Wait, seriously? Did he really just say that?"

You dream about falling. You fall a very long way, and you're not sure where you're falling from or where you'll be when you land. You're caught by an angel as rich a purple hue as the twilight sky, who causes all your hurts and pains to dissolve and fall away like snowflakes on the wind with his magic, and carries you up, up, ever further up, on broad lavender wings that cut through the air as though it were nothing. Cradled in his safe grasp, you dare to gaze up at the stars...

And then, pain. Not terrible pain, just enough pain. A dull, throbbing pain all over that serves to inform you that you're quite the idiot, and that your body refuses to stand for any more of that sort of thing in the future. You're lying in a bed, just soft enough to keep from bothering your bruises.

You stir, and your body gives out a protracted, physical discomfort as a means of saying 'don't bother, just go back to sleep'. Your back right hoof in particular seems opposed to the idea of movement, but a little twitching and flexing confirms that nothing seems broken. A pressure around your cranium suggests your head is bandaged, and a friendly throbbing from your skull tells you that it's there for a good reason.

A jolt of surprise runs through your body as something wet and cool dabs at your cheek. You hear an intake of breath, equally surprised, coming from somewhere just to your right, and with a little effort you tilt your head so that your right cheek is resting on your pillow, and draw your eyes open- first one, and then the other.

And you find the most beautiful violet eyes you have ever seen staring back into them.

For a long, beautiful moment, you indulge yourself by staring into those glossy, bottomless orbs of emotion. Too soon, your reverie is interrupted as your saviour speaks, and his features turn to a countenance of quiet concern.
"Uh... Hi? Are you okay? How do you feel?"
You trip stupidly over your words for a few second, mixing your vowels and consonants and stumbling over syllables, and feel the blood rising to your cheeks fast.
"Y-you too..."
Oh sweet Prince Solaris, you did not just say that.
"Uh... Excuse me?"
Shit shit shit, pull it together.
"I m-mean, like... Good."
He lifts a single eyebrow in what could be either confusion or bemusement.
"Good?"
You try to sit up, and a whine of pain escapes your lips, despite your attempts to stifle it.
"Well, uh, not, like... Good... But, uh..."

At this point, you're certain your entire face must be a bright crimson. And if he somehow hadn't noticed, he should certainly be able to tell from the heat you can already feel blasting from your cheeks in waves.

Suddenly, he laughs, and you feel like your heart might explode.
"Don't worry, you had a pretty bad fall and hurt your head. You might feel a bit confused."
He shines a warm, understanding smile at you, and your blush dies down, but only a little. You save yourself further embarrassment, and just nod pitifully.

At that moment, you hear footsteps, and you try to turn in your bed to see who it is. You see a very bored looking female baby dragon carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of soup and a spoon- but then your purple friend reaches to touch your shoulder with a hoof- gently, softly. "Oh, wait, don't try to move! Uh, one of my friends is coming over later to make sure you haven't damaged anything too badly. But until then, just try and stay comfortable and relax."

You almost think for a moment that you see the baby dragon rolling her eyes as she sets the tray down on a little table at the foot of your bed, but you turn to look back at your hero, letting his understanding smile warm you. He's a unicorn, with a mostly straight purpley-blue mane with streaks of purples and more reddish colours, and a lavender mane that matches those beautiful, beautiful eyes. You find yourself thinking that you've never seen a more handsome stallion, and you wonder...
"By the way, my name is Dusk Shine, and that's Barb, my assistant."
He smiles down at you expectantly, and you muster up the courage to smile back.

"I'm... Handle. Handle Baggage."
Dusk Shine keeps smiling, but you can almost sense Barb raising an eyebrow outside your field of vision.
"Handle... Baggage, huh? Well, Handle, I guess it falls to me to welcome you to Ponyville... Sorry your first day here had to be so... Eventful."
He gestures vaguely at your body, and (unfortunately) starts to walk away, as if to leave the room. "Come on, Barb. Let's leave Handle to get his rest." the purple Stallion almost forces the baby dragon down the stairs, and turns to say one last thing before following himself. "Your food is on the table there. I'll be downstairs, writing some letters, but I'll be back in a few hours to check on you. If you need anything, anything at all, just yell!"

And with that, Dusk Shine leaves. You can't help but follow him with your eyes as he departs, tracing the shapely outline of his flanks and biting your lip at the brief glimpse of his own baggage before he descends out of sight.

You lie there in bed for a while, gazing at the wooden ceiling. You find you can't get that gorgeous stallion out of your head. His sweet voice, his beautiful eyes... And he seems so sweet, so considerate, so intelligent, so... Well, everything else that anybody would use to describe a crush. Shit. You guess that's what this horrible queasy feeling in your chest is, then. But you don't even know if he... Goes that way.

Your thoughts are interrupted by the gurgle of your stomach, and you look for that bowl of soup... Left on a tray at the foot of your bed.

You now realise that Dusk and Barb meant for you to bring the soup over with your magic. Well, shit.

You could try getting out of bed and picking up the soup like a big boy, but you have no idea if you're capable of walking yet. But you're not sure you like the idea of calling for Dusk Shine to explain that you need him to carry your foot a few feet towards you, because you're a fucking useless excuse for a unicorn who can't even levitate a bowl.

You sit for another few minutes, pondering your options. But your stomach rumbles in discontent, demanding tribute, and you are helpless to deny it.

Tossing back the cover with one hoof, you're finally able to observe the extent of the damage. Faint and darker bruises like islands are distributed in blotches across your body, occasionally accompanied by various scratches, cuts, scraping and gashes which. A veritable roadmap of pain.

Wincing with the effort, you swing first one, and then the other hindleg over one side of the bed, bringing you into a sitting position. Then slowly, carefully, you ease yourself down, letting your body roll off the bed and onto your forehooves, until you are standing on all fours once more.

Your legs quiver like jelly, and quite honestly don't feel too dissimilar to jelly either, but you are exuberant to find you are standing unaided. You next try to take a step forward...

... And, your legs refusing to budge, the rest of your body floats forward until you collapse into the ground, creating a loud 'THUD' as your forehooves give out from beneath you, crashing your chin into the floor and leaving your hindquarters hanging ludicrously in the air.

You already hear Dusk shouting downstairs.

Stars sparkling in front of your eyes, you attempt with renewed determination to pull yourself back into bed, or at least into a less ridiculous position. You manage merely to overbalance yourself, bringing your ass down to earth with a painful 'FUMP'.
"Excellent", you think sarcastically to yourself. "Now I look as though I simply rolled out of bed and a quarter of the way across the room. Dusk will surely be impressed."

No sooner had his name crossed your mind, before he was practically galloping up the stairs, followed quite a way behind by the somewhat less concerned dragon.
"Handle!" Dusk yelled, his voice barely concealing a quivering worry that actually sends a pang of guilt through your heart (although it doesn't come close to matching the pain travelling through the rest of your body).

You hear the tell-tale twinkling sound of magic, and a sparkling purple haze surrounds you, easing you off the ground and up into the air. Startled by your sudden weightlessness, and still reeling from your fall, you let loose an uncharacteristic whimper of surprise which causes you to blush anew. If Dusk noticed, he didn't say anything.
"Handle, you silly pony. If you needed the toilet, you should have just called me. You don't even know where the bathroom is."
"We have a bathroom?!" Barb chimes in from behind him, in genuine alarm.

Dusk silences her with a disapproving glance and sets you back down into the bed, and even goes so far as to pull up the covers and tuck you back in. You're embarrassed, but can't help but feel... Fuzzy inside, with all the attention Dusk is giving you. You really have never felt this way for another pony. You're blushing constantly like a schoolfilly, for Solaris's sake.

You mutter that you weren't trying to go to the toilet, and Dusk Shine gives you a quizzical look and asks you what you WERE trying to do.

You look first into Dusk Shine's worried, affectionate eyes, and then at Barb's bored but slightly curious expression. And then back to Dusk Shine, because that's the more encouraging of the two.

"I was... Trying to get the, uh, soup."
Dusk opens his mouth to say something, but Barb beats him to it.
"Then why didn't you just use your magic?"
You can feel the blood rising to your face and the sweat forming on your forehead. You feel sick, but Dusk looks on you with nothing but genuine concern. The words don't come easily, but you push them out regardless.
"I... Can't do magic."

The silence is so stifling you feel like you could suffocate. You've never felt so ashamed of your shortcoming before- you feel close to tears. After what feels like an eternity, Barb stifles a laugh. "... What?!"

Dusk Shine shoots her the most venomous look you've ever seen from a pony.
"Barbara, why don't you go downstairs and start dinner?"
Barb shrugs, obviously oblivious to the situation, and disappears down the stairs. Dusk Shine looks back down at you with understanding and caring which almost brings forth those tears you were already stifling back. Your heart soars as he takes one of your hooves settled above the covers and holds it in his own. His hoof is warm, and soft, and cradles your own with infinite care.

"It's okay Handle. Why didn't you just tell me?"

Though you've known him for so short a time, you feel safe with Dusk Shine, like you don't have to hide anything from him. Tears form in your eyes, and Dusk holds your hoof tighter.

"People have always made fun of me for it... And you've been so sweet to me, I suppose I just didn't want to you think even less of me..."

You feel him slide his other hoof around your head and down your back, and you're stunned into silence as he pulls you forward into a hug. You finally can't hold it in any longer and, wrapping your forehooves around his neck and burying your muzzle beneath his chin into his soft lavender coat, you let the tears flow unbidden, as Dusk Shine whispers to you that it's okay, coos softly and strokes your mane.

All the harsh words, the teasing, the laughing fades away. The running, the searching, the travelling, hitching rides and dodging fares- you let it all bubble up and weep it all out, as he holds you close, warm and safe, and rocks you gently back and forth in his hooves. You finally leave your emotional baggage unattended, and watch from the station as it is carried away, far away, never to hurt you again. You feel at home now. Finally, the crying stops, and you're both left there in tranquil silence.

"... Feel better?"

You nod wordlessly into his neck, nuzzling below his chin.

"... Do you want to tell me why you jumped out of the window of a moving train now?"

You frown slightly.
"I... Lost my ticket."
Dusk Shine pauses for a moment.
"You... Lost it?"
"Yeah. Or I might have... Never actually had one. I'm not really sure, actually. I don't remember."
"So... You threw yourself out of the train window?"
"And my luggage." You gently release yourself from his embrace and lie back in the bed to keep talking to him. "I just sort of panicked, I suppose. I'm not really sure what they do to fare-skippers, but I got scared. I don't think I had any money, so I couldn't have paid any fine they'd give me!"
You look forward, away from Dusk Shine, and start to ramble, waving your hooves for emphasis. "So they could have arrested me! Or imprisoned me! I'd never survive in prison. Or maybe they'd execute me, or throw me in front of the train, or worse!"
Now it was Dusk Shine's turn to frown slightly.
"... You had luggage?"

You blink at Dusk Shine.
"... Fuck. My towel was in there."
Dusk Shine's cheeks blow up as he tries not to laugh, and then fails miserably. You join in, and before long you're both laughing like lunatics. All the lost luggage in the world couldn't bother you right now.

Eventually, the laughter dies down.
"Don't worry, you can borrow my towel..."
Dusk trots around your bed to the tray with the warm soup still on it, and lifts it into the air with his magic. Walking back to your side, he sets the tray down on your lap. It warms your thighs, and you squirm a little bit to find a comfortable position.

You're not quite sure what Dusk is doing, until he lifts the spoon with his magic, takes a spoonful of delicious smelling soup, and lifts it to your face.
"Open wide."

You look from the spoon to him, and give him a playful smile, before parting your lips to allow him inside. Slowly, he brings the steaming head of the spoon into your mouth, and you close your lips around it's length. You hold eye contact, sucking your lips around the curves and contours of the spoon as he draws it out, slowly and purposefully. Finally, swirling the rich, flavourful, hot concoction around your mouth, you close your eyes and swallow- letting go of a small sigh of satisfaction as the warm fluid rolls down your throat.

Opening your eyes, you lock your gaze with Dusk Shine again, and subtly lick your lips.

His kind smile has become more absent-minded, his jaw hanging slightly open as he stares at you a moment longer. You think you can make out a bead of sweat rolling down past his ear.

The next spoonful comes, and once again, you down the soup eagerly. Greedily, and more that a little sultrily. As you had hoped, while you're perhaps not making Dusk outright uncomfortable with your subtle display, he's certainly starting to experience a different kind of discomfort.

The signs are there. The smile fades slowly, and is replaced by more of a mesmerised concentration. With each spoonful, he leans a little closer to deliver it- ultimately unnecessary, given that he's delivering it to you with magic. And a few times when you open your eyes following your swallowing another mouthful, you catch him biting his bottom lip gently, before he quickly looks away to scoop up another spoonful.

Finally, all but the few dregs remaining in the bottom of the bowl has gone. You're full and satisfied... For the time being. The warmth of the soup has your body practically tingling from your head to your hooves... Although that may also be on account of a certain somepony.

Meanwhile, Dusk shine is running the spoon around the corners of the bowl, trying to scrounge up a final spoonful. As he does you finally break the intense silence.
"... It's really good soup."

Dusk shine, startled by your words, looks vacantly up at you, momentarily dropping the spoon which clatters into the bowl.
"Wher-What?"

"The soup." You point one hoof at the bowl and spoon. "It's good. Really good."

You're almost regretting speaking, and you think for a moment you might start blushing again out of embarrassment, but Dusk looks back to the bowl, back to you, and snaps out of it- nodding understandingly and chuckling a little to himself.
"Oh, heh, yeah. Barbs' makes it. I, uh, actually haven't tried any."

You tilt your head slightly to one side and look him in the eyes.
"You... Have eaten, right?"

Dusk Shine looks down at the bowl and smiles slightly to himself, shrugging.
"Actually, I haven't. It was going to be my dinner... But, uh, it's no problem. I've got some leftover hay pizza Barb can heat up."

You give him a look somewhere between guilt and adoring gratitude, and brush his foreleg with one hoof. His coat is soft, almost silky.
"You really didn't have to do that for me..."

Dusk Shine perks up, and gives you another of his golden caring smiles.
"No, really, it's no problem. You've come a long way- you probably enjoyed it more than I would have."

You take a moment to gaze into his eyes and return his smile. Solaris, he's beautiful. It's love at first sight, you're certain of it.

On a whim, you pull towards you the almost-empty bowl, long since easily within hoofs-reach. Using the lifelong-perfected dexterity you were forced to develop due to your lack of magic, you gently hold the handle of the spoon between the curve of one hoof and the tip of the other. With practised expertise you work the sides of the bowl with the spoon, in moments collecting the last of the soup into one mouthful. You look back to Dusk, who was watching with careful interest, and hold the spoon facing him.

Getting the message, he leans forward and opens his mouth, the corners turned up in good humour. You lean to meet him, smoothly and gently entering the spoon into his mouth and feeding him the same way he had been feeding you.

His eyes shut as he takes the mouthful, and you withdraw the spoon, and place it gently back into the bowl. You don't lean back just yet.

He savours the mouthful, a low humming of satisfaction rumbling forth from his lips.

He's so close, you can smell him.

Oh Solaris, he smells like the pages of a new soft-back book, and... Is that?
Yes, definitely... Lavender.

You lean forward just a little bit more, pressing your lips into his own.

His eyes fly open in surprise, and he opens his mouth in a silent gasp- and your tongue takes advantage of the opportunity, springing forth to explore his mouth.

You've never kissed a pony before, much less a stallion. You have no fucking idea what you're doing, but it feels so fucking good. He tastes so fucking good.

Although actually, a lot of that might just be the soup he hadn't quite gotten around to swallowing.

A tiny voice in the back of your head screams that you've gone too far, that he's not really into colts and that you've just been naively misinterpreting everything that has happened thus far-

-And then his eyes shut again, and he presses his muzzle back into yours, turning to have better access to your mouth, and easing you back into the pillow even as he repositions himself to lean over you from his place beside your bed, and strokes your mane with one hoof and your cheek with the other.

You roll your tongue through his mouth- around his perfect white teeth, over his tongue- stealing more drops of the delicious soup, hungering for the hidden taste of Dusk Shine's own mouth beneath.

You are unpractised, and you think it shows. While all the other colts at your old school were out experimenting with kissing fillies, you were trying your utmost to pick up even the simplest of spells. Not that you minded, of course. You never saw the point of chasing after fillies- although it took you a very long time to come to terms with the reason why, of course.

But you've never been more sure of your reasons as you are now. As soon as your tongue starts to tire, Dusk Shine picks up the pace himself, launching forth on explorations of his own. You squirm and moan beneath- and into- him as you feel his strong tongue brushing over your own, running over your own teeth, taking control and exerting his own will over your mouth, claiming ground...

Suddenly, his weight shifts and his mouth is gone, and you're left gasping for him, whining gently with need. You don't understand why he stopped, until you follow his alarmed gaze to the stairs... Where Barb is stood, watching, mouth slightly agape.

You and Dusk look at Barb.

Then you look at each other- you lying back in the bed with your fore-hooves draped above your head more than a little femininely, he partially stood on the floor, partially sat atop your chest, fore-hooves held defensively up in front of him, pulled away from you as though your coat and mane had burned him.

Then you both look at Barb again.

Barb just sort of looks at the both of you.

The awkwardness is unbearable, the tension indescribable, and the silence was really, really bad. Dusk Shine is the first to make any noise, letting forth a trickle of unformed utterances which sounded vaguely like "Uhbuh-Barb-we-uh-jus-dah".

You draw the slack in the covers slowly over you, meaning to cover your head and perhaps allow you to recede from this reality, but it only makes it far enough to cover your neck and some of your muzzle- your eyes, ears, mane and forehooves peeping out over the top. You then offer your own insightful contributions to Dusk's exposition, muffled tastefully by your sheets, which sounds something like "Fwe-juhs-meedeh-tah-fuh-tuh-nuh".

Your duel monologues blend together into a perfectly melodious harmony, which must have some effect, as Barb eventually begins to back away from the two of you and back down the stairs, maintaining eye contact and the same blank expression the whole time. Once you're both alone again, the babbling continues for only another minute or so, before softly fading into another stunned silence.

You and Dusk look at each other again.
"Maybe I should... Uh, you know... Talk to her... Or... Something?"
He looks at you, completely lost, and you look back, equally uncertain.

"Well... Yeah, I... Guess. But only if you want to..."
Dusk looks uncertainly at the general area of air Barb formerly occupied, as though the spirit of her presence might still be watching you both, and murmurs a reply.
"Of course, but... You know, I probably should, right? I mean, it's... Right?"
You nod dumbly in the affirmative.
"Right."
He nods in a similarly unintellectual manner.
"Right."

He clambers gingerly off of you, and you internally despair as you feel the heat of the sheets begin to dissipate without his sleek, toned body there to warm them.
He starts to canter hesitantly towards the stairs, but then stops and turns as if he's forgotten something. Walking back to your side, he leans in and gives you a lingering smooch on the forehead.
"Don't go anywhere, okay?"
You crumple your brow and give him a flat, humourless smile.
"My legs have all the functionality of my horn, remember?"
He smirks, and turns to go, but pauses again to give you what is actually a very proficient erotic stare, one eyebrow tilted, and delivers a line slightly too delayed to have full effect.
"Uh, well then... You can borrow mine later."

He then leaves, swaying slightly seductively before he descends the stairs.

You are left to stare at the ceiling and settle yourself into the bed thoughtfully.

Actually, you don't really get it. Why would you borrow his legs?

You sit silently for a minute or so, before you hear Dusk Shine shout something downstairs. Though muted, you're pretty sure you made out the words correctly.
"PRINCE FUCKING SOLARIS, BARB WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING"

This is followed by Barb screaming and then yelling something really loud, which definitely includes both the words "SORRY SORRY SORRY" and "HOLY SHIT PLEASE GET OUT", followed by the sound of a door slamming.

There's maybe another minute of tense silence, before you hear Dusk climbing back up the stairs. You roll over to look at him as he comes into view, and by Tartarus, if he doesn't look just about as shocked as Barb did.
"Is she... Uh... Cool?"
Dusk shakes himself out of his head.
"Uh, wuh?"
"Barb. Did you... Talk to her?"
"Oh... Oh, no. She's fine. Trust me, she... Gets it." Dusk grimaces slightly. "Totally."

You look blankly at him for a few moments, allowing this to seep in.
"Uh, hey, didn't you say one of your friends was coming to look at my, uh, injuries or something?"
"Oh, Butterscotch? No, no, he had to cancel. Something to do with a bear. He'll try and make it tomorrow."

Dusk glances back down the stairs and then back to you. "But don't worry about any of that..."

He rears onto his hind legs and crosses them over, leaning on the wall with one fore-hoof for support, in what is obviously meant to be his suavest pose.

"Now, ah... Where were we?"

You droop your eyelids in what you hope is an alluring manner and smirk at him cheekily.
"Well, I don't know..."

Dusk's suave front falls, leaving behind a simple, undisguised lack of understanding.
"Oh... Oh, well, uh, me neither."

You look at each other, from across the room. You speak up, trying to approach the topic as gently and inoffensively as possible.
"Have you ever... Uh.... Done this before?"

Dusk Shine is obviously uncomfortable at this, and returns to all fours to approach the bed with uncertainty poorly disguised as teasing restraint.
"Well, not... That... Many?" He defensively explains, "But I've read a lot about it in books. Like, a lot of books. Loads."

He hops up onto the bed, and sits up on the opposite end to you. "Well, not, like, too many. But-"

You gently push your covers off and roll on to your front, scooting up to Dusk. You smooch him reassuringly on the lips, letting the kiss connect you both for a few moments, before gently pulling back.
"Me neither."

He smiles.

You smile.

He holds out his hooves for you, and you lean into him, obligingly. Your aches have faded over the day, merely a distant shadow of their former intensity, though some of the cuts still sting dully.

Dusk nuzzles your main gently, and snorts softly into one of your ears, making you giggle girlishly. He whispers softly into your ear;
"If you're not up for anything, that's okay. I'm a little tired, anyway. We can just sleep."

A mischievous smile curves it's way onto your mouth.
"I don't mind giving you something to bring you sweet dreams of me..."
One of your hooves snakes it's way down from his chin to his bellybutton, and then detours to encircle his cutiemark, massaging his flank tenderly, causing him to shudder in appreciation.
"I could always show you just how... Good with my hooves I've gotten to make up for having this horn..."

You feel warmth rising up from between you, and scoot a little bit further back again.
"O-Oh Solaris, yes!"
You carefully reposition yourself so that you're lying almost completely on your side, with only your fore-hooves and your head not resting on the bed.
"I-I mean, if you're okay with that. Then, uh, yes... Please?"
As you expected, he's already sprung to attention... And...
"Holy shit, you're HUGE!"
Dusk Shine giggles a little to himself, embarrassedly.
"R-Really?" he coughs, trying to regain composure. "I mean, uh... Y-yeah...?"

You're not lying, either. He's big. Longer than you by a fair few inches, and a fair bit thicker, too. And you'd always thought you were fairly well hung, or at least average. Not that you had much to compare to up close.

Seeing this throbbing stick of stallion meat on any other colt might have made you feel jealous or insecure, but right now all you feel is excitement.

You hesitantly brush it with your nose and take a sniff, causing Dusky to gasp. You take a longer sniff, quivering with pleasure, and letting out a rattling breath of satisfaction. His musk is so strong now. It's almost dizzying. You just want to drink it in and let it carry it's masculine, sensual warmth to every inch of your body, just like the soup.

With phenomenal strength of will, you pull yourself away from him, and gently take the base of his shaft into your hooves, eliciting another grunt of encouragement from somewhere above you, and an involuntary twitch from your new friend down here.

You glide the pits of your hooves up his length- slowly, teasingly- gently testing his flesh, and learning it's little details, from the tiniest vein just above his sheath, to the texture and firmness of his flared head.

Finally, with a gentle kiss on the tip, you start- working at Dusk's member with both hooves ( necessary to compensate for its size), kneading firmly up and down, up and down, like a baker working bread. At several points, you take an apple-sized nut in his sack glistening with sweat, and massage it softly, gently squeezing even as you stroke up and down Dusk's length, his flesh nestled firmly in the joint of your hoof and foreleg, until beads of glistening pre ooze from his head as he groans in ecstasy.

"Does it feel... Good?", you ask pointlessly, since he's obviously in the throes of carnal bliss.

"Yes... Oh, Solaris, yes! Handle, you are amazing at this!"

Although you're aware that on some level it's not worth getting too excited about being complimented on your ability to get a hoofjob, you feel a giddy sense of pride well up inside you, knowing how good you're making Dusk Shine feel.

Dusk's pre-cum accumulates more and more, to the point where it is dribbling down his length and onto your hooves, streaking them with his sticky titillation. Reservedly, experimentally, you host up a hoof and extend the tip of your tongue. Just to taste.

Sweet. Gooey. Just a little bit salty.

You treat yourself to a longer, more drawn-out lick, running up your hoof with most of your tongue. The display clearly excites Dusk, who stirs in excitement.
"O-oh... Yeah... Do you like that...?"

You do. Very much.

Unable to hold yourself back any longer, you launch yourself onto Dusk's member- suckling, almost slobbering, over his sweet male juices. He lies back, quivering and gasping, as you take his fleshy head into your mouth, pleasuring it zealously with your tongue and gorging yourself on the nectar that leaks almost constantly from it now. Dusk must be really, really pent up.

Drunk on his juices, and desperate to make Dusk feel as good as you can possibly accomplish, you force your head further down, and then up, and then further down- feeling his member push first at the back of your mouth, then your throat.

You stop every few bobs to take a few breaths of musky, sweaty air- but as you build up a rhythm and more and more of your throat is claimed by Dusk's delicious, throbbing horsecock, you find yourself holding your breath for longer and longer without stopping your oral assault. In school, the other colts begrudgingly recognised you as captain of the swimming team- and while your technique was certainly impressive, it was your lung capacity which was truly unrivalled.

There was not a chance that you could have guessed, back then, just what all that was to prepare you for.

Finally, you find yourself bottoming out on Dusk's considerable length, your muzzle pressed up against his fuzzy abdomen and plump sack. You rest there a moment, your throat filled completely with Dusk's thick stallion hood, and make an effort to gulp down- revelling in the sensation of fullness, and Dusk's euphoric groans.

Then, bracing your hooves against his open thighs, you drag yourself up and off of Dusk, feeling his cock leak a stream of lubricating precum all along the walls of your throat as it withdraws, and hearing his flared head escape your lips with a gentle 'pop'- leaving you both gasping for air for a moment.

And then, you wrap your mouth around him, and slam yourself all the way down. You pull yourself up again, faster this time, and slam yourself down again. And again. And again.

"Oh Solaris! Artemis! H-holy fuck, Handle, y-you're incredible!!"

His words only push you to swallow him faster, and his legs buck and his crotch thrusts forward involuntarily to match your efforts.

Suddenly, you feel a pair of hooves firmly clamping down on the back of your mane. Dusk, mad with lust and passion, leans over your body, casting a shadow over you, pulls your head close as he thrusts himself into you, over and over, faster and faster, as he pants in exertion and ecstasy, fucking your face and throat with reckless abandon.

Completely helpless to stop him, but far from frightened, you simply allow your tired hooves to drop from his legs and hang uselessly over the sides of the bed, drooping your head so that your chin is resting on the softness of the bed covers- your entire body now a dead weight- and lie there submissively and passively as Dusk Shine brutally uses you, running your tongue as far around his rapidly thrusting and withdrawing girth and sucking and swallowing down as hard as you can on your lover's meat.

"Yes! Yes!! Handle! H-Handle! I luh- I luh- I luuuhh-"
Dusk's words become less and less coherent as his entire body quivers in euphoria, and you feel the twitching and throbbing of his entire length down your throat as his thrusts become shorter and faster. Stars starting to dance in front of your eyes, you summon just enough presence of mind to lift your hooves back to your partner and push yourself off of him with renewed effort- his own shuddering hooves falling from the back of your head uselessly as he reaches his peak.

You're not trying to stop him- but if this is to be your first time, you'll be damned if he's going to finish down your throat. You'll taste every last drop of him if you're able.

Pushing yourself up off of the bed, you raise your head up off his head as fast as you are able. You see his balls quiver and clench and feel steaming, creamy goo spurting down your throat. Out of absolutely nowhere, you find yourself thinking of soup.

His spurting load coats the inside of your throat, before you pull yourself up enough that his puffy, flared head is back in your mouth- and with one, two spurts, your mouth is filled almost to bursting. Holy shit, how much does this colt have in him?

You gulp down his salty-sweet sauce, feeling it flow down your throat like a torrent- and in barely a second, your mouth is full again. You gulp deeply mouthful after mouthful, letting the taste of each concurrent load submerge your tongue with it's gooey goodness, and allowing the musky, masculine taste of your lover wash over you. Dusk Shine just pants mindlessly, lying back on the bed, exhausted.

Finally, you just can't gorge yourself fast enough, and Dusk's cock pops free of your mouth with another few spurts of fluid, and you sit before it with your mouth hanging open eagerly, panting, to catch what falls into it- your lips joined by a single lingering strand of  the stallion cum still coating the inside of your mouth.

Dusk's final dying spurts violently spatter your face with his juice, coating your muzzle and oozing over your left eye, and into your mane. What you can reach with your tongue you lap at, swallowing the last dregs greedily like so many spoonfuls of delicious soup.

Finally, like Dusk, you collapse- on your side- panting for breath, but fiercely satisfied.

There's a few moments of quiet- you just listen to the sound of your breathing mixing with his- before Dusk, shuddering, climbs forward.
"H-Handle...?"
You adjust your head to meet his eyes, and just blink and smile stupidly, your face still stained with streaks of his drying fluid.
Dusk, you realise suddenly, is looking down at you with horror, his eyes rapidly filling with tears.

He suddenly throws his hooves over you, rolling you into a once-sided hug as he cradles your ravaged body in his tight embrace.
"I-I'm s-so sorry, Handle... I j-just don't knuh-know what came over me..."
"Dusk..."
"A-Are you okay?! I'm r-really, really sorry- I'll never do anything l-like that again, I swear..."
"Dusk..."
"Y-you were just so... Buh-but I n-never-"
"I love you."

A sharp intake of breath rattles Dusk Shine's breath, and he exhales slowly- his tears halted.
"Y-you luh... Love me?"

You try your best to press yourself deeper into his warm coat, nuzzling into him wordlessly.
"O-oh, Handle, I l-l-love you too! I do! I've never fuh-felt anything like this for anypony before..."

You both huddle together like that, his forelegs wrapped around you, you curved into his chest... Just listening to the silence of the moment...

Your ears perk up. His do too. You both hear something that sounds like... Schlicking.

Dusk practically launches himself from the bed to the staircase, barely touching the floor, and shouts down at the unseen interloper just outside your line of sight with all the rage of an angry god-prince.
"What the fuck?! Barb, I swear to Solaris, I will give you so much paperwork that I will have you sent to the moon just so that you can reach the top of it! Get out of here! Go to your room! Don't even think about coming out until morning!"

You can't help but giggle quietly to yourself.

"U-uh, I don't have a room... My basket is up there in your room..."
"Well... Uh... The spare room downstairs is your room now, then! Just... Grab your shit, and go to sleep."
"R-Really?! Wow, t-thanks!"

A small purple-green blur brushes past the bewildered Dusk Shine and whisks up the basket near the bed, tossing several small knick-knacks and pieces of paraphernalia into it. You quickly pull the sheet most of the way over your head, suddenly remembering your state, when Barb stops to stage-whisper something to you through the covers.
"Hey, uh, do you think you could maybe get Dusk to invite Elusive around sometime? I'm just saying, he'd be really-"
"BARB PLEASE GO!"
"G-going!"

The baby dragon has thundered off down the stairs as quickly as she arrived, leaving only the sound of a slamming door, the sound of things being unpacked, and gleeful cries of "W-Wow! It's HUUUUGE!"

Dusk watches Barb leave, with fire in his eyes, and then relaxes and sighs. He trots down the stairs after her, leaving you alone for another minute or so, before a lavender bath towel floats it's way up the stairs, glistening with a purple light, followed closely by a chipper, smiling Dusk.
"Here's that towel I promised you."
He flings it at you playfully and you catch it, rubbing your face and mane down. It's not perfect, but it will do until you can have a wash in the morning.

Before you've finished, you feel the mattress depress to one side of you and the squeaking of springs, and you budge up as you feel Dusk lifting up the covers and snuggling up beside you.

You thank him, turning away to toss the towel to the floor beside the bed, and he just wraps his hooves around your waist, squeezing you tightly into his body, your head and mane tucked beneath his chin, your slightly plump flanks squashed into his abdomen, your hind legs rubbing together affectionately. You bring your own hooves down to stroke at his own, wrapped softly around your midriff.
"... You sure you don't want us to go look for your luggage tomorrow?"

You chuckle and shrug slightly, enjoying the sensation of his coat rubbing into your own.
"Honestly? I don't even remember what I had in there... Can't have been that important."

You shut your eyes, concentrating on the feeling of this stallion's body warming yours. Dusk nuzzles your mane gently with one cheek, and whispers into your ear, tickling you slightly and making your ear twitch.
"This... Uh... Means I can be your coltfriend, r-right?"
"Mmm?"
"I-I mean... You'll be my special somepony, won't you?"

You smile, heart and soul full to bursting with an indescribable warmth.
"I think I'd like that, Dusky."
Dusk chuckles in his deep, rich, warm voice and brings his head down to rub his cheek against yours, snuggling you intensely.
"My little Handle..."
You feel your smile spreading wider, and you return his nuzzles.
"My Dusky-Wusky."
"My Baggy-Waggy."
"... Baggy-Waggy?"
"... Well, okay, maybe not Baggy-Waggy."

You both giggle together, his chest quivering against your back, stroking you.

The giggling subsides, and a long yawn escapes you, which Dusk catches and returns.
"Good night, Handle."
"Good night, Dusky."
"... I love you, Handle."
"Love you too, Dusky-Wusky."

You lie there together, listening to the sound of each-other's breathing, and it's not long before you fall asleep- safe and warm in his embrace.