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Kinktober 2024

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Soft Moments

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Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Commissioned by Falco_1701

Darien sighed, relaxing a little more against Luna as the mere presence of the larger alicorn against the griffon’s back undid yet another little knot of tension in his body. Night had fallen with the blue-hued alicorn raising the moon in the night sky, though even that dose of magic, as grand a feat as it was, had become familiar to her. One would not have said it was easy, but, to Luna, she could perform the act with her eyes closed.

“Quiet now…

Luna breathed, her feathery wings ruffling faintly as she settled them more comfortably. Yet there was no better way for Darien to lie with her, his own wings ducked down against his back as much as he could. He didn’t want them to get in the way of the alicorn pressing in against his back, lightly spooning him while they let the trials of the day slip away.

Everything had changed since the Great War and Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony had not been able to face her head-on. With such an army raised against the forces of Equestria, their lives had shifted to a military focus.

But there were still soft moments and moments of connection – especially then, in Luna’s bedchamber. Light from Luna’s beautiful, spellbinding moon and stars spilled into the room through the tall, stained glass windows, though even those had been Luna’s own design.

If the Changelings attacked the capital, those very windows might not last too long. But the griffon could not think about that, for he would hold back their forces until the last breath in his body. He’d been sent over by the Aquileian government to assist after the beginning of the Great War, commanding several divisions of Griffonian knights, but he was still Darien. Yet he couldn’t stop his training from cataloguing strengths and weaknesses in his surroundings, the defences that sometimes didn’t feel like they were enough.

He sighed.

“It was a long day,” he said at last, shuddering a little as his leonine tail flicked against the alicorn’s hind legs. “There are new recruits… Luna, they’re sloppy. I don’t know how we’re going to get them up to speed before the next attack.”

“I know,” she breathed, cool air tickling the feathers on the back of his neck. “But we’ve got to try, we’ve got to fight. I will not see my subjects chained and drained by Changelings.”

That was the least of what the Changelings, and Chrysalis, would do to any ponies, griffons or more that they caught, but that wasn’t something Luna nor Darien wanted to get into at that time. It was too early, truly, for the lure of sleep to pull at their eyelids – and Luna, of course, was typically an alicorn of the night. She was more often than not found sleeping during daylight hours, while Celestia ruled.

Still, they made things work between them, finding moments to spend time together even while the world tried to crumble around them. Sometimes, to Darien, it felt like it was only the two of them left against the world.

“I miss this,” Darien said, though neither alicorn nor griffon knew how much time had elapsed since one of them had last spoke. “Being here, with you. It’s so peaceful.”

“Mm.”

Luna hummed softly, her tail and mane floating across the bedsheets, never quite still even when she was deep in slumber. The nebula that danced through her mane and tail sparkled and the griffon sometimes caught his eyes lazily following the moving stars, looking for constellations he knew and systems that were familiar. But he was rarely successful in that regard, even though Luna teased him, too frequently, about staring at her rump.

Even in times like those, they had to have some sense of lightness, something gentle to ease the course of their flight.

Darien rolled over so he faced Luna, his wings fanning out a little, though they could only move so much when he was on his side. The one that was on the side closest to the bed always ended up somewhat trapped, although Darien didn’t mind that. It was all worth it for that comfort with Luna, those tiny instances of connection that were oh so very important.

“Do you think it’ll always be like this?” He asked, though he could have been enquiring after any number of things at once. “Always at war, always fighting… This was not the life I thought I would lead.”

Luna shook her head. Her cheek gently pressed into the sheets, squashing slightly so it plumped out. Even then, it was adorable, though Darien most likely would not say that to her face. Some little things, just like that, were private only to him. Luna had an image to maintain, after all, in pushing back against the Changeling attempt to conquer Equestria – and beyond.

He had an image to maintain too, usually quite formal, never one for too much joking around. Yet Luna had something about her that brought that lighter side out of him, making him feel a little more at ease. Of course, him having falling head over heels for the stunning alicorn, her ferocity and power, during his time in Equestria, most certainly meant he could not leave. Darien could only thank the stars themselves that Luna wanted and loved him in turn.

“This is not the kind of life I would have wanted for my subjects,” she said, leaning down a little to nuzzle him, for she was still larger than he was. “But it will not be much of a life if I do not fight with them, along with my sister – along with so many others in Equestria and beyond. Even the Dragon Lands will fight with us – or beside us, adjacent to us, in some way…”

The griffon chuckled lightly at that, the tip of his tail twitching.

“They are a bit of an acquired taste,” he admitted. “Heading there as an envoy was an experience I’m not all that sure I’m keen to repeat.”

“Well, so are griffons,” Luna quipped right back at him, “until you get to know them.”

“Hey!”

He chirped and nipped playfully at her with his beak, though the griffon was careful to keep the sharp edge away from her. There was a reason griffon beaks were lethal, after all, though all Luna’s power was contained in her horn. Physical combat was much less her forte and much more Darien’s.

In a way, they complemented one another.

The alicorn chuckled and squirmed against him, her hind legs coming up a little higher to frame him on both sides. There was nowhere for Darien to go – and nowhere the griffon wanted to go either.

Despite his role in the war and the station he held helping the ponies of Equestria, he wouldn’t have changed things. He didn’t want to be anywhere else other than at Luna’s side, or at the very least returning to her side after a day of work, or a fight if it came down to that. There were missions to complete too, like the time he’d flown out to the Changeling naval base (one of several they’d set up) with the pegasus soldiers. But he only saw everything as a means to peace and, of course, always returning to Luna.

It was a good thing the alicorn had realised early on just how infatuated he was with her, or else Darien was sure he would have made a fool of himself. It was shocking the alicorn had even accepted him as something of a suitor, though neither had yet felt the need to define their relationship with that kind of label. They were what they were and they knew exactly where they stood with one another. It was more than many couples across Equestria had and he’d learned to be grateful for that too.

The griffon sighed, nestling in a little closer to her. Darien’s beak tucked under her chin and Luna hummed softly, as if she was singing a lullaby. It was not one he knew, however, and his tail flicked lazily back and forth across the bed, even though Luna’s proximity to him made it impossible for Darien to sleep yet. It was as if she came with the kind of vibrant energy that could not be set aside, sweeping all fatigue from his limbs and mind the longer he rested beside her.

Yet there was that familiar stirring of desire for her too, though the griffon rounded his hindquarters slightly, hiding his need. His tail flicked more urgently, yet Darien didn’t know how to raise that with her, even though it was all very much something they had done together before. Transitioning from one form of intimacy to another was something the griffon, honestly, had never been all that good at.

He pushed the thought from his mind as much as he could, his skin prickling with heat under his brown feathers. Darien squirmed against her lightly, though let her warmth seep into him, warming him through and chasing further strains and aches from his body.

“I won’t be going back to the mountains, not after being with you,” he said absently, as if the thought had only just come to him. “I’d like to visit though, when everything is better. When the world is calm again and when we know our friends are our friends.”

He shivered. The griffon was referring to an instance of Changeling infiltration. The spies were getting stronger and more apt at impersonating ponies, whereas, in the early days, they had revealed themselves early, feeding with relish. That was the kind of thing that was hard for them to hide, especially when they sought to gorge themselves.

“Mm, I’d like that too,” the alicorn murmured, her tone lighter. “I understand it is beautiful, though I have only seen your home in my dreams.”

“Hm…” His eyes glittered and he bopped her on the end of her snout with the rounded edge of his beak. “Are you in my dreams a lot then? I thought you respected the privacy of ponies.”

“Yes, but you are not one of my subjects,” she answered, almost with a lofty air to her tone. “You are simply mine.”

“Mmph!”

He blushed and wriggled, ducking his head down further against her chest. It was all the griffon could do to resist the urge to preen her, to nibble through her feathers and lay every single one on her wings flat. He would have run the tip of his beak through her mane and tail too if they had not thwarted his every attempt. That didn’t stop him from trying to show griffon nuances of affection, however, churring lightly and pressing in against her, as if he was trying to get as much of his body in physical contact with the mare as possible.

Keening softly, Darien nibbled and nipped at her chest, dipping between her forelegs. Dimly, Darien was aware it would be all too easy to continue his teasing down the line of her body, along her stomach to that point between her hinds. From how Luna’s breath hitched and her flanks shuddered at his touch, the griffon was confident she wouldn’t mind taking things further that night in the slightest.

Btu they could take it slow, enjoying the intimacy of the moment and that circle of peace in a world that sought to crush them. They were few those days and, in the thick of battle, those moments were exactly what kept Darien growing.

“Mmm… Darien…”

There was heat in her tone and he nuzzled his beak back up her body, already knowing exactly what the mare wanted from him. She groaned the moment his beak brushed her lips and they tilted their heads in opposite directions, so they could press together even more closely than before. A beak and a mare’s lips were never quite meant to come together in that fashion, although they made it work.

Together, they always made it work.

As heat rose between them, drawing them nearer, they lost track of time and slipped deeper into the night. The moment was for the alicorn and the griffon alone, her bedchambers locked and, for the moment, Canterlot and Equestria safe from attack.

They’d return to their roles in Equestria soon, but, until then, they had one another and that night all to themselves.