Heartbeat Passage Ch. 05

This is a short work of erotic fiction containing furry, or anthropomorphic, characters, which are animals that either demonstrate human intelligence or walk on two legs, for the purposes of these tales. It is a thriving and growing fandom in which creators are prevalent in art and writing especially.

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Loving a Unicorn

Heartbeat Passage

Chapter Five

On his second visit to the unicorn village, or at least the outskirts, Christian, very fairly, he thought, found himself having, well, second thoughts. His mind wasn't working so well, flooded with questions. Turn him into a stallion? How could he ever have said such a thing? He didn't think Celeste was serious! Not at the time! What male could ever have been thinking sensibly after sex anyway? All the blood was in the wrong place.

And yet here he was, sitting with his back against Celeste's shoulder in a glade beside a serene pond in the depths of the forest, waiting to announce the news to her parents. The pool rippled with lily pads, so large that Christian was tempted to see if they would support his weight and almost tested his balance on them if only for Celeste's amusement. Whether he could manage to make his way completely across the pond with his clothes dry or plunged into the cooling depths, he was sure the unicorn would love to see him try. Her gaze on him spun his head giddy and he laughed and talked with her as the sun played high in the sky. They had the whole day to while away and even his worries could not chase his heels as he rested back into the unicorn's comforting warmth.

His cheek brushed the finery of her harness, a gold necklace encrusted with rubies and opals draping so that the largest pendant hung clean off her strong chest and tinkled musically. Her harness stretched along her back and tucked beneath her croup while shimmering earrings hung from the base of her ears, looped over each ear as if a headpiece. Sometimes he wondered if she adorned herself so in order to impress him, but had to remember that she was a princess after all. It could have been a tradition of their royalty for all he knew. And none of the gryphons they'd encounter before or any other creatures wore fine jewels, so unicorns must be the noblest of all magical creatures. He smiled. How silly of him. Even if unicorns were as solemn as donkeys, he would still consider Celeste the most beautiful lady in all the galaxies, let alone the world.

Celeste pricked her ears, turning her head from their conversation as soft hoof falls sounded through the trees, echoing through the ancient pines and birches to the willows by the water. A frog croaked and a pair of unicorns as silver-white as Celeste entered the secluded glade, the canopy of leaves above casting soft, shadowy dapples across their coats. The larger unicorn, a stallion, had a whiskery tuft of hair on his chin and Christian stifled a giggle, reminded of a wizened old man's beard. There was nothing aged about the unicorn, however, unless one counted the wisdom in his gaze, which had seen many seasons irrevocably pass by. His mate was shorter by about a hand - Christian's best guess - with a finer mane than fell over her neck like liquid silver, shimmering and floating over her coat with the slightest movement. Celeste nickered a welcome.

"Mother, father."

Celeste rose, flinging out her forelegs, and touched her horn to her parents' in greeting. She nuzzled her mother's neck and shared breath, exhaling a sigh Christian had not known she'd held.

"Christian." The stallion's voice rang crystalline and Christian swallowed, rubbing the back of his hand across his lips as he scrambled up. "It is a pleasure to meet the human who has so captured my daughter's heart. Why," he continued, "she has not stopped speaking of you since the day I presume you met."

"Father."

"Is it untrue, Celeste?" Her father teased, tail swishing as his mate snorted and shook her long forelock out of her eyes.

The unicorn grumbled and Christian pressed his hand over his lips, hiding a smile. He had never seen the unicorn look so abashed! And she'd been talking about him? His smile widened, crinkling in the corners of his eyes. It was strange to see her unicorn father behaving as any human father would, further cementing in his mind the similarities between them. Besides their form, natural elegance and magical abilities, there was little different between humans and unicorns when it came to mannerisms, behaviour and ideals.

Christian's brow furrowed. Would there be much difference between him as a unicorn or as a human? He would still be Christian and have all the same capabilities - more, if Celeste knew the truth of also being able to pass on the spark of magic to him too. No, not so strange at all then. Only a whole new body, nothing major. He laughed inwardly at himself and his futile attempt at reasoning. Celeste dragged her hoof through the grass.

"If only it would not be a trait of family to embarrass you," she muttered, looking up through her mane. "Please, no more, I beg of you."

"What do you think, Christian?" The stallion chuckled and stepped up to Christian, breathing warm air in his face in invitation to share breath. "Should I acquiesce to my daughter's wishes, or would you like to hear more?"

He froze, heart hammering. His mouth was too dry to speak and he fumbled over words, opening and closing his mouth several times without any sound coming out.

"I think you should leave the poor colt alone," his mate reprimanded, swatting him with her tail. "Christian, please forgive my mate. I am Moirin and he, for all his jest, is Caderyn."

"It is a delight to meet you too," he stammered, cheeks burning as he tried to force his speech into a more formal style. "Celeste has also spoken of you, though I am learning much about the herd and your lives here."

Moirin nickered and touched his offered palm with the curve of her nose.

"Has Celeste shown you around the village yet? It must be an entirely different world for you here."

He chuckled and nodded, relaxing as he rested a hand on Celeste's withers, playing with her mane.

"Very much so," he agreed. "I don't know if Celeste's told you but I'm a student, just coming to the end of my degree. The studying is all done now, only waiting on final results. I expected to be going to work next, not spending my time visiting a world that I didn't even know existed."

He paused, conscious of his rambling, and flushed.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to go on. I just meant to show how vast the difference between our worlds and lives was," he finished lamely, staring at his shoes. "I never even knew about magic, I'm sorry."

"It is interesting, Christian," Moirin said gently. "Unicorns listen. No member of the herd should ever feel isolated, so please continue speaking of your studies. We are impressed to find that Celeste has found herself a scholar, a worthy profession indeed, if I understand human-kind."

The stallion tossed his head.

"A scholar!" Caderyn sounded impressed but it was harder to judge from his tone. "Celeste, you did not tell us of this."

The unicorn shook herself, loose hair drifting from her coat to the grass where birds would later find it for nest building. As summer simmered over the horizon, the heat bid her to shed a thicker coat, though she had told him that unicorn magic kept them warm through the colder months with the shedding a leftover from their ancestors.

Celeste lifted her head high and Christian took a breath, sensing that she was building up to something great. He curled his fingers around a strap of her jewellery harness and she shot him a quick yet reassuring glance: I'm here.

"Mother, father." Celeste was swift to cut to the crux of the matter. "I have not solely brought you here today to introduce you to my mate."

Although his heart sang at being referred to as her mate, Christian licked his lips and twisted his fingers together as they reached the point of no return. In all honesty, it had never felt as if he could say no to being transformed into a stallion with how excited Celeste was over it. He tried and tried to convince himself that it was the right thing to do and he could not even for the life of him come up with any solid reasons for staying human when the option to be otherwise was presented to him. His family and friends would still be there for him and it was those non-material relationships that meant the most to him.

Now, however, there would be no going back from revealing the secret and he braced himself, calves tensing as if balanced on the precipice of a cliff. He teetered and plunged over the edge as Celeste made her proclamation.

"There is no way for me to say this aloud that expresses the gravity of our decision without sharing thoughts." Celeste stamped, horn flashing in a shaft of sunlight. "Yet I wish for Christian to hear this too. He is a part of this. Even more so than I am."

Her father stretched out his head towards her, nickering concern as his expression clouded over, lips reaching for his daughter.

"What is it Celeste?" Caderyn queried, words quicker in his haste. "Are you unwell?"

"No, no," she reassured him. "We merely have news. We have wonderful news for the herd."

She inhaled, taking her time to build to the point.

"Christian has agreed to allow me to transform him into a stallion. A unicorn stallion."

They were silent, only their tails moving as they digested the information over the course of several seconds. And then they exploded into movement, Caderyn lifting himself up on to his hind legs to paw at the air, sides twitching as muscle refused to lay still below his skin.

"A stallion!" He neighed, treating Christian to a rather explicit view at close quarters of what exactly made him a stallion. "Celeste, Christian - in all my years, never has anyone surprised me with a delight as great as this!"

"But Celeste!" Her mother threw her head back and swung it into Caderyn, pushing his shoulder, with a squeal. "This is wonderful news! Another stallion for the herd! Our line shall continue!"

"It is most excellent news," Caderyn agreed, dropping to all fours and stepping in closer. "However did you come to this decision?"

Christian fought not to back away, his space crowded by unicorns on all sides, leaning in to demand his attention. His mare pranced on the spot, foam flecking her lips as she performed a near perfect example of piaffe, if his recently gained equine knowledge was up to par.

"It shall be wonderful," Celeste proclaimed. "He will become a stallion and our foals will strengthen the herd. Perhaps we shall even have more stallions for the herd. And we shall search for ways to ensure unicorns survive." Her eyes hardened. "No more of this fear that one day we shall be no more. It is time for a new age, one that we shall bring forth!"

"Yes, but how did you come to this decision?"

"We were talking about it being a shame that humans and unicorns cannot breed as unicorn and unicorn would," Celeste explained, albeit vaguely. "It seems like the only rational decision at this point."

Pausing, she dropped her head to nuzzle Christian's cheek and he smiled, returning her caress with the brush of his lips. Her touch soothed him, expressing the love held in his heart.

"And I love him," she said softly. "And he loves me. Our souls are meant to be together."

Leaning into her, Christian closed his eyes as her parents murmured to her, losing himself as conversation burbled above his head. That was the centre of it, it had to be. There could be nothing else, nothing more, if he was not with his love and she with him. If he could be with Celeste, nothing was too great a sacrifice. He could do something with his life. He could spend his life with Celeste.

It was the right decision, as reckless and crazy as it was. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain, if his reckoning was correct. He swallowed his anxiety. Everything would be okay if only he could make a difference.

Her words lulled him into a sense of calm, rocking back and forth with the gentle sway of her body as she adjusted her weight, not needing to chime in with any words as she took care of the conversation for him. And perhaps that was all he needed. For so long had he struggled against the flow - for what reason? With the unicorns, he could be confident in all he was doing for a greater good and his love for Celeste that encompassed his entire being.

The unicorn's stream of conversation trailed off and she exhaled a breath as if she had held it for a time, her large sides heaving outward.

"If you'd forgive me, mother, father..." Celeste bowed her head and Christian was startled to see a line of shyness enter the angle of her body as she half-turned away. "I would like to spend time with my mate now. I will join you for the evening meal, as we planned."

"Of course," Moirin replied, ushering her mate away even as he neighed a protest, a million questions on his lips. "We understand your reason, Celeste. You must wish to talk. We shall leave you to enjoy the afternoon. And, Christian," she added, inclining her head. "Thank you."

"Yes... Thank you, Christian," Caderyn whinnied back as he was playfully 'bullied' away, Moirin teasing him for being so easily pushed around by a smaller unicorn like herself. "I am confident we shall speak again soon."

Shaking his head, Christian laughed quietly and lifted his hand to wave as they disappeared into the trees, light-hearted nickers bouncing back and forth long after they had vanished from sight.

"They're different from what I expected," Christian commented.

"Is anything as you expect, Christian?" The unicorn giggled, tail loose and relaxed against her rump. "It is a sentence that you seem to repeat with excessive frequency."

He shoved her in the ribs, grinning at her indignant squeal.

"Oh, I do, do I?" He gave as good as he got. "Maybe I'll call your parents back - I'm sure they have some more funny stories about you." He grinned, stepping back as her head shot up. "Should I do that Celeste? How cute were you as a foal? Shall I call them back and join you for evening-meal?"

"You would not!"

Squealing, the unicorn threw a sideways buck and chased Christian around the pond, shrieking wicked 'insults' that had him laughing until his ribs ached. The unicorn caught him, blunt teeth yanking on his jacket, and toppled him to the ground. She thrust her muzzle hotly into his face and snorted, ears pricked. She harried him, pawing with her front hooves until Christian begged her to stop, rolling on the sweet, soft grass with his arms wrapped around his torso. The tension in his shoulders slipped away and he sighed happily, sprawling as Celeste trotted down to the pond with a flirty flick of her tail, making sure he had a good view of her marehood. His cock stirred. She was already eager and winking, pussy twitching and releasing a trickle of juices as if by accident. He stifled a groan, her tail flagging higher and dropping to the side. Such a tease.

As Celeste lowered her muzzle to the pool to drink, Christian's mind wandered. Why would the mare choose him when she could have her pick of stallions? Not that he was not grateful for it, it only made no sense at all. She cast him a look, thicker eyelashes lowered over her violet eyes, and winked again, hoof pawing the earth. But there was already a question on his lips.

"Celeste..." He hesitated, losing his courage halfway through the utterance. "I was wondering..."

The mare turned to him, eyes curious as her chin dripped with water. Gulping, he tried to moisten his mouth with salvia that was not forthcoming, instead joining the mare by the edge of the water and scooping up a pouring mouthful between two hands. They didn't make very good cups and most of the water ran between his fingers before he had the chance to drink it.

"Yes, Christian?"

Someone must have tied his tongue into a knot when he hadn't been looking.

"Why me?" He said at last, unable to hold her gaze. "You hardly know me. Why have you chosen me over everyone else? There are stallions in the herd and you're the princess..." His lips twisted. "You could be with anyone you wanted, anyone at all."

Celeste took a step back, head high and nostrils flared as if he had startled her. She snorted and turned her head from left to right, searching for the humour in his joke and finding none.

"Christian..." It was Celeste's turn to be lost for words, as eloquent as she was. "If I did not have you, my life would go on, undoubtedly, but the meaning of it would be lost. Like the daffodils of spring appearing after a long, hard winter, my life has flourished since you have come into it, blossoming like those flowers, my favourite flowers. Summer has come and you are my season."

The unicorn shuddered as if holding something back, a secret that could not be revealed through mere words.

"It feels...too much to say this also," she continued. "Yet you are willing to give up your whole life for me, Christian, to be with me and come to the aid of unicorn-kind. I cannot think of any unicorn that may endeavour to support another with an equal level of commitment."

She pushed her muzzle into his chest and held it there as his arms encircled her head, holding her close with the tip of her horn tickling the underside of his chin. Even though his heart beat erratically, he held his tongue and listened.

"We have only been mates for a short time, Christian, and yet you still want to do this for me. You did not question it, or not to me."

Christian curled his fingers into her mane, frizzing it up in his clutch, wanting to hold on to the mare for life itself. Lowering his forehead to her horn, he fell into her mind as if down the rabbit hole to another world, seeing what she envisaged for them. He saw them, both unicorns, galloping over hills and down valleys, hooves kicking up water as they crossed mountain streams. He tossed his head, pulling ahead of the mare in her waking dream, hooves flying over the earth and mane streaming from his neck. Power surged through his mind, muscles rippling as his hindquarters drove him on and on and on, his mare at his heels. Nothing barred them from their path, their destiny.

Christian dove deeper, swimming through the unicorns conscious stream of thought to pick out the details with greatest colour. A foal. A foal reappeared, hooves silver and the light of a thousand suns in his eyes. A colt, a little colt. Christian gasped, her protection and love for her home shining as a beacon and passion growing with every passing day, all with him by her side. Her dreams did not lack founding and her love for him, so powerful that he fought not to step back a pace from the force of it, twined around everything, a fruitful vine that empowered all it touched.

"It is I who should be thanking you for making such a great sacrifice." She lifted her horn away, breaking the connection, and pressed her lips to his in a kiss, tongues dancing. "It is more than I should ever have asked of you."

He kissed her deeply, as if it was the last kiss they would ever share. His fingers dug into her coat and she trembled, frozen under the weight of what they were about to do. Greater than either of them had ever known, they could embark on their journey side by side, hand in hoof. And, later, hoof in hoof.

If his princess would protect him, he would always be there for her. Christian kissed her nose, hands cupping the curve of her dished cheeks.

"Celeste, I would do anything for you."