Dash opened her eyes, blinking them a few times so that they would wet themselves again. Mac was holding onto her like she was the last mare in the world. He was so cute, even despite his mussed up mane and matted fur. The smile he had even while he was asleep probably helped.

She liked this. Waking up next to him, warm and with his hooves around her. It was nice that she'd confessed her love for him the night before, even if it may not have been the most romantic time to do so. Oh well. She couldn't account for everything, nor did she have the patience to.

Mac shifted, blowing a puff of air into her neck. He held her a little tighter, pressing his chest against her side. Jeez, he felt even warmer like this. If the barn hadn't cooled overnight, she would've been beginning to overheat. How much warmer was he while the whole heat thing was going on? The stallion pushed his muzzle into her neck, as if he was trying to tease her.

"Mac, stop! That tickles!" She laughed, feeling his muzzle slip under her chin. Dash watched his eyes, still closed in slumber. He was breathing more heavily, and Dash felt him grind himself against her. Wait. He did it again, whispers drifting into her ear. Hold on, he wouldn't really… A third gentle thrust, a huff into her fur. But the whole heat thing really didn't say much towards predictability. "Mac." She shook his shoulder. "Hey, wake up." As if on cue, Mac tightened up and thrust against her, pushing his member gently against her lower stomach as he ejaculated, shaking slightly. Dash wrapped a hoof around the back of his head, holding him a little closer as he played himself out.

Well. She wasn't sure how to react to that one. Partially because she was still getting used to his heat, and partially because she'd never really watched anypony experience a wet dream. At least she knew he was thinking about her, and there was also the fact that she'd kinda had her own dreams while sleeping with him. If he wasn't in heat, they probably would've had sex already anyway. He definitely deserved the benefit of the doubt, all things considered.

Damn, that stuff was warm. No, wings. Stop. Don't do that.

Should she wake him up? Try to slip away and clean up? She sort of liked the feeling though, and it was arousing as hell. Wouldn't have been under any other circumstances, but it was now.

"Mmff." Mac mumbled, pulling his muzzle from under the side of her jaw as she shook him a little more. He opened his eyes and met hers. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Dash replied with a giggle, leaning over to kiss him. "Have any nice dreams?" Mac rolled her from her back so that her chest was parallel to his, and pulled them together. The blue mare barely reveled in the closeness for a millisecond before Mac's face went a deathly shade of white. He pushed her backwards, looking between their bodies.

"No!" He yelled, pushing himself to his hooves and away from her. His back bumped into the wall, breaking a plank as he came to a stop. Dash'd never seen him so freaked out, and it scared her a little. "Oh, we- no, but-" He trailed off as his eyes went unbelievably wide. He ran for the barn door, shouldering it open like he had days earlier. The internal lock on the door, engaged this time around, splintered apart, and he was gone before Dash could even utter the word wait.

Look what you've done this time. Oh, I'll just lay here. Don't worry about that dangerously placed semen, Dash. Mac would never view that as something he might have done in a fit of arousal and heat, then promptly forgotten. Better let desire cloud your judgement, Dash. Fuck.

She galloped out of the barn, rubbernecking all over in search of the red stallion. He was nowhere to be seen. Fine. Drastic times called for drastic measures. Dash ripped the bandages off her body, spreading her wings. Hopefully she wouldn't regret this tomorrow. Wow, that bruise looked like shit.

The mare hopped into the air without further ado, taking off at a fast speed over the orchard. She was pretty sure he went this way. But she didn't know what she'd say, or how he would react. Too much stresssss.

Dash caught sight of him after a few moments, swooping downwards. She was nearing the ground too quickly, and despite an attempted flap she still hit the ground hard, sliding through dirt and grass. By the time she came to a stop, everything was hurting. She looked up, cracking an eye to find Mac, stuck between several expressions.

"You okay?" He finally asked, his voice cracking.

Dash pulled herself to her hooves, brushing off some dirt as she nodded. "Good as I'm going to be." She sat next to him before he could protest, leaning against his side.

"Did we-"

"No." Dash replied immediately.

Mac let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Ah'm sorry 'bout overreactin'. Ah probably should've just asked. Not like I remembered anythin' like that anyway." He paused. "But how-"

"Wet dream." Dash explained, pulling one of his hooves into her lap. The morning sun shone gently down upon them through the leaves of an apple tree. She laughed, watching Mac look at her in the corner of her eye. "I expected there to be more explaining."

"Well it would have been over and done with in the barn if heat wasn't ending and mah emotions weren't in a tizzy."

"What- oh… yeah, the week after heat."

"It's not really that bad. A bit uncomfortable, some blood from whatever lining forms, and it's over. Thought process don't always work like Ah want it to, though. Obviously. You know how it is."

Dash giggled. "It's funny listening to a guy's point of view on all this stuff. Like, you just act so differently. Rarity goes on and on about heat, and you hardly acted annoyed that it was your birthday yesterday. And now you're just saying that the week after's just a thing like everything else you have to do."

"Ah'm stuck with the stupid cycle, so Ah may as well get used to it." He leaned his head back against the tree. "Gosh, I feel so much better. Not that better than what I was means much."

"That day when heat starts to clear up is nice." Dash said, drawing circles on her leg with his hoof.

"Ah don't know if Ah thanked ya for last night. The part that Ah didn't dream and then think was real, anyway."

"Pfft, don't thank me. You needed a little pick-me-up."

"Yeah, but- did ya mean what ya said?" He asked. Of course she had.

"'Course. Probably could have waited for a more romantic time there though, Mac."

He blushed, looking away. "Sorry." He paused. "Ah guess Ah just never thought Ah'd be around somepony that genuinely cared about me like you do, and Ah just never expected what happened… to happen."

"Well I'm glad it did. Clears the air a little." She chuckled to herself. "Plus, you're acting like what I did was one-sided."

Mac squinted at her. "But it was."

She poked a hoof into his side and he flinched, laughing down at her. "It's been a long time since I've done anything like that, and it has been a lot like what you were saying…" His face fell a little. "I mean, it was, anyway." She grinned. "Like, most of my relationships that were anywhere near recent have just been physical. A hoofjob was just a hoofjob, a way to make a stallion feel good so that they would reciprocate."

Dash shook her head, smiling. "But last night, I never wanted anything in return. I just wanted to pleasure you, to feel you against me as I did it, and to hear you and make you feel better. I- uh… um… I just ran out of ways to describe that experience."

"You have such a way with words." Mac said with a laugh, bringing her into a hug. She let her head rest on his shoulder, enjoying the warmth of the morning. She could feel him pulsate between their stomachs, but paid it no heed. Well, she tried not to. She didn't outwardly acknowledge it, at least.

"I should… get back." He said, his eyes getting a little glassy. "You make this too friggin' hard, Dash."

"I can take care of one more before I go to work." She murmured, nipping at his ear. Something popped in her neck. Alright, not extending that far again. Maybe if he wasn't so tall…

"Somepony might see us." He protested, though Dash could see he wasn't behind his own argument. She slid Mac's back down the tree in a quick motion, leaving him flat on the ground. The stallion seemed to be short for breath all of a sudden.

"This won't take long." She said with a giggle, wrapping her arms around what she could reach of his back. She pulled herself against him, his member still sandwiched between them.

"What're you gonna-" Dash pulled herself up slightly, her belly hair brushing against his sensitive skin. Mac groaned, holding her closer. She thought it was impossible to be more aroused than she was the previous night. As it turns out, she was wrong. So, so wrong. Her rear pulsated with need, her body grinding upwards again to another groan. Dash kissed him, his tongue wrapping around hers as he eased her down, aided by gravity from the moderate slope they were lying on and beginning to become more dominant.

She ascended slowly, working her hooves over the stallion's shoulders and back. Her brain was a flurry of arousal and love, a combination that she still had a little trouble getting used to. She was careful to avoid any direct stimulation to herself, trying to keep her brain somewhat sensible. This was a slippery slope she was treading on, and she knew it. It took every ounce of mental capacity to keep from sitting Mac up straight and pulling herself up just a couple extra inches.

Dash broke the kiss, watching her coltfriend push the top his head against the tree a few inches away, his shut eyes facing towards the sky. His blush was visible, and he looked so pleased. It made her do a little dance in her head. There really wasn't much hotter than a stallion approaching orgasm, especially with Mac's emotive features.

Dash waited until mac slowly slid her upwards, taking the time to wiggle her hips and send his tip from side to side on his own fur. Mac let out a surprised squeak, trying to cover the noise up with a cough. Dash felt herself give a strong pulse in response. He was so new to all of this. If he didn't stop being so cute and arousing, she might just explode.

"Ah'm not going to last much longer." He said quickly, sliding her back up with a larger sense of urgency. Dash repeated her wiggling motion, feeling his arms go slack for just a moment. He grew against her, pulsing strongly a few times before she felt his warmth explode between them. His breathing became jagged, and his arms tensed and shook around her back. He was quiet when he came, gritting his teeth as he pulsed against her.

The blue mare pulled back, looking down at Mac's face as he started to recover. She laid a hoof across his forehead, smiling downward. She was satisfied. She, the one that had ended up without an orgasm, was probably more satisfied than the one that had. He opened his eyes, looking up at her with a tired face. Actually, he did look pretty satisfied.

"Aaaaah." He sighed, letting his arms fall from her back and onto the ground.

"Was it good?" Dash asked, brushing a lock of mane from Mac's face. "It looked good."

"As if it's possible for ya to make this bad." He replied, taking in a deep breath. "We haven't even had sex yet, and- Ah can easily say that was the best Ah've ever felt." He laughed, caressing her cheek with a hoof. "Ah'm sorry about this little creed uh mine, waitin' 'till after heat."

"I would only be annoyed if it wasn't so satisfying to watch you come like that." Dash replied, letting out a giggle of her own. "It's kinda funny, because if it wasn't you, I probably would be annoyed."

"Well look, I can always just- do something in return." He replied quickly, his eyes becoming a bit less tired. A bit of worry replaced it.

"No." She giggled. "I'm here to try to make your heat a little better, not to save up favors." She watched his length fill up with whatever little blood it'd lost. It wasn't staying as consistently rock hard as yesterday, but it definitely hadn't gone down. "Hey, how come you stay hard like that?" Dash asked.

Mac seemed surprised by the question, and stammered a few times before he got a word out. "What?"

"Well, you know. Stallions can't really go more than once without a break." There was a brief silence.

"Oh." He replied, pausing. His face flushed. "It's probably just the heat hormones, because Ah'm mostly without the ability otherwise. Guess it just overrides the cool down hormones."

"Is that why stallions stop? Hormones? I just thought it was… well, I dunno." She rubbed at a fore hoof. The speaking part of this was going well.

"That's why we usually get all tired and mellow." Mac said, stretching an arm. "It's a nice afterglow, when it applies."

"Which I assume doesn't include now?" Dash inferred.

"It's not bad." He said, shrugging. "It usually subdues the heat better than… the mare part uh me does." His eyes glanced away.

Dash laughed. "Well, fancy that."

He grinned back. "Ah guess Ah can give ya a more complete rundown after-"

"MAC?!" Applejack yelled, her voice close. Mac hopped to his feet, taking a few uneasy steps before toppling over.

"You okay?" Dash asked, rushing over. "Why'd you fall over?"

He spat some dirt from his mouth. "Ain't got enough blood for mah head." He joked, standing up more slowly to keep from getting another head rush. "Anyway, Ah'm gonna go meet her. Ah suggest we split up, see in' as ya got yer rib broke last time. And it'll just be simpler, because an explanation at this point would just be a waste of oxygen."

"But I never said-"

"Pfft, ah know broken bones. Plus, mah sister kicked ya and ya looked hurt, so I figured it was more than a bruise."

Dash wasn't sure if she liked the fact that Mac assumed she had to be pretty hurt to show it at all, or if she was just surprised that he'd figured her out and not tried to dig further. She didn't really like it when ponies drilled her for knowledge, but it seemed doubtful that she'd care if it was Mac asking the questions. Prior to this ordeal, she'd had a set of rules towards how she chose the ponies she wanted to be around, but those had just floated out the window. Mac hadn't actually done anything that could have possibly annoyed her, but he would get a free pass from a lot.

"Well, see you later?" She asked, scraping a hoof along the ground in a little circle. "I mean, obviously, but soon?"

"You'll know when the heat runs its course, trust me." He replied, laughing for a moment before his expression sobered. "I mean, well, I'll find you. Don't know how much stuff'll happen, depending on how well stuff goes the next week."

"MAC!" Applejack yelled again, sounding further away.

"COMIN'!" He yelled back, peering under himself and wiping away his seed. Somehow she'd forgotten about that. Mac was right about not letting Applejack know of her presence. That'd be a can of worms, at the moment. The stallion waved and galloped off, quickly out of sight as he crested a hill. Dash didn't wait for him to reappear on the flat land near the barn, and turned to take off herself. Something in her brain clicked and she stopped, sighing to herself.

She'd actually left a cloud here, a few days ago. That's how she'd managed to get to her house every day. Well, not this cloud specifically, but several. Dash had split up the first one into a few chunks so that she had them around a few places, but clouds had a tendency to melt into thin air when they were small.

Nope, still there. She'd stashed it in the shade, so that had probably helped. Her hoof pushed in a bulge, fixing up the cloud so that she was sure it wouldn't just split when she got up higher. Satisfied, she climbed on and laid on her side, using her good wing to start her on her voyage.

It took a while to get to her house this way, but she wasn't uncomfortable. She also didn't have anywhere to be, so that erased her urge to speed up. She laid her hoof across her stomach, coming in contact with Mac's semen and jumping in slight shock. It was probably weird that she hadn't tried to clean herself off. Then again, she sort of liked it. Not in a slutty way, she didn't think. If it had just been some random semen, she would have thrown up by now. It was Mac's, though, and that was what was important.

Wow, she was aroused. How much farther to the house? She looked. Not that far. Her hoof scraped across her belly, picking up a dollop of the slowly drying sperm. Dash stared at her hoof for a moment, looked around, and put it to her mouth.

It was kinda nice, actually. Butter, but thicker. Some other flavor she couldn't name. Kinda sweet. How much farther?

Her cloud bumped into her front yard and Dash practically launched into her house, running up the stairs to her room. The mare crashed onto her bed, putting a hoof between her legs as she replaced the other to her mouth. Numerous fantasies about Mac spiraled around in her head, driving her hoof faster before they could even form. She didn't seem to have a strategy, only sawing back and forth across her lower lips as fast as she could.

Dash closed her eyes, allowing her imagination to kick in.

She opened her mouth, letting out a moan. Mac was above her, his length hanging invitingly towards her face. He was busy staring at her lower half, and Dash spread her legs farther. She stopped stroking herself, letting the fantasy play out.

"Whenever you're ready." Fake Mac said, crouching a little.

"I'm so ready." She replied in a whisper, wrapping her hooves around his hips. Dash slowly went back to the stroking between her legs, rolling her hoof and attempting to replicate the feelings of being eaten out. It was a cruddy rendition, but her imagination was working too vividly to care. She got a little of his length in her mouth, Mac grunting as his weight began to press against her and his precum stuck to her tongue. His balls touched her muzzle, what she could see of his female side looking as aroused as he was.

Dash felt herself pulse, gasping as her orgasm approached. It'd hardly been more than a couple minutes, but she was still impatient. Her hoof scraped over her stomach, grabbing whatever was left for her mind's finale. Mac warned her, his length pulsing and growing in her mouth. She could hear his groans and barely concealed moans as he submitted himself to sexual pleasures that he'd never known. That was what set her off. Dash bit her lip hard, arching her back as she came. Her fantasy stalled for a moment, picking up as her tastebuds decided to process his flavor.

She finally got half of a moan out, her orgasm beginning to slacken. Dash gave herself a few more strokes before she let her arms fall to the bed, breathing heavily. A few tingles of pleasure continued to spread through her thighs, before slowly beginning to meld into the afterglow.

"Man, I wish that had been real." She mumbled, loneliness horning its way into her otherwise content mood. She shook her head in annoyance. "Dammit."

Time passed slowly. Roped into a long day of work because of a few sick ponies, naturally. At least it gave her time to think of something she could do with Mac. Not a sexual thing, but a real activity. She wanted to try to give him an emotional boost for the next week, and even though merely showing up was a good step to take, Dash wanted to think larger. After all, she wasn't in this for sex or any physical attraction. Well, that wasn't a big proponent, anyway. She'd never had a pony say that he'd actually loved her, and she wondered if that was why she was constantly trying to find awesome things to do with him.

No, that wasn't it. Actually, maybe she was a little nervous that it could all disintegrate in front of her eyes. It wasn't like her to give anything less than her all, and even if she could coast along with only her sense of humor and good looks, she didn't want to. All she needed was some free time.

So naturally it wasn't hard to imagine her emotional state when the weather report came in. Dash threw a few things, yelled, contemplated who she could punch in the face. The nice low pressure that they'd had for a while was expiring, and if the shorter estimates of the time for the weather to fully change were anywhere near correct, she had a lot of work ahead of her. No time for Mac. That depressed her way more than she'd ever care to admit.

Another night, another day. She'd been stuck pushing clouds into the wee hours of the morning with a mostly-healed rib, only to get up after a few hours to continue. The day had slurred together into a mess of work and troubleshooting. The clouds weren't as cohesive as they had been, and had needed to be set up to one side of Ponyville so that they would blow over in the gentle wind and drop the rain. But every time they started to make progress, the storm would start to break up, and they would end up pushing it back against the wind, just to repeat the process.

Dash ached all over. Hours upon hours put into a rain storm that they might not need in the long run. She understood the unpredictability of weather better than just about anypony in town, but that didn't mean she liked it. There was always one of these stupid things each year, but at least last time they hadn't been short some ponies. They had also expected the low pressure to continue for another week or two, giving them time to carefully put together a storm like this, but that hadn't happened this either.

It was getting dark again, and she was one of the few ponies that remained. There were always the employees that left right at the end of the day, and the ones that put in a little extra before they had to make plans. She'd seen Thunderlane a while ago, but she doubted he would amount to much help. He looked really sick, and Dash was just surprised he'd stayed. He was supposed to be building the clouds up higher, so that if he passed out he wouldn't fall all the way back to earth.

She'd accept a much smaller crew for this whole operation if she wouldn't need to deal with Cloudsdale and the unions. Dash rolled her eyes. She wondered if she'd be able to get away with any of that. Ponyville had one of the best records in Equestria, and it definitely wasn't because of half of the ponies that worked for her. But firing ponies that didn't pull their weight was basically impossible anyway. Flitter cruised by, sending a quick wave as she met up with a stallion a distance away. At least she could still stick pay raises where she wanted to.

"Dash." Came a raspy voice, as heavy wingbeats signaled the arrival of a stallion. "How are things looking?"

She turned, a silhouette appearing against the waxing moon. "Thunderlane?"

"Yea-" He cleared his throat, rotating around her so that his features came into view. "Yeah."

"I told you to go home, guy. There's no point trying to work in your state."

"I already told you, Dash." He began with a slight chuckle that turned into a cough. "I'm just rearranging some clouds in my free time. You know, like art or something."

"You're such a stubborn bastard." Dash replied under her breath. Reminded her of Mac. And suddenly she felt a little worse. She almost fell asleep a moment later, jerking awake as she lost a few feet of altitude. The cloud bank they were working on split down the middle and the ponies let out a collective groan. So went weather creation when you tried to work against Mother Nature. Thunderlane angrily shoved a cloud in the crevice, forcing it together with the rest of the cloud.

A bolt of lightning lanced through the sea of grey, letting out a deafening bang. Dash covered her ears, sighing as she pulled her hooves from her ringing eardrums. Thunderlane flapped his way over, his fur standing straight up. He had a hoof to one of his ears, and paused to cough.

"See, art."

"Dash." The word echoed around in her head. That was her. She had that name. Her brain muddled any sort of response. "Ya okay?" She felt her face move, and lazily opened an eye. A big green iris came into view, and she skittered her eyes around between little flecks of gold.

Oh, the guy wanted her to respond. "Who's ya?" She replied, as- wait, why was Mac here? Was she asleep?

"Dash, ah don't ta sound accusatory, but are ya high?"

Her brain snapped into some sort of working condition, and her eyes opened wider as she got a hoof under herself. "I'm just tired." She managed to say, getting into a wobbly sitting position. Dash pointed to a storm on the opposite side of town. "Labor of love. Also some number of hours. Not really sure. I remember wanting to come here and the sunrise, but I thought the flying here part was a dream." She yawned, not feeling any less drowsy. She saw a sizable pile of blueberries a few feet away, and transferred one to her mouth. It was a really good blueberry.

"Where did you get these?" She asked, head drooping for a moment as she struggled to stay awake.

"Ah can bring ya there." Mac offered.

"I dunno if walking is really going to be my thing at the moment." Dash mumbled, as Mac's muzzle pushed its way underneath her stomach, teasing her onto his back. It wouldn't have been very comfortable if he was bony in the slightest, but all she felt was soft fur and wide muscles that supported her over his back just perfectly. The last thing that went through her head was the slight smell of apples, trees and dirt that came out of his fur.

Nothing had ever smelt sweeter.

Author's Notes:

It's been a long time. Everything's gotten in the way of my writing, including the jury duty I almost got roped into. I was one of the last people to get dismissed from some domestic abuse thingy, but those are still a few weeks gone from my life. Everything that I normally need to do just pushed its way into my limited free time. Oh well. At least I'm starting to get back into writing, and my excuse can be that it was illegal for me to avoid the things keeping me from writing.

Aside from my sorry excuses, here's another chapter of this story. I looked at this chapter over and over, tweaking things so that they tried to convey exactly what I wanted them to. I'm not sure how completely I succeeded, but here's the chapter nonetheless. Leave a comment or something, I tend to pull a lot of ideas from the community, and they're a nice pick-me-up.