Author's Notes:

First chapter with some semi-clop in it. I'm not going to separate it out like some writers do. A big part of the story focuses on Anon discovering the differences and similarities between ponies and humans, and I feel like the intimate scenes play a big part in that.

The following morning began just as unremarkable as every other one. Voices from the street venders were the first thing you heard, and the stifling room offered little means of escaping their berating soliciting. You groan in bed for a moment. No wonder you never spend all day in this apartment. If you lived anywhere quieter you’d probably be a shut-in.

But breakfast lightened your mood and you mentally reviewed your daily agenda while cleaning out a tub of yogurt. Clean the apartment, pay the land-lady…land-mare, make your bed…what else? You know what else, but your experience yesterday had conditioned you to avoid the thought. Got to talk with Dash at some point, or at least make an effort to. You’d heard the phrase ‘sleeping on a decision’ before, but only now did you fully appreciate its meaning. It seemed that your brain had worked out all the hassle with yesterday’s conflict while you slumbered, and at no cost to your health. The answer to your problem, or at least, the best option you have was as clear as day.

You were going to call this off. This act, this game, this charade…whatever you want to call it, it has to stop. Not because it was too awkward or too embarrassing like you'd expected, but because it was driving a rift in between the both of you. As much as Dash needed a solution to her problem, she needed a friend more so. Someone she can trust and confide in…like she had been with you. Once that’s established you can work from there to tackle her problem from a different angle.

It had also occurred to you that no one had made any mention of talking to Zephyr about this. As far as you were concerned, everyone was beating around the bush to avoid direct confrontation. The answer was obvious, just go talk to him about it and tell him the truth. Sure it’ll be awkward to admit it was all a farce, but it’ll be less painful in the long run. Strange how easy that was after you were well-rested.

After breakfast you start knocking out your list of errands. By midmorning you find yourself back in your flat with Scarlet-Hewn Wings on your lap. The book was cheesy as expected, but surprisingly enthralling. It was about a pegasus stallion and an earth mare falling in love with each other during the time when the three Equestrian species were segregated into their respective factions. It had a lot of similarities with Romeo and Juliet with its juxtaposed families plot, but it added in the fact that both the characters were officers in their military forces. Honestly you didn’t really get into it until you started noticing the small details that set equine thinking apart from humans. The cultural differences in regards to romance were also pretty interesting. You found that more than a few of the daily behaviors ponies exhibit had meanings that were obvious to all but you. It’s like unlocking the Da Vinci code in a way.

The valiant mare had just freed her downed lover with her political connections and now they were both hunkered down in her cellar to hide from the stallion’s vengeful brother. Oh…this looks like a good set-up for…You skip to the next page and see the familiar text from last night. Yep, here comes the steamy stuff. You check the windows one more time just in case someone wanted to blackmail you for reading erotica. Coast is clear. You really shouldn't feel guilty, it probably has important plot elements.

It didn’t.

The uncomfortably long scene was more graphic than you thought necessary, but at the same time you had to admit it was educational. Twilight wasn’t lying about it being a good starting point to learn romance. You keep telling yourself ‘just one more chapter’ until you finish the last parting confession on the last page of the book.

Glancing at the clock it was well into the afternoon. Damn that book was good. Suddenly you remember the last thing on your to-do list, talk to Rainbow. You finish a small plate of leftovers while practicing some conversations in your head. Before you can perfect your opening line your plate runs dry and you no longer have an excuse to stall. You clean yourself up a bit and head out into the golden evening sun to find your friend. With her show coming up she’s definitely going to be practicing in the park. You start jogging just to prove to yourself that you’re committed.

That, and you’re a bit eager to see Dash. It’s been almost two days since you’ve seen her…well not quite. Just over twenty-four hours. Geez…when you look at it like that it sounds like you’re a clingy girlfriend or something…

Your jog slows back to a walk. But you’re not…right? You’re just friends.

As much as you tried to apply that label to your relationship it didn’t fit and you knew it. The title never really did describe what she was to you, even before you’d gotten to know each other that well. More than once you’d been caught off guard by how similar your thinking was. At times you felt like a pair of comical twins finishing each other’s sentences, but you sure weren't siblings. There were no ties that bound you other than the ones you created. And your differences only made your time together more interesting, it almost seemed to strengthen your bond.

You’d always considered yourself a logical and practical person—someone who could judge things rationally without the distortion of emotion. You were used to having your better judgment opposed to your emotions, but for the first time in as long as you can remember, both were pointing to the same conclusion. Your relationship with Dash seemed more romantic than friendly, at least to you it did. Her unusually long absence from your life seemed only to highlight that. You enjoyed her company for the sake of her company and when you weren’t around her you couldn’t seem to get her off your mind.

You take a deep breath, all the signs are there…but you can’t actually like your friend that way can you? She’s not even the same species! But that argument was dead on arrival. You’d gotten over that after the first week, and any subsequent reservation had been smothered the better you got to know each other. That would also explain why you liked ‘fooling’ Zephyr so much, and why you were hesitant to switch tactics.

Ok, so maybe you do like her, but you’re not actually attracted to mares…You try to think of examples that would help you escape the inevitable conclusion. Despite your best efforts you’ve long since adjusted to find the contours of the equine form appealing. Ok so she’s not unattractive…for a pony. You try to move on but your train of thought hangs up on that half-truth.

Fine then, Dash is pretty good-looking…for a pony. Dammit! Why’d you all the sudden have to realize how good looking she is? That’s what you get for reading that stupid romance novel. You blame what you can but deep down you know the truth; you had known it for months now, it just took a while to get yourself to admit it. You’re falling for your best friend.

You pick up your pace until you’re in a dead run. The park was mostly vacant except for a group of fillies and a few isolated couples. You finally reach the hillside where she normally practices and come to a stop. Looking back at Ponyville in the distance you let out a snort. Came quite a ways in that short jog. You’re eyes turn skyward. No Dash in sight.

The sun was approaching the horizon and ponies were starting to filter out of the park. Dang, you really expected her to be practicing. Your eyes survey the fields. An elderly couple sitting on a park bench, two kids having some kind of magic duel in the volleyball pit, a green pegasus flying from treetop to treetop. Wait, what? You focus in on the suspicious activity. Definitely Zephyr. Dang he’s the last thing you want to deal with right now. You sigh and contemplate going to talk to him. You’ll have to do it eventually. But you need to work things out with Rain—

”—There you are I was just about to go find you!” Your heart lurches at the sound of her scratchy voice. It’s not lurching she just startled you. You spin around to see Rainbow Dash hovering behind you. For the first time you see her in a different light.

She notices your thousand yard stare, ”Heh, I know I sound too awesome to be real, but I’m not!”

You try to remember what you’d rehearsed but can’t. Why is she doing that cute grin? She’s never done that before. “N-no, I just th-thought I saw Zephyr over there and was going to make sure he wasn’t still stalking you.”

She lands next to you before feigning flattery, ”Aww how sweet, my personal guardian.”

Your face heats up, “Come on Dash, this whole thing’s your idea.” She hops a fore hoof up to your shoulder and punches you before using you to keep her balance. In a second she closes the distance and pecks your cheek. The action stunned you because you’d spent the entire morning telling yourself that wasn’t going to happen anymore. You feel the delayed reaction of butterflies bubbling up as if you’d swallowed a Mentos.

”D-don’t look so surprised, he’s right over there doofus.” Her ticklish muzzle whispers in your ear.

Oh of course, “Oh, y-yeah I did see him.”

”And for the record it’s not completely my idea ya know, you kinda walked into it.”

That is also true, “I think it’s more like I gave an inch and you took a mile.”

She rolls her eyes and grins, ”What’re you doing out here anyways?”

“I was just going for a run and stopped for a breather when you found me.” Why didn’t you say you were coming to look for her?

“Well thanks for doing my work for me, I woulda had to fly all the way to your dumb apartment to find you. Where’d you see Zephyr again?”

“Over near the trees, he was looking kinda suspicious so I thought he might be up to something.”

”Hahahaha! Something suspicious—ahahaha!”

The more she laughed the more dignity you lost, “Care to enlighten me as to what you find funny?”

“Dude he’s helping Fluttershy!”

“Helping her? With what?”

”She needs to collect all the baby birds that got abandoned or something. So they’re going from tree to tree looking for them. I was helping her until Zephyr showed up. That’s when I went looking for you.”

“Oh…” You suppose he must have a life outside of his obsession with Rainbow. You scratch the back of your head in astonishment, “It didn’t even occur to me—“

She reaches over and punches you in the thigh.

“—Ow!”

She gives you a sly grin before blowing a strand of red from her muzzle, her cute muzzle. ”Thanks anyways dude. I’m glad you’re looking out for me.”

“Y-yeah. Sure.” No. Stop blushing you idiot. ”So…why were you coming to look for me again?”

Something clicks in her mind, “Oh yeah! C’mere I gotta show you something!” She doesn’t wait for your response before spinning around and trotting off down a trail.

You take off obediently behind her, following her prismatic tail in the waning sunlight. You realize how much you’ve missed her enthusiastic voice and cocky grin…and everything else…You do the only thing you can to save you from your thoughts—keep the conversation going, “Where are we headed?”

She doesn’t bother looking back but replies in a chipper tone, ”Just chill dude it’s a surprise.”

“Okay…? Do I need a blindfold or something?”

”Hah! Do you expect me to hold your hoof until we get there!”

You dodge a root that almost catches your foot in the shadows, “Yeah I think that might be nice.”

She finally looks back at you to see if you were kidding or not, ”Seriously? In your dreams!"

“How much farther?”

”Quit whining it’s just over this hill.”

You snap out of your trance and appraise your surroundings. You were in a new part of the park now and the sun was resting on the horizon. The warm summer air was beginning to cool and it wicked away your perspiration. Trees parted and gave way to a small clearing with a perfectly still pond in the middle. The sky was exploding with red and orange hues which reflected off the mirror-like surface of the water.

It was so mesmerizing that you didn’t see Dash approaching you. She puts her hooves on your hips and gives you a shove. You fall on your butt onto thick grass. ”Now watch this!” And with that she launches herself into the air, propelling higher and higher with powerful wing strokes.

You’re caught speechless as you trace her through the evening sky. You pull your legs up to a more comfortable sitting position just as she reaches the apex of her climb. From there she noses over into a short dive, just enough to gain speed for two consecutive, lazy loops. Her final loop levels into a sharp-looking knife edge turn before she goes into another short spinning dive. She pulls out of that into a shallow climb while simultaneously flipping onto her back. Her mane is blowing across her face, but you spot her wave a hoof and smile at you from her lounged position. She looks relaxed, like someone floating on an inflatable pool chair.

You wave back.

She takes that as her queue to move on to the next trick. You stare on in amazement for the next few minutes as she swims through the air above the water. It was different from most of her practices, she looks much more relaxed—sticking with tricks that don’t require a lot of effort to pull off. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t trying. Every movement was executed flawlessly as far as you could tell. It looks like she’s trying to show off something besides her speed. As you begin to contemplate what that thing is, you notice her start gaining speed. She was flying level away from you and was going faster than she had all night. Just as you think she’s making a run for the border, she pulls up vertically and leaves her wings outstretched. You immediately recognize it as the wingtip turn you’d been helping her with before the whole Zephyr incident happened. You swallow some nervousness; she’d never been able to get it right before. Up she climbed, propelled only by her momentum. You hold your breath as she gets closer to stalling out. Right before she runs out of speed, she tucks one wing to her body and angles the other.

Her timing was perfect and it looks like she pivots in place around the pinfeather of her outstretched wing. As she noses over from her vertical turn her other wing shoots out at just the right time to stabilize her dive. She did it! She did a perfect wingtip turn!

You’re up on your feet in a flash, “Whooohooo! Way to go Dash!” She can’t hear you but it doesn’t matter.

She gains incredible speed in her dive—rocketing straight for the water before pulling up at the last moment. She tucks her legs to her body, allowing her to get a few feet off the surface without danger. As she approaches the shore she dangles a fore hoof low enough to break the surface tension, leaving a trail of golden mist behind her with the setting sun.

She finally comes to a stop ten feet in front of you with a flare and a violent whoosh of air. Realizing you’ve flinched, you lower your guard to see a beaming pegasus. She’s looking right at you with toothy grin, her nostrils flare with every breath but she wasn’t breathing hard. Her mane has a whipped back appearance from her final dive.

“You pulled it off!” You couldn’t resist. You close the distance and throw your arms around her neck in a hug.

She doesn’t hesitate returning the gesture briefly before pulling away, ”I couldn’t have done it without your help dude."

“Sure, but even when I was helping you you never got it down that well.”

She shifts her gaze and drags her hoof through the grass, ”Well I’ve had all morning and yesterday to practice.”

“Was that what you were doing all day?”

She glances at you before going back to drawing imaginary circles, ”Yeah…I was m-motivated to learn it and I didn’t want you to see until I had it down perfect.” She winces at her own stutter but you barely notice.

She answers your question before you can ask it, ”I…remembered how you said you felt bad about ruining my practice…even though you didn’t. S-so I wanted to show you so maybe you wouldn’t feel as bad.”

You do remember saying that, but just barely…it was more of a passing comment before you hit up the donut stand. Did she take it that seriously? You try to catch the eye of the sheepish pegasus to no avail. Her mane was frazzled and her coat was pressed flat from the air. She needed to have it down by her show time, but there was no reason she had to push herself that hard.

The reality of your situation finally hit you. She doesn’t seem mad at all about yesterday morning, it’s like it never happened. Instead she’d orchestrated this whole private airshow just to ease a concern that she though you might’ve had. It was ironic how she could flip one-eighty from her typical egotism and pull off things like this. But you didn’t question it in the slightest. That’s why you like her so much.

As the burden of your repressed emotions evaporates you feel indescribably happy. You don’t know what to say. But you need to say something, she’s looking at you expectantly. You reach out and hold her shoulder; her face lights up with emotion and blood flow as you plant a kiss on the crown of her head before grabbing her in another hug. She shuffles a bit but you only use the opportunity to squeeze her tighter. She stops struggling and relaxes into your chest with a sigh—trusting you to bear her weight.

”Heheh! Y-you’re a bit clingy tonight dude.”

“Just happy is all.”

”Yeah! I can tell!”

Her spicy scent makes its way to your nose. She’d definitely been working all day. Even though it was stronger than normal, it still wasn’t unpleasant. It brought back drowsy memories of falling asleep a few nights ago, and you can’t help but get absorbed in the embrace. Does this mean she feels the same?

Your cheeks flush red and you’re glad your face is hidden in the hug. There’d been a few tender moments between you both before, and you weren’t surprised that she never talked about them. After the moment passed, the casual observer wouldn’t be able to tell it ever happened. But the both of you knew, and that was all that mattered. You weren’t as ashamed to admit your feelings to yourself as you expected to be, and you attributed that to your history. You’d had a home, some friends, and even some ponies that were better to you than the average family, but Dash was where it all started. She was the first to take genuine interest in you, and she helped you get over missing your old home. When you came to Equestria you lost everything except the clothes on your back. Your friends and family were gone. She willingly filled the gap they left in your life. And after the initial pain was over, your friendship only strengthened more.

The only thought that occupies your mind at the moment is how to express your gratitude to the prismatic mare. Just in case you hadn’t already gotten the message across. One opportunity stands at the forefront of your mind. Come on Anon, you said you were going to stop this before it messed things up further. But that was before you realized you’d been overreacting…and before you realized your feelings.

Besides, you didn’t really want to stop, and you had the mother of all excuses to back you up. Apart from that, something told you she probably wouldn’t want to complain about it anyways. What better way to express your gratitude? You slowly pull her off you until she brings her wavering gaze up to meet yours. You couldn’t decipher the message in her eyes, but by the way she was sitting she was clearly at ease.

Somehow, at some point, you’d managed to earn her absolute trust. She knew for a fact that you’d never hurt her, and you would do everything you could to keep that unspoken promise. She proves that trust by not even flinching as you lean in and close the distance. Whatever was happening she was okay with.

Your pucker meets her fuzzy muzzle and she adjusts to match you. The minty smell of her moist lips returns, but along with it comes the cool sensation you normally attribute to mint. Her lips tremble slightly at your touch but remain dormant. This kiss felt different than the ones before, it wasn’t forced, it wasn’t faked, it was a genuine expression of your feelings, and at that moment there was no doubt in your mind as to how you felt about Rainbow Dash. She’s not kissing back. Despite your exhilarating touch your stomach turns to ice and your heart rate starts skipping out of fear. You should’ve known she didn’t feel the same! You idiot! Now she is going to be mad at you!

You pull away and fearfully meet her eyes. But what you see isn’t anger, it’s…surprise? “D-Dash, I-I’m so sorry, I-I—“

You’re cut off by Rainbow pulling herself back into the kiss. You had no idea you could experience such a wide range of emotions so quickly, but you don’t contemplate it.

Arms wrap around her petite frame and hooves hook around you—neither had any intention of letting go anytime soon. You honestly had no idea what you’re doing, you’d never kissed like this before. You twist to match her contours better and boldly run the tip of your tongue across the gap made between her lips. Dash misunderstood it as an advance and opens her mouth enthusiastically. You pause for a second, trying to take stock of the situation with your eyes still closed. Dash begins trembling again, and in an instant you can tell that she was nervous she’d made a mistake.

Your tongue accepts her generous invitation, quelling her fears. She lets out a sigh and a shudder as she lets you freely explore new grounds. Her taste is amazing. It’s a milky-sweet tang that you could only explain as a flavor native to Dash’s natural salivation. It’s like a candy shop…except it’s harder to breathe. Her own tongue remains surprisingly still as you run yours first across her front teeth, then her molars, touching the inside of her cheek in the process. Hooves massage your neck and head, telling you to ’make yourself at home’. As if rewarding herself for her abstinence so far, her tongue finally shoots out to find yours. Her level of experience seems to match yours as you tangle in a playful struggle.

At first, she takes to using her longer tongue to her advantage, licking up and down the length of your shorter, wider one. Your well-lubricated taste muscles slick past each other over and over, never tiring of sampling the other. Your strategy is to curl your tongue in an O-shape to try and encapsulate hers. She was more than willing to get caught too; but there was too much that you both wanted to do, so no one task was followed to completion. Eventually you both resign to resting the flats of your tongues against the other while you try to catch your breaths through your noses. Dash’s hooves were no longer moving, and instead she’d locked your head in a death grip. Once you remembered you had hands, you move one up to scratch behind her ear. She grunts comfortably into your mouth in response, giving you a few licks of appreciation. The feeling of her taste buds sitting directly against yours clouded your mind and numbed all your other senses.

As much as you wanted to stay like this forever, you knew your time was running out. Your nose just couldn't feed your rabid heart. You figured you’d run out of air first anyways, you'd learned that Pegasi had more hemoglobin in their blood that let them function at high altitude. You open your eyes for the first time in a while and immediately cross them in an attempt to focus on your partner. From your distance you see that her eyelids are closed and her ears are folded in submission; your index finger is still scratching the warm fur behind one of them. She tries to keep it folded over the welcome digit, but you can tell she’s fighting her own reflexes. The ear flickers in sequence with a quiet grunt when you hit a particularly good cluster of nerves.

You hated yourself for it, but your time's up. You interrupt the oral caress and break the seal with a loud smack. An inhale brings much needed air into your tortured lungs. She exhales some breath that she still had—filling your senses with her warm air. That felt incredible. You gaze deep into her half-lidded magenta orbs, still keeping tabs on her heartbeat and breathing. Judging by how into it she is, she just might feel the same way you do. You can literally feel your heart lurching at the thought. Either that or lack of oxygen.

A shy smile appears on her flushed muzzle, and her blissful eyes bolster your confidence. You smile back.

Both of you are far too embarrassed to form any words. Realizing she’s still leaning against you, you shift to allow her to find her hooves. Her eyes drift off you as she shuffles. You become aware of a force pressing against your crossed leg. It had been there the whole time, you just now realized what it is. It's her wing trying to extend itself; the other had already spread quietly during your embrace. You shift your leg out of the way as she finds her hooves…albeit a bit shakily. Her restrained wing suddenly launches out to mirror her other one.

*pompf

She loses her balance and catches herself while doing her best to avoid eye contact. Panic strikes her features and she desperately elbows and pulls at her wings to get them to deflate. She's incredibly flushed and it looks like she’s trying to shrink from your presence. Applejack’s voice comes back to you clear as day. She’s fond of you. You smile wider as the true meaning of the words becomes apparent. The fluttering heart in your chest distracts you from the absurdity of it all.

“There’s no reason to feel embarrassed.” You whisper. She looks up questioningly—her blue face an impossible shade of red. After all she’s done for you, she doesn’t deserve to feel like this. You coax her closer and she shyly complies, sitting uncomfortably on her haunches in front of you. She doesn’t have enough room for both her fore hooves so she tentatively places one on your shin. Her eyes dart around nervously to make sure no pony’s around. You’ve never seen her this shaken up before.

”I-I-I’m not s-sure…”

“I like you too.”

She stops her fidgeting and stares at you, though her blush doesn’t fade. “R-really? Like, l-like-like me?”

“Yeah…a lot.” This is your chance to tell her how you feel and that’s all you say?

Short or not your message was clear. As is the reply. She lunges at you and wraps you up in a bear hug. “I-I’ve been trying for so long I thought you wouldn’t ever like me back!” Is she choking up?

Your hands move to the fur of her shoulders and you hold her against you, “What do you mean?”

“Ever since you helped me with my broken wing I’ve liked you and you just ignored me!”

Oh…damn now you feel really bad. This poor mare had been dropping hints for months now and you didn’t even see them. You sigh. “Dash I’m sorry. It’s hard for me to notice these things sometimes and—“

*smack

“—Ah! What now?”

“J-Just shut up…”

“Yep.” You comply and start stroking the back of her mane. In all the feelings rattling around in your chest—of which your throbbing shoulder was one—the most powerful by far is happiness. The blue pegasus clinging to you had managed to bring you a special brand of unbridled joy that hadn’t existed in your heart since you were a young boy. Back when you didn’t have to pay bills or care about what people thought; it feels like you didn’t have a care in the world to weigh you down. It feels like freedom.

Dash loosens her hug just as a lump forms in your throat. She’s still flustered, and her wings are still awkwardly sticking out, but you can see it in her watery magenta eyes that she feels something similar. You withdraw your hugging arm and it grazes the leading edge of her wing.

The dopey look on her face gets replaced with an embarrassed one again as she snaps back to reality, you want the old Dash back. “You don’t have to feel embarrassed.”

Her uneasy silence gives you another opportunity, “Listen…D-Dash…” your gaze moves to her wings and they begin throbbing from the added attention. “I-I know what the wing thing means…it seems a bit unnecessary though don’t you think?” Why the hell did you bring that up of all things!

Amidst her already radish-like appearance she finds a way to look even redder, ”Y-you know?”

You nod slowly. You might have to tackle her into the water to keep her from spontaneously combusting. It’d do you some good too.

She shuffles a bit more, but you still hold her steady, even her breathing is shaky. “Considering w-what we just uhh…l-learned about each other, I don’t know why you’re embarrassed over a little body language.” Way to call her out on it! You’re just going to ruin this!

“A-a what?” Her confused look makes you wonder how you even got as far as you did.

As much as you already hate yourself for your lack of eloquence, you were too far to abandon ship now, “Your body language…you’re saying you like me.”

”Well y-yeah b-but…” She stutters and her wings stiffen further.

“You already did a pretty good job with the kiss you know.” Ok…better.

You give her shoulder a gentle squeeze of reassurance. She finally regains her sense enough to tell you what’s on her mind, ”Uhh…it’s not exactly like that.”

Applejack lied to you? Wasn’t she the honest element or something? “What do you mean?”

”It’s…they’re kinda s-sensitive.” She turns her eyes earthward in an effort to shield her blush, instead you get to watch her ears turn red.

Surely she can’t mean…that kind of sensitive. The spot below her shoulders was, you found that out by accident. But unlike her back, you came in contact with her wings quite often. She used them when wrestling and they could withstand a sonic boom. They couldn’t possibly be…that sensitive, could they?

”…A-And I, I think I tweaked something…”

Oh, it is the painful kind of sensitive...obviously from practicing so hard for your private airshow you inconsiderate idiot. “I can rub it out for you if you want.” Her eyes shoot wide and her feathers ruffle on her outstretched wings.

They look almost painfully stiff. Oh wait, they are. You probably just hurt her worse when you hugged her too. That’s no way to treat your…mare friend. “I hate to see you suffer from a cramp, especially if it’s there because of my airshow.”

She still looks like a million volts of electricity are running through her, “All I’m saying is that I bet my hands are pretty good for massages.” You pull your hand from her shoulder and wiggle your digits in front of her face for emphasis.

“Yes!”

Wow, that seemed like the selling point.

”I-I mean, a-as long as you're ok-k-kay with it...”

"Of course Dash!"

"...And you don't t-tell anypony..."

Figures. If word got out that the fastest pegasus in Equestria got flying cramps she’d lose her invincible reputation. You motion for her to come closer. She hesitates at first.

”Like…really d-don’t tell any pony.”

“My lips are sealed.”

She slowly turns around so her back is facing you. From your new position you can see her toned muscles stuck in a contraction that kept her wings extended. You scoot closer, careful to move her tail out of the way lest you sit on it. She looks back over her shoulder and bites her lip. You catch her eye and spot a hint of nervousness. Your hand moves to her shoulder and you hold it gently. She’s trembling…

“Hey, Dash. It’s just me okay? You have nothing to worry about.”

She takes a deep breath before nodding, ”I-I know, just…go gentle…a-at first.”

“Absolutely.” You reassure her by massaging her shoulders a few times. Your gaze moves to her impressive, and rather beautiful wings. She didn’t give you any guidance, and you felt like asking would undermine your claim to be a good masseuse. Your eyes trail along the throbbing appendages in front of you. The leading edges were covered in fine feathers, the farther down her wing, the larger the feathers. The trailing feathers—her primaries, were the longest and you could see them separate slightly every time her heart beat. In all the times you’d hung out before you’d never gotten to examine her wings up close…nor did you get to massage them.

You waste no more time keeping her waiting. You reach out and tentatively grab the leading edge of her wing root. Her ears snap flat, and she lets out a shaky breath as your fingers wrap around the powerful muscle that attached the four-foot plus wing to her body. Slowly, you begin kneading the tissue—starting off with very little pressure and slowly working deeper and deeper until you feel yourself pinching bone. Working your way out, you squeeze the muscle around her leading wing bone until you reach her first joint, then stop. You’re tempted to ask her how you’re doing, but you decide not to. She’s definitely the kind of mare to let you know if you’re doing it wrong.

Your hands separate now, one moves back to the root, the other moves back down her leading edge. You gently work your fingers in between tendon and muscle to apply pressure directly to her deep tissue. You know the objective is to work out the lactic acid buildup that causes muscle cramps. You lean over and check her expression to see how you were doing. She’s got her eyes cinched shut and she’s biting her bottom lip. You immediately become concerned and stop your movement, “I’m sorry Dash! Am I hurting you?”

”No! Just…keep going!”

Well okay then, looked like she wanted to tough through the pain. You hate to be the one inflicting it upon her but it’s for the best. Your hands return to their positions. She leans back into your touch. One hand finds her first wing joint and you knead it carefully—exploring its structure in the process. Fingers trace the contours of the joint in your head. Seems pretty similar to an elbow.

”Mmph!”

You stop again, “You sure you’re good Dash?”

”Yes!”

You suppose she gets a pass to yell since it hurts and all. “You know if it hurts too much there’s other ways—”

”—Stop teasing and rub me out already!”

Ok now that just sounded suggestive. She seems to catch herself and peeks back at you sheepishly.

”I-I…I mean, if Zephyr’s still w-watching…it’d be pretty c-convincing.”

Convincing? It almost sounds like she’s pleading with you. Either way if this is part of the…convincing, then that means she probably doesn’t have a muscle cramp...meaning her wings are the other kind of sensitive…the kind that gives you butterflies to think about. Overburdened with thoughts, you begin to triage them like a battlefield surgeon. First things first, keep Mr. Stalker convinced. He may not be watching, but you know he's in the area, the risk associated with that chance had to be mitigated. Your hands resume their function and her blood flow surges again under your touch with a gasp.

You do your best to shove her signals from your mind as you tackle the next problem: what you were doing with your hands. You enjoyed the intimacy of your kiss, but this is on another level entirely…or is it?

“Gaah!”

Yeah. It is. Like a car on idle, your thumbs rub in circular motions across the exact same spots repeatedly. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, you just confessed your feelings for each other, right? There’re no rules against taking it fast. The two circles of fur at her wing roots were starting to look irritated and red underneath the pads of your digits. You don’t notice, but luckily she doesn’t find it painful. Racing thoughts succeed only in revealing one truth. You cared deeply for this mare, and it wasn’t something you decided on your way to the park. You are where you are now because you’d been a loyal and trustworthy companion to your pegasus partner. You wouldn’t have gotten this far with her if she didn’t want you to.

You stop mouth breathing in a trance like a retard and snap your attention back to the mare in front of you. You study the back of her head and let the sound of her elated breathing clear your mind. Her ears quiver and her tail twitches, you can see the corner of her muzzle pressed into a nervous squiggle. You're more than ready for this. A wave of heat hits your whole body and you take a moment to appreciate the fact that she was facing away from you. Dash’s twitching slowed as her nerves numbed under the repetitive motion of your thumbs. Her wings were still outstretched, but you could tell she was a bit unsure of what was happening. Luckily for her, catharsis demands action.

Hands move to caress her wings with newfound purpose.

”Aaah!"

You start massaging both wing roots at once and she arches her back letting out a surprisingly sensual cry. You congratulate yourself on your good decision, in regards to both the motivation and orientation behind your action. You work the thick muscle all the way out to her joint; there you spend a bit of extra time feeling around it with your nimble fingers. Her breathing gets heavier and heavier and she tries to push her wings up into your grasp with each slow rub. Getting the gist of what she was trying to do, you reach out a bit farther and pull down lightly—as if you were folding them for her. They don’t bend very far under her muscle tension, but she definitely feels it.

”Ooh! Anon!” She’s tucked her snout to her breast and has one fore hoof pulled up. Hearing your name like that stirs something inside you that you haven’t felt in…ever. Her voice unlocks a floodgate of warm feelings that washes away any remaining inhibitions.

You pull back on the appendages a few more times before picking up where you left off. You run your index fingers along the full leading edges of her wings in long strokes. Her muscles contract in rhythm with your touch, making her feathers ripple and shimmer in the waning sunlight. That looks absolutely gorgeous.

You move your attention down to her larger, trailing secondaries. Open hands slide across the slick feathers on the top of her wing until they reach the items of interest. You start with one feather at a time; you gently isolate the closest one to her torso and gently pinch it. Then you pull back gently on it, as if you were weakly trying to pluck it. One small slip up would mean you’d prematurely pull the feather, which she’d informed you was very painful. But if you pull with lightly enough, it just…might…

”Mmmh!"

Yep. You guessed right. You start on both wings simultaneously—intending to give each and every feather the attention it deserves. There are a lot more than you thought but you don’t mind how long it takes, and you doubt she does either.

"Nngh!"

If this was a horror movie, her…sounds would be like a beacon for the murderer.

Not wanting to waste any more time on what appeared to be a less-sensitive part of her, you rake across the bases of her primaries with spread fingers before returning to the leading edges.

*gasp “R-right there!”

Yep, that’s her favorite spot. You were getting a feel for how she worked, and it helped that she wasn’t holding back any expressions. You almost wondered if she was exaggerating on purpose, to put on a show for any eavesdroppers. But the theory didn’t survive long, you can feel that every last gasp and cry is genuine. Better ask her just to be sure.

“Heh, enjoying this Dash?” She looks back at you with a half-lidded eye in response. Her mouth is parted and she’s openly panting now, a drop of drool falls from her bottom lip to the grass below.

Holy shit that’s hot. She’s still looking at you but hasn’t replied, just more heavy breathing, and drooling. You reach up to scratch behind her ear and her open mouth morphs into a smile.

”I-it's really goo-aaaaaah!” She gets cut off by an unexpected sigh of pleasure.

Poor thing can’t even speak properly. This was just inhumane; you need to finish her off. But before you resume she shifts position a bit. In a desperate bid to get more stimulation her forelegs push off the ground and tip her onto her haunches where she leans her wings back into your hands. She pauses for a moment and you try to figure out what she’s doing. When you don’t immediately gratify her she leans back further—slipping off her balance and into your chest. Her weight takes you both to the ground with her on your chest.

“Well ok then.” Your hands find their positions on her now semi-familiar wings and start massaging again.

“Ahhh…”

The sigh of relief motivates you even further. The new position with her balanced on your chest leaves her rear legs up in the air and free to move. You sift through the minute chords of tendon and muscle running underneath her skin and down feathers until you find one that makes her kick.

”Nyah!”

You pinch the tendon lightly and follow it until it disappears into a major muscle group near her joint. The action made her look like she was trying to doggy paddle with her hind hooves, occasionally a fore hoof would twitch, but her hind legs did most of the work. The sight makes you grin like an idiot; it’s like controlling a puppet. You fish your nimble fingers around some more and find another. This time you roll the taut cable slowly between the digits. She kicks again.

”Oah!”

You repeat.

”Gaah!”

Again…slower.

”Hhnnng!"

As your hands explore her natural wiring, you feel her powerful glutes contract and ripple slightly with each kick. Her tail swishes happily across your knees. It was stuck straight out, giving anyone in front of you a clear line of sight to her excited rear. You can’t see anything from your position, but you were starting to wish she had thigh cramps too. No…you don’t wish that on her, you just wished you could…no, focus. You turn to try and get a glimpse of her facial expression. Her ears were still folded and any semblance of her rough and tumble attitude was replaced with a more deep-rooted desire to interact with you. You catch her eye just as your rubbing intensifies.

You abandon your specific approach and return to stroking and squeezing major muscle groups. The sudden influx of stimulation quickly begins to overburden her already strained system, and she starts flexing both her wings in sync. You imagine your hands as little shuttles, aiding the circulation to the edges of her wings in accordance to her heartbeats.

You can feel her getting close now. Your hands run her length until you feel the meat of her wingtip stop at the base of her pinfeather. You can’t reach the other wingtip so you massage what you can. You experimentally pull out gently on her pinfeather and get an overwhelming response. Her back arches off your chest and her legs stick straight up in tension.

”Ooaahhg!”

Well if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing twice.

”Goaaahhh!” Her savage panting and the puddle of drool you feel running down the side of your neck tells you she’s extremely close. You had to get her off with the next event. For her sake as well as your own.

You start kneading the leading edge of her wing while massaging the pinfeather root on the other. When you get to her mid-joint you start pulling back against her muscle tension.

”Uuuh!” She can’t decide whether to pull her legs to her torso, or extend them. You keep going. You work the pressure on her leading edge farther down while still keeping back pressure on her wings. You feel her powerful back muscles twitching against you as electricity builds in her body. You pull back roughly on one wing and with your other hand you gently twist her pinfeather in its socket…just…a little bit…more—

”Ano—aaaaaaah!"

Heavy, rhythmic shudders overtake her body. Her individual feathers separate and stick out as every muscle in her wing contracts with electricity. She pulls her head out from under your chin to arch her back, her mouth open in a silent scream of pleasure. Forelegs clench to her chest and hind legs stick straight back, pointing her hoof tips at the horizon as her brain forces every muscle she has to wince in pleasure.

You bask in the overwhelming satisfaction of success and strain to hold her close to you. Eventually the clutches of pleasure release her and she melts back into you with a happy sigh and cloudy eyes. Her muzzle tip turns to rest on your cheek, breathing rapidly against you to replace her lost oxygen. She's exhausted. It felt like she got hit by a taser…except it felt good.

Your hands abandon her erogenous zone and move to stroke her chest and belly as her wings slowly deflate. Her breathing stabilizes, as does her heart rate. A small grin teases her muzzle as she spreads her fore hooves a bit—giving you permission to reach more of her chest. She prods her muzzle farther up your face, bumping into your nose with some force. You can tell she’s still out of it, dopamine release had compromised her motor function. But that doesn’t keep her from trying to express her gratitude. Her tongue slides lazily across your cheek in a ‘thank you’ lick. A quick readjustment allows you to go nose-to-nose with her. You see her glazed over, half-lidded eyes looking longingly into yours.

Her smile doesn’t leave her face as she pushes her muzzle against your lips in a lazy kiss. She doesn’t bother to pucker or move them, she just wanted to make contact with you. You do the work for her and give her a lingering kiss before she pulls away again. Then you kiss the tip of her nose. Her warm giggle makes your heart well up in your throat. You're so happy right now, you just can’t imagine how you managed before she came into your life.

Your gaze shifts to the darkening sky across the pond. The sun was already below the horizon, but the residual light was just enough to navigate by if you left now. You signify the conclusion of her belly rubbing with a few pats. “I think it’s time to go Dash.”

She searches you a bit with her dilated eyes before nuzzling the top of her soft snout against your jawline. She says nothing but her body complies. Her wings had returned to her sides—making it possible to roll off your chest onto her hooves. You climb to your feet as blood rushes back to your slightly tingly extremities, and you pull your long shirt down below your waist. Dash finally stands next to you on shaky hooves. “You alright Dash?”

She lets out a short giggle but doesn’t say anything. You move next to her, allowing her to lean into your dangling hand for support. Then you start your journey back to your apartment. She follows next to you for a few paces before one of her hind legs gives out and her butt slumps to the ground. You look down with concern and she looks back with a slight blush.

”Heheh, uhh…it might take me a bit to find my hooves.” She looks like she just ran a marathon, but you let her give it another shot. She was sort of hopping each leg as if she was walking on hot concrete. That is officially the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. She hop-steps another three paces before her hind legs give out again. You crouch down and scoop her up in your arms. She flips into your chest and immediately finds a place for her forelegs around your neck, ”H-Hey! What’s the big idea?”

You snicker a bit at her protests, “Just taking care of my Dash.” You reply. You crane your neck back and peck her cheek which she abashedly tolerates. She makes no rebuttal, but instead tucks her blushing face farther behind your neck. Now that your passenger was cooperating you start your more successful walk back to your apartment.

But when you make it to the forest’s edge, you hear a branch snap. You whip your head around, ready to valiantly defend your mare against a sleuth of bears. Instead you spot an all-too familiar lime green pegasus staring at you from behind a cluster of bushes, and from the look on his face he’d been there for some time. His hooves cover his nether regions, and his wide eyes lock onto yours. No way…was he…watching you!

Your blood begins to boil as full realization of what he’d been doing hits you, “What the fuck is this!”

Dash’s eyes shoot open and she also spots the silent voyeur, ”Zephyr! What’re you doing out here!” You feel her tense up and her feathers ruffle with adrenaline.

He knows he’s in deep crap now, ”I…uh…um…” He’s shuffling backwards, trying to make it to a clearing so he can use his wings.

You’d always believed that violence had no place in civil life, but dammit you were fixing to do some violence. You gently place your precious cargo down on her hooves and take a deep breath before launching yourself at him in a full sprint. His fight or flight kicks in and he chooses to flee from the alien predator.

He looks back mid-scramble, his face locked in terror. It only fuels your rage and in an instant you’ve closed the distance. You grab a handful of tail hair and pull. He doesn’t stop, even though part of his tail does. You time a kick and deliver it to the side of his rear leg. The force from the kick pushes his rump into the path of a quickly approaching evergreen. It happened too quick and he can do little but tense for impact.

Pine leaves gently rustle as the energy from his body travels throughout the wood fixture. You approach the wheezing creature as he bucks his legs at you in defense. You swipe the first blow away, but catch a second hoof to the gut.

*ooph!

It hurt…bad. But you did your sit-ups. And you were betting he did not. The next frantic kick is caught by ready hands and you throw his legs to one side—pinning them to the ground with a knee. You wind up and deliver a punch to his stomach but you crack your knuckles on his defensive fore hooves. “Agh!”

The pain made you even more determined to land a solid hit and you tangle with his fore hooves to create an opening. You had felt anger like this before, but never really had an excuse to act upon it. The fact that he violated Dash’s privacy, probably more than once, made you incredibly mad. Zephyr flailed frantically aided by his will to live. His hard hooves were a formidable weapon, but he was no predator. He lacked a certain capacity for provoked violence that you had.

Finally you catch an opening and pin his hooves. You begin landing blow after blow. He starts fighting them off and you manage to grab hold of his muzzle, squeezing his jaws together with painful force…right before punching him straight on the nose with all you’ve got.

You hear an audible pop, ”Ah!” That wasn’t like the movies. You reel your hand back, shaking it painfully. He may have the broken nose, but that really freaking hurt.

As if on queue his nose immediately starts gushing blood, his fore hooves shoot to his face and you weren’t punching through those again. In your brief respite he comes to his senses and bites down on your hand.

That was easily solved by pushing his broken nose back with an open palm, ”Gaaah! Ok! Stop stop!” You relent but you keep his legs pinned. You allow him movement to hold his nose; he chokes on a bit of blood before spitting it out, ”I’m sorry ok! I won’t do it again!”

That's it? It's not even you he should be apologizing to! But in the midst of your rage you knew that the battle was won, any more retribution would feel...wrong.

You let him go and he stays on his back until you're a few feet away. You avoid the look of the shocked mare behind you. Part of you felt good doing that. But another part hated yourself for doing that in front of her. You weren’t sure how she’d take it.

Zephyr gets to his hooves and spits out some blood, "What the hay is wrong with you!"

To your surprise Dash takes off in a wobbly sprint. You look down at your hands and see that they’re a bit bloody. You don’t want to touch her and make a mess of her coat. You make an effort to roll them into your shirt…which also had a few specks of blood on it. It’s not quite a murder scene, but the closer she gets the guiltier you feel.

She steps past you and takes an aggressive stance flaring her wing, ”Get lost already! Can’t you see we’ve had enough!”

Whether it was her wording or her gestures something worms its way through your adrenaline filled veins and warms your heart. Despite the weird and awkward past few days, despite your ignorance of her feelings and the pain you put her through, despite the fact that you were a lone creature from another world and had very little to offer her…she never once considered leaving your side.

Her angry gaze holds until Zephyr shamefully limps into a clearing a short distance away and takes off. She follows him until his form is lost behind the trees before turning to you. When she does her expression is changed, ”Dude you okay?”

“I’m fine…” You reply as she checks you over. She spots the damage immediately.

”Anon you’re hurt!” She stands up on her rear legs and gently takes your hands in her hooves. Her wings wrap around your back protectively. She inspects the minor cuts and abrasions before visually checking the rest of your body for injuries. Her eyes return to your hands and her face is stricken with pain. She holds them against the soft fur of her chest before swiveling her head to your surroundings. The fine fuzz and warmth of her chest adds a level of comfort to your stinging appendages, but it didn’t fix it.

You know she's looking for something to wrap them with, “Dash…” She stops her panicked searching and looks up at you, “…I’m fine, let’s just get back to the apartment.” Your comment seems to have the opposite affect you intended.

”But you’re in pain.” Her eyes are welling up. She’s actually crying…over you. You’re not sure what to make of it coming from the brash pegasus. She’d never done that before. Just as you think your heart's about to stop, she spots something out of the corner of her eye, ”W-wait here big guy I’ll be back in a snap.”

She takes off with a woosh of air, leveraging her trained speed for something other than show. A moment later she returns with a leafy branch in her teeth. How did she even spot that in the dark? She drops it in her hoof, “Ok I need you to wipe the dirt off with your shirt and hold them out.” You resist the urge to say ‘yes ma’am,’ you didn’t honestly think her plan was going to help much, but you also didn’t want to be patronizing. She was trying to help you and the last thing you wanted to do was embarrass her for it. Besides, it’s really heartwarming to see her so concerned.

“Ok.” You do as she asks. Then you watch with growing interest as she does something unexpected. She eats the leaves off one side of the branch. What does she want me to do? Hold the branch while she finishes eating or something?

She chews them thoroughly but doesn’t swallow anything. She holds it in her mouth while her eyes inspect your cuts. One particularly nasty part of his bite was openly bleeding. After a few more chews, she leans over and spits out a glob of the green mush onto your skin and rubs it around slowly with the tip of her hoof. What the heck?

It stings at first and makes you draw your breath. She makes sure to rub the slob into each cut and over every abrasion, spitting out more where necessary. That’s just about the opposite of what you’d do for an open cut. But you know Dash wouldn’t be doing it if she thought it would harm you, so you let her continue against your better judgment.

Suddenly the pain starts to diminish. Not just the cuts, the aching wrist, the throbbing knuckles…it’s like someone’s turning the temperature down on the thermostat. Then it disappears completely. You inspect your hand and see that even the redness and swelling has all but disappeared as well. Only small, paper cut-like lines were left as indications that you’d been bitten. It’s like magic. Oh…it probably is magic. The same process gets repeated with your other hand, and when she’s satisfied, she spits out the remainder into the grass next to you.

”Bleh! That stuff’s bitter!”

”Uhm, Dash. What just happened?” She looks up at you as if she’s surprised you don’t know.

”I made a slave with that…uh…plant. It numbs the pain and cleans the cuts!”

“You mean a salve?”

“Yeah, that.”

She looks so proud of herself, “Well, it definitely feels better…” She just beams at you. There’s some serious voodoo at work here, “Wow…I never thought you could do that, it feels amazing!” She blushes lightly, happy for the opportunity to take care of you, ”We should probably head back now.” You look at the almost dark skies.

“Yeah…”

“You can ride on my back if you want?”

Remembering her handicap, her blush deepens, ”I should be fine now, I just got a bit warmed up.”

“Ok Dash.” You make the journey back to your apartment and she explains to you how Fluttershy taught her about the salve. By the time you reach your front door the sky is black and she still hasn’t managed to walk normally for more than a few paces at a time. Dash opens the door for you and flips the lights on before closing it behind you. You head over to the kitchen and go for the medical kit to get some bandaging for your hands, but she intercepts.

”I’ll get it Anon.”

“Thanks, it’s…”

”Gow ih!” She says through a mouthful of fabric.

Oh yeah, she knows her way around here. She tosses the red bag on the counter and unzips it before sifting it for what you needed. Finding the white wrap, she bites one end and lets it unfurl. She goes to wrap your hands but stops when you speak up, “Dash, I’d like to shower first, can we do this after?”

Her eyes find yours before darting away as if preoccupied, ”Why? You smell fine.”

“Dash, I…” Wait, you smell fine? Is that a compliment? “…I uh, haven’t showered since this morning and I’ve been running around all day.”

She looks a bit disappointed, ”Well if you gotta I guess. Coulda mentioned it a bit sooner though.”

You let out a chuckle at her feistiness. You don’t want to touch her with your smothered hands, so you bump her rump with your knee. She looks at you questioningly before smiling and returning the bump. God she’s cute. You go to move past her and head to the shower, but a hoof grabs your leg to stop you, ”Wait a sec lemme get it.” She blows past you and disappears into the bathroom.

“Dash, I’m not handicapped or anything.” You get no response. Dang she really overestimated your injuries. Then again those hooves were hard as rocks. You stop by your dresser on the way to the bathroom and pick out a change of clothes. The sound of running water draws you to the shower. You enter the room and drop your clothes on the ground. Dash is leaning into the tub with one fore hoof in the water. Her rear end is sticking up and her tail is swishing side to side…almost enough to catch a glimpse of what it covered.

Don’t think about it. The water soon reaches a temperature to her liking and she pulls the valve to turn on the shower head.

She spins around like a prismatic pinwheel and dries her damp hoof on a towel before laying it out on the ground, ”I still don’t think you smell ya know.”

“Yeah, but I got blood on me so…”

“Not enough in my opinion…” She mumbles.

“What?”

She looks up with a smile and motions towards the tub, ”Well there ya go hotshot! Uhh…it might be a bit too warm for your sensitive skin so be careful.”

You catch onto her jibe but disregard it. She's probably right. You’re not exactly sure what you’ve done to deserve it, but she’s taking really good care of you. Actually you have a few ideas, but it still seemed a bit out of character for her, “Good to know, thanks.”

She trots past you and bumps your leg with her rump before closing the door behind you. You take the moment of privacy to look at yourself in the mirror and catch your breath. You honestly looked a bit mangy after the scuffle. Or was that just how you normally looked? Hair was a mess and your eyes were still a bit dilated from adrenaline. But the fight didn’t concern you in the slightest; in fact, the only part of you that actively remembers the brawl was your aching gut. You mind is occupied with far more important matters. Like the prismatic pegasus who’s undoubtedly raiding your pantry right now. There was no doubt in your mind as to what you’d done to her with your ‘massage.’ You also knew Dash’s motivations for the evening’s activities were not entirely forced. She wanted it to happen, maybe even planned it.

You also knew Dash well enough to know that she didn’t take intimacy lightly, and aside from all the other reasons she made you happy you can’t help but feel privileged that she chose you to be the one she opened up to. So it’s official now, well…unofficial since you haven’t really admitted it. But then again, you’d learned in law class that speech can be symbolic as well as verbal...you’d symbolically admitted it then.

The point was you both knew the gig was up. Well not really, not until Zephyr disappeared for good…it just wasn’t a gig any more. It’s the real deal. And you couldn’t be happier. Time to clean up for your mare.

A few minutes later, you were thoroughly cleaned and dried. The water was a bit hot, but it didn’t bother you enough to change it. What did bother you was that the soothing salve on your hands got washed off and the stinging began to return. You head back to the kitchen for the first aid kit and immediately spot Dash. She looked the same—plus a few crumbs around the fur of her muzzle—but the atmosphere feels warmer. Seeing her making herself at home in your apartment so late in the day excited you with the prospect that she had no plans of leaving tonight.

”Enjoy the shower?”

“Yeah…thanks, you really outdid yourself.”

”Pffft! A mare of my caliber outdid herself by setting a shower?”

“Well when you put it that way…”

”I’m just kidding dude! Whaddaya need the aid kit for?”

“The stuff you put on my hands washed off, I was just going to wrap them up before I hit the sack.” Concern returns to her face.

”They still sting?”

“A little.”

She grabs the first aid kit and pushes you towards your couch with the top of her head. At this point you weren’t even thinking of arguing, just enjoying the ride. You sit down and she sits next to you. She takes your hands in her hooves and immediately begins licking them, “Uhh…Dash what are you doing?”

She pauses her ministrations for a moment, ”What? Humans don’t lick their wounds?”

“Not really, and I wouldn’t go as far as to call these wounds.”

”Sure they are…just stop overthinking things and let me do it. I’ve lived here longer than you ya know.”

That is true. Wait what did that have to do with anything? She gets another lick in before seeing you were unconvinced. With a huff she adds, ”It helps clean them so they don’t get infected smart one.” She obviously knew it all so you stop arguing and lean back into the couch.

“I’m all yours doc.” You focus on the feeling of her felt-like tongue debriding your damaged skin. Her nimble, warm muscle seems to caress each aching knuckle, form fitting around the hills and valleys. It's surprisingly soothing, you could easily fall asleep to this. Dash seems to notice the relaxing effect it has and humors you with more licking than was necessary. She works steadily for a few minutes and the only sound that fills the room is the one made by her smacking, wet tongue. Whether it was psychological or medicinal, her spit works its magic and the stinging subsides again. Maybe that plant didn’t do anything, maybe she's the secret ingredient.

It barely surprised you anymore. Everything else about this mare is somewhat therapeutic, why wouldn’t her saliva numb pain? You wake yourself from your daze and look down to see her preparing the gauze. She wraps it around your hands like a boxer before tying it off in an impressive display of dexterity.

”They comfortable?”

“Not too loose, not too tight.” Your comment fails to express how impressed you actually were with her treatment. You wiggle your fingers to emphasize her professional job, “You missed your calling, should’ve been a doctor.”

”Hah! Not likely! I just have a lot of experience because I get a lotta injuries during training.” You sit back and look at her with a smile. She returns your expression and you both hold it…until it gets awkward.

”Sooo…”

“I’m pretty tired.”

”Me too.”

“I have a lot of spare room…for, you know, f-for an apartment.”

”And my wings are a bit…tired, thanks to you.” She blushes, but manages to keep eye contact.

“So…I guess if you can’t fly, you’re free to spend the night here.”

She notices your nervousness and decides to poke some fun, ”There you go champ. That wasn’t so hard was it?”

“Heheh…yeah I guess.”

She scoots a bit closer to you. You scratch the back of your head in embarrassment and your heart races with anticipation, “So…what happened back there was…I guess you do like me then?” Stop. Go back. You’re going to undo all the good things if you keep talking.

She snorts a bit amidst her blush.

“Sorry I guess I’m just not used to this stuff…”

She moves to put her nose against yours, looking deep into your eyes, ”I’m not either.”

You pull her into your chest and she willingly complies—keeping the tip of her nose against yours the whole time. She snorts and giggles blowing hot air against your face. Her hind legs wrap around your midsection and her tail hangs straight down as you stand up. She had no intention of spending the night on the couch, and neither did you.

You carry her over to the bed in the corner and gently set her down. She makes herself at home and starts digging up your bedding. She looks completely exhausted; she watches curiously as you take your socks and shirt off. She never really understood why you wore clothes so it wasn’t something you felt self-conscious of.

You place a hand on her foreleg for reference before turning off the lamp and climbing in bed next to her. Your world goes dark and immediately after you hit the mattress you feel her snuggle up against you. It was obvious any frisky business was out of the question, you just wanted to be close to each other. A hoof hits your ribs and you wince as she tucks them between your bodies. Her hair tickles your face as she turns to face you—resting her muzzle against your neck. Your hand finds the soft fur behind her ear and you begin scratching. Your close proximity forces you to examine the scent of your bed mate. She definitely needs a shower…but she doesn’t. Her spicy smell was pungent but not bad. Hers works like that but there’s no way she can actually think the same about yours…right? In a way it's actually really nice, you feel...closer to her because of it. A wing unfurls to cover your chest. She was being even more cuddly than during your naps. This is heaven.

“Dash, I’ve been wondering…I’ve never seen you with a stallion before. Have you had any prior relationships?” She grunts and leans into your scratches.

”A few *mgh…but, none like this. I’ve never *ngh…gotten this far before.” Her scratchy voice cracks and you scoot into her warmth.

”H-how about you?”

”Same here. To be honest with you I’m flying blind right now.”

”Hehe, then we can fly together." She moves to kiss your jaw.

“You know, before today I never thought you could be this sappy.”

That flusters her a bit, ”I-I’m just…I’ve liked you for a while, and I thought…well I don’t know, I guess it just kinda happened.”

“I’m glad it did Dash.”

You scratch her jawline with your thumb and earn another satisfied coo from her. Another spot she likes.

”It did kinda surprise me when you went straight for the wing job though.”

Wing job? Was that what it was called? “You mean when I rubbed your wings, and you…”

”Y-Yeah…you didn’t know about those?”

Your face heats up, the book sure didn't mention it, “N-No I-i thought that they weren’t that kind of sensitive.”

”Ahahahahahaha!”

Damn that was loud. She pokes your chest with a fore hoof, ”Wait…hahah…wait, so you’re telling me you thought you’re working out a cramp or something!”

“Yeah…I don’t know. I just didn’t think you’d come onto me like that I guess.”

”Me? Come on to you? Dude! You straight up tongue twisted with me and got me all turned on with your uhh…yeah. Then you offered to rub one out for me! That’s exactly what you said!”

Come to think of it those were your exact words. “I never thought of it that way. I mean I figured it out about half way through, but…sorry.”

”Don’t apologize! You’re not gonna hear me complaining about it.” She almost sounds angry that you said sorry. ”If it was any pony else though they would’ve lost a leg.”

“Heheh…so I guess I’m special huh?” You can almost feel her blush at the question.

”Y-Yeah…and your hand things are nice too…”

“I’ll say! You were in your own world for a minute there.”

”W-well don’t blame me! I’ve never had a g-guy d-do that before!” Your heart lurches again at the confession.

“Any girls then?” You add a brow wiggle she can’t see.

She smacks your chest, ”Shut up you know what I mean!”

“Just messing with you.” You feel her relax a bit and settle down next to you. Your arms move to encompass her and you pull up the bed sheets across your bodies. Cloth rustles together as you fidget to find a comfortable position where your arm won’t fall asleep.

”Wait.”

“Wha…mmpf!”

She pushes her muzzle into your mouth before you can get your word out. Reaching behind her head you pull her against you and hold the kiss. Neither of you make efforts to intensify it; you were content with your simple contact. Hot breath fills your faces as you both smack back and forth on moist lips for what seems like minutes, taking turns initiating and savoring the mutual sensations. You both quickly find that you're hooked on affectionate acts and how close it makes you feel to one another. The addiction keeps you going until Dash yawns—interrupting your intimacy with her hot hay-breath. She found the granola bars. You snort a bit and she giggles.

She finds your mouth one more time and properly finishes with a lingering good night smooch. You could do that for hours. Her fore hoof rests on your bare collarbone and you hear her tail swishing happily under the covers. She finally releases you and tucks her muzzle into the crook of your neck. That was one of the most pleasant things you’ve ever experienced before. You can’t remember the last time anything left you feeling this content and happy. Fingers massage the back of her neck and you hear a similar content sigh. Her ears flicker across your jaw and her hooves gently knead your belly and arms as her overworked system slowly winds down. Your hands find real estate on her lower back and shoulder to hold her warm furry body against you.

Suddenly Dash’s belly gurgles lightly and she lets out a short burp. A smile crosses your face and you just hug her tighter.

You’re going to remember this day for the rest of your life.