The Adventures of the Tickling-Fixated Human in Equestria

Chapters

Luna 1
Rarity 1
Luna 2
Rainbow Dash 1
Rainbow Dash 2

Luna 1

"You're summoned", a guard told you stiffly before turning around and walking away. He looked back at you as you stood there in confusion, tossing his head to indicate that you should follow him. Curious, you did so, finding that you were soon in a wing of the castle in which you had never been. It didn't take long before the trappings indicated that this was, in fact, the royal apartments. You both came to a door lavished with night-themed paraphernalia. Surely this wasn't-

"If you do anything untoward with Her Highness, Princess Luna," the guard hissed angrily at you.

Oh shiiiit.

He knocked on the door. "Enter!" bade a commanding female voice from within. He cracked open the door, then nodded at the threshold. It seemed like you were supposed to go in alone. Well, okay then. You pushed the door open, nervously stepping in, jumping a bit as the door slammed shut behind you. Luna herself stood proudly across the room, brilliant star-studded mane flowing in a nonexistent wind. You stared at one another awkwardly... for a few very long seconds... You cleared your throat.

"So, uh, not handling the night, tonight?"

"Our sister said that she would manage tonight," she replied, "Such that we would have an opportunity to speak with you in private."

"Oh." You nervously bit your lip. "Talk about what, your Highness?"

"We want you," she began. You swallowed unconsciously, and she stepped towards her massive bed and flopped down onto it. Her voice suddenly went from commanding to sounding like an excited teenager.

"To tell us more about human life. Oh, the questions I have wanted to ask you, there are so very many, but the opportunities have been few and far between. You are a mystery, did you know? No one knows what makes you tick. Well, I for one would like to discover more!" You noted that she'd slipped out of the monarchical plurality and into 'common' speech.

Her smile was so innocent and open that you couldn't help but laugh, causing her to blush. "W-what are you laughing about, Tom?"

You held up your hands, shaking them vigorously. "Oh, no, your Highness, it's not you," you said quickly. "Just that this was not what I expected... at all."

Her mouth twisted into an adorably-confused wrinkle. "W-whatever do you mean?"

"Just... when I first walked in, you were standing there, and that commanding voice, and-"

She blushed and held a hoof up to her mouth. "I hope... I hope I didn't offend?"

Chuckling, you shook your head. "No, Your Highness. Pleasant surprise, that's all"

The easy smile returned to her face. "That is good to hear, Tom. And, please, for both our sakes, Luna will suffice."

"Luna it is. So... questions...?" You trailed off expectantly.

"Ah, right!" She pulled out a list. Damn, this was going to take all night. "Well, Tom, what's your world like? Climate-wise. I understand that it's quite different from Equestria..."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"... and that's about as much as I can tell you about cars, really. I don't understand them, myself, I get in them and they move."

"Very intriguing!" Luna said enthusiastically as she finished taking a note. It had been a good hour or so, random topics galore. This was not nearly as exciting as you had anticipated. Silence fell for a bit as the Princess absentmindedly wrote a few more bits on her parchment.

"-ahem- So, uh, Luna, will that be all?"

She looked up, tongue between her teeth. "Hmmm? Yes, Tom, I think that's just about it..." Sighing quietly, you turned to leave.

"Oh, one more thing!"

Rolling your eyes despite yourself, you turned.

"What do humans do for... fun?"

"Fun?"

"Yes, fun." She looked at you quizzically, one eyebrow perked. "You know, derived amusement from engaging activities?" Did she think you were dense? You knew what fun is – and at that point, you were most definitely NOT having fun. Time to have some fun of your own.

"There are many things, Luna," you said, walking towards her. She was completely fixated on your words, nodding. "The best fun, however, comes from something that both parties enjoy." The Princess was practically bobbing her head. Goddamn, but it was cute.

"Yes, Tom, like what?"

"Well, Luna," you said, not sure how far your erstwhile familiarity had grown, "There's an activity that often goes on between two friends that serves as... bonding."

She clapped her hooves. "Ooooh!" she squealed excitedly. "Can you show me, Tom?" Oh, HELL yes.

"Well, maaaybe," you said hesitantly, stretching the word out in barely-feigned doubt.

"What's wrong, Tom?" she asked concernedly. "Are we not friends? I believe we are!"

"It's not that, Luna," you said, "It's just that... I'm not sure it works quite the same way with ponies..." You allowed it to trail off, and she pounded lightly on her bed in frustration.

"That's not fair, Tom! You have to at least try, right?" Damn straight.

"Well, it's a physical thing, and ponies aren't quite the same. For a human..." You slowly reached for one of her hind legs. "It would involve feet, but since you just have hooves... with your permission?" you asked as your hand reached her leg.

Her brows drew down in utter confusion, but she waved a foreleg in assent, the other tucked under her chin as she analyzed your movements.

"Well, it's just something that humans react to naturally." You gingerly held the leg up by the 'ankle', taking a moment to admire the beautifully-crafted diamond slipper around the tip of her hoof. She watched you in anticipation. You scrunched up your mouth as you considered it. "Does this, like, come off somehow?" you asked stupidly, pointing at the slipper.

She nodded her head slowly. "Of course," she quietly said, "It just sort of slides off..."

You reverently removed the slipper from her hoof. While the difference was subtle, you'd spent enough time amongst Equestrians to recognize hooves a bit. And this one was absurdly tender, at least in appearance. Clearly Luna never went unshod without good reason.

"I think I know what you're doing, Tom," Luna said, rather nervously, as your free hand slowly inched toward the soft exposed flesh of her underhoof. "And ponies are ticklish too-HOO-HOO-HOO!" Well, turned out there's fewer differences than you thought.

"Tom, STA-HA-HA-HAHP!" Your fingers had only been dancing across the soft flesh for a few moments and already Luna was practically in tears. The sheets were clenched between her front hooves and held to her face as she rocked back and forth with laughter. Her bucking, while powerful, was nowhere near strong enough to kick you away, a fact that you took good advantage of. You continued to dig into the tender frog of her hoof, enjoying both the feel of the pampered skin and the musical laughter of the Princess of the Night.

"Plehehease. PLEHEHEASE Tom!" Her grin was ear-to-ear, tears rolling down her face as her eyes locked with yours, pleading, BEGGING for relief. "No more. No mo-ho-ho-hore OH I CAN'T DO THI-HI-HIS!" She fell back in surrender onto her pillow, not even bothering trying to speak through the laughter anymore. You slowly ramped back your assault, as both her reactions and your enjoyment at her helplessness tapered off.

Finally, you stopped, still maintaining a firm grip on her leg. She pulled herself back up, looking at you with anxious expectation. "Are you... are you done, Tom?" she breathed, barely suppressing the hopefulness from her voice. You couldn't torment the poor Princess like this anymore. You nodded, releasing your grip. She all-too-happily retreated the afflicted hoof from your reach.

"Fun," she said, seeming to test the word in her mouth. "Yes, Tom," she finally said, nodding, "That was certainly fun. Fun that I don't want to experience again any time soon." She waved at the door absently, staring at her notes blankly. "Go away, Tom, I need to... I need to rest."

Go away? GO AWAY? Suddenly, you found yourself deciding that her torture wasn't all that undesirable after all . While she was distracted, you grabbed the other, as-yet-unpunished hoof.

"Tom, what are y- NO." Her demeanor shifted back into a state of all-too-much focus as she realized what you're doing. "Tom, I beg of you, no more! PLEASE!" Didn't she realize that half the fun of tickling someone who can't break free is their useless pleading? You whistled as you slowly work off the slipper, bobbing your head to the tune. She shook her head uncontrollably. "No please Tom no please no more anything but that no please" She'd lapsed into a barely-restrained hysteria, not even bothering with whole sentences anymore – and you hadn't even done anything yet.

The slipper fell free, and the 'tip' of the hoof wiggled. On a real horse, it would have looked bizarre, but Equestrians had a distinctly different anatomy. On her it looked little different from a human foot attempting to protect itself when no other guardian was present. You slowly moved your off-hand towards her hoof. "Tom. Please. Don't do this. I'll give you anything you want, name it. Just... please, no more of this."

"You know, Luna, your offer is quite appealing." You stopped moving your hand towards her hoof, and looked at her. Her expression was overwhelmingly optimistic. Unfortunately for her, crushing her hopes and dreams was half the fun for you. "But on the other hand - hoof, whatever - I just find your laughter too goddamned cute." You returned to your slow approach towards her hoof.

She groaned, closing her eyes and tilting her head back. "What did I do to deserve this?" she asked whatever unseen force passes for God in Equestria. Despite yourself, you leaned towards her, and she met your gaze woefully. "You asked me what humans do for fun," you said evilly with a villainous smirk, before returning to the work at hand.

Rarity 1

Luna showed an almost-unhealthy fascination with you tickling her. While it was a cute and unexpected twist at the beginning, and endearing for the next few instances thereafter, now it was getting kind of stale. You meant, let's not kid yourself, she was cute as hell when you're tickling her, but her reactions were predictable by now. You hungered for fresh meat. Tender, sensitive hoofmeat.

You might have a problem.

Anyways, you found yourself receiving a letter one day.

I wish to help you with your ensemble, Tom. A man as... one-of-a-kind as yourself deserves a similarly unique warddrobe! Stop by my Boutique when chance next brings you to Ponyville -- my door is always open to you, Tom! – signed with a fancy-looking 'R'.

Well, it looked like it was back to Ponyville to meet with the biggest fashionista of them all -- Rarity, herself.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You'd think, by now, that your publicly-known presence would be enough to divert the weird stares from Equestrian locals. But of course, young fillies and colts who were your co-passengers aboard the Ponyville Express pointed excitedly at you as their parents nervously attempted to stop their gaping – nothing new, but still made you feel like crap for how little you belonged. As you arrived at the Ponyville train station, you ignored the veiled stares and stepped off the train, shaking your head despite yourself at the unconscious embarrassment.

Well, time to find Carousel Boutique. It was really too bad ponies didn't really grasp the concept of detailed maps. Well, Ponyville wasn't THAT big... A few hours later, you sheepishly asked an unusually-happy mare with a few bunches of berries as a Cutie Mark for directions. She was all too eager to point you in the right direction, before walking off muttering something about buying more coolers. Before long, you found yourself in front of-

Well, hell, it was called Carousel Boutique, but did it REALLY need to look like a merry-go-round? Shrugging, you walked up to the door and knocked. You could have sworn you heard a mare's voice groan with frustration. Before you couldn process it, the same voice spoke aloud.

"I'm so very sorry, but we're closed for the day. Please return during normal business hours tomorrow, if you please!"

Your hands dropped to your sides and you released a sigh. Where the hell were you supposed to stay? It was getting towards evening, and ponies didn't exactly spring for hotels that you had seen.

"Uh... Ms. Rarity? It's me, Tom. You told me to stop by- I mean, I know it's getting late, but I couldn't find your Boutique, and you said you'd be open to me anytime..."

"Tom? WAIT!" Her voice had slipped from grumbling indifference to enthusiasm. You seemed to have an effect on these horses for whatever reason. "Just- give me a minute!" A series of indecipherable noises emanated from beyond the door. You frowned and cocked your head to one side in confusion. Well, okay then, no need to rush on YOUR account...

The door slammed open. A thoroughly-disheveled Rarity stood there, looking at you with an excited expression. You noted that the demure, collected pony you had briefly met some time ago was distinctly... unkempt at the moment. She cleared her throat.

"Ah, hmm-mmm. Tom. How nice of you to come!"

"Is this a bad time, Ms. Rarity? I can always come back tomorrow-"

She waved a hoof in denial. "No, no, nothing like that. Just- unexpected, that's all. Please, do come in. And you needn't call me 'Ms.', otherwise I may feel compelled to call you 'Thomas'!" And so you found yourself knowing yet another pony with whom you were now on a first-name basis.

The two of you shared a nervous laugh, then trailed off and shifted eyes around the shop. Fabric rolls and clothing patterns were everywhere – she seemed to have been quite busy today. You attempted to control your gaze from seeming too judgmental, but she noticed and blushed slightly.

"Oh, PLEASE excuse the mess, Tom," she said absentmindedly as her horn began glowing. Random bric-a-brac started floating about, finding its way to its appropriate storage place. "I've just been so very busy all day today..." A roll of silk barely cleared your nose as it floated towards its cubbyhole, and you wisely failed to point it out aloud. "... and I wasn't expecting you to show up, that's all!"

"Rarity," you said comfortingly, "Really, it's not that big a deal. I'm not busy, I don't have a job like you do, we can always do this tomorrow - or some other day! I don't want to intrude on your work-"

"Hap-bup-bup!" She silenced you with an admonishing chirp; you found it soul-crushingly charming. "I said stop in any time, and by Celestia, I MEANT it!" She stomped a hoof determinedly, face screwed up into a stoic expression.

The unflappable expression gavw way to a look of resignation as she hung her head with a sigh. "Oh, who am I kidding, Tom?" You weren't sure if it's a rhetorical question. "I don't want to offend you in any way," Offend YOU? YOU'RE the one who's walking on eggshells trying not to get lynched by a herd of tiny technicolor horses. "-It's just that I've been so busy today. You really came at a terrible time, Tom, I've been up to my eyes in orders and it's just been so stressful..."

Her horn glowed again, and you braced yourself unconsciously. Your experiences with Luna had taught you to fear magically-thrown objects, as she remembered she could use her horn even if you could overpower her. But it was nothing like that; she just dragged a sofa to her side before flopping down upon it unceremoniously. "Tom, dear, you don't understand, I've been on my hooves all day..." Your ears perked a bit. Ohhh?

She held a hoof up to her eyes and stared at it, expression turning pouty. "I simply can't bear another moment walking about, Tom." Your twisted mind was already working overdrive to process this information – and it offered a wonderful opportunity. "I'm afraid, Tom, that despite my misgivings, we will simply have to postpone this to tomorrow morning. Would that be acceptable to you?"

You paced forward, holding your arms and hands up in a shrug. "Well, sure, Rarity, that's fine by me," you said casually as you walked towards the self-pitying pony. You stopped an arm's-length away, no need to get too creepy in case your plan went south. "I just don't like to leave you alone with your poor hooves like they are..."

She chuckled a bit, waving a forehoof at you dismissively. "Oh, Tom, stop it," she said meekly, "it's nothing you need concern yourself with!"

"I don't NEED to, sure," you said offhandedly, "But I CHOOSE to."

She looked at you, brows wrinkled in consideration, rubbing her chin with a hoof in thought. "Do tell," she asked curiously, "what is it you have in mind?" It's a delicate game you're playing here... You had no idea where Rarity's boundaries start and stop. Luna was pretty cut-and-dried, but Rarity was an unknown quantity.

Here be dragons.

"Oh, nothing in particular," you said idly, allowing your stare to take in the organized chaos that was the inside of the shop. "Just, you know, maybe something like a... hoof massage...?"

Rarity blushed and clapped a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, no, Tom, I would never ask you to do something so..."

You backed up immediately. "I'm sorry, Rarity, I didn't want to intrude or offend-"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not offended, it's just... that's not really something I'd ask of a friend."

WE FRIENDSHIP NOW! "What're friends for, Rarity?"

She giggled. "Nothing so crude as a HOOF MASSAGE, darling!"

"Well, then, allow me to attempt to persuade you." You were done with the reluctant approach – time for forwardness. You grasped one of those beautiful rear hooves and began kneading the soft flesh, losing yourself in the process.

"Oh!" Rarity squeaked a bit in surprise as you start, but slowly melted under your ministrations. "Tom, mmmm... That feels... good."

"See, Rarity? Told ya!"

She giggled again, the girlish sound coming from the sophisticated mare delightful in its oxymoronic nature. "Tom, stop it. You're spoiling me!"

You chuckled warmly and continued working into the warm underhoof, appreciating the way it gave under your fingers' pressure. Rarity, at this point, had collapsed wholesale onto the divan, face tilted back and eyes closed in pleasure as she twisted a bit at the pleasant sensations. You couldn't say you weren't enjoying this, yourself; but hell, let's face it, you're a person of a distinctly one-track mind.
While you liked the pleasure of giving a foot (hoof, as it were) massage as much as the next guy, you were after one thing in reality. And that was mining the laughter out of ponies using your fingers like so many pickaxes.

"Rarity?" you interjected as you continued rubbing.

"Hmmmmmmm?" the questioning groan was long and almost-sensual, and she rolled her head and opened her eyes slightly to stare at you. You felt almost sorry for what you were about to do. Keyword: almost.

"Just curious, really," you said, as one hand drew back and formed into a bit of a claw. "I've heard ponies and humans share a common trait."

"And what's that, darling?"

If Rarity broke the trend (which, admittedly, had only one participant thus far, but still), this would become really awkward, really fast. "Well, tell me. Are ponies-" Your 'attacking' hand darted forward as you shifted the massaging hand into a deathgrip on her hoof. "-ticklish?"

"What? Tom, of course we a-WAHAHA!" Success! She began bucking as you started scrabbling over the gentle pony flesh with your fingers, eliciting a series of squawks and laughter. "HEE HEE HEE -- STOP IT, YOU RUFFIAN!" She managed to get the plea out before lapsing back into a series of uncontrollable giggles.

"Oh, what's the matter, Rarity? I thought you were enjoying this!"

"No-ha-ha-hot anymore!"

You laughed quietly as you kept working away at the marshmallowy -- and, more important to you, crazily-ticklish -- frogs of her hooves. "Round and round my fingers go," you chanted quietly in a sing-song manner.

"WAHAHAHAHA STOP ANO-HA-HAHN!"

"When they'll stop? Nobody knows!" Just like Luna, the best part about tickling Rarity was the idiosyncrasy of it. Who could expect such a reserved, fanciful mare to break down in hysterics at something like this?

Rarity was bucking less and less, and her laughter had assumed a breathless quality. "Ple-hease. Ple-he-he-hease no more, Tom!" She was reaching the exhaustion point, at which point it was no longer fun for either party. It was time to make a clean break. You ceased tickling, shifting your grasping hand back to its cradling position and working the thumb into the 'sole' of her hoof. The other hand joined its brother in massaging rather than tickling.

Rarity at first began jerking away, but stopped when she realized you weren't tickling her anymore. She looked at you with tears in your eyes, grin still stretched unbidden across her face. "That was not very gentlemanly of you, Tom!" she said bitterly, face turning to face the wall as her lip splayed out in another pout.

"I'm sorry, Rarity," you said sheepishly as you continued attempting to give her a hoof massage that's as un-ticklish as possible. "I was just trying to brighten up your day a bit..."

"Be that as it may," she sniffed. You stopped rubbing her hooves, and they actually seem to move toward you unconsciously a bit, as if attempting to regain your attention. She looked at you again.

"Do you want me to... I can stop this, too, if you want..."

She opened her mouth, refusal clear on her mind, but she snapped it shut in consideration. Her angry expression shifted to a -- dear god, was she really looking at you SULTRILY? "Oh, no need to stop, Tom, so long as you don't tickle me again..."

"Fair enough."

As a reminder of your recent victory, you ran a thumbnail against the squishy instep of the hoof. She yelped, looking up at you angrily. "Sorry," you said, "finger slipped."

She glared at you for a moment more, then laughed and flopped back onto the couch. "Tom, you're so DARING!" You were far too glad of the newfound closeness with this unicorn to further test her reaction to being tickled. But that was all right, because there was plenty of happiness to go around for both parties from something as simple as a hoof massage.

The night wound down, and it was clear nothing productive would come of the evening, but that was all right. Rarity was happy, and that was what counted. The two of you sat in a human-pony huddle on the couch, a blanket wrapped around you – Rarity even made tea. You attempted to discuss, at length, her plans for your future clothing style, but you resigned yourselves to the fact that productivity went firmly down the drain this evening. So be it.

With a start, Rarity suddenly pointed at the clock. "Oh, Tom! Look at the time!"

You literally looked at the clock for a few seconds, staring at it. "...and?"

"The train back to Canterlot leaves soon! I imagine you'll want to return tonight, yes?" As bizarre as it was, you were kind of hurt. You had thought you'd be able to crash here. Not as, like, a sleeping-together thing – ugh, nothing like that – just a place to sleep. But Rarity seemed to have anticipated this, or maybe just read your expression. "Tom, I'd offer you a place to stay, at least for the night, but my sister might be a bit... unwelcoming..." Sister? "Nothing against you, darling! But tonight is just not that good of a night..."

"Oh, I understand, Rarity," you said dismissively. "Really," waving off her protests, "I don't hold it against you. I'm not trying to impose!"

"It's good of you to understand," she said with a smile that she couldn't keep from faltering a bit. "Maybe I'll introduce you to Sweetie Belle the next time you visit?"

"I'd like that."

"And... you will visit again... soon, right?" The smile slowly drifted towards an expression of... anxiety, if you had to choose a word. Was she really this worked up that she might not see you again? But... oh god, commitment. You were terrified of commitment.

"I... yes, soon. I'll let you know." What the hell were you saying?

Rarity lit up, though. "Really? Oh, Tom, that's wonderful news. And of course, we will need to discuss that wardrobe at SOME point..." You both laughed at the reminder of the totally-forgotten subject.

"Well," you said, shrugging, "I'll be off..."

"Of course," she responded with a sigh, looking to the side. You looked at her for a moment, then found yourself with an uncontrollable urge to hug her. And so you did (FRIENDSHIP MODE!) "Oh, Tom, you humans are so sentimental!" she said into your shoulder.

You chuckled nervously. "Yeah, heh, right. Well... here I go!"

"Mmmm-mmmm..." She hummed an assent, and with an awkward kick at the ground you turn and began walking towards the train station. You turned to wave to her. You were almost surprised to see that she was, in fact, staring after you almost wistfully. She seemed taken aback by your wave, but responded with gusto. Feeling a new sense of self-assurance, you continued walking.

Now you had a new goal in your time here in Equestria: Tickle every goddamned mare in the world.

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Rarity watched her odd new friend walk away in that odd bipedal gait he had. The afternoon had turned out... VERY different from how she expected. To be certain, she had certainly anticipated the human being 'physical', but the extent to which he had been... she shivered and a breathless chortle went through her as she recalled the exhilaration of having her hooves pampered and tortured in series as they had been. It had been so... electrifying!

Humming happily, Rarity stepped back into the boutique, attempting once more to sort the shop out. A quiet clopping from the stairs told her that Sweetie had finally finished whatever project she had been invested in before.

"Rarity, what was all that... laughing?" the young filly asked in confusion.

"Oh, nothing," Rarity replied dismissively, unable to keep a mischievous grin from her face.

Luna 2

”Tom, what's a 7-letter word for 'cheerful'?”

”Umm... 'chipper'?”

Luna paused for a moment. ”Aha!” she exclaimed happily. “That is, indeed, the correct answer!”

So here you were, Tom in Equestria once more. You'd more-or-less given up on any hope of getting home. But that's all right, all these ponies were adorable – and few moreso than the Princess of the Night herself. That said, Luna had sort of... taken ownership of you. Not that it was necessarily an odd thing, just... weird.

For example, here you were, being her designated companion (for lack of a better term), with her engaging you in conversation at her will; everything from bouncing complex political concepts off of you to helping her with word games. You were, by no means, a slave or servant. She made it clear that your presence was expected – hoped for, even – but by no means mandatory. The real kicker (you congratulated yourself for the terrible pun), though, was this bizarre relationship she had established with you.

This rapport was why you sat next to her, thanking your lucky stars as you got to embrace your combined tickling and newly-acquired hoof fetishes. You spent most of your time simply kneading at her soft hooves, with her occasionally giving you nonverbal feedback in the form of slightly-sensual twisting and turning in your hands. The effect, of course, was both heart-warming and endearing, not to mention unspeakably adorable. You naturally augmented the massaging with occasional tickling, a scrape of her hoof there, a poke there.

This more often than not invoked a pleasing yelp or squeak, sometimes supplemented by her face scrunched up in a glare that was more accurately-described as 'cute' than 'frightening'. The best part of this entire thing was that Luna actually was the one asking for it, literally. No need to contrive some reasoning to justify the arrangement. She infrequently punished your more-forceful transgressions with a pillow heaved at your face. Your reaction tended to be just a jovial laugh and a couple more passes at her hooves, at which point she would giggle again and hide her face in her pillow.

At this moment, she was enthralled in a word search, struggling to find the answers and occasionally asking you for input. Once in a while she let out a frustrated groan, and your unspoken consolation was a new round of massaging, causing her to groan slightly and shift around in pleasure. Other times she would enthusiastically find an answer, at which point she would get far too excited at herself. Bringing your round of thinking back to the present...

”I can't believe I figured that word out!” Luna exclaimed proudly.

You cocked an eyebrow. ”Excuse me?” you asked disbelievingly “YOU figured it out?”

She looked at you, her eyes widening. ”Wha- NO, wait, I mean-”

You stopped massaging her hoof and tucked your fingernails into the pocket of flesh, scraping around incessantly.

”Anoha-HA-HA-HAN!” Luna was interrupted by your attack, launching into a new round of laughter, the sound sweet music to your ears.

You casually ducked your head to avoid a pillow flung at your head, refusing to stop. “Luna, I'm hurt by you trying to discredit me like that”.

”I ME-HE-HE-HEANT 'WE' FIGURED IT OUT, ANO-HA-HA-HAHN!”

You stopped long enough to fix her with a questioning glance. “You sure?”

Her breath gasping, she nodded frantically. “Yes, Tom, of course!”

You began to shrug, then stopped. “Of course,” you said slyly, “You might mean that you meant to use the Royal 'We'”...

”Of course not! We di-HI-HI-HIDN'T!” You cut her off with a new round of tickling – you loved that part. “YOU-HOO-HOO MO-HA-HAHNSTER!”

You wound down slowly, dodging a few more hastily-thrown linens, catching a thrown throw pillow with your face once. It was fairly soft – 'fairly' being the operative word. You rubbed your nose with one hand while continuing your ministrations of one of her hooves, this time back to rubbing. She still busted out in a little giggle fit every once in a while.

”So, Tom,” she said, breaking off into a muted round of laughter.

”Luna.”

”Tom,” she began again, “I have a proposition for you.”

”Go on...”

She cleared her throat, retracting her hooves from your reach. You realized, sadly, that you were in fact reluctant to let her go; then realized on the heels of that thought that this was no passing fancy. You couldn't decide whether you liked the fact or not

”Tom, I've been thinking about something,” she said, standing up. She began pacing the room, still talking to you but looking at nothing in particular. ”This... system of ours-”

”'Ours', as in your own, or 'ours' as in you and me?” you cut in snarkily.

She shot you a stern glare, and you laughed at her annoyed expression. She sniffed, and went on. “Both of us, I mean. You tend to my hooves, which apparently has some factor of enjoyment in it for you, and pleasure for me. It seems a service which is ill-kept to only ONE individual”

You shrugged. “Well, Luna,” you replied, “it's not as if other ponies... search for my... 'services', as you put it.”

She spun around and looked at you. ”Perhaps this is because many ponies don't realize the FUN to be had!”

You raised your eyebrow at her. ”Yes, well. Not as if I have been around many other ponies to ask.”

Her brows drew down in... you couldn't place the expression on her face. “You lie rather adeptly, Tom,” she said flatly. “For I know of at least one other for whom you have done this thing.”

Your eyes widened slightly in panic. How did she...?

”The dreams of one pony in particular struck a chord with me. One whom you visited a few days ago.”

Ho... ly... shit. You're pretty much screwed. ”L-Luna,” you stammered defensively, “I can ex-explain...”

Her face changed to confusion. “Explain what, exactly, Tom?”

You weren't sure what to make of her change in emotion. ”Well, you see... uh, Rarity wanted me to... we were just talking about my clothes, and...” You trailed off, not sure how to continue.

She looked at you, raising a hoof and circling it in a bid to keep going. “Annnnd...?”

You swallowed nervously, then hardened up. You decided to be honest about it, and screw the consequences. You hoped you didn't regret it.

“Well, Luna, you wanna know the truth? Here ya go: I came up with a bullshit excuse to play with Rarity's hooves, just like the bullshit excuse of showing you what humans do for 'fun'. I enjoy it, you enjoy it, and until now I didn't realize the potential reprisal.” You finished off with a come-at-me spread of your arms. ”Do what you will, Luna. I regret nothing.” You were shaking a bit – for certain, you were gonna be homeless in a moment.

Which was why you were completely surprised when Luna began laughing and clapping her hooves. ”HA!” she yelled. “Tom, you're downright BRILLIANT!”

Your hands fell limply to your side, and you found yourself at a complete loss for words. You swallowed a few times to regain your composure. ”But Luna... aren't you... upset?” you asked hesitantly.

”At what, Tom? I knew I wouldn't be able to go out and do it all on my own, but as my own proxy... oh, yes, this arrangement is EXTRAORDINARY!” She let out another gleeful chuckle. Then it clicked: Equestrians were not humans. For them, hooves weren't an erogenous zone of any sort like humans' feet were (or could be, rather)... and you had gained perhaps the most unlikely and yet most-perfect of allies in this socially-inept Princess.

”So, you're not like...” you led the words into an awkward silence as she listened attentively. “You're not like... angry?”

She cocked her head to one side. ”Angry? At what?”

”I thought you had, like, the monopoly on me-” She tittered a bit at that, and you blushed. ”Not, like, that I'm so amazing and awesome that I'm a hot commodity or anything,” you said sheepishly, but she shook her head.

”Oh, Tom,” she said warmly, “I never meant to give that impression. And you are special, in many ways.” You were gaining too much momentum at this point to tell her that 'special' had negative connotations in some cases. She went on. ”But I could never keep your wonderful hands to myself. That would be selfish of me!” You found yourself thoroughly weirded out. You had no idea where this was going.

”You see, Tom,” she explained before you could ask, “we Ponies don't really pay attention to our hooves, because they're always at work. And, unlike you marvelous Homo Sapiens, we don't have hands to really... WORK them the way you do. And what I was trying to say was that, upon seeing Rarity's dreams... Your effect was magnificent. She's so happy, and actually fantasizes about you returning and attending to her hooves again! And with that in mind, and your agreement to spend time with me as you do – despite how demeaning it must be, I never meant it to feel that way! – is something I think EVERYPONY needs at least once!”

You admitted, to yourself, that you were more than a little flabbergasted at the change in the status quo, and flattered a bit at Rarity literally dreaming about you touching her beautiful, soft hooves again... And you were curious to see what Luna had in mind. ”What, exactly, are you thinking, Luna?” you asked her curiously.

She grinned broadly. ”I want you to listen to the entire plan before dismissing it.”

You nodded, as if you could turn whatever crazy shenanigans were running through her mind down.

”Now, what if you were to become my set of hooves – that is to say, hands – about Equestria? I could direct you to ponies who need to be 'cheered up', as the expression goes, and I can think of few other methods more effective than your your own!" You closed your eyes, shaking your head slightly as you shot off a few quick prayers of thanks to every higher power that ever existed for blessing you thus; Odin, you're my bro4lyfe.

"I suppose..." You watched her face, hooves clenched near her face, expression full of anticipation, "I suppose I could do that..."

She began bouncing around joyfully. "Tom, you're simply AMAZING!"

Yeah, you know. Her joy was cut off by your own soft clearing-of-the-throat. ”So how exactly do we go about... doing this?” You couldn't find a way to describe her little mission that didn't make you feel too awkward about it.

She put a hoof to her chin in thought. ”Well, Tom, I've been thinking of this for a while,” of course, ”So I've naturally come up with a few candidates.” She was making this sound creepier than you ever could. Her horn glowed as she brought out- Holy crap, did she really make a LIST? No, there were only a few lines. Still, the fact that she was this invested into the concept was discomforting. ”So, here we are,” she said, glancing at the list briefly, “I think you should first pay a visit to... Rainbow Dash.”

The reveal was somewhat underwhelming. She looked up at you, and you must have had some of your doubt on your face. ”Rainbow Dash is one of the companions of Twilight Sparkle, Tom. She is a pegasus with a very stoic mindset, not easily admitting sensitivity, but nevertheless has had a few scenarios play out in her mind involving someone... hmmm, how would I put this? 'Playing' with her hooves while she is powerless to resist the pleasurable feeling-”

”Okay, stop, stop,” you interrupted, clenching your eyes shut and shaking your head. This whole thing was already disturbing you enough. Yet it was turning you on in a way you hadn't even dreamed of yourself. ”Okay, fine, I go work with Rainbow Dash. So what, I show up and say 'I'm here to tickle you?'” Spoken aloud, it sounded as ridiculous as you thought it would.

”Tom, I trust you will find a bit more tact than THAT...” Luna responded drily.

You shrugged in surrender. ”Fine,” you said, giving yourself up to the concept. You sighed, then asked, “Got any ideas?” The only answer was a predatory, ear-to-ear smile.

Rainbow Dash 1

“Rainbow Dash is... hmmm... a bit... narcissistic.”

“A bit?”

“Okay, let us go with 'extremely'.”

The midnight-blue alicorn sat on her side on a cushion, waving her hooves around as she spoke. You still weren't sure exactly what insane scheme Luna had engulfed you with. The pony princess's interests paralleled your own, sure, but you were also feeling a bit sick at the pleasure with which you were considering the prospect of being asked – no, ordered – to go around tickling ponies. Luna seemed convinced that EVERYONE in Equestria had some sort of deep-seated issue that only the kid-friendly erogenous-ish activity of tickling could solve.

Whatever, you're probably overthinking this.

“Luna, I know I was being kinda sarcastic before, but – really, I have no idea how to approach the issue. Maybe pony society is different from humans, I dunno, but we don't really have people that are basically strangers walk into our houses and ask to tickle them.”

Luna glanced at you, her lips moving silently. She started, eyes coming into focus from wherever she had been – had she just been IGNORING you?

“Ah? Yes, excuse me, Tom.” She scratched her head with a hoof, a distinctly human and non-monarchical gesture that looked both comical and precious. “Well, along those lines, I have a few ideas.”

You waited a few seconds, and when no further details were forthcoming, you spun your hands around each other in a gesture for her to explain. “... Annnnnd?”

“Take a look at this, Tom.” Her horn glowed briefly, and you flinched unconsciously; however, it was merely to levitate what looked like a very thin newspaper – probably some local publication, or a school newspaper or something. It was dated a few months ago, so it was old news, but clearly it had some significance. You glanced at it. “What am I looking for?”

Luna scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Read the article on the front, Tom,” she said sardonically. You acquiesced. It seemed to be some gossip drivel written as if by some little kid, but the picture and the story caught your attention.

“Is that... Rainbow Dash gets pedicures?” You looked up at Luna, who was confused. Her scrunched-up face was adorable.

“You mean 'hooficures'?” Ah, yes, of course that would be turned into a pony-related pun.

“Sure, hooficures. We'll go with that.”

“No.”

You blinked and sighed. “Okay, I'm not following,” you admitted as you rubbed the bridge of your nose in an unconscious bid not to get upset. “Are you testing me or something?”

Luna giggled. “No, Tom, nothing like that. What I meant was, this article ISN'T true. Rainbow Dash didn't get a hooficure, never has, probably never will. She is a pegasus, and many of them don't really care about taking care of their hooves given how little they stay up on them.”

“So where are you going with this? Because that picture clearly shows her getting a treatment.”

“Ha!” Luna's exclamation was both triumphant and conspiratorial. “You have found the crux of the issue. You see, my dear Tom, this picture was taken by a particularly skilled photographer, at just the right moment. What looks like a relaxing Rainbow Dash is, in fact, a split second of her face appearing to be at ease – when, in fact, she was anything BUT comfortable.”

“I don't get it.”

Luna continued, her tone patient, sounding like a teacher lecturing a particularly dull student. “Well, discussing it with Princess Twilight, I found out that Rainbow Dash was there for a spa day with the entire group of the holders of the Elements of Harmony. Under pressure from her friends, Rainbow Dash agreed to get a hooficure, but at the very last moment panicked and flew away before the attendant could begin the task of filing.”

You shrug. “Luna, seriously, I feel like I'm pulling teeth here. Just get to the point, already.”

She frowned at you for a moment before moving on. “You see, according to the witness with whom I spoke, Rainbow Dash claimed that 'she doesn't like ponies touching her hooves'. That very well might be the case. But I also believe that this is due to an innate sensitivity to touch on her hooves – whether caused or exacerbated by her pegasus nature, I can not say definitively. One thing is for certain, however – Rainbow Dash does not like her hooves being touched.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________

The Ponyville Express sat at the station, running gear hissing a fine white steam, as you readied to board. Making one last check of what few things you were bringing – among them, your laptop computer, complete with an arcane internet adapter to allow it to, through means far beyond your understanding, access the human world's internet even here in Equestria – you hoisted the bag onto your back and prepared to board.

“Tom, a word if you please!” The voice was a stallion, slightly breathless as if winded. The truth of this was proven as you turned to see a member of the Royal Guard gallop up, then favor you with a small bow. “Her Highness, Princess Luna, bid me bring you this!” He reached into his saddlebags with his muzzle and, in the inexplicable manner ponies seemed to have, deftly removed a sealed scroll with his teeth and handed it to you. You took it, examining it curiously, but then tucked it into your bag.

The guard stood, looking a bit eager, as if he expected you to open and share the contents of the missive with him. Instead, he got a cool nod from you. “Thank you, sir,” you said respectfully, and the guard had little choice but to incline his head in kind and turn around, the slightest bit of disappointment apparent on his face. So be it – the less Equestrians who knew about your 'mission', the better.

Once safely aboard the train and stowed in a compartment of your own (the conductor insisted it was a courtesy for you being a guest of the Royal Family, but you suspected it had just as much to do with your... non-equine appearance), you withdrew the scroll and opened it as the train whistle shrieked and the car jolted to life.

“Dearest Tom,” it began:

A thought occurred to me which I wanted to share with you after you took your leave, and I meant to share it with you in your dreams; I know, however, that this would have been somewhat unsettling for you. Instead, I commit my words to paper, in the hope that you would find wisdom in them. I am aware that our – no, MY – machinations make you somewhat uncomfortable. I know that you restrain yourself from showing this too clearly, but as we spoke yesterday I was made painfully aware from your carefully-hidden expressions that our topics disturbed you on some level. It took me some time to form the thought, but I finally determined from context that the things I am asking you to do are analogous to rather-unspeakable crimes in the human world, in some instances.

Please, do not think this is the case.

My dear Tom, I would never ask you to do something that, in either of our worlds, is morally wrong. A line you spoke in jest this past day rings truer than you know: Yes, violation of somepony's physical boundaries is just as taboo in this world as it is in yours. However, I can also tell you this much in all honesty: a concept that you refuse to believe, although I can see it is a concept that appeals greatly to you, is that Equestrians are a people of emotion and joy. Perhaps, in the human world, it is wrong to get very close to many other humans of the opposing gender; here, though, we all open our hearts to friendship, and are welcoming to our acquaintances in all but the most dire circumstances.

So take heart, Tom. So long as you do not force yourself upon them, almost everypony in this world will allow you into their lives, and what I ask of you – why, it's little more than a hug between friends!

Your Friend
Luna

You winced at the -pony pronouns, and even more so at the end of it. It confirmed a revelation you had a while ago, but... it still just didn't sit right with you. According to Luna, ponies were touchy-feely all the time. True as this may be, would they allow someone who was NOT a pony to do this? As well-meaning as it was, all Luna's letter did was perturb you further, and you watched the scenery pass by in silence for the rest of the train ride.

You blinked... and realized you must have dozed off in the process; the train had stopped, you could see Ponyvillians exiting the car to meet loved ones, and there was a persistent knocking at the door. The wizened voice of the conductor called out, letting you know that the train had arrived – as if it wasn't blatantly obvious. You returned a vague verbal acknowledgment as you stretched, and listened to his hoofsteps fade down the corridor. Yawning, you gathered up your few things and departed the train.

This time ignoring the stares and gapes, you confidently strode towards town, making your way for the Golden Oak Library. Luna had recommended this as your first stop. Knocking on the door, your foot tapped impatiently as a voice called out something unintelligible, hopefully something along the lines of 'just a minute'. A minute did, in fact, pass, and you blew out a forceful breath through your nose as you angrily pounded the door again. The voice came again, still beyond comprehension, but the sounds were the same – clearly, the person within had said the same thing as they had before. Another minute passed. Gritting your teeth, you slammed your fist on the door.

It slammed open, revealing a lavender alicorn – much smaller than Princess Luna, yet a Princess nonetheless. “I SAID, WE'RE CLOSED!” the mare shouted in your face, eyes squinted at the strain. You took an exaggerated step back to mock the volume, and her violet eyes opened to glare at you icily – before widening in panic as they recognized you. “A-Tom!” Twilight Sparkle said nervously. “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-”

“Of course not, Your Highness.” You had made a vague acquaintance with Twilight in the past, but this had been long before your erstwhile induction to the Canterlot court. “I'll admit, I didn't hear you properly, and thought you were coming to the door...”

“You don't have to call me that,” she said idly. She shook her head. “And, no, I wasn't coming to the door – I only came after you knocked the second time, so that...” she trailed off sheepishly.

“So you could scream at the person who was disturbing whatever doubtlessly-important task you were working on.” You shrugged. “Whatever, don't let me disturb you.”

“Well, would you like to come in?” she offered after a moment. “I was just in the middle of doing some reading, I'm sure we can talk about-”

“I just was calling on you to ask something,” you interrupted. “Namely, do you have any idea where I can find Rainbow Dash?”

You could see her expression fall a bit at that. Doubtless, she had intended to regale you with questions about human history. “Oh, Rainbow?” Her mouth twisted as she thought. “I think I heard her say something about going down to the lake for a day off... not that she really needs one,” she added dryly. You chuckled a bit; what you had gathered of Rainbow Dash's personality was that she wasn't much for a hard day's work.

“Could you point me in the lake's general direction?” you prompted Twilight. She nodded, pointing down the street.

“Just go that way, keep walking through the outskirts of Ponyville, and you can't miss it.”

“I imagine I'll be awfully wet if I do.”

Your quip brought a giggle to Twilight. “Hehe, I imagine you would, at that.” She cocked her head, looking almost wistful. “I'm sure you're busy, Tom, but... are you sure you don't have even a minute or two? N-not that I'm trying to tell you what to do,” she added hastily.

You sighed at that. “No, Highness, I'm afraid I'm a bit busy, really gotta talk to Rainbow Dash.”

“I suppose,” she said as she nodded her head, almost sadly it seemed to you. “But, Tom...”

“Yeah?”

“I'd love to talk with you at some point. There's so much I want to ask.” You had a cursory flashback to Luna's first meeting with you, where she had said much the same thing. “And call me Twilight, all my friends do,” she added, breaking your recollection midstream.

“Will do. Well, I can't say I've got a lot of free time...” you let the sentence dangle, the poor mare's face sinking as you spoke, and you decided to rid her of her misery. “... But I'll find the time in my schedule.”

“Really?” She beamed at that. You grinned back, hiding your thoughts. Hell, Luna was right, but still – it seemed ridiculous that everyone in this world practically threw themselves at you, almost as if there were some higher power specifically scripting your time in Equestria to interact with as many of its inhabitants as it could. In lieu of spouting all this at her, you nodded.

“Sure, Twilight. I'll keep you posted.”

“Okay!” she replied excitedly. Waving as you departed, you set off on your journey, making a note to tell Luna that you were pretty sure you knew exactly who the next beneficiary of her 'program' would be.

Twilight was right, you had to give her that much – it was rather hard to mistake the large body of water before you for anything else. You took a cursory glance around, expecting to have to spend a bit of time searching for...

Dear god.

A sky-blue pegasus, unmistakeable against the earthy tones of terra firma, lay in a reclining beach chair a few dozen yards away. True to her name, her mane and tail were beset with an array of colors roughly analogous to a rainbow, and true to her reported nature, she was lazily sipping on some fru-fru-looking drink, complete with umbrella. Repressing the urge to sigh, you walked towards her.

“No autographs right now,” the pegasus suddenly said, startling you. Autographs? Who did she think- “You still here?” She deigned to turn her head to face you, one eyebrow raised in mocking disbelief – before her jaw dropped in unfeigned surprise.

“I can't say I'd like an autograph, Rainbow.” You had decided, given that everyone told you to use shorthand anyway, to just skip the bullcrap of addressing them by their full names until corrected. “I would, however, like to chat.”

“Who are- WAIT! I know you!” In a blur, she whipped herself off the chair, pointing at you as she raised herself to a hover a few feet off the ground. “You're that freaky ape thing that the Princesses took in!”

“I'm sure some would use more tact, but... yes, that's the gist of it,” you said carefully, hiding your distaste. Screw her feelings, this chick had an attitude problem.

“Sorry, that came out a little harsher than I meant.” She settled back into her seat. “A little. So, tell me, how do you know my name, and what's yours?”

“My name is Tom,” you answered her first question, “and as for your other question, well, we HAVE met before...”

“Have we?” She scrunched up her face to try to remember. “I don't...”

“One word, and you'll know why you don't remember: Cider.” It had been one of your first nights here in Equestria, a night you intended to remember later... but the present was calling.

Rainbow had the wherewithal to blush, the red tinge easily noticeable against her blue coat, scratching her mane at the realization. The juxtaposition of arrogance and embarrassment was pretty cute – you could see that your efforts would have good results, if they succeeded.

“So, now that we each have one up on the other,” you went on, pretending not to notice her shamefaced expression, “You wanna know why Luna sent me?”

She nodded. “I suppose...”

You put your backpack down, extracting the computer. “Well, I wanted to show you something.” You began turning on the device, continuing the conversation as you went. “Do you have flying machines here in Equestria?”

“Flying... machines?” The question reeked so much of an ass-backwards civilization, it hurt.

“Like...” you frowned as you thought of a way to express it. “Something that ponies built that allow ponies who aren't pegasi to fly?”

“Well, there's balloons and airships...”

“Is that it?”

“Well, what else would there be?”

As the two of you spoke, you found the relevant link and clicked on it. The picture of a soaring F-14 fighter came up on your screen.

“Something like that, maybe?”

She looked at the screen, then did a double-take. Eyes widening, she cocked her head as she studied it. “It looks like... a flying... boat?”

You smiled. “Not quite. See the flames at the back?” You pointed, and she nodded. “Well, these are engines that produce a LOT of thrust – think what happens if you blow on a snowflake. It flies away, right? Well, now imagine that you breathe so hard that it actually pushes you – that's what one of these does. It pushes the plane through the air.”

“Uh.. cool.” It was clear from her tone that it was no such thing. “So... what does this have to do with me?”

Your hopes fell. Clearly, finding a common topic of interest wasn't in the works. “Well, I just thought you'd find it cool, you know, seeing as how you're the fastest pegasus in Equestria... supposedly...” The last word was intentionally spoken just within the range of her hearing. She took the bait.

“Supposedly?!?” She zipped out of her chair in an instant. “I'll have you know, I AM the fastest flier in Equestria, and I can prove it!”

“Relax, relax,” you said placatingly, gesturing downward with your hands. “I was just giving you a little grief.”

She eyed you suspiciously, but obediently landed on the grass. “Okay, so... what? You showed me pictures of your flying machines, on Princess Luna's orders... why?”

You shrugged. “I didn't really ask. It's just what she told me to do.”

“Uh... huh...” Shaking her head disbelievingly, she settled back onto the chair. “Well, whatever. Nice meeting you, I guess.”

That was brief.

“I actually... well, I also heard a rumor...”

She sighed, rolling her eyes. “What now?” she asked boredly. She stared at the sky, clearly willing you to go away with all her might.

You eased closer to her, within arms' reach. 'Everypony in this world will allow you into their lives,' you thought to yourself anxiously, as you extended your hand towards one of her rear hooves.

“They say you're really tough-” Careful, careful... “-And that you're not afraid of anything.” You paused, then realized you were on entirely the wrong track. Your hands came back in, and you stared at her pointedly until she realized your gaze was fixed on you and looked into your eyes.

“Sounds about right,” she answered smugly.

“I also heard,” you said, voice drawing down to nearly a whisper, “that you don't like your hooves being touched...”

Although you had (wisely) withdrawn your hands, she immediately drew her legs inward on reflex, and shot you a look that was equal parts horror and disgust. “And what would you know about that, weirdo?” she spat venomously.

“A little birdie told me.” Thankfully, the analogy seemed to translate, as she didn't seem confused at it; that said, she also retained the same contemptuous expression. “But I was just thinking, the toughest, fastest pony in Equestria... why is she scared of this little thing?”

“I'm not SCARED,” she replied angrily. “It's just... I don't like it, that's all. And who are YOU to ask? Huh?”

You held up your hands in surrender. “Sorry, Dash, I didn't mean to offend you. Just wondering out loud.”

She sniffed bitterly. “Well, wonder all you want, I guess, but keep it at that.”

You nodded sagely. “Of course. You wouldn't want anyone telling the world that the great Rainbow Dash is scared of having her hooves touched.”

“That's right, I wouldn-” You could see it click, see the moment the gears turned and the circuit closed – the moment the challenge was recognized. She looked at you fearfully. “You wouldn't!”

“Wouldn't I?”

Her face twitched between several emotions – anger, fear, anxiety – as she played it out in her head. Finally, her face settled... into an imploring cast.

“Please... come on, Tom, don't be a jerk...” Gone was the arrogant fighter-pilot-esque demeanor of before; now here was a pony whose cult of personality was in danger of being shattered. You felt the slightest bit of revulsion at yourself... but an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

“Well, I know one way for you to keep my mouth shut.” You raised an eyebrow in challenge.

She shuddered. “Tom, look, it's not... I can't...”

“'Can't'? The fearless Rainbow Dash uses this word? I never thought I'd see the day.”

She growled a bit at that. “Ugh, no, I can, it's just-”

“Juuust...?”

Taking a deep breath and casting her eyes skyward, she searched for words. “I'm... I'm ti-” She paused, took another breath, then attempted again. “I'm tick...” She faded off into a quiet murmur at that, and you leaned in meaningfully.

“What was that?”

“I'M TICKLISH!” She screamed it in your face, and you rued your proximity to her mouth as a few beads of saliva impacted your face. Sitting back, you wiped your face off surreptitiously.

“Ticklish?” You snorted, then began laughing, the pony's face growing redder as you went. You figured that it would be some sort of pain or... something. You laughed, not at her, but at how fittingly this went along with your plans.

“Stop it,” she muttered angrily, and you halted as you saw her eyes filling with tears. You frowned. You hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, and it was clear she was having a massive crisis of emotion. Hesitantly, you reached out a hand and settled it onto her... well, shoulder, you guess. She knocked it away angrily. You tried again, this time getting your body a bit closer. She didn't bat it away.

“I'm sorry, Dash,” you said consolingly. She sniffed. “That was wrong of me, to laugh at that. I wasn't laughing at you, really, just... Well, I could explain it, but you wouldn't believe me.”

She snorted. “Yeah, sure. So, you off to tell the world? Should I start expecting ponies with feathers in their mouths to show up to all my races from now on?” Her tone was bitter, morose, and you found yourself saddened at the turn of events.

“Dash, I know we've known each other – soberly, at least – for all of half an hour,” you said reassuringly, “But I promise to you, I would NEVER betray your trust like that.”

She looked at you, red-eyed and sniffling, with a confused look. “Trust?”

You smiled – winningly, you hoped. “Telling me what you just did? Well, have you told ANYONE that?”

She paused, then shook her head. “N-No, I haven't. Why... why did I tell you? Why in EQUESTRIA did I tell YOU?!?” Her eyes began watering again, and you fought the urge to roll your eyes. Gently was the way.

“Hey, look,” you said quickly, reaching out your other hand to wipe a tear from her cheek. “We humans have an amazing ability to keep secrets, even more than ponies.” You shrugged. “It's in our nature, I guess.”

“So you're not gonna tell ANYONE?”

You shook your head. “Nope. My lips are sealed.” You patted her 'arm' reassuringly. “You can count on me.”

“Thanks, Tom.” Already she was drying up and cheering up. Oh well, you supposed you weren't gonna win every battle... as easy a battle as this could have been. “You're a pretty cool guy, you know that?”

“Sure,” you chuckled, standing. Stretching your arms above your head, you cracked your head from side to side to ease out the strains. “Well, I'm sorry to have ruined your day off, Dash,” you said regretfully.

She waved her hoof. “Nah, it's all right. I... It's hard to describe, but it felt good to tell someone that, you know?” She looked at you with a heartstoppingly-cute grin. “You're a good friend, Tom.”

You smiled in return, nodding. “And you, Dash. I'm sure we'll talk later about... other things. Maybe I'll see you at a party, I don't know.” Shaking your head slightly at your poor conveyance, you packed up your stuff. “Well...”

“Wait.” She sat up on her 'elbows', staring at you, her face settling into one of determination.

You rolled your head a bit, pursing your lips. “... Okay, you got me,” you said in resignation. “Wait for what.”

She took a deep, querulous breath. 'No way in hell,' you thought to yourself disbelievingly, 'I can't roll the dice and come up a natural winner on the come-out every goddamned time...'

“I gotta prove it.” Her jaw was set in grim resolve.

“Prove what?” You led her along, not wanting to believe-

“Prove I'm not afraid of my hooves being touched.”

You faked surprise, even though you had none at all. This world seemed eerily fit to your pleasure. “Wait, are you serious?” you asked doubtfully, looking at her. The slightest bit of contention lay in your expression, you knew, and it was certain to invoke her ire. Sure enough, she took the bait.

“Yeah, I'm serious!” she said in reply to your disdainful look. She looked down at her lower legs, letting them ease down the chair. “I'm serious,” she muttered, half to herself.

“You don't have to prove anything to me, Dash,” you assured her, knowing that doing so would cause her to do just that. “I won't tell anyone, you know that.”

“Yeah, but-” she groaned in frustration, throwing her front legs over her eyes. “Look, even YOU knowing is too much. I gotta prove this to myself, if nopony else.”

“Dash-”

“JUST DO IT ALREADY!” Her rear legs extended to their full length, beckoning to you; her hooves actually seemed to quiver a bit, and not from the strain – this was legitimately terrifying to the pegasus.

“Dash, come on, don't be ridiculous.”

“Oh, are YOU the scared one, now?” Did she- did she really just turn the challenge on you? She looked down from her place on the chair, smirking. Perhaps she thought reverse psychology would work – clearly, she didn't know that it was a one way road for you. “Don't want to touch a pony's nasty hooves, is that it? Well, I don't see why anypony would, anyway, buHUHUHUHT!”

'Well, Luna was right, pegasi do have soft hooves,' you thought as you struck without warning. Your fingers seized the opportunity gleefully, delving into the cushioned bottoms of one of Dash's hooves. Your other hand seized her ankle like a vice as it pulled away, keeping her hoof trapped within your reach. Dash's throaty, raspy laughter was music to your ears.

“NOOOOOHOOHOOHOOHOO!” She bucked, she squirmed, she wiggled – all that a tickling victim tended to do, she did. But you could tell this was much different – you had been going for all of ten seconds, and already tears streamed freely down her blush-filled cheeks, mouth opened in a rictus of laughter. This was unlike either Luna's full-bodied mirth, or Rarity's alternating giggling and guffaws – Dash was in hysterics with every stroke of your fingers, voice strained, making more squeaks and squeals than actual laughter. Her body still rocked with glee, though, so maybe she was just making noises that dogs could hear.

Her other hind hoof pushed into your gripping hand, trying halfheartedly to push it away. Like a predator guarding its kill, your tickling hand struck at it, one scrape along the 'sole' being enough to cause it to jerk away like your finger was made of lava. The other hoof flexed and bobbed in your grasp, trying and failing to keep away from its assailant. Dash had gone far past the realm of comprehension in her utterances – the random noises coming from her mouth were of a joyful agony, a merry excruciation.

You stopped, for a moment, to allow her to catch her breath. She was shaking her head frantically from side to side, whipping it around, her lips moving as she muttered. “No more, no more, no more, no more,” her mantra went, and as a test you poked – lightly, gently, with not the slightest bit of motion – the frog of her hoof again. She burst into a new round of laughter, at this slightest of touches, and you realized that, perhaps, you had overdone it a bit.

You released the ankle... and she didn't move, just kept shaking her head desperately. “No more, no more,” she pleaded, and you grew anxious.

“Dash,” you called, to no avail. Had you broken her? “DASH!”

She started, head shaking over, and stared at you with unfocused eyes. “That was...” Her eyes clicked into focus, and you released a breath you hadn't realized you had been holding. “Oh, that was terrible,” she said, wrapping her hooves around herself, shivering. Disquieted, you sat on the arm of the chair, wrapping your arm around her, pulling her to your chest; her fear was a tangible thing.

“I'm sorry, Dash, I didn't mean...” Your words trailed off. Didn't mean to tickle her? Hadn't that been the first thing on your mind? How could you tell her to trust you, then speak that lie?

She gave one last shudder, then lay still. You looked down at her, nestled at your side, and she looked up at you. “It's okay, Tom,” she said raggedly. “I asked you to do that. Just... bad memories, is all.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

She shook her head. “Not... not right now,” she said, looking away across the lake. You both fell silent. It seemed that here in Equestria, as in the human world, there were people who had a stigma about being tickled... and as often as not, that baggage was caused by some childhood trauma. It left no physical scars, but the emotional ones...

“I'm really sorry, Dash. I know you said not to worry about it, but-”

She waved a hoof at your apology. “Knock it off with the mushy stuff,” she said to your ribcage. “I'll tell you later, just... not now.”

“I underst-” You stopped mid-sentence. “Later?” you said questioningly.

She looked up at you, face smiling despite the dried tears on her cheeks. “You'll come hang out with me again, right? We can talk about your flying machines, I can talk about my issues, blah blah blah, everyone wins!”

You shook your head, blinking. “I don't-” What the bloody hell? Was everyone in this world gonna make you their psychologist? “You know what?” you said, shrugging, “sure. Why not.” Encouraged by this sudden – but, at this point, not unexpected – trust, you decided to find out what a pegasus's wings felt like; you had never dared to do so with Luna.

You reached out, stroking the feathers, and-

“Heehehe, knock it off, Tom.”

You stopped, then looked at her in amazement. “Wait, did you just...”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, duh, everypony knows pegasi's wings are ticklish, Tom,” she said, as if she hadn't just had a panic attack from her hooves being tickled.

“But I thought you hated being tickled?”

She giggled again, the sound sweet and joyful. “I never said THAT, Tom. I said I hated having my hooves touched... BECAUSE they're so ticklish.”

“Oh, I see,” you responded carefully. Slowly, you eased your hand out, digging into her down feathers...

She squirmed and laughed softly at your touch. As light as the feedback was, you had to admit that it was vastly preferable to the almost – no, literally – agonizing reaction she had had before. You were content to stroke her wings deftly, your fingers sinking into the soft fluff, the mare chuckling softly as she murmured insincere pleas for you to stop... yes, this was definitely better.

Man and pony fell asleep, then, both consigned to the warmth of the other's body. As you drifted into the bliss of the world of dreams, you had a momentary moment of panic... then recalled Luna's words.

Can't really cheat on someone if I never stuck it in them, you thought explicitly – yet truthfully – as sleep took you.

Rainbow Dash 2

“Tom.”

Your eyes shot open. Around you was a void; blackness above, misty gray below. The latter formed a sort of floor under your feet. The voice that had spoken seemed familiar, somehow, but you couldn't quite place it. You looked down at yourself, and saw... nothing. An empty space where your body should be. But how could that be? You obviously existed. Or had you died and not realized it?

“Tom.”

The voice spoke again. You almost recognized it, that time; regal, commanding, yet hiding a note of mischief beneath the veneer. It sounded like-

“Luna.” Your voice still worked, it pleased you to find. “Where are you – where am I?” You couldn't prevent the note of panic from creeping into your voice.

“Relax, dear Tom,” she said gently. At that, she faded in from the edge of the mist, seeming real enough. “Do you not realize where you are?”

“Rhetorical question? Which leads to my own – where's my body?”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean-” You cut off as you gestured downward, and found that you could see yourself again. The relief flooded through you like a tide. “Nevermind. Anyways, where are we? Seriously, I got nothin'.”

She smiled, waving around with a hoof. “Welcome, Tom, to the wide world of the dreamscape.” As if called by her motion, images appeared in the sky around you, like little screens, playing out scenes from... Everything that had happened since you arrived in Equestria. Here, the image of your first amazing night with Luna herself, there the day you first arrived and the massive party that had been undertaken, the afternoon that Rarity had looked at you so lovingly as you rubbed at her hooves, and, the image brightest of all, what had just happened hours ago – Rainbow Dash curled up at your side, body rocking softly with the motions of breathing, a contented smile on her face.

Luna walked past the images, pausing at the party. “We'll have to explore that memory later,” she murmured, continuing past it to the image of Rainbow Dash. “Do you realize what this is now, Tom?”

“Memories? My memories, that is?”

She looked at you, obviously pleased with your quick pickup. “Just so. And this,” she added, pointing at the image of Dash, “is your most recent memory – do you see how it's clearer than any of the others?”

“Yeah...” you said quietly. But all these memories were fairly 'bright'. You looked around. “Where... where are my memories of before? Before I came here?”

She frowned in thought. “Hmm. Good question.” She glanced at your surroundings, then pointed. “There, you see?”

You looked in the direction she indicated. Sure enough, there were image there, of your best friends, your coworkers, everyone and everything you had left behind... but they were faded, barely visible. “Why are they so dim?”

She smiled sadly. “Tom, I believe you know the reason for that.”

You sighed. “Every day, I find myself forgetting more of my life before I came here. Life here is just so much... better. But I don't want to forget.” You looked at her, eyes pleading, you were sure. “Will I? Forget, that is?”

“The longer you spend in Equestria, the farther the memories will drift from your mind,” she replied carefully. “But they will return in their entirety if – when...”

You frowned. “When I leave?” you finished for her. She nodded sadly. You walked up to her, placing your arm around her neck. “Even if that happens, Luna, I'll never forget my time here, I promise.”

She looked at you, smiling, but the tear running down one of her dark blue cheeks gave the lie to her expression. “You will, Tom, except as the faintest echo of a faded memory. But that is neither here nor there.” She shook her head, surreptitiously brushing a hoof across her face and wiping the tear away. “Come. I want to show you something.” She began walking off into the mist, fading only a few feet away from you.

Cocking your head curiously, you headed in the same direction, the darkness swallowing the memories behind you. Before long, you were surrounded by nothingness once more. Frowning, you turned in place, bereft of any points of reference. Sighing, your mouth twisted slightly as you realized you were lost. Oh well, if this was the dream world, surely you would wake up soon-

Luna appeared out of the darkness, smiling sheepishly. “Silly me,” she said cheerfully, “I sometimes forget that you don't know this place. Place your hand on me, and stay close.” You obeyed, the soft fur bunching up around your fingers, and the pair of you walked off. Images like those you had seen flashed instantaneously in the corner of your eye, but even that briefest of glimpses showed that they were memories from different individuals. She drew to a halt, and an array of images appeared again. They were varied, most showing the world flashing by in a blur as if the dreamer had been flying. One memory caught your eye, as the dreamer looked in a mirror.

“These... these are Rainbow Dash's memories,” you said hesitantly. Luna nodded. “I don't... I don't like spying on people like this, Luna. It makes me feel dirty.”

She shrugged slightly. “Rest assured, Tom, ponies rarely allow their darkest or most private memories to slip into the dreamscape. These are casual memories of happy moments, the same as yours.” She pointed at one, brighter than the rest, with a familiar human looking down into the image. “See?”

It was surreal to watch yourself, watching Dash. You looked a bit goofy, you thought, the expression on your face mixed between adoration and, you were dismayed to see, desire. Luna either didn't see it or willfully ignored it; instead, she merely watched with you.

You cleared your throat. “So, mission complete, right? I can leave her alone?”

“Not quite, Tom,” she responded, looking at you pointedly. You raised an eyebrow – what was she talking about? She waved at another 'window', this one apparently covered with a 'screen' of white light. “You need to see that,” she said.

“What's... what does THAT show?” you asked, your curiosity trumping your reluctance as you leaned closer to try to see beyond the veil.

Luna responded with a grin. “Well, this is a DREAMscape, Tom. How would you like to see what Rainbow Dash is dreaming?”

You drew back from the screen at that. “Luna,” you began nervously, “I'm not sure it would be proper to intrude...”

She frowned at that. “Why not, Tom? The dream is of you. Are you not entitled to see something that concerns you?”

You shook your head. “I'm sorry, Luna, I just... it's not right.”

“Just a quick peek?” Her eyes met yours, expression pleading. You sighed.

“Fine. A VERY quick peek.” She grinned, and pointed her horn at the image; the veil dissolved slowly, revealing a very crisp picture of-

“In you go, Tom,” Luna said suddenly, and you felt an uncomfortable tingling throughout your body. Looking down, you yelped a bit as you realized that you were being levitated by the Princess. You flew towards the image, closer and closer, and your eyes shut tight as you waited for the pain of impact...

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rainbow Dash watched Tom carefully. His face was honest, caring, perhaps even loving; for the few moments she had known him, she had found him a person that she cared for deeply, no matter his appearance. The oddity of this sudden closeness seemed... irrelevant, somehow.

“Dash, I promise I won't hurt you,” he said comfortingly, gesturing with his arms as he spoke.

She drew her front legs up to her face anxiously, shaking her head. “I'm afraid, Tom,” she said, the admission coming far easier than she thought it would. It was almost as if this wasn't real... but there he was, standing a few feet away, real as life. Surely this was real life... but then, why was she speaking so openly?

He stepped closer to her and knelt down on one knee; Dash drew her legs back instinctively. “Dash, please,” he said softly, “I know you want me to do this.”

“I d-d-do,” she managed to stammer out. He watched her, ever patient, as she slowly extended her legs back out. She felt an odd sense of deja vu, as if she had done this only a few hours ago; but no, she would never trust somepony – someone, rather – to touch her... her...

Gently, he reached out his fingers to her hooves, and she cringed, shutting her eyes tight. After a few seconds, she opened them to see he had stopped, apparently at the very moment she had closed her eyes. As her gaze met his again, the hands drifted forward again, and she slammed her lids shut once again. Opening them a moment later, she saw that he had again paused.

“I'm only going to do this if you watch me,” he said, staring at her. His eyes seemed to pierce her mind. “I'll help you get over this, I promise.”

Dash let out a soft moan – of fear? Anticipation? Excitement? She couldn't decide which. She resolved to keep up her end of the bargain, and watched him through squinted eyes. He slowly inched forward, ever closer, until-

She flinched as she felt the touch on her hooves. Barely a touch. They retracted instantly, and Tom let her do so, not holding her in place or anything. It wasn't like it was before, she told herself, he wouldn't restrain her... She eased out slowly again. Once more, the touch came, and she jumped, but remained steady otherwise. He didn't do any more than that, just sat there, watching her with his own fear.

'He's as nervous as me,' she thought to herself. She nodded. “I-I-I-I can... keep g-g-going,” she managed to stutter. She recoiled slightly as another touch came on her hoof, from a different place, but she refused to give up. She couldn't. Another touch, another jump. Twice more this took place, until she could feel five unique pressure points on her sensitive hoof.

“I can-”

“No,” Dash responded quickly. “I w-want you to...”

She couldn't get out what she wanted him to do, but nonetheless he did it; she shuddered as the fingers began kneading her hooves gently, but not so gently as to provoke her ticklishness. The feeling was... good. She felt the same release of tension and pressure as when her hooves were preened, but in her hoof. She bit her lip as he continued softly massaging the hoof.

He looked at her, a soft smile playing across his face. “See? That's not so bad!”

She gave a choking laugh, a tear – of joy – snaking out of the corner of her eye. Such a simple thing, to have someone touch her hooves, but... Something about the way Tom did it was different. It was gentle, but also firm; he dug his thin appendages into her hoof, but it only stimulated them with pleasure, not with tickling.

She hugged herself, unable to keep from laughing; he stopped, staring at her with fear, as his hands shot away. She felt a sense of loss as the hands retreated. “No, no, Tom,” she said quickly, “You're not tickling me. I... I like that. Keep doing it... please.”

He nodded, deftly resuming his previous position; the comforting feeling lanced through her leg again as he began massaging her hoof again. She sat back, head reclined on the back of the chair; he could do this forever and she'd never get sick of it.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You gasped as the image suddenly disappeared, the void of the dreamscape reappearing. You landed on your hands and knees, breathing hard; you had BEEN Rainbow Dash, watching you watch her as you...

You shivered. “Let's not do that again,” you said breathlessly. Luna walked up to you, and you looked up to see her looking down at you with pity.

“Eh, my apologies, Tom,” she said apologetically. “I didn't realize-”

“No, no, it's fine,” you managed to say, then shivered. “Still... that was weird.”

“I was watching, you know. It seemed rather-”

“I know what it was like,” you said, unable to keep the vitriol from your voice. You shook your head. “I'm done, Luna. Wake me up. I know what to do, now.”

“Wake you up?” Her head tilted, curious. “What do you mean, wake you up?”

“You can cause me to wake up, right?” you asked. “You're the Princess of the Night, dreams are your domain, all that happy horsesh-stuff,” you appended quickly.

She shook her head. “I can't force wakefulness,” she said regretfully. “That's not the way it works. You can return to your own dreams, or since I brought you here, wander the dreamscape, but I can't return you to wakefulness.”

“Is there no way?”

“Weeeelll...” She trailed off. A nasty smirk played across her face. “Do you REALLY want to wake up, Tom?”

“Yeah, I do,” you said hesitantly; the look she was giving you was disturbing you.

Her smirk turned into a rictus. Her eyes began to glow, a dark purple light. “Well, a nightmare can startle one into waking,” she said, her voice transformed; it echoed, and had a disconcerting flange to it now. You looked at her, and suddenly her eyes began weeping blood, teeth transformed into fangs, skin rotting away to a bare skull. It grew, massive, sucking in all the light and everything around you, and suddenly it began racing towards you. “WAAAAAAKE UUUUUP ANOOOOOON!” The jaws opened wide at the last word, swallowing you whole-

You jerked awake, suppressing a yell that would wake the dead. That was far 2spooky. But it HAD woken you up, all right; and left you with a nightmare that would haunt you for a few days to come, you could tell. You promised yourself words with Luna later. But for now... You looked around. A night sky, full of stars, lie above; the grass spilled over the fields around you, the small lake in front of you glistening a dark blue in the moonlight. And laying next to you, still deep in sleep-

Rainbow Dash. Her eyes fluttered in REM, the dream still apparently on her mind. Once again, you shuddered as you recalled BEING her. Looking down at the sleeping pegasus, your heart melted; for all her tough reputation, Dash was a sweetheart, in her own mind at least. It was time to pay her back. As you made to get off the chair, she murmured something. You leaned closer to hear what she was saying.

“... thank you, Tom...”

Well, there you had it. Time to make this thing work. Screw working on her issues later; the time was now. You stood up, stretching, then sat back down at the foot of the chair. Her rear hooves ran over each other slowly, as the dreamed version of you attended them. Now, you could make Dash's dreams literally come true.

You began massaging one hoof softly, the tender flesh rippling beneath your touch. Dash giggled softly, eyes still closed, so apparently she was still asleep. You quietly kept going, managing to rub every inch of her hoof, before switching to the other one. Another sleepy titter came as you started, but you ignored it and kept going. The silky-smooth 'skin' of her frog was just so enticing, and you lost yourself in the work; minutes passed, then half an hour, you couldn't tell which, and-

“Tom?”

You froze. Your eyes, bulging slightly in panic, looked up to meet Dash's; her face was covered with lethargy, but her gaze... confusion painted it, aye, along with smatterings of fear and repulsion. “Dash, I-”

“I thought it was a dream...” She frowned, tiredly blinking her eyes. She yawned, and you had to fight to keep the grin from the adorableness from creeping across your face.

“Dash, I'm sorry, I-”

“I must still be dreaming,” she murmured quietly, a drowsy smile across her face. “I didn't think I would ever enjoy this.”

You considered retracting your hands, but then changed your mind and resumed the kneading. Her grin grew wider, but she didn't burst into the same panicked laughter from earlier that day. “I make dreams come true,” you said, wincing at the cheesiness, but she nodded all the same. You watched her eyes as you kept at it; she had taken the pillow off the headrest and now clutched it to her chest, eyes peeking over it, although you could see the smile she was apparently trying to hide.

“Tickle me, Tom.”

“W-what?” She said it so suddenly that you did a double-take. “Dash, I thought-”

“I'm in the mood for experiments,” she said before you could finish. “Just... try it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“O... kay... then...” Shrugging, you straightened out your fingers, the tips now facing her hoof. You shoved the index finger into the frog, trimmed fingernail rubbing into the meat of her hoof slightly, and dragged it downward. She giggled, hugging the pillow to her chest more tightly; but there was no more reaction than that. All the same, you stopped. “Okay, so that's that-”

“Again, Tom.”

You closed your eyes, not even trying to hide the bemused expression; this was little different from your usual escapades in Equestria, but... Jesus, this world was weird. You did two fingers this time, running them down her hoof in alternating jumps. She jerked a fractional amount, giggling even more, but the breakdown you were worried would happen didn't come.

“What the hell, Dash?” you asked quietly. “Just a while ago, I could barely touch your hoof without you exploding...”

“I guess...” She led off, and you could tell her cheeks grew a bit rosy under her feather-filled shield. “I guess I just... trust you, Tom.”

Trust issues. That would explain it. It wouldn't be your first encounter with the type, but still... you were happy to be the solution to her problem. “I know you mentioned a bad experience,” you said pointedly, and she nodded.

“Junior Speedsters. Sort of like a pegasus day camp. We were all fillies and colts, and even as a little filly I liked to think of myself as tough.” She allowed the pillow to droop forward, and a tremulous smile came to her face. “Some of the other campers... didn't like that. So one night, after lights out...”

You could figure out what she had left unsaid, and nodded sagely. “So you never let anyone touch your hooves again.”

She squirmed uncomfortably, but her hooves didn't leave your reach; you took it as a good sign. “Look, Tom,” she sighed, “I know it's probably really weird for you – it's really weird for me – but... there's something about you. Something that I know you would never harm somepony if you could help it.” A shy smile came to her at that. “So... so there you go. You fixed my deep fillyhood issues.”

You nodded, not knowing what to say. This had taken a surreal turn. “So... should I...”

She grinned. “Do whatever you want, Tom. Unless you're too chicken!”

In that moment, you could see the courageous mare had returned... and you returned your own evil smirk. “Is that a challenge? Or is the fearless Rainbow Dash too- HEY!” You cried out as you took the pillow to the face. You laughed as you began scraping at her hoof with your hand in vengeance, and Dash began laughing, herself. Not the pained struggle from before, but a rich laugh, deep but with her trademark raspiness to it. She tried to fight back, attempting to escape your clutches, but it was fruitless; still, it was clear she very much enjoyed it this time around, her smile lighting up her face.

The next hour or so was a long one for her, but she seemed to love every minute of it.