The wind ripped at Rainbow Dash, shaking her down to her bones. Her cheeks peeled back with the force of her dive. She was deafened. Nothing existed in that moment. Nothing but the wind. Nothing but the thrill of moving much faster than any pony had a right to. The air around her hooves distorted. She could hear the keening scream of her downward descent piercing her ears, until it too faded away. She was moving too fast for the sound to catch up to her. Too fast for anything to catch her.
In that one solitary moment, Rainbow Dash was the fastest thing in the world.
Until something blew past her. Faster than a strike of lightning, Dash was ripped out of her Sonic Rainboom, her control over flight forfeit to the wind and gravity. Her legs flailed in an attempt to right herself. You don’t spread your wings when you’re spinning. Less-fortunate ponies have had them ripped off or had been severely injured in the past.
Instead, Rainbow twisted and flailed until she was more-or-less just falling before her wings flared wide, catching and slowing her descent. Only when she was stable once more did she scan the skies.
“What in the actual fuck was that?!” She panted, her heart thundering in her ears as she looked for the perpetrator. Nothing came to mind. Nothing could possibly have moved that fast. She was the fastest creature in the world, to the best of her knowledge. Nothing had been able to beat her in an airborne race. She was the most agile, quickest, fleetest thing in the skies. Nothing could beat her.
Nothing but that brilliant red streak turning around and arcing back towards her! Giving a quick cry of fear, Rainbow Dash turned tail and flapped hard, gaining speed and intensity, her wings pumping out of fear more than anything else in that moment. She spared a quick glance behind her to the ever-growing red thing, and saw it was a very intimidating, very fast, very angry red dragon. Its teeth were bared at her, and she could see down its gullet.
And it was gaining. Rainbow Dash whimpered and poured the heat on, trying to out-distance the dragon. But nothing she did gave her ground. Panting, lathered in sweat, Rainbow Dash felt herself flagging. She still had energy, but even her best wasn’t enough to beat this thing. At least, not in speed. So she began to slow, looking over her shoulder at the ever-approaching streak of crimson. She came to a halt, hovering, waiting for the perfect moment…
Just as the beast was upon her, Rainbow Dash rolled over and ascended with two powerful flaps. She felt the spines along the dragon’s back whistle through the air, less than an inch from shaving more than a few hairs from her mane. The dragon screamed past, leaving a wake of thunderous sound and turbulent air in its passing. Rainbow Dash grinned. She might not be faster than this thing, but she was more agile. The dragon wheeled around, cutting a line through the air with the tips of its wings as it came to bear on her again.
Rainbow Dash was more than prepared. She flitted side-to-side, making the Dragon’s flight veer left and right. When he was on her, his jaws snapped in the air right where she had been just a moment ago, not where she currently was. She spun around the joint of his wing and cut through the turbulence of his passage with ease. She didn’t know what he was, where he came from, or why he wanted to eat her, but she knew she wasn’t going to let him.
Not without a fucking fight.
“C’mon, you big, red bastard… Bring it!” She danced mid-air, her powerful wings flapping hard to propel her every which way in a sporadic, random direction. The dragon was beginning to falter, to make his passes more slow. The last one, Rainbow Dash had laid her hooves along his spine and ran the length of him, or she’d have risked colliding into one of his spines. He was starting to come more slowly, and each new pass would bring him closer and closer to getting a hold of her.
Rainbow Dash began to compensate. She began matching his speed, accelerating quickly to fly alongside him as he passed. Flying with a dragon was a terrifying experience. He was all spines, claws, and hard scales. His massive, leathery wings beat the air around her, creating pressure pockets and miniature whirlwinds she had to power through in order to keep from being blown out of the sky. More than once, his claws came uncomfortably close to wrapping around her when she squirted out of them like a slippery watermelon seed. He was massive, but not as large as the last dragon she had a direct counter with.
That dragon was big enough to swallow her and her five friends effortlessly. This one would probably have to make a meal of them one at a time. But he was still epic in size, easily able to envelop Rainbow Dash with a single claw.
And he was fast. She tried to stay behind him, where his spines didn’t seem to be under his direct control like his claws were. That made dodging his wings a bit tricker, but she at least didn’t have six sharp ends to deal with. His tail couldn’t reach up this high anyways. Dripping sweat and gasping for each breath, Rainbow Dash willed her wings to follow her brain’s commands, still staying just outside the dragon’s grip. He was slowing down quite a bit, and each flap came marginally slower than the one before it.
“Alright, big guy.” Rainbow Dash called out to him, staying safely above the joint of his wings where he couldn’t claw at her. “What’s your deal?”
The dragon, big and intimidating as he was, chuckled at her. The sound of it shook her chest, making Rainbow Dash whimper as he craned his long neck to look sideways at her.
“That was fun.”
“Fun?!” Rainbow Dash sputtered, halfway tempted to kick the damn beast. “That was terrifying! You almost ate me!”
“You’ve never played with a dragon before, have you?”
”PLAYED?! You call that playing?!” Dash just got another chuckle in return as the dragon made for a nearby clearing. She wasn’t too keen on landing with this scaly beast around, but he seemed to be set on resting. Cautiously, she followed him, though she hovered mid-air above its back still. When the dragon landed, it was with a contented groan. Its wings folded tight to its back, and it laid flat on its stomach.
“Yeah, played. You know, like ‘tag’ or whatever it is you pegasi play…” The dragon looked lazily up at her, seemingly content with just laying down for the moment. Rather than make the impressive creature crane its neck to look at her, Dash landed a good forty feet in front of it.
“I know what tag is, but you were trying to eat me.” Dash was fuming. She had been on the brink of another Sonic Rainboom when this thing had blown past her nearly twice as fast as she had been going. The mere thought of something else out there moving faster than her was terrifying. Not to mention infuriating.
“I wasn’t going to eat you,” The dragon sighed, rolling its eyes patronizingly. “I was just gonna gnaw you a bit, then spit you out. You know, like dragons do.”
“Woah, hey!” Dash held her hooves up. “Gnawing is not okay! Look at your teeth! You’d rip me to pieces!”
“Hmm? Oh. Right. I was coming in… Look,” The dragon opened its mouth, making Dash wince and shy away. But as she watched, the massive fangs sharpened to razor points folded back into the dragon’s mouth, tucked under fleshy-looking flaps of skin. A comparison crossed her mind, and Dash couldn’t help but fall on her back, laughing hysterically.
“Y-you… PFFT- YOU LOOK LIKE GUMMY! Bahahahaha!”
“Gummy? Who’s gummy? Is that another dragon? All dragons can do this.” The beast rumbled, watching her roll around in laughter with a confused expression.
“S-sorry, sorry!” Dash wiped tears from her eyes and slowly rose to her hooves, suddenly feeling a little more relaxed. Mentions of chewing her aside, the flight had actually been rather exhilarating. She got a phenomenal workout, and a good chance to practice veering and dodging, not to mention controlling herself in adverse wind currents. She finally got a good look at the dragon, who wasn’t all that terrifying. He was smaller than the other dragons she had seen, one up close when it had tried to snooze too close to Ponyville, and the others during the dragon migration.
Those behemoths were twenty or thirty times bigger than she was. This one was maybe ten times as big, which might account for why it flew so fast. His wings were powerfully muscled and tucked tight against his back, which was adorned with a long row of slender, solid-looking spines. Each of them started red near the base, but slowly darkened to a pitch-black tip, same with the miniature claws on its wings. All four legs were toned and not as thick as the others, and looked like they tucked easily against this dragon’s chest. His long tail ended in six spikes, all looking sleek and smooth as they swept back. His face was well-proportioned atop his slender neck, with two petite horns poking up just above his brow.
“You’re staring at me.” The dragon rumbled, playfully clawing at a chunk of grass. Rainbow Dash started a little and blushed.
“Sorry, we just don’t get much of a chance to look this closely at dragons. We watch you guys during your migration sometimes, but not even Twilight knows a whole lot about you.”
“Hmm. It’s true we don’t really come into Equestria that often. But it isn’t every day we see a pegasus as fast as you this close to the border, either.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled and kicked the grass self-consciously.
“Yeah, I, uuh… I’m not allowed to practice anywhere near cities or towns anymore. Not after ‘the incident.’”
“Oh? What incident?”
“I… Kinda… Crashed through a museum.” Dash blushed and looked away. “’S not my fault they make the damn things so big…”
“Aah, I see… You’re a wreckless flier, then. We never crash through our nests or into mountains.” At the dragon’s teasing, Rainbow Dash puffed up.
“Yeah, well, you almost crash into ponies awfully well! Hey, come to think of it,” She fluttered closer to the dragon’s face, hovering right in front of his big, green eyes. “How were you going that fast? I’ve never seen anything – dragon or otherwise – leave a streak like that.”
“Oh. You’re talking about Fireflash.”
“Fireflash?” Rainbow Dash perked up. “What’s that?”
“When a dragon flies fast enough to break the sound barrier, they cause an explosion of supersonic-speed and fire. We call it Fireflash.”
“That’s just like a Sonic Rainboom!” Dash beamed. “That’s so awesome!”
“Only a few of us can do it. Me, my mother, a few others I’ve met here and there… It’s tough for the bigger dragons and weak fliers to do it.”
“Yeah, not everypony can do a Sonic Rainboom either. I think I’m the only one in history.” Dash tapped her lower lip in thought. An idea crossed her mind just then, and she grinned at the dragon. “How do you feel about a healthy competition? Pony versus dragon, to see who’s the better flier.”
“Competition? Hmm… Could be fun.” The dragon squared its face with hers. “What are the stakes?”
“Stakes?” Rainbow Dash arched her eyebrow. “What, like a bet? Do dragons do that?”
“Not all of us,” The dragon shrugged. “But I do. It’s part of my dragon code. I won’t compete with anyone unless there’s something to be gained, something to be lost.” He shifted a little, leaning closer to Rainbow Dash. “Pick a wager, and if I agree, we’re bound by it. I can’t back out of my end of the deal, and you can’t back out of yours. Understood?”
“Alright, alright, I got it…” She sighed and shook her head. “You dragons and your codes. Alright, if I win,” Rainbow Dash tapped her lip, giving a soft ‘hmm’ of thought. “I get… Flying lessons. From your best flier. I wanna see how dragons fly, how you guys can go that fast.”
“Alright.” The dragon rumbled, “And if I win?”
“Well, I picked my prize.” Dash waved a hoof. “It’s only fair you pick yours.” Once more, the dragon gave a soft rumble of thought as it stared at her intently. His front claw tapped into the ground, tearing up more chunks of dirt and grass. He sat like that for a long while before finally deciding.
“We dragons don’t know much about ponies, to be perfectly honest. Most of us are too busy trying to hoard gems and gold that we honestly don’t care that much. Others of us are more intellectually inclined, like myself. I don’t care much for gems, except when I get hungry. Even then, I can dig up enough to tide me over. Ahem,” He re-asserted himself with a soft, ground-shaking throat clear.
“What I mean is, we don’t have the knowledge or research you do. If I win, I want your promise you’ll do all you can to teach me about ponies. How you eat, how you sleep, where you live, how your magic works. All of it.”
“Oh.” Rainbow Dash flagged a little. “I’m… Not a very good teacher, to be honest. I know somepony who is, and they’d be able to help you out, but… heh…” Dash chuckled and rolled her eyes. “She’s a pretty lousy flier.” Twilight would definitely be excited about teaching a dragon, but she couldn’t hold her own in the air. Flying against a dragon that could even give Dash a run for her money would most certainly result in a loss. Then again, teaching a dragon wasn’t that bad a price to pay for Twilight.
“No can do,” The dragon shook his head. “My dragon code forbids it. If I win, it has to be you that teaches me. Involving others in a wager is no fair. You’re trying to bind someone else by your honor. That’s not nice.” The dragon had a point, and a very good one at that. Rainbow Dash sighed and nodded.
“Fine. Like I said, I’m not a good teacher, though, so I can only help you out so much.” Dash extended her hoof. “Shake on it?”
“We do this like dragons.” The beast rumbled. He stood on all fours, towering over her. “We bind it in fire.”
“Fire?!” Dash sputtered. “I can’t make fi- WAIT!” She grinned and flapped up a bit. “Give me just a few minutes.”
“I will wait.” The dragon nodded. Dash jetted off, looking for one particular patch of clouds she had seen earlier. It had drifted a bit, but she found it in short order and hauled the thing back to the clearing. The dragon raised an eyebrow as she positioned it a short ways away from him, just a few feet off the ground. With a grin, she jumped up and down on it a few times, shaking out dark, forked lightning. It hit the ground with force, sparking up a healthy blaze.
“Hah! Fire!”
“Very good.” The dragon grinned and leaned his head in, blowing a short blast of flame onto the lightning-fueled fire. The flames circled and intertwined, joining in a beautiful display of light and crackling sound. “We’re bound by contract now. When will this competition take place?”
“Next week?” Dash offered, kicking the cloud to coax a steady rain from it. The flames slowly extinguished, leaving charred, soaked grass behind.
“Seven days. I will see you again soon, eer…”
“Rainbow Dash.” She puffed her chest up at the dragon, beaming with pride. “And don’t you forget it!”
“I am known as Skarlet.” The dragon smiled down at her. “I will ensure that you don’t forget it.”
With that, Skarlet was gone, leaving nothing but turbulent winds and anticipation in his wake. Dash glanced at the charred spot in the clearing before swallowing.
Could she do it? Could she beat a dragon in the air?
Rainbow Dash was rested, ready, and rarin’. Skarlet had asked that she bring a map to the start point of the race, and she had happily obliged. Skarlet now looked down at it, using the razor-sharp tip of his claw to trace a path.
“I’ve been studying the region. This is where we are now, correct?” He rumbled. Dash frowned at the point his claw rested above and nodded.
“Yup. This mountain is known as Horseshoe Peak.” She stepped back, letting Skarlet look the map over once more.
“Alright then, here’s the route I’ve picked.” Skarlet began to wave the tip of his claw over the map. “From this peak, we fly to the top of the forest, out over that snaking river there, around this mesa at the edge of the Appleoosian Desert, and retrace the route back up here. First to land wins. Agreed?”
“Alright,” Dash frowned at the route. It was a very long one, filled with some rough twists and turns along the river, and wide-open expanses of flat air. This would exhaust her. But a challenge wasn’t a challenge unless it was challenging. Dash grinned up at Skarlet confidently. “Works for me, big guy.”
“Guy?” Skarlet blinked at her. “Is that the term ponies use for females?”
“Wait.” Dash blinked. “You’re female?”
“Can’t you tell by my spines?” Skarlet ran a claw over her back, the hard surface of her scales making a bone-like, rasping sound over her hard spines. “Female dragons’ spines start the same color as their scales and grow either darker or lighter towards the tips. Male dragons’ spines are different from their scales from base to tip.”
“Oh wow.” Dash blushed a little. “I had no idea… Your voice is deep, and I didn’t know about the spines, and-“
“No harm, no foul, Rainbow Dash.” Skarlet teased. “But you’re the one who’s supposed to be telling me about ponies. I never agreed to a free lesson.”
“I’m sorry.” Dash frowned, kicking a hoof. “I can give you a free pointer, in return if you’d like?”
“What’s the point?” Scarlet nudged her flank with the backside of a claw. The teasing motion nearly bowled Dash over. “I’m going to learn everything you know about ponies as soon as this race is over.”
“You wish.” Dash puffed up again. “I’ve been saving my energy. I’m gonna wipe the skies with you.”
“Bring it on, then.” Skarlet’s wings flared out, the gust flattening Dash’s multi-colored mane to her head. She spread her own wings, making hardly enough of a gust to flutter the map. Skarlet was ready, she was ready, they had their route…
“We fly in three… Two…. One…”
”GO!” Scarlet’s booming voice made both of them shoot off like rockets. Dash knew her best bet was to Sonic Rainboom across the wide-open flat areas and capitalize on her agility through the twisting river. For the descent, she knew Skarlet would surpass her, since the dragon was heavier and gravity effected her more. After a blitz-like beginning, Dash fell behind, watching the Dragon plummet out of the sky towards the forest floor.
“Hah!” Dash grinned as Skarlet spread her wings early, slowing her precipitous decent by quite a bit to avoid crashing into the trees. Dash, being lighter, rode the dive out until the last moment, when her downward moment transferred to forwards momentum. Wings still halfway tucked, she rocketed off between Skarlet’s claws, her stomach catching the tips of the trees as she pulled ahead. Skarlet roared in defiance, but Dash was already at the river. Dipping down beneath the tree-tops, Dash tucked, tumbled, spun, and banked through the twisting turns of the river, moving at break-neck speeds. Her passing kicked up sprays of water on the still parts of the river, and passed through the white foam kicked up over faster parts.
She had a good lead by the time the river thinned out. Kicking herself up above tree-tops, she spotted the mesa in the distance and made for it with ever-increasing intensity. She was back in the envelope, her bones rattling like mad, tears coursing from her eyes. Her hooves shook as the air began to distort around her. Her wings pumped harder, her hair plastered flat against her hide. There was no stopping her. She would have this.
The rainbow of light echoed across the desert as she broke the envelope, speeding into a Sonic Rainboom. The flight was smooth and steady, and she could turn on a dime. Making straight for the right edge of the mesa, she rode the Sonic Rainboom in all of its fast, burning glory.
Until Skarlet zipped by, trailing fire and fury. The Fireflash nearly deafened her as it detonated, and the red streak of Skarlet’s stretched-out body was nothing more than a blur of fiery light. Dash gasped as the flames licked her sides, but didn’t burn. She was – thankfully – moving too fast.
But not fast enough to catch Skarlet. The dragon disappeared around the side of the mesa, already banking around the halfway point of their race. Dash gave a loud ‘fuck!’ and rode the Rainboom around the mesa. What might have taken even a swift pegasus a minute took Dash thirty seconds, and Skarlet fifteen. Cursing, she followed the smoke and air current around the mesa, still riding the blitz-like Sonic Rainboom. Skarlet was too far ahead of her. When Dash re-emerged around the other side of the mesa, Skarlet was halfway back to the forest and the river already. Dash willed herself faster, but the Sonic Rainboom was fixed. It was fast, but fixed in place. She had no effect over her speed until it was over. Instead, she rode it to the last second before dropping out and beginning her run of the circuitous river once more.
Here, she began to catch the dragon. Skarlet’s big form took time to bank and turn, her wings had to flap to give her purchase. Dash could use things like momentum and agility to her advantage, gaining speed through turns that Skarlet would have to slow to make. Near the end of the forest, she caught sight of the dragon’s tail curling around the trees of another bed. Dash nearly screamed with success as she banked the turn, flapped hard, and passed underneath Skarlet’s claws.
“Hey!” Skarlet roared once more. They were through the forest. Now, it was a sprint uphill to the peak. Dash was light, it took less effort for her to gain altitude. But Skarlet was muscular. Flapping hard enough to kick up miniature tornados, Skarlet rose above Rainbow Dash, while Dash herself moved further forwards, but lower to the surface of the mountain.
It was a finish for the centuries. Never before had a dragon and a pegasus raced before. At least, not intentionally, and not for sport. Dash’s wings were seizing up and her throat burned with each new gulp of air she took. But the panting, hot breath of Skarlet was right behind and above her, keeping her spurred on to the very end. The peak rose up in front of them, jutting into the sky defiantly. The map fluttered in the breeze, beckoning to them like a finish line flag. Dash fixed her vision on that, and she poured on the heat.
Skarlet slammed into the ground half a second before Dash. Stumbling, Dash sprawled onto the rocky peak, panting as her weak wings gave up completely. Skarlet reared her head into the sky and let loose an ear-splitting roar of triumph. Dash felt the heat of a fire blast wash over her, as Skarlet trumpeted her victory to all within earshot. Dash just meekly got to her hooves.
She was a competitive spirit, and winning meant a lot to her. But she had just been bested at something she prided herself on. Being beaten like this was humbling for her. And it had been very, very close. She nearly won. The photo finish was clear to the two of them, though. Skarlet had won fair and square. Her Fireflash bested Dash’s Sonic Rainboom, but Dash had agility and maneuverability over the Dragon. As Skarlet landed on all fours and looked down at Dash, her emerald eyes twinkled with delight.
“That was a very good race!” Skarlet beamed, her loud voice rumbling the mountain beneath Dash’s hooves.
“If only you’d have taken just a little extra longer to pull out of that first dive,” Dash shook her head with a smile. “I’d have had you.”
“I’ve no doubt in my mind, Rainbow Dash! But a wager is a wager.”
“Alright, alright.” Dash chuckled and shook her head. “You beat me fair and square. I’ll teach you everything I know about ponies. But not today. I’m exhausted…”
“We can begin whenever you’d like, Rainbow Dash.” Skarlet beamed and nudged her side with a scaly muzzle. “Just remember, you’re bound by honor to hold up your end of our bargain. Not just pony honor,” She snaked her head backwards, grinning wickedly at Dash.
“Dragon Honor.”
So began the strangest yet most interesting relationship Rainbow Dash had ever known. She and Skarlet met four times a week, changing the location everywhere from just outside of Ponyville (Much to the chagrin of a certain princess) to the mountains on the very edge of Equestria, close to where Skarlet’s nest was. Skarlet truly didn’t know anything about ponies. She had never met a unicorn before, so Dash had to explain magic in its entirety.
The whole ordeal, for the three weeks they had been doing it thus far, was eye-opening for the both of them. Twilight was concerned for Rainbow Dash’s safety, Fluttershy thought she was insane, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were interested and excited at the prospect of meeting Skarlet, and Rarity was dubious but accepting.
But the entire time, Rainbow Dash was growing to like Skarlet more and more. She was genuinely curious about Equestria, and the way things worked. Rainbow Dash never realized how little dragons knew about ponies, and how much of Equestria was shrouded in mystery for them. Even an average pony had a wealth of knowledge that Skarlet found absolutely fascinating. She would roar with laughter at how different things were between their two societies, nod in silent contemplation at other more serious matters, but most of the time she simply nodded and listened patiently. Rainbow Dash came to enjoy their time together, so much so that she was looking forward to each new day she would visit her scaly, brilliant friend.
That is, until her cycle began. She awoke feeling impossibly hot with a pungent smell in the air, one that was indicative of arousal. And she certainly was aroused. Just rolling out of bed had her panting and flushed. A long, cold shower did nothing to assuage the fire in her stomach, and to top it all off, she was supposed to be meeting Skarlet today.
“Damn it all,” She muttered, frowning out of the window of her cloud home at the nearby mountain she had agreed to rendezvous with Skarlet on. “Today of all days.”
But she was bound by Dragon Honor to go. There would be no breaking this engagement. She was obligated. So, with a heavy heart and some rather wobbly flight moves, she departed for the mountain. She was flying much slower than she might have liked that day. Going too fast sent drafts wafting over some very sensitive places, and would make for an even more debilitating flight experience.
With a shudder, she realized Skarlet would be greeting her with a playful game of tag. They always met like that, laughing and chasing one another through the sky. Sometimes, Skarlet would catch up with Rainbow Dash and give her a quick, meaningless gumming. Other times, Dash would successfully evade her and enjoy a good workout in the process. Today, as disabled as she was, Skarlet was undoubtedly going to catch her.
She just prayed the dragon caught one of her forelegs or even her head in her mouth. Having any bit of her hindquarters playfully chomped today would be detrimental. Sure enough, as soon as she was within sight range of the mountain, a red blob detached from the rocky face of the mountain and began winging towards her. More out of instinct than anything else, she turned tail and fled for the treetops, hoping to lose Skarlet in the forest.
Out of nowhere, Skarlet zipped by, cutting Dash off from the trees. She was really learning to pick up incredible amounts of speed through diving. Dash cursed and wheeled to the left, trying to make it to a different strand of trees. No luck, Skarlet was bearing in too fast from the other side. She stopped short, missing the tip of Skarlet’s wing by mere inches. Skarlet wheeled about with a roar, just as Rainbow Dash began dodging back and forth. She was sluggish today, enough that Skarlet had no problem catching her. She managed to evade it by planting her hooves on the dragon’s lips and kicking away, though it sent her into an uncontrollable dive. Skarlet was right on her, bearing down with her wide-open, impossibly hot mouth. Dash straddled her lips, praying against reason that she wasn’t dripping into the dragon’s mouth, hoping Skarlet would have the sense to pull out of the dive before they crashed. She did, pulling Rainbow Dash with her.
Only she couldn’t escape. A sudden intake of wind pulled her into the dragon’s mouth, and much to her horror, it wasn’t her front end that went in. The slippery heat enveloped Dash’s backside, almost completely coating her with the steamy-hot dragon’s saliva.
“Hah!” Skarlet roared with triumph as she spat Rainbow Dash out. Clumsily, Dash recovered, her cheeks flushed from more than embarrassment. “I got you again! You’re off your game today, Rainbow Dash.”
“Hehe, yeah…” Dash deadpanned, rubbing the back of her neck. “Ya got me… Good job. Now c’mon, let’s get to that mountain.”
“Hmm?” Skarlet hovered in mid-air, fixing Dash with a brilliant emerald gaze. “You usually want to go one or two more times. Are you okay, Dash?”
“F-fine!” Dash sputtered, blushing even more intensely. “Just off my game today is all. I’m kinda sore from work yesterday.”
“Hmm. Alright.” Skarlet sighed, looking downtrodden as she led Rainbow Dash down to the mountain. Much to her surprise, Skarlet led her into a small cave that looked to be freshly hollowed-out, probably by some powerful claws. A small fire crackled happily in the middle of the cave floor, which Skarlet curled up next to.
“I know you tend to get cold when we’re up this high, so I went ahead and made you a fire.”
“And a cave. I don’t remember this being here.”
“Well…” Skarlet shrugged. “I wanted someplace close enough for both of us that we wouldn’t have to fly far. It’s small enough that most other dragons won’t use it, but just right for me. Almost as big as my nest back home.”
“Are you smaller than most other dragons?” Dash asked, sitting opposite the fire from Skarlet. The dragon fixed her with another, more serious gaze.
“Hey now. I’m the student here, not you.”
“Fine.” Dash huffed. The past three weeks, she had learned next to nothing about Skarlet or her dragon brethren. Each time she asked a question, Skarlet would urge her on with a firm yet eager statement. One tended to listen to a dragon when they weren’t getting what they wanted, especially if that dragon could fly faster than you.
“What do you want to learn about today?”
“We were talking about Hearts and Hooves day last.” Skarlet rumbled. “Tell me more about this holiday. I’m interested.”
“Huh boy.” Rainbow Dash remembered their last conversation with a groan. Skarlet had insisted Dash teach her about the relationships between ponies. Given her current state, she didn’t know if she’d be able to give an unbiased opinion on the love-based holiday. She shuddered and wracked her mind for a good place to start.
“I don’t really know how the holiday got its start, but from what I do remember, it’s something about the princesses outlawing marriage a long while ago, and some pony or another kept doing it, saying that love couldn’t be stopped or something like that. Hearts and Hooves day is about celebrating love.”
“Hmm.” Skarlet rumbled. “Love is a strange, fickle thing. Why have a whole day devoted to it?”
“I think it’s awfully silly, too.” Dash chuckled. “I’ve never really loved anypony, and as far as I know they’ve never loved me. I mean, sure, I’m friggin’ awesome, but nopony’s really wanted to be with me.” She heaved a sigh and shook her head. “Anyways, Hearts and Hooves day is when ponies give each other gifts signifying how much they love one another, or they spend the day together.”
“I see. So do they mate on this day?”
“WHAT?!” Dash’s head shot straight up as Skarlet blinked at her.
“Mate. You know, couple. Make love. Join. Fuck. Do they do that on this day?”
“Skarlet, I’m starting to think you dragons don’t understand how th-that stuff works with ponies!” Dash stared incredulously at her friend, wondering how in the world she could have nonchalantly brought up such a topic. Skarlet just blinked at her once more, her scaly brow furrowed.
“I don’t see what the big deal is. Do they do it on this day or no?”
“I-I-I don’t know!” Dash sputtered, her cheeks suddenly even more flushed. The heat of the fire was beginning to make her uncomfortable, and not just because the air in the cave was stifling. She wiped a hoof across her forehead, grimacing at the thin layer of sweat on her brow.
“How can you not know?” Skarlet cocked her head to the side. “Have you never had sex? Rainbow Dash, are you a virgin?”
“So what if I am?!” Dash spat, her chest heaving. She felt tears well up in her eyes. “Next you’re gonna tell me you want to know everything about how ponies have sex!”
“Well…” Skarlet chuckled and crossed her claws one over the other. “I did say you had to tell me everything about ponies. ‘Everything’ would encompass lovemaking, too.” Dash stared at the dragon, her mouth open in shock.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“I am not.” Skarlet sounded teasingly offended. “I expect you to tell me what you know.”
“Wh-wh-what if I don’t know anything?” Dash stammered, her cheeks now as red as Skarlet’s scales.
“Of course you know something,” Skarlet rumbled. She sniffed the air, her lips curled in a grin. “Mind telling me what that smell is, Rainbow Dash?”
“Oh… I’m sorry…” Dash whimpered, her thighs flexing together in embarrassment. “I, uuh… I’m in heat…”
“So ponies have that too…” Skarlet mused, tapping her claw against the ground. “Intriguing.”
“Why, do dragons?”
“Aah,” Skarlet lifted a slender claw. “Ponies. Not dragons. Come on, Rainbow Dash.” Skarlet grinned her signature smile and re-adjusted, almost like she were getting more comfortable. “Keep talking. I want to know more.”
“M-more about what?” Dash panted. The fire was suddenly oppressively hot, and she felt like she were burning up.
“Ponies and sex.” Skarlet’s grin was vicious. Rainbow Dash glared at her.
“Do I have to?”
“Do you not want to?”
“Not really.”
“Oh…” Skarlet looked crestfallen. “I thought-“
“Normal sex is boring.” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. “I don’t like stallions. It’s too simple, and they’re always the ones in control…”
Skarlet blinked at her, and Dash grinned.
“I like other mares. Other females. With them, I can be assertive, just like I ought to be. Trust me, sex with another mare is awesome. You can be on top, and you can be hard or soft or anything… It’s not like that with a stallion. They always just want to come at you from behind, panting in your ear, smothering you with their weight… And it really hurts your wings if they’re too heavy.”
“So… You’ve done both…?” Skarlet asked, leaning a little closer. The fire licked at her chin, but it didn’t faze her. It wouldn’t.
“I have.” Rainbow Dash’s blush seemed to be permanently affixed to her cheeks, but she wasn’t shy about it anymore. They had passed a certain point, the point where Dash stopped caring about the little details and was just interested in teaching Skarlet. Her dragon friend seemed genuinely interested, so Dash could share everything without worrying about the judgemental glares she usually got, or getting hit on. Skarlet just sat there, completely silent, listening raptly.
“My first stallion was my last, though. He was somepony on the weather team, and we were good friends for a long time. After our first time, though, he got weird, like he wanted to have a foal with me.” She scrunched her nose and shook her head. “I’m not cut out to be a parent. He didn’t understand, so I told him to piss off.”
“That’s awfully harsh,” Skarlet mused. Rainbow Dash just glared at her.
“What? It’s the truth. I don’t want to be held down by a family. I need to serve the weather team first and foremost, and myself second.”
“But don’t you want a clutch? Er, a family? Something to call your own?”
“I have my friends, my town, and my job.” Dash’s face turned serious for half a moment. “That’s all I need in life. I don’t need a family to make me happy, or a foal to call my own. Besides,” Dash gave a slight chuckle, just enough to defuse the situation. “I think it’d be really hard to fly when you’re pregnant.”
“I wouldn’t know about that.” Skarlet chortled, the ground shaking with the force of her laugh. “The benefit of laying eggs, I suppose.”
“Skarlet,” Rainbow Dash frowned at the dragon. “I want to ask you a serious question, and I want an answer.”
“That wasn’t a part of our original agreement.” Skarlet rumbled.
“But we’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Friends?” Skarlet blinked. She was silent for a few long moments, staring at Rainbow Dash with a shocked expression. “I… I haven’t had a friend before…”
“Well,” Dash shrugged. “I’m the first pony to race a dragon. Why not be the first pony with a dragon as a friend?”
“I… Okay.” Skarlet grinned and settled down. “Fine. I’ll be your friend. But don’t think I’ll do you any huge favors any time soon.”
“Well, I’d like to ask one question.” Dash chuckled.
“Fine. One question.” Skarlet lifted a claw to point at her. “I’m new to this whole ‘friends’ thing, so don’t test me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Dash’s expression turned serious as she looked at Skarlet. “Do you have a foa- a clutch?”
“… I…” Skarlet paused, her eyes slowly closing. Rainbow Dash watched, completely shocked, as Skarlet shed a tear. “I almost did, once…”
“Skarlet… I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay.” Skarlet wiped the tear away with the back of her claw. “You didn’t know. You couldn’t have.”
“You don’t have to tell me,”
“Thanks.” Skarlet cut her off immediately, obviously not quite ready to go that far. Dash nodded and grew quiet, feeling very embarrassed now.
“I’m sorry.”
“I told you, it’s okay-“
“No, not for that, for… For pushing you.”
“Hah!” Skarlet barked, making dust sift down from the ceiling. “Rainbow Dash, I am a dragon. If you could push me, you could push this mountain beneath us.” Skarlet chuckled and shook her head, reaching across the fire to lift Dash’s chin. “Just don’t ask me to share that story. Not yet. Maybe not ever.”
“I promise.” Dash smiled and nodded.
“Speaking of promises.” Skarlet settled back down, her emerald eyes penetrating straight into Dash’s. “You were telling me about ponies and sex.”
“R-right.” Dash breathed, remembering the roll they had been on before Skarlet’s little epiphany. She took a few deep breaths, feeling the heat in her stomach return. Even she could smell it now, and it wasn’t exactly the most helpful thing. Being inclined to the fairer sex, she kind of liked it.
“W-well, I mean, you seem to know enough about it…”
“Trust me, Rainbow Dash.” Skarlet grumbled. “Sex between dragons is vastly different.”
“Well, without a reference, I wouldn’t know where to begin…” Dash mused, her lips curled in a teasing smile. Skarlet glared at her for a few moments before huffing a hot breath. It washed over Dash, further heating her up.
“Fine. Most dragon relationships are actually homosexual.”
“Wow, really?”
“Mmhmm. You see, hatchlings are made when a female lays a clutch and a male, eer… Ejaculates onto them. Sex really isn’t that important to us. But females, we do it by licking one another simultaneously.”
“I love that position.” Dash blurted, her blush intensifying in an impossible display of homeostasis. It was really hot in the cave.
“Uh huh. Well, sex between a male and a female is almost impossible. We can’t fit a male dragon’s endowment. That’s done almost one hundred percent orally. Remember when I showed you this?” Skarlet opened her mouth, and Dash watched as her pointed teeth folded back into their pink, fleshy flaps.
“Right.”
“Well, some dragons enjoy being sucked when our fangs are tucked like that.” Skarlet shrugged. “Personally, I don’t care for it…”
“Yeah, it tastes disgusting…”
“Even more so for dragons.” Skarlet chuckled, flicking at a stone with her claw. “And, of course, males can do the same for one another, though they can handle it… eer…”
“Tailholes?” Dash offered. Skarlet glanced at her before giving a stoic nod. “Not a fan.”
“Nor am I. But there are a few females who know how to use their tongues rather well.”
“I see…” Dash shrugged. “Well, ponies are pretty much the same… Except straight sex. It’s all about cumming inside.”
“Mammals. You’re all so weird.” Skarlet shuddered, but offered Dash a teasing smile. Dash just grimaced at her before continuing.
“So, lesbian sex is pretty much the same as you guys. It changes from race-to-race, though. Like, earth ponies take a whole lot of work to cum with your tongue… Like, thirty minutes of licking. Unicorns are really sensitive, and they usually cum a lot. Pegasi can cum a whole bunch, and really quickly.”
“Really?” Skarlet leaned in a little, her face coming closer to Dash. “So, you’re saying you cum frequently during sex?”
“Eer… Wait, me personally or pegasi in general?”
“You.” Skarlet whispered.
“Eer… I, uuh… Erm…” Dash squirmed. This question, accompanied with her heat and the cave and Skarlet was not helpful. “Y-yeah, I kinda do…”
“Dash,” Skarlet’s face was very close now, hovering maybe two feet in front of her. Dash realized that, when it wasn’t coming at her at mach 2 with teeth and a promise of fire should she so desire, Skarlet’s face was very beautiful. Not in a ‘oh I think that’s pretty and I want to give her flowers’ sort of way, but more in a ‘holy fuck she’s gorgeous and deadly’ sort of way. Dash swallowed and looked straight into Skarlet’s eyes.
“I would like to see that very much.”
“Y-you want to see me cum?” Dash whimpered. Her heart began to thunder in her chest, making her breaths come faster. “Wh-why? I didn’t think dragons were attracted to ponies…”
“I didn’t think we were either.” Skarlet let her eyes slide down Dash’s form. “But I’m being proven wrong this very moment…”
“O-oh…” Dash whimpered, her thighs squirming on the stone floor. “I-I don’t know what to say… I mean, I kind of want it… Okay, I really want it, but like… How?”
“I think you forget,” Skarlet’s tongue slid forth, wiggling in the air entrancingly. Dash gasped as Skarlet’s tongue steamed, the forked end glistening in the light of the fire. “I have certain… Perks…”
“O-oh… I… Uhm…” Dash was struck speechless by the sight of Skarlet’s tongue dancing in front of her eyes, dripping clear, steaming saliva. It looked so hot, but nothing could have been hotter than the fire in her core just then. Dash felt like she could take molten steel and it wouldn’t faze her a bit. Skarlet gave a soft ‘hmm’ from her throat and lifted a claw to nudge Dash’s chin.
“Shall we?”
“Yes.” Dash blurted out. “Stars, yes, please…”
“Stand up and turn around.” Skarlet twirled the tip of her claw in a tight circle, and Dash jumped to obey.
The thing about mares and heat was this: It didn’t matter to them who or what their lust was sated with. Female mares in lesbian relationships had rather long heat cycles, lasting as long as two weeks. Rainbow Dash had been in hers for the past few days, but today with the hardest she’d had to deal with it. As she stood an presented herself to Skarlet, her clitoris winked in and out of her labia, and she was already oozing liquid.
“You smell divine.” Skarlet moaned, her hot breath pulsing over Dash’s flanks. Dash shuddered and drew her lower lip between her teeth, fighting the urge to vocalize her need. Instead, she let Skarlet appraise her backside, her tail flipped up and over her rump. “It’s not dissimilar from ours…” Skarlet moaned. Her breath was scorching, she must have had her muzzle almost directly against Dash’s crotch. All she got for her closeness was more winking and a fresh trickle of arousal. Dash was panting by now, her nostrils flared with each breath.
“Hmm… It’s been some time…”
“Don’t give me that.” Dash gasped, her legs quivering. “You’ve never done anything with a pony before. You aren’t ‘rusty,’ you’re ‘new.’ So just… Go.”
“A touch eager, are we?” Skarlet chuckled. Dash was sweating profusely now. She had mistaken inner heat for outer, but now that Skarlet was exhaling all over her hind end, she was heating up a lot. Sweat trickled down her neck and thighs, further adding to the pungent smell. Skarlet just continued sniffing and moaning. She was incorrigible.
“C’moooooonn…” Dash panted, flexing her core muscles again. “Just… Do it already…”
“Alright, alright, fine.” Skarlet chuckled and nuzzled into Dash’s side, right against her cutie mark. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Says the pot.” Dash whimpered. She pushed her rear out a little more, relaxing her muscles in preparation for what would happen next.
Nothing could have prepared her for that. Skarlet’s tongue was alive against her, writhing and wet and slippery. She would drag the entirety of that thick, muscular cord up and down her labia, accumulating juices and spreading saliva. It whipped back and forth, dragging up for however long the blessed thing was, then back down on the underside. All this did was make Dash whimper and ooze more, but it felt incredible. The very last bit of a downward lick had the nasty habit of flicking her clitoris, which only made her shudder and gasp. Each new flick was a step closer, but the long, arduous lick upwards didn’t help any.
Skarlet seemed to set her own pace, and nothing Dash could do was going to stop her. She was just along for the ride. Already, it was incredibly unique and wonderful, but she wanted more. She was a pegasus, and she could cum upwards of fifteen times in a single session. What’s more, she hadn’t worn herself out with the pre-lesson flight games they usually partook in, so she was brimming with pent-up energy.
Skarlet moaned now and then, a low sound that made all of Dash’s body vibrate with its intensity. She was slow and meticulous, and Dash wasn’t entirely sure if that was on purpose or not. The long, hot licks weren’t enough, though. Dash glanced over her shoulder at the dragon.
“S-Skarlet? You can… Lick harder, you know.”
“Pardon me.” Skarlet rolled her eyes. “I was under the impression I’d get some enjoyment out of this as well.” Another glance revealed the dragon’s claw had disappeared somewhere along the length of her body. A wet sound reach Dash’s ears, and she blushed furiously.
“I… I didn’t think you’d-“
“Masturbate? Come now, Dash.” Skarlet grinned and lifted her claw up from where it was hidden somewhere behind her wide torso. The pure white bone-like protrusion of her claw glistened, and she licked it off of her razor-sharp tips. “I am just a dragon after all… We’re subject to the same desires and wants you ponies are… Now shush up and let me enjoy this.”
“O-okay…” Dash whimpered. In any other relationship, she was the dominant one. None of her partners in the past had been aggressive types; that was typically her role. She was always on top, kissing, licking, moaning, guiding the session as she saw fit. She was the one who made the moves.
But, as Skarlet had said, she would have just as much moving the mountain beneath her quivering hooves. Dash took a deep breath to control her dominatrix urges and closed her eyes. The pleasure would come. She just had to wait.
Thankfully, not for long. A brand-new sensation ripped through Dash’s core, making her cry out suddenly. The orgasm came out of nowhere, her muscles clenched tight as she panted heavily. It was like a drink of cool water. Relief flooded her muscles, making her relax them one by one. She was goo on hooves by the time she came down from it, but the long, folded-back licks were quickly heating her up again.
“Wh… What in the name of everything under the sun did you do to me?” Dash panted, looking back as Skarlet continued to lap at her.
“Hmm? Oh, you mean this?”
“AHN!” Dash threw her head back, her mane whipping through the air as yet another orgasm coursed through her veins. It felt like something had slid inside of her and rotated her clitoris simultaneously. She quivered on her hooves, but stayed standing.
“Yeah, that!” She gasped, her chest heaving. “What the fuck is that?”
“You forget,” Skarlet’s tongue emerged in front of Dash’s face, the forked tips opening and closing together. “I’ve got two to work with.”
“Uuuuhhnn…” Dash sighed as the tongue slid back to her rump, gliding over her flank the entire way. The thin strands on her coat matted with the hot saliva, feeling a little slippery and kind of gross. But the good kind of gross, the kind Dash hadn’t experienced yet, and she rather liked it. She realized then that Skarlet was using one fork of her tongue to penetrate her soaked cunt, and the other to stimulate her clitoris. Such a thing could only be accomplished by unicorns outside of this particular encounter.
Skarlet’s hot breath pulsed in time with each thrust her tongue gave, and the way her other fork flicked her swollen, sensitive clitoris, Dash was subject to another two rough orgasms. Skarlet’s breathing peaked after Dash’s forth, and she gave another low, rumbling growl of approval. Dash could have sworn she heard liquid hitting the stone floor somewhere far behind her field of view, where Skarlet’s legs curled on the floor. It was a surprisingly erotic sound, and she answered with a tiny squirt of her own.
“Hmm… Can you squirt, Dash?” Skarlet asked, her tongue resuming the long, slow up-and-down licks.
“I-I can, yeah… It’s kinda hard sometimes, though…”
“I think I know the trick.” Skarlet grinned and pulled away, leaving Dash whimpering and eager in her absence. She stayed absent for a while, but just as Dash was about to ask why she’d stopped, it happened.
All of Skarlet’s tongue plunged into her, sliding impossibly deep, deeper than anything she had ever felt before. She tensed up immediately, but her juice in combination with the dragon’s hot saliva meant nothing was stopping that tongue. When it reached as far inside of her as it could possibly go, Skarlet doubled her tongue back on itself, spreading her insides apart to their capacity.
“F-f-FAHK!” Dash gasped, the strength leaving her legs. She collapsed roughly onto her face, but the pain of impact was easily ignored in favor of the hot, insistent pleasure that was ripping her to shreds just then. She came, and she came hard. The sprinkle of fluid impacting the stone floor fell on her deaf ears. All she could hear were her own screams and the blood rushing through her ears.
In the smallest, most infinitesimal back end of her mind, Dash realized it sounded just like when she was diving, when the roar of wind was all she could hear.
“There we go,” Skarlet unfolded her tongue and slid it out, smacking her scaly lips a few times. “That did it.”
“Y-you’re evil…” Dash groaned, still unable to stand just yet. She wondered if Skarlet had broken anything, but her numbness was probably just thanks to the intense heat. Skarlet’s tongue was like a living rod of molten diamond, scorching her every nerve. It was intense and painful after a while, but once the shock set in and she was accustomed to the pain, it dulled over into this pleasant haze. She lifted her head to look back at Skarlet, her expression pleading.
“I remember saying I could cum multiple times… Get back to it, Skarlet.”
“So bossy.” Skarlet chuckled and shook her head. “Well, you remember when I told you homosexual male dragons could handle each other in their tailholes? How I said I didn’t much care for it?”
“Uuh… yeah…” Dash suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Well…” Skarlet’s tongue glistened in the air as it slid forth. “I lied.”
“AAAAHN!” Dash suddenly had a very good feeling. Skarlet’s forked tongue speared both her holes simultaneously, slithering and undulating about inside of her. They flexed hard, pressing in towards one another until Dash swore they had melted her ass and her pussy into one hole. Then they spun around in slow circles, massaging her insides. When Skarlet began sliding them in and out, though, Dash lost it.
She couldn’t count how many orgasms she had. But both forks of Skarlet’s tongue slid into her, deep enough that Dash could feel the U-shaped end of the fork pressing against the space between her anus and her dripping cunt. Skarlet was enjoying herself once more, if the panting, scorching breath pulsing over Dash’s rump was any indication. The dragon was thoroughly in it now, her tongue gliding in and out in a fever pitch. Dash felt another orgasm build up and let go within her. She felt detached, almost. Like this was happening to somepony else.
“Hnn- aah…” Skarlet suddenly flopped onto the cave floor, moaning as her tongue slithered out of Dash and back into her mouth. The two of them lay there, tail-to-mouth, panting helplessly. “That was… That was actually really good.”
“Uuhn…”
“He he.” Skarlet nudged Dash’s thigh with her muzzle, sliding the poor pegasus along the ground a few inches. “Didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“I think I bit my tongue…”
Dash and Skarlet laughed together. Outside, the day was beginning to darken. It was already mid-evening. Had they really talked all day? Well, talked and licked, but that was another matter… Dash inhaled a deep breath, willing her hooves, her wings, anything – to listen to her brain. All she managed was to curl her legs up against her stomach and roll helplessly onto her side.
Skarlet slid across the cave floor to curl her massive body around Dash, her warm scales laying tenderly against Dash’s back. “We can stay here for the night.” She rumbled, curling her neck around until her head rested alongside Dash’s.
“That’d… Actually be kind of nice…” Dash nodded, her eyes drooping closed. How did she get so tired? She could fly for hundreds of miles in a day, but a hoof-full of orgasms at the business end of a dragon’s tongue, and suddenly she was tapped? “You’re something else, Skarlet…”
“Well,” The dragon sighed and closed her eyes, and Dash followed her lead. “The first dragon to have a pony friend… I guess I kind of am…”
“You mean pony girlfriend.”
“… Shush, you.”
Pony and dragon slipped off to sleep, both of them dreaming pleasant dreams.
