“Stupid… sun... get... off... my window… ugh…”

Berry Punch, current and sole resident of the berry household, rolled groggily out of her bed and landed painfully on her butt with a colorful curse. Celestial bodies usually didn’t let themselves be affected by the incessant whining of mere mortals, so it kept shining mercilessly through the cracks in her blinds. In escape from the headache inducing rays, she crawled on the new and smooth floor in experienced fashion, which could’ve been made of broken glass and it wouldn’t have made a difference to her numb body. Regardless, it helped to ensure her safe voyage to the bathroom. The carpenters had worked wonders in repairing the three holes her brother had made in his makeshift distiller rocket.

She’d been so tired of falling through one of them by accident.

Only sheer force of will kept Berry from curling up and going back to sleep under the bathroom sink. A new sense of appreciation for her brother had grown since she was managing the family business all by herself. The hospital bills and repair costs had put a serious dent in their savings, with her as the only pony capable of bringing the money in to compensate. Hard Knock didn’t know about any of this, clueless in a way that Berry wanted it to stay, because there was no point in stressing her poor brother out and complicating his recovery. For now, all the responsibility rested on her shoulders, even if those shoulders were still sore from lying around like a drunken mess for years.

Sober or not, the body doesn’t forget a lifetime of self-abuse.

In this barely conscious state, she lifted herself from the ground and shambled out of the house to get the mail. She found the mailbox more from memory than from actual eyesight and leaned against it heavily, unfolding the morning newspaper in a desperate effort to focus her tired eyes long enough to start reading the headlines.

“Oh would you look at that,” Berry deadpanned at the first article, “Twilight Sparkle and her friends have done something important again. How is that still news these days? I oughta cancel my subscription, if all the exciting stuff in the world happens in sight of my backyard...”

Halfway through the classified ads on page ten, somepony on Berry’s lawn made a coughing noise that startled the living hell out of her. Ponies rarely wanted to talk with her without a reason. Berry held the unfolded newspaper a bit tighter in front of her face and hoped that she came out presentable this morning. Not being drunk didn’t cure her of being a complete slob sometimes.

A quick sniff of her coat diffused that concern and she lowered the newspaper to face whoever wanted her attention. Instead of a single individual, Berry Punch was faced with a crowd of at least one hundred ponies staring back at her. The mob stood densely packed on the sidewalk, spilling out to large parts of the street in front of her house.

Berry, now wide awake, took an awkward stumble away from her mailbox. Their silent gazes followed in unison. She stepped to the right, and once again, their eyeballs kept focused solely on her.

“Can I help you with something?” she asked, doing a step backwards in tandem with a unified step forward from the mass of ponies. Berry backed away from the approaching crowd until her butt touched the front door of her house. “I’m just gonna go back inside now and lock my door, because you really freak me out.”

“Wait!” a voice yelled from within the crowd.

Berry saw Applejack squeeze through between two stallions in the front row and painted this bizarre situation in a whole new light. Not better, just different. First, she noticed now that they were all earth ponies. Second, every pony in the bunch with a cutie mark had an apple on it in some way. The exception was Apple Bloom, who was jumping to get a peek from the back and gave Berry another hint that drew her to two conclusions:

This was undoubtedly the Apple family.

They had come specifically for her.

It didn’t take much imagination to guess why. “You heard of my cider,” Berry stated matter-of-factly and trying to play it cool in spite of her nervousness, causing Applejack’s eyebrow to twitch in response. The magnitude of her own stupidity never ceased to amaze herself. She had been boasting to her brother about her cider like a moron, completely forgetting that she left it with a pony who was best friends with an Apple family big shot.

Applejack Apple.

Berry Punch wasn’t a delicate mare with fear of getting dirty. She knew her way around a bar fight or street brawl, having been in countless drunken and sober variants in her life. However, even Berry was aware, a hundred against one was a sure way to prematurely meet your creator.

Maybe if Hardy had her back...

A quick shake of her head got rid of that thought. Hard Knock wasn’t here to drag her sorry ass out of trouble anymore. It was time to take responsibility like an adult. Part of that would be getting her ass kicked and face caved in, but Berry knew crying about it wouldn’t help.

“Is that supposed to intimidate me?” She pointed at the crowd behind Applejack with an angry scowl. “I don’t care how many of you line up on my lawn. You’re not bullying me out of business that easily.”

Applejack looked confused and took a step back with her family as Berry suddenly ripped a picket out of the garden fence with her bare hooves. The determined mare did some loose swings with the massive and nail-studded board, before smashing her mailbox to pieces for demonstration purposes.

“Come get a taste,” she said menacingly, taking a batter stance.

Meanwhile across the street, Carrot Top was the first pony to get out of her house with a garden hoe tightly gripped in anticipation. Nobody had missed the huge gathering in front of their neighbours house. The orange-maned earth pony with the carrot cutie mark had seen enough to get the picture and many other stallholders like Daisy were equally aware behind the drawn curtains of their homes. Berry Punch wasn’t their most favourite pony in the world, but they wouldn’t stand aside when one of their worst fears came true:

The Apple family forcefully taking over business in Ponyville.

“The moment they jump Berry, we run out and get them from behind,” Roseluck said to Daisy and Lily, drawing the curtain from her kitchen window. “Bon Bon just gave me the signal from her bedroom window.”

Lily joined Roseluck’s side and took a glance through a gap in the curtain. “But Carrot already went out and won’t wait that long. You know how much she hates the Apples.”

Daisy, still sitting on the kitchen table with a shovel, snorted in amusement. “Can you blame the mare? With her carrots, she’s got it worse than all of us. Ponyville is a fruit town, and barely more than apples in that regard. Tell me, when was the last time any of us ate a pear? Our flowers can at least be used as garnish for all those stupid apple treats!”

Meanwhile outside, Carrot Top smeared her face with dirt and started to pace, banging the hoe against her house wall.

“You’re right, Daisy. This will get real messy.” Roseluck went to the front door and peeked through the mail slot for a better perspective. “Wouldn’t surprise me if the crazy bitch has just been waiting for an excuse to vent some frustration.”

Unaware of the impending street riot, Applejack had recovered from Berry’s open display of hostility. “Yes, we came for your cider,” Applejack said loud and clear, which caused several doors in the neighborhood to bust open, “but not to stop you from making it. We want to buy your stock.”

A collective sigh of relief echoed throughout the neighborhood, followed by a solitary scream of disappointment and the sound of a breaking garden hoe. Applejack turned towards the noise with her family, watching a fuming Carrot Top go back inside and slamming the door shut with enough force to shatter a window.

“Let me get this straight,“ Berry said, lowering her improv weapon, “you, Applejack Apple, want to buy apple cider from a non-family member?”

“Yes.”

“You make that stuff yourself, you know? I’ve stood in line for it many times.”

“Yes, I do know,” Applejack said through gritted teeth. “Yours is better.”

Berry had seemingly hit a nerve. She wasn’t mean spirited by nature, but somepony rarely got an opportunity to put down the local top dogs in their own business. There was no more doubt in her mind that she’d brewed up something fierce, when a stubborn mare like Applejack was putting aside her personal pride.

The prospect of having so many ponies on her lawn didn’t faze her as much anymore, considering they were now potential customers instead of a bloodthirsty mob.

“That can be arranged. How much cider do you need?”

Her answer came in the form of a darkening sky and objects from the crowd raining down upon her like ordnance. She barely managed to hit the ground before heavy bags flew over her head. Some of them ripped open on impact to reveal sparkling gold coins inside.

Applejack turned around and started waving frantically at her throwing family members. “Stop it! Have some self-control for Celestia’s sake!”

“I’ll be damned… for that much I can get you…” Berry crawled towards her new fortune and counted the bags, until a much smaller one zoomed in a weak ark from the crowd and smashed through her bedroom window. “...What I usually would have given you, minus the cost of that window.”

“Goshdarnit, Apple Bloom!”

“Sorry!”

“I’ll give you something to be sorry about!”

“Get your hooves off my sister!”

Berry got up and dusted herself off from grass and dirt. The ensuing argument between the Apple family members didn’t interest her much, so she signaled the embarrassed Applejack to follow her inside during the loud bickering. Both reappeared just moments before the first punches were thrown and Applejack carrying several huge bottle crates.

“They seem smaller than the one from the hospital,” Applejack said with a pout, putting down the fragile boxes with as much care as possible.

She was right. The bottles for her newest batch of cider were much smaller than the one Hard Knock had gotten. Keeping the quality of her beverage in mind, Berry now filled her cider in bottles that were around the size suitable for beer. With practised ease, she took a bottle and popped the cap with a loud fizz.

Everyone of the Apple family clan stopped what they were doing and started sniffing the air like bloodhounds.

“Get in line, old before young, mares before stallions.” Berry barked at the gathered crowd, which solely fixated on the beverage in her hoof with barely contained drool running down their mouths. “Who’s first?”

“Me.”

The sea of ponies parted and revealed Granny Smith with a gold bit in her hoof.

“I’m glad to have business with you, Ms. Smith.” Berry filled a cup to the brim and presented her creation.

The old mare took the cup with distrust. ”The others were pretty quick to throw their money at you, but this old warhorse here had too many drinks in her life to be easily impressed.”

Instead of drinking it right away, Granny Smith examined the amber liquid carefully and held it against the sun to watch it sparkle like liquid gold. She remained calm and collected, contrary to the rest of her kin. Everyone held their breath as she downed the content in one go and put it empty on the ground with a stone-faced expression.

“Big Macintosh?”

The large red head of her grandson poked out of the crowd. “Eyup?”

“Marry that mare. I want her as granddaughter.”

Hard Knock believed strongly that magic was a wonderful thing.

Many earth ponies liked to downplay its importance, yet ultimately had to admit that they had wished to be a unicorn on more than one occasion. Hard Knock had never been bitter about it though, or tried to force some ridiculous notion that earth pony achievements mean more because they have to work harder. The simple possibility of enjoying a warm bath in casts was a strong case for his horned congeners and their expertise.

Usually, the staff just gave him a simple sponge bath, but the multiple kinds of stains and the pungent smell of sexual intercourse had convinced the nurses to whip out the big guns this morning; The large wellness area of Ponyville Hospital stood as the pride of the facility. It was equipped with everything a recovering patient could desire, including fancy magic spells to keep the casts on Hard Knock dry. The bandages on his body had also been carefully removed for his bath. He almost looked normal again without them, except for the trimmed short mane and visible bruises all over.

The warm water in the pool-sized bathtub did wonders for his well-being, as soothing music played and the smell of aromatic filled the air. It could have been a perfectly relaxing situation, if it weren’t for his prismatic companion splashing around and loudly swimming laps in the deeper parts.

“Hard Knock! Look! Look!... COME ON LOOK!”

He was in no real danger of drowning in the shallow end with just ankle deep water, but hospital policy dictated that somebody had to supervise him during his bath. The staff had eagerly jumped on the idea of Rainbow Dash doing it. In contrast to earlier sessions and according to Nurse Redheart, no other patients occupied the room this morning and the staff wouldn’t let anybody in until both of them were ready to leave. She and the other blushing nurses were so obvious at this point, he assumed the whole hospital was in the know of their little activity last night.

Something, Hard Knock felt equally aroused and disturbed from.

“DIVE BOMB!”

Rainbow Dash seemed either blissfully unaware or unaffected by that fact, climbing out the pool for the hundredth time to jump back inside and splashing him in the face. Teary eyed and grumpy, Hard Knock finally had enough of her nonsense and puffed up for a lecture about consideration.

His anger deflated as soon as she came up for air.

The sight of that petite frame bursting through the water surface was truly something to behold. Her vibrant and exotic mane shined almost like a real rainbow under the fluorescent light, masterfully complemented by the skyblue coat. Time seemed to stop as the sparkling water droplets sprayed in every direction. She shook a strand of damp mane from her magenta eyes and gave him a smile that could melt steel.

Once again, Hard Knock realized that Rainbow Dash was a stunningly beautiful mare.

“What’s wrong? Never seen someone do a sick waterbomb before?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow at his mesmerized stare.

The events of yesterday flashed before his inner eye. Assorted images of that curvaceous body pressed against him, grinding and riding in ecstasy with the sound of her full lips moaning his name. The face distorted in pleasure from his memory was the same laughing at him now, playing around in a childish and innocent manner.

Hard Knock felt like in an obscure fantasy, unsure if he could believe his senses to remember their shared experience correctly.

“Don’t you dare…” he quietly hissed at his penis, scolding the misbehaving organ for pushing out of its sheath. Real or not, those recollections were stimulating nonetheless. This wasn’t the time, nor the place, to pop a boner like a pubescent teenager though. The two of them had something good going here, and Hard Knock didn’t want to ruin it by flashing his dick around.

“I desperately need some exercise to get back in flying shape," Rainbow Dash said, swimming backstroke in circles and completely unaware of the pointy surprise beneath. “The extra pounds from lazing around and eating do a serious number on my aerodynamics.”

“You look fine to me.” Hard Knock tried to stay calm. Everything would be fine as long as she kept her distance, but some of those laps were getting dangerously close.

“Thank you for saying that, but I really have let myself go. Why do they have to make the food so irresistibly good?” Of course, her swimming stopped directly before him. “I mean, look at my fat cutie mark!”

In one swift motion, She was back on her hooves and showed him her butt up close. For emphasis, Rainbow Dash gave a little smack to one of her round buttcheeks with just enough force to see the small vibrations going through. Her buns looked firm and juicy like the freshest and most mouthwatering peach, only separated by her bushy tail that softly swayed in almost hypnotic ways.

“My lightning bolt has never been so bi… ” Rainbow’s eyes wandered between his legs and remained there. A glance down from himself revealed her reason and turned the blood in his veins to ice. His penis had speared through the water and foam like an ice-breaker, standing erect in all its glory as testament for his lack of control and lecherous thoughts about her.

Hard Knock averted his eyes in shame and didn’t notice how the childlike smile on Rainbow Dash’s face made way for a much more devious grin. “You’re getting this excited over a little bit of flank in your face?” She sat down and reached out with a hindleg to gently stroke along the underside of his hard-on. “Aren’t you ashamed?” Rainbow Dash purred, applying more weight to press Hard Knock’s erection against his belly. “Showing yourself like that to a mare?”

“So soft…” he thought, swallowing hard as her hoof kept straddling him like liquid velvet. Most pegasi walked their entire life on nothing harder than clouds. They kept those legs off the ground for long periods of time, so naturally, their hooves wouldn’t develop as sturdy and rough as earth pony ones. Evolution at its finest with Hard Knock gladly reaping the benefits.

“Do I make you that horny?” she gloated openly. “I’m the only one here, so it must be me.”

The sensation of wet coat brushing against his skin and the occasional rub of soft flesh from her underhoof made this incredibly stimulating. ”Such a naughty colt…” Her second hindleg joined in, cupping him gently down there to measure the weight of his package. “You didn’t think I would forget those two, did you?” Rainbow Dash said, licking her lips and gently kneading him in circular motion.

“Don’t stop…” He was getting lightheaded from the sensual overload on his privates. A complete hoofjob with her hindlegs? Quite a leap from punching him in the dick. Her performance was world’s better than the clumsy attempts from yesterday and proved what an astonishingly fast learner she could be.

He whimpered from a light brush against his sensitive tip, making Rainbow Dash’s cocky grin turn even wider before she spoke. “It’s awesome, isn’t it? You and your little friend can count yourself lucky that an amazing mare like me is keeping you company. Why don’t you...”

Hard Knock fought the urge to roll his eyes. It eluded him why Rainbow Dash still tried so hard to convince him of her toughness after all what happened yesterday. He didn’t think less of her for it. Quite the opposite actually. The “badass mare without chinks” persona was hard to believe, once you’ve been cuddling and comforting said mare after intense love making.

Well that, and her use of the word “little” in conjunction with his penis irritated him slightly.

“...making you my personal cum disp… Hey, I’m talking to you!” Rainbow Dash stopped and brought him back from his thoughts.

For a pony that was all about looking tough, she could be read pretty easily. Performance anxiety was written all over her face. The way those bedroom eyes wavered gave it away, showing her struggle to act sexy and alluring. The wrong word, or the right one depending on the intention, could have devastating consequences on her confidence.

“I’m not doing something wrong, am I?”

Rainbow was hard to get used to, yet somehow Hard Knock had grown deeply fond of her.

“What’s the matter? Say something… Does it feel bad?”

Behind that rough and obnoxious shell was someone he wanted to get to know better.

“It felt wonderful, Rainbow.” Hard Knock pursed his lips against the underside of her outstretched hoof and kissed the soft texture. The relatively small contact was enough to sent uncontrollable shivers throughout her body. Baffled and intrigued by her reaction, he pulled out his tongue to give the same spot a cautious lick, gauging for similar outcomes.

She didn’t disappoint his expectations. “Stop that…” Rainbow Dash stammered, hiding red-faced behind her hooves. “That’s gross, don’t touch my hoof like that!”

Who was she trying to fool with this? It would have been easy to stop him by simply pulling her leg away. The coy and hopeful glances through those forelegs told a different story than her half-hearted attempts to form a complaint.

“Gross…” Rainbow Dash visibly enjoyed herself and Hard Knock was happy about it.

He nuzzled the sole of her hoof. “You have amazing legs. I’ve never seen hooves this dainty and petite.”

Rainbow’s blush turned a few shades darker. “Don’t mock me! I’m an athlete and future Wonder…Eep!... Ooohhh sweet Celestia!” A nibble on her hoof elicited a surprised shriek, which soon melted into delighted moaning as he continued along the edge. The skin on the sole was too sensitive for biting, so he sealed the spot with his lips and sucked roughly for a similar effect.

“The other one too…” Her unattended hindleg rubbed meekly against his cheek.

With both hindlegs outstretched, Rainbow Dash needed her forelegs as support. That meant she had no other choice then to show him her flushed face. Bright red, tense and beautiful. Hard Knock made it a point to go for intense eye contact through a very slobbery lick across her left sole, forcing her to look away and whimper from embarrassment.

“Do you enjoy this?” he asked after tracing small circles with his tongue.

The wet sounds, piercing looks, and sensual touch made her heartbeat skyrocket. There was a good reason why she avoided the weekly beauty gatherings of her friends at the spa; The poor mare lived her girliest nightmare, turned into the lewdest of fantasies. Her hindlegs moved around sporadically with a mind of their own, showing him when to focus on which hoof without having to actually tell him and die of shame. The unattended hoof respectively kept himself busy with rubbing his cheek or chest while it waited for it’s turn to be touched.

In the end, Rainbow Dash fully succumbed to her newfound fetish and pressed both hooves tightly against his muzzle for simultaneous service.

“This is so wrong…” she croaked, feeling exposed but also incredibly excited as the heat kept rising in her loins. She sat down on his chest and rubbed her marehood against his coat, fully indulging in the rough stimulation it provided.

A dead giveaway for Hard Knock to enter the next stage.

“Get closer to me.” He opened his mouth to show his tongue and she understood, slowly reclining from her sitting position and inching her crotch towards his mouth with spread hindlegs, every little detail of Rainbow Dash in full display for him to look at. Shame still filled Rainbow’s mind for showing her most private to a stallion, but the need for relief was so much stronger now.

“Stop... staring so much… you perv...”

His tongue drew along her inner thigh and towards those inviting rosy petals. From that close, even all the fragranced soaps and shampoos couldn’t overpower the powerful scent of her arousal. He hungrily buried his muzzle in her moist folds and inhaled deeply, making Rainbow Dash whimper from the air tickling her sensitive spot.

“You smell wonderful. I wonder if you taste as good?”

“Stupid weirdo…”

Another lick pushed the pinkish folds apart and coated his tongue in her nectar. The musky vapors of her sex filled his nostrils even stronger in an intoxicating manner, driving him almost insane by fragrance alone. Advancements civilized the pony from the animal they say, but some responsive primal instincts stayed with it forever. Hard Knock wasn’t as enthusiastic about bodily fluids like Rainbow Dash, and yet, simply loved her unique aroma.

“What’s taking so long?” she whined, staring at the ceiling with gritted teeth, “I need it... Don’t make me wait anymore...”

“You need what?” Hard Knock asked smugly in return, stopping the movement of his tongue. Some childish part of him wanted to push her buttons further. She voiced her displeasure with a whiny moan and he had a hard time not to gush over her angry pouting. “I’m afraid that I’m not as awesome as you and can’t figure it out on my own. Tell me what to do, Rainbow.”

“You’re so mean...” she said with shaky breath, moisture building in her magenta eyes. The fight against her stubbornness ended and the surrender came with a trail of kisses toward her nethers. Teasing in good fun was all well and good, but actually making her cry would have broken his heart. Arriving at her yearning core, he breathed in deeply for one more time to savor the moment and stuck his tongue in whole.

“Finally…” Rainbow Dash gasped loudly, clasping her trembling hindlegs around him. The small lips of her wetness had swollen noticeably from prolonged arousal and increased their sensitivity, encasing her erect and glistening clit like a delicious oyster around a sparkling pearl.

“Be more gentle with that,” she whimpered after a specially rough lick over the sensitive nub.

Seconds turned to minutes while he indulged in sating her carnal desire and his curiosity. Moments passed with the sole purpose of bringing bliss and revealing something new about her to memorize and use to that end. His forgotten and rock-hard erection ached painfully for attention. Attention, it would soon get by accident when Rainbow Dash steadily lost herself in the movement of his tongue and soft kisses. She leaned backwards to lay her head on his lap like a pillow and felt something pointy poke her instead. Curious for the cause, a turn for the source revealed the massive sight of his seven inches of darkish brown stallionhood

Her lips pursed and blew a soft breeze on the rounded tip. The swelled muscle shivered and twitched like a small critter from the cool air in an adorable way.

“So awesome…” she whispered, nuzzling it affectionately and taking a big whiff from his musk. The smell and taunting sheen of precum on her nose afterwards was all the motivation Rainbow Dash needed. After turning a little bit more with eased nimbleness, she claimed him with her mouth and made a satisfied moan from the saltiness. The little preview of his taste persuaded her easily to start sucking and licking all over his throbbing member for more.

“I’m supposed to be pleasuring you, Rainbow.” Hard Knock moaned, getting distracted by the new feeling of warm wetness surrounding him. Of course, she didn’t heed his complaint and kept kept going with great enthusiasm. To not fall behind, he resumed licking her as well and ignored the ridiculousness of it all. Karma wasn’t something he believed in, but if he did, this would definetly a strong case for it. A week ago, his greatest excitement had been a middle-aged nurse washing him with the rough side of a sponge.

Fast forward to now, where he was part of simultaneous oral sex with a gorgeous mare that couldn’t get enough of his dick.

“Mmm…tasty...”

Literally couldn’t get enough.

“wonna seh whus beddah?” Rainbow Dash mumbled, deepthroating his whole shaft until her lips reached the base.

“This ain't a competition Rainbow,” he replied after another lick against her clit.

“whuteva u sey scurdy cat. uhm gunna win anywey,” she gurgled, followed by a gagging sound and a cough when his tip hit her throat.

Hard Knock stopped and frowned at her.

“Yu… ok?”

He was not ok, apparent by the sound of grinding teeth from his mouth. As much as he liked having Rainbow Dash around, she certainly knew how to push his buttons in the oddest of moments. Yesterday, she barely knew anything about sex and cried into his chest for comfort. How did one good lay suddenly make her an expert? What laurels did she have to be so cocksure of herself now? There he was, giving his all for her sake and satisfaction, and she thought to outdo him quickly on the finish line?

“thad wein on yur neg is gedn rel thck.”

Hard Knock didn’t consider himself a playcolt, but getting underestimated this much wounded his male pride big time. “You win? Is that a fact?” Hard Knock said in a low tone, burying his muzzle into her with all restraint and caution thrown overboard. Boasting had a natural pain threshold for every pony and his was reached. The time for nice was up. If she wanted to turn this into a competition, then she would get one from him!

“Wu ah yu… ahhh… ugh... guh!” she stammered through the violent assault of licks and bites on her most sensitive parts. Any resemblance of gentleness was gone. Wild and relentless, he overwhelmed Rainbow Dash like a raging beast, leaving her completely defenseless and unable to retaliate.

“Don’t get flustered now!” he hollered through the echoing room in a booming voice, ”Come on, get louder! Squeal for me and let them hear us outside! I don’t care anymore if they do!”

“No, I… wait… let…” She tried to cover up with her tail with a whimper. Hard Knock growled and yanked it away to bare her once more when both reduced themselves to rutting mammals under a thick blanket of feral lust.

Rainbow Dash thought she knew pleasure after yesterday, but her first real orgasm made those memories pale in comparison by sheer intensity and came in huge convulsing squirts with an ear-splitting whinny.

Loud enough to let somebody drop a tray in the hallway.

Like Hard Knock, she didn’t give a damn about being heard, enraptured in another incredible experience and the need for more. More pleasure, more excitement, more of the smoldering afterglow, and generally more of him providing it. Nobody would stop her from getting it, even if the whole hospital had come in at this point and watched them do the dirty deed.

If anything, the thought of staring ponies got her even more horny and excited.

Instincts made Rainbow Dash seek closeness to his warm body, crawling on his chest and getting on top. “Hard Knock...” she panted now face to face between nickering and gasping for air, everything besides this singular moment unimportant in her consciousness. “You’re mine now…” Eager hooves grabbed his face for a deep kiss as she breathed slurredly into him, tongue and lips occupied by exploring every inch without any resistance.

“What the hell just happened?” he thought as the red haze lifted from his eyes, “I can’t remember the last time I went that crazy about anything!” Hard Knock blinked rapidly while Rainbow Dash nibbled on his lower lip between kisses. “Gotta be careful about that.”

The eager mare paused her oral assault only long enough to gloat. “Who’s the winner now? Get ready to be—” A cough ended Rainbow’s monologue abruptly, hitting Rainbow Dash open mouthed in the back of her throat with droplets of spittle coating her face. Dumbfounded and confused, she just sat there frozen in a vain attempt to understand what just happened.

Hard Knock apologized immediately. “I’m… so sorry… just... give me a second... to catch my breath.” Another fit of nasty coughs made him tremble, ruining the mood entirely and causing her to pull away from his shaking frame. She wiped her muzzle where some of his saliva had hit and grimaced from the smell of copper.

“A minute at most… I swear...”

Her heart skipped a beat when the blue hoof came back from her face with red splotches all over.

“Maybe two…”

On a closer inspection and without the rosy tint of her horniness, Hard Knock suddenly looked a lot more tired than before. How could she have not seen it? The dark bags under his eyes and shallow breathing revealed the toll of their physical activities as clear as day. His eyes had difficulties to focus on her, wandering around the room like in a fever dream until his dick went limp and lost more than half of his size. Now sad and disappointed, the defeated look on his face was devastating to her heartstrings; He didn’t deserve to feel this bad.
“I admit defeat. You were amazing," Rainbow Dash reassured him quickly, rubbing his chest to calm the coughing. Although a bit rough at the end, Hard Knock had went the distance like a champ, and now, she would make him feel like one. “Lean back and enjoy your prize.”

She went down on him and slowly widened his hindlegs to get a good look. Straddling his thighs sensually, her muzzle went past his flaccid cock after a quick nuzzle, opening all the way to move around the testicles beneath with her outstretched tongue. Thrill filled her from the weight and resistance as she lifted them in playful worship.

“They’re so big and heavy,” she complimented him with batted eyelashes,“I wonder, if a little mare like me could swallow it all?”

"Rainbow..." He wasn’t capable of saying much else before she put his whole sack in her warm mouth and swirled it around. Despite the new feeling of pleasure, it didn’t go over his head what her plan was. Submissive and obedient wasn’t her style, but for his sake, she was putting on a show.

“Soh beag an ful… hmm.”

A weird and very sexy show just for him.

Rainbow Dash in turn, loved how he breathed her name in pleasure while he squirmed under her touch. The subtle reactions she could invoke by a simple lick on the right place fascinated Rainbow Dash greatly. She released his package with a smoldering look, licking now along his shaft until she reached the sensitive top. His stallionhood stood straight again, hard as a rock and ready to be sampled.

“Cum for me Hard Knock. I want to taste you so bad.” Again at the bottom, she worked her way up on the sensitive underside, stopping only shortly to trace her tongue around his medial ring.

Silky lips reached the tip for a second time and tasted pre-cum with a feathery kiss. Not much acting skill was required for the satisfied moan afterwards. “Why do I like your splooge so much?” she asked herself, licking off another drop from the tip and smacking her lips. “Your thick, tangy, delicious…”

Unable to contain herself any longer, Rainbow Dash finally put those lips around his cock to suck more out of it. The entire length went further and further in while slowly bobbing her head up and down on his lap to get him well lubricated. Another moan and colorful curse left his lips, as she became more firm with her sucking with the intent was to milk him thoroughly.

A glance up made her frown. She wanted to see his satisfied face, but he didn’t look like it; Hard Knock’s eyes were tightly shut with both forelegs tensely pressed against his sides. Moans and grunts showed the pleasure, but complete bliss looked different. Something was still missing to make this perfect for him.

Right then, Rainbow Dash realized what a pony in his situation would want: Control and choice. She reached for his shaking hooves and placed them on her mane, letting him have something soft and pleasant to grab onto. Hard Knock opened his eyes from the sudden contact and met her gaze, fixated on him as she tightened her lips harder. Her hooves moved his, and in junction, moved her head that he was still holding.

The implication of that gesture jumpstarted the kinkier side of Hard Knock’s imagination.

“Use me,” Rainbow’s eyes seemed to tell him, “Come on...”

Hard Knock bit his upper lip and grabbed her head firmer. Was she really up for something like that? It was a tempting offer, but possibly fatal in the case he had read her wrong. She didn’t look uncomfortable from the added roughness, and after one last exchange of silent looks, he started to slide her head up and down on his lap. Slowly and gently at first to gauge for resistance, but the intensity grew with each repeat, producing soon loud slurping noise as he used her mouth like a warm sleeve.

“Is this real? I’m humping her face right now,” he thought through the pleasurable friction and her loud moans, “and it looks like she loves it!”

It didn’t only look like it, Rainbow Dash enjoyed herself immensely while he pumped away at her throat. Giving up control added another layer of excitement and surprise to their experience. Hard Knock decided now how fast and deep his large rod would go down her throat, abusing that power wholeheartedly as he penetrated her mouth repeatedly with heavy grunts.

“You’re an amazing mare, Rainbow…” Hard Knock groaned between thrusts, “just a bit more… I’m really close.”

Although her mouth was filled to the brim, she managed to smile at him and cupped his balls for a loving squeeze.

“Buck!” He came right then from shock, gripping two hooffuls of rainbow mane and pushing her deeper down on his ejaculating cock. Spurt after spurt of hot fluid filled Rainbow’s mouth and coated her tongue, making her tastebuds scream in euphoria from the overwhelming flavor. Most of the salty seed went down quickly and got swallowed in huge gulps, but some of it filled her cheeks and dripped out on the edges in a shimmery white line.

“That was… incredible,” Hard Knock said after pulling Rainbow Dash’s head off him with a wet plop. Like in trance, she licked the residue from her chin before dragging her tongue over and over again on the softening erection. To her, this was close second to the tastiest thing in the world, first being his apple cider. Having both, almost drove tears of joy to her eyes.

One of his hooves placed itself on her cheek to caress it gently, while the other brushed a messy strand of hair out of the way to fully see her face. She stopped her instinctive licking on contact and leaned into his hoof with a content hum, enjoying to be petted and straddled in such a way. Despite being soiled, disheveled and flustered, Hard Knock had never seen something more beautiful. The mare seemed to almost glow from within, turning his surroundings brighter and more colorful.

It was at this moment, Hard Knock realized once and for all that he had fallen for her.

“Uh...” Rainbow Dash said a bit muffled, her face still being cupped by Hard Knock. She wasn’t sure what the next step should be and he wouldn’t stop staring at her with that dorky smile. What even was the right thing to do after sucking a stallion's dick? He eventually let go of her, still smiling and at her in a way that made Rainbow Dash blush all over again.

Nobody had ever looked at her like he was right now. It reminded Rainbow Dash distantly of family and friends, but a lot deeper and more sincere. A sense of want and desire radiated from him, confusing her with the complete absence of lust and lecherous nature. If she’d ever been in a serious relationship before or could have seen her own face while looking at him in their more tender moments, Rainbow Dash would have recognized it immediately for what it was.

As it stood, it was only confusing and making her feel fuzzy. Her eyes averted to a sponge floating in the water. She picked it up, deciding to might as well do what they were in the bath for and get clean. The small object moved gently along the bridge of his nose and around his mouth, careful to keep the soap out of his eyes and removing the sticky evidence of their naughty session.

After his face was free of her fluids, she continued with the rest of his body and added a sports massage for good measure. Some extra time was put into massaging his large chest, sturdy back, and several other parts of his anatomy and Rainbow Dash liked what she felt while doing that. Even being bedridden for so long couldn’t fully conceal that under all those bandages and bruises was a stallion in good shape. Not as muscular like Big Macintosh or Bulk Biceps, but noticeably toned in the right places by a life of hard work and undoubtedly bedworthy.

She had to suppress a slight giggle through the comfortable silence after feeling up the wiry muscles in his forelegs. Thoughts about things he could do with those strong extremities filled her mind. Wonderful and naughty things, which would hopefully be followed by an extensive nap on his adorable and pudgy tummy; Two adjectives she never would have dreamed of using, much less in association with a stallion.

In polar opposite of Rainbow Dash, Hard Knock’s mood had soured significantly. The momentary rush of happiness from his emotional realization was severely dampened by a heavy dose of reality. Rainbow Dash worked her soothing magic on his body, but he couldn’t really enjoy due to his current mindset. The downside of being a realist, was to constantly think of the probable instead of the desired outcomes for your situations.

Whichever way he looked at it now, none of the possible scenarios in his head were good.

Hard Knock was in this hospital for the long run and how winded he felt made him painfully aware of that again. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof, would be here for a week or two at most. Who knows when he would be able to leave? When would be the next time he’d see her and would she even want to see him?

A depressing thought.

“I don’t like this,” he muttered to himself.

“A bit late for complaining about the massage slowpoke,” she said curtly with the sponge tightly gripped. Then she saw the solemn look on his face. “Hey, what’s bugging you?”

He bit the inside of his cheek. “Nothing major. I’m just not used to being so useless. I’m the most dependable pony in our family, which to be honest, doesn’t mean much because every member of the Berry clan is a wackjob in some way or another. However, it was at least something to hold onto, but now, I can’t even wipe my own face without help.”

It wasn’t the reason why he was upset at the moment, but he had thought along those lines often enough to make it sound believable.

Rainbow Dash looked sadly at her hurt wing. “I can relate to that. Flying is everything to me, and just a week without it sounded like hell. This must be very hard for you, having such a roadblock thrown in your way to become… do… continue with...” Her sentence trailed off to a whisper before she went silent with big eyes and the sponge dropping out of her grip. “I never asked you about your dreams… I didn’t ask you about anything!”

There was truth in that statement. Rainbow Dash had been talking mostly about herself and didn’t inquire very much about him since they met. It wasn’t that he minded that circumstance though; Quite the opposite actually. She was an interesting mare to listen to, minus the obvious bragging and exaggerations at some times.

“That’s not entirely true,” Hard Knock joked lightheartedly, “remember, you asked me if you could play with my penis.”

The expression on her face hardened like concrete. “Show me your ass.”

Hard Knock blinked once. “Excuse me... what?”

Her demand wasn’t meant to be sexual or kinky. They both had their share for now although later was already a possibility on her mind. Right now, she needed more information about this stallion and she wanted it this instant. The quickest way to get an idea about a pony was the cutie mark. Talking about your marks wasn’t the most used conversation opener for nothing, so without further ado, Rainbow Dash grabbed him by the hindlegs and lifted his lower body out of the pool to get a look.

“Rainbow, this is really uncomfortable!” Hard Knock grunted, his hips raised and head resting on the pool edge.

She ignored his comment and focused on his flank. The plum colored bum under scrutiny, that looked surprisingly firm in her opinion, had a wooden tray with a large green bottle and a glass. Both items on the tray were partially concealed by a bunch of purple grapes which looked identical to those of his sister Berry. After a more thorough look, Rainbow Dash noticed the amber liquid in the glass.

The idea had been good in theory. Cutie marks can give you hints for the right questions, but aren’t much help if you’re too stubborn to ask them in the first place. It was quite obvious from her grinding teeth how little progress she was making.

Hard Knock offered an olive branch. “Put me down and I tell you what my dream is.”

She exchanged a challenging look with him, contemplating if she should take the offer or insist on her pride.

“My neck is killing me, Rainbow.” he said with big puppy eyes, making Rainbow Dash flinch guiltily and lower him carefully back into the water. “I don’t get what the big deal is.” Hard Knock avoided looking at her as she sat down between his legs. “We talked a lot about you, so what? You’re much more interesting than me!”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“My dream is nothing great, barely something in comparison to your ambitions. Tell me again about your first day of flight—”

“Hard Knock!”

Apparently, she really wanted to know.

“... A pub.” It almost hurt him physically to tell her. His dream was nothing special. While she aspired to entertain the masses with feats of athleticism and audacity, he couldn’t reach farther than serving drinks behind a counter. “Just a boring, small pub in the outskirts of Ponyville.”

“Do you have a name for it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“The Grimy Griffon.” He answered much quicker this time. There was no point in stalling anymore with the cat out of the bag, so he might as well get it over with. “I promised my grandpa to call it that, if it ever came to fruition.“

“Tell me about him,” she said, crawling on top of his chest.

Hard Knock obliged grudgingly, missing her quick sniff of his coat and the twinkle in her eyes. “What’s there to tell? Grandpa Elderberry is a simple stallion and very rough around the edges.” His eyes narrowed, trying to recall more details. “He’s been a guardpony for forty years and still gets regularly in trouble for his big mouth. Two months into service, his superiors had a weird sense of humor and transferred him to the border of the griffon kingdom as the only non-pegasus on duty.”

“Wow, that’s harsh!” Rainbow Dash replied while lying down on his stomach and getting comfy.

“It shaped him into the stallion that he is today.” Hard Knock shuddered as he remembered some of his grandfather’s more graphic tales. “The old mule dented more beaks than most other throw punches in their lives.”

“How did he manage to fight against griffons in the air?” Rainbow Dash asked a bit drowsy. She was now in the most comfortable position with her head tugged snugly under his chin for warmth. Ponies would have called it cuddling, but she would most likely deny such a ridiculous claim.

Rainbow “Danger” Dash didn’t cuddle.

“A good question.” Hard Knock was finally realizing her position and began to pet one of her wings. “The answer is one heck of a throwing leg and a mouth that could taunt Princess Celestia into a hoof fight.”

The mental picture made her laugh. A pony screaming up profanities at the sky as a battle tactic seemed ridiculous. Then again, she remembered how impulsive and easily irritable Gilda had been on her worse days.

“Your grandfather sounds like a… he seems…”

Hard Knock nuzzled her gently. “Just say what you think. I adore that bluntness of yours.”

“He sounds like a huge plothole,” she mumbled into his neck.

Hard Knock agreed wholeheartedly with her assessment and laughed. Grandpa Elderberry was loud, obnoxious, and stressful to be around, but he was family and he wouldn’t exchange him for the world. “Every weekend, him and his comrades left their post and ventured to the same destination; A shady little pub named ‘The Phony Pony’, run by a griffon named Plucky.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop grinning. A bunch of young stallions with pent up frustration about their work? She had a good guess what those missions had been about.

“The locals talk to this day about the legendary bouts between my grandfather and the grimy pub owner.” Hard Knock said, confirming exactly what she had expected. Stallions were simultaneously weird and kinda awesome in that regard. The uncomplicated way they handled themselves often struck Rainbow Dash as more efficient than mares.

Potentially more dangerous and injury-prone, but definitely quicker and more fun.

“Over the years they became friends and Plucky’s pub turned into a second home to our family. Heck, grandpa and dad even got married to their marefriends there with Plucky as the officiant!” Hard Knock gazed deeply into her eyes for the final and most important part. “I want my future patrons to feel the same about my pub; A place where the most deep-rooted hostility can be forgotten over a quality beverage, even if it lasts only to the point where you can see the bottom of your glass.”

He waited patiently for the inevitable outbreak of laughter. Many others had made fun of him in the past and Hard Knock didn’t blame them for it. Opening a bar to make the world a better place? The reasoning behind his dream always sounded stupid and childish when he said it out loud.

Rainbow Dash didn’t laugh.

“That sounds so awesome!” She shot up from him and hoofbumped the air in celebration. “We desperately need something like that in Ponyville! I would love to unwind with a foamy keg after a shitty day at weather patrol.” She gave him a stern poke in the chest. “Why don’t we have a pub already? What stopped you all this time from opening one, mister?”

“My sister needs me, Rainbow,” Hard Knock answered matter-of-factly. The questioning look on her face urged him to elaborate. “It’s not her fault that she became the way she is. Nobody chooses as a child to be a drunkard and troublemaker. Berry hung around the wrong kind of ponies when she was younger. Ponies who had a very bad influence on her. Believe me, she’s a good mare and tries to better herself, but is dependent on somepony helping out during her stumbles on the way.”

Rainbow Dash made a disgusted face. “Those ponies must have been some real jerks.”

“Yes… jerks…”

The atmosphere became very heavy all of a sudden. “Maybe this accident was a good thing,” Hard Knock said, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “Berry is really cleaning up her act recently, and it took only a few dozen broken bones in my body to accomplish. That’s a bargain in my book. I thought for sure, it would cost me at least a limb or an eye before she’d wise up.”

He chuckled hollowly in the silent room. Rainbow Dash couldn’t see anything funny in almost dying. The casual way he spoke about bleeding for family didn’t sit right with her principles. Loyalty was something she knew a thing or two about and had a deep personal stake in. It was her element, but said element didn’t dictate everything about her.

“Thank you for listening,” he said softly, interrupting her train of thought.

“Hey, what are friends for, am I right?” she replied with a smile.

Hard Knock’s brow furrowed. “Rainbow, I…”

“Yes?”

Hard Knock swallowed the big lump in his throat. “Could… could you see us as more than friends?”

The occasional noise of dripping water was the only sound remaining in the room.

“You mean… like… more more?” Rainbow Dash said in a husky whisper, having difficulties to find her voice as he nodded with a look of determination.

Strong blue legs wrapped around him as her muzzle buried itself deeper in his neck. Rainbow Dash was visibly shaking and Hard Knock prepared himself to hear the worst after that hug. Such an act could only mean one of two things, and he didn’t allow himself to hope. More than anything, Hard Knock wanted closure, regardless of the outcome.

His ears twitched as her mouth was close enough to hear quiet mumbling.

“...visiting our parents at Hearth’s Warming Eve, living together in our own cozy home and bickering over the right curtains with hot make-up sex on the kitchen table…”

That didn’t sound like being let down to him.

“...going on double, triple, quadruple and quintuple dates with my friends when they finally get coltfriends,” she said, suddenly gasping in surprise. “I’m the first to get a coltfriend… I’M THE FIRST TO GET A COLTFRIEND! HA, IN YOUR FACE RARITY! WHO’S THE TOMCOLT NOW?”

“You thought about this a lot,” Hard Knock said, contemplating every word carefully. It didn’t matter in the end, seeing how she got angry anyway.

“And why shouldn’t I think about such things?“ she said with a tremble in her voice. ”I may not be good with the mushy stuff...” That last part had come with a bit of a huff and a poke in his chest, “...but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to have someone in my life… someone like you maybe...”

The sound of splashing water around her immediately got Rainbow’s attention. Hard Knock’s stiff limbs barely managed to pull around her, shoving Rainbow’s face clumsily into his broad chest. Potential witnesses would have gotten their round of chuckles out of their weird display of affection, but simultaneously neither of them would have cared. Especially not Rainbow Dash, since the gesture and what it meant was more important to her than the preservation of pride.

“Rainbow Dash?” Hard Knock couldn’t see it from his point of view, but assumed she was now glancing up at him. “Do you want to be my marefriend?”

She kept pressed against his broad chest and listened to the audible heartbeat. In stark contrast to Hard Knock’s calm and gentle behaviour, the quick pounding revealed his own anxiety as he waited for an answer in silent prayer and closed eyes. The rhythmic sound was soothing to her ears and let Rainbow Dash drift into a place of drowsy comfort.

Until his voice brought her back into reality. “You don’t need to answer out loud, if you don’t want to. Just nod or shake your head.”

Her calmness was gone in an instant. There he was again, playing the noble stallion by being considerate and giving her all the trumps to play.

Rainbow’s inner voice was raging and nagging relentlessly now.

“What are you doing you numbskull?! Don’t just lay there and take it! Screw dignity! Screw doubt! You... I... we are supposed to be the brave one! The Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash! Show some backbone! You’re gonna look him straight in the eye and give him an answer! DO IT!”

“Yesssh...” she mumbled, accompanied by the sound of face hitting desk repeatedly from inside her head.

Hard Knock let himself sink against the pool edge. “That makes it official, doesn’t it?”

This time she actually nodded in his chest and let herself sink deeper into him as well, resting snugly on his soft belly as all doubtful thoughts vanished like vapor. Why couldn’t things always be that simple? He wanted her and she wanted him. Two ponies that liked each other. Nothing else mattered for the moment as far as she was concerned.

“You’re really comfy...”

Rainbow Dash found herself perfectly at ease with showing her sappy and lame side around him.

“Glad to be your cushion, Dashie.”

“Don’t push it, Hardy.”

She enjoyed it even.

Author's Note

Hello again,

It's been a while since I wrote anything for this story or for any other of my stories. I wil try to better myself and update more regularly.

I want to thank anybody who still showed interest after more than a year of hiatus with comments and pms.

Time to shake off the rust and write again.

I hope you had fun while reading and tell me what you think.

Edited with the help of Mcstuffins (who helped me without hesitation after such a long time. Thank you )