Jaxy's walk back to Cinders was not a long one in distance. She was only a city block away from him. The time it took him however was almost a full twenty minutes. Stumbling in the darkening streets, completely oblivious to the occasional stares his awkward gait drew from other ponies who would usually keep their distance from the seemingly delinquent pony, Jaxy stopped twice to duck into an alley to vomit. His head was woozy. His throat hurt. And he could hardly form a coherent thought or emotion. All he knew or would let himself know was that he had a cake and that cake was for his best friend. It would taste good, and she would smile and she would be happy.

At the thought of Cinders enjoying the treat, Jaxy almost gagged again. He could taste it still: the slightly bitter, saltiness of Baker's semen in his mouth. He tried hard to think back to anything that was worse than what he'd just experienced, but he couldn't. Nothing had been quite so painful, shameful, or disgusting as what he had just willingly done. Nothing he could remember outside of when he first became an orphan had made him cry as he currently was. The crying was the worst part of it for Jaxy. He was very much a stallion, and the thought that a stallion could make him cry made the tears even more bitter and angry. It made him kick the cobble street beneath him as he walked, causing him to stumble several times.

When finally he stood before the long, dark alley they called their home for the past two nights, Jaxy saw Cinders' tiny form curled up on a pile of soiled straw, a thin barrier between herself and the cold stone below. In that moment, Jaxy forgot his weakness and pain, his sore throat and tortured mind. He forgot his very self. In that moment, there was only her. And she needed him. And he was going to be there for her.

Lurching forward, the bag of bread and box of cake clenched in his mouth, Jaxy stumbled towards Cinders and laid by her side. She looked up excitedly and asked, "Did you get it?"

A real smile, a massive smile, splayed across his face as he cried, "I got more than just bread. Look!" He undid the string on the box and revealed the chocolate, strawberry covered cake to her.

Giving him a look of open mouthed wonder, Cinders demanded, "How did you get this?!"

Grinning, Jaxy replied, "I did a little job for Baker, and he gave it to me. Go on. I got it just for you."

Cinders was very much the type to look a gift horse in the mouth. She would have been the one to make a snide comment about the horse too and say it would be more of a burden in a long run than a gift. But her mind was neither critical nor analytic. It was starving for energy, and she did not hesitate. Shaking with excitement and hunger, Cinders planted her face in the cake, taking massive bites while hardly chewing. It tasted so good to her, she actually started crying with pleasure.

Jaxy cried as well. He almost forgot his own hunger as she ate. The sound of her moans was perhaps the most satisfying experience he'd ever felt in his life. It was an odd sort of euphoria. Nothing he had ever done in his life had ever been so meaningful. He watched her eat without restraint. He let her have her fill. And for once in her life, she ate until she was too full to eat anymore. Not even at the orphanage had she ever enjoyed such a pleasure. That was not to say she had always been starving. But Equestrian taxes don't provide much in the way of meals for street urchins, especially when the ponies handling the money tend to pocket much of it before it even reaches the orphanages.

Cinders ate the entire cake. It was large, and she was tiny. By the time she finished it, her belly was extended to a near breaking point and she laid her head on the straw, moaning in both pain and pleasure. She fought hard through a wave of delirium for a few moments before finally having the sense of mind to whisper, "Ah'm sorry... Ah shoulda saved ya some."

Jaxy shook his head and smiled, answering light heartedly, "I'm going to have the bread. I'll be just fine. How do you feel?"

Cinders gave a soft, dazed smile and whispered blissfully, "Good."

To hear her say that simple word was an exhilarating experience. Jaxy smiled even wider, wishing for a brief moment that he could have gotten a bigger cake. He did not wish it for himself however. He wanted it for her. Still, though he did not have anymore cake, Jaxy decided there was another way he could make his little Cinders happy. He brought his lips close to her soot covered ears and whispered, "Do you... Do you want me to make you feel good again?"

His mare's eyes went wide. She looked at him and whispered breathlessly, "Ah thought ya didn't wanna do that again."

In the week they had been on the streets, their exchange during their last night of stay in the orphanage had been an elephant in the room neither of them spoke about. Cinders had written it off as a one time occurrence until that moment. Jaxy had as well. He had been too ashamed to speak of it. To even think about it for the briefest moment had made him cringe. But then, at that moment, in that cold, dark alley, Jaxy did not cringe at the thought. Rather, he invited it into his mind and whispered, "Well, now I do. I want to make you feel good."

Almost unable to believe what she was hearing, Cinders nodded and rolled over onto her back. Her engorged tummy rose over her, and Jaxy actually relished the sight. He was the one responsible for filling it. Without thinking, Jaxy leaned forward and nuzzled the belly with his face, causing Cinders to blush with warmth and confusion. She spoke tentatively, "Wh-what are ya'll doin?"

Jaxy brought up his face, now covered in soot, and stuck his tongue out playfully. He didn't answer her question, instead settling his belly to the ground and bending his head close to her indistinguishable slit, hidden from sight by blackness. "I'm going to clean you up a little first, okay? So, uh, don't mind the spitting."

"Okay." she whispered, resting her head against the straw and closing her eyes.

With a smile turning up the corners of his mouth, Jaxy pressed his tongue against the base of her slit, widened it, and licked firmly upwards. The motion caused Cinders to jerk and moan slightly and resulted in his tongue being covered in a thick, black layer. Without gagging or reviling the taste of the ash, Jaxy turned his head and spit it out. He immediately pressed his tongue against her again, repeating the firm stroke again and again. It was not long before Cinders slit and the fur surrounding it was visible and wet with more than just his saliva. It was a rare sight to see unblackened fur on her body. Most ponies who saw her would never have guessed her fur was actually creamy and golden. And only Jaxy knew how soft and pink her little slit was.

In an awkward squeak that was both angry and embarrassed, Cinders pleaded, "Go faster ya shit. Quit t-t-teasin me!"

Jaxy did not even raise his head to give her an imperious smile and make some pointed remark about her begging. He just did as he was told. He reached forward and attacked her with his wet tongue, gliding over, under and around her most sensitive of places. The assault caused the poor filly's head to spin. She cried out, "Ah, fuck. Yer tongue is so hot. It's like a fuckin furnace!"

A fuckin furnace.

The words rang loudly in Jaxy's mind. Very loudly. But they did not stop or slow him down. In fact, they encouraged him. He instead renewed his effort, allowing his tongue to penetrate her very slightly, dancing over her maidenhead. It did not take long. Jaxy felt her energy, her needs and desires, and instinctively knew how to answer them. Within three minutes, her moaning became panting and her panting became a whimpering orgasm.

As she laid there, gasping air in her afterglow, Jaxy laid beside her again and drew her into his protective hooves. Rather than balk at the intimacy, Cinders met his embrace, pressing tightly against him. Without provocation, she reached up and pressed her soft lips against Jaxy's chin, kissing him. The kiss caused an intense warmth to radiate through Jaxy's body. That warmth multiplied tenfold when he heard her mutter three little words with careful inflection she rarely afforded to any words, "I love you." The warmth did not diminish as she pressed her face into his neck and added almost belligerently, "Ya fucker."

Jaxy said nothing. Even if he had, she would not have heard it. She fell asleep almost instantly, the first time since they'd left that Jaxy had seen her sleep easily. His mind was absorbed in thought and contemplation. In a rare moment of outward expression, Jaxy whispered to her sleeping form, "I did some terrible things today."

His voice was hoarse and gritty. He cleared his throat.

"But it was worth it. Making you smile. Making you feel full and happy. I don't know. It just... It makes me feel like I have a purpose, like I'm not some worthless piece of shit."

He somehow smiled.

"I think... I think I'd do anything for you. If it meant I could make you smile, I'd do it all over again. Hell, I'd do even more than that. I'd let him rut me like I was a mare."

He shook his head, amazed at what he'd said. As he did, a flash of light caught his eye. Looking down, Jaxy saw a mark on his flank. It was no longer bare. Jaxy gave a satisfied smile and laid his head above Cinders'. He fell asleep quickly, his mind at ease.

He knew what his cutie mark was telling him.

Author's Note

I'm back.