"Quote-Unquote"

Making it back to the convention proved to be less of a walk and more of a train ride. Luckily, they weren't so far that they missed the final night. They were glad to have somepony to share the convention experience, as well as the unconventional experience they'd shared the day before. Now at Dash's room, they unwound from the excitement and shared stories, favorite moments, and a few drinks.

"You just travel with a bottle of your friend's hard apple cider?" Quibble asked, holding the drink in his hooves and inhaling the strong smell of apples and alcohol.

Swallowing her first glass in one go, Rainbow sighed and poured another. "Believe me, when you get a taste for this stuff, it's hard not to compare everything else to it."

Examining the drink closely, Quibble made another observation. "Huh, that kinda sounds like the mezcal-addicted village pony from the Daring Do's and Don't's: Drinking PSA Comic #1. Quote, 'it's the taste of life, and once you get it in you nothing is the same' un-quote."

Rainbow Dash chortled. "You actually found a copy of the underage drinking PSA comic? That had to be the most teetotalling, inaccurate depiction of alcoholism ever committed to paper. You're not one of those ponies that doesn't drink, are you?"

Quibble took a sip, grimacing at the sharp bite of alcohol. His expression smoothed out as the rich apple flavor hit, before grimacing again at the burn. "No, I drink." He coughed, nearly choking on the vapor of the high-proof beverage. "Just don't do it often. My mom got me the comic when I went to college."

Rainbow took a long look at her companion. In so many ways, he was the typical book-nerd egg-head. From his preference for puzzles down to his near encyclopedic knowledge of the Daring Do fandom. For sure, he wasn't anything like the flyers and athletes with whom she usually hung out. "College, eh? So, you know what your tolerance level is."

Swallowing another mouthful with a bit more ease, Quibble nodded. "Yeah, I used to be pretty good at chugging down some brewskies. I think my...size helped."

Dash frowned, refilling her glass. Sure, he wasn't a Wonderbolt, but Quibble didn't look that out of shape. Maybe a little more-so around the torso, but that just made him...comfortable. Like a big plushie. Or the body pillow he almost picked up. "You look just fine to me, Hot Pants."

Quibble blushed, but whether it was from finishing the glass or from embarrassment, Dashie wasn't sure. "Please don't call me that. It was...kind of a mean nickname in school."

Pouring him another drink without asking, Rainbow Dash decided to make it even. "In flight school, they called me 'Rainbow Crash.'"

Downing the liquid courage like Dash did, Quibble took a deep breath. He scooted closer on the bed so he could put a hoof on her shoulder. "Foals can be pretty mean, I guess."

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash agreed, turning to look him in the eye. She was surprised to see him so close. It was almost...intimate. Shaking her head, Rainbow stood up and took hold of the bottle of cider. "Um, would you like another?"

His voice was close to her ear, surprising her once again. "Dash, I know we've both had our disagreements. But, I really...wanted to thank you for everything you did while I made snarky comments and got us deeper into trouble." He took a step back, then another. The uncertainty that replaced the intensity in his eyes made Dash tilt her head. Was he afraid? Afraid of what?

"Uh, thanks for the cider, Rainbow Dash. You really hold it a lot better than I do. I should probably..." His voice trailed off as he turned away. Without thinking, she grabbed his black and grey tail with her teeth and stopped him.

When he turned around to protest, she planted a kiss on his lips, much to his surprise. He pulled away first. "Wuh, what?"

"You talk too much. You think too much. But you really don't drink enough. I bet you were about a half a glass away from wrapping me in your hooves and solving the mystery of my puzzle-box." She said, caressing his face with one hoof. Her wings stretched and flapped gently before wrapping around the back of his head and pulling him in for another kiss. He let himself sink into this one like a stallion in quicksand, except this stallion was in no hurry to get out now.

"Ms. Dash, I think you've had too much to drink." Quibble said as they came up for air. "I...value our friendship." She interrupted with a kiss, catching his bottom lip in her teeth gently before teasing his tongue with hers. "I...uh...respect you as a pony..." Another interruption, the passion building with the renewed contact. "I just think that I'm not looking for something with a lot of attachments and we live away from each other, so--" Huffing, Rainbow Dash pushed him backwards onto the bed. He sprawled onto the covers in an undignified spread-eagle with an even more undignified squeak of shock.

"Then let me be clear." Dashie stated as she placed her forehooves on the bed and started to climb in. "I haven't had so much that I don't know what I'm doing. We'll still be friends, just with some added benefits. I'm not looking to settle down anytime soon. But..." She paused to place a hoof on his chest as she gazed into his eyes. "If you're saying you wouldn't like to go on this adventure with me, I'll take it like a big mare."

Quibble swallowed audibly. "And...if I want to?"

"Then I'll take it like a big mare." She said with a smirk.

"This is just like Daring Do's relationship with Dr. Pones in the Barleyquin short story that Yearling wrote as a joke." Quibble babbled, oblivious to Dashie's eye-roll. "Well, except I'm not actually trying to steal the map to the lost city of--" Her hoof on his lips stemmed the tide of words.

"Kinda ruining the mood." Rainbow Dash chided.

"Sorry. My brain tends to run away with my mouth sometimes." Quibble said, shrugging.

"Well, there are other things your mouth could run away with, if you just think about that for a little bit." Dash joked.

Quibble smiled as he snaked his forehooves up her sides. "Oh? Is that a riddle you want me to figure out? I'm pretty good with riddles."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like a clue?" Rainbow asked, batting her eyes seductively.

Quibble quirked a brow. "Uh. What kind of clue?"

Rainbow Dash sighed and walked backwards slowly, planting a trail of kisses down his jaw, neck, and chest. "Think of it as a visual aid."

Quibble shuddered as her mouth made contact with his stomach, easily one of his most ticklish spots. "That's an interesting reaction." Dash observed as he fought to keep the heat in his face down. "We'll have to come back to that. But first..." She trailed a hoof up his underside, drawing a gasp. He'd expected the touch, he'd gotten more than ready for the contact. But the power of the sensation nearly sent him into overdrive. His back arched, a moan shuddering free of his lips. The sound made Rainbow all the more confident.

Her lips planted a kiss at the very top before parting to take him in. Opening her eyes, Dash saw the spasms and gasps, the heavy breathing and uncontrolled grasping of the sheets in his hooves. Sooner than she liked, she had to let him go or risk sending him over the edge. Temporarily bereft, he arched again and fought to regain some semblance of control.

"You're so amazing." He said when words finally found their way from his throat. "So...amazing."

Dash climbed back in bed to lay beside him and teased his stomach. "Hey, you're pretty amazing yourself. Getting us out of the gryffon's lock in, what, five seconds?"

Pushing her hoof away from his ticklish belly, he snorted. "More like three. Three and a half seconds, tops."

"How did you solve it?" Dashie asked, temporarily distracted.

"Well, I could tell you, but...I'd rather give you a clue." He said, his own smirk forming as he rolled over to straddle the blue pegasus. "Quote, 'Think of it as a visual aid' unquote."

His hooves were certainly more nimble than she'd guessed. And, for all his long tirades and ranting about minutiae in fiction, he certainly wasted no time when it came to a treasure hunt. Her legs parted, her juices flowing freely, Rainbow Dash made no effort to quiet her enthusiasm as he probed the depths of her cave of wonders. As he worked out the right way to open her up to a world of pleasure, he snorted. "Well, seems like I'm certainly on the right path. I'm just using the wrong tool for the job."

Before she could ask, his head lowered to between her thighs. Her eyes opened wide as the secret of her sex was discovered and activated. His tongue found just the right way to rub and within a few tries he had the proper cadence down to really get her going. She tensed and moaned, cried out and inhaled deeply. Her legs clenched, her hips eagerly thrusted forward to give herself over to a very strong climax. He took her to that special place and then afforded her no time to recover as he brought her back again. Before she knew it, her legs were jelly and her peak was reached a third time. Out of breath, the pair collapsed together, hooves intertwined.

"You..." She said, still fighting to catch her breath. "Are pretty amazing."

He smiled and nuzzled her neck. "Not bad for a first timer, eh? I really guess I--"

"What?" She asked, eyes wide as she sat up. "What do you mean 'first timer?' There's no way you're a virgin." She put her hooves to her face as she considered the possibility.

"Define 'virgin.'" He said, making air quotes with both hooves.

"Oh sweet Celestia! Are you kidding me?" Dash asked. "That's totally unbelievable!"

Quibble looked nonplussed. "What? I can't be that good at it. I mean, I don't even think I brought you to or--"

"Three times." She said, cutting him off.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You heard me." She said, folding her forehooves and sitting against the headboard. "So either you're a very fast learner or our definitions of virginity are vastly different."

"Well, there's one way to satisfy both of our definitions." Quibbler said, nibbling at her neck as his hoof massaged a wing joint.

Dash sighed. "It's only fair. As long as you're up for it."

"My...enthusiasm hasn't diminished any." Quibbler said, looking down.

Dash followed his gaze. "So I see. Well, you solved one puzzle easy enough. I don't think you'll need to much more imagination to figure out what to do from here."

"You're sure?" Quibbler asked, hopefully.

"Actually, let me take the lead here." Crouched above him, Dash lowered herself down, guiding his way in. The look in his eyes was entrancing. Dash felt powerful and empowering at the same time. His pleasure plainly written on his face and her own just a few inches away. She took him all the way, slowly. Her muscle control allowed her to tease him without straining her legs. Her wings wrapped around her to trail down his sides and chest and he squirmed deliciously.

"Please." He said, almost too soft to hear. She set up a rhythm for both of them, but quickly had to adjust as he lifted up to meet her. Her lips curled into a smile as she wiped a drop of sweat from his brow with a feather. As she came close to the edge again, she grew frustrated. He seemed so calm, there had to be a secret she was missing to bring him up the peak with her. Wrapping hooves around him, she reversed their position and Quibble took charge without direction. As his strokes grew more frenzied, she bit her lip, her will to see him go first strong enough to hold off on her own pleasure. Finally, his bucking grew erratic and his breathing hitched. As he came, so did she, both flying higher than when they'd launched out of the temple.

He collapsed on her and rolled to the side. As they came down from the highest heights, he kissed her tenderly. They fell asleep in each other's hooves, this convention proving to be their most memorable yet for so many reasons.