I guess we both got more comfortable with each other. Best-stallion found out what food I liked the best, and I got used to more poking. But he took me for walks, and when I was on the leash I behaved so that he would let me off at the edge of the city.

We talked a little, and it became a game where he would try to get me to talk about my feelings while I would try to ask him things that made his ears turn red. It was a fun game, and we both had wins and losses.

My current win was being curled up in the bed with Best-stallion. He was soft in all the right places, but hard in others. His belly was to my back. I was so comfortable that I closed my eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

It was another of the bad dreams, though I didn't know it was a bad thing at the time. I guess I'm smarter now. I was in the hospital laying on my bed, when two pointy ponies—unicorns—came in.

I wanted to tell them that Sunburst was coming to visit today. But the me back then just wagged her tail and barked at the nice orderlies. One of them picked me up with his pointy—magic—and started carrying me out of the room.

About now old-me realized something was wrong. Sunburst wasn't here yet, and these ponies were taking her away—taking me away. I screamed at them, my cries a mix of angry barking and howling, but they changed their pointy—magic—so that they couldn't hear me (I could tell because my own voice came back at me from the inside of the pointy—magic).

The side door was their target. Their pointy—magic—still wrapped around me, the two orderlies floated me along and as the doors flapped closed, my dream showed me one image of Sunburst in the hospital, approaching my old kennel—room.

"You're okay. Screwy, you're okay. It's a bad dream." I understood the words because Best-stallion had put his collar on. He had his forelegs wrapped around me, hugging me close.

I stared in wide-eyed shock at the mess of ripped sheets and bedcover, and the single hole in the wall that looked paw—hoof—shaped. The hole seemed huge, as huge as the two orderlies had been when they dragged me out of the hospital.

"There. Just relax, Screwy. I'm here. I've got—" The magic of the collar must have stopped. His words still came, I just couldn't make sense of them anymore. I wanted to close my eyes and make all the pain go away, but if I closed my eyes, I might dream again.

Best-stallion's voice was constant, his muzzle right beside my ears. The past was the past, right now he was with me. And he was poking me in the back. And he had spent all his precious time with his collar just to make me feel better.

He was meant to be out today, too, but he didn't seem inclined to move. I breathed slow, determined to relax after the bad dream. Vaguely, I thought I could remember that a special pointy was supposed to make sure ponies have good dreams. Then I remembered—I'm just a dog.

"I need to use the bathroom," I whined.

Best-stallion couldn't understand what I said, but he stayed Best-stallion because he learned what I meant. He let go of me and jumped off the bed. We'd done this often enough that it wasn't a panic, just a rush.

I followed Best-stallion downstairs and out the door. Into the garden and relief was had. I breathed a sigh of relief and waled back inside and kicked the door closed behind me. The distinct sound of the lock being turned made me look back to see Best-stallion's pointy—magic—finish its work. I turned back to look at Best-stallion, only to see him pulling the scrubbing brush out from where I'd hidden it.

"Bath time, Screwy."

Being a good girl, and being a big girl, I knew he would normally use his pointy—magic—to pick me up and unceremoniously dump me in the water. We'd made a deal—a promise. I lowered my head with a wordless whine and followed him to the bathroom.

He'd used his pointy—magic—to fill the tub while I was outside. It was half full of water, which was probably enough to reach my back. Completely defeated, I stepped over the edge of the bath and inside.

"Good girl," he said. Then he said something I couldn't follow. It didn't seem important, there was no inflection that would indicate a question, and when he started using the soft brush, I almost melted in delight.

Okay, baths weren't completely terrible. The brushing was nice, and getting attention from Best-stallion was literally the best thing about it, but sooner or later he would put smelly stuff on me, and not the good kind of smelly stuff.

I wagged my tail at the repeated strokes of the brush. It was all going nice, and then my nose caught the smell of what he'd explained once was coat conditioner. The stuff smelled yuck, but I could feel him working it into the fur along my back, so it was too late.

"——fussy about the——but then you——such a good girl," Best-stallion said. His sentiment wasn't lost, but I really wished I didn't need to do this so often. But he was right, the brush was really good.

When Best-stallion finished going over me, he let some of the water out of the bath. It was a sign I needed to roll over. I sighed and turned in the tub, shoved my hooves in the air, and glared up at him. The soft expression Best-stallion wore completely ruined my moment.

As the brush came up and started scrubbing the fur at my neck, I craned my head back and relaxed. After that dream, I would take having smelly stuff rubbed into my fur by Best-stallion all day if it meant I got to stay near him. Along my body he worked—from neck to shoulders, from barrel to just before my sensitive bits.

I couldn't help myself. I tilted my head to watch Best-stallion blush as he cleaned me. It was the only time I could accept him using his pointy—magic—to touch me. Something about how magic felt—there—was really good.

When the cleaning went longer than normal, I watched Best-stallion's face to work out what he was thinking. He looked a little embarrassed, but also not all there—

"Sunburst, just a little more and I'll—" The shuddering bliss of orgasm tumbled over me. I was driven firmly to my release by the stallion on my back. In that short moment of female climax Sunburst's adorable inexperience and geekiness was forgotten and he was simply the stallion I adored.

He was also still going. Shivering as my orgasm was extended, I looked aside and back to watch the exact moment when Sunburst lost himself completely. There was something wonderful about the silly faces stallions pulled at that moment that made the experience even better for me.

My gasp broke Best-stallion from his daze. He'd been rubbing me so nicely I'd drifted off to a happy time—a very happy time. That old me and Best-stallion had been special friends, and part of me wanted that again. I looked up at him and gave him a little nod and a smile.

When he started again, I started wagging my tail and splashing the water a little. My happy sounds seemed to motivate him further, and before long I practically howling at how good it felt. Finally—just like in my little dream—he pushed me over the edge.

It was impossible to stop moving. I squirmed and twisted, whining and howling alternately as my body responded to Best-stallion's work. As I came down from the high his "special petting" had given me, I filed away that dream as maybe a good thing from my old self.

Stretching, I rolled over to rinse off my belly then stood up.

Best-stallion set to work with a towel to dry me off. He used his hooves, not his pointy—magic.

I tossed my shoulders and shimmied my butt around while he worked, and even let out an excited and wordless bark of pure delight. I could only hope that all baths would be this much fun in future—I might even stop hiding the brush.

Unable to shake my good feeling, I pranced out of the bathroom and down to the living room.

"——go work," Best-stallion said.

I turned to watch him coming down the stairs and felt a little of the excitement for the day fade. He had to go out. Snorting, I jumped up on his chair and curled up. The smell of Best-stallion wrapped around me, and I yawned.

I was asleep before he even got out the door.

Waking up was less fun than the dream I'd been having. Sunb—Best-stallion had been there again, and again we'd been having a lot of fun together. If this was how dreaming was going to be from now on, I was going to start enjoying sleeping a lot more.

I stretched in place and climbed off the chair. Looking around, I struggled to remember that Best-stallion had gone out. Snorting at the terrible place that left me, I walked over to my water bowl and started drinking.

The cool, crisp water helped chase the confusion from my mind. I remembered what happened before my nap and felt more bubbling happiness.

Without even another thought I walked upstairs and located the scrubbing brush in the bathroom. Best-stallion knew where all the good hiding spots were, so instead of one of those I just carried it downstairs and shoved it under his chair.

Just in time, too, because Best-stallion opened the door and walked inside. "Screwy?"

I raced up to him, wagging my tail so much my butt shook, and started licking him all over his face. Surprising as it was for him not to push me away, I was more shocked when he put the collar on despite having used it up earlier.

"Princess Cadance helped me reinforce the collar. It should last twice as long now," Best-stallion said.

"Can we go for a walk?" I asked wagging my tail even harder.

My answer was swift, the leash floating from its place on the coat rack and clipping to my collar. I braced for the panic his pointy—magic—should have brought, but it didn't come. Still wagging my tail, I followed Best-stallion outside.

He slipped off his own collar and we broke into a fast walk, then faster still. All the while I kept my head at his shoulder despite wanting to gallop away.

I wasn't completely stupid, I could see Best-stallion was tired from whatever he had to do for the princess, but he still took me out for a trot. We got all the way to the edge of the cold-stuff, and then he let me off the leash.

Bounding through the cold-stuff—snow—was a lot of fun. My sleep had left me with so much energy to burn, and burn it I did by chasing rabbits everywhere.

Panting, trudging through the snow after one bunny that somehow sensed I was too slow to catch them, I turned at the sound of Best-stallion. I could see him a long way away, just out of the cold-stuff—snow—waving a hoof.

Renewed energy coursed through me. Bracing all four legs together I began to pronk through the cold-stuff—snow. Stopping right in front of Best-stallion, I stretched my neck out to offer him my collar for the leash.

"Good girl, Screwy." Best-stallion said while he fitted the leash to my collar. He didn't jerk on the leash at first, which gave me time to shake all the snow off and step beside—beside Sunburst.

I trembled at the sensation of remembering his name and actually being able to think it. Missing my first step meant the leash tugged lightly on my collar—enough that Sunburst realized it.

Stopping, Sunburst turned to face me and clipped his collar on. "What's wrong, Screwy?"

Smiling at him, I cleared my throat. "Nothing, Sunburst."

"Come on. Let's just get home and talk about it there." Sunburst took off his collar and, when I stepped up and by his side, led the way home.

As soon as we got inside I licked Sunburst on the face, just once. Waiting for him to put the collar on again, I looked him up and down in appraisal. Like back when the earlier me was me, I liked what I saw.

"You remembered my name," Sunburst said.

I nodded. "And, you remember mine. When you bathed me earlier, I remembered things we did together."

Sunburst looked startled, but happy. "You're starting to remember that? Do you remember the—accident?"

Pain seared itself through my head. I whimpered and fell to the floor in a heap, then put my hooves over my head. Everything hurt. I wanted the pain to stop, for all the soreness to go away and just leave me alone—then it did. The pain eased, but I lost something with it.

Another hoof touched me—Sunburst. As tears of loss streamed down my face, as fragmented memories of who I was tumbled through my mind—untouchable and unusable—I leaned into Sunburst's hug.

For the second time that day Sunburst used his collar's time up comforting me. I wanted to yell at him, and tell him that he should save it so we can talk, but the soft reassurances were precious to me. Sunburst was there—beside me—and I wasn't under all that pain.

I wanted to forget it, to throw it all away again, but if I did that I wouldn't remember Sunburst's name, or that happy dream. I felt his forelegs struggle to lift me up, to spread me on his back so Sunburst could carry me. Knowing that he didn't just lift me with his pointy—magic—made me feel worse and better.

He cared about me that much.

No more than dead weight, I let him heft me onto the bed and roll me over to the comfortable bit. His weight climbing on the bed surprised me enough that I moved. Reaching out, I grabbed Sunburst and pulled him close.

With our bellies pressed together I nuzzled Sunburst's chin and neck. Little nibbles along his throat, licks down his chest, and nuzzling at his barrel and belly, I worked my way along his body.

Turning, I inverted myself in relation to Sunburst. With one hoof on his flank, I felt him startle when my mouth found his sheath.

"You don't have to—" Sunburst's voice choked off when I pushed my tongue into the opening of his sheath.

Pulling back from Prench-kissing his sheath, I looked down between us just in time to see his own mouth find my body. I moaned out loud—the least dog-like noise I'd made since the accident. "I want to."

Adjusting, I found his tip poking free from the folds of skin, and I hungered to have him. Licking his musky shaft, I opened my mouth just as his tongue found my own sensitive flesh.

I took all his growing shaft into my mouth and bathed it with my tongue. More of him pushed free of his body and into me by the second, and I welcomed it all.

Gentle kneading started between my legs, even while he kept licking at my vulva. Sunburst seemed to know exactly what he was doing, drowning my mind in sensation from my teats and sex until I had to swim or drown in bliss.

For as long as it took us to make love on the bed, I was a pony again. I reveled in my thoughts and feelings, and because of what I was doing, all of them revolved around Sunburst. He stretched into my mouth and poked at the back of my throat insistently.

When his tongue delved inside me—deep—I groaned around his length. Constantly I worked my tongue around him and over him, sliding my mouth up and down his length. We were in perfect harmony as we each climbed the pleasure mountains together. When he pressed his snout against my outer lips hard, and his tongue pressed as far into me as he could get without a mining helmet and ropes, I climaxed.

Wrapping strong legs around Sunburst's hips, I pulled him to me like I was drowning—which wasn't far from the truth. I was a greedy mare, hungry for more while my body sparked and jolted with pleasure. I wanted to taste Sunburst.

In my grip, his body tensed hard and I felt his rump start to shift, then his hips pumped and pushed all of him deep into my mouth. I didn't care about the rough treatment—he was a stallion after all. I clung to Sunburst as he shot into the same pleasure-peak as I was still atop. Together, neither willing to shift, we licked, sucked, nuzzled, and clung to each other until both our bodies were satisfied the breeding process was as successfully complete as it could be.

Sunburst muttered something, but with the collar long-since faded, I couldn't understand a word of it.

Lazy as only a mare post-coitus could be, I turned around until we were belly-to-belly. I looked into Sunburst's eyes and kissed him on the nose. Words were useless now, just as they were almost always useless. We had each other, though, which was enough.

As I relaxed into his embrace further, I felt sleep creeping over me with the gentlest and most insistent of tugs. There was no fighting the embrace of the bed, and with it I felt my canine side return. I let out a happy little whine as I nuzzled my way closer to Sunburst, then fell asleep.

I couldn't throw away the pony side of me, not if it meant losing my dreams and moments like we'd just shared.

My dreams were neither calm nor distressing. Remembered nights with Sunburst where we were curled together, having sex, or simply snuggling. But my canine side took hold toward the end, remaking us both as big hounds with him as my dog and me as his bitch. Both sides of me were content.

As sleep left me, it was the canine side that seemed most awake soonest. I nuzzled against Best-stallion's neck even as he poked me firmly in the belly. When he didn't immediately wake up, I started licking his face.

Finally Best-stallion made some sounds that didn't imply sleep still had a grip on him. He lifted his head to look at me, and I felt joy rise within me when he smiled. "—— Screwy."

I barked in excitement and wagged my tail, but there was something I wanted—something that all parts of me wanted. I jumped off the bed, turned so that my rear was to him, and cocked my tail expectantly.

When Best-stallion didn't jump on right away, I turned to look back at him.

Pulling the collar around his neck, Best-stallion cleared his throat. "Screwy, what are you doing?"

"Fuck me!" I barked.

"W-What?" Best-stallion looked confused and annoyed. I looked down his body and could see he was still hard and ready.

"You don't want to?"

"I—" Best-stallion followed my gaze to his lower belly, then gasped. "M-Maybe I do, or some part of me—"

"Then fuck me. I want you, Best-stallion." I wagged my butt in his direction, tail pulled to the side to reveal myself to him. His eyes seemed locked to me now, which was good, and I realized they were locked to my rear, which was even better. Struggling with the pony side of me, I dug out a word that might help. "Please?"

"This isn't you. Screwy, you backslid a—"

"This is me right now. Pony-me wants this too, but she had her turn last night. I want mine now, and I want it done right. You're my dog, Best-stallion, and I'm your bitch." I wagged my rump even more.

"That isn't how—It shouldn't mean—Are you sure?"

Rolling my eyes, I waved my rump again.

"Right. Okay. Do you want a warm-up or…" Best-stallion crawled across the bed and walked around behind me. "Huh. You look pretty ready."

He reached up to his collar and unbuckled it. The collar was tossed to the side and I got to see the eager stallion I remembered rear up and land on my back. Everything felt real—better. I kept my hooves braced to hold our combined weight while Best-stallion lined himself up.

I accepted a few misses on account of us both being rusty like this, but when he struck home I stretched my spine out and pushed back.

He didn't waste time. Best-stallion shoved forward, bucking and grinding himself deeper in me. His hips touched my rump only briefly before he was pulling back.

Best-stallion began to rut me like a good dog. Long strokes that set my body on fire with lust were a delight in every sense of the word. I made happy, appreciative sounds with each body-thudding return of his hips, so that as he sped up I was almost moaning constantly.

A pressure built along with the heat. I could feel my body wanting him and wanting everything he would give me. It seemed, as he became more erratic, that I wasn't going to reach my end, but then a hot rush of white-hot pleasure rushed into me—swelled me—and pushed me over the edge.

Teeth clamped to the ruff of my neck, and the rushing orgasm swelled larger still. Best-stallion took me like I was meant to be taken.

More of his heat rushed into me. Even through my orgasm I could feel him pulling back with his jaws and forelegs to shove his hips further forward. My legs—strong enough to hold the both of us—buckled under the bliss that suffused me.

I hit the floor with a thud I didn't feel. Too wrapped up in the feeling of my lover inside me, I had little aftershocks of pleasure each time he shifted inside me.

"I didn't expect—That was great." Best-stallion shifted again, and earned another moan from me. I didn't sound like a bitch should, but that didn't matter right now. That he'd had to release my neck was a shame, but I admit it was good to hear his praise.

"It was pretty good from down here, too." I turned my head to look up and back at Best-stallion. "But—" Pressure was building in a less fun way. I squirmed and tried to get up, actually shoving Best-stallion from me.

In my confused and panicked state, I ran to Best-stallion's bathroom. I looked around for a place to squat, and it dawned on me that this was a pony bathroom. My instincts said to squat, but I didn't want to make a mess for Best-stallion to clean up.

The pony toilet was a bit like a flower bed, I guess. Squatting over the trough that ponies would normally use, I arched my tail high and pushed down with my pelvic muscles. Relief was quick to be had, and left me with a conundrum. "Uh. What do I do?"

Best-stallion arrived in the doorway, a worried look on his face as he was fastening the collar around his neck again. "What did you—Oh! You used the toilet! Good girl!"

My ears perked up in surprise at the praise. I wagged my tail a little and jumped away from the toilet. Watching as Best-stallion stepped closer and pressed a plate on the floor, I watched water swirl and get rid of the mess. "This is really confusing. I remember ponies using these, but it's hard to put myself in their paws."

"Hooves. And it's okay. No mess to clean up." Best-stallion looked a little embarrassed, but not enough that it was showing too much. I could only tell because I knew him so well. "You—uh—had fun?"

I stared at Best-stallion for a moment, confused by what he meant.

"I-I mean sex! What we did in the bedroom. I tried to act a bit like a dog. You know I actually looked up a book on dogs, and it had some—ah—descriptions of mating habits. I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea, but it just seemed right at the time and—"

I kissed Best-stallion on the lips to shut him up, and kept kissing him because it was nice.

Pulling back from the kiss only when I felt satisfied, I arched my tail in a show of victory and pranced out of the bathroom.

Heading downstairs, I stretched when I reached the fireplace. Sleeping was a thought, but what I really wanted to do was go outside for a bit of a run. So I walked to the front door, sat down, and looked hopefully toward the stairs.

Best-stallion slowly made his way down, his fur looking displaced and his mane a mess. I wanted to go outside and play, but there was an urge inside me that was more pony than dog. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, I ran to where I'd hidden the scrubbing brush, pulled it out with my teeth, and attacked him.

"What are you—" Best-stallion stopped when I started working the brush over his fur. While the canine side of my brain argued that he should be brushing me, the pony side told the canine side to shut up and remember how good sex was. Pony side was both sneaky and effective.

I kept up the brushing, finishing his coat and moving on to his mane. The brush wasn't as useful on his mane, but I didn't care. I was a mamma wolf with her pup, and he was going to put up with it!

Best-stallion took his collar back off and seemed to relax into a comfortable silence while I worked. So far, today had been the best day ever that I could remember. I brushed out the tangles in Best-stallion's mane and tail in short order, and only when I judged him done did I put down the brush.

His collar went back on, and Best-stallion turned to look at me. "What brought this on?"

"You were messy. Now you're not." I walked to his chair and climbed up into it.

Author's Note

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