Harmony University: Blind Streak

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Birthday Girl
Chapter 2 - 11.74 Seconds
Chapter 3 - Leaving Manehatten
Chapter 4 - Fun on the Friendship Express
Chapter 5 - First Time
Chapter 6 - Close Shave
Chapter 7 - College

Chapter 1 - Birthday Girl

As birthday’s went, Wildfire’s sixteenth party had been a pretty good one.

The Manehatten track team she ran with had all pitched in and gotten her a mug that said, in braille, ‘you didn’t see that coming’, a reference to how fast she could run. Her best friend, Air Raid, had gotten her an audio version of her favourite play, ‘The Tempest’. Best of all – not counting a mountain of junk food and cake, of course – had been the new running shoes from her parents, with springy things in the heels.

After the party, when her friends had all gone and a very happy Wildfire was sat on the leather couch in the living room of her home, a living room decorated with balloons and birthday banners, she was basking in the afterglow of a great July day when she heard familiar footsteps coming towards her over the lacquered hardwood floor. “Hey dad,” she didn’t wait for him to announce himself; she knew the sound by now.

Judging by the relaxed cadence of the footsteps, she knew she wasn’t in trouble, so she relaxed on the couch and helped herself to a piece of her birthday cake she had bought with her from the kitchen. It had been lucky enough to survive the cake massacre of the party, now its luck had ran out. “What’s up?”

Heatwave paused between the couch and the double love seat that was his and Fireflight’s seat of choice. He had been treading lightly and she still heard him. The thought his daughter was a miniature intruder alarm amused him no end. “Wily, can we talk to you, honey?”

About to answer her dad, Wildfire heard a second set of footsteps enter the living room. Lighter and shorter than her dad’s had been, she would’ve recognised the owner a mile away from her perfume alone. “Hey mom,” she greeted her mother before shovelling in another piece of her cake, “Something wrong?”

Since the party had ended, Heatwave had removed his tie and stood by his wife in just his black pants and white shirt – despite being told to dress ‘casual’ – while Fireflight had remained for the moment in her violet dress that still bore the evidence of a teenager’s birthday party upon it. Between them, they shared a look of ‘united front’. “Wily,” the red skinned man started, “Nothing’s wrong. You've asked why you hear noise from our bedroom, and said it worried you. I' said we'd tell you later, and your mom said that you shouldn't be worried. Well, you're sixteen and it is later. Do you still want to know?”

“Yuppers dad, I wanna know,” Wildfire, who had been planning to spend the rest of the day enjoying one of her braille books, instead sat up all alert and eager. She had been hearing strange noises from her parents’ bedroom for years now and while they had long since stopped scaring her, she was curious as to what they were.

Taking a load off by sitting on his half of the love seat, Heatwave gave Fireflight a gentle but firm push in the small of her back. “You're the sub,” he said in his deep rumbling voice, thoroughly enjoying the look of discomfort on her face, “So you should explain. I'm listening.”

Although she was thirty six, Fireflight felt like she was suddenly back in high school being forced to take an exam she hadn’t revised for. Ignoring for the moment the glitter that stained her dress, she swallowed nervously, “As you wish, Master.” She spared him a withering look, one he returned with a smile that promised he would punish her for her impudence later and then she turned back to her daughter’s eager face. Damn it. “What did my words cause you to envision in your mind?”

“You mean, just then?” Wildfire asked, her head cocked to one side in thought, “Well, according to the dictionary, a Master is someone of great skill, like a Master Smith. Or it can be someone who has servants.”

Heatwave laughed at that and Fireflight smiled, “Well,” she said as she tugged a handful of party popper detritus from her hair and threw it at her laughing husband – if she was going to get punished, may as well make it worthwhile – before she knelt in front of her daughter, “I don't think your father is a master at a skill, and that word is not used in firefighting. I mean when I'm the subordinate as he told me I was, then he is my Master as in he owns me.”

Wow. She said it. The cat was well and truly out of the bag now, and not the one her Master usually took out of a bag.

For a moment, Wildfire toyed with the front of her red hoodie like she normally did when she was thinking about something, “So you're the second one then, mom? If dad's your Master, then you're his...slave?”

Feeling both considerably lighter now that had been revealed and like an anvil had been dropped through her gut, Fireflight nodded her head. “That is correct, dear. How do you feel about that?” she asked, rubbing the red collar she wore around her neck to assuage her nerves.

The physical reminder that she was owned, cared for and loved helped, but only just.

“Is that even legal?” Wildfire asked quickly, speaking before her brain had fully processed what her mother had said to her, “We did a bunch on slavery last year in school, and I'm pretty sure it's not.”

Finding herself in need of help, Fireflight looked at Heatwave. Her husband sighed, knowing Wildfire was right. “The selling of slaves is illegal, true, as is owning slaves,” he paused to gather his thoughts, “However, words do have many meanings. I didn't purchase your mother, but I have acquired her. Are you always my slave, love?”

“Only when we play, Master,” replied Fireflight, feeling a familiar warm fuzzy feeling spread through her tummy replacing the hole the anvil had left behind, “Such as we are doing now.”

“In your class,” Heatwave started, “What did it say about the relation between a master and a slave?”

Wildfire knew the answer to that. She had gotten a B on that test, a score she was justly proud of. “That the slaves were property of the master, the one who owned them like I own my Shakespeare books or my running shoes. And they were just as disposable,” the short girl shuddered, hating the idea that her dad owned her mother like the Old Equestrians had owned the Zebras or the Dragons had owned the Equestrians after the First War, “I'm guessing you guys don't do that, you said when you play. So, you play pretend, or what?”

Heatwave nodded, giving his permission for his slave to speak. “Yes, dear,” explained Fireflight when she was allowed, “We do a bit more than pretend. The only difference from what you said is I have a way out. I can stop the play any time I want to, but I really don't want to. Being owned by your father is me giving up total control over me to your father.”

“Some relationships vary,” put in Heatwave, proud of the way his wife and slave were explaining their relationship, “But I'm the one that starts the play, and I usually end the play. Your mother can end it, but I'd have to do something really stupid for her to do so.”

“Sooo...” Wildfire mulled that over and she connected the dots in her head and eventually she made a picture. A frankly gross picture that included adults having gross adult sex. “So those pained screams and moans from your room, the ones you said were the ghost when I was a kid, they were actually you two doing your Master / Slave play thing?”

Gross. Just…just gross! Adults having sex…eeew!

“Yes,” Fireflight admitted, her dark green skin turning a beautiful shade of red that spread over her cheeks. This conversation was more embarrassing than the time she had been made to hold her panties in her mouth all day at work, when her squad mates had assumed she had laryngitis.

Heatwave, who was enjoying his wife’s discomfort, decided to add, “Moving forward, now you know about it, we are going to be more open to you about this, but it’s not something you need to do. If you ever want to explore this, we will help you, but it is a commitment that we have to each other.”

“This is how we express our love for each other,” said Fireflight, happy now her embarrassment was at last passing. “It isn't for everyone. We just don't want to hide who we are from you now you’re old enough to understand what’s going on.”

“Alrighty,” a wide grin slowly spread over Wildfire’s face, “So the moans and screams aren't in fact Great Aunt Silverbolt come back to haunt us, dad is mom’s Master and mom is dad’s slave. I'm cool with that,” she delivered her verdict a moment later, “I mean you both seem to like it by the sounds of it, and it's a game, like you said. I guess the next question is, what do you do that makes mom make all those noises?”

Wearing a smirk on both their faces, Heatwave shared a look with his wife, leaving Fireflight to answer simply, “Sex, dear.”

The short teenager had been expecting that, but hearing it didn’t make it any better to take. “Eeeew gross!” it was enough to put her off her cake. Almost. “You...you 'do it'... eeew! Old people sex...” she shuddered, “I thought you just spanked her or something like that.”

Bursting out laughing, Heatwave said, “I do! Then that is part of sex.”

Giggling, Fireflight sank to her knees by the side of the double love seat. She would sit in it when she was allowed to and not before. “There is a lot more to sex than just intercourse, Wily.”

“A lot more,” Heatwave nodded in agreement.

“Have you ever done any Master stuff in front of me without me knowing?” asked Wildfire curiously, though she wasn’t all that sure she wanted her question answered. Her gross-o-meter was already maxed out at the revelation her parents had sex at all.

“Yes,” admitted Heatwave honestly, “But never anything obvious that you’d hear or smell. Go ahead and touch your mother's neck, and tell me if that is okay in front of you.”

“Don’t worry,” put in Fireflight quickly when she saw the hesitation in her daughter’s raised hand, “It's safe.”

Reaching up with her left hand, Wildfire carefully felt along her mother’s skin until her fingertips touched something hard. Once she found it, she used both her hands to thoroughly explore what it was. After a good long feel, she knew what it was. “You’re wearing a dog collar,” she said eventually, “Is that to show dad owns you, mom?”

“Yes, dear,” Fireflight made sure her daughter could hear the happiness in her voice so there was no ambiguity to her feelings, “It’s a mark of ownership for him, and mark of pride for me.”

“And it’s about trust, right?” mused Wildfire, weighing up everything she had heard so far, “Cos you gotta be sure that dad isn't going to hurt you too much, or do something that’s not fun.”

“Which is why I can end the play,” explained Fireflight, who was so pleased that this potential minefield of a conversation had gone as well as it had, “But I do hope he hurts me enough.”

Heatwave agreed, “I don't want to disappoint your mother.”

“Heh...” Wildfire laughed, “Well, going by those screams I keep hearing from your bedroom, you don't seem to be disappointing her, dad. Um...” a sudden thought occurred to her, a rather unpleasant one, “Do you guys do naked stuff around me?”

“No,” Heatwave answered her firmly, “We decided we weren’t going to risk a random hug from you. But now you know what we do, we may do some things around you and explain when we do them.”

At that, Fireflight shot her husband a disbelieving look, “Really?”

The dominant Heatwave shrugged, “I see no reason to lie to her, my love.”

“Good, cos dad, if you did naked stuff around me, I'd be happy I can't see it!” Wildfire giggled brightly.

“I'm sure she could hear if you walked around naked,” laughed Fireflight, her laugh only getting louder when she saw the exaggerated stern expression on her Master’s face. It let her know she was skirting the edges of what was acceptable and what was not.

“I see someone is about to enter the naughty zone,” he warned, the verbalisation purely for his daughter’s benefit.

Wildfire had her head to one side again, “What does that mean, the naughty zone?” the last time she had been in called a naughty zone, she had been banished to the lowest step on the stairs for three hours and made to sit on her hands. Apparently, drawing on the walls had been a bad thing to do, especially with permanent markers. But she had been seven then.

“The reason I spank her is for being naughty,” said Heatwave in his ever strong, low rumbling voice, “When she is about to cross the line, she is said to be entering the naughty zone, do you see?”

Fireflight playfully swatted her Master’s thigh at that, though she knew full well that Wildfire wouldn’t be offended in any way by the ‘do you see?’. She was well past that. “I think that some things should wait until your next birthday, Wily.”

On the couch, Wildfire was only too happy to go along with that. “You know what, guys? I think some things should definitely wait till my next birthday! If you two are gonna be all gross and naked, I'm gonna go up to my room and read.”

“The important think to take away is that we love each other and the both of us love you, Wily, with all our hearts.”

“Yuppers, dad,” Wildfire exclaimed, “I love you guys too!” getting off the couch, Wildfire hugged both her parents tight, “Um…” she thought of something important, very important, “Should I put my headphones on, just to be safe?”

He couldn’t resist the tease. Heatwave knew it was kind of naughty, but again, he really couldn’t resist. “Your mother's cries are sweet music to my ears, Wily,” when his wife laughed, and when Wildfire blushed, he knew he’d won. He looked forward to a high five from Red Alert when he told him this one.

“Yuppers,” Wildfire sighed on her way to the stairs, “I'll go get my headphones…”

~ ~ ~

Before anyone knew it, Wildfire’s seventeenth birthday had come and gone. Like the one before it, it had gone in a flurry of good presents and cake, karaoke so bad it was good and, from Heatwave, even worse dad dancing that no matter how hard he tried, just wasn’t good.

Good for a laugh though, and the firefighter was nothing if not accommodating in his endeavour to provide humour.

“That was a nice party,” Heatwave said once the eight teenagers had been sent home with enough cake in them to guarantee the best – or worst - sugar crash in history, “So,” he continued when they had removed themselves from the chaotic after-party kitchen to the living room, “Looking back to the last year, do you have any new questions you want to ask about what your mother and I have been doing?”

Did she have questions…oh boy did she ever have questions!

Her parents had promised they would be more open with what they did around her and, true to their word, they had been. Only the day before, Wildfire had walked down the stairs to discover slurping and snuffling sounds that had been her mother worshipping her father’s feet.

Minutes before Wildfire had come down the stairs, Heatwave had led Fireflight by the leash connected to her collar to their double width love seat in the living room, the slave obediently crawling behind her Master until he sat and beckoned her to kneel before him, which she did, even going so far as to place a respectful kiss on the toes of his boots. "Take off my boots, slave, I've had such a long hard day and I need a foot massage."

"Yes Master,” purred the very naked Fireflight adoringly, “I'll make your feet feel better." Eagerly, the submissive firefighter obeyed, unzipping his boots on the sides, and taking them off one after the other revealing her Master’s white socks. Socks he hadn’t changed or washed in four days.

Fireflight got to work first by gently massaging his left foot first through his reeking socks. Heatwave relaxed his head back and moaned in relief, quickly turning on the tv for some background noise. After five minutes, she finished massaging the foot in her hands and she let it go with a quick kiss.

She desperately wanted to suck on his toes, in fact her clitoris grew hard and began to throb at the mere idea of it, but as she wasn't given permission to do so, she managed to restrain herself, lest he do the restraining.

Moving on, Fireflight took her Master’s right foot and began massaging it just the same. "Good slave," Heatwave, who was fully into his Master role, hummed, his now relaxed left foot drifting down to the dripping wet pussy between her legs. She tried to focus on massaging his foot but he pressed his free foot against her moist crotch.

Fireflight moaned like a bitch in heat as Heatwave gently caressed her pussy with his foot. But, in all the excitement, she lost her hold on his other foot, something she only noticed when her Master lightly kicked her snatch to get her attention. "Did I say you could stop, slave?"

"No Master," Fireflight answered, wincing both at the slight pain in her pussy and at the stern tone of his voice. Quickly, she got back to her foot massaging duties. "I’m sorry, Master."

"Then carry on, slave, and beg me to shove my foot in your mouth,” Heatwave demanded with a slightly lighter kick to Fireflight’s pussy.

Wincing again, this time Fireflight made sure her hands didn't fumble. "Please Master, your slave needs your sexy foot in her mouth, please!” she begged as she used her teeth to tug off his stinking socks one after the other. It was her dream come true to service him however he wanted.

"Okay slave, if you insist,” grinning broadly, Heatwave wiggled his dirty sweaty foot in his submissive’s face, thoroughly enjoying the look of devotion on her face before he pushed his toes into her open mouth. "Now, make sure you keep massaging my other foot…” he warned, smiling at the sight of his foot pushing into her mouth.

It was, as Fireflight was sucking on her Master’s toes that Wildfire had come walking down the stairs. No sooner had she entered the living room than she both smelled her dad’s feet and heard her mother obviously tongue washing them. Used to their antics by then, she paid them no mind as she sat on the couch and put her headphones in to enjoy her audio book.

So, with that experience fresh in her mind, it was an understatement to say that Wildfire had questions to ask her parents. The only problem with asking, was the knowledge her parents would answer her and not hold anything back.

“Yuppers,” Wildfire said, “I was thinking, like...” she chose her words carefully, “Um, how do you know you two liked doing all that Master and slave stuff together? I mean, how did you go from not doing it, to doing it?”

“Hmmm,” Fireflight smiled with a look of nostalgia on her face, “That takes me way back.”

“Yeah, that was a tough time,” Heatwave, sat next to his wife, squeezed her hand supportively, quietly letting her know he was there to support her, like he always was, by her side, “You know how they say a forest fire promotes regrowth for a better forest?”

“Yuppers, that,” Wildfire nodded, “How does that relate to you two?”

Sighing deeply, Fireflight was very thankful that Heatwave was there holding her hand. “You remember the Battery fire eight years ago?” when her daughter nodded encouragingly, she continued, “I was one of the first on the scene. It was...”

When tears began streaming down her face, Fireflight went silent and Heatwave knew he would have to pick up the story. “I didn't show up until the eighth alarm was rung,” he explained, “People were jumping from fifty stories up with no hope other than falling was better than burning.” As he spoke, Fireflight choked out a strained sob, “Over three hundred died in that fire as the internal sprinkler system didn't work at all.”

“I was ready to quit the fire service after that day,” Fireflight said softly, so softly that the other two had to lean in to hear her at all, “I never felt more useless in all my life.”

“In the moment though,” added Heatwave, now with a definite note of pride in his voice at his beloved’s actions that day, “She and the rest of her team got a lot of people who were below the fire out safely. All of us were racing to put out the fire as it climbed. In the end, eighty above the fire were saved.”

“So...you felt all low,” mused Wildfire out loud as she listened to her parents telling the horrific story. She remembered it, of course she did, she had been nine then, but she still recalled that awful fire, “And that was when you started all this. I understand mom, I really do,” she hugged her mother close, “Okay, so next thing, I remember last birthday, dad saying he spanked you, and you liked it, but this past year you started doing that foot worship thing. What do you get from that?”

“To get her from that dark place, I took control,” said Heatwave, again giving Fireflight’s hand a squeeze that somehow managed to be reassuring and commanding at the same time, “That’s when the Master / Slave dynamic started. Over time, we found pleasure in aspects of that dynamic as we learned what we were doing.”

“The endorphins form being spanked are a big plus too,” Fireflight added with a small tremulous smile, “I like the restrictions of being tied up as well, and it helps that Heat loves to tie me up.”

“The foot worship started around three years ago,” put in Heatwave, “We just went public with you over the last year.”

“For me,” said Fireflight, now with a definite dreamy longing tone to her voice, “It’s a rather debasing thing, degrading and humiliating, fit for a slave to worship her Master's feet. Consider too they do all the active work through the day… now, the odour and sweat salt can be a turn off for some, but I relish in it.”

Wildfire couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing, “Oh yeah,” she sniggered and laughed, “I've heard the noises you make while you're licking dad's feet. You totally relish it alright, just like you did yesterday.”

“She has mastered how to do it sensually,” the pride in Heatwave’s voice was evident, “At first I found it ticklish, but now it’s very relaxing after a hard day. Better than the foot spa your mother bought me for my birthday.”

“I was tempted to offer my feet to her once or twice,” Wildfire giggled, “You sounded like you were really into it, too, dad.”

Now Fireflight laughed along with her daughter, “I'd be happy to wash your feet, Wily, but with my hands, in the bath. With what I do to your father, I hope you understand when I say I draw the line at my daughter.”

“What we do is not for everyone,” conceded Heatwave, “We know a few other couples that enjoy what we do, but none of us have felt the need to do it together with them.”

“Mmmm. So...” Wildfire said after considering that for a couple of moments. She had something to tell her parents, something she had been going to tell them the day before when she had walked in on her mom making like a foot spa, “I've got another thing to ask. Well, not ask, as such, but something to say, a bit of a big thing, probably too big...” she suddenly found her nerve running away from her as quickly as she covered a hundred metres on the racetrack, “I dunno…”

Fireflight snickered as a joke occurred to her, “Too big? Is it your shoe size?” she was worried she had crossed the line to naughty territory, but when Heatwave laughed, she breathed easily. For the moment.

Suddenly wishing she was a million miles away, or at least someplace else other than on the couch in front of her mom and dad, Wildfire took a big deep breath, and then she took a second and a third, “Okay…I'm gay.”

Whatever Wildfire had expected from that little revelation, her dad clapping his hands and her mother cheering like the Manehatten Sharks had just won the Megabowl was not it. “Our daughter has found her sexuality at last!” Heatwave hugged her tight, surprising her by almost dragging her off the couch.

No better than her husband, Fireflight’s hug was so tight that Wildfire ran the risk of passing out. “Do you have a girlfriend?” she gushed, her face all aglow, “Maybe Air Raid? You two do spend a lot of time together.”

“She is a nice girl,” Heatwave approved greatly, “You could do a lot worse than your pace runner for a girlfriend, Wily.”

The nervous smile that had been on Wildfire’s face slipped off just as quickly as if she’d smelled celery on her salad plate. “Air Raid's straight,” three words spoken like she was sentencing herself to life in prison. “I know for sure, cos I made a huge idiot of myself with her in the showers after our last track session.”

Instantly, Heatwave’s voice took on a serious tone, one he didn’t use all that often, “Did she stop being your friend when she found out?” When he asked that, Fireflight exasperatedly rolled her eyes at him. Then he worked out why. Air Raid had been at the birthday party.

“No!” Wildfire exclaimed quickly, “Oh no, not at all, dad, Raid's cool,” she sighed despondently, “We were showering, in the showers after the track meet cos we were all hot and sweaty, and there was a moment between us, or I thought there was a moment, and I just went and kissed her like a lovesick idiot!”

Shoulders shaking with mirth, Fireflight was only barely keeping it together, “How embarrassing!”

Blushing so hard her yellow face was tinged with red, Wildfire thrust her head back against the couch. No matter how hard she tried though, it wasn’t a portal to another world and it wouldn’t transport her away from her parents who were doing passable impressions of hyenas, “It was sooooo embarrassing, mom!”

Sympathetically, Fireflight gave her daughter a hug, and she was quickly joined by Heatwave, though their sympathies were undermined somewhat by their obvious enjoyment of their daughter’s discomfort. “So,” Heatwave said, “you don't have a girlfriend then?”

“Nopes,” Wildfire groused, crossing her arms under her small – almost non-existent – breasts, “There’s no girlfriend, there’s no hint of a girlfriend, there’s not even a sniff of a girlfriend, or of anything else, either.”

Deciding she had laughed at her daughter enough, Fireflight stroked Wildfire’s straight black hair, “Be sure to be on the lookout and ready for whatever comes your way,” she advised wisely, “Are you keeping your sexuality close to the vest?”

“This city isn't a bad place to be open about it,” put in Heatwave, who for one, loved Manehatten for its openness and acceptability, “But that’s up to you, honey.”

“I'm not scared about being open, mom,” Wildfire stated honestly, “I just thought...I dunno...I was hoping...that I'd maybe lose the whole stupid virginity thing,” after all, even Trotter on the track team had gotten laid a couple of months ago, something he never shut up about, “But uuuuUUUUGH why'd she have to be straight!?”

“All the good ones are, dear,” laughed Fireflight laughed as she affectionately straightened her daughter’s red flame styled hoodie.

“I thought that went the other way?” asked Heatwave.

“As long as she’s your friend, then take what she gives,” Fireflight advised her after giving her husband yet another roll of her eyes, “And friendship may be enough.”

“Oh, don’t worry, mom, she's still my best friend,” Wildfire stated firmly, because that she was sure of, “Which is cool. She's still my running mate, which is cooler. She's pushing me harder and harder on the track all the time. Says she wants me to get a couple of records before I graduate high school.”

“It’s good to have a friend,” Fireflight angled her head upwards and she kissed her husband and Master softly on the lips, “Or Master that pushes you like that.”

Getting up from the couch, and standing at her full four feet and ten inches, Wildfire stretched, “I'm three seconds off the one hundred metre time. It might help if she gets a crop on my ass.”

“Do you want to borrow one of mine?” asked Heatwave, genuinely trying to be helpful, while Fireflight practically fell off the love seat she was laughing so hard.

“Gee, thanks dad, that’s a great help,” laughed Wildfire, giving her parents a last hug before she decided to go and hunt down any cake that might have been left over from the party. It was a long shot, but one never knew, “I might get lucky,” she said to herself, “Not like I’ll get lucky in anything else…”

Chapter 2 - 11.74 Seconds

“On your marks!”

Wildfire, with Air Raid by her side holding her hand, lowered herself down to the running track, balancing her weight on her fingertips. She squared her running shoes into the blocks and took a slow, deep breath. As one, down the line, the rest of the track team got into the same ‘ready’ position following the race organiser’s order.

“Get set!”

Wildfire and Air Raid, moving together as one, raised up in preparedness for the nest order, which was mere seconds away. The athlete was ready for this. She had trained for this. She lived for this. She took another deep breath to centre herself.

“Go!”

Wildfire ran. In less than the space of a heartbeat, the teenager and her pace runner went from zero to twenty six miles per hour. Air Raid sped along by her side making sure all the time that she was just keeping Wildfire straight ahead, never, ever leading her.

The elite athlete had no idea if she was winning or not, all she was focused on was running as fast as she could. This was going to be the race. This was her time. It felt good. She felt good. She was covering ground at a pace of knots and she knew it was going to be good.

Even though she was running as fast as she could, Air Raid found herself starting to slow, while Wildfire was going as strong as ever. The pace runner, out of the corner of her eye, could tell her best friend was three paces ahead of all the others. By the time they were on the final thirty metres, Air Raid couldn’t keep up any longer, so she cheered her on, “Go! You got this, Wily, run!”

‘I got this!’ the thought ran through Wildfire’s mind as she forced herself to keep on going, even as lactic acid started to build up in her thighs and calves, even as her lungs burned and her blood thundered in her ears, all she thought was, ‘I got this!’

With her body screaming for her to stop, Wildfire defied herself and she put on a final spurt, forcing herself to run and run and run until she crossed the finish line, running so fast she was sure her heart was going to explode in her chest.

Moments later, and Air Raid caught up with Wildfire, whose momentum had taken her ten metres past the finish line. “You did it!” the lime green girl squealed out in congratulations, almost drowned out by the massed applause from the watching crowd, “Way to make your mark!” she clapped her best friend on her back and sent her crumbling to her knees, “You did eleven seventy four!”

Eleven seventy four.

It didn’t seem possible.

Eleven point seventy four seconds.

She’d done it!

Wildfire, now down on her knees over the finish line, could barely believe it. Above the cheering of the crowd, above the thundering of blood in her ears and above the pounding deafening drum beat of her heart, Wildfire processed the fact she had done it. “W-We...” she gasped, barely able to speak at all, “We d-did it...we did?”

Extending her left hand, Air Raid heaved Wildfire back up to her feet while she shielded her eyes from the late July sun with her right. “Walk it off, Wily,” she grinned at her best friend, “Come on, let's head for the water table.”

“I wanna puke…” choked out Wildfire in between deep desperate wheezing gasps for air as she walked with the much taller lime green girl. After a few steps, when her lungs had stopped trying to explode from her chest, she sighed, “False alarm.”

“That's okay,” said Air Raid when they got to the water station, “Here's some water. Slow sips.”

Cloudchaser, a cute sky grey teenager who was taller even than Air Raid came up with a water of her own, just as exhausted as the rest of the track team, “Good run, Wily!” she clapped the sweaty Wildfire on the back.

Trotter, one of the few boys on the team, came to offer his congratulations too, with a genuine, “Great time, Wily! You'll be in the Olympics soon, like this!”

After several slow sips of the water, Wildfire at last had her breathing under control and her heart rate was back to normal, and she could stand without her legs giving out from under her, asked, “Raid, did we really just do an eleven seventy four?”

For a split second, Air Raid was tempted to prank her diminutive best friend, but she decided against it. Not the time. “You did,” she clarified, “And you made Cloudy push herself, she was still point twenty of a second behind you. Trotter’s running at point thirty of a second behind.”

“That means...” Wildfire’s milky white eyes widened, “I got the record!” she jumped and punched the air, “No, shut up!” she exclaimed, joy all over her tired face, “Really? Did I really?”

Playfully, Air Raid bopped Wildfire's head, “You did, doofus!” she laughed and hugged her sweaty friend close, just as the next race in the track meet was about to start. Enviously, she looked over at Trotter, wishing he was hugging her like she was hugging Wildfire. Maybe. Just maybe, something might happen between him and his girlfriend and she’d have a chance. Maybe.

“Please say that counted!” Wildfire exclaimed, adrenalin still pumping through her system, “There's a proper official here right? There’s gotta be! It must've counted!” she turned her head left and right like she was actually looking for said official, “We've been chasing that record for ages!”

Even though she was panting after Trotter, Air Raid gave Wildfire an eye roll, one she knew her friend could hear, “Fine, this way, c’mon Tiny,” she then escorted her over to the scorer's table.

Male official, who had an idea he would be getting a visit any moment, had a pleasant smile on his face as he sat under the temporary gazebo that kept the officials out of the harsh summer sun. “Congratulations to you Miss Wildfire,” he greeted her and shook her hand, “The Equestrian record for the one hundred metres is yours.”

“YEESSSSS!” Wildfire cheered, she didn’t care where she was or if it was ‘improper’, she was so damn happy there were no words to adequately do it justice. She jumped up and punched the air so many times that Air Raid had to steady her lest she fell over, “Best birthday present ever!”

“Hey,” Air Raid said once she had her best friend under some sort of control, “I got a couple of tickets to go see ‘Player One’ for someone’s eighteenth birthday over at the Starcast, now you got your record, you wanna blow this sweat fest and go with me?”

“Yuppers!” Wildfire loved the Starcast, it was the best cinema place on the east coast for sight assisted viewing. “But, after a shower, huh?” she asked after she had caught a good strong smell of her own good strong smell. “Ewww, I stink like unwashed feet!” suddenly, she blushed really hard.

Mistakenly, Air Raid assumed her friend was blushing because she stank really bad, and, to be fair, she really did stink, “Okay, let's go hit the locker room first. Just you keep those hands to yourself, missy.”

“Raid,” now it was Wildfire’s turn to roll her eyes, “It's been over a year. Are you ever gonna let me live that down?”

Thoughtfully, Air Raid tapped her chin and, loudly she 'hummmed' like she was really thinking about it. “Nope!”

~ ~ ~

One much needed shower later and the two best friends were on the bus making their way to the Starcast theatre. Air Raid would have driven them there, but she couldn’t, not without an adult licensed driver with her.

Wildfire didn’t mind the bus. It was at least cheaper than the subway and, besides, there was a bus stop closer to the cinema than the train, which meant less to walk when they got there. “So...” she said presently, “Are you gonna make a move on Trotter, or what?”

Air Raid, who had been busy staring out of the bus window thinking very hot, very lewd thoughts about Trotter bending her over and properly ruining her, jerked up, “What?”

“C’mon, Raid,” Wildfire snickered, “It's obvious even to me that you fancy him. You had this cute little ‘thing’ with your voice when you said his name back at the track.”

“You caught me out,” sighed Air Raid. She knew she couldn’t fool Wildfire’s sharp ears, “Slingshot and I broke up last week. My exercise routine was too intense for him to keep up,” she continued by way of explanation, “I think Trotter could keep up with me, though.” Air Raid was sure Trotter could do many things with her.

“I knew it!” Wildfire grinned smugly and sat back on the back seat of the bus, “My ears are never wrong.” Then, as the bus turned a corner, she sighed, “I suppose he's okay, for a boy.”

Air Raid delivered her thoughts on that by giving Wildfire a loud raspberry that made an old woman on the bus tut at her. “Yeah,” she said once her friend had stopped laughing, “The only problem is, he’s with Shimmy Shake right now and she has more curves than I do. He'd have no trouble keeping up with her.”

“Well, you are a bit flat, from what I felt, anyway,” Wildfire giggled, her mind taking her way back to that wonderful, glorious time in the showers when she had copped a feel of her friend’s B cup chest. “Then again, maybe Trotter secretly likes ironing boards?” Not that she had room to criticise anyone, not with her A cup wasp stings.

Her smile quickly slipping, Air Raid leant in and whispered, “I could always go and find some homeless person to take you to the movies instead…”

Instantly, Wildfire knew she had crossed a line and she stopped giggling, “Please don't do that, I'll behave, Raid.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Beside her, Wildfire came up with a way to cover her faux pas and a way to continue the birthday celebrations. “Do you want to come back to my place for dinner after the movie? Dad's a great cook, and he always has extra.”

“For sure,” Air Raid reached her arm around Wildfire and she gave her a hug, “I can't stay mad at you, especially if you dad is cooking. Besides, your teasing skills are terrible.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire let out another sigh, “Seriously though, I hope you get to be with Trotter.”

“I can dream,” Air Raid snickered, because she did dream about him. A lot. “I hope you finally figure out how to flirt so you can get a girlfriend.”

“Pfft,” Wildfire snorted, “I need to find a girl who's interested first. Someone who doesn't just see 'blind' and backs away, scared she might break me.”

“I’m sure she's out there somewhere, Wily,” Air Raid assured her, “Here’s our stop, let’s go see if this movie is as good as advertised.”

~ ~ ~

After the movie had finished, and the two girls were on the bus back to Wildfire’s home, Air Raid passed her judgement on the cinematic experience. “That was campy, but it was a fun campy. I don't feel like my life was stolen.” She then turned to Wildfire by her side, “Did they do a good job on the narration?”

“It was fun,” Wildfire agreed, picking a couple of stray pieces of popcorn from her hoodie, “And yuppers it was well narrated, I got what was going on.” Sometimes the narrator of the movies was a warden from a women’s prison.

“Any idea what I'm eating tonight?” asked Air Raid, who was thinking ahead to filling her belly. Cinema popcorn only filled her so much, and there was no way she was eating the processed abominations that were the hot dogs.

“Dad mentioned something about his famous fish and chips,” replied Wildfire with a definite longing in her voice, “He does them really well.”

Air Raid liked the sound of that. From experience, she knew that Heatwave’s fish supper was legendary, not just famous, and anyone would be crazy to turn down an invitation like that. “Wily, you had me at fish and chips.”

A smug smile crept over Wildfire’s face, “I'll have to remember that. The way to a girl's heart, through her belly!”

The taller girl shrugged her shoulders, “Works for me,” she nudged Wildfire in the ribs, “I bet you haven't texted you parents about your record yet, have you?”

A look of dawning realisation crossed Wildfire’s face. She hadn’t messaged her parents! Luckily, she had an excuse to hand. “I haven't had the chance. Someone kidnapped me from the track meet and took me to the movies,” she giggled and she reached into the smaller pocket of her backpack for her phone. She avoided the larger pocket. That had her sweaty running kit. Nobody wanted that opening on a bus. “I was totally gonna do it.”

Smirking, Air Raid put her hand on the phone, “Too late now, we’re not far from your place. It will be a total surprise. I think that's better anyway, just to hear you squeal again.”

“Raid,” Wildfire said as she put her phone away back in her bag, “It's senior year next year. I really want to go for the two hundred and the four hundred metre records before we graduate.”

“Aaah,” Air Raid laughed, “I see how it is. Now I’ll have to up my game just to pace you at all.” Still, the challenge was exciting, “I'm okay with that.”

“It’s like you said when you first started working with me,” Wildfire pointed out, not ashamed to use her friend’s words against her, “Nothing to it but to do it, remember?”

Air Raid snorted and rolled her eyes, “That was years ago, Wily, but yeah. I have to do the same for myself.”

“And I'm glad you did,” Wildfire leant into her friend and she rested her head on her upper arm, “Remember me back then, the blind kid nobody gave a chance, now look, the Olympics beckons!”

“Dream big,” Air Raid reached an arm around the smaller girl’s shoulders and hugged her, “Better than going home to mope. You can believe I'll be cheering you on, Wily.”

“Of course you will,” Wildfire stated like it was the most obvious thing ever, “You'll be there with me, right? Only three years away now!” she didn’t see the saddened look on her friend’s face, she was more distracted with where the bus was, “Oh hey, this is our stop coming up!”

A laugh escaped Air Raid. She was always amazed at how easily Wildfire seemed to get around places she took for granted. Then again, she did have eighteen years’ experience. “I’m glad you're my guide, or I'd get lost.”

“Yeah, right,” Wildfire giggled as the bus stopped and they got off, “Like you've never been to my place before, Raid.” It was a point of fact that Air Raid had spent as much time at her house as she herself had.

“Lead the way, my faithful guide!”

“You got it,” when they were both on the sidewalk, Wildfire held Air Raid’s hand and she led the way back to her home. It was only a few hundred metres from the stop. There was no need for her cane, she didn’t even have to cross a street. The diminutive teen knew exactly where she was going. “I cannot wait for dad's fish and chips,” she giggled playfully, “At least mom isn't cooking.”

“True,” Air Raid conceded with a wry smile, “But she’s still better than me. My dad calls whatever I do, ‘cooking by smoke detector’.”

“How did you manage to burn the fruit juice, anyway?”

“Hush you.”

“E-Eeeek!” Wildfire squeaked as Air Raid dug her elbow into her ribs, “Yes ma'am, hushing up right here,” she shivered at how submissive she sounded then, though Air Raid didn’t notice, the taller girl happy to walk along in the bright summer sun. “And here we are!” she said after ten minutes when she was stood in front of her door. She didn’t bother to knock, she just shoved open the front door of the two storey town house and let herself inside.

As it happened, Wildfire really ought to have knocked. This was the thought that ran through Air Raid’s mind when she reached the open door to the living room. She had been in the midst of saying something to Wildfire, but whatever it was died on the way out of her mouth.

There, in the middle of the living room, was stood a very, very naked Fireflight. The dark green woman was tied up in a full tortoise shell rope harness, complete with a breast bondage that increased her double D cups by at least two whole sizes. Her hands were tied behind her back touching her elbows so her forearms rested on top of her head, and she was sporting a bright red ball gag.

By contrast, Heatwave was fully clothed in black pants, white shirt, black tie looking like he was going to see his bank manager. He was holding his slave’s hair in a ponytail in his left hand whilst brandishing a paddle in his right. The smell of arousal hung heavy in the air like a room air freshener. “Hey there, Wily, Air Raid,” he greeted the two girls like he was doing nothing out of the ordinary. “Didn't know you were bringing company for dinner.”

Upon seeing her daughter and best friend stood there watching her, the cheeks on Fireflight’s face turned an intense shade of red, but at least they matched her other set of cheeks. She mumbled something indistinct around the gag, causing drool to drip down her chin and spatter on her bound breasts. Helpfully, Heatwave was on hand to translate. “Come on in and make yourselves comfortable.”

Air Raid though, didn’t come in and make herself comfortable. She was stood like she had been petrified, staring open mouthed at the scene that greeted her. By her side, Wildfire breathed in deeply through her nose and listened to the unintelligible mumbles. They could only be one thing. “Hey dad! Has mom been in the chocolate cookie jar again?”

Wearing a prideful smile, Heatwave put the well-used paddle under his arm and he let go of the ponytail so that he could untie the ball gag. He hadn’t even broken a sweat during his slave’s hour long punishment session. “No,” he commented, “Just having a bit of fun waiting for the birthday girl to get home. How did the track meet go?”

“We got the one hundred metre record!” Wildfire dropped her back pack in the hall that connected the living room to the kitchen and she squealed in sheer delight, “We did it! We did it!”

“That's wonderful, dear!” Fireflight congratulated her daughter. She would have gone in for a hug, but for a couple of reasons. She hadn’t been allowed to move and her hands were tied to her head.

Seeing as his wife was otherwise immobile, Heatwave instead crossed the room wrapped Wildfire and Air Raid up in a tight bone crushing hug, “That is fantastic news! Equestrian record or Manehatten record?”

“Yes!” Wildfire bounced on her feet in her dad’s arms, “We got the Equestrian record! Eleven point seventy four seconds! And it was officially recorded too, right, Raid?”

Air Raid though, was not really listening. In fact, she wasn’t really in the room at all. Fireflight and her current predicament was taking up all her attention. “U-Um...y-yeah, official, recorded…”

“I'm really proud of you, Wily!” Heatwave lifted his daughter up and he showered her forehead in kisses, “And thank you Air Raid, for being with her for this.”

“Our jobs take up too much of our time,” put in Fireflight, the blush on one set of cheeks fading away, “so I'm glad she has a friend with her.”

“I-It’s uh…um…it’s ah, my pleasure, really…” Air Raid murmured, not removing her grey eyes from the tied up Fireflight stood like a statue in the living room. It was funny, she never considered herself attracted to women before, not until she saw Wildfire’s mother, naked and helpless, “Um, I’m sorry, for walking in on your uuuh...alone time…”

“Well,” Heatwave shrugged, speaking like he was discussing the weather over the garden fence with the neighbour, “We were expecting Wily, but the more the merrier, right love?”

Eagerly, Fireflight nodded her head, which made her bound breasts jiggle, which in turn made Air Raid drool. “Yes, that’s right. You may as well go get the dinner ready, Master.”

“Right you are,” Heatwave sighed internally, recognising their little scene was, for the moment, at an end. “Do you want to help me?” when his wife nodded again, he untied her hands and arms, but he left all the other ropes where they were.

Wildfire, who had decided to go up to her room with Air Raid, suddenly remembered she hadn’t hugged her mother yet. “Oh wait, mom! Hugs! I need mom hugs first!” she followed the potent aroma of feminine arousal to her target and hugged her mother tight, “By the way, nice perfume, mom!”

“Thank you, dear,” Fireflight tried to be careful where Wildfire put her head due to the rope harness she was wearing, “I think this is the one you got me last Hearth's Warming.”

Wildfire though, felt the ropes her mother was wearing. “Nice outfit too. It suits you,” she giggled and she squeezed out a second hug. “Can you give us a shout when dinner's done?”

“Will do, honey,” Heatwave promised as he and Fireflight walked through to the kitchen, “It’ll be about twenty five minutes, give or take.”

When they were both left alone in the hallway, Air Raid shook some sense back into her body. “So uh, that was something…”

Up in her bedroom, Wildfire flopped down hard on her bed, bouncing happily like it was a trampoline. Then, she picked up on the hesitant tone in her best friend’s voice. “Hey, Raid, are you okay?”

‘Am I okay…’ Air Raid snorted, “Am I okay…” she couldn’t believe that her best friend had even asked that of her. Was she okay! “Wily. Wildfire. Your mom was tied up like a Hearths Warming turkey, your dad had a paddle in his hand and your mom's butt was bright ted. Damn if that wasn’t hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Not to mention Fireflight’s big breasts bound like they were, and her pudgy belly, and her wide thick hips… Air Raid shook her head firmly. She liked boys. She liked cock. She didn’t like girls. ‘But Fireflight’s not a girl, she’s a woman…’ and just like that, the teenager had a whole new fantasy to explore when she got home.

“I know, right?” agreed Wildfire as she kicked off her sneakers, “It's their special thing they do. Mom is dad's slave, he's her Master.”

“I wonder if Trotter would be my slave?” Air Raid mused out loud, then, to herself, ‘Or Pom Pom, or both of them at once…’

“I bet he would,” Wildfire commented supportively, now moving back on her bed so that she was half sitting / half laying down, “I'd love to be a slave like that to a hot girl.”

Slumping down on Wildfire’s bean bag, Air Raid laughed out loud, “We're quite the pair, aren’t we?”

“Aren't we just?” laughed Wildfire, now removing her socks and giving them what she hoped was a surreptitious sniff before tossing them to the floor, “Except you like the boys and I don't,” she giggled, “So, thinking what you'd do with Trotter, huh?”

“I'd tie him up like your dad did to your mom,” Air Raid answered her in a heartbeat, “I mean, n-not the breasts part, obviously, but uh, I'm sure I can find a book to tie up his dick instead.”

“That sounds like fun, Raid,” Wildfire agreed, “Me...I want to be tied down on my knees, the hot girl's feet in my face and I'm ordered to lick them clean.”

“Feet,” Air Raid mused, tapping her chin deep in thought, “Now that's hardcore, Wily.” She had noticed of course her best friend’s growing fascination with feet, the way she would casually sniff at her dirty socks like she did. She hadn’t mentioned that she knew though, that wasn’t for her to say.

“I mean, yuppers!” exclaimed Wildfire, sitting up and crossing her legs, “Mom's done it to dad a few times while I've been in the same room. It's so hot listening to her sucking and licking at her Master’s feet, or when dad uses her as a foot stool when he watches TV.”

Air Raid laughed so hard she almost fell from the bean bag and spilled on the bedroom floor. “From what I just saw, you're parents are hardcore.” Especially Fireflight… she shook herself and rubbed her arms, but no matter what, she couldn’t stop thinking about her best friend’s mother.

“Tell me about it,” agreed Wildfire eagerly, “They revealed all this to me back when I was sixteen. I can tell you; it was a relief to discover the house wasn't haunted after all.”

Air Raid actually did spill from the bean bag and as she sprawled on the floor she asked, “Were the ghosts always moaning?”

“And screaming, and panting, and begging for more…”

For almost ten full minutes, Air Raid completely lost it. She was laughing so uncontrollably she very nearly peed herself. “I was ten,” she said when she was able to speak, “When I walked in on my parents doing the nasty. I ran off, and about twenty minutes later my mom found me and gave me the 'talk'.”

“Aw, you poor thing!” Wildfire opened her arms for a hug, “Mom and dad don't go all the way when I'm in the room, but they do 'play' as they call it. I've got used to it by now.”

Only too happy to give her needy friend a hug, Air Raid mused that she wasn’t attracted in the slightest to her. Then again, she wasn’t as full and ‘developed’ as her mother was. “Mine don't do anything other than kiss and hold hands in front of me,” she sounded almost jealous.

Wildfire simply shrugged, “Everyone has their own normal, I guess.”

“Yeah, yours are pretty cool though,” Air Raid bought up her mental image of a tied up Fireflight. She added to that image a Heatwave paddling her ass and herself on her knees in front of the older woman and she felt herself getting very hot. “They just accepted I was there and I could see what they were doing. I'm sure you got a nose full though.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire tapped her nose, “Honestly, as I say, I'm used to it now. Sometimes in the living room I don't notice it, it's just 'there', y'know?”

“Yeah,” Air Raid settled back into the bean bag and she enjoyed her little fantasy some more, “Your parents are cool.”

~ ~ ~

Wildfire’s nineteenth birthday party was at last on the wind down. Air Raid, her friends on the track team and her parents had all sung her the happy birthday song and now they were on to the second best part of the day. “Cake!” Wildfire exclaimed happily, “I want cake, anyone else want cake?” she was so excited she was bouncing on the couch, “Raid, Cloud Kicker, Cloudchaser? You want cake?”

“Everyone wants some of the red velvet cake!” Air Raid was greeted by a round of general cheering from the other teenagers just as Fireflight came in with the running shoe shaped birthday cake and lit the two candles, a number 1 and 9.

“Now to blow them out! Raid, steer me in,” once she was in position, with her face a few inches from the burning candles, Wildfire took a deep breath and she blew them out, accompanied by much cheering from her friends.

When she had removed the candles, Fireflight put the handle of the cake knife in her daughter's hand. “You cut, and I'll serve.”

“Alrighty mom,” beamed Wildfire, “I got this!” carefully, she cut the running shoe cake into eight – more or less - equal pieces. She was having a great time really in her early birthday party, which had been moved to June instead of July due to everyone being able to be there for it. College acceptance letters had arrived the month before and people were moving on.

Once the cake had been cut, Fireflight handed out each slice as Wildfire put them on a paper plate. “Eat up guys! I helped make it, it's extra yummy!” Cloudchaser and Cloud Kicker both giggled at that. Air Raid rolled her eyes at the sisters, knowing what they were both thinking.

Wildfire joined in the round of giggles, knowing that she had to help, as her mother couldn't whisk stuff with her arms tied. She took a huge bite of her cake and she was transported to heaven. Cake heaven. “Oooh yes!” if she did say so herself.

Lighting Dust , who was one of those annoying straight A students, asked in between mouthfuls of cake, “Who's ready for finals next week!?”

That was a cue for several deep groans and Air Raid punched her playfully in the arm, “Dusty, I'm just ready to leave MHS behind me.”

“Come on,” defended Wildfire, “Manehatten High wasn’t that bad. But, I am ready for what's coming next,” she giggled giddily, “Mom can I tell them yet?”

Fireflight, her face all smiles, agreed, “Based on what I hear the others whispering, I think you can, dear.”

Like she was in class, Cloudchaser put her hand in the air, to much mocking laughter from the others, “Oh, I can guess this if Ms. Fireflight overheard us!”

Cloud Kicker elbowed her dorky un-cool sister firmly in the ribs, “Hush, give Wily her moment.”

“Well, okay, here goes,” Wildfire set down her half eaten slice of cake and took a deep breath to steady herself, “I got accepted to Harmony College in Canterlot! Full track and field scholarship!”

Cheering, the loudest yet, erupted from the gathered friends, but Air Raid was a little late joining in with it, not that anyone noticed. “Wow,” gushed Cloudchaser, “I only got into Manehatten U on my scholarship!”

“Good news Wily!” Cloud Kicker clapped her friend on the back before sharing a high five with Lightning Dust, “Me and Dusty are going to Princeton.”

Soarin, who had been sneaking some of Lightning Dust’s uneaten cake, spoke up, “Yeah, I'm joining the Air Force. See if I can get some college action that way.”

“Too bad they won't let us race each other,” put in Trotter, who was about to ruin Air Raid’s hopes and dreams of seducing him, “I'm going to Canterlot too.”

“Way to go Wily,” Air Raid congratulated her best friend, and for once she was glad that the diminutive girl couldn’t see that her smile didn’t reach her grey eyes, “I'm sure you'll do great.”

“Thanks you guys!” Wildfire, all smiles, got in a high five and a hug from each of her friends, “Canterlot is the training ground the Olympic team picks from!” she then turned her face to her best friend’s direction, “Of course I'll do great, you know I will. You're my running mate, right?”

“Hey,” teased Lightning Dust, who had just whapped Soarin for stealing her piece of cake, “you're just not egghead enough to go to Princeton.”

Cloud Kicker rolled her eyes, “They've had gold medallists, Dusty.”

While the rest of the track team were congratulating Wildfire and ribbing her lack of math skills, Air Raid was busy quietly reflecting on things that were going on with her. However, she wanted to wait until the party was over to drop her little bombshell.

“So Trotter the Golden Boy is going to Harmony U too, huh?” asked Lightning Dust.

“Yeah, well,” Trotter defended himself, “Everyone knows I spent more time on the track than on school,” he blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

“And what does Pom Pom think about that?”

“She loves the idea,” he shot back to Lightning Dust, “She’s coming too.”

“Ditto!” Wildfire exclaimed to Trotter, “Getting the Equestrian record for the one hundred metres went a long way towards getting me into Canterlot, too.”

“Hey,” said Air Raid, who had hiked up a very hearty smile on her face, “I'm sure nailing the Manehatten record for the two hundred metres helped as well. Maybe you can get the four hundred metres in college.”

“We'll obliterate it, Raid!” Wildfire cheered herself before she took a last bite of her birthday cake. “Hmm, that is nice, but I better lay off that, the training for the four hundred is brutal.”

“There’s no way I’m giving up cake,” asserted Cloudchaser, earning her a fist bump from her sister, “Just need to pace the training.”

Just then, Fireflight walked back into the living room carrying the gifts the teenagers had bought when they came to the party, “Presents time!” she sang happily.

“Woot!” Lightning Dust whooped, “I was waiting for a chance to get rid of those old sneakers of mine,” she added to much general laughter.

“Really, Dusty?” Wildfire protested, despite that though, she had a few very racy thoughts of actually getting a pair of old sweaty running shoes to sniff, “Seriously thanks guys, whatever you've all got me, I know I’ll love it!”

Fireflight then gave the gifts to Wildfire one at a time while she told her who they were from as she opened them. All the gifts were inexpensive, and mostly they were college supplies, such as a stapler from Trotter, lever arch files and refill paper from the two sisters. Lightning Dust's gift was a book store coupon worth twenty bits.

Wildfire opened each present with a smile, until she had opened them all. “And I was really hoping for sweaty sneakers too!”

Wrinkling her nose, Lightning Dust grimaced, “Really? Girl you're so weird!”

“I do love the book token though,” Wildfire said with a laugh, “I'll pen my first novel with it on the paper the sisters got me.” To Air Raid though, who had not given her a present yet, she said, “Raid, you didn't forget, did you?”

“I'm saving mine for the after party,” Air Raid replied, which of course drew lots of Oooohs and aaaaahs from the crowd, which in turn made her blush, “Hush, just don't want to show all of you up.”

“Well,” Lightning Dust sighed happily, “I guess it’s back to the books for me. I'm going to ace the finals.”

After Lightning Dust had hugged Wildfire, Cloudchaser got her hugs in too. “I'm getting a beer,” she whispered. Then, louder, she said, “See you next week and keep those dots clear so I can copy.”

Trotter and Soarin made sure to hug the small girl too. “That was a great party Wily. Next time, you'll have to salute me.”

“See you next week and this fall over in Canterlot,” Trotter bade Wildfire a fond goodbye before he left with Soarin to get a ride in his car.

Cloud Kicker, after a tight hug that threatened to make Wildfire’s cake reappear, said, “Laters Wily. I'll let you know when Chase is cheating,” then she ran out the door before her dorky sister could drive off without her.

Once the track team had all said their goodbyes and left, Fireflight decided it was best she started the clean-up operation before her Master came home from work. She didn’t like being bad naughty and leaving a mess. Air Raid, who had stayed behind, was going to help until Wildfire stopped her. “C'mon then Raid,” she squealed delightedly, “It’s pressie time!”

Smiling, Fireflight waved Air Raid to the couch. The lime green girl walked over solemnly and she took Wildfire’s hand in hers, “Hey there.”

“Hey, you.” Wildfire turned her head up to her best friend, a wide happy smile on her face.

Air Raid looked down, but at the floor instead of her best friend’s smiling face. This was the moment. “I guess I need to say something before I give you the present. About Canterlot…” all of a sudden, her throat was drier than the San Palomino dessert. “I'm…I’m…not going.”

In an instant, Wildfire’s happy smile evaporated, leaving behind a most unwelcome frown. “What?” she spluttered, “Sure you are, you're my running mate! How can I run without you!?”

“Hey,” said Air Raid softly, her voice cracking as she fought back tears, “I'll always be your running mate, but I can't be your pace runner. I'm not going to college, and there isn't what my future holds in Canterlot. That's still here in Manehatten.”

Wildfire lifted up her hands until she reached Wildfire’s face, where she thoroughly but gently caressed her cheeks. There, she felt the tears on her fingertips. Air Raid never cried. “Y-Yo-You're serious, aren't you?”

Air Raid didn’t flinch when her friend touched her flowing tears, “Yeah, I’m sorry Wily, I’m serious. But, I know you can do this. You're great, greater than me. I mean, come on, I haven't finished a race with you for months, now.”

“I mean, well, yuppers, it’s like running with a snail by my side,” Wildfire smiled and she sniffed out a few tears of her own, which she tried to stop. She failed, utterly, and began to cry like a new-born baby. “You'd better win those races of yours, I'll be watching, I mean, listening.”

“It will be some time before I'm actually racing. I'm joining Windcharger's racing team. I sent my resume to a few teams and she accepted mine. I start in the pits and I’ll be diving for her in the future.”

“Pfft,” Wildfire snorted, “Don’t sell yourself short, you were amazing in those Derby Racers downhill runs, all those trophies you won? You'll be racing in no time.”

“I'll stay in touch so you can listen when I do,” Air Raid smiled through her tears, “I'll be cheering you on, and you better cheer me on.”

“You'd better believe it!” Wildfire hugged Air Raid so tightly both girls couldn’t breathe, “I'm gonna miss you, Raid.”

“Present time!” exclaimed Air Raid as she wiped her eyes dry, “I got you a couple of things, things I didn’t want to explain to the rest of the group.” She placed the first present, which was small and softly wrapped, into Wildfire’s hands, “You’ll see why.”

“Thanks Raid!” Wildfire took the present and she tore into the wrapping. Once she was in, she could feel the then metal chain, but the clasp was highly unusual. From her knowledge, she realised they were tiny handcuffs.

“The chain is white gold,” explained Air Raid, “And yeah, best clasp ever. You can wear it in front or back under your hair.”

“Raid...I love it!” exclaimed Wildfire joyously, “Put it on me! I want the cuffs in front, please.”

Smiling, Air Raid put the chain around Wildfire’s neck so that the handcuffs were at the front, like she had requested. “I've been here often enough that I wouldn't be surprised if Dusty did give you old shoes. She didn't, so I got you this.” She gave her a slightly larger package that was very squishy.

Giggling very excitedly, Wildfire ripped open the larger squishy package like she was tearing her way through Hearths Warming morning. The first thing that hit the diminutive girl was the smell. It was utterly rancid and overpowering. It was unmistakeably a pair of extremely sweaty gym socks, the bottoms of which were a bit crusty. “I've worn those for our last six, maybe seven races, and they've not been washed.”

“Oh Raid...” Wildfire lifted the stinky feet bits of the socks up to her nose and she inhaled, breathing in the musty smell of feet until her milky eyes crossed and she almost came on the spot, “These are amazing!”

Smiling, though her eyes were watering at her own foot stench, Air Raid hugged her best friend. “Hey, take a sniff before a race and you'll know I'm chasing your ass across the finish line, because you'll never be chasing me.”

“You got it, Raid, and thank you, really,” Wildfire held the socks under her nose, “I'll win for sure now.”

“I do hope you find a pace runner faster than me. Make them work to stay with you.”

“You bet,” when Wildfire hugged Air Raid, she did at least put the socks down on the couch first, not that the smell was diminished in any way. “I'm gonna run so hard, you see.”

“I know you will, Wily, and once I climb out of the pits I'll have the pedal to the metal.”

“You'll see me off at the station, right?”

“Pfft,” Air Raid snorted, “That's ages away. I'll be over to hang out before that happens. If only to watch your parents carry on doing what they do. I won't be a stranger, and neither should you.”

“Stranger?” Wildfire looked shocked, “We're besties, always will be, no matter what!”

“No matter what,” Air Raid bumped Wildfire’s closed fist, “It was a fun party. See you next Saturday. Thank you Ms. Fireflight!”

From the kitchen came Fireflight’s voice saying she was welcome, but Wildfire wasn’t finished just yet. “Air Raid. Permission to kiss your cheek.”

“Go for it.”

Although she had to get up on the tips of her toes, Wildfire placed a chaste little kiss on the taller girl’s cheek. “Thank you for coming. And thank you for my wonderful presents. I love them both.”

Smirking, Air Raid bent at the waist and kissed Wildfire's cheek. “Some of us know what you really like. Good night, Wily.”

Chapter 3 - Leaving Manehatten

The day that Wildfire had been looking forward to and dreading in equal measure was finally at hand. The day she was heading off to Harmony University. The day she was leaving Manehatten behind.

To say she was quietly crapping herself was the world’s greatest understatement.

Fortunately, Air Raid was there to brighten the otherwise bleak September Thursday morning and lighten the heavy mood, just a little bit. She knew her best friend was leaving to embrace her future, but she too had some news of her own to share. As their lunch was settling in their bellies, she said, “Hey, I made it past the internship and I'm part of Windcharger's racing team now!”

“Yay for you!” Wildfire lifted up her bottle of cola, chilled from the fridge, in a salute to her best friend, “That's awesomes Raid!”

“Yeah,” Air Raid clinked their bottles together, “But you're going on to do even better things. Nothing you can see will stand in your way.”

“Good thing I can't see then,” Wildfire joined Air Raid in her little burst of giggles before she took a hefty swig of her soft drink, “Just remember to touch the brake pedal every once in a while, huh?”

Air Raid shot her friend a grin that made it into her voice, “Only when I’m going into the victory lane, Wily.”

Just then, Fireflight poked her head through the open living room door. It was time. “Okay, girls, it’s time to head for the station.”

Practically on cue, Heatwave opened the front door and walked in, “Had to twist several arms and call in a few favours from Chief Rung, but I got the rest of the day off. Are we ready?”

“Yuppers, dad!” Wildfire sprang from the couch up to her feet, where she tugged her hoodie down over the tops of her jeans. “All packed, we got everything I need for the trip ready already!”

Air Raid, who was making the most of the early autumn sun in a tee shirt and long shorts, stood up and grabbed her best friend’s backpack. “Need some help?” she offered, “I think I can carry a kitchen sink.”

Laughing, Wildfire quickly agreed, though she wouldn’t have allowed Air Raid to not be at the station to see her off. “I think mom packed one somewhere along the line,” she hefted her backpack full of her writing things onto her shoulder, “There’s two massive suitcases that are bigger than me, my backpack and a travel suitcase, dad.”

Air Raid burst out laughing, because almost everything was bigger than Wildfire. “Say, Ms Flight, can I call dibs on the bed since she won't be needing it?” she asked, hoping beyond hope that they’d say yes and she would be closer to her crush.

“Hey!” Wildfire pouted and stamped her foot, “Let me at least get out the house before you steal my bed!” her pout was ruined slightly by the wide smile that spread across her face.

“Air Raid is always welcome to come over for some entertainment,” Heatwave shared a wink and a chuckle with his wife and slave, while Air Raid couldn’t believe what she had just heard and was about to pass out from sheer happiness.

“Oh great,” huffed Wildfire as she made her way to the door, “So instead of just gross parent sex, I'm now imagining gross parent / best friend sex. Thanks guys!”

All three laughed as they loaded up the trunk of the family station wagon with Wildfire’s luggage. Heatwave took the two largest cases that were almost bigger than his daughter while Fireflight bought the smaller suitcase. Air Raid was left with a new fantasy to add to her collection for her alone time. “Hey, I can send you the audio files if you want?” she teased.

“You would too, wouldn't you?” retorted Wildfire as she got into the back of the loaded station wagon with Air Raid by her side and once they were both seated, she held her hand. “I'm going to carry on writing that story we started, the wasteland one.”

That relieved Air Raid a great deal. “It’d be nice to see that finished, Wily. We’ll have to schedule some online RP time around your classes and my work, but you can still send me bits for editing.”

“We started it,” said Wildfire, determined, “It should get finished. Who knows, this time next year, it might be a best seller and we’ll be rich!”

Smirking, Air Raid reached over and she bumped fists with her best friend, “Royalties here we come!”

Wildfire’s face dropped to become deadly serious, “Only on the condition that I get no audio files of you three getting up to whatever you’re gonna get up to.”

All three laughed again and, once Heatwave and Fireflight were seated in the driver’s and passenger seat respectively, he drove off. By his side, Fireflight was fidgeting on the seat thanks to the expertly applied ropes she wore under her dress.

The journey to the train station was mostly silent, seeing as Air Raid was sat lost in her newest fantasy of joining Heatwave in dominating Fireflight. Before long though, the car pulled into the Penn Station parking garage. “Excellent time,” announced Heatwave, “You have forty five minutes till departure time.”

As Wildfire and Air Raid got out the back, Heatwave and Fireflight got busy unloading the two large suitcases and the smaller travel suitcase. Air Raid helped carry her friend’s backpack and in her other hand she held Wildfire’s tight. “Wowsers,” Wildfire said nervously, “This is it; this is really it…”

Gently, Air Raid pressed her forehead to Wildfire’s, “You got this, Wily.”

Wildfire smiled and then she laughed, “Promise me you won't ever let me say 'wowsers' again. That was so uncool,” she giggled, a note of unsurety in her voice, “Do I, Raid? Do I got this? I'm about to go one thousand two hundred miles on my own to a strange city, strange school, strange everything! I've only ever been as far as Baltimare before!”

“You do got this, Wily.” Air Raid said determinedly, “You have your fancy stick, you have a GPS phone, and you have me and your folks just a phone call away. Maybe you'll find a friend on the train, and you'll meet more in Canterlot…” she trailed off and started to cry openly, not caring for once who might see her, “Try not to forget me, please?”

“Like I'd ever forget my best friend,” Wildfire smiled, though she quickly started to cry as well, both girls sobbing into each other’s shoulders, “Don't forget me when you're a big famous racer-lady. I want a 'this is for my bestest friend' speech when you get your first win.”

“Besties till the end of time, Wily.”

“Wily,” Heatwave called out over the background noise of people on the station getting on and off trains, trains departing, and the garbled tannoy system announcements, “Are you sure there’s nothing in the big cases you'll need for the trip? Once I check them in, you won't feel them until you get there.”

“Um...” Wildfire thought for a moment, then it came to her, “Can you squeeze my Dictaphone into my backpack please dad?” she smiled a broad smile, because it was time for her surprise. “Mom, have you got that thing I gave you to bring?”

While Heatwave pulled out the dictation machine from the packed case and transferred it to his daughter’s backpack, Fireflight placed a small package into Wildfire’s waiting hands. “Here it is, dear.”

“Trying to upstage me, Wily?” asked Air Raid wryly, looking down at the small case.

“Just making sure you don't forget me,” Wildfire opened up the little case, and she revealed inside were two rings. One was yellow, one was green, each had linked handcuffs at the top.

Smiling, Air Raid took the yellow ring from the box and she noted the ‘best friends forever’ inscription on the inside before she put it on her finger and she hugged the diminutive girl tight. When she showed it off to Heatwave and Fireflight, the submissive woman beamed, “Matches the necklace.”

After Wildfire had put on the green ring, Air Raid said, “I got you something too,” she reached into her own pack and pulled out an unwrapped shoe box, which she placed in Wildfire’s hands.

By the shape and the weight, Wildfire had an idea what it was. Not only was it a shoe box, but it was also a brand new shoe box. She explored the box with her hands and her smile widened. “Thanks Raid! New shoes!”

As Wildfire’s smile grew, so too did Air Raid’s. “Open it,” she urged her. She was pleased to see she did just that. When she opened the box, Wildfire could tell the shoes were not new by the smell – a few people walking past a couple of metres away could tell they weren’t new either – and the touch showed they were a pair of used track shoes. “I finally replaced mine after two years.”

Eagerly, Wildfire lifted the open box up to her nose and she took a deep, deep sniff. Instantly, she had to squeeze her legs together in her jeans because the smell alone was arousing her. “Oh fuck they stink!” It wasn’t a complaint. “They're really two years old?”

Lightly, Air Raid punched Wildfire in the shoulder, “Not all of us can afford new shoes every year. Every time I ran with you for the last two years I was wearing those.”

Wildfire’s smile was impossibly wide, “Raid...I will treasure these forever. I’ll sniff these and think of my bestest friend, whenever I'm lonely, I'll hold them close. Thank you!”

To hide her latest round of tears, Air Raid hugged Wildfire close. “In case you wash the socks by accident, you have the track shoes.”

Somewhat sympathetically, Heatwave came over and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulders, “I love the love fest, girls, but it’s time for you to board, honey.”

“Permission to kiss?” when Air Raid gave it, Wildfire gave her best friend a bone crushing hug and a kiss that went straight to her cheek. After that, she went and hugged her mother and father until they couldn’t breathe. “Be good naughty mom. Dad, I love you all.”

Air Raid, after returning the kiss to Wildfire’s cheek, went and stood with Heatwave and Fireflight. Her knees almost gave way when the former placed his strong hand on her shoulder and the latter held her hand tight. “This is conductor Pullman,” Heatwave introduced the tall lanky official, “He'll make sure you get to your seat.”

Conductor Pullman, who was doing a good impression of a lamp post with a moustache attached, smiled down at the teenager, “Hi there, welcome aboard the express, miss.”

“Thank you, sir,” Wildfire hefted her backpack onto her shoulder, the travel suitcase in her left hand and she had the shoe box under her other arm, “I'll try not to be a nuisance for you.”

Pullman waited until Wildfire, Air Raid, Heatwave and Fireflight had gotten in a last round of hugs before leading the small girl onto the steam train’s brightly coloured carriage. “This is your seat, and your row actually,” he indicated the two unoccupied seats, “Since there’s no one else in this row. The window will be on the north side, so there’s not a lot of sun. You can keep the case with you or put it above the seat.”

“I'll keep it with me, thank you sir,” Wildfire sat all the way over by the window and placed her suitcase and backpack on the empty seat by her side.

The conductor, who had been waiting for her to get seated, continued, “On the armrest near the window and on the one on your left are some controls. One closest to the back is a call button and one of the staff will come. In front of that is the light button, and then the volume control button. Closest to the front is the channel changer. There is a screen in front of you and has a USB charger port and a headphone jack. There are movie and music channels. I'll let you play with that, but I can put you on a channel now or you can call for staff later.”

“Thank you sir,” Wildfire, who heard other passengers getting on the train, struggled to concentrate purely on the conductor and his instructions. She ran her fingers over the controls he had mentioned. “I'll have a play with it later if that's alright. Can I ask, where are the toilets? Best to know now while I don't need to go.”

“You are at the back of the car,” Pullman explained, making sure to be clear, “Behind you are two toilets, and they are unisex. Be sure to push the lock when you use them. Same for every car in the coach section if you can't wait. There are three coach cars in front of you and one behind you. Going to the back is next a club car for snacks and place to play cards and such. It also has a bar. After that is the dining car. Dinner is not included with your ticket. If you'd like to have a seating, just press the call button. Breakfast is from six to nine, lunch from eleven to two, and dinner from five to seven. Beyond that is the sleeper cars.”

“I’ve got it, thank you sir,” Wildfire blushed ever so slightly, because she knew her ticket didn’t cover sleeping in the sleeper cars. Where she was sat was her for the next two days. She had though been given a load of bits for food on her journey. “I might call later to get a dinner sitting. Thank you again, you've been really helpful.”

“You're very welcome, miss” Pullman gave her an unnecessary bow, “Enjoy your trip to Canterlot.”

“I will, thank you,” little did Wildfire know that the conductor had gone, leaving her sat alone on her seat. She sat back and she fetched a bottle of juice from her backpack as the steam train began to move. Her nerves were a little frayed, the realisation that she was on her way hitting her full in the face. She reached for Air Raid’s old shoes to calm her down.

Further up the train in the second car, a tall six foot six girl by the name of Serenity was chatting with a number of her friends from her school that were attending Baltimare College for the first time. She had already stowed her stuff in her cabin in the sleeper car section and, following the catch up, the teal skinned teenager was walking back to read and be settled in before the train started moving.

She was humming absent mindedly to herself as she made her way through the many carriages back to her cabin when she happened upon a sight she wasn’t expecting to see. In fact, Serenity had to look twice and then stare to make sure she was actually seeing it.

There, before her, was a comically small yellow skinned girl with straight black hair. That wasn’t what drew her attention. The girl was obviously blind, if her milky white eyes were any indication. That hadn’t been what caught her eye either. No, that went to the rotten old sneaker she had her nose in and the hand that was groping her tiny little breast.

Amused by the spectacle, Serenity stopped and enjoyed the show the girl was putting on for her. However, when she saw the girl’s hand caressed her crotch through her jeans, Serenity knew she had to intervene. “That must be some shoe,” she smiled.

“Eeeek!” Wildfire jumped and startled, because she hadn’t just been sniffing the shoe, she had her face in the hole at the top and she was practically kissing it, “U-Um...I-I wasn't doing anything!”

Again, Serenity noticed the small girl’s eyes, then she took note of the case and backpack on the seat. “Sure you weren’t,” she giggled, “How far are you traveling?”

“To Canterlot, miss,” Wildfire tried to cover what she had been doing by hurriedly putting the smelly shoe back in the box and closing it shut. “I'm going to Harmony U.”

“Wow, what a coincidence, so am I!” Serenity commented, “Is the seat next to you taken?”

“No miss, you can sit if you like,” Wildfire sat up a little straighter and she was sure, listening to the strange girl’s voice that there was a distinct musical lilt to her Manehatten accent, “Are you a singer?”

All at once, Serenity was rather impressed with this girl. She suspected that even blind as she was, there wasn’t much that got past her. “I hope to be. I'll be back in a few minutes, don’t go anywhere,” she had an idea, and she continued to walk past to the next car.

“Alrighty…” then, Wildfire blushed as she realised she was on her on her own once more. At least she wasn’t blushing at being caught feeling herself up while indulging her fetish in a public place…and just like that, her blush deepened.

It didn’t take Serenity long to find what she was looking for. Not her cabin, but a conductor. “Excuse me, that girl in Seat 1A says she's going to Canterlot, is that true?”

The conductor, who happened to be Pullman, took a moment to admire the teal vision stood before him in her Manehatten Prep Academy uniform, “Yes, miss, why do you ask?”

“I'm in the first Sleeper Room E and I'd like to upgrade her ticket to join me,” Serenity caught where the lanky conductor was looking – namely all of her – and she decided a little twirl wouldn’t hurt her cause.

“If she agrees,” said Pullman, who was not immune to the attractive girl’s charms, “It would be five hundred bits.”

Serenity waved that off like it was nothing at all. To her, five hundred bits was small change. “Okay, if she does agree, she doesn't need to know I paid for it, okay?”

Pullman nodded swiftly, “I can do that, miss.”

Smiling like the cat who had all the cream, Serenity walked back with the conductor through the train and when she saw the girl had moved her case above her, she took a seat next to her new friend. “So, where's the shoe gone?”

“Hello again!” Wildfire smiled way too widely for it to be natural, “I put it away in its box. Being caught once indulging my fetish is bad enough, thank you, miss.”

In glee, Serenity clapped her hands, “Fetish!” she exclaimed, “Seems like a mild one to me. Was it one of your shoes?”

Shaking her head, Wildfire explained, “My best friend gave me her old pair as a parting gift. She was my pace runner when I ran track at high school.”

Unapologetically, Serenity had the look of disbelief on her face and a note of incredulity in her voice. “You run track?” she asked sceptically. Not that she was calling her a liar, but she was blind!

“That I do, miss,” the diminutive girl didn’t mind the tone of the other’s voice, she got it all the time. “Wildfire, that's me. Equestrian record holder and Manehatten record holder. Here,” she plucked her phone out of her backpack so she could show her some pictures as proof of what she claimed.

As she looked at picture after picture of Wildfire on podium after podium being presented with all manner of awards, medals and trophies, Serenity had to concede she was telling the truth. “Is that cute green girl with you your girlfriend?”

“I wish,” Wildfire said with a hint of regret, “She’s my best friend. The bestest ever.”

It happened that Wildfire wasn’t the only one with sharp ears. Serenity perked up when she heard that. “You wish?”

“She's straight,” Wildfire sighed, “And I'm not.”

Serenity didn’t even try to hide the eagerness in her musical voice, “Did you want to dominate her?” she was practically bouncing in her seat in anticipation of her new friend’s reply.

“I wanted her to dominate me, miss.” Wildfire didn’t know what it was, why she was being so open with this girl she had only just met, she had a kind of ‘aura’ that put her so at ease, “I dreamed of being her foot cleaner.”

“Oh,” Serenity’s eagerness evaporated like mist on car window, to be replaced with a wistful sigh, “I'm looking for a girl to dominate me. Really dominate me.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire agreed, “Me too. I want a girl who isn't afraid I'll break, to rub her feet all over her personal door mat.”

“You do have a foot fetish, don’t you?” Serenity asked rhetorically, before she moved onto what she really wanted to talk about. After all, the conductor was looking very uncomfortable in the aisle. “Hey, would you like to sniff your sneaker in a bit more privacy?”

“I'd love to, miss,” Wildfire’s blush returned in full force, and she had only just got it to go away. “Um, what's your name? I can't keep calling you miss, can I?” then something occurred to her, “My ticket is just for these seats, miss.”

“My name’s Serenity, and yours I recall is Wildfire?” when the short girl nodded her head, Serenity made her mind up. “Come on, us subs have to stick together. I have a bedroom in the first sleeper car to myself. Let's tell the conductor you're moving in with me.”

“Alrighty, miss Serenity!” Wildfire was only too happy to get her travel suitcase and her backpack from the overhead compartment. Her new friend sounded nice, and the bed had to be better than a couple of days on the seats.

While Wildfire got her things together, Serenity turned her attention to the waiting conductor. “Mr. Pullman, Wildfire of 31A is now moving into 1E with me.”

“Very good, is that what you want, Ms. Wildfire?”

When Wildfire nodded and confirmed that everything was above board, Serenity took the travel suitcase, leaving Wildfire to carry her backpack and shoe box. She led the way through the train to her cabin where she held the door open for her guest. “Counter to the right, and above that you can put away your case. Bunk beds are on the left, but it’s a couch now. There’s a toilet at the back right. Do you want top or bottom bunk?”

For a moment, Wildfire didn’t answer her host. She was busy exploring the cabin with her fingers, finding every feature as Serenity called it out to her. “I’ll take bottom, if you don't mind, miss Serenity,” she giggled nervously, “I’m sorry to always say 'miss'. Growing up with my mom and dad, I learnt to always use honorifics.”

“It’s just us subs in here, Wildfire,” Serenity said kindly in her musical voice, “We can be naughty.”

“Serenity!” Wildfire exclaimed and giggled again having proved she could say her name without adding ‘miss’ at the front. “That felt good, even without a dom about.”

“I found one that tried to be a dom to me in high school,” Serenity stated somewhat wistfully as she sat down on the couch, “I'm hoping for better things at Harmony U.”

“I'm gonna guess it didn't go well?” Wildfire replied and, after setting her travel case and backpack down, she hopped up onto the couch and sat cross legged, her special shoe box by her side, “You don't have to go into details if you don't want. That was a personal question.”

Serenity took a deep breath before she answered, “She tried, and we did have some fun together, but she just wouldn't go far enough. I take what I can get.”

“At least you had a dom,” Wildfire pointed out as she got comfortable on the couch. To say it was also a bunk bed, it was remarkably nice. “I'd love to have that. I-I've had girlfriends!” she quickly tried to cover herself, even though it was a teeny lie, “But um...nothing came of it.”

“Friends are nice. We'll meet a couple of mine at dinner,” continued Serenity, who was thinking ahead to filling her belly, “They're going to Baltimare. Sex isn't everything, you know,” she giggled playfully, “Even if it did bring me into the world.”

“Sex would be nice though, Serenity, y'know, just to feel what it's like…” Wildfire trailed off to silence and her blush took over and her whole face was bright red, “Oh bugger.”

“Are you sure?” asked Serenity with a raised eyebrow and a wickedly evil smile she had sure her new friend could hear, “I don't want you to think this would be pity sex or something.”

It was a good thing Wildfire wasn’t drinking anything. Had she been, it would have been spat out. “W-W-Wha...y-you're really...what!?”

Serenity's laugh was as musical as her voice, especially as Wildfire’s face was as red as the flames on her hoodie she wore. “Naughty subs are naughty. Really, no one has ever eaten you out?”

Wildfire shook her head to try and cover her blush. “Like I said, I've had girlfriends, and I’ve made out with them,” that was technically true. After all, she had kissed Air Raid that one time, “But when I try and go further, they run faster than me.”

“Then I shall be your mistress of instruction!” declared Serenity boldly, “If you really want. I'm okay if we just snuggle.”

“A-Alrighty,” stammered Wildfire, who was wondering how they had gotten here, when she had been expecting to spend the journey on her own on the two seats. “I do really want, a lot.”

“That can wait till after dinner,” Serenity stated, “I'm going to read my book.” She gave Wildfire a sly look, deciding to tease her, “Sniffing your shoe and playing with yourself won't bother me.”

As she heard Serenity pick up what she assumed was a book, Wildfire let out a giggle, “I'm sure I'm gonna ruin myself for a pair of sexy feet,” she opened the shoe box and took out one of the dirty old sneakers, “Like, I'll get to the point I’ll only be able to cum with a foot pressed on my face or something like that.”

“Give me a good show and maybe my foot will leave the floor…” Serenity chuckled and she moved herself on the couch so that her back was to the hallway wall and her feet – which had somehow lost their shoes - were now against Wildfire's thighs.

“O-Okay...” Wildfire had to pinch herself that this was really happening, then, when she was sure she was in fact awake, she unzipped the front of her hoodie. When it was open, she lifted up her white tee shirt, exposing her tiny A cup breasts - no bra – and she groped herself while taking a deep sniff of the sneaker.

While Wildfire was moaning into the sweaty running shoe, Serenity only made a show of reading her book. She was really watching the blind girl, taking note of how easily she moved around.

After several breast gropes and nipple tugs, Wildfire, who was quickly getting lost in the moment, flicked open her jeans and she pulled the zipper down. She revealed to her host she wore no panties, there was just a little black bush of unshaven pubic hair which her hand lowered to. Serenity made an obvious loud sniff. “To each their own,” she giggled, “But I do think that smells sweeter than your shoe.”

As Wildfire burst out into a fit of giggles, she set the shoe aside so she could go at herself with both hands, one on her small breast and the other slipped down the front of her jeans. “I like to pretend I've been ordered not to wear anything under my clothes.”

Suddenly, hearing that, an idea occurred to Serenity. “Are you an exhibitionist?”

“A bit, yuppers,” admitted Wildfire with a hitch in her voice as her descending hand found its target, “It's hard not to be with my dad domming mom at home.” Realising her jeans were stopping her getting full access, she tugged them down just past her butt so sat crossed legged she was showing herself off.

“Pfft,” Serenity snorted, “My parents were soooooo vanilla. So,” she set her book aside, having given up trying to read it, “What would you do right now if someone walked in?”

“And saw me like this?” Wildfire smiled, “I'd ask my Mistress if I could carry on pleasuring myself. I'd trust her to take care of me.” She didn’t know why she was trusting this girl she had literally only just met so much. She just had a disarming quality that Wildfire liked.

Now, Serenity had to put that to test, didn’t she? “Do you like coffee?”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire’s two fingers of her left hand stroking around her pussy, all up and down her labia, “I like it black, with three sugars please.”

Enacting her plan, Serenity pushed a call button and about three minutes later the door of the cabin opened. “Hello Mr. Sandman,” Serenity greeted the crewman with a generous smile, “Did Mr. Pullman let you know I have a roommate for the trip to Canterlot?”

“Um, ah, yes, he did…” Sandman stammered, it was a very hard challenge to remain professional when he was confronted by the sight of the short girl with her jeans down openly masturbating right there.

“Wonderful!” Serenity clapped her hands, talking like Wildfire wasn’t there and didn’t have two fingers sawing in and out of her soaking wet vagina, “Could we have two coffees please. One black with three sugars and the other with a good portion of cream?”

“Of course Ms. Serenity, back in a moment,” thinking of his pay check and his job, Sandman turned and scooted out of the cabin.

When the door closed, Serenity asked, “Did you like that Wildfire?”

“MMMMmmm fuuuck someone actually saw me!” Wildfire exclaimed, her thumb now rubbing at her clit along with the two fingers that plunged in and out of her tunnel, her right hand pawing at a breast, “Damn I nearly came right then!”

“You can try again when the coffee arrives.”

“That was so naughty!” gushed Wildfire as her two fingers were going in as far as the second knuckle, accompanied by extremely lewd schlicking sounds, “I-I hope mmmmm I hope you're enjoying the show!”

“No complaints from me.”

It was just as Wildfire began thrusting her hips upwards in time with her fingers that the door opened for the second time. “Your coffees, Ms. Serenity.” He arrived in time to see the yellow skinned girl furiously pleasuring herself.

“Thank you, Mr. Sandman,” Serenity thanked him, he placed the tray down on the little table and, just as he opened the door to leave, Wildfire reached her rather noisy climax that saw her squirt a little over her jeans and onto the cabin floor. “Very naughty indeed,” Serenity didn’t bother to keep the amusement out of her voice, “Let me know when you're ready for your coffee.”

On the couch, Wildfire spent a couple of minutes coming down from her high, and with her top still up and her jeans now down around her ankles, she said, “I'm ready Serenity.”

In order to get the coffees from the tray, Serenity had to cross the cabin. ‘Accidentally’ she dipped a bare foot in the puddle of girl cum on the floor and smeared it in the mess. “Here you go, Wildfire. Sweet just like you,” she giggled at her own joke and, after giving the coffee, the wet foot came up and lightly touched Wildfire's hip, but not enough to dry it off. “I do like the coffee on the train.”

“Thank you, Serenity,” Wildfire gratefully took the coffee and then she sniffed, her head turning in the direction of her host's foot. “Did you?”

“I'm not the one that squirted on the floor,” Serenity innocently sipped her coffee while her toes tapped incessantly at the girl’s thigh. “Maybe you can do something about my dirty toes after you finish your coffee?”

“I'd so love to!” as Wildfire helped herself to a long sip of her coffee, a thought occurred to her, “So...when did you first know you were a sub?”

Softly, Serenity sighed and mulled the coffee in her mouth in thought. “I knew I was a sub when I knew I couldn't please myself, I needed another to do it. Being a dom and telling a sub to beat me just wouldn't work.”

“You must like it really hard, huh?”

Serenity’s musical voice was barely above a whisper, “I like to bleed.”

“Really?” Wildfire’s milky eyes were wide as saucers as she finished off her coffee, “That's intense!”

With the downing of her coffee, Serenity rested her heel on Wildfire's thigh, “Which is why my last dom didn't work out.”

“I'm not judging!” Wildfire giggled, “I mean, I like to worship feet and um...other stuff. As long as you both consent to it, you do you, right?” she stated as she set the empty mug down. Even though she had emptied her mug, thoughts of cleaning Serenity’s foot had left her mind.

“That’s part of my problem,” Serenity groaned, “I consent, but I have no boundaries. It’s hard to find a dom that will do it with concern for me and not just themselves.” She swallowed the rest of her coffee and studied the other girl carefully, “I guess your parents never took you to The Scene in Manehatten?”

Wildfire had never heard of that, whatever ‘The Scene’ was. “Not as far as I'm aware, no. They didn't tell me they were Master and Slave until I was sixteen. Since then they've been more and more open with what they did, even doing it around me.”

“I had to go underground to learn,” Serenity said solemnly, “Not everything in the Manehatten underground is pretty.”

“Did you get hurt?”

Rolling her eyes at the childish question, Serenity explained, “I wanted to get hurt, but things went bad. I was just cut up and bruised, but another person died. My parents were just disappointed when they got me from the jail. I wasn't charged, they were just holding me. I was still seventeen at the time.”

“Holy shit, really? Like, for reals killed?” Wildfire was amazed, awed and a little revolted, if she was honest. She was sure her parents had never been to a place like that. A thought though did occur to her, “Did they, y'know, scar you?”

Quietly, Serenity unbuttoned her school blouse and she skilfully removed her bra, while leaving her blouse on and open, freeing up her D cup breasts. “Feel my torso.”

Slowly, moving over to her, Wildfire ran her hands over Serenity’s body, starting at her waist. There, she felt the first of fifteen scars that went across her stomach, chest, and her back. “Wow. I mean, wow!” she exclaimed as her hands went up past her breasts to her face. “I won't ask if it hurt. Did you get off?”

Broadly, Serenity smiled, “Yes, many, many times.”

As Wildfire was exploring Serenity’s upper body with her hands, she didn’t feel any scars from her neck upwards or on her arms. Going down, she couldn’t feel past the top of her pants. “Then it was worth it,” she stated as she sat back, satisfied, “It’s like me and the shoes, or the socks.” She gave her new friend her best smile, “You have a beautiful smile, by the way.”

“I tend to practice it,” Serenity said sadly, “Keeps my parents happy.”

“Nonono...that was a real smile I felt then, Beauty,” Wildfire insisted, “I can tell these things.”

Serenity giggled, because there was a reason for that, “You're not my parents.”

“Good point,” Wildfire conceded as her delicate hands strayed lower onto Serenity’s bare breasts, “What else do you like, besides bleeding?”

“Pain.”

“I figured as much, what with the bleeding,” Wildfire said as she gently cupped the taller girl’s breasts and judged their size, “Bigger than mine. Still, liking pain is no more strange than me liking feet or pee play, I guess.”

“I don't mind other things like those, but it’s pain that truly makes me orgasm,” Serenity said with a rather dreamy note to her voice, “I’m guessing this your first time having free play with some titties?”

“The pee thing was a total accident,” Wildfire felt the need to explain, “I'd had a bath, needed to pee really bad, tried to get out and slipped, went upside down, peed over myself.” She couldn’t stop the blush that crept over her features, “Can you tell it's my first time? Am I that bad?” she asked, pausing with her thumbs over Serenity's hard nipples.

“I can tell you've practiced on yourself,” said Serenity kindly, “But now you're unsure just how hard to do it to another. I'll tell you a secret,” she leant in right close to the smaller girl’s ear, “You can't do it too hard for me.”

Although Wildfire was extremely nervous about what she was going to do, she nonetheless took Serenity's hardened nipples between her thumbs and forefingers and squeezed them both as hard as she could. “Mmmmm,” Serenity purred, “Yes, like that, but you don't have to be kind.”

“Can't help it, Beauty. Born under the Sign of Kindness. I got off, and you are gonna let me clean your foot, so you should get off too.”

Reluctantly, Serenity placed her hands over Wildfire's to stop her in what she was doing. “I'm sorry, but just enjoy the moment. I've gone a long time without a true orgasm. I'll see what Canterlot has to offer. We're two subs, so don't force yourself to be something else.”

“I suppose you're right,” Wildfire then giggled as the absurdity of the situation caught up with her, “I've just realised I'm still sat here with my clothes half off!”

Now on that score, Serenity certainly had no complaints whatsoever. “Just draws the eye to what you want to show.”

Before Wildfire could answer her, there was a knock on the door, and Sandman poked his head through, conspicuously not looking in Wildfire’s direction. Which he regretted when he saw Serenity topless. “Pardon me, Ms, your seating for dinner is ready.”

“Thank you Mr. Sandman,” Serenity flashed him her best smile, along with her bare chest, “We'll be there shortly.”

“U-Um...”

When Sandman pointed mutely to both girls one after the other, Serenity couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t worry, we’ll be dressed.”

“Hint taken. Dressed it is,” Wildfire said once the door had closed. She got up to her feet and she pulled up her jeans, feeling the front to see if it was dry. When she was satisfied there was no wet patch, she then lowered her shirt over her chest.

Following suit, Serenity put her bra and school blouse back on and then she slipped on her sandals. “Now you can meet my friends who are going to Baltimare.” In a smiling voice, she asked, “Will you be able to go to dinner without your shoe?”

Wildfire smiled back, “I'm sure I'll manage.”

Once they were both dressed and decent, Serenity took hold of Wildfire's hand in hers, but then, as she led her out of their cabin, a thought worried her, “Does this bother you? I'm sure you could make it on your own.”

“It doesn't bother me, Serenity,” Wildfire replied when they were out in the aisle, “In fact, I'm glad you're holding my hand. I'm feeling very small right now, if I’m honest.” She was, and she was incredibly grateful she had met this nice girl to help her through this otherwise scary journey.

“I do know that feeling,” admitted Serenity as she led the way forward through the train to the dining car, the next car over. There at the table were seated Serenity’s two friends, Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest. Both were wearing their Manehatten Prep uniforms.

“Who's that, Sera?” asked Sugarcoat when she saw her friend with the strange girl in hand.

“This is my new friend, Wildfire,” Serenity introduced her to her two high school friends, “She is going to Harmony U too. Wildfire, these are my friends from Upper Park, Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat. They’re going to Townson.”

Wildfire knew that Upper Park Manehatten Prep was a wealthy private school, which meant that Serenity and her friends were either wealthy themselves or came from wealthy families. Not that she was concerned or overly impressed by that. They greeted her cheerfully enough, and she responded with a happy, “Hi guys!” she extended her hand, which they both shook, “That's Baltimare, right, Townson?”

“Yes it is,” agreed Lemon Zest, “We will get to go to college and enjoy the beach life.”

“You're welcome to it,” commented Wildfire, “Sand is coarse and grainy and it gets in places I never knew I had.”

All three girls laughed along with Wildfire’s joke, and then Serenity guided her to the dining table where there were two empty seats. “Do you want window or aisle?”

“Window please,” grinned Wildfire, “I like a view.”

That earned Wildfire a snort of laughter from Lemon Zest and a guffaw from Sugarcoat. “Well played,” she fist bumped the short girl once she had sat down, “So, Sera is going to Harmony U on a drama scholarship. What about you, Wildfire?”

“Sports scholarship,” Wildfire took a moment to savour the gasps that always came with those words, “Track and Field, specifically.”

“That was unexpected…” Sugarcoat commented before she was interrupted by a dig in the ribs from Lemon Zest.

“Wait, I remember Amaranth was saying something the other day...”

Sugarcoat snorted derisively, “You listen to that jock?”

“She's a jock,” Lemon Zest defended herself as she pointed to Wildfire sat across from them, “He said a blind girl still had the Equestrian record for the one hundred metres.”

“Amaranth is our local track star,” explained Serenity for her new friend’s benefit, “He's going to Princeton.”

“That would be me,” declared Wildfire proudly, “Eleven point seven four seconds! Held it for over a year now. I also have the Manehatten record for the two hundred. Ultimate goal is the Olympics in three years’ time.”

Just as Lemon Zest was about to comment further on that, a waiter hovered up so silently and unobtrusively that no-one was sure how long he’d been there, “Good afternoon ladies, today I'll start you with a garden salad, with a choice of dressing. Then either pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy plus creamed corn, or salmon encrusted with garlic and asparagus and saffron rice.”

First to order, Serenity requested the salmon, with balsamic for dressing. Lemon Zest ordered her Salmon with ranch dressing. Sugarcoat and Wildfire both went for the pot roast with a balsamic dressing for the garden salad. When it came to the drinks, they were again split, with Serenity and Lemon Zest opting for white wine while Wildfire and Sugarcoat ordered beer.

“See,” said Sugarcoat when the waiter had headed off, “Someone knows the best drink!” Wildfire held up her hand for a high five which Sugarcoat gave her as both Serenity and Lemon Zest audibly rolled their eyes.

“Sera,” started Lemon Zest, “Why do we hang out with such juvenile friends?”

Serenity affected a ‘nose in the air voice’ so she could properly reply to that, “It’s so we can have that air of maturity.”

While they all shared a laugh, the waiter returned with their drinks and salads. Sugarcoat cheered, “Saved by the beer! A toast to Wildfire's Olympic dreams,” she raised up her mug as the other two did the same with their wine glasses.

Likewise, Wildfire raised up her beer, “To all our dreams.” All the glasses and mugs clinked together, along with a round of ‘here, here!’

After the toast, the other three got to eating, and Wildfire did the same like food was going out of fashion and she would never eat again. After all, she was hungry. The main course included a second drink, even if the first was not finished. “That's what's better than one beer,” grinned Wildfire, “Two!”

Smirking at the other two girls shared eye roll, Sugarcoat moved her second mug to clink against Wildfire's, “You got it sister.”

Under the influence of one excellent beer, Wildfire giggled, “Always wanted a sister.”

“Zesty is the only one with a sibling,” said Sugarcoat as she chugged on her beer.

“Yeah,” Lemon Zest grunted, “Two brothers…”

“You poor thing,” Wildfire passed on her sympathies, “Having to put up with two boys!”

Serenity giggled after taking a delicate sip of her wine, “She's just mad they wouldn't play dress up.”

“That's a good story, Zesty, and you have someone new to tell it to.”

Lemon Zest downed the rest of her white wine before she was ready to tell her story. “They are two and three years younger than me,” she explained to Wildfire, because her friends already knew the story. “I caught them snooping in my underwear drawer. I told them you touch it you wear it. I took down one but the other ran off. Mom came in before I could get the bra on the one I had and rescued him. Did chew them both out for messing in my room.”

By the end of her friend’s story, Sugarcoat was laughing like an idiot, “And you teased them no end after that about wearing panties!”

Wildfire couldn’t help but burst out laughing, “Oh that is good!” she snickered and drank her beer from her mug, “I got one. This one time a girl asked me out at school, probably for a dare, I dunno, and she used a whole load of cheesy lines. Did it hurt when I fell from heaven, all that. Then she said, your skin is as golden as the sun!”

“Was she a good lay?” asked Sugarcoat, who immediately asked the important question.

“Never got that far, Sugar, cos I asked her how golden, and she was like, you're yellow, like a buttercup. How yellow is that?”

“And here I thought you were talking about a different kind of 'golden',” winked Serenity, who knew of Wildfire’s fetish.

Lemon Zest choked on her wine, “Sera!” which just made Serenity and Sugarcoat laugh at their squeamish friend.

“Trust me, Sera, I wish I was,” Wildfire said with a dreamy note to her voice, “That would've been sweet!” she was then interrupted by Lemon Zest who was making a gagging motion that just made the other two laugh louder. “Well, it might be sweet. Depends on what you've been eating I suppose.”

“Speaking of sweets,” the waiter was back as quietly as ever, “We have apple cobbler, chocolate mousse pie, or a fruit cup for your choice of dessert.” Wildfire quickly chose the chocolate mousse, and the other three were just as quick to follow suit. Chocolate was, after all, the only choice.

The waiter was back with their mousse pies in a flash and he also had a much needed coffee service to round off their meal. “Coffee anyone?” all four of them said yes, with Serenity having cream in hers, Lemon Zest going for sweet and creamy, Sugarcoat had hers black and Wildfire requested hers to be black with three sugars.

Once the food had been eaten and the coffee drank, Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest both hugged Serenity and bade her a fond good bye as they would both be arriving in Baltimare in a couple of hours’ time. They also took the time to shake Wildfire's hand and wish her well at Harmony University.

When it just Wildfire and Serenity alone back in the sleeper cabin, Wildfire said, “I liked them. Your friends were nice.”

“They can be,” admitted Serenity as she reclined back on the couch / bed, a wistful longing in her voice at the potential losing of her school friends, “And they can be real snobs too. I'll miss them as friends, but I’m sure I’ll move on.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire’s voice lost a good degree of her cheer as she reached for the old shoe and one of the smelly socks that Air Raid had left her. Hugging them both tight to her chest like she was trying to summon her best friend to her, she said, “Move on…”

Seeing the turmoil her new friend was going through, Serenity leant over the couch and, ignoring the frankly ripe smell from the footwear, she hugged the diminutive girl to her side. “The future may bring us back together and it may not. I'll try to stay in touch online, but my future may take me elsewhere.”

“I promised Air Raid the same. Stay in touch. Be online. All that…” as she said it, Wildfire knew on an intuitive level that she and her best friend would drift apart from there on, as much as they promised each other they’d meet up online.

Hug complete, Serenity reached for her book she had been reading and she waited for Wildfire to sit comfortably then she placed her bare feet against her thighs. “I'll be reading, but I'm usually to bed around ten.”

“Do you mind if I write?” asked Wildfire, whose thoughts of her distant best friend put her in mind of the book they had been writing together. “I'll be quiet, I won't disturb you.”

“I'll be fine,” Serenity assured her as she turned to her current page, “Now if you start to sing, I'll stop and listen.”

Wildfire giggled, “If I sing, you'll probably cry,” she laughed as she set the old shoe and the sock aside back in their box and she fished in her backpack for her Dictaphone. While Wildfire spoke her book, Serenity zoned her out. After an hour of 'writing', she set her Dictaphone to one side. “Okay, had enough of that for now. I hope I didn't disturb you too much?”

“Nope, you didn’t,” Serenity assured her, “So you going to publish that so I can read it?”

“That's the idea,” Wildfire nodded eagerly, “Well, eventually. We called it 'Wasteland'.”

That sounded like a good, appropriate title to Serenity, given what she had heard over the last hour in between turning the pages. “So, it’s a post-apocalyptic story then?” she asked, genuinely interested.

“Yuppers. Post the Last Great War,” explained Wildfire, who found it refreshing to find someone who wasn’t Air Raid who was interested in what she was trying to create. “We kept it vague on purpose so as not to tie it down to any one thing.”

“I'll read pretty much anything,” said Serenity, “This book I’m reading now is a historical fiction about the First Griffon War. It’s a romantic triangle between the Queen of Equestria, her sister and the Griffon King.”

“Awesomes!” Wildfire exclaimed, “In our story, the main character is a cyborg called Holocaust, or Holly. The Great War's still going on, and she has an AI in her head that can end the war by controlling all the planet's weapons. That's why she's always running, to stay away from the military and the church, who both want her to burn the world.”

Serenity considered that for a moment, her thought process helped along by the swaying motion of the steam train. “That seems to be a poor end game for either party. They think they can survive it?”

Wildfire was ready for that. “Underground bunkers for the chosen of each faction to live out the fire. Either the Ultimate Sanction or Divine Solution, depending on who gets the super weapon. Holly dies, world burns, one faction lives. Or, Holly keeps running, the war continues and she hopes one day it'll end on its own. What we wanted readers answering was – ‘What would you do, if you had the power?’.”

Snickering, Serenity knew exactly what she would do if she had ‘the power’. “That’s easy. Get cheesecake on demand!”

Wildfire laughed, because who wouldn’t want cheesecake on tap? “I know it's a bleak outlook, but sometimes the only choices you can make are bad ones. Sometimes nobody wins.”

“That is true,” Serenity was quietly impressed by the nature of the story her friend was writing. It definitely wasn’t the schmaltzy saccharine nonsense that filled the bookshelves these days. “Still, one must choose, even not choosing is a choice.”

“And so she runs,” concluded Wildfire, who was justly proud of her creation, “Never looking back because she dare not out of shame for those that are dying around her when she could end it.”

“Survival is a strong reason to run, though,” countered Serenity, who had to admit she rather liked the sound of the Holocaust character, “My survival instinct is somewhat weak.”

“Suppose you were in the story,” began Wildfire, who’d had an idea to get a fresh perspective for her story, and maybe a new character to include, “Would you be an enforcer for one faction sent to get Holly who instead befriends her, or a survivor she meets and runs with her?”

“I'm a survivor.”

“Done. Oooh,” Wildfire’s idea immediately took hold in her brain and a new character emerged just like that, “Oooh! With like, a psychic ability thing to make your voice a sonic weapon instead of carrying a gun!”

Serenity laughed at that, impressed how easily her friend came up with the character just like that, “Let me sing you a lullaby that will put you to sleep forever!” she declared heroically.

“Lullaby!” Wildfire exclaimed, “That’s the character’s name sorted!” she laughed and then a large yawn crept up on her from out of nowhere, “Oh, sorry about that, I didn’t realise how tired I was…”

“What time do you usually go to bed?”

“Nine.”

“Okay, that explains it, it’s just gone ten,” smirked Serenity at being a bad influence already, “We can set up the bunks. Do you want a shower now or in the morning?”

“I usually have one in the morning, after my exercises.”

“Just to be different, I'll do mine before bed. If you stand I'll get the beds ready.”

“Alrighty,” as she stood up and moved her backpack out of the way, a second yawn emerged, this one wider and longer than the first, “Ugh…can I help with anything?”

“Yes, but you're looking pretty already,” Serenity giggled as she pulled out the couch and turned it into the lower bunk bed. “Have a lay down to check the size. We need to see if it fits.”

Giggling, Wildfire sat and then laid on the bottom bunk that Serenity had just made from the couch. She estimated it was a metre wide and almost two metres long, more than enough for all four foot nine inches of her. While she did that, Serenity pulled down the top bunk. “I can sleep on the top bed, unless you’d rather I didn't.”

Now the beds were made, Wildfire realised she didn’t want to sleep alone, not tonight, anyway. She still had that unwelcome ‘small’ feeling. “I'd like friendly snuggles, if you don't mind, Serenity.”

“Of course I don't mind. I'm going to take that shower now,” the taller girl crossed the cabin and went into the cubical that was at once the toilet / sink / shower. While she was showering, Wildfire took the opportunity to get changed into her pyjamas.

When Serenity came out of the shower ten minutes later, she really had to fight back a peal of laughter, because Wildfire looked too cute in her white pyjamas with the pink bunnies on them. “I didn't bother to pack PJ’s; I hope that’s okay?”

“Yuppers, that's fine,” Wildfire blushed hard when she realised that for the first time ever, she would be sharing a bed with another girl, “I really should have grown out of pyjamas by now, especially cutesy bunny ones like these.”

Looking at her with a critical eye, Serenity had to admit that the outfit did look like it was meant for a child, but then she assumed all the girl’s clothing was like that. Still, she couldn’t deny she looked good in them. “You look cute, Wildfire,” she turned off the light and she got into the bottom bunk where she laid on her side and pulled close to Wildfire who was facing her.

It was when they were both laid side by side and facing each other on the bed that Wildfire felt how much taller than her Serenity was. At least one foot six, if she was any judge. They bid each other good night, and Wildfire allowed herself to be pulled in for a cuddle.

In said cuddle, Serenity’s teal hands began to wander a bit, with her left hand going low until it found the small girl’s perfectly toned ass and her other rested on her back. Wildfire’s squeak of surprise was adorable, as were her rather clumsy attempts to copy what Serenity was doing.

It didn’t help that Serenity was completely naked and her D cup breasts were less than a couple of inches away from her face. She had never felt like such a virgin in her life than she did right then, particularly as Serenity wasn’t stopping her or encouraging her, either.

Wildfire, who was feeling a little daring in the wandering hands department, tried her luck with the palm of her right pressed between Serenity’s legs. At least she knew that she shaved regularly, something that she did not.

Though Wildfire had her hands in some questionable places and her head using the taller girl’s breasts as pillows, it quickly became apparent that Serenity was content to just hold her close. Since nothing was happening, Wildfire lost her nerve and, after a few moments, closed her eyes and gave in to sleep.

Chapter 4 - Fun on the Friendship Express

The next morning, the alarm on Serenity’s phone went off at six. Quickly, the teal skinned girl woke and, silencing her ringing alarm, sat up to discover Wildfire was already awake and sat at the end of the bunk bed. “Good morning!” she chirped happily once she felt her friend move.

‘So she’s a morning person…’ Serenity thought to herself as she yawned, stretched, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “What do you do for exercise?” she asked curiously, “Run in place?”

“Yuppers,” grinned Wildfire, who had been awake roughly an hour, “I have a treadmill at home.” Her smile fell when she thought of home and, not for the first time, she wondered if she shouldn’t just turn around and head on back. She was way too small for all this.

Serenity pounced on the opportunity for sarcasm, “Did you remember to pack it in your suitcase?”

Pouting, Wildfire giggled and stuck out her tongue, “No, I guess running in place it is!” Still wearing her cutesy bunny pyjamas, the short girl got up from the bed and once she was in the middle of the cabin, she performed a few warm up stretches.

While Serenity picked up her book with the intention of doing some early morning reading, she found she was paying more attention to Wildfire stretching with her ass up in the air than she was to her book. After a few minutes of deep stretching, the athlete judged she was warmed up enough. “Alrighty, here we go!”

As Wildfire began to run at a steady pace on the spot, Serenity tried to alternate between her book and the exercising teenager until she admitted defeat and just watched her run. Thirty minutes in, and she hadn’t broken a sweat or was even out of breath! At six thirty five, she warned her that breakfast was at seven.

At the breakfast call, Wildfire slowed to a stop. “That felt good!” she squealed in delight but, as she lifted an arm up to wipe her black hair from her forehead she caught a whiff of her own odour and gagged, “Ew...I need a shower!”

“Well,” Serenity got up and stretched, reaching up to the roof of the cabin, “The whole bathroom is a shower, so unless you want to sit on a wet toilet, you should take care of that first.”

“Thanks Serenity!” standing where she was, Wildfire stripped off her pyjamas and, remembering where she said the room was, heads on in with a wiggle of her butt for good measure. She was pleased to discover there were braille notes above all the controls. Once she started to shower, she couldn't resist singing her mother’s favourite song, Prettiest Eyes. Naturally, Serenity was quick to join in with her. When she was done and dry, she congratulated her, “You are amazing!”

“You're pretty good too,” Serenity returned the compliment, though she left off the ‘for shower singing’ part. “And you look cute out of PJ's, Wily.” Yes, she was practically flat chested, and yes she had a bush between her legs that reminded her of an unkempt jungle, but nonetheless she was cute!

Wildfire shrugged, “I just sing like nobody's watching!” giggling, she walked over to her travel suitcase so she could get dressed. Forgoing underwear, she pulled on a pair of fashionably ripped black jeans, a red tee shirt and sneakers.

Dramatically, Serenity sighed, “Well, if you're finished ogling me, I suppose I'll get dressed too.”

“At least you have something worth looking at,” shot back wryly, the memories of her friend’s D cup breasts and wide sexy hips not likely to diminish any time soon.

As Serenity herself got dressed, this time in a dress that suited the late summer / early autumn weather, she pointed out, “Beauty is not what you have, but how you present it.” Just then there came a knock on door and when it opened, Sandman informed them that their breakfast seating was ready.

Both Wildfire and Serenity thanked him for the heads up, but as she shook out her straight black hair, the diminutive girl’s belly rumbled, prompting Serenity to ask her to lead the way to the dining car. With a cheery “I got this!” Wildfire left their sleeper cabin and she turned to the direction of the food car.

As soon as they were inside, they were jumped on by the waiter like a hungry chimera pounces on its unsuspecting prey. “Good morning Ms. Wildfire, Ms. Serenity,” he smiled just a little too greasily, “Your table is fourth on the right near the bench. Allow me,” without further ado, he lightly touched the blind girl’s hand and moved her to where they would be sitting.

A late middle aged couple, man and wife, were already at the table, sat opposite them. After the two girls had been seated, the woman – who had a kindly age-lined face and snow white hair – greeted Wildfire with an “Oh my poor dear, have you always been blind?”

While the man next to her shook his head, Wildfire took it in her stride. It wasn’t the first time that or something similar had been used as a greeting before. “Oh hello!” she smiled in the direction of the woman’s voice, “Yes ma'am, from birth.”

“Really dear,” he sighed at his wife’s bluntness, “Manners require introductions first. I'm Blue Note and this bundle of tact is my wife, Blue Belle.”

“This is Serenity and I'm Wildfire,” she extended her hand and the older couple shook it, “Pleased to meet you both, sir, ma’am.”

“Sir,” Serenity had a slightly awed tone to her voice, “Are you by any chance in the brass section of the Canterlot Philharmonic?”

Recognising a potential fan, Blue Note treated Serenity to a generous smile, “Yes, as it happens, we are. Do you enjoy our music?”

Serenity tried – and failed – to not clap her hands and squee in delight. It wasn’t every day one met their influential heroes, after all. “I love music!” she squealed giddily, “We're going to Harmony U, and my goal is to be an opera singer!”

Smirking, Wildfire took note of the ‘fan girl squee’ from her friend and she had an idea that these two were somethings in their field. “I've heard her sing,” she put in, trying to be helpful, “She's really good.”

“My friend's goal is to run track in the Olympics,” Serenity added in thanks to Wildfire’s attempt to big her up.

Both Blue Note and Blue Belle agreed that the two teenager’s ambitions were very impressive. Then, he said to Serenity, after having an idea, “Maybe you'd consider singing for us in the club car later today after the lunch rush? I have my sax with me, I'll accompany you if you think of some songs to go with that.”

“What about Waterloo Sunset?” offered Wildfire.

“It’s a nice song,” agreed Serenity, “But it needs to be for a sax solo. How about 'On the Dark Side' and "Who Can it Be Now'?”

Blue Note considered that and eventually, after a look with his wife, he nodded his head, “I know both of those. Do you know 'Brown Sugar'?” he asked, much to Blue Belle’s delight.

“I will have to refresh my memory for that,” conceded Serenity, “But I should be able to do it.”

After that, the waiter came with the choice of breakfast items. Wildfire immediately chose black coffee, fried eggs, bacon and waffles, a choice that Serenity mirrored except her coffee was milky. The conversation between the four was light and pleasantly forgettable, other than Blue Note saying they would be in the club car at three that afternoon.

“Another coffee?” asked Serenity once the breakfast had been eaten and they were on their own, the older couple having left to go back to their cabin. Wildfire quickly agreed to that, of course. “We'll have to move to the club car then, so they can have the table for the next seating.”

“Alrighty, let’s go!” Wildfire got up and she started to lead the way back before Serenity helpfully reminded her that the club car was forward of the one they were in. Blushing and giggling, she changed direction and went the right way. “I got this, now.”

“I'm very confident you do,” laughed Serenity in her musical manner, “However do you navigate the open city?”

“Ah, well,” Wildfire replied over her shoulder as they walked through the train car, “I have my own AI in my brain,” she smiled, “It’s a GPS maps app thingy on my phone, and an ear bud.”

Serenity saw that was obvious, now she thought about it. Rather clever, really. “The AI implant must be extremely useful,” she snickered, “Does it give you super vision too?”

“I wish,” commented Wildfire as they entered the club car. “I heard someone say when you lose a sense, the others are amplified to compensate. I’m still waiting for the super powers to kick in. Until then I have a collapsible stick if I need it.”

“Let me know when they do kick in. Would be nice to see the teacher's notes from the desk.”

“You'll be the first to know!”

Serenity made sure Wildfire stayed close to her in the club car. While it wasn’t full to capacity, there were a few there, and she didn’t want her friend disoriented by the noise. “They sell snacks and drinks on this level. The upper level has a nice view, I could describe it to you, unless those super powers kick in right away.”

"Why don't we get some drinks and take them upstairs?” suggested Wildfire, “I love a good view.” As it happened, the bar service didn't open until one in the afternoon, but the other drinks were there. And, fortuitously, the coffee was free of charge to sleeper car passengers!

Once they were loaded up with caffeine, Serenity led the way up the steps. “There’s a middle table free, Wily, just ahead of us.” Agreeing that the middle table would suffice, Serenity helped Wildfire to sit. “I'm sure you get asked this a lot. Still, I'll ask, what's it like to be blind your whole life?”

Wildfire got the – correct – impression that her friend had been dying to ask that for a while now. Not that she minded any. “Dark,” she said after a moment sipping her coffee, “And a bit lonely. It's a lot of smiling and telling people you're fine when you aren't, saying you don't mind your friends doing stuff without you when you do.”

“Just watching you, yesterday and this morning, it doesn't seem like there’s much you can't do,” said Serenity shrewdly, “I think not driving would be the worst thing.”

“It's taken me a long time to get to this, Serenity. High School was the worst,” the blind girl shuddered at the unwelcome memory, “Air Raid sorted most of the bullies for me, but there were still times I'd walk into something some idiot had put in my way on purpose, or be tripped up, or have my chair pulled out from under me. "

Serenity shrugged her shoulders, “Assholes are everywhere. I'm not sure how many classes we'll share at Harmony, but I'll keep an eye out for you. Where are you staying, by the way?”

“The dorms in the main building,” replied Wildfire after she had stopped laughing due to hearing a swear word come from Serenity’s musical mouth, “I learnt to beat the bullies. They want the poor tiny blind girl to cry, give them a show. They don't like it when you're all confident and your head's up high. Even if it is an act.”

“Good for you!” Serenity gave Wildfire a fist bump of support, “I'm staying off campus in a studio apartment.”

“That’s cool,” said Wildfire, genuinely impressed, because when she had applied for her university place, the apartments had been prohibitively expensive. Then again, Serenity had gone to a really expensive private school. “On your own?”

“Yes,” Serenity answered her after a large sip of her coffee, “I'll have a car, too.”

“Awesomes!” snickered Wildfire as she too got to work on her coffee, “I got a roommate to meet. Hope she's nice.”

“I understand Harmony takes time to ensure roommate compatibility,” commented Serenity in an attempt to reassure her friend, “So you should be fine. If not, just go to housing.” As she spoke, she looked outside at the changing scenery that went from built up urban to wild countryside. “Outside it’s wooded, with rolling hills. Lovely sunny day too.”

Wildfire listened and took in what her friend was describing to her. “Hmmmm, I like woods. Forests, whatever. If you listen carefully, it sounds like the trees talk to each other on the breeze.”

Serenity snorted and for once, the rich kid came out of her, unwilling though it was, “I'm not much for hiking. or camping for that matter. Give me a hotel any time.”

“Can you see any standing stones?” asked Wildfire, for the moment ignoring what her friend had said in her excitement, “When we went camping in Forest Park, I found some big standing stones. The park ranger said all the forests in all the world had them.”

“Let me look,” Serenity squinted and stared out of the train window for a couple of minutes, but try as she might, she couldn’t see any stones. “No, but they may not be near the tracks.”

“Oh…” Wildfire was as disappointed as she sounded, “Legend is the stones are magic and they guard the trees. The legends also say that whoever made the stones taught the trees to speak, so they wouldn't be lonely. Then the trees taught the humans to speak.”

“That would make for a good story,” commented Serenity, who personally thought the ‘legends’ of magic were utter nonsense, not that she’d ever say that out loud in such a crass fashion, “Will you add that to the one you're writing?”

“I might,” Wildfire’s disappointment gave way to excitement so suddenly it was like flipping a light switch. “Maybe the last untouched forest in the world is where Holly is running to!”

“It would give the reader some hope,” pointed out Serenity as she drank the last of her coffee, “Even if it proves to be false.”

“If I tell you something, you won't laugh?”

Serenity saw the way that Wildfire was nervously tapping her fingers together that whatever she was going to say was clearly important. “Whether I laugh or not depends on if it’s funny or not.”

Wildfire was rather grateful of Serenity’s hand when she placed it on her own. It gave her the nerve to continue. “When I was younger, like twelve, I think it was, we camped out in Forest Park and I got lost. Wandered off in the forest, like you do. I was panicking, and the trees spoke to me. They led me safely back to the camp and to mom and dad.”

“I'm glad they did,” Serenity made sure her warm smile showed in her voice, “Or I wouldn't have anyone to have coffee with right now.”

“You believe me?”

“You're here, aren’t you?” Serenity asked kindly, though it wasn’t a question that required an answer, “Does it matter if it was the trees, a forest spirit, or a voice on the wind?”

“No, not really,” Wildfire conceded with a smile of her own, “It is nice to not be laughed at though.” Of course, when she had told Air Raid and the rest of her friends on the track team about her experience, they had all fallen over themselves in peals of riotous laughter.

“Life is full of strange things we can’t explain,” said Serenity with a shrug of her shoulders before an idea occurred to her, “Wily, would you mind if I sang?”

“Please do,” Wildfire replied eagerly, “Do…something summery to go with the view, please.”

With that, Serenity stood up and announced to the eight other people in the club car that she was going to entertain them. “Is it alright with you all if I sing?” her question was greeted by a few shoulder shrugs but not one of them said no. “I thought I’d do an earlier request from my friend here. It does have a river in it and there is one along the tracks.”

Wildfire listened with rapt attention as Serenity sang ‘Waterloo Sunset’. She hung on every word like she was right there in the song along with the characters, and she was the first to cheer when her friend was done.

The centre of attention, just where she loved to be, Serenity was only too happy to show off her gifted voice and her equally impressive range and diaphragm control. She was literally in her element. After the rest of the car had applauded, Serenity continued, “My friend wanted a forest song, so here’s one you can all sing along with. Even if it is a bit early,” she stated before singing a pitch perfect rendition of 'Over the River and Through the Woods'.

“Serenity, that was awesomes!” Wildfire gushed at their table, “How do you do that? It was like I was there!”

The second song got both applause and laughter in equal measure from the others in the club car along with some singing along, with varying degrees of talent. Happy with a job well done, Serenity sat back down with a satisfied smile on her face. “I've spent my life studying and improving my ability to sing,” she explained, “If I'm going to sing opera I need to draw the audience in with my voice.”

Wildfire really couldn’t argue with that, not that she knew how to, singing wasn’t her thing, after all. “It was like I was twelve again, back in the forest!”

“Thank you. The acoustics in here are not the best,” Serenity realised she did sound a bit up herself right then, but oh well, “But they will do.” She then leant in and whispered, “That's the real reason I wanted a coffee.”

“I'm glad we had coffee,” Wildfire said genuinely, “I got to hear your magic!”

“Magic I hope to repeat this afternoon.”

“Me too, now,” Without thinking, Wildfire placed her hand on her coffee mug and instead of it being empty, she found it had been refilled. She chose not to question it, assuming correctly that Serenity had requested it without her knowing. She sipped at her new coffee and grinned, “You sounded like the tree that sang to me all those years ago.”

Serenity smirked, “I should put that on my resume. Thank you.”

“You'd have to change your name to Dawnglow to do that,” Wildfire giggled, her mind wandering back to that day in the forest when she had been so hopelessly lost. The strange feminine voice had been so calming, so reassuring, it had led her unerringly back to the camp.

“Hmmm…” Serenity pondered on that for a moment with the gentle rocking of the train carriage, “I’m not sure if Dawnglow would play well with the opera crowd.”

“You're probably right,” Wildfire grinned as she took another mouthful of her new coffee, “You ever have anything weird happen to you like that?”

“Like finding Blue Note is travelling on the same train as me, you mean?” Serenity answered, the wry smile evident in her voice.

“If that's weird to you,” the blind girl shrugged, “Then sure.”

Finally, Serenity felt a non-too small degree of nerves form in her gut. “This afternoon is like an audition for me,” she admitted, “I do well, and my career moves forward. What if you just sat down at a table and some Olympic track star was sitting there.”

“I get it,” the athlete considered what Serenity had said, “If I found out I was sat with Sunstreaker...I don't think I'd stop squeeing until we arrived in Canterlot.”

The familiar musical laugh left Serenity’s mouth as easily as rain fell from the sky, “I'm sure you'd find some words after a bit.”

“Only after I'd thoroughly embarrassed myself first!”

“Maybe that’s your superpower?”

“Embarrassing myself?” asked Wildfire grinned after joining in with her friend’s laughter, “Pfft, I'm a natural at that.”

“Are you ready to go back to the cabin?”

“Yuppers, I am!” only after she had made sure that her second coffee was completely empty did she stand up, though she wasn’t much taller when she did. Serenity was happy to lead the way back. On the way, she encountered Sandman, and requested that they both have a coffee and danish delivered, to which he quickly agreed. Walking back with Serenity at the lead, Wildfire said, “I'm really glad you stopped by yesterday. This trip would have been really boring otherwise.”

Serenity simply giggled, “I just can't pass up a cute girl with a fetish when I see one.”

Wildfire joined her friend in her giggles, “Well, I must've looked a right picture with my face buried in an old sneaker!”

“It was the most interesting thing I saw on the train,” said Serenity over her shoulder, “Of course it helped that you're going to Harmony, just like me, so I saw no need to leave you all alone.”

When Wildfire spoke next, it was in a slightly small, scared, tremulous little voice, “I'll admit, I was scared of making the journey all the way on my own.”

Back in the cabin, which had been made up during breakfast, Serenity turned and embraced Wildfire in a tight hug, “I've only seen confidence from you so far,” she said kindly, “A little uncertainty once and awhile, but mostly confidence.”

“Oh that,” Wildfire snickered, though she didn’t mind the hug, “I get that from my mom. She gets it from my dad.” She demonstrated her parents’ philosophy by standing smartly at attention. “Head up. Shoulders back, and act like you meant to do it.”

Serenity thought that was an admirable thing to live by. “You did the first time you ran into a closed door you thought was open?”

“Done that many times. Style it out, laugh it off and blame the door.” The short athlete made an exaggerated face and a voice to go with it. “Duh, stupid new automatic doors, always failing!”

Once more, Serenity laughed, just as Sandman appeared carrying a tray with two coffees and pastries. She thanked him and with nothing interesting to look at, he took his leave. “The one without cream must be yours,” she beamed and took her cup from the tray.

“Thank you, Serenity,” Wildfire carefully felt for the tray and then she located the handle of her mug. Taking it up, she blew across it, “I suppose it depends on your outlook. You either laugh it off or get pissy about it.”

Serenity nodded in agreement, before realising that her friend couldn’t see such a gesture. “We have a TV to kill some time, sort of like you get on the airlines. I was going to read, but I don't mind if you listen to it.”

“I only ever went on an airship once,” commented Wildfire when Serenity bought up the air travel, “Mom and dad won a work raffle trip to Las Pegasus. I was so sick the entire way I was sure I’d died several times. But I think I'll read too. I bought my favourite book with me.”

“I prefer the train,” agreed Serenity as she reached for her book and reclined on the converted couch, “A lot more relaxed and you can walk around and meet people. Like shoe sniffers!” after sharing a hug, she took up her book. “Now to reading. Then we can do lunch, then I can have a panic attack about singing in front of Blue Note.”

“Confidence.” Wildfire stated, “It’s all confidence. Head up. Shoulders back. Own the room, make him go "I met Serenity" rather than you swoon over meeting him.”

“Brash, I can do that.”

“I know you can,” after hugging Serenity again and placing a friendly kiss on her cheek, Wildfire grabbed her book and sat on the couch opposite the taller girl, sitting cross legged as was her wont, “Let's read!”

While she was ‘reading’, Serenity slipped off her sandals and then she turned sideways on the couch like she had done the day before and she rested her bare feet on the short girl's legs as she read. After a quarter of an hour, mostly of Wildfire reading the same paragraph several times, she spoke up, “Serenity?”

Serenity smirked, amazed that the athlete had held out as long as fifteen minutes. “My friends call me Sera, and you're a friend. Yes, Wildfire?”

“Sera,” Wildfire was so scared to ask what she wanted to ask in case she offended her friend. She doubted she would, because she was being teased, but still… “Sera, please may I kiss your feet?” once she had gotten her request out, she babbled, “They feel so cute on my legs, I can’t resist them anymore!”

Instead of being offended, Serenity laughed that familiar musical laugh, “I was wondering how long it would be before you were brave enough to ask to worship my feet. My soles are a bit ticklish, but my toes will be fine. I'll try hard not to kick,” she giggled some more and just to tease her even more, she wiggled her toes against the girl’s thighs.

“Wily. You call me Wily,” the short teenager set aside her book – as much as she loved The Tempest, this was her opportunity to lick some feet! – and she moved forwards until she was on her hands and knees on the couch. She felt Serenity move her feet up, and she lowered her head until she felt her lips touch her toes.

On the receiving end, Serenity was pleasantly surprised to discover her friend’s lips and tongue weren’t as ticklish as she feared it would be, so she relaxed and went back to reading her book.

Having kissed and licked her way along each of Serenity’s perfectly sweaty toes, Wildfire lowered herself down on to her front to get to her soles. That was the prize. Placing her hands behind her back, the submissive blind girl buried her face into the arches of her feet and kissed her way from heel to her toes.

When she felt Wildfire’s lips and tongue touch all over her feet, Serenity's lower calf muscles reflexively tensed up a bit, but she didn't pull away, and slowly both her legs relaxed once more. After a few testing licks and kisses, Wildfire shuffled forwards on her belly and she got her nose right in between Serenity's toes, where she licked across the bottoms of each in turn and let out a most aroused moan at the unique taste.

For her part, Serenity was quite surprised that this whole experience was more relaxing than she thought. Under her feet, Wildfire began to suck on each of her friend's toes. She was enjoying the smell and the taste so much, she slid her tongue in between and around each one, one after the other.

As Wildfire moans in sheer delight, Serenity giggled softly at the noises she was making. “I-I’m sorry...” Wildfire tried to say, but her voice was muffled by Serenity's feet smothering her face, marking her with their scent. She had never been so turned on in her life.

“I'm not giggling at what you're doing,” explained Serenity as Wildfire proceeded to place both of her big toes in her mouth and she swirled her tongue around both digits at once, “But how you sound doing it.”

“I can't tell you how much I'm getting off on this…” Wildfire said, though some of her words were slurred by the presence of Serenity’s toes in her mouth, they were clear enough. While she was deep throating the two big toes in her mouth, Wildfire ran a hand under herself down her jeans to her hairy snatch, smiling when she found it dripping wet.

Serenity of course caught what her friend was doing with her hand and she withdrew her left foot from Wildfire’s mouth and playfully rubbed it over her face, smearing saliva around as she did so. “I think someone will need a second shower today at this rate. I really wouldn't mind if you removed your clothes, Wily.”

Unlike the day before, this time Wildfire did not hesitate to get undressed. She was quickly on her feet and in the space of a hiccup she had her flame decorated hoodie and her tee shirt up and over her head. A second later and her jeans were around her ankles and kicked off. Now naked, she returned to the couch on her knees before Serenity's feet.

Deciding to give her friend a view to enjoy, Wildfire reared up onto her knees and she rested Serenity's left foot on her A cup breast while she got busy kissing all over the right one once more. Of course, Serenity immediately used her toes to play with the short girl’s breast.

When she felt the toes she had been sucking on flick and caress her rapidly hardening nipple, she let out a happy moan and the pleasure spurred her to lick deep between each toe in her mouth, as the fingers of her free hand dipped to her hairy mound.

“It’s a good thing I'm a sub too,” Serenity smirked as she squeezed Wildfire’s nipple between her toes and playfully slapped the other breast with her free foot, “We get to play naughty!”

“Really naughty would be if your foot was where my hand is,” remarked Wildfire, whose left hand was rubbing away at herself like masturbating was going to go out of fashion.

“My foot is where you placed it. I'm just a sub too, remember?”

Now, what self-respecting foot worshipper could ignore an invitation like that? Wildfire figured that as she had come this far, she really had nothing to lose. Besides, if she backed out, how could she say she had a foot fetish? So it was that she set Serenity's foot on the couch with the toes pointed up and she moved her crotch over them as she sucked the other toes into her mouth.

After a few minutes, Serenity began stoking her toes over Wildfire’s pussy. Again she giggled, because the thick pubic hair tickled. She ignored that though as she penetrated the athlete. “O-Oh...ooooh jeeeeez that feels good!” Serenity could just about make out what she said around the five toes currently filling Wildfire’s mouth.

Four toes were inside Wildfire’s pussy and, as she ground herself down on Serenity's foot, the big toe touched and rubbed over her hard clitoris, making her jerk a little. As one who knew how to please a girl with her hand, Serenity quickly figured out how to do so with just her foot.

Although Wildfire was incredibly enthusiastic, she was also inexperienced, and it didn't take long at all for her to cum. When she did reach her climax, she squirted all over Serenity's foot, screamed out loud and flopped forwards. “Wow,” Serenity remarked, catching Wildfire with her foot on her chest, “I didn't know that sucking toes was so orgasmic.”

“Th-That...that was amazing...”

“Want to see amazing?” Serenity caught herself and laughed, “I’m sorry, I mean, feel amazing?” when Wildfire nodded that she did, Serenity said, “Touch the ankle of the foot you’ve just squirted over. You don't have to do anything. Just keep in contact with it.” Doing as she was told, Wildfire lowered her hand down until she touching the ankle between her thighs. Serenity then slowly lifted her foot up to her mouth, inserted the toes and slurped them loudly.

“Now that, is a very hot image!” exclaimed Wildfire, whose only response from her kinky friend was a loud, lewd moan. That prompted her to lean forwards and add her tongue to the licking of Serenity's foot. “I agree. Totally 'Mmmmm'!”

While Wildfire was licking her cum soaked foot, Serenity's naughty tongue wandered from her own toes to Wildfire’s lips. The athlete found that tongue and kissed her around the wet toes. Serenity then allowed her foot to slip down and turned it into a snog fest. Wildfire was more than happy to kiss and be kissed, again not experienced but she was enthusiastic. Moments later, Serenity pulled back to catch her breath, “Maybe tonight you'll wear the PJ's I wear, hmm?”

“Yu-Yuppers...I think I just might…”

“You saw,” again Serenity caught herself, “You felt how small the shower is, so you go first, since you're already undressed, then I’ll go so we’ll be ready in time for our lunch call.”

Deciding that was a plan, Wildfire gave Serenity a last kiss and then she got up and tried her best to do a sexy walk to the shower. It looked like a drunken kangaroo, but the effort was there, and it did leave Serenity smiling.

After their lunch, back in their cabin, Serenity felt like she wanted to take a nap, and she offered Wildfire aa choice between snuggles or reading time. Quickly, Wildfire made her mind up. She wanted the snuggles. Choice made; Serenity converted the couch into the lower bed. “I’m happy to hear it,” she smiled, “Take away the nervousness.”

“You have nothing to be nervous about,” Wildfire stated as she pulled off her hoodie and tee shirt, standing topless in the cabin. Murmuring her agreement, Serenity laid down, still fully clothed. Happy at just being topless, Wildfire kicked off her sneakers and laid down next to Serenity. “For train beds, these are comfy aren't they?”

As soon as Wildfire was on the bed, Serenity pulled her into a tight hug that smooshed their bodies together. “They’re even more comfortable when shared.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire agreed, then she blushed so hard her yellow cheeks turned red, “Not that I've shared my bed many times, or at all, in fact, before last night.”

“Wily, you have to start somewhere, sometime. Now is a good time,” grinned Serenity, who just tightened the hug that was already full body to body. “Relax, and let the motion of the train help you drift away.”

Both girls closed their eyes and within a matter of seconds, they had drifted off to a pleasant, comfortable sleep.

Chapter 5 - First Time

At two o’clock that afternoon, the alarm on Serenity's cell phone went off, filling the cabin with a jarring ringing noise that went on until the teal skinned girl reached over and shut it off. At the same time, she tightened her hug on Wildfire beside her and kissed her nose. “Wily, I need to get up.”

The second the alarm clock had gone off, Wildfire had jerked awake, the smaller teenager held in place by Serenity’s arm across her chest. She felt the squeeze of her hand and smiled, “Alrighty, Sera, I'll get out of your way,” she sat up and scooted along the bunk to make room.

Standing up, Serenity stretched her arms, reaching up to the ceiling of the train carriage. “I'm going to order some herbal tea,” she said to her friend, “Do you want some or would you prefer a coffee?”

“Coffee would be awesomes, Sera, thank you!”

Smirking, Serenity used the call button on the wall to request Sandman’s presence before she turned to the bunk. “I'll be warming up my voice after I’ve had the tea,” she spoke with a wry smile, “I'm sure Mr. Sandman would be happy to see you again.”

“I'm sure he would,” Wildfire giggled along with Serenity and she sat cross legged on the bed, in no urgent hurry or need to get her top back on. “He'd need a magnifying glass to see anything though. Can I ask,” she changed the subject rather abruptly, “What was that private school like that you went to?”

Before Serenity could answer her, the door to the cabin opened and there stood Sandman. “Hello,” she wore a most amused smile when she saw that the Express worker was staring openly at Wildfire, “I’d like a coffee for my friend and an herbal tea with cream for me, please.” With a promise to be back as soon as he could, he was gone. “He still looked. It was nice to see. As for my school, there were small class sizes of just ten students. Allowed us lots of time with the teachers. I've got my first year of college mostly done already.”

“Wow, really?” Wildfire was genuinely impressed, “I went to Stallion Island High. It was nice...most of the time. Some of us even learned to read and write by the time we left.”

“I've never been to a public school,” there was a tiny note of regret in Serenity’s voice that she didn’t try to hide, “My parents wouldn't have it.”

“Can't have the princess mixing with the commoners, can we?”

When Wildfire began giggling, Serenity laughed and threw a balled up pair of socks at her, which just made her laugh all the more. “Sorry Princess, but you're going to have to get over it.”

Catching Serenity’s socks on her chest, Wildfire gave them a quick sniff and found them disappointingly clean, so she had no interest in them. “It still hasn't really sunk in that I'm going to college. Mom and dad weren't sure they'd be able to send me on a firefighter’s salary, then I got the scholarship, so yay!”

“A scholarship is nice,” said Serenity as she sat herself back on the bunk, “Just means less pressure on finances. Of course you have to hold up your end of the deal, you have to make your grades.”

“Good thing I can run really fast,” Wildfire leant back with a rather smug look on her face, “Phys Ed was a cake walk!”

While she was glad to hear that, though hardly surprised, Serenity reached out and took her friend's hand in hers, “And the rest of your classes?”

The smug slipped from Wildfire’s face with alarming speed. “The less said about Math the better,” she admitted with a shudder, “History and science and stuff were average at best, though I was decent at literature. Which is okay, y’know, play to your strengths. I'm also taking physical therapy and sport science at Harmony, for when I eventually stop running.”

“Just don't lose your scholarship due to failing a class,” advised Serenity wisely, “I think you know when to study and when to party.” She paused as there came a knock at the door and Sandman entered with their drinks, “Thank you Mr. Sandman.” He gave her a polite nod and closed the door behind him.

“Did he look again?”

“I'm sure he can't help looking at a pretty girl,” smirked Serenity, “I'm looking too.”

Grinning, Wildfire performed a little side to side shake of her chest that, due to her lack of development in that area, did absolutely nothing. “Ta da!” she giggled, “Hey, speaking of when to party, do you think there's any truth to the rumour that Harmony U has a secret fetish club? My friend Cloudchaser, her older sister had a friend who went, and she told her and she told us about this place called ‘The Scene’.”

Completely unprepared for that, Serenity looked at Wildfire for a few moments like she was seeing her for the very first time. She knew about The Scene? “We can talk about that tonight,” she assured her, “Right now I need to warm up my voice for my performance.”

Recognising she was not being shut down or fobbed off, Wildfire sat with her coffee, content to listen as Serenity did her scales and some operettic songs in the soprano and alto ranges. It was like audible magic. She listened with rapt attention and she sipped her coffee, truly enjoying anything that came out of Serenity's mouth.

At a quarter to three, when Serenity judged her voice suitably warmed up, she at last decided to speak about her experiences with The Scene. “Wily, do you remember when I said I was hurt, but not as much as I wanted and a person died?”

Nodding her head, Wildfire replied, “I remember.”

“That was at The Scene’s underground location in Manehatten,” explained Serenity as gently as she could, “It is still there, but now it’s in a new location. Through those contacts, I have some information on the Canterlot chapter of The Scene. Right now though, it’s time to go to the club car. Coming with me?”

“Yuppers, I'm definitely coming!” Wildfire, having drank her coffee, sprang up to her feet from the bunk, “No way I'm missing out on you singing. And we can chat some more about The Scene after your show.” She then let out a delighted little giggle, “I'm just glad Chaser wasn't pulling my leg after all.”

“Not everything is as it seems at times, Wily,” Serenity said kindly, “When I go, I promise I'll let you tag along with me.”

Coffee gone, and the time at hand, Wildfire grabbed her tee shirt and hoodie and pulled them back on so she was decent. “I'll hold you to that, Sera.” They left the cabin and made their way through to club car, which was fairly full. They guessed it was most likely that Blue Note had the conductors advertise the afternoon show.

When the show began, Blue Note started off with a saxophone solo then, with the assembled crowd in the club car suitably warmed up, Serenity performed her three songs. She sang a forth song acapella and Blue Note finished with a second sax solo, to thunderous applause.

Wildfire was, of course, one of the loudest when it came to giving her cheers and applause when the show was complete.

“Wonderfully done, my dear!” Blue Note congratulated the budding opera singer, “You sing beautifully. Rest assured, we will be tracking your colligate career very closely.”

“Sir…” Serenity paused, teal cheeks a bright red under such glowing high praise, “Thank you, sir, thank you!” After another round of congratulatory back slapping, Serenity was at last able to lead her friend out of the car. When they were in the aisle of the next carriage, Serenity walked straight past their cabin. “I'm going to get some air at the back.”

“D’you mind a spare tagging along?”

“I was hoping you would,” Serenity’s voice was still giddy with excitement from the club car when she encountered a familiar face. “Excuse me, Mr. Sandman, can we stand on the back deck?”

“Sure thing,” Sandman replied quickly, giving Wildfire an appreciative look over, even though she was fully clothed, “I'll give Mr. Pullman a call and he can open it for you.”

After thanking him, Serenity continued to lead Wildfire through the carriages towards the rear of the train. At the very back, they waited for just a minute and a half for the conductor to open the door for them. Outside, there was no wind and the late afternoon / early evening setting sun was hidden by a few scattered clouds. “I like it back here.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire breathed in deeply of the crisp fresh air. Hundreds of miles in land, it smelled so different to the coastal Manehatten she was accustomed to. “It's not bad, is it?”

“We’re travelling through farmland,” Serenity detailed the landscape to her blind friend, “There’s fields of crops to the left and there’s cows and horses to the right, and there’s track as far as the eye can see.”

“I’ve never been on a farm,” commented Wildfire, before a memory came thundering back to her like the train they were on thundering along the track, “Oh, except that one time for a high school project a couple years ago. That had been fun.” If one counted ‘fun’ as having a turn milking a cow and promptly splashing her teacher in the face with milk when she had squeezed too hard. That had been a ‘D’ well earned.

“I haven't been on a farm either,” Serenity remarked with a shrug of her shoulders, “My parents would die before I was allowed to set foot anywhere near a farm.” She then let out a deep sigh. “I should probably tell you about my experience with The Scene, huh?”

“Go on,” Wildfire urged her gently, “I'm all ears. Honestly, I'm stoked it's real and not something else I've fell for.”

For a long, long moment, Serenity stared out at the tracks as the train left them behind. Gathering her thoughts, it was most mesmerising. “I was sixteen when a senior at school took me to task for something, I don't remember what it was,” her usually musical voice was muted when she spoke. “I liked it, a lot. I quickly fell into an abusive crowd. When I turned eighteen one of them got me into The Scene. What you need to know is they are rather abusive there. Then again, I wanted to be abused. That’s why I'm going to look them up in Canterlot. If you're looking for a loving dom, you may not find one there.”

Listening to Serenity speak, Wildfire was confused. “Don't they have rules? They must have rules, right? Safety people, or experienced people you can go to for advice and stuff? Mom and dad always said there were rules when they played their Master and Slave routine,” she suddenly let loose a snicker at herself, “And I sound so naive, don't I?”

“Yes, you do…” there was no judgement in Serenity’s voice. If anything she found the short girl adorable. “Your mom and dad most likely went to Lulamoon's Place. They have all that security and safety you mentioned. There’s a reason The Scene is an underground society. It is for the extreme players.”

“Well, who knows?” started Wildfire optimistically, “Maybe the Canterlot Scene will be different.”

“I kind of hope it’s not different,” countered Serenity softly, letting slip what she really, really wanted. “There is a branch of Lulamoon's Place in Canterlot too. We could always go there.”

“Alrighty,” Wildfire knew enough not to push the issue, “I guess we can do that. It sounds like this Lulamoon's Place would be the safer option, anyway.”

“A lot safer,” confirmed Serenity with a surety in her voice, “Which is why I don't usually go there.”

“Safety's at the front of my mind,” grinned Wildfire unapologetically, “I suppose it comes from being a firefighter's daughter. Emergency services do love them that safety!”

Unable to stop herself, Serenity sang, “Some of them want to abuse you. Some of them want to be abused. The latter is me!”

Wildfire caught the song reference immediately, joining with singing, “Sweet dreams are made of these!” though her attempt at singing wasn’t anywhere near her friend’s quality. She broke out laughing, “I do want to be abused, just in a nice fluffy fun way like what dad does to mom.”

“I really hope you find your dom,” Serenity was absolutely genuine in what she said. She didn’t hold much hope for herself, but her friend was a different story. “I doubt any dom that would love me, would be able to abuse me in the way I need.”

“Never say never,” said Wildfire as she gave Serenity what she hoped was a comforting hug, “Not ever. You'll find her. I know you will.”

In spite of her slightly gloomy mood, Serenity accepted the hug in the spirit it was given. “In truth I don't care if it’s a him or her. Just because I prefer women for casual sex, when it comes to being abused, all that matters is that they do it.”

Wildfire nodded, but she didn’t release the hug, not straightaway, at any rate. “And that they do it with some care to you, right?” she asked, “I mean, it won't do your singing career much good if you're killed to death will it?”

Serenity simply shrugged her shoulders, “If I’m ‘killed to death’, I won't have to worry about my career then, would I?” she asked with a wry smile, “Believe it or not, death isn’t the outcome I want. It’s always a possibility, like what happened in Manehatten. This train could derail and what then? I'm sure your parents know how short life can be.”

“Yuppers, they do.” Wildfire said solemnly, “I remember Mom and dad attended this fire when I was nine and it went about as bad as bad could get. Despite their efforts, a lot of people died…”

“So I live in the moment!” Serenity giggled and placed a gentle kiss on Wildfire’s nose, “I do hope you're right and there is a dom for me in Canterlot.” The teal skinned teenager cupped the shorter girl’s cheek, “Any other questions?”

“No, not really,” Wildfire didn’t see the point in pressing the issue any further with Serenity. It was clear her views on The Scene, and it was also clear they wouldn’t change, not that she was sure she wanted them to, after what she had been told. “I think I'll give mom and dad a call when we get to the cabin, get their take on it.”

“Why don't we take a detour and have a medical drink in the club car first?” suggested Serenity as she steered Wildfire back inside the rearmost carriage, “For my throat of course.”

“Good idea,” agreed Wildfire quickly, “I like that idea!”

“Alas, I have corrupted you already,” Serenity didn’t sound very sorry though, far from it, “Mwahahahaha!”

Serenity’s ‘evil genius’ cackle, one she hadn’t heard since the old Saturday morning cartoons she used to love so much, made her laugh so hard she was almost on her knees. “Oh yuppers,” she breathed, clutching her sides, “It was a long hard struggle and you wore down my resistance,” she giggled, “To the club car!”

Once they were back in the club car, Serenity found them a seat up on the top deck and she ordered herself a red wine. Wildfire opted for a beer. While she was going to get her phone on the way to the club car, she ultimately decided against it. There was plenty of time to call her mother later. “Thank you, for listening to me.”

Hearing that, Wildfire gave Serenity a blank look, “We're friends aren't we?”

“Going on day two, we are,” replied Serenity, the wine glass paused at her lips, “Thank you, Wily.”

“I should thank you,” Wildfire said before sipping at her beer, “For not getting pissy when I said I wanted to get another point of view on The Scene.”

“If I thought for an instant you were more extreme, I might have painted The Scene in a better light.”

“I don't want it in a better light or rose tinted glasses. I want honesty, and you were honest.”

Smiling broadly, Serenity clinked her wine glass to her short friend’s beer mug, “To friends.”

“Friends!”

~ ~ ~

“I have noticed you read at a fast pace,” commented Serenity when they were both back in the sleeper cabin, both of them reading their respective books, “Maybe you’re faster than me.”

“I hadn't really thought about it,” Wildfire replied, putting her well-read copy of The Tempest down and looking up in the direction of Serenity’s voice, “I suppose it depends on what the book is.”

Serenity pondered that for a moment, allowing the rhythm of the train’s motion to move her thoughts along, “I'd say it’s less distractions, like me talking to you.” She giggled playfully, “I bet you have sensitive fingers…”

“It's all about knowing what pressure to use,” Wildfire explained her reading technique, oblivious, “What fingers to use and...” she paused at Serenity's giggles and she blushed, when she caught up, “Yuppers, I have sensitive fingers.”

Smirking and snickering at a wind up job well done, Serenity went back to reading her book, “May have to test that later tonight.”

After an hour had passed, the door to the cabin opened and Sandman informed the two of them that their dinner seating was ready. “Oh,” Wildfire exclaimed when they were alone in the cabin, she had been thinking about what Serenity had said for the last hour, “How will you test the sensitivity of my fingers?”

Bookmarking her spot and putting her book away, Serenity stood and stretched. “I think it calls for an oral exam. Do you wish to follow or lead?”

“I’ll follow, at least for the first test.”

Shortly, they arrived at the dining car and Serenity couldn’t help but be a teeny bit disappointed. “Looks like Mr. Blue Note and Mrs. Blue Belle don't eat at the same time as us. There is a different pair at our table.” She moved ahead just enough that Wildfire could sit first. She knew how she liked a view.

“Thanks Sera,” Wildfire smiled and she felt her way into the seat, just as her belly made a very loud rumble, “Ooops!”

“Good evening to you,” Serenity offered a pleasant greeting to the two boys who were clearly a couple sat opposite them, “I'm Serenity, and this is Wildfire. We're heading for Harmony U.”

The taller of the two males, a pastel green fellow with brown curly hair, spoke up first, “Hello, I'm Curly Winds, and this is Whiz Kid. We're retuning Seniors to Harmony University, spent the summer on the east coast.”

Whiz Kid rested his head on his boyfriend’s upper arm – he wasn’t tall enough to meet his shoulder – and smiled at the two girls, “Just means one more year till we start our grad work. You two freshmen?”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire turned her milky white eyes to ‘look’ at Whiz Kid, “Start classes on Monday, I can't wait!”

“It's a good university,” put in Curly Winds, “They do go out of their way to make it disabled friendly.”

“He's just saying that because I'm five foot even.”

Wildfire snickered, “You're still beating me, Whiz, I'm four and nine. Maybe ten if I wear heels. The talls will never know the agony of having to use a step to reach the kitchen cupboards.”

“At least we're the last to get wet when it rains,” laughed Whiz, who immediately returned the high five that the short girl offered him.

The rather clever and very witty retort that Wildfire had ready went unused when the waiter appeared at their table. He offered the diners a choice of garden salad with choice of barbeque chicken with mashed potatoes or shrimp jambalaya with white rice, and glazed carrots or cheesy broccoli. Serenity immediately chose the shrimp, carrots and a white wine. The two boys opted for the chicken and a beer each.

The last to make her choice, Wildfire decided to order the garden salad with barbeque chicken and mashed potatoes, and a beer to drink.

While they ate, the conversation between them was light and not at all college related, something none of them seemed to object to. If the dinner had been good, the dessert was better. Curly Winds and Whiz Kid went for apple pie a la mode, and the two girls chose bread and butter pudding with vanilla custard.

Once the dinner was over and they were alone at the table, Serenity asked, “Do you want another drink in the club car, or should we head back to the cabin?”

While Wildfire was tempted by the drink, she couldn’t be sure but it felt like it was getting late. “I don't mind heading back to the cabin, Sera.”

Letting out one of her musical giggles, Serenity stood up. “I wasn't sure if I'd have to ply you with alcohol first.”

“I'm only tiny, Sera,” Wildfire countered, “I've been well and truly plied already!”

Taking note of the fact that her friend couldn’t really handle her booze, Serenity took hold of Wildfire’s hand and led her back to their cabin. “Will this be your first proper sexual encounter?” she asked as she opened the door.

“Yuppers,” Wildfire replied, feeling a little bit ashamed. Then, she felt idiotic for feeling ashamed in the first place. Serenity wasn’t judging her, so why was she judging herself? “Yes, it will. I've practised on my own a lot though!”

Serenity just smiled when she heard the confirmation that her friend was in fact a virgin. Not that she was bothered about that in the slightest. “I trust you'll know how to please me then. Now, let me…” she slowly undressed Wildfire, removing her hoodie, tee shirt, jeans until she was completely naked before her. “Your turn, and you can be as hands on as you wish.”

“A-Alrighty…” Wildfire, though she was a little clumsy with Serenity's clothes due to having to feel her way around what she was wearing, and having to get used to undressing someone the wrong way round, nonetheless had the taller girl naked eventually. As a result, she was very handsy with the removal of the clothing, much to her partner’s enjoyment. “H-How was that?”

“No complaints here,” Serenity assured her kindly, “Now, I have done this before, willingly and unwillingly. Still,” she continued, “I want you to enjoy this. How would you like to start?”

All of a sudden, Wildfire was bright red in the cheeks and she was rather self-conscious of being very, very naked with Serenity. “Well, um...” she flustered, “Is um…i-is 'this' what girls like?” she gestured with both hands over herself, her small stature, tiny breasts and her hairy bush.

“Everyone has their own preferences, Wily,” Serenity assured her, placing her hands on the short girls shoulders, “I like girls that are true to themselves. Smart, well read, and self-confident.”

“In that case,” Wildfire remembered she was with a friend, someone she trusted, and she set aside her worries and her hang ups as best she could, “I'd very much like you to go down on me, please.”

“I can do that.” Serenity quickly pulled out the lower bunk, turning the couch into a bed, before turning back to the nervous girl. “On your back please, with your feet near one end.”

“I can do that!” eagerly, Wildfire made her way to the bed and she sat, then she laid down with her head at the pillow end and spread her toned legs wide apart. A second later, she felt Serenity get on the bed, felt the other girl’s weight above her head.

In a sixty nine position, Serenity slowly kissed Wildfire on the forehead and she worked her way down her body gradually, slowly, but she lingered on the athlete's lips. When she reached the girl’s nipples, she paused, granting each one a kiss and a long suck until they were hard. Going lower still, Serenity spent a little time kissing a circle around Wildfire’s naval before reaching her real target.

As she moved, Serenity purposefully made sure that her body lightly rubs along Wildfire's, determined to give the virgin an experience she would remember. When she body rested her chest on Wildfire's belly, Serenity used a hand along with her mouth to work the athlete's dripping wet labia and tease out her clitoris, which she was pleased to see was rather large once it was hard and swollen with need. The other hand, the free hand, was placed under a thigh in order to keep her legs spread apart.

Far, far more experienced than Wildfire, Serenity knew how to get a girl off. She also knew how to deny an orgasm. Deviously, she worked with her deft fingertips and her tongue, both dancing over Wildfire’s soaked nethers until she had bought her to near her peak and back twice over.

After the second of the two near finishes, Wildfire decided that she couldn't take it any longer. “Please!” she begged, “Please Sera, please let me cum, please!” when she heard what was music to her ears, Serenity altered her ministrations from teasing to all-out attack she used her tongue to make her cum quickly and then her fingers to draw out a second climax shortly after. Wildfire let out an almighty scream when she finally did orgasm, squirting like a fountain. “S-Sorry...” she panted, “I s-should've warned you…” Far from being offended, Serenity was happily lapping away taking it all in. “Wow…that was...wow!”

After the athlete's second orgasm, Serenity moved herself forwards until she was able to grind a breast into Wildfire's snatch while she hovered her own scant inches over Wildfire's face. “Now it’s your turn. It’s okay if you just use your hands.”

“Don’t worry, Sera, I got this!” assurance made, Wildfire used her hands to guide herself in, then when she judged she was in position with her nose at the taller girl’s perineum and her lips at her pussy, she started to lick her way up and down Serenity's hairless labia, quickly finding a rhythm which she fell into.

Emboldened by the results of the few test licks and by the pleasured noises that Serenity was making, Wildfire decided to just go for it and she thrust her tongue deep inside her friend’s wet tunnel.

Above Wildfire, Serenity's mind turned to fantasies of the athlete dominating her, and just like that, her moans increased in volume and intensity. Her moans of ecstasy only got louder when Wildfire used her fingers to rub her clitoris at the same time plunging her tongue in and out of Serenity’s slit.

When her left hand lightly spanked the teal coloured ass cheek, Serenity moved her rock hard nipple around and over Wildfire’s groin over her hard clit. “Harder,” she begged when her rear was spanked. Wildfire then wrapped her lips around Serenity's throbbing nub and she sucked hard while her hand spanked the girl a lot harder than before. “Harder!” she screamed.

While she was sucking and lapping at Serenity’s pussy, Wildfire spanked her ass cheeks so hard that it made her hand go numb for a few seconds. She figured that with Serenity’s kink, if her hand wasn’t hurting, she wasn’t doing it right. When she added her teeth to her clit, that pushed her friend over her edge.

Serenity reached her climax, she didn’t squirt as much as Wildfire had, but she more than made up for that with the sheer volume of her orgasm. She clamped her thighs down on Wildfire’s face and there was enough fluid to wet her, that was for certain.

“How was that, Sera?” asked Wildfire when Serenity had ridden her post orgasmic high enough that she had eased up with her thigh death grip.

“I got release, so it was good,” panted Serenity as she carefully adjusted her position so the two of them could lie on the bunk face to face. “Thank you, Wily. Is your hand okay?”

“Yuppers, it'll be fine,” Wildfire shook the numbed hand and, after the short time had elapsed, feeling was starting to come back, “Besides, I’ve got another one.”

“I do hope it wasn't your reading hand,” smirked Serenity as she shoved her wetted nipple into Wildfire's mouth. Immediately, much to the taller girl’s delight, she started to suck her own fluids from the nipple in her mouth. “You're a good girl.” Serenity was under no doubt that Wildfire was going to make some lucky dominant very happy indeed.

Under the praise from the more experienced teen, Wildfire glowed with pride. “Thanks Sera!” she repeated her actions on the other nipple, going all sucky and bitey, even though it wasn’t wet. “Hey,” she said as an idea came to her, “Can we do that thing where we rub ourselves together?”

It took Serenity a moment’s thought to realise that Wildfire meant she wanted to try scissoring. “When we’re done, we may need to sleep on the top bunk,” she snickered as she pulled of off Wildfire, who was in mid suck of her breasts, “Move your head to the wall and lift one leg up as high as you can on the wall.”

“I got it,” since she was already on her back, Wildfire scooted backwards until she felt her head on the pillow and she lifted up her left leg until she felt her foot touch the carriage wall.

Moving around her partner, Serenity was back on the bed and she slid in her right leg along the wall under Wildfire's left up on the wall and her left leg over Wildfire’s left leg and she moved closer and closer, interlocking themselves tighter and tighter until they bumped in the middle.

“This isn't all that easy,” explained Serenity once they were joined at the crotch, “But the objective is to grind our clits together and we both get off.”

Wildfire, who had listened to Air Raid describe enough pornographic videos to last a lifetime, knew what she had to do. She thrust her hips up and forward and the meeting of their privates sent a jolt of pleasure up her body. “Oooh yeah, I can feel it! Or you, I can feel you!”

“Less talking and more grinding!” exclaimed Serenity, before she let out a laugh, “I want to make a mess of this bed, Wily.” Judging by the way the athlete was grinding herself against Serenity’s pussy, she did too.

Just like Wildfire, Serenity was going hard at it to, though she had the advantage of experience and sight. She wasn’t happy until she felt the sure fire sign of chaffing. “Add your hand…” she panted, using her own fingers to flick across both clits.

They carried on like that for the next couple of hours until both girls collapsed in a wet, sticky – albeit exhausted – heap. Since the bedsheets were so saturated with sweat, and other bodily fluids, they simply moved up to the top bunk, where they snuggled their dirty sweaty bodies together until sleep took them at last.

Chapter 6 - Close Shave

When the alarm on Serenity’s phone went off at six a.m. the next morning, the teal skinned girl almost fell off the top bunk in reaching for her phone before she remembered exactly where she was. It was only when she had the blaring sound silenced that she noted she was being hugged from behind.

That did make her smile. Serenity turned on the bunk, being careful to not break the hug. When she placed a tentative kiss on Wildfire’s cheek, she discovered her friend was already awake. “I'm for a shower, Wily,” she kissed her a second time, “You can do your exercise thing and shower after me.”

As it happened, Wildfire had been awake for over an hour, being the morning person she was, she had just preferred to stay where she was in Serenity’s embrace. “Alrighty, that sounds like a plan, Sera,” she returned the kiss and she was rather careful in getting down from the top bunk.

Once she was out of the bed, Serenity went straight into the small shower cubical. When she was on the floor, the naked Wildfire performed her usual routine of stretches, then when she was suitably warmed up, she proceeded to run in place for several minutes, then she followed that up with fifty push ups and burpees before finishing her routine with more running.

Shower complete, Serenity left the shower just in time to watch Wildfire complete her exercises. She got comfortable leaning against the shower door to enjoy the view of her running. It was a shame her chest wasn’t any bigger, there would’ve been substantial jiggle value. “All yours, Wily. No rush, we still have twenty minutes till our breakfast peeper shows up.”

“Thanks!” Wildfire giggled after doing several star jumps purely for her friend’s benefit and then she got herself into the shower. “I can't believe I've been showing myself off like I have,” she called out as she washed herself, “I’ve never really done that before.”

“It’s all you, I’m afraid,” responded Serenity while she balled up the soiled linin and placed it under the desk for the cleaners, “I’m just the facilitator.” She then turned the beds back into a couch and got dressed for the day in a light breezy sundress.

When she was cleaned dried, Wildfire padded softly out of the shower – without bothering to put a towel around herself – wearing just a smile. “Are we getting there today?

“We should arrive in Canterlot by eleven, if we’re still on schedule,” replied Serenity, who again found herself enjoying the view her friend afforded her. “We can ask Mr. Sandman when he comes to tell us about breakfast.”

“That’s cool, Sera,” Wildfire went over to her case and after rummaging around for a moment, she selected just a clean pair of black jeans, a white tee shirt and a yellow hoodie with red flames on it. “I don't really like showing my legs off, unless I'm running.”

Serenity let out a giggle, “You ever tried running in nylons?” she asked as she sat down to wait and watch Wildfire get dressed. This time, she didn't bother with the pretence of her book.

“No actually, I haven’t,” replied Wildfire with a snicker as she dressed, pointedly not bothering with any underwear. “Hey,” a thought occurred to her, “You've seen other girl's bits, right?”

The watching Serenity nodded. “Yes, I have,” she had seen her fair share of girls ‘bits’, perhaps more than her share.

Wildfire had assumed as much. She took a deep breath, because what she wanted to ask was rather embarrassing. “How do they have their downstairs arranged?” she blushed at the childish question, “See, I know I'm bushy,” she indicated her crotch, which was a mass of thick black pubic hair, “Because I'm not risking shaving, but uh...um...I mean, what's the trend?”

Serenity shrugged, which she realised wasn’t helping matters. “Fashion is fickle. I will say I only knew one other girl in high school that went naked. I would say that a good number of girls shave themselves bare now, but it makes them look like a thirteen year old. Not at all to my taste. I like to look good in my thong bikini, so I do a trim with just a line of fur to keep my mature look. You did notice, did you not?”

“Ooh, trust me, I noticed,” Wildfire snickered, “I got a real close feel when I was down there last night. I just...I really want to meet a girl at Harmony, and I don't want to put them off when they're expecting neatly trimmed and they get a jungle!”

“I would usually say that if a girl doesn't like you for you, then there isn't much point, but...” she had to admit, a trim of the untamed wilderness between her legs wouldn’t go amiss.

“Yuppers, I know,” Wildfire waved off Serenity’s mild objection, “But d'you think you could sort it out for me, at least give it a quick tidy up down there?”

Serenity burst out laughing, “I was going to say, if you go swimming, it would be fine to ask your girl to trim you up a bit, but yes, after breakfast I can and will do that for you,” she giggled, “I trimmed an exclamation point down there one time. Was pretty cute.”

“And I thought you were going to make a joke about having to get a machete to get through it all,” laughed Wildfire as she stepped into her jeans and pulled them up to her waist.

A thought occurred to Serenity as she watched the blind girl dress herself. “How do you know what you're wearing?”

“That’s a good question,” Wildfire paused with her tee shirt in her hands. “I have braille labels sewn into the backs where the washing machine tag is, tells me colour - not that I get that, you understand - but mom said black goes with everything, so I have four pairs of black jeans and blue. I know what denim feels like. Most of my hoodies have red flames, so the tag there is hoodie or sweater. Easy!”

“Colour does matter when you mix and match,” opined Serenity, “But it is true, black goes with everything. I should know by now you're in front of that too.”

“Mom said blue denim goes with everything too,” she tugged her shirt over her non-existent chest, “Obviously bras are a waste of time with the tits I've not got, and I don’t like panties much.”

“I can agree with you there. Still,” Serenity playfully nudged Wildfire’s side, “Others like the dear Mr. Sandman will look if you offer them the chance. Do you always feel the same way about panties?”

“Yuppers,” agreed Wildfire, “But that's more me pretending I've been ordered not to wear them. I do wear them sometimes, y'know, when the ‘red mist’ descends, or when I'm running.”

Sagely, Serenity nodded her head, “Well, it’s good you know when you should wear them. Of course, the tight running shorts would be interesting when you squat at the start line if you went commando…”

“Apparently it's against the dress code to not wear underwear.”

Serenity snickered, because her friend sounded like she was speaking from experience, “I'm sure the male athletes would find their shorts a tight fit with a boner,” she laughed just as the door opened and Sandman informed them that their breakfast seating was ready for them.

As far as Wildfire – and her rumbling belly - was concerned, the breakfast call couldn’t come soon enough. When they entered the dining car, Serenity informed her that they seemed to have most of the car and the table to themselves. Breakfast of scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes was peaceful and quiet, but for the sound of two hungry teenagers wolfing the food down like they’d never eat again.

Once the most important meal of the day had been mercilessly demolished, Serenity decided to order them both a coffee for the cabin, and they got up to leave the dining car. After the coffee had been delivered, Serenity said, “Right, to tame the mighty jungle of your pubes. How do you want this? Clean shaven or trimmed? I can do you something like I have or maybe there’s a design you like?”

“Could you maybe make it look like a fireball?” asked Wildfire after she had considered the options, “Y'know, like a wildfire?”

“Would you like a sun, or would you prefer flames rising up from your snatch?”

“That second one,” Wildfire made her choice, “I like the idea of flames going up.”

“Alright, take your jeans off and sit on the couch. I found my turkey carver,” Serenity brandished her electric razor like she could do someone some serious damage with it, “That should work.”

“Alrighty!” in short order, Wildfire had whipped off her jeans and she sat with her legs spread wide apart on the couch like she had been asked.

When Wildfire was seated, Serenity turned on her rechargeable razor and she filled the cabin with a low buzzing not too far removed from a vibrator. “Okay, this cream is a bit cold. I think I'll start with your ass first,” she rolled up the athlete's legs so that she could clean save that area.

Wildfire’s cry of ‘yikes!’ attested to just how cold it actually was. She shuddered as her legs were lifted up so far that her feet were either side of her head and her whole crotch was exposed.

Once Serenity had shaved and trimmed the area with the electric razor, she switched to using a straight razor to make sure that Wildfire’s labia and below it was clean and shaved, then she worked rather skilfully to make the unruly pubic bush trimmed and stylized. Just as she started the trim, but before she had done any shaping, she said, “I was thinking Eye of Sauron, but the flames will make you look hot.”

To be honest, Wildfire was amazed Serenity was still shaving her after fifteen minutes. “If I had the Eye of Sauron, a girl might think I was looking at them down there.”

Serenity laughed at that, and it was a few minutes before she could use the straight razor safely. “Well,” she said once she had control of herself, “In the shower one of the girls may say, 'Too bad the blind girl can't see what we're doing', and you face them and point down and say, 'I see what you're doing and it’s naughty!’.”

Laughing, Wildfire seriously considered that, and Serenity told her it wasn’t too late for that. “I have you trimmed to a nice quarter inch in the shape of a triangle. Have a feel.”

Lowering her left hand, Wildfire felt her neatly trimmed pubic hair. “Wow, that is so much better already!” she smiled broadly after a thorough investigation revealed that her mighty jungle had been reduced to a neat garden. “I’d like the flames, please Sera.”

For the next fifteen minutes, Serenity adeptly trimmed the triangle into more of a bowl shaped bottom with flames coming out of the top, and she used the razor to finish removing what shouldn't be there. “Okay,” she said when she was finished, “Now have a feel.”

“I love it!” Wildfire exclaimed, “I'm guessing this whole thing isn’t supposed to take half an hour, huh?”

“Clean shaven would take about fifteen minutes,” explained Serenity as she rinsed her razors clean, “Skin is sensitive and I'm using a straight razor. I spend about twenty minutes on mine as I have no real design. The more detailed the design the longer it takes.”

“So, uuuh, how regularly should I get this done, anyway?”

“Easiest way is to ask your roommate,” smiled Serenity, “To keep it near perfect, once a week is ideal. Looking good, once every two weeks. If you wait longer, it will make it harder to see the total shape of the design.” Serenity placed her things back once she had them cleaned, “You can check some hair salons to see if they have that special service.”

“Alrighty,” Wildfire giggled sillily, “I'm sure my roommate won't mind partaking in some pubic topiary if I ask her nicely.”

“You can only ask,” said Serenity, “But you must respect their answer. You may put your jeans back on now, if you wish.”

“Got it, thanks Sera!” Wildfire grinned and she stood, pulling her jeans back on and buckling her belt tight. “While we have plenty of time until we arrive, I'll pack my stuff up.”

“It’s always good to be prepared,” Serenity had a mind to do the same, at least if everything was packed away now, there wouldn’t be the traditional crazy last minute rush. “Did you check luggage?”

“I have two cases in the baggage car, as well as these here,” Wildfire felt carefully for her things she had been using during her time in the cabin: her Dictaphone, her actual phone, and most importantly, the shoe box and its precious contents. “Are you looking forward to college?”

“Yes,” Serenity replied a moment later while she too was gathering her things together, “It’s the start of a new chapter in my life. See if I got this adulting thing right.”

“Same here,” remarked Wildfire as she packed away her things in her backpack and her travel suitcase, “I'm excited, of course I am, but I’m scared at the same time. It’s like the first day of high school all over again.”

“I think I had it easier,” commented Serenity, “It was the same school k through twelve.”

“In your super posh ivory tower, you mean?”

When Serenity rolled her eyes at her friend’s snarky comment, she made sure Wildfire knew it. “More marble and steel,” she said sarcastically, “Ivory is so last century.”

Wildfire couldn’t help but giggle, “Was it a boarding school, where you went?”

“It was a private school,” explained Serenity, “I didn't stay there. It was in Northwest Manehatten.”

“That’s cool,” said Wildfire as she made a slow sweeping feel over the cabin to make sure she hadn’t forgotten to pack anything she had been using. “I suppose where we're going is a kind of boarding school.” She found her well-read copy of The Tempest and she hugged herself, “I’ve never been this far from home on my own before.”

“Even the dorms are 'out of school',” remarked Serenity, “So you do have some privacy. There’s just lots of rules you have to follow to stay there. Which is why I'm not in the dorms.”

“Aaah well, I'm a good girl!”

Smirking, Serenity patted Wildfire's head, “You are indeed a good girl.”

“Yay!” Wildfire clapped her hands in childish delight, “Told you I was!” she then leant back on the couch until she felt the wall of the carriage against her back and she enjoyed the feel of the motion of the train rocking along the tracks. “I wish this train would hurry up. I want to get on with it, y’know?”

Checking her watch, Serenity said, “We have at least another hour. Want to go grab a beer?”

“Yuppers. Beer would be most excellent!”

“To the club car, then, my good girl.”

“Follow me!” energised by the sudden quest to locate and drink the beer, Wildfire slipped off the couch to her feet and she walked confidently out of the cabin and through the carriages to the club car.

“It’s a lot more urban looking out the windows now,” Serenity said once they were seated on the top deck with their beers. “There’s one huge, big forest to the north, I think that’s called the Everfree.”

“Hmm, I've heard about that,” Wildfire commented thoughtfully as she took a sip of her beer from the bottle. “Remember those standing stones I talked about? I read that the Everfree Forest has the biggest collection of them on this continent.”

Serenity shrugged, “Maybe I'll take a tour while I'm here.”

“They're magic, the standing stones I mean,” explained Wildfire, “Or what the ancient people who lived there thought was magic. Y'know the sort of thing, a tree rustles and it's a god of wind, that kind of thing.”

“I studied polytheism in high school.”

“Yeah?”

That caught Serenity off guard and, taking a sip of her drink, she looked at Wildfire, “Hmmm?”

“I meant ‘yeah’ as in, 'go on',” Wildfire clarified apologetically, “I thought you were gonna use that polytheism thing to tell me about the gods of the forest.”

“Oh, well, all it means is there is a god for something,” explained Serenity, “So there are many gods. Several ancient societies practiced polytheism to explain the world around them. Later monotheistic religions moved to just one god and the belief that the world and nature were shaped by that one god.”

“I guess it’s easy to see how the old people thought the forest was controlled by magic,” commented the athlete once she had thought about it, “Gods and stuff like that. Look what happened to me.”

“Faith is a good thing.”

After taking a big swig of her beer, Wildfire conceded, “Logically, I know it must have been a ranger or some woman who helped me that day, but...in my head I'm sure it wasn't.”

“In reality, does it matter if it was a wind spirit, a ranger, or some forest animal?” asked Serenity not unkindly, “What matters is that you got the help you needed when you needed it.”

“Nah, you're right,” agreed Wildfire with a smile, “It doesn't matter,” she sipped at her beer and thought on it some more, “Sure was nice of my brain to make up a story and stop me being scared though.”

Smiling, Serenity clinked her glass to Wildfire's beer bottle in a salute, “I'll drink to that, at least.”

After the first beer and wine, Wildfire and Serenity chose, after very careful consideration, to have two more each to while away the time until they arrived in Canterlot. Before they knew it, it was two minutes past eleven and the Friendship Express steam train was pulling into Canterlot Central Station.

Serenity had made sure that Wildfire was ready, and they were standing at the doors to the carriage as the train slowed to a halt. “Show time, Wily.”

“Show time…” Wildfire squeezed Serenity’s hand with the one that wasn’t holding her travel suitcase, and she hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder.

Serenity walked through the open door first and she walked with Wildfire up to one of the many train attendants on the platform as the mighty engine let off a billow off steam and passengers milled around on the station. “Excuse me, where do we get our luggage?”

The man, who looked resplendent in a sharp Friendship Express uniform, answered her with a ready smile. “Inside the station building, miss, there’s a belt the bags will show up on.”

Thanking the attendant, Serenity led Wildfire through the growing crowd and into the station building. To calm her nerves – Wildfire really didn’t like unfamiliar crowds, to say nothing of the unexpected noises – the athlete took several deep breathes through her nose as she walked holding Serenity’s hand.

Wildfire’s head was like it was on a swivel, turning it left and right hearing all the hustle, the bustle and the announcements, a frown of concentration etched on her face until they were in the station building. “Was someone scheduled to pick you up, or did you plan on taking a cab?” asked Serenity when they had left the noise of the crowd outside.

“I planned on a cab, Sera,” Wildfire replied, happy to stick to her friend like glue, “I don't know anyone out here who could pick me up.”

Well, Serenity wasn’t going to have that, no sir. “Okay, I know where the cab stand is.” Just then, she saw a tall well-built man in a black chauffer’s suit holding a sign with her name on it. “This is the luggage belt. Wait here and grab your bags when you see them,” she giggled at her slip of the tongue but didn’t correct herself, “I'll be back in a few moments.”

“I'll keep an eye out, Sera,” Wildfire giggled at the joke and she got ready near the baggage claim belt.

Walking up to the waiting chauffer, Serenity introduced herself and flashed her ID, which was enough to satisfy him. “I'm High Road, Miss Serenity. I have a car to take you to your apartment. Please point out your luggage and I'll take it to the car.”

“I need a slight change,” Serenity spoke quickly, “My travel companion over there is staying on the college campus. I'd like to drop her off first, please.”

“Okay, that's not a problem.” High Road certainly didn’t mind. One passenger or two, he was getting paid either way.

Serenity walked back with the driver to the baggage claim where Wildfire was waiting for her cases. “What do your suitcases look like, Wildfire?” she asked, most curious as to how her blind friend would know when they were close enough for her to pick up.

“Oh, my cases are yellow with a red fireball on them,” Wildfire turned to face the sound of Serenity’s voice. She knew someone was with her, by the overpowering smell of cheap aftershave. “And these cute little black ribbons on the handles.”

“Sorry, one of mine just showed up,” Serenity reached for the large sliver metal suitcase finished off nicely with a burgundy rope, but High Road was ready to pick it up off the belt for her.

“I know what you’re thinking, Sera,” Wildfire grinned as she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a little gizmo and pressed a button, making an approaching yellow suitcase beep loudly, “There's a beeper on mine too!”

“That's pretty cool,” admitted Serenity, who had been most curious as to how her friend would find her cases, but hadn’t wanted to be insensitive in asking.

Wildfire heard the suitcase beeping before Serenity saw it amidst the sea of other luggage, “There they are, coming up, or one of them is. I can hear the beeps!”

“I see it,” Serenity chuckled at the sight of the suitcase, “It makes me want to get a fire extinguisher. Our kind driver, Mr. High Road, will grab it – them - for you, Wily.” Once he had the cases, she explained, “Both of yours were together, oh, and I see my second just dropped on the belt.”

“Sweet, thank you, Mr. High Road, sir,” she thanked the driver politely as she duly cancelled her case beeper. “Handy little gizmo, this.”

“I agree, it’s nice to see just how independent you can be,” beamed Serenity as she made to get her case but was stopped by the large High Road, who looked like he could carry every suitcase in the station without any difficulty at all, “I don't think you need to worry much over your new life in Canterlot.”

“Wait here please, while I get these bags loaded,” the man mountain that was High Road said with a bow of his head.

“Thank you, Mr. High Road,” Serenity smiled up at the monumental man who was easily carrying the four loaded cases in his frying pan like hands, “Wily, we'll be going to your place first.”

“Oh, that’s awesomes, thank you!” Wildfire smiled a little, “Mom and dad always pushed me to do stuff for myself. 'Always ways and means' and 'nothing to it but to do it'. Taught me not to rely too much on other people, cos you never know when they won't be around.”

“While that is good teaching, I’m here now,” Serenity assured her with a squeeze of her hand, “Still it’s nice if someone does take time to help.”

“Yuppers, like you, on the train here.”

“What can I say?” asked Serenity rhetorically, “I must have a thing for shoe sniffers.”

As the two girls shared a laugh, High Road returned, sans the cases. “The car is ready for you, ladies.” He then led them both outside to what was a very nice navy blue town car, with plenty of space in the back. The driver popped open the trunk, revealing the four cases. “If you like, you can put your carry on in the trunk.” Without hesitation, Serenity did so, followed a moment later by Wildfire offering up her travel case and backpack.

Cases and carry on safety stowed away in the large trunk of the car, the professional High Road held open the rear door and Serenity got in first, pulling Wildfire in with her. “Thanks for letting me share your ride, Sera,” she said once she was seated comfortably in the back.

Once he was in the driver’s seat, High Road held Wildfire up long enough to get the address of where she was staying and then he fired up the engine and he was off. “There’s no beer in the back,” giggled Serenity, “But there is cold bottled water. Want one?”

It didn’t take Wildfire long at all to realize that this was the fanciest cab she had ever been in. The seats felt so luxurious. “Yuppers, please, Sera,” she replied, “This is a pretty sweet cab. I mean, I know I don't take up a lot of space, but this is huge in here!” she could stretch out her arms and not touch the sides.

Chuckling, Serenity passed Wildfire a bottle of water she had taken from the mini fridge in the back of the car, “My parents arranged for the car. Insisted on it. No sense in you taking a separate ride. Got to keep an eye on the environment and the polar bears and all that.”

“Totally,” Wildfire snickered playfully, “Here's to the environment!” she held up her bottle of water to the honour of the polar bears, and all that.

Serenity tapped the bottle she had taken for herself to the one Wildfire held up and there was a tapping of plastic. The sipping of the water gave Serenity a thought, “I say, my good Wildfire,” she affected a very good imitation of an upper crust accent, one her parents used without a sense of irony, “I wonder, might I have a look at your accommodations so that I can understand how the rabble live?”

“You may, kind miss!” in a direct contrast to Serenity, Wildfire put on the most common accent she could think of, one that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in a rubbish remake of Mary Poppins. “I do 'ope the commoners won't offend ya, yer ladyship.”

“I have stepped foot east of Broadway,” Serenity kept up the act, “I think I'll be able to wash my shoes later.”

Not fifteen minutes later and High Road, who had been doing a remarkable job of keeping a straight face and a highly professional demeanour, parked the car and he opened the door for his passengers, the trunk already open by a switch on the dashboard. “I'll get your suitcases,” the huge driver smiled, “If you'll take your carry on, Ms. Wildfire.”

“Alrighty, I got it, thanks Mr. High Road,” Wildfire hefted her backpack onto her shoulder and she held her travel suitcase in her other hand.

“I’m waiting to follow you,” Serenity whispered into Wildfire’s ear, “And our erstwhile driver is waiting to follow me. Do be a good girl and lead the way, won’t you?”

“Alrighty, Sera, I got this!” with her bag on her shoulder, her case in her hand, Wildfire used her stick to get around on the paved thoroughfare up to front door. There, she negotiated the single step to the three by three foot front stoop. There, she got out her phone and called up her map of the campus.

Before she had left Manehatten on her epic voyage, Wildfire had the address and location of the dormitory building downloaded, as well as the layout of the building’s five separate floors. “There's me, room one zero six on the ground floor.”

Inside the building was a reception desk with a middle aged woman behind it who wore a pleasant smile like one would wear a uniform. “Welcome to Daisy Dorm, I...Oh,” she paused in her well-rehearsed greeting when she noticed the short girl was blind, “You must be Wildfire!”

“Yuppers, that's me, miss,” Wildfire smiled a broad smile and she thrust out her hand in the rough direction of the new woman’s voice.

“I'm Miss Periwinkle, and you two are?”

“I'm the guide dog, Serenity, and this is the porter, Mr. High Road,” Serenity politely introduced herself and the driver, who inclined his head to the greeter.

“Visiting hours end at ten p.m. and if he’s in the room the main door must stay open at all times,” Periwinkle said after she had shaken the hand of both Serenity and the huge driver.

Snickering hard at Serenity's little joke, Wildfire said, “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Periwinkle. Can I please get directions to room one zero six? That's me, right?”

“There’s a hallway to your left, and room one zero six is the third on the right,” Periwinkle explained to the freshman, “The hall to your right has the elevator, and common areas for the dorm. There’s an emergency exit and a stairwell at the ends of each hall.”

“I’ve got it, Miss Periwinkle, thank you,” Wildfire turned to face the hall on her left and walked confidently forwards, her white stick ahead of her and Serenity by her side.

“I do hope we catch your roommate doing something naughty,” Serenity giggled and for a split second she swore she saw the ghost of a smile playing at the corners of the stoic driver’s mouth.

“I hope so too,” Wildfire laughed at the image in her mind, “It'd be an excellent ice breaker.” She then felt her way down the hall, counting off the doors on the right side as she did so, until she arrived at her dorm room. “Here we are.”

Before she could walk in or even knock on the door, something caught Serenity’s eye. “Oh, that's cool,” she reached out her hand to bronze plaque on the door, “The nameplates have those little bumps like you have in your book, Wily. To the left of the door, about head high for you.”

“That’s braille, Sera,” Wildfire ran her fingertips over the nameplate when she found it, “It says one zero six, then underneath that is Wildfire and Darkstar. So her name's Darkstar, huh? Cool.”

Serenity couldn’t help herself, “Compared to you, it's not a very bright name.”

“Darkstar…” Wildfire snickered, “She sounds out of this world.” Still chuckling at the admittedly awful jokes, Wildfire shoved open the door, “Hello?” Silence greeted them, and when it continued to be silent way longer than was normal, even for someone hiding in wait to lay on a zinger, Wildfire gave up. “She must be out. Okay, what's the layout, Sera?”

“We’re stood in a nice large common room,” Serenity looked about the place. It looked rather nice, if utilitarian. White wall, dark carpet, real wood cupboards. Could be worse. “There’s an open kitchen over on the left, and a wall mounted TV on the right. You have a small dining table by the kitchen, and a couch in front of you facing right. Two chairs and a coffee table. The back wall has two doors about eight feet apart.”

Listening to Serenity, Wildfire was feeling her way around all the walls, she found everything her friend had described to her where she said it would be. “Alrighty, I got this…” she took particular care to feel absolutely everything, and she made sure to leave a beeper by the kettle, for coffee emergencies.

While Wildfire was exploring, Serenity took a seat on the couch and she motioned for High Road to take a chair and do the same. She was in no hurry, and it was amusing to see the giant of a driver sit on a small chair. “I don't think I'll have trouble getting around in here,” Wildfire said when she reached the back wall and the two doors. “Okay, so the bedrooms. Let's go with door number one.”

Opening the door on the left, Wildfire discovered a room with a private bath, a walk in closet, a large double bed, a dresser, a desk and a chair. She felt there was a laptop computer on the desk, but there was no special needs equipment. Good thing she bought her own.

“Yuppers,” Wildfire stated her approval when she emerged from the private room after a thorough investigation, “This will do nicely!”

Happy that Wildfire was happy, Serenity nodded to High Road, and he took the two suitcases he was carrying into the room that Wildfire had chosen. “I'll leaves these at the foot of your bed for you to unpack, Miss,” the driver set them down and went back to the large room, where Serenity was snooping in the fridge.

When she saw that the fridge was fully stocked, Serenity stood, satisfied. “Yeah, your roomie must be out, they have stuff in the cupboards and fridge, and there’s new cutlery and stuff.”

“At least she's responsible!” Wildfire giggled, “Thank you, Mr. High Road, that's very kind of you.”

“My good Wildfire, I do deem that the rabble live well. I shall see that they eat cake!” Serenity giggled and walked up to the short athlete as she spoke, “I’ll see you around the campus, but it’s time for me to go.”

“Alrighty, Sera,” Wildfire held her arms out expectantly for a hug, “Don't you be a stranger in your non ivory tower, now you know where I am.”

Not wanting to waste the opportunity for a hug, Serenity embraced her friend in a tight breast smooshing embrace, “You have my number if things go south. Bye-bye Wily.

“I do,” Wildfire kissed Serenity's cheek, “See you around, Sera.”

Chapter 7 - College

After Serenity and her driver had taken their leave, Wildfire spent a good deal of time exploring the room she had chosen as hers more thoroughly. The walk in closet was big enough that she could stand in it with her arms out to the sides and not touch the walls, and it was easily able to accommodate her clothes.

Once she had organised her clothes by feel, denim, dress, hoodie, tee shirts, Wildfire moved onto the desk in the corner of the room. There were three drawers on the left side, and a cupboard on the right, into which she stored the laptop that was provided for her in favour of her own.

Not that she didn’t appreciate the gesture by the university, but a quick feel of the keyboard confirmed to her that their machine didn’t come with braille keys, where hers did. She figured that was kind of important, to know what she was typing.

With that basic moving in done, Wildfire decided it was time for a coffee. Out came her trusty braille labeller and she investigated the kitchen in the main room she had explored earlier. She was thankful the university had provided a carton of milk and a small amount of tea and coffee.

Wildfire even left one of her beepers next to the kettle, so it would be easy to find it in future. Taking her coffee back into her room, she set it on her night stand and flopped onto her wide double bed. Checking the time, her phone informed her it was five p.m., late in the afternoon.

“Alrighty…” Wildfire wondered out loud, “What can I do now?” she supposed she could get all her books out on her bookcase, then she decided that could be Future Wily’s job. She hadn’t spoken to her parents in a couple of days so, with coffee in hand, she dialled her mother’s number and set her phone to speaker.

Kneeling on her pillow next to the couch at home, wearing nothing but her collar, Fireflight saw her phone ringing on the coffee table and for once she broke her character before the second ring. “Heatwave!” she called out, “Wily's calling!” quickly, she answered, “Hi, are you there?”

“Hey mom!” Wildfire called out after hurriedly sipping at her steaming coffee, “Just letting you know I got to Canterlot alright.”

“Were the people on the train nice?” asked Fireflight who, as Heatwave entered from the kitchen, was well and truly in ‘mom’ mode. She did think to put the call on speaker for her husband’s benefit.

“Yuppers, they were.” Wildfire thought to the conductor, to Sandman, and to Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest, but mostly she thought about Serenity. “I met this nice girl called Serenity. She let me share her cabin on the way here.”

“Oh, that is nice,” Heatwave smiled as he took his seat on the couch right next to his wife, so he could reach a hand over and stroke her black hair, “Did you put our training to good use?” his smile became a laugh when Fireflight slapped him playfully on the arm.

“No dad,” Wildfire giggled, because she could tell from the sound that came down the phone line that her mother had thwapped her dad’s arm. “She was a sub, and well, I am too.”

“How did you meet?” asked Fireflight as by her side, Heatwave was busy looking up ‘Serenity’ on his own phone.

“I’ll tell you, but don't you dare laugh…”

Of course, the very moment she said that, Wildfire heard her dad immediately start laughing. She also heard her mother roll her eyes at him, before she said, “It’s okay, dear, I won’t laugh.”

“Well...when the train started,” Wildfire explained, ignoring her dad’s laughter, “I was feeling really small, so I took out Raid's old shoe and had a good old sniff to calm down. Serenity was walking past and she saw me, and said hello. I think she was hoping I'd be a dom, but we got on just fine anyway.”

“Nothing says ‘dom’ like smelling a shoe,” snickered Heatwave as he showed Fireflight his phone and he mouthed, 'too many people called Serenity in Manehatten'.

Realising what her husband was doing, Fireflight knew she had to keep her daughter talking and wheedle more information out of her, “So you stayed in a sleeper berth together?”

“Yuppers mom,” Wildfire upended her coffee and emptied it down her throat, “She went to this real exclusive all girls private school in Manehatten, so she had this cabin all to herself.”

Hearing that, Heatwave narrowed down his search and again he tried to locate the mystery girl. “That was kind of her,” Fireflight grinned, unable to resist a little tease, “Did she sniff the shoe too?”

“No,” Wildfire replied after setting her empty mug on the night stand, “But she didn't mind me doing it. She was cool with me sniffing her feet too. While I was doing that, she was practising her singing, which I didn’t mind either.”

“Bingo,” with the added parameters, Heatwave found the right Serenity. Quietly, he showed Fireflight the picture of the tall teal skinned girl with her burgundy hair in a ponytail in a school uniform. “Must have made the journey a lot more enjoyable. Are you in your dorm room now?”

“Yuppers dad, I’ve just got settled in,” Wildfire smiled and tasted the coffee lingering on her palate, “I’ve had me a coffee and I'm on my huge new bed.”

Fireflight, still in her ‘mom’ mode and having seen and approved of the look of the girl’s picture, asked, “How's your roommate?” she wanted gossip, something proper she could share with her team mates at the firehouse.

“No idea, mom, I haven't met her yet. I know her name's Darkstar though.”

Since his daughter hadn’t given him a city of origin, Heatwave didn't bother to search that name. It would’ve been completely pointless. “I'm proud of you honey,” he smiled instead, “You’ve taken a big step to take control of your life.”

“I'm proud of you too,” added Fireflight quickly.

“Thanks you guys!” Wildfire had a huge grin on her face that could be clearly heard in her voice, “You'd like Serenity. It would've been a longer ride without her keeping me company.”

“You should write her a thank you card,” suggested Fireflight with a playful giggle.

“So,” Heatwave asked, “How are you really doing, kiddo?”

“What, my chipper tone wasn't convincing?” Wildfire’s smiley voice wavered a little, “I'm...okay.” she knew she couldn’t pull the wool over her parents’ eyes, “Scared, nervous, excited, all of the above. I need to thank Serenity mom, she knows a lot about bondage, and I think she saved me a bit. I uh, I asked her about The Scene...”

The instant those two words hit her ears, Fireflight gasped audibly. Even Heatwave was shocked. “Believe us now, then?” he asked, perfectly seriously, because The Scene wasn’t something to joke about, “I would strongly recommend Lulamoon's place over that.”

“That's what Serenity said,” Wildfire responded, taking note of the deadly serious tone in her dad’s voice, “Apparently I wasn't extreme enough for her.”

“I honestly hope you never get that extreme,” Heatwave replied sincerely, “If you do, don't ever go there alone.” He caught the worried look that Fireflight sent his way and he nodded, for he shared her feelings, “I’d rather you didn’t go at all. We can always take time to visit you, you know.”

“You don't need to worry dad,” even as she said that, she knew they would both be worrying from now on, “Serenity said more than enough on the train to put me off The Scene for life. But, I'd love you to come visit.”

“We'd love to come over, dear,” Fireflight put in, it was her regret that they hadn’t been able to get the time off from the fire service and make the journey with her, “Let us know when you have yourself grounded and you can stand a visit from us.”

“Alrighty mom, I will,” Wildfire promised, and she meant it too. “You be good for dad, okay?”

Fireflight sniffed and pointed her nose up into the air, “I’ll have you know, I'm always good for your dad.”

Smirking, Heatwave bopped his slave on her upturned nose, “Especially when she's naughty.”

Giggling, Fireflight playfully swatted his hands away from her nose, “I love you, sweetie.”

“Love you too!” Heatwave added as he got his fingers like a nose hook and turned his wife into an adorable piggy.

“Love you guys loads!” Wildfire laughed, “I’ll feel you soon!” Still laughing at how dorkishly childish her parents were while at the same time being Master and Slave as well as embarrassingly all over each other, Wildfire cancelled the call and made up her mind to go get herself a refill.

A short time later, after Wildfire had consumed a second mug of coffee, she was feeling distinctly sleepy. Even though she was tired, try as she might, she couldn’t sleep. She put that down to the unfamiliar bed and no hot girl to sleep with. So, she sent to her shoe box and took out Air Raid’s old running shoe for comfort.

Naturally, now she was laid in bed with the ripe old running shoe held to her like it was a treasured teddy bear, she thought about her best friend. “I should call her…” she thought out loud, and she fished for her phone on her night stand.

Air Raid, who had just left a shop in the mall, parked her ass on a food court seat and silently ordered herself a coffee as she answered her phone. Irritation at the call swiftly became a broad smile. “Hey Wily, your room is really nice and the bed is sooooo comfortable.”

Wildfire snickered, “And what? Your parents don't mind you staying at my old place with my parents?”

Pleased, but not surprised, that Wildfire had bit, Air Raid burst out laughing, “Nah, I haven't moved in. Have to wait till everyone is sure you're not coming back right away. I'm at the mall right now, where are you?”

“You mall rat,” giggled Wildfire, who stretched out on her bed and loved the way she couldn’t touch the sides of it from the middle. “I'm holed up on my new bed, your socks in one hand, your shoe in the other.”

“Oooh,” Air Raid chose to neither confirm or deny the mall rat accusation. Instead she went on the attack. “I'm wiggling my toes right now; can you feel it?”

“I'm imagining it, you tease!”

“That's me!” Air Raid declared proudly just as a really hot cute guy bought over her large Zebran coffee to her table, “Your journey go well?”

“Yuppers, it went okay, way better than I expected. I met this cute girl; I shared her cabin and worshipped her feet.”

Smirking, Air Raid put on her best most dramatic voice, “I've already been replaced!”

Laughing, Wildfire could just imagine her best friend’s hand up to her head as she said that. All that was missing was a fainting couch. She was sure the mall didn’t have one of those. “As if, you dummy. I did get laid though!”

“Oooh,” Air Raid breathed, simultaneously blowing the steam from her coffee, “Well that is interesting. No offense, I’m not sure if I want the details, though.”

“Restraint, Raid, from you?” Wildfire giggled, “I’m shocked!”

“I've read enough and seen enough to know that rubbing your girl bits together or sucking on titties isn't for me. I'm happy that you're happy.”

“Aww thanks bestie! How's it going with you?”

“I’m still with Windcharger’s racing team,” Air Raid replied with a warm smile in her voice, “But I’m not driving yet. I'm okay with that as I am a bit young. Getting plenty of experience helping out the pit crew though, so it’s all good.”

“You'll be awesomes, Raid, I just know it. So, any hot boys caught your eye on the team?”

“Yeah, that's not happening,” Air Raid commented reluctantly. Hoist was admittedly both hot and cute, but… “The youngest guy on the team is in the pit crew and he’s three years older than me. Windcharger caught me giving him the eye and she told me fraternization is the fastest way off the team. So it’s me and my lady fingers getting it on.”

“You know what they say, Raid,” Wildfire said completely unsympathetically, “Mrs. Right Palm and her five daughters will never leave you.”

“I sincerely hope not,” Air Raid shot back, “Or I'll have to learn to be left handed.”

As she laughed, Wildfire audibly choked and she ended up gasping for air like a fish out of water until she got it under control. “Th-Thanks, R-Raid, for that!”

“Always there for you bestie,” Air Raid casually inspected her nails and considered that a job well done. “It is good to hear your voice, though,” she added seriously, all teasing gone from her voice, “I’m missing you already.”

“I'm missing you too, Raid,” Wildfire matched the serious tone of her best friend, not something she often did. “Hey,” a thought occurred to her, “I had a thought for that Wasteland story we started writing. You know how we have Holly running from the Military and the Church? What if she’s running to something, like the last natural forest, rather than just 'away from stuff'?”

Air Raid considered that for a few moments, swilling a mouthful of coffee around as she mulled it over. “I like that idea for Holocaust. Are you going to add from that story you told me, when you got lost that one time?”

“Oh, yuppers, I will,” Wildfire replied, “I thought I might do something with the essence of the trees leading Holly, or something like that, so that she's not running blind.”

“I'm all for tossing in some fantasy in the story. It can be the world fighting back against the warring factions, or something like that. As long as Holocaust gets a happy ending, I’ll be happy.” Air Raid refused to call their main character ‘Holly’.

“It stops it being a weary grind of grim dark with no relief for the reader, y'know?”

“I know,” Air Raid commented, “And I agree. When you get settled in proper, you can start sending me bits and I'll see if they pass the vision we started together. You're almost as fast on the writing as you are on the track so it should work out.”

“You bet, Raid,” Wildfire then let out a bit of a loud yawn, “Oh, damn, I’m sorry!”

“You'll have to pretend I'll tuck you in for your nap time, Wily.”

“Already on it,” Wildfire sniggered, “I got a shoe and a sock in bed with me, ready for my sleepsies!”

“Alright Wily,” Air Raid swallowed the rest of her coffee, “Give me a call next Saturday, or earlier if you need me, no matter what time it is. I’ll pick up.”

“I promise,” Wildfire said as she tried and failed to stifle another yawn, “And the same goes to you too, if you need to.” She blew a big wet kiss down the phone, “Love you, Raid!”

“Loves you too, Wily.”

~ ~ ~

Wildfire woke from a dreamless sleep on Sunday morning. She didn't bother with the alarm as she had nowhere to be. If her roommate came back in the night it didn't wake her and the silence now probably meant she hadn't. Wildfire reached out to tap the clock and it responded with six ten am. "Go me, I slept in ten minutes late." Nothing else to do, she got out of bed and started her morning exercise program.

Fresh out of the shower, Wildfire put on some jeans and a t-shirt. 'Coffee first,' she thought as she exited her bedroom. 'Too early to knock on my roomie's door, but not too early to let coffee wake her up.' Wildfire giggled at the thought and unerringly made her way to the coffee pot. With a fresh cup and some sugar packets she had packed, Wildfire sat at the table. "Now what," she muttered. She worked to keep her thoughts from how far she was from home, and focused on what she could do now. Inspiration struck, "Shopping!"

Coffee cup cleaned, Wildfire returned to her room and fired up her laptop. "Let's see, some groceries would be good. Don't want to randomly swipe my roommate’s food." She found a convenience store on campus and a grocery just two blocks away. She programmed both locations into her phone. 'That won't take much time and I have to fight off the boreditess,' she thought as she started random searches. "Furniture! I need a bean bag chair, because I do." She found what she wanted just four blocks away. 'I should be able to carry it that far with no problem,' she thought. Being a track star had built up her entire body.

As she left the building a woman at the front desk wished her a good day. Wildfire thanked her and wished the same. 'She was really quiet, as I didn't even know she was there.' Outside she had the phone's earbud in her ear to follow directions. She also had her stick which was more to warn others she was blind, but it did help her if there was something unexpected in her path. The streets in this part of town were a lot like Stallion Island. Most intersections didn't have any traffic control. Like back home they had the knobby pavement at the crosswalks. She stepped to the edge of the street to let traffic know she was crossing, but still listened for any vehicles close by. Near the store was a light, and the crossing signal had the same tones as the ones back home.

She did use her stick to find the door and entered, 'The Past is Forever' furniture store. The website said they had beanbags, and a lot of other retro furniture. 'I guess I'll wonder a bit till someone asks what I want,' and she moved on into the store.

After a few minutes, a voice asked, "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

With a sigh of relief, Wildfire turned towards the voice. "Yes, I'm looking for a beanbag chair, please."

"We have several in stock. My name is Chaise." He walked over to the girl, "May I take your arm to guide you?"

"Yes please. Thank you for your help."

"Not a problem." He led the girl to the beanbag section. "Is there a colour you'd prefer?"

Wildfire giggled, "Coffee colour would be good to hide the stains."

"You're in luck," responded Chaise. "We have black, brown, and tan. Depends on how you take your coffee."

"Black, most definitely black," stated Wildfire. "Is it around four feet in diameter?"

"Yes ma'am, that would be a large. It's one hundred and thirty dollars," said Chaise.

"All right, my first big purchase for collage!" Wildfire was happy at the price. She had some moving in money, and saved a lot of money on the train.

"We can have it delivered on Tuesday. I just need an..."

Wildfire interrupted the salesman. "I'll take it home now please."

"Okay, let's get you rung up." He led Wildfire to the cash register and she used her card to pay. "I'll be happy to help you put this in your car."

Wildfire waved him off, "That's okay, I'm walking."

Chaise looked at her, "But... It's..."

"As big as me? I know. I'm rather strong for my size."

“Okay.” The salesman moved around the counter. “It does have a carrying handle, um, which hand?” She held out her left hand he touched the handle to it.

Wildfire hoisted the beanbag over her shoulder, “Is it off the ground?”

“Yes, about ten inches. I’ll help you out the front door.” Chaise followed the girl and made sure the bag didn’t get stuck on the door. He watched her walk off down the sidewalk. “That’s one independent woman.” He returned to the store.

Wildfire let the phone guide her the reverse route back to dorm. Once through the front door she said, “Back from a successful shopping trip.”

“Good for you, Ms. Wildfire,” said the woman at the desk.

Once in her room she put the beanbag between the two chairs close to the coffee table. It wasn’t like she needed to face the TV to listen to it. ‘Break time for me,’ she thought. With her book she put a Wily size depression in the chair. “This is the life.”

~ ~ ~

With a chapter finished it was time to get the groceries. The walk to the store just off campus was rather easy until she got there. “I smell coffee. Good coffee.” A quick check of her phone told her there was a coffee shop across the street from the grocery called ‘Stripes Cup of Java’. “That does sound like Zebrican coffee. Coffee first, groceries second.”

Wildfire entered the coffee shop and it seemed rather busy by the noise level. ‘If this is going to be my favourite place I’ll need to get the layout down.’ She moved forward into that shop.

When something tapped his chair the man turned to see a short girl with a white stick. “Oh, hey there. Are you okay?”

“No sir, I’m in despite need of caffeine. Could you direct me to that life giving substance?” Wildfire said with a straight face.

The man laughed, “Sure, let me help you get to the fountain of life.” He took the girls free hand. “After you walk in about five feet you turn right to get to the counter. My name is Tracer, by the way.”

“Wildfire, and it is good to meet you Tracer.” She still used her stick and the conversation around her had died down. That meant they were looking at her, but she was used to that. “It seems my beauty has gotten everyone’s attention.”

Tracer laughed some more, “Yes, that must be it. First time here, then?”

“First time to Canterlot. I’m over at Harmony University,” responded Wildfire.

“Most of the people in here are students,” said Tracer. “Let me introduce you to the leader of the coffee cartel. Hey, Caffeinated, you have a new customer lured in by your drug of choice.”

“Ah yes, my coffee is true. Few can resist its dark brew.” The tall zebra behind the counter said. “Caffeinated my name be, and it seems you cannot see. A menu I have here in braille, and it will lead you to a choice without fail.”

“Oh my, that is very poetic, Caffeinated,” Wildfire said as she took the braille menu.

“Whatever,” said Tracer. “Once you’re a regular he’ll talk normal. I’m back to my table. It was good to meet you, Wildfire.”

“Thank you, Tracer.” Wildfire felt the menu. “I’ll have a medium coffee with three sugars and a chocolate muffin, please.”

“One brew sweet as you, and a muffin too.” Caffeinated got busy making the drink.

“Do you always rhyme?” asked Wildfire.

“Not really, but I was working on that one when I saw you walk in,” said Caffeinated as he set the drink and muffin on a tray in front of the girl. “I do try to do so when new people walk in.”

Wildfire took the tray, “So, can you direct me to an open table?”

“Do you mind sharing a table,” the zebra asked. Wildfire shook her head. “Okay second one down on the left. Firebrand!” A girl turned to face him. “Make room for my newest acolyte of caffeine, Wildfire.”

“Sure thing, Caffy,” Firebrand called back. She watched the blind girl make her way back towards the entrance. “Okay, turn left, table is less than a foot and the chair just to the left of the table.”

Wildfire turned and moved cautiously till her belly bumped the table. She sat the tray down and moved around to sit in the chair. “Thank you, Firebrand.”

“No trouble. When the coffee pusher speaks, we listen,” she said with a giggle. “I heard you’re starting here at Harmony U?”

“Yes, I’m here on a sports scholarship and studying sports medicine,” said Wildfire as she took a sip of her coffee. “Oh, this is the good stuff.”

“Why it is popular with the non-alcohol crowd,” said Firebrand. “I’m in my second year studying forestry. Across the table from you is Pirouette, and from me is Time Stop.”

Pirouette reached out to touch Wildfire’s hand and shook it when she took hold. “I’m third year and in theatre.”

Time Stop did the same, “I’m second year also and in transportation.”

“Good to meet you all. So for a beer I take it there is another location?” asked Wildfire.

Time Stop answered, “Most of the athletes go to Goal Line, and the other pub of choice is Red Rover.”

“Good to know, but I think this is going to be my favourite place,” Wildfire said as she relaxed and let the conversation flow.

~ ~ ~

Wildfire walked into her dorm room and set the bag of groceries on the counter. It had been a good day. The girls at the coffee shop gave her a detailed layout of the store which would make future visits a lot easier. The grocery store owner had one of the workers walk with her to get what she asked for. He didn’t even complain when she asked for things out of order of the store layout. ‘Note to self, bring a shopping list next time.’

She got out the labeller and marked all her items and put them away. Wildfire was careful not to mess up what was already in the cupboards and refrigerator. “Time to relax with a coffee and a good book.” Soon she was in her beanbag chair. Coffee on the table and The Tempest in hand. “I think I’m going to be okay.”

Wildfire was just at her favourite bit of The Tempest, the bit with Prospero and Miranda on the island, and part way through her latest mug of black coffee, when there came a knock on the door. “Come on in!” she called out, not wanting to get up from her bean bag as she was comfortable, “The door's open!”

In the hall, since she had her key card in hand, Darkstar swiped it nudged the door open with her foot. “Hi,” she greeted the yellow skinned girl who was sat on a bean bag in the large living area, “I'm your roomie and got my fiancé with me to carry groceries. I'm Darkstar and this…” she trailed off to silence when she realised the girl was blind.

Slate, who had accompanied Darkstar to the college dorm room, took the girl’s milky white eyes in his stride, “I'm Slate. Pleased to meet you.”

“Hi! Gimme a mo…” Wildfire set her book down on the floor by her bean bag, a book Darkstar saw was 'The Tempest' and she got up to her full height, which was a mighty four foot nine inches. “You sound like you're near the door,” she walked over and held her hand out in a vague direction of the newcomers, “I'm Wildfire, call me Wily, I'm your roomie too!”

Both Darkstar and Slate got to see Wildfire’s eyes up close, and how she unerringly moved around what little furniture there was in the dorm’s living space. Moving forward, she intercepted the hand and shook it. “Hi, um,” she said awkwardly, “So you're blind?”

Wisely, Slate decided to put himself to good use, “I'll put the groceries away.”

“Ooh, you caught me!” Wildfire giggled at Darkstar’s question. It didn’t surprise her, she’d heard many like it in the past, “And here I thought I was being super sneaky undercover. Yuppers, I'm blind. That's not gonna be weird, right?”

Darkstar took a deep breath. She had said she’d be upfront about it, but now she was here, it was harder than she had thought. “I'm mentally unstable and I take meds. So, no, it’s not weird.”

Over by the kitchenette, Slate put in, “No putting yourself down Darkie. You have permission to kick her butt if she does, Wily.”

“I wasn't putting myself down, Master, I was just being up front.”

“Mentally unstable huh?” that intrigued Wildfire, for she had some experience dealing with that, thanks to her mother, “What are we talking, depression, anxiety, bi polar, any or all of the above?”

Quietly, Slate moved up and he put a supportive hand on Darkstar's shoulder, “She has depression and borderline schizophrenia. The last hasn't shown yet, and she is seeing a doctor for that, and taking pills for the depression. Of course, that is the least of her traits.”

“Oh,” Darkstar giggled at the afterthought, “I'm pregnant too. Want to have a feel?”

“Yuppers I wanna feel!” suddenly very excited indeed, Wildfire allowed Darkstar to steer her hands down to the teenager’s pregnant belly. She was so short she didn't need to kneel. “This is you, not your mental illness. That's not you,” she said assertively, before she looked towards the distinct sound of Slate's voice. “You're a zebra, right?”

“Are you taking languages too?” asked Slate.

Darkstar put in, “I'm majoring in three languages.”

“Nopes,” Wildfire shook her head, “I'm doing sports science, athletics, and literature. The last one's for fun. You're looking at the holder of the Equestrian record for the one hundred metres and the Manehatten record for the two hundred.” While she spoke, her hands never left Darkstar’s round belly. “I can tell by your accent, sir, you're zebran.”

“After seventeen years in Equestria, you'd think I'd have lost that by now,” Slate snickered.

Darkstar elbowed him in the ribs, “Momma will make sure you never do,” she giggled, “You run track?” she asked the short girl in front of her, “I can't imagine doing that blindfolded.”

“I have a pacer who runs with me,” explained Wildfire, “Not allowed to lead, just make sure I don't veer off the track.” To Slate, she said, “You shouldn't lose your accent. It's part of you. Sir Slate,” Wildfire’s voice took on a most serious tone, “May please I see your pet's face?”

Slate looked mystified. How had this girl caught onto the fact that Darkstar was his pet? “I didn't even say the word, ‘pet’…”

“I did say ‘Master’, though,” suggested Darkstar, impressed at how matter of factly her new friend took the fact she was a submissive in her stride. “Of course you can, Wily.”

“Mom and Dad are big into the BDSM game in Manehatten,” explained Wildfire, “I grew up with it all my life.” She continued to feel her way up Darkstar’s body, barely missing her breasts and no higher up than her neck, “My...you just keep on going, don't you? You're gonna have to come down here.”

Laughing, Darkstar knelt on the carpeted floor, “I'm only five eleven, wait till you try the zebra.”

“I'd love to,” Wildfire snarked back quickly, “But I like girls.” Reaching the taller girl’s face at last, she carefully ran her fingers over her features, starting with her cheeks and nose.

While he watched Wildfire explore his pet’s face, Slate laughed and it was at that moment he made his mind up that he liked this girl. Darkstar though heard the laugh and pouted, “Master!”

“What,” Slate said as innocently as he could, “I was just thinking about Rocky.”

“Sexy,” Wildfire declared her verdict on Darkstar, “You feel sexy.” After a moment, she pulled her hands back. “Can I call you Sexy?”

Slate snorted out a laugh, “My sister does!”

“Yeah,” Darkstar agreed readily, “My big sis likes girls too.”

“Cool. You tease her, right?” Wildfire asked rhetorically, before she turned to where she was certain Slate was standing, “Your turn, big fella.”

Without question, Slate squatted down so he was at eye level with the short girl, “Go for it. See if you can feel the stripes.”

Giggling, Wildfire reached up and she felt all over Slate's face. “Strong.” She said after barely a few seconds had passed and she had explored less than half of his face. “I think Sexy needs Strong.” Following that, she was very thorough in her examination. “Strong enough to be kind, right?”

Slate was certain this girl had met his mother in a past life. “I try,” he said humbly.

“He does!” exclaimed Darkstar, not quite as humble as her fiancé.

“You do know,” Wildfire grinned, estimating their heights and judging them to be vastly taller than she was – then again everyone was vastly taller than she was – she was used to it by now, “When we go out together, I'm gonna look like your child!”

“Um…ahh…”

Fortunately, Slate was on hand to squeeze Darkstar's shoulder in support, “She's really nervous about being pregnant. Besides,” he smiled, “It would be more like a younger sister.”

“Oh...have I done a stupid?” asked Wildfire as Darkstar struggled to get her breathing under control like Requiem had taught her, “I am so sorry!” she blushed and looked down at the floor, “I don't know when to shut up, never have, um...sorry.”

Slate tried to wave it off like it was nothing, then he remembered that Wildfire was in fact, blind. “Don’t worry about it, Wily. No harm done. Now, I think two ladies with plenty of quirks should make for good roomies.”

“Part of my depression is anxiety attacks,” commented Darkstar, “But I have work arounds for them.”

“You mean the deep breathing, right?” Wildfire had heard it, and now she understood why she had done it. “If I set you off again, you just tell me, okay?”

“You will let her know if she does, pet. Politely.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Sort of like chilling with a younger Rocky all day,” Slate smiled warmly at the two girls, hoping that his smile showed in his voice, “No problems if you flirt with her Wily, but you'll have to touch her face to see the blush.” As it happened, Darkstar was blushing so hard her face was practically all red.

“Yuppers,” Wildfire giggled, “I think I can feel the heat right now. I'm gonna guess not a lot embarrasses Sexy, right?”

“I'll leave the two of you to figure that out,” wisely, Slate determined that was the right time to make himself scares, “Good to have met you Wily. Don't forget your list, pet.” After giving Darkstar a parting, passionate kiss, Slate saw himself out, closing the door behind him as he went.

The silence in the dorm room was deafening following the zebra’s departure.

“So...” Wildfire started, albeit a little awkwardly, “Tell me about yourself, Sexy,” she said as she felt her way back to the bean bag and sat down with a loud flumf.

“I want to work for the embassy as an interpreter,” said Darkstar as she walked over to a comfy looking armchair and sat down, “I'm nineteen and graduated from Canterlot High. I’ve known Slate for two years, and I'm twelve weeks pregnant. Your turn.”

“Hmmm let's see,” Wildfire crossed her legs and tapped her chin, “I'm nineteen, the fastest shortstack over two hundred metres, I graduated Manehatten High, I suck at math, and I really want to find a dom as loving as yours.”

“That's also a girl, right?” giggled Darkstar brightly.

“Yuppers!” exclaimed Wildfire with a ready smile, “A big strong girl who won't treat me like I'm made of glass would be really nice.”

“So,” said Darkstar after a moment’s thought, “I'm guessing we need some ground rules. You’re the first blind person I've interacted with. I’d really like to keep us friends.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire agreed, “I like rules. Rules would be good. You have a lot, right?”

“Not really rules,” Darkstar corrected her, “I have orders. And they are subject to change. By the way, do you like peas?”

“I like peas, sure. Can I ask, what's it like, to have a dom, to be a sub?” she had her mom and dad’s perspective on the lifestyle, and she had her friend on the train’s outlook on it, but this was a girl her own age.

“Oh wow, Requiem asked me that,” Darkstar replied, “I really wasn't sure how to say it, but she is into that scene too. I have control when I give up control and take it back. But when I give it up I'm free of worries as I know my love will keep me safe.”

“You are so lucky to have someone who loves you that much.”

“I'm lucky to be alive because someone loves me that much,” Darkstar moved the chair closer to Wildfire on the bean bag and she took the short girl’s hand in both of hers. “Feel my wrists.”

“Oh...” Wildfire ran her fingers over Darkstar’s skin and she felt the many, many scars that criss crossed her forearms. It was her mother all over again. “Darkstar, if you need to, you talk to me, okay?”

“You don’t need to worry,” Darkstar assured her, “They are months old. I do need someone here to talk to, if you're willing to listen. I see my doctor twice a week, and Slate is about a thirty minute drive away now.”

“I'll be happy to listen,” Wildfire said earnestly, “I promise, any time of day, I'll listen. Mom, she's a firefighter, like dad. She got in a really bad place when an incident she attended went bad.”

Darkstar nodded somewhat solemnly, “My whole life has been a bad place but Slate and his family put me in a good place. I let him have total control over me. I asked about peas, because for dinner I can have three things on my plate one of the things is ten peas.”

“Mom gave dad that amount of control after the incident. And I'm cool with any veggies, unless it's celery,” she smiled broadly, “Can I get you a coffee? You sound like you need a coffee.” As everyone knew, coffee was magic and could solve many of life’s problems.

“Um…” Darkstar paused, “I do, but I need to ask permission first. She reached for her phone and texted Slate, ‘Wily offered me coffee, Master’, “I was told I could only drink water tonight.”

“Then it’s a good thing there's plenty of water in the tap!” Wildfire got up and she took her cold coffee to the sink, where she poured it away and boiled the kettle for a fresh refill.

It didn’t take Slate long to reply, ‘Yes you may, with milk only. No sugar’.

“Hey,” Darkstar called out, “I can have the coffee after all, if you please. Just milk. Um, do you need any help with that?”

“You can indeedy!” Wildfire laughed. Over at the kettle, she got busy making the two coffees. “No, it’s okay, I got this, I know where everything is. So,” she asked as she got an extra mug from a cupboard, “What rules do you need, Sexy?”

“Well,” Darkstar considered that, “Things that don't mess you up. I know Slate just put stuff in the cupboards and fridge, but we didn't think how you must have to have stuff organized. Should I have a cabinet for my food and part of the fridge?”

“That'd be an idea, oh, hang on,” Wildfire bustled around the small kitchenette and, when the two coffees were prepared, she carried them both over to a low table between the bean bag and the arm chair, where she set them down. “I have a braille marking thingy, you can use that to mark your stuff.”

Darkstar laughed, “As a language major, I guess I could learn another language.”

“That's really all I need,” Wildfire said as she sank back into her bean bag, “I don't have a special blind fridge or anything like that.”

“I do see how easy you move around,” commented Darkstar as she sipped at her coffee, “This is good, by the way, up to zebran standards. So, I won't move or add furniture without you knowing.”

“Oooh that'd be great, thank you!” smiled Wildfire, who had taken up her own mug, “High praise indeed. As for the moving around, call it nineteen years of practise. Just so you know, I'm useless at body language and visual cues. And I have been known to take things way too literally sometimes.”

Lightly, Darkstar laughed, “I have that literal problem too. I will say 'look at this' a lot, but that's me. I'll try to let you know or touch what I want you to look at. So, you've always been blind, then?”

“Yuppers, always. It's really not stopped me much, because mom told me not to let it. But, as I say, I can be literal and blunt sometimes, and it's cost me friends in the past. I think you get it though.”

“Can I ask a question? Um,” Darkstar paused a fraction too late, but she realised she’d already gone too far along that route, “I don't mean to be rude.”

“Yuppers, of course you can, Sexy.”

Darkstar inhaled deeply and then she took the plunge, as it were, “What do colours mean to you?” then, she found herself starting to babble, “I mean I'm white with grey hair and you're yellow with black hair…”

“Well,” the nature of the question gave Wildfire cause for a long pause, where she drank her coffee and mulled it over, “I can tell you about yellow. Yellow is the faint heat from the sun on a cool day. It is the pages of a book that have been touched by a thousand hands over a hundred years. I like books. Black is the rich taste of chocolate. It is the moment after just waking up when reality has yet to assert itself, and everything feels heavy, peaceful, and safe. So,” she followed up, “I have chocolate hair, and everyone likes chocolate. White is the sound of the wind blowing steadily through pine trees overhead. It is the faint sound of snowflakes touching down onto the earth and Gray is the feeling of the world after it has rained. It is the heaviness that feels as if it is blanketing everything. It is the smell that precedes and follows a storm.”

“Wow,” Darkstar was incredibly impressed, “That is so cool. I never thought of colours like that.”

“Do you go to the theatre often?” asked Wildfire, somewhat out of the blue.

“No,” Darkstar replied, “There’s too many people. I do watch movies with my family.”

Wildfire was undeterred, “I was going to say there's a showing of The Tempest at Canterlot Royal theatre at the weekend if you're interested. It's kinda my favourite play.”

“That’s Shakespeare, right?” asked Darkstar and, when Wildfire nodded eagerly, she said, “Um, I planned on being with family for the weekend, but I'll ask Master Slate about it. Ah, do you mind a plus one for me?”

“Nopes!” Wildfire beamed and bounced with delight on her bean bag, “You can bring whoever, or give it a miss, it's cool. Should've known you'd rather be with Strong. Bet you've never been apart from him for so long, right?”

Darkstar’s voice lowered to a barely audible whisper, “No. Never this long.”

“Darkstar?” Wildfire’s own voice trembled with emotion she was struggling to keep in check, “Would you mind if I asked you for a hug?”

Darkstar looked at Wildfire and, if she was any judge, she estimated the short girl was ten seconds away from crying. “I would love to give you a hug,” she scooted over and she tried very hard not to wet Wildfire's shoulder with her own tears.

Wildfire felt the girl she had only just met crying next to her and she really struggled to not join her. “My mom and dad are a thousand miles away and I've never been apart from them before, either.”

“I-I g-g-guess I'm n-not really alone after all,” sobbed Darkstar, not caring now if she wet the other girl’s hoodie.

“N-No-Nopes!” Wildfire’s dam had burst and, like her new friend, she was crying as well, and she didn’t care either that it got on Darkstar's top. “I’m sorry, mom said to be strong, and I tried, I really did! But I just can’t!”

“Slate said to call him if I was lost,” said Darkstar once her tears were all cried out, “I'm glad you're here, Wily.”

“It's all just so new, y'know, and I don't do 'new' very well…” Wildfire sniffed for a few more moments before she was done, and both girls were content to just hold each other and give each other the comfort they needed. “I'm glad you're here, too.”

“Well,” Darkstar smiled as she wiped her eyes and her nose on the back of a hand, “I do hope you find a girlfriend out here, and I guess my next thing won't matter a lot to you.”

“Ha!” Wildfire barked out a brash laugh, “I don't know what I'd do with a girlfriend if I had one. That's right, virgin alert, right here!” she giggled sadly, “What thing do you mean?”

“I'm a nudist,” Darkstar explained, “And I was afraid my bare beauty might. Um…” she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, “Wow, that sounded a whole lot better in my head.”

“It feels strange wearing clothes, right?”

Darkstar nodded her head, only too happy that the subject had changed. “Yes, it does. Can you believe it, I have to wear panties to class! Panties!”

“You poor thing!” Wildfire snickered; her mood instantly lifted as she cheered up. “I can’t imagine what it’s like, having to endure such hardship!” she giggled and patted Darkstar’s head, “You know, if you want to go ahead and get naked, by all means.”

“I believe I’ll take you up on that, Wily,” Darkstar stepped back a few paces and she quickly shed her clothing. Admittedly, it didn’t take her very long, all she was wearing were her leggings and her top. After slipping off her sandals, she folded her things up so she could put them away in her room. Coming back, she giggled, “Do you need another hug?”

"Um, while we're being all open and such," Wildfire paused for a moment, but Darkstar said nothing, nor could she tell that the girl has a smile as she waited. "Um, I like feet. Especially sweaty feet, and I have…well, my pacer partner had to stay behind but she gifted me with her old athletic shoes, and I like to sniff them now and again." Wildfire blushed, "They are a bit smelly, so sorry if you smell them."

"Slate likes to play with my feet sometimes, but I'm guessing you're talking about something a bit more serious than just occasional tickling."

Wildfire nodded, "Yeah, more like worshiping them. Feeling, licking, and nibbling the toes. You uh, you think it's gross?"

Darkstar knelt in front of the bean bag, "No, I think it’s something you want and something you enjoy. Not much different from me wanting and enjoying being naked. Still want another hug?"

Wildfire really did need a hug, “Yuppers, I mean, yes please, Sexy.”

Now completely naked, but for her brick red collar, Darkstar swiftly crossed the large living room and this time the hug they shared on the bean bag was a non-tearful one. “Welcome to Canterlot, Wily.”

“Thanks Darkie,” feeling a lot more comfortable, Wildfire relaxed into the hug and she rested her head on her naked shoulder. Both girls were sure that whatever was to face them at Harmony U, they were both ready for it.