Waking with a yawn, Rainbow opened her eyes slowly. Memories of the previous night abounded, including some time spent cleaning up after getting herself far more messy than any time before in her life.
The sound of movement elsewhere in her house didn't surprise her, but when she realized she had two warm bodies in bed with her, it started to set off a little warning in her head. What was worse than possibly having an intruder in her house was that she was, as always, horny.
Slipping out of bed without either of the men in it with her noticing was not simple, though being on the end meant it wasn't impossible. Spicy was on the far side of Braeburn from her, and all Rainbow had to do was slowly and carefully disengage an arm and a leg from his grip and she was free.
Standing upright was still a little odd, given she had hooves for hands now, but Rainbow used her wings to help balance and made her way down the hallway slowly. As she reached the far end of the hall—near the living room—she suddenly relaxed. "Thunderbolt?"
Lifting his head from the floor in the living room, Thunderbolt looked up at Rainbow Dash. "Yeah. Twilight's here too."
Her head still thick with sleep, Twilight lifted her head out from under Thunderbolt's wing and looked around. Without her glasses (or their magic equivalent) her sight wasn't its best, but she could make out Rainbow's shape. "Mmm, 'morning."
"Hey, Twilight. Feel like going for a morning run?" Rainbow, oblivious to her nakedness, started to stretch and trot in place.
Uncurling from Twilight, Thunderbolt stood as much as space in the living room would allow. "Why not go for a walk instead?"
"I'd prefer a run. Why?" Rainbow asked.
Leaning over her so his head was above Rainbow's, Thunderbolt purred deep in his throat. "You used to take me for walks. I remember how much I enjoyed them." Tilting his head down, Thunderbolt looked into Rainbow's eyes as she stared up at him. "Do you think you'd enjoy one?"
Rainbow's heart was beating in her throat. Thunderbolt had been dominant with her before, but it had always been animal-animal style stuff—them as equals but as equal animals. This was a step she hadn't considered. "W-W-What brought this on?"
Relaxing a little from his dominant show, Thunderbolt leaned in a little closer and kissed Rainbow's cheek. "I just wanted to show you how much I appreciated you, how much I've always appreciated you."
"We were always there for each other, weren't we?" Rainbow kissed Thunderbolt back in a similar manner. "Would you enjoy taking a pony for a walk?" The problem with talking about kinky things was how much it turned her on, and being as she hadn't gotten off yet, that was a pressing concern.
"Someone has taught me that trying new things makes life more interesting." Thunderbolt looked back at Twilight. "Would you like to come too? I'm sure Rainbow has a few collars and leashes somewhere."
"But that would—We would be—And people would—" As her arguments bubbled up from inside, Twilight shoved them out her mouth, only there were too many and they all rushed over and confused each other.
Rainbow scoffed at the attempts at argument. "Twilight, people will see a dragon taking two colorful ponies for a walk, and you're worried they will be asking the ponies questions? Thunderbolt, what do most people do when they see you—that aren't already your friends?"
"They mostly just stare at me. Except children. They always run up and ask if I know a dragon named Toothless. I should search for him, I guess." Thunderbolt tried to stretch, but the limits of home architecture were working against him—and he remembered how angry Rainbow was last time he broke something. "You don't have to come if you don't want. We can always go for a fly afterward."
"Flying?" Rainbow and Twilight both asked together.
Thunderbolt nodded. "But only if you both be good."
Expanding her wings out in a stretch, Rainbow slowly turned for the hallway again. "I'll get the collars and leashes. You in, Twi?"
The big question. Twilight had been priding herself on trying everything once—she even tried to make things work with Tree Hugger—so she took the big step (not actually a step) and nodded. "Yes. I want to try everything."
Thunderbolt's talon landed on Twilight's head and started stroking at her mane and rubbing her ears. The casual comfort was welcome, and Twilight found herself leaning up into it.
"Good girl. It will be fun—and if it isn't, we stop." Thunderbolt kept petting Twilight, his claws finding a spot on her left ear that made her head sag to the side. The happy little sounds she made under her breath made Thunderbolt smile.
By the time Rainbow returned—having avoided waking Spicy and Braeburn—she found Twilight looking up at Thunderbolt while he scratched her under her chin like a cat. She watched them for a moment before clearing her throat. "I'm not sure if I wish I had a camera more or was in your position. Probably both." She walked over—cradling the collars and leashes in one wing—and held them out to Thunderbolt.
Taking the leashes and collars, Thunderbolt swapped and gave Rainbow's ear a little rub. "Good girl. Pets walk on all fours, Rainbow." Never had he felt quite this powerful over her. It was something far different from their normal wild rutting. As she lowered herself down to all fours, he reached to her neck with the collar—one of his own old ones—and fastened it around her throat, even remembering how she used to check that it wasn't choking him with a finger.
Being collared while standing on all fours was an experience for Rainbow. She shivered all the way from her neck to dock and back up again. She wasn't just collared like a pet—she wore collars frequently as an expression of herself—but this was an exchange of power. Tilting her head up to look at Thunderbolt, she let out a soft squeak of delight as he tickled under her chin with a single talon.
Twilight just stared. She'd never seen Rainbow look that happy and relaxed before. Well, outside of times she'd seen Rainbow and Spicy doing things, at least. When Thunderbolt looked at her, Twilight tilted her head up like Rainbow had done as her heart beat wildly in her chest.
"And you're a good girl too." Thunderbolt couldn't stop himself from purring as he collared Twilight. A few more scratches for her chin later and he drew up both the leashes in his right talon and gestured to the front door.
Spicy, naked as he was born, stepped into the living room and blinked at the sight before him. Thunderbolt held two leashes that led to each of Twilight and Rainbow's collars. One thing in particular that had his attention was that both of them were on all fours. His eyebrow raised. "Going for a walk?"
Blinking in surprise, Twilight eyes Spicy, and from her height the most obvious thing was the lowest.
"Thought I'd take them both out. They looked a little frisky. We were going to go flying after we got back and I washed them both down. You want to come?" Thunderbolt kept his tone as calm as he could—this was meant to be just an everyday thing.
Reaching across his chest to scratch at his fuzzy chest, Spicy tilted his head to the side and thought about it. "Mmm. Tempting, but I'll see if Braeburn has plans first."
Thunderbolt, just like Twilight and Rainbow, was admiring Spicy's batty physique. "See you soon." He reached out for the door handle with his spare talon and opened it.
The world outside was brighter than Rainbow had expected. She squinted at it for a moment before her eyes adjusted. Walking on all fours was not really hard—it felt as normal as walking on two legs now. Looking back, she watched Thunderbolt carefully close the front door and turn toward her.
It was a little awkward for Thunderbolt to walk upright, but he could manage it. Once they reached the street, he turned right to follow the sidewalk. Memories of his time the previous day with Twilight still made him purr, and knew Rainbow even more intimately. He'd grown up with Rainbow, shared so many moments with her she was a constant comfort just knowing she was there, but now he got to comfort her a little.
Of the three of them, Twilight was having the easiest time walking. She'd spent weeks now as a pony, learning how to move as a pony on four legs, and it was natural to her to walk and trot as needed. What she was having trouble with was getting seen. The collar around her neck was a constant reminder that she was a pet, and if she trotted too long the leash would pull tight and she'd be reminded that Thunderbolt held the other end of her leash.
Neither pony could keep the blush out of their cheeks or the prance out of their step, though. There was something thrilling about being out in public together, as they were, and though Rainbow was far more into it than Twilight, the unicorn had a much more recent reminder of how gentle Thunderbolt was—even during sex—comforted her.
"Rainbow Dash?" Derpy Hooves was surprised at seeing her friend entirely like a pony, but even more so at seeing her with a leash and collar. "Is something going on here?"
Realizing she had no way out of the situation without talking, Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, it's me. Just having a little fun. You know, kinda kink thing. Plus, it means Twilight can walk around the street without anyone raising an eyebrow at her."
Twitching her cute, tufted ears, Derpy smiled at Twilight. "Hi! You like this stuff too?" She waved a hand at the leashes, then realized something she was missing. "Thunderbolt! I didn't get to say hi at the big fight. You've grown so much!"
It took Thunderbolt a moment to realize who he was talking to. Derpy looked a lot different now he was taller than her. Leaning forward, he inhaled the familiar scent of his owner's friend, and without his conscious thought his tail started to wag. "I remember you. You always had treats."
Derpy grinned. "Sure did! You took good care of Rainbow, and you deserved a reward for that. You were such a good boy." Smiling up at the dragon, Derpy let out a giggle. "I gotta go. I'm having lunch with Flash and our parents today."
"Parents?" Rainbow asked. "It's that serious with him?"
Derpy bounced in place, her cute wings fluttering behind her. "It is! But also his parents need to be told some truth. He's not going to college. Neither of us are really into that, but we have our hearts set on one thing—cars."
Twilight was a little confused. She couldn't stop herself from asking, "Not each other?"
"Well, yeah each other, but I meant what we wanted together. I told him I was getting an apprenticeship and community college to be a gearhead, and he wants to do the same. I still haven't seen your car, Rainbow. Are you still going to be able to drive it like this?" Waving a hand toward Rainbow's equine shape, Derpy tried not to seem too offensive about asking.
"I'll figure things out. By the time I'm done, I might be the only person who can drive it, but I'll be able to. Sorry if I couldn't get it done in time for your licensing run."
"That's fine. I had someone sorted to cheer me on." Derpy's eyes—both of them—turned with her head to glance at the park across the street. Both her and Flash's cars were parked there, and Flash was cooking stuff on a grill while looking at his watch every few minutes. "Speak of, I need to go give him a kiss. Bye!"
"Bye!" Rainbow called. She watched Derpy cross the street with a little wonder, unsure how the future would go, but very sure she'd enjoy it as it came. "Are we going to finish this walk? I want to go flying."
Thunderbolt tousled Rainbow's mane and pointed to the end of the block. "That's the last corner ahead, then we head home and I get you both washed up properly."
"Washed up?" Twilight asked.
"You haven't noticed?" Rainbow Dash snorted. "You smell like you spent half the night rutting with Thunderbolt, and I smell more like Braeburn than Braeburn does—probably for the same reason you smell like Thunderbolt."
Twilight blushed, but smiled almost from ear to ear. The prospect of a good wash agreed with her, so she broke into a trot at Rainbow's side. "We've got college next month."
"Yeah! I can't wait!" Rainbow Dash said.