A Penny for your thought

by Damaged

33 - Aftermath II: The aftermathening

I sprawled, satisfied. It normally wasn't my style to have a dalliance with a business partner, but the stallion snoozing at my side was no simple pony. Memories of our time earlier in the night came back. It was hard not to smile.

"Here I am, seduced by the most wily of mares I have ever met, and I wake up to see her gazing possessively at me?" Articulate's voice was drowsy, but he sounded satisfied in a way that would always make a mare feel proud.

"Not quite possessively, no. More like a cat that has just had a very good bowl of milk." My mane and tail were messy, it bugged me, but when his gentle magic started to comb at least the hair from my head into smooth lines, it quelled the bad feeling.

"Would the cat like some more?"

My eyes danced and the memories from earlier washed up, I couldn't say no. Moments later, I couldn't say anything at all.

---

Stick gave a little chitter as I roused, my gentle movements bringing her from whatever dream she had. Just as her eyes opened and I knew she was about to speak, I kissed her. My plan worked and we both closed our eyes for some time.

Much as I hated to admit it, the kiss couldn't last forever and at last she drew back. Our bed was a mess, the covers tossed around and scattered a testament to our activities the previous night. She had gotten me very worked up and, in the middle of our fun, become a male version of herself. She had savaged me in all the ways I found delicious, but hadn't pushed the matter more than just being male.

It made me a little uncomfortable now, but I think with more… sessions, I might get used to it.

"You are smiling just like a changeling after a meal." Stick's observation only made me smile more as I considered it. I drew a little magic for light but pushed it all toward her, getting a mental nibble for my effort.

"I distinctly remember doing a lot of nibbling last night." I showed her what I meant, working over her ear and gently worrying the earring.

Stick actually blushed for a moment and I knew she had thought of something.

"Out with it." I poked at her ear now, with my snout.

"Nope, this is a plan for the future and only changelings and princesses are allowed to hear it." Her giggle turned to a gasp as I climbed out of bed, flicking my messy mane around and looking at her over one shoulder.

"Then I will be in the bath." I trotted, tail swishing side to side in a way I knew would get Stick worked up. It suddenly hit me how much I had grown in this relationship. Stick wanted me, I knew she did, but she was playing her cards smart, she was taking her time and I had an almost certain feeling she would eventually get me how she wanted me.

I blinked at the realization. "That is what you meant by changelings and princesses."

"Mean by what?" She sounded so innocent as she helped get the big tub ready.

My teeth practically itched to nip her ear but she managed to keep them away from my mouth.

I was trying to jump and snag one when Stick slid down, pushing her head and withers under me and lifting. I tumbled backwards, landing in the tub of water and splashing it with a giggle.

Stick slipped in with me, the water rising to more useful levels as she took up my tail in her magic. "Hay, careful with that!" I reached and started returning the favor, working some soft shampoo-like stuff into the green mass. She was still sipping at my magic, but I wasn't making any effort to focus it for her. "So, court again today?"

"Of course. Cadance may be required in there, but that doesn't mean she has to be there without an ally. Speaking of the princess, you really should show her more respect, I know you didn't have princesses and magic-"

I cut her rant a little short. "We actually did have princesses."

Stick's mouth dropped open. Then she got the giggles. "I saw a human… in Canterlot… you are telling me there are those with wings and horns?"

It was impossible not to giggle too, the thought of any of the stuffy royal types my old world, with cute pink wings and a unicorn horn… it was priceless. "No… no not those. It was a title given to the children of particular rulers." My explanation came with more giggles at the picture Stick had painted in my head.

"Regardless, you should be a little more formal with her, when there are others around." She smooshed a big pile of the shampoo onto my back and started working it in with myriad tiny, finger-like pokes of her magic.

My eyes half-crossed, I folded down completely into the water and let her work. Magic stilled within my horn, I just couldn't focus on it. "On your side." I followed her commands, turning and shifting for her. I giggled more when she let up. "What is it?"

"Oh nothing, Queen Stick." I grinned up at her, rolling to offer my belly again.

Her eyes were wide a moment until she worked out I was in such a mood and suddenly I couldn't stop laughing, my marefriend apparently knowing instinctively just where a pony is ticklish.

"Noooo, please stop!" I gasped and splashed in the water, but she didn't let up a moment.

She finally paused when I was gasping for breath as much as laughing. "Do you give up?"

I whined and nodded. The tickling came again for a good ten seconds.

"Do you surrender to your queen?"

The tickling didn't need to start for me to giggle at her playful tone. This earned more tickling.

"Please…" I panted and giggled. "Please…"

The furious onslaught paused again. "Please 'who'?"

I squirmed in the tub, her magic still holding still. "Please, Queen Stick…"

It all started again and I squealed until she brought her attention up and just to one ear while she leaned down to give me a kiss on the cheek. "And don't forget it, my little snack."

The warm love I had for her coiled tighter, our silly play time having made me feel all the closer to her. "Please, my queen, would you let this little morsel clean you?"

She half stood, lifting up into a sitting position. "I will permit this. Do a good job, snack." The mock threat was left unfinished.

I kept low, my belly to the bottom of the tub in part to protect against more tickling and in part to play my role. I reached out with magic to start cleaning her but got a bop on my horn. "No, clean me properly."

Scanning around, I found one of the soft scrubbing brushes and plucked it up in my mouth. I set to work on her tail again, taking my time, making sure to work the shampoo in before dunking her green tail back into the water to rinse it. Her carapace was much different to clean than fur, but I took the time to scrub and scrub. Her wings were far too delicate for the brush and I set it aside.

Taking up one green wing in my mouth, I gently worked at it, taking utmost care not to pierce it with my sharp teeth. I worked down one edge, around the jagged tip, then up the other. Each of her insectile wings took the same work, but at last I considered them well tended.

Working up her body, I scrubbed her shoulders and barrel, taking special care with the scars she had gotten while defending me. With every inch of the changeling that I cleaned, I was reminded of the whirlwind relationship we had built. Finally I was working at her neck and mane, brushing and cleaning, getting the long green tresses well soaked.

Gesturing for her to dunk her mane she came up on her back, legs up, half-folded. I took to her limbs, making sure each was as perfect as the rest of her. "Ahem…" Stick wriggled her hind-end. "All of me."

I blushed a deep crimson. It was a game, though, and I threw up the shield of 'just a servant girl' at all the odd feelings that threatened to overwhelm me as I took extra care of her. Stick played her part too, or I would have broken and run.

"Good little snack. I think might need to be your job in future. There is a lot of prestige to be gained, being the bathpony for a queen." Stick leaned down and nuzzled me. "Thank you, Penny."

The spell broke between us, I squealed again and tackled Stick in the bath. "I didn't think I could do it and then I did it and I didn't even shake that much!" Words fell from me, the game had been fun, even the bits that made me nervous.

"If you shook it still would have been fun, just in other ways." Stick nuzzled me and helped lift me up from the tub with her magic.

We used soft towels on ourselves, drying off fur and shell, tail and mane. Stick took to my mane with a brush, before I managed to do anything with it myself. "Don't know why, Penny, but I have a feeling big things will happen soon. Maybe today, maybe next week. But I want my mare looking perfect for it."

Getting my hair brushed, even as a human, had been a special thing for me. Being called 'her mare' hadn't hurt the mood either. "I sort of feel it too. Like there is a pressure growing, a balloon, and when it pops there is going to be something huge inside it." With my mane and tail long and smooth she turned to let me do hers.

At first I just made a big brush from my magic, feeling like running fingers through hair. It got the worst tangles from her mane. Then I started with the brush. Taking it up in my mouth, rather than horn, I stroked the length of bright green, our little game having taught me a new delight.

"We need to be ready, lets keep a good portion of those bits aside, but we also need to get our projects started. You think those miners could make us some of these new cars for the train?" Stick had the most adorable habit of leaning up into each stroke of the brush I made, it was almost cat-like.

"I figure we buy the basic parts from the ponies who run the train, and get the cars built up around them. We will only need one to start with, but a station out there, or even getting track laid to the town itself, is another priority. My letter to Fancy Pants included a request for him to get the train workers to contact us here." It never ceased to amaze me how easy it was to talk with something in my mouth, even working on Stick's mane and tail didn't stop me.

"They will make their own, eventually." Stick flicked her now glossy and straight mane to her other side so she could look back at me.

I blushed a little under the close scrutiny, it suddenly felt silly to be insisting on using my mouth to brush her. I continued, but only because I was almost done. "They will, but by then we will have started the trend and, who knows, maybe they will need some bits to push their new plans forward?"

Stick laughed as I finished and she turned around to kiss my cheek. "This will be a most fun time." She kissed me again. I saw something in her eyes, as she looked at me with the brush still in my mouth.

I didn't feel so silly about it now, in fact, I think this will need to be a common thing.

Author's Note:

You honestly thought the princess of love pushed Articulate to them with only one agenda? Or more particularly, without an agenda of the heart?

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Comments

[harts fire]

a interesting chapter. a little play time and a few plans talked about.
I like it.

[Daremo]

those wings wings - those with wings
shampoo on my - shampoo onto my
completely in the - completely into the
relationship, we - relationship we
smooth, turned - smooth, she turned
of these new - of those new
train, get - train, then get -or- train, and get
kissed again - kissed me again
*****

The shipping Princess strikes again!

Penny and Stick continue to be so cute it raises my blood glucose levels.

[Damaged]

6892098 Ugh, tell me about it. *gulps down another gliclazide*

[tsaukpaetra]

Yes, there is definitely a big bubble getting ready to pop.....
Keep going! ;)

[Damaged]

6892936 You better not be calling Night Watch a bubble. I think you would find she doesn't like that ;)

[tsaukpaetra]

6892961 oh! We never thought of Night being a bubble! That's fairly humorous, but no, I was talking about something else....

[Cursed Quill]

aftermathaning

-ening

You honestly thought the princess of love pushed Articulate to them with only one agenda?

Well, with the absence of other names in the first section, I have no idea whatsoever with whom Articulate spent the night...

[Star Flank]

Stick took to my main with a brush, before I managed to do anything with it myself

This should be mane.

[Damaged]

7713661 Thank you, all fixed!