Try as hard as she could, Fluttershy's legs refused to move from their current spot. Even if all she wanted was to turn her back to her two friends, each hoof felt like it had been turned into lead. Twilight was at least giving her the dignity of waiting patiently and avoiding eye contact. Rainbow Dash looked like the cat that ate the canary.
'One at a time. Left leg; up.' Lefty was content with staying exactly where it was.
Although she had gotten her breathing under control, she dearly wished her heart would stop beating so loud. She tried to speak, to say something—anything—but she couldn't get past the hard lump in her throat. Even if she wasn't paralysed in fear, she wasn't quite sure what to say; how to respond to angry rutting wasn't in her list of contingencies. Thus, her mouth opened and closed with nary a word to express.
"I think we broke her," Rainbow said, only to be promptly shushed by Twilight.
Surely it was meant as a tension-breaking jest but, just like that, the dam in Fluttershy broke. Twilight, her attention returning to Fluttershy to say something, but once the first word was out of her mouth, Fluttershy couldn't stop."You are both perverts!"
Twilight looked stunned at the outburst, while Rainbow's ears folded at seeing her lash out, but now that she started, the rest came rolling out in a rush.
"You're hurting each other and then... doing that! I was worried that you hated each other. We all were, and I was worried that you weren't friends anymore and came here to talk to Twilight so you both would stop fighting. Now you're marefriends but marefriends don't hit each other and scream like that!"
Her breast heaved as she struggled to breathe again. Hurt, confused feelings swirled around in her head. Despite her accusations, Fluttershy was waiting for Rainbow to bring up her peeping on the two of them and Twilight saying she didn't want to be friends anymore. The pleasing buzz of orgasmic aftermath was flowing through her veins. Normally she would have liked to enjoy it a little longer but now it made her feel ill.
"We should have told you," said Twilight.
Fluttershy blinked. What?
"Huh?" Dash was just as confused as her. "Twilight, what—"
"Not now!" the alicorn chastised. Twilight was studiously thinking, hopefully not trying to recall any moon banishing spells she may have seen over the years. Twilight managed to look at least a little professional when she said as gently as she could, "I'll tell you everything. Do you want to come inside for tea?"
Fluttershy followed Twilight inside as if she was being led to the gallows. Already the smell was causing her to gag. Noticing her discomfort, Twilight opened all of the windows and thankfully didn't stop there in order to discuss events. Ever since Twilight ascended, she had been acting a little different. Fluttershy supposed that was only natural when one's fundamental nature had been changed. It was Twilight's behavior that seemed different. Now she was acting like a princess, caring and official and doing her best to keep control of the situation. Rainbow just looked relaxed and content. By being rutted only minutes before, that was only natural.
Fluttershy kept her head down as Twilight lead them to the guest bedrooms. She was curious as to the choice before Twilight spoke up, "I'm going to put some tea on. You two are welcome to freshen up."
Twilight took Rainbow to the side and briefly whispered something in her ear. Whatever she said disappointed Dash if her dropped smile was any indication, but Dash nodded. Fluttershy's agoraphobia was smothered just a little if she was in smaller spaces, so she picked the smallest guest room. Rainbow followed in step behind her. Fear jumped in her throat at the prospect of Rainbow getting in the shower with her. They had taken them together countless times but now the thought of being in tight quarters with her struck Fluttershy with a sense of dread. The knot in her chest loosened when Rainbow picked a separate room.
They were nice quarters, if a little bland. Crystal walls, crystal floors, crystal ceiling. There was little else other than the basic amenities of a bed, dresser, and a small desk for work. Fluttershy moved toward the back where a large door made from petrified wood opened to the bathroom.
It was larger than her living room by almost half. The largest portion of the room was dedicated to a set of three shower stalls next to a massive tub that could double as a soup bowl for an Ursa Minor. Moonlight filtered in through the room's only window and scattered across the room's violet crystal tiles.
Rather than hit the showers, Fluttershy was more inclined to pick the bath. The castle's massive cistern pumped hot water into the tub while she inspected what was stocked for cleaning supplies. In the supply closet was mostly a set of perfumed bath oils and salts. Picking one that reminded her of her favorite sandalwood incense, she was neck deep in a hot bath.
The water certainly helped relax her muscles and quell the nausea, but her mind was still running at the thought of the impending confrontation. Now having time to think, it was obvious that the little detour to the guest rooms was to give her exactly that. She couldn't help but act the way she did. Panicking was something she was good at. That, along with running, hiding, overreacting, and cowering.
Bravery was never her strongest trait. There was always that nagging in the back of her head, that general fear of the unknown and how others would react to her proclivities.
"I'm pathetic."
Already the tears were in her eyes. The recent stress did little to help her already fragile state of mind. She knew Twilight was only trying to help her now and make her comfortable, as she was wont to do, but that sinking feeling of self loathing crept up on Fluttershy because Twilight had to do so in the first place.
Weak and helpless. That's what Discord said she was long ago, and she agreed with him. So what changed? Why was this upsetting her now and not then? The first variable to change was of course her friends. Something had shifted between Twilight and Rainbow Dash. They had found some form of perverse comfort in each other, but comfort nevertheless. Growing up, but were they growing apart? If not from each other, than from her?
Who would protect the coward when the coward was alone?
Fluttershy dunked her head under the water to get her mane as wet as she could before gasping for air. No. No. That was a poisonous line of thinking. She had the greatest friends in the world and this wasn't going to separate them. This was just a different challenge to face, except this time it was between them and not against them. Something had just changed between them, that was all.
Change was scary after all.
Fluttershy took a little more time to enjoy the royal suites. Twilight had given her the go ahead to use it as she pleased and she intended to do just that. The bath's warmth relaxed her muscles and cooled the tension lurking in the back of her mind. Twilight's talk, or rather Twilight and Rainbow's talk, seemed less like an impending disaster impossible to avoid and more like a rather messy conversation she needed to have just to get over. At least it was progress. She really didn't want to fight with her friends and so tried for as long as she could to let the perfumed water relax her troubled mind.
But waiting for too long would only be putting off the inevitable. Regretfully getting out of the really nice bath she wished she could settle into and forget the day away, she unplugged the drain and did her best to dry off with one of the plush bath towels. She was now clean from the day's burden and her earlier... regretful indulgence. Fluttershy shuddered at the thought.
As soon as she opened the door she smelt the light, flowery scent of her favorite chamomile tea. It wasn't too hard to follow it to its source and discover Twilight, fur also damp from a quick cleaning, was tending to a kettle and tea set in the living room. Rainbow Dash was lazily prostrating herself in the windowsill as if to sun herself in the burgeoning starlight. The room itself was only moderately outfitted with little else than furniture and tables unpacked for use. Several large boxes hugged the far wall next to the window, no doubt both imports from Canterlot and Twilight's salvage from the old library.
"Thanks for coming, Fluttershy," Twilight said cordially. "I know things are a little complicated right now, but believe me when I say I hope to get things straightened out."
Fluttershy nodded in agreement. So far Twilight had been more than accommodating to her for snooping on her private time. The door was locked for a reason, and an intimate one at that. They shouldn't have been doing that, but she shouldn't have been snooping either. Fluttershy looked to her pegasus friend, who shrugged.
"Don't look at me. I'm smart enough to know I'm not smart enough to explain how all this works."
Fluttershy couldn't help but chuckle a little. Classic Dash.
Rainbow was content to lie where she was. Fluttershy passed a large, circular comfort bed mean for use for larger species, or certain larger alicorns, and instead picked a moderately sized chair. Twilight sat opposite her and levitated over a tea set for the pair of them to share. Fluttershy took a sip and the piping hot mixture washed away the nastiness in the back of her throat.
"So, where to begin?" Twilight said nervously.
"The Lunchbox of Friendship," quipped Rainbow.
Lunchbox? What lunchbox? Oh. "The chest from the tree of harmony?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yup."
"Right, right," Twilight said. Her wings fluttered and she also took a momentary sip to collect her thoughts. "You see Fluttershy, after I was officially granted the title of princess, I was also tasked with various other duties." What did becoming a princess have to do with wanting to chase Rainbow's tail? Her confusion must have showed on her face because Twilight added, "Don't worry, I'll explain everything. It just requires a little context is all."
She took a breath and another nip from her cup. "What," she trailed off for a moment to look for the right word, "occurred between me and Rainbow Dash comes into play a little later. When I officially ascended, I was brought to Canterlot by Pri—Celestia and Luna. I had achieved a notable rank in world politics and was expected to perform accordingly. Now my family is one of the minor noble lines, but a princess is a whole new can of worms."
Fluttershy sighed. She loved Twilight like a sister, but being short and concise wasn't one of her strong points.
"I was by no means tasked with ruling a kingdom or even a small fief. My training consisted of many topics while under Celestia's tutelage," Twilight fumbled over the name as if not giving her mentor the proper title was almost profanity, no doubt a result of them now being equals, "and although politics and law were among them—"
Twilight was interrupted as Rainbow Dash gave a loud and forced snore. The alicorn responded by throwing a mixing spoon at her feathered friend, but none could match Rainbow for speed and she easily dodged the projectile. "Long story short, I was given mostly administrative duty. Taxation, balancing the budget, and allocating guards and resources to fight against monsters were among the subjects. You get the idea. It was nothing special, but important nevertheless. It was mostly to prepare me for the day where I could lay claim to my own land."
"But our egghead was being an egghead and tried to do everything at once. Just skip to the good part already!" Rainbow was currently hovering above them with boundless enthusiasm. Fluttershy had only ever seen her like this when it involved sports or one of her adventure novels.
Twilight looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, I kinda bit off more than I could chew. Again." Fluttershy was reminded of when Twilight tried to fix the parasprite infestation and the resulting snowballing madness until Pinkie intervened. "I was good with managing burnout, but this was something else entirely. Global politics! Well, I wasn't doing that much in the grand scheme of things—a real drop in the bucket on the global scale if I'm remembering my colloquialisms correctly, but in terms of impact, it likely had the most resounding effect of all of my studies. I was still, um, drowning under the workload because I was too afraid to tell Celestia to lighten my burden. And then Discord and the Plunderseeds happened."
They all knew the story so Fluttershy prompted her friend to continue.
"Celestia stopped by the library later that day and found out the state I was in and she didn't take it gracefully. She reduced my work by half and I, to put it gently, wasn't receptive to that course of action."
"I found her sulking in the dark in the basement," Rainbow added, now back on her perch by the window. Her eyes were beginning to droop but she resigned to keep one eye on the two of them and the other on the twinkling stars.
"I just felt like I was failing Celestia if I didn't finish everything. I only had to do a little bit compared to Canterlot's legion of scribes and clerks. Yet I concede it would have been worse if Celestia didn't intervene. If I had kept it up for another week at the pace I was going I would have just shut down. I was still upset though and wasn't in a good mood. That's when..."
"And now she remembers the good part," Rainbow said snarkily. Twilight's cheeks flushed pink.
Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably and she stopped herself from hiding her face behind her lengthy mane. She wanted an answer to what unpleasantness had occurred before her eyes and the explanation for her own blooming desires. If all she was going to get was another explicit earful, perhaps tea time wasn't so good after all.
"I, um, don't need to hear about you biting each other in detail."
"It's not like that!" Twilight said in a rush. Rainbow rolled off the windowsill and clutched her gut, chortling all the while. "We, um—well, Rainbow had the idea to... She suggested some alternative means of dealing with upsetting and pervasive emotions that wouldn't subside on their own in a timely manner."
"I—heh heh heh—asked her if she wanted to blow off some steam."
That had happened exactly as Fluttershy thought it would. "Well, thanks for the explanation but I should really go because Angel and I—"
"Relax," Rainbow soothed from her spot on the floor. "It wasn't anything kinky like that. Just," she waved her hoof as she thought of the best way to describe what had happened, "a quick screw to clear the air."
"Anyway!" Twilight almost screamed the word. "I had the same thought as you Fluttershy and said no, but Rainbow kept pressing. After a bit I remembered some old psychology textbooks I read back in Canterlot that talked about sexual surrogates and their uses in dealing with communication, anxiety, and emotional problems. I wasn't feeling too good about myself."
Twilight pawed the chair with a hoof. She met Fluttershy's gaze and in that moment, lost in those wide twinkling eyes, the pegasus saw not a princess or her friend, but that lost little filly she met so long ago. Fluttershy knew very well the feelings Twilight held for Princess Celestia. They were passionately loyal, and more than once Fluttershy wondered if that love was something greater than platonic affection. Twilight looked up to Celestia as something to be adored and received that love with every letter and success she obtained. Yet to save the Tree of Harmony against Discord's Plunderseeds, only to be chastised hours later concerning the burden she bore by none other than the one she admired most? Fluttershy could never see Princess Celestia as anything more than a princess, but she understood that Celestia was more than that to her friend and Twilight must have been crushed. To be put down, even unintentionally, after saving her guardian and friend would have been hurtful. Princess Celestia wouldn't have intentionally made the slight; Fluttershy fully believed she only reduced Twilight's workload to curb a problem before it started.
If Twilight's first recourse was to bed a mare, however briefly, Fluttershy admitted she didn't blame Twilight for that. Even if it was just a few minutes to forget her troubles, the love and comfort of another when emotionally hurt didn't feel wrong at all.
When Twilight spoke next, her voice was soft and fragile. "After Princess Celestia left for Canterlot, I was all alone again." The reintroduction of the title was not lost on Fluttershy. "After everything that happened, Dash's suggestion... it didn't seem like a bad idea."
Fluttershy's first expectation was for Dash to make some boisterous remark again, yet she was respectfully quiet when given the chance to boast about a conquest. For a brief moment, Fluttershy imagined a plaque on Rainbow's wall celebrating her being the first one to publicly bed a princess. No, Rainbow wouldn't do that; she was proud, but not cruel.
And undoubtedly, no matter how much Fluttershy would insist, not blushing.
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy muttered. She thought Twilight didn't hear Fluttershy at first until her furry ears twitched.
"Pardon?"
"I'm sorry for calling you and Rainbow Dash perverts." Guilt ate at her stomach. If this all started in an effort to make Twilight feel better about herself, it couldn't be completely bad. It at least explained how it all started, but if Rainbow's crude description was any indication, it wasn't anything even close to what they were currently up to. What changed?
"Thanks, Fluttershy. I know you didn't mean it." Fluttershy could see a light twinkling in the corner of Twilight's eyes. "I understand what me and Rainbow were, um, up to must have been shocking. And now that I think about it, I did say you could come visit at all hours."
"And we'll make sure to hang a sock on the doorknob next time or something." Twilight's horn was alight with power as one of the comfort bed's pillows sailed across the room and into Rainbow's face.
Some dawning comprehension began growing in Twilight's eyes. "Oh! That's right; I completely forgot after everything that's happened. What can I help you with? You're here for something, aren't you?"
In all of the excitement, the fact that she had come to Twilight's castle with an explicit purpose had completely escaped her mind. "Oh, sorry. I stopped by to talk to you about fighting with Rainbow Dash, but... you're not going to fight again, are you?"
It was true that the pair of them tried their best to keep their squabbles out of the public eye, but it happened now and then anyway. So how did some comfort sex lead into angry sex? "Oh!" Twilight gasped. "That."
"Yeah, that. I told you we should have told the others sooner," Rainbow ribbed. She had her head on the thrown pillow and looked quite relaxed. Wait, for once Rainbow was the voice of reason?
"That's also my fault," Twilight confessed. "I didn't want that spilling out and becoming the town's newest source of scuttlebutt. I knew our," she ground her teeth while searching for another term.
"Romps?"
"A little crass, but yes, Rainbow." Twilight returned her attention to Fluttershy. "I'm not angry with Rainbow for any reason and I don't see any reason to be, Fluttershy. I just didn't want my and Rainbow's "romps" to spill out to the public until I was ready. Rainbow wanted to tell our friends, but I wasn't sure how everyone would react if they pressed for details. Our relationship isn't exactly conventional."
That seemed fair. If Twilight wasn't ready to publically declare a relationship, that was her right. "So are you two marefriends?"
Twilight rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. "Hmm, I wouldn't put it like that. A little more than friends, yes, but I don't think marefriends quite qualifies. My brother uses the term 'friends with benefits' and I think that applies here."
"We just fuck on the side, Flutters."
Twilight coughed. Fluttershy just drew circles in the chair cushion with a hoof. She looked at Twilight, who rubbed the back of her head and looked away. Dash looked at the pair of the, confused, and asked, "What?"
That left just one more question to answer. She looked at Rainbow Dash and asked, "So, um, what happened... I mean, why do you two do... that?"
Fluttershy wasn't sure what was the sound that came out of Rainbow Dash's mouth, but it sounded like she started choking on something halfway through laughing. "Hehe heh, don't look at me. I brought it up, sure, but doing it was her idea."
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait. Twilight's. This whole mess was Twilight's idea.
"Um..."
Twilight's burning face was hiding in her hooves, and through them Fluttershy heard a muffled, "What you must think of me right now."
Fluttershy was silent. What was there to say that would adequately express all the feelings going on in her head? She could believe it if Rainbow was the one who started escalating, but Twilight was the one who wanted to take it to the next level. Sweet little Twilight, good little Twilight, nerdy little Twilight.
Passionately unrestrained Twilight.
The thought of Twilight alone in her basement laboratory came to mind. Rainbow comes in to comfort her and they spend a night in each other's embrace. Soft caresses and gentle kisses. Whispered sweet-nothings and playful nips. It was a night to experience something precious given by a friend.
Any dutiful lover would give something sweet to a lover feeling down. The thought stemmed from her mother's own romanticism, but Fluttershy always found the idea endearing. Gentleness and sweetness, with a dash of tender loving passion, strengthened the bonds of lovers. Couples were two halves of a whole that complemented each other down to the finest detail. That's what love was supposed to be.
Something gentle was given to Twilight to relieve something hurtful. Was the crux of the matter something hurtful forcefully brought to the surface, and purged with anger and lovemaking? These thoughts raced across Fluttershy's mind just as Twilight began to explain herself.
"I ask you to please hear me out first, Fluttershy. I know you may not understand, but please let me try and explain. Can you give me that?" Twilight begged. Fluttershy was already rooted to the spot. Wordlessly, she nodded.
"Thank you." Twilight took a deep breath to collect herself. "We practice... S&M." Twilight's piercing gaze was boring holes right through her. Assuming she was looking for some kind of acceptance of her lifestyle, Fluttershy nodded. Twilight continued, "Do you know what that is?"
Fluttershy had heard the term before, but wasn't familiar with its intricacies. She shook her head. "The full term is BDSM, an anagram for bondage, domination, and sadomasochism. To grossly oversimplify the definition, it normally involves a trust and power dynamic where one has some form of control over the other. This can be done in several different ways, but in our case, we use it to... how to best say this, um, "work out" any issues we may be having."
So, power and control, angry sex, and arguing. "So Rainbow Dash is," she looked at her pegasus friend, whom still had a slight tinge of crimson across her cheeks, "your slave?"
Rainbow Dash guffawed and almost fell off the windowsill again. "Ha ha ha! No, but I have wanted to put a collar on Twilight on more than one occasion."
A glow surrounded the pillow Rainbow was lying against and it jumped to her snout, all but smothering her. "Rainbow, please refrain from explicit details."
"Fhey, fhe uhsked," came the muffled reply.
"I know she asked, but we are trying to have a polite conversation!" Her voice crescendoed until she was almost shouting the sentence.
Something clicked. Rainbow kept egging Twilight on through various perverse comments. Where such things had made Twilight angry when they were both in the study, here Twilight was close to smiling behind her outbursts. Every time Twilight became uncomfortable or didn't know how to continue her explanation, Rainbow diffused the tension.
So if Twilight was ever too frustrated and depressed to function normally, they'd have another shouting match until they both, well, popped the cork.
"I think I'm beginning to understand," Fluttershy said quietly. A little unconventional, and still far too personal and violent for her preference, but in a twisted way it was almost sweet. Rainbow was willing to get yelled at and abused to make Twilight feel better. After their problems were laid bare, like Twilight's control issues and Rainbow's laziness, their anger inflamed their passions to such a degree it ended in lovemaking.
Twilight was looking at her oddly. "I didn't think you'd be so accepting so fast. Not that I'm complaining!" she said in a rush. "But I figured it would be more, well, difficult than that."
There were still a few details she'd liked to have answered, however. "No problem. So how did you two come from Celestia's visit to..." she pointed towards the direction of the previous room. "...to that."
Twilight shook the cute look of angry indignation on her face caused by Rainbow. The pillow's aura vanished and Rainbow made a play of fake twitching from her prone position.
"Oh, grow up, Rainbow," she giggled. "Sorry. Ahem, that was something that we evolved into over time. After that day, Rainbow Dash made an offer that if I was ever feeling down, we could, er, do it again. I took her up on her offer a couple of times and it became as much a time to heap any issues we had into the open as it was something pleasurable.
"It was Rainbow Dash's idea to keep it strictly sexual, and it was mine to take a moment to explore our feelings. Over time we realized how much getting angry made our, um, relationship—"
"By Celestia's fat flank, she works with animals, Twilight. She knows what sex is."
"I'm trying," Twilight exclaimed, "to be delicate."
They were either in the blooming stage for another angry sex argument, or more concerned for her feelings than the actual story. "It's okay, Twilight. I can deal with it." Shaky constitution or not, what she saw earlier had temporarily vaccinated her against Twilight's and Dash's more explicit remarks.
Twilight eyed her for a moment before she said, "Okay. Sorry. Anyway, studies have shown that it's often best to confront negative emotions and express them in a safe environment. Dash and I discovered that on the occasions when our issues involved each other, well, the sex," she said it almost as if it were a dirty word, "happened to be great."
"In secret we started pushing each other's buttons just to look for a chance to go at it again. It was a game almost. I admit it was something new to me, but it was just so fun and exciting. I loved the rush of endorphins. We'd just heap everything out in the open and... go at it right afterwards. I eventually looked up some books on the subject and discovered that there was an entire subculture for what we were doing. Although we may have gotten too excited at times, sometimes deliberately, but I never meant to worry you or our other friends. There's this odd thrill in almost getting caught." Twilight blinked. "Not that I was deliberately trying to put on a peep show just now!"
"I was."
"Can it, Rainbow."
There was still the elephant in the room that needed to be addressed, one that Fluttershy had been avoiding the entire time. It was the same feeling that made her afraid Rainbow Dash was going to take a shower with her. 'Just bite the bit and say it,' she tried to egg herself on. It needed to be said, regardless of her feelings.
"I'm... Sorry, I'm—I mean, sorry for watching you and..." Her voice caught in her throat and she hiccupped. It was surely a sign from the gods that this was a bad thing to say. She swallowed her fear down. She was in the wrong, and it had to be done. "I'm sorry for..."
Rainbow was watching her with a half smile. Her eyes were starting to dilate and her cheeks were coloring. Fluttershy had been with enough animals to recognize the signs. Of course Dash knew what she was about to say, and of course she'd be getting aroused by it.
"For... touching myself... while watching."
Mortified, she hide her face in her hooves. She just wish she could curl up into the chair cushion and just fall into the cracks of reality. They both knew what she was talking about. They had to. That didn't help having to say it and bring it out into the open.
"It's okay to feel arousal during sexual situations, Fluttershy," Twilight said gently.
"No it's not." The response sounded even more pitiful once it was past her lips. Fluttershy added her lengthy mane to her shield.
"It's only a natural biological response. I understand that what you saw was very new and shocking, but it was perfectly natural. We're both consenting adults, and if you carry any reservations, I'm not mad at you for being curious."
She just didn't understand. "But I didn't know what you were doing then. And I... touched myself while you were doing it." Shame burned within her both due to the memory and the kindling arousal in her core. As much as she hated it, she liked what she saw.
She heard the clinking and she cracked open her shield to peek at what was going on. Twilight had set down her cup and was looking at her with nothing but sympathy. "There's something rather liberating in giving up control. Me and Rainbow take turns on who gets to be on top at times. We trust each other. We're not marefriends, granted, but I feel safe with her. No matter how brutish we may get at times, I have never once believed she'd hurt me because she wanted to make it hurt. I've never had a coltfriend or marefriend, but that emotional closeness is exactly how I imagine it feeling. It's perfectly natural for you to get aroused by seeing that."
The closeness she understood. That's what mother always talked about, that feeling of closeness and safety in each other's hooves. The knowledge that her partner would never hurt her, to feel safe knowing all the power and control was stripped away, but content with the knowledge that it will never be used against her...
Fluttershy shivered.
"I... I liked it," she confessed.
Twilight bit her lip like she always did whenever she was deep in thought. "If you'd like, I'm more than willing to help explain some things in further detail at a later date." She saw Twilight's nostrils flared once, then twice. Twilight looked at her, no doubt seeing her flushed cheeks under the veil of hair and forehooves.
Oh, sweet Celestia, Twilight could smell her. Cleaned as they were, no one would be no mistaking which of the three was currently the most aroused. Fluttershy moved her head just a fraction to see Rainbow on her left. Dash was looking right at her now in a way she had never seen before. It wasn't the familiar protectiveness, something brash, or anything normally associated with the athlete. No, stretched across her face was a slowly blooming look of desire.
"I don't know, Twilight," Fluttershy mumbled.
"How about something else?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight gave her a dirty look, but even Fluttershy could see that the same thought had crossed her mind. "Perhaps... if I started with a few things less extreme than what me and Rainbow practice? Something not even sexual?"
Yes, that could work. Just talk. Maybe a little hooves-on demonstration, but mostly talk so Fluttershy could understand a little better about this new idea in her life. "Like what?"
Fluttershy wasn't sure what it was, but between Twilight's renewed nervousness and Dash all but undressing her with her eyes, something had changed. "The first thing that comes to mind is sensory deprivation. From my books, blindfolds seem to be the most common. Ponies would often have one partner blindfolded while the other did what they wish. It's been shown that the lack of one sense, namely sight, increases the sensitivity of the others to compensate. It doesn't have to be sexual. It's actually something used in certain massage parlors because it enhances the feeling of closeness."
Twilight waited for a response, but Fluttershy noted that Twilight had spoken of "things" in plural and had stopped at one. The pegasus thought is was because Twilight got distracted by picturing her in a compromising position, but with the way Fluttershy's nethers twitched at the thought, it wasn't a completely unwelcome idea.
"O-o-okay."
Dash's and Twilight's eyes met briefly. Dash shrugged and nodded, something that seemed to increase Twilight's nervousness. "Um, okay then. I'll think of... actually I have an idea. I'll be back in a moment."
Twilight hopped off her chair and stretched her wings. After the satisfying pop, Twilight quickly exited the room, not even bothering to close the doors as she left. That only left Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who seemed just as interested to see what Twilight had in store.
Rainbow hopped down from her perch and Fluttershy joined her. "Sooooo," Dash began. That slight arrogant sheen to her words was absent, "thanks for not freaking out about Twilight and me."
Fluttershy nodded mechanically. "Uh huh."
Dash tilted her head. "Really, I'm not going to bite. Unless you want me to." At that, Fluttershy snickered and was joined by Dash as the tension eased. "But I think Twi's getting a little eager and all. If you don't want to do what's she's cooking up, you can still say no. I don't want you to do this if you're not going to have any fun with it."
In all honesty, she did want to do this. The disgust had eased enough to let her curiosity bloom. Exploring her brief voyeuristic streak and sharing her friend's bed carried its merit. "I just hope we can all be friends."
She saw Dash's ears perk in alarm. "You know we're still friends! Why wouldn't we be, Fluttershy?"
"It's not that! I just don't want to lose you or Twilight. I like the way things are."
Fluttershy pawed the ground again, accidentally scuffing the crystallized floor. She still valued both Twilight and Dashie as friends. Rainbow and Twilight seemed to be able to keep it platonic, but what about adding herself and her admittedly fragile emotional state? The two of them had something great already, and to ruin that with something deeper seemed criminal. What if she went through with this and wanted something more than friendship?
The gears weren't running very fast for Rainbow and she just stared at her, confused. Fluttershy could see the moment of realization when Dash suddenly went wide-eyed.
"Oh. Oh! Um..." Rainbow looked around. It was just the same old room, and Twilight wasn't here to help her figure out what she wanted to say. Dash sat on her rump and brought her hooves to her head. "Ugh, come on. Work, you stupid brain!"
Fluttershy giggled. If nothing else, Dash could make her laugh. Speaking of, Dash's ears perked once again. Mother always called her friend "her open book" because she was so expressive, and Fluttershy could see why.
"I got it!" Dash said victoriously. She puffed out her chest and her signature smug grin returned to her face. "I want to ask you something and I know it may sound kind of weird. I mean, something besides this question. Do you trust me?"
Fluttershy nodded.
"Can I kiss you?"
Fluttershy blinked. That wasn't what she expected. A kiss? Like, what kind of kiss? More importantly, kiss where? She chided herself for having let her brain go in that direction, but given the context of the previous conversation, it entered her thoughts regardless. Despite her hesitancy, Dash's question came to mind. Did she trust her?
Fluttershy gulped, and nodded.
The athlete's smile lit up the room. Dash wouldn't have been caught dead prancing, yet her wings fluttered and she rose just a little to clop both forehooves on the floor. There was no eyelash-fluttering, kind words, or preparation as she leaned in and kissed Fluttershy on the lips.
Her lips were warm and coarse. Fluttershy's wings twitched as she tasted what may have been Twilight on Dash's lips, along with the slight tang of iron where Twilight bit her. Dash didn't press forward, and thankfully didn't use her tongue. Fluttershy wasn't sure her delicate heart could take that.
Dash parted after, well, Fluttershy wasn't quite sure how long. A second? Several? Her own breath was fluttering, yet Dash was as fresh as could be. Fluttershy licked her lips and got a fresh taste of the cocktail along with Dash's own fragrance.
"Now, do you think you'll love me?"
After just a kiss? Absolutely not, but they were about to do Celestia-knows-what, and that was a completely different story. Twilight did promise no sex. That was something.
What were her feelings on the kiss itself? Wet, warm, and coarse. Very typical of any kiss. Rainbow Dash was her best and oldest friend, but did she love her? Of course, like a sister. Could that become something more?
"No, I don't."
Dash smiled a full, warm smile that melted the last little bit of fear lurking in her heart. "See? Nothin' to worry about."
"Worry about what?"
Twilight had returned with a small menagerie of items floating above her head. One was a book—the quintessential item for Twilight, the second looked like to be a small bundle of cloth, and the third was... Smartypants?
Dash spread her wings and pretended to look nonchalant. "It turns out I'm smart after all."
"I'll make you a plaque. So, Fluttershy, as always, safety first." Twilight seemed to have picked up a little confidence after her moment alone. The enthusiasm was mutual; the weight finally left her shoulders. "If you're feeling any reservations, we can always just call it a night. You're free to just leave right now if you don't want to do this, or we can schedule it for another time if you want to think things over."
With eagerness, Fluttershy said, "I'm ready."
Twilight's spirits visibly lifted. With a smile, she began explaining, "I'm thinking we'll combine sensory deprivation with a basic massage. That will be tame enough for you to at least get a general feel for what we do."
"Just a massage?" said Dash.
Twilight looked away and mumbled, "I like what you do with my wings." The look on Dash's face was just short of obscene.
Fluttershy was not unfamiliar with the relaxing aspect of a massage. It was something that was required on most visits to her weekly visits to the twin's spa parlor. She had requisitioned exactly one happy ending in her time in Ponyville and abstained from it ever since out of skittishness, but it had been one of the most sensual and powerful experiences she ever had. The soft scent of burning patchouli oil, the fresh linens, and Aloe's gentle and expert touch were downright magical. The wings of a pegasus were clustered with nerve endings and nothing compared to somepony who knew how to work them over. Twilight must have no idea when she first tried it. Already her own wings were fluttering against her side in anticipation.
Rainbow had gotten over the barrage of imagery no doubt dancing behind her eyes. "I know she'll like that, but just a massage? Really?"
"That's why I brought this,"
Twilight levitated the book over to Dash, who opened its pages. Fluttershy saw an earth pony couple on the front cover. Both were sitting and the mare had her head tilted back as her male partner kissed her throat, and across the cover in a large, bold font was the title: "Abhiraam Tantra".
Dash skimmed through the pages, her eyes going wider and wider after each flick of parchment. "Oh shit I didn't even know you had something like this. Can I borrow a copy?"
"Rainbow! Focus! Start going through the part on massages and grooming. Second chapter."
Rainbow Dash did so without protest and flipped back a few pages. Fluttershy could see her eyes flicker back and forth eagerly as she read the book's contents.
Twilight patted the comfort bed. "Can you come up here with me, please?" With a flutter of feathers, both had gotten onto the plush down mattress. It felt very nice underneath Fluttershy's hooves. No doubt this was the very same piece of furniture Celestia used whenever she stopped by. Fluttershy hoped Dash and Twilight at least cleaned up the place and washed the bedding before then.
The soft cloth unbunched itself in Twilight's magical grip and Fluttershy could see the long silk ribbon for what it was. "Last chance to back out, 'Shy," came Rainbow's voice. Fluttershy felt a depression behind her as Dash hopped up on the bed. Dash plopped the book down and Fluttershy saw a page titled "Kissing and Licking". The pictured mare was dotting kisses up her mate's thigh.
She didn't want to chicken out. Be strong! That's what Rainbow Dash always said, although the most recent time had been only needing to go into the dark pantry with a dead lightbulb. Before she could second guess her decision, she responded with a resolute, "I'm ready."
Twilight nodded and brought the ribbon up to Fluttershy's head slowly. Fluttershy gulped but didn't evade the ribbon gently fixing itself around her head. Like the shroud of darkness from some forgotten god descending across her vision, Fluttershy was blinded as Twilight securely wrapped the ribbon around her eyes.
Fluttershy felt a hoof on her shoulder. "Just lie down and relax," came Twilight's soothing voice. Lying on her stomach, she felt the weight of both of her friends shift across the mattress. Twilight was in front of her, while Dash was on her right. Being deprived of her sight made her shudder, but at the same time it wasn't as unnerving as she thought it would be. She was among friends.
Something was pushed into her hooves. It was soft, squishy, and covered in patched fabric. Smartypants?
"It's about power, control, trust, and communication, Fluttershy. We'll keep going," Dash gave an affirmative grunt to Twilight's remark, "as long as you want to. Keep holding Smartypants and we'll continue. If you want to quit, just let go, and everything stops. Okay?"
"...Okay." Smartypants booped her nose and Fluttershy clutched him all the tighter. He wasn't warm to the touch like a proper bedroom lover, but it felt nice to be able to embrace something in the heat of the moment.
"Turn the page. Just turn the page!"
Fluttershy chuckled. At least they were trying to keep the moment.
The first touch made her jump a little. If Twilight was still in front of her, that must have meant it was Rainbow caressing her thighs. Strange. Fluttershy figured she'd do straight for her wings despite them being clenched tightly to her sides.
She allowed herself to go limp as her friends finalized whatever plan they had concocted under muted whispers. Soon the second pair of hooves began tracing up her back towards her shoulders. Back and forth came the presses, each alternating between a light, feathering touch and firmer strokes to massage her tired muscles.
The one working over her thighs was rougher, but very well practiced. The pony bent her left hind leg back to work into her thigh and calf with ease. Fluttershy had seen enough of Rainbow's training injuries to recognize her warmup and stretching routines. She used the side of her leg to press into her leg and slide down in deep strokes. Fluttershy's leg twitched as Dash came closer and closer to her marehood, yet her caretaker did not take advantage and instead moved back to start stroking her legs again.
Fluttershy felt the soft touch of feathers slide across her spine. She shivered and the noise that came out of her mouth made her squeak in surprise. It felt... nice. Aloe and Lotus didn't have any wings to reproduce the sensation. Sometimes they would use their own mane across her naked back during a massage. What would Rarity think if Fluttershy asked to do the same thing to her back?
The next thought that crossed her mind was Rarity just like her, blindfolded, as Fluttershy trailed her feathers across the ivory mare's silken back. Would she have to wear leather or rubber for that? Wanting to do that made her a dominatrix, and that's what a dominatrix wore, right?
As if on a timer, both sets of hooves disappeared. She felt more than heard the two slink away from her, yet with eyes obstructed she had no idea where they went. Oh gosh, what if they were turned off by the sounds she was making? What if they were taking pictures? They'd give them to the newspaper under Gabby Gums, and then Fluttershy would have to leave town out of shame. Maybe auntie had enough room on her ship for another deckhand?
"Girls?" she called out to the darkness. Please give me time to pack, was the unspoken thought. Her instinct for flight-or-fight had triggered and her wings began to flutter back and forth. Fear of being chased out of town for depravity and facing a dragon that could devour entire towns both held the same tenor of fear; at least giant dragons were easy to deal with.
Fluttershy all but melted as a pair of hooves pressed into the space between her wings. Her trembling wings fluttered against the thighs of a pony all but straddling her back.
"O-oh my," she whispered to Smartypants. The fabric was beginning to warm under the prolonged contact. Neither of her friends were particularly practiced if their rubdown was any indication, at least compared to the spa sisters, but on that same token it far surpassed the emotional intimacy she received from the twins.
"Is that you, Rainbow?" She didn't receive an answer except for the hooves rotating in little circles on that sweet spot. Which one was standing over her? And where was her other friend? What about... ohhhh, right there. Fluttershy mewled as her back popped a little. The hooves massaged the tired muscles and she spread all of her limbs out like a tired cat, her swishing tail brushing up against the pony's hind legs.
Somepony nuzzled up to her wings. As gently as she could, a mystery pony tried to unfurl her left wing joint by joint. Fluttershy instinctively held both close at her side, but after a little prodding she relented. The pony pressed gently against the tender bones and muscles and soon Fluttershy felt her nip a few feathers out with her teeth. After the flight over and the panic-induced ruffles they received over the preceding hours, she felt a feather or two tug lose as she was carefully preened.
She squeaked as something warm and wet trailed along her primaries and she gasped. Did she just use her tongue!? Did Rainbow or Twilight or whoever was preening just start licking her? Then came another slow, careful lick and Fluttershy forced a hoof to smother the groan of delight lurking in the back of her throat. This was a little more than she bargained for.
Yet she couldn't bear the thought of letting the doll go.
No more licks came, and her preening friend parted and soon switched wings. The pony straddling her moved up and down her back with gentle caresses and presses. After a few passes, she moved on to working her hooves lower and lower. Fluttershy squeaked again when those hooves pressed against her rump, but all they did was continue south to work her calves and thighs. Somepony chuckled.
Who was breathing so hard? Oh, that was herself. Neither friend spoke a word and that somehow made it all the more worse. Or better; Fluttershy still wasn't certain. Smartypants was becoming swelteringly hot with how close she was pressing him to her chest and how heated her breast felt. She couldn't see them. Quiet as they were, she couldn't even hear which one was which. She was exposed and vulnerable and completely at their mercy, and oh, how she liked that.
A slight wisp of something passed by her nose. She knew the scent, but it was far too light for her to catch it. The next pant for breath brought is back once more and she tried to hid her face behind Smartypants. The heady scent of arousal was slowly filling the air. Her own? Her friends? As if triggered by the thought, her attention now turned to her own tingling marehood. Shock had fueled her arousal before, but now the slow and tender strokes were what kindled her loins.
Did... could they see her? Were they looking at her marehood right now? Spread out on the bed as she was, they had every opportunity to get an eyeful. Twilight probably wouldn't but would Rainbow? She was her oldest friend, so probably not. Yet, what if...?
Fluttershy gulped. Her legs felt like lead, but through sheer force of will she summoned the strength to part her thighs just enough to feel the air's gentle caress. She was inviting them. By some madness, she was inviting her friends with their weird, angry kink to have their way with her. This was a bad idea. This was a very bad idea, and yet some dormant part of her mind egged her on.
They weren't even... doing that!
Rarity had given her massages in the past. What part of her mind had suddenly made the decision this was something much more to the act then that? Twilight herself said just a massage. Just a massage. That was all it was supposed to be!
But not to her friends. Friends with benefits, Twilight called it. Simple things given a whole new emotional meaning to them. Rainbow Dash could love Twilight in a way Fluttershy never could and still be friends. It was unheard of. Mother would have had a conniption and lock her in her room again if she'd ever witnessed such a thing as a filly. Fluttershy in her position now, being blindfolded and rubbed down in such a way—by mares no less—would shock mother's poor heart back into the hospital.
Fluttershy arched her back as her right wing was unfurled to its full extent. The pony gingerly rubbed each fragile bone, nipping at her wings here and there. Fluttershy buried her snout in the sheets. The girls gave a telltale conspiratorial whisper too low for her to hear. She heard her name and little else but she was certain they were discussing what effect they were having on her poor soul. As if giving them a quick flash of her nethers wasn't enough.
Wait. Her tail was in the way.
Fluttershy swallowed, the reality of the situation now dawning on her in full. Twilight swore that this wouldn't go any farther. Fluttershy wanted it to go farther now. She gave her tail a quick flick to the side.
The hooves going up her rump paused. Straining her ears, she heard both sets of hooves already had their owners taking increasingly heavy breaths. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile in pride; her friends were enjoying the experience as much as she was. They desired her. The pony at her wings took another nip and Fluttershy sighed in delight. The scent of feminine excitement was thick enough in the air that there was no mistaking what this was doing to the three of them now.
The pony working over her legs was moving up, getting closer and closer to her rump. Fluttershy nervously spread her legs just a little more. The pony kept moving. Each hoof was now tickling her thigh and going so very, painstakingly slow. Down to the inner thigh she went. All it would take was just a few more inches...
Fluttershy knew why they did this now. She couldn't see, but boy, she could feel.
The hooves moved away.
A frustrated sigh exited her lips before she could stop it. The pony behind her giggled.
Despite all the teasing, she continued to retain–oh dear! That wonderful tongue returned to her wings. Fluttershy groaned, something that was quickly silenced as a pony nipped her ear.
"P-please?" Fluttershy whispered.
"What do you want, Fluttershy?" Twilight said. The illusion was broken, the fragile spell that came with blindness shattered as her friends spoke for the first time since darkness fell. "You have to ask for it."
To share that love they felt, all just a few words away...
"P-please love me."
Twilight chuckled lightly and Fluttershy could feel her warm breath on her wings and the huskiness of her voice. "If that is what you wish. Remember, just let Smartypants go if you want this to stop."
Somepony nipped one of her ears and gave an affectionate tug. Fluttershy shuddered. She felt the soft, downy touch of feathers tickling her thighs. Fluttershy's hips bucked back slightly of their own volition. There she was on display for her two friends, for all the word to see. Her weak heart could barely contain itself as it thudded against her breast as they shared their love with the timid girl. To love and be loved. She smiled contentedly against the patchwork pony.
Her friends whispered quietly. Her own ears, one pleasantly burning from the bite. Turn around, they said?
Both sets of hooves moved away and caused her to release another annoyed cry. Fluttershy didn't see herself as that much of a sexual creature, but even she had needs, and these two had inflamed a perverse passion she didn't even know she had. A pony wrapped their legs around her and helped pull her to her knees. She could feel hot, warm breath inches away from her own face and warmth soon blossomed across her cheeks. A second or a minute passed, Fluttershy didn't know which, and the pony stood within kissing distance.
They guided her blind form until she was lying on her back instead of her stomach. A pony's warm embrace hugged her back and kept her propped up. A pair of lips to her throat caused Fluttershy to sigh. Forehooves drew circles in the little tuft of fur on her chest above Smartypants' head while hind hooves stroked her ticklish belly. Fluttershy let her head fall back onto her friend's shoulder. They kissed her neck once more, this time giving it the slightest nip.
If Fluttershy's blush hadn't consumed her face by now, the neck that came out of mouth was certainly enough to do so. Somepony's wings circled her lower abdomen, drifting lower and lower until they slid across her breasts. Another set of lips matched the one currently circling the nape of her neck. Fluttershy shivered as they slowly dotted kisses up her thigh. Higher and higher they went and each tickled the soft, velvety fur as they came closer to the only place hotter than her burning cheeks. She kicked a leg out of reflex as a shudder passed through her trembling body.
Her ears flattened against her skull and gave one of her tormentors the chance to bite down and give it a firm tug. She bit her lip to stop the wanton moan. Her heart leapt in her throat as the pony between her legs weaseled a foreleg under each of her hindlegs and gripped her pudgy rump.
Her hips bucked as a cool breath of air blew across her winking marehood. Her flanks clenched together in an attempt to relieve the heat building up in her core and ended up locking a mare's head between her thighs. The mare tightened her grip on Fluttershy's rear and tried to worm her way closer to her core. Oh, how she wanted to feel a deft tongue sending her into bliss, but now that she was here, so very close to the point of no return, that lingering doubt reared its head once again. There'd be no turning back if she let it go on much farther. Smartypants' weight felt so much heavier now
'Be strong,' she told herself. Her heart felt like it was ready to burst right out of her throat in response. They wanted so very much to help her, to share the love they had with each other. Terror had always been her friend. Fear had kept her alive. This was something new, and new things were scary.
Her friends loved her and she didn't want her friends to think less of her. There was a difference between fear of something tangible, and fear of the possibility of something. They were her friends. They would never hurt her.
Slowly, Fluttershy parted her legs.
Warmth breath right across her lips made her shudder. A slight sheen of moisture coated her vagina and thighs. Sweat and arousal was only cooled by the slight breath of lust coming from the pony staring down her most sacred of places. Each breath was a gasp to get air that never seemed enough.
A long, low moan dripped from her muzzle as a wet tongue licked her nethers from bow to stern. The pony hugging her grasped tighter to hold back her squirming. More kisses dotted around her slit, but none hit the mark. Another kiss brushed across her throat, only this time it was followed by a soft but resolute bite.
She licked her lips in an effort to stop her panting from drying them out. She wanted to encourage them, but so much as a wayward word would break the spell. No job, pets, friends, or arguing. There was just this moment.
Her labia was given one more long, measured, excruciatingly slow lick. She could feel the slight ridges on the tongue against her nether lips and the light flick where it taunted the little bud hiding under the petals. She tried bucking her hips once again, but was firmly held in place by loving hooves. Hooves stroking her ass and cutie marks, a tongue worshipping her femininity, love bites, stroking feathers, ear pulls, and gentle strokes. Being so restrained as she was and blind to the world only served to make the sensations more intense as the lovemaking went on.
Gentle licks collected what little arousal she leaked. Ever once in a while she heard lips smacking as if she was being sampled like vintage wine. Stroke after stroke lovingly graced her sex. Her chest and crotch were stroked and rubbed, every inch of her lavished with kisses and love.
The air was cut by her vocal and passionate cry as the deft little tongue finally penetrated her nethers. Fluttershy's breath caught in her throat. Hooves stroked her chest and a tender voice whispered sweet nothings in her ear. That was it; as soon as it was inside her, it was gone. She was touched again soon afterwards and her labia quickly and eagerly granted entry to the intruder. It started bottom to top and gathered every little sliver of femcum as a pair of hooves gently stroked her bottom.
Now her breath was coming in quick pants and gasps. A familiar pressure had gathered in her core and was building with every stroke and lick her friends granted the timid mare. With each lick came an increase in speed. Bottom to top, little by little with the occasional flick of her clitoris for good measure. A snout smashed against her clit and Fluttershy's breath caught in her throat. She could feel the mare smiling between her legs.
The slow, methodical movements were replaced by some quick and needy strokes. Done was the exploring as their collective reservations crumbled away. Kisses and love bites were lauded onto her throat. Her own marehood clenched and winked to keep the tongue inside her for just a little longer. Each lashing grew a little more quick and chaotic and only added to her now open moaning. The stream of animalistic need stemming from her own mouth wasn't something to be ashamed of; it only fueled the fire spreading within. The tongue dug to deeper depths and Fluttershy bucked her hips as much as she could to spur it on.
So close. So very close. Fluttershy's breathing had hitched in her throat. Just a little bit. A little bit more. The mare put her mouth around her tender mound and sucked hard as she gave her clit one final lick.
The dam finally broke. Fluttershy's moans crescendoed into a scream as she released her pent up sexual frustration. The dark world around her went white as the world sunk into waves of bliss crashing into her body. Mind-numbing ecstasy smothered her like a blanket.
She wasn't sure how long she was out. Minutes? Seconds? The warm form of a mare still hugged her back. Now she noticed just how soaked with sweat her fur was. A slight shift in the air brushed across her nose and her blindfold was removed. She winced as the harsh light burned her eyes as they adjusted.
Twilight was stroking her back gently. Rainbow was busy cleaning off her muzzle. Upon noticing that she had roused, the pegasus knickered and licked her cheek.
"That was awesome."
Dash was panting herself. Post coital bliss still rocking her mind wasn't enough for her to miss the rivulets of mare cum running down the athlete's leg. She nuzzled Fluttershy's cheek.
"Can I kiss you?"
There was something about propriety and relationships and something else running through Fluttershy's head, but she was much too tired to care. She nodded and Dash dove in for a kiss. Fluttershy tasted herself on her lips.
"Dash..." Twilight warned. The two parted.
"Yeah, yeah." Dash looked Fluttershy in the eye. "Try not to take this the wrong way, but I am so turned on right now."
"You can stay at my place tonight then." Strangely enough, the blase attitude said far more than any innuendo. "Right now we've got someone else to take care of."
"I'm fine," Fluttershy said wearily. It was already night, and after some pretty amazing sex, she needed a good, long sleep. And a shower. The smell was starting to get to her.
"C'mon then. Let's get you cleaned up."
Fluttershy closed the door to her cottage. The crisp, summer air had developed a slight chill that heralded the coming autumn. A large bag of grass seed rested across her back. It was a little late in the year to be planting grass seed, but rains had washed away some of the embankment near the bridge and grass was better than nothing at holding the soil together.
Angel was giving her funny looks from the windowsill. He was a smart bunny despite his temper at times and knew she stayed at Twilight's place last night far longer than she planned. And received a fresh bath.
"Hey Fluttershy!" The mare in question yelped and the grass seed plopped off her back. Rainbow Dash glided in and landed next to her. "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to spook ya."
"It's fine," Fluttershy said as Rainbow Dash picked up the bag.
"Watcha doing?"
"Here. I'll show you."
Something was up. Even as Dash helped her spread and water the grass seed, Fluttershy got the impression the mare was trying to figure out the best way to tell her something. Due to her own lax attitude and busy weather schedule, Dash rarely volunteered to help others on a whim.
"Is there something you want to say?" Fluttershy prompted. "...About last night?"
"No. Well, kinda yeah. Sorta. So..." Dash heaved a sigh. "I wanna say it was fun having you over last night. I had a great time."
"Me too. I'm sorry if things were awkward. I didn't mean to intrude."
"Pssh. You're good. If anything I... need to say sorry for giving you a peep show. I shouldn't of done that, especially without telling Twilight. But that's not why I'm here."
Dash took another deep breath and pawed at the ground. Dash, nervous and blushing like a swooning schoolgirl filly? Fluttershy thought she'd never see the day.
"I had fun last night. Me and Twilight talked it over after you left and... we were wondering—I mean I was wondering and Twilight approved—that if... Oh, jeez. Just spit it out!" she yelled at herself. "We were wondering if you'd like to join in again sometime!"
Fluttershy blinked and her wings twitched as the memories from the previous night came back to her. Previously, a night of passion constituted of enjoying a rainy night with a bottle of wine, a few choice steamy booky or her own memories, and the contents of the bottom drawer of her nightstand. Now her friends had opened her up to an entire world of sensual wonder.
"I don't think so."
Dash's ears drooped. Fluttershy gave her a nuzzle of her own this time even if it lacked the passion of one of Dash's. "I loved our time together last night, but I don't know if I want to do it again. And I know I don't have it in me to be aggressive like you are with Twilight."
"You know I don't want that from you—"
"I know, I know. It's just... Everything all happened very suddenly." She blushed and hid behind her hair. "I liked it. I really did, and I don't regret it. But I'm not ready to do anything like that again right now. Someday, maybe, Dashie, but not now. I need to make that choice on my own time."
Dash's ears hugged her skull. "Nah, I get it. I just..." She let out a breath. "It's kinda soon to bring that stuff up anyway..."
Fluttershy smiled. "I love you too, Rainbow Dash."
A smile sprouted across her friend's lips. Dash reached in for a quick nuzzle which she returned. It wasn't romantic, just a quick show of affection which soon ended.
"Soooo, see you around sometime?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Still on for lunch?"
"Uh huh. Applejack said earlier this morning that she'd be coming too."
"Yeah." The pregnant pause only exacerbated the awkwardness. "Alright, I'll see you later." Rainbow Dash spread her wings.
"Um, Rainbow Dash?"
The mare's wings closed and she looked back. A glint of dejection still clung to her eyes. Fluttershy swallowed and mustered up her courage.
"Can I kiss you?"
Comments are not only welcome, but encouraged!
For further information and chapter commentary, visit my page on Fimfiction under the username: Journeyman
Edited by Grimm