Chapter 5: One Step Forward
The pink and orange rays of the morning sun blossomed over the horizon and illuminated the facade of Fluttershy's cottage. Celestia's brilliant dawn couldn't have been more perfect in Fluttershy's eyes. Staring out the window towards the rising sun, Fluttershy wondered if Twilight had requested such a spectacular dawn from her mentor. The idea that Princess Celestia knew of the upcoming date between Fluttershy and her friend gave the pegasus an embarrassed smile. She partially concealed her face from the dawn with her mane, but continued to watch for a few more seconds.
When the oven chime went off, Fluttershy floated back through the air towards her kitchen. Having woken up just prior to dawn, Fluttershy was too excited to get back to sleep. While waiting for Twilight, she had decided that making breakfast for friend...now her special somepony...might be nicer than going out.
Thinking about Twilight as her special somepony was giving Fluttershy a positively glowing attitude. She was smiling more than usual and humming a song from her heart. The tune wasn't anything she recognized at having heard before, but it just felt right. It sounded like she felt; warm, happy, excited, and strangely enough; not nervous. She felt so confident and self-assured about the day that she didn't even consider if Twilight had wanted to go someplace special for breakfast. She just knew that having breakfast in her cottage would be right.
Flipping the wheat pancakes over so that the raw, gooey side would start to cook to a golden fluffy finish, Fluttershy turned the oven's heat down a little then walked over to the table. She had two plates out already with empty glasses; one each for milk and orange juice. The drinks themselves were still in the refrigerator so that they would be nice and cold when breakfast was ready. Fluttershy fussed for a moment for how many flowers to have on the table before she decided to just garnish each plate with them rather than use them as decoration. They would block Twilight and Fluttershy from being able to see each other anyway. A second look at the seating gave Fluttershy a momentary frown, but she quickly smiled again and moved Twilight's seat and furnishings around the table until it was beside Fluttershy's seat. The two could sit with each other instead of across from each other. They were still good friends after all, no need to get overly formal, right?
There was a soft knock at the door. Fluttershy felt a rush of excitement and she called "Coming!" in her typically soft shout. Walking to the door, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before opening it. Twilight was outside, smiling at Fluttershy.
"Good morning" she said, leaning in and nuzzling her cheek against Fluttershy's affectionately. The yellow mare nuzzled back then stepped away to let Twilight inside.
"Good morning Twilight," she responded. "Um, I thought maybe we could have breakfast here instead of going out. I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep so I started cooking, and, um, you don't mind do you?" she asked. For once, she didn't retreat into her mane, though she still blushed as she gave Twilight a nervous smile.
Twilight chuckled a bit but walked towards the kitchen. "I don't mind at all Fluttershy. Whatever you're making smells absolutely delicious."
Fluttershy followed Twilight into the kitchen, glad that Twilight wasn't upset over Fluttershy changing their breakfast plans at the last minute.
"Its wheat pancakes," Fluttershy said, "I also made some toast. Um, the table's set already so if you just want to wait a moment I can get everything ready."
Twilight nodded and went over to the table while Fluttershy went to the refrigerator. She brought the orange juice and milk over to the table, filling both of Twilight's glasses first and then her own. She went back to the kitchen and took the pancakes off of the oven and added them to the stack of already cooked ones. Bringing the plate of pancakes to the table, Fluttershy used a spatula to separate and serve them. "Would you like some syrup or butter?" she asked.
"No thanks," Twilight said, licking her lips, "These look delicious on their own." Fluttershy blushed and took her seat next to Twilight. She was glad that she hadn't poured the drinks ahead of time, as the hot pancakes went down great when followed by ice cold milk. The two of them ate their way through all of the pancakes, with Fluttershy having three of the eight and Twilight enjoying the rest. Originally, Fluttershy had split them up evenly between herself and Twilight, but her appetite wasn't as great as her friend's so she offered her the last one from her stack.
Twilight helped Fluttershy clean up when they were done eating. The meal had been delicious and fulfilling, more so than just filling her stomach. Fluttershy was washing the dishes in her sink so that the residue didn't harden while they were out for the day when Twilight stepped up close and gave her a brief kiss on the lips. Both ponies blushed but Twilight prevented any uncomfortable silence.
"Thanks Fluttershy. Nopony's ever made me breakfast before. Well, Spike does, but this ?was different. This was really special. Thanks."
"Oh, no need to thank me," a blushing Fluttershy said, putting the last dish on the drying rack, "It was my pleasure, really." The two mares exchanged silent smiles. "So, um, what did you have in mind for the day?"
"Well, I didn't think too far after breakfast, actually," Twilight said, rubbing the back of her neck as she admitted to not having planned something out in advance for once. "But I was thinking we could digest breakfast with a walk through Whitetail Wood."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful," Fluttershy said. "Um, I'm ready to go whenever you are."
"Okay," Twilight said, taking the lead from the kitchen to the front door. Fluttershy followed Twilight, taking only a moment to make sure that everything was cleaned up and she would be alright to go. "Oh, um, one minute," Fluttershy said, remembering that she needed to get the breakfast bowls out for her various animals.
Twilight stood by patiently as Fluttershy went through her normal morning routine. Animals had begun to arrive before she finished, but Fluttershy didn't mind. She gave each one a brief apology, explaining that she had been entertaining a very special guest. This earned her a blush and a smile from Twilight, but an annoying insistence from Angel that he needed something extra special for breakfast.
After Fluttershy went out of her way to make a rather ornate salad for the rabbit, Twilight gave the little white bunny a harsh look but it just gave her a smug smile of victory. Twilight stuck her tongue out at Angel but acted innocent when Fluttershy came back.
"I'm so sorry Twilight," Fluttershy said.
"Its fine Fluttershy," Twilight said in return, "You're a very compassionate pony, and it really shows when you care for your animal friends." Fluttershy blushed and smiled. "So, um, we can go now. They should all be good until this evening."
"Great!" Twilight said, opening the front door and going outside. She held it open for Fluttershy and closed it behind her. Twilight and Fluttershy matched their paces as they left the cottage behind and headed towards Ponyville.
Before they entered the town itself, the two mares turned down a side road that would take them around Ponyville instead. It wasn't a conscious decision on either of their parts, it just seemed like a better trail to take at the moment. Subconsciously, maybe they were both avoiding the possible difficulties they would have to deal with when their date became public knowledge. As they entered Whitetail Wood, however, there was not a single negative thought in either of their minds. They were enjoying each other's presence, the ambient sounds of nature around them providing an excellent backdrop.
Twilight and Fluttershy looked around independently of each other as they walked through the woods. Twilight had only been through Whitetail Wood during the Running of the Leaves celebration the previous year, so seeing it in spring time brought a new kind of beauty to the place. Fluttershy frequently walked through the woods, but she was still more than enjoying herself. Walking with Twilight was better than walking alone. On occasion, Fluttershy would look over to Twilight and watch the excitement and interest play across the unicorn's face.
Fluttershy stopped walking and looked closely at the base of a bush. "Oh, Twilight!" she said, getting her friend's attention, "You should come and see this." Twilight came to Fluttershy and the pink maned mare knelt down with her forelegs to look under the bush. Twilight knelt down to look as well and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Fluttershy, is that a baby rabbit?"
"Yes," Fluttershy nodded, looking at the baby bunny. It was sleeping, its ears were flopped down over its eyes to keep the sunlight out.
"Awww, its so cute," Twilight said. Fluttershy nodded then lowered the section of bush slowly so as to not disturb it's sleep.
"Did you know that rabbits..." Twilight began along, informative schpeel about rabbits and their habits. Fluttershy listened to what Twilight had to say and only commented on the accuracy, inaccuracy, and her own observations whenever Twilight asked for them. It turns out that a lot of the books Twilight read focused more on the mating habits and dietary needs of rabbits, and described them very accurately, but had little to no correct information regarding the social habits of the creatures or how to care for them. Once Fluttershy began to talk about what she knew of bunnies, Twilight became the eager listener, asking an occasional question.
Before either of them knew it, they had gone through Whitetail Wood, the road looping back to Ponyville. "That's amazing," Twilight said when Fluttershy indicated she was finished speaking. "Have you considered writing a book?"
"What?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes widening significantly, "Oh no, oh no no no, I could never be a good writer. I'm far too busy taking care of the animals."
Twilight and Fluttershy decided to go to Stars Buck while they were walking into town. The green-and-white image of a mare in a horse shoe hung was emblazoned over the door. The tables inside and out were full of couples, but just as Twilight and Fluttershy arrived one of the couples got up to leave.
"Hey Big Mac, hey Cheerilee," Twilight said as the older ponies made their way for the metal gate that Twilight and Fluttershy had just entered.
"Well hello Twilight. Fluttershy." Cheerily said, giving them both a big smile. "You two have good timing. There's not one vacant seat, but we were just leaving."
"Eyup." Big Mac said with a smile.
"Oh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't give you any punch this year, did they?" Fluttershy asked. The four of them shared a mirthful chuckle as Cheerilee looked around.
"So, are you two waiting for any special ponies?" she asked.
"Eh, not exactly," Twilight said. "Fluttershy and I are here together."
"Oh," Cheerilee said, her smile faltering for a moment as her expression showed surprise. She smiled again, though she had to nudge Big Mac in the ribs to get him to stop staring with wide eyes. "Well, you couldn't have come to a better place then. The coffee here is delicious, right Mac?"
"Eyup" Bic Mac answered, nodding mechanically. There was an unease moment as all four were quiet, then Cheerilee that she and Mac had made some plans and needed to get going. Twilight and Fluttershy said their farewells then went over to the table. It had been cleared while they were talking to the previous diners.
Twilight used her magic to tilt the umbrella over the table a little bit to keep the sun out of Fluttershy's eyes and their waiter came over. They both ordered coffee, though Twilight wanted hers black while Fluttershy asked for enough cream and sugar to make the coffee little more than sweet, caffeinated milk.
They discussed what they were each getting and had a short, playful argument over how to split the bill with Twilight winning that she would pay for the meal and Fluttershy would handle the tip. They both wanted to take the majority pay, but Twilight won with the argument that Fluttershy had made breakfast.
The two ended up ordering the same meal; a dandelion sandwich on whole grain bread with hay fries. They talked about their past adventures as they ate, laughing at some of the more terrifying things- Pinkie Pie had rubbed off on them, apparently- and reminiscing about the best parts, like the time they spent together after the Gala fiasco.
"Oh!" Twilight said suddenly, "That reminds me! I got a letter from Princess Celestia a few days ago. She wants all of us to set up this years Grand Galloping Gala."
"R-really?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes glistening with excitement, then sudden fear, "But, the animals didn't like me last time I was there, and I did sort of cause a stampede." her ears flattened a little as she remembered how she had lost all control of her temper and gone on a rather mad rampage.
"Don't worry about that Fluttershy," Twilight said, reaching over to pat Fluttershy's hoof. "I'm sure Princess Celestia will introduce you to every one of the creatures in her garden and they will love you as much as I do."
Fluttershy looked up at Twilight and smiled, her eyes welling with tears and her cheeks flushing from the depth of that comment.
The waiter cleared his throat to break them apart momentarily as he set their food down. They both thanked the stallion and he left them to their meals. They went back to talking about the Gala and going over ideas they each had from the past one that they liked and things they would definitely change.
"I can't wait to tell the others" Twilight said and Fluttershy agreed. They would need to start talking about it soon so they could get plans made. The Gala would be in a few months after all.
They enjoyed their meals for a little over an hour before paying and leaving. When they left they heard many hushed conversations begin that hadn't seemed to get to them during their meal. Apparently many of the patrons were highly interested in this 'scandalous affair' despite there not being anything scandalous or affair-worthy about it. Twilight leaned closer to Fluttershy and whispered "If I kissed you now, would you freak out?"
Fluttershy almost freaked out from the suggestion. Her heart raced and her mouth went dry. "Um...I don't think I would" she managed to say. She stopped walking when Twilight did and turned to look at her friend. The purple mare leaned in and pressed her lips to Fluttershy's. The kiss was as chaste as that Twilight had snuck in while they were doing the dishes that morning, but it lasted a lot longer. Several seconds, in fact. Then they both broke away blushing, and they both looked back over their shoulders with smiles on their faces.
The hushed conversations had all stopped as everypony- stallion and mare alike- in and around the cafe had fallen silent and stared wide-eyed at the kiss. When they realized that the objects of their fascination were onto them, they all quickly went back to ignoring them as casually as if the two had just arrived on the arms of their own stallions.
The mares giggled as they left, going to the library. They ended up out front of it before they realized that was where they went. "Huh, must have just come this way out of habit." Twilight said. Fluttershy only nodded, having mostly been following Twilight's lead but not having really thought about where they were going. "Well," Twilight continued, "Anything you want to do between now and dinner?"
Fluttershy thought about it as she shook her head "No" but then blinked and nodded her head 'Yes'. "Well, um, if you don't have anything already planned, we could, um, maybe go to the park and watch the clouds."
Twilight smiled at her. "That sounds like a great idea Fluttershy." she said. Fluttershy smiled back and the two walked side by side to the park. This time, Twilight flicked her tail over to Fluttershy's and the two entwined. Fluttershy blushed again but didn't even consider pulling her tail away. It felt nice. It felt more than nice, really. More like wonderful!
They made it to the park and went up to the hill where they normally met their friends for picnics or weekly pet play dates. With the area vacant, they rolled over onto the grass, their heads side by side. They looked up at the clouds and scanned them for images. Fluttershy found one first; a cloud that looked like a butterfly. Apparently, a pegasus thought so to because the cloud began to move in semi-erratic ways across the sky before stopping. Twilight and Fluttershy giggled as they watched one pegasus chase the culprit out of the cloud and across the sky. They had never known that the weather control pegasai had such humorous antics, but after spending several hours watching the sky, looking at interesting clouds and watching pegasai "work" they thought they had a much better idea of what Rainbow Dash did when she wasn't skipping work.
Eventually, Twilight rolled over. The sun was getting lower in the sky and the tree they were near kept their heads well shaded while their bodies continued to bask. Fluttershy rolled to face her and the two locked eyes for a moment before mutually leaning in for another kiss. Unlike the one at the cafe, this one wasn't quite so chaste. Fluttershy felt Twilight's lips part and her tongue pressed against Fluttershy's lips. The yellow mare parted her lips and teeth, letting Twilight's tongue into her mouth. The unicorn slowly ran her tongue along every surface it could reach before it settled on playing with Fluttershy's tongue. The pegasus timidly played back, and started to trace Twilight's tongue back into the unicorn's mouth before retreating. Whether it was Fluttershy's natural timidity, or whether she was teasing Twilight, the purple unicorn loved it and tried to coax some more out of her date, but soon had to stop the kiss to take a full lungful of air.
Fluttershy gasped as much as Twilight did when the kiss broke. The two mares giggled a little, glancing at each other, as they caught their breath. "I was thinking," Twilight said, "We could have a picnic for dinner. Right here, under the stars."
Fluttershy nodded. "That sounds beautiful Twilight," she said, "I never knew you were so good at romance." Twilight blushed at her and gave most of the credit to all of the reading she did, but Fluttershy felt that Twilight would have done something just as special even if she didn't read a single romance novel. The two sat up and trotted back to the library, tails entwined again.
They went inside and Twilight called for Spike but he was nowhere to be found. She gave a shrug and figured he must have been out somewhere and she wasn't too concerned. She took Fluttershy back to the kitchen and the two went to work getting everything they would need for a picnic. Blanket, basket, a couple of candles, some flowers, sandwiches, bottled juice, napkins, the works. Twilight packed it all into the basket and used her magic to carry it.
Returning to the hill in the park, Twilight asked Fluttershy to pick a spot. They didn't want to go too near the big tree lest they couldn't get a good view of the night sky. Already to the east the stars were beginning to glint into life as the sun neared the point where Celestia would put it away for the night. Fluttershy found a good spot on the north side of the hill and Twilight used her magic to set up the picnic.
They sat side by side, flanks touching, and ate their sandwiches as they looked up a the duality of the sun setting and the moon rising. The brilliant silver orb rose up to the sky and dimmed the brilliance of the stars around it and yet it still fit into the sky; a beautiful centerpiece for their dinner.
Twilight lifted one of the flowers to Fluttershy and the pegasus ate it. She did the same for Twilight and the unicorn returned the gesture. Once all of the food was gone and their drinks were almost done Twilight leaned in and nuzzled Fluttershy affectionately.
Looking skyward again, she said "I can't believe Luna felt shunned all those years ago. The night sky, her moon, they're so romantic."
"This is the best time of day for love." Fluttershy added, leaning her head onto Twilight's shoulder. Twilight lifted her hoof up and wrapped it around Fluttershy's shoulder while resting her cheek on Fluttershy's soft pink mane, agreeing with her.
As the two stared up at the moon, a dark figure stared back. Unseen by her subjects, Luna flew through the night, observing the various romantic couples enjoying the end of Hearts and Hooves day. The most stand-out of the couples was easily the Elements of Magic and Kindness sitting too close for 'just friends' and entwined in an intimate embrace.
"Very interesting." Luna said, smiling down at them, "I'm certain my sister will be as pleased as I am to know of this." She watched the two Elements enjoy each other and her moonlight in silence. When the two began to get up and pack up their picnic Luna decided to move on and return to Canterlot where she had various nightly duties to attend.
Fluttershy and Twilight returned to the library so they could put the picnic supplies away and toss the trash where it belonged. Twilight walked Fluttershy back to the main room then they both stopped. Fluttershy opened her mouth to say 'Goodnight' and assure Twilight there was no need to waste her time walking Fluttershy home, but Twilight kissed her before words could escape. Fluttershy melted into Twilight's lips and kissed her back until Twilight broke the kiss.
"Spend the night" Twilight said softly, lifting a hoof to caress Fluttershy's neck. The pegasus blushed and for the first time of the evening her smile faltered.
"W-what? R-really? B-but...i-its only our first date." she said, the butterflies on her flank feeling as though they had some how made their way to her stomach. She was secretly excited at the prospect, but at the same time she was more than a little nervous. Twilight continued to stroke her mane, making Fluttershy more at ease despite herself.
"So?" Twilight said, "Three dates is such an arbitrary number. I've read numerous books on the subject of dating and they all point out that the current social construct makes no sense given the history of Equestria. Did you know that back in-" Fluttershy was not in the mood for a lecture on this subject, but being incapable of speaking up against her friend, nor really wanting to do anything against her, she silenced Twilight with a kiss. As Fluttershy had hoped, it got the unicorn to be quiet and stop her speech. Fluttershy already knew the gist of what the unicorn was trying to get at. She wasn't uncomfortable with the idea, she was just nervous. Twilight and Fluttershy knew each other better than most people knew their best friends, and the unicorn had a point; no sense in waiting three dates when the social norm scarcely applied.
"Alright" she said after the kiss, giving Twilight a nervous smile. Twilight beamed and the two kissed once more before Twilight led the way up to her room. Fluttershy followed Twilight up to her friend's personal room and then went up the stairs to Twilight's bed while Twilight shut the door. Fluttershy stood by the bed while she waited for Twilight to come up, glancing from the bed to her friend with a nervous expression.
Twilight used her magic to lift the blanket away from her bed then, giving Fluttershy another nuzzle to the cheek, climbed onto the soft mattress. She looked to Fluttershy and the yellow pegasus tentatively put a hoof on the bed. She took a deep breath then climbed all the way onto it. She laid down beside Twilight and the blanket floated down to cover them up.
Twilight scooted closer to Fluttershy and embraced her. Fluttershy snuggled herself into Twilight's arms and Twilight kissed her. Fluttershy returned the passion ofthe kiss, which in turn caused Twilight to get more excited and Fluttershy was fed by Twilight's passion. Twilight's tongue entered Fluttershy's mouth and caressed Fluttershy's. Fluttershy tried to breath normally but she was having a hard time with how hard her heart was pumping. She felt Twilight's hoof start to caress her shoulder and then move down to her side, Her touch felt nice and soothing to Fluttershy, and as it passed over her cutie mark Fluttershy moaned softly into Twilight's kiss. She timidly began to mimic Twilight by sliding her own hoof down Twilight's side. She couldn't see exactly where Twilight's cutie mark was but has a vague idea, and when she touched it Twilight moaned, breaking the kiss to whisper "Oh...that's so nice." Fluttershy smiled and initiated the next kiss.
They rubbed each other's cutie marks for a while, Fluttershy feeling her excitement growing between her legs. Twilight moved her hoof down off of Fluttershy's cutie mark and to her leg. Fluttershy broke the kiss to look down at the blanket concealing their bodies. Both ponies had darkly flushed faces as the heat of the moment was getting to them.
"If you want me to stop," Twilight began to say.
"Oh, no, I-I don't want you to stop," Fluttershy was quick to answer, "Its just that I...I...never..." her eyes began to well up with tears but Twilight only smiled.
She rested her cheek against Fluttershy's and whispered "Shh. Everything will be fine." She almost wanted to say that it was going to be her first time too, but she did not want to lie to Fluttershy. Twilight had had several dates back in Canterlot before she came to Ponyville, and a couple of times she had gotten physically intimate with other mares. This was different though. The other times had been hormonal, primal, and all about the sex. Right now, with Fluttershy in her arms, it was so much more. It was special. It was love.
Fluttershy was calmed by Twilight's words, and felt, with growing anticipation, Twilight's hoof get closer and closer to her marehood. When the hoof made contact with that sensitive, sacred place, Fluttershy shuddered in ecstasy. "Oh...oh Twilight..." she whispered. The unicorn continued to rub Fluttershy's pussy and the receiver of the attention let out pants of pleasure.
Fluttershy writhed in ecstasy, her body slowly twitching and jerking in pleasure. Waves of amazing sensation radiated from between her legs and tickled every inch of her, from the bottoms of her hooves to the tips of her ears. She kissed Twilight with a level of passion that, while not overwhelming, was quite surprising to the purple mare. She returned the feeling with equal fervor but her hoof never ceased being gentle upon her delicate partner.
Removing her hoof from Fluttershy's marehood, Twilight broke the kiss and brought her hoof up to lick it. She slowly savored the flavor of Fluttershy, making an "Mm" sound of approval. Fluttershy blushed some more, slightly embarrassed by the gesture, but also slightly aroused. Getting bold, Fluttershy slid her tongue out and tasted herself on Twilight's hoof. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, but before she could try another taste Twilight had lowered her hoof and was kissing Fluttershy again.
The kiss was short lived as the unicorn moved her lips down Fluttershy's cheek, then down her chin and neck. Fluttershy began to pant softly as her imagination ran wild. She may have been a virgin and an extremely shy pony, but she had read novels that hinted at what was going to come next. As she felt Twilight's lips move along her side and down onto her stomach, she reflexively rolled over to her back. Twilight must have expected this because she didn't miss a kiss as she moved her head to follow Fluttershy's body.
For a moment, the kisses hit a ticklish spot on Fluttershy and she giggled as she looked at the lump in the blanket bobbing with the little kisses, but then she felt the kiss right above her nether region and tensed up before gasping and arching her back at the wonderful feeling. Stars swam across her vision despite the ceiling only being a simple wooden veneer. Her forehooves pressed down onto Twilight's head, gently petting the purple unicorn through the blanket that separated them. Her tail flailed wildly, brushing against Twilight's stomach and thighs and her hind legs began to curl around Twilight's shoulders.
She felt Twilight's tongue slide along the surface of Fluttershy's lower lips and slide between them. It moved around with a nervous experience that felt absolutely amazing to the yellow mare. Twilight's nose rubbed against Fluttershy's exposed clitoris whenever her tongue wasn't stimulating it. The soft gasps and pants from Fluttershy actually grew softer as her pleasure mounted. Something exciting and frightening was growing within her, and when it exploded she let out a muted scream as her body trembled. Twilight felt her tremors and tasted the new wave of love juice that flowed from her. She didn't just stop pleasuring Fluttershy though. She slowly worked Fluttershy down from cloud nine, reducing the length and breadth of her licking until she was just barely kissing the sensitive folds of flesh. She slowly kissed her way back up Fluttershy's body until she was looking down on the smiling, loving eyes of the pegasus.
Fluttershy tried to speak but was still rather breathless. Twilight silenced her attempts with a kiss and fixed the blanket around them. She wrapped her arms around Fluttershy and buried her face into the voluptuous pink mane. She whispered "Goodnight" to Fluttershy, but the dear mare didn't hear it. She had already fallen asleep in the embrace of her lover.