Whenever something tragic happens one begins to notice the world moving on, leaving behind the tragedy with ease. Thoughts arise wondering how the world can go on when you’re there feeling it all crumble around you. Don’t they know what has happened? How can you be happy at a time like this?
I’m hurt, can’t you see…

The sun had arisen late that day, though all the people hurrying below its gazing rays hadn’t noticed in their bustle to get things done. Time moved as quickly as it always had, the Canterlot peoples scurried along with their day, unaware of the scene unfolding within the castle at the edge of the city. Beyond its strong proud walls was a room of nine colourful women, eight of which were standing around a bed, murmuring softly to each other. The last lay motionless in the bed, her chest rising and falling slowly beneath the blanket which covered her. It was the only sign that she was still alive.

One of the standing women, a white furred proper lady, broke away from the group, her high-heel wearing feet bringing her to a large window at the far side of the room. The other girls glanced her way, giving each other concerned looks as she stopped and began to watch the city-folk below. Her face blank aside from slight frown, she looked over the people moving happily about their day. Meanwhile she was there feeling as if her world was beginning to come down around her.
A firm orange hand rested on her shoulder, bringing words to the horned woman’s voice,

“They just keep going like everything’s okay.” The other woman nodded looking at her friend with soft understanding.

“Ya know they ain’t got a clue ‘bout what’s happen’n, Rare.” Rarity hung her head slightly, distraught returning to her mind as she recalled the events leading to the moment.

“I know, Applejack… it’s… just-…” her voice broke as she tried to talk, causing the orange cowgirl to pull her into a comforting hug.

“Oh it’s okay Rarity, everything will be just fine.”

The other women pulled closer to each other as Rarity began sobbing into Applejacks shoulder, having been with Twilight when she passed out had taken its toll.

The blue furred, rainbow haired woman crossed her arms, her face tight as she attempted to keep a strong composure. She was watching the comatose Twilight with pressed lips. She had been with her just a week before and it was hard to accept the dramatic change in circumstances. In an odd way it was as if a slow dissolve into the current state would have been better for her; the instantaneous impact left no room to prepare one’s self for the fleet of emotions, nor accept the inevitable.

Similarly, eyes were on the Rainbow mare as the light pink woman watched her friend closely. She knew pretty much what was going on in athletes mind at the moment, she was probably feeling pretty close to the same way after all, but the difference was she knew how to express herself. The blue woman was too proud to let her emotions flow.

“It’s okay to be sad Dashie…” the petite pink mare began to say, moving closer to her friend.

“I’m not sad, Pinkie, I’m…” Rainbow Dash started to say, cutting her friend off before her own thoughts trailed away. The floofy haired Pinkie Pie noticed the brief face of anger that flashed across the other. She looked away, letting out a long sigh as she tried guessing what was really going on in her friends head. She knew that Dash was probably telling the partial truth, but what exactly was she… oh. She frowned, looking up and over to her friend once more.

“Rainbow, you’re not feeling guilty are you?” At that the Rainbow athlete frowned, her head turning slightly away. Pinkie shook her head in disbelief, suppressing another sigh. “Dashie, you know it’s not your fault, right?” Dash looked into her eyes.

“I shouldn’t have let her use that potion. I should’ve stopped her.”

“Hey, you couldn’t have known what it would do! You guys were just going to have some fun. It’s not your fault.”

“But maybe if I-” Pinkie pulled Rainbow Dash close to her so that their bodies were facing each other.

“This is beyond you now, Dashie; it’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, Rainbow Dash, that doesn't even make any sense.” Rarity and Applejack had returned to the group and were looking at the other two, Rarity having been the one who spoke. “If anyone, I should be the guilty one; I was the one with her when it happened.” Rarity looked down at her feet as she finished, Applejack continuing to comfort her.

“It’s neither one of your faults, you two. It was an accident and that’s that.” Pinkie said, shaking her finger with the words as she pointed at them both. They were both looking at her now, their faces only a little bit lighter. Pinkie looked at Rainbow Dash with a small smile before pulling her into a comforting hug, which was returned. Rarity was in turn embraced by Applejack, with the yellow, winged woman who’d been standing silently between them all, moving to join as well.

Eventually they broke apart, returning to a semi-circle formation around Twilight and wiping away tears that had begun to run. Off to the side of the group stood two very tall women, the princesses Celestia and Luna, day and night, who were watching the smaller women with slightly subdued looks. Turning to her sister, the white furred, purple clad alicorn sighed. Luna patted her shoulder and motioned towards Rarity, her face soft and comforting. With a nod Celestia turned to the unicorn lady,

“Rarity, may we speak in private?”

“Well, we were at the climax of our… relations… when she collapsed.” The usually white woman was somehow completely red with embarrassment, a lady should never have to speak of such things. Although it was upsetting to remember the event, it was still very awkward to talk of private matters. Even more so since it was with the princess.

“Mmhmm… And do you know if she’d done anything out of the ordinary before then, perhaps she was working on something new, anything that could have caused this reaction?” The princess was very professional about the matter, not wanting to dwell on the topic and torture the poor girl.

“Oh well with Twilight it’s hard to tell…” she paused briefly before a thought came to mind, “but I do remember Rainbow Dash telling me about a potion Twilight had made…” having forgotten about her conversation with the blue furred woman in the events shadow, she almost forgot about what it did, and had her blush been retreating, it was most certainly not now.

“Did she know what it would do?”

“It was meant to make them better…”

“Better… how?

“Ahm… hm… well… sexually.” Rarity’s skin was hot under her now red fur. The princess didn’t seem to notice or care, her mind was already searching through her knowledge of potions. There were hundreds of these kinds, she and her… she and him had used them before, one for each position, for each kink and fetish. She’d never be able to find the cure without knowing the exact symptoms and effects. However, seeing that she was nearly killing the lady before her, Celestia brought the talk to an end. Asking for Rainbow Dash next.

The blue furred, rainbow haired woman, sat straight faced, clearly feeling awkward as Celestia wrote some things on a notepad.

“Alright, so you and Twilight took the potion and then what happened?”

"Well…” she began, going on in detail about the strange sex she proceeded to have with Twilight. Blushing heavily as she went over the details of their magically appearing clit-dicks, and the unnatural feelings as they reach orgasm. By the end of it even the princess was blushing fiercely. Even in the shadow of Twilights condition, Celestia could feel a tingle in her nethers as the story came to an end.

“My… that is… interesting.” Rainbow Dash awkwardly looked around the room for a few moments before Celestia finished writing and decided that she had enough information. “Achem, so… that’s all I need to know.” They quickly collected themselves and departed.

“Sister, what information do you bring?” The nighttime coloured alicorn woman wearing a white blouse with match trousers pondered. Her sister was just closing the door behind her, all remnants of her earlier state gone and a look of deep thinking replacing it.

“As we thought, Luna, it is a curse; brought about from the magic of a sexual tonic. However I don’t know enough to say which one, have your knights found any clues from Ponyville?”

“We are afraid not; it seems Twilight Sparkle did not record the creation of… such a thing, nor did she keep any of it.” Celestia sighed and turned away from her sister, pacing as she thought once more. “What are its… effects? Perhaps we know of its origin.”

“It increases pleasure levels, sex drive and causes… one to grow male sex organs.” Luna looked momentarily surprised before shaking her head in wonder.

“My… we do not know of any such potion.”

“I know of many, but I need more information.” The dark woman scrunched up her face, once again surprised, why would she…? She pushed it aside, there were more important things to deal with than poking her nose into the likes of her sisters fetishes. Everyone has their kinks. “In the meantime,” Celestia continued, “I want to monitor the two who had relations with her recently, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Would you arrange for two of my guards to secretly accompany them?”

“Secretly, as in spying, sister?”

“No, sister, not spying… just keeping an eye on them, for their safety.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, we will also need to inform anyone working with Twilight to not physically touch her, just to be safe, all care and interaction should be done with magic.” Celestia was looking at her sister now, her face straight with order. Luna nodded, her face reflecting her sisters serious. They stood silently watching each other, both knowing what needed to be done but noticing something else around them.

Celestia's moody aura was lingering in the air; her sister could sense it and she knew it. Her composure loosened slightly and she sighed deeply. Luna’s face softened and she went to her sister, embracing her tightly.

“It’s going to be okay sister.” Many emotions floated through the white princess, a thousand years of emotional experience played games with ones’ mind.

“I hope so.”

In the darkest hours of our lives we feel the pits of our heart open and swallow the chillness of ice cold pain. When you have a thousand lifetimes of hours your heart begins to weaken and the mind begins to revel for a moment of peace. Perhaps it yearns for the comfort of the finite. All things must end,
but what will that end be?

Author's Note

Sorry that this took 13 days AND has no sex, but I needed this chapter to set the stage for the next ones.
1800 words
Collective hours is around 4 I think... I don't keep track

The colours for the characters talking bits could vary depending on who's in the chapter, and who comes first. Also: sorry about Pinkie Pie, I didn't want to make her text bold so deal with it

There are to be SIX more chapters according to my organizer document. Next chapter? Stress release.