You Make My Whole Life Worthwhile

Chapters

You're So Special To Me
What More Can I Say?
To Make You See
Just Give Me A Joyful Grin
Spreading Out From Ear to Ear
Let It Begin
All I Really Need
Please Be Happy?
The Perfect Gift
Your Smiles
To Make Them Happy
Fill My Heart
Kind And Worried
I Really Am So Happy (For You)
All You Have To Do Is Smile

You're So Special To Me

Fluttershy’s doom, it seemed, had no immediate intention of letting her go.

“Hey, Shy-shy! How was your spa trip?” Pinkie said, hugging her so tightly that it was actually starting to hurt. ”I’m so sorry I couldn’t go with you, but Mr. Cake really needed a break.”

She was holding Fluttershy close enough that the latter could easily smell the subtle scent on Pinkie’s pelt. A mixture of dough and... soap?

Fluttershy breathed deeply, trying to place the scent. She wanted to remember it, to savor it, since it might be the last time she would be able to enjoy it in person.

Pinkie went on, oblivious to the intent sniffing at her hair: “He’s been covering for me an awful lot lately whenever I go see Rarity and I wanted to make sure he got some time to spend with Mrs. Cake and the twins!”

Pinkie seemed quite content to remain in their current, cuddly position so long as Fluttershy didn’t protest.

She didn’t, of course.

In fact, Fluttershy found herself quite unable to move or speak at all. She wanted so badly to nuzzle Pinkie, or perhaps even... kiss her? No, no, that would be a complete breach of trust with both Pinkie and Rarity. But surely nopony could blame her for enjoying a simple hug from a friend, right? She just needed to make sure Pinkie didn’t start wondering why she wasn’t saying anything.

Just a little longer—

“Shy? You okay?”

Shoot.

“Y-yes!” she finally squeaked out, blushing furiously. ”Sorry. Hugs are... nice.”

“I know, right? Hugs are just the best thing ever. Well, except for kisses, and cupcakes, and—” Pinkie stopped herself and blinked, then giggled suggestively. “Well, I guess I don’t need to talk about that. Let’s just say some things I do with Rarity are better too!”

I just bet they are. Maybe you could show me? If that’s okay with you...

Fluttershy winced internally, glad nopony else could hear her thoughts. “That’s... nice.”

Pinkie finally released her. “So, what’s up?”

Fluttershy had to suppress a groan of disappointment upon being let go. Then she gathered every last shred of her (admittedly rather lacking) courage and took a deep breath.

“I...” This was it, the crucial moment. She had to tell Pinkie; she had promised she would. “I need to tell you something. But I’m afraid to...”

“Afraid?” Pinkie said, cocking her head to one side. “Why would you be afraid?”

“Because...” Fluttershy looked at that smiling, happy face, the eyes so curious and trusting. Would she still be smiling after Fluttershy had told her the truth? “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, already seeing the happiness leaving Pinkie’s face in her mind’s eye.

“Shy? Maybe we should go into my room? I don’t know what’s bothering you, but whatever it is, I wanna help you.” Pinkie dragged Fluttershy inside her bedroom, kicking the door closed with a hind-hoof before leading her friend over to the bed. “Now, you just sit down and tell your Auntie Pinkie all about it.”

Please stop saying that. Do you have any idea how weird it feels to get all hot and bothered by somepony who insists on calling herself my ‘auntie?’ Also, I’m still older than you.

Fluttershy sat down heavily, staring blankly at the wall of Pinkie’s room. She was going to miss that wall... She’d spent many a night loitering there, whenever she hadn’t been brave enough to dance during one of Pinkie’s parties. In other words, most of them.

That might actually be the worst part of this, she realized: She was going to lose both of her best friends in one fell swoop. No more spa trips, no more parties... Just her, her hoof, and her animal friends. Maybe she might see one the other girls occasionally, should they deign to come and visit her in her exile.

It wasn’t fair. But that was what was going to happen.

Did she really want to ruin everything, merely by telling Pinkie how she felt?

No! She couldn’t let that happen. She would just... go away. Far away. She wouldn’t be breaking her promise, not exactly… She just wouldn’t be here to ever get around to keeping it. Although, she could perhaps return at some later date... Maybe after the wedding. Or maybe showing up at their tenth anniversary would be better.

Heck, maybe if she stayed away long enough, she wouldn’t even feel the same.

That’s... that’s what happened with Rainbow, after all. Ponies can fall out of love.

“Shy-shy? You’re starting to scare me... And not in the fun way.”

“Pinkie, I promised somepony I’d tell you something,” Fluttershy said at last, “but it’s going to have to wait.” Fluttershy looked up, determined. ”I’m going to go away. Probably for a long time. If Rarity asks if I kept my promise, tell her that I will, just... not today.” She nodded grimly. This was how she would save her friends, she had decided; this was how she would spare them the misery that would be caused by her own selfish desires. “I-I’ll miss you all...”

“Wait, what do you—”

“I...” Fluttershy looked into the frightened eyes of her friend and had to stifle a sob. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie!” She threw her forelegs around the pink mare, squeezing tightly.

“Where are you going? And why?” Pinkie threw her own forelegs around Fluttershy in turn, seemingly worried that she would vanish into thin air the moment she let go. “I need to know where to throw you a welcome party! A-and I need time for a going-away party!” The suddenly-frantic mare smiled widely, but this was one of those extremely rare occasions where her heart clearly wasn’t in it. ”So you… you can’t go anywhere yet! Okay?”

Fluttershy shook her head, although she, too, found herself unable to let go. This might be the very last hug she got from any of her friends, after all, before they all found out the ugly truth. “I can’t tell you where, and I have to go now,” she said, swallowing hard. She wasn’t ready for it all to end... ”If I don’t, I’ll mess everything up.”

“Why?!” Pinkie burst out. “Why do you have to go?”

“Because,” Fluttershy said bitterly, ”if I keep my promise, it will hurt you—and Rarity. But if I leave, it will be okay.”

Pinkie looked up, her eyes wet and fearful. “Are you worried I’ll be mad? Or sad maybe? If I promise not to be, can you stay?” Keeping one foreleg wrapped around Shy, she began making the familiar motions with the other, not waiting for a response: “I promise I won’t get upset. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” In her anxious zeal to convince Fluttershy, Pinkie had poked herself extra hard this time, requiring her to blink a few times before she could continue. ”Please tell me everything so you don’t have to go?”

Fluttershy looked down into those gorgeous, tearful blue eyes, wanting to tell her it wasn’t possible, that there was no way she could fulfill such a request.

Pinkie seemed to notice her struggling though, and smiled encouragingly. “It will be okay, Shy-shy. I promise.”

Would it be okay? Could it ever be okay? Those eyes said yes; those sweetly smiling lips promised it.

For just an instant, she allowed herself love Pinkie, without reservation, and before she knew what had happened, she found her lips pressed firmly to those of the other mare.

Those true blue eyes first widened in confusion, but then fluttered closed as Pinkie leaned into the kiss.

For a brief moment, there was only Fluttershy kissing Pinkie Pie, and Pinkie kissing back.

Then reality came crashing in and Fluttershy pulled away as though burned by those smooth, warm lips, utterly shocked by her own inexcusable actions.

“Oh no! Oh no, I’m so sorry!” she sobbed, cringing away from Pinkie.

Her eyes half-lidded, making her look more than a little dazed, Pinkie watched her friend pull away in utter confusion. “Shy... What…?”

“I love you!” Fluttershy cried out in abject misery. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie. For everything.” She scrambled up from the bed, running for the door, pausing only to look back one last time at the mare who had so cruelly stolen her heart. “Please don’t tell Rarity. This never happened. I’m sorry!”

“Wait! Why can’t I—”

But Fluttershy ran out the door without waiting for a reply.

Pinkie lay on the bed, feeling dazed and confused. Had Fluttershy just kissed her? The slick, salty wetness of the other mare’s tears on her cheek, the lingering warmth on her lips… Yeah, it sure was beginning to look like it. She had even said she loved Pinkie, but then, for some reason, she had run away, crying.

Love was supposed to be a happy thing, so why was Shy being all sad? It puzzled Pinkie to no end; she kept mulling it over in her mind, trying to find the answer.

None of it seemed to make any sense! Her own experiences with being in love were, admittedly, limited to just Rarity, but when she’d told Rarity she loved her it had felt wonderful. It had been like a big stupid rock had been taken off of her back—a rock she’d never even known was there. Even though she had been sure at the time that there was no way Rarity loved her back, just getting it out of her system had totally helped!

She scrunched up her face, trying to decide what to do now. Shy had kissed her, that was a fact. When it had happened she had had no real idea how to react, so she had reciprocated. It had just... seemed right, like when she had kissed Rarity for the first time. But was that okay? She couldn’t decide. Her mom and dad had been two ponies. The Cakes were two. Applejack and Dashie were two. She and Rarity were two. But what about three? Was it okay to have three ponies?

Shy certainly didn’t seem to think so, but Pinkie herself wasn’t sure what to think. Three was not a number she had ever thought about; she’d only barely gotten used to being a two.

Which brought her to the next problem: Rarity. She wasn’t sure how her fiance—she giggled; that word sounded funny to her even in her head—would feel about somepony else kissing her.

Which was, she supposed, probably what had worried Shy more than Pinkie being mad. Huh.

“Pinkie?” The voice of Mr. Cake came up the stairs from the dining area.

She got up and opened the door, putting as much cheerfulness as she could muster into her voice. “Yes, Mr. Cake?”

“Is everything okay? Fluttershy just ran out the door without saying goodbye.”

She wanted to say ‘yes,’ just to be reassuring. But after a moment’s consideration she decided to tell him the whole truth: "No... But it will be! I promised her."

There was a pause. “Okay. Just checking. Be sure to let us know if we can help.”

“Okay!”

Well, this was quite a pickle... Normally she loved pickles, but this wasn’t the kind she was fond of at all. How was she going to make it all okay—for everypony?

A rubbery squeak, accompanied by a pull on her tail, announced the fact that her pet was saying hello.

She grabbed the tiny alligator with both hooves, swinging him around to face her. “Gummy! Did you see that?”

Her pet rolled his eyes in two different directions and blinked.

“Well then, pay more attention! Fluttershy came in and she was all ‘um... hi,’ and I then was all ‘hugs are great!’ But then she was talking about some secret and she totally kissed me!” She did her best to look Gummy in the eye—or one of them, at least. “What should I do? She said not to tell Rarity, but that feels really weird... Like keeping a bad secret, you know?”

Gummy blinked again; first one eye, then the other. Then, meaningfully, he leaned forward and tried to bite her on the nose.

“Well, of course I can tell you, silly! She only asked me to not tell Rarity. But I kinda wish she hadn’t... I’d really like to ask Rarity what to do. She’s pretty good with these romance-y sort of things.” She gasped as an idea struck her. “Hey, I know! Maybe I could ask Rarity without asking her!”

The alligator wiggled his feet, prompting her to put him down.

“Thanks, Gummy,” Pinkie said happily. ”You always give the best advice!”

The sound of Rarity’s sewing machine greeted Pinkie when she entered the Boutique. The bell chimed, and a moment later a voice from the inspiration room greeted her.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique! I’ll be right with you!”

“Rarity, it’s Pinkie!”

A head popped out from the doorway, then ducked as a piece of fabric its owner had held in her magic whizzed past. “Oh, hello love! Back so soon?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said, rubbing her head sheepishly. “Sorry if I’m getting in the way. I needed to talk to you. I could come back—”

There was a sudden, deafening silence. Every piece of machinery was abruptly turned off, and all the free-floating pieces of fabric and tools were neatly laid down, relinquished from Rarity’s magical grip. “Nonsense! I always have time for you,” Rarity said, trotting into the showroom. “Sit. I’ll make us some tea.”

“Uh, actually...”

“I know, love: Iced, heavy on the sugar, small slice of lemon for flavor.” Rarity winked, kissing Pinkie in passing as she made her way to the kitchen. “Have a seat! I’ll have it ready shortly.”

“Thanks!” Pinkie said, sagging back in relief. She wanted to like the regular hot tea Rarity tended to make, but to her it was like licking old leaves. Adding sugar helped, but then it was just like drinking hot, sweet water. She much preferred it nice and cold and sweet.

In due time, though, both mares each had their beverage of choice in hoof. Pinkie was happily slurping from a bendy straw, whereas Rarity was daintily sipping at a cup of what smelled unmistakably like Earl Grey.

“So,” Rarity began conversationally, replacing the ornate cup on its flying saucer, ”you wanted to talk?”

Pinkie nodded, setting her own drink down on the table. “I, um... Something happened.”

Rarity’s eyebrow rose as she took another sip. Then she made a funny face and took a moment to stir in a bit of cream from an orbiting decanter. “Ahem. Something, you say?”

“Yeah... I don’t know what to do about it.”

Rarity nodded, motioning for Pinkie to go on.

The trouble with that, though, was that Pinkie didn’t know what to say exactly…

“Okay. I have this problem,” Pinkie said, picking and choosing her words, ”but I’m kinda not supposed to tell you what happened.”

Blinking, the unicorn opposite her took another sip of her tea whilst she considered this.

“Darling, I’m afraid I’m going to need you to make a teensy bit more sense, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“But that’s the problem! I don’t think I can!” Pinkie shook her head, trying to rattle the ideas contained therein into something resembling sense for her marefriend. When that proved unproductive, she stood up and started pacing back and forth.

Rarity, puzzled as she was, watched Pinkie marching to and fro in silence, her tea momentarily forgotten.

Pinkie stopped suddenly. “Okay... So, something happened. On the one hoof—” She held up a hoof—“she asked me not to tell you. But on the other hoof—“ She got up on her hind legs so that she could hold up both forehooves—“I didn’t promise not to tell you. But on the other other hoof—” She was balancing on a single hind leg now—“I’m worried you might get mad. But on the other other other hoof—” She lifted up her fourth and final hoof—“I don’t know if it’s right not to tell you. But on the other other other other hoof—”

Pinkie looked down, trying to find a hoof she hadn’t used yet. It was roughly at this point that gravity demanded to know what on Equestria she thought she was doing, before making her fall down like normal ponies.

“Darling? Are you all right?”

“Owie...” Pinkie scrambled up, rubbing her rump. “No, I’m not. I’m all confused and I need your help but I can’t tell you why I need help!” Her hooves shot up to her head, now, which had apparently just started to hurt significantly more than her hindquarters.

Rarity bit her lip, trying not to laugh at her poor Pinkie’s pitiful plight. “Love, I want to help, really I do. But if you can’t be a tad more specific I fear this is going to be rather difficult.”

“I know...” Pinkie cast her eyes down, sighing. “Sorry. I guess you can’t help me after all...”

Rarity’s eyebrow arched again, before she remembered and promptly drained the rest of her tea. Then, slowly, she set the china down, regarding her marefriend sympathetically. “All right... I’m prepared to forget this little conversation, since it seems I cannot be of any help to you. But I do have one question: Is this secret of yours something that will hurt me, yourself, or my little sister?”

The pink pony looked up in alarm, shock etched on every facet of her face. “No! I mean, yeah, you might get a teensy bit angry, I guess, but nopony has been hurt. Well, unless you count hearts...” She gingerly lowered herself onto her backside, wincing audibly. ”Ow-ity-ow. Or bottoms...”

Rarity still seemed a bit concerned, but those reassurances helped to mollify her at least somewhat. “Well, I trust that you will handle this situation, whatever it is, with the utmost care. I shan’t pry further.” She stood, walking up to Pinkie and laying her hooves around the uncharacteristically fretful mare’s shoulders. “I have every faith in you, my love. But if I can help you in any way... Well, do be sure to let me know.”

Pinkie stayed in the Boutique for some time, lying on the couch with Rarity, being nuzzled and comforted. As nice as this was, it didn’t solve any of her problems. It did mean a lot to her that Rarity apparently trusted her enough not to try and pry any further into Pinkie’s mysterious secret-that-might-not-even-be-a-secret, although some part of her almost wished Rarity would pry a bit more.

She supposed she could try to talk to Shy some more, but then she would probably just try to run away again, so that wouldn’t be much help.

“Geez Louise, what am I supposed to do now?”

Rarity raised her head from its cozy little perch on Pinkie’s shoulder. “I’m sorry?”

“I just don’t know what to do! I really really wanted to ask you for help, but I can’t tell you anything and now my head is all jumbled.”

“I understand,” Rarity replied, nuzzling Pinkie a little more for good measure. “I wish I could be of more assistance as well, but I will not ask you to break confidence with somepony else.”

“Wait!” Pinkie put her hoof up to her chin and stroked it. Immediately realizing something was missing, she rummaged in her mane until she found her trusty Emergency Pondering Goatee.

After slapping it onto her muzzle Pinkie pulled out a mirror, admiring herself as she pondered and pondered—and occasionally paused to stroke it some more, of course. In the end, she extricated herself from her marefriend’s embrace to begin pacing back and forth.

“Aha!” she exclaimed after a while. ”That’s it! I just need to talk to one of my other friends!”

“Oh?” Rarity asked, a bit bemused.

“Yeah! I was only asked not to tell you, so that’d still be okay.”

Pinkie nodded to herself in the mirror, practicing smiles number four through twenty-seven before taking both it and the beard and shoving them back into her mane.

Rarity bit her lip; she was starting to like the sound of this secret less and less. She trusted Pinkie implicitly but, ironically, found the tantalizing revelation that the truth would probably upset her, if she ever found out, more than a little upsetting in and of itself.

“Then perhaps you should speak with... whoever it was that asked you to keep the secret in the first place.”

“No, I don’t think that would work. She was really sad and I can’t figure out why!”

Pinkie sat back on the couch, temporarily defeated as to what her next move should be.

“I see,” Rarity said, suppressing the instincts screaming out at her to find out more. She did know that the pony in question was a female now, and noted that, while Pinkie had not directly implied that this pony was one of her friends, neither had she denied it. “Then I suppose you require a neutral third party.”

“A party?” Pinkie perked up at the mention of that particular word. ”But wait, third party? We haven’t held the first or second one yet, silly!”

“No… I meant somepony else not directly related to the issue, love.” Rarity had to smile, never being quite sure if Pinkie was wilfully misinterpreting these things for comedic effect or genuinely didn’t understand them.

“Ohhhh.” Pinkie clapped her hooves together. ”Hey, yeah! I know just who to ask,” she said, beaming. ”Thanks, Rarity, you helped a lot!”

She got up, kissed Rarity goodbye, and ran for the library.

Rarity watched her leave, growing ever more concerned. One of her friends had done something and had specifically instructed Pinkie not to tell her about it, which could only mean that it concerned her in some way. Dozens of possibilities played out in her head, each one more ridiculous than the last.

After a while, Rarity simply dismissed all of them and got up to return to her designs. Whatever had happened, Pinkie would surely be able to deal with it, or at the very least have the sense to ask for help if she could not.

Soon, Rarity was once again absorbed in her work.

So long as she kept busy, she would have no time to worry.

“Go away, Angel,” she muttered from beneath the heavy covers.

But the paw prodded her through the blanket again.

Fluttershy hesitantly poked her head out, just in time to be poked in the nose by the insistent bunny. “Ouch!”

He winced with her, giving her a contrite look.

“I’m sorry, Angel. I know you all must be hungry. Just give me a moment.”

But Angel put a paw on her leg and shook his head. Gesturing to the open door, he pointed out the crowd of animals anxiously peering through it.

“Oh!” Fluttershy turned back to Angel, trying to put on a happy face. “You don’t need to be worried. I’m fine. I’ll actually be spending a lot more time with all of you now.”

There were some tentative noises of jubilation from her friends.

“All of the time, actually.”

Instantly, the entire menagerie began to sound concerned again.

“Don’t you worry, it’ll be okay! I’m still working out the details, like the problem of getting groceries, but we should have enough supplies to last for at least a few weeks... I’m sure I can talk somepony into delivering food to my doorstep by then.” She paused, considering how to accomplish that without actually leaving the house. “Oh, I know! Who wants to run a note to the Apple farm?”

Angel slapped his forehead in disgust.

“Now now, there’s no need to be rude, Angel,” Fluttershy gently reprimanded the face-palming bunny. ”I just want to make sure everyone is taken care of. I… I just can’t go outside anymore. I’m not even sure if I want to live here anymore...” She lowered her head, not wanting her friends to see her tearing up. “But like I said, it will all be okay,” she added quickly, realizing her musings were proving quite distressing to the gathered critters. And then, with a weak smile, she requested: ”I, um… I would like to be alone now, if that’s all right…”

After a short pause there was the sound of various feet retreating from her doorway, and Fluttershy could sigh in relief. Preparing to re-enter her blanket sanctuary, she realized there was one foot still stomping impatiently on the bed.

“Angel?”

The bunny was looking at her crossly, waiting for something.

“Y-yes?”

He stopped tapping his foot, sighing in exasperation. He even tried pantomime, but Fluttershy could already guess what he meant: He wanted to know what was wrong.

“Oh, everything is fine,” she explained, failing to meet his eyes. ”I just can’t go into town anymore.”

He arched an eyebrow at her, motioning for her to go on.

“S-something horrible happened. I… I did… I told…” With a sigh, she turned away from him, looking out the window instead. ”Sorry. I just can’t. It’s too horrible!”

Outside, the birds were singing a happy, warbling song. She found herself wishing she were a bird, or perhaps a bunny—anything other than herself.

She felt a soft, padded foot encircling her foreleg, swiftly followed by a second. Looking down, she saw Angel affectionately hugging her leg, looking up at her with a sad, disarming smile.

Sniffling heavily, she tried to fight back a sob. “Thank you, Angel.”

Fluttershy lay down on the bed, snuggling up with Angel bunny.

For once, he made no move to squirm away.

Pinkie trotted down the road to the library, finally feeling like she had a plan. Granted, it wasn’t much of a plan, but it was a start... Twilight was sure to have some decent advice to give. Maybe she’d even know if three was okay!

While she walked, Pinkie started thinking about the questions Twilight might ask. The first would probably be how she felt about Shy. Fortunately, she wasn’t a complicated mare when it came to her feelings about her friends. True, the way she felt about Rarity was slightly... different. But Shy was a great pony too!

She did idly wonder if she should be worried that kissing Shy hadn’t really bothered her, and what Twilight would think about it, and what she would say, and what she herself should then reply, but then she decided it was probably a little soon to be thinking that far ahead. Maybe it was better to just let Twilight think like Twilight; her own head was already starting to hurt.
.
All Pinkie really needed to do was figure out what the proper reaction to being kiss-pounced would be, and then find some way to break the news to Rarity. After that, the tricky question of two versus three could be addressed; surely Twilight’s awesome mathe-me-matical skills would be of use there!

Wow, summing it up like that sure made everything sound a lot easier!

She arrived at the library and knocked on the door with a hoof.

“The door is open! It is a library, sheesh...” Spike grumbled from his beanbag chair.

Pinkie opened the door, poking her head around it to peer inside. “Oh, hey Spike!”

The sound of turning pages stopped, and Spike raised his head from reading level. “Oh, hey Pinkie. What’s up?”

“Oh, lots of things! But that’s not important right now. I need to talk to Twilight.”

“Upstairs. Look for the pony with her nose buried in a dusty lawbook. Can’t miss her.” He picked up his comic and found his place again. Without looking, he added, “Maybe you can talk some sense into her. Fluttershy sure couldn’t…” He let out a sudden laugh as he got to a particular panel. “Huh. A lampshade? That’s funny.”

“Okay!” Pinkie bounded up the stairs, humming to herself. Her ingenious plan was working out great!

It took a few seconds before the bit-penny dropped.

“Wait!” Pinkie cried, wobbling to a halt. Then she bounded down the stairs in reverse until she was back in front of Spike. “Fluttershy was here?!”

Spike nodded, turning another page. “Yup. She looked nearly as frazzled as Twilight, and that’s saying something.” He flipped to the ad, groaning at the fact that the villain was somehow defeated by fruit pies again. Talk about anticlimactic! “Dumb fruit pies,” he muttered. And then, remembering Pinkie: ”Uh, she was kinda babbling on about needing to tell Twi something, only not really. Something about Rarity... I dunno. Sorry. It was kinda confusing.”

There was no reply.

Spike looked up from his comic for a moment: Pinkie was gone, having already scrambled up the stairs while he was still talking. He could still spot a sporadic trail of flickering pink after-images, slowly fading away.

“Oookay. Never mind then.”

With that, he went back to his reading.

“Twilight!”

The unfortunate mare who answered to that name leaped into the air, knocking over three stacks of books and an inkwell in the process. “Gah!” She ended up clinging to an overhead rafter for dear life, desperate to avoid falling down.

Pinkie Pie peered upwards in puzzlement. “What’re you doing on the ceiling, silly? You can’t read books from there.” She frowned at the mess of ink-spattered books and papers on the floor next, shaking her head and tut-tutting in an almost Rarity-like fashion. ”And wow your room sure is a mess! You should totally ask Spike to help you clean up!”

Twilight groaned, looking down to see that the toppled inkwell had spilled all over the checklist she had been making. Then she took a deep, calming breath and teleported back to the floor.

“Pinkie... What?”

“Gee, everypony seems to be asking me that question today... Oh, right! I needed your help!”

“You, too?” Twilight groaned again, pressing a hoof to her face and letting out a long drawn sigh. “Okay… What do you need help with?”

Pinkie drew in a giant breath. “Okay. So I was laying on my bed composing this great little song about the happy noises and squeals Rarity always makes when I heard somepony coming up to my door really slowly! So I went outside and it was Shy! I hugged her and she kinda just stood there all not-move-y which was great for me because sometimes ponies squirm away and go ‘Ack, no, Pinkie! Lemme go! I can’t breathe!’ when I just looove hugging.” She wrapped her forelegs around herself, smiling dreamily. “But anyway, then we went inside because she wanted to say something to me but she was afraid, and then she was all ‘I need to move away so I don’t hurt you.’ And I was like—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Twilight sputtered. She was trying to wrap her head around all the stuff about Shy, but for some reason her brain stubbornly refused to parse anything past the part that weirded her out the most: “W-what was that about Rari—?”

Pinkie shoved a hoof into Twilight’s mouth. “Not done! So anyway, I was all ‘No! It’ll be okay, I promise, whatever it is!’ And then she kissed me!” Pinkie pursed her lips and made kissing motioned at the air. “She even said she loves me. Then she said ‘Please don’t tell Rarity’ and ran away!” After a moment to catch her breath, she concluded with: ”So, long story short, I need you to tell me if three is okay.”

“Mwhuh?!”

“Oh, right, haha!” Pinkie sheepishly removed her soggy hoof, then looked at Twilight expectantly.

There was a long pause wherein Twilight was mostly just readjusting her jaw and glaring a lot, but eventually her curiosity got the better of her and she repeated the inevitable question: “What?!”

Pinkie took another, even deeper breath. “Okay, so I was—”

“No! I mean—” Twilight shook her head, trying to make the world make sense again. “No, wait, nevermind that... What?!”

“I need help to decide if I should tell Rarity and I need to know if three is okay! I’m only just barely used to being a two. I mean, I like being a two, but three sure seems like it would be super-nice too! I just...” Pinkie paused, trying to summon up words that fit. “I heard that one voice, when Fluttershy said ‘I love you.’ I… I knew that voice. It sounded just like when I told Rarity about my feelings! And if Shy feels like that, I don’t want her to be sad!”

“Okay.” Twilight held up a hoof, taking a deep breath. “We’re going to ignore the Rarity thing for now because it makes my head hurt. So... Fluttershy kissed you?”

“Yahuh!”

“And you kissed her back?”

“Yeah! I mean, at first I was all ‘Wow, what’s going on?’ but then it felt really nice. Like when it’s super cold outside and you come into the kitchen and it’s all warm and toasty and hey, muffins!”

Pinkie blushed, unsure of how it was supposed to feel, talking like that about a pony other than Rarity. Guilt, as it turned out, wasn’t a very fun feeling, although she wasn’t quite sure why it felt like that.

“Muffins....” Twilight repeated with a deadpan expression. “Right.”

“Yeah! I mean, it totally felt like that first real kiss with Rarity.” She stopped, tapping her hoof to her chin. “Well, maybe not the first first one. Back then she was all ‘Pinkie what are you doing?’ and I was all like “I’m kissing you, silly. Do you want me to stop?’ and then she went ‘No... keep going.’ I mean the one from right after I told her I loved her and she said she loved me back! It just feels so right, you know? Kissing somepony who really loves you…” She trailed off, not sure where she was going with that line of thought. Obviously, she loved Rarity; that wasn’t even a question in her mind. But now her heart was all a-tumble again because of Fluttershy.

“Pinkie…” Twilight sighed. ”You need to tell Rarity.”

Pinkie nodded, having already decided that on her own. But it did help to hear somepony else say it. “I know, but I still don’t know... Is three okay, too, Twilight? I don’t want anypony to be sad. I really really like Shy. And I know how it is when you see somepony you love all the time and you just want to tell them and have them say it back, but—” Pinkie paused to swallow, her voice wavering, sounding suddenly very small and afraid—“but you’re sure they won’t ever, ever love you back. I don’t want that for Shy...”

Twilight held a hoof up to her forehead, desperately wishing she had a super-effective spell for migraines right about now. “Okay. So… Fluttershy loves you, and you think you might feel the same. But you also love Rarity, and you two are getting married. So you can’t just…” She trailed off, reconsidering. “No, nevermind, I can’t tell you whether it’s right or wrong. It’s not my place to judge. It’s really something the three of you need to decide for yourselves. But what I can tell you if it’s legal or not.”

She leaned over to a particularly dusty tome beside her, flipping over to the index. Swiftly finding the relevant part of the lawbook in question, she started reading, looking for any jurisprudence on cases similar to what Pinkie was suggesting.

Pinkie, meanwhile—for want of something better to do—started dusting off the edges of the massive book with her bushy tail.

After a while, Twilight finally found the section she was looking for: “Okay, based on existing Equestrian laws concerning the formation of herds, it is decidedly not illegal to form non-monogamous socio-sexual unions involving multiple ponies.”

“Oh, well that’s a relief!” Pinkie said, beaming and wiping a few imaginary beads of sweat of her brow. Below her breath, she muttered, “‘Cause I kinda really like ‘super-sexual unions...’”

”But Rarity does need to know about this, Pinkie,” Twilight sternly continued. ”And then you also need to talk to Fluttershy.” She slammed the heavy book shut for emphasis. ”If you don’t talk to her, she’ll never know how you really feel. Knowing her, she’ll probably be stressing out about that for the rest of her life, wondering what could have been…” She trailed off, her eyes widening. “I… I need to write a letter. Right now.”

“Okie-dokie?”

Twilight hardly heard her, scrambling for any scrap of paper that wasn’t completely covered in ink. When she finally found what she was looking for she began scribbling furiously, slowing down only after she had made the quill put the necessary flourishes on her signature. Then she put it down with a sigh of relief.

“Sorry, I just realized something and I needed to get it down before I lost it again.” She turned to Pinkie, smiling disarmingly. ”In short, I don’t know if three is okay, Pinkie, but you do need to tell her how you feel. She needs to know... If I don’t—If you don’t tell her, it will never be okay.”

She walked to Pinkie and threw her forelegs around her, pulling her into a crushing hug. “Good luck.”

Pinkie hugged her back, hope and worry swirling within her heart like a vortex. “You, too!”

Pinkie bounced her way back to the Rarity’s place, trying to decide how to tell her what had happened. The trip to the Carousel Boutique had never taken quite as long as it did today…

At least she felt a little better about this whole three thing now, but still that nasty ol’ guilty feeling kept on coming back. Was it okay to like somepony else, too? It was true that Pinkie hadn’t been the one to initiate the smooching, but she had kissed Fluttershy back. Should she have pushed her away? And how was Rarity going to feel about all of this? If she’d be even half as conflicted about this as Pinkie was, things could actually end up going really wrong really fast...

Maybe it would be better to talk to Shy first, then? But no, Pinkie dismissed that idea nearly as soon as she had thought of it. It had been wrong not to tell Rarity anything before, kind-of promise or no. Promises were important, but never more important than the ponies you loved.

Besides, before they could talk about three Rarity kinda needed to know why three was even being talked about.

For now, she put the ugly feeling of guilt away in a little box she kept in her head marked ‘Do not open until Hearth’s Warming Eve.’ They wouldn’t help her at the moment. Besides, she wasn’t even sure if they were the right feelings or just needless concerns. After that, the trip seemed much shorter; the Boutique didn’t look quite as foreboding and became a place of happiness again.

Pinkie stopped at the entrance, opening the door and grinning merrily as she made the bell go off.

“Just a moment!”

“I’m back!” Pinkie responded with forced cheer.

Maybe if she could put on a happy face for this it would go better. Most situations could be drastically improved with a smile, after all.

Rarity’s heart leapt when she heard Pinkie return. It hadn’t been terribly long since she had left, but to Rarity it had felt like an eternity. Every reason to worry her mind had come up with had been worse than the last, and if she didn’t find out what was supposed to be worrying her in the very near future, it would no doubt only go downhill from there.

But that wasn’t the only reason Rarity was frustrated: Try as she might, she hadn’t gotten a single thing done today. So much for drowning herself in her work... Still, maybe now that would all be over.

She rushed into the showroom, embracing her marefriend and smothering her in kisses. That done, she sat Pinkie down and fetched more drinks for the two of them. She was going to need something to occupy her mind while Pinkie talked, and tea sounded excellent right now.

Pinkie stared into her iced tea for a while before finally taking a big sip. Then she raised her eyes and put on a big smile.

To most ponies, this would have made her seem happy. But Rarity had become something of a connoisseur of Pinkie-smiles, and this one unmistakably told her: ‘I think I did something bad.’ Such a smile usually heralded Rarity getting very upset about something.

Not exactly an auspicious start for this conversation...

“Darling, whatever it is, I promise you it will be all right,” she said earnestly. ”You don’t have to put on a brave face for me.”

The smile faltered, then became slightly more genuine. “So, uh… I talked to Twilight about… Yeah. She said I really needed to tell you. I’m sorry I didn’t before, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do.”

Rarity waited patiently, bracing herself for whatever was to come. She told herself that this thing could not possibly be as bad as what she had feared.

“So… Fluttershy came to talk to me about something. She said she’d promised somepony that she’d tell me about it. But she was afraid to.”

Wait…

“She said she was going to go far away so she wouldn’t be breaking her promise. But I told her it would be okay.”

She can’t possibly mean… No, she was supposed to go to Twilight! I told her to go straight there! I even watched her go. So why in Equestria would she go to Pinkie instead?

“And then she kissed me.”

Rarity heard a shattering sound, followed by a splash of warmth on her hooves. “Wuh-wuh-what?”

“She… She kissed me. And I kissed her back. Then she told me she loved me and ran away.”

The silence in the room was deafening. All Rarity could think of at that moment were all the various causes of possible concern her feverish mind had dreamed up, and how this one actually managed to be far, far worse. In fact, this might even actually be the Worst Possible Thing. Where was her chaise longue when she needed it?

She glanced down.

Ah, I’m sitting on it. Right.

“Rarity, I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry I kissed her back... I love you. But she was just so sad. I just couldn’t not kiss her back.”

The table between them vibrated as Rarity gripped it tightly with trembling hooves. She picked up another cup in her aura and poured herself a much-needed replacement cup of tea, carefully counting the cubes of sugar one by one. Then she mixed cream into the tea, stirring very slowly. When she was done, she took a deep draught, feeling it warm up her insides—until it hit the cold pit her stomach had become. There it sat: a lump of leaden frost from which no heat could escape.

“Are you mad at me?”

Pinkie’s voice sounded small and afraid. Had she not been so shell-shocked at the time, it would have broken Rarity’s heart.

“I… I’m not angry.”

Not at you.

Never at her Pinkie. No, there was only one pony she needed to address this with, and, much as she dreaded it, she was certainly going to give that mare a piece of her mind. There were some liberties even a best friend was not allowed... “You have done nothing wrong.”

Pinkie visibly relaxed, reverting to a much more routine smile than the strained one she had been affecting for Rarity earlier. “Phew! I was really worried! I mean, I thought you might go all angry-scrunchy-face and start grinding your teeth, like you did that time you came by the bakery and we did all of that neat stuff together!”

And that, my love, is precisely why I cannot be angry with you, Rarity thought as she took another sip of tea.

Pinkie was never going to reject affection of any type; it just wasn’t how she was built. No, Rarity would have to tend to this herself, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. She couldn’t help but blame herself just a teensy little bit, however. She had demanded that Fluttershy spill the beans to the pony she had a crush on—even made her promise to do so—and this was the result. Of course, she had had no idea that the pony in question had been Pinkie.

But that doesn’t excuse kissing her! That was just going too far!

Pinkie reached forward, touching her hoof, and Rarity forced herself to remain still.

“You’re really quiet, Rarity. Are you sure you’re not mad?”

“Yes, my love. I’m not mad.” She tried to keep her voice from shaking as she made that reply.

I’m furious. Seething with rage, perhaps. Mad doesn’t even begin to cover what I am feeling.

“I’m just trying to decide what to say to her.”

Pinkie gave her a warm and encouraging smile. “I thought we’d both go over to her cottage—”

“No!” Rarity hadn’t intended to yell, and immediately softened her voice, affecting an air of calm smoothness: “No, love.”

It was a talent that generally served her well whenever she had to interact with ponies who tended to make her angry. Here, it helped to mask her true feelings. She had to remember who she was angry with; Pinkie did not deserve to be yelled at.

Rarity had to wince, however, when her marefriend’s ears clamped down anyway. The damage had already been done, it seemed.

“W-why not?”

“I think it best that she and I discuss the matter alone. She has been my closest friend for as long as we’ve known each other... Please, allow me to handle it.”

Pinkie’s ears were raised once more, and she put on a hesitant grin. “Are you sure? I mean, I’m the one she ended up kissing... Maybe we should all have a nice long talk together?”

Rarity felt her hoof tremble on the surface of the table once more, and took a moment to calm herself.

“There are some things that have to be done between friends. Don’t worry, I shall settle matters and tell you all about it when I get back.”

“Okay, if you’re sure...”

“Absolutely sure.”

The fashionista smiled coolly. What was to come was not going to be pleasant. But then, ending a friendship seldom was.

What More Can I Say?

Rainbow Dash had dreams, and Fluttershy found that exciting about her. She was a pony who knew exactly what she wanted out of life and wasn’t afraid to take it.

Fluttershy watched with lovestruck eyes while Dash surveyed the stunt course they had built together. She had worked really hard this morning, just because it would make Dash happy. It would be worth it—it always was.

Rainbow smiled, excitement and determination written all over her face. She reared back on her hooves, then took off with such speed that she destroyed the platform she’d been perched on. She sped, she weaved, she turned and twirled, all with asureness that Fluttershycouldn’t help but envy every time.

Yes, Dash knew precisely what she wanted... As she rounded the course, barreling back through the obstacles, hersmile grew ever wider. Without warning, she knocked Fluttershy over, causing them both to topple end over end, until she landed on top of her ina tangled heap of limbs.

Fluttershy looked up in excitement, but also felt a twinge of fear.

“That. Was. So. Awesome!” Dash exclaimed, her breath still trying to catch up to her. “I mean, did you see when I—”

“Oh, I saw.”

“And when I did that—”

“It was very nice.”

“What about—”

“Are you going to kiss me now?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Rainbow leaned down, making both of their tongues dance and weave inside Fluttershy’s muzzle.

There had been a time when Fluttershy wouldn’t have asked. When she wouldn’t have needed to ask. Back then, the rush of excitement from a race or simply from practicing a new trick would automatically lead to all the wonderful things she blushed to even think about. If anything, Fluttershy had needed to ask her to slow down a little to let her catch her breath.

She wasn’t quite sure what it meant, the fact that she had to specifically ask for it these days, but it was certainly beginning to worry her.

After a while of kissing and worrying, Rainbow Dash leaned back, albeit not before giving Fluttershy a fond little peck on the cheek. “Hey look, I gotta jet, Shy. But thanks. This was fun.”

“Oh... Okay.”

Fluttershy watched Dash fly off, pursing her lips sadly. This was all normal, she repeatedly told herself. But in truth, she couldn’t say for sure. Dash loved her, that much was clear, and she certainly loved Dash—so there should be no problem. But reality was proving more complicated than that...

It just felt wrong somehow, as though Dash was slipping away from her a little at a time.

Getting up, she dusted some stray bits of cloud from her mane and looked over the course they had just constructed. After taking a moment to brace herself, she took off with a rush of air. Fluttershy strained herself, forcing her oft-unwilling wings to carry her faster and faster, as if she were chasing the spectre of a rainbow contrail in front of her.

Always in front of her, racing ahead, the distance growing no matter how hard she tried.

She banked, she whirled, and rounded the cloud columns with ease and precision. Halfway through the course, however, she faltered, her wings simply refusing to keep up the pace any longer. But Fluttershy pushed on through the pain, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to finish.

Finally, she came to a stop on the selfsame cloud she had just left, utterly exhausted.

She just had to keep pushing. She had to catch up. Maybe then Dash would truly love her...

“Wow! That was amazing! You were all whoosh and zoom and zip! Do you think Dashie will like it?”

Fluttershy shook her head sadly. “She never knew. I was too afraid to show her. I was always too afraid...”

“Awwww, she would have liked it, I bet. But I still think you make a better Fluttershy than a Dashie.”

“I tried so hard to be everything she wanted, but in the end, I still lost her. I just couldn’t keep up.”

“Huh? I thought she wanted you? I mean, you you. ‘Cause it’d be kinda silly if Dashie wanted to, like, date herself.”

Fluttershy didn’t answer at first. She sat down at the edge of the cloud, kicking her feet as she watched the ground below. “Ponies always want me to be something else. Want me to be brave, be strong, be fast... As I am, I… I’m not good enough for anypony.”

Pink hooves wrapped around her, and she could feel a warm breath on her back. “I like you just the way you are. You can be any of those things, or none of them. I’d still like you.”

“How can you like me? After what I did to you...”

Pinkie just smiled and leaned forward, raising a hoof and knocking her on the forehead with it. “Knock knock, silly.”

“What do you mean—?”

A strident knock on her door woke her up with a start. She looked around, bleary-eyed.

The knock came again, louder this time.

“Fluttershy, would you kindly answer your door?”

Oh gosh, Rarity! “J-just a second!”

She scrambled up from the bed, but did take a moment to tuck Angel back in. A quick run down the stairs found her at the door, which she opened to find none other than Rarity, exactly as feared.

“S-sorry,” Fluttershy stammered nervously. ”You caught me during a nap.”

“Quite all right, darling. I suspect your day has been rather tiring.”

Rarity waited at the entrance to the cottage, looking at her expectantly.

“Yes, very.” Fluttershy was doing her best not to panic. Did Rarity know what she had done? It didn’t take long for the guilt-ridden mare to conclude that she had to know. After all, why else would she be here? “Um... Please come in.”

“Thank you, darling.”

They both settled down on Fluttershy’s couch, and for a few moments nothing more was said.

“So,” Rarity began, wearing an expression that all but screamed ‘I am breaking the awkward silence.’ “How did it go with Twilight?”

Fluttershy immediately relaxed. Rarity didn’t know; she was just stopping by to check on her. It didn’t make things okay, but it did mean that maybe they could keep being friends for a little while longer. That would be nice.

Of course, that was only until she eventually did find out—then Rarity would hate her, and she would have to move.

Maybe I should move now, before she finds out. Then at least my last memory of her can be a happy one.

“She... Well, she took it well.” That was true enough: Twilight had been very surprised, of course, but had gotten over the initial panic attack fairly quickly. “She just didn’t feel the same way.”

“Yes, well... I suppose that’s no real surprise. Not that there is anything wrong with you, dear, but when somepony is already in love they generally don’t choose to respond to the advances of others.” Rarity’s hoof, which had been relaxed on her knee, began to tremble. “You know, I got a bit of a surprise myself today.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Pinkie stopped by. She wanted to talk. Said she needed my help with something.”

Fluttershy’s heart pounded loudly in her chest. She knows!

“But for some reason, she refused to tell me why, or with what—”

Fluttershy relaxed just a little, but couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom in the air.

“—at first.”

Ah, there it is. Hello, doom.

She had always wondered what she would be feeling like, at the end of her life. Surprisingly, the answer was: strangely serene. Of course, full-on panic hadn’t had a chance to set in properly yet, and once it did arrive she expected it would be terrifying.

“Rarity, please... I can explain—”

Rarity nodded, not looking at her. “Yes, I expect you can. It really was terribly awkward for you, wasn’t it? A love triangle indeed, and I just had to go and push you...”

“I-I never wanted—”

“But that doesn’t excuse a kiss—the kiss—does it? That’s what has been weighing so heavily on my mind. I made you promise to confess, so I can forgive you for that. I might even have applauded it. But you kissed her.”

There it was, the other horseshoe had dropped. Rarity knew everything.

“I...” A feeble start at best, but, truth be told, Fluttershy couldn’t think of anything more she could say. There was nothing to say, nothing that could possibly excuse her impulsive actions.

“You know, this is the second time you’ve gone and hurt me when I was just trying to help you,” Rarity went on, not actually seeming to expect any further response. ”This is just becoming a trend now, isn’t it?” She grimaced. “Oh, sorry... I suppose it’s a bit petty of me, isn’t it, to hold a grudge from so long ago?”

Fluttershy hung her head, silently waiting for the screaming to begin.

Several moments later, however, she was still waiting for the expected outburst. When she dared to look up, she found Rarity silently weeping.

Fluttershy had anticipated drama, hysterics, insults, and even the odd thrown object or two, but nothing could have prepared her for the unadulterated misery she now witnessed in her friend.

She would have preferred the screaming.

“Um, Rarity?” Fluttershy hesitantly asked, hoping to prompt a reaction that wouldn’t tear her heart to pieces. ”Aren’t you mad at me?”

“Mad?” Rarity let out a small, half-crazed-sounding laugh. Off to the left, a vase full of innocent flowers actually burst into flame. “‘Mad’ seems to me a relatively calm term compared to what I’m feeling right now. My closest and dearest friend kissed my fiance! ‘Furious’ would be more appropriate, I think. And even that feels rather like an understatement.”

Rarity was looking directly into Fluttershy’s eyes, and the latter quickly discovered she could not hope to tear her gaze away.

“I actually snapped at Pinkie because of you, do you know that? I think that’s what I find most unforgivable.” Rarity lowered her eyes again, much to Fluttershy relief. “That’s why I wanted to see you suffer in some fashion. But now that I’m here, and you are before me, I find that all I can do is weep in frustration. How unfair is that? I want to yell, to scream at you... But one look at that insufferably kind face of yours, one glance at the mare I knew I could rely on for all these long years, whom I could trust with even my deepest, darkest secrets... And the only thing I can feel is regret.”

The hoof was trembling again. Rarity kept her eyes to the floor, refusing to make further eye contact. Across the room, the sound of glass breaking could be heard. Fluttershy looked toward it, noting how the vase full of incinerated flowers was now a freshly-imploded pile of glass shards, after being forcefully introduced to the wall.

“You kissed her, yet I had to keep a tight reign on myself to avoid getting angry at her,” Rarity told the floorboards, shaking her head in disgust. ”I can’t even begin to express how wrong that is...” She swallowed audibly. ”So, no, Fluttershy, I’m not mad,” she finished bitterly. “N-not mad at all.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Sorry?!” Rarity’s voice rang out shrilly throughout the cottage. For just a moment, cracks began to form in the thin veneer of gentility and some the pain and anger she was suppressing seeped through. But she visibly composed herself, taking several deep breaths while Fluttershy was still busy cringing away from her. “Yes, well, I suppose you are. But that doesn’t change what you’ve done.”

Fluttershy didn’t quite know how to react. She knew her friend was angry—so much so that it was honestly beginning to terrify her a little—but she was also aware of the fact that Rarity was hurting. Against her better judgement, this made Fluttershy want to comfort her. Hesitantly, she put a wing around her. “Rarity, I don’t underst—”

“You’ve confused her!” Rarity snapped, shrugging off the wing and glaring at Fluttershy. The anger was back, but below the smoldering fire in her friend’s eyes shone tears. “Don’t think I don’t know where this is going! You’re a very attractive mare, Fluttershy, and on top of that you’re sad because you love my fiance and cannot have her. Pinkie is not the type of friend who would let that happen... She’ll pity you. She’ll go to you. She would have to, in order to make you happy. A-and then, then I’ll be alone again...” Her shoulders slumped and she looked away once more, saying, “Do you understand what you’ve done now?” And then, more to herself than anything: ”She’s everything to me...”

Fluttershy anxiously rubbed her forehooves together. “I never meant to take her away—”

“It doesn’t matter what you meant to do; she’ll go all the same,” Rarity said, eyes still averted. But then, in the next instant they swiveled back, narrowed and full of intensity. “But you can’t have her, you hear me? She’s mine.”

There was a long, tension-filled silence, fraught with finality. Both mares kept staring at each other, either unable or unwilling to say any more.

In the end, it was Fluttershy who first looked away. “I’ll go away... I was already planning on leaving, so none of this would… would...” Fluttershy trailed off, realizing it was futile to dwell on the past. After a while though, she cried out miserably: ”I never wanted this!” And then, more quietly: “I’m so, so sorry...” In her mind, she was still silently pleading with her friend, still desperate for forgiveness, for understanding.

But her pleas fell on deaf ears: Rarity had already adopted an air of stone-faced civility again, throwing up an icy barrier between them which no feeble words of apology could hope to surmount.

She nodded primly. “That might be best for now. I’d better get back to Pinkie. She’ll be starting to worry about now.”

Fluttershy felt her weight leave the couch, and heard the door open and close.

And that was that.

Rarity maintained her composure for a good fifty steps from Fluttershy’s cottage, but as soon as she was out of sight the inevitable emotional collapse occurred. She cried openly, for any and all to see, as she made her way back to her own home. All things considered, the fact she made it out of sight was quite the accomplishment.

She had wanted so badly to tell her dear friend that, yes, of course she forgave her! That it was all just water under the bridge to her. It would have been the generous thing to do, to just let things progress naturally. And if, as she suspected, that would have resulted in the two of them getting together, she ought to have been happy for them. What was one measly broken heart compared to two happy and whole ones, after all?

But in the end, it turned out that, when it came to the ones she loved, even she was just a selfish, petty pony after all.

And so she plodded on, cursing herself for being so weak of will and downright horrible all around. She had been alone for the majority of her life; why should the thought of it bother her now?

Suddenly, she stopped.

“No,” she murmured to herself.

No, it was not selfish of her to want to hang on to the one thing that made her whole life worthwhile—even if that ended up making her best friend sad. There were limits even to the spirit of generosity.

And Celestia forgive her, she just couldn’t give her Pinkie away.

And Celestia grant that Pinkie can forgive me in turn.

“You did what?!”

Et tu, Celestia?

Rarity had gone straight up to Pinkie’s room, knowing she had to face the music sooner or later anyway—and opting for ‘later’ would only make it worse. But oh, how she found herself wishing that she could have postponed it. That it was her who was leaving town, rather than having to face those heartrendingly shocked, puppy-dog eyes.

Rarity raised her head, willing herself to be stronger. “I went over there, told her I knew everything and that she couldn’t have you. Then she said she was leaving town... To visit her parents for a while, I imagine.” Her voice quavered a bit when she uttered that obvious half-truth. To say that Fluttershy was visiting her parents sounded slightly better than ‘I drove my best friend out of town to Celestia-knows-where,’ at least.

Pinkie stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief. “Did you tell her not to? You did tell her that, right? I mean, I just got her to promise not to do something like that earlier!”

“Actually, I—” Rarity winced “—I told her I thought that might be best.”

Pinkie’s mouth hung open. “Wuh? Why would you do that?” She flumped down onto her haunches and brought her forelegs up, pressing her hooves to the sides of her head in bewilderment. ”I just don’t understand!”

The question tore at Rarity’s heart. She knew beforehoof that Pinkie would never be able to comprehend what had to be done; she had been prepared for that. But to be honest, she had been asking herself that very same question, over and over again, during the trip back from Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Pinkie, I... I love you too much to give you up. I’m sorry, but I had to defend what is mine.” There, she had said it—and to Tartarus with the consequences!

“‘Give me up?’ Why would you ever—”

Rarity shook her head, holding up a hoof to silence further protests. “I know you, Pinkamena Diane Pie. You simply cannot stand idly by when somepony else is sad. But you can’t help her with this.”

Pinkie opened her mouth to respond, but Rarity shushed her and sat down next to her, placing a sympathetic leg around her confused marefriend’s shoulder, still desperate to make her see.

”There is a very good reason why Fluttershy didn’t say anything regarding her feelings until I forced it out of her, darling. It’s not like she could just come by and say: ‘Oh, hey Rarity! I’m all out of marefriend, could I borrow a cup?’” Rarity resolutely crossed her forelegs, concluding with: ”Being somepony’s marefriend is an all-or-nothing deal. Either you are, or you aren’t!”

Pinkie waited for a moment to see if Rarity had anything more more to say, but once it became clear that she had said all she needed, Pinkie jumped up, spreading her forelegs wide. “But I would never leave you! I don’t know why you would ever think that!”

After making her way over to to bed and sitting down heavily, Rarity gave a nod of acknowledgement. She appreciated the sentiment, at least. “Oh, I know you wouldn’t mean to. It would begin innocently enough, just as it did with us. She’s already given you a kiss, so a few more wouldn’t hurt. There might be some snuggling while you visit, just to make her feel better. Then, one night, passion may take hold, and you end up making love. I know it sounds like romantic tripe, but these things get written into romance novels for a reason.” Rarity set her chin down on top of her forelegs, resting her head and sighing dramatically. ”If she stays, I will lose you... Slowly but surely.”

“No!” Pinkie stomped a hoof down, making the floor shake. “I would never leave you, no matter what.” She touched her earring, pointing to the diamonds and balloons carved into the gold. “Forever! That’s what these mean.”

Rarity reached up to her own, touching it gently with a hoof. It was such a small thing... She often forgot it was even there. But now she felt its solid, unchanging shape and was reassured of its existence, its permanence. “I… I know. I know you mean what you say. But you said it yourself, Pinkie dear... Fluttershy is just so sad right now, because of us. Because we are happy. And that’s not going to go away anytime soon. How will you deal with such a cruel dilemma? How will you feel, knowing she’s nearby and suffering in such a way?”

“Duh! I’d feel horrible, of course,” came the puzzlingly straightforward reply. ”And that’s why we should help her!”

Rarity raised her head and perked her ears, both her eyebrows shooting up at that suggestion. “C-come again?”

“That reminds me. I need to talk to you about a certain number...”

She couldn’t believe it. She had heard it explained in excruciating detail, and yet she still couldn’t believe Pinkie really thought it was all that simple.

And why were they even discussing this? She was the wronged party here! She was in dire need of a steady diet of comfort and kisses, but she was getting all these incomprehensible proposals toward sharing her beloved with the interloper instead.

“Darling, that’s just not how things are done. It doesn’t work like that!”

“It can too!” Pinkie started motioning in the air with a hoof. “I love you, and you love me,” she said, drawing an imaginary line in the air. “That’s elementary. And we both like Fluttershy. Factor in the fact that she likes you and totally loves me...” The hoof traced two more lines, completing a triangle shape. “And tada! We could make it work and nopony would have to move or be sad or anything!” Swiftly, Pinkie finished by writing the letters ‘Q,’ ‘E’ and ‘D’ beneath the mid-air triangle, before beaming at Rarity expectantly.

“Oh, I see,” Rarity muttered, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. ”And then we’ll all live happily ever after? So simple, so easy...” She hopped off the bed, her tail swishing agitatedly. “What about me, though? What if I don’t want to share you, did you ever stop to consider that? Would you leave me for her?”

“I just told you I would never—”

“Don’t say never, Pinkie. Please don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“But I never break—”

Rarity stopped listening. Wandering off, she searched the room until she spotted the specific title she had been looking for on one of her shelves. “I... I need you to understand what you’re asking of me,” she said, bringing the book towards them in her magic and then holding it at eye level. “Here, look at this cover. A couple deliriously in love. Do you see a third pony with them?”

She pulled forth several more novels, all in the same vein. “Here... and here. Here as well. They all feature couples. Do you know what a third pony means, every single time, when it comes to love?”

Pinkie shook her head, watching the floating books in bemusement.

“They are the enemy! An obstacle to overcome, a test of the relationship... Even—” Rarity furiously wiped her eyes with a hoof, trying to clear the tears welling up in them “—Even if they were your best friend, a pony whom you would have trusted with anything… And who went behind your back and kissed your fiance and, and, how could she do that?” The books all fell to the floor as Rarity’s shoulders slumped down in sadness. “I just can’t believe she did that...”

“Shy didn’t mean to hurt anypony. She... she just didn’t know what to do!” Pinkie cried, hopping over the haphazard pile of pulp romance separating her from Rarity. ”That doesn’t make it okay to let her go away...”

“What else was I meant to do?” Rarity desperately demanded. “Do you think I wanted to lose my best friend? It felt as though I was cutting out my own heart! But you… You’re what’s truly important to me now, do you understand that? It was the only way I could hope to keep you, even though it also involved a very real risk of losing you over what I was compelled to do.”

There was a long silence as the two regarded each other. Both mares desperately wanted to be understood; both were equally terrified over what it could mean if they weren’t.

It was not long before Pinkie scrambled over to Rarity, getting down on her knees and holding the latter’s hooves in her own. “Rarity,” she said gently, trying to get her marefriend to look her in the eyes. When she had finally established eye contact, she put on her best ‘serious business’ face. “I know you’re scared, but I’ve noticed something about you. When you’re afraid of something, you say ‘it’s just not done.’”

She ticked off points with a hoof: “You said that when I kissed you. You said that when I helped you learn about yourself. But who says it’s not done? Who made up these silly rules that say Fluttershy has to be unhappy, when she has two ponies who love her? Why does she have to be the enemy?”

“Stop talking to me like it’s me who’s the villain of this story!” Rarity shouted back, making Pinkie clamp back her ears in surprise. “Of course I’m afraid. I’m terrified! Do you think this is what I want? You getting all upset with me and Fluttershy ending up heartbroken? But let me just humor you for a moment... Let’s say we try this little menage a trois of yours, and the two of you fall deeply and madly in love with each other—but I don’t. What then? Would you be able to just leave her?”

“I...” Pinkie’s eyes widened as she played that scenario out in her mind. Her hair went flat a moment later. “I...”

Oh, my poor sweet Pinkie Pie... I take it back. Please, I take it back!

“Pinkie? I didn’t mean I would ever be so heartless as to force you to abandon a friend. But do you see what I mean, now? I need you to understand that what you’re so casually suggesting is no small thing!”

Pinkie sat on the floor, and did not say anything for a long time—too long, as far as Rarity was concerned.

When she finally did reply, her voice was so very small and afraid: “I’m sorry. I never meant to make you worry so much...”

Rarity shook her head quickly. “I know you didn’t mean to, darling. And I’m sorry for being so harsh. But as I said before, I simply cannot risk losing you!”

“But...” Pinkie raised her eyes, unsure whether she should say more.

Rarity gave her a hesitant grin. “Go on... I’ll listen. I didn’t mean to yell.”

“I know.” Pinkie smiled back, her hair regaining most of it’s former bouncy glory. “I know why you did that, now. It’s super-scary to even think about losing you, and I figure it must be the same for you.”

Rarity nodded mutely, waiting for Pinkie to make her point.

“But... what if it did work out? What if you could love her? Wouldn’t that be, like, the best thing ever? You’d get to keep your best friend and your best fiance! You’re not gonna lose me, no matter what, but we might lose Shy if we let her go... Isn’t she important to you, too?”

“I...” Rarity paused, doing her best to ignore her misgivings and give the proposal some serious thought.

Fluttershy had always been her closest friend. They had shared so much of themselves during their frequent spa sessions, which was exactly why it had shocked and hurt her so to find that, when push came to shove, her friend had not been upfront with her. She had never really considered the possibility of falling for a mare until Pinkie came along and opened her eyes; but even before that surprising incident, her friendship with Fluttershy had been so close they might as well have been dating.

But she still felt so hurt when she thought of the two of them together—kissing. Something precious had been stolen from her, even if only for a moment.

Everything was supposed to have been perfect: She had made the proposal, the wedding day was fast approaching... This was happily-ever-after time. But now everything was in turmoil again, all because of a simple kiss. “She... she is important, yes. But not more than you.”

“Well, do you want to stop being her friend just because she messed up once?”

Rarity bristled at the question. “No, I... It’s not fair to ask me that! Of course I don’t want that! I never wanted that. I went over there to defend our relationship, not out of some misguided desire for revenge.”

“But you don’t have to! There’s no three without you and me. We’re always gonna be two. But we could be three if everypony wants it!” Pinkie clutched Rarity’s hooves tightly in her own. “We don’t have to be, but I really really really want all of us to be happy! Even if we can’t be... you know, a great big snuggle pile, she’s still our friend, and I don’t want her to go away.”

Rarity wasn’t sure what to think anymore. “Pinkie...”

Pinkie put her hooves on Rarity’s knees, looking up at her pleadingly. “Can we at least go talk to her? Together?”

Rarity let out a deep sigh. She knew one thing: confronting her best friend had been the single most horrible thing she had ever had to do in her entire life. On top of that, despite the hurt, she did not want to see her friend go either. But would Fluttershy even want to speak to her, after how she had acted?

“I’m not sure that would be a good idea... She might just want to run from me now. As for myself, I don’t know how I will cope with seeing her after… after...” Rarity ran a hoof through her mane distractedly. ”I just don’t know anymore.”

“Rarity, it’s okay to feel that way! I was all confuzzled and kinda tingly after she kissed me. But I’ll always love you—that’s not gonna change.” Pinkie pressed Rarity’s hoof up against her chest, allowing her to feel the gentle thumping therein. “I think... I think I love her, too. Not the same way, maybe, but it’s still love.” She looked up into Rarity’s eyes, her own full of trust and hope. “Do you think you can you love her? Can’t we all just be one big lovey-dovey pony pile?”

“She... she kissed you,” Rarity replied, unable to maintain eye contact with her marefriend. “I don’t know if she would... I don’t know if I can...”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to push you. But think about it. Would it be okay if we go over to her and ask her not to go away, at least? It’d be kinda hard to go and see her if she moves back to Cloudsdale. I mean, Twilight put the balloon in storage and that wing spell really tires her out.” Pinkie put on her most soulful puppy-dog eyes. “Pleaaase?”

The look on Pinkie’s face was breaking Rarity’s heart. “Fine. We’ll go to her. Tomorrow. And we are just going to talk, understood? I’m not making any promises.”

Pinkie leaped up, a happy squeal erupting from her muzzle, before proceeding to squeeze the life out of her fiance. “I love you so much, Rarity! It’s gonna be great! Just you wait!”

The morning after her life had officially ended found Fluttershy packing her things. Tearfully, she took another blurry shape—most likely her gala dress—out of the closet. She folded it carefully and placed it in her luggage. The next blur seemed to be a small, white sweater. It was very fuzzy and, for some reason, kept squirming in her hooves.

“Oh! Sorry, Angel,” she muttered, setting the bunny back down.

There wasn’t all that much for her to pack, truth be told. She didn’t have many dresses or much bedding. She did have plenty of pots and pans and a lot of tableware, but she figured she could leave that behind for whoever bought her house. (Not that she expected it to sell very quickly... For some reason, most ponies didn’t seem to want to live right next to the dark scary woods full of things that wanted to eat them.)

What Fluttershy was far more concerned about was the fate of her animal friends. True, most of them had lived in the wild and could fend for themselves, but she feared even they might have gotten too used to being taken care of. The more domesticated animals could probably stay with Applejack; the chickens, for instance, would do perfectly fine on the farm. As for Angel, he would of course be coming with her, albeit not whilst unceremoniously stuffed inside a suitcase. She knew she had a special pet carrier for him somewhere—now if only she could stop crying long enough to find it...

There was a knock on her front door. She ignored it, hoping that whoever it was would simply go away.

But the knock came again, louder this time. “Knock-knock, Shy!”

Pinkie!

Her heart leapt; Pinkie had come to see her off! She wasn’t sure how Pinkie even knew she was packing in the first place, but she was nonetheless glad her friend had come. It would give her a chance to apologize before she left.

She opened the top portion of her door, smiling hesitantly as Pinkie came into view. It both hurt and healed Fluttershy’s troubled heart to see her again.

Her heart skipped a beat when a second pony came into view, and before she knew it, she had slammed the door shut.

There was a sound of two ponies arguing, but then she heard a hesitant voice calling out to her: “Darling, could you please open the door?”

Rarity’s here! Oh, she’s probably here to—

Fluttershy paused, trying to clear her head and not let pure panic overtake her. Why was Rarity here, she wondered. What more was there to be discussed?

More importantly, Pinkie was also here. And why would Pinkie ever come over here, smiling as usual, if anything bad was about to happen?

Unless they’re both here to yell at me...

Fluttershy pushed that pessimistic thought away as best as she could and attempted to stick solely to the facts: Rarity and Pinkie were both outside and nopony was screaming yet, nor had anything around her been set on fire or made to implode. So maybe... it would be okay?

She made her way to the door, narrowly avoiding stepping on three scurrying mice as well as Angel Bunny along the way.

“C-coming,” she called out to her (ex-)friends. She opened the door to find a very nervous Rarity standing next to a beaming Pinkie Pie.

Oh, that’s nice. I guess they’re not here to yell at me after all.

“Um... hello?”

Rarity did not say anything for what swiftly became a very, very long time. Until Pinkie gave her a nudge, that was, and she wavered in her motionless stance, seemingly about to fall down.

Wait... Rarity’s here, and she’s not screaming. Why isn’t she mad anymore?

Fluttershy frowned, trying to puzzle out what was going on.

This all feels so... unreal. Am I dreaming? Oh no, this isn’t the dream where my friends are all made of cardboard, is it? Did my tea go bad again?

Come to think of it, she didn’t recall having tea today. Or much of anything at all, really. She had been a bit too busy packing and crying all morning; the stuffed set of matching and soggy suitcases on the floor could attest to that. She had meant to grab a bite to eat at Sugarcube Corner the other day, but had been a little too busy running away to actually get around to ordering any, at the time.

Had she eaten the day before? Fluttershy wasn’t really sure anymore; all she knew was that she had spent a lot of time watching her friends make love and then coming home to do things to herself in the tub. And out of it, too, maybe—it was all kind of hazy. She didn’t really remember any eating occurring, in any case, either before, during, or after all quality time she’d spent with her hoof.

There was a good chance she was simply delirious with hunger, then. That would certainly explain a lot... She wondered if that might be why she had kissed Pinkie, and if the Temporary Hunger-Induced Insanity Defense might manage to sway Rarity.

The real Rarity, that was, of course; not this imaginary cardboard cut-out who looked like she could be blown over by a stiff breeze.

“Does cardboard drink tea?” Fluttershy wondered aloud.

Her (hopefully not actually two-dimensional and imaginary) friends gaped at her in confusion. Completely at a loss, Pinkie Pie looked to Rarity, who fumbled for a response for a little while before finally grasping at the one snippet of the preceding sentence that made some semblance of sense: “Um... tea would be lovely?”

Fluttershy’s heart sank: These clearly weren’t her friends, because her friends hated her now. “Oh, I’m sorry... I was hoping that seeing you again in my mind would be kind of nice, but it turns out it’s just really making me sad. I think I’ll go flying with Rainbow Dash instead. But, um... Thank you for not yelling at me.”

With that out of the way, she closed the door in their faces and then went and laid down on the couch for a bit. Any minute now, the room would turn all white and fluffy. She wondered if maybe Rainbow would mind just cuddling on a cloud for a while; she wasn’t quite feeling up to flying today.

The incessant knocking returned. Fluttershy’s ears snapped down onto her head, trying to block out the sound. “Go away! I think I just want to wake up now...”

“Why do you think you’re sleeping, silly?”

Fluttershy looked up to find a smiling Pinkie Pie standing right next to her. “Well, for one thing, you were just outside, and now you’re here. So, um... I think it’s pretty obvious.”

“Oh, sorry. Your window was open and I kinda crawled inside. I could go back outside and wait for you to become un-crazy there, if you like...”

“Is she all right, love?” Rarity’s voice called in from outside.

“Yeah, she’s just a little muddled up,” Pinkie called back. ”I get like that when I first wake up, too, sometimes.”

“Yes... You tend to talk in your sleep as well. It’s very disconcerting.”

“She’s been crying a lot, though,” Pinkie noted with a frown, seeing the lines of dark and dampened facial fur marring Fluttershy’s cheeks, not to mention the tear-soaked state of most of her luggage. ”I think I asked you this before, but, what did you say to her?”

An embarrassed cough was the only reply.

Fluttershy watched in bemusement as Pinkie turned back to her. To her, this was all getting more surreal by the moment: One figment of her imagination actually seemed mildly upset with another one! Well then, at the very least she could now take comfort in the knowledge that the ponies who worked at the mental institution would be having a field day with her.

“Hey, um, would it be okey-dokey if I let Rarity in?”

“Um... Sure, just... Please don’t be angry with her,” she replied, humoring whichever facet of her own psyche was currently being represented by Pinkie Pie.

Even in her dreams, she hated the idea of these two fighting—especially if it was because of her.

Dream-Pinkie shook her head. “I’m not mad... Just a little sad. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, you know? I promised everything would be okay.” Pinkie threw her forelegs around Fluttershy, squeezing her so hard the befuddled and dehydrated mare could almost swear it was real. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna make it okay.”

“Okay,” she replied softly. So she had been wrong… This was turning out to be a nightmare after all, her mind taunting her with cruel, tantalizing visions of all the things she could never have.

Pinkie promptly let go of her and went over to the door to let Rarity in. The latter still seemed to be cringing when she poked her head in and looked, gingerly, at Fluttershy, which confused the previously perplexed pegasus even more.

“Um... hello, darling. I suppose the best way to start would be with an apology...”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy replied.

“Wha—? Oh, no-no-no, I meant me.” Rarity squeaked out that last word, and subsequently needed a moment to clear her throat, still looking nervous. “Ahem. I am so, so sorry for what I said to you, darling. I... I was scared. I still am, truth be told. I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.” Rarity sat down next to her, looking her in the red and puffy eyes. “I don’t know if we can work this out, but... You’re important to us, to both of us... I... well, we wanted to discuss a... possibility...” Rarity trailed off. “Sorry. This is proving most difficult.”

Fluttershy shook her head. Not in disagreement with the apology, which was nice, but because it just felt so wrong to hear her friend apologizing for something that wasn’t her fault.

She was really starting to wonder where this particular dream was going, but since she couldn’t seem to wake up there was little else to do but humor her own subconscious mind and go with the flow.

“I, um, don’t think I really understand... What do you mean, ‘work this out’?”

Pinkie popped up next to them both, grinning maniacally. “You’re both being silly fillies! Here, let Auntie Pinkie show you!” With that, she pulled out a pair of sock puppets; one a demure yellow with the softest pink yarn for hair, the other, naturally, a pristine white complete with stylishly purple yarn-tresses. To fully complete the picture, they both had large, googly eyes which spun wildly whenever they moved.

“I’m sorry I was a meany-pants,” Puppity said, sounding oddly like she was talking surreptitiously out of the corner of her muzzle.

“It’s okay,” replied Flutterpuppet, her painted-on blush perfectly matching her bashful (but oddly similar-sounding) voice.

“Pinkie and I really want you to come be with us so we can kiss and snuggle and do naughty things to you!”

Fluttershy couldn’t help it; even though it was now abundantly clear that this was some bizarre dream cooked up by her, it would appear,increasingly depraved mind, she was blushing furiously.

“Now kisssss,” said Pinkie in a low voice, mashing the two unfortunate puppets together wildly.

Rarity swatted her off, though she did laugh for the first time since arriving at the cottage. “I’m sure we can handle that bit ourselves, love.” She turned her head back to Fluttershy. “My apologies—again. As you know, Pinkie can be a bit, erm, overenthusiastic... The right idea, but could use some work in the execution department. We are just here to talk, to be honest. I… I was very rash yesterday, particularly when I told you it might be best if you left.”

“O-okay.”

“Pinkie made a suggestion,“ Rarity continued, picking and choosing her words carefully, awkwardness dripping from every halting syllable. ”I don’t quite know how I feel about it myself, yet. It’s a bit... Well, suffice to say, I’m extremely out of my depth when it comes to things like this. There are so many facets that worry me… But basically, she suggested we could all—” she shot a nervous glance at the puppets and flushed slightly. “—be together. But I don’t... I mean to say, I know you love her, but I have no idea how it would work between you and I. Or if it would even a good idea to try. I just... I know I don’t want our friendship to end like this, and I wonder if she may be right, but frankly the notion scares me a little.”

Fluttershy thought she had gotten the gist of Rarity’s rambling monologue, and it greatly surprised her, because it strongly suggested that this might not be a nightmare after all. Was this all going where she thought it was going? And if so, was she going to need to change the sheets on her bed again?

In the end, she decided it would probably be worth it and played along: “Okay.”

“O-okay what?” a baffled Rarity asked, surprised by this calm and laconic response.

It was an awfully good thing that this was a dream, because otherwise what Fluttershy did next would have scared the willies out of her: She leaned forward and boldly kissed Rarity right on the lips.

Rarity’s eyes widened in shock, and she hastily pushed Fluttershy away from her. “What on earth are you doing?!”

“Um... I was kissing you.” Fluttershy blinked, surprised at having to explain the blatantly obvious. ”Wasn’t that what you wanted?”

“Well, yes, eventually,” Rarity huffed, touching her hoof to her lips and giving Fluttershy and Pinkie an accusatory look. “Goodness, you’re no better than Pinkie... Am I the only one who understands how these things are supposed to be handled? The kiss only comes after the courtship and the roses and... Well, long story short, just not out of the blue like that!”

“How was it?” Pinkie asked, seeming very amused by this recent development. Or perhaps ‘amused’ wasn’t the right word...

Rarity, still breathing raggedly from the shock, shook her head in confusion. “I... I don’t know. I was too busy being improperly assaulted to be paying much attention.”

Pinkie’s smile got even bigger. “Well, what are you going to do now?”

“Well, it hardly seems fair like this!” Rarity replied with a pout. ”That wasn’t how I would have wanted our first kiss to go at all! I didn’t even get any real impression of what it was like to kiss her…” Absentmindedly, Rarity licked her pursed and slightly parted lips. “To kiss Fluttershy...”

“Well, um...” Both mares turned to Fluttershy, who had thus far been watching the exchange in stunned silence, still trying to figure out what was happening. “We could try again… I mean, if that’s okay with you.”

Rarity shook her head, not so much to disagree as to clear it of any and all hazy (and vaguely erotic) thoughts. “I... Yes, all right. But let us do it properly this time.”

They touched lips once more, with Fluttershy letting Rarity take the lead this time. The kiss was timid initially, sweet and superficial, but soon deepened into something far more eager and arousing. Rarity was a hungry kisser, Fluttershy discovered, much like Dash had been. But where Dash had been clumsy and forceful, Rarity was much more subtle and deft in her advances. Fluttershy felt a sultry hoof snake around her head, pulling her closer still.

It was the shortage of breath that first started to make Fluttershy question whether she was actually dreaming or not, but once Rarity’s other hoof began running down her back in a fond caress, she finally realized that, somehow, this was all very real. She didn’t know how or why, but her friends were really here, and Rarity was kissing her.

She wrapped her forelegs around the friend she had thought she had lost forever, holding her desperately, numb with a bewildering mixture of confusion and relief and completely torn about whether to laugh or cry or just keep kissing her forever. Rarity didn’t hate her, Rarity was kissing her, and now, in a surge of happiness and love, now Fluttershy was kissing back with every bit of the passion Rarity herself was showing.

Pleasedon’tbeadreamPleasedon’tbeadreamPleasedon’tbeadream.

They finally broke the kiss, though neither mare made any move towards letting the other go.

“Well,” Rarity said, just a little breathless, “that was... quite good.”

Fluttershy only clutched her tighter. As long as she held on, this was real. She could feel Rarity against her, her pelt warm and smelling of lavender soap. Tears started welling up in her eyes as she continued to hold her friend. She didn’t understand anything anymore; she only knew that her friends were here. They were here, and that was all that mattered.

A third set of forelegs wrapped around them both, and a smiling pink face kissed them each on the cheek.

Rarity winced slightly, rubbing Fluttershy’s back, this time in an attempt to calm her. “Darling, I’m going to need you to ease off a bit. You’re starting to hurt my ribs.”

“Sorry,” Fluttershy murmured, letting her death grip slacken slightly. She did not let Rarity go, however. “I don’t understand... Why are you here? Why aren’t you yelling at me? I t-thought you hated me...” Her eyes were staring at the white-pelted chest that was closer than ever and somehow not a dream, afraid to meet the eyes that had been cold and hard as diamonds before, still intimidated by the mere memory of Rarity’s wrath.

But Rarity put a hoof under Fluttershy’s chin, a small frown on her face. “I hated the fact that my best friend didn’t see fit to trust me with something so incredibly important, I hated that you threatened my happiness with Pinkie, but I could never hate you, darling.” She smiled disarmingly. “In fact, I daresay you make that an impossible feat.”

“I told her she was a great big worrywort!” Pinkie chimed in. “And that I would never ever leave her. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be there for you, Shy-shy!”

Rarity nodded in agreement. “Quite. That is... How would you feel about...” She looked down, deciding on the spot that such an important question might need to be treated with a little more gravitas—say, when she wasn’t idly cuddling the mare she needed to pose it to. “Darling, I need you to let me go for a moment, please. I have something to ask of you.”

Fluttershy nodded quickly, finally releasing Rarity as well as squirming out of Pinkie’s hooves to put a little space between them. “Sorry.”

“Quite all right. So then, um...” Rarity paused, took a deep breath, and spoke in a rush: ”Pinkie is already completely for this, and Celestia help me, I think I want to try as well. That is to say... Would you like to... Ah, I’m just not sure how one goes about this. Well, out with it then: Would you like to date us?”

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t lost her friends. She didn’t have to move. They even wanted... Oh no.

“Girls... I... I can’t.”

Rarity smiled triumphantly. “I rather thought you might agr—” Her face fell when, a few seconds too late, it finally registered that what she had expected to hear had not, in fact, happened. “I’m sorry,” she said, smiling politely and reasonably sure she must have heard wrong, ”but did you just say you can’t?”

“Please don’t get mad again! I… thank you so much for forgiving me, but I can’t do that. I almost ruined everything for you two already. Can we please just be friends again? That’s all I want.” Please, I don’t deserve anything else.

Rarity stammered helplessly. She looked back and forth from Fluttershy to Pinkie. “I don’t understand, darling. Do you love my Pinkie or not?”

“I do, and... that’s why I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“But you can’t just say no! Do you have any idea how much I’ve had to fight with myself just to come over here and talk to you about this? Do I need to gift wrap her or—” Rarity felt Pinkie’s hoof on her shoulder, prompting her to stop. Still sputtering a little, Rarity turned to see what she wanted.

“Rarity,” Pinkie whispered, leaning closer and cupping a white ear with her free hoof, ignoring the flick of mild irritation it gave. “I think she just be a little scared. I mean, we came over and she was all ‘I must be dreaming because my friends aren’t yelling at me.’ She’s all confuzzled right now.”

“Very well...” Rarity whispered back with a sigh.

Pinkie raised her voice again to address Fluttershy: “Shy, it’s okay... We’re gonna go home and give you a little time to think. Just remember, we’re your friends, and that’s not gonna change no matter what!”

Rarity cast one last concerned look at her friend and then put on her best encouraging smile, which was sadly wasted because Fluttershy was looking at anything but them.

“Quite. I didn’t mean to rush you, love. Just... let us know.”

Fluttershy nodded, still staring at the floor. “O-okay.”

Her friends were leaving again. At least they weren’t mad anymore. But she knew that all the time in the world wouldn’t be enough.

They just didn’t understand.

Rarity walked beside Pinkie in a daze. She had thrown caution to the wind, embraced the idea of being with not just one mare, but two... Somehow, with those significant hurdles already taken, she had assumed that everything else would work out. And now that that hopeful assumption had been dispelled, she was unsure how to feel.

There was something though: A vaguely familiar and unpleasant sensation, almost as if—

“Pinkie? Did we just get dumped?”

PInkie giggled, happily bouncing along beside Rarity. “No way!”

“Oh... that’s good.”

“We just got turned down, silly. ‘Dumped’ is only for when you’ve had a chance to date them first!”

Rarity’s face scrunched up in irritation. “I don’t think I like the sound of that any better.”

“Nah, this is actually loads better. It means we get to do that thing you always wanted!”

There was a long silence, during which Rarity fumbled around for words to describe exactly how she was feeling at the moment. She was equal parts aroused and nervous, and it was a while before she squeaked out a response: “Um... What thing would that be, exactly, and how does it relate to Fluttershy?”

“We get to, um... You know! Flowers and poems and candlelight dinners... What’s it called again?”

“Aaah, you wish to court her, I take it?”

Rarity couldn’t decide if she was disappointed by this revelation or not. On the one hoof, trying to win the love of Fluttershy through such classic means did appeal to her romantic side. But a far more base part of her was already lamenting the fact that this approach would not, in tragic fact, involve Pinkie making passionate love to her, being caught in the act by her best friend, before salaciously inviting her to join them.

Bother.

She was doing her level best not to be upset about being turned down initially; what they had proposed was, after all, a life changing decision and not to be taken lightly.

Rarity herself had made a similar decision over the course of a single afternoon, of course, but expecting a pony like Fluttershy to follow suit in that regard would be highly unrealistic at best.

Still, she tried to remain hopeful that things would work out in the end. The prospect of having Fluttershy not as a romantic rival but a romantic interest, perhaps paradoxically, gave her peace of mind but, at the same time, excited her to no end. She found herself wondering what it would be like to share a bed with the gorgeous pegasus, and how it might change things between them all.

Getting a bit ahead of ourselves, aren’t we? First we must win her heart!

That gave her pause: Was Fluttershy’s refusal perhaps due to a lack of attraction towards Rarity herself? If so, this entire scheme might not work after all. She had certainly seemed interested when Rarity had been kissing her... But how much of that had been actual interest, as opposed to simple joy at finding out she had not hurt her friends after all?

“What’cha thinkin’ about?”

Rarity stopped herself short just before running face-first into Pinkie.

“Oh, just jitters I suppose. I’d really like for this to work out—for everypony’s sake.”

“Well, sure it will! Shy’s just being all scaredy-waredy. And that’s just gonna make the party I’m gonna throw for all of us even better! I’ll have a huge banner that says ‘Congratulations Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie on your Lovey Dovey Three-Pony-Pile-Palooza!’” She tapped her chin slowly. "I need to find some way to put hugs on canvas..." Pinkie’s eyes widened when a troubling thought occurred to her: “Oh wow, I’m gonna need a really big banner for all of those letters... Maybe I should throw the party outdoors this time? Oh, and the cake will have to be ginormous!”

Despite herself, Rarity felt better after listening to her marefriend casually dismiss their problems. She watched in fascination as Pinkie bounced ahead of her, apparently planning out the supplies they would need for the party. Rarity followed suit, idly plotting out the basic design for the dress Pinkie would be wearing for their next date.

Hmmm, I think something in red for you, my sweet. Short, just a little naughty without making everypony blush as they see you. Yes...

Maybe everything would work out after all.

To Make You See

While they had successfully kept Fluttershy from moving away, to Pinkie and Rarity now fell the unenviable task of waiting to see how she would respond.

The first day went by pretty much as Rarity would have expected it to: The offer had been made; it was all up to Fluttershy now. With that in mind, both she and Pinkie went back to their respective jobs, trying to focus on other, less risqué matters.

The second day, was... difficult. Rarity found her thoughts constantly drifting, wondering if Fluttershy had made a decision yet. She kept glancing out the window in the direction of Ponyville’s outskirts. Even Pinkie seemed distracted when she came by, her smiles less genuine, her perpetual jokes sounding almost forced.

By the end of the week, Rarity was out of patience. She had been a bit rash, perhaps, in suggesting that they try dating after only a single day, but all this additional time was only serving to bolster her initial intuition: That there was something there that ought to be pursued. She wasn’t merely reluctantly willing to share her love with her friend anymore; the idea had actually begun to excite her. Fluttershy could be happy, Pinkie could be happy, and Rarity could bask in the love and affection of both of her very best friends.

But Fluttershy hadn’t even talked to them since...Filled with doubt, Rarity kept telling herself this was because their friend was merely hesitant, not because she was unwilling.

It was Pinkie who eventually thought of a way to end their suffering, suggesting that they extend Fluttershy an invitation to their weekly karaoke date. Rarity had agreed, immediately going to deliver the invitation in person. Much cajoling had been required in order to persuade her, but in the end, Fluttershy had agreed to join them.

Rarity was determined to see to it that things would go well tonight. Perhaps she had been a bit too forward with the kiss; dating was probably a much more appropriate way to begin building a romantic rapport together.

Pinkie arrived a full hour ahead of schedule, grinning from ear to ear. She was wearing the ravishing little red party dress that Rarity had made for her. The fashionista had so been looking forward to tearing that off of her with her teeth, but she supposed that, at least for tonight, they had an unsuspecting guest to consider.

“I brought the chocolate syrup!” Pinkie enthused, not helping in the slightest.

Rarity blushed furiously, but shook her head. “Not tonight, love. It wouldn’t do to subject poor Fluttershy to that—at least not at this junction.” Although, admittedly, the idea of Fluttershy watching them put that syrup to good use did stir up a fair number of butterflies in her tummy (and other locations).

Even to this day, she wondered how it would have been if Fluttershy had caught them making love in the showroom, as she had so salaciously hoped might happen. In retrospect, it had probably been rather selfish of her to risk exposure in such a way, but Celestia had it made her hot just thinking about it.

Ah well, it’ll be less awkward like this. Plus, there is the option of having her join in. More fun for all concerned. Particularly if Pinkie really did bring the chocolate syrup...

Rarity’s musings were abruptly cut short when they arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage. Pinkie knocked on the door to announce their arrival.

Several minutes later, they were still waiting for the door to open.

“You don’t suppose she ended up moving out after all?” Rarity wondered aloud, a sheepish grin appearing on her face. The deadpan expression she received in response made her chuckle nervously. “Eheh... Just trying to lighten the mood?” She tried her hoof at knocking this time, just to make sure.

“Hey!” Pinkie said, narrowing her eyes. ”I think I saw her head peek through that window there and then duck back down really quick.”

“Right. Well then.” Rarity knocked again and called out to the elusive pegasus, raising her voice as much as she deemed socially acceptable, given the circumstances: “Sweetness? Come outside, please!”

A small voice on the other side of the door responded: “Rarity... I think this is a really, really bad idea. I really don’t want to intrude and I think we should probably just forget all about, say, the entire last week or so, if that’s okay.”

“Fluttershy...” Rarity sighed heavily, putting a hoof up against the door. “You are not intruding—we insist! I told you already, we both care deeply for you and we would love nothing more than for you to come along with us.”

“But you’re going on a date. I’ll just be in the way.”

“Yes! A date we specifically invited you on. That wasn’t an accident, darling. Now will you please come out and have a little fun with us?”

“Oh, that’s okay, I had some fun earlier. Angel was making shadow puppets for me. So you two just go right ahead.”

While Fluttershy was coming up with additional excuses, Pinkie did the sensible thing: She calmly climbed in through the window again.

Rarity could be heard through the door, exasperation clearly present in her voice: “Please don’t do this, love. It will be all right! We promise not to do anything you might be uncomfortable with.”

On the other side, Fluttershy was sitting on the floor, her back pressed up against the door. Her posture was slumped and her face ashen.

Pinkie waved excitedly as she dropped from the windowsill onto the floor of the cottage. “Hey, Shy! You ready to go?”

Without even looking up, Fluttershy shook her head. “No. No, I’m not...”

“Well, can I sit with you until you are?”

“Okay...”

Rarity knocked again, her magic enveloping and trying the door only to find it locked. “Pinkie? Pinkie, where did you—” Just then, realization set in. ”Pinkie! You mustn’t just crawl into her home like that! It’s uncouth!” A sheepish pause followed. ”But, erm, now that you’re in there, would you mind terribly letting me in, too? Hello...?” There was silence, followed by more banging. ”Oh, this is just ridiculous!”

Ignoring the racket outside, Pinkie plopped down next to Fluttershy and embraced her in a warm hug. “Are you ready now?”

Fluttershy leaned into the hug, but still failed to answer for quite some time. “Okay,” she said eventually. The word itself seemed positive enough, but the accompanying body language spoke volumes to the contrary.

Still, she got up along with Pinkie Pie—that was a start.

They both opened the door to find Rarity fumbling with the lock with a bobby pin and a needle. Caught red-hoofed, the amateur lockpick froze momentarily, only to hastily put both makeshift tools back into her mane with her magic and then casually sauntered in, glancing about the cottage environs like nothing had happened.

“Ahem, there we are. You two all ready to go, then?”

Fluttershy sat on the couch, watching her friends sing in perfect harmony. She was happy for them, but couldn’t imagine ever being brave enough to join them.

It wasn’t that she felt like she couldn’t sing... She had always had a lovely singing voice, or so other ponies said. But when she sang it was usually because she was happy, and that was precisely the problem at the moment: She wasn’t happy to be here. She felt like an intruder—or worse, a peeper. What difference did it make that she had actually been invited to watch them do their thing this time? She was still watching from the outside, all the while feverishly wishing that she could be there, with them.

The song ended, and Rarity came tumbling down the steps, gasping for air like a fish out of water. “Did you... want to take... the next one, love?”

“No, I’m okay. You two go ahead.”

Pinkie plopped down on the other side of her and threw a foreleg around her shoulders. “Awww... C’mon, Shy, it’ll be fun!”

“Now, now,” Rarity gently chided Pinkie, smiling in spite of herself, “we promised that we wouldn’t do anything that would make her uncomfortable. So if she does not want to sing, we shall simply have to find something else to do.”

“Oh! I know, I know, pick me!” Pinkie said, pulling a bottle from her mane. “I brought the choc—”

“Put that away this instant, you naughty thing!”

Fluttershy smiled, nestled between her two friends as they bickered over what activities to partake in next. Now that they weren’t paying so much attention to her it was... nice.

“I saw that!” Pinkie wrapped another hoof around Fluttershy, pulling her closer for another wing-crushing hug. “You were secretly having fun, weren’t you?!”

“What? When did this happen?” Rarity demanded, sounding almost legitimately cross. “I need to know what did this, so that we may do it again!”

“Um... thank you,” was all Fluttershy could say at that moment.

“You’re quite welcome, dear. Though I do wish I knew what I did to amuse you, beyond yelling at Pinkie Pie.” Picking up a glass of water, Rarity took a large sip. “Well, I suppose more singing is out of the question... What do we want to do now?”

“Oh—” Pinkie reached into her mane again, excitedly.

“Something that doesn’t involve chocolate?”

Pinkie pouted but eventually accepted defeat, retracting her hoof and wrapping it around Fluttershy once more. “Spoilsport,” she said, sticking out her tongue. ”Chocolate makes everything better.”

Rarity sighed melodramatically and joined Pinkie in her hug. “Sorry, darling,” she said to Fluttershy. “She does get a bit trying at times, but I love her all the same.” She glanced up at the clock, noting the time. “Goodness. Pinkie how many songs did we go through?”

“I dunno, I put the machine on random.”

“No wonder I was feeling winded! Gracious me... And our poor Fluttershy just had to sit here and watch... Well, this won’t do.”

“I didn’t m-mind, really. I… I’m glad you two are having fun.”

“Yes, well, the thought is appreciated. Still, I wanted you to enjoy yourself, as well.”

Rarity watched for a moment as her marefriend continued cuddling Fluttershy, and worked to tamp down any and all feelings of jealousy the sight was eliciting. That was, after all, the whole point.

“Hmmm, I suppose karaoke might not be your thing then,” she said, breaking the embrace and standing up. ”Well, we’ll just have to try harder next time. Let us escort the lady home, Pinkie. I just need a moment to go and reassure the stallion up front that we haven’t left his carpet covered in chocolate this time. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack when I asked for a larger room, the poor dear...”

“Okey dokey!” Pinkie said, standing up and helping Fluttershy to her hooves. “Wait, I was supposed to say something…” Her brow furrowed deeply. ”Oh yeah! ‘Thank you for the lovely evening, Fluttershy.’” She smiled triumphantly and called out to Rarity into the hallway. “See? Told you I wouldn’t forget!”

Rarity re-entered their private booth, giving Pinkie a long-suffering little grin. “Yes, love. Only you forgot that that was supposed to come when we get to her door.” She opened the door currently in front of them with her magic, shooing Pinkie out in front and taking Fluttershy by the hoof to lead her out of the building.

They arrived back at the boutique at last, Rarity closing the door behind Pinkie with a sigh of relief.

The atmosphere during the walk home from the karaoke lounge had been amicable enough, but Fluttershy had said very little, seeming content to let Pinkie and Rarity do all the talking. They had each been given a rather chaste kiss on the cheek, and then they had gone home.

Pinkie paused at the door, stopping to kiss Rarity at the threshold. “Thank you for the lovely evening!”

Rarity stared at her for a moment, blinking rapidly. A moment of realization came, and she smiled good-naturedly. “Um... it was supposed to be her door... never mind. Thank you, love.”

Pinkie grinned happily. “I didn’t forget!”

Rarity shook her head as she watched Pinkie go inside ahead of them, pursing her lips thoughtfully. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but as it stood there seemed to be little to no fire at all between the three of them. The date had certainly been fun, but in truth Rarity had been hoping for something a bit, well, more. A kiss perhaps; some indication of interest... She knew sex was not all there was to a relationship, but was it really so wrong of her to have been hoping for a hint of desire? A smidgen of noticeable attraction? A wild, passionate, chocolate-covered threesome in the private karaoke booth?

No, wait, scratch that last one. Darn it,Pinkie...

Rarity paused as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. “Pinkie, love?”

“Yahuh?” Pinkie replied, looking back from the doorway.

“What are we doing wrong?”

Pinkie plopped down on the bed—their bed—and considered this carefully. “I don’t think we’re doing anything wrong, really... We’re just not doing it quite right yet.”

Rarity lay down on the bed next to her, staring at the ceiling. “Well, we must be doing something wrong... Maybe I should have gone for another kiss again after all. She seemed to have enjoyed that, at least.”

Or maybe I should have let you kiss her again, the petty, jealous part of her whispered. She ignored it once again, though it seemed like that was getting harder and harder to do each and every time it emerged, unbidden, from the darkest recesses of her mind. She knew she had to keep fighting it though—for all their sakes.

“I know I sure do!” Pinkie said, climbing atop Rarity with a grin. “I was waiting for you to do that to me all night!” Her head darted down, smooth pink lips soon kissing and caressing Rarity’s neck. “Why didn’t you?”

“B—” Rarity hissed as Pinkie nipped one of her earlobes—“Because it’s a bit awkward to have have your best friend watching as you slobber all over your marefriend.”

“Nah! We want to move her up past the whole ‘best friend’ thing, remember? That’s gonna mean loads of slobbering and sexy-times!”

“Well, yes, eventually, but only once she is truly comfortable with the idea, I don’t want to rush her—” Rarity was cut off again by another of Pinkie’s devious smooches, whilst one of those nefarious pink hooves went cavorting through her purple locks.

Pinkie giggled from around Rarity’s lips, raising herself on her hoof to gaze down at her fiance. “Shy-shy is never really comfortable though, is she? Sometimes, I think she just needs a little nudge.” Pinkie demonstrated by pressing her knee in between Rarity’s legs. However, she stopped just shy of grinding it forward into the latter’s moist entrance, much to the needy mare’s chagrin. “Then you nudge a little more...” The pressure increased, rubbing just inside the now-parted lips. “You gotta be gentle, but firm.”

Rarity arched her back in response, her eyes snapping shut. Now Pinkie was grinding, contrary to her comments about gentleness. She looked into Pinkie’s eyes once more. Her marefriend’s wide, excited grin sent shivers of anticipation down her spine. “Less gentle, m-more firm!”

Pinkie complied, grinning happily as she watched Rarity squirm and moan beneath her. She was humming something, with even the occasional verse being sung. Rarity was finding it hard to concentrate, but to her, it sounded oddly like a song about the noises she was making...

At the inevitable conclusion, they regarded each other fondly, eyes ablaze with love and lust. Rarity still wasn’t certain what to do about Fluttershy—but she did know what to do with that skimpy little party dress that had been taunting her all evening.

She had been forced to be a good girl tonight, determined not to horrify her friend with untoward displays of affection despite the way the dress hugged Pinkie’s curves. It had been intentionally designed to entice, after all... She would know; she had lovingly created it for that very purpose. As such, she had also strategically stitched it in such a way as to make what she was about to do much, much easier.

The sound of tearing fabric and giggly little squeals soon rang out into the night.

“A photo shoot? What the heck are you talking about?”

“Not just a photo shoot, Dashie. The magazine was looking for a couple for their centerfold. I...” Fluttershy paused, trying to will herself to be brave. She had to be brave; it’s what Dash wanted. “I think we should do it.”

“What, you mean... take pictures of us, together?” Rainbow’s wings hesitantly rose, telling Shy all she needed to know. Rainbow was excited by this. She hadn’t been excited by Fluttershy in months, but this was exciting her. “I don’t know, Shy. I don’t want you getting freaked out or anything. I mean, it’s cool you wanted to do that, but—”

“This... this isn’t a suggestion.” Fluttershy stomped her hoof down on the cloud, sending up little tufts of wispy vapor. “We’re going to do this, and it’s going to be fun.” This was her secret weapon, the last real hold she had on her marefriend. Dash couldn’t say no when she was being decisive. She found it hard to resist.

She was going to save their relationship. Dashie just needed more excitement. She had to be brave.

She had to be brave. That’s what she kept telling herself. Her friends wanted to include her in their lives, and she had to stop worrying that she was going to ruin everything. It’s what they wanted from her.

And she wanted them to be happy, and be her friends. She just wished they would stop worrying about her. She’d been alone for most of her adult life, and that had been okay. Lonely, but okay. She’d gotten to know her hoof really well.

Somehow it had been easier to dream about being with Pinkie. Now it seemed they wanted to make it a reality, not just with Pinkie but with Rarity as well, and it terrified her. Excited her, but terrified her. How long before they got tired of her like Dashie had? Would she even be able to... do those things with Pinkie and Rarity?

She didn’t know. Fortunately those fears had not been tested, yet. But that day would come sooner or later.

Today was nice. Not that watching her friends sing hadn’t been, but today they had invited her along to a picnic lunch. It felt safe, and normal. Like it had before she’d kissed Pinkie. Just the three of them enjoying each other’s company.

“—Well, let me tell you, I was livid. Do you have any idea how troublesome it was to be interrupted in the middle of designing only to be told, not asked, that I would be making a dress for that horrid little brat? I told Filthy the next time he needed a dress in a hurry to give her a needle, because I refuse to be treated that way.”

“Awww, don’t hold it against Filthy. He’s a really nice guy! Diamond is just mean to everypony! I think the nicest thing I ever heard her say was that the cute-ceneta party I threw her wasn’t that bad.”

“Um...”

They both turned to her expectantly, and she squeaked as she tried to force words out. “I... I wonder sometimes, if maybe she’s acting out because it gets her attention. Sometimes bad behavior is just a cry for help. Maybe she just wants her dad and the foals at school to notice her and doesn’t know how to do it without seeking negative attention...” She trailed off, looking down in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“No, don’t be.” Rarity said after a moment. “I suppose it’s easy to get a little miffed at the little—That is to say, if you’d seen how Sweetie gets after interacting with her… I’m being very mean spirited so I think I am going to stop for now.”

And there it was again. Pinkie and Rarity had been having a nice conversation about a not-so-nice pony and Fluttershy had messed it up. Now everything was awkward and it was all her fault and—

“Bit for your thoughts, darling?”

“Oh, just thinking how nice it is to be here.” And how nice it would be if you two were here alone without me to ruin everything.

Pinkie giggled, pointing in her direction and whispering.

“Oh, that’s just terrible!” Rarity said, doing her best not to follow suit.

Fluttershy looked at them both in confusion. “D-did I say something funny?” She grinned, hesitantly.

“No, darling, sorry about that. Pinkie thinks it’s adorable that you have this cute little quirk of your mouth when you’re trying not to be a bother. Which...” Rarity stopped, looking at her more closely. “Which means you’re holding something back. Darling, you need to stop doing that!”

“Sorry...”

“No apology needed, but if I upset you in some way I’d like to know!”

“You didn’t...”

“Well, clearly something is—” Rarity’s eyes rolled back because of something Pinkie did at that moment.

Pinkie hummed cheerfully as she nibbled on Rarity’s ear, holding up a hoof to indicate that she would just be a moment. She then began to gently massage Rarity’s back, causing the latter to slump forward. Releasing the ear, Pinkie smiled apologetically. “Sorry ‘bout that. Rarity was getting a little tensedity-up and I wanted her to relax a little. She gets worried, you know, when you don’t talk.”

“I do not get worried—” Pinkie was on her ear again, and Rarity was lost to the world once more.

“Sorry,” Fluttershy repeated, trying to hold back a blush. Somehow watching her two friends be intimate right in front of her had been more embarrassing than watching them make love.

“S’ok. She just wants you to be happy. I want that too!”

“I’ll...” Fluttershy swallowed, trying to shake off her nervousness. “I’ll try harder.”

Pinkie embraced her in a crushing hug and smiled. "No you don't, silly! Love isn't something you try, it's something you do!"

"I'll try... to... do... that?" Fluttershy said helplessly, trying to divine what more she could do to satisfy Pinkie.

Rarity had at last regained her senses, picked herself up, and was now nuzzling Fluttershy just below the nape of her neck. “Darling, we had this conversation before, you and I. You remember, I was worried that perhaps being in love wasn’t enough? Do you remember what you told me?”

Fluttershy closed her eyes, leaning into the nuzzle. “D-don’t... don’t overthink it. And I meant that, when I told you...” Fluttershy sighed sadly. “But you two are just so... perfect together. I just mess everything up. I wouldn’t even be here with you if I could have just kept my big mouth shut. You’ll regret ever asking me to join and then you’ll split up and hate me forever and... and...”

“Darling, stop. Listen to yourself! You’re doing exactly what you told me not to do!”

“B-but I’m not you!” Fluttershy cried out with a half sob. “I’m just the wallflower nopony likes, and you’ll end up leaving me, just like Dash did!”

Rarity stiffened next to her, and from the other side of the picnic cloth came the unmistakable sound of a balloon deflating.

“I’m sorry, I’m ruining everything again!” Fluttershy shrugged Rarity off, taking off in a rush.

She got less than a few feet up before she was wrapped in a blue aura and tackled by a pink projectile.

Pinkie clutched her tightly as Rarity lowered them both to the ground, visibly straining now that Fluttershy’s wings were held to her side by Pinkie’s forelegs. The two weeping mares held each other, Fluttershy making no further effort to escape.

At last they were safely on the ground, and Rarity allowed herself to release them from her aura. She sat on her haunches, breath coming in great heaves. “N-no more of that! I won’t have it! Now what is this about?” She brushed a sweaty lock of hair from her brow with her magic. “We love you, darling! As good friends at the least and we’d very much like to be more to you! And what’s this about Rainbow? You said things ended well? I swear to Celestia if she broke your heart, I will give her what for!”

Fluttershy shook her head, trying to stifle further sniffles. “It… she didn’t.”

“Darling, please, don’t lie. Tell me you don’t want to talk about it if you must, but she clearly hurt you.”

“It wasn’t her fault. I... I couldn’t be what she wanted. I tried. I tried so hard.” She took an unsteady gulp of air, looking at Rarity with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin everything. I promise I’ll do better...”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth, uncertain how to react.

Pinkie, however, knew exactly how to react. “Shy-shy, please stop saying that. You don’t have to do anything more than be our Fluttershy!”

Following suit, Rarity nodded firmly. “Quite. We like you for who you are, darling. You don’t have to be anything more for us. I’m sorry if I gave the impression that I expected otherwise.”

Snuggling close to Pinkie, Fluttershy did her best to calm down. “But... I’m not very interesting. You two are just so... nice. And I’m... I’m just me.”

Rarity came closer, lifting Fluttershy’s chin up to give her a kiss. To her delight, there was a little of the fire she’d experienced during that first kiss, or rather, the second. It was encouraging. “What’s not to like, exactly? We love you, darling. I should think that obvious by now.”

Pinkie nuzzled Fluttershy, tightening her hug. “Totally! You’re like a whole bunch of my favorite things mixed together with pink frosting on top!” She reached up into her mane, rifling around until she pulled out a can of pink frosting. “Hey! I have an idea—”

Rarity shot her a warning look, and she put it back. “You’re no fun!”

Fluttershy blushed, shaking her head. “Dash said she loved me, too; but I couldn’t keep her, and if I say yes... sooner or later it will be the same with you.”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth, a very dark look forming on her face. “That does it. I’m going to have a talk with Rainbow and she is going to explain herself. I don’t care if it happened years ago, she broke your heart.”

“Yeah! And your self-whatchamacallit! That thing where you like yourself! That’s very hard to glue back together, you know?!” Pinkie exclaimed, nodding firmly in agreement.

The two of them shared a meaningful look. Rainbow had a lot to answer for.

“Girls?” Fluttershy asked, alarmed at the fact that the two of them got up on the spot. “Girls?! You can’t just go and accuse Rainbow Dash of that!”

“Oh?” Rarity’s reply was dripping with venom, “And why shouldn’t we?”

“Because...” Fluttershy paused and looked at the checkered blanket. “Because I broke up with her.”

Two voices responded simultaneously. “What?!”

Fluttershy cringed. “Sorry, I guess I should have explained...” She took a deep breath. Maybe if she could explain how it all went wrong, then they could see why this wasn’t going to work. “It… It wasn’t Dashie’s fault.” Fluttershy looked into the expectant faces of the two ponies she loved most, trying to work up the courage to tell them how she had messed up things so badly. “I guess... I should start with the beginning?”

“Go on, darling. We’re listening.” Rarity said, sitting down and pouring a glass of cider.

Pinkie had produced popcorn from somewhere, and was drizzling chocolate syrup over it. “Storytime! Yay!”

“It started with a brave pony and a kiss.”

Strangely enough, the brave pony was... her. She still had no idea what had possessed her, but she’d just kissed Rainbow Dash. Then the moment was gone, and all that was left was a very scared Fluttershy looking at her best and only friend, worried she’d just ruined everything forever.

“Shy? D-did you just—”

“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have done that! Oh, please don’t hate me,” Fluttershy pleaded, tears in her eyes. “I won’t do it again, I promise!”

“Wait, hold up. I’m not mad, Shy. But why did you kiss me?”

Fluttershy didn’t answer at first, looking down at the cloud they were sitting on together. It had been sunset, and the moment had just seemed right. She couldn’t say how or why she’d actually been able to do it. But she knew why she had wanted to. “Because... I like you. I like you like you.”

“Huh...” Rainbow touched her cheek in the spot that she’s just been kissed. “Well, okay. That’s cool, I guess.”

“What do you mean? I kissed you!” Fluttershy was beginning to panic, her eyes wide with fear. There was no way Rainbow could be okay with what she’d done. “I kissed you and now you know I’m weird!”

“Whoa! Slow down, Shy. You just took me by surprise. I like you too, I just didn’t think it was that way, you know? I guess I’m weird too.” Rainbow kicked her hooves back on forth on the cloud, smiling a shy little smile that Fluttershy had never seen her friend smile. “It’s pretty neat that you like me, too. Does this make us... like fillyfriends or something?”

“I... I don’t know.” Fluttershy admitted, feeling a wave a relief wash over her. It was exhausting being a scaredy-pony sometimes. “I just wanted to kiss you. I didn’t really think past that.”

“Okay, fillyfriends, then. That’s awesome! So it’s basically just like before, except we kiss and hold hooves and junk?”

Fluttershy looked at her best friend, now her fillyfriend, and nodded. “Um... that sounds nice.”

“Cool! We should practice then.”

“Okay.”

“Wait, wait!” Rarity said, shaking her head. “You... you were the aggressor? I mean, that’s all right, of course, but I always pictured Dash as being the... what do you call it... The “big spoon”? Not that I mean to cast any aspersions on her character, it’s just that with Pinkie and I, it’s...” She paused, reconsidering. “Well, sometimes, when I get out the toys, I take charge, but usually it’s her...” She trailed off, realizing she had no clear definition in her own relationship, either. “Nevermind...”

“Huh, Shy-shy really likes going for the kiss! Dashie, me, and you Rarity!” Pinkie said, smiling happily.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, it just—”

“It just felt right!” Pinkie finished, nodding. “Like you had to do it.”

“Um... yes. I... I just you looked at me and... I was kissing you. Rarity, I’m so sorry...”

Rarity looked pensive, tapping her hooves together in worry. “Forgiven, I’ve told you.” Her next words came out very haltingly. “What about... You kissed me, when you were all muddled up. Did it feel...”

“Um... I... I thought I was having a naughty dream.”

“Oh...” Rarity said, disappointment and shame written all over her face in bright red splotches. “I understand.”

“But... the second time, when you kissed me... it was so... nice. I never thought I could... You’re my best friend, Rarity, and I always thought you were looking for a prince. I never saw you... like that... before you told me about what happened with Pinkie.” Fluttershy’s felt her face flush hotly as she recalled that conversation in graphic detail. “But... it did... it felt right then, too.”

There was a moment where two best friends exchanged a meaningful look, one’s eyes full of forgiveness and hope, the other’s full of thanks and surprise.

“Are you two going to kiss again?”

They both turned to Pinkie, who was watching with rapt attention.

“What?”

Rarity looked away, muttering about the mood being spoiled.

Fluttershy cleared her throat nervously. “Um...”

“Just continue, if you would, love. I’ll need a moment to compose myself.”

“All right...”

For a time, things were good. Weeks went by, the two of them growing increasingly more bold in their experimentations.

Fluttershy—because Dash seemed insistent on treating her like she was fragile—tended to be the one who escalated in their play. Each time a new line was crossed, however, the new territory was explored swiftly and eagerly.

But like a foal with a new toy, Dash’s attention was not kept for long. The problem was that Fluttershy wasn’t able to do the other things that interested Dash. She could fly well enough, but whenever they went flying together, it felt like she was holding Dash back. And keeping up with her? She may as well be trying to catch and hold wind.

But she tried. She tried so hard. And she threw herself into the one thing that Dash loved to do with her and her alone with wild abandon. When they kissed, there was no question of whether Dash was holding back.

If only flying were as easy.

Dash was showing off a new trick she’s just come up with. Something about flashy... buccaneer fillies? Fluttershy wasn’t sure what a buccaneer was, but she enjoyed watching Rainbow do tricks, and Rainbow liked to be watched.

Pinkie got close to Rarity’s ear, whispering softly. “Dashie likes to be watched too! I told you it’s not weird!”

Rarity blushed crimson red. “That’s not the same thing,” she hissed.

When the trick was over, she wanted to see if she could persuade Dash to go somewhere secluded with her so they could practice a new trick that Fluttershy had just learned.

She’d been been up late one night and had heard one her roommates in the dorm breathing very hard. Being a little curious about the noise, she’d peeked her head into the room and found Derpy Hooves doing... something to herself. Her whole body was shaking and for the first time that Fluttershy could remember since meeting the happy mare... her eyes had been straight.

They’d both been very embarrassed about it, and after swearing her to secrecy, Derpy had told her what she was doing. That night, Fluttershy got very little sleep as she and her hoof established what was to become a lifelong love affair.

Reasoning that if it had worked on her, it should work on Dash, Fluttershy had decided that this new experience might be enough to make Dash pay attention to her for a little while.

Rarity had been leaning closer for some time, a fact that became apparent when she lost her balance and plopped onto the picnic blanket. She scrambled up quickly, flashing a slightly chagrined smile to her fiance and friend. “Sorry about that. Continue, please.”

“Well... we, um...”

“Had sexytimes?” Pinkie suggested, helpfully.

Fluttershy nodded mutely. “Dash was very... startled. But she liked it, so we um...”

“I think I understand, darling. I... had the same thing happen with Pinkie. Bit like the floodgates opening after the reservoir has gotten too full.” She flushed suddenly, “Not that I meant to imply gushing of any sort—”

Pinkie giggle-snorted, giving Fluttershy an amused look that told her that gushing was exactly what had happened.

Blushing furiously, Fluttershy went on with her tale. “So, we um... we did things. A lot of things...”

“You... don’t have to elaborate, love. We understand.” Rarity said, smiling weakly.

Pinkie raised a hoof, waiting to be addressed. At Fluttershy’s confused nod, she pulled out a well-loved magazine. “Shy... How did you end up doing this with Dashie?”

Fluttershy squeaked, her mouth clamming shut.

Seeing Fluttershy’s distress, Rarity was quick to intervene. “Pinkie! Don’t press her, please! Our darling Fluttershy is having a hard enough time as is. I mean, yes... I have been... wondering about that for some time myself, but we mustn’t force her.” She turned back to Fluttershy, smiling encouragingly. “Sorry, love. You can share that with us when you are ready.”

“I...” Fluttershy thought back to that day. It still made her heart ache to think about it. She’d never loved Rainbow more than at that moment, and yet... it was also the moment she’d realized she was never going to be able to hold on to her. “I’m sorry. I... I just can’t.”

Rarity let out a long held breath. “That’s... that’s all right. But please, no more running off. You’re not intruding, and you’re not spoiling our good time.”

Pinkie, meanwhile, had finished her popcorn. She wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy and hugged her till she squeaked.

Fluttershy nuzzled Pinkie, giving Rarity a thankful look. “Okay.”

Having escorted Fluttershy back to her cottage, Rarity and Pinkie walked home together, the former seeming worryingly quiet to Pinkie. She kept looking at her marefriend surreptitiously, which was totally a word Twilight would love. But that wasn’t important right now. Right now she had to find out why Rarity was all frowny face and make it go away. Fluttershy was beginning to look like a Cranky level sad event herself, but a good fiance—

Pfft, still funny!

—had to think about her—

Affianced? Is that a word? Twilight would know.

—first.

“Rainbow Dash...”

Pinkie’s ears perked up, startled that Rarity had spoken finally. “Um... Rarity? Dashie’s not here...”

Rarity’s snorted angrily, looking back at Fluttershy’s cottage. “She’s the reason. I could never understand why our darling Fluttershy wasn’t seeing anypony. This is Rainbow’s doing.”

Pinkie shook her head quickly, not liking how Rarity was getting upset. “No, Shy-shy said she broke up with Dashie, not the other way around.”

Rarity stopped walking, turning to Pinkie with a single eyebrow raised in derision. “Yes, she also said that Rainbow had grown tired of her. If she was ignoring Fluttershy it hardly matters who says it’s over, does it?”

“Stop it!” Pinkie cried, stomping her hoof down.

“I beg your pardon, love?”

“You’re doing it again! You can’t just blame Dashie. Fluttershy said it wasn’t her fault!” Pinkie locked eyes with Rarity, her expression full of determination. She wasn’t going to let it happen again. No more sad friends. Not on her watch.

A battle of wills ensued, Rarity locking eyes with her and looking increasingly agitated. Pinkie matched her stare for stare, refusing to blink until she did. Finally, Rarity looked away, grumbling loudly.

“If I can’t blame her, who can I blame? Our poor sweet Fluttershy is nursing a wounded heart! Surely you can see that?”

“Yeah, she is. But we don’t know why. They were super happy for a while, then things stopped being happy. Maybe Dashie was sad, too?” Pinkie’s eyes rose as she realized the implications of Rarity’s mood. “You’re doing it for Shy now!”

“Doing what, exactly?”

“Being all ‘Rah! You hurt my Fluttershy!’” Pinkie’s face lit up in a huge grin. “You do like her!”

Rarity’s raised an eyebrow, blowing a stray lock of mane out of her face. “Fluttershy? Of course I do.”

“No, I mean you like her like her. You were gonna storm over to Dashie and get all mad at her for making Shy sad, weren’t you?”

Rarity’s eyes darted to the side, a slight rosy hue adorning her cheeks. “I was not! I was just going to go talk to her, find out what happened. I mean... yes, I had considered getting angry with her if she didn’t answer exactly the way I want, perhaps yelling a bit, but only if she deserved it! I would have done that for her even if she was just a friend!”

Pinkie’s grin ratcheted up several notches. “So she’s more than just your friend?”

“I... you...” Rarity huffed irritably. “Fine, I do care about her, but that was the point of all of this!”

“Of course, but it’s nice to see it’s working!” Pinkie trotted over to Rarity, giving her a big hug.

Rarity wrapped her own forelegs around Pinkie, sighing in fond exasperation. “Yes, I’m happy that you’re happy, but maybe we can focus on how our Fluttershy is heartbroken? I’d like to go talk to Rainbow, unless you’d rather pick on me some more.”

“Hmmm... I dunno, it’s pretty fun to watch you blush.” Pinkie murmured into Rarity’s chest.

“Ugh, you’re incorrigible.” Rarity reached upwards, running a hoof through the poofy pink mane. “You’re being unfair, I was really going to enjoy being properly angry. Now you’ve gone and spoiled it.”

“Sorry,” Pinkie said, not meaning it at all. She listened intently to the steady thump of Rarity’s heartbeat, satisfied that she had calmed down for the moment. “Okay, that’s better. Now we can go talk to her.”

Rarity merely huffed in reply.

Applejack sat down heavily on her Granny’s rocking chair, wincing as it creaked. She would need to repair it soon; the thing was nearly as old as Granny herself and had needed parts replaced just about as often. She idly chewed a stalk of wheat, curious what her brother saw in doing it. To her, it was just like any other grass. Did help her think, though.

“Hello, darling!”

She turned to the sound of the greeting, seeing Pinkie and Rarity trotting up to her farmhouse with serious looks on their faces. Not exactly surprising from Rarity, but Pinkie Pie? Applejack braced herself, somepony must have died, or they were close to death. “Um... hey, girls. What brings ya ‘round today?”

“We’re trying to find Rainbow. She’s not at home and the weather service tells me she’s not at work today. Have you seen her about?” Rarity darted her eyes around the farm, looking for the telltale tail hanging from the branches of one of the trees.

“Huh... well, I ‘spect she’s ‘round somewhere. What’d ya need her for?” The unspoken question was ‘What did she do this time?’ and frankly Applejack was a bit worried about whatever it had been.

“She broke Fluttershy’s heart, and we wanna know why,” Pinkie responded, voice free of her normal carefree lilt.

Applejack bit through the wheat stalk. Okay, nopony died. But unless Dash has a durned good explanation,she might be wishing she had.

Rainbow Dash had dreams. Right now, she was dreaming about her favorite thing: flying and being cheered on by screaming fans. This was a good dream.

She made a pass by the crowd, swooping low and grinning wildly as the crowd’s roar got louder and louder. She swooped up in a dazzling display of skill, and the crowd went wild. Then, a voice was heard above all others. It was Applejack! She strained to hear what her marefriend had to say.

“You mangy varmint! Get yer flank down here and explain yourself!”

Dash’s mouth opened in a silent ‘O’ of surprise, her flight faltering. It was as if her wings were made of lead. She found herself falling through the air rapidly. The ground was coming closer, and closer, and—

—she was caught by a strong set of hooves, an angry pair of green eyes staring down at her. Applejack glared menacingly, her mouth set in a firm thin line. “You got some explaining to do, missy. You said things was over a long time ago with Shy. Why am I hearing you broke her heart now?”

“Huh? What?” Heart racing, Rainbow tried to fight off the last vestiges of sleep and make sense of the world around her. “What’s going on?”

“I’m asking the questions, and you better have some good answers! I swear, if you been cheatin’ on me we’re gonna have some harsh words.”

“Cheating on you?” Dash shook her head and blinked before jumping out of Applejack’s hooves and coming to a hover in front of her. “You’re the one that said all was fair in love and war! Besides, me using my wings totally turns you on.”

“Darlings, if I might interject—”

“D-don’t you try distracting me! You get back down here where I can yell at you proper!”

“Girls, there has been a simple misun—” Rarity tried to interrupt once more, futilely.

“Sheesh, AJ... I knew you were a sore loser, but blaming it on not having any wings is just—”

Pinkie blew a whistle piercingly at the feuding filly friends. “Stop!”

Dash blinked again and looked at the other two ponies in attendance. “Oh hey, girls, how’s it hanging?”

Applejack winced, rubbing her ears in pain. “Dangit, Pinkie! What’d you go and do that for?”

Rarity had both hooves clamped to her ears the moment she saw Pinkie pull the whistle from the depths of her mane. She took them down carefully after the muted noise had faded. “Can we please stop yelling for just a moment? I’m afraid this has been a rather unfortunate misunderstanding.”

Applejack gave one last glare to Rainbow, then turned to Rarity and nodded for her to go on. “Okay, somepony better explain quick then.”

“Quite... Um... well, how to start...”

“We’re dating Fluttershy!” Pinkie piped in happily.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Rainbow said, staring down at Pinkie, her mouth agape. “What’s this about Fluttershy, and what do you mean ‘we’?”

Applejack didn’t know who to react to first, then threw her hat down in frustration. “Just how many of you are with that filly?!”

Rarity calmly picked up in the hat in her magic, dusting it off before setting it back on Applejack’s head, giving her a contrite smile. “Applejack, I am so very sorry for all of this. It’s just Pinkie and myself, actually. Rainbow is... or was, past tense, as you said. That’s what we wanted to talk to her about.”

Looking back and forth between her marefriend and her friends, Applejack shook her head in frustration. “Okay. I still don’t know what in the hay is goin’ on. Is Rainbow cheatin’ or not?”

“Not that we know of, darling,” Rarity responded. “I’m very sorry to have upset you.”

Breathing a pent up sigh of relief, Applejack tilted her hat forward and gestured towards the farmhouse. “Fine. Why don’t we head inside a spell? I don’t know about you three but I could use a mug of cider about now.”

Before Rarity or Pinkie had time to react, Rainbow had sped to the farmhouse keening in joy. Rarity watched her fly away, amused and slightly miffed. “Well, since the pony we need to talk to is clearly going on ahead, I think we have little choice in the matter.” She turned to Pinkie, only to find her marefriend gone. Looking around in confusion she saw her bouncing happily after Rainbow. “And now Pinkie is gone as well,” she said, turning back to Applejack. “Well then, I accept your invitation gratefully, and I really am terribly sorry for the trouble.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Probably should have asked you first,” Applejack replied, a pained expression on her face. She began walking to the farmhouse, turning her head to the side to address Rarity. “Things’ve been going real good with Dash... Almost too good. You ever get that feeling like you been waiting so long for the other horseshoe to drop you almost want it to happen?”

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t know,” Rarity said, sympathetically. “It is never just one horseshoe as far as I know... It has been raining horseshoes around me since this whole thing started.”

“Havin’ trouble with Pinkie?”

“No, Pinkie’s fine... It’s Fluttershy.”

“Yeah... ‘Bout that... How does that even work?”

“For the moment... not terribly well,” Rarity replied, wincing. “Let’s go fetch that cider and I will tell you all about it.” She paused, considering a question before finally blurting it out in a rush. “Tell me, um... what’s it like having a partner with wings?”

Applejack let out a low whistle, smiling. “Missy, you would not believe.”

Just Give Me A Joyful Grin

“I dunno,” Rainbow said, her cheeks flushed with a healthy glow from her cider. “You’re dredging up ancient history there.”

“Yes, well, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” Rarity responded, waving her mug for emphasis.

“Yeah, my history teacher kept saying that. And boy, was she right. She was cool though.” Dash took another sip, letting out a quiet burp after she was done. “’Scuse me.”

“That’s not what I...” Rarity frowned, annoyed. “Nevermind. We just want to know how it all went south with you two. Surely that’s not so difficult?”

Rainbow didn’t reply. Instead she tried very hard to disappear into her mug.

“Darling...” Rarity reached out to touch Rainbow’s hoof. “We’re all friends here. I promise I won’t judge you.”

Rainbow pulled her hoof back. “Sorry, Rares... I just... I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

“And I dearly wish I could respect that. But we’re not asking out of idle curiosity. Fluttershy—”

“Ain’t ever been a time when you asked anythin’ outta ‘idle’ curiosity, Rares,” Applejack said with a smirk.

Rarity flashed an exasperated look at Applejack. “Oh, come now, try to tell me you’re not wondering yourself.”

Applejack shrugged. “Maybe a mite, but I ain’t about ta push Dash if she doesn’t wanna talk about it. Granny Smith's always sayin' 'the past's in the past.' That's good enough for this Apple.”

“Yes, says the pony who only moments ago was accusing Rainbow of infidelity!” Rarity snapped back.

“Well, that wouldn’t’ve been in the past now, would it?”

“The point stands. We’re concerned because it seems to be keeping Fluttershy from giving a new relationship a proper chance.” Rarity turned back to Rainbow. “You want her to be happy, don’t you?”

Dash looked away, twisting her hooves around each other. “Of course I do... it’s just... not something I like to talk about, y’know?”

“And I can certainly understand that—”

Pinkie, meanwhile, had been sneaking up behind Rainbow, and chose that moment to wrap her in a big hug.

“Gah!” Rainbow squirmed in the embrace. “Pinks, what the hay?”

“You looked like you needed a hug, silly! Your wings were all fluttery, and you had this look like ‘I wanna be anywhere but here.’” Pinkie booped Rainbow on the nose. “But Dashie, we’re your friends, and we only want to help Shy! Don’t you wanna help her, too?”

Sighing heavily, Rainbow settled down and let herself be hugged. "Pinks, it's not that I don't want to help, but…" Rainbow opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for some way to explain. "I don't know. We were dumb kids, and we messed stuff up. But it was a long time ago. How does any of it matter now?"

“Well, darling, apparently it hurt Fluttershy so badly that she is afraid to even try dating anymore,” Rarity replied. Seeing Rainbow’s ears droop, she was quick to add: “Nopony here is blaming you, darling. We just want to understand. What went wrong, and how can we avoid making the same mistake?”

Rainbow laughed bitterly. “Unless you have a hot griffon girl after your flank and you happen to be a horny teenager, I think you’ll be fine.”

For a moment, all was silent, then a frustrated groan came from Rainbow’s lips. “I told you, I...I was just stupid. Are you happy now? Does that help?!”

“I don’t believe it,” Applejack said, matter-of-factly. “Not my Dash.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed, hugging Dash all the tighter. “I bet mean old Gilda yelled at Shy and scared her off. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Indeed, if you feel that strongly, I understand, but please don’t obfuscate the truth with such obvious falsehoods.” Rarity leveled her eyes at Rainbow. “I won’t believe that you would do such a thing as betraying a lover.”

Rainbow only fidgeted quietly, not looking anypony in the eye.

“Rainbow?” Applejack asked, hesitantly. “Sugar, yer supposed to smile and tell us you were pulling our legs. C’mon now, joke’s over.”

“I’m not lying!” Rainbow said, trying not to break down in front of her friends. “I mean... Gil and me, we were drinking and... She can do things with her claws, and she has this rough tongue... I told her it was a mistake, but she just kept at me! It became a regular thing...” Dash trailed off, staring at the table. “Shy... I told her, and she said it was okay... And for a while, things were cool, but...” She looked up at Applejack, fearfully. “AJ, please don’t hate me?”

Applejack just looked at her, lip trembling slightly. “Past... is past, Sug. We’re okay, but you and Shy... I just don’t know. Sounds like she’s still hurtin’ somethin’ fierce.”

“I know that!” Rainbow said, a little more loudly than she intended. “I know, but she doesn’t like to talk about it. She just smiles that sad little smile and asks if I’m happy. And when I say I am, she hugs me and says she’s glad!”

Rarity’s mouth quirked up into a grimace. “I know I said I wouldn’t judge... and I am trying very hard not to. But... why? You had love...” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I need to know more than ever now. Help me understand?”

Rainbow nodded, her face a careful mask. “It’s cool. I get it. Some days I wish I could ask Twi to send me back just long enough to kick my own flank, but younger me wouldn’t even know why I was doing it.” She sighed heavily. “All I can tell you is... I was stupid. I didn’t get what I had, but I loved her, and... I let her down. Never again, I promised myself that.”

Applejack poured out another mug of cider, sliding it over to Dash. “C’mon, spill. I kinda wanna hear too, now.”

Rainbow's picked up the mug and downed the cider a single pull. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hoof, she slid the mug back to Applejack. "Are those different apples in there? It's really—"

Rarity cleared her throat.

"Okay, okay!" Rainbow stared down at her hooves. "I guess I'll start with Gil."

Rainbow lay in Shy’s hooves, basking in the afterglow, kissing Shy gently on her chest pelt. “That... was awesome,” she said, gasping heavily to catch her breath. Before Shy had showed her this new thing she learned, she’d thought flying was the most intense thing ever, and it was still close, but sex was an even bigger thrill. It even had some of the same things going for it. The rush as she approached the big bang, the agonizing buildup of forces... and then when she went over the threshold... It was like a mini-rainboom.

Shy snuggled her close, panting a little herself. “I’m glad. Do you think you can stay with me a while? Just like this? If you want...”

Rainbow got up, kissing Shy on the forehead, stretching languidly. “Sorry, Shy. I’m supposed to fly some laps with Gil. Afterwards?”

“O-okay.” Fluttershy replied, quietly.

Rainbow took off, making a beeline for the obstacle course, only to be met by the griffon in question a few hundred yards from Shy’s cloud. “Hey, Gil!"

“Hey Dash, I asked around when you didn’t show. One of the guys said you were headed this way—” She sniffed the air, looking at Dash suspiciously. “What the feather? You skip out on me to go make it rain on a cloud?” She sniffed again. “That’s sweat, and not all of it’s from you...” Her eyes darted past Dash, catching sight of a telltale pink tail. “Who’s that?”

“Gil, let’s just head out, maybe hit the showers first?” Rainbow said, quickly, darting past her. She was brought up short by a beak latching onto her tail. “Quit it!”

Gilda spat out her Dash’s tail, and as much as a beak was capable of showing expression she seemed to be smiling. “You were foolin’ around with the dweeb, weren’t you? What’s her name? Buttersqueak?”

“Fluttershy! And no, we were just kinda sitting on a cloud together—”

“Yeah, I can smell it. Dashie and Squeakie sitting on a cloud... Did you scream her name when she made you cum, Dash?” Gilda said, smacking a knee with her foreclaw. “Oh wow, I can just see it! ‘Oh, Buttersqueak, that feels so good!’ I bet she barely knows what she’s doing.”

“Shove it, Gil. And don’t go spreading that around. She’s got enough trouble with bullies as it is,” Dash said, glaring at her. “Now we going to race or what?”

“You’re not even denying it now...” Gilda said, amazed. “Huh. I mean, there wasn’t any point, anyway. I can smell her on you, and I can smell you, Dash. You smell good.”

“Quit being weird!” the speedster snapped back. “Unless you want me to tell Stormwind who nabbed his pet falcon.”

“Whoa, hey, just yanking yer chain, Dashie. If you wanna play around with Squeakie that’s cool.” Gilda held out a closed fist. “C’mon, bump it, unless you really want to stay mad for no reason.”

Dash hesitated, but eventually hoofbumped her, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry, Gil. I just don’t want her picked on.”

“No probs!” Gilda chuckled. She stopped hovering, beginning to fly towards the track and the showers. “I never figured you for the type, is all. You could have told me you were into hens. We could have fooled around too, yanno?”

“W-well, I didn’t know either!” Dash blurted out, blushing. “It was just like one second you’re sitting together and the next you got a tongue in your mouth. And... it was nice, you know?”

“Heh, Squeakie jumped your bones, did she?” Gilda asked, chortling.

“Sorta. It was kinda cool, though. It feels like flying, only you’re not going anywhere.”

The griffon rolled her eyes. “Only you would compare sex to flying, you dork. C’mon, get your shower out of the way. If I end up downwind of you I’d rather not smell you like this the whole time. Not unless I made you that way.”

Things were relatively normal for a time. Gilda teased Dash endlessly about her ‘thing with Squeakie’ but otherwise made no trouble for the pair. That changed one evening when Gilda showed Dash something she’d swiped from some of the older ponies.

“Ha! Beat you again, Gil!” Dash crowed triumphantly.

“Yeah yeah, you’re hot stuff. That’s why all the mares wanna jump ya,” Gilda replied, punching Dash’s shoulder. “Well, I got a treat for you today, speedy.”

“Oh?” Dash asked, curious.

“Yeah, c’mere,” Gilda whispered, flying over to a particular cloud just outside of the practice course. She looked around carefully to make sure they weren’t being watched, then clawed open the top of the cloud, revealing a flask inside. It was a quite a sight to behold, a swirling maelstrom of colors that glowed in its own peculiar light. “Check it out. I nicked it out of Dumbbell’s room.”

“What is it?” Dash asked, entranced by the colors.

“Distilled Rainbow,” Gilda said with a grin. “Goes down smooth, then kicks like a mule! Leaves you feeling like a mule kicked ya, too!”

“Ewww!” Rainbow’s mouth pursed up in disgust. “You don’t drink that stuff, Gil! It’s nasty.”

“Not when it’s like this, it’s not!” Gilda said, unstoppering the bottle. “C’mon. Don’t be a wuss.” She took a deep swig, grimacing as it burned her throat on the way down. “S-smooth!” she said with a pained grin.

Dash watched Gilda, curiosity getting the better of her. She’d been dared to try raw Rainbow before. It had burned her mouth and made her feel sick afterwards. But that didn’t seem to be happening to Gilda. She also worried that backing down from a challenge would mean losing, and she never lost. “Okay, give it here!”

Gilda held the bottle out to Dash, and she took it in both hooves. Slowly, she set the bottle to her lips, and tipped it upwards. A second later she was choking as the bottle was tipped up by a claw from Gilda. The liquid ran down her throat in a rush of sweet fire. She coughed loudly, thrusting the bottle back into Gilda’s waiting claws. “Gilda! The hay was that about?!”

“That was about you taking a little sissy sip instead of a real one,” Gilda said, cackling at Dash’s expression. “Now, how do you feel?”

“Not now! Can’t breathe!” Dash said, gasping for air. Oddly enough, once she’d swallowed it, it wasn’t so bad. There was a hint of the fire that she’d expected, but it was mellow, and had a sweet aftertaste. The fumes that had gone straight up her nose were making her feel a little lightheaded. “Eh, it’s not bad, I guess. Still kinda hot.”

“Cool,” Gilda said. She sat down on the edge of the cloud, laying the bottle down next to her, allowing her hind legs to dangle over the edge. “So, how’s things with Squeakie?”

“’Bout the same. You know how she is,” Dash replied, sitting down next to her. “Having a marefriend is kinda weird, but cool, you know?”

“Wouldn’t know, never had one. Well, unless I count you, I guess. You’re a mare, right?” Gilda said squinting at Dash. “Hard to tell with you.”

Dash gawked at her friend, punching her in the shoulder. “You know what I mean, featherbrain.”

“Yeah, I know,” The griffon replied, staring off into the distance. ”I just get a little jealous of you, sometimes. S’like... you got your dad, and Squeakie... I just got you.”

“Awww, you almost sound like you give a feather,” Dash said, chuckling. “You need a hug or something?”

Gilda picked up the bottle, taking another swig. “Just forget it. S’not important.”

Dash snuggled up against her side, nuzzling her. “What, aren’t I awesome enough?”

“Yer in my personal space, dork!” Gilda said trying to push her away halfheartedly, eventually giving up when Dash latched on, grinning like mad. She glared balefully down at Dash, taking another sip of the Rainbow and wiping her beak. “Might wanna watch that.”

“Hey, I asked if you needed a hug and you didn’t say no. Deal with it,” Dash replied, snickering. “Can I get another sip of that?”

“Heh, knock yourself out.” Gilda put the bottle into Dash’s mouth, this time tilting it gently so it didn’t choke her.

Dash took a sip, tilting the bottle back up with a hoof when she was done. She exhaled noisily as the fumes hit her nostrils again. “S-smooth.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute, dork, or I’d never hang with you,” Gilda said, shaking her head. “So, you need to go see Squeakie, or can you stick around a while?”

Rainbow squinted at the sun, trying to figure out what time it was. “Um... for a little while, I guess. I kinda promised her we’d hang out some after you and I got finished.”

“No prob,” Gilda said. “Gonna mess around a little?”

“Probably. It’s really cool. Like... we both... and then we just kinda snuggle afterwards. Feels nice.” Dash yawned, snuggling into Gilda’s wing.

Gilda’s wings stiffened, and she pushed Dash away from her side. “Hey! Watch that! Seriously, if you’re gonna get all huggy on me every time we drink, I’m cuttin’ you off. Go play with Squeakie or something.”

“Hmmm?” Dash shook her head. “Sorry, Gil. I got comfortable. You know, feathers all over, you’re nice and soft...” She shook her head harder. “Shy, right. Um... good hanging with you.”

Rarity raised a hoof, stopping Dash in the middle of her tale. “Darling, forgive me, but what does that have to do with how things went bad between you and Fluttershy?”

Rainbow smirked, taking another draught from her mug. “What, did you think we just went at it after sharing a couple sips of hard liquor? Nah, we were close, but not quite like that. What you gotta understand is... next to Shy, Gil was my best bud. We hung out all the time. We just... got a little closer, is all. Then one night, a whole lot closer.” She looked down into her mug. “I guess I could tell you about that. I mean... I don’t wanna get into everything, but like... well... ”

A couple months went by, and things slowly got even more weird than that night. She didn’t know what to call it back then, but thinking back she thought it was... sexual tension? Yeah, that sounded right. Gilda just kept ‘teasing’ her with little things, commenting on how she looked, and smelled. She didn’t get it back then, but Gilda was flirting hard.

They would usually have something to drink after they ran the course together. Not too much, just enough to get a little buzzed. It wasn’t exactly easy to lay hooves on booze, and Dumbbell got better at hiding his stuff.

Gilda didn’t push Dash away anymore when she got close, and she liked to get close. It wasn’t quite like with Shy... Gil was somehow softer and harder at the same time. It was a thrill to hold her, because she was dangerous. Dash was calling on the lightning to hit her, and yet it never did.

That night seemed no different than any other, but the lightning Dash had been toying with struck hard and fast, locking her beak with Dash’s open mouth as she was yawning. She didn’t even have time to register what was happening before Gilda’s tongue was wrapped around hers.

There were no words spoken. Dash remembered little beyond a haze of alcohol and bliss, and waking up the following morning in confusion, followed by guilt.

“So... that was it. I told Shy about it, and... we just kinda kept going. Me and Gil, me and Shy. I thought we were okay... I’m not trying to say it was right, but it wasn’t like we were trying to hurt Shy... I just didn’t think... I was dumb?”

“Just... answer me one question, please,” Rarity said, eyes focused on Rainbow to gauge her reaction. “Gilda... did you love her?”

Rainbow didn’t answer for a while, staring into her mug. “It’s weird to think about that. She was my bud, you know? I mean, yeah, we did some stuff together. We made each other feel good, but she wasn’t so much into the marefriend idea like Shy. She just... wanted to hang, and sometimes we’d mess around, too.”

“Oh dear... So it was far more than the physical infidelity, you were divided emotionally, as well. No wonder Fluttershy worries so. She’s been through this... with you.” Rarity bit her lip, worriedly, then straightened up as she reaffirmed her convictions. “Yes, I see the way of it.”

“Of course I was divided! But I never wanted to hurt anypony.” Dash replied bitterly. “It’s just... my best friends wanted to do stuff with me... and hang out, and I didn’t see much of a problem. I mean, I worried at first when it happened; that’s why I told Shy. But she said it was okay... then she got more clingy, like... like she was worried I was gonna leave her.”

“She was...” Rarity replied, sadly. “In her mind, she had one hold on you, and then somepony else came along who offered you the physical closeness and the other things you enjoyed. She couldn’t hope to compete.” At Rainbow’s stricken look, she was quick to add: “Rainbow, there’s no way you could have known. Fluttershy is horribly non-communicative about things like this.”

“I should have known, though!” Rainbow grunted in frustration. “I wouldn’t have left her... not if she hadn’t broken up with me. And I would have broke things off with Gilda if I’d known.”

“Could you have, though? Gilda seemed a bit smitten with you herself,” Rarity observed with a sad smile.

“Gil? She was just kinda lonely, it wasn’t like she wanted to be more than friends, you know?”

Rarity wisely said nothing. She suspected that the situation was not quite as Dash had supposed, but bringing it up would only make the poor dear feel worse.

“If’n you don’t mind, I’d kinda like to know how things ended with Gilda, Dash. That’s assuming they ended, of course.” Applejack said.

“Yeah... After Shy broke up with me I just... I left school. Gil took me off to the mountains for a while, but... I dunno. I was mad because Shy left, and I said some things... It went bad for a while. I flew off, just kinda wandered a few years. Then I got a job with the weather patrol here. Gil sent me a couple of letters and we made up, but it wasn’t gonna work between us. She’s kind of a jerk... and I’m an idiot,” Rainbow finished, hanging her head.

“Just leavin’ a trail of broken hearts behind ya, poor darlin’.” Applejack got up, crossing the room to sit down beside Dash and embrace her. “Quit heapin’ blame on yerself. You were a bunch of kids playin’ around with somethin’ too old for ’em. I just want you to learn from it, ‘cause I don’t wanna be another story, sugar.”

Rarity stood up, nodding to Pinkie to follow her. “Thank you, Rainbow. I know that must have been difficult, but perhaps you needed to get it off your chest as much as we needed to hear it. We’ll leave you two alone, for now.”

“Wait!” Rainbow called out as the pair were walking out of the barn.

“Yes?” Rarity asked.

“Tell Shy for me... I wish it could have worked, but I want her to be happy now. She needs to quit worrying about the past. Can you tell her?”

“We’ll tell her!” Pinkie said, smiling. “But maybe she should hear it from you, too.”

“I will, and maybe she’ll listen this time.”

“Oooo, I should have known it was her fault!” Pinkie exclaimed as they walked back to the Boutique from Sweet Apple Acres. “You should have seen Shy when mean old Gilda came by to visit! She was shaking every time anypony surprised her!” Pinkie stopped in midstep, pondering. “Actually, she does that all the time. Still, it was Gilda all along!”

Rarity turned around, giving Pinkie a warning look. “Now don’t you start! She may not be the friendliest of creatures, but what Dash told us wasn’t about some monster stealing her away from Fluttershy, it was about a lonely creature who sought solace in a friend! That’s something I can relate to.”

“But—”

“No buts! Remember, we didn’t go there to blame anypony. We went to find out what happened.” Rarity clucked her tongue in irritation.

Pinkie huffed in frustration. “Yeah, but you said we could yell if somepony deserved it, and I just know that meany deserves it!”

Rarity sat down in front of Pinkie, laying a hoof on her shoulder. “Darling, I need you to consider something.”

Pinkie opened her mouth to protest further, but after looking Rarity in the eye, slowly nodded. “Okay.”

“Gilda... was lonely. She found herself attracted to a close friend who was already spoken for. In a moment of weakness, she acted. Now, does that sound like somepony else we know?” Rarity waited, watching to see if the meaning of her words was registering with Pinkie.

Pinkie looked confused for a moment, until she realized what Rarity was talking about. “But that’s... She’s not like... It’s not the same!” Pinkie protested.

“No, it’s not. Because unlike Fluttershy, Gilda and Rainbow, we all care enough for each other that we can make it work.” Rarity traced the three sides in the air, as Pinkie had done when they first discussed the matter. “They had a different sort of triangle than ours, one which was inherently unstable because of the inequity of it. Somepony, or somegriffon, was going to be pushed out of it given enough time. Fluttershy decided it was going to be her.”

“But that’s... that’s just so sad!” Pinkie responded, her eyes beginning to tear up. “It shouldn’t have been that way!”

“Yes, it is. But the past is past, love. All we can do is try to be there for her now, and hope she’ll accept us.” Rarity smiled bravely, getting up once more. “Come on, darling. We have scheming to do.”

“Just a moment, Angel!”

Fluttershy set down the bag of birdseed, glancing around her home at the various creatures that needed tending to. Normally it wasn’t this difficult to stay focused, but she had a lot on her mind.

Like the two ponies that seemed determined to make her relive her worst nightmare for their own amusement.

That’s not fair. They’re only trying to help. Besides, they don’t even know what happened.

Which wasn’t their fault either, since she hadn’t told them what had happened. Perhaps if she had, they would have given up and left her alone a long time ago. After all, there was nothing in particular about her that was worth seeking out. She wasn’t glamorous like Rarity, or energetic and outgoing like Pinkie. She wasn’t even brave enough to do the right thing and leave instead of causing problems for her friends.

Angel stomped a foot, looking from her to his food-dish in a clear message. She couldn’t blame him, either. He’d been waiting patiently, and it was now several hours past when all of her friends should have been fed. Fluttershy had been busy burying herself in every blanket she owned, trying futilely to shut the world away. She’d still be there if Angel hadn’t wormed his way under the covers and persuaded her to come out; for her charges if nothing else.

“Sorry, Angel. It’s going to be just a few more minutes,” she promised as she filled the mouse feeding dish with vitamin-enriched pellets and filled their water bottle.

As long as she kept busy, she wouldn’t have to think. Thinking was not helping right now. She looked around the room, seeing all but Angel had at last been tended to. She hurried into her kitchen and pulled out the ingredients for his salad.

“Here you go, Angel,” she said, leaning down and kissing him on the forehead. “Thank you for being so patient.”

He waved a paw in denial, burying his face in fresh greens voraciously. She watched him eat for a while, a loud gurgle reminding her that she’d failed to feed herself in some time.

Lunch it was, then. And after that, she could retreat to her fortress of blanketude.

While making herself a sandwich and some nice tea, she idly considered anything she could be doing that would take her away from Ponyville for just a little while. Sadly, it was too early in the year to make the trek for the annual butterfly migration, but she supposed she could always go visit her parents in Canterlot...

She choked on a bit of sandwich, quickly washing it down with a swallow of tea. If visiting her parents was sounding appealing, she really needed to examine her life. Things weren’t so bad, were they? She had five very good friends, two of whom seemed to want to be much, much closer than friends. That was good, right?

Right. That was a good thing. She just had to stop worrying so much. It was going to be okay.

A loud tweeting broke the silence. It was Mr. Bluejay. He’d been asked to keep an eye out for Rarity and Pinkie. Which meant they were coming. But it was okay. It was all going to be okay.

Because Fluttershy was crawling out the back window of her home. She reasoned that she just needed some time to think, and it wasn’t anything to do with being scared of her two best friends. Maybe it was time to go visit her mom after all. It wouldn’t be so bad.

And so she bravely hid in a bush, waiting for her friends to realize she was gone so they would go away again.

“Whatcha doing?” Pinkie asked, from just to her right.

“I’m hiding,” Fluttershy replied, trying to see if she could spot Rarity coming down the path yet.

“Oh! Does that mean I’m supposed to be seeking? Awww, you should have told me! Okay, hold on.” There was some fumbling about, then Pinkie said: “Okay, I’ll give you to the count of one hundred. Go!”

Fluttershy’s head snapped to the right, finally seeing Pinkie, her eyes closed and head up against a nearby tree. “Pinkie?! What are you doing here?”

“Twenty-two, twenty-three... I’m counting, silly!” Pinkie replied with a smile. “You should be hiding. Do you need more time?”

“But... I’m already hiding,” Fluttershy responded. She could see Rarity, knocking at her door and looking annoyed that there was no answer.

“Silly filly! You can’t hide here; this is home base!”

Fluttershy looked around in panic, trying to find another hiding spot. Rarity had given up on the door and had circled around the cottage.

“Pinkie, where are you, darling? Fluttershy doesn’t seem to be answering!”

”I’m back here!” Pinkie announced, cheerfully. “But I’m ‘it’. You need to hide so I can come find you!”

“I see... are we playing a game, then?” Rarity replied, frowning in worry. “Well, I suppose...”

“Yeah! Only Fluttershy isn’t hiding very well. She’s right here. I think that means I win.”

Fluttershy sighed, stepping out from the bushes. “Yes... it means you win. H-how are you, girls?”

“Yay! We should play again!” Pinkie pumped her hoof in the air. “I’m the bestest at this game!”

Rarity regarded her poor, bedraggled friend. She used her magic to pick some loose leaves from the long, flowing mane. “Doing better than you, apparently. You looked stressed.”

“I… I’m trying not to be, sorry,” Fluttershy replied, looking down at the dirt in front of her. “I just... I want to be okay, but I keep worrying...”

“Shhh. Enough of that.” Rarity stepped forward, gently raising Fluttershy’s chin with a hoof. “We only wanted to invite you over for tea. And maybe a little conversation. Does that sound agreeable to you?”

“Tea?” Unbidden, images of what she’s seen the last time she was invited for tea sprang to mind.

“Oh, Celestia! Pinkie, that’s divine!”

Her wings rose stiffly before she quickly closed them again. “Tea sounds... nice.”

Rarity’s eyebrows rose at the reaction, but she made no comment. “Well then, I realize you’ll need some time to feed your nocturnal animals as they wake up. How about tonight around... eight or so?”

“O-okay,” Fluttershy squeaked out. Tea, just tea. Tea was something friends did. Tea didn’t usually mean seeing her friends making love. Tea was normal. Normal was good. She managed a small smile, which Rarity mirrored, and Pinkie trumped by several orders of magnitude.

Walking home from Fluttershy’s cottage, Rarity turned to Pinkie to mention something that had been bothering her for some time. “Tell me I was not the only one who noticed that.”

Pinkie obediently replied: “You weren’t the only one who noticed—”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “You have to have noticed. Fluttershy’s wings just now; she seemed startled or…” She thought back to a curious thing Applejack had mentioned during their talk on the way to the farmhouse.

“When you’re datin’ a pegasus, you gotta know a little bit about wings. Like... you ever seen Dash with her wings spread when she gets real excited?”

“You mean like... at all times?”

“Smart aleck... Fine, bad example. Usually though, them wings only pop when they’re excited or surprised or somesuch. But there’s all kinds of excited. Got it?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t ‘got it’.”

“Land’s sake, girlie! How the heck can you not get what I’m sayin’?”

“Excuse me if I wasn’t raised in the same way you were.”

“Well, I mean, this is like basic of the basic. S’like you never got ‘the talk’ or somethin’.”

“Erm... how about this: you can just tell me what you mean?”

“All right... say Dashie walks in on me all dolled up on the bed, ready to go. Up go the wings.”

At the time she’d quickly changed the subject. Discussing such things seemed a bit uncouth to her, even now. She’d managed to be a little more open about her sexuality, thanks to Pinkie, but thinking of Applejack and Rainbow in that context was more than a little uncomfortable. Yet strangely it had seemed easy with Fluttershy... perhaps because she was so used to confiding in her.

So it could be fear, or excitement, or... something far more base. But fear or excitement was a very curious reaction to have over tea, wasn’t it? So it had to be the other thing? She thought back to other instances of such a display, looking for any logic in Applejack’s reasoning.

Wait... she had the same reaction when she was watching Pinkie bounce away...

Her face flushed hotly. How had she not noticed previously? She mentally cursed her mother’s prudishness once more. If she’d known that the response was sexual in nature, she might have saved them all a lot of heartache.

So... the idea of tea... excited her.

“Pinkie?”

“Ya-huh?”

“Is there such a thing as a pony being... excited by hot liquid?”

Pinkie stopped mid-bounce, looking extremely disturbed. “Um... well, I did see this weird movie once. ‘April Showers?’ The title made me think it was sexytimes in the rain or something?”

Rarity was confused at first, but then realized she hasn’t been specific enough. “No love. I meant—”

“It... it wasn’t what I thought. I turned it off.” Pinkie’s face got distinctly green in hue.

Rarity had no response for that. She would have thought that Pinkie of all ponies would like watching something like that, but if she had turned it off... Rarity blanched, which was quite a feat for a pony with her complexion, and decided it would be best not to think about what the movie might have actually been about.

Unfortunately, trying not to think had the opposite effect. Her mind gleefully suggested several things that could have elicited such a reaction from Pinkie before she carefully repressed the mental images, vowing to carefully vouch for any and all choices of entertainment that Pinkie consumed in the future. “Yes... let’s never talk about that again. I meant tea. Is that one of those fetish things?”

Pinkie smiled again, apparently she was as glad to forget what she’d seen as Rarity was to have never seen it. “Well, you always seem really happy whenever I make tea for you so... maybe?”

Rarity blushed furiously. “That would be rather more due to your choice of outfit, darling. The tea itself has little to do with it.”

“Then I guess... no?”

“Hmmmm.” Rarity shook her head; she couldn’t imagine what the appeal would be. Yes, tea was nice to drink, but hardly something to be like that about...

They walked home, Rarity deep in thought, Pinkie wrapped up in a world full of music only she could hear. The fashionista supposed that as far as fetishes went, it was hardly stranger than her own case of exhibitionism. It just seemed odd. Maybe it wasn’t the tea? Something associated with tea? Sugar, perhaps?

Oh, it could be milk. Maybe she enjoys suckling?

Hardly odd, if it was that. Pinkie enjoyed lavishing attention on her own teats when they were making love.

They reached the Boutique at last, Rarity still deep in thought. At any other time, she might have just gone in, but thinking about Fluttershy made her eyes gravitate towards something she’d otherwise have missed; a yellow feather stuck in her bushes.

Feathers were, of course, commonplace in a town with so many pegasi. At any given moment you could find a veritable rainbow of their down blowing around Mane street. But this was clearly Fluttershy’s, and it was in front of her window.

She reached out with her magic, bringing it closer to her. It was a secondary covert, by the looks of it. Not a feather that would be casually shed.

“Whatcha got?” Pinkie asked as she poked her head back out of the door.

“One of Fluttershy’s feathers. I found it just now. It just struck me as odd; she tends to be very careful with her wing care.”

“Darling, I’m terribly sorry if Pinkie startled you. She’s been very affectionate of late. Do try to calm down, your wings are all akimbo!”

She was flustered, but it was more than that, she had several feathers out of alignment, and a few missing. As if she’d been doing some very hard flying recently...

“Hmmm. A mystery!” Pinkie said, smiling widely. She pulled a sleuth hat and magnifying lens from nowhere in particular, eyeing the feather. “Where was the clue found?”

“Over by the window.” Rarity gestured with a hoof. She watched in bemusement as Pinkie wandered over to examine the ‘crime scene’, marking off the area with yellow tape.

“Hmmmm, scuff marks on the ground. Somepony was agitated!” Pinkie announced to nopony in particular, taking notes in a notepad by scribbling with her mouth. “One... two... three hoof prints. No fourth. Very strange.”

“Why is three strange?” Rarity asked, playing along.

“Because it either means somepony with three legs was here, or they were doing something with the fourth,” Pinkie replied, looking carefully at the window. She breathed on it, crowing triumphantly. “Here’s number four!”

“What do you mean, here’s number four?”

“A hoofprint on the window pane! Fluttershy was looking inside!”

“Ah, so she was peering into the shop and lost a feather while doing so. Well, mystery solved then.”

“Yeppers! That means that combo I got while I was licking you meant Fluttershy was watching us!” Pinkie pulled out a bubble pipe, blowing a stream of bubbles into the air.

“Wait. What do you—” Rarity froze, piecing together something that had been bothering her for days.

“That’s, um, n-nice. I’m really, really sorry I missed tea with you yesterday. I did stop by, but the door was locked.”

“I-I thought about maybe checking the window...”

The last thought to cross her mind before she fainted was the word ‘tea’.

She came to moments later, a worried pink face composing her entire view of the world.

“Rarity, you fell down! What happened?”

“Fluttershy... she saw us...”

That caused the expression on Pinkie’s face to shift to confusion. “Yeah, I just told you. She watched us.”

“Oh, Celestia...” Rarity groaned as she strained to get up. If she was going to keep fainting she was going to need more padding on this chaise longue. “I think we traumatized her.”

“Oh!” Pinkie’s expression brightened. She poured a glass of water from a pitcher. “Well, that’s not so bad, right? We wanted her to see, didn’t we?”

“Well, yes, but not in a way that would scare her off!” Rarity said, grimacing. “The poor dear... Just now, even saying the word tea made her wings go up.”

“Wait... that’s why you were asking about that?” Pinkie asked, giving the glass to Rarity. “Why do you think it scared her?”

“Well, that’s a natural fear response. I imagine seeing us together in such a lewd fashion was horribly startling.” Rarity nodded in thanks, taking the water with her magic and drinking it down. “Ugh, wonderful. This only makes it harder for us.”

“Well... did she look scared when you said tea?”

“Well, no... more... embarrassed. As well she would be. Sort of like that poor attendant who walked in on us at the karaoke bar. I had to start paying them extra not to do that anymore.” Rarity’s face burned at the memory. That stallion’s face had been nearly as red as the huge—

“So... maybe she wasn’t scared? Maybe... it excited her? And she got embarrassed?”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Well... While I was waiting for you to wake up, I looked over those hoofprints again...”

“See?” Pinkie said as she positioned herself on the hoofprints. “One, two, three.”

“Yes, so you said earlier, but then you pointed out the fourth...” Rarity replied, looking at Pinkie’s feet in consternation.

“Well, not exactly.” She got up on two hooves, leaning a third against the window. “The back hoofprints were deeper, and this fourth one is the same hoof that was on the ground. The whole time, she was on three hooves.”

“And that means?”

“That means the fourth one was busy.” Pinkie pressed her muzzle up near the glass, fogging it with her breath. “There’s a muzzle print here... So she was pressed up against the window, on three hooves, and the fourth—” she brought her fourth hoof down and rested it on her belly “—was busy.”

Rarity stared at Pinkie, unable to quite comprehend what was being implied, and then blushed furiously. “S-she was...”

“Busy,” Pinkie confirmed, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. She dropped the smile the moment it looked like Rarity would faint again. Letting one of her friends hit the floor without anypony there to catch them wasn’t like her, and that counted double for her marefriend. “Rarity? Are you okay?”

Despite a rosy blush on her cheeks and a set of swooning eyes, Rarity was still very much conscious. “Oh, darling that is so... so...”

“Creepy? Weird? Not like Fluttershy?”

“So incredibly arousing!” The exclamation seemed to shock Rarity herself more than it did Pinkie, and she quickly glanced around to see if anypony had heard her. Thankfully, there was nopony in sight, which put her somewhat at ease.

“Can you believe it?” She continued in a whisper. “Fluttershy was here. She was watching us make love and... and she was... ohhhh.” A shiver, followed up by a saucy look told Pinkie everything she needed to know before Rarity even opened her mouth. “Inside. Now.”

Spreading Out From Ear to Ear

Fluttershy walked down the path to Ponyville with a spring in her step. Tea. Tea with her friends. And this time it wasn’t going to get weird at all! It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the effort Pinkie and Rarity had been making. Trying to include her on their dates was very nice of them, but this was what she wanted: for things to be normal again.

She stopped, a rogue worry running through her mind. What if it happened again? What if she showed up, and the door was locked, and—She couldn’t even let herself complete the thought without her wings painfully twitching at her sides. What would she do if that happened?

Don’t be silly. Of course it isn’t going to be like last time. There’s no way they would do something like that if they knew you’d be there. They obviously just forgot you were coming, she thought, relaxing slightly.

That’s right. They didn’t know you were there, and it should stay that way.

She caught herself walking on three hooves and forcefully put the fourth back down on the ground.

Yes. It definitely needs to stay that way. Your friends don’t need to know that you’re strange. It’s bad enough that you made things so difficult for them.

She put the smile back on her face where it belonged. Pinkie would be happy to see it. She always wanted to know where it was. Everything was going to be okay. They were going to have a nice normal afternoon tea, and perhaps they could finally talk about resolving this whole mess.

She felt her hoof twitch, and stomped it down on the ground.

And maybe some alone time afterwards. But you need to behave yourself!

Her hoof, quite naturally, said nothing. She looked down at it suspiciously, waiting for it to move again. When it did nothing, she smiled at it, satisfied with its obedience, before continuing her trek.

As she got closer to town, she found herself wondering what it was that Rarity had wanted to talk about. Perhaps they’d finally come to the same conclusion that she had some time ago: the three of them just wasn’t going to work, and it was hurting their relationship. If so, she didn’t blame them. It wasn’t that they weren’t trying, but she just messed everything up.

It was sad to love somepony and not be able to kiss them and... other things that made her face burn and her wings and hoof twitch just thinking about, but it wasn’t worth one of her friends being unhappy. Much less two. It really was best for all of them to just forget about Fluttershy’s crush. After all, she still had them as friends, and that was more than she deserved.

That has to be it.

That was why they hadn’t called it a date. They were trying to spare her the pain of being dumped and wanted to let her down easy. It was still going to hurt, of course. Just like it had hurt to let Dashie go. But this way her friends wouldn’t feel guilty about it, and pain faded after a time; she had at least learned that much from Dashie.

That was a relief, actually. Everything would go back to how it was before, nopony would be upset, and she’d still have her hoof to keep her company.

Still, it made her a little sad. She had liked the fact that they hadn’t given up before now. It had made her feel... special... wanted. She’d never thought of herself as special. Not when those ponies wanted to take her picture, not during any of the times she’d gone to Canterlot to be thanked personally by the princesses for saving the world again. If there was anything special about her, it was that she had the most wonderful friends.

If there had been any time in her life where she had felt special, it was when Dashie had been with her. But then... not so special. She couldn’t be who she needed to be for Dashie. But it was different with Pinkie and Rarity. They thought she was a wonderful pony, and she felt like they would continue to think that no matter what she did. Or maybe she just hoped they would.

Still, as nice as it felt, she was happier knowing that they were happy together. She’d get by just as she’d always done.

She nodded firmly, promising herself that she would take everything they said calmly, and that she wouldn’t cry, no matter what.

There would be plenty of time for that at home.

She arrived at the boutique at roughly the time they’d agreed on. Truthfully, she wasn’t very good at reading the sun. She kept thinking maybe it would be nice to have a pocket watch, but there weren’t that many occasions that required her to be anywhere at a specific time, so she tended to err on the side of caution and just leave early anytime somepony wanted her to be someplace.

Still, she thought it was about the right time. It seemed like it might be a little earlier than usual, in fact. She’d always found early was better than late. It was better than keeping her friends waiting. She walked up to the door, hesitating. Should she knock? She was expected, and Rarity’s shop, being a business, was rarely locked. Actually, the only time she had seen it locked was when she had found them together in Rarity’s showroom—

Her wings flared out, and she had to take a moment to calm down. The right thing to do was to knock politely, and wait for an answer. It was definitely a bad idea to go check the window. At best she’d look very strange, at worst... they would actually be there like last time and her mind would probably implode.

She knocked, waiting for her friends to invite her in. Through the door, she heard hushed, confused voices. “Um... hello?”

“Fluttershy?!” came the reply from Rarity.

“Y-yes?”

There was a sound of scrambling hooves, and lots of commotion. “Just a minute, darling!” Rarity called back.

After a couple minutes of waiting, Rarity opened the door, looking disheveled and frantic. “I’m so sorry, love. I could have sworn I said eight—”

“You did.” Fluttershy replied. “Am I too early?”

Rarity glanced at her wall-mounted clock, which told her it was barely past seven. She waved a hoof dismissively. “A smidge, but no matter. You are a guest, you are more than welcome to come early. I am terribly sorry about the state of the boutique; you caught me at a busy moment.”

“Oh, uhm... I could come back later, if you’re busy?”

“Nonsense! It will keep. Come in, come in!” Rarity pulled Fluttershy forward with her magic, smiling a tight-lipped smile as she gestured towards her sitting room. “Pinkie is making some tea. She’ll be done shortly.”

As Fluttershy entered, she noted a powerful smell of very expensive perfume overlaying the whole room.

“Sit, please!” Rarity said, gesturing to the couch opposite her chaise longue. “Pinkie’s fetching snacks, as well. Have you eaten?”

“Um... no, actually. I meant to have a sandwich earlier, but I didn’t finish it.”

“Oh? What happened?”

“You came by to visit, and Pinkie found me.”

“Hmmm? Oh, right, right. Well, I have some lovely watercress sandwiches, and we can have biscuits with the tea.”

At that moment, the door to Rarity’s kitchen opened, and Pinkie walked in with a tray in each forehoof. She was wearing a big smile, and a French maid’s dress. “Hiya, Fluttershy!” She looked down at herself, realizing she’d meant to do this in character, and smiled sheepishly. “I mean... Hello, mademoiselles! I have brought tea and um... food! Would you like some sugar?”

Rarity flashed her a warning look, much to Fluttershy’s confusion. “Pinkie, behave.”

“Actually, I’d love some sugar, thank you,” Fluttershy responded. She couldn’t see that Pinkie had done anything wrong, but maybe Rarity knew something she didn’t.

“See? I told you she’d want some of my sugar!” Pinkie said, sticking out her tongue at Rarity.

“You put that away before I make you use it,” Rarity replied testily.

Fluttershy’s head whipped back and forth, not sure what was going on. “Um...”

“You promise? Because I’ll do it!” Pinkie ran her tongue over her lips, making Rarity blush and Fluttershy shiver, then blew a big raspberry in Rarity’s direction.

“Not right now, Pinkie,” Rarity muttered.

There was tension in the air, something palpable between her friends that Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel wasn’t meant for her. “Um... are you sure I didn’t interrupt anything? I could come back later, I don’t mind,” Fluttershy offered, taking a cup of tea in her hooves and setting it down on the table.

“Take all the sugar you want!” Pinkie said, her eyes flashing with amusement. At Rarity’s disapproving glance she pouted. “Awhhh, you’re no fun!” With that, she plopped a bowl of sugar cubes on the table, turning around to go get the sandwiches.

As Pinkie turned, Fluttershy’s eyes were inexorably drawn to the hemline of the skirt as her tail whipped around, and she was unavoidably made aware of two things: Pinkie wasn’t wearing the accompanying undergarments that came with that particular uniform, and the part of Pinkie’s body that Fluttershy's eyes were drawn to was glisteningly wet. Not only did the sight make her feel extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable, but she also found herself in a similar state.

“I should go. I really need to check with a few of the shop owners on the other side of town for next month’s supplies anyway. Thank you for inviting me—” Fluttershy began, getting up to leave.

Rarity’s head whipped around from watching Pinkie’s tail as she made her way to the kitchen. “Nonsense!” she nearly screamed, blushing furiously and lowering her tone. “I’d be glad to take you on a shopping trip another day. But today, you are a guest, and we’d very much like you to stay.”

Fluttershy reluctantly sat back down, unwilling or unable to convey that she felt like she’d interrupted something very intimate, or that she’d like to go home and spend some time with her hoof thinking about what she’d interrupted. “Okay,” she said, quietly. Her hoof twitched, and she watched it like a hawk to make sure it was going to behave.

“Fluttershy, we very much wanted to talk to you,” Rarity began. “You see, I fear we’ve—I’ve been going about this all wrong. We very much want you to get closer.” She paused, trying to decide how best to express her feelings on the matter. “But everything we’ve tried thus far seems to be having the opposite effect. It’s been very... frustrating,” Rarity concluded, her eyes looking a little wild. “Frankly the whole situation has left us a bit on edge, and I really wanted to resolve that today.”

“You... don’t have to say it, Rarity,” Fluttershy replied, hanging her head.

Don’t cry. Do not cry.

“I already know what you’re going to say.”

“You do?” Rarity said with a start. “I... well, that would certainly make things less awkward. Why don’t you tell me what I was trying to say and we can see if we’re on the same page, as it were.”

“Um... that all of this was a mistake, and...” Don’t cry, it’s going to be okay. “A-and that you want to just go back to being friends again. And it’s okay, honestly. I’ll be fine.”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to respond to quite that much wrong.

“Oh, please don’t be upset! I promise, I’m not angry, or sad, or disappointed!” Fluttershy pleaded with her friend, looking up when Rarity didn’t say anything. “I… I just want you two to be happy. And I’m not helping you do that.”

Rarity just stared at her, not saying a word, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Fluttershy quailed, worried that things would start bursting into flame soon.

“I… I’m sorry I kissed her, and made everything weird for you,” she said quickly, trying to placate her friend. “I just want to start over like it all never happened!”

Silence hung over the room like a scything blade.

“I’m sorr—mmmph?” Fluttershy began, only to be interrupted by a mouth full of Rarity’s tongue as the unicorn lunged forward and embraced her.

Leaning back for a moment to take a breath, Rarity looked directly into Fluttershy’s eyes. Rarity’s eyes no longer looked angry, but determined and compassionate. “Stop. It.” She leaned forward to capture that mouth anew, leading to another surprised squeal from Fluttershy. “Not another word of that nonsense.”

“But—”

Rarity covered Fluttershy’s mouth with her own until she stopped trying to talk.

“Awww, you started without me!”

Rarity broke the kiss, shaking her head at Pinkie. “I’m sorry, darling, but she was getting the entirely wrong idea of why she was here and that needed to stop.”

She turned back to Fluttershy, her eyes softening. “Now, we’re going to need you to listen very carefully, and not jump to rash assumptions. If you do that again I will kiss you until you stop, and I need my mouth to explain myself.”

“Ooo, ooo! I can be on kissing duty!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly, waving her hoof in the air. “Pick me, pick me!”

Fluttershy just looked back and forth between the two of them, unsure how to process any of it. “Please, I just wanted to—”

Rarity claimed her mouth anew, eyes locked with hers until the other set of lips stopped moving. “I was being quite serious, I won’t hear another word of that nonsense.”

“No fair, no fair! I want in on kissing duty!” Pinkie said, scrambling over to the two of them and planting herself next to Fluttershy. “Okay, go!”

“Can I just—” Fluttershy’s head was turned by Pinkie’s hooves, and she quickly found out that Pinkie had been snacking on some of the sandwiches while she made tea.

“We can keep this up all evening, if you like.” Rarity said with an amused smirk. “Now, are you going to listen or not?”

Fluttershy gave up trying to reply, or make sense of anything, really. Rarity seemed to be determined to change her mind and Pinkie, in turn, seemed delighted to keep kissing her.

“Darling, give her a moment to breathe. I don’t believe she has anywhere near your lung capacity,” Rarity said, gently separating the two.

Fluttershy took several deep breaths, nodding to Rarity in thanks. “Um... okay—” Pinkie was on her again in an instant before Rarity gently parted them once more.

“Pinkie... I do believe she is ready to listen. You can stop kissing her now,” Rarity said, patiently.

“Do I have to?” Pinkie asked, putting on her best puppy dog eyes and pouting out her lips.

The unicorn smiled and kissed Pinkie herself. Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel like Rarity was making her marefriend a promise as Pinkie perked up considerably after the kiss had ended. “Only temporarily, darling,” Rarity said at length, to which Pinkie reluctantly nodded.

“Now, I knew this whole... arrangement had you nervous,” Rarity began, turning back to Fluttershy. “But what I didn’t know was why it concerned you so. And I admit... I was perhaps a bit foolish to try to push forward when you were clearly worried.”

Fluttershy nodded her head, not quite daring to speak.

“Darling... let me begin by saying you are not Gilda.”

“I know,” Fluttershy said miserably. She couldn’t understand why Rarity chose to bring Gilda up at that moment, but it was the first thing she’d understood in a few minutes. “Gilda was strong, and... and interesting. And I’m... not.”

“That’s not what I mean. We asked Rainbow to fill in some of the gaps in your history together,” Rarity admitted, shamefaced. “You know I hate to pry—”

“No, you don’t!” Pinkie chirped, looking quite pleased with herself.

“Quiet, darling,” Rarity snapped back. “I’m trying to make a point here.”

“Sorry!” Pinkie replied, not looking sorry at all.

“Ahem! As I was saying... We know that you had a bit of a love triangle as well, and it ended badly, but that does not have to be the case with us. You are not an interloper here. Nopony needs to be pushed aside,” Rarity continued. “But we won’t force you into anything. We just want to be given a chance. Can you do that?”

“Um... I...” Fluttershy stared at Rarity, not sure how to feel.

“Can I kiss her again?” Pinkie asked.

“Only if she says it’s okay. We’ve been taking a few too many liberties in that regard,” Rarity replied, watching Fluttershy expectantly.

Pinkie flashed Fluttershy her best pleading puppy look. “Can I kiss you? Pleeease?”

“Uhm... well... I… I’d really rather...”

“That’s a ye~es!” She leaned forward, only to be stopped short by Rarity’s magic pulling on her mane. “Hey!”

“Be respectful, love,” Rarity said, affectionately bopping Pinkie on the nose with a hoof. “She was trying to say something, and I, for one, would love to hear it, provided it’s not more of that nonsense about giving up on her.”

Rarity was looking at Fluttershy expectantly, which may have been what caused her to blurt out the words: “Is it weird that my hoof won’t listen to me?”

“Huh?” Pinkie asked, looking down at her own hooves. She looked at Fluttershy’s next, then again at her own, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “You’d better not get any funny ideas, hoofsies!”

Rarity looked back and forth between the two mares, unsure which of them was making less sense. “I... whatever do you mean, darling?”

Fluttershy sighed, then took a deep breath before trying again. “I’m... I’m weird, and I’m not pretty, and I kissed Pinkie and I’m a horrible friend! Why? Why me? I don’t deserve it, and I worry all the time and I...” She broke off, realizing her attempt to explain herself was an abject failure. “I’m just going to go home now.”

Rarity just looked at her, completely nonplussed by the stream of protests by the mare that seemed determined to drive them away. “Why would you say such hurtful things? You’re not odd, darling, not at all!”

“I am! I...” She hesitated, but after a moment or two, decided it was time. She was going to tell them, and they would look at her in disgust, and never want to speak to her again, but it was better than feeling like she was constantly hiding what she was. “The other day, when I was supposed to come by for tea... I...”

“You didn’t go home. You went to the window, and you watched us. It excited you,” Rarity said calmly.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “I… I did, but it’s worse! I...”

“You clopped until you could barely see straight, didn’t you?”

“Yes!” Fluttershy cried out, on the verge of tears. “I’m weird! That’s why—”

“Darling, that’s not so odd as you might think,” Rarity said, cutting off whatever Fluttershy had been about to say. “In fact, I daresay it’s something else we have in common.”

Fluttershy stared at Rarity uncomprehendingly.

“What if I told you that we only just figured that out ourselves roughly an hour ago, and it so excited me that I pulled Pinkie into the shop and proceeded to ravage her? That I was, in fact, still ravaging her when you knocked, thinking about you pleasuring yourself just outside my window?”

There was no reply from the pegasus beyond the soft fwump of wings extending to full display.

Rarity nodded to Pinkie. “You may kiss her now.”

Pinkie pounced on Fluttershy with a squeal of happiness.

Rarity hummed happily to herself as she watched Pinkie kiss Fluttershy, pouring herself a cup of tea and picking up one of the sandwiches. Her eyebrows rose as she noticed the wet spot on her couch cushion that Fluttershy had formerly been sitting on, prior to being knocked over onto her back.

Bother, I really need some kind of cover for my cushions for this sort of thing.

She smiled regardless. If seeing Fluttershy satisfied only cost her a slightly awkward trip to Quills and Sofas to have the cushions cleaned, it was worth it at twice the price. Her eyes flicked to the various windows in her showroom, closing the blinds and flipping the ‘Open” sign to ‘Closed, please come back another time’. She then firmly re-locked the front door, and just for good measure, the back door as well. While she would need to explain Fluttershy’s new status to Sweetie, she very much wanted to avoid a repeat of the last time her little sister had barged in unannounced.

That done, she got up, gently tapping Pinkie on the shoulder. Pinkie broke off her kiss with Fluttershy, looking back to Rarity. “I’d like a turn, darling. And it does appear as though Fluttershy needs some air.”

Pinkie scrambled up, standing aside for her marefriend. Rarity smiled down at the panting pegasus. “Hello, my lovely. Having fun?”

She brushed the pink curtain out of the way, depriving Fluttershy of any cover which she could hide behind. It revealed a rather telling blush on the pegasus’ cheeks. “Um... yes?”

Rarity climbed atop Fluttershy, leaning down to kiss her once more. She squealed into the other mare’s mouth as Pinkie buried her muzzle between her alabaster thighs, lapping eagerly at the sodden folds.

“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, pulling away in concern. “Are you all right?”

Rarity’s wiggled her hips, urging Pinkie to go deeper with her ministrations. “I’m... Ah! Fine, darling. Pinkie is... getting a little frisky...”

Fluttershy’s wings strained as she realized that not only was she making out with two of her best friends, but one of those was being pleasured by the other while she did so. “Oh... my...” Her hoof snaked down between their bodies, straining to reach it’s target now that its mistress seemed otherwise occupied.

Rarity looked down with those beautiful azure eyes, giving a little gasp as Pinkie nipped playfully at her labia. “Let me... Ah! Help you with that...” She wedged one of her knees between Fluttershy’s legs, pressing it against the entrance of her vulva and applying a gentle yet firm pressure.

“Ah!” Fluttershy gasped as Rarity pushed forward, her breath quickening. Her hoof, content that something was being done, chose to snake itself around Rarity’s barrel, holding the other mare close as its mistress drifted into a blissed-out state.

She was having trouble believing this was real anymore, but every sense assured her that it was. She smelled the perfume, which she now recognized as a poor attempt to cover up the underlying scent that had been hanging in the room. It was a scent she should have recognized; she’d smelled it on her own sheets often enough. She let out a little squeak as Rarity rubbed her knee more firmly into her, brushing tantalizingly against her clitoris and driving her ever closer to the edge.

She clutched Rarity as another hard thrust of the other mare’s knee, combined with watching the look of sheer ecstasy on Rarity’s face as Pinkie made her cum, sent Fluttershy over the edge as well.

They all lay together, a gasping sticky mess of smiling faces. Pinkie wiped her lips on her foreleg, peeking from around Rarity to flash a happy smile at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy simply lay there, fearing to move an inch lest her mind explode.

“I’m gonna go get the rolling pin!” Pinkie announced, bolting up the stairs in a rush. The maid’s outfit was shed on the way up, landing midway up the stairs.

With supreme force of will, Fluttershy managed to utter a single word that summed up her reaction to everything that had happened in the last few minutes. “What?”

Rarity’s eyes finally cleared from their glazed over state. “B-be right with you, darling.” She looked down at Fluttershy apologetically. “Feel free to rest a while, Fluttershy. Pinkie’s been waiting patiently since we were interrupted. We’ll join you again soon.”

“Um...” She opened and closed her eyes several times, still seeing stars out of the corner of her eyes. “Are you going to bake something?” Fluttershy asked, once she could manage to string together words again.

“Hmmm? Oh, no. The ‘Rolling Pin’ is what she nicknamed the first toy we used together.” Rarity untangled herself from Fluttershy’s hoof, leaning down to give her a kiss. “I do apologize for leaving like this but well, you can imagine how worked up she is...” she made a slow stroll up the stairs, swaying her hips and humming to herself.

She turned as she was about halfway up. “Oh, you’re more than welcome to come join us, if you want to watch...” Flashing a slow, languid smile to Fluttershy, Rarity turned back around and continued up the stairs, her tail swishing back and forth in a language older than speech itself.

Fluttershy stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what she had done to deserve this, and whether it had been something good or something horrible. The kitchen was only spared a brief glance before she followed the swaying purple tail and the pony attached to it with her eyes. She should probably wait down here. Rarity was going to be with Pinkie. It was private, even if she had been invited.

She completely, and utterly failed to wait.

Pinkie lay back on the bed, a quivering mass of excitement. She had the toy laid out on a pillow, the harness next to it for Rarity to don.

When they’d first done this, she wasn’t sure she was going to like the toy. But something about it being on Rarity had made her excited. She wasn’t a silly pony when it came to sex. She’d seen more than one stallion look at her, and part of her had wondered what it would be like to be mounted. But stallions always seemed... not quite right? She liked them well enough, but they weren’t what got her motor revving. But there had always been a slight curiosity; wondering what it would be like to be covered and rutted, especially during certain times of the year.

After experiencing it with Rarity, it became one of her favorite things ever! She always felt so safe under Rarity, and loved listening to the little cooing noises her fiance (still funny!) made as she thrust her hips, shoving the toy deep inside her and making all those fun little jolts dance around in her belly.

And now, it might get even better! Because Fluttershy was here too, and more ponies always made everything better! She wasn’t quite sure how to work three into the bedroom games yet, but she had some ideas she wanted to try.

Oh! Here comes Rarity! Okay, strike a pose!

She did her best to emulate some of the mares she’d seen in her favorite magazine centerfolds. They always looked so classy and had their manes done just right and they did that kind of half awake thing where their eyes looked kinda droopy. That had always confused her when she thought about it, because why was it sexy to look like you wanted to fall asleep?

Oh no! My face is gonna look all confuzzled now! Quick, I need to fix it!

Rarity chuckled at her expression as she entered the room. She picked up the harness and toy in her magic, fastening it to her waist. “Let me guess, the come hither eyes thing?”

Pinkie nodded, blushing furiously. “I wanted to be just right but those eyes are weird! I mean, I know it’s sexy, but when I think about it I get all confused about why it’s sexy and—”

Rarity cut her off with a long, passionate kiss. “I keep telling you,” she punctuated each pause with a kiss on Pinkie’s neck. “You’re the most adorable, desirable, and utterly irresistible mare to me. Everything else is just window dressing.”

“So... am I prettier than Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked.

Rarity hesitated for a long moment before smiling warmly. “It’s impossible to compare the two of you. You each have your own standard of beauty.”

“You think she’s pretty too, huh?”

“She’s breathtaking in her way, darling. But that doesn’t detract from you in the least.”

Pinkie smiled, satisfied with the answer. She thought Fluttershy was pretty, but that didn’t mean she didn’t think Rarity was pretty. They were just different, and the differences were so fun!

Any more discussion on the subject was closed when Rarity closed her lips around Pinkie’s own, the toy she had donned swaying back and forth as she moved. “Hush now, darling. Leave the philosophy for later. Let’s have some fun.” She lifted Pinkie’s hindlegs up, wrapping them around her hips, and guided the false stallionhood down until it was resting lightly between the slightly parted lips, making Pinkie shiver in anticipation.

Rarity slid the toy back and forth, liberally coating the underside of it with Pinkie’s copious juices. She used her magic to spread the lubrication, giving it an almost polished look.

Pinkie watched in fascination as Rarity then pressed the blunted end in between her lower lips, slowly inching it inside her like the sexiest magic trick ever. After just a few seconds their hips were joined, leaving no sign of the large device currently spreading Pinkie’s insides in the best way imaginable.

They lay together, panting slightly, Rarity giving Pinkie some time to adjust to that feeling of fullness before beginning to gently thrust the toy in and out of her. This was always the fun part for Pinkie. Yes, she’d found ways to do this for herself, (the catalog Rarity had offered a lot of choices, and her current favorite was one that came with a suction cup that she could stick to her bedpost and just back up into) but she could never quite match how Rarity did it.

On her own, she always got too excited and slammed her hips into the post at a breakneck speed. She could reach a climax, obviously, but it wasn’t as nice as the slow and gentle pace Rarity kept. It always left her wanting more and made the spring in her belly coil tighter than she could ever reach on her own. Rarity always seemed to know when to speed up or slow down at just the right times and when she actually did hit that big bang it made her hair curl! Or... curl more anyway.

Besides, there was this look in Rarity’s eyes that Pinkie just adored. Rarity liked to mount her like this. Rarity liked to be in control, and Pinkie liked to give her that control. Other times, she liked to take the control away. Not in a mean way, of course. But in a playful way. Like a prank, only sexier.

Thinking of pranking briefly lead her mind down some interesting pathways involving using a rubber chicken to clop herself. Sometimes she wondered if that was strange, but she dismissed the thought as being silly.

She gasped sharply as Rarity hit just the right spot, wiggling her alabaster hips with a playful look in her eyes. Pinkie smiled back, arching her back up to reach Rarity’s lips with her own and clasping her forelegs around the other mare’s neck. She knew Rarity usually liked to be upright for leverage, but she wanted to feel her against her own chest. She loved the fluttery feeling that settled in her stomach every time she could feel their hearts beat in unison.

Speaking of fluttery, she caught a glimpse of pink mane just behind the door! Part of her wanted to call out, and invite her to come inside, but she didn’t want Fluttershy to feel bad. It seemed like a strange thing to be worried about. She loved watching Rarity when they made love. It was like, her favorite thing ever. Except maybe for cupcakes, but only if they were really good cupcakes.

Actually, she’d never had a cupcake that was better than making love with Rarity, but she decided that she’d start researching it first thing in the morning. If they were that good, they’d sell a ton!

But if they were really that good, she might not want to sell any! Actually, what if they were so good she stopped wanting to make love with Rarity? That would be horrible! Maybe if would be better not to meddle in the affairs of godlike cupcakes after all.

Fluttershy peeked around the door, trying to be quiet. They knew she was there; they had to know. Rarity had invited her to come join in, and... and she was here, watching.

Why was she watching? Because... she couldn’t not watch. She was scared, but she couldn’t look away from what was happening in the room. While she had seen her animals mating, it had always seemed... distant, disconnected from who she was. She had never looked at a stallion as being an object of attraction. It had always been mares who set her loins on fire, but now seeing Rarity and Pinkie being that close... seeing Pinkie’s lower lips lewdly stretching to accommodate the toy aroused her more than anything ever had. Before, she had wanted to be Rarity. But at that moment, she wondered what it would be like to be in Pinkie’s place.

Of course, the fact that Rarity's lips were winking didn’t hurt, and though she was still being torn by indecision, the part of her that wanted to join in was slowly gaining ground, and would win if she didn’t stop it.

“Darling,” she heard Rarity say, shocking her to her senses. “As exciting as it is knowing you’re peeking in from behind the door, I think it would be more comfortable if you lay down on the bed with us.”

“I...” The part of her that was still unsure screamed at her not to move, but she couldn’t just ignore Rarity, could she? That would be impolite, and rude, wouldn’t it? “O-okay.”

She crept inside, crawling up onto the large bed. Pinkie’s smile got even bigger as she came into view.

“Hey!” Pinkie gasped out between happy little squeals.

“Um... hi.” Fluttershy averted her eyes from what they were doing down... there, and kept them fixed on Pinkie’s face. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Huh?” Pinkie looked down, surprised at the question. “Nah! I mean... the first time, a little. Kinda like a bee sting? Only more like a great big rubber thing spreading me wide open. I guess that’s not the same.”

“Darling, would you do me a favor and nibble on her ear? I can’t quite reach it like this,” Rarity asked as she thrust the toy as far as her hips would allow her to go into Pinkie. “The left ear, just below the tip.”

Fluttershy’s eyes got wider as she watched Pinkie arch her back, burying her head in the pillow she was propped up on. She hesitantly leaned down, taking Pinkie’s ear in her teeth and nibbling on it gently.

The effect was immediate and startling. Pinkie’s whole body stiffened, then relaxed, making her appear boneless. Fluttershy knew what it meant, of course, but she didn’t know what to do. She looked up at Rarity for further instruction but found only satisfaction on the unicorn’s face.

“That’s the first one,” Rarity said, pleased. She ran her hooves along Pinkie’s tummy, causing her to shudder and shake in post-orgasmic bliss. “I wonder, sometimes, just how many she could manage if I had the stamina to do her justice.”

Pinkie’s eyes rolled back into her head, and her whole body stiffened.

“That would be two,” Rarity said with a chuckle. She was holding very still, trying not to over-stimulate her darling Pinkie, but it was trying for her. She was terribly excited, and really would have liked to keep rutting Pinkie senseless. She had learned better, however. No more trips to the emergency room only to be sent home with ice packs and painkillers. One of them had to have restraint.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. Pinkie was... really really quick.

“H-hey,” a small voice whispered up to her.

She looked down in surprise. She’d never seen Pinkie look so... tired. “H-hi,” she replied.

“Do... do you think you could maybe...” her voice dropped down to near subaudible levels. Fluttershy wasn’t quite sure she could do what was being asked of her, but she nodded her understanding.

She crawled off the bed, slowly circling around to Rarity who was currently engaged in slowly picking up a rhythm once more. She wrapped her forelegs around the other mare’s chest.

“Fluttershy?” Rarity asked in evident confusion. She relaxed when she felt the other mare nuzzling her neck. “Oh, that feels wonderful, thank you!”

“Rarity? Um... is it okay if I touch you?” Fluttershy asked, her hoof barely being restrained while she waited for permission.

“Hmmm? Well, certainly, darling—” Her hips jolted forward as Fluttershy’s hoof stroked up and down her cleft, while the shy mare continued to nuzzle her neck.

The hoof deftly parted the glistening lips, finding Rarity’s bud and gently pressing into it while the frog spread her vulva. While the strapon Rarity was using did have a little nub on her end to stimulate her, all it generally did while she made love to Pinkie was further excite her.

Now, with Fluttershy’s hoof providing more direct attention, she was getting very close to her second time as well. Her normally practiced movements quickly accelerated beyond what she thought would be comfortable for Pinkie, yet she couldn’t help herself. As she came, she buried herself deeply inside Pinkie, feeling her fiance’s body spasm in bliss beneath her. She let out a loud scream, and would have collapsed if not for Fluttershy quickly holding her close with both hooves.

Rarity simply let herself be held upright by Fluttershy for a time, finally finding the strength to sit up on her own power. She turned back to Fluttershy, sneaking a kiss on the cheek before tiredly pulling the toy out of Pinkie with a wet plop, detaching the harness from her waist and floating it to a nearby towel where it would be cleaned and readied for the next time. She lay down beside Pinkie, the latter still looking skyward with a happy glazed expression.

Fluttershy just looked down at them both, unsure what to do. Should she thank them and leave? Would it be intruding to lay down next to them as well?

Pinkie came to her senses, squealing happily. She looked at Fluttershy, looked at her unoccupied side, and fixed that by reaching out and pulling her down to lay beside them. “Hey, you!” Pinkie said, kissing Fluttershy on the nose. “How you feeling?”

“Um...”

“I’m going to venture a guess and say that means ‘a little overwhelmed,’” Rarity said with a chuckle.

“Yes,” Fluttershy confirmed, very quietly.

“I’ve been dreaming of that moment for the last few days.” Rarity ran the tip of a hoof along Pinkie’s chest, languidly stroking the short pelt. “And knowing the attraction was definitely mutual? It was all I could do not to toss you on the floor and ravish you.”

Fluttershy was finding it very difficult to keep her wings at her sides.

Pinkie hugged her two friends, or her fiance (snerk) and her... marefriend? What did you call the third pony? She made a mental note to ask Rarity about that. It seemed important. Anyway, she hugged them close, feeling the most happy that she could ever remember feeling in ever. “That was fun! Anypony want food before round two?”

“R-round two?” Fluttershy asked, her knees shaking slightly. She wasn’t sure she was ready for round two. She wasn’t sure she was ready for round one, and that had already happened!

“Food sounds lovely, Pinkie. Do you think you could get out a bottle of cider as well? I’m feeling parched.” Rarity kissed Pinkie fondly, allowing her to get up from in between the two mares.

“I’ll be right ba~ack!” Pinkie called back, skipping down the stairs.

“I did tell you she was full of energy, did I not?” Rarity said, watching Pinkie go. “So, so much. Maybe you could help me tire her out a little.”

Fluttershy didn’t trust herself to speak. She barely dared to breathe.

Rarity turned her head back to Fluttershy, smiling fondly. The smile dropped when she saw the shell-shocked expression on her new paramour’s face. “Darling, please talk to me? I... I know this was very sudden, and a bit forceful, but I just wanted to show you in the most obvious way how much we both adore you. I felt... perhaps we were being too standoffish, and that the best way to approach things might just be to jump in. Was... was I wrong?”

There was no response at first. Fluttershy wanted to reassure her friend, but she just didn’t know how to answer. “I... I don’t know. I’m still worried. I guess... I guess that’s not going to stop. I just... you’re important to me. I want you to be happy. And... I don’t know what’s best.”

“All right. That’s a start.” Rarity exhaled a long held breath. “The truth is, I don’t know either. Maybe it won’t work. But I won’t accept that without exploring it.” She reached out to touch Fluttershy’s cheek. “I’ll swear to this, though. No matter what happens to us, we will always remain friends. Think of this as... a very close friendship, with some added benefits. We offer love and companionship, and we only ask the same in return until you’re ready for more.”

“But... I mean... what you and Pinkie have...”

“What we have is not diminished by sharing it with you, love. Calm your fears. I won’t ask you to stop being afraid, but take heart that we’ll be there for you, if you’ll only let us.” Rarity leaned forward, claiming Fluttershy’s lips for her own.

Finally, in that moment, Fluttershy let go. Every attempt to push them away had only made them try harder, and she was tired. Tired of being lonely, and scared, and feeling worthless. She didn’t understand how or why they could feel that way for her, but continuing to question it would only hurt their feelings. She melted into the kiss.

It was... different than with Dash, or Pinkie. Because she wasn’t succumbing to her own love for somepony else, which had ultimately gone badly with Dash, and doomed her with Pinkie. She was letting somepony else love her. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

“Darling? Why are you crying?” Rarity asked, pulling away in concern.

Fluttershy only buried her head between Rarity’s forelegs. She felt safe, and loved. It was like coming home for the first time in her life.

“Hug pile!” A loud voice announced before Fluttershy heard a pony making a running start and leaping onto the bed.

She looked up, seeing a struggling Pinkie being held in place by magic.

“Lemme go! I wanna hug too!”

“Gently, darling. Fluttershy is having a difficult time. Stop thrashing and I’ll set you down.”

Pinkie obediently went limp, allowing herself to be laid down behind Fluttershy, at which time Fluttershy felt herself being wrapped up by four very clingy hooves.

She put her head back down against Rarity’s chest, sighing happily. This was what she’d worried about. This was what she’d tried to avoid. She felt like the world’s biggest idiot.

“Can I take your silence and continued snuggling to mean you have conditionally accepted our offer?” Rarity asked, hopefully.

Fluttershy nodded into Rarity’s chest. Somewhere, far in the back of her mind, the part of her that worried about everything fretted over how her tears were matting Rarity’s coat. She paid it no mind.

That moment might have gone on forever, had she not remembered that she was snuggling with two very attractive mares, one of whom had seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm. Her hoof twitched, and for once, she and it were in accord.

“Did... one of you mention... round two?” she asked, trying not to sound too demanding.

Pinkie sprang up from the bed, scrambling out the door. “I’ll get the chocolate syr~up!”

“Not in my bed, you won’t!” Rarity called back, exasperated. At Fluttershy’s confused but interested look, she relented. “Fine. Get the whipped cream, while you’re at it. But you’re doing the linens!”

Fluttershy wasn’t sure what was going to happen. But she couldn’t wait to find out.

Let It Begin

Fluttershy was happy.

She was watching Pinkie and Rarity at the karaoke bar again, but it wasn’t so terrible this time. They sang their hearts out, even if their crowd only consisted of one pony. She had promised that she would join them in the next song, but for now she was enjoying just hearing them sing.

After several weeks and numerous dates, most of which had turned out okay, she no longer felt like an outsider looking in (although she still enjoyed watching them at times, with their knowledge and enthusiastic approval, if Rarity’s reactions were any judge). Now... she still didn't know exactly what she was a part of, but at least she was beginning to feel like she ought to be part of it.

She felt loved, and that was all that mattered.

“Flutters! Get up here! It’s time for the three-part harmony!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. “But first you need to sing something with us!”

That earned a groan from Rarity, and a blush from Fluttershy. Fluttershy thought, not for the first time, how wonderful moments like this were. What had seemed so strange before now felt normal and right. And the only thing that’s changed is me.

“I swear to Celestia, Pinkie. If you don’t stop teasing her, I will spank your bottom!” Rarity said, shaking a hoof at Pinkie.

“Promise?” Pinkie asked with a soulful expression, pulling out paddles of various colors. “I brought some along just in case.”

“It’s not a punishment if you like it!”

“I can pretend really hard! I’m good at that!”

Fluttershy tapped Rarity on the shoulder. “Um...”

“Yes, darling?” Rarity asked, turning to her. Her answer came in the form of Fluttershy kissing her full on the lips. It wasn’t a chaste peck, but then, Fluttershy didn’t feel like she needed to be chaste anymore; not around the two of them. She reveled in the feel of Rarity’s lips against her own and the sounds she drew from Rarity without even doing anything with her hooves or wings.

“We could sing now, if you want,” Fluttershy said when she finally pulled away from Rarity. “Or... you could do... the other thing to Pinkie. I wouldn’t mind.”

“You’re supposed to help me reign her in, not take her side,” Rarity huffed, irritated. “Fine, if you’re going to encourage her bad behavior I suppose I’ll just sit this one out while you two sing a duet.”

“Oh! I never meant to cut in—”

“Flutters, you’re not! C’mon, let’s put on a show, or sing a song, whichever.” Pinkie’s eyes flashed mischievously. “Or one then the other.”

“You’re horrible!” Rarity exclaimed, swatting Pinkie on the rump, then kissing her on the cheek. “Fine, sing me a nice song. Be good and I may reward you.”

Fluttershy waited patiently while Pinkie picked a song, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. It’s just them. It’s okay, she repeated to herself like a mantra, over and over again. Her fear hadn’t disappeared entirely, but she was learning to manage what was left of it; and the more they did things like this together without everything falling apart into misery, the more she dared to believe that she might be okay.

The music began, and Pinkie excitedly ran over to her microphone, clutching it with one hoof, draping the other one around Fluttershy and pulling her close. Rarity had a way with words that made Fluttershy feel safe. Pinkie simply showed her.

She did her best to follow Pinkie’s enthusiastic singing, even though she didn’t know the song Pinkie had picked.

♪You're the twooooo that I want,
You're the twooooo that I want
Some mares will settle for just one
They don't know what they're missing
They’re not having any fun
You're the twooooo that I want.♪

It seemed simple enough, so she just followed along with the projection from the machine. Thankfully the song was fairly repetitive, and soon she just sang along with Pinkie for the chorus while letting her mind wander a little.

She caught Rarity’s eye, blushing as the unicorn smiled at her. She flubbed the chorus when Rarity ran her tongue over her lips, blowing her a kiss. Her face burning even hotter, she smiled, eyes flashing back to Pinkie Pie to see if she’d noticed the exchange.

Pinkie had stopped singing, dropped the microphone on the ground, and was smiling a predator’s smile. In fact, she was in the midst of pouncing when Fluttershy turned, toppling her over and landing the both of them on the stage with Pinkie on top. The earth pony wasted no time, kissing Fluttershy enthusiastically.

Apparently she’d noticed.

This seemed to happen to Fluttershy a lot. Not that she minded. Her friends were very passionate in their lovemaking, and tended to jump on her like kittens on a ball of yarn. She just wished she could be the kitten sometimes. She always responded in kind, of course, but she found it hard to convey that selfsame feeling when she was the one that wanted to make love. It always felt so harsh and demanding, so much so that she usually just decided to wait until Pinkie inevitably tackled her.

She felt a nibbling on her ears, and looked up to see Rarity with a very amused look in her eyes.

The unicorn’s upside-down face flashed her an indulgent grin. “I’ve been overruled, it seems, though I suppose there is no reason to argue with the majority, is there?”

Fluttershy shook her head, being rather unable to respond due to a mouth full of Pinkie’s tongue. Her head swam as two sets of forehooves caressed her along her neck and sides. She was fairly certain that was both Pinkie and Rarity, but with Pinkie Pie it was very hard to tell sometimes.

She squealed into Pinkie’s mouth when one of the hooves ran up and down the length of her outstretched wing, her eyes fluttering closed as she became thoroughly overwhelmed with sensations.

The ear not currently in Rarity’s nibbling teeth flicked as a snap top of a bottle was opened, followed shortly afterwards by the cold sensation of something sticky on her chest and stomach. Nearly as quickly as it was poured, she could feel Pinkie’s tongue removing every trace from her coat, eventually settling around her nipples, occasionally sucking one of them up into her mouth.

She tried very hard not to moan, failing miserably when Pinkie finally reached her goal.

To say Pinkie was enthusiastic in her efforts would be like saying that the sun was mildly warm. Pinkie just enjoyed the whole experience, giving and receiving joy with an equal amount of appreciation. Rarity, by comparison, tended to be more focused; she wanted to elicit the maximum pleasure with every caress or lick.

Compared to either of them, she always felt like she was too hesitant about... that. Except for her hoof, of course. Her hoof always knew what to do. With years of practice in pleasuring mares, her hoof was something of a savant; barely average in everyday affairs, but a master in making her marefriends moan and writhe. But she had two marefriends, and only the one hoof. Well... four, but only one that had the experience. The other one tried, but it wasn’t very good at... that, which often worried Fluttershy.

Her marefriends also enjoyed other things. Fluttershy wasn’t very good at them, sadly. She tried, of course, but she couldn’t match Rarity’s technique, or Pinkie’s sheer joy in the whole experience.

She kept telling herself it would come with time. After all, it’s not like she’d had much chance to practice... that. She’d only done it once for Dashie, after all, and hadn’t been with anypony since then...

Well, except for that one time with Aloe, but that had been less about making love and more about Aloe wanting her to feel special.

She hissed as Pinkie nibbled and licked at her outer lips, occasionally driving her tongue deep inside her. Her hoof reached down, holding Pinkie’s head in place and occasionally stroking the pink mane in appreciation.

Moments like this always made her feel selfish. Even if they claimed to enjoy it, she felt so odd being the center of attention. Rarity finally relinquished her ear, reaching downwards to give her an upside-down kiss.

“Ooo, I have an idea!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling her head up from between Fluttershy’s legs. “Lemme just get positioned right...”

Fluttershy looked down her own body in confusion as Pinkie scrambled up, straddling one of her hind legs and gently raising the other on her hip. This was new. She wondered how it was supposed to work—

Pinkie thrust her hips forward, rubbing her own slickened sex directly against Fluttershy’s own, making them both moan in unison.

Oh. That’s how.

Rarity, meanwhile, was getting up on her own knees, taking the opportunity to embrace and kiss Pinkie as her fiance was no longer buried snout deep in Fluttershy. There was a moment of extreme embarrassment and arousal, and Fluttershy realized that Pinkie was still covered in... her and Rarity was kissing Pinkie without regard for that; in fact she was seemingly all the more excited because of it.

She watched them kiss for a time, entranced by it, although it was hard to focus with Pinkie’s constant and insistent thrusting driving her wild. She’d been assured many times that these rooms were soundproofed, but she was sure that if any dogs were nearby, they would be howling by now. The sounds she was making were not very audible to ponies, however.

She sometimes got a little frustrated about that; when Pinkie or Rarity got really excited, it was so much fun to hear that in their voices. She tried to do the same... but it was largely impossible to make her voice cry out in the way she felt like it ought to. The more excited she got the less she could be heard.

Her eyes drifted down to Rarity’s wiggling tail, and the glisteningly wet entrance below it just begging for some attention. But try as she might, her hoof could not reach Rarity from this position. She groaned in frustration. “Rarity... um...”

Rarity broke the kiss with Pinkie Pie, turning to her. Pinkie kept up her relentless assault, grinning like a madmare and squealing every time they squelched together.

“Yes, sweetness?”

“Hey! Why don’t I get to be ‘sweetness’?” Pinkie asked, pausing in her constant assault on Fluttershy’s sanity for a few precious seconds.

“We can discuss pet names later, love,” Rarity said, turning her head to Pinkie. Turning back to Fluttershy, she smiled apologetically. “Sorry, darling. You were saying?”

“Um...” Fluttershy blushed mightily, trying to force the words out. Just tell her you want to... do that for her. It will be okay. “Rarity, I... I can’t reach...” She looked meaningfully down at her hoof, which was trying to cross over her chest to reach Rarity on the opposite side of body. “Can... can you...”

Pinkie studied Fluttershy and Rarity for a moment, her brow furrowed. She held her position mashed up against Fluttershy, her whole mind apparently wrapped up in this particular problem. Eventually her expression brightened, and she leaned closer to Rarity, cupping her mouth with a hoof to whisper something into Rarity’s ear.

Rarity’s whole face went bright red, and she shook her head violently. “I can’t do that to her!” She gasped out in protest.

“Do what?” Fluttershy asked, her mind clearing just slightly as Pinkie was no longer directly stimulating her.

“She... she suggested I...” Rarity took a deep breath. “She said I should... lower my hindquarters on to your face, so that you can...” She stopped, shaking her head again. “It’s too embarrassing. I think I’ll go sit down and just watch you two for a while...”

Fluttershy watched her for a moment, torn. She wasn’t sure she could do that... but if it would make them happy... “Wait!”

Rarity stopped, turning her head. “Yes?”

“I want...” Fluttershy squeaked, not quite able to say what she wanted. “Um... please? Let me...” Groaning, she flashed Rarity her best pleading expression. “Can you... come closer?”

Rarity hesitated, clearly torn herself between arousal and concern. In the end, arousal won the day, and Rarity got up, straddling Fluttershy’s chest and gently lowering herself down to be within reach of the other mare. She studiously did not look down, choosing instead to wrap Pinkie in her forelegs and engage her in a kiss once more.

Fluttershy looked up at Rarity’s marehood, watching a drop of dewy moisture bead and fall onto her chest. It was a different angle than she’d ever seen one before. Usually when she attempted... that, it was with Pinkie or Rarity lying down (usually followed by the unoccupied mare immediately delving into Fluttershy’s own sex). It looked very puffy, and pinkish, making Fluttershy wonder if Rarity might have been touching herself while watching the other two of them kissing on the stage before coming up to join them. She seized Rarity with both hooves, pulling the alabaster hips down so that she could reach her with her tongue.

Pinkie, meanwhile, had gone from gently holding their bodies meshed together to excitedly thrusting against her once more. The renewed stimulation was making her head swim, and in her addled state, nothing looked more tantalizing than Rarity’s sex waiting there, begging for her to devour it like some sort of carnivore.

The very first lick elicited a long, muffled moan from Rarity, which at least told Fluttershy she was doing something right. She licked again, pressing her muzzle up inside the wet folds, spreading them to allow her tongue to delve deeper inside.

Rarity excitedly pressed her hindquarters down against Fluttershy’s muzzle, urging her on. The unicorn had gone from embracing Pinkie to clinging to her desperately to avoid collapse.

Fluttershy held Rarity tightly as she bucked, feeling her own climax fast approaching. From the squeals Pinkie was giving, she was close, as well.

For a single, glorious moment, three mares stiffened, each expressing their joy in their own way. Shortly after that, the triangle fell apart, the individual pieces gasping and sweating.

“That was fun!” Pinkie exclaimed, sitting up from the position she’d collapsed in.

There was a hesitant knock on the door, followed by a rattling of keys. The door opened slightly, and the voice of the attendant could be heard. “Miss Rarity... your time is up for this session. Did you need more time?”

“Just a bit more, if you don’t mind.” Rarity looked around the room, adding: “Add a carpet cleaning to the bill. And be sure to add something for the janitorial staff as well, please.”

The attendant’s eyes flashed over the room, taking a basic assessment of the cleaning that would be necessary, although Fluttershy wondered if he wasn’t spending a little too long looking at Rarity. Although by the smug look on her face, if he was, she didn’t mind. He finally nodded to her, closing the door behind him.

“Is... is he upset?” Fluttershy asked, hesitantly.

Pinkie shook her head, grinning. “He gets this dopey grin on his face for just a second when we come in.”

“Well, I would expect he would be happy; I’m paying him handsomely enough,” Rarity huffed, though her smile belied her pretended agitation.

“Has he ever... um... caught you and Pinkie?”

“We have an understanding, now,” Rarity responded airily, fluffing up her mane.

Pinkie leaned close to Fluttershy, whispering into her ear. “She asked him to come by at random times, so she never knows if we’ll get caught or not.”

“Oh... my....”

“What are you two whispering about?” Rarity demanded.

“Nothing!” Pinkie said quickly, making shushing noises to Fluttershy, her eyes sparkling merrily.

It was strange how life simply returned to normal when they weren’t together. Fluttershy found herself thinking about them more than once during her daily routine, but the sky hadn’t changed color and her animals still needed her as much as they always had. There was just a new facet to her life, something wonderful, but ultimately little had changed.

She wondered about that at times. She’d always thought that everything would be perfect once she found her special somepony. But it hadn’t been with Dash, and it wasn’t now. It was just different. But different was good. Sometimes different was very good.

Trips to the spa, for instance. Aloe’s eyebrows had raised high, then she smiled approvingly the first time she’d seen Rarity nuzzling her. She’d demanded details once they were alone, of course. That had been an awkward conversation, and it had become more so when she had to explain that the special massages would no longer be necessary.

Aloe had then teasingly suggested that perhaps Rarity and Pinkie might enjoy one as well, noting that her sister Lotus and their cousin Vera would be up for the challenge. The heat from Fluttershy’s cheeks nearly set the cloth she was laying on afire.

Fluttershy hadn’t come out of the massage room for an hour after that, afraid that she would leave a trail of something decidedly naughty on the spa floor.

Trips to Sugarcube Corner had likewise become very different, often ending in Pinkie dragging her upstairs to her room while the Cakes shook their heads.

She and her hoof weren’t spending much time alone anymore. She hoped it wasn’t the jealous type.

What had changed was how often she went out, as her friends were very, very insistent that she come along. But going out was nice. She enjoyed watching the two of them have fun, though they never left her on the sidelines for long. One of the things she didn’t have as much fun in, however, was when they tried to teach her to dance.

Dancing at the boutique was fine; she loved dancing a slow waltz with Rarity, or being led through the more quick paced foxtrot by Pinkie, but whenever they tried to coax her into dancing outside of that safe, comfortable place, she still froze up. It had been the same with her modeling career, and it had been the same with the Ponytones. She simply didn’t do well in front of a crowd.

And so it was with a heavy heart that she went along with them to a dance contest, hoping they would not try to drag her onto the floor.

“C’mon c’moooon!” Pinkie goaded them, bouncing on ahead. “It’s going to start soon and we’re going to miiiiiiss it!”

“At best we would be fashionably late, Pinkie. We are neither the first nor last couple in the contest, so we won’t be missed. There is no need to rush,” Rarity replied, continuing her casual trot to the dance hall.

“I still don’t get why it’s a couples thing. We could do the tango with three just fine!” To demonstrate, Pinkie picked Fluttershy up on her hind hooves and whirled her around, leaving her spinning as she quickly switched to Rarity.

Rarity indulged Pinkie for a few moments, eventually embracing and kissing her, at which time dancing was forgotten. “Be that as it may,” she said, slightly breathless as they finally broke the kiss. “The contest is for couples, and I don’t think it would be fair to the others if we involved all three of us.”

“Well, fine,” Pinkie said, pouting. “But nopony’s going to be dancing if we take all night to get there! So come ooooon!”

Rarity caught Fluttershy as she was about to topple over from dizziness. “I suppose we’d better follow her, or she’s liable to participate in the contest with a lamp.” She held up a hoof when Fluttershy gave her a questioning look. “Don’t ask.”

When they arrived at the venue minutes later, things were already in full swing, and even the ponies waiting in line outside couldn’t keep their hooves from at least tapping along with the cheery music that came from inside. They flashed their competitors tickets at the door and were ushered inside. Rarity had assured her many times that it was no big deal, but Fluttershy still hid behind her wing as they passed through the velvet rope. It felt like cheating to jump ahead of the other ponies.

The event itself was wonderful, and more than once Fluttershy found herself cheering loudly along with the rest of the crowd when her favorite mares in the whole of Equestria pulled off a particularly difficult move. In the end, they walked away with second place, which wasn’t at all bad, but when your competitors could literally bend over backwards for first place, it wasn’t much of a fair fight.

Which wasn’t to say that Pinkie couldn’t bend over backwards as well, as she demonstrated when they got back to the boutique later that evening.

Still, it was nice to see Lyra and Bon Bon so happy. She couldn’t be upset even if they weren’t the ones she might have wanted to win.

“Hey, Shy!” a voice called out from the crowd. A hoof waved from over a familiar stetson, and the crowd parted as Rainbow barged her way through it.

“H-hi, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said, trying not to panic. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to her since being told that Pinkie and Rarity had interrogated her for the reason they’d broken up. She didn’t like feeling awkward around Rainbow. Or... more awkward than normal, at least.

“How come you’re not dancing?” Rainbow asked, watching Caramel and Sassaflash climb on stage for their number.

“Oh... it’s for couples. Pinkie tried to plead with the judges, but I told her it was fine. I’d rather watch,” Fluttershy replied, stomping her hooves with the rest of the crowd in appreciation of a particularly well-executed spin.

They both watched in silence for a time, Rainbow occasionally opening her mouth to say something, only to close it again. Finally, she gave up. “Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing.” Rainbow hugged her quickly, then just as quickly released her, fleeing back to Applejack.

She watched Rainbow leave, not sure if she should call her back or not. The decision was made for her by a happy Pinkie Pie squeezing the life out of her, followed closely by Rarity, who carefully pried Pinkie loose only to take her place. They were both exhausted, and sweaty, and beaming.

They’d never looked more beautiful.

Several weeks after the contest, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity were deep in the Whitetail Woods on a birdwatching expedition. Or so Pinkie called it. It was less an expedition and more a long walk through the woods, but that didn’t stop her from wearing her Daring Do vest and hat from last Nightmare Night. Rarity, for her part, had whipped up a camouflage hat adorned with feathers of various birds. Fluttershy didn’t have the heart to tell her that the majority of the plumage would not fit into this part of Equestria. It wouldn’t fool a nearsighted manticore, much less the birds they were watching.

But it was fine. Fluttershy knew the best spots to watch from, and the birds shouldn’t be able to spot them from the tall grass, out-of-place plumage or no.

Pinkie squealed, clapping both hooves over her mouth as they watched a nest-full of baby chicks hatch, immediately being helped out of their shells by the mommy and daddy birds. Fluttershy giggled quietly at the reaction. It was hard for her to not get excited, as well. No matter how many times she saw it, she still found it fascinating. She turned to Rarity, wondering what she thought, only to find her quietly, yet animatedly, gesturing at the birds.

She turned back to the birds to see what had Rarity agitated, only to see Pinkie balancing on a branch, holding out a bunch of worms in her mouth and lowering them down to the baby birds.

“Pinkie!” Fluttershy hissed as quietly as she could. “They can’t eat whole worms! Leave those for the parents and get down, please!”

Pinkie looked down in confusion, first at Fluttershy and Rarity, then at the birds who seemed quite agitated with her. Her cheeks colored, and she gently spat out the worms at the edge of the nest, hopping down the tree from branch to branch until she was on the ground once more. “Sorry!”

“It’s all right,” Fluttershy responded, sighing in relief. “The mama bird says that she forgives you, and thanks you for helping, but you can’t get that close! We’re watching, remember?”

“But they’re sooo cute!” Pinkie protested, looking up at the scene in awe. “They’re like...” Her eyebrows raised as she thought of anything that could compare. Finally, she just shrugged, smiling sheepishly. “Actually, I can’t think of anything cuter than baby birds... huh.”

“Kittens are quite adorable,” Rarity put in, smiling. Her face dropped after a moment as she eyed a small scar on her foreleg. “Though they become less so with time...”

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie smiled beatifically. “Kittens with wings!” Her good cheer was short-lived, however, as a look of horror crossed her face. “Oh no! They would try to eat the baby birdies!” She clutched Fluttershy’s chest with both hooves, shaking her back and forth violently. “We need to save them! You get the net! I’ll get the catnip!”

Fluttershy could feel her brain rattling around in her skull as Rarity tried very patiently to explain that kittens did not come equipped with wings, and never would, making Pinkie’s concern unwarranted.

Finally, the shaking stopped, but rather than dribble out of her ears, her brain decided to remain where it was. Fluttershy lay down on the grass, waiting for the ringing in her ears to go away. This too was a common occurrence, unfortunately. Pinkie was a force of nature, and it often took Rarity and Fluttershy’s combined efforts to rein her in. Calming Pinkie down, on the other hoof, wasn’t a difficult task... so much as it was an exercise in futility.

Still, for all the difficulties they posed to her, the benefits far exceeded them. And really, it was hard to blame Pinkie for overreacting to something that Fluttershy herself would have worried about, if it had been true.

Pinkie lay down next to her, murmuring apologies as she nuzzled up to her. Fluttershy just smiled indulgently, laying a wing over the other mare. She looked up at Rarity, who seemed unsure if she wanted to intrude, settling the issue by raising her other wing. Rarity nodded in thanks, lying down next to her on the other side, smiling as she did so.

Fluttershy sighed in contentment, looking up at the birds in the tree. They were busily making use of Pinkie’s gift, feeding their new babies who gave happy little chirps as their bellies were filled for the first time ever.

It was so nice to share this moment with her friends. While it was true that she could have just invited them before they were all dating, it had always felt like an imposition. The things Fluttershy enjoyed were very much not the same things that most ponies did. Having shared a bed with them, however, she no longer felt the same reservation. They could have said no, but they didn’t, because they wanted to make her happy. Just like she went along to the things they enjoyed.

She nuzzled Pinkie first, then Rarity, giving Rarity a little peck on the cheek to make sure she didn’t feel left out. This moment, this place, these ponies, it was all perfect.

It would be perfect here, wouldn’t it?

The thought, having formed, was difficult to ignore. It would be too naughty. She couldn’t ask that of them.

Rarity likes naughty. And Pinkie likes everything.

Fluttershy’s face felt especially hot. It was true; Rarity would protest, of course, but it would excite her. Rarity loved to be watched, but most of all, she was thrilled at the possibility of being caught in the act of making love.

In her showroom with the blinds open, in the karaoke booth where the attendant might check on them at any time, anyplace where she might have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and the very real possibility of being seen anyway. So, making love in the middle of the woods, far from other ponies, but also open to anypony who might be wandering in the woods themselves... that would excite her to no end.

She briefly considered asking what they thought, but one thing she had learned from watching Pinkie—her face flushed at that observation; she watched Pinkie a lot—was that Rarity loved spontaneity. She did open her mouth, but only to kiss Rarity again, this time pushing her tongue into Rarity’s mouth as the unicorn squeaked in surprise.

Her first impulse was naturally to back away and make sure Rarity was all right, but she’d learned that the first impulse was not always the sexy one. Instead, she held the kiss, pushing Rarity down on the soft grass and rolling on top of her.

She broke the kiss, smiling down at Rarity, her long pink hair making a curtain around both of their faces.

“Darling!” Rarity gasped out, “What’s gotten into you?”

“Sorry,” Fluttershy responded, making no other moves for the moment, simply enjoying the feeling of Rarity underneath her.

“Don’t apologize, sweetness. I like it.”

“Good.”

There was a few moments of silence as they simply looked into each other’s eyes, followed by Rarity clearing her throat. “Yes, well, you have me where you want me, I suppose? What did you plan to do to me?”

Fluttershy blushed furiously. It was so easy to get caught up in the moment. “Um... I’m going to...” She stopped as a faint voice whispered into her left ear. “I’m going to kiss you on the neck?”

“You don’t have to ask,” Rarity said, chuckling. “Do as you wish. I’ll tell you if I want you to stop.”

Pinkie lifted Fluttershy’s mane, peeking under it. “She’s good at that, Shy! That was the first game we played. Right, Rarity?”

Rarity’s mouth quirked up in a little smile. “Yes, yes it was.”

“I liked hot and cold more, though.” Pinkie let the mane fall, sitting on her haunches to watch.

There was another long silence as Fluttershy tried to recapture her bravado. She was on top of Rarity, about to make love to her. The first order of business was... to stop thinking so much. Thinking wasn’t helping.

She kissed Rarity’s neck, her hoof eagerly reaching down to caress the unicorn’s inner thigh.

“Ooooh, hot!” Rarity hissed.

“Wait wait wait! I thought you were doing stop and go!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Are you doing hot and cold instead?”

Rarity’s horn lit up, and she used her magic to bring Pinkie closer. “Darling, I have better uses for that mouth of yours right now.”

“Ooooo what?” Pinkie asked, her eyes lighting up.

“I believe the expression is ‘shut up and kiss me.’” Rarity replied, pulling Pinkie closer to do just that.

Fluttershy breathed a silent sigh of relief. As much as she loved Pinkie... it was really hard to focus on being sexy when Pinkie was... being Pinkie at the wrong times. It was adorable, of course, but sometimes the best thing to do was exactly what Rarity was doing. When Pinkie and Fluttershy made love, Fluttershy had her own game: Whoever stayed quiet the longest won.

Pinkie usually played to lose.

Fluttershy eased herself down Rarity’s chest, raining kisses wherever it occurred to her, occasionally being rewarded with little squeaks and shudders from Rarity. It was times like this that her mind boggled at what she was doing. She felt so... naughty.

Her hoof trembled, eventually abandoning its post on Rarity’s thigh to plunge back into her own sex. It had been a while since she’d clopped herself. And as wonderful as Pinkie and Rarity were to her, sometimes it just felt good to take matters in her own hoof.

Besides, it was no longer needed, as Fluttershy’s tongue had taken its place.

She did her best not to feel self-conscious. Rarity was just so... pretty. Even in her fantasies, she’d never let herself think about her best friend in this way. It would have felt like a huge betrayal. Which was not to say thinking of Pinkie in that way had been any better, but Pinkie had always seemed... more approachable in that respect. She was adorable, but Rarity was like some sort of alabaster goddess carved out of living flesh and not meant for the likes of anypony as common as her.

Pinkie, on the other hoof, had always struck her as the type of pony who lived and breathed to make others happy. It was a motivation that Fluttershy could relate to, though they went about it in different ways. That was the major difference; in her dreams, approaching Pinkie had been a wonderful thing, and had always lead to wonderful fantasies. But her image of Rarity would have been... reluctant at best. She had always thought if Rarity had been approached by a mare, it would have resulted in a tearful but firm rejection.

Leave it to Pinkie to change all the rules.

And now, somehow, someway, she had them both quite literally in her hooves.

She looked back. Well, she had herself in her hoof, and Rarity on her tongue. And looking forward again, she could see that Pinkie was busy squealing into Rarity’s mouth while Rarity clopped her. But it was the principle of the thing.

She slowly worked her way inward, listening for Rarity’s responses. She was never quite sure if the unicorn was overplaying her reaction for her sake, but at the very least it told her what Rarity liked, even if she suspected she wasn’t doing as well as her friend wanted her to think she was. She knew she was timid, but it was very hard to be aggressive. Maybe if she’d been able to be more aggressive, then—

She cut off that line of thought before it could go any further. She was happy, Dash was happy, that’s all that was important.

But... maybe it would be nice to tell her so, sometime.

The squeals became more pronounced as she gingerly lapped at Rarity’s outer lips, occasionally licking along the cleft in a long, slow swipe. She’d tried to do what Pinkie did to Rarity on occasion, only to be told by Rarity that she preferred the way she did it, however she chose to do it. Which was a polite way of saying ‘I already have a Pinkie, darling.’

And so she’d had to figure out how Fluttershy made love. Which, as it turned out, was slow and gentle, and, if Pinkie and Rarity were to be believed, lead to unintentional teasing followed by lots of messiness. But that was okay. She liked the little cooing noises Rarity made when she cleaned her up afterwards. And Pinkie just sort of spasmed with the biggest grin on her face.

That grin was sometimes enough to make Fluttershy messy as well.

She nosed inside the folds, licking deeper inside, the tip of her nose bumping up against Rarity’s button and making her breath quicken in response. When Fluttershy was like this, she could hear Rarity’s pulse. It became especially easy to hear the beat once Rarity gripped the side of her head with her thighs, but when that happened, Fluttershy pretty much knew Rarity was very close.

Rarity screamed into Pinkie’s mouth, her body bucking upwards to meet Fluttershy’s tongue. Pinkie was still basking in her own afterglow, and broke contact with Rarity’s lips to kiss her neck and shoulders.

Fluttershy’s hoof quickened as Rarity came, and she could feel it plunge as deep as it could go. She shuddered and shook as the orgasm overtook her, panting into Rarity’s crotch.

Rarity was doing her best to remain calm. It was just the most important day of her life, after all. Nothing to get excited over.

Then, of course, there was the wedding night to consider. She would finally be consummating her union with Pinkie Pie in the only way that counted. And she could still wear white for the wedding if she chose to!

Of course... there were still the invitations to take care of. Oh, and the small matter of explaining to her mother that she was dating a mare... and the even smaller matter of telling her it was, in fact, two mares. But she was only marrying one of them—for the moment, anyway. The implications of that were not lost on her, but she had no idea what to do about it. Nothing in any of her books had mentioned a happy and healthy three-pony relationship, much less how those three got married. So, for the moment, she focused on the one pony she had planned to get married to.

Pinkie was not being helpful in that regard.

“Why don’t we just ask her?” she asked for the umpteenth time as Rarity checked the fitting on Pinkie’s tuxedo.

“Because I already know what she would say, love. ‘Oh, I don’t want to spoil your big day.’ You remember how long it took just to convince her to date us? We have a scant few months to prepare!” Rarity stuck a pin into the hemline of the pants, getting her needle ready to fix them. “Besides, this is something I’ve always wanted; a big wedding to announce to the world that I’ve found the pony I love.”

“Ponies,” Pinkie said, firmly.

“Well, yes,” Rarity said, slightly annoyed. “But you were the first, and we can certainly have another ceremony when she is ready.”

“But what if she’s ready now and just wants us to ask?” Pinkie persisted, having to be magically restrained from bouncing about.

“Darling, we don’t want to push somepony into a lifetime commitment!” Rarity steadied Pinkie with the touch of a hoof as the needle did it work. “Asking her to become closer to us was one thing; we’re all very happy together, and I think it’s made us stronger friends as a result, but she might decide she wants to be with somepony else eventually! And then where will we be?”

“You think Flutters would want somepony else?”

Rarity didn’t even have to look; she could almost feel Pinkie wilt at the very thought. “I never said that. But we invited her to become closer because she is our dear friend and we love her. It would be horribly selfish of us to deny her if she one day decides that she would rather have a mate of her own.”

“But... but she already has two of those,” Pinkie protested.

“That’s... true, I suppose.” Rarity paused in her stitching. She wanted to ignore these worries Pinkie was bringing up as pre-wedding jitters, but they were too close to her own to do so.

“Like... what do we call her when we get married? We’ll be wives, I guess, but does she get to be the fiance then? Or marefriend, maybe?”

Rarity sighed, helping Pinkie remove the tuxedo before she inadvertently destroyed it. She fully intended to tear it off her beloved during the honeymoon, but it needed to survive till then. “Pinkie, I’ve told you before, fiance is a word for the pony you’ve asked to marry you, and only after they’ve said yes. We can’t call her that until we’ve asked, and I don’t know if I want to put that sort of pressure on the poor dear.”

“Yeah, but you said that about sexytimes too! Then what did we do?” Pinkie pantomimed pouncing on a pony. “We jumped her bones and everything was okie-dokie!”

“You can’t just pop a question like that on a pony!” Rarity exclaimed, scandalized.

“Sure you can! You did it to me, remember?” Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. “I mean, maybe that didn’t go so well, but that’s what you wanted to do. I loved it!”

“That’s hardly the point. I was reasonably certain of your answer.” Rarity hung up the tux in a safe spot amongst her other designs. She considered her words carefully, not wanting to be misunderstood. “I... I don’t know how she feels about longterm commitments. I mean, she’s our dear friend, and... I suppose our lover now, but beyond that, I just can’t say for sure yet.”

They were both silent for a moment. Rarity hated feeling as she did, but like it or not, there was some truth to both sides.

Pinkie finally broke the silence. “Well... maybe we should talk to her and ask how she feels?”

“Perhaps,” Rarity allowed. “But let’s wait until after the wedding? Can we focus on that first?”

“Okie-dokie,” Pinkie replied, though her lack of enthusiasm spoke volumes.

Fluttershy approached Rainbow’s cloud home with a sense of dread.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to Rainbow, of course; never that. It was just the subject that worried her. Rainbow had tried to bring up their past together on many occasions, and each time she’d deflected, or otherwise changed the subject. Dwelling on what might have been didn’t help.

But now... now she thought she understood why Rainbow kept trying. Being in a new relationship herself, she now felt like the way she’d ended things with Rainbow was... wrong, and had provided no real peace for either of them.

It was time to change that.

She alighted on Rainbow’s doorstep, knocking politely. Strictly speaking, Rainbow never locked her door, or her windows. In fact, none of the windows in her home had any means to close them. But it was still nice to knock.

“Uh... who’s there?” Rainbow called from her room, sounding just a little groggy.

“It’s... um... me,” Fluttershy replied, trying to keep the squeak out of her voice.

“Shy?” Rainbow’s head popped out of her bedroom window. “Hey! You don’t have to knock. Just come in!”

Fluttershy opened the door, stepping into Rainbow’s living room as Rainbow flew down the stairs to meet her.

Rainbow swept her up in a hug, picking her up bodily and depositing her on a fluffy couch-shaped cloud. “Hey! You want a drink or something? I’m pretty sure I have some juice boxes if you want.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth fruitlessly, willing words to come out. Finally, she simply nodded.

Rainbow took off for the kitchen, raiding her icebox for drinks. As she searched, she did her best to make small talk. “So, what brings you up here? Usually I can’t pry your yellow butt off the ground!”

Fluttershy squirmed in her seat. Somehow it was proving very difficult to have this conversation.

Dash poked her head out of the door to her kitchen. “Found some!” she announced triumphantly. She flew back to the couch, plopping down next to her friend and passing her a juice box. “Ah, there we go,” she said as she took a nice long sip.

Fluttershy had developed an incredible interest in her juice box.

“So, uh... am I supposed to guess or something?” Dash asked curiously. “I mean... I don’t remember if I missed something important, but I’m sorry if I did?”

“N-no,” Fluttershy said at last. “No, you didn’t forget anything.”

“Oh,” Dash replied. “Well, good, I guess. Did you just want to hang? That’s cool, too.”

“I...” Fluttershy took a deep breath. “I was thinking about you the other day,” she began. Then she stopped, not entirely sure how to continue.

“Aww. that’s nice, Shy.” Rainbow smiled, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “I’ve actually been thinking about you, too. Everything cool with Pinkie and Rarity?”

“No....” Fluttershy said, then her eyes widened as she realized she’d responded to the wrong thing. “I mean, yes, everything is wonderful with them, but that’s not why I was thinking of you, or... I mean I suppose I was thinking of you because of them... I mean... I was thinking of... us.” Her face burned in embarrassment. This wasn’t going right at all.

“Huh,” Dash said, more than a little confused. After a moment or two of awkward silence, her eyes widened and she was blushing as well. “Oh, Shy, I—AJ would kill me! I mean, I still—but we can’t just...”

Fluttershy had to fight down a tide of rising panic. She shook her head quickly. “No! I didn’t mean—Dashie, I do, too. I always will, just not that way anymore.”

Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief, though she simultaneously seemed a little disappointed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out. It’s just... AJ is the jealous type. And I can’t screw things up. So... what do you mean, then?”

“I... just wanted...” Fluttershy took a deep, calming breath. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for... the way things ended.”

“Wha’?” Rainbow stared at Fluttershy incredulously. “For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I did... I gave up on you. And... maybe things turned out okay in the end, but... I should have been stronger. I should have fought for you, and that’s... that’s why I didn’t deserve you.”

“Shy... where’s this coming from? I don’t get it!” Rainbow scooted closer, throwing a foreleg over Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Talk to me. We’re still buds, right?”

Fluttershy nodded mutely, not looking at Rainbow.

“Look, that was a long time ago, and it wasn’t your fault. If anypony should apologize, it's me. I was the one messing around with Gilda.” Rainbow shook her gently. “Stop blaming yourself. I don’t.”

Fluttershy shook her head sadly. “I should have been stronger. I see that now. If I’d fought, she would have backed down. She expected me to fight.”

“What? You mean Gilda?”

“She came to me... just a few weeks before I left school.” Fluttershy took a deep breath, trying to decide how best to bring this up. She decided immediately the truth was a bad idea.

Dashie can’t know. It was horrible, but I think... I think I know why, now. She was so mean, but I think she was hurting too, and didn’t know what to do...

“Make it quick, doofus.”

Fluttershy trembled and shrank away the griffon's predatory gaze.

Gilda had swooped down at her exactly the way she’d seen hawks about to snatch up mice. But instead of picking her up and carrying her off to devour at her leisure, she’d landed in front of Fluttershy and demanded the most confusing thing she’d ever heard.

“Will you hurry up and hit me, already?”

“W-why?” Fluttershy stammered out, finally.

Gilda grunted in frustration. “I already told you. I fouled your nest! Or... home, or whatever you ponies call it.”

“D-Dashie already told me,” Fluttershy managed to squeak out. “I told her it’s okay.”

The griffon raised her head, leveling her gaze directly at Fluttershy. “She told you, and you’re okay with it? What the heck is wrong with you, twerp?”

Fluttershy cowered away from Gilda, squeaking piteously.

“Ugh! This is stupid! Do I have to tell you where to hit me?” Gilda demanded.

“I... I don’t want to hit you,” Fluttershy replied in a small voice.

Gilda slumped down on her haunches, glaring at the infuriating pony before her. “You ponies are so stupid! If you were a griffon, at least I could tear your throat out and just take her! But all of you grass-munching dweebs are just... Ugh!” She snarled, making Fluttershy even more afraid.

“Can you please... uhm, leave me alone?” Fluttershy asked.

The griffon’s eyes narrowed in a way that sent another quiver of fear running down Fluttershy’s spine. “Go away? You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Seeing me leave and never come back? I like Dash as much as you do! No way am I just gonna leave!”

“I didn’t mean—”

“I don’t care what you mean! You’re supposed to do something when somegriff... or somepony sleeps with your mate! And—” Gilda fell silent. “Unless you’re not willing to fight for her.”

Fluttershy squeaked weakly, cowering before the angry griffon.

“That’s it, isn’t it? You’re weak, and you can’t even be angry with me— or her.” Gilda spat, her saliva being absorbed by the clouds they were standing on almost instantly. “Useless,” she said, venomously. “If you’re not willing to fight for her, you don’t deserve her.” She turned around and flexed her wings to take off, but looked back over her shoulder before the first flap would have put her in the air. “Get lost. Dash deserves someone better than you.”

Fluttershy told a very rose-colored account of her conversation with the griffon. Needless to say, she omitted certain things that would have made Dash angry. There was little point reopening old wounds.

“She seemed to feel guilty about what she was doing with you. And she was frustrated that I wouldn’t be angry with you or her about it. She... she wasn’t very nice, but I think maybe... maybe she was right. Rarity fought for Pinkie. She didn’t just... give up.” Fluttershy hung her head. “I... If I had been stronger—”

“Stop it!” Rainbow shouted.

Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide, and she squeaked in surprise.

“That’s why? Because you thought—” Rainbow shook her head. “Shy, it was never about how cool you were, because let’s face it, you’re about as cool as the sun.” Rainbow leaned over and hugged her, clinging tight. “You didn’t have to be cool. You’re my girl!”

“I didn’t?” Fluttershy whispered, not believing her ears.

“Nah, you’re awesome as is. But don’t ask me that in public; I’ll be forced to redefine what awesome means, and nopony wants that.” Rainbow pulled back from the hug, tears showing at the edges of her eyes.

“But... I thought... Gilda was so fast, and brave, and—”

“And she was a huge jerk. But she was my girl too, so she got a pass.” Rainbow frowned as she reconsidered. “Maybe too many passes.” She sighed heavily. “Look, we were both kinda young and dumb. So will you give yourself a break already? How am I supposed to feel guilty for being a huge idiot if you won’t let me share the blame? C’mon, think of me for a change!”

That got an involuntary laugh from Fluttershy. “Sorry. I guess that was selfish of me?”

“Did you just make a joke?” Rainbow asked, her smile widening.

“Maybe?” Fluttershy replied with a slight grin herself.

“Ha! Pinkie’s rubbing off on you. Or rubbing on you. Either way.” Rainbow hugged her again impulsively. “You’ve been smiling a lot lately. I like it.”

Fluttershy returned the hug, fighting off a sudden urge to cry. She felt lighter than she had in years. It was as if she’d been carrying a burden around without even being aware of how heavy it was, and Rainbow had casually flicked it off of her with a wingtip.

“Hey, Shy?” Rainbow whispered, make Fluttershy’s ear twitch.

“Yes?”

“Are you happy?”

The question took her by surprise. It was something she often asked Rainbow. Because despite having loved and lost, part of her would always love Rainbow, and want her to be happy. She supposed the same was true for Rainbow. “Yes,” she answered.

And she was.

All I Really Need

“Um... Rarity, are you sure I should be the one modeling the dress? I mean this is your wedding dress; it’s important,” Fluttershy said, doing her best not to move, or fall off of the pedestal she was on, or breathe. That last one was being made rather difficult by the fact that Rarity’s barrel was apparently slightly thinner than her own. It saddened her, but she was going to have to start saying ‘no’ when Pinkie offered her pastries for the foreseeable future.

“Yes, it is, but I can’t make tweaks to the fit while I’m wearing it, and I’ve already put poor Pinkie into a near nervous fit trying to stay still while I was changing a few things on her tuxedo,” Rarity replied glibly, tucking another pin into place.

“But I could sweat in it!” Fluttershy protested. ”Or trip and fall and rip it to pieces... or... or—”

Rarity kissed Fluttershy, soundly cutting off an impending tirade of worries. When Fluttershy began to wobble, she backed away, grinning slyly. “Darling, if you sweat, I can simply launder the dress. It wouldn’t exactly be a very good design if it could not handle a single wash. And if you of all ponies somehow manages to rip it, I can simply repair it, or replace any section too badly ripped to repair.” She briefly cupped Fluttershy’s chin with her free hoof, bringing their eyes on a level with one another. “More importantly, I trust you, sweetness. Now please hold still. I wouldn’t want to prick you accidentally.”

Fluttershy did her very best tree impression, silently trying not to fret. There were mere weeks to go before the wedding, and it seemed like the closer it got, the less satisfied with her designs Rarity became. Dates were becoming less frequent as Rarity handled small details like guest lists (and contacting said guests).

Pinkie’s family had proven difficult to reach. Invitations had been sent but none had been returned with the R.S.V.P. Rarity’s family had thankfully proven easier, although poor Magnum had to fetch smelling salts for Cookie Crumbles when Pinkie and Rarity had gone to deliver the news (apparently fainting spells ran in the family). With regards to the Pies, Rarity was planning a day trip with Pinkie to settle that particular issue if they did not respond soon. Pinkie had repeatedly assured Rarity that the invitations had just been eaten by an alligator, but Rarity was thoroughly miffed and would need both Pinkie and Fluttershy present just to calm her nerves enough to prevent her from doing something rash.

Which was not to say Fluttershy would stop her if the Pies really were ignoring the invitations, or that Fluttershy wouldn’t be more than happy to tell them exactly what she thought of them if that was the case. But she hoped it was a simple misunderstanding, or that the mail really had been eaten. It would be nice to meet the Pies. Pinkie seemed especially fond of her sisters.

Wait.

Neither of them were moving now.

Fluttershy’s eyes darted in Rarity’s direction, the latter having stopped fussing with the dress for a moment.

“Rarity? Is something wrong?”

“Hmmm? No, not wrong, per se. I was woolgathering. Forgive me.”

The alterations continued, but Rarity seemed distracted. Still, she had said she was woolgathering. Fluttershy just wished Rarity would tell her what she was thinking about.

Finally, Rarity stopped, and looked up at Fluttershy from her work stool. “Fluttershy... are you happy with your gown?”

The question startled Fluttershy, who stammered out a quick response. “Oh, it’s wonderful, Rarity.”

“That’s not what I mean. Would you care for something... more like mine?” Rarity gestured to the gown in question. It was a gorgeous dress to be sure, white as the driven snow with various frills and bows, and a train that would follow Rarity down the aisle for several yards.

“Wouldn’t that be very showy?” Fluttershy asked, then immediately blanched as she realized she’d just called Rarity’s wedding dress showy. “I mean, it’s wonderful on you, but I’m going to be your best mare, remember? I don’t want anypony else to think I’m trying to show you up...”

“No... I... nevermind. I’m probably just getting jitters again,” Rarity said with a sigh. “It’s just... I don’t want what we all have to change, do you see?”

Fluttershy shook her head, smiling apologetically.

“All right. What I mean is... I love you, and Pinkie, but Pinkie deserves... But I don’t want you to think just because we’re getting married that you aren’t always welcome. I slaved over those vows and nowhere in the revisions does it mention anything about what we do being in any way wrong; we’re pledging our hearts to each other, but you will always have a place in both of them. It’s just a ceremony in the end, but... it’s been a dream of mine...” Rarity stopped, screwing her face up in irritation. “Is any of this making sense?”

“A little?” Fluttershy offered sheepishly. “Thank you, though. I really appreciate being a part of your big day. I mean... not that long ago I was afraid I’d have to miss it and stay away from town for a few decades, so being able to be there is a dream come true for me too!”

“A few decades?” Rarity demanded. “Why—”

“I... I was trying to figure out how to keep my promise without... ruining everything. I figured as long as I told her before I died it would still count.” Fluttershy cringed inwards. “Then... Pinkie... said everything would be okay.”

Rarity blinked for a moment, shaking her head. “Right, that’s horrifying. Thank you for not doing that.”

There was a long silence between the pair, broken only by rising panic.

“What do you think about marriage?” Rarity asked at last. “I mean, I know it’s not important to everypony, but I’m very keen on it, you see?”

“I... I think I’m very happy to see you two happy? I mean, I’ll miss you while you’re on your honeymoon, but you’ll come back, and we’ll have spent all that time missing each other...” Fluttershy blushed, feeling a heat rising between her legs. “I think I’d better stop thinking about that.”

“That’s true, we could always have a second honeymoon here at home...” Rarity mused. “I suppose that would be nice. Yes! That... that could work!” Rarity jumped up and kissed Fluttershy again. “You’re so wonderful, sweetness! Thank you.”

Fluttershy’s face burned, and she felt droplets of moisture threatening to drip. “Um... Rarity, I think you’ll need to wash the dress if you don’t stop doing that.”

Rarity’s look of confusion turned to understanding, then a greedy little grin. “Let’s get it off you, then.” She said, leaning forward and whispering something that pretty much ensured a washing for the gown.

“I’m gonna go have lunch now, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie announced as she closed the register.

“All right, Pinkie, thank you for covering!” Cup Cake called from upstairs. “Make sure to flip the sign over and lock the door.”

“No problemo!” Pinkie called back. She skipped her way to the front door, stopping briefly to take the ‘Open’ sign and flip it to ‘Closed, back at:’ and nosed the clock positions to indicate one hour from then. As she did so, her eyes flicked briefly to a particular booth where she and Rarity had spent a rainy day, her cheeks coloring at the memory. There had been many wonderful experiences since, but a girl never forgets that first kiss. There had been a lot of firsts that day, for both of them.

She sighed nostalgically, then closed the door and locked it.

Pinkie smiled and waved at the various ponies she passed on the short trip to Carousel Boutique. She still had her room at Sugarcube Corner, of course, but going to Rarity’s was like going home. It was where she slept most often, where she ate, where she took baths—both alone and with Rarity… It was basically where she lived. But her room at Sugarcube was still convenient for when Rarity or Fluttershy came by during her midmorning and midafternoon breaks, and it was a place to keep Gummy when the alligator wouldn’t stop snapping at Opal’s tail.

She wondered about that sometimes, whether she shouldn’t just move her room into Rarity’s home, but her job as apprentice baker came with room and board included, and the Cakes didn’t have a lot of extra bits to pay for the lack of room part. She supposed they could rent out the room to somepony, but sometimes it was good to have a place where she could be alone to think. Which was not to say that Pinkie normally had any deep and abiding quandaries in her life. Her problems were normally very simple.

But lately, they had become very very complicated. Pinkie’s problems stemmed from her family, and Rarity’s stubborn insistence that they answer her invitation. But no amount of time alone in her room pondering was fixing that problem. Her usual solution of keeping her family isolated from the world at large and visiting them instead was not going to work here. Rarity wanted them to leave the rock farm and come to the wedding.

For a brief, unhappy moment, she wished she could continue to avoid the whole problem as she’d tried to do up till now. After all, there was a very good reason those invitations hadn’t been returned: Gummy had eaten them. Granted, he’d eaten them at her request, and only after she’d shredded them up and placed them in his food-bowl, but he had eaten them. So technically she hadn’t lied, right?

A tiny piece of her shook its head in disappointment, and she cringed. She was a big fat liar-pants! And it didn’t matter if she’d never promised to send those invitations, Rarity trusted her, and she’d taken those incredibly detailed gold-embossed cards and cut them up into confetti to sprinkle into Gummy’s food dish!

But now she wanted to go visit, and Pinkie had no idea how to handle that. Her sisters were very very nice ponies, of course, and she doubted they would be anything but super happy for her. Maybe Maud would even smile a little! But her dad was... she just didn’t know. She loved her mom and her dad, but when she thought about them talking to Rarity, she didn’t like what she saw happening. Either Rarity would get very mad at them, or they would get mad at her. Neither of those prospects seemed nice at all.

She thought back to what Granny Pie had told her, trying to puzzle out once again what was important to her parents. None of it had made very much sense. Something about purity of spirit and the importance of hard work. That part she got; hard work got things done. But the spirit part... for some reason that meant it wasn’t okay to have fun by herself in bed?

Wait!

Did that mean it was okay as long as she was with another pony? She wracked her brain, searching for more clues, and turned up something about...

Oh my gosh, I think it’s okay if I’m married!

The revelation very nearly made her poor frazzled mind freeze up in shock. She thought some more, looking over the idea in her head from every side she could think of, and even some she couldn’t think of. It seemed to fit every silly thing her parents had ever said about what they’d caught her doing! She wasn’t supposed to do it unless she was married, but then it was okay!

She seemed to remember something else about foals, but she and Rarity and Fluttershy were going to figure that one out eventually. The Cake twins were adorable, and she was sure Fluttershy would be super cute with babies to take care of. She felt a wave of relief wash over her. Yes, she’d gotten over feeling bad about what she’d done, despite her parents’ negative reaction to it, but the idea that they’d actually approve of what she was doing made her super happy.

She galloped to the boutique in excitement, flying through the sales door without making the bell ring and taking the stairs two at a time. She finally burst through the bedroom door to find Fluttershy writhing on the bed with Rarity eagerly buried between the yellow thighs, her purple tail swinging back and forth in languid satisfaction.

“Rarity! I think everything’s going to be okay! I’m pretty sure my parents just want me to get married and then whatever we do is fine!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly.

A low moan from Fluttershy turning into a shriek announced that she’d noticed somepony else in the room, and was followed by the yellow pegasus frantically ducking under the covers. Rarity fell face forward onto the bed as the body she’d been resting on quickly scrambled out from under her. She shook her head as she sat back up, glancing around to see the source of the disturbance. “Oh, hello love.” Turning back to the quivering lump under the covers she whispered: “Sweetness, it’s just Pinkie Pie. Come out, please.” Rarity turned back to Pinkie, smiling indulgently. “Sorry, you were saying?”

Pinkie patiently repeated herself: “I said I think my mom and dad will be super happy that we’re getting married, because I’m pretty sure that’s why they were so mad at me! I’m supposed to do that stuff with the pony I marry!” She paused, sifting through the scattered memories of her foalhood. “Oh, except I was supposed to wait until after the wedding. Oopsie.”

Then she noticed what she’d walked in on, and smiled even wider. “Hey! You started without me!”

Fluttershy finally dared peek her head up from under the covers. “H-hello, Pinkie.”

“Hey, Flutters!” Pinkie said, scrambling up on the bed. “Sorry if I scared you, but this is big big news!” Pinkie pondered a moment, putting a hoof up to her chin. “I mean, I was really really nervous about what they would say, but now I think it’s going to be okay!”

“Oh, you were worried?” Fluttershy asked politely, trying not to let the fact that she’d just been caught in the middle of a really intense orgasm bother her. She still felt tingly, and it was hard to tell if her heart was hammering in her chest out of fear or excitement, or both. She wasn’t sure how Rarity wasn’t freaking out.

“Well, yeah! I mean, they’re...” Pinkie waved a hoof as she thought quickly. “Not... well kinda... They’re not bad ponies, but they have these weird ideas and they kinda punished me for doing things that feels really really good and I just didn’t want them to be mean to you two!”

Rarity had taken a brief moment to get up, go to the bathroom, wash her muzzle, and brush her teeth. She returned looking much more comfortable with their present situation. “So, should I mark them down as a tentative ‘yes’?”

“Yeah...” Pinkie replied. “I just need to send them a letter, first.”

“Letter? What about the five hoof-crafted invitations I sent?” Rarity inquired. “Were those not sufficient?”

Pinkie giggled nervously. “Um... those were great, but a letter is much better, you know? More...”

“It’s more personal.” Fluttershy supplied quickly as she noticed Pinkie’s discomfort. “I bet that’s all it was, wasn’t it, Pinkie? The invitation wasn’t coming from you?”

Pinkie hesitated, not sure she liked going along with a fib. But she didn’t want to hurt Rarity’s feelings, either. “Yeah!” she said quickly. “I mean... my mom and dad don’t usually care about sparkly things. They sell the pretty stones we find inside the rocks, but... they don’t really care about them being pretty. Except for Maud, but she just likes rocks. Pretty rocks, dull rocks, round rocks, rough rocks—”

Rarity just gave Pinkie a sad little look. “You... you could have just told me before I wasted my time!” She stood, nodding brusquely to Fluttershy. “I’m going to make lunch, sweetness. Take some time to clean up. I know we were rudely interrupted before you could attend to your usual ablutions.”

“—rocky rocks, dusty rocks and dirty rocks!” Pinkie finished. Seeing Rarity leaving, her ears went flat in dismay. “Hey, I didn’t mean—”

“Pinkie, I think it better that I go now before I say something I will regret. Just... give me a moment to compose myself,” Rarity said quickly, closing the bedroom door behind herself with a sharp click.

Pinkie watched the door close, her face stricken and ashen. A little whimper burst forth from her lips and her hair went partially limp. She hadn’t wanted to upset Rarity, but she’d done it anyway. She was the worst fiance ever. Even the funniness of that word didn’t make her happy.

“Pinkie?” asked Fluttershy hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

Pinkie quickly pulled her face up into smile number seventy-five. “Oh yeah! I’m great! I just...” Seventy-five needed some repairs apparently; it had some cracks. She switched to reliable old thirty-seven while she tried to think about something happy.

“—I think it better I go now before I say something I will regret.”

Thirty-seven held under the strain, but only by a thin and easily broken thread.

Soft wings enveloped her, and the thread broke, allowing her face to collapse into the shape it wanted to be in while the tears fell.

“It’s going to be all right, Pinkie. Rarity’s just as nervous about the wedding as you are. It’s okay to be nervous; it doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you,” Fluttershy whispered softly as she rocked Pinkie back and forth on the bed.

“She’s right!” Pinkie sobbed. “I… I fed those invitations to Gummy because I was worried about what they would say back!” It felt good to tell Fluttershy, even if she should have told Rarity. It just wasn’t fair. She shouldn’t have to worry about telling her parents that she’d fallen in love and was going to get married. That should be the happiest thing in the world. But instead it was super stress-filled and tummy-souring.

“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Um... is Gummy okay?”

“Yeah, he eats confetti all the time. It doesn’t do anything but make his pellets really pretty.” That actually managed to make Pinkie giggle, and she felt the ghost of a smile grace her lips.

“Oh... that’s good,” Fluttershy said in relief. “So... your mom and dad, why were you worried about them?”

Pinkie was surprised at the question. She was under the impression that Rarity and Fluttershy talked about everything. “Rarity never told you?”

“No,” Fluttershy replied, holding Pinkie tightly. “She talks about you a lot, but not about your parents. Are they strict? My mom is strict.”

“They’re... they’re my mom and dad,” Pinkie said simply, as if that explained anything at all.

“I... I think I understand.” Fluttershy said. “They’re hard to explain, aren’t they?”

PInkie nodded into Fluttershy’s shoulder. “They’re really really nice ponies. My sisters and I always had plenty to eat, a warm place to sleep... and they let me throw parties! It’s just... they were weird about some things...”

“Oh...” Fluttershy said slowly. “Like Rarity’s mom was?”

“Maybe?” Pinkie replied, giving it some thought. “I mean... they only punished me that first time. And I had to be really really careful not to get caught again. But it... It made me feel bad every time for a long long time. Granny helped. She told me just because my parents said it was wrong doesn’t mean it was wrong, and then later when I talked to Rarity... it was like helping myself, a little? It felt nice to help her.” Pinkie laid her head down on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “But now she’s mad at me. I hate it when she gets mad.”

“No, Pinkie. She’s upset,” Fluttershy reassured Pinkie. “She just wants everything to go perfectly, and if something doesn’t go right, she takes it personally. But it’s going to be fine. Your wedding is going to be wonderful.”

“D-do you think she still wants to get married?” Pinkie asked with a small quiver in her voice.

“Of course she does,” Fluttershy said, holding Pinkie tighter. “She just needs a moment to calm down. She doesn’t like being mad at you any more than you like her being mad at you.”

Pinkie took that in, adding it to the list of things she couldn’t quite understand about Rarity. She was happy to hear that Rarity didn’t like to get mad at her, but sad to hear that she made Rarity mad and then made her feel worse for feeling mad. Maybe she needed to tell Rarity it was okay if she needed to be mad to just be mad?

Fluttershy pulled back from the embrace, using a hoof to wipe Pinkie’s tears away. “Now, I think you should go talk to Rarity, and tell her what you told me. You’ll feel better, and so will she.”

Pinkie nodded, her hair regaining its former bounce. “Okay! Did you want to come with me?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Not yet.” She blushed, her voice dropping down to a whisper. “I need to shower first.”

Pinkie approached the kitchen cautiously, looking at the door handle as if it was going to bite her. She could hear Rarity singing on the other side, and it instantly made her happy. That was the very first item on the list of things she did understand about Rarity: she sang when she was happy.

Except she also sings when she’s sad... but then she sings sad songs, Pinkie thought, her ears wilting for a moment. But the song on the other side of the door didn’t sound sad. Still, addendums to the list were important, so she added: Rarity also sings when she is sad.

She touched the handle with her hoofsy, but it failed to bite her. For just a moment, she stopped at the door, breathing a sigh of relief and wiping the sweat beading at her brow, then she dared opening it, peeking inside.

Rarity was making two tossed salads, and a delicious smell coming from the oven told her a casserole was baking inside. Pinkie almost slinked back away, afraid to ruin Rarity’s good mood, but that plan was spoiled by a light blue aura on the handle, preventing her from closing the door again.

“Come in, Pinkie. You can help me chop carrots,” Rarity said, as if she hadn’t been upset mere moments ago.

Pinkie hesitated a second or two more, then ducked inside, flashing Rarity number seventy-five, which she’d been tweaking while snuggled up against Fluttershy. From Rarity’s return smile, it looked as if seventy-five was back to a working state. “Heya! How’s lunch coming?”

“The casserole will need another ten minutes or so. I've already made you a fruit salad.” Rarity absently pointed at the refrigerator. “I just need to finish these salads for Fluttershy and myself and we can all sit down and eat.”

“Okay!” Pinkie replied, gathering the bowl of carrots and a chopping board in her hooves, and picking up a knife with her muzzle. With a deft flip, she laid out the carrots in a neat row, before twisting her head around, and around, and around... She always thought that she sounded like a woodpecker while chopping vegetables, and the world always refused to stay still afterwards. She smiled while the kitchen danced and swerved around her, making her legs go all wobbly underneath her body. Before they gave out, however, she was steadied by a light blue aura that felt safe and familiar, and she turned her smile on Rarity.

Rarity smiled back with a look of fondness, shaking her head slightly. “Well, that’s one way to do it, I suppose. Bring the bowl here, would you?”

Pinkie dutifully gathered the sliced carrots into the bowl, taking care to leave the greens behind on the cutting board. Rarity mixed half the bowl into each salad, then placed the completed dishes on the table, stopping briefly to retrieve Pinkie’s fruit salad and set that down for her.

“There we are; lunch is served, or the appetizer in any case.” Rarity attempted to sit down, being briefly delayed as Pinkie quickly pulled out the chair for her. “Thank you, love. Fluttershy is cleaning up, I take it?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie replied, sitting down herself. “She’s so cute when she gets embarrassed.” She popped a grape into her mouth, enjoying the feeling of it gooshing out on her tongue when she chewed. Grapes were like little balloons full of grapey goodness.

“You were in there a while. Is everything all right?” Rarity asked as she picked at her salad.

“Sort of...” Pinkie replied, bracing herself. “I need to tell you something, but I need you to promise me you’ll get mad.”

Rarity blinked several times, eventually chuckling at Pinkie. “I think you mean promise I won’t get mad, darling.”

Pinkie shook her head quickly. “No, promise me you’ll get mad. Fluttershy said you try not to get mad at me, which is super nice, but sometimes that’s okay. When somepony messes up, you can get mad, even if you love them.” Pinkie paused, trying to collect her thoughts. “Like... like you got mad at your mom when you found out it was okay to do stuff, you know? It doesn’t mean you don’t love her.”

“Well, she did give me a complex,” Rarity said defensively. “I think I had every right to be upset.”

“Yeah, and that’s okay! So when I tell you how I messed up, I need you to get a little mad.” Pinkie’s eartips quivered, then she was struck with a thought that cheered her up. “That way, we can have a fight, and make up afterwards!”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth several times, finally just settling on a slack-jawed stare of disbelief. When she managed to gather her jaw back up, she chuckled in mild amusement. “Very well, Pinkie. Tell me what you’ve done wrong, and I promise you I will get good and angry with you for it.”

“Do it right,” Pinkie insisted.

Rarity sighed indulgently. “Cross my heart and so forth,” she said as she made the motions. “Now out with it!”

“Okay...” Pinkie cleared her throat, just a little nervous that Rarity was going to be mad, even if she’d made her promise to do that. “So... those invitations... Do you remember how I said an alligator ate them?”

The question surprised Rarity, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I remember you making light of my worries that no matter how many times I sent an invitation to your family they never responded, yes. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well... I kinda... fed them to Gummy.”

The room was very silent. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of a unicorn grinding her teeth together.

“How many of them?” Rarity asked, very quietly.

“All of them?”

The room seemed darker and colder. Pinkie shivered.

“Why?” Rarity demanded at last.

“I... I was afraid they wouldn’t like that I was getting married,” Pinkie squeaked out. “Are... are you mad?”

“I am!” Rarity said, glaring at the salad before her as if willing it to wilt. She shifted her gaze to Pinkie, who was more than willing to wilt in its stead. “That was horribly inconsiderate and thoughtless! Do you have any notion of how much stress you’ve caused me by doing that for weeks on end? I was fully prepared to march to that farm of yours and drag your whole family back with me!”

“That probably would have been bad.” Pinkie replied piteously. “My family punches rocks for a living. I don’t know if you could—”

“I would have found a way!” Rarity roared back. “I would have done it because I love you and I will not have them spoiling our moment, regardless of whether they felt our union was ‘moral’ and ‘right’. But now I find the problem wasn’t them at all; it was you. How am I supposed to feel about that?”

“Rarity...” a soft voice said from the entrance of the kitchen. “She was worried about what they would say to you. She didn’t want you to be hurt.”

“I am a grown mare! I do not need to be protected from Pinkie’s family!” Rarity snapped back. “And don’t you dare tell me I shouldn’t be angry about it, I promised her—” Rarity pointed at Pinkie “—that I would be!”

“Oh.” Fluttershy flashed a quick surprised look to Pinkie, who nodded with a weak smile. “Well, all right, then. So you’re angry. Do you feel any better?”

“No! I slaved over those invitations, fretted over the responses, and I still have no idea if they plan to come because they don’t even know about the wedding!” That last line seemed to have taken the last of Rarity’s steam, and her shoulders slumped. “It’s all going wrong! I just wanted... Even my mother didn’t give me any trouble beyond fainting when she found out. I don’t... I don’t know how I should feel now.”

“Um... disappointed is a start. Maybe a little betrayed, although Pinkie was doing what she thought was the best thing she did sort of ruin your plans a little.” At Rarity’s annoyed snort, Fluttershy quickly added: “But only a little. She can still send them a letter and get them to come that way?”

“No,” Rarity said decisively. “No more invitations, no letters. We’re going to do this right. It’s past time I met them in person in any case; they're going to be my relatives.” She turned to Pinkie. “Love, go ahead and send your letter, but just inform them you are coming home to tell them something important. Do that, and all is forgiven.”

“That’s it?” Pinkie asked, her ears perking up.

“That’s it,” Rarity replied, returning Pinkie’s smile. “You made me promise to get angry. You never said I had to stay angry. And really, this is how we should have done it to begin with.” Rarity leaned over the table, kissing Pinkie’s nose. “Now, unless you have committed some other grievous sin against me, I think we should eat.”

It was gray.

That was really all you could say about the rock farm. If pressed, Rarity would have added dusty, drab, and dirty, but only if pressed. It was impolite to speak ill of your future relatives’ home, after all.

A gray pony stepped forth from the gray house, clothed in what looked like sackcloth. Upon seeing her, Pinkie squealed in delight and immediately made a beeline for the mare.

The earth pony, who Rarity now realized was one of Pinkie’s sisters, turned towards the howling pink demon approaching it and calmly held out her arms for the soul-crushing hug that was to follow. Unstoppable force met immovable object, and the object held fast as Pinkie threw her forelegs around her sister.

“Maudie! I missed you!” Pinkie exclaimed. “How’s Boulder doing?”

“Hello, Pinkie,” the mare replied, nonplussed. “Boulder is fine, thank you.”

“Where’s Limestone and Marble? And Ma and Pa? Are they playing hide and seek?” Pinkie asked, her eyes darting around in search of her family.

“Ma’s making dinner. Limestone and Marble are helping make dinner. Pa’s fetching coal from around back,” Maud answered calmly. “You brought friends to visit?”

“Silly!” Pinkie exclaimed, releasing her sister. She pointed at Rarity. “This is Rarity, she’s my friend, and my marefriend, and my fiance!” She then pointed to Fluttershy. “And this is Fluttershy! She’s our friend and our marefriend!”

“Pleased to meet you both.” Maud replied, nodding to each of them.

“Errr, likewise?” Rarity replied, unsure how she was meant to respond. Maud was... fascinatingly different from Pinkie, so much so that she wondered if they might have been fraternal twins, Pinkie clearly having taken all the fun out of the pair for herself. She noted with interest that Maud’s hair was as flat and lifeless as Pinkie’s was when she was sad about something, and wondered if all the Pies tended towards expressive hair.

“Nice to meet you, Maud,” Fluttershy replied.

“Did you get my letter?” Pinkie asked, releasing Maud from her grasp and walking back to Rarity and Fluttershy.

“I did, yes. I’ll tell Ma to set out more plates.” Maud nodded once more to Fluttershy and Rarity, walking back inside to presumably tell the other Pies they had unexpected guests.

“She really likes you!” Pinkie said with evident glee.

“Really?” Rarity replied. “How can you tell?”

“She gets these little crinkles around her eyes when she’s happy. And they were super crinkly!” Pinkie bounced up and down in excitement. “I can’t wait for you to meet Lime and Marble!”

Rarity shot a questioning glance at Fluttershy but all she got in return was a look that was equally as confused as she felt. “I’m certain they’ll be just as enchanting as Maud.”

“Nah! Lime and Marble are... Lime and Marble. They aren’t like anypony else. They’re still super fun, though!” Pinkie threw her arms around both of her mates, dragging them along bodily. “C’mon!”

Upon entering the door, Pinkie called out in a loud voice: “Inkie, Blinkie!”

Two voices called back excitedly: “Pinkie!”

The floor became a jumbled mess of Pies as the younger Pie twins ran out of the kitchen to pounce on top of Pinkie.

“Um... how many sisters does Pinkie have again?” Fluttershy whispered to Rarity.

“I was given to understand it was just the three,” Rarity whispered back.

When the tickle fight had ended with Pinkie emerging as the victor, she picked her giggling sisters up and dusted them off. “Girls, this is Marble. I call her Inkie because it looks like somepony dipped her hair in ink!”

Marble smiled shyly. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”

“And this one is Limestone! I call her Blinkie because she has never in her life ever beaten me in a staring contest!” Pinkie announced with a big grin.

“I did so!” Limestone protested. “Marble, tell ‘em!”

“It doesn’t count when she’s sleeping,” Marble replied with another little giggle.

“Pinkamina, bring your guests to the table please. The meal is ready,” a matronly voice called from the kitchen.

“Okay, Ma!”

Pinkie lead them into the kitchen, and Rarity finally spied the odd bit of color here and there. It wasn’t much; the curtains were a washed-out blue, and the tablecloth had at some point been yellow, but in the midst of such a lack thereof, any color stood out boldly.

Of course, Pinkie stood out the most, a beautiful splotch of color in a family of various shades of gray. Rarity idly wondered if she hadn’t been a bit too much color for her family to take.

Pinkie immediately latched onto her mother, who smiled good-naturedly as Pinkie did her level best to strangle her while she continued preparations of the final dish. On the table was a repast composed of various foods, though the exact names of the dishes would not come to Rarity.

There was something that looked like biscuits topped with an unidentified brown substance. A large pot was filled with what seemed to be some sort of creamy soup which was largely composed of potatoes. She spied fresh baked bread next to a dish of what she presumed to be butter. And finally, ‘Ma’ Pie appeared to be topping a key lime pie with fresh meringue.

“Pinkie,” Rarity murmured as the aforementioned trotted back up to her after her unsuccessful matricide-by-hugging attempt. “I thought I told you to not have them make a fuss.”

“They aren’t!” Pinkie said, smiling happily. “This is just normal lunch.”

“I see... Big eaters, I take it?”

“I did tell you they punch rocks into dust, right?” Pinkie replied, looking even more amused.

“Ah yes, I suppose that would use some energy, wouldn’t it...”

Rarity took a seat near to Fluttershy, with Pinkie taking a chair in between them both.

“Dinner ready, Ma?” a male voice said as the front door opened.

“Yes, Pa,” Ma Pie answered. “Pinkamena’s here to visit. Brought some friends.”

“That’s nice,” Pa replied. He walked into the room carrying a few buckets of coal on his shoulders.

“Hey, Pa!” Pinkie exclaimed, doing her level best to bounce on the chair.

“Pinkamena,” Pa said, nodding to her. His eyes briefly flicked over Rarity and Fluttershy. “Who’s your friends?”

“Oh, they’re not my friends!” Pinkie giggled. “Well, not just my friends. Pa, this is Rarity. She’s my friend, and my marefriend, and my fiance!”

There are many types of silences in the world. For instance there is your typical ‘so quiet you can hear a pin drop’, the standard ‘silence in which you can hear crickets chirping from miles away’, and the quiet solitude of ‘an empty house in the middle of nowhere’. These are quite tame compared to the kind of silence a normally taciturn household can produce when the heads of said household are shocked about something.

The silence lay thick in the room, like smoke from burning grease. When it was finally broken by Pa, his voice sounded hoarse, and just a little shaky. “I see. And the other?”

“She’s Fluttershy!” Pinkie proclaimed, blissfully unaware of the reaction she’d brought on. “And she’s our friend and our marefriend!”

Somehow, the room managed to get even more quiet.

Rarity’s smile was very strained as she looked around the room. “Hello... nice to meet you.”

Please Be Happy?

The silence was broken by Maud clearing her throat. “Pinkie, pass the pepper, please?”

Pinkie smiled and grabbed the pepper shaker in both hooves, passing it down to her sister. “Here ya go!”

“Psst,” a voice whispered.

Rarity turned to her right, seeing one of the Pie twins...

Limestone, that was it.

Limestone was talking to her. “Um... yes?” Rarity whispered back.

“So... how did you and Pinkie... you know...” Twin spots of pink shone out clearly on the ashen face.

“Um... I’m not sure what—” Rarity stopped abruptly as she realized what Limestone was asking. “Ah, how we met?” The other mare nodded. “Well, I’ve known her for ages and ages, and one day, something just... happened. Now I just can’t imagine being without her.”

“That’s so nice...” Limestone remarked, her eyes shining. “I always worried a little about sis... She’s kinda—”

“Different?” Rarity supplied, a little smile on her face.

“Yeah. She doesn’t think like most ponies.” Limestone twirled her hoof around, making googly eyes. “Makes her ask weird questions.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true. But they have a saying in Prance.” She took a deep breath, and deepened her voice slightly, affecting a french accent “‘Vive la différence!’” Even saying the phrase made her chuckle just a little. “Granted, they are usually dirty-minded stallions sneaking peeks at pretty mares, but the principle remains. I love her because she is different, not despite it.”

Limestone worriedly made shushing motions, much to Rarity’s consternation. “Don’t be too loud. Pa gets upset when we talk at the table.”

“Oh? I didn’t know,” Rarity replied, keeping her voice very low.

“’S’ok, I don’t think he’d try to tell you to keep it down, but I’d probably end up with more chores.”

“Lime,” Pa said, startling Rarity, since she expected silence from that corner of the table.

“Yes, Pa?” Lime replied meekly.

“Show proper manners in front of the guests.”

“Sorry, Pa.” Limestone went back to eating, taking a moment to mouth a silent ‘Sorry’ to Rarity.

Rarity wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that exchange, but noted a marked increase in the tension at the table.

She watched carefully for any further comment, but Pa seemed to have gone back to eating. Very, very quietly, she dared speak once more. “I hope our visit doesn’t cause you trouble.”

“’S’fine,” Limestone whispered back. “Pinkie... always brings a surprise with her. It’s just this one was a bigger one than usual.” She sighed just a little. “Big sis always seems to shake Ma and Pa up. We all love her, o’course, but... she’s kinda hard on the nerves.”

Rarity shared a knowing smile with Limestone, then did as instructed, finding the food very well prepared, and quite flavorful.

“Rarity?” Fluttershy said from her other side. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, sweetness,” Rarity replied. “Everything is fine. Just enjoy your lunch. The Pies aren’t the type to talk over a meal, it seems.”

“Just Ma ‘n Pa,” said a voice coming from her right. At first Rarity assumed it was Limestone once again, but turning towards it she found Marble was addressing her from a little further down the table. Limestone appeared to be preoccupied with desert.

“I mean,” Marble’s eyes glanced at her mother and father to make sure she wasn’t going to be disciplined as her sister had been. Satisfied, she continued in a low tone. “Maud doesn’t say much anyway, and me and Lime tend to talk all the time, so we don’t need to talk while we eat...”

Her eyes flicked guiltily to her father, then back to Rarity. “Pa... used to be more strict about it. Then Pinkie...” Marble trailed off, eventually shrugging with a sheepish look. “Nevermind. Point is, they don’t talk much.”

Rarity’s eyebrows rose high upon hearing that little snippet. Pinkie had been notably closed-lipped about her falling out with her parents and the subsequent reconciliation that had followed.

So, they changed because of Pinkie...

By itself, it meant little, but she filed it away as one more piece of the puzzle that was her darling.

The tension hung about the table like a low fog, seeming to make everypony but Pinkie a little nervous. Pinkie, of course, was simply enjoying her meal. Rarity tried to ignore it for now; there was little she could do about it, after all. She couldn’t help but be a bit irritated that none of her invitations had made it to the Pies, though. That might have made a difference. Although... she hadn’t exactly mentioned in any of those invitations that there was a third pony involved.

It wasn’t relevant, she thought defensively. There was only Pinkie and myself to consider, since we were the only ones getting married at the time.

The thought made her eyes shift guiltily to Fluttershy. It... was just a ceremony, after all. And it was her day! And Pinkie had been first, even if she could no longer even think about being happy without both of them...

Why did everything have to get so complicated?

She imagined this scene without the addition of Fluttershy, and saw it being... well, slightly less awkward. They were still two mares, and that was going to raise eyebrows regardless.

But that wasn’t possible. There was no turning back the clock just because things were inconvenient. She loved Pinkie and Fluttershy both, and for better or worse, wanted to make a life with them. She also wanted to get married, in a large and elaborate ceremony, and that meant their families needed to be there. So she would navigate this social situation like any other, with grace, and pure determination.

A clank of silverware on a plate broke the silence, causing Rarity to look away from her own plate. Pa was getting up, collecting his dishes as he did so. He deposited them into the sink, and spoke up for the first time in several minutes. “A word, Ma?”

Ma Pie nodded, getting up from her seat as well. “We’ll be a moment. Girls, could you keep the guests company?”

Limestone and Marble exchanged a worried look, quickly gathering the plates from the table. “Yes, Ma!” they said in unison.

Maud stood as well, motioning for Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy to follow her into the family room.

“Ma?” Pinkie asked, suddenly concerned.

“Never you mind, ‘Mina,” Ma said as she followed Pa.

“Maud, do you know what’s happening?” Pinkie asked as she scampered after her sister.

“Pa wants to talk to Ma.”

From upstairs, raised voices could be heard. Pinkie’s ears went flat as she heard this, her smile faltering. “Did... did I do something wrong? I thought we were having a nice time...”

“We are having a nice time, Pinkie. Pa is just Pa.”

“—told you this would happen!” Pa’s voice rang out from the upstairs bedroom as a door was opened. “You said yer Ma would straighten her out, and she only got worse.”

“Enough, Pa,” Ma’s voice replied.

“I never should have let her leave home. Not before we taught her right from wrong! Getting married and dating another one!”

“I said that’s enough.”

Ma came back down the stairs, sweeping her eyes to the family room. Her expression softened when she saw Pinkie’s hangdog look, and immediately gathered her in when her foal rushed forward. “There, there, ‘Mina. It’s fine.”

Rarity’s face darkened. “Pardon me!” she said as she strode forward, intent on rushing up the stairs. She was stopped short by a tug on her tail, and turned back to see that Maud had its curls clamped firmly in her teeth. “Will you please get your mouth off my tail?”

“Rarity, I really think it would be a bad idea to go talk to him,” Fluttershy said worriedly. “Can’t we just... go? I’m sure we could come back some other time.”

“Oh, we’ll go, but not before I tell him exactly what I think of his ‘right and wrong’ nonsense. I can understand being a little shocked, but there is no call for that!” Rarity said through gritted teeth. “Now, Maud, will you please let go of my tail so I can go yell at your father for a bit?”

“You wanted a word with me?” Pa asked as he came down the stairs.

“Several, as a matter of fact,” Rarity said, pulling her tail from Maud’s mouth with a flick and stomping her way over to Pa, stopping just short of being nose to nose with him. “I am terribly sorry if you disapprove of your daughter’s choice in partners, but we didn’t come here for your opinion; we came to invite you to a celebration!” She held his gaze with her own, unwavering and determined. “So, are you coming, or not?”

“That’s not a celebration. It’s a farce, and I won’t be a part of it,” Pa said firmly.

“A farce?!” Rarity repeated, mouthing the words to herself in indignation. If looks could kill, he would have been dead on the spot from the one she gave him. “I love your daughter, sir! I sent you no less than five invitations because we want you and your family to be there!”

“I didn’t see one of them,” Pa countered. “Care to explain that?”

“Pinkie... was worried about exactly this happening, actually,” Rarity replied, her eyes flashing to Pinkie with a guilty look. “So she never actually sent them when I gave them to her. But she thought you might actually be happy that she was getting married, since you appeared to be rather concerned with it. It seems I owe her more than one apology, because I assumed our meeting would be a happy one.”

“Happy?” Pa repeated.

“Pa, can you please settle down just a bit—” Ma attempted to interject.

“Not now, Ma!” Pa said, cutting his wife off. His eyes locked with Rarity’s once more. “I ain’t. I raise my daughters to be hardworking, respectful, and morally sound. Pinkamina has become everything I feared she would, even after we sent her to Granny Pie to help her learn discipline. And now this? It’s bad enough that she isn’t doing good honest work anymore, but now she wants to have her cake and eat it too!”

His eyes flicked to Pinkie. “Ya don’t marry one while dating another, ‘Mina. It ain’t right, and unfair to both of ‘em.” His expression softened slightly as he continued. “Look, Miss Rarity, I can tell that you’re a decent enough mare, and I’m sorry, but I can’t—won’t—condone anything like...” he made a gesture with his hoof indicating all three of them. “Anything like this. It’s wrong.”

“You don’t think I had that very argument with myself?!” Rarity shot back, her eyes flashing in anger. “My best friend fell in love with my fiance, and I very nearly drove her away because of the type of morals you’re talking about. Your daughter is every bit the moral pony she should be. She was the one who insisted that it didn’t have to end in heartbreak for any of us, that love is more important than anything!” She huffed and puffed angrily as she caught her breath. “So you can stuff your wrong, thank you for your hospitality, goodbye and good riddance!”

She turned on her rear hoof, stomping out of the farmhouse as she left.

Once she’d gotten outside, she took a deep breath, and proceeded to scream her lungs out for what seemed like forever. When she was done, she stood, gasping for air, staring at the ground tiredly. It had officially all gone wrong. Pinkie’s family wouldn’t be coming, and would likely never speak to her again.

Fine. Good. At least it’s settled.

“Feel any better?” Ma asked from behind her.

Rarity turned her head to regard the older mare. “No. Not particularly. I didn’t come here to yell at your husband.” She sighed deeply. “Is Pinkie all right?”

“She’s fine. The other filly set her down, hugged her. They’re talking a little. Nice to see, actually. I figured I’d come check on you. How you doing?”

Rarity laughed mirthlessly. “I feel like a complete idiot.”

“Wouldn’t go that far,” Ma replied with a very small smile. "Pa can be a little coarse at times. Drives the neighbour up a cliff everytime they see one another."

“That doesn't excuse me losing my temper," Rarity said with a sigh. "Nor does it make him any less right. Pinkie said it as well. Getting married... while we’re only dating Fluttershy... it feels wrong. But I’ve wanted this for so long, and... I don’t know if… I don't think I could stand waiting another day to officiate the love I share with your daughter."

“So what about the other one?” Ma asked

“Fluttershy,” Rarity said, putting emphasis on the name. “She is a very dear friend of ours, and recently, even more than that. I know you and I have just met, but she is important to Pinkie, and... if Pinkie is important to you, please remember her name.”

“Missy, I know you’re upset, but if you imply my daughter ain’t important to me ever again, you ‘n I are going to have a problem,” Ma said, her voice turning colder. It was then that Rarity noticed that Pinkie had her mother’s eyes. She noticed because up till that moment, they had been warm and sparkling with suppressed merriment, but now, they were quite the opposite.

“Forgive me,” Rarity said quickly. “I just don’t quite know how to feel about how you both treat her. I suppose you must love her, but it’s a very strange way of showing it.”

“And that means?” Ma demanded, those penetrating eyes seeming ready to peel back the layers of Rarity’s soul

“She told me how things ended with you,” Rarity said, her voice devoid of any emotion, though she imagined she would have been intimidated if she wasn’t so very drained. She did not really want to start another fight, but at the same time she was too exhausted to be diplomatic with this mare who had hurt Pinkie in the past, even if Pinkie had forgiven her.

“Ah,” Ma said, her face clearing of the building anger. Her gaze now soulful, full of remorse for her poor foal. “Wasn’t much else to be done. Pa wouldn’t ease up on her, and she stuck out like a sore hoof here. I missed her something fierce, but if she’d stayed... She would’a broke.” Ma shook her head. “Couldn’t have that. I asked my Ma to take her in.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Rarity turned fully around to regard the mare. “She told me how you caught her... doing something private, and shamed her for it.” Rarity cut herself off there.

Ma simply regarded Rarity for a time, at a loss for words. “Yeah, that happened.”

“How could you do that to her?” Rarity demanded. “Why would you do that?”

Ma simply looked at her impassively. “Raised many foals, have you, child?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Rarity replied, testily.

“My ‘Mina... was always a hyperactive child after she got her cutie mark. And she was always looking for new fun things to do. Trouble was... she doesn’t have much shame to her.” Ma held up a hoof to forestall Rarity’s protests. “I don’t mean it’s shameful. But it’s supposed to be private.”

“She said you called her horrible.” Rarity snapped back.

“I told her what she was doing was a horrible thing to do where other ponies can see you,” Ma replied. “She was in the middle of the gol’danged field. I woulda let it go at that, but Pa was coming back from chores and saw her like that and... he turned it into an object lesson for the rest.”

“She didn’t take it that way. To her, you were essentially saying she mustn’t do it ever.” Rarity muttered. “I can see how you meant well, but that hurt her badly.”

Ma sighed heavily, glancing back to the farmhouse. “She always took admonishments too hard. An’ she never understood why things were as they were. My Ma... She was a good ‘un. Always knew what to say to make me feel better. I figured... I wasn’t doin’ right by Pinkie, keeping her cooped up here. She was like a hare trying to live with a bunch of tortoises, bless her.” Turning back, Ma looked at Rarity expectantly. “So, we done questioning whether I love my daughter?”

Rarity slumped back onto her haunches, a haunted look in her eyes. “I... I’m deeply sorry, Mrs. Pie,” she said quietly.

“Don’t be. Takes guts to ask that kinda question, 'n that means you care that she was hurt. I like knowing she’s marrying somepony that will stand up for her when it counts.” Ma’s face broke out in a very small grin once more. “But you didn’t ever answer me about the other filly, Fluttershy. How’s she fit in?”

“I love her, and Pinkie loves her, and she loves us,” Rarity said, waving her hoof about vaguely. “It’s complicated, but that’s the simplest way I can put it.”

“Love’s certainly got its strange ways...” Ma replied, shaking her head.

“You don’t know the half of it! You know, before Pinkie, I had no idea I was... that way? I mean in retrospect, it does explain a few things. I’ve always admired long manes on stallions, took it as a sign of virility...” Rarity trailed off, blushing. “Sorry, I am over-sharing.”

Ma didn’t comment on whether she felt Rarity had gone to far or not. “What was you planning, exactly? Marry ‘Mina, keep seeing the other’un on the side?”

“Not... my ideal choice, no. If I was certain of Fluttershy’s feelings, I’d want her there, with both of us, exchanging vows as well. I had thought we might just have a second ceremony when we were sure.” Rarity grinned nervously. “I really only came by to talk to you about the ceremony between Pinkie and myself.”

“Why bring the other’un at all, then? Just made things harder on yaself.” Ma looked at Rarity pointedly. “If ya ain’t sure what ya want, probably means you should hold off. Marriage’s a one time thing.”

“I know that!” Rarity snapped back. “That’s why it’s complicated!”

“Ah’right, ah’right, calm yaself.” Ma laid a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder, rubbing it gently. “Look, I can talk to Pa. He’s a stubborn’un, but he loves Pinkamina somethin’ fierce, even if he don’t get her. The girls seem to like ya jus’ fine, and if you make ‘Mina happy, I feel the same. If that’s all you want, I’m pretty sure I can get everypony there. But you need to ask yerself some hard questions. And... probably ask Butterfly one, too.”

“Fluttershy,” Rarity said, absently. “And what would that be? ‘Do you love us?’ We know she does!”

Ma rolled her eyes. “That ain’t the question.”

“Then what is the question?”

“Same one ya asked my daughter, o’course.”

Rarity raised her eyebrows at that. “What, no lecture about how a marriage is between two ponies?”

Ma cuffed the side of Rarity’s head with enough force that Rarity saw stars. Even then, she could tell the matriarch was capable of far worse. “Stop being so danged foolish. Yer talking to a farmin’ mare. You really think the Pies’ve never seen a herd? We helped found this town, and lemme tell ya, three was the smallest number for some of the branches o’ Pies. Pa’s family’s the same. Just because it ain’t been done in a while don’t mean it ain’t done.”

The ride home was a quiet one for them all. Rarity sat by herself and brooded while Fluttershy sat with Pinkie, murmuring words of encouragement to her downtrodden friend. Visiting Pinkie’s parents should have been a happy affair, a cause for celebration, but now Rarity found herself questioning whether the wedding had any significant meaning any more.

All Rarity could think about was Ma Pie’s very straight-forward answer to something that had been bothering Pinkie and herself for some time. She had said it as if the prospect were the simplest thing in the world! And... perhaps it was, but that didn’t make it easier. Some small part of her, some spoiled, selfish part, wanted to go ahead as planned, and not change the status quo. It was just a ceremony, not terribly important in and of itself. But it was her ceremony, and she wanted to get married to Pinkie. She wasn’t sure at all about adding another name to those invitations like some plus one to an important event—

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Perhaps Ma was right. She did need to ask herself some important questions.

“Rarity?” Fluttershy said, breaking the silence.

“Yes, sweetness?”

“Is... is everything okay?” Fluttershy blushed, quickly adding: “I mean, I know it’s not—everything went wrong and I’m very sorry about that—but are you okay? You haven’t said a word since we got on the train and I wasn’t sure if I had done something wrong—”

“Everything is... fine, Fluttershy. I’m just wishing things had gone better,” Rarity replied with a long-held exhalation.

“Well, at least Limestone and Marble and Maud were nice?” Fluttershy offered. “And... Ma and Pa Pie seemed nice as well. I suppose I can’t blame him for feeling the way he does.” She clung tighter to Pinkie, and it was at this point that Rarity finally realized that Fluttershy was crying. “B-but it’s not your fault I came along and ruined your marriage plans—”

“Shy-shy, no!” Pinkie exclaimed quickly. “It’s not your fault my Pa is a stuffy meany-pants! He’s always been like that! This is my fault, I should have told them a long time ago so you two wouldn’t have to go through this—”

Rarity listened to both of them, getting more and more frustrated until she finally screamed out in frustration: “Both of you, enough! If anypony is to blame, it’s me, but that’s not the point!”

Pinkie and Fluttershy were both silent for a time, until Fluttershy finally found her voice. “Then... what is the point?”

“I don’t know!” Rarity replied vehemently. “I don’t know if any of it is worth it anymore. I just wanted... It was so simple a thing! A celebration, family there, friends, cake, a lovely dress, but maybe they’re right!” She slumped down. “Maybe it is wrong. A great big farce celebrating something that isn’t even so anymore.”

“Rarity, you can’t mean that—”

“Not worth it? Are you loco?!”

Rarity simply stared at the floor of the train. “Sorry, loves. I didn’t mean that. Just...forget I even said it, please. Everything is going to be wonderful, I just know it.” She raised her head up, putting on a brave smile. “Thank you.”

She found herself surrounded on both sides by warm feathers and hugs, and only then did she she allow herself to cry.

Pinkie nuzzled her on her cheek, getting out some tissues from her mane. “Rarity, it’s gonna be so great, you’ll see! Everypony will be there, and the cake will be ginormous, just like you wanted!”

“Please don’t cry?” Fluttershy asked, quietly. “You shouldn’t have to cry. This is going to be your day! You worked so hard. Don’t be sad.”

Rarity simply held them both tightly, willing her tears to stop. She had to be strong, for them if nothing else. The wedding would go on, for Pinkie, and for Fluttershy.

Pinkie woke up from a restless sleep, sitting up and blinking crud out of her eyes.

The first thing she saw was a single eye, blinking very slowly. The other eye was of course looking in another direction.

“Hey, Gummy! Good morning! You hungry?”

The alligator blinked his left eye, then his right. He opened his mouth and snapped at the end of Pinkie’s nose.

“Gwess tha’s a yeas,” Pinkie said, pulling him off of her face and setting him down on the far side of the bed.

She got up and stretched, shaking off the achies and owies. It was weird sleeping in her own bed again. Weird but good. She did miss waking up beside Rarity, but it would be nicer when it was time for the honeymoon.

“Just a few more weeks!” she said excitedly. “Then all the stress will be over and I’ll have my Rarity again!”

A loud snap and a pulling on her tail announced that Gummy was reminding her he still needed to be fed. She turned around, furrowing her brow when she couldn’t find him. She turned around again, then a third time, before realizing she couldn’t find him because he was holding onto her tail. “Silly Gummy, hide and go-seek comes later! It’s time for yummies!”

Having detached her pet from herself, she filled his food dish and skipped out her bedroom door.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the windowsill as she made her way to the stairs. Already she could hear stirrings of activity. Mrs. Cake was waking up the twins to get them dressed and fed, much to Pound’s evident disapproval, and Pumpkin’s amusement, if the crying and laughter was any indication. Pinkie’s mouth quirked up a little herself. Pound always was hard to wake up.

From the kitchen, she could hear Mr. Cake preparing for the morning rush. She could already smell the oil from the friers heating up, and the first batch of croissants were already baking. She inhaled deeply. It was going to be a good morning.

Rarity had said they should try not to see each other before the wedding, partially because of it being unlucky, which Pinkie didn’t understand, but mostly because she was very busy finishing the bridesmaid dresses for their friends and making sure all the plans were just perfect. That Pinkie understood.

This was going to be like a fashion show for her, after all. All of the princesses were coming, and everypony’s family, even Pinkie’s! Not to mention all of Ponyville, and lots and lots of ponies who Rarity knew from her work! It was going to be a great big to-do! And so Rarity had to go over all her dos and don’ts to make sure it didn’t become one big kerfuffle!

Pinkie, for her part, was planning the biggest and bestest parties for the reception parties, one before the wedding and one after. Also, she was planning bachelorette parties, one for Rarity, and one for herself, and finally a practice reception party for the practice wedding! Practice made perfect, after all, and everything had to be extra extra perfect.

In the back of her mind, something was bothering her. It had been bothering her for about a week since they had gotten back from her family’s farm. A little worry that made her toss and turn.

What made it worse was she didn’t know what it was! She’d gotten a letter from Ma saying they were all coming. Even Pa! That officially made everything as perfectacularly perfect as it could be! So why was that worry there?

Go away! Nopony has time for you right now! she told the worry, frowning. It remained defiantly there, sticking its tongue out and knocking over her protests like cardboard cutouts. It seemed it was here to stay, and she’d just have to deal with bad sleep until she found some way to dismiss it.

She stuck her tongue out at it right back and went back to ignoring it for now. Worries only got worse when you kept thinking about them.

“Hey, Mr. Cake!” she said cheerfully as she entered the kitchen.

“Morning, Pinkie! Sleep well?”

“Yeppers!” she lied, wincing internally. The Cakes were super nice, but she didn’t like to worry them with her Pinkie Pie problems, not when she could take care of them herself. And ignoring was sort of like taking care of it. “Did you remember—”

“I already have them ready,” he said, gesturing to a basket full of piping hot croissants and a little bowl of butter to spread on them.

Her smile was much less forced when she saw the basket. She knew Rarity wanted her to stay away from the boutique for a little while, but she was sure she would be forgiven for risking bad luck if she brought breakfast along. And maybe if she saw Rarity was doing okay, that nasty worry would go away and leave her alone to get some rest.

She picked up the basket in her teeth, intent on visiting that very instant. She paused, however, when she heard what may have been the quietest knock in the history of ever.

“Um... excuse me, are... are you open yet?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened, and she set down the basket, rushing to the front door. She flung it open, smiling at her marefriend. “Not yet, Shy-shy, but tell me what you want and I’ll make it for you lickety-split!”

Fluttershy smiled back shyly, though Pinkie could see a hint of panic in her eyes. This in itself was extremely worrisome, since Fluttershy usually kept her fears hidden away so they wouldn’t bother anypony else.

In Pinkie’s head, the worry clanged big symbols together and laughed hysterically. “Shy-shy? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. I was just hoping maybe Rarity was over here, with you. But I’m guessing not.” Fluttershy put on a brave smile. “Could I maybe get something to eat? I sort of left the cottage without doing that.” She paused for a moment. “Actually, I think I was supposed to have lunch with Rarity after the spa, and since she didn’t come, I think I haven’t eaten since yesterday. So... maybe I should eat here, while I’m thinking about it. Would that be okay?”

The worry pulled a big red switch marked ‘Do Not Touch’ and alarms went off all over. Pinkie immediately slapped on Emergency Smile Number Seven and ushered Fluttershy into the kitchen. “Mr. Cake! I need a batch of muffins and a glass of milk, stat! We have a code F, and possibly a code R!”

“Blueberry okay?” he replied quickly.

“Yeppers! And I need another batch of croissants and a bottle of milk, just in case!”

“Pinkie? What’s a ‘code F’?” Fluttershy asked as she was pushed bodily into a seat.

“It means I need help with an emergency, and please pause everything for a second while I sort it out. F for Fluttershy, R for Rarity.” She nodded in thanks when Mr. Cake passed her the requested items, carrying them on a delivery tray. “Now, I want you to sit down, eat some muffins, and tell me why you have a crazy little pony mucking around in your head!” Pinkie said, setting the milk and muffins in front of Fluttershy.

“Crazy little—” Fluttershy’s eyes widened as a muffin was stuffed into her mouth, but she began chewing dutifully after a mere second. She had been dating Pinkie for a number of months, after all, and this was not very unusual.

“Talk later, eat first.” Pinkie explained. “You know you get really weird when you don’t eat. When your tummy isn’t as grumbly we’ll get it all sorted out.”

Fluttershy nodded, her eyes showing far less worry than before. The simple act of chewing and swallowing became her whole world, and when she finished, Pinkie could see that worry had given way to weariness. “Thank you. I’m sorry to be a bother, Pinkie.”

“Shush.” Pinkie replied, putting away number seven for number seventy-five, which was doing great ever since the overhaul. “You’re never a bother, Shy-shy. Now, Rarity missed a spa appointment? Do you know why?”

After drinking down her milk, Fluttershy set it down and shook her head. “I”m afraid I don’t. Aloe and Lotus hadn’t seen her all week, which was strange, since she usually goes in for supplementary visits when she’s under a lot of stress. I wanted to check up on her, but she wouldn’t answer the door...” Fluttershy blushed furiously as she admitted: “I even checked all the windows, thinking maybe... she wanted me to watch you two, but it’s all dark. So I thought maybe she’d come to you to visit, and I went home...”

“Dark?” Pinkie asked, flummoxed. As far as she knew, Rarity was still working on all the dresses for the wedding, so the boutique should have been lit up like the summer sun festival! She winced as the worry kicked something loose, hoping she didn’t need that.

In a sudden flash, she knew why he was there, and he ran away, cackling.

Last night, she’d woken up, needing some water, and had noticed something missing. Something that had been missing for close to a week.

Rarity hadn’t been singing.

She slumped down, number seventy-five experiencing a catastrophic failure. The red lights flashed everywhere in her head.

“Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked, scrambling from her seat. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to go find out why she isn’t singing,” Pinkie said with a dazed look in her eyes.

“Why she isn’t—”

“Rarity always sings when she works, unless she’s really unhappy, or she isn’t working.” Pinkie recited in a dull voice, looking far away into space. “If she isn’t working, she’s really really really unhappy.”

"Oh." Fluttershy blinked, uncertain of what to make of Pinkie’s behavior. Then her eyes widened as the meaning of Pinkie’s words registered. "Oh! Um... okay! So... should we go now?"

“We need something for her to eat, and something for her to drink. When she’s that unhappy, she forgets she needs food.” Having said that, Pinkie’s eyes cleared, and she put on her serious business grimace, reserved for dire emergencies and poker games. “This is a full-fledged Code R. I’m going to need the emergency primping kit in my room. Can you get the croissants from Mr. Cake?”

Two ponies crept up slowly on the boutique, looking for signs of life. Pinkie darted from bush to bush in her stealth suit, motioning with a hoof for Fluttershy to follow along. Fluttershy bemusedly did so, dressed in the odd concoction Rarity had created for her when she’d needed to escape Trixie’s minions during that whole mess with the evil amulet thingy, which Pinkie had saved for reasons unknown to any but Pinkie.

Admittedly, the bunny ears were very cute. How they were supposed to help was anypony’s guess, but Fluttershy had given up on asking questions at certain times. The answers only served to further confuse her.

In a series of flips, rolls, and leaps that Fluttershy had no intention of imitating, Pinkie made her way to the front door, pulling out a set of lockpicks from her mane. Fluttershy watched curiously for several minutes as Pinkie painstakingly attempted to trip each tumbler, her face growing more and more grim as her attempts failed.

“Aha!” Pinkie exclaimed, pushing the door open triumphantly, only to be bowled over by a very irate housecat.

“Oh!” Fluttershy stepped back to avoid being caught in the tumbling ball of pink and white. “Opal, please calm down, we just want to check on Rarity—”

“Go. On. Ahead,” Pinkie said between tumbles. “I’ve. Got. This!”

Opalescence yowled, hissing as she lashed out.

“Yeowch!”

“Oh dear. Pinkie, I really think—”

“Go!” Pinkie grunted out from around a mouthful of the scruff of the cat’s neck. She held Opal fast, quickly scratching behind a key spot on Opal’s side while simultaneously rubbing between her ears. The cat glared bloody murder at the world in general, but eventually her eyes closed, and the extremely loud growling slowly gave way to equally loud purring.

Fluttershy watched for a moment until she was satisfied that Pinkie would be okay, then made her way into the dark interior of the shop.

“Hello?” she called out, her quiet voice being swallowed by the utter stillness inside. She fumbled for the lightswitch, sending shadows scrambling away as light flooded the room.

The salesroom was empty, and looked largely unkempt. Fluttershy didn’t understand. Both Pinkie and herself had been trying to give Rarity some space while she worked, but it looked as if nopony had been in here for days!

“Rarity?”

There continued to be nothing but silence in the boutique. Fluttershy made her way into the the main workroom, noting with trepidation the equiniquins draped with sheets, looking just a little like ghost-ponies. She was very glad she’d turned on the lights before coming in here.

“Did you find her?” A voice from behind asked, making Fluttershy jump up in a panic, her wings snapping open to keep her as far away from the threat as possible—

Only to look down and see Pinkie peering up at her curiously. “I don’t think she’s up there, silly! Let’s check the inspiration room!”

Fluttershy nodded quickly, slowly fluttering down to the floor. It was okay. No ghosts. Everything was fine—

“Oh, no!” Pinkie exclaimed from the other room.

Everything was horrible. Fluttershy rushed into the other room to see why it was horrible, but of that fact she was certain. “Pinkie, what is it?”

Pinkie just pointed at the finished dresses, looking horribly unhappy.

Fluttershy dutifully looked, seeing the bridesmaid dresses for Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Next to that was her own maid of honor dress, and Pinkie’s tuxedo. They all looked rather nice. Maybe everything was okay after all? Rarity must have finished the outfits and just felt too tired to go to the spa. Next to the tuxedo was Rarity’s wedding dress—

Oh.

No, she was right the first time. Everything was awful.

The Perfect Gift

Pinkie stepped forward, gently touching the remains of the dress where it hung from the dressform. “I... I don’t understand,” she said, slumping back on her haunches. “Why would she...”

Fluttershy embraced her silently, simply holding her for a time. Pinkie kept staring at the dress, apparently not quite wanting to accept what she was seeing.

Fluttershy could understand the sentiment. The dress was in ruins. It looked as if it had been slashed over and over again, most likely by the same pair of shears which had been stabbed into the chest of the ponnequin. She gently turned Pinkie’s head away from the wreckage, towards her own. “Pinkie, it’s going to be okay. I’m sure Rarity had a very good reason for this. We just have to find her and everything will be wonderful.”

“But...”

“C’mon, let’s check upstairs. Maybe she’s just taking a nice nap, dreaming up a brand new design for the dress since this one clearly had something wrong with it.”

“But it was wonderful and perfect and she was gonna look so good in it—”

Fluttershy hurriedly guided Pinkie away from the dress. “Yes, it was very nice. But maybe too nice? I’m sure she had a reason. Let’s go ask her.”

They made their way upstairs, Fluttershy’s mind racing. Rarity had utterly destroyed her wedding dress. She had no idea why she would have done such a thing, but it did remind her of something Rarity had mentioned months ago when she had first recounted what had led to the tryst with Pinkie that had started their relationship.

“It was... a combination of stress, sexual frustration, and apparently mild starvation, but at the time I was convinced that dress was out to get me, and I was going to get it first.”

At the time, Fluttershy had laughed along with Rarity, certain that her friend had just been exaggerating. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Maybe... maybe something was wrong with Rarity? The other dresses had all been fine, so it was not very likely that she thought all the dresses were out to get her.

They found the bedroom dark, and empty. Fluttershy had hoped Rarity was maybe on her bed, staring at the ceiling, but the bed was made, and nothing else in the home seemed to have suffered from Rarity’s bout of possible insanity. The only thing that seemed wrong at all was the dress, and the fact that Rarity had missed their spa day. But those were two very wrong things.

A very annoyed meow from the bedroom door announced that Opalescence had walked in, and was demanding attention from one or both of them.

“Hey, Opal!” Pinkie said excitedly as she scooped up the cat as it attempted to pounce on her tail. Opal let out a huff as Pinkie snuggled her in her forelegs, reluctantly purring. She looked at Fluttershy and meowed plaintively.

“Oh? She didn’t feed you?” Fluttershy replied, surprised. “Of course, Opal.”

They took Opal downstairs to the kitchen, Pinkie fetching the cat food with a cheerful look on her face. Fluttershy envied her. She didn’t know how Pinkie could be sad one moment, and happy the next. But then... maybe she wasn’t? Not completely, anyway. Pinkie seemed to be happiest when she was helping somepony, and feeding Opal counted. If it allowed her to smile, Fluttershy was happy for her.

The dress and the spa day were one thing, but this in itself was very very troubling. Rarity loved Opal, so for her to have ignored her pet’s needs was not a good sign at all. Opal was upset, of course, but didn’t seem especially grouchy about it (Well, not grouchy for Opal), which likely meant it was only one meal missed. The water dish seemed fine as well. Rarity might have just forgotten about Opal in her haste to go somewhere, then.

So, there was the dress, forgetting about Opal, and the spa appointment missed. Three worrisome, but not necessarily connected, things. Rarity could have gotten upset with the dress yesterday, and then subsequently forgotten about their spa appointment. But Opal’s meal had only been missed this morning, which meant Rarity had remembered two meals in between. She might have just gone out this morning, and forgotten about Opal in her rush.

But she hadn’t gone to Fluttershy or Pinkie, and if she’d missed the appointment yesterday, Fluttershy couldn’t imagine her going to the spa, at least not without stopping by to see her first to invite her along.

Maybe Rarity had gone to see her family for a while?

If that was the case, it would make Fluttershy a little bit happy, despite the other troubling things. Rarity had seemed inordinately unhappy with her mother for a while now. It would be nice if she spent some time making peace with her past. Fluttershy well understood unhappy foalhoods, but she still loved her mom and dad, even if they were difficult to be around.

Even Pinkie made up with her family, and they hurt her in a very real way, even if they meant well.

Fluttershy dismissed that thought as being unfair, it was hard for her to make any sort of judgement on either of Pinkie’s or Rarity’s upbringings. Rarity’s mother had hurt her just as assuredly as Pinkie’s parents had, just in a different way.

By comparison, her own parents were rather normal. Her father’s worst problem was he was a little smothering, and her mother’s worst problem was not being able to relate very well to her daughter. Not that she blamed her mom for that, she wasn’t exactly the ideal daughter for a military mare, and that was a very big part of who her mother was. But she knew her mom loved her, even if they were two very different ponies.

She was equally sure Rarity’s mom loved her, even if Rarity wasn’t very happy with her. And Rarity surely loved her mom as well, even if she was upset. Nopony was perfect, after all.

Pinkie trotted back to her after tending to Opal, an expectant look on her face. Fluttershy was confused for a moment, until she realized Pinkie was looking to her for what they should do next. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she had come to understand Pinkie a lot more in the last few months. Pinkie needed to keep moving when she was sad, it was part of how she coped. It was as if she felt she could outrun herself, and much of the time, it worked. But when it didn’t work, she tended to run herself ragged trying to pretend it was working anyway.

Fluttershy had learned the warning signs for when Pinkie was approaching her breaking point, and tried to help her however she could when she saw them. She took a deep breath. She had to be strong for Pinkie, and not succumb to worry herself. Rarity was likely fine, if a little off-center. They would find her, and help her. Just like Pinkie and Rarity had helped Fluttershy during some of her lowest moments. It was what they did for each other.

“Um... okay. I think we should maybe check with Rarity’s parents? Maybe... maybe Rarity went to go visit with them?”

Pinkie’s eyes shot wide open, and she flashed Fluttershy a bright, dazzling smile. “Hey! That’s a great idea! You always have the best ideas, Shy-shy!”

Despite how horribly untrue that statement was, it did have its intended effect on Fluttershy. Her mood was lightened slightly, which made it just a little easier to pretend everything was okay. It also made her a little more confident that everything would be okay, as long as they were together. It was a nice feeling.

“Okay, Pinkie, let’s go find our Rarity,” she said with a smile that was only a little unsure.

“Yeah!”

After ensuring that Opal’s food dish was refilled and her water topped off, the two of them made their way to the cottage of Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks. Fluttershy wasn’t entirely certain she would find Rarity there, but after checking all of the places she normally would be found, her parents’ home was the next most likely location. If she wasn’t here, they would check with their friends next. But hopefully, she was here.

Pinkie waved excitedly to Hondo as she saw him fishing off the pier, and he smiled back at her, waving good-naturedly.

“Mr. Flanks!” Pinkie called out. “Have you seen Rarity today?”

He cupped a hoof up to his ear, shaking his head to indicate he hadn’t heard her.

“I said, have you seen Rarity?” Pinkie called out in a voice that carried halfway across Ponyville.

He smiled even bigger, and pointed a hoof towards the house.

“Thank you!” Pinkie shouted once more, then gave him an enthusiastic goodbye wave and began hopping towards the house.

Fluttershy followed, a look of bemusement her most prominent feature. Mr. Flanks hadn’t looked worried about his daughter when he’d indicated she was in his home. Granted, he was sitting a little away from them, so she could have misunderstood his reaction... but she didn’t think so. Body language was easier to read in animals, but she could usually make it out in ponies, if she knew them well. And she’d seen Mr. Flanks often enough to know him well.

If he wasn’t worried about her, she likely wasn’t in her old room consuming gallons of ice cream and bawling piteously... So, maybe... maybe everything was okay, and destroying the dress was just a very odd thing Rarity had done, and everything else would be just fine. She cautiously allowed a smile to replace the bemusement. Maybe it was going to be okay. That would be nice.

She followed Pinkie after waving shyly to Hondo herself. He was a very nice stallion. All of Rarity’s family was nice, actually. Sweetie Belle especially was nice, if just a little loud. But that was okay.

Pinkie knocked politely on the door, and in due time it was answered by Rarity’s mother. “Hey, Cookie!” Pinkie said with a grin. “Mr. Flanks said Rarity was visiting with you?”

Cookie Crumbles smiled back warmly, gesturing inside. “She’s playing a game with Sweetie, yes. Would you like to—” She blinked as Pinkie dashed inside, her eyes shifting to Fluttershy as the pink blur left her field of vision. “Hello, Fluttershy. How are you today?”

“I’m fine, ma’am.” Fluttershy replied, shifting nervously. She didn’t feel comfortable just dashing inside as Pinkie had. Pinkie had a place in this home, and was shortly going to be family. She was merely along for the ride, trying to help her friends with whatever was wrong this particular day. She couldn’t make assumptions even if she was every bit as anxious as Pinkie to see if Rarity was okay.

“Would you like to come inside? I’ve already fed Hondo and the girls but I could whip you up a nice omelet if you’ll wait a moment.”

That was a very nice thing about Cookie. She loved cooking, and always offered a meal or a snack to a guest. Fluttershy didn’t feel right about declining, especially when she knew the offer came from a place of love. It was another reason Fluttershy found it hard to understand Rarity’s grudge against her mother. She was a very nice mom, a very warm and happy mare.

It was very difficult to not wish her own mother had been a little more like Cookie. She apologized silently to her mother, though she thought Posey would understand. Her mom was aware of what she was, and what she wasn’t. But sometimes it was nice to be mothered, and Cookie liked mothering ponies.

“Yes, please.” Fluttershy said with a little grin. She was beginning to think this day was going to turn out nicely after all. They had found Rarity, and nopony seemed upset. The odd things surely had very good explanations.

“But why?” Pinkie said from the other room.

“Please don’t be upset, darling.” Rarity replied. “I just don’t want anything to change.”

“But...”

“It doesn’t mean I love you any less. It... it was just a bad idea. I can’t in good conscience go through with it anymore.”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “Um... Cookie, I think I’d like to check on Rarity and Pinkie, is that okay?”

“Go ahead, dear. I’ll go make your omelet.”

“I’m not taking mine out!” Pinkie proclaimed vehemently. “Forever, Rarity!”

“I’m not asking that you do.” Rarity replied with a heavy sigh. “It was a gift, after all. But... I can’t pretend that it’s not a symbol of something that isn’t true anymore. It’s not fair to her, don’t you see?”

“But how is this fair to you?” Pinkie demanded.

It was then that Fluttershy entered the room and understood what her two friends were arguing about: Rarity had removed the engagement earring from her ear and was extending her hoof to Pinkie with the golden band in it for her to take.

Oh.

Today wasn’t so very nice after all.

“I’ll be fine, love. It’s... just a silly little ceremony. I’ll be sending out apologies to everypony, of course. Wouldn’t be proper to have anypony waste their time.”

“Sis, what’re you talking about?” Sweetie asked from the other side of the chessboard.

“Never you mind, Sweetie. I’m just having a conversation with my marefriend.”

“Fiance.” Pinkie said with something Fluttershy only rarely saw her display: Pinkie was angry!

“That doesn’t apply anymore, Pinkie.”

“Yes it does!” Pinkie insisted. “You asked me, and just because you’re getting cold hooves doesn’t mean—”

“This is not cold hooves, Pinkie.” Rarity said quickly. “I thought long and hard about this. I won’t change what we have for anything. But he was right, don’t you see? It’s not fair, and I won’t go through with it.”

“What about me, then?” Pinkie demanded, stomping her hoof down. “I wanna get married, and have our bachelorette parties, and the parties before and after the wedding! I wanted Dashie to catch the bouquet, and Applejack to get all embarrassed, and Twilight to blush and not tell anypony why, and—”

Rarity just shook her head, though Fluttershy could see the tears shaking loose as she did so. “I wanted all of that as well! But then what? We have this wonderful ceremony announcing two lives joined, but that’s not true!”

Fluttershy’s face fell. Everything she’d worried about was happening. “Rarity... I...”

Rarity’s eyes immediately whipped around to meet Fluttershy’s, and her expression became even more stricken. “Sweetness, please don’t start as well! I love you both, that will never change. I just can’t— I—”

Fluttershy regarded her for a moment more, and did her best to hide her dismay. Pinkie was on the verge of a breakdown, and clearly Rarity was as well. They didn’t need her to add to the problem. This was why she was here, why she was needed. Even if her mere presence was ruining Rarity’s wedding plans—

No. You can’t worry right now. They need you to be strong.

“Rarity, it’s okay.”

Pinkie’s head whipped around to face her. “No it’s not—”

“It’s okay.” Fluttershy repeated, just a little louder. “She’s scared, Pinkie. That’s okay. We’re going to go home, and we’re going to talk. But everything will be okay. All right?”

Pinkie opened and closed her mouth several times, her hair losing its bounce and her eyes flashing wildly between different emotions. Finally, she simply gave Fluttershy a long look, and when she didn’t flinch, she nodded, still looking unsure. But this was for Fluttershy alone, as the look she gave Rarity was filled with understanding, and love. “Okay! We’ll talk it out.” She then trotted over to Rarity, finally taking the earring. “I’m just going to keep this safe.”

Rarity looked ready to protest, but finally nodded tearfully. “Keep it safe, then. I love you, Pinkie.”

Sweetie gave her sister a cross look, pointing at the board. “Rarity, are you gonna go, now?”

Rarity turned in Pinkie’s embrace, smiling apologetically. “Sorry, Sweetie.”

The younger unicorn just rolled her eyes. “It’s fine. I just wish you could have waited until after we finished.” She narrowed her eyes, as she saw Rarity’s eyeshadow running down her cheeks. “You are okay, right?”

“I’ll be fine, Sweetie. Just a minor breakdown.”

Sweetie smiled brightly, her eyes no longer troubled. “Okay! Now, go already! My Luna is totally gonna trounce your Celestia!”

They stayed at Rarity’s parents’ home for a time, Cookie insisting on feeding them lunch before they left. During that time none of them said anything related to the wedding, or lack thereof. The only signs of stress were from Pinkie, who kept glancing up at Rarity’s ear, the little downturn in her smile growing each time. And of course, from Rarity. But then, for Rarity, stress was the norm.

Rarity noticed more than once, and squirmed in her chair unhappily like a disobedient child. But she did not relent, even on the one occasion in which Pinkie caught her eye, and held out the earring silently, just below the table, for her to take.

They walked home in what could have been mistaken for a funeral march. Anypony who caught sight of them waved, only to let their hoof fall in confusion as they passed. The trio had become known for lively and animated conversation when they were together, even Fluttershy managing to laugh at audible levels, but now they trotted in silence, none of them wishing to argue further in public.

Pinkie’s usual cheerful expression was replaced by firm determination. Rarity’s ears were laid back as if she’d added up her sales for the season and come up deep in the red, and Fluttershy was doing her best to betray no emotion at all save for her usual affected display of nonjudgmental caring.

As soon as the door was safely closed, however, that changed quickly. Pinkie rounded on Rarity and held out the earring. “Take it,” she demanded.

“Love, please don’t be like that—”

“Forever, Rarity. That’s what they mean! You don’t just say forever is up!”

“I’m not saying that.” Rarity said firmly. “Forever is exactly what I will give you, I wouldn’t have it any other way. But a wedding is very important! It’s not something you just... do.” She wrung her hooves together, staring at the floor. “Especially if you’re not sure... and I’m not sure any longer.”

Her statement hit the room with a dull thud, with the weight of a lead brick. Fluttershy could hear Pinkie’s heart shatter as she watched the poor thing’s ears clamp tight to her skull.

“You... you aren’t?!” Pinkie finally replied in a whimper, letting out a great heaving sob.

Rarity’s head immediately whipped up, and she rushed forward to embrace the distraught mare, throwing both forelegs around Pinkie’s withers and holding her tightly. “Darling, I didn’t mean it that way! I...” She hung her head, and desperately stroked Pinkie’s mane. “I just don’t know about anything anymore,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, I tried to be strong, and ignore my fears. I failed you.”

“W-Why? Why aren’t you sure?” Pinkie bawled into her shoulder. “Di-did I do something wrong?”

“No, love. You’ve been wonderful. I’m the one to blame,” Rarity assured her. “I wanted this so badly, but it was so selfish of me.”

“But... why don’t you still want it?” Pinkie asked, pulling her head from Rarity’s shoulder to look her in the eyes.

“I do.” Rarity admitted. “More than ever. But I...” she glanced at Fluttershy, falling silent. “I can’t. Not if... I won’t let what we have change,” she finished, looking away.

“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, still uncertain if she could intrude on their conversation, but unable to remain silent anymore.

“Yes, Sweetness?” Rarity replied, looking at her once more.

“Why did you ruin your wedding dress? Are...are you okay?” The words unspoken were: ‘Do you need help? Should we take you to the hospital?’

“I’m fine, Fluttershy. The dress simply needed to go.” Rarity replied in a tone that told Fluttershy very little about whether her friend was sane. “It was a selfish dress, born of selfish desires.”

“But... it’s your day.” Fluttershy said, confused. “It’s the day you’ve dreamed about. You’re supposed to be allowed to be selfish.”

Rarity laughed bitterly. “I suppose, but I’d rather not have one at all unless it is perfect. And... it wasn’t going to be. So... I am even more selfish now than I was.” She kissed the top of Pinkie’s head. “You were right, Pinkie. I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” Pinkie asked, her tears temporarily forgotten. “What was I right about?”

“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I love you both. I don’t need a ceremony to prove that.” Rarity kissed the top of Pinkie’s head, motioning for Fluttershy to join in the embrace. After a moment’s hesitation, she did. “As for the parties... let’s have them anyway. We’ll come up with something else to celebrate. I’ll just send out new invitations for that instead.”

To Fluttershy, Pinkie still looked troubled, but the thought of parties with their family and friends seemed to cheer her up slightly. “Okie-dokie.” She said, very quietly.

Fluttershy shared Pinkie’s trepidation, but was less willing to accept that everything was suddenly all right. “Rarity, are you sure you’re okay? I mean, this was your dream, and... you shouldn’t just give up on dreams.”

“I haven’t.” Rarity said, simply. “I’ve just come to realize that I wanted something not to have changed, and my whole life has changed. That is a good thing, and shouldn’t be ignored because it doesn’t fit with my foalhood fantasies.” With that, she kissed the top of Fluttershy’s head, and smiled. “Now, do you suppose we could discuss something a little nicer? I found this lovely new restaurant on the edge of town and I’d love to take you both there.”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up. “Wait wait... No wedding means I can see you all the time again, right?”

“Of course, darling.” Rarity replied after a moment.

“Yes! No more sleeping by myself!” Pinkie hugged Rarity and Fluttershy all the tighter, her smile having returned to its normal ecstatic levels of happiness.

Fluttershy returned the hug, allowing herself a little sigh of relief. But as glad as she was that Pinkie was happy, she couldn’t feel the same. None of this was right. She just wasn’t sure what she could do. Or if she should do anything at all.

Your Smiles

The weeks that followed were nerve-wracking ones for Fluttershy. The three of them still spent time together, which was very nice; and they met up as couples when they couldn’t all be together, which was also nice. But whenever she was alone, she couldn’t think of very much except for the wrongness of it all.

This wasn’t what Rarity had wanted, and Pinkie wasn’t as happy as she could be either. Which wasn’t to say either were entirely unhappy, but both of them were decidedly more... wistful. Every time she went to visit Rarity, she found the apology cards Rarity had prepared sitting in a stack on her desk, waiting to be mailed. And each time she returned, they were still there, staring her in the face. The wedding date itself was fast approaching. It would be in a matter of weeks, and Rarity had to know that she couldn’t allow all of those ponies to come on false pretenses, but apology letters remained on the desk, gathering dust.

Still, despite Fluttershy’s nervousness over the looming date of the wedding that was not to be, it was hard not to enjoy herself at times. The stress the wedding had brought to them all was gone, allowing Pinkie to freely visit, and Rarity to work on other projects. It was the closest thing to normal she and her marefriends had experienced in months! She knew it was wrong to be glad for that, but she was.

Of course, those good feelings came crashing down every time she caught sight of that stack of envelopes, individually addressed and ready to be sent the moment Rarity got around to it.

She was going to be visiting Pinkie today, and she both looked forward to it and dreaded it. Getting together with Pinkie should have been a moment of pure joy, but she had to be cautious about her expressions and word choices. Otherwise, Pinkie would worry about her, and she couldn’t bear that. Not when Pinkie should be worrying about herself.

Angel Bunny had been good enough to remind her about the visit while she fed her animal friends. He was a funny little bunny when it came to Pinkie. Rarity, he seemed to resent whenever she came by, but he was oddly affectionate towards Pinkie, even standing still long enough to allow her to pet him, something he didn’t always do, even for Fluttershy. She supposed she understood. It was very difficult not to like Pinkie. She herself liked Pinkie Pie a whole lot.

She’d brought along some nice sandwiches for their lunch together today. It wasn’t that she felt like she needed to feed Pinkie, as cupcakes and other baked goods were always in quick supply. But she worried about Pinkie’s sugar intake sometimes. Besides, eating something healthy helped to edge Pinkie from the worst of her tendencies for a little while. Fluttershy loved her energetic marefriend, but a nice watercress sandwich seemed to be appreciated, and it certainly helped slow the digestion of the mountains of sugar Pinkie consumed, often to the point where she could sit still and be snuggled for a good while before getting antsy. It was nice.

Pinkie’s energy was wonderful. Just... not all the time.

“Hello, dear!” Mrs. Cake said as Fluttershy entered the front door.

“Um... Hello, Mrs. Cake.” Fluttershy replied, her face breaking out into a very small, but sincere smile.

The Cakes were always so nice to visit. Maybe it was just that they were business ponies, and went out of their way to make everypony feel welcome in their shop, but Fluttershy had always felt especially at home in Sugarcube Corner. They had never seemed to look askance at her when she had started coming by to see Pinkie, never made her feel like they disapproved of their almost-daughter dating two mares. For them, all that mattered was Pinkie’s happiness.

“I have fresh carrot cake.” Mrs. Cake said matter-of-factly. “I’ll box you up a piece for when you go home.”

“Oh, I...” Fluttershy began frantically digging through her saddlebag for bits. “I...”

“Calm down, dear!” Mrs. Cake said with a chuckle. She nodded to the next customer in line, scooping up his bits and depositing them into the cash drawer. “We still need to pay you for the last time you watched the twins. We can just take it out of that.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy stopped searching, bringing up her eyes to meet with Mrs. Cake’s and wearing a little frown. “I told you I didn’t mind. They’re very well-behaved—”

“Only when you’re around!” Mrs. Cake said. “They tend to be a little more trying for us. Pinkie only manages to keep them in line because she has just as much energy as they do. You’re a blessing, Fluttershy.”

“Well... okay.” Fluttershy replied, her face flush with embarrassment. “But I really don’t mind.” In a voice that was just barely audible, she muttered: “I really want foals of my own someday...”

“I know,” Mrs. Cake said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Her gaze flicked from Fluttershy to the kitchen as a pan could be heard hitting a counter. “That would be Pinkie with the cupcakes. She should be ready to take lunch now. Go ahead.”

“Thank you.” Fluttershy said quietly.

She entered the kitchen through the double doors, immediately seeing Pinkie squirting frosting onto each cupcake with expert precision. Pinkie turned towards the door as it opened, and her last frosting shot hit the side of the refrigerator instead, where it slowly slid down in a smear of pink and yellow swirl.

“Shy-shy!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing to her to wrap her up in a bone-cracking hug. “Is it lunch already?”

The familiar moment of panic hit her as Pinkie closed in, but despite it, Fluttershy somehow managed to stay still and let it happen. She didn’t want Pinkie to know how much the hugs distressed her, because she did enjoy them, after the fact.

She flailed in Pinkie’s grip for a moment, trying and failing to gain a breath. No matter how many times it happened, she still couldn’t make herself be calm when Pinkie hugged her like this. Pinkie inevitably let her go, of course, but some small part of her always worried it wouldn’t be in time. The closeness and affection were wonderful, and Pinkie never actually hurt her; it was only unpleasant because of her stupid nerves.

The moment of release finally came, as it always did, well before the lack of breath became painful, but long after Fluttershy had become convinced she was actually going to die this time. “Yes,” she gasped out, taking deep, soothing breaths. Maybe next time she’d be able to remain calm while she was being hugged. There was always the next time.

Pinkie dashed past her to the door, poking her head into the serving area. “Mrs. Cake! I’m taking lunch now!”

“That’s fine, Pinkie.”

She ducked her head back in the kitchen, her eyes widening as she noticed the mess on the fridge. “Um... I’ll clean up the frosting when I get back!”

A fond but exasperated chuckle was the only answer.

Pinkie pulled her head back into the kitchen with a snap, swiftly grabbing Fluttershy’s foreleg and dragging her bodily up the stairs to her bedroom.

Fluttershy endured this treatment with her usual patience and aplomb, only squeaking a little as she did her best to keep up. As they entered the bedroom, Gummy fell from the the balcony above, latching onto her mane. This, at least, she was used to, and it only caused her to wince a little. Fluttershy was then deposited on one of the chairs surrounding Pinkie's party table. She didn't quite manage to stay upright on the first try, however, and ended up teetering a little before her wings snapped open and the lift brought back her balance.

Waiting on the table was a thermos of what she assumed to be tea, two mugs, a pitcher of cream, and a bowl of sugar. It wasn't a proper tea service by any definition, but to Fluttershy, it was perfect. She reached into her saddlebags, pulling out the serving tray and plates, and unwrapping and depositing the sandwiches when she was happy with their placement.

Pinkie joined her on the opposite side of the table, picking up the thermos and opening it with a deft twist of her teeth. In a moment, tea was poured, sandwiches were served, and Fluttershy was enjoying a rare moment of peace around her more excitable marefriend.

It wouldn’t last, it never did, but she treasured it anyway. Just as she treasured what inevitably followed.

There were definite advantages to Pinkie’s energy at times.

But that would be later, after sandwiches and tea. There was a nice pattern to lunches with Pinkie, filled with surprises that could be reasonably predicted. It kept her just slightly on edge, filled with a mixture of mild fear and anticipation of very pleasant things. She supposed that was her primary attraction to Pinkie: her unpredictability. Fluttershy was a mare who sought safety, first and foremost. Pinkie was both safe and not-safe at the same time.

It made her uncomfortably wet just thinking about it, and she squirmed in her chair, hoping she wasn’t leaving a damp spot on the wood, and that if she had, she could clean it before Pinkie noticed. It was very difficult not to think about how, at any time, in any location, Pinkie could and often did do incredibly naughty things to her. And do so with a wonderfully wide grin that spoke of how happy she was just to see Fluttershy c—

“Are you having naughty thoughts again, Shy-shy?”

Fluttershy’s eyes flew open as she felt Pinkie’s breath on the nape of her neck. Pinkie playfully nipped at her ear while running her right hoof along Fluttershy’s outer thigh, circling the butterflies and making her draw in a short, gasping gulp of air.

The chair was going to need a thorough cleaning.

“Pinkie! We h-haven’t e-even eaten yet!” Fluttershy sputtered out as Pinkie’s hoof moved on to her inner thigh. Fluttershy’s hoof, in the meantime, was curved lovingly around Pinkie’s head, and was gently stroking her mane. The rest of her was far too tense to do more than shiver in response to Pinkie’s ministrations.

“Just working up an appetite, silly!” Pinkie literally purred into Fluttershy’s ear, her hoof teasing one of Fluttershy’s nipples. “Besides, you seemed really tense. Let Pinkie take care of you and then we can talk all about why.”

“B-but...”

“Shhhh, talking is over. Relaaax...”

Fluttershy bit her lip, closed her eyes tight and tried to do as she was told. Pinkie had noticed. Of course she had noticed. But... maybe it was okay that she had. Maybe waiting for her marefriends to do something was a bad idea. Maybe... maybe if she talked to Pinkie, she could help, somehow, instead of selfishly enjoying their company without giving something back.

Maybe she could buy Pinkie a new chair.

Pinkie’s hoof moved further down, and all further thoughts were driven from her mind.

Fluttershy woke up on Pinkie’s bed, feeling sweaty and sticky, but otherwise completely content. All her worries seemed just a little smaller, like simple challenges to overcome versus insurmountable barricades to happiness. Distantly, she recognized euphoria was probably coloring her viewpoint with a nice rosey tint, but she didn’t have the energy to care about that.

Pinkie perked up at the table as she stirred, finishing the last of the sandwiches and washing it down with a gulp of tea. “Hey!” she said as she finished chewing. “Enjoy your nap?”

“Um...” Fluttershy blushed furiously as she realized the state she’d likely left Pinkie’s blanket in, not to mention the chair. She hadn’t expected more than lunch and some conversation, and while Pinkie making love to her was never a bad thing, seeing her sitting there eating after devoting all her energy to making Fluttershy happy made her feel horribly selfish. She was supposed to be there for her friends, after all, not—

An amused set of blue eyes filled her vision as lips pressed tightly to hers. “You’re getting all tense again. Stop it.” Pinkie said as she pulled back, in a voice that was both stern and teasing.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, really!” Pinkie then laid down next to Fluttershy, melding herself closely to achieve maximum snuggle. “So, what has your pretty head all tangled up in knots?”

Fluttershy blushed anew at the casual compliments. She knew empirically that she was attractive, at least, by model standards, but she normally didn’t hear ponies state it so blatantly. It was probably because she made them uncomfortable with her shyness.

Pinkie bopped her on the nose, frowning. “You’re doing it again, Shy-shy! Please talk to me?”

“Sorry,” she said again, automatically. It was all she seemed to be good for sometimes. She even said it when she hadn’t done something wrong, because when bad things happened someone should say it.

“S’okay, but you’re still doing it,” Pinkie said with exasperation. “C’mon, open up that pouty mouth and spill.”

Fluttershy nodded, trying to decide where to start. It wasn’t easy confessing to Pinkie that she’d been doing the exact things that Pinkie asked her not to do. But worrying and not telling anypony about it were two of the things she did most, and even a Pinkie promise couldn’t get her to stop. Pinkie had asked her for one, once, but had relented when Fluttershy had uncomfortably pointed out it would be like asking her not to breathe. Try as she might, and as much as she would want to keep the promise, it was impossible. “I’ve... I’ve been worrying about Rarity.”

Pinkie continued to scrutinize her, searching for signs that she was still holding back. Eventually, her face drew back up into its more accustomed expression. “Oh, is that all?”

“Of course that’s all!” Fluttershy said quickly. “What more does there need to be? The wedding—”

Pinkie made shushing noises, looking around anxiously. “We don’t say that word anymore, remember?"

“Rarity isn’t here, Pinkie! And yes, I remember, I’m the reason we stopped using that word.”

“No, that was Rarity—”

“Rarity asked us to not use that word because I kept bringing up the apology letters. She doesn’t ever want to talk about it.” Fluttershy shook her head sadly, resting her chin on her foreleg. “She’s acting like if nopony says anything it will all just go away, but it won’t, Pinkie.”

“Well, no, it won’t go away, but we’re still inviting them to a party!” Pinkie replied judiciously. “Just... not a wedding party. It’ll be fine.”

“That still means those letters need to be sent, Pinkie.” Fluttershy muttered into her hoof. “I don’t think she wants to send them. I think she just wants to pretend nothing is wrong.”

Pinkie opened her mouth, then closed it with a snap, nodding sadly. “She does that. A lot.”

“Do you think... you should talk to her?”

“Well, sure. But I don’t know if it’ll help.” Pinkie looked out the window in the direction of the Boutique with a sad frown. “Rarity gets weird sometimes.”

“But this is important, Pinkie! She needs to do something.” Fluttershy insisted, looking Pinkie square in the eyes.

Pinkie returned her gaze, her own eyes troubled as well. “I don’t think she wants to. It’d be like giving up on ice cream!”

Ice cream? How does that— Fluttershy shook her head. “But...but she destroyed her dress and gave you back her engagement band!” she said, eyes wide. “How is that not giving up?”

“That’s just Rarity being all dramatic,” Pinkie replied with an air of hard-earned wisdom. The pipe that had suddenly appeared in her mouth was a little confusing, but it added to her projection. “She... she didn’t know what to do about... about...” Pinkie pointed at herself uncomfortably. “Because, y’know, she wanted to ‘marry the prince’. She worked me in okay, but...”

Fluttershy’s pupils narrowed to pinpricks.

“Nononono,” Pinkie said quickly. “It’s not your fault, Shy-shy, stop panicking!” Pinkie rubbed her back in the small spot between her wings. “Breathe!” When that didn’t produce any immediate results she resorted to mouth to mouth, pressing her lips to Fluttershy’s and forcefully filling her lungs with more air than they could handle. “Breathe, Fluttershy! Breathe!” The added chest presses were unnecessary, but Pinkie never did anything halfway.

“P-Pinkie!” Fluttershy coughed violently, struggling to sit up and eventually being helped up by Pinkie. “Why didn’t—”

“Forget I said anything.” Pinkie said quickly. “Please? Pretty please?”

“No!”

Pinkie’s ears clamped down tight on her skull, and her mouth pulled up into a wounded puppy-dog expression. “Shy, I didn’t mean it like that—”

“How else could you mean it?” Fluttershy demanded. “She called off the wedding because she didn’t know what to do about... me,” she finished, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “I knew this would happen, I told you it would happen and you said it would be okay and I believed you and oh Pinkie I am so sorry—”

“Shy—”

“—I should have just gone away like I planned and you two would be happy and instead I just ruined everything—”

“Shy!”

“—I love you both so much so why do I keep hurting you it’s like I’m cursed—”

The next thing Fluttershy knew she was flat on her back with a mouthful of Pinkie’s tongue, the aforementioned pony staring into her eyes and demanding her attention. Fluttershy blinked, not quite sure how she’d gotten in that position.

Pinkie pulled back eventually, though she maintained eye contact throughout. “Shy-shy, I know that everything seems terrilicious and badsies right now, but you’re in the middle of an epic Flutterfreakout, and you need to listen. This is not your fault. Not even a little bit. Rarity just doesn’t know what to do anymore.”

Pinkie sat up, still holding Fluttershy’s gaze. “Whenever Rarity goes Flutternutters, she bottles it all up deep, deep inside and buries it in ice cream. But this one... it was too big, it caught up with her, and now she doesn’t know what to do. She’s worrying like a real Fluttershy, and she doesn’t want to do anything because she thinks it’ll make things worse!”

Fluttershy just looked at Pinkie for a time, taking in her words thoughtfully, and doing her best to ignore the rising panic. She hadn’t thought about it in those terms, but the way Pinkie explained it made sense. With an uncharacteristically resolute nod she sat up. She could always freak out later, but right now... “How can we help her?”

While she was explaining what was wrong with Rarity, Pinkie had looked confident, like she knew exactly what she was talking about. But upon being asked what to do, that confidence fled like a scared bird being chased by wildcats. “I dunno!” she said at last. “I...I tried parties and food, bellyrubs and backrubs, songs and dances... It makes her smile for a little while, but it doesn’t fix her. I... I just keep trying, and I keep smiling, because if I don’t it makes it worse for her...”

They sat in silence for a time, neither knowing what to say. It was Fluttershy who spoke first, if only to have somepony say something. “That’s.... that’s good, Pinkie. Keep doing what you can to make her happy.”

Pinkie nodded slowly, and a small smile sprung up on her face. “Okie-Dokie... But do you have any other ideas?”

Fluttershy lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling of Pinkie’s room. Pinkie snuggled in after a moment. It felt right, comfortable, safe. It only would have been better if Rarity had been there as well. “Not yet. I’ll try to come up with something. Try not to worry.”

No point in both of us being miserable.

She glanced at her other side, sighing. Rarity’s presence was sorely missed.

Maybe... maybe that was what worried Rarity. Maybe she saw herself with Pinkie on their honeymoon, and... somepony was missing. The idea boggled Fluttershy. She knew Rarity and Pinkie loved her, they said so. But there was love, and there was love. Pinkie and Rarity were in love love. They loved her too, but... they were just sharing their love with her. It wasn’t the same.

Was it?

The following morning found her no closer to a solution for the Rarity problem. So, while she did the morning chores, she spent some time doing what she’d told Pinkie she would do.

She supposed, even knowing what she did, that she didn’t really have to do anything. Left alone, they would continue their current situation of closeness, going on dates, and delighting in each other’s company. The wedding wouldn’t have changed that, not really. It would have changed nothing at all for Fluttershy; she’d always seen herself as somepony who joined Pinkie and Rarity when they wanted her to. After all, she’d only joined them at all because they had insisted.

But for Rarity... it was everything. She’d given up on her dream of the prince, she shouldn’t have to give up her big and beautiful wedding too.

Maybe... maybe she just needs reassurance that I wouldn’t be upset?

If the situation was reversed, it would be hard to say how Fluttershy would have felt. The more she thought about it, though, the more she realized that if she’d been the one in love with Pinkie, only to find Rarity had a crush on Pinkie as well, things would have played out entirely differently. She would have quietly stepped aside, as she had with Rainbow, or allowed Pinkie to become distant from her so that nature would take its course. She wasn’t a fighter like Rarity, or even like Gilda. She tended to just accept her unhappiness stoically. Rarity expressed hers by working obsessively or binging on rocky road.

Which was what was so very strange about her behavior now. Rarity wasn’t loudly lamenting, or working herself to exhaustion. She was just... quietly unhappy at times. Which meant the current state of affairs wasn’t unbearable for her, just... not quite what she wanted.

That made Fluttershy hesitate all the more. Was it worth the risk to attempt to force the issue, and in turn bring Rarity from her mild unhappiness to full-blown depression?

She was supposed to meet Rarity today for a spa visit. Maybe... maybe some careful questions would work. It was better than doing nothing.

With the chores done, she got herself ready to go to the spa. This usually involved a shower and a little light primping. Aloe didn’t like it when she didn’t take care of herself, and would say so quite loudly. Fluttershy didn’t quite understand why, as every visit invariably involved far more primping and hair care and detailed wing care, but she did her best to take a little extra care of herself before a spa visit, if only to keep Aloe happy.

A short walk into town found her at the spa, waiting patiently for Rarity while paging through the latest Knitting Monthly.

“Good morning, Miss Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy looked up to see Lotus, the co-proprietor of the Ponyville spa, smiling at her. It was an odd cognitive dissonance for Fluttershy, seeing Aloe’s mirror image, and remembering that same gently smiling face beaming down at her after Aloe had ‘helped’ her. Months later, it was still difficult to express to Lotus why her smile made Fluttershy blush.

“Just you, today?” Lotus inquired politely.

The question gave Fluttershy pause, and thankfully took her mind off of hot oils, warm towels, and smiles that made her squirm. “Well, no. Rarity should be by soon...” She glanced at the clock, realizing their normal appointment had passed by several minutes ago. “Goodness! She’s usually not late... Well, not this late.”

Lotus’s smile fell, her expression growing concerned. “Miss Fluttershy, I am sorry, I thought you were aware. Miss Rarity has already been by several times this week, and cancelled her normal appointment. She instructed for your visit to be billed to her as per usual, however.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy replied, troubled. “I... I don’t understand. If you knew she wasn’t coming, why did you ask if I was going to be alone?”

Lotus smiled, pointing to the embroidered robes marked with the letters ‘F’, ‘P’, and ‘R’. “Pinkie Pie might have been coming. I was wondering if I should prepare more towels... and a mop.”

Fluttershy blushed bright red. “Lotus, I am so sorry about the mud bath—”

“Quite all right, Miss. She has learned to restrain herself a bit more, which we appreciate. But I take it she won’t be along, today?”

“No,” Fluttershy replied, sadly. “She had to work. Is... is something wrong with Rarity?”

Lotus clucked her tongue. “No more than is usually wrong, Miss Fluttershy. She has been burying herself in work, as she usually does. Shall I get Aloe for your massage?”

“Um...” Fluttershy felt her throat tighten in something very like panic at the thought. It was still a little awkward for her to get a massage from Aloe alone, even months later. But she’d just die if Aloe knew that. It wasn’t her fault Fluttershy was horrible about interacting with ponies she’d been very intimate with in the past. “Y-yes, please.”

“Miss?” Lotus asked with a raised eyebrow. “Is everything all right?”

Fluttershy’s face blanched of all color, and she nodded her head rapidly, trying to cover up her reaction with something plausible.”It’s fine. I’m... just worried about Rarity.”

Lotus opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when the precise clip-clop of hooves announced Aloe's arrival to the lobby.

"Good morning," she said with a pleasant smile. Then blinked curiously at Fluttershy. "Goodness, just you today?"

At Fluttershy's nod, Aloe gestured towards their usual room. "Well, let's get you settled in for your preening, shall we?"

Fluttershy followed along, waving goodbye to Lotus as she did so. Lotus returned the wave uncertainly at first, but then smiled more broadly just before Fluttershy turned away.

As they walked down the hall, Aloe turned her head back to address Fluttershy. “Both of them were busy?”

“Yes, Pinkie had to cover for Mrs. Cake. I just found out Rarity cancelled.”

“Ah. Yes, Miss Rarity has been by several times this week. I haven’t seen her like this since last winter.” Arriving at their booth, Aloe opened the door, ushering Fluttershy inside. “How is Pinkie doing?”

“She’s... fine.” Fluttershy began, laying down on the table. “She’s been bothered by how Rarity’s acting. We... we both are.”

“And how are you, Fluttershy?“ Aloe asked conversationally as she began with Fluttershy’s shoulders. “I rarely see you alone anymore. Are Pinkie and Rarity taking good care of you?”

“They’re... they’re very n-nice,” Fluttershy squeaked out as Aloe hit a particularly tender part.

“Oh? Trouble in paradise?”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked, honestly confused. She squeaked again as Aloe plucked some loose down from one of her wings.

“I mean I thought you were finally doing well.” Aloe adjusted a misaligned secondary, then gently massaged oil into the underside of Fluttershy’s wing. “I have to admit I never expected you to fall for Pinkie, my money was on Rarity... but Lotus won that bet. But regardless, you’re with both of them, now. Doesn’t that just make you the luckiest mare ever?”

Fluttershy just lay on the table, silently.

“Miss?” Aloe asked, her voice rising in a note of concern. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” Fluttershy said with a sniffle. “Everything is fine... for me. But Rarity and Pinkie are miserable and I’m the one who made them that way!”

Aloe stopped the massage, getting down from the table to come around and face Fluttershy. “Miss, are you crying?”

Burying her face in her hooves, Fluttershy muttered a quick: “No. Sorry, Aloe.”

“You are a very bad liar, Miss.” Aloe said, lifting Fluttershy’s hooves away. Through the blur of tears stinging her eyes, Fluttershy could see Aloe looking at her with almost matronly concern. “Why do you think you are to blame?”

“Because...” Fluttershy hiccuped, sniffling in abject misery. “Because Rarity called off the wedding.”

Aloe took in a steady, measured breath. Her concerned look only deepened, but though her eyes spoke of a thousand possible questions, the only one to come out was: “Why?”

“Because… because she doesn’t want to change our relationship.”

“And has she said anything to you about this?” Aloe asked softly, sitting down on the table next to Fluttershy.

“No.”

“Then how is that your fault?”

“Because... I spoiled all of her plans. It was supposed to be her and Pinkie, forever. And... I ruined it all.”

“Miss...” Aloe stopped, then began again. “Fluttershy, did you somehow force your way into their relationship?”

The question gave Fluttershy pause, because the answer was complicated. “I...I didn’t intentionally, but if I’d never told Pinkie how I felt—”

“Then you would have suffered in silence, forever wanting and never having, and leaving your friends wondering why you were always so sad,” Aloe finished for her.

“But... but I would have been fine with that, if I knew—”

“One way or another, that was a secret that needed to be told, or it would have hung over all your heads forever.” Aloe said, cutting off Fluttershy’s protests. “Granted, it could have gone very badly.”

“It... it did. Rarity came over and told me I couldn’t have Pinkie, and I should go away.” Fluttershy replied quietly.

“I see...” Aloe’s eyebrows rose at that admission. “Well, Miss Rarity can be prone to dramatics, so that was understandable, I suppose. But in the end, they didn’t reject you, did they?”

“N-no... they... they came to my home and asked me to date them. I didn’t want to, at first. But... but they showed me... they showed me how much they loved me, and I couldn’t... I couldn’t say no anymore.” The tears were flowing freely from Fluttershy’s eyes now, but she didn’t care anymore. “It… it felt so good to be loved, Aloe. I’m so selfish, I couldn’t tell them ‘no’.”

“Love is wonderful, Miss. And not something to regret, even if it spoils a few plans.”

“I...I suppose you’re right.” Fluttershy said with a final little sniffle. “But I still don’t know what to do.”

“Ah, that is for a wiser pony, Miss. But I can tell you what not to do.”

At Fluttershy’s questioning look, Aloe bopped her gently on the nose. “Stop blaming yourself. Miss Rarity and Miss Pinkie are quite capable of deciding who they wish to spend their lives with. If they invited you to be a part of it, they wanted you as much as you wanted them.”

That actually managed to bring a little smile to Fluttershy’s face. “I’ll... try.”

“That is all I can ask.” Aloe replied, her face mirroring the smile on Fluttershy’s. “Well, allow me to finish with your massage and preening, miss.”

Fluttershy obediently lay back down on the table, her mind somewhat at ease at last. Maybe it wasn’t her fault, after all. But... she still felt like it was up to her to find some way to make her marefriends happy again. She didn’t know how, quite yet, but she knew who to ask. Aloe had mentioned a wise pony could help, and she happened to be best friends with a very, very smart pony.

To Make Them Happy

“Spike? Spike?!”

Fluttershy’s ears wilted back as she entered the library. The screaming sounded like Twilight, and was loud enough she almost turned right back around and left. Clearly this was a bad time.

“Spike, get up here!”

The kitchen door creaked open, and a cloud of dark smoke billowed out like a snake from a tunnel. “Um... I’m a little busy right now,” Spike called back.

“Is something burning?” Twilight demanded to know, rushing out of her room and into the accumulated cloud just outside her door.

Spike slammed the kitchen door closed quickly. “Uh, I sneezed!” he shouted through it. “Hold on a second while I clean up.”

“Ew. Burning cheese.” Twilight coughed violently, stumbling down the stairs. When she was sufficiently out of the disgusting cloud she closed the remaining distance to the floor with a leap and a few wing flaps. “I need your help! I lost something.” she called through the door to the kitchen.

Fluttershy waited for a lull in the commotion, and when she judged the moment was right she tried to make her presence known. It wasn’t polite to listen to other ponies and their dragons having conversations when they didn’t know another friend was right there. “Um—”

There was a loud clatter from the kitchen, followed by a shattering of what sounded like glassware. After uttering some words Fluttershy wasn’t aware Spike knew, he opened the door and poked his head through. “What’d you lose?” he asked.

“It’s...” Twilight hesitated, opening and closing her mouth several times before blurting out: “It’s not anything really important... just a scroll— errr, a list! Just a list.”

“Oh. Well, I haven’t seen any lists around. Sorry,” Spike replied. He ducked his head back inside, closing the door behind him.

“What am I going to do?” Twilight said, fretting. “If anypony else finds it before I do I’ll just—” she paced back and forth, muttering to herself and staring down at the floor.

Fluttershy moved forward, hoping that with proximity Twilight might notice her, if for no other reason than to say hello properly, followed by a quick goodbye since Twilight was clearly busy. She reached out a hoof as she got close enough, then flinched back as Twilight suddenly spun around to face her.

“Gah!” Twilight shouted as her head snapped upwards from watching her own hooves. “F-Fluttershy?”

“Um... hi.” Fluttershy replied, allowing her mane to mask her face, or so she hoped. She really didn’t want Twilight to know how startled she was by her friend’s behavior. After all, it wasn’t Twilight’s fault that her friend had barged in unannounced during what was clearly a crisis of some sort, or that Fluttershy was such a horrible friend as to approach her about a problem when Twilight had problems of her own. Most likely big important princess problems, which were much more pressing than small, insignificant pegasus problems. “Um... I’ll just see myself out...”

“Wait!” Twilight said quickly, taking a moment to smooth back her hair and take a deep, soothing breath. “Sorry. I... When did you get here?”

“Um... a little while ago,” Fluttershy answered quietly. “I came in about the time you found out Spike burned the quesadillas?”

“He what?!” Twilight said, her left eye twitching as she began breathing rapidly once again. “Spike! I told you no more quesadillas!”

“They’re not for you! They’re for me!” Spike shouted back through the door.

“I don’t care! They stink up the whole tree every time you make them!” Twilight glared at the door a moment longer, then turned back to Fluttershy with an apologetic look. “Ugh... Let’s go upstairs. I can open the window to let the smell out.”

“All right,” Fluttershy replied, following her friend upstairs.

They both breathed a sigh of relief as the door was closed behind them. Fluttershy imagined the smell was likely permeating throughout the ceiling of the library, and she hoped for Twilight’s sake it wasn’t settling into the covers of the books.

“Sorry,” Twilight said as she flew up to her balcony to open the window before waving for Fluttershy to join her. “Ever since Pinkie served them a few months back he won’t stop making them. It’s bad enough when they’re made well but when he burns them it’s even worse!” She stuck her tongue out, her face looking slightly green for a moment. “Bleh. So, what’s up?”

Fluttershy took a seat on the guest bed, still a little uncertain if she wanted to trouble her friend when she was clearly already bothered about something. She fidgeted restlessly for a moment, briefly considering apologizing and leaving, or even fleeing out the window. “I... I just came by to talk to you...” she said at last.

“Oh? What about?” Twilight asked, taking a seat on her own bed.

Before Fluttershy managed to do more than shift uncomfortably on the bed, the sound of a door opening and closing came from downstairs, followed by Spike’s voice. “Oh, by the way, I sent those scrolls for you.”

“Uh... thanks?” Twilight called back. “I don’t remember asking you to send anything, though.”

“I figured you forgot. They were on your desk when I was dusting, so I rolled them up and sent them off.”

Fluttershy watched Twilight in fascination as her brows screwed up furiously as she thought. After a moment or two, Twilight apparently remembered something, and called back: “Oh, right, the estimates of the damage caused by the Pinkie clones.”

“Yeah, lots of numbers.”

“Right. Thanks, Spike!” Twilight shook her head with a smile. “Sorry, Spike’s always looking out for me. I meant to send that out two days ago and just set it aside.” She gestured with a hoof for Fluttershy to continue.

Or rather, to begin, since she hadn't yet had a chance to do more than fret while thinking about what she should say.

“Oh, and that other one on your nightstand too.”

Twilight’s expression, which had been relaxed a moment ago, took an abrupt turn for the worse. “M-my nightstand?”

“Yeah, looked like a personal letter. I figured you probably meant that one to explain all the numbers. You’re welcome!”

The room seemed darker to Fluttershy, which was confusing since the sun was shining brightly outside and there seemed to be no clouds in the sky. “Um... Twilight?”

“What... what am I going to do?” Twilight asked in a small, pitiful voice, staring at her forehooves as if they might have an answer for her.

“About what?” Fluttershy asked, growing even more concerned for her friend.

Twilight didn’t answer for a very long time “I...” she fell silent once more, slowly raising her eyes to meet Fluttershy’s. “It’s... it’s not important. What did you need?”

“I...” Fluttershy fell silent as well, not sure what to say, and badly wishing Twilight would tell her what had made her react this way all of a sudden. “I guess it’s not very important either,” she said finally. Except it was, and yet it wasn’t. Fluttershy badly needed help, but she couldn’t ignore that the very friend she needed help from needed help as well.

Maybe.... maybe if I find out what’s wrong, I can help her? Then we can see if she has any advice for me once she’s not so frazzled, she thought, feeling a sense of rightness from it. Sometimes, it helped just to listen, and Fluttershy was a good listener. “Twilight, was something bad in that scroll Spike sent?”

Her friend visibly flinched at the question. “I... yes, or no, kinda?” She shrugged weakly. “It was... private. But my life may as well be over now, so it doesn’t matter.”

Fluttershy waited for Twilight to say more, but when it didn’t seem to be forthcoming, she quietly got up, joining her friend on her bed and silently embracing her.

Twilight stiffened at first, but as the wing enfolded her she leaned into its embrace. “I can’t believe that I was so stupid...” she muttered, choking back a sniffle.

“You’re not stupid, Twilight,” Fluttershy said in what she hoped was a calming voice. Truthfully, her own problems seemed much smaller when confronted with Twilight’s utter misery. “What was in the scroll?”

“I...” Twilight paused, taking a deep breath. Her horn flashed, and a glow enveloped the door to the bedroom, and the window. The walls simultaneously lit up with a glowing, sparkling light that played on the surface as if it was alive.

When she was done doing whatever she was doing, she finally began talking again. “I just wrote it all down. All my feelings, my hopes, my desires. Everything in one neat little letter. I just put the pen on the paper and watched as it flew. Pages and pages of flattery, comparing her to celestial objects, confessions about times I...” Twilight blushed furiously. “It... it just felt so good to let it out, somehow. And when I was done, I hid it. I put up wards and protection spells and anti-scrying spells. I made a spot under my bed that was basically not even a part of this world anymore.”

Fluttershy was confused at first, not sure who Twilight was talking about, until her memory was jogged by the mention of celestial objects. Some quick mental arithmetic brought her to the conclusion that Twilight had every reason to be devastated. “Oh, my...” So, that was the thing Twilight had been worried about earlier, and what Spike had just sent to— “Oh my goodness!”

“I should have put it away,” Twilight said miserably. “I...I take it out, sometimes, late at night, and... I imagine what her reaction might be. And I... I...” she took another deep breath. “I do... things, to myself. And... last night, I... I was thinking about her... doing things to herself.”

Twilight shuddered for a moment, and Fluttershy realized with more than a little shock that Twilight was remembering how she’d felt and—

Oh gosh. Um... Granny Smith in a negligee... With that little mental jolt of cold water she managed to maintain her composure, but thoughts of Twilight’s activities were quietly filed away for a time when she could properly freak out about them, or when she could retire to her bath.

”It... it was really intense, and I put the letter down. I guess I passed out.” Twilight fluttered the tips of her wings helplessly. “I should have put it back. I always put it back. He never would have found it. Nopony ever should have found it.”

After a very very long time, Fluttershy finally found it in herself to speak once more. “Okay.”

“What do you mean, ‘okay’?” Twilight demanded to know. “Nothing is okay. Nothing will ever be okay again!” Twilight shrugged off Fluttershy’s wing, got up, and began pacing restlessly. “She has to have read it by now, and she hasn’t even sent me anything in reply! She must hate me! All those things I wrote!” Twilight’s eyes widened. “That...that letter... I touched it... afterwards. It was on my chest and I was all sleepy and my magic was wobbly and I picked it up with my hooves!”

“Twilight, it’s going to be okay!” Fluttershy said, getting up herself in hopes of stopping Twilight and getting her to calm down just a little.

Her friend just kept pacing more rapidly, her breathing growing more ragged. “She’s going to come here in person! And it won’t be magic kindergarden this time. No, I’m a giant pervert who shouldn’t ever be around impressionable young minds! She’ll put me in the deepest, darkest dungeon, full of torture devices to punish ponies like me—”

Pinkie Pie covered in whipped cream, with ice cubes on her nipples! Fluttershy thought desperately. Wait, no. That’s not helpful at all!

As unhelpful as it might be to calm herself down, it did keep her from picturing Twilight being punished by Princess Celestia, if only because Twilight was replaced by a giggling Pinkie and Princess Celestia by a mock-severe looking Rarity in faux leather.

So, while she was thankfully no longer feeling awkward about her unwanted fantasies of Twilight, she was decidedly still feeling very awkward. At the very least, her feelings were no longer immobilizing her, which allowed her to tackle Twilight back onto the bed before she wore a hole in her floor.

Twilight looked up at her, almost seeming startled to see her there. Fluttershy could feel her friend’s heart beating rapidly, and see the distinct eye twitch they’d all come to recognize as being signs of a truly awful panic attack, as opposed to the perfectly ordinary panic attacks she had from day to day. “Twilight,” Fluttershy said as calmly as she could, chasing away the giggling Pinkie Pies and Rarities alike. “I need you to focus on my voice. Remember the breathing exercise Cadence taught you?”

“Cadence?” Twilight replied, confused. She thought for a moment, and then apparently came to a conclusion that caused her eyes to slightly bulge out of their sockets. “Cadence! Celestia might send it to her to ask what to do, and then my brother will know!”

“I’m sure that’s not true. I mean... you can’t really see her doing that, can you?” Fluttershy said in a measured, calm voice. “She’ll be very surprised, I’m sure, but I don’t see her doing something like that even if she is upset.”

“Maybe she’ll show it to Luna, and Luna will plague my dreams for daring to insult her sister and—”

“The Princess would not show something private to her sister, and even if she did, I don’t think Luna would punish you in your dreams for it.” Fluttershy said, cutting off Twilight’s tirade. “Now listen. I need you to breath with me. In.” Fluttershy took a deep breath. “Out,” she exhaled slowly and evenly.

Twilight looked ready to protest once more, but the feeling of Fluttershy’s chest rising and falling against her own slowly helped calm her, until eventually she was following suit. Only when the red-eyed tinge of panic had reduced in Twilight’s eyes did Fluttershy ease herself up, settling into a sitting position next to her friend. The Pinkies and Rarities in her mind gave her a rousing round of applause, and promised naughty, naughty things for her heroism once she got back to her house.

The newly-crowned princess sat up. Focusing on a knot on the floor before her, she continued her slow and steady breathing exercises until she no longer showed any signs of immediate emotional distress.

“Feeling any better?” Fluttershy asked quietly, gently rubbing Twilight’s shoulder.

“A little,” Twilight admitted, favoring her friend with a sheepish look. “I... I know you’re right, about some of it, anyway. Celestia probably won’t throw me in a deep, dark dungeon and throw away the key. But... this wasn’t how I wanted to let her know how I felt. I...I thought over tea sometime, in a private room, so she wouldn’t be as uncomfortable. I read that the setting is really crucial, and just asking somepony out suddenly was a good way to get rejected because most ponies don’t like being surprised,” she flung herself back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. “It’s all wrong. ”

“Do you really think that?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, the princess cares about you...”

“She does... but I don’t know how much...” Twilight pursed her lips, looking around the room worriedly. “Or maybe she doesn’t. Maybe... maybe she just didn’t want to hurt my feelings. I ruined any chance I ever had, now.”

“I’m sure that’s not true, Twilight. Just because the princess finds out how you feel in a really embarrassing way doesn’t mean she’ll think less of you for it.” Fluttershy reassuringly rubbed Twilight’s knee at the edge of the bed. “It’ll be okay.”

Twilight groaned, covering her face with a pillow. “She already knows how I feel, Fluttershy. I...I just don’t know if she feels the same.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed in surprise. “Well, doesn’t that make it easier?”

“No.” Twilight said through the pillow. “If it was easy I could have just asked her out after the Gala, or Shining’s wedding. Nothing about the Princess is easy.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked, honestly curious. “If she knows how you feel shouldn’t you just be able to ask the same?”

Twilight groaned into the pillow. “I guess I should be able to, but I...” she lifted the pillow, peering at Fluttershy from under it. “Shy... can I tell you something?”

“You’ve told me a lot of things today, Twilight. I don’t think one more will hurt,” Fluttershy fought to maintain what she hoped was a reassuring smile, but inwardly, she cringed. If Twilight was less bothered by telling her that she clopped to a letter she wrote than by what she was about to say, just how bad was it?

“Pinkie Promise.” Twilight said, looking her straight in the eye. “Do you promise?”

Fluttershy hesitated only a moment, truly concerned now. Whatever it was she was about to hear was something Twilight valued above anything else she’d shared so far. “Cross my heart—” she said, making the motions.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, sitting up and glancing at her before looking down at the floor again. “Sorry, it’s just... If anypony else found out, it would be a huge scandal. I mean, ponies made a big deal about the cakes she eats. The press would have a field day with this.”

“It’s okay. Pinkie would be crushed if I ever broke your promise. Whatever it is is safe with me,” Fluttershy replied, laying a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

“Okay, here goes,” Twilight visibly braced herself. “The princess and I have been... intimate.”

Fluttershy waited for a few moments, unsure if Twilight was going to say more. It wasn’t so much that what she’d already said wasn’t shocking enough, but that it seemed somewhat tame to necessitate a promise. Intimate could mean anything from a kiss to Twilight getting spanked by Celestia’s wing while Luna watched. Eventually, when it became apparent that Twilight was going to reveal no more, Fluttershy replied: “Intimate? Like... how Rarity and Pinkie—”

“No!” Twilight said quickly. “Not... not that intimate... Not yet, anyway... But... still.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy replied, staring at the floor herself, now. It offered no insight into what to say when your best friend told you she’s had relations of some sort with the Princess of Equestria.

“It’s... it’s happened a few times. And every time was really wonderful... But afterwards... she leaves, and I... I never know what to think about that,” Twilight said in a very small voice.

The floor offered even less about what to say when your friend told you that the princess was apparently doing intimate things to her. The swirled patterns and knots of the planks beneath her hooves had very little to tell Fluttershy regarding when these intimate encounters started or how serious things had gotten. Unbidden, memories of Twilight positively glowing while telling them all of the closeness of her relationship with her teacher, and of the countless sessions of private instruction. Maybe too private.... While the idea was shocking, it made sense that Twilight would be uncomfortable mentioning it without a promise to keep it from others. The floor had absolutely nothing useful for that. Fortunately, Fluttershy herself had a response: “She what?! I can’t believe she—”

“She... the first time it happened, she didn’t mean for it to happen. She... I think she was trying to nuzzle me, but I kissed her... and she was a little surprised, but... then she kissed me back, and from there we just—”

Fluttershy had heard enough. Maybe Twilight had justified it in her mind, but as her friend Fluttershy had to tell Twilight that it wasn’t her fault. “It doesn’t matter if you started it, the Princess should know better! Children are allowed to be affectionate but that doesn’t make it okay for an adult to take that further—”

“What? No!” Twilight’s surprised shout caught Fluttershy off guard, and the anger that had quickly risen and formed indignation in her head faded away. “See?!” Twilight continued, “This is exactly why I don’t want ponies to know! Everypony would draw the wrong conclusion and it wouldn’t matter if it was true or not!”

“But if she did—” Fluttershy tried.

“It was after we defeated Nightmare Moon, okay?” Twilight replied angrily. “Stars, why does everypony always think the worst of the princess?”

Fluttershy’s cheeks blazed crimson. “I’m...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean...” Her tongue knotted momentarily, and she’d scooched backwards on the bed involuntary before she caught herself. All she wanted to do was beg for forgiveness and then run back to her cottage, but Twilight needed her right now. Fluttershy took a steadying breath and ordered her knees to stop their trembling. “All right, so you were old enough to make your own decisions. That was wrong of me to assume. But aren’t you making some very big assumptions about her yourself?”

“I’m... what?” Twilight regarded her with a blank look that belied confusion.

“You’re the one thinking that the princess doesn’t like you and that she’ll send you to a sex dungeon.”

“Sex dungeon? That isn’t—” Twilight cut herself off and sighed. “Nevermind. That letter... it was horrible. Even if she doesn’t do anything, she’ll certainly never want to talk to me again.” The alicorn came to full stop, and her eyes shrunk to pinpricks once more. “She won’t ever want to talk to me again...” she whispered in terrified awe.

“Twilight!” Fluttershy put a hoof on her friend’s chest, feeling Twilight’s heart beating a mile a minute. She would have to speak quickly or it would get worse. “Twilight, it was just a mistake. Ponies make mistakes.”

“But she won’t know that! She’ll think that I’m a pervert and a weirdo and that—”

“She won’t,” Fluttershy said firmly. “She won’t because she knows you, maybe better than anypony else. But you need to talk to her, Twilight. You need to tell her how you feel, otherwise she will be very confused.”

Twilight turned her head towards the window, staring at the far-off visage of Canterlot castle, her lip quivering in fright. “How can I face her now? I don’t know if I can, knowing she has that...”

It was very odd witnessing these things from somepony else. Fluttershy knew these fears very well. She’d had them screaming in her head every time she guiltily thought about Pinkie. She’d had them all but confirmed when Rarity had come over to her home and told her that she couldn’t have Pinkie. And now, she saw them alive and well in Twilight, who, despite very different circumstances, was going through the same torture.

But fortunately for Twilight, Fluttershy was not quite the same pony anymore. Yes, things could and possibly would go badly for Twilight, but Fluttershy had learned that some things were worth it, and should be fought for. Rarity had taught her that. And sometimes, if you worked hard, and had faith in the ponies you loved, happy endings could be had. That was something she’d learned from Pinkie.

Fluttershy smiled as she pictured the beaming faces of her marefriends. She took a deep breath, then put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and gently turned the alicorn to face her. "Twilight, I know you're scared. You probably just want to hide away and never face her again."

Twilight just stared at her, eventually giving her a very confused nod.

“But you have to decide which scares you more. Seeing her again, and talking with her about how you feel, or never ever talking to her again.”

Twilight’s breathing hitched and her pupils narrowed. For a moment, Fluttershy was certain her friend was going to have another panic attack. But eventually, Twilight returned her gaze, and nodded firmly. “You’re right. She deserves to know.”

They both shared a smile, and even if Twilight’s was unsure, it was genuine.

“Sorry,” Twilight said at last, wiping her eyes with the edge of her bedsheet. “I didn’t mean to distract you from whatever was bothering you. Um... how can I help?”

“Oh!” Fluttershy replied in surprise. She had come to see Twilight for a problem of her own, hadn’t she?

The Pinkies and Rarities just kept smiling at her, and she wondered at how complex her own problems had seemed. Some things really were worth fighting for, and happy endings could happen, if you were brave. That was the answer. She just had to be brave, and ask a very simple question to her marefriends, and have faith that the answer would be yes.

“I think you already did, Twilight,” she said with a brilliant smile.

As much as she wanted to surprise both of them, she didn’t want to leave Pinkie in the dark any longer than necessary. She did have a plan, and felt it was a good one, but it was one that would require Pinkie’s help. Plus, it would help her frazzled nerves very much if Pinkie were to confirm what the Pinkie in her head kept saying to her. She needed to know if she was love loved. Her fears told her there was no possible way they loved her as much as they loved each other, but her heart was resolute, and bravely reassured her that they did. She held that up like a shield against the constant assault of her fears, and somehow, it held strong.

A short walk to Sugarcube Corner and a shorter climb upstairs brought her to Pinkie’s door, and she was unavoidably reminded of another occasion when she had looked upon this portal with a horrible sense of doom. This time, she had no hesitation when she knocked.

She did, however, have a very mild panic attack when Pinkie opened the door and immediately caught her up in a tight hug, but that was normal and nothing to be unduly worried about. She even congratulated herself for managing not to flail.

Much.

“Shy-shy! You look so much happier!” Pinkie let her go, stepping back to examine Fluttershy, who flared out her wings while struggling to regain her equilibrium. “But also kinda nervous, like you’re pretty sure things are gonna be okay but you still have those nerves deep down that say everything will go horribly wrong! Oh, I’m so happy for you!” Pinkie swept her up just as she was about to teeter over, carrying her over her shoulder and plopping her down on the the bed inside. “I wanna hear all about it!”

Fluttershy took a brief moment to let the room stop spinning, focusing on a single point of Pinkie’s wall until the sensation of movement halted. She had questions she badly needed answers to. She wasn’t certain where to begin, but with Pinkie, she was comfortable enough that she felt there was no wrong place to start.

And so, she began with the simplest question, although it was probably the most complex of the various questions she had running through her head. “I...I think I have a plan. But...I need to ask you a very important question first.”

Pinkie nodded, then grabbed a chair from the table and dragged it over to the bed with a loud screech. She plopped down on it, facing Fluttershy. “Shoot!”

Fluttershy just looked at Pinkie for some time. Her heart was deeply lodged in her throat, preventing words from passing. She had to ask. Everything was pointless if she was wrong. Fears rained down on the shield, and she could feel it start to buckle. It took every shred of confidence she had built up in the last few months to force her lips to move and allow the question to pass. “Pinkie, do you... do you love me?”

There was no answer for some time, and she could almost hear the shield crack and groan under the pressure. She shut her eyes, not able to look Pinkie in the eye just then, in case she should see a look of pity in them. But then, in her mind’s eye, she saw Pinkie on one end of the shield, and Rarity on the other, bracing it while she held the middle.

In the space outside of her head, the real Pinkie had jumped up from her chair and hugged her. But not the tight embrace that took her breath away, this was a gentle embrace of somepony holding something they regarded as fragile and precious. “Shy-shy, of course I love you! Why would you ask that?”

“I...” Fluttershy hesitated, looking up into those big, beautiful expressive blue eyes. They were normally full of joy, but now they held concern, and fear. She hated herself for making Pinkie feel that way, but she had to know for sure. “I know you love me, but... do you love me? Can... can you love me like you do Rarity?”

Pinkie continued to stare down deep into her eyes, and slowly the fear receded, both in Pinkie’s eyes and in Fluttershy’s mind. “Of course not,” she said.

With those words, the fear was back, and pushing even more on the fragile shield. But just as Fluttershy’s fears were ready to overwhelm her, Pinkie kissed her gently on the cheek. “I love you like I do Fluttershy. Rarity has lotsa stuff to love about her, but you’re not her. I love you for the things I love about you. Otherwise it would just be silly!”

Fluttershy let out something halfway between a sob and a laugh, throwing her arms around Pinkie and squeezing her as hard as she could. “Sorry,” she whispered. “Sorrysorrysorry.”

“Was that it?” Pinkie asked, her voice filled with bubbling amusement. “Do I get to ask one now?”

Fluttershy buried her face in Pinkie’s pelt, nodding into it. Pinkie could ask anything of her.

“Okay! So... what happened? I mean you went away all ‘I don’t know what to do but I’ll figure out something’ and you come back all ‘Do you love me for realsies?’” Pinkie closed the hug just a little tighter, nuzzling the top of Fluttershy’s mane. “I mean, it’s just kinda weird.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth, but closed it again, realizing she couldn’t really tell Pinkie what had lead to that question without breaking a confidence to Twilight. Instead, she disentangled herself from Pinkie, taking a moment to sit up and compose herself. “I...I can’t say. But... thank you. I really, really needed to hear that.”

“Oh.” Pinkie scratched her head, not quite sure what to make of that answer. “Well, okay! Is it your turn to ask a question now?” Pinkie bounced lightly on the bed. “I think I like this game.”

There was really only one question on Fluttershy’s mind at that moment. “Pinkie, will you... marry me?”

“Ooooo! That’s a good one! You know, that’s the second time somepony’s asked me that, only the first time there was a big hollow cake that collapsed.” She looked around expectantly, seeming crestfallen when she didn’t find what she was looking for. “Awww. Well, can we still make love in the kitchen?”

Fluttershy said nothing, though the suggestion sounded wonderful. It hardly addressed her question, however, so she was forced to affect a look of disapproval in hopes that Pinkie would realize she was serious. Failing that, making love in the kitchen sounded wonderful, if a little impractical while the Cakes were doing business. Maybe in her own kitchen?

Upon seeing Fluttershy’s frowning face, Pinkie frowned herself, then her face lit up with surprise. “Wait! You mean like—”

Fluttershy nodded, still waiting for an answer, though she couldn’t maintain her frown any longer. It was really hard to tell when Pinkie was teasing instead of being oblivious, fortunately she made up for it by being adorable.

“Yes!” Pinkie said immediately. Having said that, she looked unsure a moment later. “I mean... um... I think? Rarity kinda asked me already and even if she doesn’t want to anymore I think she might get upset if we just do it without her—”

Fluttershy silenced Pinkie with a kiss. After well and thoroughly kissing her, Fluttershy pulled back, smiling brightly all the while. “Then I guess we have to ask her a question, too.”

Pinkie’s face screwed up in confusion, then her face mirrored Fluttershy’s. “Hey, yeah! She would love this game!”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, affectionately nuzzling Pinkie on the cheek. “Pinkie, I need you to get your engagement earrings.”

“Okay!” Pinkie said, springing up from the bed and fetching the box. “Wha’ duwwey neef theffore?” she asked around the box. She spit it out into her hoof, tucking it into her mane for safe-keeping. “Is this part of the game?”

“Yes, a very important part,” Fluttershy replied, feeling a confidence the likes of which she hadn’t felt since the Iron Will incident. Except this time, she felt right. This was the right thing to do. “C’mon, we need to make a stop at Rich’s Jewelry.”

Fill My Heart

Rarity finished sketching her latest design, smiling down on it with the satisfaction of a job well done. It was a lovely little thing with plenty of lace and buttons, and a few gemstones she was planning on sewing in just for fun. She set her quill down, getting up for a quick stretch.

As she walked past her work desk, her eyes were unavoidably drawn to the stack of envelopes, each individually addressed and stamped to go to the dozens of ponies she’d invited to the wedding. The wedding that was not to be.

Her hoof involuntarily felt for the earring with Pinkie’s cutie mark on it, as it often did of late. What she would have given to find it there just once...

It would have been lovely, she thought, averting her eyes and heading to the kitchen. She had a more pressing concern at that moment: She wasn’t entirely certain when last she’d eaten. Pinkie had been by yesterday and brought muffins and croissants, she remembered that much. Beyond that, it was just a long blur of cutting, assembling, and sewing gowns, with the occasional break for a nap or to get a new design down when it occurred to her.

Sweetie had been by at some point, babbling excitedly about a sleepover. She dearly hoped it was supposed to be at Scootaloo’s or Apple Bloom’s home, because she wasn’t entirely certain if she could cope otherwise.

It will be fine. For now, we should probably fuel the fires of creativity, she thought with a little smile. Though in truth, some of her best ideas were to be had while she was half-crazed with hunger. She’d once come up with an entire line inspired by the bowl of fruit she’d ravenously devoured after a three day work spree. There were downsides, of course; for instance, the last time she’d forgotten for long enough that she’d threatened a dress, but that had also led to a very pleasant morning with Pinkie Pie followed by many more wonderful months thereafter. So, all told, her track record was fairly positive, but it was likely best not to further test it.

She wasn’t entirely certain what she even had to eat, as her shopping of late had been sporadic at best. Fortunately, it seemed that Pinkie had placed the leftover croissants and butter from the day before in her icebox. She had planned on having a salad, at some point, but the lettuce and tomatoes looked a little bit wilted and soft, respectively, so salad was out. Still, croissants worked just fine.

She sat down, looking a little sadly at the unoccupied chairs at the table. Perhaps she would make an unscheduled visit to them both, collecting Pinkie on the way and then going to Fluttershy’s cottage. It had been too long since she’d seen both of them at once.

Yes, that could work. I wonder if Mother would mind whipping up a pasta dish of some sort... a casserole, perhaps. Thinking that, however, she was unavoidably reminded that her parents needed to be informed of the lack of a wedding. She put the croissant down on the plate, unbitten. She wasn’t very hungry after all. She stood up, putting the plate and butter back in the icebox.

What is wrong with you? You have everything a mare could want, and you keep thinking about what you don’t have. Be happy! You have a career, two wonderful marefriends, and a family that loves you. Most ponies wish they could be so lucky.

She shook her head ruefully. Of course that was true. She was being foolish and selfish.

Well, no longer. You march over to Sugarcube Corner, fetch Pinkie, and then go visit with Fluttershy. Then you can all enjoy each other’s company instead of you moping around like a poor filly who dropped her ice cream!

That might have been a little unfair. She wasn’t just upset about the marriage being called off for her own sake, but for Pinkie’s as well, after all.

For Pinkie’s sake? Pinkie, the marefriend who you’ve been mistreating? The one who nearly burst out crying because you demanded she stop mentioning the word ‘wedding’? No, you called it off for your own sake.

“Is it so selfish to want us all to be happy together instead of a married couple and their ‘friend who they sleep with’?” Rarity demanded to nopony in particular.

The fact that you even question that means you feel it is, at least a little. But this isn’t about the wedding. This is about enjoying their company, and you being there for them to enjoy. You’re taking all the fun out of the relationship by being so incredibly dramatic about it all. In the end, it’s a ceremony declaring what you already know.

“But it’s more than that,” Rarity said, frowning. “It’s about letting them both know what they are to me. It’s forming a bond beyond the romantic, or the carnal. A joining of souls.”

Goodness, but that sounds so very corny. You should read a few less cheap romance novels.

“They are not cheap! I have some very nice first editions—” Rarity stopped in mid sentence, her eyes widening. “Sweet Celestia, I am arguing with myself. I really need to go eat something.”

Well, then. How about you go and fetch something nice to eat at Sugarcube Corner? A pie, perhaps. You could get some food at the same time.

“Pie does sound lovely—” she blushed heavily. “Right, not only am I arguing with myself, I am guilty of bad puns. Well, food it is, then.”

She made a quick examination of the shop, checking on Opal’s food and water dishes and putting out the ‘Out To Lunch’ sign. The walk to Sugarcube was pleasant, at least. The birds had no special problems with multiple mates or whether or not those mates wished to have large elaborate ceremonies signifying a lifetime commitment. Indeed, if Fluttershy was to be believed, birds were quite scandalous when it came to mating, though they tended to raise their young in pairs. It seemed a little odd, though this was coming from the mare who wished to spend her life with two other mares, so perhaps it was a matter of perspective.

Arriving inside, she waved to Mr. Cake, giving him a questioning look as he rang up a line of customers. He shook his head, a surprised look on his own face, as if to say ‘I thought she was with you’ before his attention was reclaimed by the stallion in the hard hat demanding several boxes of his confections.

Having no particular interest in waiting in line when she could be visiting, she made her way around the crowd to the kitchen. She took a peek inside, hoping Mrs. Cake might know more, but found that she was a little busy as well. She said she did recall Fluttershy coming by, but had been busy for most of the day so didn’t know where either of them might be. They exchanged pleasantries for some time, but eventually Mrs. Cake asked Rarity to excuse her so she could focus on keeping up with the afternoon rush.

Hmmm. Perhaps up in her room?

A short climb up the stairs ruled out that possibility, though there was evidence to suggest Pinkie hadn’t been gone long. The bed was disheveled, and the sheets gave off a distinct odor that Rarity was well familiar with.

Fluttershy came by to visit, and the expected happened, she thought with a wry grin. At the very least, it was nice to know they were keeping each other happy despite her mopeyness. She did wish she’d been here to see it, however. There was something so incredibly satisfying about watching Pinkie pleasure Fluttershy... She shivered, resisting the urge to lay down on the bed and imagine exactly what Pinkie had been up to while breathing in the scent of their lovemaking. After all, it would be more fun to find them and see it in person.

So, she’s not working, not in her room. Fluttershy has recently visited her, so she likely didn’t go to Fluttershy’s cottage. Perhaps she went out on the town to say hello to all of her friends?

If so, she could be literally anywhere in the city limits. Rarity let out a little sigh of disappointment. Still, she could still visit with Fluttershy for the day. That would be more than pleasant. But she had hoped to catch them both.

Ah, well. Another day. You’ll just have to settle for snuggling with your best-friend-turned-lover, and hear her try to stammer out a detailed account of what she and Pinkie were up to, while attempting to reenact it yourself.

Really, when looked at in the right light, she had very very little to complain of.

It was just a matter of perspective.

Today was not turning out to be her day at all.

When she’d arrived at the cottage, not finding Fluttershy hadn’t been terribly disheartening at first. She’d actually been more than a little excited to try to find her darling. Perhaps she might have even caught her in the act, in flagrante, as it were. Then she would have just watched silently for a time, waiting for the opportune time to step out from her hiding space and pounce. The combined look of heavy-lidded lust and surprise on Fluttershy’s face was always a sight to behold.

That and being held is exactly what I was after, she thought ruefully, glaring down at her small fuzzy oppressor.

Her search had proved in vain. Instead, she’d only found Fluttershy’s ill-tempered pet, who refused to even give her a hint where Fluttershy had gone off to, being interested only in trying to drive her from the cottage.

“Look, I’m not here to argue with you, Angel. I just came by to see Fluttershy—” Rarity dodged, catching the carrot bucket in her magic. “Now that was just rude! You’d better believe she will hear of this bad behavior—”

Angel jumped up and slammed the door in her face, sticking out his tongue just before it closed.

“Why you little...” Rarity extended a hoof, tapping on the door insistently. From the other side, she heard various locks and chains being secured. “How... how can you even reach those?”

She was left glaring at the door, uncertain what to do. Fluttershy was obviously gone, or she would have chided Angel for his behavior by now. But having failed to find both Fluttershy and Pinkie, she was at a loss.

All right, so you couldn’t find either one of them. Sad, but hardly tragic. Back to the shop, I suppose.

She exhaled loudly, turning about to begin the walk home. It had been a nice thought, but it wasn’t fair to expect them to be available whenever she was feeling a little down, after all. Perhaps there were other ways she could distract herself. Pinkie and Fluttershy were important, but they weren’t the only ponies she knew.

There are, for instance, many many letters waiting to be mailed out on your desk right now. Letters to ponies you know very well who need to be informed of events that aren’t going to transpire.

She winced at the thought. So many ponies would be disappointed to hear the wedding was off. And while she had promised Pinkie that parties would still occur, explaining in letter form that said parties were to celebrate a relationship instead of a wedding didn’t quite ring as true.

Not for the first time (even for this week alone) she thought of just giving in to Pinkie Pie and getting married, because it was easier. But it felt so very wrong to celebrate a union that was not complete. Her modified vows had been full of revisions, carefully omitting phrases having to do with being faithful only to each other, as promising such a thing with Fluttershy standing there smiling in a maid of honor gown would have been the foulest lie she could ever imagine.

But even so, standing there at all without both of them had become an unacceptable idea. Selfish mare that she was, she couldn’t settle for that. Which wasn’t to say she didn’t love Pinkie to bits, but then there was her darling Fluttershy, so unassuming, wanting only what made her friends happy, and nothing for herself. How could she not love her? How could she not wish to give her everything, knowing that Fluttershy would never seek it for herself? Her shy pegasus lover needed her, just as much as she needed Pinkie, and Pinkie needed them both.

Part of her, the part that had been raised on a steady diet of romance (and molded by parents who had been perhaps a little too uncomfortable with sexuality), the part that respected what was proper and right, felt guilty for that. It had made her feel guilty for being attracted to Pinkie, and for ever considering inviting Fluttershy to her bed.

She had learned to ignore it, slowly. It still troubled her from time to time. But, oddly enough, here, it agreed with her. A marriage, even an oddish one between two mares, was meant to be one that lasted a lifetime. So the thought of a temporary marriage until the third member of their loving group got on board was anathema to it.

This realisation, that she didn’t have to fight with her own sense of morals on this one issue, had relieved her greatly, once she’d gotten over the difficult bit of destroying her dress of lies. That had been one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do, as it was denying one dream in favor of another, and worse, in favor of a dream that she had no real way to bring to fruition.

But there were still the letters, still that final step to perform, and it troubled her. Pinkie had long since given up on reminding her of them, for fear that it would sadden her. But Fluttershy, brave Fluttershy, would not let her forget them, even in defiance of Rarity’s stated wishes. They were the final nail in the coffin, or the last shovelful of dirt on the grave.

So morbid! It’s not an end, you silly thing. Simply a denial of something false, so that you can truly begin again.

Yes! Maybe she’d missed out on an afternoon of company and bliss, but she could do this for her brave darling. And how much better would it be to whisper those words to her? To tell her she’d sent them, and in her heart know it meant ‘I will wait, my love, until you realize how much you are loved, and on that day I will be truly happy.’

She kicked up her heels with a sudden squeal of happiness, feeling good for the first time in weeks. But those letters on the desk would never do, no no. Those were letters of sadness, letters that said she was not happy with the situation. Instead, she would write a glowing letter, informing all of their family and friends that while the celebration of one union was not to occur, that they were invited to a party of the beginning of another, greater still!

No... not letters. Invitations. Gold-embossed, on the highest quality card-stock. She wondered if it was too short notice to get Filigree Flourish of Canterlot to do them.

I’ll pay him triple. That should be enough. And if it’s not I’ll ask Fancy Pants to badger him into it.

A warm feeling of satisfaction grew in her heart, and she smiled at the world in general, stepping up her canter into a jaunty trot. She then immediately stopped and scrambled for a sketchpad as the perfect design for a gown for Fluttershy occurred to her.

The first thing she did upon arriving home was to gather all of the mopey, self-pitying things on her desk and throw them in the garbage. They would not be needed. Next, she went to her sketchpad and set to work. She wrote the letters in broad, sweeping calligraphy, with ornate flourishes just to show off. Then she pursed her lips, frowning, as she realized she wanted other ponies to be able to read important things like dates and times.

Oh, but it’s so pretty! she thought, hesitating further. Finally, with a sigh, she flipped the page, and tried again, this time using large, but legible, ornate lettering.

A loud growling echoed throughout the room, making her start in alarm. Opal poked her head out from the nest she’d made amongst Rarity’s fabric scraps, took one look at her, and hissed loudly.

“Opal! What’s gotten into you—” The rumbling returned, sounding like an angry bear having been awoken in the middle of winter. This time, Rarity found the source, and realized that in her efforts to find Pinkie and have breakfast with her, then her attempt to find Fluttershy and have lunch, she had in fact failed to find either, and thus had missed both meals.

She looked down at her work thus far, frowning. She was probably jumping the gun a bit writing out the invitation before properly deciding how she was going to word it, but in her defense, she had been very excited to get to work on them. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, and decided perhaps getting something to eat would be a good idea. While Sugarcube Corner may not currently have a Pinkie Pie, they did sell food there.

Granted, she would have rather had Pinkie, but since that option wasn’t on the menu, food might be pleasant—

Her stomach growled again, even louder, and Opal fled from the room with her tail puffed up.

Right. Food it is, then.

She got up, hastily putting her sketches in order, taking care to put the dress designs in her portfolio where they would be safe (a lesson she had learned painfully when Opal had decided an entire spring line’s worth of sketches would be excellent to sharpen her claws upon) and made her way out the door to Sugarcube Corner.

Upon arriving, she was immediately and undeniably reminded of how wonderful a donut could smell on an empty stomach. There was a little bit of a line waiting for orders, but thankfully not many. Mrs. Cake was cleaning tables, while Mr. Cake was taking orders. Rarity smiled at them both, and they gave her a friendly but questioning look, as well they might. This was, after all, the second time she’d been by today, and she was still alone. She shrugged helplessly, refusing to let it affect her mood. Wherever Fluttershy and Pinkie were off to, she hoped they were having a good time.

When she finally arrived at the front of the line, she was having difficulty not openly salivating as the sights and smells engulfed her senses. “Hello, darling,” she greeted Mr. Cake with a smile. “I... I don’t suppose, I mean I try not to overindulge usually, but—”

“A baker’s dozen?” Carrot suggested, “Glazed, I assume?”

“Errr, yes.” Rarity replied, blushing. “I missed a couple meals, you see, and—” she was interrupted by a thankfully relatively quiet growl this time. “Well, yes, please,” she finished quickly.

“Coming right up!” he replied with a grin. “So, have you seen them yet?”

She just looked at him, confused by the sudden change in topic. “Seen who, exactly?”

“Probably not, then. I won’t keep you.” He grabbed the donuts from his wife, letting them drop into her magic. “That’ll be six bits.”

She paid him, still not certain why he was smiling at her in that way, and feeling confounded by his refusal to elaborate. Efforts to question Mrs. Cake were similarly met with a mischievous smile and a complete unwillingness to cooperate with her demands to know just what in Equestria was so very amusing. She left in a huff, deciding her cat would be better company.

She rather liked them both, but she really didn’t appreciate such treatment. It was like they were privy to a joke at her expense and refused to let her in on the punchline. She was generally all right with pranks (one had to be when one had friends like Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie) but this behavior just seemed mean-spirited.

Well, perhaps I do them a disservice. They may just be aware of something they find amusing but are sworn to secrecy about— Oh, dear.

That did put things in a new light, didn’t it? She wracked her brain for clues to whatever she was about to step into, but had very little to go on. Mr. Cake had only said ‘them’, after all, so... that meant a party of at least two ponies that would see her soon... possibly three or more.

Wait... Sweetie said something about a sleepover.

She stopped in her tracks, eyeing her home in sudden trepidation. If Sweetie had meant to have her friends over, versus she going to them, that meant they’d be visiting in the Boutique.

She silently asked Celestia for the strength to last the night.

Right. So, three of them. She could do this. She would need food, and entertainment to keep them busy. Board games? No, Scootaloo had declared them boring the last time she’d visited. Perhaps she could interest them in a makeover party... Pinkie would eat the very idea up, actually... except she was not to be found. But surely she’d be back by this evening? Rarity would be able to cope far easier with Pinkie or Fluttershy there to help.

The Boutique looked suspiciously quiet. She eyed it with a wary look, almost as if she expected it to jump at her. That was silly, of course, buildings didn’t just jump... unless Discord was about. Then all bets were off.

All right, calm down. Sweetie and her friends are not nearly as troublesome as so many things you could name. It’s going to be fine, you even have something to feed them with this very moment.

She looked down at her parcel, relieved that she’d gotten more than she would personally have consumed in a single sitting. So, food was covered for the moment, keeping them entertained... She did have plenty of sketching paper, perhaps she could persuade them to draw quietly? It was worth a shot.

Giving her home one final sidelong glance, she began to walk forward towards it, satisfied that it wasn’t going to attack her after all. The three fillies potentially lying in wait for her, however, might be another story. As she got closer, however, she noticed something very... off about her home. After a moment, she realized what it was.

That’s odd. Did I draw the blinds?

A single brow rose in surprise. All of her blinds were closed! She never did that. Not even when she and Pinkie made love in the showroom! Something was definitely amiss.

That feeling did not go away when she entered, finding her showroom entirely dark save for the spot of fading afternoon sunlight entering from behind her. “H-hello?” she called into the shop. “Sweetie Belle? Are you and your friends playing some sort of game?”

Her panic rose as no sound of movement or voice greeted her. What if it wasn’t a game? What if something nefarious was going on? She peered anxiously into the dark, looking for any sign of movement, or failing that, a lightswitch..Just as her eyes had started to adjust to the darkness, her world was flooded with bright lights, and a sudden, alarming shout of: “Surprise!”

Rarity’s heart skipped a beat, and she tried and failed to understand anything that was happening. She closed her eyes against the lights, hoping whatever was happening would get on with it quickly. After a few moments of nothing, however, she opened her eyes to find Pinkie smiling one of the the biggest smiles she’d ever seen on the mare. “Pinkie? What... what’s going on? Where is Sweetie Belle?”

Pinkie’s smile dropped just a little, a look of confusion growing on her face. “Um... I dunno. I haven’t seen her.” Her ear cocked backwards, and after a moment the look of confusion cleared. “Oh, right! The surprise! Rarity, I need you to take this!” she said, holding out the engagement earring that Rarity had given back to her in one hoof expectantly.

“Pinkie...” Rarity began, looking down at the earring, then back up at her marefriend. She so wanted to take it and put it back on, just to see Pinkie smile, but she’d just finally made peace with waiting. “Pinkie, I’m sorry, I really am—”

Pinkie just smiled even bigger somehow, putting the earring in Rarity’s hoof and kissing her on the cheek. “It’s okay. It’s not an engagement earring, not yet. It’s just a promise.”

“A... a promise?” Rarity asked, still hesitating.

“Uh huh! It’s only the first part though. Take it. It’s part of a matching set, silly!”

Rarity looked at Pinkie in utter confusion, unsure what that had to do with anything. Of course it was a matching set, she’d purchased them herself. Before she could question her marefriend’s odd behavior, however, Pinkie had moved aside, and what was revealed did little to assuage Rarity’s befuddlement.

Fluttershy was behind her, crouched down, only not quite—

No, she’s down on one knee. Did she drop something?

Rarity glanced around at the floor, but saw nothing on it. She looked back at Fluttershy, even more confused.

Wait, she’s holding something up... a small box...

Fluttershy looked up at her, smiling hopefully, holding the box up and opening it with her other hoof.

Inside was a small earring. At first, Rarity almost mistook it for the mate to the one in her hoof. But a quick glance to Pinkie confirmed what her brain was squealing about like a small child being given exactly what they had always wanted. Pinkie’s earring was exactly where it always had been, in her ear, as she’d refused to ever take it out even after Rarity had called the wedding off.

In fact, in Pinkie’s other ear, another earring could be seen. Rarity whipped her head back to Fluttershy, and saw two similarly adorned ears, the gold sparkling in the bright lights. Four earrings, when there had only been two previously. Five, counting the one in her hoof. Six, counting the box.

The one in the small box is new, she thought, not quite daring to acknowledge what that meant.

“F-Fluttershy?” she asked, feeling incredibly nervous and excited simultaneously.

“Um... Rarity... Will... Will you...” Fluttershy took a deep breath, tilting her head up just enough to allow her hair to fall away from her eyes. “Willyoumarryme?” she said in a rush, refusing to drop her gaze despite the intense look of fear that had come over her.

Rarity could feel the wave of faintness threatening to overtake her, and she quickly pulled her chaise lounge to her, knowing that her knees would buckle soon. She managed to quickly sputter out 'Yes!', before surrendering to the sweet embrace of cushions and blackness.

Kind And Worried

Rarity blinked, feeling the warm comfort of her bed below her. She had no memory of entering it, though that wasn’t terribly unusual. Her stomach gave off a loud rumble, announcing its demands that she eat something before it set its sights on something vital within her body to digest. Possibly her spleen. This too was not terribly unusual, as she often missed real meals when she was in the zone.

“Hey, you!” Pinkie said, appearing in Rarity’s field of vision as if by magic. “Whoa, that was an angry tummy! Lemme get you something to fill that up!”

Pinkie disappeared from view, and Rarity passively noted that her bed squeaked just a little as the other mare got up, making a mental appointment to visit Quills and Sofas to see about getting a new box spring. Given how rough Pinkie could be on a bed, it was surprising the mattress itself was holding up.

Fluttershy yawned from her other side, leaning up and looking around the room in alarm. “Oh my goodness, what time is it?”

That was a very good question, actually, though Rarity would have followed it up with ‘what day is it?’ But time was a good start. She tilted her head, noting that sunlight was streaming into the room around the blinds. Daytime, that was something. Either... early morning or late evening... the hues were mostly oranges and reds, versus the pinks of dawn, and more from the western side of her room. Afternoon, then.

Looking back to Fluttershy, her attention was drawn to a new detail: a golden band, affixed to her marefriend’s ear. Closer examination revealed a single diamond etched into the surface.

Certain memories of what she had assumed to be dreams came to the forefront of her mind with a nearly audible snap. She sat up bolt upright, staring at the ear with slack-jawed amazement. A quick glance confirmed that indeed, there was a second earring present as well, though she could not make out a design on that one.

Fluttershy, who had been looking at her with a soft smile till then, didn’t seem to know what to make of this. She followed Rarity’s line of sight, and her look of confusion cleared. “Oh! Um... I... I told him to only etch one diamond in... until I got to ask... It’s... it’s a promise, to... to you, if you’ll have me... I couldn’t get an engagement earring made, because I wasn’t sure...” When Rarity didn’t actually say anything, she began to look uncomfortable. “S-should I not have put it on yet? I put on Pinkie’s and... I wanted to wait, until... But Pinkie said she just knew you’d be thrilled...” Fluttershy trailed off, and after a moment, she pawed at the earring. “I’m sorry—”

Rarity put a stop to that by grappling her, toppling her over on the bed and standing over her, fascinated by the new pieces of jewelry. As Fluttershy had said, each contained but a single cutiemark design. There was one balloon on the earring on the left, and one diamond for the earring on the right. “They’re beautiful...” Rarity whispered, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. “You... you did this?”

“I...” Fluttershy began, trailing off awkwardly. She swallowed, then tried again. “I did.”

Rarity just looked down into Fluttershy’s eyes in wonder for a time. It was like falling in love all over again. She’d always had feelings for her friend, of course, but she’d assumed them to be the perfectly normal feelings of admiration and love one felt for one’s very closest friend. Feelings of attraction were likewise natural, indeed, they were Rarity’s livelihood. What was fashion but a way to draw in eyes, after all?

But love, true romantic love, she’d never expected to find that in a friend, and now she’d found it twice. She was, in all likelihood, the luckiest mare alive.

“You really like them?” Fluttershy asked, staring back up at her, similarly captivated with what she saw.

Rarity didn’t answer, instead looking around the room wildly. “Where are mine?” she asked in a voice that she hoped didn’t sound too demanding, even if that’s exactly what she was doing.

“We...we put them together, in the box on the nightstand.” Fluttershy answered, making no attempt to move from under Rarity’s pinning embrace.

The smile on Rarity’s face grew ever wider as she saw them, and stopping but a moment to kiss Fluttershy passionately on the lips, she levitated the box to her in haste, popping the top open in front of her.

Inside was the earring with Pinkie’s three balloons, and the new earring, with a single butterfly etched into the gold. She clucked her tongue in mild disappointment, even if she understood the sentiment. She’d have to have these partial etchings redone with the proper designs, but she was anxious to feel them in her ears that very moment, incomplete as one of them was.

“Was... was it okay that I put the one from you on before I asked—” Fluttershy began.

Rarity’s eyes darted back down to her, seeing the mild anxiety forming in Fluttershy’s eyes like the cloudfront of a coming storm. Her mouth quirked from its grin into something more like a smirk, and she silenced that silliness with another kiss. They both came up for air after a few moments, after which Rarity favored her lover—

No, no, no, she is your fiance, now.

—her fiance with a stern look. “Of course it was all right. I was never, ever going to say ‘no’ to that question. So don’t even think about taking it out. Do you hear?”

“Hey!” Pinkie said from behind them. “No fair! I want snugglies too!”

“Oh?” Rarity turned her head, lifting Pinkie bodily in her magic, separating the tray of muffins from her and setting it down on the nightstand before lowering her down on the bed next to Fluttershy. She then rolled off of Fluttershy onto her back between them, putting an arm around both and drawing them to her. “Do you—” Rarity kissed Fluttershy on the cheek, “—have any idea—” she kissed a happily squealing Pinkie on the nose, “—how much I needed this all day?”

“Gonna guess lots!” Pinkie replied, sitting up and leaning her head on one hoof.

“Much, much more than that.” Rarity said airily, waving a hoof through the air for emphasis. “I wanted to spend the day with you both, and had no luck at all in making that happen until now. I missed you two when I checked for you in your room, Pinkie, and I was rudely kicked out of your home,” she said, her eyes flicking to Fluttershy. “Then I assume I missed you again when I went back to Sugarcube Corner, from the way the Cakes were acting.”

“I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy said in a rush. “If I’d known, I would have gone to you sooner, but I... I mean we, we were worried about you, and... I didn’t know what was wrong. So I talked with Pinkie about it, and—”

“I didn’t tell her!” Pinkie said quickly. “Cross my heart, she was worried about you being so grumpy and we were talking about the wedding and—”

Rarity silenced Pinkie with a look followed by a hoof to her lips. She quickly leaned up to peck Pinkie on the cheek when her ears wilted back in apparent dismay. “Enough, I think I understand. Fluttershy was worried, you two compared notes, and she discovered my poorly hidden secret.”

“Ya huh!” Pinkie replied, nodding rapidly enough to make Rarity fear her head might rattle loose. “Then she totally just asked me to marry her! Like, boom, just wow! It was so neat, but I said I thought maybe you’d be upset because you asked first—”

“That would follow, since you both had your earrings in.” Rarity sat up, getting the box from where she had set it down on the bed. “Well?” She said, looking at Fluttershy, then at Pinkie. “Would you two do the honors? I feel rather left out what with you both having adornments already on.”

A moment of deft manipulation of wing and teeth found Rarity sighing happily as she looked in the mirror at the small sparkles at the base of her ears. “That’s so much better,” she exclaimed happily, lying back down on the bed between them.

After a moment, Fluttershy joined her on her left, and Pinkie on her right, both of them being cradled by one of Rarity’s forelegs in a loose embrace.

“I’m sorry.” Fluttershy muttered into Rarity’s pelt.

Her ear perking up at the sudden apology, Rarity glanced down at Fluttershy in utter incomprehension. “Whyever for?”

“I... I...” Fluttershy buried herself into the curve of Rarity’s chest, seemingly at a loss. She stayed like that for a moment or two, then raised her head again to look back at Rarity. “I could see you were unhappy, and I didn’t know why. I should have asked you why a long time ago. You could have been happy—”

“I was always happy, darling.” Rarity said, cutting off any further nonsense in that same vein. “I called off the ceremony between Pinkie and myself because I didn’t want to go through with just the two of us, when it should be three.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed from Rarity’s other side. “We’re like the three blind mice! Or... the three little pigs?” At Rarity’s scandalized look she quickly said: “The three stooges? No?” She screwed up her face in thought, then she flashed them both a great big smile. “I got it! The three amigos!”

Rarity and Fluttershy both just looked at Pinkie for a moment, then exchanged a glance with each other. A mutual decision was reached when they both giggled just a little. “Yes, well, a trio, as it were.” Rarity said after a moment.

“Hey! One more and we could make a quartet!” Pinkie interjected again. “Who do you think—”

“Three is just fine, Pinkie!” Rarity said quickly, shaking her head. “Four is right out, I’m afraid.”

“I think three is fine, too.” Fluttershy said, snuggling back into Rarity’s side. “I’m just... sorry.”

Rarity gave Fluttershy a little squeeze with her foreleg. “Now, now, no more of that. I was hoping you’d come around eventually. I just never imagined it would be today. You saved me from making up a bunch of invitations for the wrong thing, that would have cost a fortune,” she paused, reconsidering. “Well, it’s still going to cost a fortune, but it would have been twice that to do it all over again for wedding invitations versus the party invitations. No matter, you’re here now.”

"I-I'm here.” Fluttershy agreed, laying her head down on Rarity’s chest. “I don't know why you two love me, but you do... and maybe that's okay. I love you both so much it hurts to think about, and that scares the willies out of me, but... I'm here, and I love you."

“Yay! Lovey dovey pony pile!” Pinkie stretched her hooves around them both, hugging them to herself tightly. “We’re gonna have such a huge wedding, you guys! And this time, no bugs to spoil it!” Her eyes grew wide at a sudden thought. “But wait, that big fight was pretty fun... do you suppose—”

“No!” Both Fluttershy and Rarity shouted simultaneously, making Pinkie’s hair blow back and her ears clamp to her head.

There was a tense moment in which it looked as if Pinkie might just tear up, but further theatrics were disturbed by a sudden and loud grumbling from Rarity’s middle, causing her to blush a deep crimson.

“Oh yeah! I brought up food!” Pinkie said, jumping out of bed and fetching the tray in her teeth, a huge grin around the edges of the plate.

In the weeks that followed, all three of them were very busy with preparations for the big day. Rarity had simultaneously browbeaten and bribed Filigree Flourish into doing the last minute invitations (Which he had promised over and over again simply could not be done in the time remaining, to which Rarity had promised his life would have a very short time remaining if he didn’t manage it somehow). She was, of course, having to make two new wedding dresses, she had scrapped Pinkie’s tuxedo in favor of another design that would match the other two, and was altering the bridesmaid and flowergirl dresses to match the new designs of the bride’s dresses.

She had finally let go of the idea of white for any part of her dress. She wanted color, and plenty of it. White was drab, and impersonal. And so what if she’d made love to Pinkie before the wedding? There was still the honeymoon to come, and the toys Pinkie had picked out just for Rarity. Let them all know she had joy in her life now! Let them even try to judge.

Pinkie, meanwhile, had denuded wedding supply stores in three cities of their stock, and was trying very hard to convince Rarity that decorating the entire town was totally necessary and not overdoing things at all. When Rarity had begun citing that such a thing might be against city ordinances, a very nervous looking Mayor Mare had been dragged into the Boutique, bringing with her various signed permits that allowed carte blanche on whatever Pinkie had planned. Pinkie had apparently acquired the services of the entire Canterlot Philharmonic to provide music, Vinyl Scratch to handle sound and lighting, and the local construction team to build an outdoor dining area big enough to seat an entire town and several hundred guests.

Rarity eventually threw her hooves up with a smile. This was Pinkie’s wedding too, after all.

Fluttershy, for her part, seemed to be taking up the slack in the general panic department, since Rarity and Pinkie were both in high spirits.

Fluttershy was in her bridal dress, doing her level best not to sweat a drop while in it. Rarity was patiently explaining that she didn’t need to worry so much, and making slight alterations while doing so.

“I just feel like I’m going to ruin everything. I mean, maybe we should have a private ceremony for the wedding and then you and Pinkie can have the great big...” Fluttershy gulped nervously, “...giant wedding with all of those ponies looking at how beautiful you are—”

“Darling, it’s going to be fine! Twilight will be reading off the actual vows and you know how much she likes to deliver speeches. All you have to do is stand with us, look into our eyes, say ‘I do’ a couple of times and exchange kisses with us both!” Rarity took a moment to pin a particular section of fabric up for later stitching. “Really, it won’t be any harder than modeling—”

Fluttershy whimpered quietly.

“Oh! Did I stick you, sweetness?” Rarity asked in concern.

“N-no.” Fluttershy said quickly. “I-I’m fine. But... but maybe you could just say I’m sick or something? I’m... I’m not very good with large crowds—”

“Nopony is asking you to sing, darling.” Rarity replied, then gave a low, throaty, suggestive chuckle. “Not at the ceremony, at least. When we get to the hotel in Las Pegasus... Well, I expect you to hit some high notes.”

Rarity watched in amusement as Fluttershy’s right hoof pawed at the carpeting under her feet before Fluttershy hurriedly stamped it down. It was one of the more interesting foibles about her winged lover; she had a nervous twitch when she was excited.

Many pegasi swore by their wings when making love, and indeed, Fluttershy adored having hers bitten, preened, and massaged. But her hoof was her invariable first choice when it came to trying to pleasure either Pinkie or Rarity.

Truthfully, Rarity was rather envious, as Fluttershy was incredibly adept with it. Rarity herself had to rely on magic or toys to really spice things up, but goodness... One had to assume the poor mare had spent many a lonely night learning just how much pressure to apply and what angle to use. When pressed about it, Fluttershy only blushed, explaining it had a bit of a mind of its own, and refusing to elaborate.

Rarity set her tools aside, coming around to the front of Fluttershy to look her over. Her poor darling was a mess of nerves, and had her eyes so tightly shut that she hadn’t even noticed that Rarity was right in front of her.

“Right, I think that’s enough for today, let’s get that off of you,” she said at last.

Fluttershy opened her eyes in surprise, and her ears clamped to her skull in dismay. “N-no, it’s fine, you were working and I’m not helping—”

“Darling, you’re so tense you may as well be one of my ponniquins!” Rarity replied with a chuckle. “I’m not angry, I am just not happy seeing you uncomfortable,” she delicately removed the dress from Fluttershy, carefully lifting her bodily to aid in stripping it off without removing the pinned sections. “There, that’s better. Let’s have something to eat. I’ll brew some tea.”

“But—”

“The next words I would like to hear from you are what you would like in your salad.” Rarity said, giving Fluttershy a stern look. “You may follow that up with your choice for dressing.”

Fluttershy opened and closed her mouth several times, each time saying nothing but clearly wishing to say volumes and afraid to do so.

After waiting patiently for some time, Rarity finally heaved out a great sigh. “All right, darling, out with it.”

What followed was a nigh incomprehensible stream of fears and protests. Fluttershy said she was going to ruin everything, that she wasn’t worth loving, that they were too good to her and they should just hold the ceremony without her. She said all this despite knowing that Rarity had paid quadruple to have new invitations made, and had enlisted every pegasi in town to get them all delivered in time.

Eventually, she ran out of breath, and just sat at the table, gasping.

“Better?” Rarity asked with a little grin.

“No.” Fluttershy answered. She took a deep breath, finally lifting her head to meet Rarity’s gaze. “Well... maybe a little.”

“If you need to vent a little more, it’s all right, sweetness.”

“It’s... it’s okay.”

Rarity nodded, flashing Fluttershy another knowing grin. The first time this had happened, it had been devastating. Fluttershy had cried, and Rarity had cried with her, and neither had stopped until they were a sopping mess.

The second, third, and fourth times had been emotional, but not quite as cathartic.

By the fifth time, Rarity had just started smiling and nodding, as it was clear that Fluttershy was just going through the motions.

This was the tenth time, and Rarity was actively finding it amusing.

“All right. We’ll try this again. Yes, we absolutely need you there. Yes, you are so very worthy of love. We could never be too good to you, we love you to bits. No, we cannot uninvite your parents, they already RSVP’d. No, I’m afraid we can’t just run away to Las Pegasus to elope. Yes, you will be wearing a dress alongside me, that is not negotiable. Yes, I love you so very, very much. Did I miss anything?”

“No.” Fluttershy said miserably. “I’m sorry. I’m just—”

“You’re just a giant bundle of nerves and self-worth issues, and we love every last neurotic inch of you.” Rarity declared, walking over to Fluttershy and throwing her arms around her. “And I will keep telling you this until you either believe it, or until I can no longer draw the breath needed to do so.”

“Sorry.”

“Again with the apologies!” Rarity hugged Fluttershy a little tighter, kissing her cheek. “Pinkie and I knew exactly what sort of pony you were before love came into the picture. We aren’t going to spontaneously decide it’s too bothersome if you’re like that as our wife! Everything is going to be absolutely wonderful, darling. Trust me.”

“I... I want to believe that.” Fluttershy replied, closing her eyes. “I want it so much, because it will make you and Pinkie happy. But every time I think about it it all starts going wrong and you both hate me and my world just falls apart—” Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide, and she let out a little eep of surprise.

“Very well. I suppose we’ll just have to give you something else to be concerned about.” Rarity said, focusing her magic on Fluttershy’s wings.

She began with a light massage, applying pressure at the shanks, dipping her head down to preen where necessary. Between Pinkie and herself, Fluttershy rarely found her feathers out of alignment these days, but there were always a few here and there that could use some extra attention. There was also some loose down that needed removing, which Rarity tucked into a small bag for safe-keeping. When she had enough, she was going to make a pillow. Another one. They were wonderfully soft.

Fluttershy squirmed under her attention, letting out little gasps and breathing raggedly. As Rarity had hoped, the bunched-up muscles in Fluttershy’s back were loosening, and the pawing of her right hoof was becoming more pronounced. It was a greedy thing, but Rarity didn’t mind. She was sure this would take Fluttershy’s mind off of things, at least for a little while.

Somehow, Fluttershy managed to survive the weeks that followed without going completely insane. She had done this with a combination of positive thinking, the moral and mental support of her animal friends, and many, many visits both to and from her fiances who patiently listened to the litany of fears that she had come up with every morning.

Pinkie had thoughtfully made up a checklist of the repeated ones, for easier reassurance. Rarity had a ready supply of ice cream and tissues stocked at all three of their homes. And her critters had all taken turns giving her hoof and back massages, as well as taking rotations being her hug buddy when neither Rarity nor Pinkie was present.

It had been very stressful, and she was very thankful to everypony and everycritter for their help. She had made it to the wedding day, it was nearly time.

She was in a room, alone, getting ready to walk out in front of friends and family and very important ponies and declare to them all that she was planning to spend the rest of her life with her two best friends, and doing her best to not run away screaming.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love them, never that. Nor was it that she didn’t want to get married. It sounded wonderful and she couldn’t wait for it to start.

It was stupid nerves making all of her muscles lock up and tense at the same time. She was fairly certain if anypony were to lightly push her from one side she would fall over like a wooden plank.

“Nopony likes a quitter, Fluttershy!” She exclaimed out loud at the mirror in her room.

“Oh, I hope that’s not true, actually. I’ve quit quite a few things...” Fluttershy shook her head, making the veil dislodge itself somewhat. “Oh, I can’t do that! I have to be strong! It’s all going to be fine! Rarity said so, and so did Pinkie, and they’re right about things... sometimes...”

She paced back and forth, doing her very best not to sweat. Everypony would see the stains and then they would leave in disgust and Rarity would be so sad—

“It’s going to be okay. Just walk past all of them, focus on Rarity and Pinkie. Oh, and Twilight. Twilight will be telling us what to say. She’s important too. Oh, and Applejack and Rainbow, they’re the best mares. So, just my closest friends. Oh, and the Crusaders. Especially Scootaloo, she’ll have the rings. Just my friends and their little sisters, and I can ignore my parents, and Pinkie’s parents, and Rarity’s parents, and the entire town, and Rarity’s friends from the fashion community—” Fluttershy’s eyes bulged wide in sudden realization. “Did Rarity invite Photo Finish? Oh, I don’t know if I want to see her. Wait, she’ll be taking pictures—”

In the next instant, Fluttershy was collapsed on the floor, her left forehoof twitching piteously.

Her head was spinning, and in her mind she heard the cameras clicking, and saw the flashes. Behind the flashes, she saw Photo Finish, her face impassive, eyes unreadable behind the ever present sunglasses. And that voice, that voice...

“Floottershy! It is time to make... ze magics!”

Her ears wilted back, and she tried in vain to cover her face, knowing more demands were coming.

“Hey! You fell down!”

Huh?

She looked at the source of some of her worst nightmares, wondering why somepony else’s voice was coming out of her mouth.

“Shy-shy, you okay?”

That’s not her voice, she thought, her brows furrowing at the confusing spectacle of that voice coming out of that mouth. It was more... harsh, and grating. A little like somepony scraping chalk on a chalkboard.

“Oh, wunderbar! You are like a delicate flower.”

Oh dear. Yes, that’s the voice.

Fluttershy shook her head sadly, wincing as the clicking from the cameras got louder—

“Okay, upsy-daisy, Shy-shy. It’s almost time!”

Her eyes flew open in confusion, and she saw Pinkie Pie smiling down at her. At first, this concerned her, as they’d agreed to not see each other just before the wedding ceremony, (one of the few things Rarity had insisted on, and after relenting on nearly every other point of her dream of the perfect wedding, neither Pinkie nor Fluttershy had had the heart to say it was silly) but it seemed Pinkie had accounted for Rarity’s stipulation, as she was wearing a blindfold.

“Pinkie, you’re supposed to be waiting for the wedding march to start playing!”

“Well, duh. But I was worried about you, even though I told myself you can do this alone. But then I told myself that even if you can do it alone, you were probably freaking out and that’s not fun to do alone. So I figured maybe I would come see you and check if you were okay. Then I remembered I wasn’t supposed to see you so I got this blindfold out of one of my blindfold stashes and now I’m here telling you about how I was worried about you—”

“How... how were you supposed to check on me?” Fluttershy asked, her brow furrowed. “You can’t see.”

“Well... when I came in I was kinda waving my hooves around hoping I would end up finding you by touch, but when that didn’t work I kinda took a little peek?” Pinkie’s smile became a little strained at the edges. “But it was just for a second, with one eye. I think maybe bad luck might ignore that, and... I dunno? If it decides to be picky I’ll have to find a four leaf clover or something.”

“Pinkie Pie, you know very well Rarity didn’t ask that of us because she believes in bad luck.” Fluttershy chided Pinkie, putting her hooves on her hips before realizing that Pinkie wouldn’t see it anyway. “I want to thank you for being worried about me but Rarity will be sad if we don’t follow her wishes.”

“It’s fine, darlings.”

Fluttershy’s ear perked up, and she turned towards the door to see a very sheepish looking Rarity watching them both.

“I... had much the same idea.” Rarity said, fidgeting a little under both of their gazes. She could understand, as she was breaking her own rule. But in truth, she was truly glad to see them both. “Truthfully I have a bit of a case of butterflies myself. I thought perhaps I could commiserate with Fluttershy and... gain some mutual moral support, as it were. So Pinkie is to be forgiven.”

“Yay!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“However, that being said, she needs to go back to her room.” Rarity said firmly. She could forgive Pinkie, of course, but she was still clinging to what little she could of her original wedding dreams.

“Booo!” Pinkie stuck her tongue out. “I wanted to commiserate and stuff too!”

“Yes, but you can’t see either of us right now—” Rarity said as patiently as she could.

“That’s right!” Pinkie replied, gesturing to the blindfold and accidentally flicking her nose in the process, making her wince before the smile reasserted itself. “I can’t see anything!”

“But you should not be in here—”

Fluttershy just looked back and forth at her two fiances, and while Rarity was a little miffed with Pinkie, to her relief, Fluttershy seemed... almost calm. Perhaps Rarity needn’t have worried after all.

“You said I couldn’t see you two, you never said anything about not checking to make sure you were okay!” Pinkie stomped a hoof down, her face set in determination. “And it was really hard to find my way here, I fell and hit my nose four times!”

“Still—”

“Rarity—” Fluttershy said quietly.

“My nose really hurts!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Like, it’s not swelling, but it sore!”

“Pinkie—” Fluttershy tried once more.

“We’ll get you an ice pack after the ceremony. I promise. But for now—”

“Quiet!”

Pinkie and Rarity both went silent, Rarity turning to face Fluttershy, Pinkie facing the wall expectantly.

“Um...” Fluttershy’s ears went back in dismay. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so loud, but... I think maybe Pinkie wanted to be here just as much as you did, Rarity, and... probably for the same reason.”

“Which is why I forgive her for coming, but just the same, she is the groom—”

“Rarity.” Fluttershy replied with a little shake of her head. “Pinkie may be wearing a suit, but she’s my bride, and yours. It’s not right to say it’s okay for you but not for her.”

“I don’t mind being the groom!” Pinkie said to the wall. “I look really really good in a suit!”

“Yes, you do, Pinkie. But I think maybe... maybe all of us were a little nervous, and... and maybe it would be okay if we were all here, together, before we go out there with all of those other ponies.”

Though she still looked calmer than Rarity could recall seeing Fluttershy in recent memory, Rarity could still observe a barely suppressed shudder as Fluttershy talked about the crowd they were about to walk in front of.

“Would... would that be okay, Rarity?”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth several times, her expression shifting from indignant, to contrite, and finally to acceptance. Dreams be dashed, Fluttershy had a point. Also, she very much disliked the idea of excluding Pinkie from anything that involved physical comfort. She was a very soft and huggable pony.

So... for them, the dream would adapt again. It was still a very very large wedding, and all of their family were there. And it was a very silly rule standing in the way of hugging them both. “Very well. Pinkie, you may remove the blindfold so that we may all comfort each other in this stressful time.”

“Yay!” Pinkie exclaimed, taking off the blindfold with a flourish and looking at the wall in confusion for a moment before spinning around. “Okay, ladies!” Pinkie said with a huge grin. “It’s nearly go time! We have a town full of ponies out there waiting to see a wedding. Now, bring it in!”

Fluttershy and Rarity exchanged a look, shrugged, and got closer to be enfolded in Pinkie’s waiting arms, being brought into an impromptu huddle.

“Okay!” Pinkie said, looking at them both intently. “Soon, the music will start, and they’ll expect us all to march out from each of our rooms one by one. Our dads are all waiting to lead us down the aisle, and Twilight is ready to read the vows! Are we ready?”

“Um...” Fluttershy said hesitantly. “Not really?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes and smiled even larger. “I said, are we ready?!”

Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged a look.

“Um, yes?”

“Yes.” Rarity agreed, nodding firmly.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said as she burst into the room. “Have you seen—” her eyes bulged as she saw both Pinkie and Rarity embracing Fluttershy. “What are you girls doing? I thought the whole point was to keep you from seeing each other until you’re walking down the aisle!”

“Yes... well.” Rarity replied, looking flustered. “That is to say—” she looked at Fluttershy and Pinkie for help, and found support in their eyes. She turned back to Twilight, her mouth set firmly. “It’s our wedding, and we’ll decide what’s proper for it.”

“But you can’t just change the rules—”

The wedding music began, and Pinkie dropped her arms down to the floor, adopting a faux serious expression, her eyes shining with joy. “It’s show time!”

“Ack! I need to get to the podium!” Twilight exclaimed, a bit of her carefully styled mane coming loose and sticking out. Her eyes bulged, and for a moment Rarity feared she’d have to calm yet another pony. But after a long moment, Twilight closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, exhaling noisily. “Okay,” she said, looking a bit calmer. “But, no more changes, please! I already have the script memorized and I have cue cards just in case. Okay?”

“I think we can manage that.” Rarity said with a smile.

Twilight scrambled out of the room, and Rarity turned to Fluttershy and Pinkie. “Well, then. Shall we?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, they answered her grin with their own, and to Rarity’s relief, there seemed to be no worry clouding either of their expressions.

Author's Note

Here we have the penultimate chapter. It's been insanely fun writing this story. Thank you all for reading along so far, and I hope you'll join me for the final chapter.

I Really Am So Happy (For You)

“Oh... my...”

Fluttershy tried to look away. She tried so very, very hard. This wasn’t the type of pony she was! So she swiftly ducked behind a bush in front of the boutique, shielding her eyes with her hooves, and firmly decided she most assuredly wouldn’t look. She just wouldn’t!

She looked.

Through the window, she could clearly see that Rarity was still there, writhing and panting, her legs up in the air. Pinkie’s tail waved back and forth in excitement, giving Fluttershy a clear view of all the things that were making her blush so hotly.

“Oh, Celestia! Pinkie, that’s divine!”

She was definitely going to look away now; this was, after all, an intimate moment between her two best friends, and she wanted to respect their privacy. Okay, so the scene in question was happening right in the middle of Rarity’s showroom, but that didn’t mean it was okay to keep staring like this—particularly since the door was locked and everything. It was also true that the showroom was arguably the most public room of the boutique, and that choosing to make love there was basically the equivalent of making love outside, in terms of blatancy.

But that wasn’t the point! It just wasn’t right to simply stand there and stare at them like this… To be near-hypnotized by Pinkie’s happily wiggling rump, her raised tail, and all of that glistening pink... To listen to Rarity’s hushed-but-passionate cries, and all of those wet noises, which the thin panes of glass did nothing to block out…

Yet there she was.

Rarity’s head went back as her body arched in ecstasy. She lay back fully on the design table she was propped up on, a trembling hoof reaching out to lovingly pet and pull at a frizzy pink mane. Pinkie needed no such encouragement, however: her head kept bobbing between Rarity’s legs while she licked enthusiastically, causing her graceful friend to moan and whine as she neared her climax.

Fluttershy felt a hoof grinding between her legs, and a quick glance confirmed that it was, indeed, her own. Turning her attention back to the entangled couple in the boutique, she watched, transfixed, as Pinkie raised her head and began climbing up Rarity’s body. There was a surprising sensuality to the earth pony’s movements, in stark contrast to the normally quite frantic pace she kept. And a surprisingly predatory and distinctly naughty note to her usual, cloudcuckoolanderish smile.

Pinkie was kissing Rarity now, her mouth still soiled with her marefriend’s own juices, while simultaneously and wantonly snaking a hoof down between those wide-spread white legs.

Fluttershy shuddered and gasped quietly, her heated breath swiftly starting to fog up the window. She could scarcely believe what she was seeing; it was simultaneously the most shocking and the most erotic thing she had witnessed in her entire (reasonably sheltered) life.

B-but that’s so... so dirty! How does Rarity stand it?

She shook as another little wave of pleasure rocked her. Fluttershy closed her eyes at the blissful sound of Rarity’s moan, and in that instant she was there, transported into Rarity’s place, sharing that lewd kiss with Pinkie Pie. Somewhere, outside of her fantasy world, she could feel her own hoof pressing in hard and rubbing furiously, trying to ease her mounting need.

Slowly she worked herself, letting out a slightly louder gasp when her hoof hit the sensitive bump at the bottom of her opening. Her eyes snapped open then, and she quickly glanced back to make doubly sure nopony was heading her way.

She was going to leave now. She was going to go home and take a long bath and think about what she’d just been doing—think about it thoroughly...

In her defense, she had been invited to be here. Not for this, of course... But she had been expected over for tea. The door had been firmly locked, and she’d been just about to leave when she’d heard a scream. Naturally, this had required her to check the window. She was just being a good, concerned friend! But what she’d seen inside had left her glued to the spot, idly watching her two friends make love.

Well, okay, she hadn’t been entirely idle… She just couldn’t help herself!

She closed her eyes again: Pinkie was there, smiling even as her hoof teased Fluttershy’s folds. A warm tongue found the sensitive edge of an ear folded back in delight, tracing a trail of rapidly-cooling saliva. The pink hoof that had replaced her own rotated slowly, using the deliciously smooth edge to part her, to expose her, smearing out her slick excitement and pressing deeper into her needy slit and—

That image, produced by her own fertile imagination, pushed Fluttershy over the edge. A quiet moan escaped her lips, which immediately made her eyes fly open in fear. She clapped a forehoof to her muzzle, the other being still occupied, her already-racing heart now pounding inside her chest. But it turned out there was no cause for alarm: If the couple inside had heard her they gave no sign; they were far too busy snuggling on top of the table.

So Fluttershy stood there in front of the window a little while longer, gasping and panting. Her legs felt weak, her whole body was shaking…

Yes, she was going to go home now—go home and finally take that much-needed, extremely long bath.

Scrambling out from behind the bush, she took flight more quickly than she ever had. A yellow and pink contrail followed her as she made a beeline for home. She narrowly avoided running into several members of the weather team, who were gathering clouds for tonight’s rainfall. And all the while her mind was screaming at her that everypony within miles would be able to see—not to mention smell—her arousal.

She threw open her door, galloped up the stairs, and fumbled with the water tap.

A hot bath, that’s all I need. It will be okay. I just need to stop thinking about it.

Easier said than done: That skillful hoof was back, the flat of it pressing firmly against her still-sensitive folds.

No! Stop thinking about that. They’re getting married! You can’t think about Pinkie like.... like...

She came again, hard, snapping her eyes shut. She was there, in the boutique, kissing Pinkie, the pink hoof making endless slippery circles—and she was cumming so hard!

Oh, Pinkie, oh! Yes!

Fluttershy sagged back, sighing deeply and staring at the ceiling, her foreleg finally going slack whilst the hot water washed away her shame.

What am I going to do?

“Good morning, darling!”

Fluttershy smiled at the sight of both Rarity and Pinkie waiting for her at the entrance to the spa.

“Good morning, Rarity.”

“Morning, ‘Shy!”

“G-good morning, Pinkie,” she stammered out, trying to steady herself. She looked back to Rarity, hoping her suspicious little slip-up had gone unnoticed. “How are you?”

“Oh, I simply could not be better, darling,” Rarity replied, beaming happily. “I was having a bit of a slump yesterday, ‘stuck in a rut’, so to speak. Pinkie came by to help me relax. She’s just so considerate!”

I know. I saw. Oh goodness, I saw every second of it...

“That’s, um, n-nice. I’m really, really sorry I missed tea with you yesterday. I did stop by, but the door was locked.”

Was it her imagination, or did Rarity’s shoulders hunch up a smidgen just now?

“I-I thought about maybe checking the window...”

No doubt about it, Rarity seemed distressed.

“ButI decided you must be out, otherwise you wouldn’t have locked your door. I mean, why else would it be locked?”

At this, Rarity relaxed at last. She must have been worried that she’d been caught in the act. She had been, of course, but there was no need to worry her over it. Fluttershy being traumatized was bad enough.

“So I flew back home...”

Eventually. I went home and lay back in the bath and I did things to myself wishing I was you. I’m sorry I’m such a bad friend... Please don’t hate me.

“So, um, should we go in?”

“Yeppers!” Pinkie chimed in. ”You two go ahead. I have to go give poor Mr. Cake a break.” She paused in realization. ”Hey! That rhymes!” Still giggling happily, she nuzzled Rarity, adding a fairly innocuous kiss for good measure. She wrapped Fluttershy up in a big hug before turning towards the bakery and bouncing off down the road.

Fluttershy watched that pert pink rump bounce and sway, remembering how it had wiggled in excitement while pleasuring Rarity. Her wings rose stiffly at her sides and she had to force them back down, a light blush gracing her cheeks.

“Goodness!”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up, swiveling over the general direction of Rarity while her eyes remained glued to the aforementioned bouncy behind.

“Darling, I’m terribly sorry if Pinkie startled you. She’s been very affectionate of late. Do try to calm down, your wings are all akimbo!”

Fluttershy felt Rarity’s hooves running over her wings, making her squeak. But even that was not enough to distract her from the pink tail trailing away into the distance.

“Oh, and I can tell you are long overdue for a preening. I’ll be sure to mention it to Aloe, so she can modify our schedule accordingly.” The fussy mare absentmindedly tried to smooth out a misaligned feather, before thinking better of it. ”Well, let’s go in, shall we?”

Fluttershy tore her eyes away from Pinkie and nodded hurriedly. “That—” She paused, trying to get the quaver out of her voice “—would be very nice. Thank you.”

“Darling?” Rarity looked at her feathered friend with a frown. ”Is everything all right?”

No, it’s not. I can’t stop thinking about Pinkie.

“Oh, I’m absolutely fine. I’m very sorry to worry you.”

“It’s just that you seem a bit distracted this morning. Are you well?”

Fluttershy tried her best to straighten her posture, giving Rarity a wan semi-grin. “I’ve had a long morning, Angel wasn’t behaving and I had to help Harry with another back problem. I’m okay though, just really looking forward to the spa.”

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear. I really am dreadfully sorry I was too busy to entertain, yesterday...”

Oh, you did just fine, Rarity, Fluttershy thought, lurid images of her friend in a fit of ecstatic bliss running through her mind once more. “It’s okay. I found a way to entertain myself.”

“Well, that’s a relief! I felt horrid when I remembered you were supposed to come by! I was worried I was being a bad friend...”

“Oh no, you’re not a bad friend at all!”

The mud was pleasantly cool on her fur. It helped her relax, and took her mind off of things.

Pink things.

Pink, giggly, bouncy things.

“So, what was Angel doing, darling?”

The question shook Fluttershy out of her reverie. “He’s making trouble with my other animal friends,” she replied, grateful for the distraction. ”He and the squirrels are fighting over territorial rights. I keep telling him he’ll never win—they have the high ground.” She wasn’t really thinking about anything in particular, but it still felt good to talk about Angel right now; it was a very safe subject. “Um, how’s Opal doing?”

“Still quite cross with me for having to shave her, I’m afraid. Though it really was her fault; she tipped one of my candles over and got wax all over her back.”

“Oh my goodness!”

At Fluttershy’s outburst Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. “She has thick fur, the wax didn’t hurt her. It just surprised her and made her yowl as she fled. Very nearly ruined the mood as well, the selfish thing. I don’t interrupt any of her rendezvous...”

Rarity sniffed haughtily. “Still, she’ll no doubt come to forgive me in time. And at least she’s learned to stay out of the bedroom whenever Pinkie is visiting.” She paused, blushing furiously all of a sudden. “Now if I could only teach dear Sweetie Belle the same lesson... Heavens, do you have any idea how awkward that was?”

Oh, I can imagine.

“Was she okay? I mean... With seeing you two...”

Because I’m not okay. I’m definitely not okay.

“Oh, she was fine; she thought we were wrestling, the silly thing. Wanted to ask her friends to try it too, the next day. I shooed her out of the room and had a long-overdue talk with her. I cannot believe my mother! After what I went through, she still managed to make the same mistake with Sweetie.”

Fluttershy was having trouble keeping track of where this conversation was going, and finally had to ask: “Um, if you don’t mind me asking… What exactly did your mom do?”

Rarity sighed heavily. “It’s not what she did; it’s what she neglected to do. It’s not terribly important, darling... At least now I can rest assured knowing that Sweetie Belle won’t ever have to go through what I did. That’s all that matters.”

“Oh, o-okay.”

Neither mare spoke for some time. They were both simply focusing on the soothing feeling of the cool mud supporting their bodies, and breathing in the light scent of lavender that was being pumped through the vents of the spa to help everypony relax.

Fluttershy’s mind, of course, kept drifting back to images she tried furiously to suppress, but eventually she soon found herself reveling in them, albeit not without experiencing a crippling sense of shame.

“Have you given any more thought to the question I asked you last week?”

Rarity’s voice broke the silence at last, her out-of-the-blue question an unwelcome disruption of Fluttershy’s feverish fantasies.

“I’m really sorry,” Fluttershy said, fruitlessly averting her cucumber-covered eyes whilst fidgeting frantically with her forehooves beneath the surface of the mud. ”I seem to have, um, sort of, forgotten what you asked, exactly.”

Rarity sniffed quietly—which told Fluttershy she was slightly upset, but not terribly so. “That’s all right. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if we were to try going on a few double dates with a selection of nice mares I happen to know. Perhaps we could find you somepony to be happy with?”

This again?

“But, um, Rarity? I already told you before, I’m just not... I just don’t want to date just anypony. I’m probably better off alone, anyway...”

Unless you might consider unblocking the mirror pool and lending me your marefriend for a moment.

“Thank you for worrying about me, though.”

“Are you quite sure? There are many, many mares out there, many of whom must be every bit as impulsive and loving as Dash was. Surely we can find you just one!”

I know there’s one. You’re dating her.

“Rarity, please, just...just stop. I know you mean well, and you’re a great friend, but I don’t want to hear about this anymore, if that’s okay with you.”

“Dreadfully sorry, Fluttershy, but I simply refuse to let my best friend spend the rest of her life alone!”

“You don’t have to worry. Honest! All I really need is my friends and all of my little animal friends.”

And myhoof. Definitelygoing to need that.

“I’m very happy. Really, I am.”

“I’m sure you are, darling,” Rarity said placatingly, although a perfectly-plucked eyebrow remained skeptically raised. ”But you just don’t seem as happy as I’d like you to be! I’m sure Rainbow feels the same way. I think she will probably always love you, after all.”

I don’t think Rainbow would like me very much if she knew I wanted to be with somepony who’s already taken.

“I would really prefer not to talk about Dash, either. Sorry...”

Rarity raised one of the cucumber slices to look her in the eyes—or one of them, at least. “Ah, yes, so you’ve said. But I cannot understand why! You said things were over long before you even left Cloudsdale, and yet you always seem so sad whenever you see her interacting with Applejack. Why won’t you talk about her? And why can’t I help you find somepony new?” Rarity narrowed her eyes, shrewdly regarding her timid, generally non-talkative friend. ”Do you already have your eye on somepony? I could help, you know...”

Fluttershy started at the question, and hastily shook her head. “No! No, n-nothing like that!”

Rarity raised the second cucumber, a small smile growing on her lips. “Well now, that was admittedly a complete shot in the dark, but I suppose that’s it, isn’t it?” She giggled gleefully, suddenly bursting with curiosity. ”Oh, I simply must know every juicy little detail, now! Tell me, is it somepony I know?”

“No! It’s, um—” Fluttershy frantically tried to think of a way to steer the conversation away from this disastrously touchy and uncomfortable subject, but was drawing a complete blank. She knew Rarity was pretty much unstoppable once she detected a new bit of gossip-in-the-rough; that she would keep on prying, keep on digging, until she had uncovered at least a shiny grain of the truth.

Rarity let out a short tinkling laugh. “You, darling, truly are a horrible liar. Let us see now... is it Twilight?” She paused, idly toying with a loose strand of the seaweed enwrapping her as she considered carefully. “Wait, no, it couldn’t be... Pinkie said Twilight was already with somepony, and although she stubbornly refused to tell me who, she did mention that she wasn’t aware of you being with anypony... So that means Twilight is out.” She gasped melodramatically. “Unless you do have a crush on her, and you won’t do anything because she’s already with somepony!”

Fluttershy winced; Rarity was getting far too close to the truth. “Rarity, please stop?” she requested in a tiny, high-pitched voice, sinking deeper into the mud until all but her head was completely submerged.

“Oh my, a love triangle!” Rarity giddily enthused. ”How terribly exciting!” Her bright smile quickly faded away, however, as she considered the implications further. “But how positively horrible it must be for you, my poor darling!”

In desperation, Fluttershy turned away from her friend completely. “Stop, Rarity! Just… leave it alone. It’s not important. I’m not important...”

“Oh, but you are! That’s why I want to see you happy!”

Rarity would have pursued the matter further, but Lotus chose that precise moment to pop her head in and interrupt them.

“Ladies? It is time for your massage. Miss Fluttershy, Aloe will be preening you in room fourteen.”

“Bother!” Rarity pouted. ”Well, I’ll rejoin you shortly, darling.”

She tiptoed over to a very flustered Fluttershy just after they had both exited the tub though, her voice dropping down to a conspiratorial whisper: “I just wanted to mention... Since you do seem a bit, well, frustrated, shall we say?”

Fluttershy’s telltale blush and persistent case of wing-rigidity made denying that bit of conjecture seem rather pointless, so the pent-up pegasus opted for some strategic silence and floor-studying instead.

”Not that I would ever dream of prying into your personal life, mind you—perish the thought!” Rarity continued, before leaning in a little bit closer still. ”But, well, if you are indeed in desperate need of a little, erm, ‘stress relief,’ do be sure to inquire about the ‘lower body massage.’ You shan’t regret it, I can assure you...”

“And how are you this morning, Miss Fluttershy?” Aloe asked as she looked over the former’s wings with an appraising eye.

“I’m—” Fluttershy sighed softly in mid-sentence, completely belying the word that followed “—fine.”

Aloe, naturally, wasn’t buying any of it.

“Is something wrong? Your primaries are misaligned... It seems very unlike you.” She leaned forward and gently bit down on one of the offending feathers, straightening it into its proper position, eliciting a shiver from Fluttershy in the process. She then pulled out a loose covert, spitting in into a small tray next to the massage table. “Have you been doing more flying of late?”

Not really, other than bolting home after watching my friends make love. “Not r-really, Aloe.”

“Regardless, you really must take better care of yourself!” the spa pony muttered with a disapproving clack of her tongue. ”You have gorgeous wings; it’s a shame to see them in such a ruffled state.”

Fluttershy’s wing extended fully and she stifled a moan when a skilled hoof pressed into just the right spot.

Undeterred, Aloe tugged at one of Fluttershy’s secondary coverts, kneading another muscle-grouping which made the latter pony shudder and bite her lip. Try as she might, however, Fluttershy could not quite suppress a squeak in response.

“My apologies,” Aloe said, ”I fear my techniques are not quite up to professional standards.”

“They aren’t?”

“Well, we haven’t had any complaints so far, but while Lotus was professionally trained I actually learned everything I know from—” Aloe paused, her hooves shifting uncertainly—“a past lover, to be perfectly honest. I’m afraid it tends to make my preening a little more, erm, intimate.” Her hooves left Fluttershy’s wings, making them ache again through the simple absence of pressure. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I could go and fetch my sister?”

Fluttershy was, in fact, more than merely a bit ruffled. She tried to tell herself that the fact that the hooves caressing her wings were pink had nothing to do with anything, but she couldn’t even fool herself at the moment. Still, she tried not to sound too eager, and to keep her frustration in check.

“Oh no, um, it’s actually quite... nice.” She smiled softly and encouragingly, albeit in a slightly strained manner, her right wing giving an imperceptible little twitch of impatience. ”Could you keep going? Please?”

“As you wish, miss Fluttershy,” came the obsequious reply.

Fluttershy closed her eyes, reveling in the care and attention she was receiving. If this was the way Aloe preened all of her clients, it was no wonder that nopony had complained!

The pampered mare’s mind drifted idly, wondering what it would be like if somepony else were here, doing all of these wonderful things to her. She could almost hear the cheery voice from behind her...

“How does that feel, ‘Shy?” Pinkie asked enthusiastically.

“It feels wonderful, thank you!”

“I’m pleased to be of service, miss,” Aloe replied.

Fluttershy opened her eyes. Hadn’t Pinkie been here a moment ago? She shook her head, the contents of which felt muddled and more than a little confused. Maybe she just needed to relax a bit more... What had Rarity told her to ask for again?

“Um, Aloe?”

The preening didn’t stop, but did slow ever so slightly, which allowed Fluttershy to at least think a bit more clearly, her brain temporarily freed from that maddening haze of constant pleasure.

“Hmm?”

“Rarity suggested I inquire about something called a ‘lower body massage...’ So, um, could we maybe try that?”

The teeth readjusting one of her secondaries paused momentarily. Then the feather was turned gently and smoothed back into place with a gentle hoof.

“Of course, Fluttershy.” Aloe seemed surprised by her own words; the fact that her hoof missed its mark and drove itself (rather painfully) into a flight muscle attested to that. “My apologies. Is it okay if I call you ‘Fluttershy?’”

Fluttershy nodded mutely.

Aloe smiled in relief. “I admit I never expected you to ask, but... It would be my pleasure.”

Pleasure? Why would she say—

Fluttershy gasped as Aloe pressed deep into the shank of her wing and nipped at a sensitive spot in her neck. She hadn’t even realized that there were muscles bothering her besides the ones in her wings.

“S-sorry,” she squeaked, hoping that Aloe wouldn’t stop now.

Those fears soon seemed to become a reality when Aloe’s hooves disappeared from her back. She wanted to look over her shoulder and beg the spa attendant not to leave her like this. But before she could say anything something cold and oily was poured onto her back. That wonderful pair of pink hooves proceeded to carefully spread the stuff all over, giving her a tingling feeling.

Fluttershy finally loosened up a little when Aloe got started with what appeared to be nothing but a slightly more sensual massage. The earth pony worked along her back and neck and occasionally blew softly into her ears, which was both a little strange as well as a little arousing. The combination had its intended effect: Fluttershy ended up feeling wonderfully relaxed in no time at all.

All of that changed after Aloe had been working on her neck and back for a reasonable while, however. The hoof was back. Fluttershy became very embarrassed; surely she wasn’t touching herself in front of Aloe? Had she gone insane?! She looked down at the hooves pressed to her muzzle. One... and two. So then… Where was that other one coming from?

“Aloe?!”

“Do you wish me to stop?” came the calm reply.

Fluttershy considered for a long moment. The hoof remained in place, resting lightly on her, doing nothing but providing an enjoyable bit of pressure. Was she going to allow this? Was Aloe truly okay with this? She did say she would enjoy it... Fluttershy covered her eyes with her hooves.

“Eep. N-no...”

“Then relax, Fluttershy. Let me help you. Nopony has ever complained about this treatment either,” Aloe said, leaning over her and nuzzling her charge’s mane.

Fluttershy could hear the smile in her voice as the hoof began to gently caress her... down there. Simultaneously, she felt Aloe’s teeth grasp at her wing—this time not merely to adjust some feathers, but to uncannily locate, nuzzle and nip at spots that unfailingly made Fluttershy gasp and whine.

She kept her eyes covered, entirely focused on what was being done to her. It was so strange, having this done by another pony. And Aloe’s touch was so different from Dash’s: Much more tender, but sadly not as passionate. Which wasn’t to say it didn’t feel incredibly wonderful.

The panting and bewildered mare wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like if Pinkie were touching her instead. Would she be kind of rough, or exceedingly gentle? The way Rarity kept gushing about her, she expected it would be wonderful either way.

“Hey ‘Shy! Do you like this? Wow, that’s some face you’re making! Did you just squeak? Oh my gosh, that’s soooo cute! You’re just like my rubber ducky!”

Fluttershy’s heart was racing again. She knew it wasn’t actually Pinkie who was touching her, but her breath quickened nonetheless, and every little touch was enough to set her aflame. She chewed her lower lip again—her go-to method for suppressing unwanted squeals.

This was wrong. So very, very wrong...

“Shhh, relax, leave everything to me,” Aloe cooed as she caressed Fluttershy’s inner thighs, gradually working her way back to the center of the universe.

The pace of the hoof soon quickened, and Fluttershy felt teeth gently nibbling her ear. Hot breaths whispered softly to her: “There is no shame here. You are a very special pony, Fluttershy, and you will make somepony very happy one day. But until then, any time you need to relax, you need only ask.”

The heat between her legs grew, becoming a raging fire of intensity. She let her hooves fall from her eyes and used them to grip the table as hard as she could. She squealed quietly, helplessly, and Aloe redoubled her efforts in response.

Fluttershy felt the hoof slip inside, until it was pressed up against her most sensitive bud. She didn’t last long under such direct stimulation of her clitoris, and her world exploded.

When she finally came to, a warm sponge was gently cleaning her legs and thighs. At the first signs of movement the sponge bath stopped and a smiling Aloe appeared in her field of vision.

“I hope you enjoyed that. I feared I might have gotten a little carried away...”

“It...It was wonderful. Thank you.”

“You are too kind. It was my pleasure.”

After she had finished cleaning Fluttershy up, Aloe took her to rejoin Rarity in the steam room. The pegasus sat down heavily on the bench, staring at the floor.

“Darling?”

“Yes?”

“Are you all right?”

No...

“Oh yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“How was it?” Rarity pressed, blushing furiously. “When she told me about... Well, what they do, I have to admit I was a little shocked, but I also had to think of you. I know you aren’t, erm, looking for love right now—”

No, not ‘looking.’ Found. I just can’t have her.

“—but that doesn’t mean you can’t let yourself be pampered every now and again.”

“Can we please not talk about it?”

“Right! Well, we could always talk about this crush of yours—”

“It... was nice!” she said quickly, trying to derail that line of thought before it could build up steam again. “I, uh... Aloe, she was so, so...” Fluttershy struggled with the words. It had felt special, intimate... Like Aloe had just wanted her to be happy, just like Pinkie.

“So…?” Rarity supplied, hanging on Fluttershy’s every word.

“...nice,” Fluttershy finished lamely.

She honestly didn’t know what to think. Was she supposed to ask Aloe out, now? Wasn’t that usually supposed to come before... what they did?

Actually, maybe that would work... Maybe it would help her get over this thing with Pinkie. But would that be fair to Aloe?

“So, what are you going to do about her?”

Fluttershy stiffened in alarm. “A-about who?”

“Twilight, of course! You have to at least tell her. Imagine if that just slipped out one day because you kept obsessing over it?”

“It won’t,” Fluttershy said, as resolutely as she could possibly manage. It can’t. Never! Youwould hate me!

“I could tell her for you, if you like,” Rarity suggested. ”It would do the two of you good to have it out in the open.”

Fluttershy’s head snapped to face her. “You can’t! You mustn’t!”

“Oh, but I think I should,” Rarity said quite seriously. ”It isn’t healthy to leave secrets of this nature hanging about. Remember how it was with us? You, soldiering on for my sake, doing something you hated, whilst I secretly hated you for doing it?” She shook her head solemnly. “I really don’t think you should let this fester.”

Fluttershy shook her head violently. “No! You have to promise me! Pinkie Promise me you will never, ever tell her that!”

Rarity inched away from her friend in surprise. “I will do no such thing! As your friend—”

“As my friend, you can’t do such a thing! I”—Fluttershy thought quickly—“I need to tell her myself! Promise me you won’t speak a word of this until I have a chance to do so!”

The two mares locked gazes. Rarity’s expression was willful and determined, whereas Fluttershy’s face was pleading, but clearly quite determined as well.

After a few tense moments, Rarity finally relented. “Fine... On one condition: You exchange promises with me. I shall refrain from telling your crush about how you feel, provided that you tell her yourself!”

“I… I...” Fluttershy sputtered. She couldn’t agree to that ultimatum! Taken literally, Rarity wasn’t asking her to tell Twilight, she was demanding that she told her crush.

“Well?”

Fluttershy thought frantically. If she agreed, she’d be honor-bound to come clean with Pinkie. And of course Pinkie would know if she should dare to break that promise—somehow, the enigmatic pink mare always knew. But if she chose not to agree to Rarity’s terms here and now, Rarity would promptly tell Twilight, which would be worse, because then Fluttershy would have to confess that it wasn’t Twilight at all, which meant Rarity would keep digging to find out, which meant—

Her head was beginning to throb painfully; she wasn’t used to all of this complex intrigue. Why did romance have to be so difficult, so confrontational? Why couldn’t they all just leave her to sulk in peace, nursing a broken heart in the company of her animal friends (and occasionally her hoof)?

In the end, though, if she had to make a choice, she supposed it all boiled down to whether she would allow Pinkie Pie to find out about her true feelings, or Rarity. Phrasing the dilemma like that… Well, at least Pinkie could be sworn to secrecy. Not to mention, she would be far less likely to faint.

“C-cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she said finally, on the verge of tears. “But you have to promise me, not a word to Twilight. Also, um, I’ll need some time.”

Rarity, too, made the appropriate motions, smiling happily. “There, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?” she said. And then, upon seeing Fluttershy’s dubious expression: ”I’m sorry, darling, but sometimes you just have to ‘go for it’, as it were.”

Fluttershy nodded quietly. “I suppose you’re right. She does need to know...”

Please forgive me, Pinkie.

After exiting the spa, Fluttershy walked towards her doom with a heavy gait, accompanied by an oblivious Rarity. The location of said doom smelled of cinnamon and chocolate this morning. She supposed she might as well stop and pick up something nice to eat, and only then completely ruin her life. No sense doing so on an empty stomach.

“Darling, where are you going?”

“Um...” Fluttershy froze, unable to move or speak, realizing, in that instant, that the very direction she was heading in was giving her away.

Rarity walked up beside her, pointing to the library. “No detours, young lady! You march right on over there and tell the unwitting object of your affection what’s what. Do you hear me?”

“But...”

“Need I remind you that my own promise hinges entirely on yours? Believe me, Pinkie and I have had long conversations about the ins and outs of these things; I am confident I would be quite in the clear with her should you chose not keep yours. I would have no compunctions about acting on your behalf, in that case. It would be for your own good!” Rarity stomped a hoof down for emphasis. “Now... You. Her. Talk.”

Fluttershy once more opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it again, resigning to her fate. Perhaps going to the library first would be okay... Maybe she could find a book on how to break the news to one of your best friends that you find them attractive. Maybe there would be an extremely helpful cross section on what to do when they were already dating one of your other friends. And maybe, if she looked really hard, she could find one containing a powerful memory-wiping spell, and subsequently get Twilight to use it on Rarity!

It was good to have dreams. Dreams were nice.

“Equestria to Fluttershy. Come in, Fluttershy!” Spike said, bonking lightly her on the forehead.

Fluttershy rubbed her forehead with a hoof, looking down at her attacker and grinning sheepishly. “Um... Hi, Spike.”

“Hi! You okay now? You just about smacked into the door. Good thing I was just taking out the trash!” Spike dumped the bag he was carrying into a dust bin just to the side of the entrance. “Did you need a book, or something?”

“Um, no. I’m supposed to talk to Twilight—only it’s not really her I need to talk to. But I couldn’t tell Rarity that.”

She shook off the feelings of unease as best as she could. This was going to be turn out fine! She simply needed to tell her best friend’s fiance that she had a crush on her, swear her to secrecy, then spend the rest of her days as a hermit in her cottage. Well, maybe she could go shopping for food sometimes. That would be okay, right?

“Oh, well, uh…” Spike blinked a few times, trying to make sense of all of that and mostly failing. ”So, wait, do you want to talk to Twilight or not?”

“I... think I should? Otherwise Rarity will know I didn’t talk to her, since then Twilight wouldn’t know what she was talking about when she comes and asks about it later.” She frowned, somewhat irritated. “And she will ask. She’ll want to check if I kept my promise...”

“Riiiight...” Spike said, shaking his head. “Well, she’s upstairs reading some ancient thingamajiggy. Keeps babbling on and on about how confusing the wording in old law textbooks is. I dunno.”

Spike lead Fluttershy into the library, before promptly plopping back down into his bean bag chair and picking up his comic book.

“Twilight!” He called upstairs. “Fluttershy is here to see you!”

“Did you take out the—”

“Yeah yeah, I took out the trash. Sheesh.” He waited for a moment, clearly expecting a reply about her friend being here to see her. ”Twilight?”

“Oh, and Spike? Don’t forget to take out the trash!”

“Um, okay, no problem! Did you want me to send Fluttershy up to see you? Or should I take her out, too?”

There was a pause.

“Fluttershy is here?”

“Yes! I just said—You know what? Never mind.” Spike slapped a clawed hand up to his face in embarrassment, before turning to Fluttershy once more. “As you can probably tell, she’s not really all there this morning. But go ahead.”

Fluttershy climbed up the stairs slowly, hearing the sound of shuffling papers and the rustle of books being rifled through.

“Twilight?” She asked as she opened the door to her friend’s room.

“Huh?” Came the response. A disheveled-looking head poked up from a law book. “Oh! Hey Fluttershy, when did you get here?” She glanced at the calendar, and Fluttershy could see her eyes shrink to pinpricks. “Spike!”

“What is it, Twilight?” an audibly exasperated assistant responded from downstairs.

“Did you remember—”

Fluttershy could swear she could hear the gritting of teeth all the way from downstairs.

“Yes. Yes, Twilight, I already took it out.” There was a long, calming exhale, and then: ”Look, uh, maybe you should take a break for a bit? I think we could all use a break...”

Twilight shook her head at nopony in particular. “But I think I might have found the answer! I’m so close I can taste it; I can’t just—”

“Have some lunch, at least,” Spike suggested hopefully. ”I made sandwiches hours ago.”

Twilight considered the proposition for a moment, a loud gurgle erupting from her stomach.

“Right... Lunch.” She frowned. “Wait, what happened to breakfast?”

“I just chucked it in the trash,” Spike replied matter-of-factly, ”and if you wait much longer, lunch will be joining it.” A long-suffering sigh was heard from the dragon. ”Please take a break?”

Twilight sighed, taking one last look at the book before placing a bookmark and closing it. “Okay, fine.” Then she turned from the collection of tomes in front of her, starting when she (re-)noticed her guest. “Oh! Sorry. I, um...” She grinned sheepishly. “Care to have lunch with me, maybe?”

Fluttershy nodded, helping Twilight up from her chair. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you,” she said as they walked downstairs. “I just needed to talk to you about something.”

Twilight pulled open the icebox, fetching the daisy sandwiches and floating a bag of Hays chips out of the cupboard. “Okay, no problem. What did you need to talk about?”

“Well, you see, I was talking to Rarity at the spa...”

“You have a crush on me?!”

Fluttershy shook her head furiously. “No! No, of course it’s not you! I just said it was you so that Rarity wouldn’t know that it actually wasn’t you at all! I mean, um... Sorry?”

Twilight opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. When she spoke again, her voice was unnaturally high. “It’s because I’m not good enough, isn’t it? That’s why she doesn’t—”

Fluttershy watched in alarm as the expression on Twilight’s face crumbled into a miserable mess.

“Twilight! That’s not it at all! There isn’t anything wrong with you. You’re a very nice pony and I would be glad if it was you! I’m sorry...”

The next several moments were spent comforting a hysterical Twilight, constantly reassuring her that anypony would be very lucky to have her, even if that pony didn’t happen to be Fluttershy.

Even Spike poked his head in at one point, frowning deeply. Fluttershy wordlessly assured him things were in hoof, and he left with a worried look.

After calming down enough to accept a mug of hot tea, Twilight raised her bleary, tear-stained eyes to Fluttershy. “S-sorry. I’ve just... I’ve had some things on my mind lately.”

Fluttershy slid a sandwich in front of Twilight, also setting one in front of herself. “Eat first. Then I’d like to hear what is bothering you, if that’s okay.”

Strangely enough, Fluttershy herself felt better. Well, she felt horrible for Twilight, of course, but Twilight needed somepony to talk to. And listening to a friend was a lot easier than having to deal with her own problems.

Twilight took a big bite of the sandwich, then brought the Hays bag closer so she could dig into that as well. Pausing between bites, she opened the icebox with her magic and levitated two bottles of water over to them. She drank half of her own in a single gulp.

“I’m... I’m okay. I’ve just been thinking. A lot.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “First the gala, and then Ponyville with that stupid doll. Then Shiny marries my foalsitter, and now Rarity is marrying Pinkie...” Twilight stopped herself, realizing her disjointed thoughts probably weren’t making much sense to anypony other than herself. ”Sorry.”

Fluttershy ventured a guess: “You’ve been thinking about... your special somepony?”

Twilight nodded distractedly, then choked on a piece of her sandwich. She coughed violently and waved both forelegs whilst shaking her head. “No! Not that I have a special somepony! Or that I even have a crush on somepony! It’s just that...” She sighed and hung her head. “Forget I said anything.”

Fluttershy nudged her own bottle of water over to Twilight, who took it and drank gratefully.

“Um... you don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to. But, um, I’ll listen? If you need somepony to talk to, that is.”

Twilight held a napkin up to her nose, blowing loudly. “Thanks, but I don’t think it would help. There are laws, you see, and I don’t even know how she feels, and I just... I don’t know what to do.” She laid her head down on the table, ears plastered against her skull, looking up piteously. “So, uh… If not me, who do you like? And why can’t Rarity know about it? I would’ve thought Rarity would be the first pony you’d run to for something like this.” Twilight picked up another napkin and used it to wipe her eyes. “I’m not really the best pony to ask for romantic advice, in case you couldn’t already tell.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened with fear; having this conversation unexpectedly shift back to her own predicament wasn’t something she thought she could deal with right now. “That’s... She just can’t know!” She felt herself beginning to breathe heavily and tried to calm down. “I can’t ask her, Twilight. If she knew who I really liked she’d probably never talk to me again.” She pushed the sandwich away, getting ready to stand up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to burden you with my problems. I just wanted to let you know what Rarity thought, because she expects me to tell you... Even if it isn’t you.”

“Wait!” Twilight scrambled to her hooves, blocking Fluttershy’s exit. “What the heck am I supposed to tell Rarity?”

Fluttershy pursed her lips, worrying about what Rarity would do if she figured out Fluttershy hadn’t kept her promise. “Just... tell her I told you I liked you, but that you already like somepony else?”

“You want me to lie to her?” Twilight asked, concerned by the prospect. “I don’t know... you know how Rarity is; she can smell gossip from miles away. Can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

Looking down at the table, Fluttershy shook her head. “It… It’s too much. I didn’t want to tell anypony, but Rarity made me promise and I—”

“This is so stupid!” Twilight blurted out angrily. “We’re friends, we should be able to talk about these things. Just... Okay, listen. On the count of three, we each say the name. Can you do that?”

Fluttershy didn’t answer at first, too afraid to even consider what Twilight was suggesting. Instead, she tried her best not to think. “O-o-okay.”

“One,” Twilight counted.

Fluttershy cringed. She was going to have to say it.

“Two.”

“Three.”

Fluttershy’s eyes snapped shut.

“Celestia,” Twilight said quickly.

Don’t think don’t think don’t think.

“P-pinkie Pie.”

They both looked up in surprise, mirrored expressions of absolute shock gradually turning to understanding.

Fluttershy was the first to look away, bursting into tears.

She had no idea how long she remained there, crying her eyes out after admitting to such a horrible betrayal of her friends’ trust. After what must have been an eternity, she felt forelegs wrapping her up in a tender embrace.

“Shhh. It’s okay, Fluttershy.”

“No, it’s not okay! I never wanted this!”

“Nopony is blaming you,” Twilight said, nuzzling her cheek.

The nuzzling was nice—gentle and comforting.

“They don’t have to! But Rarity would, and Pinkie would feel—will feel horrible. I promised to tell her, but I don’t want to. It’s not fair to her!” She felt a napkin being pressed to her nose by Twilight’s magic, and obligingly blew her nose into it. “S-she loves Rarity. Telling her how I feel… It won’t help anything.”

“How do you feel? About Pinkie I mean.”

“I don’t know. Does it matter? I would never—” She stopped, gasping at what Twilight seemed to be implying. “I would never ever try to take Pinkie away from Rarity!”

“Nopony ever implied anything of the sort,” Twilight replied with a sad smile and just a hint of reproach in her voice. “Just tell me how you feel.”

“I...” Fluttershy paused, allowing herself, for perhaps the first time, to think about all the things she had so desperately tried to push out of her mind. “I don’t know... I haven’t felt this way since Rainbow Dash. She... She’s just so wonderful to Rarity, and all I can think about is how nice it would be to be Rarity. It’s, um, actually gotten worse ever since I saw them making love through the boutique window.“

Twilight stopped moving, pulling back slightly to look her friend in the eyes. “Wait, what? I, uh, think I didn’t hear you right.”

Fluttershy shrank in on herself, trying to squeak out the words: “I was supposed to go over to Rarity’s for tea! B-but the door was locked and I heard a scream and Pinkie had Rarity up on the drawing table right there in the showroom and she was licking her.”

Twilight’s cheeks reddened. “Um… Right, I get the idea.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes; she was back at that fateful window, watching them, reliving the voyeuristic thrill. “I wanted to leave. I tried so hard to leave, but I just kept watching and I was touching myself—”

“You can stop now—”

“Then I flew home and got into my bathtub and before I knew it I was doing it again—”

“Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy’s eyes flew open, allowing her to see, at last, just how embarrassed Twilight was getting. “Sorry,” she said miserably. “Before I saw that, it was merely uncomfortable to be around her. But now I can’t stop thinking about her... doing that. I’m horrible!”

“You can’t help who you fall in love with, I should know.” Twilight said, after she had recovered from a minor nervous breakdown. “I just wish I knew what to tell you.”

Fluttershy shook her head sadly. “It’s okay. I just need to tell Pinkie. Then I’m going to go home, and probably, um, stay there. Permanently. Come visit me, please?” She paused for a moment, before adding: “Oh, and could you possibly bring me groceries once a week? I hate to be a bother; it’s okay if you can’t...”

Twilight brushed Fluttershy’s bangs away from her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. “I don’t think it will be that bad. Pinkie is not going to be mad at you—not for liking her. Just go and talk to her.”

Fluttershy left the library, thanking Twilight for lunch—which they had finally ended up eating—and for her willingness to listen. While eating, they had briefly discussed Twilight’s crush. Unfortunately, while Fluttershy was glad to listen, there was little advice she could offer to a mare who was trying to court the Princess of the Sun herself. She did offer to be there whenever Twilight needed somepony to talk to in the future, for which the unicorn seemed grateful enough.

Certain doom still awaited within the building that lay ahead, with all of its deceptively bright and pink confectionary designs. Inside awaited the pony who was going to ruin her life, simply by being so irresistibly adorable.

In far too short a while, she found herself in the horribly inviting and warm workplace of her friend. She eyed the stairs that led up to Pinkie’s bedroom with extreme trepidation.

Sugarcube Corner was busy today; the crowd was lively and friendly. None of the ponies present seemed to have any issue more pressing than being in need of a napkin or another donut.

Fluttershy envied them.

“Good morning! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” The cheery voice of Mr. Cake rang out from behind the register, just moments after the door chime had rang out. “Why hello Fluttershy! Need another delicious slice of carrot cake for Angel bunny?”

Fluttershy pulled her eyes away from the stairs and tried to smile. “N-no, not today. I’m here to face my doo—I mean, to see Pinkie.”

“Oh! Well, you’re in luck then! She just got back from visiting Rarity!”

Lucky me.

“Thank you.”

Every slow, plodding step brought her closer to the end of life as she knew it.

Ten steps remaining.

Five.

She was at the door.

She hesitated, her hoof an inch from the wooden surface.

Maybe I’m rushing this... I could always come back tomorrow.

She never had told Rarity when she was going to tell her crush, after all. Presumably, sometime before she died of old age would work.

With that settled, she turned away from Pinkie’s room, feeling much relieved.

The door opened with a small squeak. A very similar sound escaped Fluttershy’s mouth as pink hooves wrapped around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.

Her doom had decided to greet her with a hug.

There really was no going back now.

All You Have To Do Is Smile

The wedding was going reasonably wonderful.

In fact, it was fast approaching splendid.

Of course, Rarity hadn’t begun her march down the aisle just yet, but she was beside the two ponies she loved with every fiber of her being, so it was a good start. It could only get better, such as when Fluttershy leaned against her for a few seconds, or when Pinkie nuzzled a smile onto her face.

They were currently waiting inside the meeting hall, ready to be led outside to the pulpit where Twilight was ready to officiate the wedding. Normally, weddings were held inside the hall, but accounting for the entire town (plus friends they’d invited, and their respective families) meant that not everypony could actually fit in there.

Their fathers opened the doors to the hall, letting the music in from outside. It was a jazzy tune that Rarity had chosen herself, and perfectly encapsulated what it was like to have these two wonderful mares in her life. Slow and sweet on one hoof, and a little crazy and unpredictable on the other. It missed a little of her own flair, or would have, had Pinkie not suggested the use of some classical instruments to boot. It was near enough perfect.

So were the dresses, decorations, and spectators. She had spent most if not all of her time on the first part, Pinkie had done an amazing job with the second, and aside from the multitude of friends, family, and even royalty attending the wedding, there were also a slew of creatures both large and small cheering them on from all around. Bird calls mixed with a bear’s low roar and everything in between to create a weird sort of cacophony that fit with the music.

Her father looked at them, seeming surprised that they were all together, but made no comment. Silver Lining, Fluttershy’s father, gave them all a stern look, but that melted when he saw Fluttershy in her dress. Even Igneous seemed inordinately pleased, or as much as his stoic face would show.

“So...” Hondo said, straightening his tie. “Are you ready?”

Rarity smiled widely. Now it was perfect.

They each paired off with their respective fathers, Pinkie going first with her father, then Fluttershy with hers, while Rarity and Hondo brought up the rear.

Where their fathers were pictures of calm perfection, their mothers were close to tears, conversing amongst themselves while they watched the six of them walking the aisle. Only Posey seemed to be maintaining her composure, which meant Rarity owed Pinkie fifty bits, as she had bet on Cloudy Quartz being the one to keep her cool. But it seemed Posey’s military training beat even the hardy stoicism of the Pie parents. She thought maybe she could push for a tie, however, since Posey’s eyes were wet despite that poker face of hers.

She looked forward to getting to know the pair at some point, her only regret about their preparations for the wedding being that she hadn’t been able to observe form and ask for their daughter’s hoof as was proper. But she had been able to take tea with Posey once or twice since they’d both come down from Canterlot to help prepare for the wedding, and she already felt she liked the mare. Silver seemed content enough to dote on his daughter, and happy that she was getting married, though Rarity had caught him giving her the stink-eye on occasion. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but had resolved not to care.

The sky outside was exactly as she’d asked for. Not too many clouds, not too few, and all of them in precisely the places she’d for asked them to be. Rainbow and the weather team had worked diligently on it, even flying in the cirrus clouds she’d requested for accents from all the way in the Crystal Empire. Rainbow glanced at her somewhat nervously from her place next to Applejack at the pulpit, and Rarity gave her a firm nod and a smile, which Rainbow returned, looking relieved.

Applejack stood beside Rainbow, her chest puffed out with pride as she watched them all march slowly down the aisle. There had been a little tiff between the two of them over which would be maid of honor, and Rarity had made them hoof-wrestle to settle the issue. After several hours Applejack had emerged the triumphant victor. Privately, Rarity suspected Rainbow had thrown the match at the very end. But if she had, she had proven a very convincing actor while bemoaning her loss. Regardless, a victor had emerged, much to Rarity’s relief, and Rainbow didn’t seem terribly put out after the fact.

The reason for Applejack’s puffed chest skipped down the aisle ahead of them, throwing out flowers from her basket. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were the absolute most adorable things in their flowerfilly dresses, and Scootaloo completed the trio behind them, walking with pride while she carried the box that contained the wedding bands. Getting her into a dress had been one of the most troublesome aspects of the wedding, but eventually, after much cajoling and some kind words from Rainbow, the deed had been done. Seeing them now, Rarity felt it had all been worth it.

Twilight watched them approach from the pulpit, wearing a heavy ceremonial gown and a too-tight smile that told Rarity she was dreadfully nervous, but at least managing to hold it together. When they had asked her to officiate, she’d initially insisted that Celestia or Cadence or even Luna would make better choices. But as much as that would have been a tremendous honor, Rarity wouldn’t hear of any other performing the ceremony, and Twilight had graciously agreed.

At last they were all together, their fathers each taking their seats, and after a lifetime of waiting, the wedding was finally happening.

If she became any more excited, Rarity felt her heart would burst.

Twilight cleared her throat, and the world at large seemed to quiet, all eyes and ears devoted to her words.

“Friends, family, and honored guests, we have gathered today to witness the union of three of my best friends, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkamena Diane Pie,” Twilight’s voice, amplified by magic, carried out over the assembled audience, being neither too loud or too soft. “Marriage is an important bond between ponies, a promise... not to live for your special ones, but to share your life with them. Not just a home, or chores, but every aspect of that life, both good and bad. It’s comforting them when they’re sad, and celebrating when they succeed.”

She looked out over the crowd, seeming to fixate on one pony in particular. “In fact, it’s about celebrating everything that they are to you. Every flaw, every strength. It’s about bolstering each other in every way we can, making your joint lives better. We’re here today to acknowledge a bond that has already been formed, to celebrate that with these ponies.”

There was a smattering of applause before the ponies clapping sheepishly realized it wasn’t that sort of moment.

Twilight smiled. “Thank you, but that will come in a little while.”

A few appreciative chuckles could be heard in the crowd.

“Do we have the rings?” Twilight asked, looking down below to where Spike was waiting.

Spike perked up from where he’d been standing on the opposite side of the pulpit. He looked resplendent in his little tuxedo.

He too had taken some convincing, but Rarity couldn’t have wanted anything more than for Spike to be her best man.

That conversation, and the tears on both sides that had followed, had been one of the most heart-rending experiences of her life. Spike’s crush had always been the elephant in the room for them both, and finally acknowledging it had been... difficult. She knew all too well what it was to love an ideal, and be disappointed when the reality loved another. She’d expected recrimination, perhaps anger, but had found only... sadness. That was by far worse.

But, strangely enough, while directly addressing it had been cathartic for them both, it hadn’t been necessary. He’d proven her better in that respect. Where she had desperately tried to change herself to meet the standards of somepony that had not returned her affections, he’d simply come to terms with it, albeit by accepting his heartbreak and taking solace in her happiness.

But that had been weeks ago. Today was another day. Today he stood proudly at her side, ready with the box of their wedding bands in claw.

She couldn’t have loved him more for that.

“Right here!” he said, holding them as high as he could.

“Then we’ll begin. I—”

“Wait, I object!” a voice called down from the sky.

Twilight glanced up in apparent annoyance. “We never asked for objections.”

“Yes, but you were supposed to!” Discord said as he landed after his slow descent. He was holding what appeared to be a broken umbrella and carrying a blue satchel. “You can’t just not ask.”

Rarity cringed, but remained silent for fear that whatever Discord was planning would actually get worse.

Twilight took a deep breath, drawing a hoof to her chest and exhaling loudly. “Fine, what is your objection?”

“Rarity is a stick in the mud, and Pinkie is quite possibly more insane than I am,” he said with a grin.

“Those aren’t objections, those are observations!” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “Do you have any reasons these three can’t get married?”

The question seemed to take him aback. “Oh! No, not at all. I expect they’ll be deliriously happy.”

Twilight took an even deeper breath. “Fine. Good! Can you please go sit down?”

He smiled again, snapping his fingers and reappearing as a much smaller form perched on Spike’s shoulder, dressed in an ill-fitting tuxedo made of mismatched fabric. “Proceed.” he said in a high-pitched voice.

Rarity let out a long-held breath of her own. When they’d been going over the ceremony notes Fluttershy had immediately suggested they leave out the bit about objections for this very reason.

“I thought by leaving that out he wouldn’t make a scene,” she whispered to Fluttershy.

“Oh, no.” Fluttershy whispered back. “I knew he still would.”

“Then what was the point?”

Fluttershy tittered into a hoof. “I thought it would be more fun for him if he interrupted anyway.”

Pinkie giggled, putting a hoof surreptitiously on Rarity’s own. “It’s okay, this is a celebration, and even Discord should get to have some fun, as long as it doesn’t hurt anypony.”

Rarity rolled her eyes, but allowed herself a smile. Everything was still reasonably perfect. Complete perfection was dull and uninteresting, after all.

Twilight glared at Discord for a moment, then looked back into the audience. “Well, assuming we don’t have any more interruptions,” she paused for a moment, waiting to see if anypony would say anything. When nopony did, she smiled, glancing down at her notes. “Right. We’ll continue.”

She looked down from the pulpit at Rarity, and suddenly, the world in its entirety was gone.

“Do you, Rarity, take Pinkamena Diane Pie and Fluttershy to be your lawfully wedded spouses? To have and to hold, from this day forward, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”

“I do,” she said, never feeling better about saying two words in her life.

She was in a bit of a daze after that. The same vow was repeated to Fluttershy, who managed to respond with only the slightest of stammers, and Pinkie Pie responded with something like ‘I super-duper-one-hundred-percent-do!’. She’d never doubted their answers, of course. It was as had been stated, the bond was already there. The ceremony was more or less to show it off officially.

Next came the earrings, and that brought her back into focus quickly, as her ears had felt naked since removing those bands to have them properly etched with the appropriate cutie marks.

“Repeat after me.” Twilight said, gesturing for her to get ready to put place the rings. “With this, I thee wed.”

“ ‘With this, I thee wed.’ ” Rarity intoned, placing the hooked ends through first Pinkie’s and then Fluttershy’s pierced ears. The look on Fluttershy’s face as she did so was something she would remember all of their lives. Pinkie... actually seemed to be crying, though her smile was bright and brilliant.

Finally, with their bands exchanged, Twilight smiled at them all. “I now pronounce you spouses. You may kiss.”

The reception went on long into the night, though it was hard to tell exactly how long, as Celestia and Luna had arranged for an especially long afternoon, followed by a dazzling sunset to cap off the party.

The Cakes and a nice chap called Honey Mead (on loan from Celestia’s own kitchen) had spent all night on the monstrosity simply known as The Cake, and it towered above most of the houses in Ponyville. Cider from the Apple’s private reserve (used only for celebrations and quite potent) was produced, along with a large selection of wines purchased from Berry Punch. Food was catered by every restaurant in Ponyville and several from Canterlot. Music was provided by the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra, with lighting and sound balancing by Vinyl Scratch. It was quite the event.

At the end of what may have been the biggest and most elaborate party in known history, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy got into the carriage graciously loaned to them by Princess Luna, and flew off into the aforementioned sunset.

Pinkie immediately shed the tuxedo in one motion, letting out a big sigh of relief that it was gone. Fluttershy removed her dress in a much more demure fashion, actually blushing as the garter belt was removed. Rarity gently removed her own, packing it away in their luggage.

She looked around the opulently appointed carriage. It was quite large, being similar in nature to a stage coach, in that it was enclosed. The interior was done up in deep purples and blacks, the doors having blackout shades which could be closed for sleeping, if needed. It was stocked with a few bottles of wine on ice, and three glasses.

Further inspection revealed a note on the side of the bucket which read:

To my dear friends on their most special of days, this vintage predates the time of my own fall, made in happier times and stored by my sister until we could imbibe it together once more. She gifted the stock to me, and now, in the spirit of that togetherness, I invite you to partake as well.

In smaller script, Rarity read:

The guards are most discreet. Do as you will.

It was only then, in the relative privacy of their carriage, witnessed only by her spouses, that Rarity finally let out the entirely unladylike squeal of pure joy she’d been holding in since their kiss after the vows.

This was quickly echoed by Pinkie, and the two of them clasped Fluttershy in a joint hug, bouncing up and down in the seat.

After a moment or two of this, a voice called from the front of the carriage: “Honored guests, please try to avoid more jostling of the carriage than necessary. We’ll be arriving in Las Pegasus shortly.”

Rarity stopped bouncing, though Pinkie kept at it for a few moments more. “S-sorry, Guardsmen.”

“Quite all right.” came the calm reply.

Rarity laid back heavily on the seat, suddenly feeling quite exhausted. “I can’t believe how well that went! I mean, I... I always had hopes, and dreams, and this was everything I never knew I wanted!”

Fluttershy smiled in that wonderfully understated way of hers, and Rarity pulled her backwards on the seat into a deep kiss.

“I’m so glad...” Fluttershy said quietly as they broke the kiss. “I thought for sure I was going to faint when she asked me.”

“You did great, Shy-shy!” Pinkie said, wrapping her hooves around Fluttershy in a reverse hug. “You were so brave! You didn’t freak out or run away screaming or anything!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t have done that. But I might have fallen over in that nice dress Rarity made and then everything would have been ruined.” Fluttershy said with a serious look on her face. “Well, maybe not ruined. You two could have still—”

Rarity and Pinkie cut her off almost simultaneously.

“Sweetness—”

“Shy-shy!”

“I know.” Fluttershy said quickly. “It’s... hard not to think things like that. But I’ll try not to say them.”

Rarity shook her head in fond exasperation. “We’ll work on that. I’d rather not have you thinking it either but I won’t ask for miracles.”

She fetched a bottle of the chilled wine in her magic, pulling the cork with a corkscrew and letting the bottle breathe for a moment, catching a waft of the scent of it while doing so. The bouquet was indescribable, sweet and flowery, but with a deep earthiness to it that she’d never experienced before. Well-aged wine was one thing, but this was nearly otherworldly.

The bottles were rather plain and unassuming for being priceless vintages, marked only with a cutie mark painted on the glass; a grapevine. Rarity idly wondered if perhaps it might have been made by a distant relation to Berry Punch.

Pinkie continued to hold Fluttershy, whispering sweet nothings into her ear that appeared to be having their effect, as the latter was relaxed in Pinkie’s arms, only occasionally letting out a little sigh or gasp as Pinkie nipped at her ear or nuzzled against her cheek. It was a treatment Rarity knew well, and was very effective for when she was feeling a little down but also feeling too wrapped up in work to step away. It also usually lead to other things, which might be better left for their suite... but it was their honeymoon as well.

She glanced at the little card attached to the bucket once more.

Do as you will.

Rarity shrugged, poured herself a glass, lay back on the seat, and placed a hoof betwixt her legs.

At times, it was very pleasant just to watch.

Pinkie pushed Fluttershy down very gently so that she lay on the seat, following her downwards without breaking the kiss. One hoof was snaked around Fluttershy’s neck easing her down, the other was teasing its way along the butter-yellow pelt, past the nipples, but not before circling each one briefly, just long enough to make their pegasus lover moan and gasp into Pinkie’s mouth.

Rarity’s hoof was busy as well, slowly parting her outer folds and making a deft stroke up and down the cleft. She briefly wondered if the stallions up front could hear any of these goings-on, and a shudder passed upwards at the mere thought of their reactions.

“Pinkie...” Fluttershy whined piteously as the kiss was finally broken.

“Shhh...” Pinkie said, her smile rather like the look Rarity sometimes saw on Opal’s face when she had captured a rodent and was about to devour it.

Rarity felt another shudder rock her, increasing the speed of her hoof. As much as she loved experiencing what Pinkie was doing to Fluttershy first hoof, seeing it done, knowing what Fluttershy was feeling at that moment, and what Pinkie felt doing it to her—

And now, they were both hers, and she was theirs. A third shudder, more intense than the others, spread a wonderful warmth throughout her body.

As she basked in her afterglow, panting slightly and taking a deep draught of wine, she watched Pinkie’s tail thrash to and fro as she buried her muzzle between Fluttershy’s thighs. Just underneath, further evidence of Pinkie’s excitement glistened in the fading light of the sunset. Feeling a little wobbly, Rarity made her way over to Pinkie, watching that tail taunt her with a slow smile.

Pinkie’s head popped up with a little gasp as she felt Rarity’s breath on her labia. She looked back for a moment, her muzzle covered in moisture. She and Rarity shared a little smile, then Pinkie turned her attention back to the quivering mare underneath her.

Rarity began kissing her way up Pinkie’s inner thigh, delighting at the way the pink rear wriggled in response. She wondered if the bed in their suite would have a mirror, and how difficult it might be to acquire one if it didn’t.

As it turned out, there was. A very large one.

The room itself was... glitzy. There was no other word for such pointless and utterly vapid interior design. The bed was a giant heart. The walls were plastered with heart-shaped mirrors. The towels were red, as were the blankets and sheets. The moment she stepped into the room, light music by Marevin Gaye began playing.

And every available surface that wasn’t covered by mirrors was speckled with glitter.

Pinkie took one look at the room, cried out happily, and leaped into the bed.

Fluttershy followed hesitantly, her eyes wide and apprehensive. “I... I wonder if I shouldn’t go get some ice?”

Pinkie looked up from the bed, upon which she was currently rolling back and forth and squealing. “Yeah! And little baggies! We’re gonna need ice packs, and lots of em!”

Fluttershy’s eyes bugged out, and she nodded hurriedly, fleeing from the room.

Rarity and Pinkie regarded each other silently. The latter’s grin grew with each passing moment.

“Ice packs, you say?” Rarity asked quietly.

Pinkie nodded earnestly. “You promised.”

Her heart fluttered, and Rarity had to steady her knees to prevent them from buckling. “So I did.”

The dynamic between Pinkie and Rarity was a rather fluid one. Which was to say, Pinkie made an enthusiastic bottom, and an equally enthusiastic top. Who was what largely depended on mood, after all. Rarity generally didn’t mind either way, but there had been one occasion that she had insisted on topping as a matter of principal. That had been the night of their engagement.

And on that night, words had been spoken, and a promise of sorts had been made.

“Pinkie, on our wedding night, I’ll be all yours. But tonight... tonight, my love, you are my mare.”

“I looked through so many different catalogs for this!” Pinkie said, pulling out a box from the deepest part of her mane. She laid the box down on the bed. It was a rather simple thing, entirely of black, with a single word on the box.

Excalibur.

Pinkie and Rarity had, over the course of their months of engagement, had a lot of sex. A truly mind-boggling amount. And some of it had involved toys, they had amassed quite the collection. But there had been one little thing Rarity had wanted to avoid. One last little remnant of the naive mare she’d been before Pinkie had introduced her to a world of pleasure.

She’d wanted to make it to their honeymoon without doing... that.

Her face flushed brilliantly even thinking about it. She wasn’t so naive to think herself a virgin on her honeymoon, but in some small technical way, she was, and now was the time to give up that last vestige as a sort of offering of love to Pinkie.

It seemed so... inconsequential when compared to everything Pinkie was to her, but then, nothing could really be said to be worthy of that level of devotion, except an equal amount of the same. She was prepared to show that devotion in any way she could.

“How did you want—” Rarity began.

“On the bed, on your back.” Pinkie replied, her face even pinker than normal.

“All right.” Rarity replied, trying her hardest to keep any hint of a stammer out of her voice.

It was here, in this moment, that she felt fear in association with a sex act for the first time in a very long time. She’d seen Pinkie’s reaction when they’d done this. It had hurt. And afterwards she’d walked a bit funny for several days. Pinkie’s enthusiasm aside, it had taken weeks before Rarity could be talked into using a toy again, and months before she’d agreed to mount Pinkie in the way she had that night.

She’d passed it off, of course. She’d said hooves and magic and tongues provided a nice variety, they didn’t need the toys.

Despite Rarity’s assurances, Pinkie had ordered several more in various colors, shapes, sizes, and even ones modeled after other species. She wasn’t at all bothered by them.

But... it was going to be fine. Because she loved Pinkie, and she had promised and—

Sweet Celestia! How is that supposed to fit?!

Pinkie had opened the box to reveal the toy inside. It was... rather large. The ‘business’ end of it looked less like the replica it was intended to be and more like somepony had taken the foreleg off of one of her ponniquins, then covered it with chrome. The other side was made to resemble a hilt of sorts, except it was bent in such a way as to fit firmly inside of the mare using the thing. There was a bell-guard which presumably functioned as a clitoral stimulator. From a design standpoint, it looked functional, and pleasing to the eye.

From the standpoint of the mare about to be on the ‘business’ end, it looked like a murder weapon.

Pinkie looked up at her with a big grin around the ‘hilt’, giving the thing a few swings around. “Ook! I goth one that ooksh like a shord! You ‘member?”

Rarity did indeed remember. Perhaps it had only been in jest, but Pinkie had jokingly suggested they have a fencing match with that first toy. Of course it had been rather ridiculous and endearing then.

Not so much with one actually designed to resemble something that could split her in two, and looked like it could still do so despite the lack of edge.

“Eheh... yes. That is something,” she said, still not quite able to will herself to walk towards the bed.

Pinkie looked at her quizzically, setting the ‘sword’ down next to the straps it came with in the box. “Hey. You okay, Rare?”

“Fine!” she said quickly, rushing to the bed and sitting primly upon it. There was little point in belaboring things, she had an obligation to meet, and her fears aside, she intended to keep it. She lay back on the bed, staring up at her reflection in the mirror. “Do with me as you will, my love.”

The reflection showed Pinkie Pie, looking down at her with a little frown on her face. “You know, this was a lot sexier in my head.”

The door opened, and Fluttershy walked in with a bucket of ice, and several small towels. “I’m sorry, they didn’t have little bags, but I’ve found towels work very well for ice packs when necessary. Plus they feel nicer.”

Rarity lifted her head from the bed, forcing a smile onto her face. “Thank you, Sweetness. Towels will actually be quite useful.”

They will certainly help with the cleanup. Though this bedding is already red...

Fluttershy’s cheeks colored as she saw the box on the bed, and Rarity’s position on it. “Oh my. I... I can go read a book if you two were having a private moment—”

Pinkie shook her head, closing the box and tucking it back into her mane. “Nah, you can stay, Shy-shy. I think maybe I messed up somewhere,” she sat down on the bed, patting it to indicate Fluttershy should join them. “C’mon. Let’s snuggle. That’ll be better.”

Rarity sat up suddenly, feeling both relieved and guilty that she’d been granted a reprieve, however temporary it might turn out to be. “B-but I promised—”

Pinkie smiled at her, nuzzling the side of her cheek. “Yeppers! You said you were all mine, and since you’re mine, I get to decide what to do with you! And right now, I wanna snuggle.”

She gently pushed Rarity down on the bed, snuggling up to her on one side. Fluttershy hesitated for a moment, but eventually set the bucket and towels down, crawling up onto the bed and settling in on Rarity’s other side.

“Did you not like the toy?” Pinkie asked quietly.

Rarity winced, still feeling tense and stressed out. “The toy was a fine choice, love.”

“Then why wasn’t it sexy for you? I know that look. That was your ‘I’m really really bothered by something and don’t want to say it’ look.” Pinkie crawled up onto Rarity’s chest, looking deep into her eyes. “It’s supposed to be sexy, not scary.”

Rarity looked away from Pinkie, staring up at her own reflection. Her mascara was running, she’d need to fix it. She looked away from that, not wanting to see it any longer, and found herself looking into Fluttershy’s eyes.

“I don’t think she wants to talk about it, Pinkie.” Fluttershy said quietly. “But... I’d guess she’s nervous. I would be.”

“N-nervous?” Rarity said with a squeak. “That is... I have nothing to be nervous about! The wedding went so wonderfully, darlings! You were both perfect, and all our friends were supportive—”

“And now it’s the wedding night.” Fluttershy observed quietly. “This is part of it all. You told me how this was supposed to go too.”

“Well... that is...”

“Rarity, if you’re scared, it’s okay!” Pinkie piped up, having been oddly silent until then. “It was a little scary for me too, at first. I was all ‘Wow, how’s that thing supposed to fit in there?’ and then I was like ‘Ouch, wrong one!’ and then—”

Her eyes bulged in sudden, startling realization. “Oh no! Rarity I didn’t mean to scare you! I just wanted to show off the toy, I thought it would be fun to see it. Then... You know, the kissing and the hot stuff and a little music and some cheesy movie quotes about plumbing—” she pulled Rarity up into a sitting position, hugging her tightly to herself. “I messed it up! I’m sorry!”

Rarity automatically began stroking Pinkie’s mane, making soothing noises. “Shhh. It’s fine. I just had a bit of an overreaction.”

She felt warm wings envelop them both, and found Fluttershy smiling down at them both. “I think maybe it will be fine. I know it’s very easy to get excited, but trying new things can be scary. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try them, though. Sometimes scary things can be fun, too. It’s easier when we try them together.”

Fluttershy looked at them both in turn, seemingly deep in thought, then nodded firmly. “Okay.”

She removed her wings, gently separating them, and pushed Rarity back on the bed, kissing her as she did so. Rarity lay blinking in surprise, unused to Fluttershy being so forceful, even if it was the most gentle force she’d ever experienced.

Fluttershy eventually broke the kiss, turning back to Pinkie. “Um... Pinkie, maybe could you... well... I thought...” her face flushed as she spoke.

In the reflection, Rarity saw Pinkie look at Fluttershy blankly, then suddenly become animated. “Oh! Oh, yeah!” Pinkie bent down over Rarity, and then she felt Pinkie nibbling lightly at her inner thighs.

Fluttershy smiled, looking pleased, then turned her attention back to Rarity. “Okay,” she said, before closing the distance between them, locking lips with Rarity once more.

It was a bit of a haze after that, as her vision was obscured by pink mane, and her senses were overwhelmed by Pinkie’s attentions and Fluttershy’s lips.

It was a very pleasant haze.

Eventually, Fluttershy pulled back, gasping for air, her cheeks on fire and eyes ablaze with passion. “Did you maybe want to see if the toy looks as scary now?”

Rarity just lay there, feeling limp as a wet noodle. She couldn’t have said how many times she’d reached her peak only to be rocked gently into the next by both of them. Her hair looked a fright, her makeup was beyond repair, and she was deliriously happy.

“L-let me see it.” she gasped out, a large grin on her reflection.

Pinkie looked extremely hesitant, but did pull the box out of her mane, laying it down on the bed.

It was a rather understated little box; black as the night, with the name emblazoned in silver. Rarity opened it, and saw her adversary. Up close, it somehow seemed less intimidating. She could see details that had escaped her before. The hilt was carved in interesting ridges, and looked like it would fit comfortably and snugly inside of the wielder. On the bell guard, a custom engraving of a single balloon, diamond, and butterfly had been arranged in a triangle shape.

“The nice stallion who sold it to me said you can hit a button on top and it starts buzzing!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the button in question. “I tried it out a little. It tickles!”

Rarity pressed the button in question with her magic, noting a small crystal just behind the bell guard that caused the whole unit to gently vibrate. She touched the ‘blade’ noting that it was slightly warm to the touch.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to try it tonight, or ever.” Pinkie said quickly. “I mean, I think it’s nice, but I don’t want to do anything that makes you scared.”

“Put it on.” Rarity said, looking up at Pinkie with an even bigger smile. “I want to see it on you.”

“Okay...” Pinkie said as she took the straps from the box. There was a brief but adorable moment in which Pinkie flushed and turned away while putting it on, (all the more so because Pinkie was normally quite shameless) then she turned back, the shaft standing straight out from her pelvis like some flagpole that had lost its flag.

She looked down at it, tapping it experimentally to see it wobble. “Wow, that feels weird...”

Rarity beckoned Pinkie, and Pinkie walked forward, almost tipping over as the extra weight of the toy changed her center of balance.

Fluttershy smiled warmly, letting out a little giggle. “Gosh. That... that looks interesting.”

When Pinkie reached the edge of the bed, Rarity examined the toy more closely. It had a bit of a rounded tip, presumably for easier insertion. It still hummed slightly, as she’d never deactivated the mechanism inside. She nuzzled it, again marveling at the warmth where she would have expected cold metal.

Pinkie looked down at her curiously, cocking her head to one side. “Is it okay? We can try another one—”

Rarity gave it an experimental lick, finding it tasted of nothing more offensive than one of her forks or spoons. Stainless steel, unless she missed her guess. The vibration left her tongue tingling a little in a not-unpleasant way.

“Ooo!” Pinkie squealed out in surprise. “That was... weird?” she put a hoof up to her chin. “I think a good weird though? Can you do that again?”

Weird? Rarity thought, looking up from the silvery shaft. She put out her tongue once more, this time giving it a long lick from base to tip. As she did so, she noticed the vibration had changed ever so slightly. Was that what Pinkie was reacting to?

“Whoa!” Pinkie exclaimed, putting a hoof on the bed to steady herself. “That...” she took a deep, steadying breath, “Huh.”

“What happened, exactly?” Rarity asked, looking at the toy suspiciously.

“It... the little thing that goes up inside...” Pinkie pointed at her hip. “It... like it was humming a little bit, and it was kinda tingly. And then it was humming louder, I guess? I dunno. It feels nice.”

Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged a bewildered look.

“I see.” Rarity said, looking at the toy once more. “I wonder what would happen if—” she got a slow, wicked smile on her face, opened her mouth, and took the tip inside, gently suckling it.

There was an immediate and gratifying reaction in Pinkie Pie, her face going blank as the harmonics of the device changed once more.

Encouraged by this, Rarity took a little more inside, gently bobbing her head as she’d seen done in those dreadfully cheesy movies Pinkie had shown her. She fondly thought of their giggles over how silly it all was, their shared kisses and passing the popcorn back and forth.

We should have a movie night with Fluttershy... Perhaps ‘Naughty Nurses’ ? No, a bit advanced, I suspect. Hmmm. ‘Pegasi In Peril?’ No, maybe not, I’m still not sure how I feel about the bondage scene. Ah! ‘I Kissed A Mare’ ! Yes, that will be splendid.

She bobbed a little deeper, and suddenly gagged just a little as Pinkie involuntarily thrust forward.

“Ahhh!”

Pinkie’s hooves were buried in her hair, and Rarity felt Pinkie put weight upon them as she tried to steady herself.

“S-sorry! My knees kinda turned to jelly for a second!” Pinkie gasped, removing the toy from Rarity’s mouth quickly. She stood upright, looking as if she’d just run a marathon. “That’s... that’s really nice!”

Rarity wiped her mouth with the back of a hoof, removing the excess saliva that had built up around the edges. “Are you all right, love?”

“Y-yeah. It’s just kinda... wobbly right now.” Pinkie replied, steadying herself on the edge of the bed. “But I’m fine!”

“Right. Good.” Rarity fidgeted as she looked at Pinkie, then at the toy.

Pinkie looked back at her, tilting her head to one side. “Oh!” she said suddenly, “Did you want me to—”

“Sweet Celestia, yes!” Rarity exclaimed. “Quickly, quickly, please...” she scooted back on the bed, watching the toy bob in the air as Pinkie moved.

“I’ll... I’ll go get some dinner...” Fluttershy said quietly, moving to get up only to be stopped by a frantically clutching Rarity.

“N-no! You stay, and you hold my hoof, and you kiss me when she’s ready. Do you understand?” Rarity said, not taking her eyes off of the the object of both her arousal and fear.

“But... but I thought... I was trying to help—” Fluttershy looked down at the hoof clasping hers, surely feeling the slight tremble in Rarity’s own.

“You did help, ever so much.” Rarity replied, eyes still glued to the toy. “I want to do this, but I still know it’s going to hurt at first, and I’d like some help with that, if you’re willing.”

Fluttershy nodded, her eyes softening as she clasped Rarity’s hoof in her own.

Pinkie stood at the edge of the bed, not sure what to do. “Rarity, are you sure?”

Rarity nodded firmly, laying back and spreading her legs wide. “You take that thing and you rut me, Pinkie. Do you understand? Rut me until my mane is a disheveled mess and I have no voice left. Then rut me some more.”

“Okay...” she said as she crawled onto the bed, posing the tip at Rarity’s waiting entrance.

Rarity clutched Fluttershy’s hoof firmly, and pulled her down into a deep kiss.

The penetration (when it finally came an eternity later) was not quite as bad as she’d feared. There was, of course, a feeling of stretching as muscles that had never been used were spread wide to accommodate, and a sting as it got deep enough to tear through her maidenhead. She did squeal very briefly into Fluttershy’s mouth, and Fluttershy responded by clutching her hoof harder, and snaking the other around her back to hold her close.

The thing inside her gently throbbed, merely filling her without moving. She waited for a long moment, simply being held and kissed. Then she pulled away, releasing Fluttershy’s hoof and giving her a tear-filled look of thanks.

She turned back to Pinkie, who was holding herself dreadfully still. “It’s... it’s fine, darling.”

“You’re really, really sure?” Pinkie asked, her eyes wide and fearful.

“I’m sure.” Rarity replied, giving Pinkie a brave smile. “Make me yours, love.”

“You were always mine.” Pinkie said with a laugh that sounded almost like a sob. “Right from the start. You just never knew it.”

Pinkie pulled back very slightly, then thrust forward with a smooth movement, not stopping until she’d hilted herself.

Both of them moaned in unison as the resonance on both ends of the toy changed.

“Oh... my.” Fluttershy said from just beside them, reaching backwards with a single hoof and staring with rapt attention at the connection that had been made between them.

Rarity’s head thrashed as Pinkie thrust deep inside her again, becoming lost in a sea of new feelings. She still ached, but the pain was dull, whereas the pleasure was fresh and hot. Pinkie seemed to know exactly what pace to set, never going too fast or too slow. This was Pinkie making love to her, in its fullest and deepest expression. Pinkie claimed her lips as they squealed together, and for a time they were lost in each other’s eyes, and the depths therein.

Beside her, Fluttershy watched, wide-eyed and clopping herself without a trace of shame. Rarity reached out and lovingly stroked along Fluttershy’s face, shifting her hips to allow Pinkie better access, then winced as the next thrust went far deeper than she’d felt previously.

She felt Fluttershy’s hoof clasp with her own once more, and their eyes locked with one another’s. Then Fluttershy leaned down and kissed her hard on the lips.

In that moment, feeling truly and deeply loved by them both, Rarity threw back her head and screamed loudly, her hips bucking wildly into Pinkie’s own in pure unadulterated abandon.

Pinkie echoed her cry, and Rarity distantly heard the quietest and most urgent squeaking as Fluttershy’s hoof clutched frantically at her own.

Pinkie lay on Rarity’s chest, kissing her neck and cheeks, gasping for air but with a smile that was as brilliant as the sun. Fluttershy collapsed next to them, snuggling up close and throwing a wing over them both.

For a time, all was silent save for labored breathing and beating hearts.

“Um...”

Pinkie and Rarity turned their eyes to Fluttershy expectantly.

“C-could I maybe try that one next?” Fluttershy whispered with a brilliant red blush on her cheeks.

Rarity let out a tired chuckle. “I think Pinkie might want a bit of a rest, first.”

“Oh... okay.”

“Just... just a second, Shy-shy. Once I can feel my legs.” Pinkie said weakly.

Rarity looked up at the ceiling, seeing them all together in one exhausted pile. The pinks and purples and yellows and whites all melded together in an oddly perfect pattern.

She smiled and closed her eyes, humming to herself.

I love to see you smile, smile, smile…

Author's Note

And this is the end!

I'd like to give some shoutouts here.

First to my usual partner in crime, personal taskmaster, and all around best friend Karrakaz, without whom I would not have completed this in a timely (Ha! Well, it's done anyway) manner.

Next to Xjuggernaughtx, who did some Pinkie Pie consulting with me.

A shoutout to Aurora, who I blame for some of the sexier scenes in the first story and who I still credit in spirit for this one.

And finally a special shoutout to Aurora Dimmet, for some timely advice during a critical scene or two.

Look for a third and final story in this series in the near future. And thanks to everyone who followed along for the ride.