Bonds of Earth and Sky

by Cloudy Skies

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance
Length: 9672

Dash and Pinkie decide to spy on two of their friends, triggering an interesting set of events.

Things turn awkward after Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash decide to spy on Applejack and Fluttershy one late night. When everypony misunderstands the problems this causes, Pinkie Pie's suggestion on how to "fix" things may yet leave everypony happy in the end.

This story contains mature content (including consensual bondage) and is a spin-off follow-up to Where Earth Meets Sky and its impending sequel. It can be read separately, mind! It just presumes a set of relationships, that's all.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-03-17 09:54:02 UTC

Bonds of Earth and Sky

Bonds of Earth and Sky

by Cloudy Skies

Rainbow Dash twisted and turned again. It was hardly a new predicament, this. She often struggled to fall asleep simply because no matter how many pillows were piled on top, normal pony beds had one major problem; they weren’t clouds.

Still, she had made her peace with this. All she had to do was open her eyes and remind herself why this didn’t matter at all. All she needed was a glance at the pony whose bed she shared. She cracked an eye open just a bit-

And looked straight into a pair of unblinking blue eyes and a huge grin.

Dash yelped and rolled off the bed with a thud. She scrabbled back up on all fours, keenly aware that she could feel her heart hammering as if it tried to burst from her chest.

“Pinkie Pie!” she half yelled, half groaned.

“Hiya Dashie!” Pinkie replied, still staring straight back at her. The darkened room plunged into a silence that held for a good ten seconds before Dash reluctantly hopped back onto the bed.

“Do you ever sleep?” she asked with a small shudder.

“Well, duh, of course, but why would I sleep when you’re awake and we can do fun things instead?” Pinkie asked, smiling brightly.

Dash cringed, dropping her tail between her legs before lying down on the opposite end of the bed. “Uh, yeah, no. I’m still sore.”

“Aw, I guess I’m still a little achey-wakey, too,” Pinkie said with a pout, leaning over to lick Dash’s nose. They shared a tired little smile, but the spell was abruptly broken when the hyperactive party pony suddenly sat upright wearing a huge grin. Dash shuffled away almost instinctively.

“I know, I know!” Pinkie chirped. “We can go check out what Applejack and Fluttershy are up to! I don’t think they can sleep either!”

Rainbow Dash blinked, raising her head from the bed just a smidgen. “And you know this because-”

“My hoofsies were itchy and my nose was wibbly!” Pinkie declared.

“Yeah, of course,” Dash muttered, rubbing her eyes with her forehooves. “I don’t know, it’s way late for a visit.”

“Only if they know!” Pinkie said, giggling. “We could visit without telling them.”

That chased away the last vestiges of sleepiness. Rainbow Dash was caught between a grin and a frown. “Spying on them?” she asked.

“Nuh-uh! Spying is mean and naughty!” Pinkie said, suddenly serious. “We’re just going to visit! Nopony gets hurt.”

“So like a prank, just without the prank,” Dash agreed, pleased with the idea. That brought back Pinkie’s casual grin again.

“Sure!”

“Seriously, Pinkie,” Dash whispered as the pink pony slid off her back. “Eating a tray of cupcakes right before we left? You’re not exactly a light-weight as it is.” She leaned back to rub the base of her poor abused wings.

“I needed to sugar up! Besides, I know you don’t mind,” Pinkie giggled and swished her tail. Dash opened her mouth trying to formulate a retort, but all she could manage was a faint gurgle as her eyes were drawn up the chaotic, curly mass of pink and came to rest on Pinkie’s shapely flank. Her cheeks burned and it was all she could do not to pounce on her rear right there.

“Okay, yeah, whatever,” Dash muttered as she tried to suppress a grin. She received a bright smile and a kiss on the snout by way of reply before Pinkie turned around and began picking her way through the orchard in a quiet, sneaky yet bouncy gait. They had landed a small distance away from the farmhouse, and as they quickly learned, Sweet Apple Acres was a very different place at night.

While it was certainly no Everfree forest, the apple trees loomed in the moonlight like no trees should. It all too easy to imagine that the trees knew what they were up to, protecting their mistress. When the pair left the last of the trees behind and crept past the barn, Dash let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Pinkie was crouched low as she peered around the corner and Dash half climbed over her to see what she saw; the farmhouse was dark and empty except for a single window on the ground floor.

“That’s Applejack’s room,” Rainbow Dash whispered.

“Told you they were awake!” Pinkie replied with gloatless triumph.

Deciding against asking Pinkie how many times she’d had this exact Pinkie-sense combo before, Dash stalked towards the house with Pinkie Pie now in tow. She had no idea what to expect, but as long as they got a good laugh, where was the harm? Anything beat being bored and sleepless.

Together, they snuck up to the sole source of illumination in the dormant farmyard. Two grinning faces peered in through the window and past the half-drawn apple-embroidered curtains just in time to see a pair of ponies enter the room.

Applejack held the door open for Fluttershy. Of course it was a silly gesture; the door rested on normal hinges and wouldn’t close of it’s own accord, and it was just her bedroom. Still, it made Fluttershy smile and dip her head in thanks. That was reason enough.

“Now, up on the bed you go, sugar,” Applejack said, tossing her hat onto the chair in the corner. She wore her hair down tonight. Yet another of those little things she’d done to try to make tonight perfect. If the way Fluttershy looked at her was any indication, it wasn’t a wasted effort. The pegasus mare’s gaze suggested that perhaps there was some beauty even in a plan farmpony like herself.

Not that she held a candle to the pony in her bed. It hadn’t been about that, of course. It had never been about looks, never about their bodies. Theirs was a relationship that went beyond that, they’d told each other. At least, Applejack had told herself that.

Now, looking at the way the single lamp in the room illuminated Fluttershy, her mane framing her face and her entire being practically glowing as she lay stretched out on her belly in her bed - she had to admit that she must have been blind not to see. Blind, deaf and stupid, judging by the way her heart was hammering. Her body protested why she hadn’t asked Fluttershy that one simple question before; they’d slept in the same bed for months, but they had never truly shared it.

“Um, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, her big green eyes wide with concern. Applejack gave a start, wresting her brain from the fog of thoughts.

“Oh, Ah’m just fine, sugarcube. Just thinking,” Applejack said with a chuckle.

“Not thinking about anything bad, right?” Fluttershy pressed, biting her lower lip, and Applejack couldn’t help but smile. She was stronger, braver and more assertive than she had ever been, but nothing would change the core of that pony - the kindness and concern that drove her shone through. Applejack wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

“No. Ah swear. Only thinking about the nicest things. Like you,” Applejack said, smiling as she hopped onto the bed. That got a blush out of Fluttershy which intensified when Applejack put her hooves on her back and started kneading gently.

“Thank you. The salad was lovely, by the way,” Fluttershy murmured. “You didn’t have to do all this, you know.”

Applejack had to laugh. She leaned forward to nip at Fluttershy’s neck, eliciting a little eep and a giggle. “You know Ah do this ‘cause Ah want to. You just tell me if Ah’m doing this wrong.”

Fluttershy gave a small nod and closed her eyes. “No, this is wonderful. Um, if you want to, you can be a little more rough? If that’s okay, I mean.”

Cocking a brow at that, Applejack obliged, putting a little more effort into grinding her hooves into Fluttershy’s back. “That better?” she asked, receiving a pleased sigh and a series of small nods in return. Fact was, she’d just been about to ask if she was hurting Fluttershy.

“Learned from the best,” Applejack added with a smirk and another playful nip at Fluttershy’s mane. This time, the pegasus did not stir.

The silence held while Applejack stood over Fluttershy putting to practice what little she had picked up about massaging during the past months. She didn’t pretend she had half the skill that the demure pegasus pony did in the field, of course, but she knew that she herself became putty in Fluttershy’s hooves.

And this, of course, brought her mind back to the why of it all. To the present. To the words she was sure she must have said at least twenty times before since she first had this idea, this urge. Since she’d found this day, a hidden nugget of a Friday where Applebloom was at a sleepover and Big Mac and Granny Smith were in Appaloosa.

“We don’t have to do this, ya know,” Applejack muttered as she ran her hooves up and down the entire length of Fluttershy’s body.

“I told you I want to, too,” Fluttershy whispered back. It was as if a tranquility had settled on the scene, a calm that none of them wanted to ruin by moving too fast or speaking too loud.

Applejack felt her face heat up a little. She had to wonder if she was just being reluctant because she was afraid herself, but at the same time, she knew she wanted this. She nodded and sat down at Fluttershy’s side. When their eyes found each other, they were both smiling. Whatever fear was left in either of them surely shattered and left at that moment.

“On your side, would you?” Applejack asked, nuzzling the top of Fluttershy’s head. The pegasus obliged, rolling over to present her underside. It was funny how different it all was, suddenly. They’d taken a bath together as recently as yesterday, but nothing was the same tonight.

Keenly aware of a growing heat down between her own legs, Applejack inhaled slowly, relishing in Fluttershy’s scent. She smelled like her garden, like the forests and the plains. She had no idea when she had first noticed, but every time she was near her, she wished she had realized sooner. Fluttershy smelled lovely.

Fluttershy was looking up at her still, and in her eyes she thought perhaps she saw something beyond the trust and love she had come to rely on. Was there a spark of the same need she felt? Applejack traced her muzzle along the side of her head to give her throat a tentative lick. Fluttershy tensed up and drew a sharp breath. Spurred on, she gave her coat a gentle nip, and then a harder one. She was rewarded with a little squeak that set her grinning.

It became a game of sorts. Applejack put a forehoof on Fluttershy’s side just to reassure her as she let herself dart around her body stealing little licks or nips. A nibble behind her ear stole a gasp from her, and when she let her tongue play with the spot behind Fluttershy’s knees, the yellow mare let out a high pitched little whine that startled Applejack so much she instantly sat back upright looking for the source of the sound.

She could have sworn she heard something by the window just then, but Fluttershy was blushing profusely and covering her face with her forelegs. Was she giggling?

“I’m sorry, I just, um- oh my goodness, that was, um-” Fluttershy stammered.

“No apologies, sugarcube,” Applejack chuckled as she leaned forward, nudging apart the warding forehooves to kiss her on the snout. “Not tonight.”

Without waiting for a reply, Applejack planted a kiss on the tip of Fluttershy’s muzzle, and then another on her neck. Fluttershy lay entirely still all the while as Applejack shifted and moved down her body, from her chest and across her belly. As she reached her haunches, Applejack could see she was flushed red and swollen. Her breath caught, and the embarrassed little squeak that Fluttershy couldn’t quite hold back went ignored.

Her own nethers ached and Fluttershy was bared to her. Applejack’s tongue darted out, lapping at the wetness, not quite decided whether it was instinct or curiosity that drove her. The taste was odd, and her nose filled with a weird yet enticing smell she could not place. Fluttershy squirmed under her, and that, most of all, was what set Applejack afire.

Seating herself at the end of the bed, Applejack coaxed Fluttershy fully onto her back. She placed her forelegs between Fluttershy’s hindlegs, spreading them apart with a gentle nudge, and rested her head on the supine pegasus’ nethers while looking up at her.

“Sugar, you tell me if Ah do anything that makes you uncomfortable now y’hear?” she said. She couldn’t help but notice that her voice was a little shaky, just like her breath. And her hooves.

Fluttershy said nothing, simply reaching down to caress her face with a hoof whilst giving her a warm smile. It was all the encouragement Applejack needed. She licked the outer lips of her sex and nosed her thighs until her marefriend’s body was shaking. One of Fluttershy’s hindlegs gave an involuntary jerk, and she let out a needy little whine before she covered her mouth with a hoof.

She couldn’t have kept up the teasing any longer even if she had wanted to. Applejack was all too aware of a smoldering heat of her own, and she knew the bedsheets were probably soaked where she sat. She nudged apart Fluttershy’s lips with her muzzle and slipped her tongue further inside, trembling with trepidation.

All in all, it was very odd. It tasted strange, it felt a little weird, and she wasn’t quite convinced she knew what she was doing. More than any of these sensible and rational thoughts, though, she was submerged in a delightful haze of pure need and desire. She swam in the mists of Fluttershy’s scent mixing with her own, drunk on the sight of her love in pleasure.

Her entire body tingled and sizzled as she again looked up past Fluttershy’s belly to see her looking back down at her. Their eyes met and they drank of each others’ joy. Fluttershy’s cheeks were tinged with red and rivulets of sweat were running down her face. Never before had she looked so beautiful.

Applejack well and truly lost track of time. It was both forever and no time at all as she pleasured Fluttershy. Fluttershy’s eyes glazed over and her gaze drifted off to the side whilst she squirmed. Her hindlegs shook aimlessly and her breath came ever faster. Applejack thought that this was it - Fluttershy was looking past her when her eyes went wide in shock and she squeaked loudly.

Fluttershy jerked and tried to pull back, but she was held fast, pinned by Applejack’s forelegs. Confused, Applejack turned her head just as she felt something warm splash against her face. She blinked profusely and followed Fluttershy’s gaze in time to see the tip of a rainbow-colored tail and something pink disappear from outside of her bedroom window.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack yelled, her face dripping as she stared out into the darkness. “If that’s what who Ah think it is-”

Fluttershy was still struggling to get free, trapped as she was between Applejack’s forelegs. Something was very wrong, and Applejack could feel it. Fluttershy was squirming to get away from her, and when she realized she couldn’t, she turned over on her side and buried her face in her forehooves.

Applejack drew back in a daze, letting Fluttershy go, and the pegasus instantly curled up into a ball. She felt a slow anger begin to burn in her gut. “Hey, don’t you fret. Ah’m gonna get them good for that, and by Celestia, they will apologize.”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-”

It was a panicked chant. Applejack sat completely dumbfounded, starting to feel a little afraid herself now. She had no idea how to make heads or tails of this.

“Sugar, what’s wrong? Did Ah do something?” She brought a foreleg up to wipe her face and shook her head. They usually communicated fine these days. She couldn’t remember the last time Fluttershy had locked up like this. “Please, just tell me what’s the matter, and Ah- uh, what’s the smell?”

Applejack blinked, stopped, and sniffed her hoof. Her mouth hung open for a few seconds as she turned this over in her mind before she inched closer and seized Fluttershy in a hug. The pegasus scrabbled feebly to get away, but she’d have none of it. Applejack held her tight and sighed.

Rainbow Dash rolled onto her back atop the counter, sending a few stray muffins tumbling to the floor. She and Pinkie Pie had just closed Sugarcube Corner for the day, but the mood was decidedly subdued. Aside from her own theatrics, Pinkie’s smiles just weren’t as bright as they should’ve been. Her bounces just weren’t as bouncy, either.

“It’s your fault,” Dash muttered as she stared up at the ceiling. “It was a stupid idea.”

Pinkie didn’t say anything. When she turned over on the side, Rainbow Dash could see that the usually chipper pink pony stood very still. Un-Pinkie-like still.

“I’m sorry Dashie,” she said. She was still smiling, but it was not a happy smile. It was an apologetic, sad smile. It hit Rainbow Dash like a buck to the gut, and she wished she had kept her stupid mouth shut.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Dash blurted, angry with herself more than anypony else. She hopped off the counter and gave one of the fallen muffins a kick. “I just- I, ugh. This is a mess.”

Pinkie Pie sat down on her rump in the middle of the floor. “I know. I’m scared.”

And it was scary. There was something twice as scary as the fact that they had been caught doing something they both knew they shouldn’t be doing. The second they had fled back home, Pinkie’s neck had started itching, and then her tail twisted around itself. When this was all done, her muzzle ached for the longest time. The worst part about the Pinkie sense was when even Pinkie herself had no clue what it meant, but they had both agreed it was probably something bad.

The fact that they hadn’t seen Applejack or Fluttershy since, that was the final component to making the pair truly frightened and miserable. Dash knew that they should head over to Sweet Apple Acres or Fluttershy’s cottage and just apologize. She just didn’t dare suggest it for fear that Pinkie Pie would agree. Not that she was afraid-

Yeah. Okay. So maybe I’m a little afraid.

The knock on the door made both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash jump. Neither of them landed immediately, Dash being startled into a hover and Pinkie casually and callously disregarding gravity. When the second set of hard raps sounded, they both rushed to the door.

Only to stop in front of it, hesitating in concerto.

“Um, open it?” Dash suggested.

“Your turn!” Pinkie shot back in a whisper.

“We don’t take turns in opening the door,” Dash hissed.

“Sure we do! And you’re going first!” Pinkie retorted.

“If you don’t open the door right now, Ah swear Ah will buck a hole in the wall,” came Applejack’s familiar twang from the other side of the door.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie’s heads collided as they both leaned forward to turn the key. They wrestled with it for a precious few seconds before Dash managed to fling the door open, bringing them face to face with their farmpony friend. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen, and Dash couldn’t help but think this was a bad omen.

Pinkie hopped over to wrap her forehooves around Applejack’s neck in a crushing hug to which the orange earth pony made no response other than to wait for her to be done. Dash coughed and looked away for an embarrassing ten or twelve seconds.

“May Ah come in?” Applejack asked when Pinkie finally disentangled herself. The pink party pony bit her lower lip and nodded, wiping her eyes as she stepped aside to let Applejack enter.

“Hey, uh, I’m really sorry-” Dash began.

“Don’t,” Applejack snapped. “Sit.”

Rainbow Dash sat down on the spot.

“Oh for heaven’s sakes, in a sofa or something,” Applejack groaned and gestured to a nearby table. It took a few massively awkward moments, but soon enough all three of them were seated. To say that Dash was comfortable, however, would have been the biggest lie ever told. Applejack made no move to speak.

“We really are very very super sorry,” Pinkie said, fidgeting with her forehooves. “Can you tell Fluttershy? Please? We didn’t mean to...” her voice petered out, and Dash rested her head on her forelegs. Didn’t mean to what? We did exactly what we meant to do.

“Right,” Applejack said. “So you’re sorry. That’s a mighty fine start, and no, Ah sure as sugar ain’t telling Fluttershy, because you’re gonna tell her that yerself. You’re gonna tell her until Ah am convinced she feels better.”

Dash blushed, feeling a touch indignant. “Hey, we said we’re sorry, but you don’t have to be a flank-hole about it.”

“And what exactly was it you did, you two?” Applejack asked. The worst part was, it sounded almost innocent, though her voice carried enough force to bore through mountains. It was an obvious trap.

“We watched you eat Fluttershy’s pie?” Pinkie bubbled.

Dash closed her eyes and calmly planted her face on the table with a resounding wham. She heard Applejack snort derisively.

“What you did, was ruin Fluttershy’s first time, among other things,” Applejack said with deathly calm. “It was meant to be special. Perhaps that don’t mean anything to you two, but it sure as hay does to me.”

“You also gave her a real start. Scared her so good, she had a little... accident,” she continued. Dash cracked an eye open and saw that Applejack was blushing faintly, but her voice was steel and betrayed no hesitance. “Let’s just say that we had to have a little cleanup afterwards.”

“So she’s a squirter? Big deal,” Rainbow Dash muttered, raising an eyebrow. “That’s actually kinda cool.”

“Ooh, that’s super neat!” Pinkie chirped. “Tons of fun!”

“Wrong juice, geniuses,” Applejack retorted, leaning back a bit.

It took a moment for Dash to get it. When she did, all she could manage was an “Oh,” before she went back to trying to bore a hole in the table with her forehead.

“Some ponies like that too,” Pinkie helpfully added.

“Ah don’t care about that,” Applejack said, deflating. Whatever anger she’d been trying to hold on to seemed to evaporate, and there was no sight of the force of vengeance that had knocked on their door minutes earlier.

“Ah want Fluttershy comfortable with herself again,” Applejack muttered, letting her gaze slip to the floor. She was still clearly uncomfortable talking about this, but true to form, she soldiered on. “We were just getting ready to try gettin’, well, you know. Trying it. Now she’s spooked. It don’t make sense. She’s so embarrassed, she’s gone home to sleep at her cottage alone tonight.”

“Because we screwed up,” Dash said, swallowing. She felt hollow. Fluttershy was her oldest friend, and though she would never admit it, she was really happy to see how strong Fluttershy had become. Then she’d gone and wing-clipped her like this. She clenched her eyes shut.

Applejack made to get up and Dash wanted to stop her. To say she was sorry. What was the use in repetition, though? What else could she possibly say?

“Can’t even be bothered being angry with you, frankly,” Applejack remarked bitterly. “And there’s nothing you can do. Doubt an apology’ll change much. Ah’ll head home and see if Ah can’t at least get her to look me in the eye.”

“There is totally something we can do!” Pinkie Pie chirped cheerfully. “I have the best idea ever!”

Fluttershy nibbled on a pine cone that a squirrel had been kind enough to offer her. It wasn’t exactly her favorite. In fact, it wasn’t really proper food at all, but she didn’t want to be rude. She’d eaten both the carrots she’d gotten earlier this evening anyway.

It was probably an exaggeration to think she could hide forever. Forever was an awfully long time. On the other hoof, other ponies-in-hiding didn’t have the benefit of little animal friends who brought them food, either. At least, Fluttershy didn’t know of any other ponies who did. Then again, she didn’t know any other ponies who were hiding like cowards. Hiding from their best friends. Hiding from their marefriends. Hiding from themselves, despite thinking were better than this.

As if the guilt from this wasn’t enough, she was haunted by yesterday’s events, too. The second she began that thought, she couldn’t stop herself. She quested down the darkened pathways of her mind until she arrived on that singular memory. Applejack sitting before her, with her lovely golden mane spread out all around her beautifully toned body.

The smells of sweat and lust threaded with a fresh and tantalizing scent of apples. The way every single muscle in her body ached in the most delicious way, feeling so impossibly relaxed yet achingly tense all at the same time.

And two pairs of eyes watching her from the window.

Fluttershy was vaguely aware that somewhere back in her cottage, a door opened and closed. It took considerable effort to wrest herself back to reality, and when she managed, she was feeling uncomfortably hot again, both from the burning shame and from that haunting memory. She wished she had thought of a better place to hide.

It was amazing how the smallest things became so intimately familiar after you spent enough time around each other, but there it was; she knew the approaching hoofsteps by heart. She easily recognized that strong and steady gait that mounted her bedroom stairs and came to rest not a full pony length in front of her.

Light streamed in as Applejack lifted the covers and peered in at her. She hadn’t even needed to look around or even call her name once. She’d known where to find her, and Fluttershy couldn’t even bring herself to mind. There was safety in predictability.

“Under the bed again?” Applejack asked, chuckling softly, though her face was creased with concern.

Of course she would be concerned. Of course she was worried. That was why it hurt so much. It wasn’t quite why she hid, but it didn’t help, either. Fluttershy couldn’t bring herself to forget the burning shame of yesterday evening.

“It’s not funny,” Fluttershy muttered, wishing she could reach out and pull the covers back down over the side of the bed.

“Ah didn’t mean it like that,” Applejack said with a sigh. “But you’re right. It ain’t funny. And Ah’m sorry. Move over.”

Before Fluttershy could protest, Applejack lay down and crawled in under the bed. After an awkward moment of shuffling and nudging, they lay side by side in the darkness. The strangest thing was, it actually helped a little.

“Feeling any better?” Applejack asked, leaning over to nuzzle her withers. Her touch was balm for the soul.

“Maybe,” Fluttershy muttered, looking away. “I don’t know.”

“They feel real bad about it, you know,” her marefriend said, tentatively. “Ah mean, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.”

Fluttershy swallowed and hid her face in her own mane. There was that memory again. She just wanted to forget. No, she corrected herself, I want to want to forget, but I don’t. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to avoid going down that road again.

Applejack paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was very quiet. “Ah don’t know if you can find it in yourself to forgive them, but if you still trust me, there’s something Ah’d like to show you.”

Fluttershy looked over at her and nosed into her side. The implication that she might ever not trust Applejack hurt a little, but she knew it hadn’t been meant like that.

“You know I do,” she whispered.

“Then let’s go. We should probably hurry,” Applejack retorted, a touch more chipper as she wiggled out from under the bed. The second her flank had disappeared from view, it was replaced with an inviting hoof. “Come on, sugar.”

It was impossible not to accept the hoof and follow Applejack down the stairs. The idea that Applejack should ever have to be disappointed when she looked over her shoulder, that she would not find Fluttershy right on her tail, it was an abhorrent one. The tether than thus ran between them was absolute, and it was cherished.

Outside, the horizon bled the last of the autumn afternoon away in a riot of oranges and yellows. Even Applejack had to pause at the threshold to the cottage, glancing skywards and giving off a surprised albeit appreciative snort. “Weren’t like that when Ah was coming over ten minutes ago,” she said, but she was moving again not a moment later, clearly stressed out about something.

“Um. Where are we going?” Fluttershy had to ask as they set off down the road. Applejack glanced back and smiled as she set a brisk pace.

“We’re going to the barn,” she answered without answering.

“Oh,” Fluttershy replied, pretending to be satisfied with that.

It was a short journey, but Applejack held her silence, leaving Fluttershy to the company of her thoughts as they crossed the orchards. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were sorry? She had forgiven them before she even thought of how to be angry with them. They had probably just meant it as a joke or a prank, even if it was a little silly.

Months ago, Fluttershy would have found a way to blame herself for it. Fact was, she was still terribly embarrassed, and she wasn’t quite sure she felt ready to see them, but she’d get over that eventually. Somehow. No, it was something quite different that worried her, and it had nothing to do with them, specifically.

“Well, here we are,” Applejack announced. Fluttershy looked up and realized they had indeed arrived at the large red barn that dominated the farmyard. She had barely noticed. What she did find odd, however, was that the door was slightly ajar. The doors to the barn were usually open, but now they were almost fully closed. What was more, light was spilling from the small opening.

Applejack stuck her head through the gap, coming back a second later with her cheeks tinged red. “Right, now, ‘afore we do anything here, Ah want to just say that if you don’t want-”

“Don’t spoil the surprise!” came an unmistakably familar and high-pitched voice from inside the barn.

“Well, ‘hoo ‘hust did!” an angry and oddly muffled voice added, cracking just a little on the last word. Applejack facehoofed and hung her head.

Fluttershy backed half a step away from the barn. “Um, I don’t know if I-”

“They’re right sorry,” Applejack said, puffing out her cheeks and sitting down on her rump. The orange mare’s eyes dropped to the ground, and Fluttershy thought she looked quite lost all of a sudden.

“Ah don’t often worry, but when Ah do, Ah like to think it’s because of stuff what matters, Fluttershy. Ah worry that you won’t ever open up to me again. Ah worry that what we have won’t ever be-” she paused.

“Ah worry we won’t ever have all that we could have had, just because it all went wrong yesterday. It ain’t that Ah love you any less for it, and you know-”

Fluttershy leaned forwards to plant a kiss on Applejack’s snout. It took all the strength she could muster, but she swallowed and put forth her bravest smile. Meeting her friends again after the disaster of yesterday night would be uncomfortable, and she was a little unsure of what was going on, but none of that mattered. Seeing Applejack like this hurt her more than anything.

“Let’s go see Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, please,” she suggested.

Applejack nodded and adjusted her hat. While she still looked rather discomfited, she reached out to open one of the barn doors a touch more. “After you, sugarcube.”

Guided by implicit trust, Fluttershy slipped out of the darkness and into the barn. Inside, a single lantern resting on the ground illuminated just about the last scene she would have ever imagined. Fluttershy liked to think she had a rather rich imagination, particularly when it came to designing weird and scary things, but she would obviously have to reconsider that belief.

“Hi! Surprise!” Pinkie Pie chirped. The pink party pony was suspended a hoof’s breadth off the ground by copious amounts of rope tied to the beams above. Her legs were all spread apart by even more rope, with her hind legs in particular being conspicuously widely parted. She was wearing a blindfold, looking quite helpless all in all - and extremely chipper about the whole situation.

“Wha’ ‘hee ‘haid,” Rainbow Dash said, speaking around a bit. She seemed less pleased about the ordeal, and indeed, the pegasus’ predicament was perhaps even worse. Where Pinkie was suspended mid-air, Dash was well and truly grounded.

In addition to ropes that tied her down, a hook on the muzzle of a bridle she wore forced her head to the ground, whilst a leg spreader kept her hind legs wide apart with her rump in the air. Almost as an afterthought, a length of rope was wrapped around her belly tying her wings down, rendering Dash utterly vulnerable.

Fluttershy stared. She heard Applejack walk up to stand at her side while her brain all but ground to a halt.

“It was Pinkie’s idea,” Applejack said after a cough to clear her throat. “Ah don’t want to lose what we had, or almost had. Ah’d try just about anything, but right now Ah’m not sure this was-”

“See, me and Dashie, we were so super sorry, and we still are!” Pinkie interrupted, pouting. “We felt so bad about making you feel bad and embarrassed, so we thought we’d embarrass ourselves a little, too! You know, eye for an eye, except it’s no fun to go poking ponies in the eyes, but this is fun, and it would be so super sad if you didn’t want to play with Applejack any more just because me and Dashie did something silly!”

Fluttershy sat down on her haunches as Rainbow Dash spoke up. Despite the awkwardness of speaking around the bit, the uncharacteristic nervousness in her voice was unmistakable.

“We ‘hrewed up,” she said, averting her eyes for a second before they fell upon Pinkie Pie instead. She could barely move at all, but she wriggled a little in agitation “‘Hinkie, aren’t ‘hoo ‘h’posed ‘foo ee gagged?”

“Oh, I was, but I ate it. It smelled good, like raspberries!” Pinkie Pie explained, her brow rapidly creasing in a frown behind the blindfold. “It didn’t taste like raspberries. Blech.”

“Right, simmer down you two, jeez,” Applejack called, looking over at Fluttershy. “Uh, please say something, sugar. Ah’m getting a lil’ bit nervous here.”

“And I’m not? I ‘han’t moof’!” Rainbow Dash protested, but Applejack silenced her with a glare.

The implication finally hit Fluttershy and shook her out of her stupor. It was an icicle that pierced her heart and bored its way deep into her being. “You- you’re all worried that I’m angry with you? That I want to get back at you for-” she blushed a deep crimson and took an involuntary step towards Applejack for reassurance.

“Um... I’m not, and I don’t. I never did, and it’s okay,” she muttered, burying her face in Applejack’s mane, nuzzling into the withers of her marefriend. Seeing her friends tied up like this was very odd, of course, but it was a sweet gesture. They had seen her at her most vulnerable, and so they thought to return the favor.

If that was all she saw in her trussed-up friends, she would have thanked them for it and helped untie them right away. She bit down on her lower lip so hard that it hurt a little. Even with her face hidden, she could feel their eyes on her, and she remembered, again. Their attention all on her and Applejack as her love pleasured her. Fluttershy shook.

“So ah we fhwee to go?” Dash asked, instinctively trying to rise, but held back with a clink of metal and leather. “Urgh, ma’ legth’re gehing tired.”

The soft safety of Applejack’s ponytail disappeared as the farmpony turned around and sat to face Fluttershy, neatly ignoring Dash. “Ah am glad to hear that, Ah just worried that...” she paused, wordlessly working her jaw for a few seconds. “That you might not feel comfortable with yourself, you know?”

Fluttershy drew her head back and gasped. “What? Oh, no! I mean, um, I work with animals all day, you know. It’s all perfectly natural. Um, I mean, you know. Mating. You just never asked, so I just thought you maybe didn’t want to.”

Applejack stared, snorted, and sighed all in good order, flattening her ears. “So just ‘cause it took me a while to work up the courage to act on the fact that you’re a treat for the eyes, you’ve been thinking that Ah don’t fancy you? Well, Ah don’t rightly see how Ah could’ve been a worse marefriend.”

“Oh no!” Fluttershy squeaked in panic. “No, not at all! I just- I didn’t really think about it! Or, um, maybe a little, I mean,” she amended, blushing. “But if you want to, too, then, um, that’s good, I think. I- I had a lot of fun, yesterday. I- I’d love to.”

“I ‘hink ‘hey forgo’ we’re heeh,” Dash chimed.

“Shh! They’re being cute!” Pinkie reprimanded.

Applejack knocked the hat on her head back a touch and smiled lopsidedly. “If that’s the case, uh. Ah hope Ah ain’t bein’ too forward, but the sun’s barely set, and, well. If you don’t mind me saying, Ah’m tempted to jump your bones here and now. What say we head inside?”

While her heart fluttered knowing that Applejack wanted her, Fluttershy couldn’t quite give up the thought that had been with her since she entered the barn. Perhaps, just maybe she could- no, she couldn’t. It would be so very, very strange to ask.

Yet here was her marefriend and two of their very best friends all gathered just to show her how much they cared for her. To show her how much they loved her, even if they had misunderstood a little. If she couldn’t trust her friends here and now, she would never forgive herself.

“Um, actually,” she said just as Applejack turned to begin helping Pinkie loose. “Would you- um, I-” she shrank back a little. The words were harder to say than she had imagined.

Three sets of curious eyes turned to regard her. Applejack with infinite patience, Rainbow Dash with curiosity and urgency, and Pinkie Pie with whatever the blindfold hid. She was somehow still managing to look straight at Fluttershy with an expectant smile.

“Anything, sugarcube,” Applejack said, simple as that. In her, and in the waiting silence of her friends, Fluttershy found the last little bit of courage she needed.

“I- if it’s okay, I’d like them, you-” she said, looking at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, “to stay. If you don’t mind, I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to I just, um. If you don’t mind. Sorry, I- I said that already-”

“You’d like... them to watch, while we, um, do it?” Applejack asked, dropping the rope she’d been working on.

“Uh,” Dash managed.

“I’m in!” Pinkie declared.

Fluttershy turned her gaze to the ground. There. She’d said it. If they thought she was stupid for being weird and thinking thoughts nopony should think, then they could do so now. At least she wouldn’t have to live burdened by that terrible secret.

Applejack coughed. “Uh, you girls okay with it? Ah ain’t gonna hold you to anything on account of your offer to help earlier, you know,” she said.

“You- you don’t have to-” Fluttershy stammered, but her voice was lost and completely ignored. For once, she was almost happy for it.

“I’m happy if Dashie is happy,” Pinkie giggled. “Thought I bet it would be better if you took this silly blindfold off. Wouldn’t you like that, Fluttershy, huh?”

If Fluttershy thought she was blushing before, she was now quite certain her cheeks would permanently stain. She barely managed a weak nod, Pinkie grinning back at her.

Applejack shrugged and untied the blindfold with a deft nip of her teeth, and after a frustrated noise from Rainbow Dash, moved over to help the bit out of her mouth, too.

“Eugh, okay, my mouth tastes like flank,” Dash muttered. “Right, um. This is super weird.”

Pinkie Pie made a disappointed noise, and Fluttershy was about to reassure Dash that it was no trouble at all - she tried telling herself that she was relieved to hear it, that they didn’t have to.

“Hey, no, jeez, I don’t have a problem with it!” Dash continued, raising her voice. “I mean, sure. Whatever. I’ve done weirder things. I think. Had weirder things done to me anyway.”

Fluttershy didn’t quite dare smile, but her wings wouldn’t be so easily quieted, spreading of their own accord. She locked eyes with Dash for a brief moment, and the colorful pegasus responded with a nod and a small grin before Applejack stole Fluttershy’s attention.

“Right,” the farmpony muttered, chuckling softly. “Can’t say Ah understand it, but Ah don’t have to. If it’s what you want, that’s all Ah need.”

“If it’s-” Fluttershy began, but Applejack held up a hoof to cut her off before she had even started. It was testament to how close they were. Or perhaps further proof of how predictable Fluttershy had become. She shrank back a little just as something alighted on her head.

Fluttershy looked up to see a hat-less Applejack adjust her trusty stetson atop her head. Sure, Applejack sometimes took her hat off, but Fluttershy had never worn it before. It was Applejack’s hat, and that was usually that. Apparently, the rules had changed.

“Tonight’s your night, sugarcube. Ah reckon you know the dance about as well as Ah do, so why don’t you lead?” Applejack said with a grin.

Dash licked her lips to try to get rid of the awful feeling that the bit had left - and to distract herself from the spectacle ahead. It was of absolutely no use. Fluttershy had gotten Applejack on her back, and maneuvered into position standing over her. The demure pegasus was straddling her face with her hindquarters, and had her own head nestled in between the farmpony’s haunches.

Fluttershy’s face was half obscured by her mane as she tentatively kissed Applejack’s swollen nethers, but her eyes were on Rainbow Dash. She was visibly reluctant yet unblinking and intense. Dash had tried to look away, but it just didn’t work. She was utterly transfixed. She struggled a little against her restraints, almost subconsciously, simply because movement was in her nature. Even so, Fluttershy held her attention captive.

She was watching Fluttershy as she shuddered in delight from Applejack’s ministrations. She was watching her foalhood friend in throes of pleasure as she and her marefriend went at it. Fluttershy paused for a second then, biting her bottom lip and blushing as if she could read her thoughts.

This is so wrong. This is so wrong, so weird, and- oh sun and sky, it is hot. Why is it hot? Oh whatever.

Rainbow Dash struggled again, trying to pull back a little only to be held back by the bridle that kept her head to the ground. She grunted and tugged at all her restraints experimentally. Her legs were still locked fast, and her wings were tied. She could barely move at all, and it was annoying.

“Eep, oh, uh, oops,” Pinkie squeaked at her side. Only now did Dash realize that the pink earth pony was gone from her side vision. Just as she completed the thought, Pinkie swung briefly into view, only to disappear again with a diplomatically quiet “whee!” that was half drowned out by the muffled moans of Applejack and Fluttershy.

“What are you doing?” Dash whispered.

“Oh, I think I can reach, hang on,” Pinkie said with another giggle before she disappeared behind Dash again.

“Right,” Dash muttered, her eyes defaulting back to Fluttershy, who was well and truly buried in Applejack’s love now. Her muzzle was shiny and slick with fluids, and every now and then she’d let out a throaty moan. Still the yellow pegasus was looking at her.

“Uh, so this is weird, yeah?” Dash whispered to Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, whoops- oh yeah, but really hot too, huh?” Pinkie asked from somewhere out of sight. Rainbow Dash could hear the grin on her face.

“I don’t know,” Dash muttered, chewing her tongue. A moment later, she yelped and jumped in surprise. Or rather, she tried to, only succeeding in rattling the restraints. There had been a warmth against her haunches, and she couldn’t quite wriggle away from - or towards it.

“Pinkie?” Dash asked, shifting uncomfortably. Restrained as though she was, she couldn’t very well look anywhere but at Fluttershy. The other pegasus mare was staring past Dash and stifled a giggle before her mirth was broken by a gasp as Applejack snared her attention again.

There was a faint creak of ropes and wood before a muffled yelp and another giggle. Something bumped against the backside of Rainbow Dash’s knee. “Hee, I can see you like it, Dashie.”

Rainbow Dash tried to draw her legs together, but cold metal stopped her. Her tail was securely tied back as well, denying her any form of privacy. Fluttershy was still looking back at her from between Applejack’s legs. She felt a trickle of fluid run down her inner thigh. “Maybe a little,” she muttered. “I still wish I could see you, though.”

“Aw, that’s really sweet, but you’re pretty when you’re tied up like this!” Pinkie replied, and Dash could feel her breath between her legs again.

“Well, if you like it, I guess,” Dash said, clearing her throat. She was really getting rather hot, and Pinkie’s words weren’t helping. Rather, they were helping, and that was the problem. “Uh, can you reach?” she asked.

“I think- whoa!” Pinkie yelped before she broke into a fit of giggles and snorts that Rainbow Dash not only heard, but felt. “Oh yes, this is going to be good.”

It started with a tentative lick. Dash could feel Pinkie’s wide, long tongue run the entire length of her dripping folds. Pinkie had never been one for restraint, however, and soon she was lapping at Dash’s sex with all the vigor she could muster, causing the bound pegasus to shiver in delight.

As much as her brain wanted to jam her eyes shut, to consign her body to the ride and surrender to the feeling of Pinkie’s tongue weaseling its way inside of her and probing her depths, she couldn’t. Fluttershy held her fast. That, or she was holding Fluttershy’s attention, herself. If there was a line, it was a blurry and insignificant thing compared to what went between them as Fluttershy stood over Applejack and Pinkie Pie wracked Dash’s bound body with pleasure.

Suddenly, the licking stopped. It took a moment for Dash to realize what had happened; her sex ached and throbbed. “Pinkie?” she whispered urgently, straining against her bonds to try to turn. It was futile.

“You know, I just thought you’d be worried about doing it in front of Applejack,” Pinkie mused, her voice calm and contemplative. “You know, because while you’re super-duper best of friends, you always end up in silly little competitions. I mean, it would be pretty silly if you suddenly started a race here, I guess, but-”

Dash’s jaw dropped. She was so close. She tried pulling her legs apart, and noticed that she had a little leverage. “Applejack is busy!” she hissed, droning Pinkie’s inanities out. She stepped down with one hoof while she pulled the other leg up with all her might.

The abused straps, not designed to hold an athletic, ornery and needy pegasus, yielded. With the snap of a leather binding, Dash had a leg free, and wasted no time in jamming Pinkie’s head in between her hindlegs. “And you should be, too!” she snapped, sighing in relief as Pinkie gave a muffled giggle, resuming her work. It didn’t matter if Applejack was present so long as Dash won, anyway.

Fluttershy’s gaze was insistent, now. Ever watching. Rainbow Dash had to wonder if this was what it was like to be under The Stare, but the thought was so absurd and out of place that she couldn’t hold back an equally misplaced grin. Fluttershy smiled back for whatever reason, setting them both blushing. Pinkie Pie’s tongue was flicking over her nub before diving back in. Are all ponies’ tongues this long? I don’t care- oh yes. Oh yes oh yes oh yes, right there-

She could feel it coming a mile away. It was unstoppable and the very promise of release threatened to drive Dash mad. She clamped down harder on Pinkie Pie. Thankfully, Pinkie got the idea and redoubled her efforts. She could feel her marefriend’s saliva mixed with her own juices running down her legs, and it was far hotter than it had a right to be.

Everything was thrown into sharp relief; the scent of four ponies’ desire, her marefriend’s tongue on her sex - and the sight of Fluttershy straddling Applejack. It was clear that Fluttershy was close, too, judging by the way her head jerked involuntarily. Her brow was furrowed, and she seemed stuck between trying to hide herself behind her mane and burying herself in Applejack’s haunches.

The climax hit Rainbow Dash like a freight train loaded with sonic rainbooms. Her entire body shook and her wings strained against their bonds. She pulled with all her might, but the bridle and the ropes held fast as Pinkie continued lavishing her nethers with the attentions of her tongue.

Everything she knew told her that this was supposed to be a private moment, yet even as her body sizzled with pleasure, she stared helplessly at and into Fluttershy’s big blue eyes. At that exact same moment, Fluttershy convulsed and gasped breathlessly. Her eyes were wide but trained straight back on her. Rainbow Dash had never before come so hard in all of her life. For a moment she envisioned that she would end then and there, unable to contain the pleasure.

At some point, she had apparently slipped out of the bridle, and her ears hurt something fierce from it. She was on her side, and Pinkie Pie was nuzzling her. The room reeked of spent lust, and her body ached with a pleasant numbness. Her belly-fuzz and her leg fur was matted.

“Hiya Dashie,” Pinkie said with a smile as she leaned forward to loosen a knot on the ropes that tied Dash’s wings. “You’re all messy and stuff!”

“Okay, that was amazing.” Dash grinned lazily as she got up on all fours. It took more effort than usual, and her legs were still shaky as she leaned forward to nuzzle Pinkie Pie. Her muzzle was sticky, and neither of them cared.

Dash hissed in pain as she unfurled her wings, glaring over at where Applejack and Fluttershy stood talking nearby. “Gah, I swear, Applejack did that on purpose.”

“Oh, I hope so! We should ask her to do it again soon. That was super fun!” Pinkie blurted and hopped on the spot.

“I meant- well, yeah,” Dash murmured, scratching the back of her head. “I’m not so sure about that, but hey, I didn’t really get to take care of you. Sorry.”

“OoOo, does this count as an argument? Does that mean we get to have make-up hotness now?” Pinkie asked, grinning hugely.

“Sure,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes and smiling back. “Hey listen, I just need to talk to Fluttershy for a second. Meet you back home?”

“Okie-dokie-lokie! I’ll get the cream out!” Pinkie chirped, bouncing off towards the barn door. Dash’s eyes were riveted to her rear as she went, and Pinkie must have noticed, given that she lifted her tail a smidgen, giving her a clear view of her rear. Yeah. Okay. So no sleep tonight. I’m okay with this.

“Hey guys,” Dash called as she walked over to join Fluttershy and Applejack. To say that it was awkward would be an understatement. The room still smelled, and everypony present kept their tails well and truly tucked between their legs. “I need to talk to Fluttershy,” she explained, staring intently at an interesting pile of hay behind the pair.

“Uh, sure thing. Ah’ll be outside,” Applejack muttered. She took a few steps towards the exit before stopping. “Hey, R.D.?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. Owe you one, Ah reckon.”

With precious little to add to that, Applejack slipped outside, leaving the two pegasi alone in the dimly lit barn. Their eyes met once again, but this time, there was no magnetic pull, no sense of being lost. Fact was, Dash had half a mind to look away, but it would be a crummy thing to do. She had nothing to be ashamed of. She smiled at Fluttershy, and Fluttershy smiled back, though the yellow mare’s smile was weak and short-lived.

“I’m really sorry,” Fluttershy said, her ears pinned back as she stared at her own hooves. “I don’t-”

“Seriously?” Dash interrupted her. “‘Sorry’? Come on Fluttershy. That was weird, and I guess you’re a bit of a weirdo, too, but you don’t get to be sorry for that.”

Dash shook her head as Fluttershy shrank back. “I’m not sorry, Fluttershy. Hey, actually, if you’re gonna be sorry, that’s pretty much an insult to me!”

Fluttershy looked almost fearful - she shook as she scrabbled for words, finding nothing but half-coherent mutterings. All Dash did was wait in silence until the timid mare dared glance up at her. When Fluttershy saw Dash’s wide grin, she took a deep breath and dared smile back.

“Okay,” Fluttershy finally managed, stepping forward to cross necks with Rainbow Dash. “Thank you.”

Rainbow Dash grabbed another hoof-ful of popcorn, chewing as silently as anypony could ever hope to chew the tasty, noisy things. She peered over the rim of the cloud again. Thanks to her expert positioning and cloudsponyship, they had a clear view straight through the second story window of Fluttershy’s cottage. Straight into Fluttershy’s bedroom.

“Pop?” Pinkie asked, offering her the swizzle straw they shared. Dash shook her head and frowned.

“Be quiet. If they catch us, AJ’s going to buck us from here to the moon,” Dash hissed.

“Isn’t that part of the point?” Pinkie asked. “I mean, the seeing, or the being seen? Not the catching. Or the moon.”

“No,” Dash groaned. “Or, maybe? I don’t even know, but I am not gonna mess with AJ to try to find out.”

After a moment’s silence, Dash blew her mane out of her face and sighed. “I wish Twilight would’ve lent us those binoculars.”

“So you admit it is hot? Dashie wants to see more?” Pinkie teased.

Rainbow Dash could feel the tips of her ears burning. She snaked a foreleg around to tap Pinkie lightly on the head with a hoof. “I don’t see you complaining, either.”

Pinkie giggled and rubbed her head. “Me? Of course not! Hey, can you move the cloud a little closer? I want to hear, too. Applejack makes the cutest noises sometimes.”

Rainbow Dash squinted and stuck out her tongue as she strained to see. “No point, I think they’re about done.”

“Oh!” Pinkie squeaked, eyes wide. “Almost out of time! We got to make our move!”

Before Rainbow Dash could even comprehend what was going on, Pinkie bounced up on her hindlegs. “Hi, Fluttershy!” she yelled, hopping up and down on their little cloud with unrestrained excitement. She hadn’t even seen her pack the pom-poms, yet there they were.

Dash barely had time to turn the cloud around and set course for Sugarcube Corner before Applejack’s curses shattered the silence of the night. An alarm clock bucked at near-supersonic speeds impacted against her head with a crack.

“I can’t take you anywhere,” Rainbow Dash groaned, flapping her wings for all her worth.

“Ooh, does this count as an argument?” Pinkie asked, leaning over the edge of the cloud.

The End

Author's Notes:

Well, so, I wrote that. This is an attempt to prove (perhaps to myself) that a story can have mature sexual themes and a message/point/whatever else "normal" stories are expected to have. Hell if I know if I succeeded. I'd love your thoughts, as always!

This story was originally posted up on EqAD and EPFA, but I've reworked it since, and plan to update the EPFA version to this one. The pony to blame for this story is still Kits, though. Kits also did the superb cover art; whether the art spawned the fic or vice versa is an ongoing debate.

In the (remote) event that you read and liked Where Earth Meets Sky, this takes place after its sequel (which is nearly done at the time of writing), but I don't really have an opinion on the level of canonicity of this. I still plan to keep the WEMS-related series sugary sweet and entirely tame.