A Winter Romance

Love is a Many Splintered Thing

Twilight Sparkle slammed the compass down on the coffee table in a huff. The needle spun around wildly before settling down to find magnetic north again. The energies of her divination spell fizzled, leaving her practice session for object location absolutely ruined. She had meant it to be a short exercise to help her with her project for Princess Celestia. Her will just wasn't there, and her frazzled mind compounded the problem. She couldn't work because she was too grouchy, and despite earlier telling Rarity that she just wanted to relax at her cabin, she couldn't rest because she was restless.

Her thoughts had been on Spike and Rarity ever since she tried to settle down in her room. Not even reading her book provided comfort. As one final measure, she tried mixing up some more of the cocoa she had bought from the comfort shop at the edge of town. However, the mug sitting on the coffee table next to the rose compass was already her third, and that one was already halfway to the bottom.

As Twilight fumed at her failure, she decided to lift the mug to her lips and drain the rest.

"Why do I feel so terrible?" she said after she swallowed. "Yeah well maybe it's because you lied to your friends and misplaced the gift Rarity got for Spike. Oh I was only thinking of Spike! Well congratulations! Either you hate yourself for letting Spike become led on by Rarity, or Spike hates you for almost throwing away his gift and then actually misplacing it later on!"

She gave a melancholy sigh before getting up to toss the mug into the sink. She then made her way from the kitchen back to the living room and glumly sat down on the couch.

"So what am I going to do?" she asked herself, her voice subdued. "I can't study for my project because all my books are back home. I can't practice or even relax because I'm so stressed and my mind is all agitated. I can't even stop thinking about what I did." She shifted about to sit down prone and drew her legs in close to her body self-consciously. Feeling low, she rested her head on the couch pillow beneath her. "I mean what is the big deal with that gift, anyway? Spike should know by now that Rarity only views his feelings casually. She could very well make him happy with her generous gifts while still playing the field elsewhere, like with her new boyfriend over here. What is this, her fifteenth? Wait a minute."

Twilight lifted her head up and furrowed her brows as she thought.

"I remember throwing the gift behind some bags in that baggage car in my attempt to get rid of it. That baggage car was the one her boyfriend told the conductor to store her wagon in. I bet those bags probably belonged to that Sky Sparks pony, and he probably picked up the gift by mistake." She got up from the couch and put on one of her own winter coats from her saddle bags, forgoing Rarity's strange and somewhat goofy-looking red and white outfit. She felt right at home in its simple plainness. "If I can track him down, I should be able to find the gift. Didn't Rarity say he was staying that luxury suite at cabin 800?"

She left her cabin and headed out into the cold, shivering briskly against the chill air's wintery greeting as she opened the door. The winter resort had maps scattered about at various intersections. They made finding the cabin easy, yet Twilight didn't look forward to the walk when she saw how far it was. The cabin was located near the back of the resort, a snowball's throw from the lift to the ski areas and nestled far away from the other cabins. It was a lavish building and big, with two full stories and a pyramid roof, all built with some of the most richly colored and deeply marbled wood she had ever seen. A part of the front of the cabin had a two-layer effect, with an enclosed deck up on the roof of the section underneath. Twilight could see a bubbling hot tub through the glass of the deck. Also adorning the front were severaly ornately carved wooden pillars, which sort of reminded Twilight of the Greco style columns of Cloudsdale.

"Okay, Twilight," she breathed, releasing an icy wisp of air. "You can do this. Just walk up to the front door and knock." As Twilight approached, she came to the realization that her fate in the eyes of her friends was based on the assumption that Rarity hadn't shown up yet. She stopped in her tracks. "Oh shoot," she said. "That's probably not such a good idea." She tapped her right hoof to her chin. "On the other matter, I don't want one of my memories of this vacation to be of breaking and entering." Thinking a bit more, she looked to the right and spotted a leafless oak tree overlooking a side window. "Hmm. Well then I won't break. I will just enter."

She made her way over to the tree and climbed up, moving over to the branch near the window and inching out as far as she dared to go. From her vantage point, she was able to look through the window and could see that it was a bedroom. There didn't seem to be a pony in sight.

Reaching for her magical energies, she tapped her teleportation spell, hoping it would be on the mark in her exhausted state. The air crackled with electricity before releasing with a satisfying pop. When she rematerialized, she bumped her head on something hard immediately above her. She rubbed the top of her head and opened her eyes to look around. All she saw was some kind of draped fabric.

"Great," Twilight grumbled, feeling her agitation increasing with all the day's earlier frustrations. "Seems I've materialized underneath a bed. Time to crawl out."

She proceeded to put in the effort into wriggling out like a caterpillar but stopped shortly before reaching the edge of the bed frame. The sound of a door opening froze her blood, and she quickly wriggled back towards the middle. She tried her best to quiet her breathing and heard the sounds of two distinct set of hoof steps, one the heavier clip clop of a stallion and the other the pat pat of a mare. The mare tittered while the stallion chortled, and both sounded a bit inebriated to Twilight. Twilight grimaced when she heard the bed creak and felt the weight of the springs on her back.

"Oof," Twilight said, struggling to breath while still avoiding becoming heard. "Oh I hope they're not going to start mating. Well I'm not sticking around to find out."

Twilight attempted another teleportation, knowing very well the risk of a blind teleport. When she materialized, she found herself in a hallway. Looking around, she saw nothing but doors in every direction. The sounds of conversation and some merrymaking drifted up from downstairs. They were somewhat muffled to Twilight's ears, which she took as a good sign that her intrusion wouldn't become heard and that the occupants below were a fair distance away from her endeavors and distracted by the party.

"This cabin is huge," she whispered to herself as she looked around, trying to decide which door to try first. "What a silly work of extravagance. There must be close to fifty rooms here."

Upon hearing the sounds of grunting and bucking emanating from the bedroom she had just teleported from, she wrinkled her nose in disgust but also nodded at the door to mark it in her mind for avoidance. She decided to start at the end of the hallway opposite of that room.

"I could try that location spell exercise I came up with for my project, but I haven't really had much luck with it, and I also left my compass back at the cabin. Well... here goes nothing."

Twilight gathered her thoughts as she concentrated on the necessary energy and connected the lines of magic in her mind. She had meant this to be an exercise to expand her perception for whenever she would get around to finishing her project for Princess Celestia, but she wasn't really looking forward to exerting herself on anything else, and certainly not for something as simple as trying to find a missing gift. Even so, she continued on, and as she worked on the magic, she felt things around her start to grow somewhat sparkly.

She struggled to shape the spell as her sensations started to twist. Appearances became textures. Textures became sounds. Sounds became appearances. As the spell unwound, she felt an unexpected burst of energy, and a multitude of tiny sparkles seemed to cover everything in the entire cabin.

She opened her eyes and immediately grew dizzy.

The spell didn't give her the desired effect. Instead, she stumbled about and struggled to keep her balance as her scattered senses gave her all the coordination of an inebriated pony. Undeterred, she decided to continue searching for the gift in each room the old-fashioned way. However, her very first step resulted in her falling on her face. Panic set in when she heard more jubilant and rowdy voices getting closer.

Some more ponies were climbing up the stairs, and she remained stuck in a compromised way, sprawled on the floor with her legs akimbo. She pressed her front hooves to the floor and struggled to get up. It was an effort too late.

"Hey there, sweetie. Are you enjoying the party?"

Twilight froze but then realized a moment later that the voice was addressing her and didn't sound like the pony speaking suspected her of not belonging to the party.

"Um..." Twilight began.

"Well you must be because you look like you've drank just a little too much."

At that moment, Twilight changed her mind and decided not to get up and turn around. She remained on the floor, playing the part of a drunk partier. "Yeah," she muttered, giving a small hiccup for good measure.

"Hey don't take this the wrong way," she heard the voice behind her continue, "but you've got a really cute butt. Do you want to join me and my girlfriend for a little fun?"

Twilight grimaced and then looked over her shoulder. She noticed that her posterior was indeed up in the air and that the pony behind her was staring at it. She quickly scrambled to her feet. Turning around, she faced a tall and lanky dark brown stallion and a sleek, curvy unicorn mare with a peach-colored coat.

The stallion had blood-shot eyes from being drunk but also sported a broad grin. The reason for his smile soon became apparent. The mare behind him giggled incessantly as she propped herself up on his backside. One of the mare's front legs reached around underneath him and firmly pressed up against the sheath where his boy part would be. From the look on the stallion's face, Twilight could tell that he was getting close to full arousal. Despite her mind being a little out of sorts from her spell's backlash, Twilight's senses were completely electrified. Through the noise of her thoughts, she saw the look of lust on the mare's face and watched the gentle rubbing of the stallion's private parts, and against her better judgment, Twilight couldn't help but slowly become a little turned on.

She promptly crossed her back legs and politely shook her head.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn you down," Twilight replied.

The stallion grimaced as his mate pressed even harder, but then he smiled at Twilight and shrugged. "Well suit yourself. I'd better check into a bedroom before I pop out right here and now."

The stallion nodded before opening up one of the doors lining the hallway and heading inside. His girlfriend followed closely after, still giggling all the while. Twilight then blushed as the door closed behind them.

"Just what kind of party has Rarity come to?" She then cleared her throat and briefly looked around before stumbling to another door. "Oh I wish I hadn't cast that spell," Twilight wailed as she clumsily reached for the door handle.

Opening the door gave Twilight another shock. Inside the room, a young female pegasus had her lips buried into the private parts of a unicorn mare, who seemed to be kissing the lips of a young female earth pony, who was in turn being penetrated from behind by a unicorn stallion. The stallion grunted as he bucked and thrust up against the earth pony girl, his eyes screwed shut from ecstasy. Twilight ran a tongue across a dry spot on her palate and swallowed nervously as she watched the spectacle. She felt a strong tingling near her back legs as her heart thumped quite forcefully in her chest.

She took a couple of shaky, awkward steps backward and immediately fell over again.

Only the pegasus looked up. She frowned at Twilight. "Either step inside or go away!"

Twilight blushed and hastily stood up, grabbing the door handle on her way out of the room. She then exhaled a ragged sigh and whimpered. Biting her lower lip, she reached back with a front hoof and touched underneath her hind quarters. She gasped as a wave of intense pleasure hit her brain. This was followed by a feeling of embarrassment, and she immediately pulled her hoof away. Looking down, she wrinkled her nose when she spotted a clear, sticky liquid coating the end of her leg. She hated feeling so naughty at such an important time, and she had to make sure no other pony saw her.

"Oh! I'm already sick of sneaking around this party, but I'm afraid of checking the next room!"

She closed her eyes as she reached for the door handle and opened the door. When she heard nothing, she dared a peek with one eye. Then she opened both eyes and smiled at the sight of an empty room. She walked inside.

The bedroom she found herself in seemed to be the main bedroom. A double king sized bed dominated the middle of the room. It was easily far bigger than the beds she had seen in the other rooms. A blue canopy over the bed provided a romantic touch. Twilight could only imagine to herself the kinds of things that would go on with such a bed. She wondered if Sky Sparks had plans to seduce Rarity, considering what she had already seen at the party.

She then turned her head to the left and spotted a large closet across the room. It was open and mostly empty, save for a few coats and the two long boxes she spotted back on the train.

"Hmm. He must be some kind of skier," she noted to herself. "I still don't see the gift, though, but this is definitely his room." She looked around some more and spotted a small dresser along the wall nearest to her. She saw the familiar, delicately wrapped gift box on top of the dresser. "There it is!" she said with a smile.

She hurried inside the bedroom and closed the door. She pressed her lips together as she lifted the gift up and examined it all over. Conflicted feelings bubbled up within her once again.

"Oh!" Twilight huffed. "I should just tell Rarity that Sky Sparks took this gift from me and be done with it!" She then lowered her head sadly. "However, Rarity would never forgive me if I told her something about her new boyfriend she didn't want to hear. And I'd never forgive myself if I told her something about him that wasn't true or broke my promise to keep her gift safe."

Before Twilight could stuff the gift into her saddle bag, however, she heard the bedroom door slowly creak open. She became startled, and in a fright, she headed for the closet and pulled it shut. It wasn't until she had backed up to the farthest corner of the closet that she realized she had left the gift back on the dresser.

"Oh no," she whispered. "I didn't take it with me?" She frantically looked all around but saw no gift box. "I must have been so taken by surprise that I think I left it on the..." She stiffened and fell quiet when she heard a familiar and boisterous voice outside of the closet.

"Oh my ponies! What a disappointing party! This headache is killing me, and I didn't even get to bed that knockout of a mare with diamonds on her flank!"

Twilight frowned inside her hiding spot. "That knockout mare you want to bed is my friend," she grumbled.

"Well at any rate," the stallion on the other side of the closet exclaimed. "I hope she likes skiing because tomorrow, I get to show her my stuff! She's bound to swoon for me. First, I just need to check on my skis, here."

Twilight became frightened. She was trapped in a closet she wasn't meant to be in after crashing a party she hadn't been invited to, and the host was walking straight towards her. She knew there was no time to worry about the gift anymore. She had to teleport without it or risk being caught.

She concentrated hard, hoping there was still some tiny shred of magical energy inside her. Despite her mind being as frazzled as it was, she still found just enough strength to cast her spell. She drained the last dregs of energy she could muster and disappeared in a burst of light. Her landing after exiting the teleportation was extremely clumsy. She tumbled out of the ether and landed quite forcefully in a big pile of snow.

Twilight grumbled as she proceeded to pull herself out of the snow drift. As she stood up, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Twilight? What are you doing here?"

It was Rarity.

* * *

Rarity tried scooting away from Sky Sparks, who seemed quite determined to get close and wrap his body around her. Under any other circumstance, Rarity wouldn't have minded a sweet cuddle, but for much of the length of the party, Sky Sparks had spent his time talking about little more than himself and his prowess in skiing, a subject which Rarity had grown to find increasingly dull. He had also spent the better part of the last few hours getting somewhat loud and very drunk. Presently, he reeked of a very strong whiskey called Midnight Rider.

Rarity herself had imbibed a few drinks and was feeling a bit tipsy as well, but Sky Sparks behavior, in no uncertain terms, just plainly embarrassed Rarity. Her unfinished glass of Chardonnay sat on the coffee table that was in front of the couch where she and Sky Sparks were seated. It would have been her third, but she had been put off finishing it.

She didn't recall the last time she was at a party where she had felt so out of place. A couple on the opposite side of the coffee table stared at her across the rim of their drink glass. They shared a large margarita together, each sipping on individual straws tucked into the beverage. Rarity imagined that they were either judging her as a potential mate for Sky Sparks or judging her ability to hold her alcohol.

In a back corner near the fireplace, she overheard another pony trying to discuss the finer points of selecting snowboards. As she looked around at how the party unfolded, she saw a bunch of fabulous ponies all looking like high society but not acting or talking like high society. She couldn't recall the last time she ever felt so lonely.

In a fit of disgust, she turned back towards Sky Sparks and attempted to steer the conversation to more familiar territory. Something amusing one of his friends had said sent Sky Sparks into a fit of laughter. Rarity took that opportunity and promptly shoved a hoof into his mouth.

"Say Sky Sparks," Rarity began after he had been suitably stifled. "Did I ever tell you about this one time I made a princess cut dress for a very important...?"

Sky Sparks pushed Rarity's leg away from his face. "Oh come on, Rarity! Nopony wants to hear about that!" he exclaimed. He then turned towards his other party guests. "Isn't she something, though? A toast to Rarity!"

This sent a celebratory cheer from the couple.

Rarity blushed and covered up her face, but she didn't feel flattered. Unseen by her, Sky Sparks raised another glass of his favorite whiskey and drank it back. Rarity looked up when she heard the clink of the glass on the coffee table. Looking to the side, she saw Sky Sparks trying to lean in even closer, his eyes slightly narrowed in a way that Rarity was all too familiar with.

"Come on, Rarity," Sky Sparks crooned in a suspiciously smooth manner. "I'm feeling a little amorous. Why don't I take you upstairs and show you my ski pole?"

It was all Rarity could stand. She angrily got up from the couch, her brow pulled into the fiercest frown she could muster.

"Were I even in a better mood, I'm afraid I would still have to turn you down!" Rarity shouted. "Now I'm in a bit of a stormy mood, and I haven't had any fun since arriving at this soiree. I'm going to have to excuse myself and head back towards my cabin. Thank you for keeping my cart safe."

As she finished her somewhat gentle tirade, she looked at Sky Sparks more closely and could tell that she had frightened him, which was never her intention. He looked pale and his eyes were wide. He glanced back over at his two other party guests, giving them a nervous look, seemingly watching for some sign that he hadn't lost face in front of them. He then looked back over at Rarity and gave her an awkward smile. She turned her back towards him.

"Oh but Rarity," she heard him start to say.

"I think you've had quite enough to drink," she interjected. "You should just go to bed. Alone. What your other guests do for the remainder of the party is of no concern of mine, but I am leaving."

She took a couple steps towards the entrance of the foyer.

"Wait!" Sky Sparks exclaimed.

She thought she heard a crack in his voice. It was enough to get her to stop, but she still kept her back towards him.

"You're right. I've had too much to drink," he wheezed. "But I don't think I could stand it if you didn't want to see me anymore, so I am inviting you to come join me at the top of the west slope tomorrow morning. Please bring something cute, and I might bring a surprise as well."

Rarity started to sneer but then let it die. She pursed her lips and thought a little before slowly nodding. Despite her foul mood, she didn't want to seem rude, and at the very least, she was curious about what he had in mind with his surprise.

"Very well," she said. "Tomorrow morning at the top of the west slope. Say ten o' clock?"

"That will be good. Will you let me walk you to your cabin?"

"No! You may walk me to the front door and no farther!" Rarity then caught her tone and softened her voice. "Ahem. I mean I can manage my way back to my cabin just fine. Thank you."

Sky Sparks grumbled but did as he was asked and escorted Rarity to the front door. Upon reaching the threshold, Rarity did her best to maintain an appearance of dignity and politeness, even though on the inside, she felt like squirming. She could feel the weight of his stare as he stood before her just inside the doorway, pursing his lips like he expected a small kiss or some kind of tiny romantic favor. Rarity kept her head held high as she looked back at him, trying not to betray the jitters she felt inside, but when she opened her mouth, she spoke in a hurried manner.

"Well thank you for inviting me to the party and for walking me to the door and I will see you tomorrow okay bye!"

She then soundly closed the door in his face.

She took a couple steps backwards and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he didn't reopen the door. She then turned around and sought out her wagon. She found it around the back of the cabin, curiously neglected of any kind of covering. She clicked her teeth in disapproval and checked over her belongings. Happily, she found everything in place and not damaged. She hooked herself up and started pulling her cart towards the street.

She didn't even walk one hundred feet down the road before she heard a strange thump next to her, like something hitting the snow very hard. Rarity looked to where she heard the sound and saw a familiar purple tail sticking out of a snow drift. Curious, she unhooked herself from her cart and walked over. Just as Rarity expected, her friend Twilight popped out of the snow in front of her.

"Twilight? What are you doing here?" Rarity asked.

Twilight turned around to face Rarity only to lose her balance and fall over again. Twilight grumbled under her breath before reaching up and grabbing the hoof Rarity offered in assistance.

"Good heavens, Twilight. Are you okay?" Rarity said as she pulled Twilight to her feet. "Are you drunk? You weren't invited to the party."

Twilight pushed Rarity's hoof away and then steadied herself on her own four legs. "No I'm not drunk, Rarity. I just had a less than desirable reaction with a spell. And you're one to talk. You look a little glassy-eyed yourself."

Rarity pulled her lips into a pout. "I am only a little tipsy, darling. Now what did I tell you about coming to this resort and doing anything other than relaxing and having fun?" She then approached Twilight even closer and prodded her in the flank. "Come on. Let's walk you back to your cabin." When Rarity placed a hoof around Twilight's body to help steady her friend, she wrinkled her nose at something and frowned. "On second thought, my cabin is closer, and well... How do I put this delicately? You kind of sort of smell. As a matter of fact, I'd wager to say that the way you smell is almost like that of a pony in heat."

Twilight drew away from Rarity and brought a hoof to her chest as she dropped her jaw. "Why whatever are you suggesting, Rarity? Are you saying I've been up to things unbecoming of a studious and productive bookworm like myself?"

Rarity parted her lips with a smile. "If the horseshoe fits. I won't pry for details, but you smell horny, darling. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

Twilight tossed her head back to give an exasperated grunt. "What is it with you and this big sexual liberation thing going on? How many romantic partners have you had in your life?"

The smile suddenly faded. Rarity bottled her feelings but didn't cotton to the implication of being an easy mare. "A lady does not kiss and tell," she snapped. "My very few sexual encounters are my own business. Now are you going to follow me so that I can indulge you in a decadent bath, or am I going to have to drag you by your tail?"

Twilight glowered at Rarity for a few moments but soon gave in. She lowered her head and nodded before sighing out, "Okay." She then lifted her head back up. "At the very least, I just want to get out of this cold, but I couldn't possibly deprive you of that bath aroma thing that you spent your hard earned money on. I just want a quick shower."

Rarity shrugged and then walked back to her cart to hitch herself back up. "Suit yourself," she said. "Come on. Prop yourself up on my shoulder so that I can help you walk back to my cabin."

Twilight frowned and took a couple steps towards Rarity. "I can walk straight just fine, Rarity."

Twilight ate her words as well as some more snow when her next step sent her tumbling towards the ground again. Rarity leaned into the harness to get her wagon rolling but then stopped next to Twilight.

"Goodness! Whatever it was that you drank certain did a number on you," Rarity said with a playful giggle.

"I told you I'm not drunk!" Twilight exclaimed, causing Rarity's joking smile to fade. "Just..."

Twilight brushed the snow from her face and then looked up. With Rarity standing just in front of her, Twilight felt she finally understood Spike's emotions and thoughts concerning Rarity. For just a brief little while, Twilight found herself looking up at Rarity's behind, and to her embarrassment, Twilight couldn't stop thinking how attractive it was to her. She felt an intensely hot blush come to her cheeks, and she quickly threw more snow onto her face.

"On second thought, I think I will find some space in your cart and ride in there," Twilight said.

Rarity made a dismissive wave with her front hoof. "Oh pish posh! I will have none of that. You can drape yourself across my back and ride on top of me. I won't mind."

Twilight gulped and forced her gnawing awkwardness aside. Her dizziness caused by her spell's backlash didn't feel like it would go away anytime soon. Neither did her intense arousal. Staying on the ground or sitting in the snow would certainly give her the death of cold, yet her friend's offering of a pony back ride felt too strange and provocative, and given her current turned on state, a bit perverse.

As she slowly stood up and approached Rarity, Twilight's thoughts almost became consumed once more with the fixation on the perfect half circle of Rarity's posterior. It was enough to get her to hestitate some more.

"Twilight. I must declare that you are taking forever. Not to mention that you seem to be redder than the color of beets. Whatever is the matter?" Rarity called in her delightfully sing song way.

"Um..." Twilight swallowed hard and place a shaky hoof on one of Rarity's shoulders. "Are you sure I'm not too heavy for you?"

"Well I would prefer one to ride sort of side saddle like," Rarity replied, "but you'd be back on your face on the ground in no time if you did that. And no. You're not heavy for me at all."

Twilight blushed at the vague compliment and continued on by placing her other front hoof on Rarity's other shoulder. Twilight then bit her lips and took a deep breath before completing the maneuver by hopping up and bringing her near hind leg up and over to the opposite side of Rarity's flank.

She was now completely riding on top of Rarity's body, her front legs draped across Rarity's shoulder, and her back legs dangling on either side of Rarity's flank.

The beams of the cart that connected to the harness Rarity wore made balancing on her back far easier. Rarity set herself in motion again, and Twilight inhaled a ragged breath when it dawned on her that Rarity's backside was directly underneath her, and that it was wiggling.

"Uhhh hunnh hmmmmm..." Twilight crooned.

"Did you say something, darling?"

Twilight remained silent for a small bit, mulling on her feelings and the proper words to say. "Rarity? Don't take this the wrong way, but..."

"What is it, darling?"

Twilight could smell Rarity's scent. Vanilla was in her hair. Lavender wafted from her neck. It drove Twilight crazy.

"Did I ever tell you that sometimes I'm extremely jealous of you..." Twilight silenced the words and adjusted her stream of thought. "Of your butt?"

Rarity gave a strange, high-pitched noise that Twilight couldn't tell if it was a titter or a shocked retort. "I beg your pardon, Twilight? You're jealous of my butt? Whatever do you mean by saying...?"

"I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

"Hmm. If you say so, darling."

The rest of the trip carried on in awkward silence. Twilight felt it was more awkward for her than for Rarity. Every now and again, she mentally back kicked her inner self for bringing up Rarity's butt, as if that was something to be brought up in everyday conversation. Presently, the only thing conversing was the chattering of the wagon wheels as they rotated and spoke their language of wood and the crunching of snow.

Twilight tried her best to relax and enjoy the ride, but every little swaying of Rarity's hips made the task a little more difficult with each passing minute. She suddenly became aware that her strange little problem had caused her to drip on Rarity's fur. Twilight decided to remain quiet, feeling foolish enough from the last awkward thing she said. She merely bit her lip and whimpered throughout the whole trek.

"My goodness were you making quite the noise back there," Rarity said when she finally came to a stop.

"Well I couldn't help it," Twilight replied. "All my nerve endings are just super sensitive right now." She then lifted her head and saw that they were no longer moving. "Are we here?"

Rarity nodded, and Twilight took that as a cue to slide off her back.

"Indeed we are, darling. We have arrived at my cabin," Rarity replied as she got to work unhooking herself from her cart. "Just let me step out of this harness first, and then I can help you to the front door."

Twilight looked around and then noticed that Rarity left her cart around the back of the cabin. "Was all this stuff really necessary?" Twilight asked, an eyebrow raised in a quizzical manner. "What are you going to do with all this now that it is here?"

Rarity seemed to positively glow with pride as she regarded her cart. "Well of course all this is necessary! I'll never know when inspiration might strike me and I feel the need to create! I only brought the essentials!" She gave her mane a jubilant toss, beaming a smile that put dimples in her cheeks. "And don't worry about my things. Spi-i-i I mean I will arrange them later on. Myself, that is. That was what I meant to say."

She gave Twilight a nervous chuckle as Twilight furrowed her brows slightly and returned a slightly doubtful stare.

"Well! Shall I assist you to the front door?" Rarity chirped.

Twilight slowly nodded and then steadied herself on Rarity's shoulder. The two of them made their way around the building towards the front door, where Rarity used her key card to open it.

"Well I must say, I think you are making a huge mistake not taking advantage of my offer to treat you to a luxurious bath and instead settling for a boring old shower. You can barely stand up, and I honestly think that..." Rarity paused.

She held the door halfway open and stood looking through the door frame at something, but with her standing directly in front, Rarity blocked Twilight from seeing what she currently stared at.

Rarity whirled around to face Twilight and gave another paper mask smile.

"Could you excuse me for a teeny tiny bit and wait out here for just a tick?" the fashion pony asked in a suspicious sing song way. "I... ah ha... My cabin is an absolute mess."

"But it's cold out..."

"Okay thanks for understanding!"

The door shut in Twilight's face and clicked.

Twilight blinked.

"Here."

Somewhere to Twilight's right, a shallow mound of snow received a new hoof-shaped hole.

Inside the cabin, Rarity clicked her teeth and shook her head at the sight before her. Spike had fallen asleep on the living room couch, and she no longer had to wonder what became of the romance novel she had borrowed from Twilight. Spike clutched it to his chest as he slumbered like a colt would a teddy bear.

"Well now I know what caused Spikey Wikey's strange behavior earlier," she said as a small and knowing smile crept to her face despite herself. "I must not let on that I had known. Or let Twilight see him with this, for that matter. What a thing for him to be reading." She cautiously levitated the book away from his grip and tucked it back into her saddle bag. "Well Twilight is bound to find out sooner or later that I let Spike stay up even when she asked me to send him back to her cabin. I guess I'll just make this as simple as possible and tuck him into the bed. That way it'll look like he just wanted a nap."

Rarity did just that and levitated him off the couch. He still snored away as she carried him from the couch and into the bedroom, where she lovingly slipped him under the covers.

When she made certain that Spike was good and tucked in and sleeping soundly, she made her way back to the front door, where she opened it to the sight a slightly miffed and very cold friend.

"Well what was that all about?" Twilight asked as she stepped inside. "You didn't need to shut me out. I wouldn't have minded what your cabin looked like. You know that." She stomped the snow off her hooves near the door's threshold and shed her winter coat, hanging it up in the wardrobe. "Ugh. I feel so cranky, and that snow is causing my skin to chafe. I'm dying for that shower now."

Twilight turned her head from the wardrobe to see Rarity disappear around the corner of the bedroom door, but she still heard her voice from the other room.

"Well I'm working on that right now, darling. It shouldn't take too long. I just need to gather the proper things. Oh look at this. Such a drab color, and these towels are made of such a rough cotton. Why it's almost like sandpaper. Now that I think about it, I should've gotten some soothing lotion at that comfort shop. What do I get? A massage oil. Can you imagine?"

"Rarity!" Twilight called, craning her neck to project her voice. "I'm sure whatever is in that bathroom will be fine! I don't need pampering or anything fancy! I just need a shower!"

Rarity appeared in the bedroom door and furrowed her brows, giving a stern "no" with a shake of her head. Twilight cocked her head to the side.

"What are you shaking your head at me for? I didn't do anything."

Rarity brought a hoof up to the tip of her lips. "Be a little quieter, darling. Spike is asleep on the bed."

She then went back inside the bedroom, and Twilight followed her, still tottering around a bit clumsily. Rarity then made her way back to the bathroom, but Twilight stayed near the entrance, letting her eyes scan over the peaceful image of her slumbering dragon assistant, who lay neatly tucked under the plush and deep covers of Rarity's bed. He slept all curled up much like a cat, which hadn't changed much from when he was younger, and the way he slept produced a series of folds in the covers that hugged his body in a general mound shape. Her lips quivered when she thought to herself how much more grown he seemed. Perhaps the way he slept seemed more open and sure, less childlike. Perhaps it was the way the shape of the covers clinging to the form of his body seemed at that moment to be even larger to her eyes than how she remembered him just a few days ago. For whatever reason, Twilight found that she had to suddenly stifle being emotionally overcome by a need to reminisce about the young dragon.

The sounds of running water coming from the bathroom next to her snapped her out of her daydream about Spike. Rarity poked her head out and smiled broadly.

"One plain, boring, ordinary shower is ready for you, darling," Rarity chirped.

Twilight smiled and nodded as she made her way past Rarity, who slid by her on her way out of the bathroom. Twilight then gasped as she felt a sharp smack on her backside just as she was about to enter the bathroom. She turned her head and saw Rarity flashing a toothy smile and giving her tail a quick flick. Twilight realized that she had just been tail whipped in the behind by her friend, who had her right front leg gently held up in a ladylike sense of poise.

"I left a little something to make your boring shower a little more interesting," Rarity said, throwing a small purr at the end for good measure.

Twilight cocked her head slightly to the side and blinked as she tried to process Rarity's intentions and her rather strange act of endearment. "Um... What do you mean by...?"

"You'll see!" Rarity replied quickly, her words dancing with sunshine.

"Hmm. I guess I will. Oh and Rarity. What is Spike still doing here at your cabin when I asked you to send him back to my cabin as soon as possible?"

Rarity still held her beguiling smile. It made being angry at her a tad difficult for Twilight.

"And yet I caught you outside when you said all you wanted to do was rest in your cabin. What would Spike have done if I had him return to your cabin then? Hmm?"

Twilight opened her mouth for a retort but lost the heart for it soon after. She continued on her way into the bathroom, maintaining eye contact with Rarity all throughout until the final moment when she closed the door.

The rushing sounds of the water pouring from the shower head and the soothing heat of the rising steam did wonders for Twilight. Already she anticipated her cares and worries leaving her body as soon as she stepped under the water. Her body felt stiff from fatigue and, she had to admit to herself, her general grumpiness as of late, and she couldn't wait to relax these away as well as wait for her supercharged senses and the disorientation to subside.

She looked about the bathroom to spot what items were there. There was a big towel, the one Rarity said was drab and rough. There was a bath mat to keep the water off the floor and to make sure she didn't slip stepping out. Inside the bath tub itself, she spotted a bottle of shampoo, a bottle of body wash, and one of those shower puff balls.

"Good. Good. Everything is in order. Thanks Rarity."

It didn't take long for Twilight to discover what Rarity was on about earlier, though. Towards the very back of the bath tub, she spotted an odd, curved bottle, which was very small in size, with a clear gel on the inside. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity and stepped inside the bathtub to get a better look. She felt the rush of the warm water pouring over her body and her mane, but her focus was on the bottle. On it were the words "Magic Heat" and some smaller words about it not being a contraceptive and for it to be used as lubrication.

"While it heats the body and..." Twilight levitated the bottle and squinted to read the rest. "Excites your pleasure zone? Um..." She popped the cap and quickly gave quick, nervous glances behind her before giving the top a sniff. "No unpleasant odor. This must be that lotion sample Rarity got from the comfort shop. But my senses are already excited as it is. Do I really need this? Gah. What am I saying? I don't even know what I'm doing with this thing."

She set the bottle down and turned around, giving a sniff of her nose before getting to work on wetting her hair some more. As she cleansed herself and started to relax, however, her mind wandered back towards the strange party she had crashed earlier and the few ponies having sex in the upstairs bedrooms. Then she thought about Rarity's perfectly adorable backside. Despite her best efforts, Twilight had failed in stifling her horniness she had built up earlier. She felt a tingling sensation arrive at her nether regions as her arousal came back full tilt. She bit her lower lip and struggled to concentrate on her shower. She found that the water sliding down her hind legs only intensified her pleasure.

She elicited a sharp, whimpering kind of gasp as her thoughts took over and she sat down on the floor of the tub. She couldn't stand the pleasure anymore and immediately turned around and levitated the bottle of the sensual gel towards her, popping the cap and squeezing out a dollop onto the flat part of her right front hoof. She then slid her hoof down and gently applied the gel onto the area of her private parts.

She gasped again when the sticky substance entered the crevasse of her marehood, coating the inside liberally. A pleasant warmth radiated within her, and the tingling soon became like electricity. She moved her hoof away to keep the sensation from becoming too intense. She panted, almost breathless as she sat in the shower's rain, trying to compose herself. Before too long, she moved her hoof back down but brought it in slow, sliding her hoof across her taut belly and stopping a bit over her teats. Rubbing the small nubs hidden underneath her fur brought a pleasant tickling sensation.

Twilight arched her back as she lowered her hoof even more and went in for another attempt at her marehood. She started with a light touch and a gentle brush, and her body rewarded her with a jolt of pleasure. She then touched the slit again, bringing the edge of her hoof deeper into the folds but working it in slowly. Her hoof met no resistance, as her marehood felt suitably slick from both her own fluids and the lotion she had rubbed in.

"Hunnh. Ugh. N-no. My friends will hear me, but..." Twilight whimpered as she felt the intense sensations build.

She continued rubbing slowly, making sure not to become overwhelmed by the pleasure too quickly. She closed her eyes and tucked her head forward feeling the shower wash away the mist of tears that were driven to her eyes by the intense pleasure. She bit her quivering lower lip as she worked her hoof up and down. Her breathing soon became quick inhales and gasps. Then it became gulps and bigger breaths. Before too long, she was panting profusely, with the occasional crylike whimpers coming from her mouth.

Her head rolled back with a sharp grunt as her rubbing picked up speed, her pleasurable feelings increasing along with it.

"Hmmm. Unnnnhhh. Haaa haa!" Twilight groaned as her hoof continued its pistoning.

She felt her slit produce more and more fluids until she almost poured.

In her state of heightened sensations, a tiny but remarkable bit of awareness came to her, brought on by the remnants of the spell she had tried to cast and ultimately misused back at the party. She felt the presence of another nearby, and the image of Spike soon entered her mind.

She gasped and stood up, but thinking of Spike in her lustful way somehow didn't fill with her with revulsion. She opened one of her eyes just the tiniest bit and looked backwards, chancing a brief glimpse through the veil of her eyelashes. She spotted her dragon brother in the doorway, peeking his head around the corner, his jaw dropped slightly.

'Unnh. Spike. He's watching me? But why?' Twilight thought to herself.

Despite Spike's act of voyeurism, Twilight continued. She dipped one of her front legs down, bringing her rump up higher than her head. A naughty idea then entered her head, and she tapped into a conjuration spell and materialized a phallic object before immediately inserting it into her marehood.

"Aaaahhhhhhh!" Twilight exclaimed as a rush of pleasure flooded her brain.

She looked back and smiled when she realized the phallic object she had created almost looked like Spike's penis.

Behind her, Spike's eyes widened, but then he clasped his claws in front of his crotch to keep his boy part from stiffening yet again. He then pouted when he saw she the strange object that looked suspiciously like his penis that Twilight had materialized was several sizes too small. He realized that Twilight hadn't seen his boy part since he was very small, but he still felt unappreciated and insulted.

"It's not that small," he whispered in a huff.

Twilight continued working the toy penis in and out of her. She didn't fear any pain. She was thoroughly slick. She moved at a feverish pace, working the phallus in and out at an even faster rhythm than when she moved her hooves. Her rump moved up and down as her play continued, her mind almost giving control over to her body as pleasure flooded every bit of her and she put all her focus into her girl part and the increasing feeling of fun she felt.

'I... Ah! I have to... I have to tell him. Tell him that I sometimes feel this way about... Ah! About him. But... But I don't want to lose him as a friend,' came Twilight's thoughts as her image of Spike in her mind became more emotional and intimate.

"Ah! Ah Spike!" she shouted inadvertently.

Spike gasped before clapping a hand over his mouth to silence himself. A small bit of fear entered his heart, fear that he might have been discovered, but this fear fell away when Twilight continued on, her butt still pointed towards him. It became replaced with a mix of curiosity and confusion, the first over why he was watching this strange and alluring act from Twilight and the second over why she had called his name in such a state.

The up and down and rolling motion of Twilight's rump reached its peak speed. As she worked the toy penis in and out of her slit, going deeper and deeper with each pass, she brought the phallus higher up her girl part and brushed up against her clitoris in the final shove.

A wave of electricity hit her brain, rocketing forwards from the base of her private parts, and her efforts were finally rewarded.

"Uhh. Unnh! I... I... AH! I think I'm... COMING! I'm coming! Hnnnngh! Spiiiiiiike!" Twilight screamed in ecstasy.

She collapsed on the ground as a jet of fluid shot from her lady bits. Unknown to Twilight, her convulsions were so powerful that the first glob shot back towards the door and landed squarely on Spike's nose. Afterwards, her slit merely quivered, but the juices kept pouring and pouring onto the bathtub floor.

Spike, meanwhile, reached up and brushed the tip of his nose. He rubbed off a strange sticky liquid that seemed similar to the liquid his boy part had oozed in the restaurant bathroom but that smelled a bit different. His curiosity getting the better of him, he brought his hand up to his mouth and licked the liquid off. To his surprise, he found it somewhat tasty.

"This stuff came from Twilight?" Spike asked as he glanced at the remnants of the liquid on his hand.

He licked off the rest but grew embarrassed at the idea of a piece of Twilight inside his mouth and decided to retreat from the door before she saw him. He turned around and spotted Rarity behind him, looking at him with her jaw dropped and a deep blush on her face.