Between Two More

Chapters

Ch 1 - This Seems Familiar...
Ch 2 - Flawed Gemstones
Ch 3 - Facing The Music
Ch 4 - A "Friendly" Visit
Ch 5 - One of those days...
Ch 6 - A Treehouse of Cards
Ch 7 - The Week Ends, The Week Begins
Ch 8 - These Crimes Between Us Grow Deeper
Ch 9 - Civilized Conversation
Ch 10 - (Re)Building Bridges
Epilogue - Brand New Day

Ch 1 - This Seems Familiar...

~~~~~ The Golden Oaks Library ~~~~~

Three Months Later...

Morning… She knew morning. Knew it pretty well in fact, but it was only lately she’d grown to eagerly await the sunrise. She would always wake up at the crack of dawn, no matter how late she’d stayed up the night before or how long of a day it had been. It really wasn’t all that great for getting plenty of rest, but nothing she’d tried had fixed the problem. She conjectured it had something to do with her specific magic talents, but as the sun was the princess’s domain, she remained leery of diving into the subject like her instinct told her to.

Her eyes opened and shut with slow, dreary morning ‘wakefulness’. She did this only a few times before she fluttered them more quickly and became fully awake. She was still a bit stiff, but a nice shower would take care of that. And at the thought of a shower she rolled over to her other side (away from where the first rays were just barely peeking over the horizon) so she could look at something more beautiful than any sunrise. Mistress Twilight was still sleeping with a little smile on her face, her mane ruffled over her eyes in a cute way. There were days Sunset would go ahead and get about the morning chores, but she honestly didn’t feel like doing that today.

She snuggled more deeply into the covers with a suppressed giggle and inched her body closer to Mistress until she was laying inside the curves of her Mistress’ flawless body. At least, she thought it was flawless. Even if Mistress insisted she needed to lay off the sweets. She laid her head against Mistress’s hooves and gently closed her eyes, relishing in just the feel of her fur and warmth. Life was pretty close to perfect on days like these. She nuzzled against Mistress ever so slightly so as not to wake her and could imagine those down feathers stretching out and holding her close.

She never wanted to forget these moments, or any of the close moments she spent with Mistress. She’d never been loved the way Mistress loved her, and it wasn’t something she ever wanted to lose. She had paid so much for this, and she wasn’t going to let it slip away. Hardship and loneliness had been her lot in life, often times by choice. She had spent so long driving others away from her, that sometimes she wondered how she’d ever been saved.

Hopefully that was permanently in her past, what with the way Mistress kept her close and took care of her so well. And all it had taken was to be honest with herself and with those who were willing to care. She sighed heavily, unsure why such weighty thoughts had descended on her this early in the morning. Still, she was determined to keep them from dampening her good morning mood. She had Mistress, Mistress wanted her, and that was all she needed to care about. Her head dropped a little more, resting more against Mistress’s chest, where her steady heartbeat began sending her back into sleep.

She dozed for an indeterminate period of time, tucked up warm and safe where she ought to be. And it wasn’t until she felt a little tickle right along the back of her neck that she stirred, murmuring indistinctly… The gentle tickle turned into a full blown stroke and scritch that made Sunset kick her rear hooves a little back and forth in unconscious response to Mistress petting her. At which point her brain woke up all at once, and her eyes shot open. The sun had fully risen into the sky, and Mistress was looking at her with tolerant amusement on her face. “Good morning, Sunny,” she said with a bright cheerfulness that Sunset knew spelled instant doom for her relaxed morning.

“Mmmph,” she whimpered, bringing herself closer to Mistress’s lips. “Good morning Mistress,” she cooed oh-so-softly. She purposefully and slowly blinked her eyes and let a sultry smile creep onto her face. Adding as much syrup as she dared, she asked, “May I?”

Mistress giggled faintly, her mane quite frizzy from just having come off her pillow and nodded with a still faintly sleepy smile. “Of course. Come show your Miss some love.” She replied in a saucy tone, sounding almost a little much like a schoolteacher. Mistress had some very funny ideas in her head in the morning sometimes.

But funny ideas or not, she couldn’t resist and gradually leaned in closer, her eyes drooping closed just as her lips met Mistress’s. Oh, this was the best way to start a day. Mistress’s hooves came up and wrapped her close, their kiss becoming ever more passionate with each passing second. Sunset felt herself melt into it, dragging her lips against Mistress’s mouth and their tongues beginning to brush each other’s teasingly. It wasn’t long before Sunset was falling on her back under the slight, dominating pressure of Mistress’s body against her. She just gave into the flow of Mistress’s tongue and lips, eagerly responding to their every touch.

And then she pulled away suddenly, with a distinct ‘yuck’ look running across her face. “Sunny, I love you dearly, but have you showered yet? You smell like we just spent three days in the fungeon.” Mistress’ nose was quite wrinkled, and she looked like she was quite close to delivering one of her legendary lectures. The kind that could make lesser ponies cry in terror as they were slowly bored to death.

“Ah…. no…. Mistress,” Sunset dragged out the words, remembering their affairs from the previous night. She subconsciously ran a hoof through her mane and couldn’t help but wince a bit in something akin to shame when she reached the crusty sections. Yes, they had forgotten to shower last night… definitely. “My apologies, Mistress,” she whispered, eyes unable to look directly in Mistresses eyes anymore. Except… she was smiling. She was amused.

She sighed in a very teacher-like fashion and gave Sunset a stern look. “You’d best go get clean then. I’ll lay your outfit out for you, and your daily task list.” She was tapping her hoof firmly on the bedsheet, but there was a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. That Mistress was making no move to get up meant Sunset’d have to shower alone for her forgetfulness. Just before she could heave a sigh, Mistress spoke again. “And that’s five demerits for that taste in my mouth. Blech.” She actually stuck her tongue out and put on a face so comical that it took every ounce of restraint Sunset had not to giggle at it. “Now scoot,” she said with an audible snap to her voice as she rolled to the side - as clear and direct as the crack of her whip.

Mm… Mistress’ Whip… ACK! She felt her hindquarters twitch and chose not to think of the half-pleasured thoughts that raced through her head. Sliding out from Mistress was easier said than done, but it wasn’t Sunset’s first time doing so, and she was standing beside the bed remaking it into good order just the way Mistress liked in only a few seconds. Satisfied her deft magic had gotten the job done, she eyed Mistress for approval to leave for the shower. Mistress’s mouth cracked open as if she were about to pass her acceptance when it shut abruptly, and a glint crept into her eyes. Mistress’s horn lit, and the bed sheets were thrown right back to where they had been. “How about you do it with your teeth so I can watch you squirm all over the bed, hm?”

Sunset’s heart had probably dropped into her organs when Mistress had flung the bed things into a new state of chaos, but on the upside, Mistress did want to watch her. That was always a good sign. Though still showing a fair amount of dutiful drag in her hooves, she grabbed the first of the sheets in her mouth and pulled it forward. It was an insanely difficult way to make a bed, especially when the wall side was involved, but she couldn’t deny the warmth that surged in her when she had writhe all sprawled to to get it right and could feel Mistress’s eyes burning into her flank.

But after several long minutes that Sunset didn’t care to think about, Mistress finally spoke up in a warm and approving voice. “Very good. You may go shower now. And I want you smelling extra sweet when you come down, okay?” A gentle wing smacked up against her flank, even as she was still sprawled out, and Mistress giggled happily. “Your clothes will be on the bed!”

“I understand, Ma’am,” Sunset nodded, not completely suppressing a little squeak as Mistress trotted off downstairs. She stood properly upright, grabbed her towel from off the back of the door, and stepped into and made ready her, admittedly, overdue shower. The cold blasted her first, and with a little shiver, decided she would keep it that way.

She let herself soak for a long while and ran her hooves through her fur, mane, and tail just to be sure she washed out what remained of Mistress’s love juice. Next was the shampoo, and she lathered it on thick, making certain she could smell it before rinsing off. She shook and dried herself with the towel and wandered back into the bedroom to see what cute, revealing outfit Mistress was in the mood for today.

~~~~~~~~

Let’s see. No… no… no… Mmm… Tomorrow. No… Ooo, here we go. Twilight mentally chuckled as she pulled the outfit off its rack, neatly organized in a way that would have made Rarity proud of her. The whole thing fit on a single hangar, thanks to strategic use of the whole device and was easily transported upstairs to the bed, where she laid it out and took a glance at herself in the mirror. Her mane was an absolute mess, and she was going to need to tame it before she could do anything official today. But that meant waiting for her little love to step out of the shower, and so that left only one option.

“Oh, Spike!” she sing-songed out as she trotted down the steps. The smell of breakfast was already strong in the air by the time she’d gotten to within ten feet of the kitchen, and her number one assistant was already delivering toast, juice, fresh waffles, and scrambled eggs to the table. “Ah, excellent,” she beamed at him, and he grinned back at her before attending to the stove.

“Sweetie Belle and the crusaders say hi, Twilight. They’d like to know when you’re going to hold lessons again.” Spike dialed back the flames on the stovetop before leaning against it while he munched happily on an impressive emerald. “An’ Dash said she’s gotta run outta town for a few days to take care of some kind of business in Cloudsdale.” He finished off the gem with a satisfied burp, making her laugh as she began to tuck into her own food.

It was delicious of course. Spike had become a rather accomplished little chef in the years since they’d moved here together, probably in defense against her own lacklustre skills. Spike rummaged around in his apron before extracting a rough roll of parchment and rolling it open. “Lets see. The Princess is going to be expecting another report from Sunset tomorrow, and Big Macintosh wants to know if you’ve got that next batch of Potion Nineteen done yet.” His eyes squirmed down the list, as she watched him tossing out the things that were the usual order of the day… and finally coming to the end of the scroll, where he made a little squeaking sound. “Oh, and Applejack says she’s going to be by around dinner time. Says it’s pretty important she talk to you in private.”

That last bit made Twilight frown around a mouthful of waffle. Applejack was the very last pony in Ponyville that Twilight got emergency consultations from, but when she did it was never particularly good news. She really hoped Discord hadn’t gotten bored again and tried to turn her apple orchard into pears or oranges or something. “Well, tell Big Mac I’ve got his order, but he’s going to have to fill out a form on why he wants an Object Animation elixir for the eighth time.” She cocked her ear, keeping a close listen for when the shower went off. “And see if you can’t find out what AJ’s so fussed about. I’d rather try to get ahead of it this time.”

Spike nodded, scribbling down a note and saluting. “Okie Dokie, Twilight. I’m gonna run and grab those potion ingredients you need, and then get to work on the daily cleaning. Tell Shims she’s got muffins in the oven, and I’ll see her in the stacks.” And with a cheerful wave, he was off out the door, whistling some strange earworm of a tune. Winter wrap-up, winter wrap-uupp… Oh, bloody Tartarus! Damnit, Spike!

She sighed, taking a moment to facehoof before returning her attention to breakfast. Midway through, she heard the shower cut off and took a moment to mentally review her checklist for the day. Set potion twenty-two and seven to brewing, spend time with Sunny during lunch, prep up a disaster bag in case she’d have to do heavy work at Sweet Apple Acres and send off a few letters, including her weekly missive to Rarity in the hopes that she’d finally come home.

Twilight felt her mental self derail for a moment at that thought but quickly forced herself back on track. There was nothing she could do about it until Rarity was ready to talk, and that was just the way it was. She couldn’t keep stressing herself out over things she couldn’t change, so it was best to focus on what she could… Like making certain that she was keeping Princess Celestia firmly in the loop about things and trying to help Sunny come out of her shell a little bit more each day.

Though one wouldn’t know she still had a shell given how cheerful she was around Twilight, but she knew it was there. As invisible as the air itself, but hovering over the proceedings like a phantom. And lately… well… Maybe she’d just become accustomed to Sunset’s habits enough to notice it, but she could feel Sunset withdraw into it sometimes, even around her. In fact, she was one more incident away from begging Princess Celestia to come to Ponyville and help her, as every tactic she had tried so far had lacked any long-lasting effect.

But as Sunset bounded into view, with a big bright smile on her face, Twilight couldn’t help but feel a little of her fear ebb away. Friendship had gotten them this far. She just had to trust that with work, love, and the judicious application of Pinkie Pie, that anything could be accomplished if she put her mind to it. It didn’t hurt that the way Sunny greeted her every morning was almost better than coffee.

“Good morning, Mistress!” she beamed and planted a firm and happy kiss right on Twilight’s lips. She also happened to wear whatever Twilight put on her (today a set of foreleg socks and panties both deep, deep violet with black embroidery and a thin silk veil over her eyes) like a model, and not once did Twilight fail to remind herself how lucky she was.

“Spike left muffins in the oven for you, Love,” Twilight told her, allowing her eyes to take in the sensual way the panties lifted her tail. Sunset nodded in thanks, took a plate and extracted two of the morning cakes from the pan. And as was their routine, she set the plate at Twilight’s hooves, and waited patiently for the go-ahead. Twilight always kept it on her self now, and she desperately wanted to slip the leash and collar over the neck of her little Sunny, but they’d be going their separate ways for chores. She decided against it, just brushing Sunset’s horn with a sweet kiss before motioning for her to go ahead.

She dove into them, not using hooves or magic and eating right off the ground, and the sight never ceased to send little goosebumps up Twilight’s legs in a form of glee she couldn’t get anywhere else. She didn’t quite understand what made Sunset so fascinated with the experience, but that was true for many things she’d observed in other ponies over the years. Dash had probably said it best, though. Hey, everypony’s got different sweet spots they like to have tickled. This is just one of hers! So she smiled and made sure to stroke her hoof carefully through Sunset’s mane while she ate. And the fact that she sighed every couple bites was satisfaction enough that Twilight was doing right by her.

She inhaled deeply, smelling the lovely tangerine shampoo Sunset loved so much. “Mm, you smell much better, Sunny, and I…” She stopped mid-word and blinked at the table where her breakfast had been. Then up at the sun hanging in the kitchen window and the clock on the wall. Oh, crap! “I’m going to be late!” she half-squealed and paused only to plant a firm kiss on Sunny’s lips before dashing at top speed out of the room “I’ve got to get ready I’ll see you at lunch oh carrots oh carrots…” She spoke with all the frantic pace of the train as she left the room, with the only noise following her being the helpless giggles of her little Sunny.

~~~~~~

Sunset couldn’t really giggle as much as she wanted to as Mistress tore out of the dining area. Not with so much muffin stuffed in her mouth. But her smile she could make as big as ever. Her chuckles died away and, bending over, she snatched up the last of the remaining muffin. She chewed a little longer than usual to savor the rich carrot flavor, and upon swallowing she sighed delightedly. The little dragon really was a pretty good baker. Well, down to business it was then. She stood up, rubbing her stomach from how full it felt, and grasped all of the dishes up in a haze of sky blue magic.

It wasn’t on the list Mistress had given her, but like a good deal of the general chores around the library, many things she did were just understood. Cleaning up after meals was one such thing. She eyed the many plates and bowls in her magical hold carefully before beginning to organize them, largest to smallest and plates to bowls to cups. Soon enough, her dangerously leaning stack of eating and drinking utensils was all in order, and she trotted happily into the kitchen. Not for the first time that month, she was briefly aware of how she now waggled her hips a little more sensually when walking, but she always took it as a good sign that she’d been paying attention. Mistress had trained her well in what she liked to see.

Spike was already back and working away, scouring his cooking pots and pans and cleaning the stoves and counters where spots of batter or juice had splattered. His eyes darted in her direction briefly as she entered, but when he realized it was her, he went right back to his work. “Morning,” he said, as had become the norm. There was nothing antagonistic in the way he spoke to her anymore, and thankfully, he had also come to stop staring when she wore something particularly eye catching.

“Morning, Spike,” she answered, gently lowering her teetering stack of dishes next to the sinks. They had found a common ground, after much conflict with one another:.They both loved Twilight in a way most other ponies had a hard time understanding. Once Spike had figured out she wasn’t there to sweep Twilight away… and Sunset had grudgingly admitted that Spike, like all annoying little brothers, wasn’t going anywhere, they’d come to a mutual truce. “Are we going to be working mostly together this morning?” she asked. “Or are you running errands most of the day?” Her magic worked the valves of the faucet, sending warm water splashing to the sink. A small drop of soap later, and it was ready to accept it’s first offering. Sunset carefully slipped off her socks so as not to ruin them and began dipping the dishes into the soapy water.

“I dunno. It depends if Miss Cheerilee is gonna want me to stay for her intermediate-class again.” He half chuckled, preening his head spines with faux smoothness. “But there isn’t much to do today anyway. We finally got caught up with the basement, so we’re mostly waiting for Twi to get to work cataloguing everything.” He eyeballed her and smirked faintly. “She’d be a lot further along if you weren’t prancing around the place like Rarity on fashion week yanno.”

“I don’t prance,” Sunset retorted as she used her magic to wipe away extra food remains before transferring the now clean dishes to the second sink, filled with only water. “I’m not some silly teenaged filly. I strut. Honestly, after living with Mistress and her friends for so long, I’d have thought you might have picked up on the difference.”

He half snickered at that one. “Twi doesn’t strut, Shims. She scrambles.” He laughed brightly and racked up another pan onto the drying rack. Sunset joined him in the laugh. He was nothing short of absolutely true. “Trust me, I’ve seen her do it enough.”

“I saw her do it just now,” Sunset said as her laugh died away. “But still… Yeah, well, I guess we’ll have to work in the library for re-shelving anyway. Have you checked on what it looks like yet?”

He nodded, drying his talons off with a towel. “Yeah, it’s not bad. Mostly returns of all those growers almanacs that Carrot Top had, and that pile of kids books Ditzy finally remembered to bring back.” He hopped off his little stool and trotted over the pantry cupboard, throwing it open with a little hummed tune. “Oh, would you grab a bit of scroll?” he half-yelled out of the door, rummaging around. “We need to make a grocery list. I think Twilight’s been sleep-snacking again.”

“What’d you mean?” Sunset asked, a small tickle in the back of her brain making itself uncomfortably known. “Mistress doesn’t sleep walk. I’d wake up if she got out of bed.” She didn’t want to ask, and she wanted Spike to say even less, what they were missing.

“Must be lab munchies then. She gets like this whenever she’s wrapped up in a project.” He poked his head out, holding a large crock labeled ‘pickles’ and eyeballing the inside. He demonstrated by upending it, and showing nothing inside. “Yeah, definitely lab munchies. Or she’s been trying to make lamps out of pickles again.” He rolled his eyes and put the crock back. Sunset only gulped and could not explain why, especially as she put conscious effort into not opening her mouth, she asked what she did.

“Is there anything else missing?”

“Uh…” Spike muttered to the sound of more rummaging as he pulled almost his whole body inside the cabinet searching. “Huh, yeah. We’re running low on oatmeal cookies, and we’re completely out of hot chocolate mix.” There was another rummage, a pause, and a bright chuckle. “Hey, so that’s where I left that ruby! Awesome!” With the sounds of happy dragon now wiggling through the cabinet, there was one more pause and a mutter. “Okay. This has got to be the work of nefarious ponies unknown. And by unknown, I mean a certain blue pegasus.”

“Dashie hasn’t been over lately,” Sunset replied instinctively. It was true. On the days she and Mistress had met up with Dashie, it had usually been at Fluttershy’s place.

“Not that we’ve seen, but who else is gonna filch the soy sauce!? That stuff ain’t cheap, yanno. Pegasi. Oi.” He finally clambered down, dusting himself off and huffing as he exited the cabinet. “We need to do an inventory of that thing tomorrow. Celestia only knows what else I might not be noticing.” He gnawed thoughtfully on his found ruby.

“Oh well, then I’ll make sure to mention it to Mistress so she can put on our to-do list tomorrow,” Sunset said, the words spilling out a little faster than she intended. But in her own defense, she needed to get to work before she outright admitted to drinking hot chocolate with copious amounts of soy sauce and cookies with pickles on top. She took an average pace out of the kitchen, hoping she wasn’t forgetting anything in her mental hurry.

As she slid back into the lacy violet socks (an art she could finally claim mastery in), she did her best to rationalize her recent snack choices. It didn’t make any sense in the slightest. She didn’t even like pickles! But on a cookie… Oh, there was often times nothing better. Or at least her stomach seemed to think so. Her hoof tapped at it experimentally, trying to not think too hard as to why she wanted such weird combinations of food. Instead, she thought of the best way to discreetly clear out the underside of Mistress’s bed of used cocoa mugs. Before Spike found them anyway.

We her socks now tightly strapped into place, Sunset made her way to the second basement entrance. The first only Mistress was allowed to enter, not that Sunset wasn’t always a guest. A grin crept over her face at the mere of idea of going inside later in the evening, but she’d save her more elaborate daydreams for when the evening got closer. Instead, she unlocked the bolt of the second lock and stepped down into Mistress’s lab. It was particularly humid in the room today, and Sunset was privately grateful Mistress had been in the mood for scanty clothing. Sure enough, Mistress had close to every burner running beneath her convoluted potion vials and beakers.

It was still pretty early, so most of them weren’t boiling just yet, but there was still a good layer of rainbow colored steam in the air. Sunset decided to save her inspection of the potions for last, instead circling around the lab to be sure everything was clean and orderly. Of course, like everything Mistress asked of her, she took pride in completing it, but caring for the lab when Mistress wasn’t working in it was perhaps the most rewarding. Nopony, not even Spike, was allowed around the delicate setups and dangerous spellbooks. That Mistress trusted her to such a degree set Sunset’s mood to glowing without fail.

It probably hadn’t hurt that after six months of doing this, she’d yet to cause a single unintended explosion. Well. Except for that first time she was in here, but Mistress had assured her she should’ve had that one bottled already and had simply forgotten. Not that having her mane a couple shades of black for a month had been consoling to Sunset, but at least it hadn’t been her fault.

She rounded the final corner of the drawers, and checked off the proper count of protective goggles on the clipboard hung on the wall nearby. Next were the potions themselves, and perhaps the most tedious yet mentally demanding of her chores. If it had a different color or something special in it (potions had never been Sunset’s strong suit in studying magic), there was likely a clipboard Mistress had for it.

Each project had a record of temperature, time checked, weight, and a whole slew of other numbers to write down. Sunset liked to think she was relatively capable by this point, but there were still days she caught a mistake or two. Picking up the first board and quill in her magic, she began.

A number just off here or there, she had Mistress’s permission to correct if she knew how, which was often times most of the vials. Usually, it was something as simple as adding a drop or two of water to the solutions. The rest of the time, the needed ingredients were almost always ready at hoof. It baffled her sometimes how a tiny town like this had gotten such an appetite for arcane admixtures, but it was also kind of entertaining in its own way. She supposed Mistress herself might have brought the ‘business’ to life, as without her, Ponyville would have no chance to have any of these brews. Though she did wonder herself why Big Macintosh kept ordering that Object Animation stuff...

She went down the line, smiling as more and more of the potions were right on track. Easy days were nice. She finished in what must have been a record time and took a trot back out onto the main floor. She really did need to gather up those mugs…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Spike, ugh, this is disgusting up here. Did you actually dust last week?” Sunset said, wrinkling her nose and semi holding her breath. She was atop the tallest ladder they had in the library, duster in her magical hold, watching as the wood almost shone when she ran the feathered cleaning tool over it.

“You know I did, you were here!” he huffed, taking a deep breath and digging back into the shelves where he was sweeping out random bits of crumpled parchment. “It’s those teenager pegasi, I swear! They’re all getting feather molt, and it leaves dust and feathers everywhere, and Twi keeps….” His voice descended into a mutter, his displeasure at Rainbow Dash holding weather wrangling classes in the library having been long since established.

“Uh huh,” Sunset replied, unconvinced and her eyes half lidding to prove it. “You don’t get this thick a layer of dust just from pegasi. This is straight neglect. I won’t say anything to Mistress, but get your dragon tush over there and do your job.” She climbed down from the ladder and lay her duster aside. “I’m going back upstairs to clean Mistress’s bedroom. It needs it,” she said. At last, an opportunity to clear away the incriminating evidence.

He grumbled softly as he pulled himself out of the shelves, piling up the scrap paper into a bucket next to the fireplace. “Neglect my tail. You don’t know how much crap teenage pegasi can produce. Literally.” He snorted and grabbed up the heavier duster from where it lay in his bucket of tools and slowly clambered up the ladder. “Next time they’re here, YOU can handle cleanup duty. Maybe then you’ll believe me.”

“If you say so,” Sunset shrugged, already half way up the stairs by that point. She finished the climb and all but raced back to Mistress’s loft. Well, their loft. She quickly dropped onto her stomach, peering under the bed and shining a light from her horn. She winced. There were at least a dozen little casual dining glasses under the bed. Gently, so as not to scrape them on the floor boards and make unnecessary noise, she levitated the lot out into daylight. She could probably just easily slip into the kitchen and wash them all without Spike ever noticing, but she didn’t want to risk it. Especially as he had just made mention of the missing cocoa. Weird. They all still smelled like chocolate. Mmm… Chocolate… Wait! No! Focus, Sunset!

She shook her head clear of stray thoughts, opened the single window in the loft, and jammed the glasses in the upper branches of the tree until she could retrieve them later. She gingerly closed the window back and let out a relieved sigh. Good. That was taken care of. But now that she was up here, she might as well clean like she said she would. Not that there was much to do. Mistress tended to keep the room immaculate all on her own. Perhaps some of the dresser drawers needed reorganizing. Sunset casually stepped up and began pulling open the vanity drawers. They were filled mostly with things that Mistress liked to put on Sunset for any given reason, but there were plenty of small accessories that went with Mistress’s more stunning dresses.

But one of the drawers had something extra. Sunset knew what it was before she’d even turned it around to see, as Mistress had just recently swapped the picture out for a different one. She flipped it over anyway to see Mistress as an adorable filly sitting excitedly beside Princess Celestia. Sunset could still, if barely, remember those days. Bathing in the glory of the pony so many ponies would give their lives to just exchange a few words with. Learning from her, being brought through the tough times by an encouraging word. And she’d forgotten all of that somehow as the years went by. She gave it up, missed what it could have brought her.

She could feel her throat starting to tighten, but was only dimly aware of what it meant. Her hoof came up, running down the length of the picture, and without her conscious will, she lost her self control entirely. Her tears came running hard and fast, the sobs thick and random. She rocked back and forth, clutching the picture close to her chest as she wailed her heart out. She couldn’t stop, and eventually the reason she’d been crying and sniffling at all faded out. Things just seemed depressing all of a sudden and bawling the only response she could give. She didn’t know how long her uncontrolled tears and anguished rocking continued, but she eventually began to settle, her crying becoming little hiccups and her hips ceasing to move.

She set the picture and stared at it, wiping away the remaining tears. What… what was wrong with her? It wasn’t a sad picture by any means. What had… Why? Had she actually just had a small emotional breakdown? No, that didn’t make sense. Only mental patients did that. Well, mental patients and ponies in legitimate mental distress. Sure, she’d been in that place a few months ago, but she loved Mistress, Mistress loved her, and she couldn’t be happier.

She scrunched up her face trying to focus, rubbing at her cheeks where the tears had left dried salt on them. Well… maybe Guard ponies got in the dumps every once in a while. That and their wives or husbands, but she wasn’t in that position. And all of them had due reason anyway. She’d just burst into tears for no reason! She stared at the ground for a moment, and her eyes drifted to the window. Or, more appropriately, what she’d just thrown out the window. Weird tastes like that weren’t normal either. And those had only crept up recently as well. If they were related somehow, that could leave only a few possibilities…

The downstairs door slammed open. A voice called out, “Spike, we’re going to have company for dinner!” Mistress’ voice singsonged through the library, as bright and happy as she’d sounded in weeks. “Sunny? Where are you?” she was crying out, and more than two sets of hooves trundled along on the first floor. One was easily identifiable as Miss Twilight’s, but the others were… Hmm.

Heavy steps, with the kind of weight only real mass or muscle could achieve. They were quick, but economical, speaking of somepony who didn’t prance around much without need. They were also not shaking the treehouse, which meant it probably wasn’t Big Macintosh. That only left… “Y’all sure this is a good idea, Twi?” Yep, Applejack. “Ain’t it better t’ let things move a mite slower?”

Sunset quickly stood up and stowed the picture away with her magic. She couldn’t dry up the wet mess her tears had made or hide how red her eyes probably were, but maybe Mistress wouldn’t notice. She sounded excited about something, so maybe Sunset was in luck. She took in a deep breath and tried to control the shuddering exhale before exiting the room. “Mistress!” she called and peered down the stairs to the second floor. “I was up in your… I mean, our bedroom Mistress! I was cleaning it over!”

“Excellent! I had been smelling something odd in there lately.” She made a half sniff, tilted her head and shook off the thought. Then she gave Sunset a sharp look and sighed with a touch of exasperation. “Sunny, I told you to put on goggles before checking the potions, didn’t I? You look like you’ve been standing in the fumes all day.” She huffed once, then put on a firm lip. “We’ll discuss lab procedures later. We’ve got more important things to deal with tonight, so you should go take another shower and get ready for company.”

Applejack eyeballed her, and there was something unsettling about the way she was looking at her. Applejack was legendary for her keen sense of when somepony was concealing things, even if she herself didn’t always pay attention to it. But when she did… “I think ya’ll should reconsider, Twilight. Tonight might not be the best night fer it,” Applejack continued stubbornly, jutting out her chin. “I know ya’ll jes’ want to get this problem behind ya, but...”

“Oh?” Sunset asked. It was odd for Applejack to think there was a problem when Mistress didn’t. At least she’d gotten out of being asked why she’d been crying. “What’s gone wrong? I’ll help however Mistress needs.”

Mistress smiled brightly. “Nothing wrong at all. I’ve just come back from a lovely discussion with her, and we’re going to put an end to this little chapter of drama tonight.” She tossed her mane and beamed. “Rarity came back to town a few days ago, and she’s coming over for a little talk and dinner!”

Sunset felt her face try to move through astonished, confused, resentful, and outright upset all at the same time. The result was only her eyebrows lowering and her mouth becoming a touch thinner. Her… Why now? What had prompted this? And why did Mistress seem excited? She didn’t want to question Mistress in the slightest. She didn’t want to question her at all. But surely she remembered the damage Rarity had nearly sealed before she’d disappeared. All of this came out of Sunset’s mouth as a single, “What?” And it was only after she said it that she realized it hadn’t been in the most accepting tone. And Mistress’s expression wasn’t good either, come to notice it.

Oh, dear.

Author's Note

Welcome readers, new and old! If you've just found this story, I highly recommend reading the 1st story, or else you'll likely be incredibly confused.

Updates to occur every other day until story completion. Inky and I hope you all enjoy immensely!

Ch 2 - Flawed Gemstones

~~~~~That Evening…~~~~~

Sunset Shimmer was sulking, and Twilight was beginning to get a trifle annoyed with her. Oh, she’d had her down moods before. Usually after she’d had a stressful day dealing with other ponies and working on her social skills, she would retreat to the bedroom and hide under the covers for a few hours, but this was orders of magnitude above that, and it was an absolute marvel that Rarity hadn’t lost her temper over it.

Dinner was a fairly simple affair. A light salad, a lovely frittata, freshly macerated strawberries and cream. Rarity had made light conversation of what she’d been doing since she left Ponyville all those months ago. She’d done some work with Coco in Manehatten and done a little modeling work for Photo Finish down in Baltimare. Generally, it sounded as though she’d stayed out of trouble and more importantly, had avoided retreating into some kind of hermit-like state. It was all good news for a speedy recovery from her little… problem. Er… issue. Twilight made a conscious effort not to frown at making the word choice, but again, Sunset’s attitude wasn’t helping matters.

Of course, the fact she was sitting on the floor out of Rarity’s sight was probably a helpful thing at the moment. Twilight sighed silently, trying not to rub her forehead as a tiny headache began to form somewhere north of the back of her neck. The fact that Rarity had come to the meal wearing an incredibly sharp working suit that would’ve been more suited to a high-profile Canterlot business tycoon than the usual flights of fancy her friend indulged in had set the tone for the evening. Rarity was here to handle an issue with the same panache and flair with which she’d handled her business, and Sunset Shimmer was stubbornly refusing to engage.

Twilight gave it until the strawberries were a sweet memory before she finally decided it was time to lay down the law. “Sunset Shimmer, get in your chair now.” She couldn’t afford to be too forceful here, but at the same time she couldn’t take any more of this sulking.

“Yes Mistress,” Sunset answered her, her countenance and voice still stiff as a board. She clammered into the chair, and resolutely stared at Spike directly across the table. Had her eyes been glazed over in dazed shock, Twilight would have been more lenient, but she knew her lover, and there was a resolute focus in those blue orbs. Dear Spike was taking it all like a champ. He hadn’t even dissolved into drooling over Rarity for the entire meal for once!

The silence stretched on for a moment, and just as Twilight was about to lose her temper, Rarity stepped smoothly into it. “I believe I owe you quite the apology, Sunset.” Rarity’s tone was all serious business, imbued with the heaviest dollop of regret that Twilight had ever heard in her voice. “I behaved in a most unladylike fashion, and I do hope you will allow me the opportunity to explain myself.” She lifted her teacup and took a rigid and precise sip of the fragrant brew while waiting silently for a response.

Twilight turned to give Sunset a meaningful look, but Sunny was stubbornly refusing to look towards Rarity or her. For the first time in months, Twilight allowed herself to become very annoyed. “Why?” was the only word out of her beloved’s mouth, and in that moment, Twilight felt she might need to intervene a little more directly. Sunny was straining to keep herself in check, if the tension and sharpness in her voice was anything to judge by.

Rarity set down her teacup. “Because continuing this nonsense is harming Twilight, and I will not allow it to continue one moment more.” She tilted her head upward, and her bright gaze focused on Sunset without a single sign of hesitation. “So stop looking like an angry manticore and say your piece. If there is anything I have learned these past months, it is that we only harm the ones we love when we do not speak our hearts.” Twilight knew this was a bad idea - it was such a bad idea that she was about to open her mouth to say so when Rarity lifted an imperious hoof and gave her a withering stare. “No. She needs to speak, Twilight. Let her.”

Well, maybe there was a level of truth to that statement, but Twilight wasn’t exactly sure if Rarity needed to necessarily hear what Sunny had to say. And she became more than sure when Sunset’s lips became even thinner than they already were, and her head turned to Rarity with seething irritation. “Get… out…” was her whispered hiss. “Go. Go away.” Twilight almost nodded her head. It was advice she thought she ought to be giving Rarity herself, albeit in a more polite, friendly way.

“No, I believe that I won’t.” Rarity’s tone was as level as a straight-edge ruler, and utterly devoid of her usual ego. And now the blaring warning lights were screaming in Twilight’s brain. “I think you’ve got some things to say, and nopony is leaving this room until you’ve said them.” Had she been speaking to anypony else, Rarity might have come across as a touch intimidating in the suit she was wearing. “If you are afraid of speaking your mind in front of the young…” She inclined her head, “Spike, would you be so kind as to provide us with some privacy? Sweetie Belle has a few things for you from my little vacation back at the shop.”

Spike looked toward her, then to Sunset, and then to Rarity. He shook his head a little and pushed himself off his chair. “I’m gonna step outside for some air,” was all he said, giving a worried look at Sunset before turning for the door. “But I’m not going to go that far,” he muttered as he pushed his way past the exterior door of the library and shut it with a gentle click. Rarity returned her full attention to Sunset, her eyes unsettlingly still.

“I… I…” Sunset seethed, unable at first to form full sentences. Not a good sign. “I trusted you!” she screamed. Her words slowly beginning to run together as she vented a rage Twilight hadn’t suspected she’d had. “You stabbed me in the back then come in here like you’re all in the right! You were the coward! You ran! You couldn’t face me or Mistress! Now that you’ve had months to think about it, you come prancing it here like this! You almost ruined everything! Everything! And I didn’t even have that much! Why don’t you go back to sucking up to those simpering idiots in Canterlot since you act just like them! I hate looking at you! Get… Get!”

Twilight’s eyes were now no longer glancing back and forth between Rarity and Sunset. They were glued, inexorably to her lover. If there was one thing Sunset did not do, it was completely lose her temper and begin screaming at other ponies. Yell, yes. Rage, of course. And she sure as Tartarus cried herself to sleep in Twilight’s hooves sometimes. But this screaming was something else entirely. She didn’t think it was Rarity herself that was setting it off, rather that Rarity was only making it worse. And quite without warning, Twilight began to put the pieces together. Sunny didn’t do the apology thing. She would express her regret in action, not words. She was subtle. And this… dinner. Well, it was as far from subtle as Pinkie Pie. Add in Sunset’s lingering, buried, and frankly twisted issues with Rarity, and-

There was movement. That was all Twilight registered at first, but it was a second too late when she realized who was moving and why. Right up until about now, that is.

Sunny climbed out of her chair and onto the table and… Twilight felt her breath leave her chest as the sound echoed in the dining room. Sunset’s hoof came back and without an ounce of hesitation, and a severe right hook crashed into Rarity’s face, sending her spinning onto the floor. Silence reigned over the kitchen for a second that seemed to go on forever… until Rarity slowly pushed herself up off the floor without so much as a noise. She turned, a spectacular bruise across her right cheek already obvious to anypony who looked at her, and without so much as a word pushed her chair back up. She stood unsteadily for a moment, and then sat back down in the chair and looked Sunset dead in the eye, folding her hooves over her lap.

Well, as close as Sunset was allowing her. Twilight rushed around to make sure she wouldn’t try to punch Rarity again, but there wasn’t a need. Her eyes were pinpricks, staring in horror at her hoof. “I… I… I…” She slowly looked up at Twilight, and her tears were coming down in solid streams. “I… I’m sorry, Mistress,” she was barely able to breathe out. “I don’t… I didn’t… I’m… I… fail…” Her shock-induced ramble descended into incoherence, and as Twilight was occupied with the injured Rarity, she didn’t try to stop Sunny as she steadily picked up her pace until she was running to the bedroom. The door slammed shut soon after. Twilight really needed to be in two places at once right at the moment, but… well she could spend more time with Sunset.

Rarity gently pushed her off a moment later and shook her head. “Honestly, darling. I’ve had worse from falling out of bed in the morning. Go to see her.” She waved her hoof airily, picking up her teacup and sipping at the last of the brew. “I’ll be fine by myself. I know where to find the frozen peas.” She sounded almost impossibly calm for what had just happened to her, but now wasn’t the time to sit around and ask for explanations.

“Rarity,” Twilight said firmly. “You were just punched in the face. Hard. Let me work something up. What’s waiting for me upstairs is far more complicated and’s going to take a lot longer than fixing this up.”

Rarity rolled her eyes a little. “Darling, if you knew half the states my body has been in over the years for recreation, you wouldn’t fuss so.” But she didn’t try to fend her off anymore, and that was good enough for Twilight. “Honestly, I’d expected her to come at me with magic. Didn’t realize she had such a lovely hook.” Twilight was starting to get seriously concerned about Rarity’s mental health. What in the world had she been up to since she was gone, and what was she trying to accomplish now? Rarity fixed her with a stern eye. “You saw how angry she was, Twilight. She needed an outlet for it before she did something truly regrettable.”

“Oh yes, and punching your lights out is a fine outlet and totally unregrettable,” Twilight sighed as she assessed how much magic would be needed to stop the swelling.

Rarity laughed faintly. “She did not try to kill me, Twilight. Given more time, I am not so certain she wouldn’t have restrained herself.” A bag of frozen peas flew out from the kitchen and pressed up too her eye, and she smiled around the bag. “I told you, Twilight. I know how to handle bruises.”

For the very first time, Rarity’s blatant innuendos finally clicked with her brain that night. It was perhaps a bad time for them, but her mind was what her mind was, and Twilight facehoofed. “Rarity, can we please avoid that subject for right now? Sometime later perhaps, when we don’t have a looming disaster?”

However Rarity might have replied was cut off when both of them turned their attention to the scraping of Spike’s scaled feet on the kitchen tile. But he wasn’t alone. “Oh… Rarity…” Fluttershy intoned, appearing mildly surprised to see her in such a state. “How did…?” she went on, but a few glances at Twilight and the staircase, and she merely nodded.

“I figured we needed all hooves on deck for thisun’,” Spike grunted. “I heard that smack from outside.” He was looking at Twilight, not so much disapproving but definitely… she guessed unimpressed might be the word. Well, she couldn’t deny she could have handled the situation better.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “Sunny trusts you. Would you go up and get her calmed down while I make Rarity’s face look less like a raisin muffin? I’ll be up to see her as soon as I’m done here.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all Twilight,” Fluttershy smiled faintly at her, then turned much more solemnly toward Rarity. “Did you get to explain anything to her?” Rarity shook her head faintly, gesturing at her eye with a hoof. Fluttershy sighed. “This is going to be complicated… I’m sorry your first night back home had to be like this Rarity.” She stopped to give Rarity a little hug then vanished up the stairs with Spike right behind her.

~~~~~~~~

Sunset didn’t like letting her emotions run out of control, especially not in front of Mistress. But even more than failing to demonstrate self control, Sunset hated when she couldn’t even regain control in the aftermath. Like now, she had… she had punched Rarity in the face. Punched her. True, she had deserved, maybe even had it coming, but that wasn’t to say Sunset herself hadn’t lost all semblance of discipline. And now, up in Mistress’s and her room, she was fighting the desire to childishly bang her head repeatedly into the wall with what little will power she seemed to possess.

The result probably didn’t look much better though. She was sitting there on the floor at the foot of the bed, staring blankly at her forehooves and shivering like she had been drenched in icy cold water. At least she wasn’t crying. How was she going to explain herself to Mistress? Surely she would understand how much of a mockery Rarity had been making of her feelings. Surely. Sunset had to believe Mistress would be able to empathize with what was inside her heart. Why would she side with Rarity anyway? She was completely in the wrong, trying to insert herself where she had no business being.

But even if Mistress understood, there was little doubt she was going to be severely punished for what she’d done. Something Sunset had learned the hard way oh so many times was restraint. Just because she’d wanted to hit Rarity and had the ability to do so didn’t mean she should have. There was no telling what Mistress would have her do, especially as creative as Mistress could be. Only, Sunset hoped she wouldn’t be so harsh as to forbid cuddling and sleeping in the same bed for an extended amount of time. She’d done it once before when Sunset had, well, no sugarcoating it, harassed a family for looking at her and Mistress strangely until the wife and two foals were in tears. Regardless, Sunset didn’t think she’d be able to live for very long without Mistress’s little loving pats and kisses or her absent stroking.

Sunset shook her head, both to clear it of such depressing thoughts and to focus her mind on how to explain herself. It wasn’t easy. Well, it was actually damn near impossible to her at the moment. Nothing wanted to fall into place. Too many emotions were surging through her, and she couldn’t seem to get her heartrate down either. It was looking pretty bleak. Mistress would come through the door, demand answers Sunset had, but that she just couldn’t articulate. She’d end up a blabbering mess, and things would only go downhill from there.

Tap-tap-tap came a surprisingly gentle knock at the door, much to her curiosity. Tap-tap-tap it came again, followed by the sound of the latch turning. A low voice was speaking as the door swung open, too low to hear all of what it was saying. “.... no Spike. It’s best if I go in alone. Go send that letter right away. I’ll explain things when I come back down.” There was the sound of Spike’s feet shuffling against the wood and his tell-tale sigh before retreating steps signaled his departure. The door pushed open a moment later, and a slender figure slipped through the crack before shutting the door silently behind her. “Sunset? Are you in here?”

That was Fluttershy’s voice! Sunset almost had a leaping sensation in her gut at the realization, from surprise and relief. “I’m… I’m over here. At the foot of the bed,” she choked out, her voice feeling somewhat strained.

“Oh, good.” She sounded… relieved? Why relieved? “I was afraid you might’ve... um… Nevermind.” Fluttershy’s hoofsteps were almost silent as she crossed the room. The smell of fresh flowers and wood followed her as she sat down very close to, but not quite touching Sunset. “I see that Twilight moved a bit too quickly again.” She didn’t sound disapproving or anything, just concerned.

Sunset breathed deeply before speaking and was finally able to set her forehooves on the ground. Just having Fluttershy’s calming aura near her was working wonders. “Thank you for coming,” she said first. “I don’t even care how you knew things were going badly.” She paused. Fluttershy was the closest thing to a platonic friend Sunset had, but even so, she still didn’t feel ready to mention Rarity aloud. She hadn’t in the two months she’d been gone anyway. “I… Why’d she have to come back, Shy? I… Weren’t we all living… I dunno… happily?”

Fluttershy sighed just a tad, then shook her head. “Well, speaking just for myself, I missed our spa trips. And I know Twilight missed having somepony she could talk to about how to deal with her royal duties.” She tilted her head, giving Sunset a mildly surprised look. “We’ve all been friends for so long, of course we’d miss one another when we have to be away.” She tsked softly and shuffled in place a bit. “Sunset, you need to understand. We’re all more than just good friends. Rarity couldn’t stay away from Ponyville anymore than you-.”

“I understand just fine how the Elements work!” Sunset cut in sharply. A little more sharply than she meant to actually, judging by the way Fluttershy flinched away ever so slightly. “Sorry. So it was just me then, huh? But… She deser… I don’t know why I lost it Fluttershy. I mean maybe I set myself up… But I feel like an utter failure to Mistr - ”

“Hush,” Fluttershy scolded her… in the firmest voice she’d ever heard Fluttershy use in her life. “There’s more than enough mistakes to go around without inventing more, Sunset.” A gentle hoof reached out and touched her shoulder. “Nopony was fully in the right here.”

“But… what if… oh Celestia, Fluttershy…” Sunset could feel her voice becoming unsteady, but she was determined not to break down. She paused, took several deep breaths, paused again, then continued. “What if I really couldn’t… Pickle topped cookies isn’t a normal food right?”

Even in the dim light of the room, she could see Fluttershy’s face change suddenly. It was odd, like she’d gone from pure concern to all business in the flash of an eye. Firm, gentle hooves pressed into her chest, then down to her belly. And all Sunset could do was close her eyes and wince at the truth of what Fluttershy was implying. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fluttershy hushed her with a tsk. “Give me your hind leg,” Fluttershy quietly commanded, and a much confused Sunset lifted one of her rear legs up… where Shy gently pressed into her hip and inner leg while muttering to herself. “Would have to ask Nurse Redheart to be sure, but…” Shy’s voice turned even more gentle. “I didn’t think Twilight would be much for sharing you.”

Sunset gulped. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she shut it firmly to collect her thoughts. Which was far, far easier said than done. This was not what she wanted confirmed at the moment. Maybe when she wasn’t worried about having nearly knocked another pony unconscious with her hoof. “She doesn’t like to share me,” Sunset decided to say blankly. Hopefully Fluttershy would catch on even though Sunset herself was still trying to wrap her brain around the reality of what had happened.

Fluttershy paused only long enough for it to be noticeable before speaking. “Ah. Well, she is quite the talented unicorn. Though I’ve only heard of that…” And Fluttershy blushed really, really bright red, “particular method being used… Um…” She shook her head and sighed. “I know you’re probably a little worried about this Sunset, but I need to insist you make a discreet appointment with Nurse Redheart.”

“Fluttershy!” Sunset hissed, yanking her leg back away and holding onto her friend’s shoulders with her forehooves. “I can’t be pregnant! I can’t! No. Nononononno...” She blindly descended into muttering over and over again until the word stopped and were replaced as she took her hooves off Fluttershy and nervously began rubbing them against each other.

“Sunset!” Fluttershy didn’t… quite yell, but it was the closest she’d ever come to doing so. “I can’t tell for sure. I’m not a medical pony, I just… know a few things.” Her eyes darted to one side for a moment before she spoke again. “Nurse Redheart is very discreet. She won’t keep any records you don’t ask her to keep, and she won’t tell anypony you don’t give her permission to tell. If you really are, you need to see a professional.” She grasped Sunset’s hooves in her own, steadying them with a surprising strength.

“But, Fluttershy… I can’t explain what I did by telling Mistress. I’m not sure she’s ready to have a foal with me. Nevermind that I’m not even sure if she wants a foal at all,” Sunset said. “And… I… I hit her hard. It’s… damnit.” Whatever was left of Sunset’s initial inner fury from Rarity returning to Ponyville finally drained away, and she allowed her head to droop a bit.

Fluttershy blew out an exasperated sounding breath. “At least I understand now what’s been getting into you lately,” she commented in a rather no-nonsense tone of voice, then flicked her ear up, the sounds of hoofsteps downstairs becoming more frequent. “Sunset, I’m going to tell you something very important, and also a little secret. And I need you to really listen to me, okay?”

“Wait. What? What else have I been doing odd lately?” Sunset asked with a note of curiosity. But when Shy didn’t show any sign of telling more than what she intended, Sunset said, “Okay?”

Fluttershy nodded once. “Rarity stopped by my house last week.” She spoke softly, but in an almost… lecturing tone. She sounded a little like Mistress when she was trying to make a point. “She was not doing well. She was thin and very much falling apart. No real makeup, her mane needed a trim…” She gently wiggled her hoof. “You know Rarity. The last time I’d seen her quite this bad was after what happened with Prince Blueblood.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath and exhaled. “Sunset, she told me what’d happened at the party. What you said, what she said, and why she said what she had.” The hoofsteps were getting louder - somepony was coming up the stairs. Fluttershy sounded faintly sad. “She’s not a bad pony, Sunset. And I think the thought of having hurt you has not been good for her.” She stood up, a more firm knock coming at the door at the same time. Fluttershy looked her dead in the eye when she spoke next, keeping her voice quiet. “She came here tonight to punish herself for her mistakes. And although she would never admit it, she needs you to forgive her Sunset.”

Sunset looked away from Fluttershy, staring out the window. She tried not to huff, but a small puff of air managed to escape her nose. “I… Look, I’ll try Fluttershy. For you and Mistress. I can’t promise more… okay?” The last word came out as something of a plea, but Sunset didn’t bother correcting herself. It was honest. Fluttershy gave her a little nod, and the the bedroom door swung open.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight was calm. She had to be calm. Making decisions when she was angry had never gotten her anywhere but in a worse place than where she had started. So she pressed her hoof to her chest and extended it out slowly with a deep breath. Calm. Just like Cadence told you. She was not going to yell or scream (especially since she sincerely felt like doing those things), and she wasn’t going to pull an Iron Will either. She was going to handle this like a Princess. She was also quite certain Sunset wasn’t going to like Princess Twilight Sparkle quite as much as she liked her Mistress.

Fluttershy was standing there looking at her silently, looking more than a little concerned. Fluttershy had warned her that Sunset might not take this well, but she’d been so certain she could handle any sort of attitude… Well, I never quite imagined she’d take a swing at Rarity either, so I suppose it’s a wash. There were no words that needed to be exchanged between her and Fluttershy. Her friend merely nodded her head slightly and exited the room. When Twilight turned back to face Sunny, it wasn’t exactly an encouraging sign the way she looked after Fluttershy’s departing back so desperately.

But when the door clicked shut behind her, Sunset’s eyes could only come to rest on Twilight’s own. She exhaled one more time. Okay. First thing is first. “Sunset, get my studying chair and sit in it.” She kept her tone brisk. There was no need to get overtly angry. This was a time for discipline, not screaming one’s head off. Sunset did as directed, fetching the stiff backed and flat-bottomed chair from the corner.

She scrambled up into it and shifted uncomfortably in the position of a nervous student. The chair was purposefully made to encourage proper posture, which meant it was about as far from being comfortable as a chair could get. “Head up straight,” she snapped, in a parade ground tone that would have made Shiny proud. “Hooves in front of you, eyes front!” Each word snapped out like a whip crack, and Sunset jumped in response, though she did correct herself. Well, her eyes couldn’t have been shifting to the sides more, but at least they came back to face her rather quickly

Still, she couldn’t give an inch. “Keep your eyes on me, Sunset.” Now she lowered her voice to something quiet enough that Sunset would have to strain to pay attention. “I’m going to ask you only once. Do you realize what you just did down there?” This was one of Celestia’s favorite methods when a student or foal had misbehaved. She would be patient, quiet, and would destroy any preconceptions as to the crime committed before she was done.

“I gave Rarity a black-eye,” Sunset replied, and while Twilight was sure she didn’t intend it, the defiance in her tone was clear as a summer day. It was enough to make Twilight tighten her jaw a little, and it took another deep breath to force the tension out of her system.

No. She was not going to let this get the better of her. “More specifically, you hit my friend who had come specifically to apologize to you.” It wasn’t hard to make it very clear in her tone just how incredibly disappointed she was in Sunset at the moment. She planted her hooves in the ground in front of the chair, and stared directly into Sunset’s eyes. How could she have possibly missed all of this anger?

“Mistress… It wasn’t… I shouldn’t have hit her Mistress,” Sunset began to elaborate, and Twilight braced for what would come next. It couldn’t be that easy. “But she deserved that and more, and I definitely had every right to call her every fou -!”

Twilight didn’t want to do this, but it was clear that Sunset had become delusional. “Deserved it?” She spoke with so much scorn that it could’ve peeled paint clean off the walls. “Deserved it you say?” She wasn’t keeping the anger out of her voice, but she was rather certain even Celestia couldn’t have done it at this point. There was nothing for it but to press on. “By Celestia, I never thought I’d hear you sounding so much like the bitch I met in Canterlot Highschool again.”

“She was trying to take away everything I had! Take my Mistress from me! And she didn’t even care about you or me! She was just being a greedy slut!” Sunset implored her justifications, leaning forward in the chair now.

SMACK!

Twilight really probably shouldn’t have done that, but she was officially out of patience for this. The blow had been firm enough to be felt, but light enough not to cause damage. She was proud of it, even as it left a slightly red mark on Sunset’s cheek and sent her rocking into the back of her chair in shock.

Twilight kept her voice level. She was not going to scream. “Rarity has done more for me and for Equestria than you could ever possibly understand, Sunset Shimmer.” Gone were the pet names, the gentle foal-gloves. Whatever had gotten into her had to be dealt with and right now. Sunset brought her hoof slowly up to where Twilight had smacked her and was clearly too stunned to speak. At least coherently.

“But… she tried… tried… Mistress?”

Twilight took an aggressive step forward and kept speaking in that disturbingly calm voice. “Let me tell you a little something about Rarity, Sunset. Let me tell you about the mare who stood up to a raging dragon and was willing to sacrifice something precious to herself to help us reach the Elements of Harmony.” She took another step forward, this one onto the edge of the chair and lifting her head up. She would not yell. “Let me tell you about the mare who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me when Changelings invaded Canterlot and didn’t hesitate once to put herself in harm’s way to save countless ponies she’d never met before.”

Sunset was stuttering, but Twilight was on a roll. “Let me tell you about the mare who has given fifty percent of her profits every single year to help ponies in need. About the mare who has always been more concerned with the well being of others than her own safety and health. Who came to me yesterday weeping her eyes out because she had feared she’d damaged my relationship with you and thought NOTHING of how you had hurt HER!” She slammed her hoof on the edge of the chair, perhaps with a bit more force than necessary, and put a crack in the edge of the wood. She was also speaking a few decibels too loudly.

She forced her voice into a normal volume. She lifted her hoof of the chair and took a deep breath. “I love you, Sunset. But you will retract what you just called one of my very closest friends, or I am going to get more than just cross with you.”

Sunset didn’t say or do much more than blink at her at first. Twilight waited. But then her mouth opened, and Twilight’s eyes widened. “I DON’T CARE!” she screamed. Screamed. Not in a furious, foal-like anger; but in the scream of a pony who was desperate and had lost all hope of communicating that desperation any other way. “SHE TRIED TO TAKE YOU FROM ME!” And before Twilight could stop her, Sunset was out of the chair and embracing her more tightly than she ever had. It was a loving hug, but more importantly, it was a hug Twilight knew she might have difficulty breaking away from.

Gingerly, Twilight held Sunset for a few long moments while she tried to collect her thoughts. Sunset was dealing with issues Twilight had never been trained to handle, and it had become frighteningly clear that Rarity’s momentary indiscretion had set off a chain reaction of obsessive behavior. Where it hadn’t been so clear before, now Twilight suspected Sunset’s strike at Rarity wasn’t offensive, but defensive. Of course, that made it no less right, nor did it excuse her name-calling, but Twilight now knew the specific issue she had to help her work through.

She had to work backward then. She was taking a lot of deep breaths today. “Sunset, nopony is going to take me away from you.” She tried to soothe Sunset, patting a touch awkwardly given how tightly she was being held onto. It was time to try a dash of humor. “Especially given how tightly you’re holding onto me.” It was as lame as one of Dash’s jokes, but it did startle a very weak chuckle out of her. “But you need to get back in your chair and listen to me right now.” Now back to stern. Sunset needed some reassurance, but she needed a steely bite of discipline too.

Sunset’s firm, almost choking, hold over her loosened a bit, and Twilight took that opportunity to unravel herself. Upon the loss of contact, Sunny seemed a bit dazed for a moment, but she did turn and reseat herself after a few long seconds. “I failed in everything you’ve been trying to teach me all this time, Mistress. I’m sorry.”

Twilight half nodded, then blew out a breath. “Sunset, you’ve been doing so well… I should’ve paid more attention to what was going on.” She shook her head, trying to clear it of her muddled thoughts. “No matter what happens, there isn’t a pony out there who could ever take me away from you.” She gently pressed her hoof up into Sunset’s chin, lifting it up. “I can’t say I’m not incredibly disappointed. But in spite of that, I already knew you were sorry for your mistake. But I’m not who you need to apologize to.”

Sunset’s face half-wrinkled in protest, but Twilight was ready for that by this point. “Ah ah ah,” she tsked quickly, pressing her hoof into Sunset’s wrinkled nose. “None of that. You’ve messed up big time, little missy, and now you have to clean it up.” She removed her hoof from Sunset’s nose with a little smile. “Now, do you trust me? Specifically, do you trust me to know what’s going on when the facts are put in front of my nose?” It was a bit of a trick question, but she needed to re-focus Sunset if she was going to get anywhere with her.

“I… I couldn’t love you, Mistress, if I didn’t trust you. So… yes,” Sunset said, though not without something of a defeatist sigh. She really was just as bad as Twilight herself sometimes.

She nodded once. “Then listen to me. I’ve spoken to Rarity. I’ve spoken to you. And by Celestia I’ve talked it over to myself. Everypony seems to be pointing toward the same story, and like it or not, you dreadfully over-reacted.” And an instant later, she held up an imperious hoof and fixed Sunset with a steely look. “You don’t have to like Rarity, or even be friends with her. Celestia knows even all of us don’t get along all of the time. We’ve had our share of fights and worse. But you do have to apologize to her, and you do have to mean every single word.”

“I… will…” Sunset stumbled on the words. Twilight knew where she was, mentally at least. How exactly was she to sincerely mean an apology to a pony she never wanted to see again? And unfortunately, Twilight couldn’t explain it to her no more than Princess Celestia had been able to explain it to Twilight herself. It was something everypony had to come to understand on her own. It came from the heart. It looked like it was getting close, the way Sunset was nodding faintly, her eyes distant. Until she blushed something fierce. “Mistress?” she asked.

Twilight still wasn’t sure if this was going to be salvageable yet, but she was prepared to try to have a good attitude. So she tried to let go of some of her tension and smile a little. “Yes?” She tried to keep her voice soothing. She wasn’t quite done with Sunset here, but a moment to defuse tension wouldn’t hurt.

“Are…” she blushed heavily again. “Will you take away cuddles?”

She stared at Sunset for a moment, then laughed faintly and pressed her hoof into her face. Of all the things for Sunset to be worried about… “Of course not, little love.” It was impossible to keep the warmth out of her voice, and she felt her smile broaden. She grinned. Sunset could play the cute card as much as she liked, but she still needed to be taught a lesson. “No, I think I’ll just forbid you a few other things, and you can help Rarity get settled back into her shop for the next few months. That should be reprimand enough.”

Her face almost fell. Almost. But knowing she wouldn’t be semi-isolated for what she’d done seemed to keep her rather neutral. “I have to go downstairs and apologize to her now, don’t I?” she asked, and while there was a grudging dislike of the idea, Twilight took it as progress that she was at least willing.

“Mhm.” She nodded once and half smiled. “And you’d best be sincere, young lady. I’m not going to have you falling back into your bad habits now.” She gently poked Sunset’s chest. “One of the hardest lessons of friendship is owning up when you’ve been a jerk. We’ve all had to do it at least once, even me.” And at that, she couldn’t help but giggle. “Remind me to tell you about The Mysterious Mare Do Well sometime. We all sort of screwed up on that one.”

“Oh… okay.” She was clearly feeling better now, and Twilight was further encouraged they could finally take a step forward when Sunset stepped out of the chair and toward the door of her own accord. “So…” she mumbled with uncertainty, her magic grasping the door knob but not turning it. “Nevermind,” she said before Twilight could ask what was the matter, and Twilight joined her side as she walked back into the dining room. Slowly.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight quietly shut the kitchen door and leaned against it heavily, closing her eyes. They were talking, at least. Short, brief sentences, but they weren’t screaming, and Sunset wasn’t swinging her hooves around like a mad mare. Rarity’s little swelling wasn’t very bad at all, and she hadn’t even brought it up once they’d come back down. Fluttershy was watching over the proceedings, which meant that Twilight could slip out of the room and try very hard not to cry. Another near total disaster averted by the skin of her teeth and the power of her friends.

Of course, she should have predicted that life would throw her yet another curveball right at that very moment. Beeeeelch was the all too familiar sound of Spike receiving a magical letter from the Princess. For just an instant, Twilight felt seized with panic. Oh, fuck me, not now! I do not need some world-ending disaster to solve NOW of all times! She contemplated teleporting as far away as possible, but Celestia would be able to find her anyway.

So she sighed and counted off the seconds until Spike trundled up to her bearing the scroll. She took it with a nod, and he nodded back. Unfurling the thing, her eyes began to dart across the words,

Dear Twilight…

Oh. Good. She wasn’t being referred to by her title, which meant this probably was not a call to arms.

I have just received Spike’s letter about the incident with Sunset Shimmer. Admittedly, I should have guessed that something like this would happen between her and Rarity. While I am overjoyed at the return of your friend, the news of Sunset’s emotional state is extremely troubling.

Uh… oh…

I have decided that this requires my direct intervention. I have placed Luna in charge of governance, a task to which she is overjoyed to finally be entrusted, and have cleared all of my previous plans. I will be coming to visit you and Ponyville directly for the next several weeks in the hopes of assisting you both with bringing a resolution to these issues. I will not have your friendship, and thereby your happiness, in risk of fracturing.

I have already consulted with Princess Cadence, and she will be joining us as soon as matters in the Crystal Empire are favorable for her to do so. I would expect you to receive several letters from her with advice in the near future. I intend to arrive tomorrow in disguise, so as to ensure there is no undue excitement or scrutiny on you or Sunset Shimmer. Watch for the unicorn mare named “Sunny Skies.”

Do not worry, Twilight. We will make things work.

-Celestia

For one of the first times in her entire life, Twilight was uncertain if she should be celebrating… or if she should be terrified. Given that this was the very first letter she’d ever received with Princess Celestia’s personal signature and not her professional one…

Oh. Shit. How was she going to explain this to Sunset!?

Ch 3 - Facing The Music

Author's Note

In celebration of reaching the Feature Box for the 10th time, I've decided to publish Ch 3 early! Expect Chapter 4 on Satruday, and then every other day updates until completion

Ch 3 - Facing The Music

~~~~~Two days later~~~~~

There was still a thin layer of dew and mist settled over the ground when Sunset received an encouraging kiss from Mistress. She returned it eagerly, but it was over far too quickly for Sunset’s taste. The door closed with a quiet click, and she took her first steps in the direction of Rarity’s shop. She would trust Mistress. She would try to mend a completely shattered friendship. Ugh, the thought was arduous all on it’s own. So, having had adequate sleep, a good breakfast, and plenty of reassuring words, Sunset determinedly walked the morning streets.

At least some things never changed, like Mistress dressing her up. Of course, as the situation was already delicate enough, Mistress had chosen something that Sunset couldn’t really shake her hips in, but it was sexy enough in its own way. Very short skirt, but professional blouse, stockings, and half heels. If anything, Sunset felt she ought to have a pair of glasses to complement it all. She shook her head. The clothes belonged to Mistress just like Sunset herself, and maybe Rarity would figure that much out right off the bat and this whole process would be much less painful. She had to shove away her pessimistic doubt as to the contrary.

Still, she at least was out walking at a time when everypony else would just be waking up. No awkward waves and hellos to deal with without Mistress this morning. She arrived at the door to Rarity’s boutique in a rather decent time, considering her hoof wear, and like Mistress had said, the lights inside were already shining brightly. Sunset sucked in a deep breath, concentrated on removing the scowl from her brow, and tapped at the door with the tip of her half heel.

She didn’t hear anything like scrambling, but there was a definite wait before the knob turned and… Sunset was forced to look down at Sweetie Belle having opened the door. “Morning Sunset!” she said brightly. “Sis said you were coming over to help her move back in! That’s real nice of you!”

“Heh, thanks, it’s nothing,” Sunset managed with a weak smile. Sweetie was unexpected, but at least she was easier for Sunset to talk to at the moment. She’d always marveled at how uncannily like their human-world counterparts the Cutie Mark Crusaders were. It was actually a bit scary. “Mist - Princess Twilight had the idea first though, so you’d be better off thanking her.”

“But you’re the one here,” Sweetie pointed out. “So get inside! I’m sure Rarity has tons you can help with.” Sunset followed Sweetie’s foalish bounce of excitement into the… disaster. She really couldn’t find a better way to describe the show floor of the boutique. It was as if everything that once been in it had been hauled back in hundreds of boxes, and said boxes been dumped unceremoniously all over everything. Stuff was everywhere, and Sunset’s inner organizer made her eye twitch.

In the middle of it all, Rarity was calmly resetting her shop one small detail at a time. She was wearing a sharp business suit again, which was… odd, actually. Rarity rarely ever wore the same style two days in a row. And she wasn’t sporting the bruise from their little altercation either.

“Um… good morning, Rarity,” Sunset managed. It was stiff, but she didn’t stutter, so that was a plus. She thought. “What do you have in mind for me to help with?” This she was at least good it. She had conversations with Mistress like this all the time.

“Oh!” Rarity’s hoof came up to elegantly cover her mouth, reacting with a bit of a jump. “Oh, good morning, Sunset.” She smiled, all business and professionalism. Well, that might make this easier. “Thank you for coming, I am afraid I am a touch scatterbrained this morning. So much to put back into shape.” She waved her hoof vaguely at the boxes, looking a little distant. “Um. Would you be so kind as to get started with the kitchen? Twilight tells me you know your way about the place, and I’m still trying to recall where I want to put all these tools…”

“It’s just fine,” Sunset said briefly. “The boxes with kitchen things in them are actually in the kitchen right?”

Rarity arched a rather elegant eyebrow at her. “Of course. I’m hardly that scatterbrained.” She half chuckled, lifting a hoof to rub at her forehead gently. “Though one could be forgiven for thinking so. Sweetie is trying to help as best she can, so do be kind to her if she gets underhoof, would you?”

“I’ll be okay,” Sunset replied, surprising herself with the note genuity that had crept into it. “I deal with Spike everyday, so I’m sure Sweetie can’t be all that bad.” She stood there for a moment, wondering if Rarity had anything else to say (there was an odd feeling in the air like she did), but when Sweetie moved off to begin rummaging through one of the mercifully unopened boxes, Sunset took her hooves to the kitchen. She removed her heels at it’s entrance and began work levitating this there and that over here. It was fairly simple work, and far easier than shelving books by several measurements.

One thing that quickly became apparent was that the boxes had been packed and possibly repacked in the most singularly haphazard fashion in the history of packing. About the only sensible job was with the dishes, all of which were high-quality and carefully wrapped in newspapers. The rest of it, though… the box of glasses smelled like they’d been living inside a tavern for the last few months. And Sunset couldn’t help but cough and hack when she undid the flaps holding Rarity’s collection of shot glasses. She hoped she hadn’t made too much noise trying to recover from the reeking smell, but as it would happen, Rarity poked her head around the corner.

Sunset shoved the cough down into her throat and offered a small smile. Rarity glanced around the kitchen a few times until her eyes settled on Sunset, and just when Sunset thought she was about to ask if anything was the matter, offered a single blink of her eyes and a nervous smile before disappearing. For Sunset’s part, she blinked several times. That had been just plain awkward. She hadn’t wanted ‘attention’ from Rarity per say, but wasn’t it normal to ask if somepony was alright if you had to check on them? Well, Sunset supposed they could be shouting at each other as the alternative. She shrugged and went back to work.

~~~~~~

Sunset had repeatedly told herself as the morning and afternoon dragged on that she was not the type of pony to avoid work merely on account of being lazy. And there were very few tasks she could remember that she had disliked because of the task itself. Settling Rarity back into her boutique had to be the worst of these moments, and Sunset idly wondered how in Equestria simply repeating her work ethic in her head kept her sane.

The work was easy. Move this box, reshelve this item, adjust that piece of furniture. Rarity knew where she wanted things, Sunset remembered where some it actually went, and despite being something of a klutz when it came to levitation, Sweetie Belle was a good help many times. If anything it might’ve been Sweetie Belle of all ponies keeping her from losing her temper entirely.

All day long, Rarity had said around three things to her. She was brisk, but always polite. Awkward as Luna in a carnival, but cheery. Sunset couldn’t stand it much longer. Here she was, trying to atone for clubbing her in the side of the head, among other things, and Rarity seemed to have withdrawn into a hole. She let out a semi-verbal snarl at the thought. What was worst though, were her periodic checkups on Sunset. It seemed like every couple of minutes Rarity would pop in, stare around for a few seconds, and then leave. At first, Sunset had looked at her, expecting her to say something, but she never did. And Sunset decided it was a waste of mental energy trying to understand it.

It was around lunch time now, and Sunset was contemplating going back to Mistress for lunch or just stepping out quickly for something from a street vendor. She wasn’t wearing anything scandalous. Appealing, true, but everypony in town by now knew who she belonged to. But then, maybe she’d be able to vent a little to Mistress if she went home. Get out some of her frustration. Mistress had taught her a lot of helpful things about managing her temper, and from that, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she didn’t vent to somepony soon, she’d start brooding, which would only make it all worse.

She sat in a huff and blew at the strand of mane falling into her face. Oh what to do. She wasn’t staying here for lunch, that was for sure. Silence during meals bothered her anyway for some strange reason. She considered asking Sweetie Belle if she wanted to come along to get some food. Mistress liked it whenever young ponies came over during hours she could teach them.

Almost predictably then, Rarity’s head popped in with that smile she’d been wearing all day. “Can I interest you in a bite, Sunset? I’ve got fresh mustard greens and half the grocery store worth of things to go with them.” Her smile changed just a bit then… dimpling into something more warm, more genuine. “I can assure you that Sweetie Belle has not been responsible for any food preparation.”

Sunset was sure her face went through a wide assortment of faces, and she couldn’t exactly nail down all of them. All she did know was how they ended. A soft scowl formed in her brows as she said, “Why do you think you need to placate me with my favorite food? Couldn’t you, oh, I dunno, actually have talked at all this morning?” She didn’t mean it to come out as scathing as she thought it sounded. She winced inside. She had to get control of herself double time.

Fortunately, Rarity seemed to just… skim past it. “Well, in spite of my failings I am still thankful for your assistance today.” She actually half chuckled, some of the professional smile falling away to show a weariness there. “It’s the least I can do to provide a good lunch after all your hard work.” Then the smile was back up, and she tossed her mane artfully. “I am sorry if I’ve been a bit… off-kilter today. The offer for luncheon stands if you’d like to join us.” Then with a wink and another smile, she vanished out the door.

Sunset stared after Rarity for as long as she could remain still, but as much as she knew it was childish, she eventually gave in and made retching motions. Ugh! She was soooo sincere. So apologetic. The perfect example of harmony and forgiveness. Sunset felt a bad taste in her mouth and let her tongue hang out. She just had to show her up. And without even trying to boot. Couldn’t she just make it easier on everypony and be the fat fake Sunset knew she loved to be at times. It’d be easier on everypony for it. She didn’t bother hiding her growl as the half formed, angry thoughts swirled in her brain.

But instead of letting them get her into a spot with Mistress again, Sunset tramped downstairs, staring straight ahead. She didn’t say a word to Sweetie or Rarity as she passed both of them, she set her face firm, and when she was out the door, she slammed it shut as hard as she could with magic without breaking the damn thing.

Her nebulous vortex of anger blinded any conscious purpose in her walk, and she trudged through Ponyville until she found herself back home. It was for the best to come here, she realized, and with just the three taps on the door, she felt a good chunk of her negativity slide off her back.

The door swung open, and Mistress was standing inside… wearing an absolutely lovely black ensemble. Unlike Rarity’s prim business suit, this was much more loosely tailored and looked more like what a private school teacher might wear. Mistress hadn’t been one for clothes before they’d gotten together, but she had recently come to enjoy having something snappy to wear around the library during work hours. And with a jolt, Sunset’s eyes darted to the small sign in the window that said whether the library was open or closed.

“Yes, that’s right, Dearest,” Mistress nearly purred. “We’re closed for lunch. Lunch just for two.” She turned and smiled prettily, and Sunset quickly darted through the door. “We won’t be able to dilly-dally too much, but Spike’s going to make sure the princess doesn’t walk in on us.” She giggled faintly, shutting the door and throwing the bolt. Closing up for lunch wasn’t uncommon, and anypony who needed to come in for an emergency would have a key.

The entire library smelled like sesame oil and garlic, and Sunset idly wondered what Mistress had been doing all morning. Was this supposed to be some kind of make-up for yesterday’s issues, or was she playing a deeper game here? “I’m very proud you stuck out the morning, Love.” Mistress’s voice was thick with pride. “Though this is just the first day, I thought a little encouragement could help you keep it up.” Sunset eyed Mistress’s beautiful body, and quite suddenly, felt inappropriately attired. Evening it was not, but that didn’t usually mean anything to Mistress. Sunset suppressed a smile as all her stress from Rarity’s drained out.

“Do you require me to change Mistress?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

Mistress smiled, and shook her head. “Oh no. We’re going to be having company soon, so you’d best stay in something appropriate…” Her eyes sparkled as she swayed into the kitchen, flicking her tail back and forth. “Besides, I think you look cute like that.” There was a gentle heat to her words… and Sunset could feel a little rush at the naughty suggestion. “Now get your flank in here!” Her voice snapped out from the dining room, and Sunset felt her hooves scrambling against the wood floor to obey.

The table had been prepared modestly, but with all the care Mistress always had with her projects. Some nice little fresh pretzels, a block of cheddar cheese, and two steaming bowls of Neighpon-style noodles awaited them. She unconsciously licked her chops but remained at the edge of her seat until Mistress told her to sit. “Well go ahead you silly girl,” Mistress giggled, gesturing at the chair. Sunset took it with her own small tremor of giggling.

When she got into her chair though, she noted only one set of utensils were present… Mistress’. “Go ahead and get started,” Mistress cooed, smiling slyly. She herself lifted up a little bundle of noodles with her chopsticks and did not… quite slurp them, but she came close. Canterlot born and raised or not, she still couldn’t eat with the grace of the nobility. Not that Sunset minded much - she thought it was cute.

And it was pretty clear what she was intending here too… which Sunset definitely didn’t mind. So she took a share of cheese slices and a pretzel and began her lunch. It was far better than mustard greens or anything on the street, she was sure, and a little ‘Aah’ of happiness escaped her lips. Mistress just smiled and shook her head, levitating her chopsticks across the table and bundling Sunset’s noodles expertly around them before lifting the whole up to her lips. Sunset dutifully opened her mouth, accepting the culinary treat as the flavors of soy and ginger and sesame all flowed over her tongue. It was beautifully balanced, and Sunset suspected that Mistress had been taking some lessons.

“There you go,” she whispered, giving Sunset a chance to swallow before offering more. “Look at my cute little Sunny eating like that…” Sunset accepted her second bite of noodles and felt herself slipping into that wonderful trance of being controlled.

It was a soothing feeling to let all of the stress of the day, all of her worries and self doubts just fade away into the background. They functioned like a single pony, Mistress the mind, herself the body, and there was something kind of meditative about it. They took bites of the noodles in turn, Mistress directing her to take breaks with the sharp cheese and a glass of wine. All concept of time slowly slipped away from her, and she reveled in the quiet intimacy. Mistress’s gentle, caressing words all she cared about and revelled in.

Soon enough, the noodles were a savory memory that left behind only the scent of its spice in the air. Mistress polished off her own glass of wine with a little ‘ah’ of satisfaction, and set her chopsticks down in her bowl. Sunset could feel her body subtly tense, as though it already knew what was going to come next. “Go fetch your leash and collar, Sunny,” Mistress cooed in a gentle command, and that was all the excuse Sunset needed to bolt out of the room at speed.

She took off up the stairs and contemplated throwing off all but the undergarments of her clothes. But she retained just enough self-control in her anticipation to remind herself that Mistress had not ordered her to do anything of the sort. She reached the door to their bedroom, unlatched it, and didn’t even bother going all the way in. She knew where Mistress kept their ‘tools’, and she knew the feel of her collar and leash in her magic better than any of the other fun things in the chest. Again, she fought excitement to put it on herself and raced back downstairs, carrying her first sign of bondage to Mistress not in her magic, but in her mouth.

Mistress had already cleared away the dishes, but had not pushed away from the table. Instead she had leaned back in her chair and… Sunset gulped just a little at the sight of the thing hanging between Mistress’ legs. She had come a long way from that first spell, and now the shaft that throbbed between her legs was as close to flesh as magic could ever produce. Mistress giggled at the sight of her, and she gestured silently for Sunset to approach.

Sunset carefully tread over to the chair, where Mistress gently retrieved her collar from her mouth and slowly buckled the device on. She took her time, making sure to brush the thick hide against her neck before tightening it just enough to be impossible to ignore. Then she took hold of the leash and gave it a little tug. “Come on now, kitten,” she cooed, choosing one of her favorite terms to tease Sunset with. “Come get your creamy dessert.”

She could only gaze at Mistress’s size for a moment, wondering firstly why Mistress had never done this before, and secondly… whether she could fit it all in her mouth… But she stood still for a touch too long, and Mistress tugged her muzzle straight against the cock. Mistress’s member twitched at the contact of Sunset’s cool nose, and she felt a quiver of her own in the back of her legs. “I’ve got dessert all ready and waiting for you,” Mistress said, grinning with an edge in her voice. “Don’t be ungrateful and not take it.”

“Yes… yes, Mistress,” Sunset breathed out, taking in the intoxicating scent of their arousal. It flooded her, and she couldn’t entirely stop herself as she sniffed and nuzzled her way up to the head of Mistress’s shaft. She brought her tongue out and brushed it against the head. There was a jolt of exhilarating magic from the touch, and Sunset began swirling her tongue around the edges, drinking in the mounting pleasure and the growing wetness between her legs.

Sunset quietly looked up into Mistress’s eyes. Mistress breathed heavily, her eyes half lidding. “That’s a good kitten.” Her lips were pressed together, and it was clear she was enjoying the sensations. “K-keep up with that…” Her voice was surprisingly intense as she said that, and Sunset eagerly returned to her ministrations. She rolled her tongue at the edge of the stallionhood several more times, and finally dragged it’s length in her mouth. She wrapped it in her tongue as she went, but there was still some left outside her lips when she felt it at the back of her throat. She began pulling her head back up again, but - “Ah ah…” Mistress’ voice cooed, a firm hoof placed at the back of her head. “I want to see you get all of it, little kitten… I’ve seen you gobble that big favorite toy of yours before…” Sunset felt her cheeks instantly light up at that knowledge. Mistress had been watching her? Of course she had.

She hadn’t even pulled all the way off for a first time, but at Mistress’s order, she lowered her head again, feeling the cock, and forcing herself past that point. She jerked a little as she suppressed her gag reflex, Mistress’s stallionhood being quite a bit removed from a toy, but she managed. And oh, she was glad she did. She stayed there for a moment, feeling the cock pulsing in eager anticipation inside her tight throat. Sunset gradually pulled her mouth back up the shaft, leaving it glistening with her saliva, and dove back in again. Her bobbing head soon set to the rhythm of Mistress’s grunting half moans, and before they reached a new level of intensity, Sunset pulled off the the cock, slipping the head through her lips.

Mistress’ breathing was growing more intense. It was hard to keep track of what she looked like down here, but the quivering of her body was telling the story. “Celestia, that’s good,” she spoke in a strangled voice, the words having to fight their way out past the moans. “You’re such a good little cocksucker, I wish I’d have done this sooner…” The dirty words hurt in the best way Sunset knew, and if the past were any indication, Mistress had much more in mind. “Get down on that shaft, kittenslut… Show me how much you need my spunk filling you up, like a good little cum addict.”

Mistress’s words sang like heartless music to Sunset. “I need it all the time, Mistress,” she whined before diving back on the cock, bobbing her head in full thrusts faster than before. Her drool began to drip from Mistress’s member and join Sunset’s own leaking slit on the floor. Her moans began to murmur from around the stallionhood, and her own need for Mistress to rut her was growing with each furious licking fest she performed on the dick’s tip. “Oh… Mistress!” she couldn’t help but call out, pulling off with a small pop and reaching back with one of her hooves to rub her clit.

Sunset felt the jerk of her collar , and let out an involuntary ‘meep’ sound. “Did I say you could clop off, kitten?” Mistress asked, though it was pretty clearly not a question. Sunset bit at her lip in embarrassment, as Mistress kept speaking. “You know you’re supposed to ask for permission, little pet. Tsk Tsk.” She shook her hoof back and forth, and a slow smile spread across her face. “Well, there’s no stopping you now… so I suppose I’ll just have to make you work extra hard for it.”

Sunset tried to imagine for a moment what that might mean, when she felt a combination of magic and Mistress’s hooves wrap around her mane and press into the back of her head. She was so surprised, she opened her mouth just long enough for the tip of the cock to push in past it…”Mmph!” was all she could say around the sudden intrusion, as Mistress forcibly pushed her throbbing cock down into her throat for a moment before just as suddenly pulling it back out again. Then she did it again, and again… and began settling into a hard thrusting pattern while she moaned happily. And Sunset couldn’t do a thing. She just melted to Mistress’s desires, pushing her hoof in and around her pussy until she was groaning and sighing in joined cadence with Mistress. She closed her eyes, relishing in the sensation of Mistress’s stallionhood being rammed in and out of her mouth and her own marehood lighting up with heat.

She spasmed in smaller orgasms multiple times, but Mistress never stopped pushing and pulling her mouth over her dick. She rode out her little, glorious highs still pleasuring Mistress, and that made them all the more intense. “GAH!” Mistress interrupted her steady lilts and moans. “So… so… so good!” And just as Sunset reached her biggest, shaking climax with a cry of ecstasy, Mistress pulled her off and let her fall to the floor just as she came. Sunset collapsed on her back, and Mistress’s cum sprayed all over her, warm, sticky, and wet.

Mistress was panting heavily, splayed across her chair, cock quivering, and the sound of their breathing mingled together. It was a wonderful feeling of just… belonging. Of course, Mistress had to get in the last word… “Now…” she began, licking the sweat off her lips and smiling faintly as the spell of her tool began to dissipate. “Dont you dare waste one drop of that.” Sunset stared for a moment, as her brain tried to process that statement… and blushed again when she realized what she meant, a hoof coming up to gently lift the sticky substance off her coat.

It tasted like salty mint.

~~~~~~~~~

Knock Knock Knock Knock.

Twilight looked up at the door. Stared at it, actually. Sunset was still mopping up the kitchen floor with a clean towel, and Spike wasn’t due back for another… Her eyes dashed to the clock, and she nearly swore on the spot. Spike wasn’t due for another thirty minutes, which meant whoever it was either had a problem or… Or the princess came straight here. Either thought was panic-inducing, but she would not panic. She felt too good to panic right now, even as the last bits of her carefully refined sexual spell flittered away.

Sunset gulped and Twilight sighed. She’d wanted to enjoy watching Sunset lick herself clean, but that wasn’t happening now. “Fast cleaning plan number three, Sunset!” She’d anticipated this, to some extent. When one lived a life of unabashed perversity, one prepared for the inevitable time when life would intrude upon it. Unfortunately, they were still going to be a little frazzled… but hopefully whoever it was wouldn’t notice.

So Sunset rushed over into the kitchen, her magic going ahead of her to throw the hot water onto full. Twilight summoned up her will and focused the spell through her horn. She didn’t like using this enchantment, but it was the only way to get the place clean enough to pass scrutiny. The Maid Spell rushed out of her horn in a storm of violet sparkles and swept across every surface of the library. Spike was going to kill her later, when he started getting scale itch from the magic contamination, but whatever.

Unfortunately, the Maid Spell had one flaw: it couldn’t do anything about the subtle smells in the air. The sound of Sunset vigorously scrubbing herself was aesthetically pleasing, but it wouldn’t do a complete job. Twilight bit her lip as the knock came again… Knock Knock! Much firmer, much more commanding. It had to be somepony important. She’d have to just wing it, as usual. So she lit a half dozen peach-and-strawberry candles and tried to position them subtly before checking herself in a mirror.

Her mane was too frizzed out not to be noticed, but Sunny was right there with a soaking wet comb and a bucket. “Hold still, Miss!” she quickly blurted out, attacking Twilight’s mane with the comb until it gave in to something resembling sense, the soapy water keeping any real snags from forming. It wasn’t perfect, but nothing was going to be. Sunset dumped the bucket, comb, and her cleaning rags into the sink and slammed the door shut. “Okay, we’re clear!” Twilight nodded and cantered over to the door, pulling it open to reveal…

A white coated unicorn with a bright, bubblegum pink mane and tail, and deep violet eyes. “Good afternoon. Is this the Golden Oaks Library?” She sounded quite chipper and vibrant, and in spite of being interrupted, Twilight instantly buried her annoyance at that fact.

“Yes it is,” Twilight began, eyeballing the sign and sighing silently. She’d love to say they were closed for lunch still, but they’d already cleaned up… She adjusted her suit-jacket and put on her professional smile. “Come right in. I’m the librarian, Twilight Sparkle. How can I help you today?”

The white mare trotted in cheerfully, doing a quick turn in place as she took in the library’s room, and Twilight shifted the sign around to ‘Open’. “Oh, I’ve just arrived from Canterlot,” the mare began as she trotted eagerly to the middle of the room. “I was wondering if you had ‘The Secret Sun: Disguises of the Princesses of Equestria’?”

Twilight blinked. “Uh… Yes, I think we do still have a copy…” She strained her brain for a moment, as she actually had to work to recall where she’d shelved that ridiculous thing. “It’s a complete fabrication, you know. The stallion who wrote it had an unhealthy fascination with Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence…. Um… Sunset! Do you remember where I put that drivel?”

“I can go get it directly if you need it immediately, Ma’am,” Sunset said, and Twilight couldn’t help notice her voice was still a little tremulous from their intimacy. “I…” she took in a steadying breath. “I shelved it just yesterday.”

Twilight turned to speak again, when a familiar and smooth voice utterly derailed her thoughts. “Actually, Twilight, the author was a good friend of mine. It was simply his way of teasing me a little after he got married, and we couldn’t enjoy one another’s company any longer.”

A rush of air and magic blew out from the center of the room. The smell of wildflowers rushed past her nose with notes of sweet honeysuckle and sun-baked earth. It was a smell that accompanied one, and only one, pony in the entire world. Twilight whipped around in surprise… having completely forgotten the line from her mentor’s letter the previous evening. Her smile was gentle and loving, and her eyes sparkled with pleasure. “And a good afternoon to you, Twilight.” Princess Celestia strode in past the door without another word and instantly dominated the entire library with her presence. Which naturally meant Sunset did everything short of crouch behind Twilight like a filly. “And to you as well, Sunset Shimmer,” the princess continued with a little giggle of delight. “It is good to see you both again.”

But, rather than stay neatly scrunched up and out of sight like Twilight expected for the first hour or so, Sunset peaked out and stepped up to the princess. Her look was nothing short of curiously scrutinizing. “Couldn’t enjoy…” Sunset murmured, more to herself than Princess Celestia, and she began looking her up and down. “Wait… wha?” When she did address the princess directly, Twilight nearly hid herself behind the reading sofa. “You seriously banged with normal ponies?” she asked, bluntly as a butter knife and completely disbelieving.

Twilight facehoofed. Celestia… laughed. Happily, easily, as though she was relieved to finally let out some humor that didn’t have to be graceful or special. “What? You think a grown mare can go a thousand years without a little relief?” Celestia cocked her head and gave Sunset a challenging smile. “Would you like to find out for yourself what sort of things I could get up to?” Her voice descended into a husky purr, and just that was enough to send shockwaves up Twilight’s spine that were not dissimilar to what she’d just been doing.

Sunset’s jaw nearly hit the floor, and the silence went on just long enough for Twilight to entertain some rather interesting thoughts before Celestia’s giggles broke the tension. “Oh, Mother preserve me, the looks on your faces!” Celestia nearly bent over double, her laughter utterly infectious. “Goodness. Given the smell in here, I would say the pair of you are already doing a little finding out of your own.” Her tail swished teasingly, and she settled out of her laughter with a gentle smile. “Which isn’t to say I never entertained the idea, mind you. But since you two are quite obviously smitten with one another…” Her eyes softened, and her voice went quieter. “It warms my heart, truth be told.”

Twilight took a moment to decide how to handle that statement. She decided, to preserve her sanity, that she would pretend it didn’t happen. Else she might end up waking up… Stop it Twilight and focus. “Thank you for coming, Prin-” She cut herself off instantly. Celestia had come here and had gone to the trouble to purposefully make the mood more casual. The last thing Twilight needed to do now was ruin that hard work. “Celestia. I know it must’ve been short notice for you.”

Celestia waved off that apology, still smiling with ease. “Luna has been chomping at the bit to exercise some of her rightful authority, and I look forward to hearing the tales of how she’s scandalized the Solar Court.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and she settled down in place to regard them both. “Completely aside from that, this is an important thing to deal with.” She focused her gaze on Sunset, and spoke in a rather.. direct sort of way. “Sunset, I have to admit how surprised I was…”

Sunset gulped visibly and Twilight steeled herself… Celestia kept speaking. “How much of a partisan you seem to have found in Rarity. She was quite dismissive of the incident the other evening and insisted I not hold you particularly accountable.” She paused, Twilight turned to look at Sunset with relief and found her little love looking more consternated than ever before. Celestia ploughed on, keeping her voice even. “Nevertheless-”

“Why does she keep trying to coddle my image?!” Sunset peeled off, directly interjecting over the princess and stiffening Twilight’s muscles for that. “Not hold me accountable my plot! I think all she knows how to do is apologize. She thinks she can just do that and get away with anything!” Twilight was deliberately avoiding Celestia’s eyes at the moment, following Sunset instead as she walked beside and behind Twilight and plopped down with a distinguished huff of irritation.

But Celestia hadn’t so much as expressed a frown. She glanced from Twilight to Sunset carefully, and something else went into her eyes. Twilight had always had a high opinion of her mentor, and it was one that had only grown over the years from all the wisdom she’d managed to impart. But it had not been until recently - until events had conspired to force her to actually wield royal power - that she had come to realize what other talents must lay beneath the surface.

Who had said it best? Applejack, funnily enough. You don’t rule like she has fer’ a thousand years an’ not learn a thing or two about how ponies think. Celestia blew out a held in breath and spoke in a gently serious tone. “It seems I have a great deal of work to do here after all.”

And if those weren’t ominous words, Twilight didn’t know what would be.

Ch 4 - A "Friendly" Visit

~~~Golden Oaks Library~~~

Ten minutes and one closed up library later, Twilight was more than just a little bit nervous. “Celestia, please let me explain…” she began, only to be cut off by a lifted hoof. Celestia shut the blinds to the library herself and stepped out of her hoofboots with a little sigh of relief. She trotted into the kitchen a moment later, humming softly and thoroughly confusing Twilight. What in Tartarus was she up to? She glanced over at the still heavily breathing Sunset and dropped her voice to a whisper. “What were you thinking talking to the princess like that?” It was hard not to panic in moments like these, but she’d been through so many of them by this point that she was doing quite well. The sound of running water and clattering dishes drifted out of the kitchen…

“Mistress…” Sunset whispered back, more nervously intense than irritated. “Today… I didn’t have a good day with Rarity, okay.” She flailed a hoof aimlessly. “Mistress, I was a good filly like you asked, honest. But she’s the one making it hard on everypony, and I’m sick of it. That... and... well… I don’t like it when anypony other than you tries to protect me…”

Twilight huffed silently, opening her mouth and then shutting it just as fast as Celestia returned to the room with a tea tray. It smelled wonderful and oddly soothing, and Celestia set it down on a side table before turning to regard them both. “I’m going to need to speak with you both in private.” She did not quite sound stern, but she wasn’t far from it. Twilight wanted to smack her head on the desk. Sunset was already unstable enough, and the last thing Twilight needed was her getting more nervous.

Twilight took a deep breath and planted her hooves. “Celestia, Sunset’s been doing very well recently. She’s just under more stress than normal, and she’s already given a very good apology.” She gave Sunset a withering look, hoping to keep this from getting even more out of hoof. “She hasn’t been a bad pony by any measure.” Well, that was… kinda stretching the truth there, but she had to do something to try to defuse the situation.

Celestia nodded, filling a teacup and sipping with a little smile. “I understand that, Twilight. But it is very clear that Sunset and you could both use some outside advice on how to deal with that stress.” She arched an eyebrow at her, and Twilight swallowed her knee-jerk reaction. “I care very much for both of you, you know…” The princess’ voice turned wistful, and she looked away from them for a moment. “And I’ve many years of experience in these sorts of situations, too.”

Well, that was an impossible thing to dismiss. The princess was more than one thousand years old, and given that she’d been pretty laid back about all this oddness so far meant this probably wasn’t the first time she’d seen trouble of this nature. Still, it went against the grain! She was supposed to be the Mistress here, and that meant it was her job to find a solution to this problem. …. Somehow.

The princess shook her head once and smiled at them both. “Twilight, I have rarely interfered in your life because I have always had faith that you could easily handle the problems the world presented to you.” She gestured at Sunset, her smile growing wider. “But this is a crucial issue, and given that I can trust nopony else with such a delicate situation, I felt I had to at least consult with both of you before something else went amiss.”

Twilight bit at her lip, trying to resist the siren song of just listening to the princess, but… No. That’s not what she gave you a crown for, Twilight. She steeled herself and lifted her head defiantly. “Nevertheless, I really do not feel terribly comfortable leaving her alone like this. We’ve figured out how to work with each other very well, Celestia, and I would feel much better if I could be here to support her.” There, that was perfectly logical and only slightly over-emotional. She’d take it.

Celestia, unfortunately, appeared unmoved. She sipped her tea again and shook her head slightly. “This is not just chit-chat, Twilight. This is an intervention.” Her voice turned much more serious at the last word, and Twilight felt a cold chill run through her. “Sunset assaulted one of your friends. Indeed, it was in the heat of a moment of anger and frustration.” She held up her hoof, once again commanding silence with but a single motion. Why couldn’t Twilight figure out how to do that? “But regardless, there was physical violence. I must be able to speak to Sunset about that without fearing that she is censoring herself because of her love for you.”

That was…. devastatingly logical. Twilight almost winced in pain at the subtle admonishment of her presence causing the issue to remain murky. She loved Sunset, truly she did, but was that really what was going on? Was Sunset purposefully holding back how she truly felt around her for fear of offending her? She glanced to her little love, and gently squeezed her around the shoulder to try to impart some comfort. It would be horribly irresponsible of her to take the risk that she herself was the source of this pain and not allow somepony else to try to solve it. “Sunset, I’m going to just be in the next room.” She spoke quietly and as firmly as she could. When Sunny opened her mouth to protest, she pressed her hoof into it. “Ah-ah. No. You’re a big girl, and I know you’ll be fine. It’s the princess, and I trust her like you trust me.”

“Mistress…” Sunset managed to whisper out, truly whisper. She wasn’t trying to hide anything or be cryptic. The fear of being, for lack of a better term Twilight would look up later, interrogated by the princess had quite literally taken the power out of her voice. Twilight tried standing up to leave, and she felt her heart clench up when Sunset’s forehooves lingered on her shoulders until Twilight’s standing height caused them to slip down her legs onto the floor.

She searched wildly for something, anything to go on. “Princess, she’s just been home from Rarity’s place, and it didn’t go quite as well as I’d hoped-” She bit that one back and reached down to squeeze Sunset’s hoof. “Give her a day, at least, please?” That was pleading, and it wasn’t a terribly great plead, but it was all she had.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia’s voice did not… quite… thunder at her, but she came awful close to it, “your dedication to Sunset is admirable. Laudable, even. But I am going to have private words with her, and if I need to recall her to Canterlot to do so, I will."

“You wouldn-” Twilight snapped her mouth shut around that. Of course she would, if she deemed it necessary. Twilight could say many things about her mentor, but Celestia never made idle threats. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself… but that wasn’t going to fly. “No. I won’t let you.”

There was a distinct pause and another calm sip of tea. How on earth did she manage to stay so calm? The tension in the room was thick enough to spread on toast! “Ah,” was all Celestia said, her eyes closing for a moment as she withdrew a bit. “So, that’s the situation then. Hm. I owe Lulu a forfeit.” A hoof came up and rubbed at her temple. “What to do…” She was… muttering to herself. Celestia. Muttering. To herself.

Twilight stared in what had to look like dumbfounded shock. Celestia was never anything but completely composed and utterly self-assured. Seeing her momentarily lapse into uncertainty was very troubling.

A few moments later, Celestia had polished off her first cup of tea and set it down on the tray. “I have to admit, I’m surprised Twilight.” Her voice was back to being serene, but there was something… distinctly troubling about the way she was looking at them. “You’ve made some ill-conceived decisions before, but I’d have thought you’d learned your lesson after the Want-it-Need-it-Spell.” Twilight stared at her dumbfounded, and Celestia kept speaking without once taking her eyes off of her. “Surely you remember, don’t you? So wrapped up in the problem you couldn’t even see who was getting hurt in the process? An entire town under a terrible enchantment, and all over a simple letter.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed a little… and the room seemed to get awfully chilly. “I came and bailed you out of that mistake once, Twilight Sparkle. But if you let Sunset continue down this self-destructive path toward its inevitable conclusion, the next time I have to come may be a great deal less pleasant for everypony involved.” For just an instant, Twilight could see something crack under that serene mask… “I will not have another pony obsessed with that which they possess get to that level again.” ...and then it was back again, all at once. Celestia’s voice was gentle again, and the room warmed considerably “I am trying to help you, Twilight. And you too, Sunset. Let me.”

Twilight was fairly certain she wasn’t breathing for a couple, very long, seconds. She couldn’t take her eyes off Celestia either, and the princess’ steely gaze was more imbued with authority than Twilight had ever seen it. For some reason though, she couldn’t speak. And quite frankly, she felt as though she couldn’t think. Until somepony broke her out the hollow stupor anyway. “Mistress,” Sunset said, and Twilight’s head turned to see her. Her dear Sunny wasn’t exactly devoid of the fear from before, but there was sincere respect there now too. Her eyes glanced back and forth between Twilight and Celestia, and she said, “You… I’ll be okay… alone, for a couple minutes. I love you, Mistress, and I don’t want to see you go… forever.”

Twilight stared at her for a moment, then leaned in to kiss Sunset gently on the cheek. “Okay.” It was hard to say, but Sunset was grown enough to make that call herself. She glanced nervously at Celestia then exhaled. “I’ll be in the bedroom if either of you need me.”

The princess didn’t say anything in return, but her smile was back. Twilight tried to suppress her nervousness as she trotted upstairs. The conversation she would have later with Celestia wasn’t going to be fun but… She glanced back at Sunset, and Sunny nodded to her, putting on a tiny smile of her own. She would be fine. They would be fine. Somehow.

~~~~~~~~~

It seemed like Mistress took her time walking up the stairs. Maybe that was true. Or more likely, Sunset just wanted it to be true. Even now, knowing that having to sit through whatever the princess had in store for her was a better alternative to it being forcibly shoved down her throat, Sunset felt locked in place. She kept repeating in her head that she hadn’t really sent Mistress away. That she hadn’t really disregarded all of the courage it must have taken Mistress to put her hoof down to the princess.

But the thoughts wouldn’t stop, and she eventually decided that Princess Celestia wouldn’t pay it much mind. She lifted her hooves up to her head and clenched them on either side, slowly rocking it back and forth. This had helped her rid herself of doubt before, of guilt, and as she couldn’t exactly talk to herself or to Mistress at the moment, it would have to do.

“Would you like a cup, Sunset?” Celestia’s voice was infinitely soft, and a cracked eye showed her pouring herself another cup of the fragrant brew. “I find it always helps me when I’ve had a rough day.” It was off-hoof, casual, and probably quite sincere. The princess always did seem to be making the stuff…

“Can’t hurt,” Sunset managed to say, reaching for the pot with her magic.

Celestia nodded, turning to regard the staircase. “There are days when she really does remind me a lot of Luna.” She hesitated for a moment - nopony but somepony who knew her would have noticed though. “She’s been so close to me for so long, I often forget how much she’s grown. Sometimes I wish...” The princess sighed, closing her eyes. Whatever she might’ve wished, she wasn’t going to voice it. “Sunset, I’ve now heard about last night from three different perspectives. I’d like you to describe it to me from yours, but to keep it just to the facts as you saw them.”

Sunset felt a tremor run through her body, and her mouth cracked open a touch. Now she really did regret asking Mistress to leave. She could draw strength from Mistress just being in the same room, and now… Now she had nothing. She couldn’t even stutter start. She tried darting her eyes around to the books in the library, but she worked with them so much, they didn’t manage to distract her. She eventually returned her eyes to the princess and gulped, hoping her eyes weren’t dilated too far to concern Princess Celestia.

Celestia half smiled and gestured for her to come closer. That was hard to do… very hard. But it was also a lot easier than trying to speak, so she stood and crossed the room slowly. Like Fluttershy, the princess exuded an aura of calm and peace that was difficult to ignore if one got close enough to her. “Sunset, I promise you that I am simply trying to help,” Celestia spoke with quiet reassurance, the smell of fresh apples strong around her for some reason. “And if I am to help, I must understand what happened from everypony’s perspective. It is the only way I can truly understand what went wrong, and how I can help to fix it.” Then… Celestia’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “I’ve got sweets from Mister Mallow’s shop for you by the way...”

“I didn’t want Mist… Princess Twilight to go upstairs,” Sunset blurted. It was the only thing in her head, seeming to block anything and everything else. Getting it out helped some, but she supposed it was more the princess’s face from her outburst.

“Mm. Salted Caramels, your favorite,” Celestia idly commented, producing a small wrapped box from...somewhere. Probably one of those dimensional holding spells Mistress was so fond of. She unwrapped the box and offered one to her with a small smile. “Relax, Sunset. The absolute last thing I am going to do is hurt you.” She paused and wickedly smiled. “I think that Twilight might get mad at me if I did that without asking permission.”

Yep, aside from producing a ridiculous blush all over her face, that certainly helped clear up all those muddling thoughts. Or maybe the blush just replaced them. She didn’t know, but it was better than before anyway. Still, she couldn’t look Princess Celestia in the eye when she took the caramel. It melted away in her mouth more quickly than Sunset would have liked, but by the end, she thought she might be able to at least talk. “I… I was angry even before she arrived,” Sunset said, slowly, contemplating. It seemed so long ago. “I didn’t want her back then, and, I wouldn’t be unhappy if she left again. She and Mistr - I mean, um -”

“You know, I’m very used to all of her guards calling Luna their Mistress,” Celestia slyly commented, as though sharing a secret. “It’s hardly going to bother me to hear my student’s own submissive do the same.”

“Oh, I… we just don’t usually… Damn it,” Sunset ended up muttering, really more at herself than the princess. “I can’t stand that we have to censor ourselves sometimes and not others,” she idly grunted. “Over-sensitive morons…” She glowered for a moment at the thought, but when the silence lingered, she shook a bit to refocus. And she couldn’t tell if that was exactly a good thing given her feelings on the subject at hoof. “Well, Mistress and she were just constantly trying to make small conversation, and it was just so fake and… ugh. It didn’t help my mood. That she was even in Mistress’s house after what she did was rubbing my coat the wrong way. And then she had to go off and apologize.” Sunset let that last word linger in her mouth with every ounce of disgust she could muster. “I… I can’t really describe why it… I don’t know. I lost it, and I tried knocking her lights out.” She regretted it almost immediately after, but the word escaped anyway. “Happy?”

Celestia waited for a full thirty seconds to respond. Just long enough to make Sunset’s heart begin to hammer in distress over the thought that she might have gone too far. Then, “No, Sunset. I’m not happy,” Celestia spoke with a motherly voice, reaching out to push a lock of mane back from her face. “Three ponies I care a very great deal about are all hurting inside, and only now do I realize that there is something I can do to help them. But I do thank you for telling me how you feel.” She sighed gustily, lifting her teacup. “Sunset, I would like to ask you an honest question. Aside from the…” She paused, looking thoughtful. “Momentary lapse of judgement she had at your birthday party, has Rarity ever intentionally caused you harm?”

“Yes,” Sunset answered briskly. “She came back here.”

Celestia arched an eyebrow at her. “Oh? You think she came back because of you?”

“She said so herself,” Sunset replied, shaking her hoof. “The first thing she wanted to do was come and apologize. Didn’t even decide to get settled or give anypony time to think about how to deal with it.”

Celestia took another calm sip of her tea, still serene. “That’s quite funny, as I understand it she’s been here for longer than a week, seeing her friends individually.” Celestia sounded suddenly dry and a touch angry. “And even if that were not enough, this is her home, Sunset. Do you expect everypony who wrongs you to pack up their things and leave town?” She tsked, shaking her head sadly.

Sunset balked. She had hoped, but really shouldn’t have relied on, the princess not knowing that. “Well…” she tried to come back, but faltered ever so slightly, “somepony could’ve told me. And Equestria was my home, but everypony was more than happy to see me up and leave several years ago.”

Another long silence. Celestia lowered her head as it dragged on. “Sending you away…” Celestia… whispered? “Was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do in my life, Sunset.” And when she looked up, the princess was wiping something from her eyes. “I had hoped you would realize that by now.”

“I’m pretty sure everypony else at the school wasn’t tearing up all that much,” Sunset glowered. “But no, she just crossed the line with Mistress and me, and I won’t forgive somepony who willingly tried to take away the only pony who really loves me.” She said that last part a little more fiercely. She could believe that more than anything else she’d said.

Celestia cocked her head at her. “Is that what she tried to do?” She leaned in and spoke in an intense voice of her own. “So, you deny that she told you how unworthy of Twilight she was? Or how, after speaking to you in confidence about her feelings, you chose to speak ill of her in public at every opportunity? Or that she has not spoken one ill word to you in the time since?” Celestia was being far, far more intense than she had been before. She was pressing in, but not yelling or even sounding angry. “Please tell me, Sunset. Whenever and however did she perform these heinous acts? As I understand it, Twilight was and remains utterly unaware of how Rarity feels about her, and I very much doubt she would lie to me about such a thing in light of recent events.”

“It’s more just her presence,” Sunset sighed, backing away from the princess ever so slightly. “And… I don’t want Mistress to ever, ever, ever find out how she feels. And it’s better if she’s not here so that never happens.”

Celestia pulled back to her normal sitting, and nodded faintly. “Sunset, like it or not, Rarity is and always will be an integral part of Twilight’s life. If she tried to leave forever, Twilight would simply chase her.” Celestia drank down her tea and set the cup aside. “To make my point, Twilight once chased Applejack all the way to Dodge Junction, and Applejack had even said she would come back.” Celestia fixed her with a steely look. “That’s nearly seven hundred miles south of here and very much off the beaten path. Their friendship was forged by the Elements of Harmony, and I very much doubt anything could stop them from trying to stay together.”

“It’d be easier if I just took the place of the Element of Generosity,” Sunset mumbled, not really expecting Princess Celestia to hear.

Celestia almost snorted and put her hoof up to her mouth. The sound escaping from behind it very much resembled ‘giggling’. “I do not think so, Sunset. That ship has long since sailed.” But she didn’t clarify as to what that meant, instead focusing her gaze on her. “Sunset, do you really think my most faithful student…” She paused, half smiling. “Who I might remind you, just stood up to me and told me to back down from you not a few minutes ago, would ever conceive of leaving you for any reason?” She shook her head slowly. “I was almost prepared to have this talk in front of her, given how strong she was feeling.”

“Mistress is always doing things… I know she loves me more than anything,” Sunset said, and deep inside, she felt her heart swell just being able to say that. “But… she wants some of that, and I don’t want her to have any or think she has any right to even approach Mistress that way.”

Celestia slowly shook her head. “Nopony’s heart belongs only to one pony, Sunset. Not even Cadence and Shining Armor reserve all of their love for one another. Family and friends will always have a place.” She fixed Sunset with a steely look. “Especially for Twilight, they will.”

“But she wants to… eeeugh,” Sunset rolled her tongue and eyes in slight embarrassment. “She wants to have Mistress to do the things Mistress does to me… That’s special for us unless both of us are okay with… more.”

Celestia… Sunset blinked. Celestia was rolling her eyes at her. “Sunset Shimmer,” she said sharply, her mouth twitching into a smile. “I am going to give you a little dose of reality. There are probably no few ponies in town, and elsewhere for that matter, who wouldn’t mind Twilight wielding her crop on them.” Her mouth turned into a full grin. “I cannot say I would not be one of them. But no matter how much they might want that, Sunset,” she put her hoof down firmly, the stomp making Sunset jump a bit, “no matter what they might daydream about or what have you, Twilight’s love and her lust belong to only one pony.” She stabbed her hoof into Sunset’s chest. “You, and only you. Nothing and nopony is ever going to be able to change that except for you. Or did Cadence not tell you that your love was True?”

Sunset blinked several times and cracked her neck slowly, trying to forcibly rid her mind of the images now filling it. It worked about half-way. “Then somepony explain that to her!” Sunset said. “She won’t listen to me or Mistress. Or… wait. You don’t want me to, for the love of all things unholy, actually change that do you? I’m Mistress’s only one.”

Celestia fixed her with her gaze, her voice soft. “Sunset, I would never dream of telling you such a thing. That is far from my place to do so. But I do expect in the future, you will think about what lives in the hearts of others before you act… and remember the new chance that you were given.” She shook her head slowly. “I have already had words with Rarity today. We spoke shortly after you left for luncheon. She has assured me her only desire right now is to mend fences with you and restore her life to normal.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “I sent you here to learn about friendship, Sunset. So I expect you to commit yourself to those lessons with gusto and aid in the repair of this rift.” Celestia’s tone made it clear she wasn’t interested in discussion on that matter. “And in return, I will promise you this…”

Celestia suddenly brightened, her eyes sparkling. “I will commit myself to helping build you an environment here where you will not need to hide your relationship with Twilight from anypony. It will become as normal to those you live amongst as any other relationship they see, and it will protect what belongs to you and Twilight.” She extender her hoof, her smile slow and broad. “Do we have an accord?”

Sunset scrutinized the princess’s hoof. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do, rather than blindly accept. It wasn’t beyond her abilities to fulfill all of those promises, and she cared enough about Mistress that Sunset knew she would follow through with them regardless. They were, simply, agreeable terms. Sunset reached out and shook Princess Celestia’s hoof, and said words she couldn’t remember saying sincerely to anypony save Mistress in quite a long time. “Thank you, Princess.”

~~~~~~~~~

Celestia finished the pot of tea and smiled faintly. “So, that is how things stand as of now. Though I’ve little doubt I will be needed to smooth out the edges as the week goes on.” She huffed out a deep breath and rubbed at her temple. “I am extremely glad I took a week to devote my attention to this problem. It will require at least that, if not more. But I shall cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Twilight swallowed and tried not to imagine Celestia staying in town for longer than week. Imagining her in town for an entire week, even in disguise, was terrifying enough as it was. Celestia half smiled. “Do not worry, Twilight. I will be endeavoring to remain mostly in the background while I am here. Just another curious Canterlot visitor named Sunny Skies here to gawk at where a Princess of Equestria has chosen to live.” She giggled faintly, and the merest suggestion of tourists made Twilight roll her eyes. “Should you require anything of me though, you will find me at Rarity’s shop. She has graciously offered me her spare bedroom, so that I do not have to fiddle with a hotel bed that cannot fit me.”

Twilight bit at her lip. She half wanted to invite the princess to stay here, but the thought of trying to enjoy herself with her little filly love with the princess potentially listening in was just too much. “Well, it will be lovely to see more of you!” Twilight tried her best to sound enthusiastic, and she was! Kinda. Sorta. She truly did love her mentor, but the situation was already all kinds of awkward. “I mean, I can finally talk to you about that transmogrification spell I’ve been working on. There was no way I was fitting all that research into a letter.” And there had been no way she was going to put the bloody thing on paper until she could find a way to disassociate it from what she’d been using it for. Namely, to buck Sunny into the floor.

Celestia gave her a beautiful smile and nodded her head once. “I look forward to it, of course.” She paused, eyeballing the teapot with a pensive stare before continuing to speak. “There is one other matter I think that needs to be addressed, Twilight. I’ve avoided it until recently, but it has become very clear that you are woefully under prepared to exercise your new office here.”

Twilight blinked at that one. “What do you mean?” She eyed the teapot herself, wondering what was going through her mind. “I mean, it’s not as though I’ve got any major duties right now beyond researching that box…” And she grimaced. The last thing she wanted to think about right now was that infernal Gordian Knot of a thing.

Celestia shook her head. “You will be having more such duties in the very near future, I am certain. And you lack much of the basic infrastructure to tackle them in an efficient manner.” Twilight widened her eyes. If Princess Celestia thought she was missing something important, odds were good she really was. Celestia cleared her throat and looked a bit sheepish. “Normally, I would not intervene in your affairs directly this way, but I am beginning to suspect you do not even realize what you lack.”

“Of course, Princess.” Twilight was quick to respond in the affirmative. Truthfully, she really didn’t have much of an idea of the political or sociological realities of what being a princess really meant. And when she did have an idea, it was usually just so she could dismiss it ever applying to her. “I trust your judgement completely.” And that was the stone-cold truth, defiant stands or no defiant stands.

Celestia nodded firmly. “Thank you, Twilight. I know it’s not easy sometimes to trust me when I’m at my most inscrutable.” She smiled in a very tired way, her eyes softening. “I wish I could be more forthright with you sometimes. Fortunately, this is one time I can be very straight forward.” She straightened herself up, and put on… was that a satisfied smile? “Twilight, you are going to need a royal staff of your very own.”

For a moment, Twilight was confused. Then her mind got around to parsing the language, and she was a great deal less confused but still a little curious. “But… I’ve only got the library to take care of, and Spike is an excellent assistant.” She felt the need to protest, if only for Spike’s sake. The little dragon had a fragile ego when it came to being her assistant, and she really didn’t need more drama in that department right now.

Celestia shook her head firmly. “Spike is an excellent assistant, I will not deny it. But he knows very little of royal court protocols or the finer points of the Equestrian legal system.” She tilted her head, grinning at the teapot. “More to the point, Spike is just one dragon. No matter how talented, he can only be in one place at a time. You have a great many things that are already occupying your attention, and you will have many more in the future.” She gestured broadly. “We are not so much moving to meet the needs of today as we are preparing for the needs of the future.”

Twilight worried at her lip a bit, turning over the thoughts in her head. Put that way, it made a surprising amount of sense. One didn’t run out to gather workers after one was already behind schedule if one intended to do a job efficiently. As much as she enjoyed running Winter Wrap Up every year though, she was a little nervous about trying to direct a royal entourage. “We would, of course, ensure you had some assistant administrators,” Celestia cut in to her thoughts, smiling. “Sunset Shimmer herself might prove very valuable at that job.” Twilight nodded slowly. Sunset was still a touch abrasive at times, but she did have a talent of her own for organization.

It was only then that Twilight realized she’d already agreed with Princess Celestia’s suggestion and sighed before fixing the princess with a half glare. “You never play fair, Princess,” she huffed out in minor frustration, and Celestia just winked cheekily at her. “Okay, okay. Just what does a royal staff entail, anyway?”

“Nothing overtly ridiculous,” Celestia began… slyly. She seemed far more satisfied than she had before. “A castellan to help deal with your meals and refreshments, a seneschal to help organize appointments and ensure the proper protocols are being observed.” She tossed her mane, sounding oddly bored as she listed off various jobs. “A lawyer, a bursar, somepony to administer all of them, perhaps a few other functionaries. Household staff as well. Maids, guards, hoofmaidens, courtesans…”

Twilight kept nodding as Celestia listed the various individuals, making a mental checklist of who in town could serve some of those posts. It might make it a lot easier to bring in some of the other ponies who she already knew to handle those duties. Miss Cheerilee would probably look really good in fishnets, and she knew for a fact that Cloudchaser was a huge slu-

Her mind slammed on the brakes of that thought process, sending her mental thought train clear off its rails and into an eighteen carriage pileup that set off a massive fireball explosion one hundred feet into the sky. Had she been drinking something, she would have spit it out in a spray of liquid. “Wait, WHAT did you just say!?” she half blurted, vaguely hoping that Celestia had just been messing with her.

Sadly, it didn’t seem that way. “Courtesans,” Celestia said in an almost detached tone… but she was looking very, very sneaky just then. “I could have sworn I schooled you on Equestrian Royal Law, Twilight. The proprieties must be observed, you know.” Celestia wasn’t just up to something here - she was hooves deep in it.

Twilight stared at her teacher. She couldn’t help herself. “What in the name of Luna’s plothole are you talking about?!”

~~~~~~~~~

It was now early afternoon, and Sunset found herself treading familiar ground from the morning. Only this time, she looked like most everypony else in town. No clothes, no collar. She was just Sunset Shimmer for now. Rarity’s boutique came back into view, and she steeled herself against the numerous negative thoughts and emotions it conjured. She maintained her self-control all the way up the steps and even put on a neutral face after she knocked.

The door swung open to reveal Rarity, still wearing her sharp suit and looking surprised. “Sunset! I didn’t think…” Then she stopped, tilting her head to one side and giving a little hum. “Sweetie Belle’s gone to play with the Crusaders for a few hours,” she suddenly said, and stepped aside from the door. “So we can speak without fear of her young ears hearing. Come in, please.”

“I’m not here to talk to you Rarity,” Sunset said plainly, but swiftly. “I’m here to help you get moved back into the boutique and make it so we can actually live in the same town.” Yes, this was the way to go. Tell her exactly what she intended and what she expected. Rarity probably, no definitely, wouldn’t like it, but Sunset hardly cared. “I can’t stand you, just so you know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t work with you. So that’s what I’m working to be able to do. You get me?”

There was a distinct pause as the door shut, and Rarity exhaled softly. “Well, that’s certainly refreshing,” she quipped, and Sunset couldn’t help but jerk her head in surprise. “Since we’re speaking frankly, I suppose I’d best show the same courtesy.” Sunset rolled her eyes. That wasn’t the definition of a courtesy, but whatever. Rarity turned smartly, her head arched and still smiling faintly. “Normally, I would chastise somepony for having acted so rudely toward me, but in your case I’ll make a special exception for Twilight’s sake. That is, after all, why you are here.” Rarity walked from the door, never taking her eyes off Sunset. “All I want is my life back, Sunset. Nothing more. Assist me in that, and you need never fear a thing from me.”

“Yeah, that’ll never happen,” Sunset said in rapid sarcasm. “But like I said, I’ll learn to at least work with you.” Sunset half-paused, and the thoughts were words before she could really decide if they were the smartest thing to say. “I get to be rutted every night by the most beautiful mare in Equestria, so I’ll live.”

Rarity actually chuckled. “Just once a night? Well, I suppose stamina is a thing of experience after all.” She tossed her mane with a sly smile. “We really ought to get to work then, before you tire yourself out too much to enjoy it.” Sunset just smirked. If this was to be the way their interactions worked, she’d come out on top for sure.

Ch 5 - One of those days...

~~~~Carousel Boutique~~~~

Sunset had always considered herself to be an excellent student in whatever subject under whichever teacher. No matter what, she did well. However, she had done so with a level of haphazardness that Mistress had been rather appalled with. Of course, Mistress being the wonderful mare she was, had corrected Sunset with proper organizing techniques. And it had sunk in apparently.

She was standing in Rarity’s studio for the third time this past week (Rarity herself had been mostly occupied with her personal items in her bedroom), and she stood back priding herself on the completed work before her. The spools of thread she had taken care of the day before, ordered by the little numbers Rarity had etched into the bottoms, and the pony imitator fitter things (Sunset didn’t particularly care what they were called and only remembered the name was hard to spell anyway) she had arranged in various parts of the room so one was always near one of the workstations. But today, oh, today. The hundreds, and she was not exaggerating that number, of bolts of fabric now sat on their shelves with a level of care that would have made Mistress blush in pride.

Sunset tittered a little at the thought of Mistress being so giddy like that, and she took one more moment to admire the bolts ordered by fabric type and arranged by their place in the color spectrum. Sunset gave them one final nod and turned about to begin work on the jewelry and accessory cabinet. And who should she standing in the doorway but the white unicorn herself. “Oh, here to be picky over the better mare’s work?” Sunset sniped. It was now the kind of unspoken rule that she and Rarity mostly communicated in jabs at the other. Not that Sunset was opposed. It made talking to her easier in a way, not having to dance around her feelings and the courtesies of society.

“Well, we all must have our talents, darling. It’s always nice to see when somepony’s comfortable with their own limitations.” Rarity still smiled prettily, but she never bothered to get really angry with Sunset. She was always playful and coy, but it somehow didn’t seem quite so annoying these days. Mostly Sunset felt because she could sneer back without either of them batting an eye. “Ah, I see you’ve managed to learn your color wheel properly. Marvelous job, dear.”

“Oh wow, so you can recognize the pattern of Rainbow Dash’s mane,” Sunset replied. “You’ve only lived around her for, oh, I don’t know, your whole life. Impressive.” She paused, as did Rarity, and when neither of them spoke and only stared at the other for a good long minute, Sunset continued in a much flatter tone, “So what are you here to ask me, seriously?”

Rarity cocked her head at Sunset, then spoke in a slower and softer voice. “Well, I was wondering if you’d like something to drink. You’ve been at this for some time, and even for Twilight that much levitation work would be tiring.” She wasn’t fidgeting or fudging, just…. open.

“I’m fine,” Sunset said, using her magic to pick up a small glass half filled with water from one of the tables. She shook it in front of Rarity, chinking the ice around. “Your sister had me covered. Figured it was safer to have her fetching water than in here trying to ‘help’.” Sunset could have taken a stab at Sweetie if she’d wanted. The opportunities were just about endless, but Sweetie was a foal for starters. And she was, well, sweet.

“Ah. She does try, you know, but I do understand,” Rarity chuckled ruefully and a crack of exhaustion appeared in her mask of chipper grace. “At least we’ve come to understand one another better, else she might very well have driven me to madness.” She shook her head once, the bright smile back. “Well, I’m glad to see you’re well taken care of.” She glanced around the main room for a moment, doing a little turn as she did so. “The place is finally coming together again… I’ve missed my home.”

“Is that your subtle way of trying to tell me to haul my plot out the door?” Sunset asked, eyes half-lidded and slurping loudly at the water. “Cause it’s not all that clever.”

“Gracious, no.” Rarity seemed… genuinely shocked at that suggestion. Huh. “I was just…” She stopped mid word, her lips firming into a line before she visibly retook control of herself. “If I wanted your plot out of the door, Sunset Shimmer, I’d tell Sweetie Belle you were to be her new personal assistant.”

Sunset actually balked at that suggestion, not long, but judging by Rarity’s small grin, she’d noticed. Nevertheless, Sunset recovered and returned the sly smile, saying, “Eh, would you really want to do that? I mean, are you sure she’s ready to learn all the interesting things I could teach her.” She waggled her eyebrows just a tad and had to resist bursting into laughter at the new look on Rarity’s face. “So, did you not want me working on that catastrophe of a cabinet or what?”

Rarity eyeballed the thing for a moment after shaking off her look of horror, a giant mess of sewing tools, scraps of appliques, and bins of small gem shards of every color in existence and blew a lock of her mane back over her head. “There’s no way that’s going to get done today.” She turned to the clock, then shook her head. “We’ll tackle it tomorrow. Why don’t you head on home and spend some time with Twilight while the princess is busy playing masquerade. I’m certain you two would like some privacy.”

“Pfft,” Sunset huffed, blowing a strand of her own mane out of her eyes in an irritated way. “Knowing my luck, she got bored and went back. I’m more than willing to leave you wallow in self pity though.” She made a mock bow to Rarity in over-exaggerated fashion and made her way out of the boutique into the fresh Ponyville air. Ah yes. Breathing real air was always a pleasure after a long day of unpleasant work and unpleasant co-workers. She took a few spare seconds to take several deep breaths and promptly began her walk back home.

She didn’t like thinking Rarity was right about anything, but it wasn’t unreasonable that the princess had decided talking with Mistress was less interesting than seeing what Ponyville could offer a young, spirited mare. Personally, Sunset would take talking with her head in Mistress’s lap any day. Especially after shopping. She hated doing that. It was always more like a chore anyway.

With the thought of Princess Celestia actually not being at the tree library, Sunset picked up her pace just slightly. If she made it home early enough, Mistress might indulge her in some petting. It’d been too long since she and Mistress had just cuddled, and Sunset was in serious longing for some private attention from her. Her heart was actually beating a touch faster in anticipation when she eased her way through the door. There was nopony in the immediate public area, not surprising considering the time of day. Sunset thus made her way upstairs and gradually began following voices to the upper level balcony accesses.

She could have sworn her mane deflated. It seemed to be coming from one of the rear balconies. Mistress’s voice could be heard alongside Princess Celestia’s own, and Sunset slowly forced herself to kill the idea of cuddling and petting. But even with that depressing turn of events slowing her pace, she almost stopped dead when the wind shifted, and she could hear the princess clearly.

“... need to decide who will be filling out the working staff. It’s quite the process to make sure you’re choosing ponies both you and she will be comfortable with.” The princess sounded very businesslike, almost as though she were discussing a matter of state. “I’ve a few suggestions, and Cadence sent a list of her own.”

Mistress’ voice popped up a moment later, “I saw those lists, Celestia.” Mistress sounded… very embarrassed. “As though Applejack would let me pull Big Macintosh away from the farm for that. Really, Celestia.” Sunset didn’t normally eavesdrop, but it was more like she was frozen in place while she listened and nature was just letting it happen. Celestia was giggling faintly, and Mistress groaned loudly. “Celestia, listen. I know you’ve shown me the written law, but is this really necessary?”

Princess Celestia’s voice became quite firm. “Yes, Twilight. There are very good reasons that these laws were put into place, even beyond what we’ve already discussed. And you already know that Sunset is going to be well taken care of.”

“No, Princess, I understand that just fine,” Mistress said. She seemed to choosing her words carefully. Or, that’s what it sounded like to Sunset. “It’s just, if I need to even entertain the idea of having somepony else around to f…” Sunset could hear the blush in Mistress’ voice, “... to give me some variety, I want it to be different than what I have with Sunny…”

She could feel her chest tightening up, and her legs beginning wobble. Her mind was working rather quickly, and she didn’t like where it was taking Mistress’s words. She squinched up her eyes and shook her head furiously. She would not cry, she wouldn’t. But she needed a way to get rid of the plaguing thoughts. Or to outrun them. Outrun the insinuations of her… physical inadequacy. Before she fully realized it, she was out in the streets of Ponyville, running. She convinced herself her eyes were watering from running in a headwind.

~~~~Ten Minutes Earlier~~~~

Twilight glared at the ancient book of laws, but it stubbornly refused to re-write itself. “Princess Celestia, I’ve never questioned the wisdom of your rulings before, but what in the name of Harmony were you thinking?” She threw her hooves up in total frustration, her mentor munching happily on a Sugar Cube Corner Macaroon in blissful immunity to her student’s anger. “This law is so incredibly ass backwards, I’d have suspected Prince Blueblood or one of his ancestors to be responsible for it!”

“Actually, it was one of your ancestors, if my memory of the genetics are correct.” Celestia hummed softly, tilting her head to one side. “Regardless, it was a genuine concern at the time. And given that I never anticipated having to apply that law to somepony other than myself and Luna, we really didn’t see the issue considering we already had such individuals on staff.” Her eyes sparkled in mischief, and Twilight glared at her. She was never going to get the mental images of her teacher doing those things out of her brain, ever.

Celestia shook her head. “Really, Twilight. It’s not such a big deal. After all, Sunset’s going to be the Royal Consort, and thus is already entitled to the vast bulk of your time. The attendants are mostly there for set dressing and to ensure that you and your consort are never lacking for intimate companionship. Not that I ever think either of you shall need it, it's simply procedure.” Celestia’s words were so bafflingly logical that Twilight wanted to strangle them. Then bury in a deep, dark hole nopony would ever find.

“Leaving aside the long list of issues with presuming Sunset wants to marry me under royal decree…” And her cheeks flamed to a bright red, and she knew it. “It’s still utterly ridiculous. Why do I need Twelve of them? Ugh!” She threw her hooves up again and sank back into her chair. “Sunset isn’t going to take this well. Bloody bollocks, I'm not taking this well!” she muttered, hoping the last of her objections might steer Celestia away.

Celestia tsked. “Twilight, there’s no point in arguing it further. You know why this is necessary, and you know that I would not ask this of you two if I did not think you were prepared to deal with it." Celestia arched an eyebrow at her, huffing softly. And I am absolutely certain that once Sunset understands how firmly you two are to be bound together that many of her objections will vanish.” Celestia set down her cup of milk and half smiled at her. “You certainly don’t have an issue with any of the other staff requirements.”

Twilight glowered at her. “I’m not required to, and I quote..” She stabbed her hoof at the law book, “provide an excellent report as to the capabilities and specialties of the attendant staff to the ruling monarch with full illustrations for the rest of my staff.” At that, she dropped her head into the desk. “Seriously, Celestia?”

Celestia laughed brightly, happily. “Oh, Twilight! It never fails to amaze me how this generation has gotten so prudish.” Twilight glanced up in shock to see Celestia fluttering her eyelashes. “Extensive illustrations and descriptions used to be an important part of courting a royal mare, you know.” Twilight’s brain kind of broke at the thought of that, so she quickly dismissed the thoughts so she wouldn’t have a coronary. “Twilight, relax. Choosing your attendants will not be nearly as hard as the rest of them.” Celestia rolled her eyes. “Harmony preserve me, it’s difficult to find a decent maid even in Canterlot.”

Twilight still wasn’t convinced though and replaced her forehead on the table with a mutter. Celestia sighed softly. “Twilight, these laws are as much to comfort and reassure the ponies of Equestria that we are in the best of mental health as anything else. More importantly, it establishes our status in such a way that when we deal with the very highest nobles, they unconsciously respect our decisions based on some very ancient ingrained habits.”

Twilight brought her head up and hummed. She hadn’t considered that as being one of the driving forces here. Celestia kept speaking though and wasn’t allowing much time for introspection. “Now, you need to decide who will be filling out the working staff. It’s quite the process to make sure you’re choosing ponies both you and she will be comfortable with, especially in the household positions.” Celestia was clearly getting down to business, so Twilight decided to focus on that. “I’ve a few suggestions, and Cadence sent a list of her own.”

Twilight eyeballed the scraps of paper on the table and had to roll her eyes. Of all the ridiculous things about this, those had been the worst. “I saw those lists, Celestia.” Twilight coughed, trying to keep from blushing too badly. “As though Applejack would let me pull Big Macintosh away from the farm for that. Really, Celestia?” Celestia giggled, and Twilight had to smile wryly at her. Clearly, those lists had come from some personal fantasies of the two mares. “Celestia, listen. I know you’ve shown me the written law, but is this really necessary?”

Celestia’s voice became quite firm. “Yes, Twilight. There are very good reasons that these laws were put into place, even beyond what we’ve already discussed. And you already know that Sunset is going to be well taken care of.” The Princess tossed her mane, and her tone made it clear the subject was no longer under debate.

“No, Princess, I understand that just fine,” Twilight said hurriedly, trying to choose her words carefully. The last thing she needed was a repeat of yesterday. “It’s just, if I need to even entertain the idea of having somepony else around to f…” Twilight bit back the word, wishing her stupid overactive libido would quit bombarding her with very sexy fantasies. “... to give me some variety, I want it to be different than what I have with Sunny.” She swallowed softly, taking a minute to get her bearings. “What we have is special, Celestia. And I’m not going to discuss even the possibility of this without her around to understand what's going on.”

The Princess raised her hoof. “And I promise you, Twilight, what we’re about to do will have no impact on that special relationship. That’s why those who we choose for your new household must be selected very carefully, and from just amongst the ponies you know.” She smiled faintly at her. “This way, Sunset will never need to fear that she will lose you to somepony else again.”

~~~~~~~~~

Sunset eventually slowed to small trot around the time she was exiting Ponyville proper. The self-defeating, wounded thoughts were mercifully gone, but she wasn’t yet sure if what had replaced them was much better. She was fairly certain that only Mistress’s tone of annoyance at the whole… idea Princess Celestia had suggested kept her from jumping off some tall cliff someplace. Mistress still loved her more than Sunset could fully understand, and that was something to cling to viciously.

Sunset didn’t think Mistress would have risked as much as she did by denying the princess only to save face. Mistress loved her. She wanted to be there to care for Sunset and help her any way she could. But then, Mistress was that way with all her friends. It didn’t feel like she was falling out of ‘favor’, but those words… Sunset didn’t like trying to sort them out. She just wanted to believe Mistress still loved her in a special way. It was easier to believe that..

But all the same, Mistress had wanted something different in the bedroom. Sunset had managed to purge herself of the feelings of inadequacy by running them out, but bland… lacking creativity? Mistress was the one who ordered her around in bed (and out of it), but maybe there’d been subtle hints she’d missed. Little things Mistress had done wanting Sunset to have some creative initiative. And she hadn’t taken them. And now Mistress was… Sunset had no other words for it. Sunset had let her beloved Mistress become bored and never even realized it. The word ‘selfish’ lanced through her mind harshly, but Sunset fought it back.

And it wasn’t, thankfully, too hard to do. She surprised herself when she looked up and was standing at the door to Fluttershy’s cabin. Somehow, her hooves had wandered her out here of their own accord, and Sunset couldn’t be upset at the coincidence. Fluttershy… Fluttershy would listen. She swallowed past the lump in her throat that seemed insistent on not going away and tapped lightly against the door.

There was a momentary silence, and for just an instant, Sunset was unsure if Fluttershy would even be here… until the door cracked open just a little. “Oh!” Fluttershy gasped and pushed her door open wider. “Sunset, what on earth are you doing here? Is everything alright?” She was half hiding behind the door, but that wasn’t particularly out of place for her. She looked over Sunset in one sweeping glance, then shook her head. “Nevermind that. Come inside.” Sunset nodded her appreciation and stepped through into the warm, and admittedly cozy, little cottage.

Fluttershy gently shut the door behind her and glanced to the middle of the room. Angel Bunny was sitting contentedly by a half-empty bowl of carrots and greens, and there were signs of other detritus scattered around the cottage of recent feeding. “Angel, out,” Fluttershy said in a quiet but firm tone. The nasty little bunny glanced at Sunset, then at Fluttershy with a stubborn look on his face. Fluttershy’s voice turned quietly menacing. “Angel, I’m in no mood today. Out.”

The bunny opened his tiny mouth to complain… but Fluttershy’s glare at him seemed to be effective for once, and he scampered off out the door a moment later. Fluttershy sighed and quickly swept up the mess around her living room, putting her wings to surprisingly excellent use corralling the trash and sweeping it into a bag. “Have a seat, Sunset. Is there anything I can get you?” She tucked the bag into one corner and half-heartedly pushed the big and familiar sofa out of its corner just a touch.

Sunset crawled into the sofa, sighing when its softness brought out how tired she felt. “I’d like some bottled hope if you’ve got any of that lying around,” she said ruefully. There was a small couch pillow on one of the chairs, and Sunset levitated it over to rest her head on the arm more comfortably.

“Well, I do have a bit of last year’s stock…” Fluttershy hummed, and Sunset instantly felt a little confused. That had to be some kind of joke on Fluttershy’s part there, right? But Fluttershy did produce a bottle… a very small bottle, containing a bright amber-red liquid and labeled ‘Sweet Apple Acre’s Brandy, Family Reserve’. Two shot glasses followed, and Fluttershy blushed a little as she smiled at Sunset. “What happened, Sunset?” she asked in her serious voice, flying… well, more fluttering over to the couch, pouring a tiny measure into each glass.

The stuff smelled like somepony had liquified apples and made them alcoholic. It was almost thick, like a syrup, but not quite that viscous. Sunset took her glass without hesitation and knocked it back without even pausing. Yes, she needed this right now. It seared down her throat and sent a massive blast of warmth right into her middle, tasting of sweet and tart apples so strongly that it was like eating an entire pie in one go. It was strong enough to make her cough a little, and for Fluttershy to give a soft and encouraging giggle at her for doing so. “I don’t know what happened,” Sunset admitted. “I just… I don’t know. Everything was okay, it really was. I’m working so hard Fluttershy. I want to make Mistress proud that I’m trying to get along with Rarity, and then she says…” Sunset stopped. It was embarrassing and shameful in a way. Was she really not completely adequate anymore?

Fluttershy gently tsked and squeezed a hoof around her shoulder. “I’m certain she’s very proud of you, Sunset.” She was so utterly certain of that too… in a way that Sunset found a little surprising. “And you don’t have to tell me what she said, if you don’t want to. I understand that sometimes things get a little hard for both ponies… This kind of relationship is never easy.” Her gentle smile was even more warming than the alcohol had been, and just her presence was oddly comforting in a familiar way.

“It’s…” Sunset paused. Fluttershy wanted to help her, that much was evident, but it was harder admitting to herself that she wanted Fluttershy’s help. That warmth and comfort Fluttershy so willing gave out… she could relax into that if only she told Fluttershy what had really happened. “I think…” It was still difficult to say aloud, but Shy’s eyes silently encouraged her with the utmost patience. “Mistress isn’t satisfied rutting me anymore. She… she was talking with a guest about getting somepony else to bang.” She suppressed a sniff.

Fluttershy hummed a little, drumming her hoof on the couch side. “That’s a toughie. It really could honestly have nothing to do with you, Sunset.” Fluttershy looked wise, and oddly enough, sounded like she knew what she was talking about. “Twilight could be completely satisfied with you, but there could be something she isn’t comfortable exploring with you. She is very in love with you, after all, and may think you wouldn’t be comfortable with it.”

“But then why not ask? And why now? Just when Rarity comes back, and I’m having to deal with that?” Sunset said, the words tumbling out of her mouth with little control of her own. “I’ll experiment however Mistress wants! You… you don’t think she actually wants to grind with Rarity do you?” She tried to avoid it, but the last bit came out a little panicky anyway.

“Oh, Sunset…” Fluttershy shook her head slowly. “Twilight’s got a bad habit of her thoughts locking up on her at the oddest of times. She can be very silly sometimes when it comes to talking about how she feels.” She smiled and tried to comfort her with gentle strokes along her shoulders. Sunset felt herself shiver and found herself leaning into that soft yellow coat. “I don’t know what is going through her mind, but I know she’s probably working very hard not to hurt you. Trust her, Sunset.”

“I just want Mistress to talk to me,” Sunset said absently. “I feel like I don’t know all of what’s going on, and everypony else does and…” She stopped and looked up from her head now rested on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I’m… I’m a desirable mare to look at, right?”

Fluttershy giggled. “Of course you are, Sunset. And believe me,” she rolled her eyes expressively and spoke in a whisper-soft and conspiratorial voice, “none of us know what’s going through Twilight’s head most of the time either. She’s a little frustrating like that, but we love her all the same.” She nuzzled her cheek fondly against Sunset’s, obviously relaxed now.

“Unconditionally,” Sunset murmured back, returning the sweet nuzzle. Only, as her face brushed so gently and closely against Fluttershy’s cheek, she felt a wave of pleasurable heat swamp her face. Oh, she knew that feeling. Yes, she knew it well, and before she had rationally thought anything more, she found her lips lightly grasping the little pegasus’s sweet cheek.

Fluttershy blushed cutely and turned her head to softly return the favor. She leaned in and the soft scent of flowers seemed to be everywhere around them. Her lips were so gentle as they brushed back across her own, beginning to close. And just as Sunset found her eyes closing, images of Mistress flashed behind her lids. She gasped shortly and abruptly pulled herself back upright and away from Fluttershy. It took a supreme amount of effort not to wipe her lips with her hoof. “I’m… I’m sorry,” she breathed, mentally scorching herself. How could she have done that? Even thought about it? Especially given why she’d been upset in the first place. “I shouldn’t have… Sorry.” There, it was done. “I’m going to head back now,” she said, making to stand up off the couch. “Thanks for listening and putting up with me.”

But Fluttershy’s hooves were firm on her shoulders and were surprisingly strong at pushing her back down to her seat. “How long has it been since you thought of your own needs?” Her voice was calm, but there was a fire in Fluttershy’s eyes. “Not just the time you spend with her, I mean… but the needs of your heart? You’re so…” She pulled Sunset in close - too close. They touched, warm body to warm body, and Fluttershy sounded oddly flustered. “I see you all the time in that library and no matter how much time you spend around her, you look so lonely.”

“I’m not…” Sunset tried to protest, but the words died on her mouth. When was the last time somepony other than Mistress had held her in her hooves like this? She really didn’t look forward to anypony visiting the library, and when she was working, it was only to see if Mistress was finished with her daily tasks. “I don’t know…” she settled for. It would do. It seemed to do a lot lately.

“Sunset,” Fluttershy turned her head, and looking into those expressive eyes it was hard not to see the pain she felt for her. “Nopony can live with just one other somepony in their lives. You need more than just your true love.” She gently stroked a hoof down Sunset’s cheek, and softly leaned in again. This time, Sunset couldn’t pull away as gentle lips traces across her own, and Fluttershy pressed her forehead in. “There’s other ponies around you that care about you, Sunny. Let us in.”

“I…” Sunset tried to begin, but she couldn’t go on coherently. She leaned in herself, and locked her lips with Fluttershy’s, wrapping her hooves around her. It was… relieving, enveloping. Different, but heated and passionate all the same. Guilt pushed at the back of Sunset’s mind again, but she kicked it away, touching her tongue to the outside of Flutters’ lips. Shy’s hooves began loving rubbing up and down Sunset’s back, and their kiss deepened for a few brief seconds before they parted. They were both breathing hot and heavy, and a thin trail of saliva connected their lips.

Fluttershy was smiling prettily around her red cheeks. “You’re a very beautiful mare, Sunny,” she said quietly, and the words triggered a little rush of pleasure. Then she grinned, something she’d never seen Fluttershy do before, and her tone became almost jovial. “Let’s play a little!” She giggled… and shoved Sunset over on the couch, sending her sprawling onto the cushions. Sunset let off a little meep, and Fluttershy practically pounced on her, raining little kisses all over her face.

Once she’d recovered, Sunset was fully in the moment, and at her first chance, she clasped back into a firm kiss with Flutters. This time, their tongues met, dancing around and intensifying the kiss. Sunset’s hooves ran through Fluttershy’s silky, long mane, and a small moan sounded from between their kiss. And it grew a little louder when Shy’s weight eased against her.

Fluttershy giggled, and she seemed much more bubbly and bright than usual. It was also kind of hard to ignore how long Fluttershy’s mane was when she was under her like this. It spread around and on top of her like a big silk blanket, and it smelled strongly of honey and roses. Gentle, firm hooves were massaging every inch of her body starting from her shoulders and slowly working down. It was luxurious in a way nothing else she’d felt before had been. “So tense,” Fluttershy teased and gently smacked her shoulders. “Relax, Sunny!”

It was hard to do that, given the events of the past few days, but she did try to unwind a little bit. Fluttershy’s hooves were very persuasive as they worked relentlessly into her muscles, slowly but surely pulling the tension out of her body. “That’s much better. Sheesh, you’re worse than Dashie after a practice session.” Fluttershy’s gentle tease made Sunset smile at the thought, recalling just how hard Dash would push herself in her sports. Her smile was quickly smothered with a firm kiss on the lips, and then Fluttershy was away again, her wings swishing happily. “That’s much better. Let’s see if we can’t get another one of those.” Her eyes sparkled, and Fluttershy’s hooves moved down past her shoulders to her sides.

There, they were getting more sensual… more slow, even strokes up and down her body to try to coax her into letting go of her rigidity. “We should take you to the spa… Aloe gives the most wonderful massages.” There was a distinct sparkle in her eye and a suggestive tone in her voice that made it clear these were not ordinary massages. Fluttershy’s hooves moved a little further down, running under her to her back muscles and working in slow and sensual circles… making Sunset gasp as she felt the muscles there spasm from the attention.

It felt good and hurt like tartarus in equal measure, and she was astonished to realize just how badly she’d been tensing herself up. Another gasp escaped her, and Fluttershy’s lips caught her this time - sending them into another hot, open mouthed kiss as their tongues danced together. She’d never had a massage quite like this before, she’d never even considered asking Mistress for one either. Wasn’t this sort of thing supposed to be her job? But, Oh! How wonderful it felt…

The kiss ended far too soon for her liking, her breaths coming out in rapid pants as Shy finally pulled away and gentle hooves crossed to her belly. The intimate touch only gave her a moment of anxiety before it melted away, Fluttershy’s hooves were infinitely gentle as she scrubbed along her sensitive belly so perfectly that Sunset couldn’t keep her hind leg from kicking out a little in unconscious pleasure. “Aww… Sunny likes bellyrubs!” Fluttershy teased again… and went at it with a vigor that made Sunset’s mind melt a little with how wonderful it felt.

“You’re… Mmph!” Sunset tried to speak out, and found her voice momentarily stifled by a pleasurable huff. “Such a tease, Fluttershy.” The words came out warm and loving, and Sunset was surprised at how relaxed she’d felt saying them. “Um… but you can keep doing that, if you really want to…” She felt… shy, suddenly. She wasn’t entirely sure how to handle all of this, really. Fluttershy wasn’t being remotely dominant with her, just playful. “I mean… I really do, kinda… sorta… like it…” She blushed and covered her face with her hooves. She’d never admitted that to anypony other than Mistress. Ever.

Fluttershy smiled and slowed down her scrubbing to a comfortably, slow rub. “Maybe I should have you over for these once a week,” Fluttershy suggested with a sly smile. “It’d do wonders for your stress, I think.” She giggled again, and it was hard for Sunset not to giggle in response. Fluttershy’s hooves were travelling far lower than her belly now, though. They were stroking over her hind legs and softly stroking over her Cutie Mark. She leaned down, and softly ran her lips along her belly in gentle feather kisses, slowly down to her thigh and stopping just short of it before trailing them back up, almost as though she was using her mouth to groom her. By the time she reached Sunset’s lips again and stared heatedly into her eyes, they were both breathing like they’d just run a race together. “Do you want to…” Fluttershy whispered, her voice trailing off like she wasn’t quite sure what to suggest.

Sunset pulled her in until she was laying atop her and let her heated whisper into Fluttershy’s ear. “Am I a pretty mare?” Whatever was going to happen now, she wasn’t sure… and she didn’t care. It felt too wonderful to finally let herself go.

“Oh my, yes...” Shy repeated in the same, passion infused hush. And her next words weren’t words at all. Sunset’s legs widened, exposing herself, and Flutters slowly began rotating her hips… It took a moment for her to realize what was going on, but when Fluttershy pressed herself in between Sunset’s legs it became clear. Their hot nethers touched, and an electric shock of pleasure ran up her spine.

Sunset moaned sweetly, burying the sound in a kiss with Shy. Her nub brushed against Fluttershy’s own with a rhythmic intensity and she gradually began bucking her hips up. Little meeps escaped both of them as they ground against each other’s slits, accenting the intoxicating sound of their juices rubbing back and forth. Fluttershy nibbled at Sunset’s ear, and she groaned in return as their pace increased.

Through the haze of building pleasure, Sunset stroked her hooves all along Fluttershy, eventually settling them on her slim flanks and pushing down, increasing the pressure they had against one another. Fluttershy’s kisses descended to Sunset’s neck, and their panting breaths joined in unison as little spasms began to break out in their bodies. Sunset felt herself coming close, and she bucked up harder and faster in response, moaning at even the slightest touch from Fluttershy’s lips.

Their bodies moved in sync, a slow writhing that made the room seem all too warm for her. Looking up into Fluttershy’s eyes as they moved together, it was wholly unlike anything she’d ever shared with Mistress. This was less intense, more sweet… More sensual in a way. “You’re so beautiful,” she whispered up at Fluttershy, who responded with a slow kiss of her own. All the rest of her tension drained out of her body, and for the first time since Sunset could not remember when, she felt truly relaxed as the pleasure continued to rise in her body.

She couldn’t tell how long they moved together like that. It could have been minutes, hours, or days, and Sunset wouldn’t have cared any which way. It was as though a dam had broken inside her, and all of the negative feelings had been washed away in a sea of warmth and love. An age later, what seemed like an eternal haze of mounting pleasure came to a head as Fluttershy sat bolt upright, and let out the most climactic wail Sunset had ever heard. And Sunset wasn’t far behind. Her mind was drawn to the heat and wetness still between her legs and the enticing way Flutters still rubbed herself against Sunset even after cumming. “Fluttershy,” she moaned, and her head laid back as the glorious shaking took her. It died away eventually, leaving her breathing to slowly bring itself down from the high.

Their bodies pressed to one another as the heat slowly died and their breathing caught up to one another. They were cuddling, but in a way that only suggested close friends and nothing more rigid than that. It was a good feeling to be able to be so close to somepony like this without worrying about being ‘good enough’. Fluttershy giggled cutely. “There… I knew that somepony was in you somewhere. An amazing somepony...” she added with a flair of false suggestiveness. Sunset couldn’t hold back her own chuckle and rested her head back again.

The high was dimming, which meant her brain was starting to pick up the pieces of logic again. And she honestly would have appreciated it if it hadn’t. How in Equestria was she supposed to explain… this to Mistress? The gentle, sweet breathing and weight of Fluttershy was soothing enough to make the thoughts not so bad, but they were still there. What would Mistress think? Sunset knew she’d be…. well, maybe upset wasn’t the right word. Hurt? Confused? Sunset rolled her head to the side. It was probably best if nopony else knew.

“Stop that,” Fluttershy said sharply, catching her attention instantly. Fluttershy was looking quite sternly at her. “You’re doing it again. Every time I’ve seen you relax, you’re back to tensing yourself up again…” There was a real and hurt concern in her voice, and her hooves were gently rubbing at Sunset’s shoulders. “You needed this, Sunset. You and I both know it.” Her hooves traveled down to Sunset’s back, and rested there for a moment. “For a lot of different reasons, too.”

“Why is this so hard for me then? Why do I feel like I haven’t done right by Mistress because of… well… yeah,” Sunset trailed off into a mumble. “You said it best, maybe. I have a hard time letting ponies in… I like having Mistress alone with me. That can’t be bad, can it?”

“It can when you push everypony else away in fear to get it.” Fluttershy was back to being quiet, but there was an intensity to her voice. “When you’re so scared of anypony else spending time with somepony, you smother them… You hurt them.” She shook her head slowly. “You deserve to spend lots of time with her, Sunset. But she deserves to spend time with other ponies too. When you really care for somepony, you have to believe...” She shivered a bit and laid her head on Sunset’s chest. “That they’ll never leave you, no matter what.”

“Does Mistress believe that about me you think?” Sunset asked, feeling herself less tight as the scent of Fluttershy’s mane soothed her. “Even when she said those things?”

“Of course she does.” She sounded warm and soft… It was a nice sound. “I know Twilight, Sunset. I’ve seen what she’ll do for the ponies she cares about… and the faith she has in all of us.”

“But, Mistress does that for everypony,” Sunset said. “I don’t like sounding -”

“Ah… But you’ve said it, haven’t you?” Fluttershy almost never interrupted other ponies… but her cutting in almost sounded like she’d expected Sunset to object. “She believes in everypony around her. It’s why she’s come so far from who she was when she first arrived… It’s how we’ve managed to get through so much together. It’s why our friendship is so very strong.” She gently lifted Sunset’s head, smiling softly. “And yet, out of all the somponies she knows and loves… she chose you.” Shy took on a sly look, her smile curling up. “Do you know why?”

“Because -” Sunset had the answer ready. Right there on the tip of her tongue. But when she went to speak, there was nothing. She’d never really thought about why, only that Mistress had chosen to love her, all her faults aside. It had been enough for her then, but this was now, and she was at a loss for words. Almost. “Fluttershy…” her voice shook. “I… I’m not ready for a foal. I don’t even know why Mistress loves me, and yet I’m…” It felt like the weight of the last week collapsed on her all at once then. She couldn’t breathe, swallow, cry. Nothing. “Help me, please? I want to go home to Mistress happy…” Her whisper was strained, but Fluttershy would understand. She would know when Sunset couldn’t go to somepony else.

“Shh… Hush now.” Fluttershy wrapped her up in gentle hooves and rocked her body against hers. “She loves you, and that is always the first step.” She gently brushed away the tears with the tip of a wing, and pushed back her tousled mane with infinite care. “You need to go speak with Nurse Redheart. She’ll make certain of things, and then…” She exhaled deeply, and shook her head slightly. “We will make sure that no matter what happens, everything is cared for. I promise, Sunset.” Fluttershy drew a little X over her heart, and smiled just a tiny bit at her. “You’re not alone, and you never will be.”

She gulped. “Will you go with me?” she asked.

“Of course.” She winked, putting on a sunny smile… and said, teasingly, “But I think we should take a shower first. I can comb your mane for you, if you like.” Sunset nodded and let herself smile. It felt good to.

Ch 6 - A Treehouse of Cards

~~~~~The Golden Oaks Library, some hours later~~~~~

Twilight shut the door with a little more firmness than she’d intended behind the Princess and turned to slump against it. “Oh, thank Luna she’s gone.” She bumped her head against the door with a small and slightly insane laugh. She never thought she’d be so happy to see the Princess go away for a few hours, but after nearly six of the damn time measurements of discussing the interminable details of this insane ‘royal staff’ plan of hers, Twilight was very, very happy that she was going to get some time to herself. And possibly with Sunny, if she’d ever come home.

That was worrying, but also encouraging. It could mean that she’d ended up having a long, fruitful discussion with Rarity that would solve half her issues all in one fell swoop. Of course, it could also mean that she’d gotten into a knock-down, drag-out brawl and was now nursing a concussion in the hospital after the fact. But that was less likely. How less likely, she wasn’t prepared to speculate, but she was relatively certain they would have come and gotten her by now.

Spike was gone for the day, thank Celestia. Off playing with the Crusaders again, though this time at least it was something relatively harmless and not something likely to end with them being chased by timberwolves. Possibly Marty the manticore, but not timberwolves. Those were out of season right now, and she could worry about other things, like what she was going to do about this insane project.

She loved Celestia, with all of her heart, but the princess had officially gone off the deep end on this one. True, she’d shown Twilight the relevant law passages and given her some explanation about the nobles using this to get some kind of petty political leverage, but it was all noise and static as far as Twilight could figure. Somehow, the princess had gotten it into her head that Twilight needed help keeping things under control here. She had things perfectly under control! Okay, so Rarity and Sunset had nearly gone a couple of rounds, and Fluttershy had been acting a bit funny lately, and Pinkie Pie kept trying to sneak in on her and Sunset’s private time and-

Okay, maybe she could use a little help, but she really didn’t need a whole staff for that, she just needed to maybe hire an assistant or two. And somepony to keep Spike out of trouble. And a relationship counselor. And a psychiatrist for Sunset and possibly herself after all of this madness she’d had to deal with over the last three months since they’d gotten together and-

Okay, so maybe she needed more than a little help, but a whole royal staff was a bit much! She wasn’t crazy, or at least any crazier than she’d become since Celestia had decided it would be a good idea to slap some wings on her and make her a princess. That didn’t mean she needed maids or a major domo or a seneschal or whatever the heck a castellan was, even though the idea of having a professional chef around the place sounded pretty fun. She certainly didn’t need what amounted to a royal harem, either! No matter how sexy the idea was! Or how much fun it sounded like! Or how nice it would be for Sunset to have somepony she could talk to about sex without having to-

“GYAAAAAH!” She just yelled out in frustration, banging her head against the door a couple of times. She couldn’t DO that to Sunset! She loved her, no matter how incredibly frustrating she got sometimes! Twilight loved their play, she loved talking to somepony her intellectual equal… even if sometimes it was very hard to convince Sunset to stop deferring to everything she said and argue with her like a good academic. She loved the submissive attention too, even if it was occasionally a bit worrying. Even if, even if, even if… Why did she keep having to qualify everything with that?

In truth, it was probably because things weren’t perfect and never could be, and as much as she knew and accepted that, she had to wonder if Sunset knew it too. Which made it even harder, because she wanted to live up to that image of her Sunset seemed to have, and she was just going to break it if she went along with the princesses’ mad plan! She buried her face in her hooves and wanted so very much to have a good cry right then. But that would leave unmistakable signs, and then SOMEPONY would probably start asking themselves if Twilight was going to crack and mind-control the entire town into obsessing over Ms. Smarty Pants again. Which she’d have to find Ms Smarty Pants for, but she was pretty sure Sunset had put her in her- She blinked. Wait. Who’d had Smarty Pants last? Big Macintosh? Wait a minute, is that why he keeps asking for animation potions?

The thought utterly derailed her emotional freight train. She leaned against the side of the doorway and bumped her head gently against it over and over again. Why is it that everything around here always seems to go to Taratrus just as I think I’ve got a handle on it? She sniffled and tried to scold her nose into behaving. “Stop it, nose,” She half huffed, and it predictably didn’t listen to her. She sniffled again and forced her hoof over her eyes. “You too, eyes, there’s no time for this…”

And she really couldn’t have been more right. A quick three raps echoed through her skull from somepony on the other side. A patron? Maybe. She stood herself up, did what she could to look composed and organized, and opened the door. Her typical greeting was already half way over her tongue when she realized it was Sunny, not a townspony, at the door. And before she could adjust what she wanted to say, Sunset had wrapped her in the most warm, tender hug she’d ever received.

Sunny was oddly quiet and merely nuzzled against her. A sigh escaped her beloved’s chest. She whispered something, but Twilight was too busy burying her face in Sunset’s shoulder to catch what it had been. “What was that?” she half asked, not wanting to interrupt the moment of physical comfort but curious nonetheless. Sunset usually was a lot bolder than that.

“I love you, Mistress,” came the response, still quiet and soft. “I love you so much…” Twilight normally wouldn’t have been ‘worried’ per say about Sunny saying something like this, but after the past few days… “May we just… sit and talk for a little while?” Sunset asked, disengaging from their embrace and gazing beautifully into Twilight’s eyes.

“Sure.” It was an easy thing to agree to, after a long day… but to be honest, she really didn’t want to move anywhere right then and there. So she didn’t. She just grabbed a soft blanket from one of the chairs and laid it out in a comfortable spot to sit. It barely took any effort to move onto it with Sunset, and she leaned against her little submissive and closed her eyes. “Did you have a good day, today?” It was a simple enough thing to ask. Simple things would be good right now. It might help her take her mind off of the not-so-simple things. Maybe she could figure out what was wrong with her little Sunshine...

“Ups and downs,” Sunset said with a larger breath, leaning back into Twilight. “It… it really could’ve been better.” She paused. “Rarity’s wasn’t so bad at least.”

“Well, that’s good! Um. Kind of good?” She felt a little more warmth seeping into her voice and felt a smile coming on. At least one thing was going right today. “So, um… the princess had some interesting things to say about helping us with some of our problems here.” That was putting it mildly, but she had to approach this subject carefully. Sunset had given Twilight her full attention now, so she had to be cautious. She tried to smile, but it came out a little strained. “Some of it was a little out there.” And if that wasn't the understatement of the millennium, Twilight would eat AJ's hat.

Sunny squirmed a little atop the blanket, and Twilight moved some to accommodate her, ending with her cuddled even more closely to Twilight. Naturally now, Twilight wrapped her foreleg around Sunset’s middle, holding her there. “But you know how you’re going to take care of it all, right Mistress? I mean, you know what’s best for us… for… yeah…” She trailed off, and Twilight found herself gripping her beloved more tightly. How could she risk letting her go? It seemed so ridiculous now, putting the small moments like this on the line. And just because the princess said it was a good idea. Why couldn’t she come up with something better?

The problem was that ancient Equestrian law wasn’t the kind of thing one changed on a whim, even when important things were on the line. There had to be a way to keep everypony happy and make sure Celestia got what she wanted too. Maybe… maybe I can find some ponies that Sunset likes and will understand the situation. Then we don’t really have to do anything, they just need to be on staff. A song and dance, a show to keep the busybodies happy. That was, at best, a temporary solution. Celestia clearly thought there was more going on here, and she’d be watching like a hawk.

“... Twilight… We can do it. We can make it work… Ya know, figure it all out in the end,” Sunset said, running a soft hoof across Twilight’s stunned face. Had she really…? Yes, she really had used her name. And Twilight honestly couldn’t say if she thought it was a good or bad thing. But by that token alone, she smiled. Sunset trusted in her ability to make things right somehow, and that alone was a little bit of a boost after the ridiculousness of the day.

“I know,” she whispered, kissing Sunset on the lips. Not deeply or passionately. Just loving. “I think both of us have made it through worse, hm?”

“Definitely,” Sunny answered with a little nod.

“I mean, the world isn’t even coming to an end this time.” Twilight put on her best smile at that. “And you haven’t turned into some kind of demon, and I’m not growing extra limbs, and Pinkie Pie hasn’t tied either of us to a table yet.”

“I feel like it sometimes,” Sunset giggled, laying her head against Twilight’s chest. “Pinkie…? Do you want to be covered in whipped cream, Mistress? I wouldn’t be opposed… kinda…”

Twilight stared at her and burst into a quiet spate of laughter. Sure, she sounded more than a little crazy during it, but laughter was good right? “Oh Faust, I don’t think she’d stop at whipped cream, Sunny.” She giggled faintly and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Though to be honest, I think that pony is hiding her own kinky side that goes far beyond the food.” That was an amusing thought, actually. Kinky Pie. Oh, the ribald jokes to be made there… She shook her head a little.

“Food…” Sunset said absently. “I didn’t eat lunch today… I’m a little hungry now that I think about it.”

“You didn’t what?” Twilight didn’t… quite… shriek, but she did yell a bit. Sunset jumped in place and Twilight facehoofed. The last thing she needed was Sunset delving back into her habits of not eating enough. They’d only just managed to get her over that! A quick glance at the clock told the time. Late, but not too late. This called for decisive action. “On your hooves, missy,” she directed with a firm glance, reaching around to the little cabinet by the door. “We need to get you fed.”

“Oh oh!” Sunset bounced in place. “Let me make dinner then! I can do it, I’m certain. Just for you and me Mistress.”

“As entertaining as that might be, given that you look rather exhausted…” Twilight began, and Sunset blushed a little from the comment. She really had to have been working extra hard with Rarity today. “We’re going to get us both a treat.” She tugged out her bits-purse, which was far heavier than it had been before in her life and jangled it cheerfully. “How does pizza sound to you?” She grinned. “We’ll even get it from Four Brothers.”

Sunny’s eyes lit up at the possibility, and she sat up with the most adorable, excited sound. Her hooves clapped to her cheeks, and she looked more thrilled than Spike with a personal tub of sapphire ice cream. “Oh yes yes yes!” she nearly squealed, giving a cute little kiss to Twilight’s horn, sending a little pleasant shiver down her spine. “Shall I get plates?”

She laughed softly. “Good idea. And break out the chips too. Screw eating healthy tonight.” She grinned brightly. “If you’d like you can get the projector out too. We’ll make a girls night of it. Spinach and red onion, right?” she teased, picking her favorite toppings of course.

“And should you get some banana peppers and broccoli for yourself, Mistress?” Sunset answered back with a sly tone. She giggled and slinked out from underneath their blanket, making sure to slide her body against Twilight. “Hurry please?” she asked playfully.

Twilight blushed at the soft feel of Sunset’s coat against hers, making her throat go dry. “Of course I will,” she promised quietly and quickly hurried out the door. I’ll give Leo and Raph a double tip if they can get these done fast!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunset let loose an overly contented sigh as she crunched on one of her favorite peppers. It had been some time since she and Mistress had last eaten pizza together. And Sunset was quite happy it was rare. She could well and truly enjoy every moment in the now. She suppressed a giggle as she tried sneaking a slice of Mistress’s pizza out of the box with her magic. “Hah!” Mistress noticed immediately and smacked away Sunset’s feeble attempt. “Uh uh,” she tsked, though clearly amused. Sunset laughed behind the bite in her mouth and leaned against Mistress.

She turned her attention back to the projecting film for a few brief seconds. She was close to bursting it felt like, but in a good way. Her attention wandered, eventually settling on the smoothness of Mistress’ heartbeat and breathing. Her eyes slowly began drifting shut to the rhythm. She’d probably fall asleep like this, and a smile lit her lips at the images of Mistress carrying her back upstairs and tucking her in their bed.

Yes, she could lose herself in this. She was full, happy, and with Mistress. The day already seemed like a long ago memory. She could let it fade into the background as she drifted off, and by the time she woke, all of it would be a simple memory. And memories could be forgotten. Maybe. Possibly.

She did her utmost not to tense against Mistress, but her eyes did squint shut and a barely audible hiss escaped her lips and was drowned out by the film. Just trying to forget and hoping to forget, the raw guilt punched her in the gut. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she shouldn’t have done it. But she couldn’t change that she had now. And even worse, she couldn’t get it off her chest by telling Mistress. She couldn’t be sure how she would react, and that blindness was worse than knowing she would be angry. She just couldn’t face what might happen. Maybe in the future, but not now.

So she buried it deep where she could let it slip away in a mass of inconsequential memories. But this, just being with Mistress, she wouldn’t let this slip away for anything. Nor Mistress herself… Which kinda meant, at least in her mind, that she’d need to eventually ask about what she and the princess had been discussing. Well, now might not be a bad time considering Mistress was in a good mood, but…

Sharp, manic laughter emanated from the projector, and her head bolted up and with it, any contemplation she had crumbled to pieces. Blegh. Villains. It was actually pretty hard for her to imagine herself like that now, despite having been down that road. They said things were clearer from the other side, but she knew for a fact she’d never cackled. Much. Okay, maybe just that one time to see how it felt… And it honestly hadn’t lived up all that much. She idly wondered if somepony had ever bothered asking somepony bent on destruction if they enjoyed it at all. She guessed the answer would be no.

“You kinda giggled like that once, you know,” Mistress pointed out with a slice of pizza toward the screen. Sunset blinked at her in disbelief. “You were kind of sporting horns at the time, so you might not remember it,” Mistress allowed, giving a small smile and pushed just a tiny torn off bite of cheesy goodness past her open lips. “I much prefer you like this, anyway. Much cuter.” She giggled softly, her eyes sparkling.

“I… did… not,” Sunset attempted to huff around the glorious cheese wad. It came out sounding rather garbled, but she may have gotten her point across a little better for it. She swallowed. “It wasn’t all that… eh, comfortable anyway.”

“Comfortable?” Mistress blinked in confusion. “What, the glowing blue eyes, the bat wings, and the horns were awkward?” She half grinned. “I never would’ve guessed. Or maybe you were talking about those weird… hand-things.” She gave off a little shiver. “Now those were awkward.”

“No, no, no,” Sunset protested. For some reason, this felt rather important. “The laugh. It isn’t too comfortable to laugh that way. There’s the way the throat feels bent out of shape, the deeper breath you have to take, and having to think about doing it in the first place. Seriously… it takes way too much per-determined effort to do a laugh that way properly. I mean, why do they always show it that way? I think only Discord has enough insanity to do it without much thought.” She did huff this time. “Yeah… it’s stupid.” Yes, having done it before, she felt that was quite definitive enough.

Mistress was grinning at her slightly. “Sounds like you’ve given it plenty of thought.” She winked, teasingly. “I always wondered myself, having heard no few villains give off laughs like that in real life.” She ticked her hoof in the air. “You should’ve heard Nightmare Moon do it, though.” She shuddered a little and cuddled up closer to Sunset. “Closest I’ve ever come to understanding the term ‘bone chilling’.”

“There can’t be anything ‘bone chilling’ about it.” Sunset rolled her eyes, but she snuggled her body against Mistress anyway. It was so much warmer under a blanket. “It’s so… dorky… ugh…” She let off a sigh. Yes, she was determined never to do it again and make a point of explaining why he shouldn’t do it if she ever heard Discord laugh like that.

But Mistress just shook her head. “Trust me. Coming out of an alicorn you never even knew existed until that very day? Especially one who’s got you dead-to-rights?” She shivered again. “Not something I’d like to go through again, thank you.” She eyeballed Sunset, humming softly. “Why’s your mind stuck on this laugh thing? Is there anything about today you wanted to talk about?”

Sunset didn’t move. And she made a special effort not to tense. Mistress loved her too much to not pick up on that. Sure, there were plenty of things she probably would want to know, and most she needed to know. Fluttershy, her meeting with the nurse, the conversation with Celestia. The list of things she SHOULD be talking to her about was miles and miles long. But anything Sunset wanted to tell her right then? Not a chance. “No…” she said, uninterested, turning her attention to the projection’s end. “Would you hold that thought for just a moment, Mistress? I like this ending.”

Twilight’s mouth opened for a moment, then it shut, and she turned back to the screen. But she did hold on to Sunset’s hoof a little more tightly and gently nuzzled her cheek up against Sunset’s own. The film ended in a familiar way, the villain lay defeated and apparently vanquished, and the heroine and her lady love sailed off into the sunset together. Presumably at least until the inevitable sequel. (Sunset privately was getting rather sick of all these stories having sequels.) As the credits rolled, Twilight gently kissed her cheek. “So,” Twilight began quietly, and when Sunset turned to face her she looked oddly pensive. “Where do we go from here, then?”

“Uh… to bed? Mistress?” Sunset queried. She almost believed she didn’t know what Mistress meant.

Twilight shook her head slightly. “You know what I meant, Sunset.” Her tone became distinctly more firm. “We can’t dance around this forever. I need to know how you feel if I’m going to be any kind of special somepony to you.” She lifted a hoof and stroked Sunset’s cheeks. “I won’t let what we have fall apart if I can help it, Sunny.”

Why did she have to do that? Stroke her that way. She couldn’t avoid Mistress’ questions when she did that. A rather defeated sigh escaped her lips along with another pause. Her thoughts felt rather jumbled and nothing seemed to want to connect. “I just…” Getting those two words out helped. “I want you to always be there. I want to always be able to run and hide under you when I need…” That sounded better in her head. She should’ve kept her mouth shut until more coherent thoughts formed. “I just want us to be there with each other…” Oh joy, that was even worse. “Special. I want us to feel special together.”

Mistress smiled faintly. “I already feel special around you, sweetie.” She giggled faintly, and rested her head against Sunset’s so she could look closely into her eyes. “And I will never, ever not be there for you. No matter what happens to us, I swear you’ll always be an important part of me.” She smiled prettily. “Pinkie Promise.”

“I just feel like a loose leaf on a windy day. Lately anyway,” Sunset replied, looking away from Mistress. Her gut didn’t feel so good with those eyes so earnest and beautiful.

Mistress tsk’d loudly and turned her head back with a firm hoof. “Well I suppose I’d better make sure you’re properly tied down then, shouldn’t I?” Her smile was bright, but her eyes were hard. “It sounds like you’re in need of a little reminder of just how much I do care about you.”

Sunset’s heart didn’t exactly leap, but she could feel a fluttering in her chest. She lowered herself to her lowest lying position and slid beneath Mistress’ chin. “Would you? Sweep me up, I mean, Mistress? Please? I want to know for sure.” Her body was beginning to tingle, knowing what was on the horizon. Oh how she loved Mistress...

~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight felt warm inside as she plucked Sunset off the ground with her levitation magic, literally sweeping her off her hooves and nuzzling cutely against her cheek. “Hmmm. I think we ought to take this someplace quieter.” She flicked the ‘off’ switch on the movie projector and started to snuff out candles as she carried a happily giggling Sunset toward the secondary basement door. Secondary, because it had previously held the musty old newspaper archives of the library and had since been converted into something a great deal less musty. (The newspapers themselves had been transferred to the primary archive basement once she’d re-organized them of course.)

Twilight locked the front door with a brush of magic and very firmly threw the latches on all the windows before pushing open the door to her special basement. She hadn’t been kidding about Pinkie Pie trying to sneak in, and the best way to keep her out was to make sure everything was locked. That way there could be no ‘mysteriously’ open windows or doors for her to ‘just happen’ to stumble through. The stairs leading down were narrow, but still wide enough that she could hold Sunset in front of her like a blushing bride. Gyah. Keep your mind off that subject for tonight, Twilight. You don't even know if she'd take well to that suggestion yet...

Her cheeks colored a little, she and was thankful for the near darkness of the stairwell. Sunset whimpered adorably a little in the darkness, which only added to Twilight’s growing, heightened excitement. The basement smelled strongly of various special materials and lemony-sweet cleaning solution. She couldn’t trust Spike to clean THIS room, so she had to do it herself. After all, there were… things down here that no baby dragon should have to try to comprehend the use of. Especially not the triangle-seat. Or the whipping post. Or the suspension rig. (Especially not the suspension rig. Trying to explain all those ropes and chains…)

“Are you going to make me listen to you, Mistress?” Sunset cooed, and one of her hooves reached out into the low light to brush Twilight’s face. “You know, you might need something stronger than rope to keep me still… I’m feeling more energetic than normal.” The way she said those words. They dripped in sweetness probably more than any other part of her at the moment.

Twilight had to grin slowly. She questioned if Twilight could get her to listen eh? “Oh, I’ve got just the thing for that problem, little Sunny.” Twilight relished the chance to put on a very sinister voice and loved the way it echoed off the wall. Sunset shivered within her magical grip. Sunset didn’t think a laugh could sound evil, but Twilight knew better. The world opened up in front of them a moment later, with only the dim light of a few luminescent crystals to keep them from tripping over the room full of specially made furniture and a wall well hung with custom gear. Twilight smirked, grabbing for the first important item just by memory… “I’m going to make it so you’ve got no choice but to listen very closely to me…” she whispered. Dangerous. And an instant later pulled the thick black blindfold tight over Sunset’s eyes, plunging her into total blackness.

Sunset meeped in surprise, likely having expected to be set in a chair or lain across the back of one of the benches first. Of course, she liked being unpredictable once in a while and tonight she was going to go a few steps further. She hadn’t quite built the special tank she needed for the full effect, but she could get very close with a little magic. Now that Sunset couldn’t see, she brought the subtle crystals to life that would allow her to see into their little play area a bit better.

She grinned at the sound of Sunny expectantly licking her lips and offered one of her hooves for her love to kiss and lick. Hoofcuffs came off the wall as she held Sunset suspended in midair, the cute little filly gently pressing her lips to the tip of Twilight’s hoof to worship at it for a moment. It was one of her favorite ways to play, and normally Twilight would be glad to indulge her…

But tonight, Sunset needed to learn to listen a little better. The cuffs were pressed gently into place and buckled firmly to a sharp intake of breath from Sunset at the cold contact. Magical ropes were far easier to conjure than maintaining a levitation field, so one by one she secured the cuffs to the ethereal strands then to newly mounted bolts on her newest little invention. Once released, the magic took over and held Sunset in place, supported by nothing more than the levitation crystal underneath her yet unable to move her limbs from where the magic bound her to the wall.

If she’d done it right, it would feel like she was being held restrained in midair, but wasn’t supported atop anything. She should feel weightless, but there’s only one way to find out. “Comfortable?” she cooed into Sunset’s ear, running gentle and soothing hooves down her sides and leaning in to softly kiss her cheek.

“What is it I’m supposed to feel, Mistress?” Sunset asked, almost starting to pant in anticipation when Twilight caressed her. She did it again just to watch Sunset react. She half sighed in her own excitement.

Twilight smiled, if only to herself. “Wait for it.” She fetched the gag from the wall - a tight muzzle gag. It wasn’t unlike the saddle gag so common in Equestria, save that this one was designed to completely remove jaw movement… Sunset would have to breathe through her nose. Slowly putting it on was almost a sensual experience itself, making it clear the tightness and restrictive nature of the toy before putting it all the way on and watching for the signs that Sunset wanted to stop. But all she got was the tight little nod and pleading moan that said to go ahead, and she proceeded to strap the thing on. Sunset almost immediately began salivating, and something about gags caused her to start squirming so… enticingly in her bonds. Twilight made to kiss her, instead running her tongue over her lips very gently before pulling away.

Now fully immobilized, gagged, and robbed of her sight, Sunset was literally incapable of doing anything but listening to Twilight. It would take a few moments for her brain to catch up to the situation, so she stepped away from Sunset. The next few moments would be interesting to observe, as Sunset’s body began to register all of her other senses rendered inoperable. It would, if Twilight’s theories were correct, make her sense of touch and hearing incredibly sensitive.

But until then, she had some time to kill. So she decided to entice Sunset a bit. She walked with a deliberate slowness over to her wall of toys and slipped on her own black corset. She tightened it slowly, enjoying the sensual feel of the slick material over her coat. Light hoofboots next, so as to make her steps even more noticeable and give her a little sexy dominatrix lift. Thus more properly attired, she selected a few… party favors and pulled her favorite big, comfortable seat out from the corner. The scrape of the wood against the stone floor was echoing even to her, and she had to wonder what might be going through Sunset’s mind in that moment.

She perched up upon the seat and splayed herself out, running the ribbed handle of her favorite paddle down to somewhere it could do some good. She would not speak, of course. That would ruin the mood if she did it so quickly. No, she wanted to deliver a message to her little pony-toy. So she rubbed the ribbed shafter over her own quivering lips, and found them far wetter than she’d anticipated. Sheesh, she really was getting off on this evil seductress routine. Better be careful, or I’ll turn into Chrysalis! It was actually a rather amusing thought to imagine the villain bound up and at her not so tender mercies, and she allowed herself a quiet and distinctly chilling laugh. She’d learned from the best, after all.

She rubbed the handle up and down, biting at her lip to keep the sounds soft and enticing. It had been so long since they’d come down here and really let loose on one another, Twilight letting all of her desires for control out into the world, Sunset utterly giving in to her every whim. “Mf!” The sound escaped her throat, with the sight of Sunset so utterly helpless before her. She could do anything to her in this state. What was more, not only would Sunset let her… she’d probably enjoy it!

A series of needful, sexual moans escaped past her kitten’s gag, and she began to tug at the binds on her back legs. Twilight suppressed a more lustful sound as she watched Sunset wriggle and strain with her vocalizing. But she couldn’t help how much more aroused she became, especially when her wrapped up present started dripping onto the floor. It was a simple enough concept really, and actually kind of sexily scientific. The senses compensated when one wasn’t working properly, so it stood to reason one could make somepony very sensitive to certain stimuli if one shut off everything else. Like in this case… making it feel like she wasn’t touching anything but air, could see nothing but darkness and could not speak or taste anything but the inside of her mouth. That left only the sound she could hear around her and the smells of arousal that were already filling the room. It was glorious…

She felt her lips curl up, and her eyes half lid as another rush of pleasure went up her spine from the touch of her own toy. And she was fairly certain Sunset could clearly hear the wet sounds from her sliding it up and down… and up and down… She couldn’t leave Sunset for too long, of course. That would just be a little too cruel, but in about fifteen seconds she was certain things would be optimum. So she tried a little experiment, pushing the thick haft of her paddle in between her marehood and let the sweet moan that resulted loose into her dungeon. The sound echoed off the walls, and Sunset thrashed a little as she was bombarded by the sudden, far louder noise in her ears.

It wasn’t the bad thrashing either. She was simply unable to do anything but react to it, with Sunny’s cute little marecunt now pulsing with a need for somepony’s touch. She wasn’t going to get it for a while, though… Twilight smirked to herself and slowly uncoiled from her chair. She slipped up to the levitation device, and very carefully brought her lips up to Sunset’s ear. She breathed heavily, and Sunny tried to arch her body toward her with a pathetic whimper. “Do I have your… complete and undivided attention, little toy?” she cooed sexily, not coming close enough to touch.

“Mmmmhmmm!” Sunset attempted to work around the gag, only partially succeeding to Twilight’s delight. Her head bobbed up and down too, and very naughty images lit up Twilight’s mind upon seeing the motions. Sunny’s hind legs were still spread wide as she could manage, but she was now trying to reach out with her forelegs to touch her Mistress.

But Twilight simply slipped under her hooves and to the other side. She spoke again in a soft voice. “That’s good, because I think you’ve been forgetting your lessons. Such a naughty pet.” She giggled faintly, ducking under a hoof as it tried to search her out again. She had to keep Sunset from touching her until she’d made her point. “But my naughty pet needn’t worry. She’s got a lovely Mistress who can help teach her when she errs and forgets how much her Mistress loves her.”

“Em mow! Em mow!” Sunset cried out from behind her gag, and her pussy started winking, at least judging from the way she was only dripping her sweet mare juices every couple seconds. “E-et mm ee!” Twilight only giggled more and stood out of range, shaking her backside toward her tied up little one, letting her smell Twilight’s own love bits. Sunset only salivated more than she already was.

Good, she was hungry and desperate. Maybe now she’d listen. “Lesson number one,” she purred into Sunset’s right ear, pulling her paddle away from her sopping pussy and swinging it in to strike firmly against both buttocks. The smack echoed through the room and in Sunset’s ears. “Mistress loves her pet, very much.” She spoke sweetly, warmly, lovingly so. Even over the sound of Sunsets long, low groan through the gag. “Lesson two,” she giggled faintly and brought down the paddle again, this time a little more firmly. “Mistress will always take care of her pet.” Both buttcheeks had taken on a little bit of blush. “Lesson three,” she hummed and took another good heavy swing against that lovely ass. Sunset actually let out a little, cute squeal. The smack echoed one more time, and Twilight waited for quiet before speaking firmly. “Pet will never question lessons one and two, because she knows Mistress’ heart belongs to her pet.” She shouldered the thick wooden paddle and cooed softly. “Do you need me to repeat any of that?”

At first, dear bound and gagged little Sunset’s response was to shake her head ‘no’ until Twilight lightly slapped her ass with the paddle. A long moan interrupted her first reply, and Twilight could hear the stung panting of her very, very special somepony. Sunny paused, and her Mistress awaited a clearer answer… which came in the form of a little shake of her backside in Twilight’s face. Oh, well then. Twilight knew how to answer such an obvious invitation.

Yes. Her whip. She’d put a few lashes in, make a lasting impression. Not to mention she could run it all over her pet’s shivering body. Sunset equal parts loved and hated it, making it all the more pleasurable for Twilight. Her magic began searching out which one to use, but her eyes never left that beautiful, wet marehood. It glistened with Sunset’s arousal, and Twilight became suddenly aware of how her own cunt was soaking the insides of her legs. She leaned in close, breathing in the smell of her toy then letting it out slowly, blowing the hot air over Sunny’s cute little clit. She didn’t scream or whine like Twilight had expected, but she did shudder and groan pleasantly. But one thing was for certain, Twilight herself was intoxicated now. Nevermind need, she wanted what was right there so badly it was making her loins ache.

Her magic shifted and quickly found two other items. Things better suited for her mounting desire. She jangled and bopped the set of ass beads together loudly around Sunset’s sore flank, making sure her pet knew what was coming. Sunset didn’t prefer beads but they drove her wild like nothing else did, which was why Twilight had chosen to use them. She knew her pet needed the best orgasm, and she was going to be sure she got it no matter what.

Ever so slowly, relishing in every moan and sharp breath from Sunset, Twilight pushed the first of the beads up her plothole. “Count with me,” she cooed happily into Sunset’s ear. “One…” She giggled softly as the smallest of the beads pressed past her pucker and elicited a low groan. “Two…” Twilight continued, and after each one she made sure the next bumped against her kitten’s nub, which she responded to with a little, sensual yelp and jerking motion. “Mmm, Four. That’s a good little slut, but there’s three more, and they’re such big ones…” It was so much fun to look at Sunset’s sensual squirming and watch her forced to love every moment of this. “Not as big as some other things you’ve put up there, though,” she reminded Sunset with a teasing grin, and got a muffled gasp and a bright blush for her pleasure.

She slipped one of the bigger ones in slowly, making sure to add a little lube with the big ones. “Five,” she purred into Sunset’s ear, and got another long and low groan in response as she pushed the bead past. “Mm, that’s not the only thing going up inside you tonight.” She dropped her voice to a growl, and that instantly sent Sunset’s spine to rigidness. “Mm, I’ve got something very special for your wet little hole, pet. Six!” she snapped out, this time only waiting until the bead was lubed before pushing it past the pucker in one firm shove. “And seven,” she said in low tone, slipping with a manic grin to Sunset’s side. She ran her hooves all along her pet’s curves, all the while flapping her way to be level with her and bringing her newest of new toys into the right place.

“Now, I’d tell you to hold on to something…” Twilight giggled with a bit of madness, flaring out her wings, “but really, you’ve nothing to hold onto… So just enjoy the ride, pet.” She lined herself up properly, keeping the toy in her magic until the very last moment… And she shoved her own ass back, pushing the dual ended dildo into her pussy and further ramming it back into Sunset’s dripping hole.

Their ass cheeks slapped together, and both Twilight and her filly love loosed only subtly different moans. And using only her wings, Twilight pulled off, then dropped back down. Everything…. literally everything was arousing about it. And Twilight couldn’t stop herself as she rapidly built speed just to have her pussy filled at the same time as Sunset’s and have their butts meet so harshly. No wonder little Sunny enjoyed being spanked so much! “Mmmf!” She bit at her lip to keep from screaming, but the noise still filled her ears lusciously. “Such a good little pet-toy for Mistress,” she panted out and was rewarded with a long moan from behind Sunny’s gag. Twilight could only imagine what she was feeling just then, as she smacked back against her and moaned brightly. “Mmf… I love the noises you make when I use your little body…” Twilight growled, wishing she could grab onto Sunset right now.

But the pumping was so addicting, pulling and pushing inside her slick marehood and her slightly damp fur bouncing against Sunset. “Unn unn unn!” her sub managed to scream past the gag, fully engaging Twilight’s already intense thrusts. Now it wasn’t just her wings and mouth moving. Her hips, back… her whole body banged the toy with Sunset’s bound one.

Everything that had been rhythmic died away into full passion, until Sunny’s cute, heated moans reached one long, mounting sigh. At that, Twilight took the beads in her magic, collapsed the toy into both of them one last time, and yanked out the balls. She came gloriously, her wings shuddering trying to stay aloft and her pussy clenching and soaking the toy. Sunset’s whole body was wracked and her finishing groan was chopped with panting. And best of all, Twilight knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she could feel their warm mare love juices mixing along the shaft.

A few moments later, the high slowly came down. Twilight released the toy from her body and it flopped wetly to the floor. Her hooves came up under Sunset’s forelegs as she gently dispelled the magic bindings and brought her down to the ground with slow beats of her wings. Soft hooves stroked Sunset’s body as she slowly peeled away the gag, cuffs, and blindfold, holding Sunset close to her at all times. “Mmf…How was that for a lesson on listening, hm?” she gently teased, stroking Sunset’s mane lovingly as she fetched a clean towel from a pile to mop away any sweat and other stickiness.

Sunset gulped in as her rapid breathing became more regular, but her smile told Twilight most of what she expected. “I should listen to you more often I think, Mistress,” she sighed, allowing herself to flop back in Twilight’s magic, still riding out her high. “You… We touched a lot…” She giggled and reached out for a hug. And Twilight was only more than willing to return it, adding in a sweet kiss on the muzzle for good measure.

“Yes we did.” She smiled as gently as she could, nuzzling into Sunset’s cheek. “C’mon. Lets go shower and get some sleep. Tomorrow’s another day.” She made sure Sunset could stand, made sure that she was right next to her all the way up the steps (she was taking a little wider steps than usual…). She could clean up later, it was more important to make sure Sunset felt warm and loved right now. She’d deal with everything else tomorrow, including all of the rest of her problems. There has got to be a way to fix things. To fix you. To fix myself... I've got to find a way. There's got to be something I can do. Her thoughts were more determined than ever, as she pushed open the door to the dark library.

I'll think of something, Sunny. Somehow.

~~~~~~~~~~

Princess Celestia waited patiently for the steps to reach the loft bedroom and the door to shut quietly behind the two lovers. The pieces were all falling into place now, and it was becoming clear that events stood on the edge of a knife. Slip too far either way, and she could end up cutting the legs off of either of the precious ponies within. Be honest with yourself, Princess. Forced to choose, you know who would come first. Like it or not, there's only one mare in there that's absolutely indispensable.

But she was not going to be forced to choose. She would not be forced to make that choice again, between Equestria and those she loved. Not again. Not this time. She would lose neither of them, so help her. She simply needed to act swiftly, decisively, and without hesitation. That meant she needed to start pushing, or neither of those foolish mares she so loved would ever grow up. You can but hope they will forgive you for all of your meddling when it is done. She smiled sadly into the night. Or that Cadence will arrive out of nowhere and solve your problems for you. Right. And Luna will stop using the Royal Canterlot Voice at three in the morning, and Twilight will confess her undying love for you, and Pinkie Pie will start making sense, and Discord will eat an ice cream cone right side up for once. She snorted silently. And perhaps I shall eat cake for every meal and not gain any weight. Right. Be reasonable Celestia. The world is not and never shall be the ideal one you'd like to live in. Put on your big-mare panties and deal with it.

She waited for the sounds of water to fill the library before slipping in. She’d get to work tomorrow, and hope to the heavens that she was not too late. Sunset's problems are legion, but she is in no mental state to listen to me. I shall have to start with Twilight. She still respects my good sense, and as soon as I can get her to understand what's been going on maybe we can double-team Sunset's issues.... She glanced up at the stairs, the gentle murmurs of their voices coming to her ears like a sweet music. Twilight, I hope to Tartarus her love for you is strong enough to keep her from... from... She squashed the thought and whisked herself towards bed. The very last thing she needed to do was give herself nightmares over what obsession could do to a unicorn of Sunset's power...

I only hope I can get her to listen to me before the whole thing comes crumbling down atop us all.

Ch 7 - The Week Ends, The Week Begins

~~~~Monday~~~~

The Golden Oaks Library

Twilight turned and decisively nodded. “Right, Spike! One more time on the checklist!” Her little dragon assistant raised his quill and smiled in waiting. “Examine the maid applications, double check Silver Shill’s resume for bursar, make final decision on seneschal, lunch with Sunset, and log the new book delivery.” The list thus repeated, Spike gave her a big thumbs up and rolled the thing up before hoofing it over. She sighed heavily. “Sweet Luna, I’ve got way too much to do. Luckily, things should be slowing down after today...” She made to lean back into the wall in minor exhaustion, but her body hit a warm soft body instead that instantly made her smile.

“I got up early to see you this morning, Mistress,” Sunset murmured, lightly kissing Twilight’s cheek. “Thank you for these as well, I slept better than I have in days.” She wriggled out from behind Twilight and shook one of her hooves. Or, well, more appropriately the sleeve of a far too long pajama shirt. She looked so adorable, and Twilight allowed herself a little grin and pat on the back.

Twilight leaned in and returned the kiss. “I’m glad you like them,” she said warmly, and eyeballed the clock. “Lunch at one today, okay? I’ve got no idea how long the interviews will go this morning, and I’d like to make sure I can take a long lunch.” She leaned to nuzzle against Sunset’s cheek, sighing softly. “I’m sorry things’ve been so busy, love. I promise that this ridiculous nonsense won’t last much longer.” Not if she had anything to say about it, anyway. Well, at least most of the nonsense was easy nonsense.

“I know,” Sunset said. “I trust you, Mistress. And… well, it’s not so bad. At least I don’t get in your way being here.” Her eyes went blank when she said it, and if Twilight’s considerable experience were anything to judge by she was very busy with her own thoughts. Yes, she had to get all of this finished up and quickly. If she was decisive, Sunset would follow suit. Not to mention Twilight actually being able to be there to talk with her, no matter how long she needed. But, as long as she wasn’t blowing up Ponyville for stress relief, Twilight had to say Sunset was handling it all better than she’d thought she would.

“Will you be at Rarity’s most of the day?” she asked. She might’ve been a lot more self-sufficient lately, but Twilight felt it of paramount importance that she know where Sunny was, or at least the general area. Just in case something… less than positive happened. “What’s she still needing help with now that she’s moved in all the way?”

“Well…” her love replied, some color finally entering her voice. And amusing at that. Her annoyed drag couldn’t have been more obvious. “Apparently...” Sunny’s eyes rolled, “apparently the paint on the walls inside lost it’s ‘shine’ while she was gone, so I’m helping her repaint the place one room at a time. Why didn’t she wait to unpack, Mistress? I wouldn’t have to be moving half the furniture I am now.”

Twilight had to laugh softly. “Because it’s Rarity, Sunny. That’s actually fairly standard for her. She never trusts first impressions when it comes to the style of something.” Twilight had to roll her eyes a little too. “Don’t ask me to explain how it works, I certainly don’t have her eye for fashion or her keen instincts in the world of sales. At least she isn’t replacing her floors again.” She hesitated then, wondering if it was time to ask or not but… “So, how are you two getting along now, hm?”

“You know, I keep telling her she should just hire some - Oh… yeah, that. We… uh, deal with each other mostly,” Sunset replied. “It’s… weird. Pinkie had a good word once I’d use… um… Oh! Yeah, frenemies. That’s the best way I explain it.” She sighed expressively. “It’s not so hard as it was, Mistress, I’ll admit for you, but I still don’t like being in her house. Meeting her on the street wouldn’t be so bad maybe.”

Well that was… progress, at least. She’d take progress over recidivism “Well, hopefully we can get to something a little better with some more work.” Twilight said as brightly as she could, and purposefully ignored Sunset’s flat return stare. “Right, I’d better get on top of this, Sunny.” She kissed her warmly once more on the lips and nuzzled her cheek. “Good luck today. Make me proud.”

Sunset smiled faintly at her, and Twilight hurried off toward the door while glancing at the top of the list. Wait a minute… Pinkie Pie wants to be my maid?! She facehoofed even as she rushed out the door.

~~~~Wednesday~~~~

Sweet Apple Acres

“Thanks for seeing me, AJ. I know you’re in the middle of the busy season and all, but…” Twilight hesitated over her words. Getting Applejack to take time off of work had seemed like a miracle. Of course, she probably should have suspected Applejack already knew she was having issues and had made time to help her deal with it. “Just thank you,” she finished, putting on a smile that probably looked way past nervous.

“Pft,” Applejack huffed out, and then rolled her eyes. “Twi, yer the absolute last pony I ever expect to ask me fer anythin’. You’ve built up more than yer share of credit ‘round these parts. Besides, Big Mac’s off doin somethin fer himself today so I ain’t gettin’ much done as it is.” She doffed her hat for a moment to wave Twilight into the living room. “Grab a seat, partner. I’ll get the good stuff.”

“The what?” Twilight balked but hopped up on the chair in curiosity. Applejack returned a moment later with a pair of shot glasses balanced in her hat and a dark brown bottle with no label between her teeth. “What’s that, Applejack?” She’d seen more than her share of liquor bottles over the years, but nothing that looked quite like the strange labeless bottle AJ was carrying.

Her friend grinned at her. “You remember cousin Johnny Appleseed, from the last reunion?” Twilight tentatively nodded, the stallion having had a distinctly sly look about him when Applejack had introduced them briefly. “He runs the family distillery down in Tenneighsee. Makes all of our whisky and brandy.” She held up the bottle with a clever smile. “This is made from our crop right here, an’ it’s the strongest stuff they make. Calls it Applejack Johnny’s Whiskey, an’ he sends me the first batch outta the stills every year.”

Twilight blinked at that little spiel of information, and even more so as the dark amber liquid poured into the glass. It smelled strong, even from here. “I spread around a few bottles t’ friends. It’s supposed to be pretty expensive in the real bars.” She chuckled richly, setting the bottle to one side. “So. What’s th’ problem with that filly of yers?” AJ cocked an eyebrow at her, taking a slow sip of the liquor. So slow that Twilight instantly felt a lot more cautious about what was in her glass.

She didn’t know what to say at first, so she sipped some of the liquid absently… and nearly went into a coughing fit as a firey river of apples seared down her throat and made her entire stomach feel awfully warm. “Yanno, lemmie guess,” Applejack drawled, crossing her legs and leaning back to carefully regard Twilight. “Ya’ll are losin yer mind cuz somepony’s tryin’ to push somethin’ on ya yer not ready for.”

Twilight nearly sputtered and stared at Applejack, who continued on laconically. “Yer worryin’ over every li’l detail in yer life an’ ya can’t figure out how t’ talk to yer filly about it. An she’s got some bug up her plot ‘bout somethin she can’t figure out how t’ tell you about, cuz neither of y’all have ever done this dance before.” Applejack adjusted her hat, took another sip of the strong whisky and kept speaking. “So you two keep dancin’ around one another like yer in the middle of a ho-down an’ she keeps gettin’ her head in a tizzy about y’all lovin’ her, an you keep stressin’ yer pretty head over whatever ridiculousness th’ princess has ya bouncin around doin. Oh, an yer filly still can’t get over whatever stupidity got her tail in a frizz with Rarity. And neither of y’all can figure out how to talk to each other ‘bout it.” Applejack cocked her eyebrow up again, half smiling. “That about sum it up?”

Twilight couldn’t help but blurt it out. “How do you do that?!” Her exclamation was almost a shout, but not quite. Applejack was grinning confidently at her, and Twilight sunk back into the couch. “There’s a few details missing there, but that really is about the sum of it.”

Applejack shook her head. “Years of havin’ Big Mac as a brother. Ya learn to put things together without a lotta words.” She set her glass to the side and sighed. “I ain’t gonna lie, Twi. Yer up the creek on this one. That filly of yours needs t’ unravel before she’s gonna get any better, an’ that’s no lie.” She stabbed a hoof toward Twilight, and she winced away from it. “You’ve been coddlin’ her, Twilight. I hate t’ say it, but somepony’s gotta.”

“I suppose…” Twilight hedged, trying to wrap her brain around that statement. What on earth was AJ getting at? She hadn’t been that soft with Sunset, had she? She was sure she hadn’t been shielding her from everything at least.

AJ was giving her a long look, then settled back into the chair. “Twi, I need y’all to listen to me.” She waved at Twilight with a hoof and took on a serious look. “I’ve been ‘round long enough t’ have seen this before. Ya get a new couple, an they’ve got themselves a filly, an’ they’re all proud of the little tyke. Think she’s the tops, an’ can’t do no wrong. They love ‘er dearly, but they never let her fall an’ skin her knees none.” She pointed a sharp hoof at Twilight. “Anytime it looks like she’s gonna take a tumble, they’re there with pillows an’ sweetness, an’ she never learns how to be tough without bein’ mean.”

She sighed softly. “An’ time goes by, she thinks everything she does is the right an’ proper way of doin’ things. Can’t figure a time when the way she sees the world isn’t the right way, even when it’s obvious as the sun risin’. She starts thinkin’ she’s supposed t’ get her way.” She fixed Twilight with a beady eye. “An she starts thinkin’ the things she wants are hers by some kinda’ royal decree, an’ that’s when you get what happened with Rarity.”

Twilight winced in pain at the reminder of that party, but she had to fight some of these accusations. Sunny wasn’t really like that! “AJ, she needs some of that support and love.” Twilight leaned forward earnestly, pressing her hooves together. “She’s been through such a rough time, and she’s been isolated for so long that I’m worried about what a harsh treatment might do to her. If she doesn’t feel safe here, what’s that going to lead her to do?”

Applejack shook her head slowly. “Twi, that filly of yers obviously never got the discipline she really needed as a youngin’. Ain’t nopony had the stones to sit her down an’ tell her the honest truth, I’d reckon.” She snorted softly. “S’why she acts like a little filly all the time. She’s still tryin’ to grow up, an if yer not careful she’ll just turn back into the mare she was before. Cept’ this time she’ll have yer heart all twisted ‘round her hoof, an then where will we be?”

She leaned forward, gently prodding her hoof into Twilight’s chest. “I can’t tell ya’ll how to fix things, Twi. It’s yer marefriend, it’s yer life. But I’ve seen too many li’l fillies ‘n colts wander down this road, an’ when Life finally caught up to em it wasn’t pretty. It’s better when they get the lesson from somepony who loves ‘em, who’ll make sure to pick ‘em up and help ‘em heal when they need t’ be taught a lesson instead’a somepony just trying to knock ‘em down a peg.” She leaned back and huffed. “Or do ya’ll want yer Sunny turnin’ into a grown version of Diamond Tiara?”

“AJ… how long has it been since you’ve actually talked to her?” Twilight asked. She understood, to a degree, why Applejack was seeing and reasoning what she was, but there were other, deeper things there too. “Look, we’re both working on how much of an issue her inability to let go is, but… “ She rubbed her temples with her hoof. That whiskey and the whole past few days was really doing a number on her brain.

“Been a while. She doesn’t come round’ these parts much.” Applejack rubbed at her chin.

“Then you wouldn’t have seen what I have to look at, usually by the start of the afternoon almost every day,” Twilight cut her off. She didn’t mean to sound pretentious. There were just things she had to explain that nopony except her would know. “Applejack, I'm sure she knows deep inside she has problems. And around midday, I can see in her face how trying to deal with that wears her down. And I don’t want that to be all she can think about.” She gestured broadly, hoping she wasn’t sounding utterly inane. “Am I making any sense? She does try, and she does know. I’m just at my breaking point trying to figure out why it doesn’t seem to be working the way it should. She's so smart, she ought to know better than this!”

Applejack hummed softly, pouring herself another shot. “Cuz she ain’t got a reason t’ change yet, Twilight.” She sipped at the liquid. Slowly. She fixed Twilight with a hard look. “Ya’ll haven’t given her a reason t’change. ‘Til she believes she should change, she can try all day an’ not get mucha anywhere.” She half smiled then, rather suddenly. “I know you’ll figure it out though, Twilight. You always do.” Then she glanced to the side of the room, and Twilight turned to follow her gaze…

There, on a shelf, was a very familiar looking stuffy doll. In fact, Twilight was prepared to say that it was exactly the same as a very special doll that laid back in the library except it looked a great deal more feminine. Next to it, a small pile of empty vials were stacked neatly alongside her, and Applejack chuckled. “Eventually, at least.”

~~~~~Friday~~~~~

Golden Oaks Library

Twilight smacked her head into the desk just once to get it out of her system, then drew her head level with Celestia’s and exhaled. “Okay. The maids have been whittled down to around four candidates, and I’m putting my hoof down. I do not need more than two unless you intend to build me a new castle out here in the middle of nowhere. I’ll make a final decision by the end of the weekend.” She glared her best glare at her teacher and was rebuffed by cool serenity. “I’ve got a bloody doorpony picked out, and I’ve finalized my choices for personal guards and a couple of handyponies.”

She tapped out the list as she went down it, ruthlessly checking off boxes in her head. “Silver Shill has agreed to take the bursar’s position, and I don’t care what the Canterlot nobility thinks, I am not usurping Dash as the weather manager around here. If she’s got to be a formal part of the house, fine, but she’s keeping her job, and I’m giving her an official government raise!” She slammed her hooves into the desk, ratcheting up her glare a few notches. “And for Pete’s sake, yes! I’m going to have a decision on the housekeeper before we need to fill out the paperwork!”

Twilight huffed softly, and Celestia smiled with a tiny bit of pride at her. For some reason, that was annoying, so she kept talking slowly. “I’ve fulfilled my end of our bargain, and I’ve got my short list of everything but my…” she winced away, “attendants, which I refuse to do without Sunset’s input, and a pair of scribes to handle the legal paperwork, which come with the seneschal.” Now she stabbed her hoof at Celestia. “You said you’ve got two ponies in mind for my seneschal and castellan, and you’re going to go back to Canterlot to recruit them and let me have a weekend alone with Sunset.”

Celestia bowed her head with a slow smile. “Indeed I did. And you promised to have the discussion with Sunset Shimmer while I’m gone.” She cocked her head to one side. “Am I mistaken?’

Twilight wanted to grind her teeth. That was the very last discussion she wanted to have, truth be told, but she knew it had to be done. “I will be ready by the time you return on Tuesday,” she said softly. What she’d be ready for, she wasn’t sure yet, but she really hoped the list would include Celestia.

~~~~~Saturday~~~~~

Fluttershy’s Cottage

What was really maddening was how she was greeted. “So. Here to talk to me about Shims, eh?” Rainbow Dash cocked a very suspiciously familiar eyebrow at her. Twilight could have sworn she’d stolen it from Applejack and her conversation with her just days before. Twilight wanted to huff in indignation, but Dash took the wind clean out of her sails. “Come on in, Fluttershy’s already gotten the tea on.” Dash darted away from the door, leaving Twilight with a lungful of air and nopony around to care about her rant.

So she sullenly pushed past the door and closed it gently. Fluttershy’s cottage smelled richly of fresh tilled earth and sweet hay, and a small flock of birds sat upon the rafters as they pecked at trays of seed. Fluttershy herself was puttering about the place and sweeping up errant feather puffs. Dash flopped onto the couch and smiled at her. “Chill out, Twi. It’s not like we’re not looking out for you two.” She waved her toward one of the chairs, which Twilight sat primly down in much to Rainbow Dash’s amusement. “Besides, AJ already told me you were probably gonna come talk to us. We’re the closest you’ve got to experts after all.”

Twilight gave Dash a beady look. “You know, normally I’d ask if there was anything you lot didn’t discuss amongst yourselves, but I know better by now.” She sighed, but was in a way thankful for AJ taking the need to explain herself out of her hooves. Now she could focus on the problems. “She’s been getting moodier, even after Celestia left for the weekend.” She huffed out a breath. “Really, I could’ve sworn Sunny would be happy to have a few quiet days with me!”

Dash snorted softly. “Twilight, I saw her the other day heading to Rarity’s place. That filly’s so wound up over something you could use her to hold up a tent pole.” She flicked her hoof toward Fluttershy who nodded slowly. “She was just here about a week ago at Fluttershy’s place, absolutely bawling her eyes out over… something.” She eyeballed Shy, who quickly busied herself with her tasks. “And Fluttershy won’t tell me what, either.”

Twilight blanked at that, but then an idea came to her. “Probably thought I was talking about her with Celestia,” she sighed, shaking her head slowly. “I should be surprised, but I’m not. She keeps getting more and more suspicious, I think.” It hurt to admit that, even in front of two of her very closest friends, but things were getting increasingly out of control and in a very short period of time.

The time had come to fess up completely. “I don’t know what to do, Dash. I’ve tried everything I could think of. When she’s around me in the evenings, it’s like everything’s sunshine and rainbows but the instant I’m out of her sight, or she thinks I’ve gone, she just goes into this funk.” Twilight gently rubbed at her temple. It was hard to keep the desperation out of her voice, even as she descended into mutters. “And it isn’t helping matters that I’m stuck with all this selection of royal staff and that… conversation I still can’t figure out how to have with her.’”

Fluttershy squeaked a little, and Twilight arched an eyebrow at her. “Um… Have you tried asking her what’s wrong?” Fluttershy looked… well, she was dry washing her hooves and not making eye contact. The second part wasn’t unusual, but the first part was. “I mean, I know you’ve talked to her a bunch recently but…” Fluttershy wasn’t usually quite that direct. What had Sunset been willing to tell her, but not Twilight?

Twilight sighed softly. “I have. She keeps telling me it’s just her adjusting to things with Rarity, but she’s been ‘adjusting’ for three weeks now and it’s getting ridiculous!” She dropped her head into her hooves and stared into nothingness for a bit. “I can’t tell if things are going well for them, or if it’s just the calm before the storm. Rarity certainly isn’t saying.” She laughed faintly. “She keeps telling me Sunset’s been lovely and not to worry my head over it.”

Dash actually laughed at that one, smacking her thigh. “Sheesh, Twilight. You really can pick ‘em can’t you?” She shook her head once and half smiled. “Stuck between two crazy mares and you’re just trying to keep everypony happy. Typical Twi.” She half giggled at that.

“I hope you realize how completely unhelpful you’re being right now Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, imbuing her voice with every ounce of sarcasm she could muster. Which, given how she felt, turned out to be quite a bit. “If I can’t figure out what’s going on… I can’t leave her, Dash, you know that.”

Fluttershy pressed a hoof into Dash’s shoulder, and Rainbow Dash blew out a sigh. “Of course I know that, jeez. I’m just tryin’ to loosen you up a bit, egghead.” She shook her wild mane out a little, reaching up to touch Fluttershy’s hoof. “You’re wound pretty tightly yourself, and nopony here wants either of you to lose it.”

“Then help me out here,” Twilight said, throwing up her hooves. “We all know, sorta, what the big issue is, but I can’t help her tackle that until we know what’s setting it off. And right now,” she puffed a strand of her mane out of her face, “I think Sunny’s the only pony around who knows what’s bothering her.”

Dash glanced nervously - Nervously! - at Fluttershy and got a little nod before she spoke again. “You want my best advice? Okay, here’s my best shot.” She leaned forward earnestly as Fluttershy settled down at the foot of her chair. “It’s a hard lesson to learn, Twilight, but anypony will tell you that when two partners don’t communicate that there’s a breakdown in trust somewhere. Sunset might think you’re not telling her something.” She frowned a little. “And in turn, she might not be telling you some things too. Both of you are probably thinking it’s something bad, even if it ultimately isn’t such a big deal.”

“But still Dash, everypony knows shes still ticked off at Rarity.” Twilight scratched at her brain. “What else is there? Or, Celestia forbid that’s still the problem.”

“She thinks you want to replace her,” Fluttershy piped up with a soft, squeaky sounding voice that caught Twilight completely by surprise. “Or, um…” She hesitated, then continued on quickly, “Maybe not quite that lurid, but she’s afraid she’s not doing enough for you. I think she misheard some conversation you were having and…” She gestured broadly. “She’s a wonderful filly, Twilight, but she has some very strong self-confidence issues. “

“Um, alright, that’s worrying, but at least it’s somewhere I can start…” Twilight murmured to herself, her mind already tracing back through the past two… weeks… “Oh shit.” She facehoofed, hard. “I’d bet anything that’s why she was home late that night.” Twilight couldn’t stop slamming her hoof into the arm of the chair. “Why did she have to walk nearby then! I mean the odds of that are astronomical. Nearly zero! Ugh, why!?”

Dash and Fluttershy were giving each other a strange look she couldn’t parse. “I think…” Dash said very slowly, “that you’d better tell us what’s been going on with the princess, Twi. I know you’ve been running around and talking to everypony about something, but I can’t make heads or tails of what’s up.”

“She’s, well...” Twilight sighed softly. “I don’t know exactly what she’s up to, to be honest, but here’s the basics of it.” Twilight allowed herself to just flop back as she tried to process how she was going to fix this. Had she known even a day or so afterward, things would be much simpler. But of course, she couldn’t have it that easy. She half-felt that would violate some inherent law of the universe. “Essentially, she’s dredged up some very old Equestrian laws which dictate that a royal princess has to have a certain amount of personal staff.”

Fluttershy blinked, and instant recognition came into her eyes. Dash, on the other hoof… “Well what in the world does that have to do with anything?” She sounded incredulous, but then, Dash was not the most avid history student.

Twilight opened her mouth to pontificate on the subject, when Fluttershy cut her off. “In the olden days, Dashie, powerful nobles were expected to have um…” She blushed a bright red, and it looked very fetching on her. “Sexual servants, for lack of a better term. They had them for lots of reasons, actually, but their primary purpose was to provide the head of the household with a safe sexual outlet that wouldn’t cause scandal.”

Dash blinked at her. “Wait, how do you know about… yanno what? I don’t wanna know how you know about that.” Her voice turned wryly amused, and Fluttershy just smiled mysteriously. “But, uh, that doesn’t make any more sense. Twi and Shims get plenty of action with each other. Why would Twi need more?” She turned back to face Twilight, and she could have predicted the next question even out of context. “You don’t want more do you? I mean, whoa…”

Fluttershy turned her head away a little and spoke in a very quiet voice as Twilight tried to register that insane idea in her usually logical brain. “Da- Mistress Dash, it would not be my place to speculate, but if it were, I would say the princess came from a different time. There are certain… old prejudices that still exist.” She looked up at Twilight, biting at her lip. “About the expected behaviors of princesses. Um. Not that I could tell you much about those…” Aside from the blatant lies at the end, that was fascinating and also kind of terrifying. What in the world had Celestia and Luna gotten up to all those centuries ago?

“No, Dash, I’m not a frisky mad mare. So you can stop looking so eager,” Twilight answered sardonically. “But yeah, that’s the long and short of it.”

Dash tilted her head back and hummed. “Well, maybe it’s not just about you. Maybe it’s about keeping Shims happy too, and maybe help you both stay kinda on an even keel.” She rubbed at her chin. “I mean, it can’t always be about the real intense thing you two’ve got going. That can get exhausting, you know? Even Fluttershy and I have occasional other partners.” She snorted, “Heck, Fluttershy had somepony in here just…” She paused, and turned sharply to look at Fluttershy. “Dove…” Her voice turned into a stern, warning sound.

Fluttershy squeaked softly and hid behind her wings in trembling nervousness. Rainbow Dash sunk her hoof into her forehead and shook her head slowly, and Twilight felt utterly lost. Dash reached down and pulled the hiding wings apart in a slow and deliberate gesture, and simply gave Fluttershy a ‘look’. Fluttershy squeaked again but began to speak tremulously. “I-i-i-i-i-it wasn’t intentional…” she whispered faintly, shivering in place. “She was crying, and she was so sad and lost and I was so worried she was going to…” She gulped. “Going to… to… to do what I did at the Academy…” She shivered again, and Dash’s eyes went wide.

“What on earth are you talking about, Fluttershy?” Twilight half whispered, wondering why the cold stab into her gut from the knowledge didn’t hurt as bad as it should. Sunset had cheated on her, and she’d been so worried about her accepting the attendants! She should be furious! She should be… But she wasn’t. Why? Because Twilight had been the entire reason for it? Because instead of waiting for Sunset to come home and have the real conversation with her present, she’d set off this entire chain of events? Or was she finally coming to realize the dreadful truth… That maybe she’d been doing this wrong the entire time?

Fluttershy gulped once, her wings fluffed up to maximum size as she tried to hide her face away. “I--i… my first m-marefriend… S-she dumped me. Before I got with Dashie. It… it… I got low, Twilight. Real low.” She sniffled once, and Twilight wanted very much to reach out to her. “I wasn’t very strong. Dash was so busy with the Speedsters, and I’d gotten so attached to her… She wasn’t even mean about ending it, It was just not working for us… but…”

Twilight’s mouth went dry, all at once. Fear grabbed hold of her heart and squeezed with the force of a god. Fluttershy had Dash’s wings wrapped around her, sobs heaving out of her throat. “I thought.. I was sure that nopony was ever going to love me like she did, ever again. I couldn’t handle it. I completely lost it… I went looking for a knife.” She sniffed again, just once, then raised her head high. “If Dash hadn’t found me, I’d have used it.”

Fluttershy sucked in a breath and spoke again, between the sobs in her chest. “S-so I brought her in, and we talked a lot and she just kind of leaned into me, and I knew she needed somepony else to trust and…” Her wings spasmed a little. “And I saw what was going to happen to her if she thought nopony loved her. I was so sure she was going to k-k-k-k-kill herself. I didn’t know what to do. I was panicked, but I couldn’t show her that or she’d run, and I… and I… Oh, please, don’t hate me!” her words exited in half a scream, enough to set Twilight rocking back on her butt.

Dash grabbed Shy’s hooves, and cooed softly. “Hey hey, settle down, Dove. It’s okay. It’s okay. Shh…” She tried soothing Fluttershy with gentle touches as the realization of what Fluttershy had done sunk into Twilight’s bones, little by little. “Shy? Stay with me hon… I’m not mad at you, okay? It's okay, we all mess up, shh....” Dash kept reassuring her, even as Twilight tried to pull herself out of the moment of shock.

Fluttershy’s chest heaved as she forced out the words. “I needed.. I had to make sure she knew she wasn’t alone.” She looked up, eyes full of tears and pleading with Twilight.. “P-please don’t hate me, Twilight… I just… I couldn’t think of what else to do. I had to buy time. I had to make sure she knew somepony else loved her too... That she wasn't going to be alone.” She sniffed once more, her eyes closing wearily. “I was sure if you had time, you could fix things. You always somehow do…”

Then, it all clicked. Slowly. A series of events, racked up like dominoes, set one after the other in sequence and each leading to the tumble of an even greater event. She’d been throwing her mental gears trying to understand how Sunset could go from one mental state to another so very quickly, and she hadn’t been able to figure it out because, of course, she had been missing vital pieces. It was like the keystone of an arch - without it everything else was just a big pile of rubble. With it, on the other hoof…

It was maddeningly simple. Sunset, overhearing a conversation because she had to have come home early from Rarity’s. She would have been upset, and terribly so. Twilight, assuming she’d simply gotten caught up in work, hadn’t even noticed. Who would she go to? Dash lived in the clouds, so that was out. Applejack she didn’t quite trust yet, so nothing there either. Pinkie Pie… yeah, right. That left, of course, Fluttershy.

Sunset had to have been horribly vulnerable. She’d made a decision in the heat of the moment, of a need for the love of others that she still couldn’t admit to herself. Once it was over, it would’ve gnawed at her. She would have turned what might’ve been the most positive thing Twilight could ever hope for into a reason for self-doubt and guilt, which would inevitably snowball into… everything else.

Like dominoes. Once one could see the pattern, dictating how it would all fall was foal’s play. Which meant… Twilight shot upright in her chair. “I’ve got to…” She could feel her breathing coming more rapidly. Her mind threw itself into overdrive. Sunset was on the edge of certain destruction, and she had to act swiftly. “Fluttershy, I need to go, but I most certainly do not hate you, even if I may need to yell at you later, but I need to go now.” Time. She needed to get Sunset alone. Clear her schedule. She knew where those dominoes would fall the last, and if they did…

No. She wouldn’t contemplate that. She had to interrupt the pattern somehow. Set Sunset on a better course. How would Celestia do it? She’d figure that out on the way. She turned and was out the door before Dash could speak again. She’d apologize later. To everypony, for being so bloody dense.

But first, she had to talk to… and save… her little Sunshine.

~~~~Sunday Night~~~~

Golden Oaks Library

Twilight laid atop her bed, with thin rays of moonlight streaming through the window. She was exhausted, of course, but everything else was handled. The staff was handled, the library was handled, Spike was handled, and Sunset was... handled. Everything was all wrapped up in a nice neat bow except one teensie tiny little itsy bitsy thing, and that very thing opened her door a few moments later. She cracked an eye at it, and then closed it shut. A week ago, that behavior would have horrified her, but it seemed Celestia had finally accomplished her goal of making Twilight feel capable of being casual around her.

The princess said nothing and closed the door behind her. She crossed the room, and still said nothing, and Twilight couldn’t honestly blame her. Why would she say anything to somepony who had just barely managed to keep everything from falling completely apart inside of a mere few days? What kind of princess was she, anyway? If she’d been taking this as a test, she’d barely qualify for a D minus, and Twilight was privately of the opinion that she probably shouldn't be given even that.

But the princess didn’t say anything. She simply stepped out of her hoofboots and laid aside her regalia. Her crown hit the ground next to her boots with a startling clang, followed by her torque. The weight of the Princess upon her bed was instantly noticeable, and a few moments later she was laying softly against Twilight’s side. A huge wing extended out and wrapped her up, and finally, the princess spoke to her. “I’m sorry for all of this, Twilight.”

Twilight turned to look up into those luminescent violet eyes and couldn’t swallow the words any longer. “Why are you sorry? I’m the one who screwed everything up. She was a goddess-damned mess from start to finish, and I was so wrapped up in trying to help her...” She turned away and buried her head back in her pillow… but the princess didn’t leave like she normally might have. She just hugged her, and it was a warm and familiar feeling from long,long ago that made her feel a little less icy on the inside.

The princess simply shook her head. “No, Twilight. You didn’t. One does not ‘screw up’ in relationships this complex. You simply made mistakes anypony with a big heart and not much experience would have made. Such mistakes were simply amplified by the deep issues involved.” Why was she being so kind to her? She didn’t deserve it. She’d done what she’d done to save somepony’s life, and just because that hadn’t ended well for her didn’t mean she deserved some kind of credit for it.

After all, this had all come back to her own incompetence. “Stop that, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia huffed softly, and the soft wing buffeted against her head. “The last thing I am going to take is my faithful student beating herself up over things she could not control. You are a pony. You make mistakes, like anypony. even I make mistakes.” Celestia’s forelegs wrapped around her, and it was like being a little filly again. She turned without thinking and started to cry into that big white chest.

It was hard to think of it that way - just starting to cry. No weeping or sobbing or losing it slowly over time, just flipping the tears switch. She was certain she’d ruined everything, and now what could she do? Everything was out of her hooves now. Sunset would live, she’d be okay somehow, but Twilight didn’t know how she would ever be the same. “I was just trying to…” she began, and Celestia hushed her with a hug. There was no need for words right now, and Twilight was thankful for the comfort.

“There is much we will need to discuss,” the princess said quietly, “but for now, I think it might be prudent if you came back to Canterlot with me for a few days. Things need to settle out here before any further good can be done, and Princess Cadence will be arriving in Canterlot on Friday. Perhaps you can consult with her on what your next move ought to be.” And, unspoken, was Celestia’s assurance that this would mean Twilight wouldn’t have to face Sunset until everything else had settled itself out.

It was very tempting, she had to admit it. “That’s…” She exhaled softly. “Yeah, maybe that’s what we need right now. Maybe once I’ve been gone a few days…” She shook her head slowly, trying to blink back the tears. “L-let me go… pack up a few things. Maybe we can spend some time together.”

That put a smile on Celestia’s face, and it felt good to actually put a smile on somepony’s face. So she gently dislodged herself from the bed and began to gather up what she’d need. Her brush, her crown, a few nice items of clothing, her diary. She avoided certain other items of course. Things she couldn’t take with her because of… memories. “Okay. I’m sure mom and dad can help me with whatever I’ve missed.” She pressed herself into Celestia’s side, and like so many times before, they descended a staircase together.

Somehow, she’d fix things. Somehow, she could make it right again. Somehow she’d figure it out. Somehow… Click..

The door swung open ahead of them, and Sunset Shimmer walked through it. A second later, Rarity followed her, and Twilight stared at them in something approaching shock. “Wh… what’s going on?”

Sunset looked her dead in the eye and looked oddly serious. “We need to talk, Twilight.”

Author's Note

For people wondering where a certain scene is, it's in the next chapter.... and yes, this was a stylistic choice.

Ch 8 - These Crimes Between Us Grow Deeper

~~~~Monday~~~~

The Golden Oaks Library

They only had a single window in their bedroom, and with the curtains closed over it, light was hard pressed to get inside. Even morning light. But every now and again, enough would stream through some crack somewhere and hit Sunset right in the eye. And invariably, even if she was sleeping, it would wake her up. She rolled over on her other side, but she couldn’t go back to sleep. She yawned, stretched, and lay splayed on the bed for a while. And her thoughts began to turn as general morning grogginess wore off.

She and Mistress had a routine again, which was nice to a degree, but it was probably as far from a desirable routine as Sunset was likely to have without speaking out about it. Wake up, have breakfast, leave, come home, eat dinner, go to bed. There were random times she got to stop by and see Mistress, but it was never for all that long. There was always something for Mistress to be doing, and Princess Celestia seemed to always be behind her, perpetually reminding her of the fact.

Sunset crawled out of bed and shook off the last of the weariness before working her mane into something semi presentable. Celestia. Sunset had ideas about Celestia, and she was fairly certain that on some days, those thoughts could properly get her arrested if she didn’t keep her trap shut. She would claim she was here to help, but all Sunset could see was somepony insistent on keeping her and Mistress apart. What about their relationship she didn’t like, Sunset couldn’t be sure, but she spent a good deal of each day trying to puzzle it out.

The only upside, if it could even be called an upside… well, yes, it could be… was that those few little moments she had with Mistress were now all that much sweeter and often times, more intense. It was a give and take, Sunset knew, but she just wished the pony responsible for it had asked her if she’d be alright with it. On second thought, Celestia had and Sunset had agreed, but looking back, she’d been incredibly sneaky about it.

Sunset shook her head. Whatever. She’d be taking time to mull over it all today anyhow. Right now, there was breakfast with Mistress to look forward to. She edged open the bedroom door quietly, and began making her way to the dining room. She could hear Mistress rattling off to Spike, and she came into sight a moment later. Sunset quickly ran up behind her as she was backing up, earning a little breath of surprise as her reward.

“I got up early to see you this morning, Mistress,” Sunset murmured, lightly kissing Twilight’s cheek. “Thank you for these as well, I slept better than I have in days.” She wriggled out from behind Mistress and shook one of her hooves. Or, well, more appropriately the sleeve of her far too long pajama shirt. She loved the things, how loose they fit an’ all. And judging by Mistress’ warm, cute smile, she liked the way Sunset looked in them with her messy morning mane.

A little hum escaped Sunset when Mistress leaned in and returned the kiss. “I’m glad you like them,” Mistress said warmly before her eyes darted to the clock. “Lunch at one today, okay? I’ve got no idea how long the interviews will go this morning, and I’d like to make sure I can take a long lunch.” She leaned to nuzzle against Sunset’s cheek, sighing softly. “I’m sorry things’ve been so busy, Love. I promise that this ridiculous nonsense won’t last much longer.” Sunset nodded. Perhaps more consoling than the increasingly vibrant little moments was Mistress’ own dislike of the whole situation. It was nice to feel like she was one with her again

“I know,” Sunset said. “I trust you, Mistress. And… well, it’s not so bad. At least I don’t get in your way being here.” Blegh. That could’ve come out her mouth better, but all she could think about as she said it was having to readjust again after it was all over. Then there was that other thing even further along… but Sunset hid that away in the same place she had shoved that day with Fluttershy. Both were in a corner of her mind she chose not to wander. But regardless, it seemed that life would never be content to let her live without some momentous change, no matter how happy she was. Whatever. She’d deal with it. After all, she was still around right?

“Will you be at Rarity’s most of the day?” Mistress asked, jolting her out of her thoughts. And a good thing too. Had she allowed herself to answer without being fully aware of what she was doing, she might have blurted what she really did half the time she was supposed to be over at that… ugh, no words she knew were apt enough. “What’s she still needing help with now that she’s moved in all the way?”

“Well…” Sunset replied, and she let her full displeasure show in her tone at least. But honestly, whenever she was actually at Rarity’s, she was sure anypony would be as irritated as she got. “Apparently...” she rolled her eyes, “apparently the paint on the walls inside lost it’s ‘shine’ while she was gone, so I’m helping her repaint the place one room at a time. Why didn’t she wait to unpack, Mistress? I wouldn’t have to be moving half the furniture I am now.”

Mistress chuckled a little with an amused shake of her head. “Because it’s Rarity, Sunny. That’s actually fairly standard for her. She never trusts first impressions when it comes to the style of something.” Oooo… Yes, even Mistress would be annoyed, judging by that eye roll. “Don’t ask me to explain how it works. I certainly don’t have her eye for fashion or her keen instincts in the world of sales. At least she isn’t replacing her floors again.” Mistress paused her eyes looking around, and Sunset waited. Mistress sometimes had to think about things separately from saying something unrelated. “So, how are you two getting along now, hm?”

“You know, I keep telling her she should just hire some - Oh… yeah, that. We… uh, deal with each other mostly,” Sunset started to explain the most grating aspect of having to paint with her, but caught herself midway through. “It’s… weird. Pinkie had a good word once I’d use… um… Oh! Yeah, frenemies. That’s the best way I explain it.” She sighed expressively. “It’s not so hard as it was, Mistress, I’ll admit for you, but I still don’t like being in her house. Meeting her on the street wouldn’t be so bad maybe.” She actually meant that one. Seeing her in the market, probably insulting what she’d bought, and maybe eating ice cream with her… Sunset could do that and come away with a neutral mood.

“Well, hopefully we can get to something a little better with some more work,” Mistress said brightly, and despite Sunset’s intensity, she ignored the flat stare. “Right, I’d better get on top of this, Sunny.” She kissed her warmly once more on the lips and nuzzled her cheek. “Good luck today. Make me proud.”

Sunset smiled faintly at her, and Mistress hurried off toward the door while glancing at the top of one of her lists.

~~~~Tuesday Afternoon~~~~

Sweet Dreams’ Ice Cream Parlour

“And I’m pretty sure she’s gonna make that Silver Shill guy the accountant or whatever,” Sunset giggled over the outside table, a glorious triple stack before her. “He’s so… bland…” She more than giggled this time. “What a rude awakening he’s in for.”

“Well, do remember he had to deal with Flim and Flam for quite a long while.” Her company smiled faintly, sipping on something frozen and fruity. “I’m told he’s got an excellent head for numbers though.”

“Lyra!” Sunset said, exasperated. “I’m trying to make light of all this by making a joke. You’re not helping very well.”

“Wise pony say one must look for humor in the most unlikely of places.” Lyra Heartstrings arched an eyebrow at her, a faint smile on her face. “Besides, I don’t think anything could prepare anypony for the madhouse you live in, Miss Shimmer. No offense.” She winked. “You ponies are ca-ray-zee, even by my standards. And I live with Bon Bon.”

“Bon Bon isn’t crazy,” Sunset sighed. “... that’d be you.”

“Why does everypony think I’m the nutty one?” Lyra idly wondered, sipping happily at her smoothie. “I’m not the pony with a serious neat-freak on or the anger management issues. Is it the meditation and martial arts thing?” She headtilted, grinning slightly at her. “Or is it my supposed peculiar obsession with mythical history?”

“Your sense of humor,” Sunset answered dryly, taking a large bite of her ice cream and only slightly regretting the brain freeze. “Nopony knows when you’re making a joke. Like, ever. See, you can tell in me, yeah?”

“Oh, I’m afraid that doesn’t work. Rumor has it that you don’t have a sense of humor.” Lyra smiled slyly, sucking the last of her fruity concoction out with a seeming total immunity to the brain-freeze effect. “You’d need to have one to laugh at my clever jokes and wicked satire.”

“Well, if you’re referring to the decent life stealer in the boutique across town, there’d be where my sense of humor went,” Sunset said with a slight intonation there in the end. She’d chosen to skip out on going to Rarity’s place today. As she so often did. And truth be told, hanging out with Lyra for the afternoon usually ended with something close to a genuine smile on her face. A far better result than the alternative.

“What, gembutt? Pft, nah. I don’t run in her rumor circles.” Lyra chuckled richly, shaking her head. “That’s Bon Bon’s gag. Though last I heard, she’s been trying to make some other ponies stop talking smack about you.” That was one of the funnier things about Lyra. She’d gotten from… somewhere… a remarkably excellent grasp of the ancient slang. “No, I’ve been getting worried talk from Dash of all mares. I think she’s afraid you’re cracking up.”

Sunset chose to ignore Lyra’s little spiel about Rarity. It was better for her sanity and keeping the universe from imploding. However, “Well, she’d be right. Or at least close to it. When we can just chill around like this it helps. Too many ponies’re meddling with my life and Mi - and Twilight’s to be frank.” Sunset took another bite of her treat, admittedly smaller. “I dunno. I know it’ll be over soon, to some degree, ugh I don’t wanna think about that all that much, but yeah. I’ll make it through this mess everypony seems to think is so great, but I’m just worried none of its gonna be the same anymore. And then everypony’s gonna insist to me that it is.”

Lyra hummed, waving a complex series of gestures at one of the waiters and getting an ‘okay’ gesture in return before turning back to Sunset with a curious look. “You ever try taking all of the maple syrup out of the bottle and then putting it back in?”

“With or without magic?” Sunset grinned. She thought she knew where Lyres was going with this, but why not have a little fun with it?

“Without, naturally. Magic is cheating no matter what you use it on.” A few moments later, a deep, dark chocolate milkshake slid onto the table in front of her, and Lyra eyeballed it greedily. “Bon Bon taught me that.”

“Sounds like an earth pony argument to me,” Sunset said, barely containing the laugh in her voice. “Couldn’t imagine why she’d go that route.”

Lyra took a slurp, with a shadow of a smile in her eyes. “Well, think about it. Lets say you knew some kind of spell that could magically put everything back the way it was, but it didn’t fix any of the problems that caused the issue.” She took another slurp, and chuckled softly. “Now, the right question you should’ve asked me is ‘how did the syrup get out of the bottle in the first place?’”

“Enlighten me,” Sunset said, arching her eyebrows and deliberately taking her next spoonful extra slowly.

Lyra hummed, leaning back to regard her carefully. “When Whispering Wind first took me on as her student when I was a young filly, she asked me the same question. She told me that until we know every dimension of a problem, we cannot hope to solve it. Your bottle could have a crack in it, or maybe somepony dropped it.” She arched an eyebrow right back, smiling. “Maybe you dropped it. Maybe it got knocked over accidentally. Maybe someone stole the bottle and left the syrup all over the floor.” She paused. “Waste of maple syrup, though. Such a shame.” She took another suck of her milkshake. “And maybe…” She paused, drawing the word out slowly.

“What’s the point?” Sunset asked, not exactly dreary, but her voice did sound a little that way. “I swear to the moon, why can’t the problem just say ‘Oo! Look! I’m here!’ then take it’s merry little bum away and let us solve it. Oh no, it has to constantly shove itself in our face and make sure to ruin all our plans and memories and always make sure we remember what a pain in the flank it is and hot damn… It’s frustrating and irritating and obnoxious okay?”

Lyra watched and listened very attentively until she ran out of stream, sucking happily on her milkshake. Once Sunset ran out of words, Lyra popped back up. “Do you feel better after talking a lot like that?” She tilted her head curiously. “You tend to use a lot more words when you’re frustrated. Is it relaxing in some way?”

“It didn’t make the problem go away,” Sunset said flatly, “but… well, yeah I suppose. You’re the first pony I think who’s listened to me the whole way through something like that though, so I don’t really have a point of comparison.” She paused. Lyra was right, no matter how much she didn’t want to admit to what degree. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be a little more sincere and get it out of her system. “You know, if everypony would just stop thinking I can… or even should dammit!… just, just alter what I know is right to make somepony else feel better about herself. Nopony would be in this situation if the hoof pointing was in the right direction.”

“Mm,” Lyra wasn’t quite agreeing with her there, but it was a positive noise. “Having conviction is not a bad thing.” She grinned cheekily. “But, you know, I may enjoy having a certain amount of mess to my room, but it drives Bons absolutely mental. I’m not saying it’s a direct comparison, but…” She shrugged her shoulder. “You know.”

“Well, duh, no offense,” Sunset replied. “That’s in the little things. The big, life altering decisions don’t - ”

Lyra’s voice was as sharp as a blade, “Are no different, when you get right down to them. Partnership…” She raised a hoof, and used it to draw attention to the glittering gold ear-ring with Bon Bon’s cutie mark on it. “... is about more than just the little, everyday domestic things. It’s about when the going really gets rough, and you’ve got to make the hard choices, you make them together. And sometimes,” Lyra leaned back, looking… oddly sad, with that smile on. “That means you don’t get to have everything you want. No matter how hard that might be.”

“Rarity…” Sunset paused. “She’s not a thing or course of action that has a middle to it….” She sighed and looked around absently at the other parlour patrons. “It feels like it’s so much more than that now though, what with the way it seems like everypony and her sister wanted to get involved. Things just got compounded ya know?”

Lyra giggled faintly. “Well, she is a princess. And a very young one at that.” She tossed her mane and slurped up the last of her milkshake. Sheesh, had she really finished it that fast? The mare was a bottomless pit for sweets. “I agree, It can be very hard on somepony when it seems like all the world wants what you have.” Her smile turned very gentle all at once, and she reached across the table and squeezed her hoof. “I know that you'll find your way, Kiddo. It just might take you a little longer than most others." She leaned back, grinning. "I wish there was more I could do other than spout the nonsense my Sensei keeps beating into my head.” Her smile turned into a sudden, bright grin. “Maybe you should come to practice with me sometime?”

“Martial arts? Me?” Sunset nearly laughed in disbelief. “Ha! As if. Mistress keeps me away from things that aren’t necessarily good for me, but I know all on my own that’s not a good idea. I mean, I know better than to trust myself with that sort of thing. Thank you though.” She ended her thanks with a smile and her last scoop of the ice cream. Lyra was so funny sometimes. “I’ll make it through I think, yeah? Once Princess Celestia finishes up with her plans with Mistress anyway. The fewer ponies involved, the better.”

“Mmm. Sometimes you need to boil down to essentials.” She did a little athletic twist of her shoulders and leaned back with a satisfied smile. “But if you need somepony to just rant at, don’t be afraid to give me a holler.”

“Isn’t that what you just did?” Sunset asked with and amused, rueful smile.

Lyra just grinned back at her, and winked.

Sunset rolled her eyes.

~~~~~Friday~~~~~

Ponyville

Ponyville had a weird vibe to its streets unlike any other place Sunset had ever visited throughout Equestria. And that counted for no small number of places as she had accompanied Princess Celestia on many of her royal tours. Ponyville was different though. A pony could either be completely and utterly overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds, and streaming colors; or, as was Sunset’s case now, tune them out entirely. It was strange. No middle ground existed. And there were enough interesting places to wander aimlessly (at least in the center of town) that she was sure could do as much for an entire afternoon without ever running out of locations to drift toward.

Several times now, she had made to turn her path to vaguely make for Rarity’s boutique, but her motivation was never strong enough for her to carry through with it. She supposed that was due partly to having skimped on meeting with her that morning like she had been ‘supposed’ to, but not wanting to be around her in general probably played a bigger role. But at the same time, even with being able to ignore stares or distractions in the streets, she wanted to be somewhere. Thanks to Princess Celestia though, she couldn’t very well go home. Not to mention Mistress would likely be pretty cross with her if she found out Sunset had skimped on Rarity.

Celestia. Her name was beginning to put a bad taste in her mouth. She didn’t… hate her, like she had before, but she definitely wasn’t encouraged to talk or associate with her. But what was worse, she couldn’t truly be sure if her assumptions were true. It certainly felt like the princess was on a purposeful mission to keep Sunset and Mistress from enjoying each others’ company like proper lovers. But, at the same time, Sunset had never seen the princess really go wrong on smaller things. Like this. Compared to somepony like Discord anyway. There was always a nagging doubt in the back of Sunset’s mind that all that was making her uncomfortable with these whole series of events was just an unfortunate and unintended byproduct.

She would look like an utter fool if she barged in randomly, accusing Princess Celestia of attempting to sabotage her relationship with Mistress. Especially if the opposite were true. On the flip side though, the way the princess emphasized her or Mistress having something to do that day, every day, kept Sunset from calling herself out.

There were a good number of days, like now, where she wondered how long it had been since Celestia had had a true, devoted lover. Certain things would stay the same in love, of course, but things definitely changed too. Perhaps royals typically didn’t spend time with a mate in the time the princess was drawing reference from. No! That was flimsy, and Sunset knew it. She didn’t want to believe it, as she had no real course of action as to how to counter it, but it was looking more and more like Princess Celestia didn’t approve. Or, at least she didn’t approve about certain things.

Sunset could accept that. There were loads of ponies in Ponyville alone who disliked it when Mistress went out in public with her, especially when they were dressed for an occasion of some sort. She’d gotten looks, mail, and every other thing under the sun except (and sometimes even so) shouting dislike. However, for Sunset, she didn’t feel the princess had a ‘right’ as it were, to interfere as she saw fit. That was the line she had crossed. Advice, of course. Counseling, sure. Direct action to the contrary, absolutely not. And she hadn’t even really had a chance to talk to Mistress about what she thought. Mistress mostly just wanted to get it over with. Out of the way.

Rarity was bad, but at least Sunset could ignore her and not have her constantly trying to tug Sunset his way and that. She respected Sunset, in a way (she guessed) that Princess Celestia never really would. And it was odd in a way, comparing the two of them. Rarity knew most of what there was to know about Sunset and Mistress whereas the princess knew next to nothing. And yet, she didn’t try to use that. Just… just like Fluttershy...

She squinted her eyes shut and shook her head rather violently. Why did those memories, marred by equal parts happiness and regret, keep intruding on her so much lately? She’d done with them what she always did with things she wanted to never remember ever again. And it had always worked for those times, no matter how intense or dramatic the memory was. Yet this, especially in the past few days, had continually found a way to break free into her loose thoughts. She didn’t want to think she felt weighted, tired, but she slumped against a wall inside a short alley regardless.

Everything about that night was a vivid scape of emotion and sensation. Yet despite all the details she could still recall from it, she couldn’t for the life of her understood why it had all happened in the first place. She’d tried reinforcing her stuffing into a dark corner of her mind by insisting to herself that she had just been emotionally unstable and unable to rationalize. A simple mistake she really didn’t have all that much control over. But that obviously hadn’t been strong enough, considering how much it plagued her.

In the end, she supposed it was guilt. Guilt over having not asked Mistress first and having been upset over the possibility over Mistress doing the very thing she did. And worse, it was a guilt she couldn’t rid herself of. It was the last thing she thought Mistress needed to deal with on top of everything else, and after all Mistress had been trying to do for her (getting them both through Celestia’s increasingly odd suggestions), how much of an ungrateful slut would she look like? She buried her face in her hooves, not crying, but just letting herself give up for a few moments. Let all of it seem to flow out and over her shoulders. Be rid of it all for a few fake moments.

She breathed in deeply, taking it all back in and steeling herself. Why? It was the catch all question for everything that had happened. Nothing seemed to have a complete answer or ponies didn’t want to give one at the very least. Was it really guilt? Or… was it all guilt? Everything? Fluttershy? Rarity? All the things she’d done to hurt other ponies? Had she hated just to hide guilt she didn’t think she could rid herself of? And in that single moment, one thought flew through her head that froze any sense of self-pity or confusion.

It was the strangest feeling, thinking she needed to hate Rarity, remembering how, remembering what it felt like inside… but not being able to. She still didn’t want to talk to her, didn’t want to see her, didn’t want to eat with her, or anything of the sort, but she couldn’t rationalize out why anymore. And after a fashion, it terrified her. It really had been one of the few things keeping her going for the past few days, determinedly not going to the boutique.

And just like that, it was gone. Poof. An odd series of memories and emotions seeming to logic it away without her consent. What had replaced it, she didn’t know. Not yet. But she couldn’t run from it any longer. Not Fluttershy, not Rarity, not even the special warmth gathering in her belly. She would talk to Mistress somehow, and laying it out to somepony else she trusted would help her sort it out better than letting it fester and mutate in her brain. It wasn’t exactly a run, but she did hurry back to the library at a decent trot.

~~~~~Saturday~~~~~

Golden Oaks Library

Sunset wandered about the top floor of the library, tossing open any of the windows on the three floors that weren’t exposed to the hot sun. It was extra warm today, and anything to cool off the inside was welcome. She considered setting up a chilling spell, but frankly she wasn’t certain to what extent that would affect the magic keeping the tree alive. All the same though, the heat today was good for one thing.

It kept her inside. It forced her to think. And it meant Mistress wouldn’t be out for very long.

She’d run back home yesterday, but at the last minute, her common sense had kicked in and stopped her from actually going inside. Mistress hadn’t been expecting her back until later that evening, and despite how much having to wait around with all the muddled thoughts on Rarity buzzing around in her head sent her to pacing, she’d managed to save face. And now, she was better off in more ways than one. She’d be able to talk to Mistress without looking like a completely disobedient and disrespectful filly, and she’d had time to settle. Think.

She thought, perhaps, that Princess Celestia had done some good by showing her where her real issues were. True, Rarity had been wrong and a little more than obnoxious when she’d come back, but at least she had actually tried to apologize. No, it wasn’t Rarity, not entirely. It was Sunset’s interactions with everypony else. She knew herself pretty well now, thanks to Mistress, and if her past was any indication, it took her time to figure out how best to deal with the larger conflicts in life. It seemed to her that Rarity was no exception and that everything that had thus gone wrong had been the result of everypony else trying to force this plan or that type of apology down her throat. They’d wanted normalcy even more than her.

And finally having come to a vague idea of how she could deal with Rarity, she needed to let everypony else know as much. Get them all out of her mane and off her plot and let her do her thing. If she failed, then she’d be more than willing to do anything and everything Mistress suggested without an ounce of deviation. But as it was her problem, she’d take a stab at it first.

She huffed out, crawling into a reading sofa and lamenting her lack of appealing attire. Mistress just hadn’t had time as of late to decide and lay something out for her, and Sunset frankly didn’t think she could even come close to guessing what Mistress might be in the mood for on any given day. She pulled a small book of simple poetry off the shelf and sipped at her hot chocolate (soy sauce added and pointedly forgotten about) while perusing the passages. The more relaxed she was when Mistress came home, the better this would all be. And the sooner it would be over at that.

She was, eh, about three quarters through with her cocoa when the latch could be heard being turned from outside. She quietly shut her book in anticipation and tried to not overdo her look of ‘ease’. It was hard to look normal when one had so much to look ahead to.

The door swung open with a little bang against the wall, making Sunset jump in place. Odd, Mistress normally never let the door swing like that… Whatever. She needed to stop attaching meaning to every little thing. Her nerves were getting to her more than she’d thought they would. Mistress came through the door at something between a run and a walk, doing a fast spin in place before spotting Sunset and putting on a bright smile. “Oh, there you are! Good, good, I was worried you might be out or… or something.” She tripped over her words a little, but there was an unmistakable warmth in her voice.

“No…” Sunset said lightly, looking down and scratching at the sofa with her hoof for a brief second before looking back up. “I thought about going out and getting some kinda snack with Lyra while you were gone Mistress, but it’s honestly too hot to go out without needing to.” She paused. “Do you need some water, Mistress?” She did look like she was sweating a bit.

“No, no, I’m fi-ne!” Her voice cracked a bit, but she took a breath and shook her head. “Fine. I’m fine. You’re fine.” She stopped, then nodded as though agreeing with herself. “Right. Um. Sorry, I’m a little scatterbrained. Are you feeling okay?” She sounded concerned, for some reason.

“I can tell,” Sunset replied, straining a smile. “And why would… oh, horseapples,” Sunset trailed off, interrupting herself. “It’s not really that anything’s wrong… exactly. I think I’m a little better right now, actually.”

“Oh! Oh… Oh good.” A great deal of tension went out of Mistress’ shoulders, something she was glad to see. “Um… So!” She perked up, going bright and chipper as Pinkie Pie. “What’ve you been up to this week? I know you’ve been very patient with all this buggery with Princess Celestia…”

“Could… could we talk about the princess, to be exact, Mistress?” Sunset asked, swallowing a little harder than she’d meant. There. Done. Out in the open, almost, mostly. Whatever. She’d get there. She was warming up. Yeah. That was it.

“Oh, sure!” Mistress seemed just a hair too enthusiastic about that, for some reason. “I mean, it’s not like I’d want to keep anything important from you.” She put on a big smile, her tail swishing back and forth on the floor. “I mean, that’s why we’re a team right?”

“Uh… yeah?” Sunset said, a little put off. Mistress was strange a lot of the time, but that was just… straight awkward even for her. Granted, she wasn’t here so much anymore, particularly when the princess was conducting her business. The stress must’ve been getting to Mistress more so than she’d thought. “So… that’s why I wanted to talk to you about Princess Celestia. Um… right. She, well, I think she ought to go back to Canterlot now. As in, now, now.”

Mistress looked awful confused, then. “Sunny, Celestia left for Canterlot yesterday afternoon. She’s not due back until Tuesday.” She tapped her hooves together and looked awfully lost. “I could’ve… I could’ve sworn I told you that. She’s just coming back to… ah…” She gulped visibly, and looked down. “To finalize some things that we really ought to talk about.”

“Well good!” Sunset brightened considerably. Phwew. This was going to make things cities easier. “It may have gone over my head,” she admitted. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately, so I don’t think she should come back. It’s not necessary. In my opinion anyway.”

“Well, it’s not really up for a debate.” Mistress wasn’t testy, just kind of… worried about something. “We’ve got one last important matter that needs addressing, and it really is something we need to talk about.”

“But… “ Sunset caught herself. She couldn’t sound desperate. She reigned herself in, trying to rest her head against the back of the couch. “I can handle it Mistress. I know I can. It just took me a bit to figure out why and how, that’s all. What if the princess comes back and she doesn’t like my solution? But we do? It’ll just be a massive ball of stupid. And it’s not too late, really! You could still write her and explain we’re fine. There’s plenty of time to be courteous about it, if that’s what you’re worried about, Mistress.” She smiled, hoping she hadn’t said too much. Those last few sentences had run on a bit… fast.

Twilight blew out a frustrated breath, and stared at the wood surprisingly sullenly. “Sunset, I just… I just want to make sure everything is okay with you. I know none of this has been as easy as we’d hoped it would, but I want to trust that Princess Celestia knows what’s best. Can I trust you to trust me?” She looked hopeful enough, biting at her lower lip.

“Well, I could turn that around in a way Mistress,” Sunset said, forcing down her feelings of affront and trying to be as cooly focused as Mistress often was. “It's my fault all of this is happening. It just takes me a while to sort things out and decide how I’ll handle stuff. I think I can make good with Rarity, really, I do, and I’m going to do that today! Really! I am! But, the princess coming back will only make that harder than it needs to be, and I…” What was it? When she thought about it without trying to hide, what was it that was so confusing to her? It wasn’t how. Or when. Time changed ponies, she knew that better than most.

Why… It was why. Why hadn’t she been able to hold onto her conviction? Why did she feel like she should properly mend things with Rarity? “I really do wanna talk about… what I feel in here…” she tapped her chest and her took a breath, feeling a lot more energy drain out of her than she anticipated, “About Rarity I mean.”

Mistress’ eye twitched a little. Not a good twitch either. Her breathing turned erratic, and a host of emotions crossed her face in rapid succession. Sunset couldn’t help but feel a little confused, until… “Th...Then you should j-j-just go talk to Rarity then, shouldn’t you!” she barked out, her voice cracking mid-word. “I’ll be f-fine here, by m-myself!”

“Isn’t… Isn’t that what everypony’s wanted all this time?!” Sunset snapped back instinctively, and despite trying to keep her voice from rising, she wasn’t sure if she had.

Mistress went silent, her butt hitting the floor with a quiet thump. This wasn't good. She was shutting down her emotions, going all stupidly logical on her. She'd seen it before, and it was never a good sign. “Yes, I suppose it is,” Mistress said in an almost maddeningly calm voice. “Sorry, I sort of…. lost control there. I apologize.” She shook her head slowly. “Go… go see if you can sort these things out, Sunset. I’ll trust you to… to know what’s best for you.” She smiled brightly, almost too much so. “And if everything… ends up s-sorted out, I’ll write Celestia and tell her it’s all taken care of.”

“What… what’s going on Mistress?” Sunset asked, climbing out from the couch and approaching her. “What’s going on? Maybe I can help? I mean, I know you do that for me most of the time, but nopony says a filly can’t try to help her Mistress every now and again.” This was all very, very odd. And Sunset couldn’t get rid of the crease in her forehead for the life of her.

Twilight shook her head shortly. “I just-” She stopped, her voice halting on the words. “I would-” She snarled in her throat and jerked her head back and forth. “If you wanted to be with somepony else, you could’ve just told me and saved us all a lot of headaches!” Her head smacked back into her chair, her eyes closed tightly. “I wouldn’t have been angry at you! It’s not like I don’t know you love Fluttershy to bits too. She’s practically family already!” Sunset felt her throat tighten into silence, with Twilight breathing heavily over and over again. “I know I’m stupid sometimes, but you could’ve at least talked to me about it! I’ve just been trying to… to… to keep you happy too…” Her voice began to break down, her head sagging into her lap. “And I can’t even get that right… What the fuck was all of this about with Rarity then!?” Her words came out in a burst of profanity that was utterly unlike her... and sounded desperate for answers.

Sunset paled. She couldn’t ever recall the sensation before and had chalked the description up to colorful literature. But she could feel the color draining from her face. How had Mistress found out about that? Not… she hadn’t wanted to hide it, just forget that it'd happened. She’d not been thinking right, she loved Mistress more than anypony else in the world. She wanted to say all of this, try to explain, to repair the damage of her lapse in judgement. But nothing would come out. Her jaw was locked, and her thoughts jumped back and forth between attempts at apology and comfort to outright defensiveness. And she couldn’t seem to find a good middle ground. One didn’t exist.

“It’s… okay,” Mistress half whispered. She was putting on a brave smile of some kind, and gesturing weakly toward the door. “Go do what you need to do to be happy, Sunset. I love you.” Then she lifted both hooves and did a little shooing gesture. “Go… go. B-be happy. Please. I can’t… I can’t… Just go. Go to Rarity. Or Fluttershy. Or wherever you need to go.” Sunset didn’t want to, knew she oughtn’t to. But her mind couldn’t decide on anything else, and she knew at least how to do as Mistress told her. She had shut the door by the time she’d overcome herself, but by then… it was over. She’d just have to tackle everypony one at a time, starting with the pony who was the source of it all. Her hooves dragged on the road to the boutique, and the gravel behind her was wetted a little too.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight sucked in a breath and rubbed away the tears. The library seemed a lot colder than it usually did, even in the heat of the summer’s day. How could she have missed it? Gee, probably because you were a lousy mate, her mind snarked at her, Spending all that time worried about the princess and everypony else when the problem was right in front of your fucking nose. It was unfair, but also fair at the same time. Stupid, stupid, naive Twilight. The problem right in front of you, and you still smack your horn into it like a foal!

She dragged herself up the stairs. It would be easy to busy herself later, to get her mind off of things enough to keep functioning, but right now she wanted to drag her sheet over her head and cry herself to sleep. Really, Twilight. Why should you be surprised? It’s not as though she hasn’t been obsessing over Rarity for three months now. It’s not as though she feels more comfortable talking to Fluttershy than you. It’s not like she hasn’t been giving you every single sign under the sun! Of course it’s none of those things. You’re just a moron because you can’t put the bloody pieces together and realize that she's changed and hasn't changed at the same time, except now she doesn’t even trust you enough to fix it.

Then what did they have? Did they ever have anything? Was it a flash in the pan, a moment’s romance blooming in the heat of desire and need? Was there more, but now buried beneath too many lies and secrets and omissions? Was what she felt utterly irrelevant? She didn’t know. She didn’t even know where to start looking for answers to those questions, much less all of her other questions about what she was going to tell the princess. The only small comfort she had was that Sunset was now undoubtedly on the way to a healthier, more honest relationship with someponies who could take care of her better than she ever could. There was a tiny, matchstick like warmth in that in the middle of the vast wasteland of ice that was her bedroom. At least they had seen her issues for what they were. At least they could take care of her. At least they might be able to help her the way she never could...

She passed her bedroom door, her mind mechanically slamming it shut behind her and blindly grabbing for the nearest parchment and quill. If nothing else, the princess needed to be aware of the goings on. Maybe if she explained her failures, Cadence could tell her where she’d gone horribly wrong. Maybe if she drank enough wine, she could explain her failures without hedging or rationalizing. And maybe if she got drunk enough, she could sleep once the letter was written and pretend this had all been a very awful dream.

Author's Note

First off, I have a request from Inky Jay (My Co-Writer) to make the following statement:

While some plot threads involving side characters may end up as not entirely resolved, that is due to the fact that this story was written to be focused almost entirely on Sunset, Twilight, Rarity and the relationship between them. While we are incredibly flattered by the level of examination and commenting from our readers, we do not have plans at this time to get into the nitty-gritty exploration of the other characters stories. We have tried our best to securely tie off as many plot threads as possible, and we hope you can forgive us for a couple of lingering questions about how certain characters ultimately resolved their own issues. We apologize if this is unsatisfactory, but after much review we have decided that there is no way to fully explain EVERYTHING without derailing the emotional pacing of the story.

As for myself, while I wish I could include every single factor of every single relationship in this narrative, the story is ultimately about Sunset and Twilight (And Rara) and so I must defer to my co-writers convictions on this. This story is as much his as it is mine.

Secondly, I'd like to thank Literary Lord for creating a TV Tropes page for The Two Between, you can find it here - http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheTwoBetween

Ch 9 - Civilized Conversation

~~~~Saturday Night~~~~

Carousel Boutique

Sunset was walking the slightly dimmed streets of Ponyville, the light of the sun fading. It was an odd time to be outside walking, in that strange period that was not quite evening but too early to be night. Neither the sun nor the moon could be seen in the sky, yet there was light to walk by all the same. Not that Sunset was walking all that much. Shuffling would be a better word. Her hooves were dragging the ground despite her efforts to lift them properly, and her head was bowed, mane falling around her face. She feared taking too deep a breath, knowing that if she did, any control holding back her complete sobbing would vanish with it into the Ponyville air.

But at the same time, her tears, falling as they were, felt dry. As though she was crying without being too aware of it. She wanted to stop, find a small alley, and cry her heart out… like her old days in Canterlot. And it wasn’t as though Ponyville was lacking alleys of the sort. In fact, if she’d just collapsed right there in the road, she was sure nopony would be out at this hour to bother her. For no few moments, the images flashed through her mind, the promise of sleep and opportunity to forget for a little while prominent in their clarity. She even stopped, felt her legs beginning to buckle and shake.

Yet, they straightened out, and her head came up. The same force keeping her out of alleyway solitude latched onto those last words of Mistress and denied them. Fiercely refused to accept them. She couldn’t understand why tears continued to streak her face, but she walked taller, determined to return to Mistress the pony Mistress deserved. She’d settle all the conflicts she’d managed to create, prove how much she loved her. And that passion-driven desire fueled her smarter steps and strong rap on the door to Rarity’s boutique.

The boutique was mostly dark at this hour, but a single glittering light on the second floor stood out. It was a little too bright for just candles, but it was far too warm for a fireplace… Shadows moved across the window, and faint sounds tickled at her ears. She waited a courteous amount of time and knocked again, no harder or softer than before. Her eyes naturally traveled to the single lit window where the shadows had appeared, only this time she saw none. Rarity had to be home. Perhaps she was too intensely concentrated on work to have noticed the knocking. The boutique was closed to customers after all.

Sunset hesitated for but a moment before using her magic to override Rarity’s own locking spell on the door and quietly ease the door open and herself inside. She slid it shut just as gently, her skills as a thief and sneak never having truly abandoned her despite her desire to never use them again. However, she reasoned that if there were ever a good time to delve back into that part of herself, saving her relationship with Mistress was good a one as ever.

Oddly enough, the tiny noises she’d heard from outside were just as muffled in the boutique. Still, they were very definitely coming from upstairs, and her hooves as soft and careful as could be, Sunset ascended the staircase. It wouldn’t be too far to go. But… as she wound her way up, and the sounds began to become clearer, her brain couldn’t help but recognize some rather specific… Wait… is that a… cracking sound? … From dragon hide?

“Oh, hai Sunny! What’re you doin' here so late?!”

Sunset thought her mane might have stood perfectly vertical the way her nerves shot with adrenaline at the sound of that distinct filly’s voice. Oh, what a time to be stopped by a foal. Breaking and entering, tear streaks on her face, and… sounds… coming from farther upstairs. Still, standing and only looking like she had permanently jumped out of her hooves (she couldn’t be sure about that one) wouldn’t make it any better. “Hi, Sweetie Belle,” she said, keeping the ruefulness out of her tone surprisingly well. Eh, maybe not exactly. It ended up being replaced by a foal-weary voice. “I could ask the same thing you know.”

“Oh, Momma and Poppa have gone on vacation to Las Pegasus.” She bounced in place, smiling happily. “They said something about needing some private time?” She shrugged, her voice squeaking just a little at the end. “So I’m staying with sis for a week or two. So now it’s your turn.” She grinned cheekily, looking very curious. “Are you coming to um…” Her ears cutely flopped over as she tilted her head, obviously looking for a word. “Um… Romance?”

“I meant, shouldn’t you be in bed?” Sunset replied, not harshly, just with a hoof over her face. After the day… she wasn’t in the mood to talk about romance at the moment.

“Oh, I was just getting a snack since Sis is busy with her workout routine.” She proclaimed this with absolute self-assuredness. “I’m reading the newest Daring Do book, and it’s kinda hard to put down…” She grinned sheepishly, digging her hoof into the ground. “Um. Don’t tell Rarity, please?”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile. Would she be able to enjoy little moments like this that were all hers some day in the future? “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said. “Besides, that’s better than what I did at night when I was your age. But go back upstairs before you risk it too much. I’ve gotta talk to your sister, so… yeah. Go back and enjoy your book, Sweetie.” She didn’t wait long for the little filly’s response, just enough to see a quick nod before she continued up the stairs.

A few more tentative steps up the stairs, and Sweetie went cantering past her with a surprising lack of sound, a bag of cheesy-poohs held happily in her mouth. Sunset slowed her pace nearer the door. The sounds weren’t there anymore, and she privately hoped she had just been imagining things from everything she was on the cusp of losing and rescuing. She certainly didn’t think she had the energy to walk in on Rarity doing whatever she did at night and make it through that conversation.

The door creaked open before she could even lift her hoof. Rarity stood hidden behind it with an unreadable expression on her face, waiting silently for a few moments before gently sighing. “Sunset, I…”

“Rarity, I need to talk with you and be completely honest with myself and… you…” She, well, she did somewhat shove her way in, but she wasn’t beating around the bush with this nor allowing Rarity to perhaps evade from the conversation. But when she entered the room, intending to be as earnest yet private as possible, everything around her gave her a decent mind wipe for a good several seconds.

For one thing, the place was sort of a mess. Not in the typical ‘Mistress has been busy’ mess, but more in the sense that the pony who lived here wasn’t in the best mental state. Half-started design pages were strewn across the desk, the makeup collection was heavily disorganized… It wasn’t like Rarity, but that wasn’t what was grabbing her attention.

It was the the heavy rope, knotted into a ready made bondage harness hanging next to a series of suits she’d seen Rarity wearing since she’d come back. It was the used-up stubs of soft candles with a pile of wax fragments in a box marked ‘recycle’. Some kind of… it looked like some kind of shiny full-body suit… rubber possibly. The lone ponyquin in the room with a very substantial strap-on attached to it, leaning against the wall in the closet. The box of hurriedly removed bondage gear next to it still slick with sweat.

There was probably more than she didn’t see. And Rarity was wearing a bathrobe, tightly pulled over her body as she glanced away. Sunset moved automatically, not quite knowing what she was doing but… “Show… show me,” she said, more quietly than she thought herself possible of being. Rarity’s mouth opened for a moment as though to object, but then shut with a snap and shrugged the shoulder of her robe off, showing the very faint signs of tight bondage against her coat, with the signs of it having been going on for a while.

Rarity didn’t look back at her, pulling the robe back up. “There. Now you know.” Her voice was oddly detached, but there was a degree of… relief? “Now say what you’ve come to say and leave me in peace. It’s not as though it matters if anypony else knows now.”

“You call that peace?” Sunset felt herself whispering, gesturing to the modified ponyquin, her tone disbelieving but well beyond concerned. “Or this?” She sat down on her flank rather abruptly and pulled her eyelids up with her fore hooves, exposing her tear red eyes. “I never should have believed it was or tried to convince anypony else of the same thing.” She stood again and idly looked around the room, deliberating not lingering on Rarity’s impressive array of items. “That was really lousy of me,” she half laughed, sounding a touch crazy. But it was short lived, and she found herself looking Rarity in the eye for a while before she spoke again. “I might as well grit my teeth and get over myself,” she said. “I’m sorry Rarity. I really, really am sorry for the complete bitch I’ve been. Too wrapped up in… me… to see anypony else, even Mistress…”

She slumped against the wall, suddenly exhausted. Or maybe it was relief. A release of weeks and weeks of tension and anxiety all let out at once. A small huff escaped her chest. Rarity looked a little shocked, her jaw hanging open for a full minute before she closed it slowly, her eyes narrowing suspiciously before relaxing a little. She kept trying to talk, but it just kept not happening. When she finally did talk... “It’s the only peace I get to know,” she said quietly, looking away as though embarrassed. Then, a little more sharply, “I didn’t…” She took a deep breath and kept speaking. “I didn’t… think-”

“Well, we’re two of a kind in that department then,” Sunset cut her off. “You forgive me? I can’t… I can’t take back what I’ve put you through and caused you to…” Her eyes swept the room, “put yourself through. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to see Mistress again…” And her strength broke a little then, her words choking in her throat and unwilling to surface. She closed her eyes and looked away from Rarity, shaking her head. “I fucked up,” she raced out before her emotions could come out with the words.

There was a movement at the edge of her vision, and Rarity was there beside her. “What happened?” It was a quiet, gently concerned voice. She was sitting next to Sunset and had extended a hoof quietly toward her. “I was under the impression that things were fine. Or at least,” her lips twitched up in an amused smile, “that Twilight was handling stress with her usual panache, and you two were closer than ever.”

Sunset took Rarity’s hoof in her own and squeezed, finding that she wasn’t so much leaning against her as they were leaning against each other. “You should be more angry at me,” she said absently. “Look… look what I did to you… Even after swearing I wouldn’t do that to ponies again. Ever. Old habits die hard I guess...”

Rarity faintly sighed. “Sunset… I was angry. Very much so.” She shook her head slowly. “That was why I stayed away for so long. I needed perspective.” She blew out a short, harsh laugh. “That, and I did not wish to hurt my friend because I was angry at somepony she cared for. Hah! As though keeping quiet about things has ever solved a problem between us.” She snorted in a very unladylike fashion and leaned into Sunset just a little. “Sunset, I had believed that I was doing you a favor. That so long as you knew nopony would ever compete with you for Twilight’s affections, it might make it easier for you to join our merry little group of friends. I hadn’t even begun to think about how I might come across.” She sighed, faintly. “I do not think we were prepared for one another.”

Sunset nodded. “I wasn’t prepared to come back. Not really. You think I'm the right pony for Mistress right? I mean, I… was a selfish, self-centered… Is it real, or just me wanting to think it’s real? Did it fall apart because it wasn’t? I think I can still fix it, starting with just being honest with myself and you and apologizing, but that’s just common decency anyway. Something I should've done before it all got this bad.”

Rarity gently laughed. “Sunset, let me tell you a little secret.” She leaned in, a very gentle smile crossing her face. “There’s no such thing as an absolute ‘right’ pony for anypony. Love isn’t that predictable. It’s obscenely obvious she loves you, Sunset. Everything else is bullshit.” The way she said the word was like the crack of a riding crop, and her eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Maybe yesterday, but fat chance now,” Sunset said, even though she knew deep down every word was a straight lie. “She told me to get out. To leave.” She wanted to tell somepony about it all, but just working around to the why of it wasn’t something she wanted the whole of Ponyville knowing. Not even for her sake even. For Fluttershy’s.

Rarity frowned a little, straightening up in place. “I think I need to know what’s been going on over there. The whole story, at that.” She tilted her head toward Sunset, giving her a challenging look. “I promise that I shall be entirely discrete.” She eyeballed the rest of her room with a tolerant smile. “I rather think I’ve at least proven I can do that much.”

“I’m the wrong pony to ask about what’s been going on,” Sunset nearly snarled in a flash of irritation. “Celestia keeps making sure I’m off the premises during the day. Not that I’m gonna let that go on for much longer, but I haven’t got a clue.” She stopped and resisted the desire to wince as the memories of that time returned with a vivid force.

Rarity huffed. “Sunset. Twilight is many things, but irrational is rarely one of them. I must presume there was some sort of disagreement. What was the subject?” She had become more intense, leaning in close to her.

“I was an idiot! Alright!” Sunset very nearly yelled, deliberately looking away so as not to scream at Rarity. “I was emotional and wasn’t thinking right…. Shy and I… had a moment. An intimate moment.” She refused to be more descriptive than that. “And somehow, Mistress found out. Don’t ask me how! I don’t know that either!”

Rarity hummed, putting her chin in her hoof. “Rainbow Dash would be my guess. Fluttershy can’t hide anything from her, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t keep a secret if she locked it up in Fort Hocks.”

“Well, that’s hardly the point,” Sunset swallowed hard. “Mistress told me to go.”

Rarity shook her head. “True.” She hummed, softly. “Which seems very strange to me.” She paused, glancing at Sunset. “But… Was she acting strangely at all? Like,” she paused, laughing faintly again. “Okay, I know Twilight is ordinarily quite strange, but I mean even stranger than that. Perhaps she had a little eye twitch?” She mimicked one that looked awfully familiar.

“Yeah…” Sunset replied, not exactly sure what Rarity would know from just that Sunset wouldn’t. “That mean I can still rescue this mess I’ve made and do right by her and everypony?”

Rarity chuckled softly. “So, she finally cracked. We’ve all been waiting for it.” She sighed faintly. “Sunset, you will come to learn that Twilight… Well, we all love her, but sometimes she sort of wraps her head around something, and it completely distorts her perspective.” She made a little spinny motion with her hoof next to her head, half smiling. “Completely aside from that, I’d wager she probably sent you out of the house because she was afraid she was somehow harming you. That always seems to be the wrench that gets thrown into her works.”

“But I was the one who… It doesn’t make any sense,” Sunset shook her head, gripping it with her hooves. “You think I can do it though right?”

“Why, Sunset! I could’ve sworn you’d realized that this is Ponyville,” Rarity’s voice was quite chipper and cheerful. “Where everything’s made up and sense no longer matters. Whyever do you think Discord makes his home here?” She chuckled brightly, and reached over to touch her shoulder. “I am absolutely certain you can solve your problems, Sunset. Especially with a little help from your friends.”

“Wait, you mean…?” Sunset said, a little stunned and looking back and forth between Rarity herself and where her hoof rested on Sunset’s own shoulder. “You think of me as… friend? After all I did to you?”

Rarity giggled softly. “Sunset, we’ve all made our share of mistakes.” She coughed faintly, turning her head away for a moment to hide a smile. “If we couldn’t find it in ourselves to forgive one another, we wouldn’t have made it this far. Which isn’t to say you didn’t act like a jerk.” She turned, her smile turning into a grin. “But you really weren’t worse than Rainbow Dash at her worst. Or heaven's forbid, Trixie.” Another giggle bubbled up. “And if I can find it in my heart to forgive that ridiculous showmare, I think I can manage with you.” She winked.

And with that, Sunset chose action over words, very nearly leaping up and embracing Rarity. “I don’t deserve ponies like you,” she said, unable to stop the little chuckle of nerves in her chest. But Rarity returned the hug, and that was enough for Sunset. It wasn’t long, but a whole lot of things that had been floating in the air before seemed to have gone when they pulled away from each other. And Sunset suspected it was that feeling that was to blame for what came out of her mouth next. “Rarity, you know, if you really do want to be spanked and whipped, I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be on the other side of the coin…”

Rarity gave a little surprised gasp before descended into soft laughter.

~~~~Sunday morning~~~~

Carousel Boutique

Sunset groaned and curled up into a tighter ball on the soft mattress. It was early, she could tell, judging by the smell of the air. Breakfast wasn’t exactly ready, but it was just beginning to waft tempting smells through the air. She grabbed her side of the blankets and tightened herself up in them, leaning her back against Mistress’s cool side. She began stretching her back legs out a little, and her hooves contacted something extremely cool. A jolt wrapped up her body, and she sat up with a small start.

She wasn’t back home. It wasn’t their bed. Mistress wasn’t there. And it wasn’t Spike’s cooking giving her a subtle wake-up call. She was in Rarity’s boutique, sitting up on a couch with a too small blanket (that was probably for Sweetie) over her middle. Mistress was just the back of the sofa, and the indiscriminate cold the brass ends of the leg rests. Part of her wanted to flop back down and just stare at the ceiling, thinking harder than was good for her, but the cold had woken her up too much.

Instead, she gradually slid off, taking care to properly fold the blanket and lay it back upon the couch. It was the first time in months she hadn’t slept with Mistress, and despite knowing that Rarity was in the next room cooking, she felt truly and utterly alone. She tried convincing herself she was just being silly, that’d everything would be over and better and done before the day was out, but she also realized that mindset wouldn’t come until after she’d been awake for a while. Maybe after a good shower and cup of coffee too.

She trundled into the kitchen where Rarity was indeed working at the stovetops and sat heavily in one of the chairs around the small table.”Good morning.” She wasn’t quite as perky as Spike, but there was a gentle warmth to her none the less. “First mornings away are always the hardest.” Her voice was heavily laced with sympathy as a fresh mug of coffee slid into place in front of her. “I should know.”

“We haven’t broken up,” Sunset said defiantly. “I don’t want to think about it like that.” Not that her body agreed, as her head flumped resoundingly onto the table.

“Not what I meant, dear.” Clattering dishes continued above her head, as the sound of more things hit the table. “One can be temporarily separated from somepony one loves without breaking up.” She chuckled softly, and Sunset looked up to see fresh pancakes before her eyes. “But it’s never easy, especially when you’ve just had a fight. Something I fear I’ve lived through a few too many times for my own sanity.”

“I still don’t wanna get used to waking up on a couch without her,” Sunset said, digging into the pancakes and restraining her habit of eating breakfast without utensils or magic. “Thank you for these by the way, and the couch.” She paused to swallow. “I was thinking I would go someplace for breakfast.”

“Well, perhaps if Sweetie hadn’t run off on yet another adventure we might’ve.” Rarity chuckled brightly, sitting down to what looked like scrambled eggs and toast and already working on her second cup of coffee. “So. You’ve had your first real tiff. Welcome to the world of relationships.” There was something gently teasing in her voice, but also encouraging… which was odd. “Now we must devise how to solve your conundrum.”

“My gut says to march in and run Princess Celestia out of town,” Sunset replied with a sarcastic sense of wry frankness. “But my gut tends to be stupid, so I’m gonna guess that’d be a bad idea.” She shoveled more pancakes in her mouth. Shoveled. Yesterday without dinner had really left her pretty hungry, now that there was actually food in front of her.

“Hmph, I should think so.” Rarity shook her head, and Sunset had to wonder how she got her mane in such good shape in so short a time in the morning. It took her an hour at least to get that kind of shine. “Darling, the princess is not the source of your ills.”

“Well, that’s half-true, kinda,” Sunset managed through the breakfast. “She’s trying to solve problems for me mostly. But I’ve figured out what I need to do to do it myself. So… if she keeps going, don’t tell that won’t make things complicated.” She huffed for a bit in musing thought. “If I can just be alone with Mistress for a few minutes,” she nearly whispered, talking to herself more than Rarity, “and I explain everything, yes, everything, then the princess shouldn’t have a need to stay, and Mistress and I can focus on our f- ”

“Ahem!” Rarity huffed softly, and Sunset felt her cheeks burn at the sudden interruption. “Sunset, allow me to repeat. The princess is not the source of your ills.” She tapped the table, giving Sunset a rather severe look. “Your problem is that you cannot seem to bring yourself to speak frankly to Twilight about things that are clearly important to you.”

“That’s not - !” but Sunset stopped herself before she lied rather blatantly. “No, you’re right. At least not lately. But, that’s why I need to just go in and talk, no nonsense.”

“I question whether the two of you together are capable of no nonsense talk,” Rarity quipped with a little grin before returning to her more serious tone. “Sunset, I will be blunt. You have thus far been incapable of speaking to Twilight when it might result in a confrontation. Likewise, Twilight has been incapable of the same thing.”

“Aaaand…? I know that. I slept on your couch instead of in her wings,” she replied, shivering a little at the mention of Mistress’s soft down. “I messed up, big time. And I will fix it. I just don’t want to go in and make it all worse because I haven’t a clue what I’m actually doing.”

“Tsk. And here I’d thought you’d been speaking to Miss Heartstrings.” Rarity sounded vaguely annoyed at that, which seemed odd.

“I have,” Sunset said, somewhat defensively for Lyra. “But it’s light chatting mostly. If we ever got into anything ‘deep’ she’s kinda odd, so it always came out in some cryptic style.”

Rarity stared at her for a moment, then laughed softly. “Ah, that would explain why. She’s been trying to help you without seeming like a busybody.” She facehoofed gently, then poured herself another cup of coffee, refilling Sunset’s for good measure. “I swear, that mare doesn’t know the meaning of speaking plainly. Allow me to step into her place and clarify then.” She sat up straight, smiling faintly. “You’re a very intelligent unicorn, Sunset. When you’re trying to solve a problem, and the answer keeps coming out wrong, where do you start looking for mistakes?”

“Like, a casting circle function curve?” Sunset asked, more confused than anything. Arcane mathematics were complex, but infinitely more straightforward than this Timberwolves’ nest she’d gotten herself into.

Rarity rolled her eyes a little. “Celestia save me, you are far too much like Twilight.” She poked her hoof toward Sunset. “You start from the beginning and work your way up, of course! Go back to the absolute basics. What is the fundamental reason for all of this hubbub?” She gave Sunset an almost… teacher-like look. As though she was back in class and confronting Miss Inkwell’s disapproving stare.

“Because I’m a selfish prick a lot of the time who thinks she knows how to solve everything by herself?” Sunset posited. It certainly felt like those were the main reasons she wasn’t at home. “Or maybe because I overheard a bad conversation and ended up fucking one of Mistresses best friends?!”

“Those are certainly symptoms, but not the cause.” Rarity actually coughed and looked embarrassed. “Sunset, when you had your… indiscretion with Fluttershy, what was your very first instinct when it came to Twilight?”

“Um, let’s see… ah, NOT TELL HER!” Sunset almost yelled. “What kinda question is that anyway? Why would anypony do something like- ”

Rarity held up her hoof, abruptly cutting her off. “Did Twilight ever tell you that you two were to be exclusive lovers?” The question came out of nowhere, hitting Sunset’s ego upside the head like a rogue piece of fruit.

“She never said we couldn’t… get around,” Sunset admitted. “But it was always something I assumed we’d do together or talk about or something. And it was Fluttershy. I mean, oh, I dunno…”

Rarity half smiled. “Sunset… I have seen many a mare or stallion devoted to another in my time.” She leaned over the table, softly touching her hoof. “You know how deeply she feels for you, do you not? You know how big her heart can be?” Sunset couldn’t help but jerkily nod her head at that. “Then why did you not trust to simply tell her, knowing the depth of her capacity to forgive even if you erred?” She smiled a bit more broadly. “It is not as though you attempted to turn into a horned, mind-controlling demon and take over the world… Again.” Her voice turning slyly teasing all at once.

“I’m fairly certain that wouldn’t even work here in Equestria,” Sunset replied, rolling her eyes. “And couldn’t you come up with something better? I know you can.” She fluttered eyelashes, earning a sigh from Rarity. There was a slight pause in their conversation as Rarity attacked her own breakfast (albeit in a far more lady like manner). “Honestly…” Sunset continued when she had added a few more bites to her gut, “... now that I look back, I think it was more… me. I felt guilty and upset and just let that settle in my brain until I thought that’s how she’d react too. Not that I was wrong really…” She resisted the urge to stab the fork into the table in frustration. “Being straight and honest about all of my mess is only gonna get me so far Rarity,” Sunset said pointedly. “There’s gotta be something more I can do.”

“Mm, true.” In an odd way, Rarity’s lack of an immediate solution was heartening. At least she wasn’t completely ignorant of the solutions to her problems. Rarity took a slow sip of her coffee and looked thoughtful. “Sunset, it’s not my place to pry, but I think it’s past time we put all of our cards on the table.” She set down her mug and leaned forward, giving Sunset a rather direct look. “I think I can help you. But how much I can depends on knowing everything that has been going on. Now, I need you to think extra hard.” She pointed her hoof at Sunset. “Just what exactly were Twilight and the princess discussing that sent you into such a tizzy?”

“It’s bad that I’m… not exactly certain isn’t it?” Sunset cringed, more at herself than anything. Of course, asking Rarity a rhetorical question and expecting nothing back wasn’t going to happen, so she attempted to lessen the damage, adding, “I just kinda walked in and heard them, and context or not… it still upsets me when I think about it for any length of time. But… nothing’s really happened, so I don’t know what was really going on, if that makes any sense.”

“But you still haven’t told me what it is,” Rarity said flatly, obviously becoming impatient.

Sunset took a large breath and huffed out experimentally, mentally ensuring she didn’t run her words together. “Mis… Twilight and the princess were discussing other ponies for her to bang. I think. Probably. That’s what it sounded like.” Well, it didn’t feel any different, having that little bit of information out in the open.

“Mhm.” Rarity looked a little skeptical of that, actually. “Twilight Sparkle was discussing forming a harem with the aid of Princess Celestia.” She paused for dramatic effect, then half grinned at Sunset. “I’d like you to mentally repeat that sentence for me, just… to make certain we’re both absolutely clear on it."

Sunset narrowed her eyes. Of course it sounded crazy, especially when Rarity put it like that, but Sunset knew that something even remotely similar had been the topic of conversation. “Mistress whips my ass before sticking a magic cock in my pussy every other night. I’d like you to mentally repeat that sentence for me, just to make certain we’ve both heard of crazier stuff.”

Rarity lifted her mug of coffee and inclined her head with a smile. “Touchè. Still, you must admit the unlikelihood of such a conversation.” She finished off her mug and set it down on the table with a thump. “I must presume that was not terribly good for your mood at the time, and thus you ran off to Fluttershy’s house.”

Sunset nodded. She really didn’t feel like repeating her terrible lapse in controlling her tendency toward absolute dumb. But at the same time, while her mood might’ve been rather trampled upon by overhearing whatever it was Mistress and Princess Celestia had been discussing, she’d gotten better, much better, at not overreacting. And… deep down, she knew why she had overreacted. Really, why she was in as deep as she was into this mess. She’d tried to not think about it, but… Rarity was asking her to be honest, promising she would return the favor. “Rarity… I’m pregnant.” She didn’t want to feel ashamed, but she bowed her head anyway.

There was brief moment of comical disbelief splattered over Rarity’s face. Then an annoyed, angry look which quickly melted into astonishment and finally transmogrified right into horrified concern. “Oh Faust, that’s….” Rarity muttered, and then ran a hoof through her mane. “Well that would certainly explain a lot!” she half exclaimed, but not accusingly. Then she slumped back in the chair. “You haven’t told her, have you?” Rarity was back to her flat tone of voice again, her eyes slightly narrowed. It was a statement, not a question. “Of course you haven’t. I swear, you two need-” She snapped her mouth shut around whatever that was, even going to the point of shoving her hoof over her mouth.

“Yes….?” Sunset queried. “I was straightforward, what is it?”

Rarity shifted in her chair, staring away from her for a moment and all the energy having drained out of her. Then, as if expecting an explosion, “I was going to say you two needed somepony who can spank you and make you actually talk with one another.” And instantly upon saying it, Rarity winced away.

“Ah, yeah,” Sunset eyed Rarity. “You don’t have to look like I might murder you, you know. I got over myself finally.” Even so, Rarity was taking an awful long time to get back up to chipper. “Listen, Rarity… It’s alright. I know.” She reached across the table to gently squeeze Rarity’s hoof. “I know how hard it can be to get things back to normal. But you certainly didn’t have a problem giving me what-for earlier this week.” She put on her best smile, hoping she could draw the fashion pony back out of that shell.

“I was trying to get used to it again,” Rarity muttered, but squeezed back gently. “I just… Sunset, I need you to understand that whatever else may happen, Twilight is still a very dear friend to me.” Her eyes went wide, just this side of tears. “I owe her so very much. Even the thought of being separated from her life is…” She sniffed a little. “I was so very frightened.”

“Rarity,” Sunset said, not quite forcefully, but enough to stop her before they both ended up crying messes. “I know. That’s why I was upset with you. The very same reason. I just happen to be a blockhead a lot, so I couldn’t tell. As friends… I think we’ll be better off now, but now we’ve got to focus on Mistress.”

“Yes, quite right.” Rarity sniffled and tried unsuccessfully to clear her eyes away. “We simply must restore things to their rightful place.” She hummed, but was obviously not quite ready to let go of Sunset’s hoof. “Well, obviously our first step is we need to sit her down and have a very long conversation about all of this. The best first step to any mess like this is to clear the air, so everypony knows what’s going on.” She sighed gustily. “Once we’ve done that, we can find our solutions as we go.”

“So… on that note, would you be willing to do me a really big favor?” Sunset asked.

“It would be the least I could do, Darling. Whatever did you need?” Rarity’s voice was brightening by the moment.

“Could you talk to the princess before me? I mean, I know that, hard and awkward as it’ll be, I’ll be able to calmly sort things out with Mistress. But I’m not quite sure if I wouldn’t use a magi-blade on the princess’s mane just to be vindictive. Not right now anyway. Oh! And one other thing…” Sunset allowed herself to glance at her belly for the first conscious time in front of somepony else. “Rarity, I’m pregnant!” she hissed. “How does somepony go about dropping that spell?”

Rarity’s smile bloomed broadly. “My best advice, Darling? Start with ‘I love you’ and continue on with ‘So what shall we name the children, then?’” She giggled softly, and Sunset found it hard not to join her.

Ch 10 - (Re)Building Bridges

~~~~Sunday Night~~~~

Golden Oaks Library

The sound of the kitchen door swinging shut was not unlike what Twilight imagined the sound of a tombstone slamming into place over a grave to be like. She didn’t want this. She really, really didn’t want this right now, but Celestia had insisted that speak to Sunset while she converse with Rarity. By the time Twilight had managed to rally a good excuse as to why this was all a terrible idea, she was already alone with Sunset in the room again.

She was not going to cry. She was going to be a big Princess and keep her cool, and not cry. Nope. No crying. Zip. Zero. Her eyes would be a veritable Saddle Arabian desert. She was going to deal with this quickly, firmly, efficiently, and then get the bloody tartarus out of Ponyville before she disgraced her office. “Sunset, I- ” she began, turning back to the pony that had been the source of so much joy and so much heartbreak all in one package.

“Twilight, I’ll be brief to start,” Sunset interjected herself, and Twilight couldn’t really find an excuse to try to shove her way back in. “I’m sorry. So, so, so sorry. Just for not talking with you really,” She paused, bowing her head, and when it came back up, a hopeful but nervous smile lit her face. “Hug before we drag this out like we should have weeks ago?”

“Bwuh?” Twilight felt a gear go loose in her mental works as she tried to wrap her mind around all those unexpected words.”I… Who… What… Where… And with Rarity…” It was just a bit too much. And Sunny seemed to understand. In the span of a second, the mare she loved was against her, wrapping her forelegs around Twilight’s neck. She wasn’t leaning into her form, seeking anything Twilight would need to give. She just hugged her. Hugs were good. Hugs were definitely a positive thing.

Twilight took a deep breath. “Sunset, I don’t-” She halted over her words, trying awkwardly to return the embrace without seeming too desperate for the affectionate gesture. “I really wish-” She halted again, then huffed in frustration. “Okay, I am officially confused out of my mind, and I don’t like it one bit.” She stomped her hoof imperiously, and loudly declaimed in her most petulant voice: “I demand a thorough, complete explanation before I give up on everypony and go on a permanent vacation to the San Pegasino Islands!”

“No!” Sunset pulled away, her face rather desperate and her hooves gripping Twilight’s shoulders. “I mean, sorry. Let me try again.” She breathed in and let her hooves drop. “Let me start with some good news. I’ve resolved my problems in my dumb brain with Rarity. I was being selfish and ignorant to avoid admitting she and I were even remotely similar. It took more happening than it should have for me face myself, but I did, and I can start to call her friend again at least. Good?”

“Well that is certainly… um, good.” Twilight managed to nod slowly, trying to collect her thoughts. It was good. It was spectacular. There was just one tiny problem…”I’m very proud of you S-Sunset. Learning to forgive others is a very important friendship lesson to learn, and I’m glad you’ve found a nice center with her.” She put on her very professional smile. She couldn’t keep taking all of this presence of her. The last thing she needed was to start a row with Fluttershy.

“Um…” Sunset replied, scratching at her foreleg, “No offense, but I thought you’d be a bit happier. I mean… there’s a lot we’ve gotta talk over, but, that’s kinda what caused all this, so at least the source is done and dealt with… yeah.”

“I-I am happy, Sunset. Very much so.” Twilight tried to keep her smile from becoming strained, rubbing at her own leg in an odd mirror of Sunset. “I’m just… I want you to be happy, too.” That was genuine, as genuine as anything she’d said in the recent past. “And not just trying to…” She gulped down the words, wishing she had a better way of saying things.

“I know,” Sunset said simply, nodding as well. “That’s… well that’s why I ended up being able to face my own dumb. I was hurting you more than me being upset at her, and I couldn’t keep willfully doing that. But… what’s wrong? If you’re happy that it’s taken care of… I mean, is it just everything else at this point? What…. what do you want to hear, Twilight?”

“It’s not what I want to hear…” Twilight began to say, then stopped. “No, that’s not right. It’s more that what I want to hear has a caveat.” She looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “I want… I want you to smile for me, Sunset.” It was tough to say it, but one couldn’t be a princess if one couldn’t handle the bad as well as the good. “I want to see you smile for real again. Like you did when I first met you. I want to know that you’re going to be okay.” She tried to smile herself, but it just came out weird. “I want… I want to know you’re going to be happy with or without me.” There. It was out. Now she could finally put this whole nightmare behind...

Sunset just started at her, jaw working but no words coming out. She stayed like that for what seemed like a few very long moments before her hooves came up to her eyes and rubbed them. She blinked several times afterward, and then words came. “WHAT THE HOLY FUCK?” And Twilight was once again enveloped in a hug, but this time, she was being held onto with a fierceness born only from the purer kind of love. "Don’t DO… Don't SAY things like that! YOU! I want YOU! Every bit of your stupid, silly, sexy, OCD plot! Sweet mother of Celestia!” She managed to take a breath, and when she spoke again, she was still greatly impassioned, but managed to lower her volume. “I’ll explain how it all happened, how badly I messed up, but I want you to promise me to tell me you love me afterward, because I love you more than… Oh, fuck this gushy cheesiness! I love you more than anypony else in the world!”

Twilight blanked out for a few seconds at all of that noise and hugging. “You… I…” She blinked, and wondered why her cheeks felt wet all of a sudden. Oh. No. She was crying. Damnit. She found herself hugging back, not entirely sure when her forelegs had started moving. “Of course I promise. But… I just thought…” She stopped, mid-thought, and closed her eyes. “Okay, before we go into long drawn out explanations, I need to know exactly one thing before anything else.” Sunset was watching her expectantly when she opened them up again, and she tried her best to keep calm. She was still crying too, but at least she could talk. “What on earth happened with you and Fluttershy?”

Sunset didn’t stutter or let her mouth fall up or down in sad attempts at speaking. Nor did she gesture or make odd sounds. And thankfully, she didn’t stare into Twilight’s eyes either. She merely sat before her, scratching her chin with her hoof and looking somewhat distant. As if she had certainly heard Twilight and wanted and intended to answer, but wasn’t sure of the best way. That she was trying to choose the best words to use and had quite the library to choose from.

There was a moment where Twilight expected her to begin, where her hoof ceased tapping, but when her eyes darted and met Twilight’s again, she went back to the same twitchy behavior. At long last she spoke, very deliberately and carefully, “I accidentally overheard you and the princess talking about something to do with other bed mares. And I wasn’t in the best emotional state at the time anyway. I ran to Fluttershy’s to talk, and we… Yes, Ma’am, we had sex, and I felt like a complete bag of…”

Sunset stopped as her words began to run together, took a moment to recompose herself and began again. “I was emotional, Fluttershy really was pretty amazing in putting up with me,” she half winced, but kept going, “and I felt terrible afterward for not having asked you about it first. And I bottled it up, and… this is what happened.” She shrugged, clearly unable to go on with anything more coherent.

Twilight took a moment to absorb all of that. Then she exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding before she spoke again. “I’m sorry, Sunset. I wish I would’ve explained what was going on with Celestia, but I was so frightened you wouldn’t take it well.” She put her chin into her hoof and leaned into Sunset’s shoulder. “After what happened with Rarity, I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle the things she was suggesting. So I kept trying to minimize the damage by trying to talk Celestia around to something that would be purely ceremonial.” Her tears had stopped for the moment, but she was still feeling heavily emotionally drained.

But now was not the time for that. She rubbed at her temples. “Okay, so… Here’s the deal with what happened.” And so she told her in the best detail she could. About the new staff, about Celestia rolling out the law… and the reasons she had done so. She didn’t quite bring up the point of the Royal Consort thing yet, though… that… that was something that needed to wait for the right moment now that everything was already blown to some degree of tartarus. But she did insist Sunset would always hold pre-eminent place in her heart.

In turn, Sunset described most of what she’d been going through on her end and why she’d become so distant. Little by little, the puzzle pieces slowly began to come together and Twilight felt incredibly silly for the presumptions she’d leapt to. She would feel stupid later, though. Right now, they still had far too many problems to solve between them, and foremost amongst them was how to handle Celestia’s plans.

“Well, at least I’ll be able to talk to the princess without seeming like a complete idiot,” Sunset smiled, and Twilight felt her own lips turn up. There was a return of that silly, genuine mare she remembered from not a few weeks ago. “But…” Her smile didn’t exactly fall, but uncertainty unlike anything from before settled on her features. Strangest thing was, her smile kept momentarily flashing back, as if she couldn’t decide how to feel. “Twilight… I’m going to… um… I’m pregnant with our foal!” Her last words were definitely a squeal. Definitely.

Twilight opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it again. She tried to be rational and failed utterly. “Oh.” Was all she managed to say, and then tilted her head, and hummed. “Well. That’s… uhm. Wait, how is that possib-” She blanked out, and then everything clicked all at once. “Oh. I overdid it again, didn’t I?” It was a dazed sort of statement, then a huge smile crossed her face. “That’s… wow… I’m… I’m going to pass out now.”

And then she did.

~~~~~~~~

Sunset had seen Mistress, er, oh she didn’t know anymore. Whatever. Her marefriend had passed out on her more than once, so the situation wasn’t exactly foreign to her. But given the circumstances she wasn’t sure yet if she should be happy or glum. She couldn’t really gauge how Mistress felt about having a foal. And as she’d somewhat set herself in a self honest state, that worried her a bit. But she still restrained herself from using a basic revivification spell. She’d heard they weren’t best for a pony’s heart. Instead, she gently cast a light mist and cool air over Mistress until she started to show signs of waking up. “Okay?” she asked, leaning over her head to examine Mistress’s eyes.

Twilight’s eyes were focusing and unfocusing rather rapidly, and amongst the other physical signs it was pretty clear she’d suffered some kind of stress shock. When she finally began to focus a little more consistency. “I’m gonna be a mom?” She asked, kind of quietly. “Or would that be a dad? Or… Um… Oh, fie. I hate it when I don’t have the right terminology…” Her voice was kind of shaky, but it wasn’t angry.

“No, no,” Sunset half giggled, helping to pull her up with a hoof. “You’re not going to be a mom, we are moms.” And the half giggle became a full titter that set her grinning ear to ear. She hadn’t thought, even without knowing yet how Mistress felt, that just being able to share it with her would’ve made her so giddy and excited.

“Oh.” Twilight half said in a daze, then her lips turned into a big grin. “Can we name one of them Bright Sunrise?” Her voice turned up into a little squee, her eyes sparkling brightly enough to release all of the tension in Sunset’s body all at once. “Or maybe Little Celly?”

“We are not naming our foals after the Princess,” Sunset said flatly, but grinned none the less. “But… who knows? We might have twins! I’d like to name a filly Moonrise…” She let her voice drift into a dreamy kind of tone as she imagined a cute little filly calling her mommy. But the thought faded from her mind’s eye as a small silence dragged between her and Mistress. Really, before she could fantasize and dream and anticipate, she still had one more pony she had to talk to. “Twilight… I want to talk to the princess. I want to hear her plans from her own mouth. Just get it out of the way.”

Twilight nodded at her once, and reached up to squeeze her hoof. “I know she has the best of intentions, Sunset. I have to believe it.” She sighed softly, then slowly pulled herself back up to her hooves. “Well, she said she’d stay in the kitchen till we were ready. Might as well go there. There might be tea.” Twilight’s voice took on a note of momentary panic, then settled down. “It’s gonna be okay. I gotta believe that.”

Sunset nodded, and walked towards the door… only to catch a little hop of movement in the corner of her eye. She turned to see Twilight doing a little bounce behind her as she walked, a faint smile on her face and a Fluttershy like squee going on under her breath. “Gonna be a momma, gonna be a momma, Shiny’ll be jea-lous.” She chanted, over and over again.

Sunset let her smile become something of a permanent feature as she entered the kitchen. With that little image playing in her mind, she didn’t think even the worst Princess Celestia had to offer could shake her good mood now. In fact, now in a better mood than she’d been in weeks, she was determined not to let her shake it regardless. And upon actually entering the kitchen, that neither Rarity nor Celestia were already speaking greatly helped ease any remaining apprehension.

The both of them were drinking tea, though Sunset suspected of different varieties based on the smell. Neither were looking at one another, though not in a upset or distrustful way. If anything, they plainly looked as though they’d been patiently awaiting her and Mistress’s arrival. And the thought of tea did seem mighty good. “What is it that’s been brewed? Or should I make some of my own?” she asked, glancing between them.

“Just take a seat, Love,” Twilight said softly from behind her before moving around and starting a fresh pot of water to boil. “I’ll make something for us both.” Sunset nodded her thanks and took her seat, beside Rarity and across from the princess.

“Good news, then?” The Princess said with a quiet and proud smile.

“Princess!” Twilight exclaimed before Sunset could even think about formulating something to say. “Sunny’s pregnant with our foal! Isn’t it…! It’s amazing! We’re mommas!”

And in one of the very few times in her life, Sunset got to see Princess Celestia’s jaw drop a little in shock. “You… You what?” She said incredulously, then stopped and facehoofed. “Twilight, have you been rooting around the restricted section of the Canterlot Library again?”

“Maybe?” Mistress said with a slightly sheepish grin, rubbing her hoof over her foreleg. “I was kind of… curious, I’ll admit it… Um… Did I do something wrong?”

Celestia sighed gustily. “No, but you have made things egregiously more complex. Not that I ought to be surprised by that. ” She wore a wry smile, her chin in hoof and sounding rather… snarky. “I’ll be honest, Twilight, those… particular spells have been used for far stranger applications. I shouldn’t be surprised when you end up using one to make somepony pregnant,” she chuckled richly, shaking her head.

“Princess,” Sunset asked cautiously, “are there any… um, records of this sort of pregnancy? I mean, what if there are things that could wrong that normal doctors won’t… agh, you understand right?”

“Well, it’s far from unprecedented.” Celestia grinned cheekily. “Spells for… physical enhancement are common enough, and Potency is something that was highly prized in the early days of Equestria when many of those spells were written. Though why Twilight did not immediately know about it is unclear.” Celestia scratched her chin. “It’s possible there are side effects to some of those spells that have not been fully explored, or perhaps were never actually written down. I shall put Cadence on that problem right away.” She shook her head slowly. “If I may, I would recommend caution in using such spells in the future. There’s no way of telling what other shenanigans might come into being if we are not careful..”

“I like shenanigans though,” Sunset replied with a grin and overzealous enthusiasm. “It makes it all so much more interesting and enjoyable. Right?” She let her eyes drift to Mistress, and saw the expected heavy blush on her cheeks.

“Anyway,” Twilight said hurriedly, shaking her head. “I’ll make sure to review the spell more thoroughly later.” She coughed once and pulled the piping teapot from the stove. “So I suppose with that settled, Sunset. Don’t you have some things to talk to the Princess about?” She said it quite pointedly, spooning the tea leaves into the pot and covering them with the water to steep. It was obvious she wanted to get off this topic for the moment.

“Oh, nonsense Twilight,” Rarity insisted, waving her hoof in Mistress’s direction. “We can’t have a proper discussion or conversation if you two are woefully behind on your tea. Wouldn’t you agree, Princess?”

“Mmm. It does help sharpen the mind for difficult conversation.” The Princess seemed almost maddeningly calm, filling her cup from a separate teapot.

“Well, is it really all that difficult, Princess?” Sunset asked. “I think I’m probably the only pony who’s really out of the loop, and… heh, it’s more just telling me things that are long overdue, yeah?” That’s what it seemed like, and she honestly hoped that were the case. It would make things easier, she imagined, if it was only her who had to adjust to something new. She was already in that zone, so why not strike the iron while it was hot? She took several deep sips of her tea anyway, enjoying the flooding warmth and flavor. “Thank you for this by the way,” she nodded to Twilight before taking another drink.

“Well, let’s keep things simple then.” Celestia set her teacup down and gave Sunset a stern look. “I’m going to be very blunt with you Sunset, and you’ll forgive me if I’d like you to promise not to become overly upset with some of my opinions.” Her gaze softened a bit, “I mean you no disrespect by them, but I fear they are things which you are finally ready to hear.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Sunset replied, setting aside her own teacup only to retrieve it again. It was rather good tea. “And yes, I promise.”

The Princess inclined her head, then spoke. “Greed is an insidious emotion. It eats into our hearts in a way that few other things can. Perhaps only pride is worse, but that is a discussion for a more thoughtful time time.” She tilted her head to one side, firmly regarding Sunset. “This is relevant, as it has always been your greed which has been your great flaw, Sunset. Your desire for power drove you away from me the first time.”

Celestia set her teacup down, and looked solemn. “When you returned, I had hoped that at last the hole in your heart could be filled by something far more powerful and satisfying. Friendship.” She smiled faintly at Twilight before continuing. “Perhaps I should have been more cautious. Perhaps I ought to have realized you would seek to fill your heart with the one who freed you from your past. Hindsight is ever perfect, though. So I shall not dwell.”

The Princess ruffled her feathers and fixed her glare on Sunset again. “When I heard of what had happened, I sought answers. When I realized what had taken hold of you, I feared the worst. That you had traded a lust for power for a much more base lust for Love. For the love and friendship of another, to belong to you…” She drew the word out and the way she spoke the next words sent a chill into her. “And only to you. To be hoarded and withheld from the rest of the world in any and all of it’s forms.”

Celestia’s eyes darkened, and her mood visibly fouled. “Down that road, Sunset Shimmer, lies a destiny that I would not have allowed you to reach the end of. It has happened before, you see. A powerful pony whose all consuming desire for the love of another ultimately destroyed her… I could not, and I would not risk a second Chrysalis. Not after I realized what she had become.” She shuddered for a moment, then glanced away with a faint smile. “But when I arrived, I found you not nearly so far gone. You were simply angry, and confused and hurt. You had nothing to base your knowledge of your new love on, and I saw you foundering so badly. You needed support and guidance from somepony with experience, but I knew any words I spoke to you would fall on deaf ears from the moment we spoke. You were in no mood to listen to your dear old teacher.”

Celestia’s mouth twitched into a sad smile. “Admittedly, I was fortunate that I had seen this before. Many centuries ago, my little sister suffered much the same as you did, Sunset.” She sighed softly, shaking her head. “She too was angry and alone. She felt as though nopony appreciated her and her work, and believed she deserved more. She began to crave attention - ANY attention - so that perhaps she might not feel so alone. She began to covet power, believing it would grant her the love and respect I was so blessed with.”

Celestia lowered her eyelids, and it was impossible not to see the emotion there. “Had I known what to do, perhaps I could have saved her.” Her head fell a little, and a slow breath taken. “I could not risk being wrong again. I could not risk hesitating again.”

“So…” Sunset drew out, narrowing her eyes, not quite sure of what the princess was trying to say. “Isn’t… you want to make our relationship politically official or something?”

“Well, that’s a small part of it. Twilight really ought to have proposed to you already.” The matter-of-fact way Celestia said that made Sunset’s cheeks burn a bright red, and did the same to Twilight’s. She squeaked a little, point of fact, just before the Princess kept speaking. “But that’s not really relevant right now. The point of this is to make certain that you both can find a balance with one another. Love, especially the love of an Alicorn…” Celestia’s smile turned slow and smoky, “Can be a very potent thing.”

Celestia slowly shook her head. “But it cannot be the only thing you have in your life, Sunset. There must be other friends, other small loves between yourself and those you care about. Twilight will have duties, Sunset, and so shall you. Twilight will love other ponies in other ways, and so shall you.” Her head ducked down and she spoke quietly. “Perhaps I ought to have considered matters more carefully before acting. I can only but hope I can mend my missteps.”

But a second shiver followed the first. Different. Eye widening and heart spiking. She could feel her panic and… her old arguments welling up in protest to what the princess was surely implying. It was ridiculous. Ancient and long since discarded from tradition. But at the same time, she just couldn’t be certain. “Princess…” she said, slowly, deliberately. “You don’t mean to give us a….” her tongue rolled around and twisted at the word, “harem do you?”

Princess Celestia sighed softly. “Sunset Shimmer, there is nopony on this earth or any other whom can make you fuck anypony you don’t want to.” The bluntness of her words shocked Sunset, but not more than her next sentence did. “And I could not and would not make Twilight accept anything I might think is a good solution to the problems that you have. Twilight asked me for my advice, and I gave it.” She stomped her hoof firmly. “You need someponies around that you can trust with absolute certainty on intimate matters. Unfortunately, all of the bits in the universe cannot buy absolute silence. Only friendship, love and the bonds we form with others can do that.”

Celestia tossed her mane. “I promised you I would give you a world where you could live in the lifestyle you have chosen without fear and with absolute comfort. This is the best way I know how.” There was a quiet, desperate note to her voice as she spoke, and she closed her eyes. “I wish I had a better solution, Sunset. I truly do. But I could think of nothing else that will not simply make your problem worse.”

Twilight cut in a moment later. “What the Princess is dancing around,” she half glared at Celestia, before speaking slowly, “is that she wants to make sure we never feel so desperate for affection or safety that it clouds our judgement or makes us… unstable. Something that has most certainly happened to you in these past few weeks.” The crack of the whip was plain in Mistress’ voice, and it made Sunset swallow her immediate retort. “We’ve discussed it thoroughly, and she has agreed to my terms.” She lifted her hoof and made a ticking motion. “Three attendants and one somepony to be in charge of them, who will also be in charge of the household staff. Officially, they’ll be sort of like… um...” She coughed. “Hoofmaidens, technically. Though they’ll be required to perform… other duties on an as-needed basis, but neither of us are required to indulge. And most importantly, I would neither select them nor approve of them without your input and agreement.”

Celestia piped up, sounding oddly cheerful. “Sunset, think about this past week. Think about what you did when your emotions got the best of you, and you could not turn to Twilight.” She gestured with her hoof. “You went to your close friend, Fluttershy. All I seek to do is to make that a little more official, and to make it easier for you to draw on such ponies without fear of scandal or rejection from Twilight.” Then she giggled, a bright and happy sound and then spoke in a clearly joking tone. “You ought to thank Twilight. The original laws required a full two dozen attendants, equal parts mares and stallions.”

“That’s just weird,” Sunset said flatly. And it was really the only thing she could manage at the moment. Her mind was flying with all of the implications. Good, bad, up, down.

“Well, I rather enjoy it.” The Princess said with a sly smile. “Had your brother not been quite so smitten with Cadence, Twilight, I rather was intending to invite him to join. Frankly speaking, had Twilight not been my student…” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and Twilight slowly sank down into her chair as Celestia mused,”Though I suppose that it was fortunate for everypony involved that I did not indulge myself. Else where might we be now?” She giggled happily, and Sunset was pretty certain Twilight was trying to hide under the table now.

“And that idea’s going to give me bad dreams for the rest of the week,” she intoned with heavy sarcasm, eyes narrowing. She really didn’t need to hear that about Princess Celestia. It conjured disturbing images, and she imagined she might be arrested for some of them. Not to mention they cluttered her mind trying to sort out the reality of what she and Mistress were proposing. A harem? She flicked away the immediate, lustful thoughts that encouraged her to go full forward with the idea. Those benefits were obvious. She looked down at her hooves, and one of them unconsciously came up and rubbed her stomach, where everypony in the room now knew a foal was sleeping.

“Sunset?” Twilight’s gentle voice interrupted her thinking, and a hoof touched her shoulder. “I told Celestia I wasn’t going forward on this without you, and I meant every word of it. Even if it might cause…” She glanced at the Princess, who looked oddly serene. “Problems.”

“No… I understand why….” Sunset managed, which was actually true. The princess had made an excellent case as always, yet… “It’s just strange. We’re having a foal together, so as long as I’m special that way, I don’t think it’ll bother me all that much. Eventually. Only…. I don’t really know that many ponies that well that I’d actually trust to… um… take of care of us. I don’t know, it just feels really awkward when I think about it.” She sighed and leaned onto Mistress’s shoulder.

A polite cough startled her a little. Rarity had very red cheeks, and was looking more than a little awkward. Which was… very very strange for her. “Well, what about myself? I certainly know the both of you as well as anypony does.” Her smile was a little too perky to be entirely genuine. “Perhaps I could assemble your ah… Staff, so to speak. There aren’t terribly many ponies who will know how to be discreet about it better than I do. Then all you’ll need to do is choose somepony to be in charge, and you’ll be set.”

“A bit pretentious Rarity,” Sunset smirked, sitting upright and eyeing her more thoroughly. She paused, biting back a second less than complimentary phrase. She wanted to just dismiss her. Shrug it off as just Rarity’s embedded desires knocking at the door. But at the same time, Rarity, more than even Mistress perhaps, knew where Sunset’s buttons were in terms of her relationship to Mistress. In a sense, she would be a… well not perfect, but a damn good fit. She wouldn’t let these consort ponies tread where Sunset might bite their heads off, and she herself would know the boundaries. “Mistress,” Sunset said to her, eyes still on Rarity, but the latent curiosity in her voice obvious even to herself. “What do you think about Rarity? I’d bang her with you.”

Twilight spat out her mouthful of lukewarm tea. Fortunately, she did so away from the table. She also dropped her cup, which clattered to the floor with a thud and sent what was left of the tea leaves scattering across the wood. After a few moments of coughing by Twilight, she finally recovered enough to speak. “I’m sorry, but I think I just had a psychotic episode. I could have sworn you just suggested Rarity to lead our attendants.”

“I did,” Sunset repeated, nodding her head clearly to be sure Mistress understood. Surely Mistress could see the signs. And if anything, having just overcome a feud with Rarity, she imagined Twilight would want a chance to make up for lost time. Perhaps she feared a kind of preferential treatment amongst her friends, but Sunset was certain everypony would just be happy to see the three of them all happy around one another. She grinned. “And I also said I’d bang her with you…”

Twilight stared at her, then reached up to rub at her eyes. “This is a dream. This has to be some kind of dream, and I’m imagining all of this nonsense…” She muttered for a few moments before laughing softly. “You, Sunset Shimmer, are incorrigible.” She turned and smiled faintly at Rarity. “What do you think?”

Rarity, on the other hoof, was a bright red cheeked pony looking like she wasn’t sure what to say or do. “Would you trust me with such a thing, Sunset? Truly?” Rarity’s whisper was soft, almost begging her for the validation of what she’d said.

“Well, yeah, I guess,” Sunset said with a casual shrug. In retrospect, she realized this was probably how she had been acting not to long ago. What seemed so plain to her was a shock to everypony else. No, surely she couldn’t have been that annoying. “I mean, you know the boundaries we have between Twilight and myself, so I can’t think of anypony better suited to the job, aaaaannnd - ”

“Enough, Sunset. You’re going to give the poor girl a heart attack.” Twilight gently scolded, but she was smiling. “We’ll discuss… what those sort of activities might entail later.” She eyed the Princess for a moment. “Will that be satisfactory, Celestia? Rarity’s very trustworthy when it comes to this sort of thing.”

Celestia inclined her head, and smiled brightly. “I am more than satisfied, Princess Twilight. And I think it ought to be more than enough for the grumblers in the court as well.” She grinned wolfishly. “And if it isn’t, I’ll make them agree.” She giggled faintly, then tossed her mane back. “Rarity, any objections?”

“None, Princess.” Rarity said with a quiet smile, her hooves tucked together and every inch of her calm and quiet. “It will be both my honor and my pleasure.” She beamed at them all, as bright and sunny a smile as Sunset had ever seen.

~~~~~~~

Sunset sidled into the kitchen, intent on finding something to do while Mistress and Princess Celestia went on a small, private walk with each other. She was used to chores and the like, and found them oddly more soothing than advanced research and experiment setup. But as she wandered the small space, she couldn’t find much to be cleaned or put away more properly. Spike certainly was a natural as Mistress’s assistant, as Sunset herself couldn’t remember having done much in the way of cleaning over the past few days. So much other stuff had always kept intruding. But she supposed she ought to get used to the feeling, what with a host of ponies soon to be joining them in the library whose jobs would be cleanliness.

Perhaps she would take up a hobby or two. Perhaps Mistress would take up one with her. That would be fun. Magic shooting maybe? The subject and mechanics had always fascinated Sunset. Eh, Mistress might not be so into the sport. She thought back to her old days as a filly in Celestia’s School, trying to recall any pasttimes she had had then that she had given up after fleeing Equestria. None sprang to mind immediately, but that had been quite a long time ago. But it was an engrossing thought process, and she took a seat at the dining room table to give it proper attention.

Don’t want to do anything too… she paused and smiled as a little flutter lifted up through her chest. ... that might be bad for our foal. A small squeal of happiness escaped her just being able to think about it without fear or worry. And rather than her mind going back to hobbies and silly things of the sort, flits of ideas began swimming in her head about cribs, and room colors, and names, and… everything. She sighed contentedly as her hoof twirled circles in the wood, some ideas becoming more cohesive, others not.

The kitchen door slowly pushed open and then creaked closed again. Sunset turned around to see Rarity standing there with a strange, quiet smile on her face. “Sunset, I…” she began hesitantly, and rubbed at her foreleg nervously.. “I’m… I’ve not the words, I am afraid.” She blushed a bright red, and exhaled firmly. “So, I shall do this the only way I know how.”

Before Sunset could open her mouth for more than a moment, there was a pair of new lips upon them. Rarity had crossed the distance in a blur and was kissing her firmly enough to make her tailhairs raise up. It was… strange, but not in a bad way. Rarity’s eyes were closed, and her lips hotly passionate upon hers. The kiss went on for almost a full minute before she finally pulled awaity, gently panting and blushing so badly one might have thought Sunset had been the one to kiss her. “I’m… I’m…” She gulped and tried smile. “Thank you.”

“Nah, no,” Sunset interrupted her with a wave of her hoof and a pleased, amused grin on her face. “First, thank you, and I’m going to take away from that that I am ridiculously hot.”

Rarity laughed softly. “Darling, I do not believe I have ever disputed that fact.” She batted her eyelashes prettily. “Now, hotter than myself on the other hoof…”

“At least my mane only takes five minutes to look this good,” Sunset flaunted with a puff into her bangs, posing to the side like the famous models and plastering the most exaggerated face she could imagine on herself.

Rarity giggled softly. “Hmph. Your mane, maybe, but it’s the total package that matters, darling.” She tossed her mane to one side in response, eyes sparkling. “Never fear, though. I shall make certain we can solve the disaster of your decolletage dear. Twilight shall be rendered speechless at the sight of you.”

“Haha!” Sunset laughed, real joy filling its every note. “I already render her speechless… every night.” She giggled and let a little bush color her cheeks. “But I wouldn’t worry about it for a while. I’m gonna start showing here pretty soon.”

“Mm.” Rarity smiled slowly. “Don’t worry. It shall be a trifle to keep you in appropriately ravishing garments dear.” Her smile was warm, genuine… and more honest than it had been in weeks. “In the meantime, though… I did have some ideas on to whom we could choose to join us.” She tilted her head with a sly smile. “Though I rather think at least one of the names shall be fairly obvious.”

“Fluttershy of course,” Sunset said. “It’s not really even much of a choice for us, just more of her saying yes and Dash being alright with it… I hope Dash wasn't too angry at her for what happened.” Sunset couldn't help but frown a bit at that, wishing she'd taken the time to find out for herself.

"We shall speak with Dash and Fluttershy in the next few days and explain what has happened." Rarity nodded decisively. "I am relatively certain that once all of the facts have come to light, Dash will at least understand the circumstance."

Sunset exhaled softly, then nodded once. Then... she paused, a curious thought passing through her brain. “Do you know if Mistress already has a list? I mean, I don’t think she does, but I’ve given up assuming on things like this.”

She shook her head. “According to the princess, she’s been stubbornly refusing to even consider other ponies until she spoke to you.” Rarity chuckled, “But I rather think we should be able to make the appropriate judgements. No need to bother the Mi-” Rarity’s mouth snapped around the word all at once, and she blushed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t presume.”

“Oh, go ahead. Might as well,” Sunset shrugged, and she honestly was surprised at her own neutral feelings on the matter. At the very least, she felt she would have thought it awkward. But as it was, she decided to just roll with it. “I want you, and Fluttershy, so that leaves only two other ponies. And I require all four of you to speak to Mistress respectfully the way I do if you want any attention from either of us.” Her head bopped briskly, as though settling the matter.

Rarity nodded her agreement, then bit at her lower lip. “This isn’t going to be easy, you know.” Her voice was quiet, and her hooves dry washed against one another. Sunset blinked at her. “Putting together something like this, I mean.” Rarity continued, trying to sound optimistic and failing horribly at it. “I know the Princess means well, and I truly do wish to try, but we’re all going to have to find a way to love each other as much as we love… Mistress.” She licked the word around her mouth with relish, as though tasting a fine wine.

Sunset knew the feeling. “I don’t… I don’t wanna sound pretentious or anything, but I can help anypony that feels like they’re having trouble. I’ve gotten through the worst I could throw at myself after all. Besides!” she added cheerily, “I already love you! That’s gotta be a great example!”

Rarity looked… shocked. “You… you love me?” Her voice had descended to a whisper, and her eyes gone wide. She blindly groped for a hoof, and Sunset gave one to her to squeeze. “I’m… I’m not…” She sniffed… “I don’t have to just…” She was falling all over her words, in a way Sunset was all too familiar with. After all… hadn’t she been here, not so long ago? Not believing that somepony else could… or would love them?

Wasn’t it right… wasn’t it fair that she pass on that same blessing, that same wonderful feeling of belonging to somepony else who deserved it too? “Of course I love you,” she said, bumping noses with Rarity. “I mean, I always did… It was just… buried for a while, ya know? And it did kinda grow even then…” And tentatively, almost unsure with herself and whether it was a real feeling what was beating in her chest, she leaned closer and latched onto Rarity’s lips with her own. Simply. She pulled away before anything else could build and smiled at her. “See?”

Rarity reached up to touch her lips with a hoof, and a slow and warm smile crossed her face. “I… Thank you, Su-sunny?” She said tentatively, and Sunset couldn’t help but giggle and nod at her. If she was going to be part of the family, she got to be part of the nicknames too. She’d have to come up with something cute for her too. Rara? “I’m..” She shook her head and exhaled deeply. “Goddess, I’m horrible at this.” Then she kissed Sunset back - lightly, perkily, smiling brightly. “We will find a way. Between the three of us, we shan’t face anything we cannot handle!”

“All six of us,” Sunset reminded her. “We can really only consider this a start if we actually go somewhere from here.”

“Of course, M’lady.” Rarity did a cute little curtsey in place, then nearly fell over in giggles. “I suppose that means I ought to start making the arrangements for your pregnancy. Have you considered names?” She fluttered her eyelashes, and her eyes sparkled. “I do have a list of the hottest names for noble children this season.”

“Ehhhh…” Sunset muttered. “I’m not sure about names, actually. I don’t know if it’ll be a filly or colt, for one; and two, it’s still pretty early, Nurse Redheart said it looks like I’ve only been pregnant for about a month, and… it’s a pregnancy based on magic, so, you know. I wanna see somepony with a little more expertise before I make any solid decisions. That and ask Mistress too.”

“Tsk tsk!” Rarity shook her hoof at her. “It’s your foal, Sunset. You’ve a right to dream a little.” She grinned brightly. “Come now. What would you like to have? Filly or colt?”

“Well, it’s actually our foal, but…” she stopped and a filly-like smile spread across her lips. “I really want twins!” she squealed, hopping up and down in her seat excitedly. “Filly and colt, both pegasi! I’ve always wanted to be able to fly, and being able to have my foals experience what a cloud feels like… Ooooohhhhh! I’m so nervous and happy at the same time now!”

Rarity embraced her firmly, and squeezed her gently. “The princesses are likely to be busy for a while dealing with paperwork. What do you say we go grab a bite and discuss…. our family.” The way she said it with a tremulous smile was all too cute.

“Sure,” Sunset replied, cuddling right back and giving her a warm smile. Somehow or other, they’d figure it out. Together.

Epilogue - Brand New Day

~~~~The Crystal Oak Library~~~~

Five Years and one month later

Twilight shut the door to her library behind her with a tired sigh. No more petitioners today, no matter what Silver Shill tried to cajole her into. No more business, no more talk, no more anything official at all. It was her bloody anniversary, and she was going to spend the vast majority of it with her mate if she had any say in the matter. Which she did, since the next somepony to try to bug her about any royal duties she might have was going to be teleported into Rainbow Dash’s place about a thousand feet straight up and left there until she could be bothered to retrieve them.

With that in mind, she threw the ornate golden bolt of the door firmly into place and rubbed at her head. “Need a hoof with that, m’lady?” spoke the sly, knowing voice of her chief housekeeper, Missus Spouts. The slightly portly mare had the kind of infectious smile that could’ve given Pinkie Pie a run for her money, and Twilight had to grin a little back at her. “Don’ be worryin’ none, luv. We’ve got things well in hoof down here. You go on up t’ your lovey dove.” She winked. “We’ll make sure you won’t be disturbed.”

“Whatever vacation time you’re angling for you can have it,” Twilight burst out with relief, and Missus Spouts laughed quite heartily at that. “Just… buy me a few hours, okay? I don’t expect more than that.” Twilight was trying very hard to keep the desperation out of her voice, and fortunately Spouts just winked knowingly at her.

Without a second word, she raced down the glittering hallway of her new home. Perhaps it was not quite the same as the humble wooden confines of her tree, and perhaps the same memories had not been made here, but a warmth of love suffused these crystal walls, and that was good enough for her. Up the grand staircase and past the various members of her staff puttering about the place. Luminous, her butler, and Tick Tock, her seneschal, were arguing again atop the staircase. They stopped only long enough for her to race past, vaguely amused smiles on their faces before turning on each other again.

Everypony in the household knew that she’d been looking forward to today. The last few weeks had left her swamped with her princessly duties, even as her work in the library portion of her home was taken over by other ponies. It made her feel so guilty to have to be away for so long, but the needs of her station had demanded her, and she had answered. Fortunately, the next week had been entirely cleared for the celebration of her fifth anniversary. It was a week she fully intended to make the most of, starting today.

She slowed a bit when she finally approached the doors to her private quarters. Doors that were kept carefully secured against any unwanted intruders via magical ward and spell she’d spent years layering over them. Just the brush of her magical aura unlocked them, and she slipped past the ornate doors and nearly slammed them shut behind her. Finally, here, she would be safe from ‘business’.

With a deep breath and a happy smile, she strode down the short hallway that housed the private quarters of herself and her… well, attendants really didn’t seem like the right word anymore. Family, perhaps? That sounded the best to her nowadays. She cocked her ear to the air and listened. The faint pitter-patter of the shower lingered in the air with the sound of two voices talking in the attendant’s quarters. Good. That meant she would probably have some time to freshen herself up a little before cornering Sunset for a little relaxation.

She turned for the doors to her room and pushed them open with her nose. She’d get Missus Spouts to fix up some nice tea, wrangle Bell Pepper to asemble some snacks, pop on their favorite movie and-

She stopped as the door to her room slowly swung shut behind her and blinked at the scene before her. The carpet was covered in rose petals of every shade of the rainbow, and a shimmer of white sparkles glimmered perpetually in the air. And in the center of the spectacle, her filly love lay tied up in royal blue ribbon, hooves bound, gagged, and tail lifted. And beside her, looking just as enticing and completing the combination of arousal and curiosity, lay Rarity, tied in fetching red ribbons that stretched her form out for full display.

Twilight felt her emotions pulse through several different reactions before settling on amused arousal. Obviously, Sunset had missed her a great deal more than she’d realized. “You like? She really does make a marvelous centerpiece,” Rarity cooed in a husky voice, smiling prettily. “She’s got first dibs, darling, so give her a kiss, won’t you?”

For just a moment, Twilight contemplated making them lay there for a while until she was quite ready to deal with them… but that would be a little rude, even for her. So she gently laughed and trotted across the room, divesting herself of crown and torque with a clatter of metal and slipped around the cushion to look into the face of Sunset. She’d even put the blindfold on again. Twilight felt her smile tug out and she leaned in and gently pressed her lips to Sunset’s, who instantly responded by pressing herself against Twilight’s kiss. The gag prevented anything more than that, but the blush on her cheeks was enough for Twilight.

Then she rounded the cushion to give Rarity a little kiss of her own, soft tongues pressing against one another with a heated passion before she pulled away. “How long have you two been laying here?” she asked with a cocked eyebrow, unable to keep herself from admiring the tight red ribbon woven around Rarity’s body.

“Not that long. We saw you trying to pull yourself away from dear Silver Shill, and figured you wouldn’t be much longer.” Rarity giggled softly. “Sunset would like you to know that I am to direct you to use our luscious selves in whatever way might be pleasing to you, and that we are both most certainly on birth control.” There was an evil sparkle in Rarity’s eye at that one, and Twilight wondered if she was plotting something… though that was unlikely to include her own body. Unlikely, but not impossible, if Sunset wanted more foals and wasn’t quite willing to go through it again herself...

Twilight laughed softly, and shook her head. “You’re lucky I didn’t decide to go take a shower first.” She huffed, then reached over with her magic to unlace the gag from Sunset’s head, pulling it away and laying it neatly on a side cushion. “Happy Anniversary, Sunset Shimmer,” she cooed softly and nuzzled her cheek to hers.

“Thank you so much, Mistress,” Sunset said, breathing deeply with the gag gone and intoning a note of desperation into her voice. “There’s wine for you, and a cushion, if you’d just like to relax,” Sunset purred to her, nodding to where the objects lay. And when Twilight turned to find them, she realized that hadn’t been the intent at all. “Of course, there’s those two, for you to use however you like,” Sunset half giggled at her own trickery. For Twilight was now looking at twin sets of dominion gear, tables and clothing included.

Twilight shook her head slowly. “To be honest, love. I’d rather just spend my evening enjoying your company.” She smiled, grabbing the wine bottle and carefully uncorking it. “We’ll save the elaborate stuff for later in the week. I’ve a few ideas of my own.” She poured three glasses, and levitated all of them, along with a short table, to adjoin the floor cushion. A sip of the sweet dessert wine was just what she needed, and she flopped down onto the cushion to lean against Sunset and Rarity alike.

“Wouldn’t you like to at least unwrap your presents?” Sunset asked, whispering suggestively in her ear even as she sipped the wine Twilight levitated to her.

Twilight giggled and set down the wine glasses. She would start with Sunset of course, gently using her own hooves to unhook each binding point, lovingly caressing the sweet body as she did so. She trailed little kisses down Sunset’s back when she did the forelegs, and finally slipped off the blindfold to gaze into Sunset’s eyes for a moment, smiling. Rarity was next while Sunset stretched out a little, still wearing all of her binding gear. She tugged at the ribbons with her teeth, not wanting to ruin them but wanting to have fun with it. Fortunately, Rarity’s genius for knots became plain as all it took was the barest pull to unravel them while still leaving the fashionista artfully adorned.

With her two gifts so freed, she lay back down against the cushion, relishing in the softness and relaxation it provided with the wine. She heaved out a sigh, and the whole arrangement was made even better as Sunset and Rarity cuddled up to either side of her. Little whimpers and sighs escaped them as they both curved and arched to match the shape of her own body, forming up against her warmly. And when they seemed to have settled, small kisses from Sunset showered her neck and shoulders while Rarity’s hooves began caressing her body. “Mmmm,” she groaned as her ease melted and morphed into a distant shadow of passion. Some of the best kind to her sometimes.

And very slowly, as it always did, the ministrations of her two lovely fillies increased. Sunset’s kisses began traveling onto her chest and turning to little, loving nips that elicited small, barely audible meeps from her. And Rarity - Oh, Rarity! Her lovely, talented hooves began not only rubbing up and down her sides but entwining in her mane and stroking her flank. She absorbed it all, allowing all her senses to fade and be replaced only by the feelings she received from the two of them. She released the steadily louder moans, adoring how they responded with increased vigor. And as it all began to become a blur, her lips met Sunset’s for a second time, their tongues playing while Rarity’s forelegs wrapped her torso. She latched to Sunset for several, long, glorious moments before releasing and turning to receive the same from Rarity with just the ghost of a breath. Their lips met, and while she grasped Rarity’s lips over and over, she could feel Sunset tracing kisses up her neck.

A stray thought groped for her wine glass, finding the stem and lifting it off the table to try and get a gulp. Things were getting rather swiftly heated, and she could certainly use the drink. But a rogue energy stopped her glass, and her eyes snapped open in surprise. “Might I suggest a different beverage, Mistress?” Rarity’s whisper was sweet and hot in her ear. Even moreso than Sunset, Rarity loved calling her that.

“Show me what you’ve got in mind, lover,” Twilight ordered, her own passion beginning to bleed through into her being. She so loved telling her little toys what to do without giving strict instructions. Being surprised was ever so much more entertaining. And this evening was no different, as Rarity slid her body down Twilight’s own, being sure to touch her with every sensual inch of her white coat. She wasn’t quite so heated that it would be easy for Rarity to get the treat she wanted… Which ought to be fun to watch, actually.

She spread her legs, exposing her marehood, still dry, but only on the cusp. And Rarity gingerly, teasingly began exploring. Her hoof reached out, sliding along Twilight’s slit, and as she leaned her head back, taking in the glory, her mouth was caught in her kitten’s luscious lips. She slipped atop Twilight, even as they kissed and Rarity’s tongue began to dance around Twilight’s clit.

She groaned into Sunset’s mouth, and they separated as the heat between her legs began to increase far faster. “Shall we take care of your needs, Mistress?” Sunset asked with lidded eyes, the noises of Rarity’s wetter and wetter lapping of Twilight’s marehood only adding to the sexiness of the look.

Twilight blinked at her past a stray wisp of mane. “Well, I suppose we could stop and go take a long cold shower, and-” She reached out to grasp Sunset by the back of the mane and growled in her very best, hard-nosed dominant voice. “Get that hot body of yours to work, Pet, before I decide I’d be better suited to whipping it for my pleasure!” Sometimes, though, it certainly did feel nice to get to the point.

Sunset meeped and dove against Twilight, showering her neck and cheeks with glorious nips and kisses, their coats beginning to rub and brush against one another. Twilight began rocking her hips into Rarity’s waiting face, knowing the little pony absolutely loved the taste of her. She was very much slick in her nethers, and Rarity was almost drinking as much as she was fondling Twilight with her tongue. But as wonderful as it was having Rarity lick her up and down and nibble on her clit, Twilight wanted… demanded more. “Faster, slut!” she groaned, as forcefully as she could muster against the pleasure spasms shooting through her spine. She grasped Rarity’s mane in her magic and pushed her muzzle in. Now she had to lick all inside her pussy, and it was so, so worth it. Rarity’s tongue rolled and teased at her walls and her lip brushed at her nub. And her kitten made it all perfect with her shower of passionate kissing.

“Mistress… Mistress,” her favorite moaned heavily, coming up from kissing her directly. “I need… I want…” Her hips rocked against Twilight’s stomach and wetness was left behind, even better than a kiss.

“Keep doing that… Mmmf -” she said past her moans. It was getting harder and harder to form coherent thoughts, but she fought through it anyway. It felt so good to have that heat rubbing up against her… “Make me slick with your need, toy,” she growled out, tying up her hoof in Rarity’s mane.

“Oh yes… yes, Mistress,” Sunset sighed gustily, and Twilight was rewarded, feeling Sunny’s wet cunt spreading it’s love juice all over her. Sunset was dragging herself slowly up Twilight’s chest, slowly bringing that beautifully wet pussy into view. She opened her mouth eagerly, intending to lick at it, but it passed her face much to her surprise. And just as Rarity made a muffled groan and Twilight’s back arched from an amazing jolt through her clit, her kitten’s sopping folds descended over Twilight’s horn. And that sensation that had just come up her spine flew right back down, the most pleasurable thing she’d experienced in a long, long while.

“Up… up… and down, kitten whore,” she panted to Sunset. “Cum on my horn…” Sunset didn’t verbally respond, but she didn’t need to. Her little squeals and that slurping wet sound right against Twilight’s horn were enough. And it must have translated to Rarity, because her tongue began lapping faster, and she sucked harder against Twilight’s folds. Twilight was sure she was in some kind of sensual perfection. Lances of raw pleasure surged up and down her body with every thrust of Sunset and every peck from Rarity.

She screamed in pleasure, unable to convey the glory of it any other way. Her toy ponies on either end of her moved and panted and moaned in almost perfect harmony with each other, amplifying everything Twilight felt. And it all began culminating as Rarity cried out with her muzzle buried in Twilight’s marehood and her flank rose off the cushion into the air. Spasm after spasm of pleasure wracked her body. The very sight of her made Twilight gave out a moan and force magic out into her horn as Sunset rode the thing like a throbbing cock.

Rarity shook and gasped and panted as the spell took hold, placing her in perpetual orgasm until Twilight herself came. She dove back into Twilight’s pussy, the spell’s effects driving greater intensity into her every movement. And Twilight could feel that increase in her vigor. She held out just a little longer against Rarity’s renewed efforts, but as Sunset let out a whining scream of pleasure and even more wetness and tightness enveloped Twilight’s horn, she came at last. And as her kitten toy’s sweet cum slowly dripped over her face, Twilight was sent into a writhing orgasm that loosed a long, feral moan from her lips. Rarity’s own gasping and panting joined as the spell lifted from her and she came down for the extended high, all of them ending in a chest heaving pile of sex and love juice.

~~~~~

The steaming hot water of the special cloud that hovered over their shower area was exquisite on Sunset’s body. It poured in rivulets over her, and not for the first time she reveled in the magic that Mistress alone seemed to be capable of. The slick love juices slowly sluiced off her body as Rarity stepped in next to her, bumping her hip up against Sunset’s with a coy smile. Mistress joined them a moment later, smiling faintly at them both.

Rarity gave off a cute, kittenlike growl and turned to stalk towards Mistress, but she grinned and held up her hoof. “Uh uh. I didn’t suggest this so you two could pounce me again.” There was a sultry look in Mistress’ eye, as the half-full wine bottle floated into the room and Mistress perched on the slick wooden bench at one end of the showering area. She was smiling at both of them. “I’m going to relax and get clean. You two are going to clean each other off and entertain me.” Her smile turned into a wicked grin. “And whoever impresses me more by the time I’ve finished my first glass is going to get a little magic toy to enjoy using on the other.”

Oh yes, Mistress knew how to make things infinitely more interesting as Sunset was continually shown again and again. She couldn’t hold back the grin that formed on her face, and she slowly turned her smile onto Rarity, who was grinning wickedly right back at her. She arched her eyebrows suggestively for good measure. “You know I can please Mistress better,” she said. “So why not just give up now and let me get a taste?”

“Obviously you haven’t been paying attention, darling.” Rarity tossed her wet mane, and somehow managed to make it look sexy. Sunset would not admit to many things, but even she couldn’t deny Rarity’s wet-mane look was leagues better than her own. Hey, it was only fair she got to look sexier in one way since Sunset out classed her in all the others. Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “Besides, you know you want to see my dominant side. I recall you being quite vocal the last time Mistress gave me a toy.”

“Oh please,” Sunset rolled her eyes and playfully splashed water at Rarity. “I’m fairly certain I’m happy being spanked by just Mistress. Speaking of which…” She turned her gaze back to Mistress, who was watching the two of them with those utterly beautiful, owning eyes of hers. She looked so much sexier when she was playing with them. “What do you want to see, Mistress?”

Mistress waved her hoof, filling her glass with the wine and leaning back to enjoy the hot rain all over her body. It was a mesmerizing sight as her eyes half lidded, and Sunset had to fight back the urge to run over and start licking. “Oh, I just love it when you two go at one another…” She giggled softly. “I said entertain me, Love. Show me who wants it more.”

“Well, if Mistress insists,” Rarity cooed from behind her, and before Sunset could turn around she’d been lifted up by her forelegs and Rarity was pressed in behind her, smiling slyly. “Now, lets see if we can’t reduce you to a quivering little mass of marecum.” Rarity’s voice was smokily sexy, her hooves already moving to seize the initiative.

But Sunset was used to this game of wits, fighting and enjoying pleasure simultaneously while attempting to force somepony else over the edge. Mistress loved watching these little cum battles, especially with all five of them. So before Rarity’s expert hooves reached her cunt, Sunset twisted around and ran her tongue, long and slow, over Rarity’s horn.

Rarity bit at her lip to suppress her moan, and it was such a cute facial expression that Sunset wished she had a camera for it. Rarity wasn’t any slouch at this either, and her hooves reached Sunset’s still-sensitive pussylips and started working at them with the gentle precision of a sewing artiste.

Sunset didn’t bother suppressing her vocalizations. She leaned back into Rarity, both enjoying the attention and luring her into a false sense of security. But when she’d had her fill of several good strokes, she grasped Rarity in a field of magic, rapidly flipped her upside down and let her tongue shoot out into those waiting folds. She groaned and sighed, tasting the remnants of old cum and new, mounting wetness. “So slutty… ” she breathed before gripping at Rarity’s clit. “So good…”

Rarity counter-attacked right away, but she’d been the one giving oral already today, and was probably still a bit jaw sore. “You’re one…” Rarity panted in between kisses and licks that sent little shocks up her spine. “To talk. You’re…” She panted again, her breathing coming more raggedly. “Soaked down here, s-s-sunslut!” The cute nickname almost made Sunset stop to smile. Almost.

Instead, Sunset abandoned Rarity’s pussy entirely, giggling as tongue lapped up her juices, and began sucking viciously around Rarity’s clit. She played with it with her tongue, brushed her teeth against it, and sucked and pulled on it. And without her kissing and lapping to take it all up, Rarity’s pre-cum began running all down Sunset’s chin, only urging her on. “You’re warm…” Sunset managed to say in a sultry tone around the nub. “Give me a good spray for my efforts, yeah? I know you like doing it…”

Rarity growled in frustration, but her next sound she made was decidedly more sensual. A long low moan escaped her throat, and Sunset caught a muzzle full of marecum as the pussy twitched and winked before her eyes and around her lips. Rarity’s tongue faltered only a little, then stopped with one last defeated lick and a slight sigh. “Hmph. N-next time.” She gently grumbled, but It was in a good natured way. Rarity hated losing as much as Sunset did, but neither of them took it personally anymore… it was all for Mistress after all.

“Bravo, Sunny.” Twilight giggled, clapping her hooves as Sunset lowered Rarity down and swished her face in the water to wash away the cum she hadn’t licked off. “And to you too, Rarity. Very cute show.” She giggled faintly, and hummed softly. “Still, a bit lacking towards the end there, Rarity. Even if your squirt was quite sexy I’m afraid this one goes to Sunset.”

Sunset gave a little cheer, and Rarity rolled her eyes. “Now be a good sport, marshmallow.” Mistress teased Rarity, as the spell wove through the air towards Sunset. She hadn’t often cast this spell on either of them. Even after five years of studying, she still wasn’t one hundred percent certain as to why it made viable stallion seed. But when she did break it out… Sunset shivered as she felt the spell take hold around her nethers, the twitching feeling almost like a promise of greater pleasure. It was…

“Mmmmf!”

Exquisite. “Now, I think Rarity needs to get some of the same treatment you usually get, Sunset.” Mistress’ voice jeered, her eyes sparkling.

“Absolutely, Mistress,” Sunset breathed, somehow more lustful. She turned to face Rarity, but her eyes were on the excitedly jerking stallionhood protruding from between her legs. It was so tempting to just get herself off with it, just to remind herself what that was like, but she’d made both Rarity and Mistress a promise, one she wasn’t at all unhappy to keep. She watched her cock for a little while longer before raising her hungry eyes to take in Rarity’s body in a whole new light. “Wanna be fucked so silly you need a wheelchair?” she growled, already moving forward.

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at her, and a slow and surprisingly sensual smile crossed her face. “I’d love to see you try, Sunslut.” She cooed at her, lifting her flank to swish her tail at her. “Come on, stud. Show this cute mare how you rut.” Rarity’s voice descended into a growling invitation, and her marehood winked at Sunset invitingly.

Sunset waited not another second. Show her she would! She ran her hooves along Rarity’s shuddering flanks before slowly pulling herself up atop them and teasing at her opening with the edge of her dick. It was maddeningly sensual, and she barely fought the desire to give no heed and just begin ramming Rarity’s cunt. But that resistance didn’t account for Rarity’s gusty sigh or the slick sounds of Mistress getting herself off to the two of them.

She slid inside Rarity, slowly, at first, relishing with a long moan how her whole length was gripped and stroked inside Rarity’s pussy. She lasted a little longer than normal, easing in and out just a fraction to bathe in the tightness around her cock. Sometimes Sunset had to wonder how the stallions managed to keep themselves from doing this every single day… “Come on, Sunslut… Rail me!” Rarity’s panting command, combined with her whimpering and drooling sent her into passionate overdrive, and with gathering speed, she began slapping her hips against Rarity’s ass.

Each thrust sent her head tilting farther and farther back with the raw pleasure, and each time she smacked up against Rarity the sound seemed to amplify the pulsing of her dick and the rhythm of the squeezing marehood. “That’s it…” Rarity panted softly, pushing her hips back against her with every thrust. “Stuff me! Fill me up! Give me that cream!” There was something about Rarity’s desperate need that only made doing this to her all the sweeter.

For several long minutes, they rutted against one another. It was more than fucking too… there was a warmth here that made Sunset’s pleasure that much more intense. Over and over, Rarity’s sultry look made her want to give it to her harder, spurring her on. And at long last, the intensity built to a point she could no longer take and and she breathed out a collapsing moan and unloaded herself into Rarity, completely filling her and then some, her stallion cum oozing out Rarity’s cunt and dripping into the water.

Sunset moved to pull out, but Rarity’s hindlegs snapped up and squeezed her back in. “Not yet…” Rarity hissed through her teeth, holding them together as they lay upon the warm, slick tile of the shower and the hot rainfall continued to douse them. For a few long moments, she held her there… almost suspiciously so. Sunset was getting ready to say something about that when the spell ebbed away, leaving them connected by nothing more than a pair of strong legs… Upon which Rarity nimbly turned about to gaze up into Sunset’s eyes with a slow smile. “Mm… Happy anniversary, love.” She cooed softly, reaching up to snake a hoof around her neck… and then kissing her very, very firmly. Right on the lips too.

Sunset melted into the kiss, reaching out with her tongue and caressing Rarity’s sides. Moreso than she’d ever thought possible, Sunset loved Rarity. She loved Mistress more of course, but there was something special she shared, something unique, with each of their attendants. And it was amazing to think that only five years ago, she wanted none of it. Now, wrapped up and kissing Rarity, she couldn’t imagine not having her and the others there. “Happy anniversary,” she replied back when they pulled away from each other for longer than a breath. She continued to hold onto Rarity, enjoying the feeling of the pattering water and their slick bodies cuddled so close together.

A happy sigh interrupted her thoughts a few moments later. “You two are so adorable, I swear.” Mistress giggled brightly, and a few moments later a third wet body joined in the cuddle pile. “I swear, sometimes I wonder what might’ve happened if you two had just hooked up.” Mistress’ tease was a familiar one, but it never failed to make her blush… or Rarity for that matter. “You’d probably have poor Rarity here selling designer bondage gear instead of dresses.”

“But Mistress,” Sunset said, feigning ignorance and brushing her lips against Mistress’ cheek, “hasn’t that happened anyway?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, and opened her mouth to speak… only to squeak very cutely as the door to the bathroom flew open with a slam and make all of them jump a little in place. “What did I tell you three about cleaning up before you moved to another room?” A patient, annoyed, and thoroughly exasperated Fluttershy exclaimed into the showers and set every one of their ears to flattening against their skulls. Sunset glanced to the door to see Fluttershy sitting in the doorway with hooves on her hips and giving them all her very best glare. The fact that she was wearing what amounted to a latex bodysuit and fetish maid costume did nothing to mitigate the effect.

“Uh oh.” Mistress muttered, and facehoofed. It was so absurd that Sunset couldn’t help but laugh.

~~~~~~

The ‘living room’ of her… castle was absurdly large. Large enough to hold a party in, which Twilight supposed was kind of the point. Which meant that Twilight worked very hard to maintain the illusion that this was still the town library, despite all evidence to the contrary. It meant she didn’t have to host parties every single bloody week. Pinkie might enjoy that sort of thing, but Twilight liked her quiet time when she could get her hooves around it.

By the time her coat was dry, Sunset was cuddled up next to Fluttershy on the big central couch while Fluttershy braided her mane. Twilight often wondered why Fluttershy insisted upon staying encased in her various outfits, but she had to admit the effect was very sexy. Rarity was sitting in ‘her’ chair - a giant hulk of a thing she’d brought over from the Boutique and was currently playing host to Rarity’s non-stop sewing habit. It looked like she was working on some kind of bondage hood which had… interesting implications.

As for the other members of the household, Twilight supposed they were both working hard at their every-day jobs. Pulling either of them away from their passions would’ve been impossible anyway and keeping their time here staggered with ordinary things was part of how they made this whole insanity work. For a few minutes, Twilight simply remained on the main staircase and watched the mares who had settled their way into her heart go about their business. It was the kind of sight that made her heart glow with warmth, remembering how they’d all dedicated themselves to each other on that very strange day all those years ago…

“M’ladyship?” Luminous coughed discreetly, and Twilight was happy that she’d finally gotten used to his incredible skill at sneaking up on her. “You have a visitor who is on your allowed list. The Princess Mi Amore Cadenza wishes to see you.”

Twilight felt an electric shock of happiness at that. Cadence had managed to make it this year? “Of course, Lumi. Send her in.” She waved at him with a hoof, and the nimble earth-pony quickly trotted off through one of the castle’s many secret passages. Sure, it would interrupt any lascivious plans she had for the moment, but Cadence time was uncommon enough to still elicit real excitement.

It took her exactly the amount of time it took Twilight to descend the staircase for Cadence to appear with a flash of bubble-gum pink light. “Twily!” she squee’d, and all three of her loves looked up with surprise and smiles. Twilight, in the meantime, had thrown herself into Cadence’s awaiting forelegs and hugged her fiercely. After all, without her sage advice, she’d probably have gone insane trying to keep four separate mares happy and satisfied. “It’s good to see you, little sis,” Cadence teased her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

“Good to see you too, Cadey. I didn’t think you’d be able to come!” It was hard to admit that, but Cadence led a rather busy life all her own up in the Crystal Empire. Even though they tried very hard to get together around her Anniversary every year, it didn’t always work out.

“Well… It almost didn’t happen, but I learned something rather fascinating.” Cadence grinned broadly. “But before we get to that, how are the kids? Busy at school, I have to guess?”

Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yep. Cheerilee is keeping her eye on them for us.” She slowly led Cadence down the stairs, smiling faintly. “Aurora Storm has been trying her little heart out to get flying before she’s six, and Dusk wants Shining Armor to come show him how to salute like a guardspony.” She giggled faintly. “They’re doing very well, actually. I was hoping you’d take them going to school as a chance to come visit.”

Cadence grinned “It was the perfect excuse to throw over my actual work and just come and see you. So, do you still want to know why that spell of yours can create fertility?” Twilight’s jaw dropped to the floor, and before she could pick it up Cadence giggled. “Sit down, Twilight. I’m about to blow your mind.”

Twilight hurried over to the couch, unable to contain her excitement. After years and years of trying and failing to understand the processes by which a spell could create entirely new effects without intentionally doing so, Cadence had found the answer? But this was the kind of magic she was an expert in after all… “So, it’s actually a lot less complicated than we’d originally thought,” Cadence began as she perched on the arm of Rarity’s chair, smiling prettily at the sewing mare. “It actually all ties back to spell intent.”

Twilight blinked at her. “But I never intended to create a perfect simulacra of a stallion cock!” she blurted the words out, then blushed at her hard language. Sure, Cadence wouldn’t care, but even all these years later, it was hard to talk like that in front of her foalsitter.

Cadence grinned wickedly at her. “Didn’t you? I’ve studied the magic you showed me, Twilight and considered every angle. Spell Intent can be a very funny thing, you know. Sometimes, it draws desires and intentions right out of our subconscious. This particular spell actually was designed with that in mind. If you didn't want kids, you'd never be able to have them.” She held a hoof up to her head. "But when we first talked about it, you told me that you really had always wanted to have foals. Soooooo...”

Twilight stared at Cadence for a few long moments. “But that’s absurd! I haven’t let my sleeping brain affect my spellcasting since I was a six year old!” She wanted to stomp on the ground at the very idea that she might do such a thing. “I would’ve had to be…” She stopped, letting the word ‘be’ slowly trail off as she slowly assembled the pieces of the puzzle. “Completely emotionally… oh, balls. Of COURSE I was.” Twilight had to facehoof. Of course she had been totally emotionally invested in that spell. She’d been trying to breed Sunset without even thinking about it!

Sunset started to giggle at her, and Rarity joined in a few moments later. Cadence spoke over them, sounding vaguely amused. “It’s not your fault, Twilight. You were using sexual spells that you’d never really had much tutoring in before and didn’t know how emotions were a very powerful part of how they are formed.” She grinned brightly. “Since none of the books tell you that, specifically to keep things like this from happening!”

Sunset’s giggles stopped all at once. “Um, just out of curiosity, Cadence… if Mistress were to cast the spell on somepony else… ?”

Cadence hummed. “Well, the emotional aspect comes from the target of the spell. So, I suppose if the pony you were casting the spell on had extremely strong emotions of her own, that could affect the spell’s potency, as it were.” She blinked at her. “Why do you ask?”

Sunset swallowed a little, turning to Rarity. “You… Did take those birth control potions I made, right?”

Rarity blushed a bright red, turning away before muttering softly. “Well It would’ve been awful rude of me to try to get Mistress to do it, since she belongs to you… so…” She coughed faintly, and Twilight sank back into the sofa. The implications flying across the room sent a thrill of fear into her, before…

Sunset burst into a huge smile, her eyes sparkling. “You clever, sneaky, manipulative, bitch!” she half yelled across the room, but her tone was far from angry. She almost sounded… delighted? “You whorse! You lost to me on purpose when Mistress suggested her reward, didn’t you!?” Sunset grabbed a pillow and threw it right into Rarity’s face, still giggling like a madpony.

Twilight couldn’t help but sigh, even as Rarity smiled mysteriously. “We’re going to need another nanny, aren’t we?” she observed sardonically, and all of the ponies in the room burst into laughter at the comment.

Cadence wiped away tears, smiling at Twilight. “Regardless, at least we now know it wasn’t a mis-cast or anything to do with your incredibly comprehensive study habits. I’ve advised Celestia to alter the books so that anypony in the future who messes with those spells understands the potential implications and can prepare themselves accordingly.”

Twilight nodded to her and turned back to the pillow and snark fight that had materialized in front of her eyes. Yet in spite of Rarity’s deception, Sunset’s tears were ones of joy and happiness. Fluttershy simply looked content, and Rarity… was practically glowing. She couldn’t help but smile at it all.

Then the doors burst open, and two very pink-shaded mares stalked through them before shutting them hard behind them. Pinkie Pie was covered in flour and baking detritus alongside her working apron, and Cheerilee was wearing her favorite fishnet stockings and the ‘teachers outfit’ that made Twilight get a little wet just thinking about writhing alongside her. Upon seeing all of them giggling, blushing, and in various states of still being vaguely wet, Pinkie Pie, predictably, spoke first. “Oh, for the love of frosting! Did you girls get started without us?!”

~~~~From the Diary of Sunset Shimmer...~~~~

I look back a lot. A whole lot. Back on where I came from, what I went through, and what I worked to overcome. I don’t do it unless I’m alone, which isn’t all that often these days. But no matter when I do, I always notice something. I wasn’t much of a pony for wishes or the like. I always had a clear desire of what I wanted and just as clear a knowledge on what was and wasn’t realistic.

So I never shot for the stars in what I attempted. I always hit the ceiling of my abilities. Which isn’t a bad thing all on its own. But looking back, because of that, I never dreamed. Never fantasized. And I can see now it was a detriment to my growth as a filly. But at the same time, the life I get to live now has to be better than any fantasy I could have come up with then. Sure, in a fantasy life, nothing ever goes wrong that you can’t fix, but nothing ever changes either.

I’m loved by five beautiful mares, love five beautiful mares, have four foals I can call my own by various means, and have learned more about love, passion, friendship, and generosity than I ever would have otherwise. Because actually living, really living, really loving… I can say with confidence it’s better than a fantasy by far. And I’ll never forget it. Ever.

~~~The End~~~

Author's Note

There are some things I'd love to say here, but I think I'm going to shove them into an Authors Notes so those of you who aren't interested in them don't need to be bothered.

With that being said, thank you all for your comments and support. Inky and I both had a lot of fun writing this thing. There's more stories to come. Things will be finished. New stories written. Stuff cleaned up.

Keep your eye on us folks. We're not going anywhere.

This has been a Lapis-Lazuli and Inky Jay collaboration.

And I remain, ever humbly yours, Lapis-Lazuli.