Ribbons and Lace

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 9

Chapter 1

Rarity had finally fallen to puttering, just wasting time with busy-work to keep herself occupied, barely paying it any attention. There were two reasons: first, the Grand Galloping Gala loomed less than twenty-four hours away. The unicorn was so excited she could hardly sit still. The second reason was sitting at the work bench, diligently pushing needle through fabric.

Fluttershy certainly had the hang of the new stitch by now, and she didn’t need Rarity pestering her and breaking her concentration. Therefore, Rarity focused on remaining silent and keeping her eyes off the pegasus’s work. Instead, she apathetically sorted a small pile of rubies by size and clarity and daydreamed of the soirée.

At long last, the pegasus gave a satisfied nod and slid the needle off of its thread. Rarity sprang to her hooves and peeked over Fluttershy’s shoulder to examine the decorative topstitch the pegasus was tying off on the hem of her ballgown.

“You were certainly right about the machine stitching, darling. That looks simply fabulous!” she gushed. “I wish I’d had the time and ponypower to hoof-stitch all the dresses I sent to Hoity Toity.”

Fluttershy tugged the knot tight with her teeth and graced Rarity with a small, proud smile. “Well, you were under a deadline. I shouldn’t have complained in the first place.” A look crept into her big, warm eyes that Rarity would have called… sly, on anyone else. “But now I’ll look just a teensy bit better than anyone else who buys one of your dresses.”

Rarity pressed a hoof to her mouth as she laughed, and Fluttershy’s mild giggle joined in. “Fluttershy, dear, you could wear a flour sack and still be the belle of the ball.”

The pegasus smiled, blushed, and mumbled a thank you.

“If it wouldn’t intrude on your day too badly,” the white mare continued, “I wonder if you could find the time to assist me with something…”

Fluttershy glanced out the window toward the setting sun and mumbled “um”. That meant no. “I suppose, if it wouldn’t take too long,” she hedged.

Rarity quickly amended the request. “Never mind, never mind!” she said airily. “I’m sure you’ve a lot to do before we leave tomorrow. It’s nothing so urgent – it will keep until after the Grand Galloping Gala.”

The evening had certainly not been very grand, and when Rarity had left, the ballroom had looked more like a war zone than a gala. There had been a good deal more galloping than expected, though.

The event had been an utter disappointment, there was no denying it. Rarity’s sky-high expectations had drained even the small satisfaction she should have felt in mingling seamlessly with nobility. Of course, an evening exploring Canterlot together – with Princess Celestia herself for a guide, no less! – was magical in its own way. She had goggled at Celestia’s enormous golden apple tree, gaped at the monstrous telescope inside the vast Royal Observatory dome, and swooned over the staggering light show refracted from the crown jewels. Rarity had lost herself in a parade of wonders, refusing to give another moment’s thought to Prince Not-At-All-Charming, but as the great clock tower tolled out ten solemn peals and the long carriage ride home loomed, a lump suddenly filled her throat and her eyes began to burn. The unicorn turned aside, allowing the rest of the party pull ahead while she pretended to smell one of the exotic flowers that thrived in the royal gardens thanks to the daily ministrations of a cadre of botanically-inclined unicorns. The Gala had been a flop, Prince Blueblood had been a boor, and every one of their lovely dresses had been ruined in the fray, but she could have absorbed all of that dry-eyed. Rarity mourned the death of her dream.

“Are you all right?” Fluttershy asked beside her.

Rarity let out a little yelp of surprise. She hadn't even noticed the quiet mare pausing with her! She quickly wiped her cheeks and mustered a brittle smile for the pegasus.

“I will be, darling. It was a silly dream, after all.” She barked a self-deprecating laugh. “Whoever heard of love at first sight, outside of a fairy tale?” A silly, foalish daydream. Yet… no less real for its absurdity. Though her head had known it was vanishingly unlikely, her heart had ever held out a tiny spark of hope that maybe, somehow, fairy tales really could come true.

“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t important to you,” Fluttershy said in a placating tone. “Maybe you just haven’t met your prince yet.”

“I’m afraid that particular dream is quite crushed,” she replied mildly, but the memories brought a flush to her face that was equal parts fury and embarrassment; a mere hour in the company of Prince Blueblood had been sufficient to not only smash her illusions, but grind them into a fine, stinging powder and blow it in her eyes just for cruelty's sake. The pragmatic part of her had been right all along.

A sob sneaked up on her and slipped out, then another, and before she knew it, Rarity was weeping openly. She felt Fluttershy embrace her and pressed her face into the offered shoulder, giving vent to her sorrow while gentle hooves held her and stroked her mane.

Oddly, for all Blueblood’s rudeness, the most ringing slap had been the way he rejected Applejack’s pastries. Implying that something so common as an apple fritter, no matter how delicious, was unworthy to even touch his lips had stung Rarity far more than he would have ever guessed. What, then, would he think of a common filly like her? A foolish girl of no noble blood, every bit as native to rustic little Ponyville as Applejack was. Perhaps the Prince's behavior had been a blessing in disguise; if he had been more debonaire and gentlecoltly, if he hadn’t repulsed her with his behavior at their first meeting, what then? Once he discovered her origins, would she have found herself spat out on the pavement next? Perhaps her dream had been doomed from the start, however well she might feign the aristocratic mien.

“There, there,” Fluttershy murmured, pulling her from her ruminations and self-pity. Rarity wrapped her arms around the pegasus and rubbed her face against Fluttershy’s neck, almost certainly smearing mascara on her coat. It was such a comfort just to have her friend there – a reality that couldn’t evaporate at the whim of an unkind word.

Concrete. Tangible. Real.

As she leaned on the pegasus both physically and emotionally, Rarity’s crying jag began to seem more and more foolish. It wasn’t as if her world were falling apart. She still had her friends, her business, her health… in fact, the only difference between yesterday and today was a bit of wisdom that she had earned the hard way.

The tears dried up of their own accord. Leaning against the pegasus’s warm chest in the moonlit royal garden, she could believe that everything was all right – and the belief made it reality. “Thank you, Fluttershy,” she murmured, sniffling softly as she got back on her hooves. She crossed her neck over the other mare’s in another firm hug. “I needed that.”

The other mare broke away with a reassuring smile. “Any time, Rarity.”

Rarity returned the smile ruefully and took a few moments to dab at her face with a handkerchief. “You always seem to see me at my worst,” she lamented.

A cheerful voice piped up a mere foot from Rarity’s ear. “That’s when you need your friends the most!”

“Pinkie found ‘em,” Applejack commented as an operatic shriek echoed across the garden.

Pinkie Pie burst from behind a shrub that was entirely too small to conceal her, never mind her voluminous gown. “Oh yeah, and Twilight says to shake a leg, ‘cause the carriage turns back into an apple at midnight!”

Rarity pressed a hoof against her chest to keep her heart from leaping out while Fluttershy disentangled her dress from the bush she had dived into. “Thank you, Pinkie,” she said, puffing out an unsteady breath while she gathered her composure. “I certainly wouldn’t want to miss the chance to thank our esteemed hostess!”

Chapter 2

Were one to enumerate Fluttershy’s praiseworthy traits, punctuality would not be among them; she could never bring herself to leave anyone in need, pony or animal, merely for the sake of her own convenience. That said, she never actually forgot her commitments; she merely got bogged down along the way. It was well past mid-afternoon when Fluttershy finally jingled into the shop, full of apologies.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Rarity assured the pegasus as she locked the door and flipped over the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Sorry, We’re Closed’. “You’re doing me a favor, after all! You see, early last week, Hoity Toity referred one of his clients to me. Me! But she wants… well, a sort of outfit I’m not accustomed to making. It’s needed by a certain date, so I’m on a bit of a schedule, and I can’t call it finished until I’ve seen my design on a living model. The client lives in Canterlot, but it happens that your measurements are similar to hers. So… I wanted to ask if you would mind doing a bit of modeling for me. In private, of course,” she added quickly as she led Fluttershy up the stairs.

“Oh… well, I guess that’s okay, as long as it’s just for you.” Fluttershy paused, then said, “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, why are we going to your room?”

The unicorn hesitated as she rattled her key in the lock. “Umm… you see, the dress isn’t… it’s a bit, er… I don’t precisely want it on display downstairs.” The door swung open and understanding dawned across Fluttershy’s face, along with a faint blush. The mass of gauzy silks and sheer, diamond-speckled chiffon on the dress form couldn’t possibly be mistaken for anything but lingerie.

“Not to put too fine a point on it, my client wants this in order to seduce a stallion. I need to make sure that it will let her move easily and won’t bunch up or slide around, no matter what she does.”

The pegasus approached the dress with a cautious air, as if it might lunge for her at any moment. Rarity held her breath while Fluttershy circled the ponyquin once, examining the outfit closely.

“Is this supposed to be for a pegasus pony?” she finally asked. “I noticed you left space for wings.”

Rarity let out a relieved sigh. “Just so, darling! Then you’ll help me?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

“Of course I will, Rarity!” The pegasus flashed a sunny smile. “It’s a lovely dress, and I’m sure it’ll make somepony very happy.”

The unicorn was still searching for a delicate response to that when Fluttershy realized what she’d said and blushed again.

Rarity made small talk meant to set the pegasus at ease while helping her into the outfit. “You see, most ponies don’t understand the value of negative space in clothing.” A jeweled halter glittered against Fluttershy’s cheeks and a light saddle spilled translucent lace over her haunches, light enough to flutter aside at the slightest movement but granting only fleeting glimpses of yellow and pink. “That which is covered is a mystery that excites the imagination; every designer knows that.” The saddle also had a crupper that held the wearer’s tail in an invitingly raised posture – Fluttershy squeaked when Rarity looped it around her dock. “But fewer recognize that what is not covered… is emphasized.”

For the pièce de résistance, a set of garters beneath the saddle’s skirts supported sheer leggings, leaving only the mare’s crotch exposed. “So of course, this one covers almost everything.” The unicorn couldn’t keep a note of smug pride from her voice. The outfit wasn’t subtle, perhaps, but there was only so much subtlety to be had on the theme of take me now, you stud! Still, thus far her first foray into lingerie design seemed an unqualified success. “Now, I’ll have you walk around a bit to begin with,” Rarity said, almost skipping as she crossed the room so she could watch how the lace flowed in motion – to see the forest rather than the trees, so to speak.

She walked to the door, turned… and stopped dead. The pegasus didn’t just look good. She was stunning. Literally. The unicorn’s jaw dropped and her thoughts scattered like a jar of spilled sequins. “Oh… my goodness…” she breathed.

Fluttershy paused with one hoof in the air. “Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry.”

Rarity groped for words, her brain sluggish to re-engage. “Oh, no, Fluttershy! You look absolutely… breathtaking! Do take a look in the mirror – Why, Huge Hoofner himself couldn’t ask for better.” It wasn’t exaggeration by any stretch. Her demure eyes and diffident posture somehow altered the effect of the dress; whereas the provocative outfit would have seemed lewd on another mare (as it was quite intended to), it instead lent Fluttershy a coy, flirtatious air. In fact, against all reason, Rarity herself was seized by the desire to flirt back. She giggled and pushed away the momentary urge to plant a kiss on that smooth, jeweled forehead. How delightfully devious! If the dress worked this well on its intended owner, she should have no trouble enticing that stallion to try his luck.

Then Fluttershy turned to admire herself in the mirror, and the unicorn felt her face catch fire. Just as she’d explained, her eyes were drawn directly to Fluttershy’s rump. With the long, pink tail gathered up and held high, there was nothing at all left to the imagination – but even so, her imagination was very busy indeed. It forcefully presented Rarity with several entirely inappropriate ideas in quick succession. It took three tries to tear her eyes away from her friend’s rear end.

“It’s nice,” the pegasus decided, oblivious to the distress she was causing.

“Excuse-me-a-moment!” Rarity squeaked and fled the room.

Rarity shoved the ponyquin out of her display nook and pulled the curtain closed around her. Her heart pounded out a fast gallop rhythm and her lungs struggled to keep pace, and not just from the rush downstairs. A spark of unexpected excitement had ignited down in her belly, a pleasant little knot of carnal desire—

For Fluttershy?!

She recoiled and shook her head as if trying to shoo away a fly. That is quite an improper way to think of your friend, Rarity! she told herself sternly. She was a cosmopolitan sort of mare, of course; it made no difference to her who did what with whom. Still, the unicorn had never personally been attracted to another mare before.

…and to her best friend, at that. A shiver crept up her back, bringing along a knot of emotions so tangled she couldn’t even begin to unravel them right now. Arousal mixed with shame to leave her feeling unclean, grimed with guilt as though she’d been rolling around in Applejack’s pigsty. And yet, some horrible, wicked, repressed little corner of her mind was cackling with glee. Maybe, it suggested, since she was already filthy, she could wallow around for a bit longer. She was at loose ends now, romantically speaking. Maybe that sweet little filly upstairs would be willing to indulge a friend’s curiosity…

Certainly not!

“Rarity? Are you all right?” Fluttershy’s voice drifted down the stairs, sending a fresh wave of anxiety though her belly. This was all too sudden! Too overwhelming! The thought of going back upstairs made her heart hammer with panic. Definitely panic. Her head started to spin.

The unicorn gritted her teeth and lowered her head between her forelegs, leaning against the wall for support. She would not faint in the middle of her own store! She would go back up there and… and… maybe just a little peck on the cheek…

She shook her head more violently as she fought to master her emotions. Get ahold of yourself, Rarity! You are a professional, so act like it! She called up the same willpower that fueled her magic to push away the unwelcome thoughts. Focus. This is simply business. No personal interest. Now get your rump back in there and do the job! The private pep talk didn’t do much to stop the insistent sensation of need, but she’d have to deal with that later. For now, she could only brace herself to face the lovely, timid, suddenly-very-alluring pegasus again.

Rarity cleared her throat. “One moment, darling!” she sing-songed, hoping the strain didn’t come through in her voice. She hurriedly cast about for some excuse for her abrupt exit – aha! She slipped the strap of her pincushion over one hoof and trotted back up the stairs as casually as she could manage. “My apologies, Fluttershy, I realized I’d left my pincushion down in the shop, just in case I need to mark any changes.”

Thank goodness! Fluttershy was facing the door when she returned, which made it much easier to concentrate. Just a customer, just a customer… “Now then, if you could spread your wings out for me…”

Rarity waved goodbye to her friend as the sun began to sink, the traitorous dress now safely back on its stand. “Good night, Fluttershy! See you tomorrow at the spa!” she called. For over an hour, Rarity had filled her head with fabric and stitches, building a dam against everything but an objective inspection of the dress, willing herself not to notice how astoundingly attractive it made Fluttershy.

Now that she felt she could relax, the dam was cracking and springing leak after leak, and she didn’t know how long she could hold back the flood. Her eyes strayed to the departing pegasus’s tail, and her memory helpfully filled in precisely what was beneath the waterfall of silky pink hair. It wasn’t as if she’d never glimpsed… that… before, but she’d never been so acutely aware of it, either. She felt a mighty blush turn her skin bright red from the end of her muzzle to the tips of her ears.

Rarity jerked her head back inside, slammed the door, and threw the bolt. She sagged against the painted wood as her brain treated her to a highlight reel of the past hour. Around the halfway point, Fluttershy had begun to truly feel attractive, and the way she'd started waggling her hips as she strutted across the floor had very nearly been enough to break Rarity’s resolve on the spot.

The unicorn gasped as she found her hoof sliding down between her thighs, where an insistent heat throbbed with each quick beat of her heart. She snatched her hoof away and staggered to her feet in a daze. She ached to be touched. Now that she was alone, she wanted it so badly she could hardly contain herself. Not here. Not yet. It might have been unlikely anypony would peer inside, but she was closed unusually early. Rarity thundered back up the stairs to her room and hauled each pair of drapes closed against any inquisitive pegasi, then threw herself down on the bed and gave in to lust.

She wasn’t gentle with herself. Rarity moaned with pure, animal need and ground her hoof roughly against her swollen, damp petals as the memory of Fluttershy’s exposed sex drifted before her mind’s eye. She was already soaking wet, and within seconds, so was her hoof. She wanted so badly to reach out and taste the pegasus, fill her mouth and nose with the sweet musk of Fluttershy’s excitement. She switched hooves, sliding her tongue across the soft pad of the wet one, lapping eagerly at the sheen of hot juices and breathing the scent of her own arousal instead. She could imagine Fluttershy’s reaction so vividly.

A squeal as she tried to pull away, stopped short by Rarity catching her hindlegs in a hug. The pegasus at first protesting the sudden assault, then falling silent but for quickening breaths and quiet gasps as the tension built and her wetness grew. Then, finally, a loud moan of surrender when Fluttershy gave in at last and pressed herself back against Rarity’s muzzle, accepting the pleasure and beginning to beg for more…

Rarity switched hooves again, her hips starting to buck and squirm across the bedspread. Would Fluttershy be willing to reciprocate? Mmm… surely so.

Once the pegasus capitulated, Rarity would roll her onto her back and straddle her muzzle. Fluttershy would resist at first, but soon she would discover that the better a job she did, the better Rarity treated her in response.

“Use your tongue, Fluttershy,” she panted aloud. “Lick me hard!”

Soon, the clumsy, blunt edges of her hooves were no longer enough. The frenzied unicorn wanted so much more! If a stallion had been present, she’d have given herself to him without a second thought. She let out a long, frustrated cry that was more than half scream and cast about for something she could use to finish herself off.

Her wandering eyes fell on a spool of green satin ribbon on her work table. Idea! She levitated the spool in a bright blue glow and drew it to herself, unrolling a few feet of ribbon as it crossed the room. The free end slithered between her thighs and wrapped around one hoof, then tied itself in a simple bow; the spool orbited the other hoof twice and she secured it with another quick knot. She pulled the ribbon up against herself, sliding it easily between her soaked labia and gasping out another groan as she began sawing it back and forth. A bit awkward, but serviceable. The rest of the spool unrolled across the floor, forgotten. The bright fabric was shortly soaked dark with her wetness, coated in slick fluids and sliding easily against her delicate flesh. Rarity squirmed more urgently, trying to make the ribbon hit just the right—

She sucked in a sharp gasp as the smooth, slick ribbon found her erect clit, then threw back her head and howled with delight, dragging it harshly across the nub. Yes, that was it!

She would start tickling Fluttershy’s clit with the tip of her tongue. The pegasus would moan so delightfully and try to hide her face behind her forelegs and Rarity’s tail, whimpering and quivering with each stroke of the unicorn’s tongue. She would have to remind Fluttershy to keep servicing her while she worked, pushing her rump insistently down against Fluttershy’s face.

Rarity gasped and trembled herself, grinding her thighs together. The smooth ribbon dragged so deliciously across her sensitive little button, she could hardly bear it!

She would tease the pegasus, flicking and stroking the sensitive spot carefully, not enough to finish her off, just racheting the tension higher and higher. Eventually, the moans would turn to desperate cries and the quiet mare would finally break down and beg her for release. Then she would thrust her tongue into Fluttershy’s hot, dripping-wet tunnel and– and–!

Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs. Pleasure rolled through her body like a tide of fire, immense and irresistable and excruciatingly wonderful. Curled up on her side, she kept stroking herself with the ribbon, letting out moan after moan and shuddering under the waves of ecstacy until she couldn’t stand the stimulation a moment longer. She loosed the bow with a quick twitch of magic and stretched out on her back with a long, profoundly satisfied groan, panting heavily and quivering in the afterglow for a few blissful minutes.

Rarity’s head spun pleasantly as she lay, listening to her pulse gradually slow. Sweet Celestia full of light, she hadn’t needed it that badly in years! Or possibly ever, come to think of it. This is utterly insane, she reflected as she watched the bed’s canopy slowly orbit above her. Since when did I get so… flustered over mares? Wasn’t the mate of her dreams a gallant and noble stallion?

Yes, yes he was. He. She’d never even considered dating another mare before. Why now? For that matter, she thought suddenly, how long has it been since I went on a proper date in the first place? After a moment’s consideration, she decided she didn't wish to calculate it more accurately than “quite some time”.

A quiet smile broke across her muzzle. Of course, how absurdly simple! She was still a young mare, after all. This was probably just some hormonal… thing. She had been working hard for months to prepare for the Gala on top of everything else, with very little time left over for herself – much less for any sort of romantic pursuits, even laying aside her aspirations to nobility. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising if the accumulated stress required… “release” now and again. At any rate, she promised herself, she would allow her standards to slip down to merely 'high' and put out an honest effort to find herself an acceptable husband. How many refined young stallions had she missed meeting at the Gala, wasting all her time on that Blueblood lout?

Rarity allowed herself indulge in a bit of “could have been”. She pictured herself with a charming stallion of about her age, both dressed to the nines, slipping off together to a secluded corner of the royal gardens. Shielded from prying and judgemental eyes, who could say what mischief even a mannerly young lady might get herself into? Especially when the stallion saw how she could unfasten buttons using only her lips and tongue…

She giggled and tugged a pillow up against her side to stand in for the handsome swain, letting that fantasy play out… until she remembered that Fluttershy had spent most of the evening in the gardens. Then things got decidedly weird. After a few minutes, she caught herself pulling over a second pillow and trying to work out any circumstance under which Fluttershy might join a threesome with herself and a strange stallion. She shoved both pillows clear off the bed.

I need a cold shower.

A handful of lights pushed back the gathering gloom of dusk as Rarity lounged on her favorite overstuffed love seat down in the shop. Lounging was another thing that had lately taken a back seat to work, work, work. With her mane and tail wrapped up in towels, she levitated her latest saddle-ripper novel by Primrose – an admittedly trashy piece called Galloping Hearts. She tried to immerse herself for a time in the romantic escapades of Heavenly Gates and her paramour of the moment, but somehow, in her imagination, Ms. Gates kept turning into a pegasus with a coat the color of butter.

Chapter 3

The morning hours, at least, were busy enough to divert Rarity entirely. Having been consumed by Gala preparations and then closing early the previous afternoon, she had more customers than usual – not to mention quite a bit of catch-up work to do. She opened all the shop’s windows to let in the clear, pinkish morning light and a fresh northerly breeze, and after an hour or so, Rarity felt quite able to laugh at herself. The perplexing feelings of the previous evening didn’t trouble her so much under the bright light of day.

“Silly filly,” she smiled as she did some needlework on a chic but restrained business collar for the mayor. “As I suspected, it was merely hormones. All taken care of now.” And the disagreeable little voice in the back of her mind could just shut up about it, thank you very much.

It was lunchtime before she knew it, and after that, the spa! Dear Lotus would have her work cut out for her, as tense as Rarity had been over the past week. But, in any case, rushing wouldn’t bring the appointment any sooner, so she took a leisurely lunch at the cafe and paused to browse the book shop for a new novel on the way back.

Rarity wasn’t a voracious reader like Twilight Sparkle, but the solitary rack of romance novels still offered little she hadn't read before. Nothing new from Terra Cotta or Rose Papillon… no new up-and-coming authors… and the next “Heavenly Gates” novel was months away yet. She considered picking up a newer work by Silkyshine, an author she’d previously discarded, but then her eye snagged on the very top shelf. That was where the proprietor put the more… “unconventional” fare to keep it beyond the reach of youngsters. Her attention had been caught by a thin, gray book. It seemed almost out of place amid the riot of gaudy colors and lurid gold-leafed titles that inhabited the rest of the bookcase. The plain spine sported only a row of stark white block letters: Other Mares.

She looked away quickly. That wasn’t her kind of book. Silkyshine had a new one called Heart of a Pegasus. Who knew? Perhaps she’d improved over the past couple of years. She floated the book out of the rack and started to peruse the blurb.

Rarity’s eyes gravitated back to the thin gray book. She peeked over her shoulder, as if worried someone might see her and divine exactly which book held her interest. Maybe… perhaps she could admit she was just a little… curious. She surruptitiously glanced to either side. Nopony was looking at her. She snatched up the book and stuffed it underneath Heart of a Pegasus – the latter as a backup in case Other Mares didn’t pan out, certainly not just to hide the little gray book against a casual look – and plunked them down on the counter before she could change her mind.

She trotted back to the boutique and popped upstairs to deposit her purchases. Perhaps she would finish her lunch break with a few pages of Other Mares. As the books hovered in front of her, though, she noticed something she hadn’t as she rushed out of the bookshop: stacked together, their titles lined up to read, “Pegasus Mares”.

She hurled the books across the room.

Rarity cut her lunch break short and sat down to do some embroidery until the spa appointment, but she worked slowly, often pausing to stare into space. All right, fine. She had to admit that the previous day hadn’t left her as unscathed as she had preferred to imagine. It did bother her. But even if she were to acknowledge that she might be interested in mares in general – which she didn’t! – she could hardly spring such a thing on Fluttershy.

Sitting still made her antsy. Nervous energy quivered through her limbs and set her heart fluttering, urging her to move around, to do something... physical. She pushed away the mental image of Fluttershy before the unwelcome sensations she had given in to the evening before started creeping back into her belly.

Rarity finally dropped the embroidery with a low 'tch!' of frustration and started pacing. She couldn’t concentrate long enough to get anything useful done, and that was yet another burr under her saddle. The book she had bought seemed to beckon from upstairs, but quiet reading wasn’t what she wanted either.

Well. Not just reading.

She almost felt like venting her frustration on Applejack’s trees. Even the danger of a chipped hoof would be preferable to trying to sew in this state. The longer she stewed, the more annoyed she got with herself. It was as if her own body and mind were betraying her, conspiring to keep her from her commitments! Plus, she had no one else to blame, which irked her even more.

She paused in front of the mirror, glaring at her reflection. "Why are you doing this to me?!" she screeched. "Didn't I give you what you wanted?" Her reflection just screamed in return.

Rarity finally stormed outside for a walk. The cheerful sun didn’t do much to lighten her foul mood. For once, she was thankful she lived in laid-back, slow-paced Ponyville rather than Canterlot or Manehattan, where a day’s delay would have brought angry customers beating down her door. One way or another, she simply had to move around, even if it meant falling even farther behind on her work.

And if you procrastinate long enough, perhaps you’ll need to call in Fluttershy to help you catch up, sniggered the wicked voice in her thoughts. Maybe you’ll even need to pull an all-nighter together. She grimaced darkly at the unwanted intrusion, too distracted to notice how her expression made other ponies hurry to clear out of her way.

She would catch up that night. By herself.

Three circuits of the park hadn’t done much besides tire out her legs. Her thoughts still stampeded in futile circles, shying away from particular trains of thought like a certain rather skittish pegasus. Still, the appointed time drew near, so Rarity paused to compose herself, then set out for the spa at last.

“Good afternoon, Lotus!” she called with false cheer. There was no sign of Fluttershy yet. Well, Rarity was a touch early. The pegasus wouldn’t be more than a minute or two behind her.

She settled on one of the couches to wait.

She stood up.

She poked through the magazines on the table. Fluttershy pouted adorably on the cover of a six-month-old copy of Mares’ World. She frowned and flipped it over. It didn’t help, Fluttershy was selling bath oils on the back, too.

She sat down.

She stood up.

Surely Fluttershy must be running terribly late! Where in Equestria was that mare?

She glanced at the clock. It had been three minutes.

Lotus Blossom was worriedly watching Rarity try to wear a rut in the carpet when the door jingled open two exceedingly long minutes later. “Oh. You’re already here,” Fluttershy said in her low, breathy tones. “I’m sorry I’m la—”

“Think nothing of it, darling!” Rarity trumpeted, practically springing to get into her robe for the sauna. “The usual, please!”

The sauna was nothing short of glorious. Lotus dumped a ladel full of water on the heated rocks, and a curtain of hot, steamy air enveloped Rarity. She let out a long, tension-laden sigh as the enervating heat soaked into her body. The frantic urge to move seemed to leach out through her pores. She slowly stretched out on the bench, forcing her neck and shoulder muscles to relax. If not for the damp, she could have wished she’d brought her embroidery.

“Is everything all right, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked. “You looked kind of tense yesterday. I mean, really tense.”

Rarity felt her shoulders knot up again in an instant, tighter than before. Drat that mare’s insight! “Everything’s fine, Fluttershy!” she lied. “I was just worried about the results of such a high-profile commission.”

Fluttershy seemed to accept that, or at least didn’t press the point. “Oh. Well, if you want, I could come by this evening and help you out with it some more…”

A flash of panic made Rarity’s voice almost a yelp. “That won’t be necessary! I– I mean, I have some other work to attend to,” she finished in a more moderate tone, grateful that the heat of the room would cover up her flush. Fluttershy wilted a tiny bit, and Rarity belatedly realized that she had been trying to offer the chance to chat about her troubles in private. Well, that was out of the question. She decided to pretend that she had missed the subtext entirely.

It wasn’t until Lotus opened the door that she realized she had lapsed into broody silence for several minutes.

“I’m fed up with shop talk, honestly,” Rarity said as the spa ponies painted mud masks onto their faces. That much was true enough. “Why don’t you tell me about your animal friends?”

“Oh? O-okay, if you’re really interested!” Fluttershy’s voice was brimming with suppressed surprise.

“Please do, darling. I simply must get my mind off other matters,” she said vaguely. Slices of cucumber covered her eyes, and soon the soft scrape-scrape of a cornicure joined the pegasus pony’s lilting voice.

“Well, just yesterday Angel-bunny found an otter on the river bank…”

The otter with the sprained tail took them clear through the massage, Fluttershy’s voice growing steadily more confident as she rambled her way through the story. The way she spoke almost had the quality of a lullaby, comforting and musical. Rarity wasn’t entirely certain she would not have fallen asleep without the masseuse hammering on her spine!

“I’m not boring you, am I?” the other mare asked suddenly, self-consciousness creeping back into her tone.

Rarity gave a little start. She had been drifting a bit. “Not at all! I enjoy listening to you talk. You have a very soothing voice.”

Rarity could hear the blush in Fluttershy’s voice as it dropped even lower. “Oh! Um. Thank you. Very much.”

“Do go on?”

Before she could, though, Lotus Blossom broke in. “Pardon me, ladies, but the mudbaths are ready for you,” she announced as the mare finished the massage, and the faintly fishy scent of seaweed drifted into the room.

Soon, Rarity was wrapped in seaweed and sinking into the warm, buoyant embrace of the mud bath while Fluttershy went on about a mouse with a broken leg. The weightless sensation of floating in the hot mud reminded her of her brief flirtation with flight in Cloudsdale. Perhaps some day she might put in the work to develop enough skill to cast such a spell herself. She could almost see herself flitting effortlessly beside the other mare, gliding just above the treetops while Fluttershy chatted companionably about her animals. The idea made her heart feel as light as one of Pinkie's balloons.

The sense of peace and joy shattered the instant she realized what she was feeling. Furiously, Rarity shook the cucumbers out of her eyes. She couldn’t watch the backs of her eyelids any longer. Simply being with the pegasus shouldn’t make her this happy! With her eyes open, though, she couldn’t help glancing toward Fluttershy. Up to her neck in mud with her eyes closed, the shy mare chattered as if she’d completely forgotten the presence of everypony but Rarity. In fact, she’d never heard Fluttershy string this many words together in a row before. The unicorn’s cheeks pulled her lips up into a dopey grin.

The grin vanished and a claustrophobic sensation seized Rarity’s breast. She couldn’t open her eyes. She couldn’t close her eyes. She was trapped in the mud with a torturous trickle of unwelcome happiness dripping on her head!

She sucked in a few calming breaths. Relax... breathe. This was her favorite part of the spa treatment. She was in control. She was serene.

She was staring at the pegasus mare again.

Rarity shifted to face the other direction and nearly let out a yelp, her face going bright red. The viscous mud tugged at her nethers with every motion, reminding her that her body still had other things on its mind. She crouched down lower in the mud, trying to force down the part of her mind that wondered what the other mare's backside looked like, coated with mud. Trying to ignore the creeping sensation that the mud was oozing... into her with every motion. She felt herself start to tremble, panic and arousal and disgust all roiling together in the heat of the mud, threatening to boil over.

She wanted Fluttershy, but she didn’t want to want her! Liar. She didn't want to feel the urge to slide a hoof between her thighs beneath the mud, touching herself in secret to the sound of Fluttershy's voice. Pervert. She didn't want to imagine Fluttershy doing the same while thinking of her. Filthy. She was chained to a pair of ponies pulling in opposite directions, and both of them were Rarity! She knew she was losing it. She couldn't hold all her emotions in check at once. Boil over it did.

An enormous clamp closed around the unicorn's chest, squeezing her heart and lungs. Rarity tossed her head and snorted, her pupils constricting in instinctive terror.

Can’t move run can’t breathe have to run legs trapped drowning have to get out of here now run run RUN!

A scream exploded from her lips and Rarity began struggling her way out of the mud. Fluttershy stopped short mid-word, her eyes wide in alarm, and the twins made a tremendous clamor of begging her to let them help her out lest she slip and fall. She didn’t listen, couldn’t wait. She bolted for the showers, hooves scrambling and mud spattering in every direction.

Rarity viciously tore the strips of seaweed from her body with her teeth and turned on the shower, shaking with reaction from the panic attack. How could she be too tense for the spa?!

A tentative tap came at the door. Rarity paused to take a deep breath and collect every ounce of serenity she had left before she answered it. “Please give me a moment, darling,” she said to a concerned Lotus Blossom, then closed the door in her face.

The cool spray rained down on her, washing away mud and sweat. The one thing she desperately wanted to wash off, though, stained her like permanent ink: desire. It refused to spiral down the drain though she scrubbed her coat until it gleamed.

She leaned her head against the wall as the shower slicked her mane down against her neck., wondering whether to cry or scream or just beat her head against the tile. It was all the fault of that accursed dress!

Oh? the wicked little voice added from a more honest corner of her mind. Did the dress make you horny when Fluttershy wasn’t wearing it?

It was supposed to make mares attractive!

The key word being ‘mares’. Q.E.D., Rarity. The insolent voice seemed intolerably smug.

That was absurd. She’d never been attracted to Fluttershy before yesterday.

Except for inviting her over on the least pretext.

She was a good helper!

And going to the spa together every week.

That’s not unusual for good friends!

And you wish she could be more, don’t you?

No!

…Maybe?

You’re in denial, darling.

Rarity spat something very unladylike and shut off the water with far more force than necessary. She felt like her brain had popped a stitch and was slowly coming unraveled. She finally had to admit it: she was thoroughly infatuated with Fluttershy.

The worst part was, she couldn’t even talk it over with anypony. Fluttershy had, naturally, been her favored confidant for some time. Who else was she supposed to tell? Rainbow Dash would laugh in her face, besides being the very last pony in Equestria she would ever ask for romantic advice. Applejack might be… “earthy” enough to commiserate, but she would certainly be laughing on the inside, and the farmer would never, ever let Rarity forget it. Twilight would just start going on about “repression” or “transferrence” or some other psychological nonsense. Pinkie Pie would… well, the stars alone knew what Pinkie Pie would do on the best of days, but her default response seemed to be “throw a party at it”.

At least the sensation of being torn in two had vanished. There was nothing for it. Now that she’d acknowledged what she’d been denying to herself for so long, she had to do something about it, and soon. Plans began assembling themselves in her head as she took another calming breath and opened the door again.

“I apologize for my theatrics, everypony…”

Chapter 4

"Signed, your secret admirer?!" Rainbow Dash burst out, only to be shushed by the rest of the group. The meeting was to be kept in the strictest confidence, at Fluttershy's request. Dash rolled her eyes, scanned the page again, then dropped it back on the table. Meanwhile, Fluttershy drifted in circles around the upper part of Twilight's room, rubbing her hooves together and trying to hide behind her bangs at the same time.

"Can you detect any clues as to who might have written it?" Rarity asked, hiding her tension beneath a façade of intrigued delight.

Twilight shook her head. "The writing is textbook-perfect. I think whoever wrote this was deliberately disguising it. This looks like the same paper and ink I use, so they probably live here in Ponyville, but..." She waved her hoof over the page. "The letter implies that much anyway."

"Ooh, how mysterious!" Rarity cooed, stuffing her surge of victorious pride deep down in her chest. She pulled the letter over and glanced over it again, as if she couldn't quote it by heart already. She'd burned the first dozen attempts that very morning, after all.

Dear Fluttershy,

I wish I were brave enough to deliver this missive to you in person, but alas, I am not. For some time I have admired you -- your gentle kindness, your unassuming beauty, your quiet strength -- but I recently came to understand that my feelings may represent something deeper. I hope, perhaps, if no other holds your heart, that I might one day have that honor.

Signed,
Your Secret Admirer

"He -- or she -- seems quite erudite," the white unicorn observed, trying not to compliment herself too strongly as she fished for a reaction. The letter's recipient barely acknowledged the comment.

"They sound very, um, nice," the pink-haired pegasus allowed. "Oh my goodness, what do I do? I've never, I mean I don't..." She trailed off in an embarrassed squeak.

Twilight shrugged, holding the letter up to the light to check for watermarks or secret writing. "They didn't ask you to do anything. Just enjoy it, I guess?"

"Yeah!" Dash added, darting up to give the other pegasus a hug. "You got fan mail! That's awesome, and you should feel awesome!"

"I think it's a mite more serious than fan mail," Applejack countered from across the table, leaning on one elbow. "Dunno if I'd take a shine to somepony who cain't come out an' say it to my face. But Rainbow is right, sugarcube. Take it as a compliment."

Pinkie had yet to add anything; on reading the letter, she had simply stuck a bubble pipe in her mouth and started bubbling with an air of deep concentration. Now the bubbling intensified as a single huge bubble slowly expanded, silencing conversation and attracting all eyes as it expanded beyond the size of a canteloupe.

"Pinkie?" Twilight prompted.

The party pony's eyes narrowed down to slits, the bubble gradually growing bigger and bigger. Pinkie almost had it as big as her head before it popped and the pink mare's eyes snapped open, wide with revelation. "I got it! The pony who wrote this letter..."

The other five leaned closer, eager to hear what insight Pinkie's labyrinthine thought processes had come up with. "Yes?" Rarity prompted.

"...has been watching Fluttershy a lot!" she finished triumphantly. There was a low groan and the rest of the group slumped -- four in dismay, one in relief.

"Well," the purple unicorn asked after a moment, "have you noticed anypony staring at you?"

Fluttershy shook her head, starting another circuit of the room. "There were a lot of ponies staring and taking pictures when I was modeling, but that stopped after I quit." The yellow pegasus gasped suddenly, her orbit accelerating. "Oh dear, what if somepony's been secretly taking pictures of me? What if--?" She squeaked again, covering her face with both hooves.

"Then I hope they did you justice," Rarity replied firmly, then patted the floor. "Come now, darling, stop pacing and relax. There's really not a thing to worry about." She magically lifted a brush from among her accoutrements with a hopeful smile.

The shy pegasus obediently settled to the ground. "It just feels... funny to think somepony's been sp--spying on me."

"There, there," Rarity murmured as she began to stroke the brush down her silky mane. "I'm sure it's nothing so sinister." After all, it's not spying if you know I'm there. I'm just an admirer... admiring. "Why, I see Big Macintosh about town from time to time, but nopony would accuse me of spying on him."

"Hey, yeah! Maybe Big Mac wrote it!" Rainbow Dash chimed in. "He's pretty quiet, and he lives close to you. He probably sees you coming and going all the time!"

Fluttershy flushed nearly to Pinkie's color. "B-b-but Macintosh and I have barely even said a word to each other! ...I think it was 'eeyup'."

Applejack added her own flat stare at the local speedster. "Seriously? Can you imagine Big Macintosh usin' fancy words like 'missive' or 'alas'? That's like... Rarity-talk."

The unicorn froze, but her pause went without comment. Pinkie tapped a hoof against her lips. "So we're looking for somepony who knows lots of fancy-pantsy words, huh?" Four sets of eyes swiveled to Twilight Sparkle.

"What?" she said, then her eyes widened. "What, me?! No no no no no! I'd never-- I mean, I didn't-- I, er..." She hesitated, offering the yellow pegasus a nervous grin. "No offense, Fluttershy."

The pegasus giggled faintly and waved it away with a hoof. "None taken. That would be a little awkward, wouldn't it?"

You have no idea. Rarity stroked a hoof down Fluttershy's back as she brushed. The gesture could easily be interpreted as friendly support, but the touch sent a tingle of secret excitement through the unicorn. So close... she sighed silently, and yet so far. The conversation flowed on without the unicorn as she tried to memorize every tactile detail of the coat and feathers under her hoof. Rarity would sometimes examine an unusual fabric in this way, but nothing felt quite like the touch of another pony. And -- as Rarity had had reason to lay hooves on each of her friends in the course of Gala preparations -- nopony felt quite like Fluttershy. She wanted to wrap that feeling around herself... or herself around it... or... Mmm! Perhaps this is neither the time nor the place for that train of thought.

The group bandied about a hoof-full of other possible writers, but each possibility was discarded in turn. Eventually, they fell back into their own thoughts, interrupted only by the soft chime of magic and the rhythmic susurrus of the brush through Fluttershy's mane.

"Well," Rarity said nonchalantly into the silence, "Does anypony 'hold your heart', as our mysterious author puts it?"

Fluttershy straightened up a little in surprise and her wings half unfolded, but she settled down again a moment later, putting her hair between herself and her friends again. Rarity was beginning to think she wouldn't answer when the pegasus finally murmured, "Not really..."

"Not... really?" Twilight repeated. Cautiously, she asked, "Does that mean a little bit yes?"

"Oh, um... not really," Fluttershy said again. "I mean, there are a couple of stallions I've thought might be, um... nice... but..."

"But you're just checking 'em out, not making any plans," Rainbow Dash finished. The other pegasus bobbed her head once.

A trickle of ice ran down Rarity's back at the word 'stallions'. But then, I'd have said the same only a few days past, she reminded herself. One mustn't jump to conclusions.

And now she knew the topic of the next letter.

Wrapped in a close-fitting crimson-and-gold cheongsam with a pink cherry blossom tucked behind her ear, Rarity by far outshone any other diner in Ponyville's little café... save one. The mane of the pegasus sitting across from her was done up in an ornate chignon secured by a pair of laquered sticks, holding it up out of pale blue eyes made positively luminous by her lovely vermilion kimono. Her pink hair picked up the brightness of the vivid orange, completing the frame for those enchanting eyes. Rarity barely tasted her mushroom kabobs.

Fluttershy picked at a strawberry and spinach salad between nervous glances at the other patrons of the cafe. The stares had died down, but she was still clearly uncomfortable. Which was a pity, because she looked radiant. The dinner was ostensibly Rarity's combined "thank you" for helping with the lingere design and "I'm sorry" for her faux pas during their mud baths. The unicorn, however, preferred to imagine it was a date. That was bad of her, she knew, but the notion refused to release her imagination. Her hoof itched with the desire to touch the other pony's beneath the table. Never before had words like "seemly" and "respectable" seemed so restrictive. Or "friend". She found her wine glass draining faster than she would have liked.

And then it was over. Just like that. The waiter offered dessert, and Rarity invited her da-- friend to order whatever she wished, but the yellow pegasus declined and seemed eager enough to leave that Rarity couldn't bring herself to even linger over her last glass of wine.

Fluttershy relaxed visibly once the café was left behind. The pair still turned a few heads on the evening streets of Ponyville, but she seemed less bothered by a few lingering glances.

The unicorn sighed. "I'm sorry that made you so uncomfortable," she said, giving her friend an apologetic smile. "I suppose we were rather overdressed for the venue."

"No... it's all right," the other mare replied. "It's not your fault. It's just that... after that letter... I keep imagining that somepony is watching me."

Well... I may have been staring, indeed. Rarity realized she couldn't have repeated a single word of their conversation after the fact. She'd been too caught up to do more that put her mouth on autopilot and make meaningless chit-chat. Was that unkind? Her friend deserved better than that, didn't she? A sudden desire to confess welled up in her chest. I've made her unhappy. I can fix that here and now.

"Fluttersh--" The words nearly spilled from her lips unbidden before she halted them. The other mare's words echoed in her ears. That would be a little awkward, wouldn't it? She firmly reminded herself that she'd drunk slightly more alcohol than she had intended to, and she should make no rash decisions without a clear head. She nodded to herself. She could put it off and consider more carefully in the morning. And... I'd like to be able to dream for at least one more night.

The light yellow mare had paused, waiting for her words. Oh, and think fast!

"Do you wish you hadn't received that letter at all?" she asked instead, the wine preventing her from entirely concealing a tremor in her voice. It went unremarked, if Fluttershy noticed at all.

There was a pause, then a soft sigh as the pair resumed their walk. "No, I guess not. I just don't know how to react. It's not like being a model," she said, strutting a few step like she was back on the runway. "Back then, everypony just wanted pictures of that p-pretty mare from the magazines." The pegasus gestured as though indicating some other pony, then hesitated, dropping her hoof to scuff at the cobbles. "Do you think that... somepony really wants me for..." Her voice dropped to a tiny squeak. "...me?"

Rarity again restrained the impulse to wrap the pegasus in her arms and gush forth the whys and wherefores of everything she had done. "'Your gentle kindness, your quiet strength,'" she quoted. "Does that sound like a pony who's only interested in your looks?"

Fluttershy shook her head, then peeked up at the unicorn, offered a faint smile. "Thanks, Rarity. I guess... like Rainbow said... I should feel awesome."

They were nearly to the bridge that leapt the stream beside the Carousel Boutique. Rarity touched her friend lightly on the shoulder. "Darling, it's normal to get jittery about romance. Just... don't let it stop you from doing what your heart tells you to." Saying that much was easy as breathing. It was the advice she'd give to anypony.

Easier said...

A nod, and they finished the all-too-short trip in companionable silence.

"Well..." Rarity said as she unlocked her door.

"Thank you for dinner," Fluttershy said. "It was... tasty..."

Rarity's imagination wrenched against reality. This wasn't a date. It was just dinner with a friend. If it were a date, the scene would play out so differently...

Rarity cocked her head, gazing at the pegasus coquettishly from the corner of her eye. "It seems too early to go home just yet... Would you like to come inside? I'll make us some coffee."

"You're welcome, of course. And thank you."

Fluttershy bit her lip but smiled, her eyes taking on a playful, knowing expression. "I'd like that."

They traded a friendly smile. "Good night, Rarity."

"Good night, Fluttershy."

Rarity opened the door for the other mare and trailed her inside, her heart already pounding with anticipation.

Rarity paused with the door open, glancing after the pegasus. She heaved a soft sigh, then stepped inside and closed the door on a night cut all too short.

With unexpected vigor, Fluttershy shoved the unicorn down on the bed, her wings nearly upsetting the coffee cups on the nightstand as she propelled herself on top of Rarity. Freed from the constraints of modesty, decency, or inhibition, the normally shy pegasus was... ravenous! The flavor of strawberries still clung to her kisses as she thrust them on Rarity, the shocked unicorn unable to do more than slip surprised -- and pleased -- moans past her lover's tongue.

They were both still fully dressed, but Fluttershy's unexpected ardor had pulled her kimono askew. The robe hung open below her waist and gapped across her chest, one shoulder slipping free as she writhed against the unicorn. They broke apart a moment later, both gasping, giving Rarity a moment to pull herself fully onto the bed. "Fluttershy!" she panted. "What in Eques--"

Then the other mare was on her again. She cut off the question with more lusty kisses, hooves roaming Rarity's neck and belly. The unicorn offered no resistance, practically purring when the other mare's lips met hers and wordlessly replying with caresses to Fluttershy's ear and hip. Whatever had gotten into the mare, she liked it!

Then Fluttershy planted her forehooves on the unicorn's chest, crouching down and pressing herself lewdly against Rarity's body as she started to grind. The tight-fitting cheongsam had held up better than Fluttershy's outfit; the wild mare lifted her head and let out a hungry, near-feral moan as her crotch slid against the smooth silk.

Rarity felt herself blush bright red at the other mare's uncharacteristically shameless display. "Flutt--" she started, but rough lips and an unyielding tongue silenced her again. She found herself staring into eyes she had rarely seen on Fluttershy, not gently drooped, but wide open with her pupils contracted almost to points and a sort of madness dancing in them. It should have been frightening, but she felt herself relaxing instead, giving the pegasus free rein with her body. Clearly, there were to be no rules tonight... no propriety... just two mares alone with their wanton desires. With a smile, the unicorn threw decorum to the wind and willingly gave herself to her lover.

Fluttershy slid back and forth against the smooth fabric, letting out primal noises of excitement. They would certainly stain both dresses beyond recovery if they kept this up, but the fashionista just pressed her thighs together, a hot, creamy sensation trapped between them. This fierce, savage side of Fluttershy was one she had seen perhaps twice in all the time she had known the pegasus, and being the focus of its lust was as exhilirating as it was terrifying. She would gladly tear both of the beautiful outfits to shreds and set fire to them herself, and consider it cheap at twice the price if only the pegasus would continue ravishing her.

She tried to wrap her arms around Fluttershy's neck, but the beast on top of her shoved her hooves back onto the bed and pinned them in place. The pegasus shifted, her robe draping across Rarity's legs as hooves and knees scrambled, fumbling the narrow skirt of Rarity's dress out of place until one pale thigh stuck through the hip-high slit. Knees clutched the unicorn's leg, then she felt wet heat soaking through her coat as the pegasus began to rub against her. The wild, needy motions ground the pink-haired maniac's hind hoof against Rarity's own crotch, drawing cries from the unicorn with each press and slide.

Rarity's gasps and whimpers were all but drowned by the other mare's throaty moans. Fluttershy's eyes fell closed in bliss, her hips slicking a trail up and down the unicorn's thigh. Rarity helpfully pressed her leg up against the other mare, discovering almost as much excitement in surrendering herself to the pegasus as she had in her fantasies of domination. Fluttershy leaned down, her rump bobbing with almost animal urgency, her chest a hair's breadth touching Rarity's. The purple-maned mare stretched up, her lips searching for Fluttershy's.

When they met, the pegasus reacted instantly. She sucked greedily at Rarity's tongue, coaxing a fresh round of moans from the unicorn. Then teeth closed around it, not hard, but holding it firmly as the pegasus slowly started to lift her head. Rarity gave a muffled yelp, but she could feel a warm, sticky stain spreading where the silk dress was trapped between herself and Fluttershy's hoof.

Eyes wide, the pale mare struggled as she was pulled along. Her neck craned as far as it could go, but Fluttershy still tugged insistently, practically sitting back on the unicorn's leg. Rarity levered herself up, hiking herself up on her elbows and thrusting out her chest as far as her pinned arms would allow. The pegasus pony gave a further tug, but Rarity could only strain to hold the awkward position. Fluttershy held her there for several seconds, the yellow pony's grunts and moans mounting higher and higher as she rubbed herself against Rarity's unresisting body.

Then Fluttershy released her tongue, tense and quivering as she pressed against Rarity's thigh. The pegasus threw her head back, her hips making bucking motions, and loosed an almost inequine scream of pleasure as Rarity flopped back to the coverlet. The unicorn's moans grew ever louder as hot pegasus juice ran down her thigh, the other mare's folds clutching and squeezing in vain.

The madmare's very vocal orgasm fanned the flames of Rarity's own desire. She squirmed, fighting the pegasus with renewed vigor, struggling to free just one hoof to attend to her own needs. Then, suddenly, she was free! The pegasus lifted off of her, hovering in the confines beneath her bed canopy. Rarity thrust a hoof between her legs with an ecstatic squeal, careless of the soaked silk now, but Fluttershy pirouetted in air and dropped on her again, orange silk and a pink tail eclipsing the unicorn's vision. The monster was nowhere near finished with her.

Rough hooves pinioned Rarity's arms on either side, and the normally gentle mare's dripping mound was forcefully thrust in her face. "Fluttershy, please--!" she whimpered, but the only reply was a squirm that left a musky smear across her cheek. Deprived though she was, the unicorn still couldn't deny the surge of scandalous delight she felt in being so thoroughly used by the object of her affections. She lifted her head, pressed her lips against Fluttershy's slit, and meekly went to work. She had barely finished cleaning the liquid sheen from the other mare, though, when Fluttershy's head gave a savage jerk. The pegasus had gripped one edge of the cheongsam's leg slit in her teeth, and with the other panel pinned by her hoof, a loud rrrip filled the air as the seam parted. Rarity started to protest, but she was quickly silenced by another thrust of her lover's hips. Wincing with each tearing noise, Rarity began to pleasure the pegasus again as Fluttershy brutally split the dress from hip to shoulder.

The air was frigid against her soaked crotch, but Rarity spread her thighs wide, silently begging as she thrust her tongue into the grasp of Fluttershy's fever-hot walls. She had never dreamed that her friend could be so insatiable, but she struggled her hooves free and wrapped them around Fluttershy's rump as her tongue flicked up and down, teasing and stroking. The yellow mare settled down against her again, bare fur pressed to bare fur with only the kimono's sash between them.

The sensation of Fluttershy's soft, smooth coat against her own was simply too much. She broke away gasping, feeling droplets of arousal running down already-soaked fur. She couldn't stand it much longer, feeling submerged up to her chin in a lake of sensual pleasures, but not allowed to taste even a tiny sip! She whimpered and waggled her hips, panting against the other mare's sex. "I only--"

She cut off in a howl of delight as Fluttershy swiped her tongue along the unicorn's swollen lips. Just a single lick, but the anticipation made that lone caress heavenly. She thrust her face back against the other mare's rump, redoubling her efforts. Soon, however, the need returned stronger and even more maddening than before. Fluttershy licked her again, Rarity's cry stifled by soft flesh this time. The unicorn ate out her lover desperately, ignoring the hot juices dribbling down her cheeks, her efforts rewarded with only the bare minimum of stimulation to keep her from complaining.

The occasional licks and nuzzles were worse than nothing. She could hardly think past the next touch, her whole world reduced to one wet patch in front of her face and another nestled between her thighs. She lapped and stroked and teased, her ears full of Fluttershy's emphatic moans and squeals.

Then, seemingly without warning, a gush of fluid splattered Rarity's face and jolted her out of her trance. The pegasus was nearly sitting on her, wings fanning the air as she screamed another violent orgasm.

Rarity shook off her surprise and dove back in, stroking the other mare's nub with her tongue as she came, stroking it until Fluttershy wiggled away from the ticklish overstimulation. Then she turned back to Rarity, a broad, satisfied smile on her face. Please just let me finish myself, the unicorn begged silently, but Fluttershy apparently had other plans. She slid up against Rarity, wrapping arms around the unicorn and kissing her neck. Then a soft, warm hoof slid down to her aching sex, firmly stroking the soaked labia. Now Rarity was the one who couldn't restrain her long, sensual moans. Fluttershy pressed kiss after kiss to the side of her neck, but the unicorn hardly noticed. The yellow mare's hoof was firm and gentle at the same time, as if she knew exactly what to touch and how hard to touch it. Rarity could tell she wouldn't last more than a minute or two, and that was... just perfect.

A sharp pain jerked her out of the haze of pleasure. Fluttershy giggled, a fresh ring of tooth marks aching just beneath Rarity's coat. The unicorn gasped belatedly and slapped a hoof to the love bite, but she barely had time to respond. As soon as she turned her head, Fluttershy's lips blocked any words. Her tongue tasted like sex and strawberries.

The kiss left Rarity panting, her hips making eager thrusting motions as the pegasus drew her hoof away. "So... close..." she whimpered, but Fluttershy wasn't done yet. She slid her hoof up, teasing the pale mare as the tip of her hoof brushed the unicorn's stiff little nub.

"Please... please..." Rarity managed before the other mare's lips captured hers again. The taste of Fluttershy's tongue invaded her mouth just as the pegasus's hoof pressed down, sending a jolt of pure lightning through her body.

Rarity jerked awake, gasping in reaction. Her sheets were clammy with what was mostly sweat, and very real tremors of ecstacy still rippled up through her belly. One hoof lightly touched her lips, the memory of strawberries still lingering in her senses.

She hugged her stomach and curled up on her side, trembling on the verge of tears from a volatile mix of intense satisfaction and profound loneliness. After a minute, she uncurled just enough to squeeze a pillow against her chest, clutching it tight and imagining the soft, silky texture of Fluttershy's coat as hard as she possibly could. That seemed to ease the ache in her heart... a little bit.

The urge to bawl subsided after a time, but sleep was a thousand miles away by then. She glanced at the clock. Four a.m. A good time to get to writing, she supposed, so she could slip the letter in Fluttershy's mailbox before the early-rising pegasus woke.

Chapter 5

Celestia had not yet risen to begin her daily duties when Rarity stole through the western fringes of Ponyville, wrapped in an improvised cloak of dark fabric against the notice of any early risers. She suspected she was up even earlier than Applejack, for once, but she avoided the borders of Sweet Apple Acres all the same. Instead, she trotted across the meadows that lay between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest, her second letter rolled scroll-style and tucked securely under the hood of her cloak.

Dear Fluttershy,

I fear my first letter may have upset you, and for that I apologize. I had hoped to see you gleeful and smiling, but I seem to have caused you distress instead. As you might have guessed, I was out and about last night, when what should I come upon but a gentle angel clad in a fragment of sunset lingering long past nightfall! I feared my heart might burst in my chest, but my enthusiasm was dimmed by your fretful demeanor. It was not my intent to make you uncomfortable, and if perhaps my heart got in front of my sense, I can only implore your forgiveness. However, I must beg indulgence for a little longer. I have no desire to bother you against your will, and I am afraid that my advances may shortly become more unwelcome.
For you see, I contacted you thus in ignorance; I have never known you to display your romantic inclinations publically, and so I have no idea whether a mare like you might be kindly disposed toward a pony of the feminine persuasion. That is to say, I too am a mare. If that fact would exclude me from your consideration, or indeed if my continued attention is for any reason displeasing to you, pray do nothing and you shall never hear from me again.
But if, perchance, you should see your way clear to invite further dialogue between us, simply wear this red ribbon amid the glorious waterfall of your mane, and I shall be sure to see it.

Signed,
Your Secret Admirer

She wasn't sure about the glorious waterfall bit, but if one couldn't be a little effusive in a love note, when could one? Rarity paused in the cover of a tree some yards from Fluttershy's cottage, careful to keep the cloak over her horn as she floated her letter to the mailbox. It was bound with the aforementioned ribbon, a length of the cheapest, most common wool grosgrain she had on hand; using anything more scarce would instantly lead back to her. There was no sign of alarm, or indeed any activity, from the house as she closed the mailbox again. Rarity raised the mailbox flag and set off back the way she had come as quickly as a dignified walk could carry her.

However much she'd have liked to contemplate her romantic pursuits, Rarity still had work to do. Fluttershy would probably need some time to decide her response, anyway, and keeping busy prevented the unicorn from dwelling on questions like what if she says no?

The mayor's new collar was done and delivered by noon. It was a small victory, and later in coming than she would have liked, but Rarity's spirits were buoyed all the same. She was back on track and making up lost time. Well... at least, losing no more ground. She was an artist of sorts, after all, and one couldn't begrudge an artist their moods.

The unicorn exchanged a few pleasantries with the mayor and headed back toward her boutique. She couldn't help but keep her eyes open for a yellow pegasus with a red ribbon flying proudly in her mane, but the sky was disappointingly empty.

Except for a single puffy blot of low-lying cloud, topped with a wild rainbow-colored mane. Rarity grinned. "Oh, Rainbow Da-ash!"

The lazy pegasus flopped over on her front and waved a hoof before letting it plop back onto the cottony cloud. "Oh, hey, Rarity. What's up?"

"Have you seen Fluttershy today?" she called.

"Nope," Dash replied. Not that she'd see anything with her eyes closed, Rarity added mentally. "Why? Got a new lead about her secr--"

"Hush!" Rarity snapped, cutting the pegasus off before she could blurt out the private matter at the top of her lungs. Dash gave her an embarrassed smile as Rarity continued primly, "And no, I was just wondering how she's doing."

"Sorry, no dice. Want me to tell 'er to stop by if I see 'er?"

"That won't be necessary, but thank you for the offer." The fashionista turned to trot back toward her shop. Halfway across the town square, she was surprised by the rustle of feathers behind her. For the barest instant her heart leapt, but of course it was Rainbow Dash again.

"Hey, Rarity? Mind if I ask you a question?" the speedster asked, dropping down to trot beside her.

"Not at all, darling!" Rarity replied, then added with a playful smirk, "You may ask another if you'd like."

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes and plowed ahead. "Look, I was just kinda thinking about Fluttershy's, uh, you-know-what... " Her ears went back in embarrassment and she paused, then started again. "Would you-- I mean, there's this pony I know--" Her usual bravado gradually crumbled away as she stopped and started, her expression growing angrier with each false start.

Rarity paused, watching her friend curiously. Rainbow's red-violet eyes flicked back and forth, skipping past the unicorn as if trying not to look at her.

"Do you think it'd be weird if... well..." There was a moment's more hesitation before the brave mask of "Rainbow Dash, Best Young Flyer" snapped back into place with an almost audible click. "Y'know what? Never mind. Later!" A blast of wind knocked Rarity's hair askew, and a rainbow trail corkscrewed up into the sky.

The unicorn watched her go, a faint grin tugging at her muzzle. 'There's this pony', is there? Then I wish you luck, Rainbow Dash. Perhaps my little subterfuge will benefit more than just myself and Fluttershy! ...assuming, of course, that it does benefit us... The grin stopped tugging.

The rest of the day passed in a haze of diligent tedium. Rarity looked out her window to find the day at its end without any sign of Fluttershy. That was not precisely unusual per se, but she had rather expected the shy mare to call another meeting and share her new message.

Well, perhaps she's been busy today, the fashionista thought as she trotted into the kitchen to assemble a light mesclun salad for dinner. All the same, perhaps I'd best drop by tomorrow rather than waiting on random chance...

Though she had already spent the great bulk of the day indoors, Rarity decided to pass the evening stretched out on the divan with her new books. She doubted she would make good company in any case; gossiping and speculating about Fluttershy would only serve to wind her up like a watch spring, and her mind was already quite full of the pegasus these days. No, the best thing she could do was to distract herself and let time take its course.

Rarity glanced between the two books. Other Mares called to her with the lure of the unknown, but Heart of a Pegasus looked, at least from the cover, comfortingly familiar. Still feeling faintly embarrassed of the slim gray book, she opted for the latter instead.

Pinch Penny was dying.

Kelly Green stood among the rest of the staff, watching without tears as the sole gentlepony in residence at Periwinkle Glen breathed his last. There was a low, rattling gasp, then silence, and the doctor scratched a time in his notebook and pulled up the sheet over Pinch Penny's face. Kelly hadn't bothered to learn the doctor's name, nor the previous three, who like him had failed to cure the old pegasus of age. She suspected this one would have been sent away as well, had Pinch been able to draw the breath for it. The staff slowly melted away, returning to their duties without comment.

Lowly servant girl, new master of the house. Got it. Rarity skipped ahead.

...breathtaking black pegasus, rippling with muscle but flinty of eye. He glared about as if the picturesque old mansion had somehow insulted him. "Are you a gardener?" he barked at Kelly. "There is ivy climbing up the walls. My grand-uncle might have been lax about such things, but you will find my father quite strict!"

"I'm sorry, sir," the earth pony mare said quickly. "But I'm a house-maid. I'll fetch the head groundskeeper immediately, though."

"See that you do," he snorted.

"Honestly, Silkyshine," Rarity said tartly. "Pride and Pegasus meets Black Beauty and the Beast? You could at least be subtle about it."

She opened the book to the middle and skimmed. A garden, a stolen kiss, gasped objections, heaving flanks...

Rarity closed the book and stared at the cover for a long time. This was... her old dreams. All her former ambitions and wild fantasies compressed into paper form and bound in softcover. Trappings aside, she had read the story a hundred times over with different names and faces, and told herself the same story a thousand times more with herself as its star.

"I'm not you anymore," she whispered to the book, levitating it over to the trash can. "That's not my dream. I have a new one now." Thunk. "And Celestia send that I can live it."

She dreamed of Fluttershy again. The unicorn woke before it went as far as the previous night, but having the soft, warm coat and the clinging scent of flowers snatched out of her grasp still left her miserably clutching her pillow to her chest. In the dark, silent hours, just struggling up through the veil of sleep, the silence of a home unoccupied by anypony else seemed vast and crushing.

Rarity dragged herself out of bed and staggered into the bathroom to wash her face, moving through the blue and silver shadows of the moon's glow rather than turn on any lights. Then, without goal or destination, she wrapped her black cloak around herself and tiptoed down the stairs. It wasn't as if anypony would have cared if she danced down them while singing at the top of her lungs, but the dark and silence seemed to insist on stealth.

A low, padded thump made her pause. There was a glint of light in the darkness, two faint gleams staring at her from the back of an unoccupied dress form. "Mama's going out, Opal," she whispered. The cat made no reply, but simply jumped to the floor and melded once more with the darkness.

The black-clad shadow swung around the south end of Ponyville, walking between the river and neat rows of apple trees rather than risk a trip past the early-rising bakers at Sugar Cube Corner. Rarity let her hooves steer her, though she knew where they would take her all the same. The Everfree Forest loomed ahead, huge and dark even against the night sky, but just short of the wall of shadows stood the little treelike cottage on its hill; the spot that seemed to draw Rarity like a needle to a magnet. Her dark cloak merged with the moon-shadows of trees and bushes as she moved to the back of the cottage, then simply paused and stood staring up at the second-story window.

She's just there, the unicorn thought, briefly wishing for the wings to hover at the window and glimpse the shy mare in the peace of sleep. That was the sort of thing that creepy, obsessed ponies did... and yet... Oh, what am I even doing here?

Rarity had levitated a pebble without even realizing it. She stared at it for several seconds, rotating slowly in her magical grasp, then looked up at the window again. It would be so easy... So easy to send the rock tapping against Fluttershy's window... to call her out into their own private night, far from town, with the sinking moon only giving texture to the darkness. To say the words she had only said before to a darkened room, let the darkness swallow them up and deliver them to the only ear that should hear them...

The pebble fell. Coward, the silence hissed in her ear. Then, like an avalanche started by that single pebble, it went on. And on. And on.

Hiding behind false names and false writing and false smiles.
Coward. Liar.

Laying hooves on her with indecent intentions. Would she let you touch her if she knew?
Coward. Liar. Pervert.

Is this to make her happy, or you?
Coward. Liar. Pervert. Selfish.

She fled, then, choking back sobs as she galloped across the little bridge, racing past Sweet Apple Acres and all the way back to her own door. But she couldn't exceed the speed of silence. It was always waiting. Behind her. Ahead of her. In her bedroom.

Inside her head.

Rarity spent an hour weeping into her pillow, begging the stars to overlook her sins, but all the while knowing she didn't deserve forgiveness. Because once the sun rose, she would go right back out and keep up the charade. Because she was a coward. And a liar. And everything else.

And then she took herself to the bathroom and spent another hour washing away the signs of travel and anguish, primping, perfecting her appearance. (Liar.) Then she trotted into town as the sun barely crested the horizon. This time she headed straight for Sugar Cube Corner; the scent of fresh bread and sweets drifted in the air, drawing early risers for blocks around.

"Have a good day at work, Mister Beam! Good morning, Creme! What can I get for you?" Pinkie was as chipper as ever. It was hard to tell whether she was a 'morning pony' or a 'night owl'; she seemed to run at the same frantic pace no matter the time of day.

The pink pony gasped as she caught sight of the unicorn, her energy level seeming to double in an instant. "Rarity! You're up early!"

"Good morning, Pinkie Pie!" she replied lightly. "Yes, I suppose my body just decided it was done sleeping, so here I am!"

The earth pony grinned broadly. "What can I get for you? We've got apple fritters, bear claws, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, eclairs, French croissants (I had to cheat a little on F), granola bars, hot cross buns, iced cupcakes (sorry!), johnny cake, kolaches (which are kinda like danishes with a really fun name)--"

"Coffee and a croissant!" Rarity interjected frantically, her head already spinning with the alphabetized menu.

Pinkie's ears folded back. "Aww, you didn't even let me get to 'muffins'," she said, then perked right back up as she trotted to the display case. "Coming right up! Cream and sugar?"

"Yes, thank you." She wasn't so sure she needed the coffee on top of a dose of raw Pinkie Pie, but it certainly wouldn't hurt after interrupted sleep for two nights running.

While her curly pink tail bobbed behind the counter, a harried-looking Mr. Cake came in from the kitchen with a tray of zucchini bread. "Has she been doing this all morning?" she murmured to the skinny stallion.

"She made us bake wild blueberry scones," he replied tiredly. "I wondered why she was so insistent about where the berries came from."

"Order up!" Pinkie piped from the other end of the counter. "Have a good day!"

"Thank you, Pinkie!" Rarity replied, floating out a few bits. "Same to you, I'm sure!"

The encounter, though dizzying, did succeed in making Rarity smile. She forgot her troubles for a few minutes as she nibbled on the croissant and tried to imagine what Pinkie had in store for 'V'. 'Vegetable' something?... violet... vinegar... ah, of course, 'vanilla'. But what about 'X'?...

The musings lasted until she reached Fluttershy's cottage. Rarity hesitated down the lane a bit, waiting to see the pegasus out and about. It wouldn't do to arrive too early -- Fluttershy would feel obligated to entertain her, which would disrupt her usual morning routine, and really, the whole point of the exercise was to see if she would put on the hair ribbon, wasn't it? So Rarity positioned herself where she could see the cottage door and sipped her hot coffee as the morning sounds of commerce got underway.

The coffee was long gone before Fluttershy's door finally opened and the lovely yellow mare emerged. She wasn't wearing the ribbon. By Celestia's shining mane, she wasn't wearing the ribbon! Still, Rarity comforted herself, it's only been a day. She's probably still thinking it over. She watched for a few minutes, shifting slightly farther behind the greenery. Not spying, exactly, merely hanging back until an opportune moment. There were nuts and kind words for the squirrels, a basket of greens for the rabbits in the fallen log by the stream, then fish and gentle encouragement for the bandaged otter beneath the bridge. Rarity wrinkled her nose, making a mental note not to kiss Fluttershy in the morning until she had rinsed out her mouth. As terrible as fish smelled, she couldn't imagine the taste. At last, the pegasus got around to filling the bird feeders, which looked like her last task. Rarity finally emerged from her hiding place. "Good morning, Fluttershy!" she called as she trotted down the road.

The other mare jumped so badly that she dropped the box of birdseed. She spun around like she'd been bitten, relaxing only once she recognized her visitor. She waved as she descended and started scooping spilled birdseed back into the box, offering a strained smile.

"I apologize for coming over so early, but I didn't see you at all yesterday and I wanted to make sure that you were all right..."

Fluttershy glanced away, unable to do more than squeak something in the back of her throat.

The unicorn's brows knit. "Darling... is something the matter?"

Fluttershy sighed and bobbed her head twice.

"Is it... another secret admirer letter?"

She hunched her shoulders and nodded again, sending Rarity's heart plummeting to join her morning croissant.

"That bad?... May I see it?" she asked gently.

The other mare shook her head quickly, emphatically.

"Er... okay...? What did it say?" she pressed.

Fluttershy averted her gaze again, biting her lip and maintaining her silence.

Rarity felt something inside her give, some reserve of patience running the slightest bit dry. "Was it laced with poison joke?" she asked with a trace of acerbity.

The pegasus finally relented. "No..." she sighed, scuffing a hoof at the turf. "I just don't want to talk about it."

Awkward silence fell for a few moments. How could she find out Fluttershy's reaction, or even advise her, if she refused to discuss it at all? "As you wish, then," she said with a smile, which grew strained as Fluttershy continued to sit, gazing at her hooves. "Ehm... I don't mean to keep you from your chores," Rarity said, moving to leave before the awkwardness rose to toxic levels.

"Oh! No, you're not," the pegasus said quickly. "I'm sorry, I was just... thinking..."

"You seem dreadfully out of sorts, Fluttershy... I know it's not our usual day, but perhaps you would feel better after a treatment at the--"

Fluttershy interrupted -- interrupted! -- with a worried, "Oh, no! I couldn't, I can't! I, um, have so much to do today. Maybe tommorrow, or... the next day... after that..."

Rarity rubbed one leg with the other hoof. Well, an opening is an opening... Putting on a guileless, wide-eyed smile, she replied, "If you're that busy, perhaps I could help out and we'll get it all done in half the time!"

"You don't have to do that!" the other mare objected hurriedly.

Rarity insisted, "It would be my pleasure."

"It'll probably be really dirty," she said more quietly.

"I've been known to put up with a spot of mud or two when it's important," the unicorn replied, throwing her chest out heroically.

Fluttershy shrunk down a little, murmuring, "And really boring..."

"Not when I'm with a good friend," Rarity countered, putting subtle emphasis on the last word.

"Okay..." Fluttershy whispered, though her expression said she thought this was a sentence only slightly more desirable than jail time.

Selfish.

Fluttershy balanced a basket of gardening implements on her back and one rabbit on her head as she started for the door. "I was going to ask Applejack to help divide my agapanthus plants, but since you're here, we can do that now," she said as she led Rarity to a stand of tall stalks tipped with bluish-purple flowers. "This should only take a couple of hours of digging in the dirt, out here in the hot sun."

The purple-maned unicorn nodded and steeled herself. A little sweat and dirt would not defeat Rarity, no indeed! She narrowed her eyes and levitated a short spade. "Just show me what to do," she persisted. Fluttershy let out a tiny huff.

It took a little over ten minutes to carefully dig out the first plant's root ball and shake the excess dirt free, with Fluttershy explaining each step in careful detail and finally cutting the tangled roots apart from those of its neighbors with a few sharp stabs of the spade. Rarity levitated it up out of the hole, already speckled with bits of dirt; though she was using her magic to keep the dirt, as it were, at arm's length, a certain amount of flying dust was unavoidable. Dripping clods of soil, the perennial drifted across to the hole Fluttershy had prepared for it and settled in, with Rarity maintaining her grip until the other mare finished patting down the soil around it. Such a beautiful façade to show the world, yet utterly filthy beneath the surface, she thought. Who does that remind me of?

Thankfully, the task demanded enough concentration to keep her from reflecting too deeply. After the first couple of plants, the fashionista felt confident enough to continue on her own, digging out and moving the plants Fluttershy indicated while the pegasus dug out new holes to give each flower plenty of space to grow. She had to admit that there was something refreshing about working out-of-doors that wasn't quite matched even by flinging open all the windows in her home. In the end, she used a trowel to pat down the soil around the last agapanthus well short of the two-hour mark. The two of them cooperating made the task almost easy, to say nothing of Rarity's magic.

"Well, that was... invigorating," she said, resisting the urge to wipe sweat from her brow with a grimy hoof. "What's next?"

Fluttershy gave her a glance that seemed almost disappointed, but gamely pointed to the front of the cottage. "Aquatic therapy with Mister Otter. He needs to work that sprain a little each day or it'll stiffen and get weak. Oh," she said, obviously feigning dismay. "I hope the water doesn't ruin your mane..."

"A swim sounds delightful just now," Rarity said. Fluttershy just made a chagrined little 'tsk'.

The otter rode Fluttershy to a broader, deeper section of the river a short way to the north. The yellow mare waded down into the water until the otter could swim off her back, then turned around and stuck out her hooves toward the sleek animal. He pressed his little paws against them and started to swim against Fluttershy, who bobbed backward with graceful strokes of her wings. "Easy, now," she cooed, "Slow, even strokes. That's right."

There didn't seem to be much for Rarity to do, so she took the opportunity to rinse the dirt and sweat from her coat. She would have preferred her own bathtub, of course -- warm water, scented soaps, and that most glorious of all pony inventions, conditioner -- but simple cool water did the job admirably. She waded down to neck depth, then plunged her head underwater, shaking her mane out as she came up and trying to rub the worst smudges out of her alabaster coat.

Unfortunately, her ablutions were done long before the otter's exercise session, leaving Rarity far too much time to think.

This is your life if you keep going, she told herself, watching the pink-topped head drift slowly downstream, then back up, trailed by the little splashes of her patient. Out here in the dirt and the mud and the rain, if need be. It's sprains and broken bones and occasionally even blood and death. She tossed her heavy, lank hair back and pushed herself out into the sluggish current, then rolled onto her back and spread her legs out to float with her eyes closed. I think the most blood I've ever seen was when I stuck myself with a needle. Am I ready to deal with all the mess and fuss of her animals and her job?

A warm body bumped her hoof, making Rarity look up. "Oops! Excuse me..." Fluttershy said, quickly turning to back her way upstream again. The unicorn felt a smile trying to curl her lips, and let it. And would I ever forgive myself if I gave up on such a flimsy excuse? She put her back hooves down, touching bottom while her front hooves drifted weightlessly in the river. Love... will find a way. She stood there for a long time, her mane fanning out behind her and waving as slowly as the minute hand of a clock while she watched the mare. She would find a way. They would find their way, together. ...Perhaps she could somehow learn to enjoy mud.

"Mud," Rarity said again, staring into Applejack's pigsty. Her mane and tail already hung heavy and straight, long enough to drag in the dirt and dust without their usual bouncy curls, but this... was something else altogether.

"I know it's really messy and really muddy," Fluttershy agreed, "But Applejack's pigs need their annual vaccinations."

Unable to break eye contact with the mud, Rarity shakily asked, "Isn't... isn't that a job for the veterinarian?"

"Oh, well, she could do it, I suppose," the pegasus replied as she opened her little medical box and extracted a hypodermic needle and a small brown bottle. "But it's just a little jab, and somepony has to round them up either way. They're usually a little bit less grumpy if I give them the shots."

Rarity's procrastination was cut short when the barn door banged open and Applejack trotted out with a long pruning hook in her mouth. She stopped as soon as she caught sight of the two mares, walking over with a faintly confused smile.

"Well, howdy, Fluttershy! An' Rarity too! What brings y'all out here this mornin'?"

Fluttershy, for once, took the lead. "Good morning, Applejack! I'm here to vaccinate your pigs. And Rarity's going to help me, so you won't even have to get dirty!"

"Wait, what?" Rarity squeaked, turning to stare at the pegasus.

Applejack rubbed her chin with one hoof. "Really? I thought that wasn't 'till Tues...day?" She trailed off at a frantic gesture from Fluttershy. The farmer raised an eyebrow. "But... I reckon I was mistaken?" she amended dubiously. Her eyes flicked from Fluttershy to Rarity and back, then understanding dawned in her eyes -- along with a rather sadistic smile. "Oh... oh! This I gotta see," she chuckled.

Rarity cast a glower at the orange mare, grim determination glittering in her eyes. "I shan't dignify that with a response," she said primly, focusing on the boar wallowing just on the other side of the fence from her. She planted her hooves firmly, then sent her magic up into her horn and out, wrapping it around the pig.

Oh, goodness, that's heavy, she thought, straining to levitate the animal. It gave a surprised squeal, but the glow winked out without lifting it a single inch. Chuckling snorts echoed around the pig pen as Rarity panted from the effort.

Applejack was doing her best not to join in the laughter, but her best wasn't very good. "Nice try, 'Twilight'," the blond mare snickered, "but maybe ya oughta start with th' Porka Minors." She gestured toward a few piglets piled up beside their mother.

Rolling her eyes, the unicorn focused on one of the piglets and lifted it into the air. Its squeals roused the big sow, but Fluttershy soared over to the hovering piglet with the needle gripped in her teeth. "Sorry, Miss Pig, this will just take a second and I'll give him right back to you..." The little pig squealed louder when she pricked it with the needle, but the process took only a few seconds before she was slapping an adhesive bandage over the poke, and Rarity lowered it back to the angrily snorting mother. Fluttershy returned for a fresh needle, and they repeated the process four more times -- jab, squeal, slap. Jab, squeal, slap. By the end of it all, the sow was watching Fluttershy with furious eyes. "I'm really sorry," the pegasus said, "but this will make sure none of your little piglets get sick, okay?" The sow just gave a low snort and huddled her piglets close. "I'll... just do yours last, then..."

And that was the last of the easy ones. "Well... what now?" Rarity asked, dreading the answer.

"Now ya gotta get in there an' hold 'em all down fer their shots," Applejack confirmed. "Easiest way is t' grab 'em 'round the neck," she mimed putting a pig in a head-lock, then hurled herself over the imaginary swine like a pro wrestler. "Then ya just throw 'em over an' hang on 'till Fluttershy's done!"

Rarity stared at the muck inside the pen with increasing trepidation. Now she wasn't just supposed to step in that, but throw herself bodily into it, too! Ugh... the things I do for love, she thought, carefully climbing over the rail fence and clenching her eyes shut as her hooves sank into the slippery, squishy, slimy sty-sludge. She could feel it tug at her dragging tail, sending a shudder up her back. The fat hogs watched Rarity with malevolent glee in their piggy little eyes. "You're quite sure you can't simply ask them to comply?" she asked hopelessly.

"Nah," said Applejack, resting her elbows on the top rail. "These're the orneriest hogs in Ponyville, an' I've got the blue ribbon t'prove it!"

Rarity squared her shoulders. "Very well," she replied, pushing aside her distate for the filth and concerns for her appearance. Rarity had kicked a manticore in the chops. Rarity had faced a dragon in its own cave. Rarity had come through kidnapping and enslavement without bending a single inch. Was Rarity going to let some mud and a few filthy beasts stand between her and her true love?

Hay no.

She took a few deep breaths, narrowing her focus down to the task at hoof. When her eyes opened, they flashed like diamonds. She sucked in one more breath.

"Allons-y!" she shrieked and hurled herself at the nearest boar. Her speed and ferocity must have surprised it, because it merely stood stunned as she hooked her arm around its neck and vaulted over its back, throwing it into the mud with a squashy splat. Along with herself.

There was a moment of shocked silence. Fluttershy's mouth hung open in a stunned gape and Applejack's eyebrows were trying to crawl up under her hat. "Well?" Rarity prompted, scrambling to her hooves and putting her weight on the pig to keep it down. Without a word, Fluttershy picked up the needle and glided over. Jab, squeal, slap. Rarity let the porker up and turned her adamant gaze on the suddenly-more-respectful residents of the pigsty. "Who's next?"

A smaller sow was the next victim, chosen through the misfortune of being the next closest pig. Rarity launched herself at it with an inarticulate battle cry, hurling it off its feet while it was still trying to get traction in the slippery muck. Jab, squeal, slap. The unicorn leaped for the next pig as soon as Fluttershy was clear, but surprise had worn off. This one lunged forward as she jumped, surprisingly fast for its bulk, ducking under Rarity's leap so that she had nothing to grab but smooth porcine backside. She slid off without slowing and planted her face straight into the mud. Snorting laughter rounded the pen once more.

A thoroughly-coated Rarity rose like an angel of muddy vengeance, but she only provoked more chuckles as her hooves slipped and she sprawled in the muck again. The heat of her anger and embarrassment should have dried out the mud instantaneously. "Oh... It. Is. On!"

"N-now remember, sugarcube, yer not tryin' ta hurt 'em," Applejack called, but Rarity was already in furious motion. She managed to take down another by kicking two of its legs out from under it, giving her just enough time to grab it around the neck and flip into the mud. She managed two more, amid many misses and slipped holds, by abruptly changing her target whenever another pig got close enough. Still, the unicorn wasn't cut out for this kind of work, and she found her stamina flagging.

Panting from the effort, Rarity squared off with the big boar that, until now, had lurked far from the action and chuckled loudly at every failure. The King Pig, as she had come to think of him. He was every inch of her own size, and grossly obese. Rarity dug her hooves in to get firm purchase and threw herself at him.

Everything went wrong in an instant. Not only was the boar big, he was strong! When her arm slid around his neck, the pig tossed his head... hard. Rarity's muddy arm slipped right off the flexible rolls of fat, and for a moment, she was airborne. Then there was a tremendous crash, and the next thing the white pony knew, she was pulling herself out from under a small pile of wood.

"Land sakes!" Applejack cried, helping pull her to her hooves. "Are you all right, Sugarcube?"

She coughed once, trying to suck in breath with the wind knocked out of her. "Yes," she wheezed, "In a moment..."

The cowpony nodded and set her hat aside, holding out a hoof toward Rarity. "Tag me in, sugarcube. You've made a right proud showin', but this 'un takes a bit o' doin'." Rarity wheezed something that sounded like "Thank you," and clopped hooves with the orange mare.

Applejack flew into action, planting both hooves as she wrapped her arms around the King Pig's neck. He tried to shake her off, but Applejack was ready for it and had braced against the move. Slowly, she leaned farther and farther into the King Pig's shoulder, straightening her legs and levering him up, up, his trotters flailing helplessly in the air. Then, finally, he fell over with a decidedly underwhelming squish of mud.

Jab. Squeal. Slap.

And that was it. Applejack took care of the last couple of pigs, then paused to bind the fence rails back in place with a spool of baling wire while Fluttershy flew over to fetch the hose. She only had a little mud around the hooves. Whereas Rarity was... was... coated from horn to hoof in thick, sludgy muck. She could feel it dripping down the bridge of her nose and crawling against her scalp, coating her ears and squishing under her tail.

The revulsion she had suppressed in the name of love came roaring back and exploded out of her mouth in a long, piercing scream of horror.

Chapter 6

Rarity's screams finally cut off in a gargle when Fluttershy turned the hose on her full-blast. Frantic scrubbing replaced them, accompanied by a barrage of imprecations against Applejack's hogs, the King Pig, and all swinekind in general. By the time Rarity finally waved off the deluge, gasping and starting to shiver, Applejack had already trotted away to return to her chores. The worst of the mud was gone, but she still felt a crawling sensation on her scalp that she hoped was illusory. "Ugh," she groaned with a shudder. "Now I need a spa treatment as well."

Fluttershy didn't respond except to look guiltily down at her hooves. "Shall we?" Rarity prompted, taking a step closer to the pegasus.

"I'm sorry," the pegasus whispered.

"Darling?" Rarity asked, reaching out a hoof, but Fluttershy cringed away from it. The unicorn's eyes widened. "Whatever's the matter?"

"I... I'm so sorry, Rarity!" the pegasus burst out, looking up with wide, teary eyes. "I'm a terrible pony! Please forgive me for making you do that!"

Rarity gave her a faintly perplexed smile. "It's all right, dear... I volunteered, after all."

"That's not it..." Fluttershy shook her head, the words spilling out in one long, continuous stream. "I lied to you, and I'm so, so sorry! I didn't really plan to do all that today, I just picked all the dirtiest, messiest jobs I could think of to get rid of you because I don't want to go into Ponyville because of my admirer!" She ended with a choking sniffle.

Tell her.

"Oh... oh, darling, you could have simply said so! Of course I forgive you." Rarity's tone was beatific, but the explanation struck clear to her heart. In a way, this was... simply justice, then, for putting Fluttershy in that position in the first place.

"I know I should have just told you I didn't want to go, but I didn't want to disappoint you. I'm so, so sorry." Fluttershy threw herself at the fashionista, pressing her neck against Rarity's in a pleading hug regardless of her wet coat.

Rarity wrapped her arms gently around the pegasus, squeezing in return, though her stomach knotted as if Fluttershy could somehow read her mind and see all the prurient thoughts that raced through her head in that moment. "That's all right... I'm a big filly. If it makes you so uncomfortable, I can easily go to the spa on my own."

Fluttershy gave a little shake of her head. "I know I'm not Lotus Blossom, but if it's okay with you, you could clean up at my house instead. I know I was trying to get you to leave, but... I really did enjoy spending the morning with you." She gave Rarity a quick squeeze before breaking away.

Tell her!

What else could she do? It was an unambiguous offer to spend the rest of the day together. Practically begging, really. Rarity smiled and shrugged. "Well, how could I say no?"

Coward! she snarled at herself.

As they started off, Fluttershy added, "I'm also sorry for thinking you were shallow enough to leave just because of some dirty jobs."

"Well... on another day, I might have," she allowed. "I'm afraid I had been rather hoping that you would eventually feel more like talking about, ah, the letter that's made you so upset."

The yellow mare murmured, "Oh," but that was all.

In truth, she had hardly thought about the letter all morning. It felt almost like old times, when she could go on some wild adventure with her friends without guarding her every word and action.

Since when did last week count as 'old times'? she thought, half giggling at herself, but the urge to laugh was diluted by a longing to return to that simple, crazy life with the friends that she treasured so.

Fluttershy's bathroom was oddly devoid of the array of shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, repairers, relaxers, stiffeners, and protectants that crowded Rarity's shelves. There were only two bottles: a mild 'no tears' shampoo, and a rather ordinary conditioner (because Fluttershy wasn't an utter barbarian like Rainbow Dash.) The unicorn had long since come to terms with the other mare's simple beauty, but it still rankled a bit that she could do so much with so little effort.

Rarity paused in scrubbing the most stubborn mud spots under the shower spray, closing her eyes while Fluttershy worked the shampoo in around her horn. She let out an inaudible little sigh of contentment, just enjoying the feel of the yellow hooves against her mane. She let herself drift, thinking nothing at all while the water ran down her body. A warm, comfortable sensation bloomed in her chest; a familiar sensation, not one she felt just for Fluttershy, but for every member of their little clique. The simple joy of sharing a quiet moment with a friend.

Rarity found, on reflection, that she was starting to have trouble identifying where 'friend' ended and 'love' began. Obviously, there were certain things that mere friends didn't do, but her sense of friendship with Fluttershy still burned as strongly as it did for all of her closest friends. Given that, she supposed it was no surprise that she had been so slow to understand her feelings for the lovely pegasus.

Fluttershy's hooves pulled away, and Rarity leaned into the shower to rinse the shampoo out of her hair. I suppose romance and friendship are not mutually exclusive, then, she thought. Are they entirely different things, though, or does one build on the other? Hmm. I wonder what Twilight would make of that.

On the other hoof, the failure of a romance most certainly had the potential to destroy a friendship. Rarity felt an uncomfortable ripple of cold run down her spine in defiance of the warm water. She was taking a terrible risk... but what choice had she? To live in pain and denial? No. She had to steel herself and trust that their friendship could survive even... rejection, should it come to that.

And hiding behind anonymity is the way to show that trust, is it?

"I'll get the conditioner," the pegasus said, and Rarity just nodded, her eyes still squeezed shut as water trickled down her face. The sound of soft wingbeats moved about the room, and after a few seconds, Fluttershy began massaging her hair again.

Of course, by the same token, the feelings of friendship didn't do anything to decrease her longing. Fluttershy moved away once more and there was the hollow sound of a plastic bottle on the shelf, then her gentle hooves were rubbing the conditioner into Rarity's tail. The unicorn locked her legs and held her breathing in careful check, aware that any slip could give her away as she let herself enjoy the stirrings between her haunches. The soft tugs at her tail could not be ignored. Would the pegasus peek beneath her tail as she worked? Would she notice the signs of the unicorn's excitement? Would she realize what they meant? Her stomach fluttered in anticipation.

It was both a relief and a disappointment when the pegasus blithely announced, "All done! Now just let it stand for a minute or two." Rarity's limp, soaked tail drooped back across her rump as Fluttershy released it without comment. For a moment, she fancied that her friend knew good and well what she was feeling, and was grinning a self-satisfied grin on the other side of Rarity's eyelids as she waited for the fashionista to work up the courage to admit it.

Or maybe she was politely not mentioning an uncontrollable physical reaction for the comfort of both mares. Assuming she wasn't too shy or oblivious to make note in the first place. "Thank you, Fluttershy," she said, finally. "This means ever so much to me."

"Oh, well, it's really no trouble," Fluttershy deflected. "Thank you... for listening..."

"Hm? To what, darling?" she asked, cracking one eyelid to peep at the other mare. She was looking down, now, drawing in on herself.

"To when I said I didn't want to go to the spa," she said softly.

I wouldn't drag-- Rarity began, but stopped that thought halfway. I would, wouldn't I? I've done it before. Because I know so much better than everypony else. After a long pause, Rarity murmured solemnly, "I'm sorry for having ignored your wishes in the past."

Fluttershy gave a wistful little sigh. "No, it's okay. I'm so wishy-washy... I wish I were decisive, like you."

No, you don't, Rarity thought. You really don't. I can be as thoughtless as Rainbow Dash sometimes. And afraid to make it right...

They both fell silent, each unwilling to accept the other's admission of weakness, until Fluttershy said, "Um, you can rinse now."

Rarity nodded and ducked into the shower stream again. When she emerged, freshly waterlogged, she said, "If you don't mind, Fluttershy, I believe I'd like to soak for a bit."

The pegasus complied, of course. "I'll get some lunch ready, then. Just call me if you need anything!" The door closed as Rarity wiped hair out of her eyes and closed the drain.

The unicorn slumped down against the edge of the rather rustic wooden tub as it began to fill. How is it, Fluttershy, that you can bring all my shortcomings right to the forefront like that? It was like picking up a delicate vase and suddenly becoming aware of how rough and clumsy one was most of the time.

She pushed that to the back of her mind, though, along with all her other cares and worries, trying to clear her mind and recover the simple pleasure of gentle hooves on her mane.

"Would you like to join me, dear?" Rarity asked with a grin. "I know you must be at least a bit muddy and sweaty after all that..."

"Oh, as long as you don't mind," was what Fluttershy said, but her grin belied the passive tone. She slipped into the tub in front of Rarity without waiting for a response, lowering herself into the water with exaggerated care to give the unicorn plenty of time to admire the curves of her rump as they slowly disappeared below the surface. She tossed her mane and peeked flirtatiously over her shoulder. "Scrub my back?"

Rarity smiled her reply and started stroking the washcloth between the other mare's shoulder blades with her magic while her hooves stretched out to caress Fluttershy's sides. The cloth soon fell into the water, though, when Fluttershy pushed back against her, snugging her hips between Rarity's thighs with a low purr of pleasure. The unicorn pulled her into an embrace, nosing aside her mane and kissing her neck gently.

Rarity slid her hoof down her stomach, paused, then edged it a little lower. Not quite low enough, though. She rested it just above her quickly pinkening lips, almost shivering with anticipation, but trying to take her time. The ever so slight chance that Fluttershy might poke her head in and catch Rarity in the act urged her to act quickly, but she deliberately ignored it.

Fluttershy arched her neck and gave a little coo of pleasure, her hooves moving to rest on Rarity's. The unicorn brushed one hoof across Fluttershy's belly while the other continued to hold her close. After several seconds, she leaned up and lightly nibbled the edge of one ear.

Fluttershy giggled again and twisted around far enough for their lips to meet, the kiss slow and gentle in spite of the mares' growing excitement. They had plenty of time. "Mmmm... I love you, Rarity," she said softly.

"I love you too, Fluttershy."

Rarity's hoof slid down a bit farther, stopping just below Fluttershy's navel and drawing a happy sigh that was almost swallowed by the rumble of water filling the tub. Pink hair brushed against Rarity's sex as Fluttershy settled back against the unicorn's chest, her tail slipping up between creamy thighs. The pale mare gasped a soft moan of her own, her lips tracing a slow line of kisses down the graceful curve from Fluttershy's neck to her shoulder.

Biting her lip, she kept the noise down to a little "mmmh" in the back of her throat when her hoof first stroked across her swollen folds. Celestia, how she wanted to moan the other mare's name out loud! She caressed herself slowly, softly, careful not to go too far too quickly. The nervous tension over the danger of being caught mixed deliciously with the salacious thrill of pleasuring herself in Fluttershy's own bathroom. So she held herself back instead, savoring the combination like dark chocolate with a rich zinfandel.

Fluttershy's mane trailed in the water as the tub gradually filled, her head hanging forward to bare her neck to Rarity's affections. The unicorn soon slipped down the ridge of her spine, though, leaning farther toward the rising water until her lips pressed against the soft-feathered base of Fluttershy's left wing.

The pegasus straightened slightly in surprise, looking over her shoulder as she spread her wings out. There wasn't much room between the mares in the confines of the tub, but a few moments of silent negotiation found Fluttershy hunched foward with the unicorn nestled between her wings, covering them with loving nuzzles while her hooves rode low on Fluttershy's hips. The pegasus giggled and reached back, sliding a hoof along Rarity's thigh in reply.

The unicorn reached out with her magic to shut off the water, barely cracking an eye to finish the task while her hoof rocked slowly against her nether lips. "Ahh, Fluttershy," she sighed, barely voicing the name.

Rarity raised her head and slid her hooves around Fluttershy's middle below her wings, pulling her into a tight hug as she leaned back to the edge of the tub. The pegasus gasped a little coo of pleased surprise, then sunk into a knowing grin as she cuddled back against Rarity. It took a few seconds to settle into a comfortable position, squirming back until her dock snugged firmly against the unicorn's slit. Rarity gave a little moan of her own and giggled, "I love you."

The unicorn froze. That was out loud! She strained her ears for any noise from beyond the door, but a moment later she caught a distant clatter from the living room. She let out the breath she'd been holding and resumed, pressing her hind hooves against either side of the tub as if straddling another mare's hips and leaning her head back on the edge.

"I love you tooooh!" Fluttershy said, her reply cut off by the touch of Rarity's hoof between her thighs. She let her head fall back against Rarity's shoulder, giving little gasps and squeaks as the unicorn's hoof slid across warm, pink-flushed flesh. "Ohh... Rarity..."

The fashionista shifted a bit, moving to position the base of the other mare's tail against her own hot folds and sucking in a wordless hiss of pleasure as it settled into place.

Rarity pressed the edge of her hoof against her clit, letting out another tiny, nearly-suppressed cry of pleasure. The unicorn moved her hoof slowly, lightly, resisting the urge to grind her hoof in. She squeezed her eyes shut, imagining the feel of that coat against her body, wet and slicked down against the skin. She tried to gasp as quietly as she could while her hoof made tiny, steady sloshing noises in the bath.

Rarity gave her hoof a deft twist, and Fluttershy pressed back against her with a delightful squeal. The shy pony swallowed further cries, muffling them to long, strangled groans as the unicorn's hoof slid feather-light across her stiff little nub.

She kept her touches light and feathery, however much she might wish to make the pegasus shriek at the top of her lungs. Then she pulled her hoof away, to the other mare's audible disappointment, and slid the tip gently along the slit between Fluttershy's thighs. She moaned louder this time, hardly making the effort to keep her voice down, pressing back against Rarity and pushing her hips up toward the unicorn's hoof.

Rarity gasped as she stroked lightly across her clit, aching to stroke harder but straining to hold herself back. It was so hard to control herself and fantasize at the same time while sparing the concentration to stifle everything except her increasingly heavy breathing, but oh, was it worth it!

The way Fluttershy writhed dragged dock and hair across Rarity's own marehood; the unicorn shifted her hoof back and stroked a little harder at the pegasus's stiff nub, giving her what she wanted until she settled back against Rarity's chest. Then Rarity pulled her hoof away again, trying to provoke more of those wonderful wriggles.

Fluttershy delivered in spades. Raising a hoof to her mouth, she bit down on her fetlock and clenched her eyes shut, letting out an adorable scream of frustration as she pushed up again.

Rarity dragged her hoof away, feeling the tingle of a building orgasm fade ever so slowly. She shivered despite the warmth of the water. How long before she couldn't stand it any more? How long before Fluttershy came in to check on her? Her heart pounded, breath coming in sharp, loud gasps.

Despite her best efforts, Fluttershy wasn't being quiet at all. Her groans gradually shaded into only slightly controlled squeals as Rarity teased her ever so slowly toward climax. Then, suddenly, the pegasus twisted, pulling away from Rarity's hoof and rolling on her side. One wing flopped awkwardly out of the tub, slinging an arc of droplets through the air, while the other slipped beneath Rarity's free arm.

Wide, sky-blue eyes stared longingly into Rarity's, then closed as Fluttershy leaned in and pressed her lips against the unicorn's. Fluttershy's tongue twined with her own, both mares greedily sucking at one another's mouths while Rarity's hoof traced a line back down through the pastel-yellow coat to her lover's swollen rose.

The pegasus stiffened and moaned urgently, kissing and jousting with Rarity's tongue in between gasps and half-frantic cries. She'd finally found another way to muffle the sounds of her pleasure, though she'd taken away the source of Rarity's stimulation in the process. Rarity didn't mind that much, though... well, she did, but making the beautiful mare cum was so much more important! Rarity had to smirk, though; without the grinding stroke of Fluttershy's tail against her, she could keep this up until they were both completely pruney...

Then Fluttershy's hoof ran down the unicorn's pale stomach and began to return the favor.

Long enough! Rarity dug the edge of her hoof in again, barely holding in a lusty howl as it traced circles across her sensitive nub. She shuddered, setting the water sloshing as she squirmed and twisted against her own hoof.

The pegasus was tentative at first, but the answering moans quickly improved her confidence, barely contained by their kiss. Rarity slipped down a couple of inches in the water, trembling as the other mare's hoof rubbed roughly at the center of her pleasure, grinding and thrusting as if they were having a race. The white-coated mare's mouth broke from strong, eager lips to catch a breath and gasp something encouraging but almost incoherent, her own hoof working to match Fluttershy's intensity.

Rarity bit down hard, feeling a scream growing in her throat and doing her best to stifle it. With unsteady magic, she gave both taps a twist and pulled the plug, hoping the sound of running water would help cover up any sounds that slipped out. Her hoof never stopped moving.

Fluttershy shrieked at a pitch, if not a volume, that a soprano would envy. She bucked against Rarity's hoof, sloshing water entirely out of the tub in her throes, though she still managed to find Rarity's lips again in the midst of orgasm. Her kiss was electric, shooting down through Rarity's body until it met the pleasure rising from below, and the unicorn exploded in her own paroxysm of passion.

Rarity managed to keep her voice down to a gutteral groan, her whole body tense and quivering as the ecstacy hummed through her. She twisted in the bath, desperately keeping her noises choked and muted until the urge to scream receded at last.

She sucked in a shuddering gasp as the tension drained away, leaving her feeling breathless and wonderfully limp. The purple-maned mare lay there for another minute or so in lazy satisfaction before she dragged herself to her feet and stepped under the shower spray for one more rinse before drying off.

Fluttershy was watching a crowd of assorted vermin nibble at the edges of a huge pile of food pellets when the unicorn emerged back into the cozy, cedar-scented living room with one towel wrapped around her mane and another around her tail. "Feeling better?" the pegasus asked.

"Immensely," Rarity replied with a grin, hoping that hot water would adequately explain her flushed complexion. Her legs still felt rather like jelly, as did her back, and neck, and spine... on the whole, she'd have liked nothing better than to stretch out on her bed for a while in spite of the hunger pangs gnawing at her midsection. Her morning croissant had been a long, long time ago, after all. Fortunately, lunch was a close second on her list of desires, and the yellow mare was as good as her word. A pair of sandwiches were already laid out on the table along with a plate of apple slices.

"I made peanut butter and apple sandwiches," Fluttershy explained as she glided across the room to the table. "I hope that's all right. There was some apple left over, so I just sliced it. But if you want something else..."

"They look delicious," Rarity assured her, resisting the momentary urge to rearrange the apple slices into an attractive spiral. Instead, she smiled as she picked one up and bit into it. "Thank you very much."

The unicorn found it rather easier to concentrate on the conversation today than during the fiasco of their previous meal together. Not, perhaps, that there was anything of more substance to say, but at least she could recall it all afterward. She related her recent dissatisfaction with Silkyshine's newest book and quite possibly the romance genre as a whole, though she neglected to mention the second book she had purchased that day.

Fluttershy made sympathetic noises. "I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe Twilight can suggest something you'd enjoy." Rarity hmmed and nodded, and the pegasus continued. "I've been reading Bunpire to Angel this week."

"Bun... pire?" Rarity echoed, raising an elegant eyebrow.

"Oh, yes. It's the first book in a series about a vampire rabbit who sucks the juice out of vegetables." She lowered her voice conspiratorially and added, "I think it's kind of scary for a little bunny, but he really seems to enjoy it."

The unicorn nodded in understanding. "Well, I suppose it's one way to get him reading," she said philosophically. "As long as it doesn't give him bad dreams." Then she had to cover her mouth as a huge yawn sneaked up on her.

Fluttershy's ears laid back and she asked, "Oh, no. Am I boring you?"

Rarity shook her head quickly, biting off the yawn as quickly as she could. "Ah, not at all! Pardon me, please. I'm afraid I haven't been sleeping well, is all."

The pegasus perked up a little bit, but hesitated, rubbing one hoof with the other. "Oh... well, if you'd like, you could take a nap here. I don't mind, I'll just do some mending and knitting..."

Rarity's first instinct was to reject the offer, but with a belly full of food, short sleep, and her limbs still feeling loose and floppy, she found herself inclined to acquiesce instead. "It's very kind of you to offer. I think I'd like that, actually, if it's not too much trouble."

Fluttershy just smiled.

She allowed herself to be led upstairs, feeling pleasantly droopy, even forgetting to look up at the other mare's rump as they ascended. Curious how the decision to get some rest seemed to double the weight of her weariness; by the time she reached the top of the stairs, her neck ached with the effort of holding her head up. Fluttershy hovered above the bed, turning back the sheets for her.

Normally the unicorn would never sleep on a wet mane, but she wasn't going to get to style it properly for some time yet, anyway. And somehow, that was okay. She felt... safe, somehow, with Fluttershy. Unjudged. She squirmed into bed with her accustomed care and let out a slow breath. "Thank you."

"Sleep tight," the pegasus murmured as she moved to the door and the sound of hooves retreated down the stairs.

The bed was amazingly soft -- a bit softer than Rarity's ideal, in fact -- and though the sheets were of a slightly rougher weave than she preferred, it was by far the most wonderful bed she had ever slept in. Everything smelled like Fluttershy. The scent was richer than her memory rendered, a faintly animal musk, brightened with the sweetness of flowers and the clean pungency of aromatic wood; it was as if somepony had blended all the best parts of nature into a single elusive perfume. With her eyes closed, Rarity could almost feel the other mare laying beside her, just out of reach, breathing silently while she dreamed.

The whole cottage was silent, but not with the hollow, sterile silence that had pursued her home that morning. It was a silence full of life, of the cautious non-sound of small, furtive creatures and the subconscious rasp of calm, noiseless breathing. Is that why she shares her home with so many animals? she wondered sleepily.

The unicorn rolled onto her side and inhaled the puff of Fluttershy-scented air as the sheets settled again.

Heaven.

Rarity awakened only when the sun crept low enough to glint into her eyes from the lantern on the bedside table. No dreams had troubled her sleep that she could recall. She rubbed her eyes and considered enjoying the bed's embrace for a bit longer, but a glance at the clock on the mantelpiece said she'd been asleep for nearly three hours already. Fluttershy must be growing impatient, in her own accommodating way. It was enough, anyway. It was almost as if she'd forgotten what being truly rested felt like!

She stretched and slid out of bed, pausing to look at herself in the mirror as she pulled the damp towels off her mane and tail and dropped them in the clothes hamper. Her hair hung in a loose, twisty curl now rather than its usual springy spiral, which actually didn't look half bad after a few strokes with her hostess's brush. The unicorn almost reflexively fluffed the pillows and smoothed the bedsheets with her magic before she left the room.

Fluttershy looked up from where she was knitting a tiny pink sweater, barely big enough for one hoof. She delicately spat out the needle with a small smile. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Darling, I'm an entirely new mare!" Rarity crowed. "Thank you ever so much for the use of your bed."

The pegasus stood up and nodded. "Any time!" Her smile faded slightly, though, as she went on. "Um... I don't want to take up any more of your time if you're busy..."

Rarity cocked her head curiously. "Do go on?" she prompted.

The smile brightened up again. "Well, I meant to go pick some wildflowers and herbs, but with my secret admirer out there, I've been kind of nervous about going out, so... would you mind going with me?" She grinned hopefully, but hurried to amend, "If you do mind, I'm sure Rainbow Dash wouldn't get too bored, or Applejack could go with me whenever she's not busy, or--"

The unicorn giggled. "I'd be delighted to watch your back, as 'twere." (Pervert.)

Fluttershy collected a pair of bushel basket panniers and her rabbit, and they started off once more.

As it turned out, though, Rarity had little opportunity to gaze after her friend. For once, her vaunted 'eye for detail' worked against her; once Fluttershy gave her a sample of the flowers and plants she wanted, Rarity picked them out easily from the background clutter. Her eyes were busy roaming the ground rather than Fluttershy's backside.

"You could simply buy this from Daisy," Rarity noted at one point as she tossed a stalk of rosemary into the pannier.

"Well, yes," Fluttershy said, "but it's free right out here, if you take the time to look for it."

The unicorn couldn't disagree.

Soon, the big baskets were filled with loose piles of herbs both medicinal and culinary, topped with a large pile of flowers destined for potpourri. "Thank you so much for coming with me, Rarity. You don't know how much it means to me to have a good friend along today."

Rarity smiled, though a small part of herself raged that Fluttershy didn't consider her more than a friend. A very small part, and firmly quashed. "It was a very enjoyable day," she replied, then gave a tiny twitch. "For the most part. --Don't apologize," she said firmly as Fluttershy looked down and opened her mouth. "I will remind you it was my own choice."

The shy mare gave a little nod, though her expression remained a guilty frown.

Rarity leaned closer to her and lowered her voice as if imparting a secret. "I would go so far as to say it was worth it," she murmured, which provoked a faint giggle at last.

As they rounded the short path up the hill to Fluttershy's door, the yellow pegasus paused, peering quizzically at the raised flag on her mailbox. "That's funny," she said as she trotted up to it. "Derpy already brought the mail while you were aslee--" She stopped suddenly, her hoof hovering halfway to the mailbox door, eyes going wide while her pupils shrunk to pinpricks.

"Fluttershy?" Rarity asked. "Whatever is the matter?"

"Derpy already brought the mail," she repeated. "It must be from... her..."

Rarity blinked at the other mare. "Her who?"

"M-my secret admirer..." Fluttershy whispered hoarsely.

Oh, of course. The thought hadn't even crossed Rarity's mind -- naturally not, as she had delivered no such message. However... You made a slip, darling! "Your admirer is a 'her'?" she gasped, feigning shock.

The other mare barely responded, her hoof inching toward the latch as if it might bite should she startle it. Rarity watched, her impatience growing by the second. Clearly, Fluttershy wouldn't even begin to discuss this 'revelation' until her fears were proved groundless. "Honestly, Fluttershy, the mailmare probably just forgot to deliver something. You know how she can be." She reached out with her magic, briskly pulling the door open to reveal a three-by-five card with a few lines of neat typewriting on it. "You see?" she continued, levitating the card out. "It's just a--"

Dear Fluttershy,
I think you're really gorgeous.
Signed,
Secret Admirer

Rarity's magic evaporated and the little card fluttered gently to the ground.

Chapter 7

"I really don't think this is necessary... no need to bother anypony..." Fluttershy protested faintly, but Rarity pushed, tugged, and cajoled her along, fuming like a restless volcano the whole way. The nerve! The unmitigated gall! The best must be prepared to be imitated, but this is far beyond the pale!

"Nonsense, Fluttershy," she replied in a tone that brooked no argument, giving the fearful mare another push toward the Carousel Boutique. It was only a few hundred feet more, after all. "You can't just pull the curtains and hide from your problems forever!" A small voice in the back of her head piped up, Earlier today, didn't you apologize to Fluttershy for doing just this sort of thing? But she shoved that into the closet in her mind where she had already stuffed Guilt and Hypocrisy. She'd had something special with Fluttershy, even if the other mare didn't know her identity. A connection nopony else had! And now this, this... counterfeiter thought she (or he) could steal Rarity's idea and beat her to market! The sheer effrontery of it all!

"Ow... Rarity, you're-- ow!" Fluttershy yelped. The unicorn realized she was pulling Fluttershy along by the tail and immediately let go, then took a moment to carefully compress all her anger and outrage into a ball small enough to fit into the mental closet as well.

"I'm so sorry, Fluttershy. I just hate... seeing you like this." Liar. If she hated it so much, she would have put a stop to it already. Back in the closet, you. "You mustn't flee from your fears, but stand up tall and face them... as a dear friend of mine once put it." She offered a strained grin, which Fluttershy returned with even more strain.

After a moment's deliberation, Fluttershy deflated with a small sigh. "I guess you're right," the pegasus replied, finally moving under her own power toward Rarity's home, but still staring nervously around the town square as she went. "But, um, let's get inside first, okay?"

"Of course, darling. Why don't you make yourself comfortable while I fetch everypony else?" She started to give Fluttershy the impostor's letter to take inside, only to realize it had crumpled into a ball in the grip of her magic. "...oops. How clumsy of me," she said with a nervous laugh. She made a cursory effort at flattening it out again, but the pegasus gently plucked the creased note out of the air.

"It's okay," Fluttershy murmured, then turned toward the door with another nearly inaudible sigh.

Rarity had trekked almost all the way to Applejack's barn before she spotted Rainbow Dash reclining on a tree branch alongside the road. Ah, perfect! "Rainbow Dash!" she called. The speedster jerked awake so violently that she tumbled right out of the tree and landed in a heap beneath it. "Goodness, are you all right?" Rarity asked as she trotted up.

"Fine!" the pegasus said, quickly jumping to her hooves and brushing her main roughly back into place as if to say that never happened. "Ow. Never better. What's up?"

"There's been a bit of a... development concerning Fluttershy's situation. Would you mind fetching everpony to the Boutique? I was just on the way to collect Applejack."

Dash flashed her a proud grin. "No problem! I'll have 'em there in ten... well, maybe fifteen minutes. Depends on Twilight. See ya there!" With that, a rainbow trail shot into the sky and arced over toward the barn down the road.

Rarity was surprised to find that she beat Rainbow Dash back to her shop by some minutes. Even more surprising, Applejack and Twilight also arrived before Ponyville's fastest flyer. The explanation came when the door burst open to admit the last two ponies, Rainbow and Pinkie each bearing a large picnic basket overflowing with baked goods on her back.

"Hi, everypony! Dinner's on Pinkie tonight! Well, on Pinkie and Dashie, because I couldn't carry both baskets at once without stacking them up, and--"

"What in tarnation is all this?" Applejack interrupted, peering at the vast variety of bread products in Rainbow's basket.

"Oh, well, for some reason the Cakes really, really overbaked today, so there's tons of leftovers!" Pinkie explained. "And the Day Olds case is way too small for all this, so I thought, 'Pinkie, why don't we bring over dinner for everypony and make a party of it?' And I said, 'That sounds like a great idea! Glad I thought of it!' And then I was like, 'Me too!' So we've got apple fritters, bear claws, cinnamon rolls..."

The whole assembly retired to Rarity's kitchen while Pinkie rattled off her list, and everypony settled in around the dining table with thanks and compliments to the chef.

"So," Twilight said with an orange roll hovering beside her. "What's this all about?"

Fluttershy wordlessly pushed the rumpled note to the middle of the table.

"It would seem," Rarity supplied, "that we have a copycat on our hooves."

The everypony leaned in to read the few lines, then settled back with thoughtful expressions. "What makes y'all think it ain't the same one?" Applejack asked, glancing from Rarity to Fluttershy and back.

"Well, it's certainly a different style," Twilight said. "Typed instead of written, brief and straightforward... it does seem like an entirely different pony wrote this." She leaned in, peering at the paper, then held it up to the light. "Different paper from the first one, too, but it's still nothing you couldn't get at Scrolls, Stationery and Such."

"So Fluttershy has another admirer," Rainbow Dash piped up, hovering above the table with a half-eaten muffin in her hooves. "So what? That's twice as awesome as before."

Twilight took a bite of her roll and shook her head. "Well, the timing seems kind of suspicious. Nopony here told anypony else about the first letter, right?"

"Letters," Rarity corrected without thinking.

Applejack leaned forward, eyebrows rising. "What, ya got another one?"

Fluttershy nodded, her cheeks pinkening slightly.

Rarity cleared her throat and quickly announced, "Fluttershy has declined to share the contents of the second letter." The last thing she needed was for Fluttershy to let the cat out of the proverbial bag now and get the others thinking about what mares might have written it!

Twilight waved the entire subject away with her hoof, unwilling to let herself be sidetracked. "Whatever. The point is, assuming none of us mentioned the admirer to anypony else--" She paused to acknowledge head shakes from the rest of the coterie. "--and assuming this isn't just some weird coincidence, the pony who wrote this note..." Twilight stood up, tapping a hoof on the table for emphasis as she declared, "...must be in this very room!"

In the stunned silence, Fluttershy slowly sank down below table level.

Rarity's eyes widened in horror. Oh no. This was even worse than revealing the contents of her own letter! If they started thinking too hard about that deduction, they might easily draw the right conclusion for the wrong note! Rarity's eyes darted from face to face. But who might have done something suspicious enough to act as her scapegoat?...

Ah.

"Rainbow Dash," Rarity began in an accusatory tone. "Yesterday, you told me you were thinking about the secret admirer, and started to ask me if I thought it would be weird if." She narrowed an eye and glared up at the pegasus, who was glancing nervously between the five ponies who were suddenly scrutinizing her with speculative expressions. "Did you write this?"

"Me?! No way! Listen, Rarity, I know this must look funny, but I swear to Celestia I don't have feelings for Fluttershy! No offense."

"None taken," came a soft voice from under the table.

"Well, I was with Fluttershy when she discovered the letter, and we had been a mile or more from the mailbox," Rarity volunteered primly, then smiled a small smile. "Though of course I concur with the author's sentiments." Mare-stealing backstabber though she might be. How horrible! What kind of way is that to think of one of your friends?!

"I've been trying to sell all this great bread all day!" Pinkie piped up. "I didn't even get to take a lunch break, I was just like--" She bit off a huge mouthful of zucchini bread for verisimilitude. "C'n eh tekk y'r ordrr?" Rarity shuddered and had to look away.

"Well, that doesn't mean you didn't get it delivered by proxy," Twilight pointed out.

"Prrxy?" Thankfully, Pinkie swallowed the mouthful before she continued. "Who's that? I don't think I've ever met him!" She gasped. "There's a new pony in town and you didn't tell me?!"

"She means ya coulda asked somepony else to deliver it," Applejack clarified. "But that purty much tosses out everypony's alibis, don't it? Anyhow, I reckon whoever it is'll come clean in her own time." She chuckled dryly. "Ain't much reason to hide it, is there? We're all friends here."

You know nothing, Rarity mentally scolded the farmer. "Perhaps... someone else could have overheard..." she said weakly.

"Or it might just be coincidence!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, throwing up her hooves. "You never know!"

"Stranger things have happened," Twilight was forced to agree. "And it's possible that one of the mail ponies could have seen the letter in the box, I guess."

"So add Post Haste and Derpy to the suspect list," Rainbow Dash agreed smugly, leaning against the counter.

"And old Mister Zippy!" Pinkie said, to a round of 'eww's and giggles.

Rarity hurried to amend, "And anyone they might have mentioned it to."

After that, the conversation moved back into safer territory and the fashionista let out a slow, controlled breath. That was a close one. She mulled over the conversation, careful to keep her dark thoughts off her face. Twilight's reasoning reinforced her own; she couldn't help but think this author had been inspired by her note, and if its existence were common knowledge in Ponyville, somepony would have either mentioned it to her or tried to pump her for gossip by now.

So one of you is my rival, hmm? She stared for a few seconds at Rainbow Dash, imagining her as the challenger for Fluttershy's heart. Then she blinked, shifted her mindset, and stared at Rainbow Dash, her dear friend. Foe. Friend. Foe. Friend. Rarity blinked over and over, trying desperately to see both at the same time.

She looked slowly from face to face, wondering which heart she would have to crush, or be crushed by in turn. Would their friendship... could it... survive that? Could any of them watch their heart's desire with another, day in and day out, and still remain friends? And could she bring herself to do that to one of them?

The sweep of her vision ended where Applejack was coaxing Fluttershy out from under the table. Would the shy mare even stand for such a thing? Or would she retreat from the conflict and deprive both? Her pink mane gradually emerged from the hiding spot, depressingly ribbonless. Perhaps... it would be better if I should simply withdraw from the contest and wish my competitor better luck than I had.

"You all right?" Twilight asked softly beside her.

Rarity realized she could feel a trail of salty coolness winding its way down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly and nodded. "I'm fine. Just... thinking," she said softly.

"Don't give up," the other unicorn said, patting her on the shoulder. "You'll find your prince. Or he'll find you."

The poor dear couldn't possibly understand why Rarity had to excuse herself from the room, eyes brimming.

From the sympathetic glances she received on her return, Rarity assumed that Fluttershy had shared what she'd said about Heart of a Pegasus. That was all right; let them think her heartsick over her old dreams. It was near enough to the truth. Thankfully, though, nopony offered more than the look, except Twilight, who poured a cup of tea from the teapot beside her and passed it over with an apologetic smile. Naturally, the bookworm had used Rarity's breakfast tea instead of the after-dinner tea, but she accepted it anyway and smiled in return.

Pinkie was meanwhile spooning an unholy amount of sugar into her cup. "But don'tcha like feeling pretty?" she asked Fluttershy. "That's what you go to the spa for, right?" She sipped her syrup with every sign of enjoyment.

"It's... flattering... I guess..." Fluttershy said, her hair draping her face again. "But every time I see somepony on the street, I can't help wondering if they're watching me, and... thinking about me..."

Applejack slugged back her tea with a loud slurp and shrugged. "Let 'em watch. Let 'em think. Yer a fine lookin' mare, and there ain't nothin' wrong with folks noticin' that."

"And they woulda been admiring you before anyway." Rainbow Dash folded her arms and shrugged one shoulder. "You just know about it now. So nothing's really different."

"I guess..." the pegasus replied, though she still looked troubled. "I'd... better go give my critters their dinner too before it gets much later. I'll see you girls... around..." She rose and flapped sluggishly into the air, as though still weighed down by her cares.

"Yeah, I'd best get goin' myself," Applejack said, stretching. "Thanks fer the food, Pinkie!"

Rarity stood and trotted alongside Fluttershy to escort her to the door, the sounds of the party breaking up fading behind them. On the way through the boutique, though, Fluttershy stopped suddenly and looked around herself. "Oh... you spent all day helping me with my chores. You must have so much to do now!"

"I'll be all right," Rarity assured her, patting her hoof. "After that nap, I'm not even tired yet. I'll catch up tonight."

Fluttershy hovered for a few seconds, thinking, then offered a shy smile. "Um... well, if you say so. But I really want to make it up to you. What if I come help you with your work tomorrow?"

"That would be lovely," came out of Rarity's mouth before she could even think about it.

The pegasus beamed and gave her a quick hug. "See you tomorrow, then! Good night!"

"Good night, Fluttershy." Rarity's anger and worries faded under a layer of cheerful anticipation as she turned back to see off the rest of her guests.

The visitors having left for their respective beds, Rarity took stock of her workroom, not even trying to keep the smile off her face. Regardless how Fluttershy felt about her suitor... suitors... the simple joy on her face at the prospect of spending another day with Rarity was infectious. That, she thought, was perhaps what she feared losing the most. The fashionista went about with a spring in her step, separating the laborious, solitary tasks from those that would be easier with more hooves or could be done easily while chatting. Or that required a model...

She considered, just for fun, drawing up a few new lingerie designs that Fluttershy could "help" with before morning... Ooh, you naughty filly! Rarity giggled to herself and shook her head as she discarded the notion. She had enough to do without adding vanity projects on top of it. Now, Fluttershy could certainly hold her own in embroidery, so that could wait. Bead and sequin work, though, was for tonight. Setting gemstones, too; that was her own task, and not one she would hand over to anypony else...

She paused, thoughtfully chewing on her lower lip, reconsidering the lingerie. Just a moment's thought brought several interesting designs to mind, and it would be a pity to let inspiration go to waste...

The unicorn pulled over her drafting table and set aside a gem-studded choker with matching dog collar, commissioned by a particularly devoted pet owner. Hmm... gem-studded... how about a ruby accented croupiere? Attention-grabbing, but covered in sharp stones, just begging to be removed as things grow more intimate... Her charcoal stick flew, and the design quickly elaborated into a story written in silk; a short but chaste skirt attached to the croupiere, designed to draw the eye with a flattering view of the thighs but to resolutely guard the wearer's honor while the sharp-angled rubies held her suitor at a distance. Then, stealing upon her like a thief in the night, her lover would brave the uncomfortable jabs to find the large buttons which held it on and relieve her of the burden. Beneath it, a clingy pair of frilled ruby-red panties would accent the contours of that which they concealed, barely covering her, like a young mare's final, half-hearted resistance before she finally surrendered the panties, and herself, to her paramour...

Is it hot in here?

Rarity let out a soft 'whew' and dragged herself away to fill her time with less provocative tasks. Clearly, there was inspiration, and then there was inspiration. She would have to watch herself, lest the latter consume time she had intended for less exciting but more profitable pursuits.

Which wasn't to say she couldn't think about it...

The distant sounds of daytime in Ponyville finally penetrated to rouse Rarity from her all-too-brief slumber. She had finally put herself to bed after yawning over Miss Heartstrings' subdued concert-hall dress for the third time, somewhere a few hours shy of sunrise. So much for beauty sleep, she thought with a sigh. When was the last time she slept undisturbed through the night? It felt like months ago. She knew she must have dark bags under her eyes by now.

Oh, well. That was what cosmetics were for. She hauled herself out of bed and set about getting ready for her day.

The outfit she had fancifully dubbed The Debutante's Treasure hung half-completed on a dress form. She wasn't sure, now, what to do with the fore half of the outfit. Something in soft ruffles, maybe, to encourage reserved kissing and gazing into one anothers' eyes before the other pony grew bold enough to storm the bastion of her virtue. But also matching the panties, so she would still look good after that point... Should I add a headdress? Perhaps not, for contrast with the armored flank...

The distant jingle of her door chime interrupted her musings and spurred her to speed up her preparations. "I'll be down in a moment!" she called.

"It's just me," Fluttershy replied in a barely-raised voice.

"Ah, wonderful! By all means, please come on up!"

Rarity was dragging the brush through her mane a few final times when her shy friend appeared. "Good morning, Fluttershy! How are you today?"

"I'm fine," the pegasus said with a tiny shrug. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough." Rarity hid a frown as she emerged from her preparations and yet again noted the lack of a red ribbon in Fluttershy's mane. "I appreciate your help today, I truly do. I had hoped you could lend a hoof with one or two projects, and perhaps offer a second opinion on some experimental styles I've been toying with."

Fluttershy gravitated over toward the dummy wearing the half-finished Debutante's Treasure. "Oh, is this one of them?" she asked, craning her neck to look it over.

Rarity felt herself blushing a little as she answered. "Well, yes, but this is something of a personal project. I found some inspiration last night for a new lingerie design."

The pegasus seemed to debate with herself whether to say anything. "Doesn't it seem a little, um, heavy for that?" she asked at last.

Giggling faintly, Rarity nodded. "A bit, at first, but it's rather intentional. Do you think I could convince you to try it on for me later? I'm still thinking about the top, and I'm sure your input would be invaluable."

The pegasus glanced at the dress's thoroughly protected rump with a faint smile. "No problem."

Like the previous evening, Rarity forced herself to turn her back on dress. She had work to do -- real work -- and business came before pleasure. Besides, she mustn't seem too eager to see Fluttershy en dishabille. They began by picking up where Rarity had left off the previous night, working on Lyra's tailored dress. The unicorn's build was far too slender for Fluttershy to actually model the dress, but it was nothing Rarity hadn't sewn a hundred times before anyway. Which was a pity, because if she could use midnight blue instead of plain black... but no. Some venues demanded particularly conservative styles, and all a fashionista could do was suggest flattering accessories and give the client the best fit she could manage. Such 'tailor work' was unsatisfying, but it paid the bills. Rarity said as much as they worked, with Fluttershy hmming and making sympathetic sounds past the needle in her lips as she hemmed the skirt. "Which is why I'm delighted to have a skilled assistant to chat with," the unicorn finished, earning a grin from Fluttershy.

With the dress finished and carefully hung up well ahead of its deadline, Rarity gave herself permission to have a little fun. Not with the new lingerie... not yet... but a couple of prototypes did need a thorough examination before she sent them for Hoity Toity's review. She began with an outfit built around a daring hat studded with faux phoenix feathers. The triangular hat and flame-colored cloak evoked a fiery, passionate personality, but a cooler tunic of rich violet and gold suggested a more regal, restrained side. It was a bold fashion, one to be attempted only by ponies with certain colorations, but certain to garner attention in any gathering. Naturally, the colors were overwhelming on a pastel-toned mare like Fluttershy. It rather looked to Rarity as if the cloak and hat were trying to eat her, but Fluttershy gazed into the mirror with a faraway smile while the unicorn worked. "You like it?" she asked.

Fluttershy nodded and giggled. "If I squint just right, it looks like Philomena's sitting on my head." She nodded again, watching the long feathers bob.

"In fact, she was the inspiration for that design," Rarity chuckled. "This is my second attempt at an idea that never got off the proverbial drawing board, but I revised it heavily after meeting the Princess's pet in person."

"I think it's lovely! I'll bet Hoity Toity snaps it right up."

"I do hope so. Now, I've also got an evening dress I think will match your coat rather better..." Rarity moved on to a slinky one-shouldered dress in dusty blue with a choker of large, clear diamonds. Quite classic, if one discounted the emerald-studded shoes and matching shrug, and the twisted-wire tiara set with a round-cut blue diamond. That looked better, but the jewel tones were still probably too intense for Fluttershy's personality. She made the appropriately impressed comments, but it wasn't quite her. That outfit was marked as being a little too slinky in the waist -- it made Fluttershy's stomach seem to stick out a bit -- and set aside for refinement.

That led to what Rarity could only think of as 'the main event'. "Now, I hope you'll be patient with me," she said as she levitated the outfit off the dummy and brought the ruffled panties over to Fluttershy's hindlegs. "I'll need to try a few things."

"No problem, Rarity," she said as she stepped into the panties, giving a little squeak as the unicorn magic pulled them up into place. They were quite snug by design, outlining Fluttershy's rear beautifully and even hinting at the details of the mound between her thighs. Rarity bit her tongue as an appreciative 'ooh' tried to slip out. She hurriedly covered the sight with the hefty rump piece, tugging Fluttershy's tail out from under it as the croupiere floated into place.

"Does this mean you're going into the lingerie business for real?" the pegasus asked while Rarity secured the oversized buttons and stepped back to consider the blouse.

"Oh, well... nothing quite that brash," Rarity replied. She hesitated before adding, "...but the thought had occurred to me that you might perhaps have reason to use something of that nature sooner rather than later..." And that I'll want you to have something of that nature to use...

"I... oh. I hadn't thought of that," Fluttershy blushed, then regarded herself in the mirror with fresh intensity. "M... maybe not that soon..."

"Regardless," Rarity grinned, "I shall see to it that, when the time comes, you won't be found wanting."

The pegasus giggled nervously and examined her reflection, gave her hips a little shake, then lowered her head and blushed harder. Her smile didn't fade entirely, though.

Rarity extracted a bolt of the same cloth she'd used for the panties. "Now, I was thinking of something light and ruffled for the top, perhaps inspired by the Andalusian traje de flamingo..."

Fabric and thread flew through the air, the needle darting between and through them like a tiny silver fish among water lilies. Rarity had Fluttershy's measurements practically memorized after all the outfits and revisions she had made for her friend. It was the work of a minute or two to rough out what she had in mind and slip it onto the pegasus.

"Oh, that's lovely, Rarity," Fluttershy said.

Frowning critically, the fashionista waggled her hoof in the air. "Mmm... so-so. Perhaps a vee neck..." Scissors drifted close to Fluttershy's throat. "Hold still, please." Snip, snip. "Yes, that's better... that ruff, though..." A trio of magical tacks secured the center of the ruffle to the chest. "Ah, that's better. Now you have shoulders. Hmm... bare midriff or no?" Her magic tugged the bottom of the blouse up and down a few times before she nodded. "Definitely bare. One moment." A set of pins shot into the fabric to hold it in place as Rarity stepped back, admiring her handiwork.

Fluttershy turned back toward the mirror and gasped, twisting to admire herself. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"You're beautiful," Rarity corrected, her smile soft and genuine. Then she cleared her throat and it was all business again. "Now, if you wouldn't mind taking off the skirt?"

The pegasus nodded and fumbled for a moment, then the croupiere slid to the floor. Rarity frowned a bit, trotting halfway around her, then murmured, "Oh, dear, I'll need to cut down the ruffles a bit. Your hips are lovely, but perhaps they shouldn't be accentuated quite that much..."

Fluttershy laughed lightly, but Rarity knew she would be turning the same color as the panties if she could see what was going through the unicorn's head. Rarity settled herself with a beautiful view of Fluttershy's hindquarters and started snipping the ruffles down, all the while stealing longing glances at the barely-concealed valley of her marehood. The snug fabric smoothed over every imperfection, begging to be felt, not just seen. Surely the sight would drive any stallion mad with desire.

Or, given the deep, familiar ache beginning to twist in the depths of her belly, any mare of the proper persuasion...

Rarity took her time, but she couldn't dawdle too long. She finished trimming the ruffles at last and nodded, setting aside her scissors. "There, much better. What do you think?"

Fluttershy turned herself in front of the mirror, her smile growing with each new angle. "Oh... wow, Rarity. I never really thought... um, I mean, I look... great! Do you think some stal-- um, somepony would really like to... um... never mind."

Rarity's ears perked up at the switch in terminology. Some pony? Her chest swelled with a warm, fluttering excitement that she hadn't realized she'd been missing until it returned. Every day of seeing the pegasus refuse to respond to her letter had chipped away at her hope, but one word... one tiny, deliberate change of phrase...

The fashionista slowly smiled. "Given the, ah, nature of this outfit, I wonder if you'd allow me to test it out in action, as it were..." She stepped close again, stretching her neck out as if for an embrace.

"Oh! Of course you may," the pegasus giggled, leaning in to press her cheek against Rarity's withers. The unicorn sat back on her haunches and wrapped her arms around Fluttershy, eyes squeezing closed as she did. Mmmmm. Well, there was certainly nothing uncomfortable about the blouse. It felt as inviting as it looked. And the embrace -- even if it was just make-believe -- felt so, so terribly nice.

Kiss her, her bolder side whispered.

She couldn't. She mustn't.

Say you were pretending. Say you got carried away. She'd never hold it against you!

She shouldn't. With the second secret admirer's letter fresh in Fluttershy's mind, she would give herself away instantly.

So? Admit it! Take the chance!

The chance to ruin her friendship? The chance to have her heart broken? She might suspect the other mare's interest, but she didn't know...

Coward.

And then the moment was over. Rarity pulled away, unable to hold back a blush of her own. Maybe... instead... if she could just give Fluttershy an innocent little nudge in the right direction... Please...

"You know, there's just a little something missing here..." Rarity mused aloud.

Fluttershy twisted, looking herself over. "Eep! What? Where?"

"No, no, darling, I mean it needs a little something in lieu of a hat or headdress... Something light and cheerful, but it needs to match the rest..." Her magic produced a length of red ribbon from her supplies -- fine silk, not the cheap stuff that she used to tie up the letter. "Yes, I think this will be perfect!"

The pegasus recoiled from the ribbon as if it were a snake. No, strike that, she probably had great affection for snakes. "Oh, no, I can't wear that!"

Rarity actually felt the cracks spiderweb out across her heart. "But it accents your mane just perfectly--"

"I really don't think that's a good idea--"

"Just have a look in the mirror with it on--"

"Rarity!" Fluttershy's half-panicked shout stopped the unicorn in her tracks, the length of silk drifting to the floor. Fluttershy looked down quickly, her voice pleading. "I said no..."

Rarity's careless smile strained to the breaking point. "Well, all right... if you insist... no ribbon."

The unicorn took a moment to compose herself while Fluttershy got undressed, trying very hard not to think about what just happened. She tried to concentrate on the image of Fluttershy's delightful flank, her ever-so-kissable stomach... her expression of shocked terror as the ribbon floated closer...

After that, it was on to choosing colors for a line of light, stylish jackets for the autumn. She and Fluttershy sat side by side, digging through drawer after drawer of scrap fabric in search of the perfect shades. Rarity's spirits thoroughly dampened, she couldn't quite find the motivation to chatter about much beyond the job at hoof.

The pegasus seemed to reflect her mood. Fluttershy stared into the drawer with a meditative air, then tentatively said, "Um, about last night..."

Rarity's heart picked up its pace. "Hmm?"

The pegasus didn't look up as she spoke. "I told everypony what you said to me about that book while you were, um, out of the room. I hope that's okay, you didn't say it was a secret, but if it was..."

"No, that's all right. I thought you had. I appreciate you handling it for me." The unicorn slumped by a degree or two.

Fluttershy pawed through a few more layers of cloth, the silence stretching uncomfortably. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked at last.

More than anything. "Not at the moment, but thank you," Rarity said automatically. Then she hesitated and sighed faintly, trying to decide how much she could say without letting slip too much. "Well... I suppose seeing you get letters from two different ponies made me... a bit envious." Or rather, jealous. "You get so much attention without even trying, and I..." She choked up a little and scrambled to rein in her emotions, clenching her eyes as the memory of Fluttershy cringing from the ribbon replayed once again. "I work so very hard, and yet I keep coming up empty-hoofed..."

Rarity gasped and stiffened as soft yellow hooves slid around her for the second time that day. "I'm sorry," Fluttershy murmured. "If I could give the admirers to you, you know I would." For a few moments, Rarity didn't dare to speak lest she burst out in tears instead. But the only one I want is you! she howled silently. She clutched the pegasus and tried to push down the burn of sorrow steadily building in her chest.

...but you can't offer what I want. The thought reverberated in her head like the tolling of funeral bells. "I think I want a nap," she managed to choke out.

Fluttershy pulled away with a small nod, allowing her the polite fiction. "Okay. I'll just work on some of that embroidery until you're ready." The pegasus gave her one last glance, as if to say I'm here for you, then trotted on down the stairs.

Perhaps ten minutes later, after composing herself once more, Rarity gazed silently down the staircase at Fluttershy, who was stretched out on a méridienne and working needle and thread slowly back and forth through the embroidery hoop. Rarity let out a long, slow sigh. Far from the gleeful or at least cautiously optimistic response she had expected from her notes, in three days, Fluttershy had shown no sign of returning her interest. Rather the opposite, in fact. The time had come to finally admit defeat; she was doing neither of them any favors by letting this drag on.

Rarity slowly came back down the stairs. "Darling... do go on home. You've done more than enough, and there's no need for you to sit and wait again while I sleep."

Fluttershy started to protest, but then she stopped and gave Rarity a searching look. The unicorn had thought she concealed her emotions admirably, but the worry reflected in Fluttershy's eyes said that she was, in that moment, an open book. "All right," she said at last, setting down the embroidery and trotting over to nuzzle the unicorn's neck. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Rarity nodded and returned a chaste nuzzle of her own. Please tell me that's not going to hurt every time, she thought as Fluttershy glided over to the door.

"Sleep tight," Fluttershy said.

"Thank you," Rarity replied, then turned and trotted back upstairs as the door clicked.

Better a clean break, she told herself, wiping her eyes as she trod slowly to her desk. No pining or second-guessing myself. This is my choice. This... is the end. The lump in her throat choked her again at that thought, but Rarity pushed herself the rest of the way to the desk and pulled out a sheaf of blank pages.

She had phrased the original note so that the other mare's inaction would serve as an answer of its own, but still, that lacked a sense of closure. And she felt she owed Fluttershy some sort of apology for the stress and discomfort she had caused the yellow pegasus. Not to mention, it would be rather silly if Fluttershy could never wear red again for fear of having it interpreted as an overture. Rarity sat down, picked up her quill, and thought for a moment. The flowery kind of language she had used in the previous letters seemed out of place now, given the context. It needed to reflect honest contrition, but also strength; no pathetic groveling or suggestions that she languished without her love. That would just put further guilt on the pegasus. Fluttershy needed her to be strong just now, so strong she would be. No matter what it cost her.

Ah, well... perhaps simple is best. Slowly, Rarity wrote seven careful block letters.

It took two more tries to complete the letter without staining it with tears, but at last, the fateful note lay open on her desk. She folded it twice, then turned away to cry herself to sleep.

Chapter 8

Solemnly, Rarity trotted a slow circle around the main room of the boutique. At each window, her magic closed the curtains, then lit a cluster of tall tapers standing nearby.

She had finally emerged from her room in the early evening, bleary and starving, having found neither sleep nor any real catharsis in the meantime. She had made herself presentable and stepped out for meal that she didn't taste, making a public show of unflappable calm before retreating to her stronghold again to begin her preparations.

Once the night was blocked out and the room filled with soft candlelight, she went up the stairs to her bedroom and repeated the process, ending with a fat jasmine-scented candle on the bedside table. Her magic flicked out to the phonograph waiting on her workbench, summoning the low, romantic strains of harp and guitar. Then, shedding her robe along the way, she moved to the bathroom to draw a relaxing bath with a generous scoop of her favorite rose-scented bath salts. If this was to be their last night together, she would make it one to remember.

Together? No... not really... just one last night of desperate fantasy before she gave up on her dreams... forever. But that's all they ever were -- dreams and wishes, just like her former delusions about princes and royal weddings. She hadn't learned a damned thing from that debacle with Blueblood!

Rarity felt the hot sting behind her eyes and quickly pushed that thought away as she slid into the warm, sweetly steaming water. Those were worries for tomorrow. Tonight was hers and hers alone. She settled back in the water, trying to recapture the imagined sensation of soft wings against her chest. It took some time -- every time thoughts of her day crept in, she had to clear her mind and start over -- but she finally relaxed enough to pretend she could feel the heat and weight of a body against her, cuddling close to share the scented bath.

"So I guess we won't see one another for a while," she said, nuzzling Fluttershy on the back of the neck. "Though it seems a pity to be saying goodbye so soon after hello..."

"It's not forever," Fluttershy reassured her. "You know I'll be thinking about you every day." Her tone turned playful, teasing. "And night..."

Rarity giggled and stroked the pad of her hoof across Fluttershy's cutie mark. "Likewise... and speaking of night, it would be simply criminal to waste any of this one on sleep."

The unicorn climbed out of her bath and took her time drying herself while she pictured herself and Fluttershy, playing and teasing one another with the relaxed ease of old friends but the excitement of brand-new lovers. She could already feel the tingling heat of arousal beginning to spread, but she made herself work slowly anyway. There was no rush.

Rarity's muzzle nudged into the ticklish spot under Fluttershy's wing -- a spot Rarity had discovered some time ago, while measuring her -- then farther up as the pegasus squeaked and twisted away from the touch. The feathers of Fluttershy's wingtip stroked lightly under Rarity's belly in turn, and the unicorn let out a gasp of a giggle.

The teasing touches subsided for a moment, a pregnant pause taking their place. Then, slowly, gently, Rarity stretched out her neck, rubbing her cheek lovingly up Fluttershy's neck and face. Then, as though on cue, both mares turned slowly toward one another and their lips met. There was a single moment of awkward negotiation as they each tilted their head, then they leaned toward one another and pressed their mouths together hungrily. Rarity's lips clutched at Fluttershy's, and after a few moments, the pegasus gently, tentatively slipped her tongue past Rarity's teeth. The unicorn responded in kind, pulling her closer until she could slide her arms around Fluttershy's shoulders as well. She couldn't tell how long the kiss lasted, but both mares were panting hot breaths against one another's cheeks as they slowly broke apart, tongues clinging to each other as long as they could. "I love you," Rarity panted as she pulled away, smiling hugely.

"I love you too," Fluttershy cooed, pressing up against the unicorn and cupping her wing over Rarity's back. It was all that seemed necessary to say. The pegasus pulled her closer and closer until three pink butterflies caressed three blue diamonds. Then, side by side, they walked slowly to the bedroom, trading quick kisses and nuzzles the whole way.

The bedroom was awash with candlelight, and the head-spinning breath of night-blooming jasmine drifted in the still air. Rarity breathed in the intoxicating fragrance as they made their way to the bed, but paused just short of it and pushed her muzzle into Fluttershy's mane, mixing the perfume with the sweet, woody scent of the pegasus herself. Fluttershy laughed and pulled away well before Rarity was satisfied -- if indeed she could ever fill her lungs with enough pure, distilled joy.

Fluttershy hopped lightly onto the bed and looked back over her shoulder, her tail swaying as she aimed a smoldering smile at Rarity. The sophisticated unicorn usually thought of herself as the one giving such looks, not receiving them, but Fluttershy's heated gaze poured fuel on the spark of desire in Rarity's chest. She settled beside the pegasus, grinning a lascivious grin and feeling strangely pleased that this particular pony, above all others, wanted her as much as the reverse. Fluttershy, for her part, seemed delighted with the effect the glance had on Rarity. A soupçon of timidity around the edges fell away as Fluttershy's self-confidence grew. Her lustful stare intensified, drawing Rarity like a magnet until her lips met the other mare's once again.

Careful not to break the kiss, Rarity slowly pressed into Fluttershy, her lips and forelegs working together to push the unresisting pegasus onto her back. Breathlessly pulling away at last, Rarity paused to drink in Fluttershy's body. The pegasus had let her thighs splay wide, a single curl looped over one leg in such an alluringly careless way that Rarity would have sworn it was calculated by a skilled photographer. She admired the curve of one butterfly-marked hip, then followed it around to the subtle flush of Fluttershy's marehood, almost the same shade as her tail. The smooth curve of her belly was broken only by the elegant dimple of her navel and the two subtle mounds of her teats. The young mare's ribs hid beneath the slightest layer of smooth pudge, but her neck was long and graceful enough to grant the impression of softness rather than weight. Her lips parted just slightly, trembling almost imperceptibly with each breath, as if ready at a moment's notice to accept another kiss.

Rarity didn't make her wait. Her eyes slid closed as her lips touched Fluttershy's, only just touched, and for only a moment. She cuddled closer, but didn't pull away as she pressed her body up against the pegasus, their muzzles a mere breath apart while one hoof stroked the yellow-coated belly and the other curled to cradle Fluttershy's head. "I love you," Rarity whispered, her lips brushing the other mare's. Then she slowly opened her eyes to gaze into--

--the haughty, impassive eyes of Opalescence. The unicorn gasped and recoiled, blushing as though one of her friends had barged in rather than her own cat. She was suddenly aware of each heaving breath, every tiny ache and tingle of unsatisfied desire, the chilly touch of a draft against the indecent dampness just beginning to bloom beneath her tail. There was no gaze like a cat's for making one feel watched and judged.

"Now, Opal," she said, picking up the cat in a glow of light blue magic, "Mommy needs some time to herself tonight. I'm sure you understand." Opalescence hissed and spat at the treatment, swiping ineffectually as she drifted through the air. Rarity ignored it and carried her downstairs to the door as she continued, "So please, go find some other way to entertain yourself tonight. All right?"

Without waiting for a response, she pushed the cat through the pet door, then shoved an empty chest in front of it. "And stay out," she muttered, then trotted back upstairs, fairly trembling to return to her bed and lose herself in fantasy once again.

======================

Rarity dove back onto the bed, where Fluttershy lounged with a patient smile and another seductive pose. She had stretched out on her back with her tail flicked up between her thighs, the hair fanned out across her belly while her wings spread angelically across the slightly rumpled blankets. She was the very image of innocence begging to be despoiled.

"My apologies for the interruption," Rarity said, pressing her lips to the other mare's chest as hot prickles ran up and down her swollen petals.

"Mmm. It's okay." Fluttershy squirmed under the unicorn, her hips rocking subtly, mirroring Rarity's own excitement. "I love animals and all, but I'd rather not have anyone watching right now, either." The pegasus ran a hoof along Rarity's midsection and down her thigh, silently beckoning.

Rarity let Fluttershy pull her hips closer as her muzzle retraced the route her eyes had taken before. A line of kisses, each with a brush of the tongue, dampened a trail down Fluttershy's neck and chest, all the way down to her adorable bellybutton. In reply, a soft nibble and lick at her stifle made her leg tremble and lift almost of its own accord. A hoof guided it back down on the other side of Fluttershy's body, straddling her, and tugged the unicorn's hips down within easy reach.

Fluttershy was eager, tiny kisses peppering the back of each leg, then the insides of Rarity's thighs. The aroma of jasmine and the soft, rhythmic pluck of strings faded to the back of Rarity's consciousness, her world full of nothing but the soft, warm body under her and the low, sensual sounds that joined her own. She nuzzled her way across Fluttershy's belly, gathering the strands of her tail into a single hank with nose and lips. Finally, she flicked the silky hair away and bared Fluttershy's dewy flower, now flushed in full bloom.

An unexpected touch made Rarity gasp, her hindlegs tensing and spreading involuntarily as damp softness tickled her right nipple. She could hear her heart beginning to pound as she leaned down to do the same, adding a graze of teeth that made Fluttershy moan after her squeak of surprise. Yellow thighs tensed visibly in response, the soft lips of Fluttershy's sex beautifully pouted and flushed to a shade the fashionista couldn't help thinking of as "Pinkie Pie pink". Rarity was sure she looked much the same from Fluttershy's perspective. She spent a few seconds playfully tugging at a stiffening nipple with her lips, but the real prize still lay before her.

Rarity heard Fluttershy inhale deeply, sampling the musky scent of the unicorn's arousal. The caress of the other mare's breath sent thrills rippling up and down her back, and she glanced back to catch Fluttershy's eye, making sure the pegasus was watching. Rarity gave an impish grin, then grunted quietly as she flexed seldom-used muscles to wink her vulva at the other mare. Fluttershy burst out giggling, but before she had the chance to respond in kind, her giggle broke into a full-throated squeal as Rarity dove in.

Rarity shamelessly straddled both her pillows at once, rocking slightly and moaning into the cushions as she ground herself against them. It wasn't perfect, but the makeshift, make-believe Fluttershy would do the job. She kissed and licked as furiously as though it were the real article. The pillows were already a sticky, sodden mess at both ends, but she was nowhere near finished with them.

Rarity drew a slow lick down the length of Fluttershy's slit, sighing happily as she finally reached the part of the evening she'd been longing for. She could feel the other mare's breath on her rump, each moan a hot gust against her soaked nether regions. The weight of Fluttershy's hooves on her croup gently held her in place as the pegasus grew used to the stimulation, then began to return it. Rarity didn't even try to hold back the moan as the caress of a soft tongue cooled her aching need. She sat back against Fluttershy's muzzle a little, encouraging more while she slipped the tip of her tongue between the pink, fleshy folds and ran it from top to bottom and back.

Fluttershy cried out again, her legs moving as if to clutch Rarity's head, but she stopped herself short and instead started to lap quickly at Rarity's glistening cleft. Between her own eager moans, the unicorn darted her tongue past Fluttershy's petals, then out again in one quick motion. She flicked her tongue rapidly, sampling Fluttershy's sweet nectar like a hummingbird at a flower. The pegasus stiffened under her and quivered, frozen for a few moments but for a strangled, "Yeep!" She resumed in a moment, though, her hooves moving to spread Rarity's folds and make way for her tongue.

"Oh, Fluttershy," Rarity gasped, gulping air and burying a long moan between warm yellow thighs as her hips started to tremble. She didn't want to rush the pegasus, with a whole night ahead of them to fill, but Fluttershy took each tension-releasing cry as encouragement! Not that Rarity wasn't doing the same. Every muffled squeak and gasp made her push the pegasus a little harder, a little farther, until she found herself wrapping her lips around Fluttershy's clit, suckling at the little nub. Fluttershy's head fell back against the blankets as she shrieked and bucked, her legs kicking as hot juices gushed suddenly onto Rarity's tongue and trickled down Fluttershy's rump to slick the tight pink star under her dock.

Fluttershy lay still for a few seconds, her cries gradually calming, but she soon recalled her duty and redoubled her efforts. (Rarity thrust a hoof down beneath her, moaning louder with each furious stroke of its tip against the center of her pleasure.) The unicorn arched her back, thighs burning with the strain as she pushed herself against the other mare's lips. Fluttershy's slender tongue slipped in and drew back the hood of her clit, stroking the sensitive nub rapidly as an unstoppable, undeniable tension built higher and higher in the pit of Rarity's stomach. She raised her fluid-slicked nose and quivered, her moans shading into shouts of inarticulate delight, then emptied her lungs in a long shriek of pleasure, feeling herself soak the pil-- Fluttershy's face with a heavy gush of her own nectar.

Panting, Rarity rolled off of her lover, resting her cheek against Fluttershy's cutie mark and draping an arm across her stomach. The pegasus wrapped her arms around Rarity's hips as well, kissing playfully at her blue diamonds.

"Mmm... well... that was a nice warm-up," the unicorn quipped, answered by a laugh and a hot breath against her hip.

"Ready whenever you are, Rarity." Fluttershy's tongue dragged up the curve of her flank, then flicked at her inner thigh. They were light, teasing touches, but they quickly had the unicorn groaning and squirming against her.

"On your side?" she suggested, pushing herself up to her haunches. Fluttershy complied, flopping over with a gentle smile, her mane maddeningly attractive even draped across her face in disarray. Rarity took one of the other mare's hooves in her own, lifting it, spreading Fluttershy's thighs as she slid her body in between. She ran one hoof down the leg to caress Fluttershy's rump while she straddled her other leg, then slowly began to scoot closer and closer to the other mare's hips. The pegasus moved with her, giving soft little moans as she shifted to settle in comfortably with Rarity cupping Fluttershy between her knees.

Leaning back with support from one forehoof, Rarity thrust her hips firmly between the other mare's thighs. She hugged Fluttershy's leg with her other arm and rubbed her cheek against the hoof between low groans as her well-slicked sex pressed against the yellow mare's. Fluttershy merely moaned in reply, starting to grind herself up against Rarity's sex, her eyes clenched shut--

The sound of a hoof hammering on her front door sent Rarity scrambling away from her pillows like a schoolfilly caught... well. Doing exactly what she was doing. She sat frozen for an instant before the knock came again. "Who in Equestria?" she gasped as she scrambled out of bed and hurriedly threw on her dressing gown and slippers. Her legs didn't want to work properly, feeling stiff and wobbly from who-knew-how-long gripping Flutt-- her pillow.

She paused to check herself in the mirror before she left the bedroom. Her hair was a fright, but it would have to do. The robe hid any obvious evidence of her "activities", but... the smell! The air was heavy with the unmistakable scent of sex. She snatched up a random perfume bottle and misted her cheeks, then after a moment's consideration, spritzed her rump as well. Then she was off, galloping down the stairs, pausing only long enough to get her breathing under control before she unlatched the door and pushed back the empty chest just far enough to peek out.

"Can I... help you?"

Rainbow Dash stood on the doorstep with a worried look in her eyes. She lunged forward, trying to peer into the shop through the narrow gap, but quickly retreated with a grimace from a powerful waft of perfume. "Rarity! I thought I heard you screaming! Is everything all right?"

The unicorn's eyes darted uncertainly, totally off guard and unprepared to invent a lie. "Oh... oh! It was, ah, so awful! I was... struck by a sudden inspiration, only to discover that I was out of... ah, taffeta ribbon!" Warming to the role, she pressed a hoof to her forehead as if swooning. "And I can't get any more until morning!"

"Oh. Is that all?" The pegasus let out noise halfway between a sigh and a snort and slowly turned away. "Okay, well, uh... good luck with that."

"I'm not sure how I shall manage!" Rarity said with another mock-swoon for good measure, then pushed the door closed with a soft click and slid down to her haunches in relief.

The fashionista took a few moments to calm her heart before returning to her bedroom, pausing along the way to collect a scrap of terrycloth to bite down on as necessary. Perhaps, even if she were alone and her home relatively isolated, it paid not to let herself grow too vocal in the throes of passion. So long as she minded broadcasting her activities to anypony who happened to pass by, at any rate.

She shed her robe once again and wrapped her arms around her Pillowshy, but she was still too on-edge to enjoy it yet. Fluttershy's suggestive smile kept evaporating like morning mist under the glare of self-conscious embarrassment and leftover adrenaline. After a couple of false starts, Rarity just stretched out and concentrated on breathing slowly and steadily, trying to clear her mind again and regain the soft-edged half-dream.

Her eyes roamed the room slowly, finally lighting on the lacy lingerie that had started it all. The dress glittered like a galaxy in the candlelight, twinkling with the slightest move of the head. She could still remember every detail of her friend's appearance, wrapped in that cloth of captured stars. And the other one, earlier that day, created with Fluttershy herself in mind. Created practically for the sole purpose of... of feeding Rarity's fantasies.

Liar. Pervert.

She shook her head and squeezed her eyes closed against the accusing sight, but the self-recriminations only fed on her denial.

Coward. Selfish.

She turned her back on the dresses only to be confronted by the damp mess she'd made of her pillows.

Pathetic.

She clamped her eyes shut again, covering her head with her hooves as if she could block out her own thoughts.

You're a terrible pony. Anypony would say so if they knew what you've done. Look at you. You make yourself sick! An awful friend like you doesn't deserve somepony as perfect as her!

The scrap of terry dabbed at silent tears, now. Rarity imagined Fluttershy trotting around this very room, clad in ruffles and rubies, believing her, trusting her. The image didn't bring any tingle of arousal now, just a disgusted twist in the pit of her stomach. How is this me? Why?

"Why?" she repeated out loud. "I'd have never dreamed of such a thing, not until..." She swallowed a sob. "Until..." Her eyes narrowed and went back to the shimmering, lacy outfit on the stand. "You..." she growled. She slowly rose as a new flame sparked in her chest, feeding on sorrow and revulsion. This wasn't the warm, happy candle-glow of arousal, but a destructive crimson blaze of pain and hate.

Rarity stalked toward the lacy white temptress. "This is your fault..." she snarled. "All your fault! I could have lived my entire life without realizing, without ever thinking about her like this... I could have been happy!" Her magic caught up a spool of thread and hurled it with all her might at the unresisting dress form. "Why did you take that away from me?! Why make me feel this way if she wouldn't return it?" She threw another spool, then caught up a yardstick and began beating the dummy with it. "I hate you!" she shrieked, lifting the stick and bringing it down again as tears blurred her vision. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate--!" The yardstick broke over the dummy's back, momentarily interrupting Rarity's tantrum.

She stood panting for a few seconds, staring at the broken stick hovering in front of her. "I don't want to look at you anymore," she hissed with every ounce of venom in her body, reaching out to levitate a spare sheet instead. "But you don't belong to me." She dropped the sheet over that dress form, then whirled on the Debutante's Treasure. "You do."

Screaming with inarticulate fury, Rarity hurled herself on the ponyquin, slamming it to the ground just like an overdressed pig. Something inside crunched, but she didn't care. She gripped the edge of a ruffle in her teeth and wrenched, tearing the temporary stitches with a very satisfying rrrip! Foregoing magic, she attacked it with her bare teeth, tearing off chunks of fabric and throwing them into the air, shredding every piece of soft cloth she could reach. Rarity reared up and brought her hooves down on the croupiere, stomping and pounding on it until the rubies popped free and skittered across the floor, the metal was warped and flattened, and the buttons ripped their stitches. Hurling that aside, she paused, staring down at the panties clinging tightly to its backside. "And you..." she panted, glaring. It was a thing that should never have existed. Created to honor something she should never have wanted. It had touched what she never would. She grasped the waistband in her teeth and yanked it off the model, screaming like a madmare. She put a hoof in each leg hole and pulled as hard as she could, trying to tear it clean in half.

The panties weren't sturdy enough. The right seam gave way first, snapping them against her other hoof like a broken slingshot. With a roar of frustration, Rarity pinned it in place with both hooves and methodically disassembled the panties into their component panels, then tore each and every section individually to shreds. Finally, she snatched up the dress form by the pole and smashed it against the floor again and again until it was nothing but a vaguely pony-shaped bag of struts and splinters.

Panting hard, her legs shaking, Rarity finally threw herself down amid the scraps and shreds and let herself sob and wail out the pain in her heart.

Rarity woke amid the scattered fragments of silk sometime in daylight. All but the largest of her candles had burned themselves out. She felt as if she had, too. She had no heart left, just a little cinder sitting in a pile of ash. Still, the unicorn levered herself up and rubbed the sleep from eyes already sore from too much rubbing. The night was over, and dreams had to die with the light of morning. Rarity had one more job yet to do.

Her motions were mechanical as she swept up the shredded fabric, smashed metal, and scattered gems. All went in the garbage together. She stepped into the bathroom to wash her face and apply her makeup, barely thinking about it, and practiced a false smile in the mirror until she thought she could present a properly brave face. As the distant clock tower tolled eleven, the unicorn selected a wide-brimmed sun hat -- nopony would think it odd for her to go about clothed, after all -- and unfolded her final "secret admirer" note for the final time.

All the letter said was, I'm sorry. She refolded it, tucked it under her hat, and set out on her sole task for the day.

Rarity traded empty greetings and emptier smiles with the ponies she passed on the way to Fluttershy's house. She'd have preferred not to do this in broad daylight, but she refused to leave it until tomorrow. It was over, and that was that.

Period.

She had nearly reached Fluttershy's cottage when a complication streaked in ahead of a multicolored trail. Rainbow Dash pulled up sharply in front of her, braking to a hover in the space of an instant.

"Oh, hi, Rarity! Wha, uh, what's up?" The greeting was forced, obviously covering a different reaction to seeing her on the way to Fluttershy's house. And if she mentions seeing me to Fluttershy... The only thing worse than being her right now would be if Fluttershy found out it had been her all along!

"Good morning, darling!" Rarity said smoothly, thinking as fast as she could. The was only one hope of throwing suspicion off of herself. "Did you see anypony around Fluttershy's house, perchance? I saw somepony heading that direction, and I thought it might be our mysterious 'friend'..."

"You did?" Rainbow gasped. "I mean, no, I didn't see anypony. Did you get a good look at 'em? Anything at all?"

Whew. Easy enough. "No, I'm afraid I didn't. They were too far away."

Dash gave an easy shrug. "Oh well, too bad." The pegasus started to step past Rarity, but as their eyes met, her gaze suddenly sharpened and she stopped to lean closer. Rose-colored eyes bored into Rarity's as if they could pierce her façade like a cannonball through tissue paper.

"Wow," the pegasus said, leaning back. "Your eyes are really bloodshot. You took that ribbon thing hard, huh?"

How?! The bottom fell out of Rarity's stomach. Fluttershy had never mentioned the ribbon to anypony else! The ribbon she tried to push on Fluttershy had been perfectly framed as an innocent overture! How could Rainbow Dash bring it up so nonchalantly now? How could she possibly know anything about any ribbon whatsoever, and if she did, why didn't she bring it up last ni--

Oh. That ribbon. Rarity barely kept from smacking herself in the face with her hoof. "Oh, yes, the, um, toile ribbon. All taken care of, now, of course."

"Okay, well... um... great!" The speedster seemed eager to get on with her... whatever she was doing (Napping, the unicorn thought uncharitably) and Rarity certainly didn't want her lurking around while she delivered her letter.

"Well, don't let me detain you. I'm just going to look around Fluttershy's cottage and see if I can spot that... whoever-it-is."

"Good luck with that!" Rainbow replied, then shot off in a blur before Rarity could say more. Rarity clapped a hoof to her hat lest she lose it in the sudden windstorm, but still heaved a sigh of relief. No more interruptions! She continued up the path, sneaking as close as she dared to the burrow-riddled hillock before she slipped behind a tree and stretched out her magic to float her final letter into Fluttershy's mailbox. Open, close, flag up. She sagged against the tree, feeling every moment of lost sleep in the past week. The delivery wasn't a relief at all, merely the last ounce of the load she would still have to carry alone for the rest of her life. But least it was over.

All over.

Rarity's cheek pressed against rough bark. There were no tears now, just the unbearable heaviness in her chest. But she would have to bear it, if only for the sake of her friends.

Will it ever be over?

Chapter 10

A single light burned above Rarity's workbench, and the sewing machine's rhythmic chuk-chuk-chuk was the only sound in the Carousel Boutique.

"Rarity, please! Don't just lock us out!" Twilight called.

Almost the only sound. She didn't think about it. She didn't want to think at all. Nopony else would dare invade her privacy, and she was far behind on her work, after... the past week. She was a spinning top -- stable and balanced only as long as she remained in motion.

"You can't have a pity party without guests!" said Pinkie.

Her lips were too full of pins to answer. Anyway, what would she say? Sorry I broke Fluttershy's heart? No. There were no words that could apologize, any more than there had been when Fluttershy turned her back. Never in her darkest nightmares had she imagined--

Stop thinking about it.

"We can work this out if you'll just talk to us! I know we can! Ugh, I think I owe Princess Celestia a retraction. Please!"

There was no joy in sewing. No spark of pride in a job well done. It was just a chore that had to be taken care of. Fortunately, trying not to think about... things... had a way of focusing the mind.

"Hey, Rarity? It's me... Spike... I just wanted to make sure you're okay, and, uh, well..."

She took careful aim with the tiny hammer. Crik. A perfectly square chip of peridot sheared off, ready to join its siblings in silver-backed glory as part of a lovely tiara.

"It's true, some days are dark aaand lonelyyy..."

As she worked, the background noise gradually got quieter.

"...but it turned out that I'd destroyed the only copy. I was so scared that Princess Celestia was going to dismiss me. At first I tried to hide it..."

And quieter.

"Please... say something? Anything..."

And stopped.

Rarity looked around her as she pressed the last sapphire into its setting on the hem of a lively party dress. At this rate, her to-do list wouldn't even last until morning. Maybe the racks of ready-to-wear dresses could use some filling out? But then, she'd intended her new fall line for that purpose, and that was still just some vague ideas and a few sketches. Designing anything new would mean letting herself feel something, and that--

The top wobbled.

Rarity sprang into action once more, slashing off a length of black satin and thrusting it under the sewing machine's hammering needle. Little Black Dresses never went out of style! Everypony could use one!

"Rarity?" The voice from the other side of the door squeaked with worry.

She froze.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity croaked.

The fabric ran through the sewing machine and slid off the workbench. The machine mindlessly chewed at empty air, the flywheel spinning away, gradually slowing, just like a top. Slower... and slower...

"Are you okay?"

The top fell over.

Rarity collapsed onto the workbench with a wail that was supposed to be a 'no'. The room flooded with misery, drowning and crushing her under deep, dark waters.

A purple flash briefly illuminated the blackness, not an invasion, but a rescue. Lavender arms caught her on the way to the floor, buoyed her against the flood. A moment later the door burst open in a rush of bodies and a babble of voices. More hooves joined the first, patting her back and pressing her face against shoulders and manes. Their faces were blurs of color, their words an indistinct buzz behind her inconsolable weeping. But she could feel them, warm and solid against her hooves, steadfast rocks to bear her up her against the rushing torrent of grief.

At first, she could only bawl out her anguish and cling to Pinkie's shoulder, but the wails soon gave way to half-articulate blubbering, and finally to quiet, snotty sniffles. "It'll be okay," Twilight said for the hundredth time, and for the hundredth time sounded like she was trying to reassure herself instead. "It'll all be okay."

Rarity sniffed hard and gathered herself enough for her first comprehensible words in nearly half an hour. "Is Flutt--?" She choked halfway through the name, but Pinkie answered anyway.

"She's with AJ and Rainbow Dash. Don't worry about her," she said, squeezing the unicorn firmly.

Sweetie Belle leaned up to nuzzle the other side of Rarity's neck. "I don't know what you had a fight about, but we still love you!"

"Yeah. We're all here for ya," Spike's boyish voice said as his scratchy claws embraced her and his feverish-warm body pressed against her shoulder.

"Thank you..." Rarity hiccuped, fighting back a sob of gratitude as she disengaged from Pinkie at last and scooped up the two youths instead. "Thank you all..."

Ever the practical one, Twilight floated a box of tissues over to her. "Any time you need us," she said with a gentle smile. Pinkie snatched one of the tissues as the box passed and started to dab at her shoulder, making Rarity blush.

"I'm sorry for making such a scene," she said, her voice still shaky. "I'm just terrified of what this is going to do to all of us."

Pinkie patted her on the back. "Hey, it happens! Just 'cuz a couple of friends have a fight doesn't mean they can't be friends anymore!"

"And yet," Rarity murmured, "Here we are, taking sides already..."

"Rarity! It's not like that," Twilight chided. "Somepony had to stay with her. Rainbow Dash is her oldest friend, after all, and Applejack's basically her next-door neighbor."

Pinkie piped up, "Though AJ did say she wanted to kick your-- Mmmph!"

Twilight smiled tensely as she held Pinkie's mouth shut. "Applejack is just being protective," she said evenly. "Don't worry about her."

Rarity basked in the affection for a while longer, but the evening continued to roll by and the young ones soon started yawning.

"I guess it's starting to get kind of late," Twilight said to nopony in particular. "We should probably make some tea or something if we're going to stay up."

"That's true!" Pinkie bounced to her hooves and gave Spike and Sweetie Belle a grin. "Well, Rarity's going to be just fine, so I know a couple of kids who need to get to bed. Come on, I'll walk you home."

The dragon made only a token protest, and Sweetie Belle just nodded and gave Rarity one more nuzzle. "Good night!"

"Good night, Sweetie. Sleep tight." The two unicorns watched the rest of the party step out into the darkness, then retired to the kitchen.

Both were silent for a bit, Twilight filling the kettle while Rarity picked out the proper tea for an evening pick-me-up from her extensive selection. Both mares concentrated studiously on their tasks, avoiding looking at one another.

Finally, Rarity paused over the open canister of cinnamon-spice tea. "You didn't tell Spike?"

Twilight sighed as she put the kettle on the stove and shook her head. "No, I thought it would be better to break it to him gently in the morning. For now, he knows everything he needs to know." She shot a sidelong glance at Rarity. "And don't worry about him, either."

Rarity scooped a careful measure of leaves into a strainer ball and smiled wryly to herself. "You seem determined to make sure I'm as selfish as possible about this," she replied. "Don't you think I've done enough of that?"

Twilight chuckled. "Not selfish, exactly. Just, take it from an expert worrier: you're not going to do yourself, or anypony else, any favors by worrying yourself sick. Just let everypony else take care of themselves, and you do the same, okay?"

"I'll... try," Rarity allowed, though she knew the effort would prove futile. "I just don't know what to do!"

Twilight Sparkle nodded and let out a little sigh as she crossed the kitchen to press her neck across the other unicorn's. "I don't really have any helpful advice for you. Just... don't try to get through this alone. We're all here for you."

She leaned into the warmth -- not the warmth she had wanted, but a comfort nonetheless. "I need to be reminded. Thank you."

Rarity would have held that pose for who knows how long if the kettle hadn't demanded attention with its shrill whistle. She disengaged from Twilight's embrace and trotted over to pour the boiling water into the teapot. "I hope you're taking notes," she said with another sardonic grin over her shoulder -- the closest thing to a smile she thought she could manage at the moment. "On what not to do, I mean."

Twilight giggled uncomfortably. "Well, I guess so, if I ever have the opportunity to use it. I admit you've kinda got me thinking about the future."

"Oh?" Rarity said, glad for the distraction. She leaned her elbows on the table and leaned forward eagerly. "Anypony in particular?"

"Well... nopony really leaps to mind," she admitted. "Spike and my brother were really the only guys in my life until I came here."

"Only interested in stallions?" Rarity pressed with a teasing smirk.

Twilight turned red and looked away. "Uh, um, I hadn't really considered the, um, alternative?" she stammered. "Sorry, are you, uh, do I...?"

Rarity couldn't help a giggle at her friend's expense, but sobered quickly. "No, darling, I was just curious. I don't think I'll be engaging in any romantic pursuits for some time," she admitted wistfully, picking up a sugar cube and rolling it meditatively between her hooves.

The other unicorn offered a sympathetic nod. "Don't try to rush it," she agreed. "That's smart."

"I'm a fool!" Rarity groaned, then drooped as her voice fell to a whisper. "It's just like Blueblood all over again, but this time, a bit of wisdom cost me something truly precious. I had everything I wanted within hoof's reach the entire time, and I just..." She pressed her hooves together, crushing the sugar cube to powder. Twilight winced.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Twilight replied soothingly. " We'll figure something out. You'll see."

"Then you have my permission to say 'I told you so'," Rarity told her tartly, but instantly regretted it. She sighed heavily once again and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I mean to say, I appreciate the gesture, but you didn't see her face." She felt tears welling up again, but she forced them down, if only long enough to choke out the rest. "You didn't see the way she looked at me... disgusted... I've never seen her look... at anypony... like that--!"

Rarity didn't wail or weep this time. She just sat, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs, as tears traced either side of her muzzle. Twilight leaned against her without a word, and after some time, a somber Pinkie Pie joined them with gentle nuzzles and squeezes.

She felt like she was trying to drain a lake of sorrows through a faucet. The quiet fit was slow to abate, but her friends held her comfortingly until abate it did. Rarity rubbed at itchy eyes as the tears finally ceased to flow, sipped at cold tea until her throat stopped clenching, then slowly stood.

"I think... I'd like to get something done," she whispered hoarsely. "Rather than sit here and mope."

The trio trooped up to her inspiration room, where her unfinished fall collection sketches stared accusingly up at her. Slowly at first, but gaining momentum as she went, she began to elaborate the previous designs into fully-realized concepts. The longer she worked, though, the more the lively joy of the pieces seemed to wash away. With each iteration, warm browns and bright florals faded toward desolate earth tones and icy-pale accents. She paused, staring at the new sketches: somber, practical clothing that mourned the ending of the year and yearned for the life and love of spring. They didn't even celebrate the dreamlike fancies of the long nights to come; they suggested the wearer just wanted to curl up and hibernate until it grew warm and green once more.

Yuck.

Rarity brushed the sketches off her workbench with a slow sweep of her hoof, looking back at the original sketches. She could barely remember the feelings that had inspired them. They plunged headlong into winter with reckless abandon, living in the moment with no thought of what hardships may come. She started again, more slowly, trying to mimic the verve and panache through conscious effort. A red accent here... a touch of green trim... She stopped and eyed what she had drawn, grimacing. Her heart wasn't in it, and it showed. Onto the floor it went, followed by a silent sigh.

She looked behind her, at her friends. Twilight was glancing through a stack of fashion magazines with an air of boredom, and Pinkie lay on the foot of her bed with her eyes drooping in spite of the tea she had drunk.

"Twilight, Pinkie, thank you so much for being here for me tonight, but please don't feel obligated to stay if you'd rather find your beds." She gave them a small but honest smile and bowed slightly toward each of them.

Pinkie bounced to her hooves, then yawned hugely. "Yeah, I better get at least twenty or thirty winks in before morning."

Twilight rose more slowly. "If you're sure you're okay..." she said, and Rarity nodded.

"I will be, thanks to you. I think I'll put on some more tea and try to read a bit."

"That tea is a stimulant, you know," Twilight warned as she started for the stairs in Pinkie's wake. "Are you sure you should drink so much this late at night?"

Rarity glanced at the dark windows and the loneliness lurking beyond them. "I already know I'm not going to get any sleep anyway, so I'd rather be awake and alert than listless and miserable." She shrugged helplessly.

"Well... don't overdo it," the other unicorn relented.

"I won't."

Rarity showed them to the door and held it as the two mares stepped outside. "Night, Rarity," Pinkie said, clearly dragging. Twilight, though, paused on the doorstep.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "I'm used to late nights. I could just go get a few books to study, have Owlowicious come over here to help out..."

The fashionista smiled wanly. "Thank you for the offer, Twilight, but I'll be all right."

Liar, her mind muttered to itself. But what was she supposed to do? Make her friends foalsit her all day, every day?

"Well, okay." Twilight Sparkle gave her one more quick hug before she left. "I guess at this point it'd be kind of ridiculous to wish you a good night, but... good luck!"

Rarity chuckled faintly. "Thank you again. Au revoir."

She closed the door behind her friends, and the stillness flooded in. Rarity started back toward the stairs, but the silence hung like weights from her neck, slowly dragging her down to the floor. After five steps, her head had bowed as far as it could. Ten, and her shoulders slumped under the weight. Before she was halfway to the stairs, her knees buckled and she simply collapsed in the middle of the shop floor. The tears, for once, didn't come; she just lay there for a time, dully contemplating the shards of her heart.

A subdued meow shook her from her reverie. "Oh, Opalescence," Rarity sniffled as she sat up and pulled the cat up against her chest. "How can I ever be 'all right' again?"

Opal struggled against the squeeze and kicked her hindpaws in the air. "Myow!"

"I don't know if I can," Rarity replied, stroking a hoof across Opal's head. "How does one 'move on' from losing a best friend?" She shook her head and bit her lip, forcing down the tightness in her chest.

Opal's ears slicked back and she hissed something hostile as the unicorn rubbed her.

Rarity flopped over on her back in the middle of the floor, her mane pooling around her head as she held Opalescence at arm's length above her. "You're right. If not for my own sake, for theirs. I won't be more of a burden on them than I have to."

Opal pushed against Rarity's hooves with her hindlegs and tried to squirm out of the grip. "Reeaow!" she spat angrily.

Rarity huffed a heavy sigh and shook her head. "No, I won't. I recently had it demonstrated to me that merely pretending to be happy isn't good enough." She sat up and kissed Opalescence on the nose, then set the cat back on the floor. "Thank you for your advice, Opal. I believe I feel a bit better."

Opalescence took a perfunctory swipe at her and vanished behind the dresses on the prêt-à-porter rack.

"I don't want you to make me happy!" I yelled. I could still taste her lipstick. Bitter. Chemical. Artificial. Just like the electric-blue mare herself. "I don't want you, period! If you can't get over that, then at least keep your damned drugs to yourself!" I shoved Ecstacy out of the way and burst out into the hall.

"Meadowsweet, wait!" she called after me, but my roommate didn't give chase as I plunged down the halls and staircases of our dorm building. I only slowed when I reached the quad, panting and trembling with fear and anger.

A pink haze of contentment started to creep in around the edges of my vision, no matter how hard I tried to hang on to the sharp-edged feelings. What Ex had done to me started to seem... not quite so bad anymore, and that scared me worse than anything else. I needed someplace safe where I could sleep off whatever she'd slipped me, and I could only think of one place.

Aw, horse apples.

It was perhaps three hours until dawn, and Rarity had already devoured a third of Other Mares in the discreet privacy of candlelight. It was a welcome change, in a way, from her usual diet of idealize romance; the book was extraordinarily frank, raw and vulgar to the point that even the sex scenes provoked a sort of ashamed fascination rather than arousal in the unicorn. This 'Meadowsweet', while not precisely an ingénue of the classical mold, seemed possessed of a talent for stumbling into a very specific brand of trouble.

Giddiness dogged my heels as I galloped out the campus gates and through the darkened streets. I didn’t have far to go, but my time sense was all screwed up. Was it hours? Seconds? The split-level at the end of the block was all dark. I pounded on the door hard enough to leave hoofprints. “Lash? Lash, it’s Meadowsweet! Please let me in!” A light flicked on in one of the upper windows, and a minute later I tumbled through the door.

Leather Lash stared down at me with a haughty frown, but she didn’t kick me out before she magicked the door closed, so that was good. “Well, Meadowsweet? I assume you have a good reason for rousting me out of bed at such an hour?”

The story tumbled out before I could stop my lips from moving. I felt tears running down my cheeks, but the fuzzy drug-haze told me I wanted to dance, not cry. “...and Ex slipped me something, I don’t know what, and I can’t think straight and I just need someplace to crash ‘til it wears off,” I babbled.

Lash just tapped a hoof as she listened. “You know it won’t be free,” she said when I ran out of words, smirking coldly.

Rarity paused, her exhaustion-fogged brain wondering if there might be some market for lingerie of the sort that Lash kept in her so-called dungeon. It would be an intriguing challenge, at any rate, and--

tak.

What in Equestria was that? Rarity listened for a moment, but the noise didn't repeat. She shrugged, yawning. Perhaps I should make a fresh pot of tea when I finish this chapter.

I hung my head with remembered humiliation. I knew what she expected now, and somehow, it didn’t seem so bad this time around. That was probably the drug talking, but honestly, I didn’t care that much. If the disease made the cure easier to take, fine. I crouched down and pressed my lips to Lash's hoof. The stately unicorn’s lips spread in a small, satisfied smile. “Come,” she ordered as she turned and strode toward the basement stairs, and this time, I willingly followed--

tak tak tak.

Rarity's heart skipped. Was that... somepony knocking on the window? The second story window?! She dropped her book and scrambled across the room, yanking back the curtain with a flash of magic.

tak tak, went Fluttershy's hoof against the window pane. She hastily withdrew it and waved while Rarity threw open the window.

"Rarity, I'm so sorry to bother you this late... I mean, early... but I just couldn't sleep before I talked to you, and I knocked and knocked downstairs and you didn't answer, and I saw the light in your window--"

"My apologies, darling! I must not have heard you." Granted, it would be a miracle to hear that kind of knocking in the next room. She stepped back from the window, waving a hoof to the hovering pegasus. "Er, please, come in," she offered with a bemused shrug.

Fluttershy drifted inside and settled to the floor as lightly as a windblown leaf. "Thank you," she said, but otherwise just stood, studying her own hooves and stealing occasional glances past her hair at the unicorn.

Rarity cleared her throat. "Would you like some tea?" she prompted, a false smile flickering and dying half-formed on her lips.

"Oh, um... no, thank you," Fluttershy said. She fortified herself with a deep breath. "I'm here because I need to talk to you before I make a decision. About us."

Rarity's heart and stomach both lurched as if she'd been suddenly dropped a foot or two. "I thought... there wasn't going to be an 'us'..." she said faintly. "You said you couldn't trust me..."

"I asked how I could trust you." Fluttershy stepped closer, filling her vision with pink, yellow, and aqua blue. "I want to trust you. You're the best friend I've ever had, and I don't want to lose that," she said gently. Then her voice hardened and a frown compressed her lips. "But I don't like the mare I saw today."

"I don't like her much, either," Rarity said softly, wilting. "Believe me, I never meant to hurt you, Fluttershy."

The pegasus barely spoke above a whisper, staring at her own hooves. "Of course not. I almost wish you had." Rarity jerked and her mouth dropped open, unable to form a response. Fluttershy slowly raised her eyes to lock onto the unicorn's, her lashes glittering in the candlelight. "If you meant to, you could decide not to do it again. If it was an accident... how many more times will you hurt me without meaning to?"

The warmth of the room shunned Rarity as a lump of ice fell into her stomach. "No, I--" You what? Would never do that? You did. She shivered and hunched down, trying to make herself as small as she felt. "I knew I should have just come out and said it all along," she admitted miserably, "but I let fear hold me back from doing the right thing. I'll never make that mistake again."

The pegasus studied her in silence for several more seconds before relenting with the tiniest twist of a self-deprecating smile. "I think I know what that's like," she admitted. "I almost did the same when I started getting those -- your -- letters. I might have let the opportunity pass entirely... if you hadn't pushed me to respond." Then her expression sharpened, eyebrows drawing down into an unhappy knot. "I guess now I know why you were so insistent that I think of this as a good thing. You were advising me to say yes to yourself! You can't have thought that would look good when you came clean!"

Rarity shook her head, her eyes sinking to the floor once more. "I never intended to force you into anything! At first, I just meant to see if you might be open to... me... at all. I almost told you so many times... but each time, I was afraid of how you would react, so I... didn't. I couldn't face it. I thought..." She blew out her lips in a snort at her past self. "I thought maybe if I played the role through to the end, everything would somehow turn out all right. It was... a little like procrastination, I suppose. A minute for this, five for that, fifteen to get a bite to eat... and then the day's all gone. Each time, it seemed like such a small thing. But lots of little choices can add up to one big disaster."

The pegasus nodded thoughtfully again. "It still hurts that you couldn't just tell me how you felt," she scolded, though without heat. "I was really worried about you, you know. I could tell you were getting worse and worse every day, but you wouldn't even admit that anything was wrong..."

For the first time since Fluttershy arrived, that lit a tiny spark of fire amid her frozen innards. "And what if I did?" she demanded suddenly. "If I'd just opened up and told you how I felt, could things have ever been the same again? You said yourself you'd never even thought about going out with mares before! Our friendship is too important to me to... to..." Then the spark guttered out and icy hollowness blew through her once again. "...to risk like that." But risk it I did. It sounded so stupid when she said it aloud, a little filly's pitiful excuse. Cold tears welled up and squeezed out of her eyes, feeling like they should have frozen to her cheeks.

Then a pair of hooves touched her shoulders, so warm they felt searing against the chill inside her. Fluttershy leaned close, so close Rarity couldn't help but meet her eyes. "You're not the only one who wants to keep our friendship," the pegasus said. "So trust me not to turn my back on you! Have I done anything to make you doubt me before?"

Rarity shook her head, meltwater trickling down her cheeks as Fluttershy's touch thawed the ice in her belly. "No, of course not. You're right..." she agreed in a shamefaced mumble. "I didn't think of it in those terms at the time, but that's what it comes down to. I kept telling myself I didn't know how you would react, but I should have. Yes or no, you wouldn't leave me, would you?"

"Of course not," Fluttershy smiled and started to lean forward to nuzzle her neck, but stopped short. She drew back her hooves as well, jerked them back, as if she'd suddenly felt the cold radiating from the unicorn. "Speaking of trust," she said, "What in Equestria possessed you to make me up like your own little personal dress-up doll and parade me around for your... amusement?!" She twisted as if trying to wrap her mane and tail around herself to hide from the memory of such exposure.

Rarity guiltily shrunk in on herself a little more. She kept her eyes focused on her own hooves, not daring to watch Fluttershy's expression. "I'm so, so sorry. I know that may not be worth much, but I am. I took advantage of you, and there's no excuse for that. I knew it was wrong, but I let my... baser instincts... overcome my good sense for an afternoon." She shuddered and squeezed her eyes shut against the memory of that nauseous mix of excitement and shame. "I felt so filthy afterwards, I can only imagine how you feel."

Fluttershy shuffled uncomfortably. "Only one afternoon?" she pressed, her tone both hesitant and hopeful, as if searching for some consolation but fearing the answer.

"Only that once," Rarity said, nodding emphatically. "I wouldn't want to repeat it, even if you'd never found out. When I asked you to try on that one," -- she nodded toward the lacy white dress still hidden under its drape -- "it was with honest intentions, for all that the rendezvous inspired my later... misdeeds."

Fluttershy mulled that over for several seconds, chewing on her lip, then let out her breath. "Well, you say all the right things..." she allowed cautiously.

The pegasus fell silent for a minute, her eyes flicking back and forth unseeingly as if absorbed in some internal debate. Rarity quietly drifted away to the still-open window, weariness tugging at her withers and neck as she rested her chin on the sill and stared up into the deep diamond-speckled velvet of the sky.

I suppose it couldn't hurt, she thought dully, picking a random point of light in the sky. Star light, star bright, she mouthed, First star I see tonight--

"Rarity," Fluttershy said. The unicorn swallowed the rest of the nursery rhyme and turned back to the other mare, biting her lip as she sat down on her haunches like an attentive schoolfilly. Though it felt like days since they'd enjoyed their afternoon at the spa, the magical conditioner was still in effect. Lit by the stars outside the window and edged in light by the candle behind her, Fluttershy glowed like a star herself.

The pegasus exhaled a slow breath, rubbing the back of her neck with one hoof. "You did something really incredibly gigantically stupid..." Rarity flinched, but Fluttershy went on, gently touching her on the hoof. "...but you're my best friend, and I won't throw that away without giving you another chance."

Rarity barely held herself back from hugging the pegasus. "Thank you, Fluttershy. Thank you!" she choked past incipient tears. "You won't regret it! I know I don't deserve this, but I'll be worthy of your trust."

She smiled and brushed a tear from Rarity's cheek with the tip of her hoof as she replied. "I have faith in you. I know you won't let me down." The unspoken 'again' rang in Rarity's ears as clearly as if Fluttershy had said it, but that residual guilt was a small burden compared to the millstone that rolled off her shoulders. Silence fell for a little while as Rarity rubbed stinging eyes and fought to keep her emotions under control.

Into the silence, the pegasus suddenly murmured, "Do you still want me?"

"What?" Rarity gasped, certain she had misheard that. She wiped her eyes and found Fluttershy staring into her, expression blank, her tone neutral.

"Do you still want me?" she repeated. "I need to know if you still feel the same after all this... mess."

As much as Rarity wanted to deflect or avoid the question, the unicorn didn't dare to offer less than a simple, direct reply. "Well... yes," she said, shrugging helplessly. "It will take some time to get over that, I'm afraid."

Fluttershy sighed and rubbed her cheek with the back of a hoof. "I haven't said 'no' yet. I'm not going to refuse just to punish you." She twitched a little shrug. "I do love you, Rarity. You're a dear friend. I love so much about you, but sometimes you just..." She waved a hoof helplessly in front of her and made a frustrated noise.

The unicorn nodded slowly, though 'maybe' was more than enough to set her heart pounding in her ears. "Sometimes I get caught up in my own little world and need somepony level-headed to keep my hooves on the ground," she murmured. Surprise darted across Fluttershy's eyes and she bobbed her head. "And... I know I can grow impatient when I can see that what you want is right in front of you, but you just won't reach out and take it--"

"...because sometimes I need somepony bold to nudge me out of my comfort zone," Fluttershy finished just as softly. The mares shared a small, sad grin, then a smile, then giggled ruefully at themselves.

"I guess you know my faults well enough," Rarity said. "Probably better than anypony else."

Fluttershy slid her arms around Rarity, squeezing her so close that her whisper tickled the back of Rarity's neck. "You wouldn't be 'you' without them."

Rarity sagged against the other mare, trying not to choke up entirely. "I love you," she managed, her voice thick. She was sure she could feel Fluttershy's heart hammering just as hard as her own.

"I love you too," the pegasus said, her lashes dabbing warm wetness on Rarity's coat. "I'm not comfortable with being... together... but I think it's worth trying."

Rarity felt her heart stop as the words sunk in. Together... worth trying... I love you too. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, and her head rattled with a thousand different replies, all fighting for her voice and leaving her utterly tongue-tied. She sat speechless, trembling with emotion for a long three-count before her response was decided for her: the world spun and dimmed, and she fainted.

Chapter 11

Drifting in the space between "asleep" and "awake", there was only sensation, devoid of context or meaning. Rarity was somewhere warm and soft. Her stomach ached. She could smell faint animal musk and the sweetness of flowers. It was uncomfortably bright.

That last item pushed her a bit farther toward wakefulness, and facts started to connect into conclusions. She was in bed. She should eat something. Fluttershy was nearby. It was well after dawn.

Fluttershy! Emotion, more than memory, propelled Rarity out of sleep. Her eyes tried to snap open, but they were glued shut by a thick crust of dried tears. She groaned and scrubbed groggily at them, managed to open her eyes on the second try, and blinked against the light.

"Good morning, Rarity!" Fluttershy said from her elbow.

The pegasus was curled up beside her, looking just as desheveled as Rarity must have, with Other Mares laying open on her pillow. A leaden lump of shame fell into her stomach at the idea of Fluttershy finding such a book in her possession, but then memory of the previous night flooded back, and embarrassment shattered and blew away under a gale of joy. Rarity surprised the other mare with a tight, impulsive hug, squeezing until Fluttershy squeaked. "The best morning ever!" she laughed.

As it turned out, it was only technically morning, lacking but a few minutes to noon. The weights around Rarity's neck had been traded for so many balloons that her hooves barely touched the floor as she went about the most needful of her daily ablutions. Is this what it feels like to be Pinkie Pie? she thought, laughing to herself while she brushed out her mane.

The sounds of activity drew her down to the kitchen. In the time it had taken Rarity to prepare for the day, Fluttershy had made the bed, wrangled her mane into some semblance of order, and laid out toast and tea on the table to boot. The balloons partially deflated as Rarity hesitated in the doorway. It felt strange, having somepony else cook for her in her own home. Granted, she was only an indifferent chef, but her pride as a hostess twinged all the same. "Er, thank you," she said uncomfortably as she seated herself.

Fluttershy set the teapot on the table and settled a comfortable distance from the unicorn's elbow. "It's no trouble at all," she said cheerfully as she started nibbling on her toast.

She wasn't putting the table between them, which was good, but Rarity's heart gave an unexpected lurch when the pegasus didn't cuddle up beside her, either. What does that mean? she wondered. Did Fluttershy need more time to come to grips with all this? Perhaps she should ease into things gently? How fast would be too fast for the shy mare? Or is it nothing at all?

There was so much that needed saying, and yet Rarity groped for small talk instead. "You didn't stay up all night on my account, did you?"

Fluttershy shook her head and swallowed a tiny nibble of toast before replying. "Oh, no. I only woke up a little before you did. You just looked so worn out last night, I thought I'd let you sleep."

"That was very considerate of you. Thank you, Fluttershy."

"...welcome."

Rarity held back a sigh behind her smile. What happened to the lustful fantasies that she had entertained less than two days before? With the real Fluttershy here in front of her, she could only think of what might offend her and try to divine what she was thinking. Somehow, when she would have already been ravishing her imagined lover, the real thing turned her into this...

"Would you like some more tea?"

"Please."

...this artless little filly. Rarity sipped the fresh tea while the kitchen clock dropped a steady stream of ticks and tocks into the silence. She knew how to charm a stallion. At a moment's notice, she could come up with five different lines, each with a different subtext ranging from polite disinterest to steamy innuendo. But Fluttershy, the mare with whom she could share anything, tied her tongue for fear of saying the wrong thing.

Well, I suppose I should apologize for passing out on her, at least. "I want to say--"

"You know, when--" Fluttershy said at the same time. They both stopped short, only too happy to give way to one another.

Rarity giggled nervously. "Go ahead?" she prompted.

The pegasus gently touched Rarity's hoof, bright eyes peeking out from beneath her lashes. Her voice carried the merest hint of reproof. "You know, when I quit modeling, you promised never to keep your feelings a secret from me again."

Rarity flinched, then nodded acknowledgement as she stroked Fluttershy's hoof in reply. "You're right. I did, and I haven't lived up to--" She stopped short at Fluttershy's expression. It was just a flicker, but as brief and clear as a lightning bolt. A frown twisted her lips, her eyelids drooped with disappointment, and she puffed out a ghost of a sigh that Rarity could hardly even hear. She wasn't fishing for more apologies.

Oh!

Applejack's voice echoed in her ears from -- how long ago? Only a day? Two? "Maybe Fluttershy has done her wrong. But she can't do much more'n be sorry, can she? That, an' try to make it right."

Make it right.

Rarity scooted over toward the pegasus, closing the distance herself. "I should have done this a long time ago," she murmured as she took Fluttershy's cheeks in her hooves and pulled the other mare's muzzle hungrily against her own. Fluttershy froze for a fraction of a second, but then she melted into the unicorn's grasp with a soft, happy murmur. It was awkward and tentative, but it was still the best kiss of Rarity's life.

In her romance novels, Rarity had seen the very best kisses described as tasting like fine wine: sweet and warm and intoxicating. She had tried to imagine it, but both her imagination and the metaphor fell well short of the reality. It actually tasted like tea and toast -- Perhaps if we'd been drinking wine instead, she thought -- but no wine ever bottled had made her head spin so wildly, nor left her feeling so alive.

The gentle pressure on her muzzle vanished after only a few short seconds, but even the brief contact left Rarity's lips tingling. She opened her eyes as Fluttershy touched the tip of her hoof to her lips, murmuring, "Oh my goodness..." Then she smiled and closed her eyes again, leaning forward with her lips puckered for more.

The second kiss lasted much longer, filling the kitchen with soft, happy 'mmm's. Rarity slid her arms fully around the pegasus as they broke apart again, pausing just long enough to gasp a few deep breaths, then dove back into the embrace. Breakfast suddenly held little interest for either mare.

Heat seemed to spread out from Fluttershy's lips through Rarity's entire body, like the prickling burn of a blush, but everywhere at once. In spite of the heat, though, a phantom drop of cold sweat ran down her neck as she slowly, cautiously stretched out her tongue to brush Fluttershy's lips. She tensed, ready to draw back at the least sign of discomfort.

Fluttershy, rather than hesitating, pushed harder against Rarity's muzzle and impatiently sucked the unicorn's tongue fully into her mouth. Rarity stiffened and let out a surprised squeak of her own, and the pegasus instantly released her tongue and jerked back with a tiny echoing 'eep!'

"Sorry!" she gasped. "I'm sorry. Too much?" Her whole body drooped like a wilting flower, her hair falling across her face.

"No, it's fine!" Rarity assured her quickly. "I was just surprised. I didn't think you'd be so... eager." She brushed a hoof across Fluttershy's forehead, pushing the hair out of her eyes.

Fluttershy smiled timidly and kissed the unicorn's hoof as it lingered on her cheek, her eyes alight with desire. "It felt really nice," the pegasus murmured. Rarity replied by pressing her muzzle against Fluttershy's again, this time boldly thrusting her tongue past the other mare's lips. Fluttershy let out a low groan as her tongue curled around Rarity's, embracing it as tightly as Rarity held the pegasus in her hooves.

Fluttershy's muffled gasps and moans grew louder with each passing minute, rising from self-conscious little whimpers to unrestrained, full-throated groans of delight.

The unicorn cracked an eye to peek at a Fluttershy too overwhelmed to remember to restrain herself. Her eyes were squeezed shut, an expression of intense concentration on her face as she soaked in the sensations. Her body quivered with tension, and Rarity thought she could detect the faintest suspicion of a mare's excitement that wasn't her own.

She wants this as much as I do, she realized. Perhaps Fluttershy had her reservations, but the underlying desire was as plain as day. So... just how far will she let me go? Warmth uncoiled in her belly in anticipation of the answer, and this time Rarity welcomed the deep flush of arousal. Because, heavens help me, I can't think of any reason to stop...

As if sensing Rarity's stirrings, Fluttershy's wings slowly spread to their full span, showing off as the shy pegasus never consciously would. Rarity couldn't help a muffled giggle as she reached out to run a hoof across the soft feathers. Fluttershy broke the kiss with a gasp at the touch and hurriedly pulled her wings back in against her sides, trying at the same time to bury her blush in Rarity's shoulder. A nibble at her neck was sufficient to distract her, though -- Fluttershy yelped and trembled as the unicorn's teeth grazed her skin, and as soon as her attention wavered, her wings unconsciously rose again.

"Don't hide it," Rarity cooed, lifting her lips to brush the edge of Fluttershy's ear. "I'm glad I excite you." The pegasus's face grew hotter still against Rarity's shoulder, but she slowly, cautiously lifted it, peeked at Rarity's own blushing smile, then took a deep breath and visibly threw her embarrassment to the wind. This time, the unicorn invited the other mare's tongue into her own mouth.

Fluttershy's hot, quick breath ruffled the coat over Rarity's cheek, and a frisson of nervous excitement ripple through the unicorn. This... was really happening. After years of dreams about courtly romance and days of fevered fantasy, it was finally really happening...

Somewhere deep inside, Rarity's sense of propriety was waving its arms and howling about first dates and what sort of mare 'gave it up' so easily, but she buried that voice in a hole and built a house of rationalization on top of it. It wasn't as if they were perfect strangers, after all. She knew exactly what kind of mare Fluttershy was, and vice versa. I want this, she wants this, and it's nopony else's business, she thought, rebelliously stroking tense wings again. The pegasus uttered a soft, needy whine and shifted her hips, spreading soft, butter-yellow thighs in silent invitation.

Rarity parted slowly from the pegasus, sucking gently on her tongue as it slid free, until she had just the tip caught gently between her teeth. "Bed?" she suggested, finally releasing it.

"Bed," Fluttershy agreed shakily.

The unicorn's slender body slid past Fluttershy as she rose, offering a shoulder to lean against until the flushed pegasus felt steady on her hooves. Fluttershy accepted it gratefully, and even took a moment to get her wings under control in spite of Rarity's reassurances. Slowly at first, they headed for the stairs together.

Fluttershy's nerves visibly steadied with every step. She huffed a soft "whew" and offered a smile as eager and nervous as Rarity felt. Rarity returned the grin as encouragingly as she could manage, then darted in close to peck Fluttershy on the cheek. Fluttershy's eyes went wide and she stumbled over the next step.

"Sorry!" Rarity said past giggles, but the pegasus replied with a peck of her own. Rarity naturally had to retaliate, and the two mares burst into the bedroom laughing and peppering one another with playful kisses.

Rarity threw herself down on the big four-poster bed without hesitation. The luxurious pillow-top mattress offered plenty of space for two and then some. But I've never actually shared it with a lover... until now, Rarity thought, the prospect sending a thrill through her whole body. She flipped her mane so that her coiffure lay artfully askew over her shoulder and looked back at the pegasus -- not straight on, but slightly off to the side, focusing a coquettish look out of the corner of her eye. "Fluttershy, darling..." she cooed, smiling enigmatically as she twisted her hips to just the right angle to flash an inviting slice of smooth, pale belly while her tail concealed her backside. It was a pose she had practiced to perfection in the mirror, but like the bed, she had never before shared it with anypony else.

The effort wasn't wasted. Fluttershy's wings sprung wide once more and her expression wavered between uncertainty and pure, unbridled lust. She fluttered up onto the bed, the sharp scent of arousal unmistakable now. "Um, should I, um...?" she asked, licking her lips apprehensively as she started to lean down toward Rarity's thighs.

Rarity arrested the motion with a gentle hoof under the chin. "Not yet, darling," she chided gently, the same hoof gently guiding the pegasus to lay at her side. Her voice dropped to a silky purr. "Though I've never wanted anypony as much as I want you right now." Fluttershy did her best to deepen a blush already as dark as the silken bedspread beneath her. Restless wings were soon splayed across the blanket and soft yellow thighs spread wide, offering herself without reservation.

Rarity kissed just below her ear, then quietly pressed her lips to Fluttershy's neck a few inches below that. She worked her way over the other mare's shoulder and traced the padded ridge of her breastbone, then slid lower, dragging a sensual lick across Fluttershy's belly. Fluttershy's soft gasps escalated in intensity, if not volume, the lower the touches moved, and her breath came faster and faster, her body trembling with... what? Fear? Desire? Both? Rarity hesitated as her lips touched the pegasus's navel, peering up at her face. Fluttershy's eyes were clenched shut and her jaw muscles stood out with the tension of clenched teeth. She was clearly terrified, but bottling it up under a lid of desperate need. She was panting so fast that Rarity started to worry she would pass out before they got to... well... 'the good part'.

As the unicorn pulled away, Fluttershy's eyes popped open and she made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a whimper, staring down with some mix of relief and an aching disappointment Rarity knew all too well.

"Nervous?" the unicorn asked. Fluttershy nodded jerkily. Rarity was careful to keep disappointment out of her voice as she said, "We don't have to do this right--"

"No!" Fluttershy all but shouted, then flinched at the sound of her own voice. In a calmer tone, she went on, "I really, really want this... I've just never let anypony else... you know..."

Her lips set in a faint moue, Rarity idly carressed the other mare's belly with one hoof. She couldn't keep from giggling, though, when her hoof strayed across a low nipple-capped teat and provoked a surprised squeak from the pegasus. "If it makes you feel any better," she admitted after a moment, "I'd been saving myself for... well, my Prince Charming. Until I met him, that is..." She shook herself and smiled up at her quite charming friend. "At any rate, I suppose that rather puts us in the same boat."

The worried creases faded from Fluttershy's brow and her ferocious blush backed down to a low burn as a tentative smile broke out in reply. A hoof stroked once down Rarity's mane. "I'm glad it's you," the pegasus murmured.

Rarity simply smiled in reply and let her cheek rest on the other mare's wonderfully soft stomach. Fluttershy wasn't flabby by any stretch, but she was a far cry indeed from Rainbow Dash's spare, bony frame, or even Applejack's hard slabs of muscle. Simply holding her was a delight in its own right, even if Rarity's sights were currently set a bit lower.

She resumed her southward trek with a kiss just below the bellybutton. Fluttershy gasped once and moaned loudly, but she was no longer on the verge of hyperventilating. Rarity finally slipped down a little farther still, pressing her lips softly against the other mare's mound and drawing a dove's coo of a groan from her.

Rarity leaned in, nose almost brushing Fluttershy's sex, pausing for a moment to simply breathe the sweet, faintly pungent scent of her lover's arousal. If she had thought the kisses were intoxicating, this was downright narcotic! She ran her tongue eagerly but gently across the other mare's sex lips.

"Ooooohhh my goodness!" Fluttershy moaned, her hips squirming irresistably from the brief contact. Memories of fantasy encounters with the pegasus darted through Rarity's head as she dove in, but they couldn't even begin to compare to the real thing. Freed from the need to imagine the experience, her mind was free to soak in every detail. How could she ever spare the thought to envision the subtle shift of thighs against her cheeks, or to conjure up the texture of Fluttershy's coat against her nose as her lips sealed around firm, slightly pouted vulva? She started out slowly, the tip of her tongue gently tracing the contours of Fluttershy's most sensitive spots in spite of the fire pounding through her veins and the ice trickling between her own thighs.

Fluttershy gasped as the unicorn began to tease her, quivered under the cautious licks, then suddenly twisted her hips away from Rarity. She yelped and shuddered, her thighs clamping together protectively. "Ah! That tickles," she complained, squirming until the sensation faded.

"I'm sorry, darling, I didn't know you were that sensitive. I'll be more careful..." She pulled the other mare's hips back in front of her and spread her thighs with both hooves, then leaned down again and pressed her lips to Fluttershy's yielding labia again. She started to work the tip of her tongue between them, flicking playfully at the inner lips.

The pegasus endured for a few more seconds, but yanked herself away again with an even higher-pitched squeak. She let her head fall back to the mattress with an angry whimper of frustration. "I--I'm sorry, I just can't... it tickles too much..." She started to roll over, getting her hooves under her. "I guess I'll... um, ‘do' you instead. If that's okay."

"A moment, darling. I'm not defeated yet!" Rarity said, pinning her in place with a gentle hoof on her stomach. She flashed a determined grin as her horn lit up and the bright azure aura of her magic picked up a hefty roll of strong, pink silk ribbon along with a pair of scissors. "Lay down and spread your legs, my love. As far as you can," she directed. The pegasus obeyed without comment, but she eyed the ribbon with an expression that said she had an idea of what Rarity was up to and wasn't entirely comfortable with it.

"Do you trust me?" Rarity murmured as the ribbon tied itself around Fluttershy's left rear hoof.

"O-of course," she replied, eyes following the spool as it swung around the bedpost and the scissors snipped it off.

"I promise I won't hurt you. If it becomes too... intense... just tell me to stop, and I shall. But please, do try to relax and enjoy it." Within moments, her right hoof was similarly restrained.

Fluttershy nodded, her breath starting to speed up as the ribbons took away even the option of covering herself, but Rarity heard her force a deep, calming breath and smiled. Fluttershy waited patiently while the silk ribbon secured her forelegs as well, holding her spread-eagle on the blanket, and Rarity giggled softly and draped herself over the foot of the bed with a rather wicked smile. "Brace yourself, darling," she murmured, admiring the bound pegasus with eyes half-hooded with lust. The pegasus was clearly as ready as she could possibly be, her mound glittering with droplets of liquid, the coat matted dark where Rarity had smeared them around. Then she leaned in, wrapped her arms around Fluttershy's hips, and started again.

Unable to twist away or close her legs, the pegasus could squirm and thrash against her bonds all she wanted -- Rarity maintained the onslaught, lapping at her outer lips, then gently spreading them and sliding her tongue between. The pegasus struggled under the ticklish assault, yelps and whimpers escalating into muffled shrieks, but she endured it admirably. After a few minutes, she seemed to calm or tire, or perhaps just grew used to the sensation. Shrieks faded and she filled the room instead with barely-controlled moans, and her hips began pressing toward Rarity's mouth instead of twisting to escape. The unicorn writhed a bit as well, grinding her thighs together and desperately wishing somepony could take care of her at the same time. But, she told herself, her lover came first.

Or she will, anyway...

Once the pegasus seemed comfortable -- or as comfortable as one could be in the midst of broutant le minou -- Rarity slid her tongue up to part the folds just under her own nose and brush the little nub that stood stiffly between them. Fluttershy's moans went up an octave at the slightest touch. She grinned and gave it another flick, a bit harder this time. The other mare cried out and arched off the bed without warning, grinding her crotch up against Rarity's face and smearing it with sweet pegasus juice.

Rarity froze and stared up at the pegasus, her coat matted across both cheeks and a string of fluid trailing back to the mare's dripping cleft. Fluttershy relaxed with a long, dreamy sigh and lay quiet for a moment, then opened an eye cautiously, as if expecting the pleasures to resume at any moment. She blinked a few times, focused on Rarity, and squeaked.

"I'm so sorry! Let me--" she began, only seeming to remember her bonds when she tried to reach down and wipe Rarity's face. Her blush reasserted itself, this time out of helpless shame.

Ickiness is often a side effect of hard work, Applejack had once told her. Well, I can't very well imagine a more worthwhile task than this! "It's... it's all right, darling," she said, shaking off the shock. "This is bound to make a mess, I suppose!" She leaned back in and cautiously flicked Fluttershy's sensitive little clit again, running her tongue in a small circle around the nub and drawing a wheezy squeal from the pegasus. Her gasps and cries came faster as Rarity teased her, but this time there was no panic in her panting breaths. Rarity saw her hindlegs tense, pulling the ribbons taut as if she wanted to wrap her thighs around the unicorn's head.

Rarity attacked her lover's flower, locking her lips over the wet, swollen petals and thrusting her tongue in deep. She gave a few firm thrusts into the depths, making the pegasus's slick, wet walls squeeze around her tongue, provoking a long, stifled squeal from her lover. Then she slid up and wrapped her lips around her lover's button. The unicorn gave it a couple of light sucks and let it slip free again.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah--!" Fluttershy rasped an even longer, louder squeal, and Rarity realized the quiet pegasus was screaming -- or as close to it as she ever got, anyway. Catching Fluttershy's clit between her lips once more, she started aggressively flicking the tip of her tongue across it. The bedposts creaked with the strain as Fluttershy pulled against them, eyes clenched shut. Her cries, though soft, took on a primal urgency. She shuddered once, then let out a sharp squeal and bucked her hips up against the pale mare's face again. The gush of juices that splattered Rarity's muzzle dwarfed the earlier mess, running down her chin and trickling from Fluttershy's sex as she quivered against her bonds, moaning the unicorn's name over and over.

Once her lover's moans had subsided, Rarity rubbed her nose affectionately against the warm, damp mound and slowly crawled up to lay beside Fluttershy. Even the fires of her own passion had abated somewhat -- not that she would turn down reciprocation if it were offered, but a deep sense of satisfaction and, well, pride bubbled up as she slid her arms around the dazed pegasus. For a few precious minutes, nothing mattered. Not her store, not her dresses, not even her appearance. Nothing in all of Equestria mattered but one gorgeous mare. Unmindful of the state of her coat, Rarity shared a long kiss with her lover while the scissors drifted from post to post, cutting free the silk ribbons.

"Haaah... your turn, I guess?" Fluttershy panted as she snuggled up against Rarity, her lovely aquamarine eyes drooping at a languid half-mast.

"When you're ready, darling." The pegasus wasn't the only one who needed a minute to calm her racing heart.

Fluttershy assented without comment and nestled her nose against Rarity's neck, kissing so lightly that the unicorn hardly felt it. Rarity could feel the grin against her shoulder as Fluttershy murmured, "Are you sure you've never done that before?"

The unicorn almost felt like hiding behind her hair the way Fluttershy often did. She shrugged with an embarrassed laugh. "Er... quite sure. I suppose I read a lot of those kinds of books, so... I must have learned something?" She cleared her throat uncomfortably and hurriedly changed the subject. "So, you never told me you liked mares," she said playfully.

"Um... well, stallions are also... nice. I guess it never came up, since you were, you know, interested in the Prince." She shrugged and cuddled in closer, talking into Rarity's mane. "I've never, um, gone out with any mares before, anyway."

"I know what you mean," Rarity said fervently. "It rather sneaked up on me as well. And it's all because of that dress!" She jerked her horn in the general direction of the ponyquin still secured in her bedroom.

Fluttershy's body pressed delightfully into her as the pegasus craned her neck to look. "What do you mean?"

Between quiet kisses, Rarity briefly explained what had really happened on the afternoon barely a week past when Fluttershy had modeled the lingerie for her. And, with some hesitation, what happened after she left.

"I can't believe you-- you-- did that... over me!" she squeaked, hiding embarrassed giggles behind her hooves. Then, peeking at Rarity's mussed hair and thoroughly rumpled bed, she lowered her hooves enough to show the edge of a smirk. "Well, maybe I can, now..."

The unicorn chuckled and nodded. "I suppose all the pieces were already there, so once I had it, aheh, thrust in my face, so to speak..." she returned the smirk, waving her hoof to encompass Fluttershy's sprawled form. "Anyway, after I, er, lost my composure at the spa--"

"You freaked out," the pegasus grinned.

She rolled her shoulders uncomfortably. "Yes, well... that was when I finally realized..." She pressed her brow against Fluttershy's and gazed into her eyes with a besotted smile. "...that I was in love."

"...love you too," the other mare murmured faintly.

They kissed once more, slow and tender, but growing more and more impassioned until Fluttershy had caught her breath and Rarity was left quite breathless.

The pegasus glanced toward the dress again and whispered, "Would you like me to wear it for you?"

Rarity often enjoyed dressing other ponies up, but she had never enjoyed it like this. Her tongue jousted with Fluttershy's as she fixed the halter in place and smoothed its veils. While she cinched the saddle, the other mare kissed and nuzzled playfully at Rarity's thigh. It was delightfully distracting. The unicorn's lips preceded each of the leggings up Fluttershy's thighs, leaving a trail of damp kisses along the way. The scent of both mares' excitement was heavy in the air by the time Rarity got around to the crupper. She had saved it for the very last. She slid her hoof beneath Fluttershy's long tail, stroking her rump with slow, sensual touches -- a stark contrast to her swift, businesslike manner the first time. The unicorn fastened the loop in place with her teeth rather than magic, then drew a low sigh from her lover with a quick nuzzle to each of the butterflies on Fluttershy's hip.

Rarity stepped back and paced a slow circle around the pegasus, this time without a thought for the technical details of the dress, simply drinking in the sight without shame for the liquid fire that started boiling between her thighs. Her memory didn't do it justice.

Fluttershy, for her part, seemed far more comfortable than she had in the first modeling session. Their intimacy, it seemed, had done wonders for Fluttershy's confidence. She was all smiles as she watched Rarity's expression, posing playfully to show herself off as the unicorn circled. There wasn't a shred of diffident or coy about her now, but Rarity didn't think it lessened her beauty by a single iota. Although I admit that I may not be entirely unbiased at the moment, she thought.

She didn't realize that she'd stopped until a nuzzle behind the ear turned her knees into quivering jelly. "Don't you want to lay down?" the vision in lace and diamonds cooed, nudging her gently toward the bed. Her legs almost buckled obediently right there in the middle of the floor, but she managed to drag herself onto the bed before she collapsed. Then it was all she could do to roll onto her back and offer herself to the most beautiful pegasus in the world.

Fluttershy hopped up after her and leaned in close, but hesitated as the ruffles on her halter brushed Rarity's thighs. The unicorn squirmed at the sensation of silk grazing her skin, but the movement only seemed to make Fluttershy stare, entranced.

"Darling, please..." Rarity prodded. The pegasus jerked as if waking up from a dream, blinking at her once before she seemed to remember what she was doing. Slowly, gingerly, she leaned forward and stretched out her tongue.

The first lick was so soft Rarity wasn't even sure she'd really felt it, but Fluttershy lifted her head again, licking her lips with the air of a pony sampling an unfamiliar dish. When she poked her muzzle in again, it was with more certainty -- though the stroke of her warm tongue across Rarity's unrelenting heat was still little more than a teasing caress.

"Fluttershyyy--!" Rarity whined past clenched teeth, willing herself not to jerk away from the ticklish brush of the shy mare's tongue. "Harder, please!" She felt the muzzle nod between her thighs, and the other mare's tongue flattened against her.

She lay back with a satisfied sigh and tried to relax as far as she could, but the slow, torturously soft strokes soon grew almost as unbearable as the tickling. Obviously, Fluttershy hadn't even imagined doing this before. The slow, gentle motions would have been wonderfully arousing as foreplay, but the time for hors d'oeuvres was long past and Rarity was craving the main course.

"Fluttershy... dear... I'm not made of glass," she panted. "You're far from hurting me. You can go much harder!" Fluttershy complied, the licks growing firm enough to part her nether lips.

Rarity held back a frustrated moan and let her continue for a bit. She didn't want to offer nothing but a constant stream of complaints. It wasn't as if Fluttershy was bad at this... well, all right, she was, but that was just a matter of teaching the nervous, inexperienced mare what Rarity liked. And vice versa, she reminded herself sternly. She knew well how difficult it could be to wheedle criticism out of the shy pegasus.

Rarity finally couldn't take it any longer. "Fluttershy, please, hold up for a moment..." She lit her horn, seizing the other mare's tail with her magic and tugging it toward her. Fluttershy squeaked and stopped licking -- a relief, actually -- to follow the tug, sidestepping around until her rump was positioned above Rarity's own muzzle. "I'd like to show you what I want you to do, so just imitate me, all right?"

"...oh. Okay," Fluttershy murmured, shoulders slumping ever so slightly. I'm sorry, Rarity added silently as she stretched up to kiss the other mare's velvety orchid, and Fluttershy leaned down to do the same.

Rarity took a couple of deep laps to start, demonstrating what she meant by "harder". Her tongue eagerly split Fluttershy's soft folds, darting into her depths and pulling away again in one swift motion. Fluttershy muffled her low moan against Rarity's body before she accepted the prompting and started to do likewise.

Rarity loosed her own loud cry (only slightly exaggerated for Fluttershy's benefit) as she felt the trickling stream between her thighs dammed by her lover's tongue at last. The pegasus proved a quick study with the right encouragement. She dove deep into Rarity's hot spring, her own gasps and groans matched by the unicorn with only a few moments' delay.

Fluttershy's bare rump flexed hypnotically in its lace-lined window as Rarity guided her. She couldn't help grinning at the way the beautiful yellow hips wiggled when teased, the unicorn returning some of the treatment Fluttershy had offered her before, but they tensed in time with Fluttershy's moan when Rarity drove her tongue into her lover's wetness.

The boiling sensation that had nestled between Rarity's thighs began to bubble up through her body, sweat breaking out on her skin as the sensation of heat and pressure grew. Her body begged for more, and she told Fluttershy in the most physical way possible.

Her focus slid downward, settling on the stiff point at the center of the mare's pleasure as she clutched Fluttershy's hips. Her whole body glistened with sweat where it didn't shine with other fluids. The trickling stream had eroded into a mighty river valley, and only Fluttershy's lips held back the flood. But rather than taking Rarity's cues, the pegasus was slowing down, distracted, her motions becoming vague even as Rarity's urgency increased.

"Harder," the unicorn barked. "Harder!" That seemed to bring her back, but Fluttershy still wasn't keeping up well. Her wings trembled at full spread and her breath came in sharp, quick huffs between licks.

"I said 'harder'! Like this!" Rarity grabbed Fluttershy's hips, the garter belt giving her purchase so she could pull herself up and mash her muzzle against the other mare's rump, her shoulders lifting entirely from the bed in her enthusiasm.

Fluttershy shrieked at the rough treatment, her own ministrations faltering for a moment. Her legs shook a little as she found herself partially supporting Rarity's weight as well as her own, but the yellow pegasus didn't complain. Instead, her tongue circled the hard rock in the middle of Rarity's river, sending building ripples of tension through the unicorn's body.

Oh, much better! Much, much better... Celestia, that's good!

Fluttershy apparently thought so, too. She moaned wantonly as Rarity demonstrated the firm, flickering licks she needed so badly. Fluttershy pushed her hips back against Rarity's lips instead, hardly even trying to copy the motion. Then, suddenly, Fluttershy's muzzle came away from the unicorn's crotch with an orgasmic whinny. Her hips bucked with a helpless spasm as a gush of musky sweetness filled Rarity's mouth, and the sudden jostle shook the unicorn's hoof from the garter belt--

Pop!

Both mares froze. The quiet sound of thread giving way was as good as a bucket of cold water for cooling their passions. Rarity let go of the other mare's hips and carefully disentangled herself. A section of lace skirt flapped loose across Fluttershy's thigh where Rarity's weight had come down on it.

"Oh my goodness... oh my goodness..." Fluttershy chanted between gasps for breath, her eyes wide in an expression of horror like a foal beholding the shards of a broken lamp. The loose strip of fabric fluttered like a flag at every quiver of Fluttershy's body, but Rarity's hooves shook almost as badly from a mix of exertion, arousal, and adrenaline as she leaned in close to inspect the damage.

"It's not bad," she declared after a breathless moment. "Just a broken seam."

Fluttershy let out a breath she'd been having trouble holding. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have suggested this! Now I've made more work for you."

Rarity shook her head, though she did start undressing the pegasus. "Now, now. I share at least half the blame. It's only a few minutes' work to fix, and I'll reinforce those stitches while I'm at it. Better that this happened now rather than after the client gets it home, I suppose!" Her laugh sounded a bit on the fragile side, all the same. That had been far too close. No more playing with other ponies' things, you foolish filly!

The jolt of fear had somewhat chilled her ardor, but the heady purfume of carnal desire still clung heavily to her lover's body. Her own, too, she knew. Rarity breathed in deeply as she helped Fluttershy out of the saddle, letting her lingering gaze speak for itself as she removed the halter from Fluttershy's cheeks and magically brushed away a strand of pink mane that was pasted to her lover's face by perspiration... or possibly some other liquid.

"I think I understand what you meant by 'harder' now," Fluttershy said once the dress was once more wrapped around its ponyquin, blushing in spite of everything they'd shared in the past hour.

Rarity giggled, feeling her own cheeks heat in response. "Do you want to give it a try without my guidance?" she asked. Fluttershy just smiled and nodded. The unicorn kissed her softly, then strutted over to the bed. She didn't bother climbing all the way up, simply draping herself over the edge as if inviting a stallion to mount her, her rear hooves spread wide on the floor.

Gentle but firm hooves came to rest on her cutie marks as hot wetness met hot wetness, and the lust that had faded to a distant simmer quickly began to seethe once more over the fire of Fluttershy's lips. Rarity clutched at the blankets, softly gasping the other mare's name with each stroke of her tongue.

The white unicorn lay like that for a while, her hips jerking against the edge of the bed as each jolt of pleasure raced up her back, rebounded off her horn, and streaked back down to her hindquarters. She could feel the tension already winding tighter and tighter in her stomach, ratcheting her back toward the cusp of release where she had balanced before shock and fear drove it away.

Fluttershy could apparently feel it too. The wonderful slick-rough-soft contact shifted, seeking out the glowing coal of Rarity's need. She heard the strain rising in her own voice, her cries pitching up and up as her excitement grew. Then, without prompting (or had she screamed 'Harder'?) she felt Fluttershy's face push up against her and soft lips zeroed in on Rarity's aching nub. Satin-soft lips closed around it, joined by the firm caress of a tongue, and she barely had time to catch a fold of the blanket between her teeth before the fire of passion erupted into white light. The boiling liquid between her thighs flashed into steam, impossible heat racing down every nerve in her body. She couldn't possibly hold it in -- her eyes clamped shut and a scream tore from her throat as the unendurable heat consumed her.

When the fire had passed, only a silky, buoyant bliss remained, like floating in a warm ocean, rocked by gentle waves of pleasure. Distantly, she could feel her body quaking and moaning as each swell passed, but Rarity floated limply on top of them.

The waves grew smaller and less frequent as she drifted, and Rarity soon washed up on her own bed, panting softly and shivering with the passage of each ebbing surge. The last tiny ripples lapped playfully at her hooves before they, too, retreated and left her basking in the warmth of a body pressed against her side and a feathery wing spread across her back.

Rarity roused enough to survey the rumpled, stained blanket and the snipped ribbons still tied to the bedposts with a strangely exhilirating mix of embarrassment and pride. Then her gaze drifted to the yellow mare at her side, and pride easily overwhelmed any sense of self-consciousness. Fluttershy had cuddled up beside her in practically the same pose, sprawled over the edge of the bed. And what a photo that would make, she giggled to herself, leaning over enough to brush her lips against the other mare's.

As much as she would have liked to stay there, cuddled up bonelessly beside her lover, the outside world gradually wormed its way back into Rarity's consciousness. The clock tower distantly tolled once, and she could hear the sounds of a busy Ponyville day beyond her windows. Things to do and ponies to see before the day was out. She slowly dragged herself fully onto the bed, then levered herself up into a sitting position to wait until her legs felt less like rubber.

"I should probably set myself to rights... again... and open the shop before our friends start to think I've become a hermit and try to break down the door," she said with a small smirk.

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, sheepishly rubbing her drying cheeks. "Should we tell them about us right away?"

Rarity considered while she magicked the windows open to freshen the air and slowly slid off the bed as she stripped the soiled sheets. "I suppose it would be unkind to leave them believing we're still at odds. We should say something before the day is out... but only after we make Pinkie swear to keep the inevitable party amongst ourselves," she decided. "I'd rather not have her announcing this from the rooftops... at least, until we figure out precisely what ‘this' is going to be."

Fluttershy nodded and pressed her neck against the unicorn's. "I like ‘this'."

Rarity smiled and leaned her shoulder against Fluttershy's in silent agreement.

Rarity smiled and leaned her shoulder against Fluttershy's as a barrage of crackers went off and showered the new couple with streamers and confetti, accompanied by a cacophony of noisemakers.

"Congratulations!" chorused four mares and a dragon.

Rarity laughed and started shaking colored paper out of her mane. "Thank you! Thank you all!"

"Thank you very much," Fluttershy added, for once not trying to hide in the face of public attention.

"Don't move!" Pinkie warned, dragging out a boxy camera from Celestia-only-knew-where. "Smile!"

As the stars faded from Rarity's eyes, Pinkie bounced over to hug each of them with one arm. "I'm so glad you two are getting together! I hope you're happy forever and ever!"

"Thank you, Pinkie. I hope so too." The unicorn couldn't help trading a grin with Fluttershy.

"Enjoy the party!" Pinkie said. "Can I get anypony some punch?"

"Oh, it looks delicious," Fluttershy said, and the two of them gravitated that direction. Rarity was about to follow when she saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchange a meaningful glance, then set aside their own cups of punch and move to intercept her.

"Heya, Rarity!" Applejack said. "I just wanted to tell ya how glad I am ever'thing worked out okay in the end. Fluttershy's an awful forgivin' gal, and yer one lucky mare."

Rainbow Dash nodded, crossing her hooves and aiming a glare at Rarity. "Yeah, lucky we're not taking turns seeing who can kick you the farthest."

"Rainbow!" Applejack barked.

"What? She is!"

"What Rainbow means to say," Applejack said, rolling her eyes, "is that Fluttershy's really somethin' special. So you be good to 'er, y'hear?"

The fashionista nodded once, a soft smile touching her lips. "I know she is. And I will," she said in an appropriately chastened tone. Rainbow Dash gave her a satisfied nod, though her return smile ran out of steam before it reached her eyes.

"I know ya will," the farmer said cheerfully. "Congratulations, an' all!"

"Congrats," Rainbow echoed, shooting up into the air and heading back toward the punch. Halfway there she paused, spun around in midair, and pointed a hoof at her face, then Rarity's. I'm watching you, she mouthed, then zipped off to retrieve her drink.

"I'm fairly sure she's kidding," Twilight said from her shoulder. "Or... exaggerating, at least."

"I don't think I'll risk it, all the same," the fashionista said dryly.

Twilight chuckled. "Yeah, good point. For my part, I just wanted to say... I told you so."

Rarity blinked, shaking her head to rattle her hearing back into proper order. "Pardon?"

The purple unicorn grinned broadly. "I told you she'd forgive you. And you said I could say 'I told you so' if she did."

"Ah. Yes. You most certainly did!" Rarity managed a weak chuckle. "I've never been happier to be wrong in my life."

Twilight chuckled along with her, then sidled closer, her cheeks taking on a red flush as her voice dropped to a murmur. "Hey, I wanted to tell you, I know this... shop... in Canterlot that sells... things."

Rarity stared blankly at her friend. "I myself own a shop that sells things," she deadpanned.

"No, no, not just 'things'... things."

The white unicorn took in Twilight's blush, her hushed tone, and her emphatic lack of specificity, and the light slowly dawned. "Ah. That sort of 'things'."

"Yes! Exactly!" Twilight giggled, looking relieved that she didn't need to say more. "I never shopped there because, you know--" She jerked her head toward Spike. "--but if you want their address or anything..."

Rarity fought to keep her own blush off her face, and to keep from thinking too hard about the possibilities. "Ah... yes... thank you, I believe I probably will..." she replied. While she hadn't really considered seeking out such devices before, it suddenly seemed like an eminently worthwhile investment. Along with the strongest lockbox I can find, in case of Cutie Mark Crusader Safe Crackers.

As the conversation moved away from romance and its accoutrements, Rarity gradually became aware of a pair of eyes tracking her every movement. Spike sat, morosely nursing a cup of punch, his gaze never leaving her except when she caught him staring.

"Twilight, darling, would you excuse me for a moment? I'd like to get some punch."

"Hm? I can come wi-- Oh! Oh, sure! No problem. Congratulations again!"

Rarity smiled at Fluttershy as she passed, filled a cup with thankfully Gummy-free punch, and casually circled back toward the little dragon's chair. He sat up straighter and bravely attempted a smile for her benefit. "Hiya, Rarity! Um... congratulations, and all!"

She sat down slowly, paused to compose herself, then turned to the baby dragon. "Spike. I owe you an apology. I owe more than that, actually, but an apology is all I can offer. I've strung you along for some time and terribly abused your feelings for me, and that was very bad of me. I'm sorry. I should have put a stop to this long ago."

Spike looked down, kicking his legs. "Oh. Well, okay. I..." He rubbed his nose, his eyes glistening despite his best efforts. "I guess I forgive you."

Rarity reached over to rub his head, her smile mixing sadness and affection. "You're a true gentlecolt, Spike."

Any further conversation was halted by a knock at the door. Pinkie looked around the room with a perplexed look as if wondering who'd left. "Huh, who could that be?" she said aloud, trotting over to open the door.

"Just a couple of party crashers," replied the last voice Rarity ever expected.

Princess Celestia ducked through the door, grinning impishly. "I merely want to offer my own well-wishes to the new couple."

"Let it be known by royal decree:" Princess Luna bellowed, stepping through behind her. "This party shall commence forthwith!"

"All right!" Pinkie yelled, shaking the rest of the partygoers from their shock. "That makes it official!" She bumped the record player's table with her hip, jolting the needle perfectly onto the first track.

Rainbow Dash was the next to find her voice. "B-b-b-but how?!" she burst out.

Celestia chuckled, swaying gracefully to the music. "Oh, between Twilight's letter, retraction, and retraction-retraction, I've kept up with the situation remarkably well. Her last letter happened to mention the time and place of this celebration--"

"So we invited ourselves!" Luna finished, helping herself to a cup of punch while Twilight blushed and stammered.

Rarity managed at last to make her legs work in the right order to step forward and drop a deep curtsy to the Princesses. "We are greatly honored by your presence, Your Majesties--"

"Stay such formalities!" the younger princess boomed. "Tonight you host only a pair of vagabond wastrels, truant from hearth and from duty!"

"We slipped out," Celestia translated. "We can rule a nation any day. This is important." She smiled down at the new couple, looking each mare in the eye."Fluttershy, Rarity, I wish you all the joy that you could wish for."

"Thank you, Princess Celestia," Rarity said, nearly choking on the words. Then Celestia stepped aside for her sister.

Luna laid a hoof on each of their shoulders. "I suppose a blessing of fertility would be futile in the circumstances, so I will simply wish you good fortune in all things."

Embarrassment fully choked off any reply from Rarity, and the pronouncement left blushes on everypony else as well. "Th-thank you," Fluttershy squeaked.

"Come now!" the Princess of the Night proclaimed. "Let the beats be dropped, and stint not on the mead!"

It was a good party.

Chapter 9

Rarity sat in her inspiration room, considering scraps of cloth for her fall collection, but they might as well have all been shades of gray. She stared down at them, trying desperately not to think about the only thing that filled her head.

It was supposed to be over and done... but it wasn't.

There was one Fluttershy-related matter that did require consideration, at least. Should I keep my spa date tomorrow, or beg off sick? It would undoubtedly be the second-worst spa experience of her life if she went, but cancelling would draw even more attention of the yellow, winged variety.

For all that she didn't wish to see anyone at the moment, she welcomed the interruption when the door chime jingled. Rarity heaved a heavy sigh, set her glasses aside, and pushed herself up as she put on her Professional Smile.

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique--" she began as she trotted out into the main room, but cut the greeting short. "Oh. Good day, Pinkie! What can I do for you?"

The curly pink mane bobbed behind a rack of dresses as Pinkie examined them in minute detail. "Hmmm... I dunno!" she replied.

Rarity stepped over to join her, the Professional Smile slipping slightly into perplexity. The pink pony seemed to be examining each outfit with equal attention, as if a pastel sundress with a wide-brimmed hat were as likely to suit her fancy as a little black evening gown accented with a single emerald. "Are you looking for something specific?"

Pinkie turned, examining Rarity herself with the same half-squinted expression she'd focused on the dresses. Then she grinned as though she'd found precisely what she was looking for. "The question is, what can I do for you?" she said, throwing a hoof around Rarity's shoulders.

Rarity slammed the Professional Smile back to full intensity as a number of wild responses leapt to mind, including several that involved time travel or mind control. "I... don't know what you mean," she laughed hollowly. Well done, Rarity. That didn't sound at all suspicious. But it was too late to take the words back, anyway.

Pinkie let the false cheer pass without comment and replied in a lower, more serious tone than Rarity had heard her use in a long time. "You just seem really down lately, and I thought maybe you could use somepony to talk to." A cloud crossed her features, just a slight softening of the sparkle in her eyes in sympathy -- no, empathy -- for her friend's pain.

Rarity's Professional Smile crumbled under the embarrassment of being caught. Surely she hadn't been that obvious about it! "Oh, your Pinkie Sense again?" she asked hopefully.

"Nope, just common sense! You've been looking more stonefaced than the fountain statue!" A bit of her usual bounce returned as Pinkie demonstrated with an enormous frown, staring steely-eyed an inch or two above Rarity's head. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she produced a notebook, a quill, and -- were those Twilight's reading glasses? "So just tell what you're thinky to Doctor Pinkie!"

Tell her.

Rarity would bear it alone. Nopony else needed to share in her sorrow.

Pinkie sat waiting, willing, asking to do just that. Pain shared is pain halved.

And a secret shared was no longer secret!

If Pinkie noticed, surely the others will notice sooner or later. What will you do when they start to dig?

Rarity fidgeted under Pinkie's gaze. However petulant it sounded, she would do whatever she had to in order to keep this from ever reaching Fluttershy's ears.

If anypony can be trusted with a secret, it's Pinkie.

The words rose like bile in her throat, and she struggled to keep them down, even knowing she would feel better once they had left her mouth. It simply. Wasn't. Worth it.

"There it is again!" Pinkie proclaimed, nearly poking her in the nose with her hoof. "Stoneface! What's that all about?"

Rarity shook her head, looking away. "I don't wish to discuss it," she said flatly.

The pink pony leaned over to meet Rarity's averted gaze, her eyes boring into Rarity's as if to snatch the secrets straight from her mind itself. "I just want to see you smile," she wheedled.

Rarity pressed her lips together and snorted, then gave her the Thank You For Your Business smile.

"Ugh! Faaaaake." Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It doesn't count if you don't mean it!"

Rarity's eyes flashed and the false smile twisted into an angry pout. "Well, I don't really feel like smiling today, thank you so very much! Please, just leave me be!" She threw a hoof dramatically toward the door.

Pinkie jerked back, brows knitted, as her perpetual grin slowly inverted itself. She huffed a quiet sigh and obediently turned back toward the door, her head hanging low.

What's the point of preserving your friendships if you drive them away yourself?

Pinkie glanced back one last time before she opened the door, the look on her face an arrow into the unicorn's chest. It seemed to say, "What did I do wrong?" as clearly as if she'd spoken. In an instant, Rarity could picture all of her friends plodding away with the same downcast expression. She had buried her secret deep in her heart, hidden away from everypony, and thought it safe; but now she saw herself reflected in Pinkie's eyes. Wounded, hurting, but lashing out at those who offered relief. She could see now how the secret had festered where it lay, how the sick, rotted little thing poisoned her soul with every minute she held it down.

Suddenly she couldn't wait to be rid of it.

"Pinkie, wait." Rarity bowed her head and let out a slow, heavy sigh. "Very well... but I will need your solemn promise not to discuss this in any way with anypony else, or even hint at it, and... please, discourage anypony else from making their own inquiries, if you can help it."

Pinkie's grin sprung back into place and she whirled in a blur, planting herself on the floor in front of Rarity. "No problem!" she began. "Cross my heart and hope--"

"Your solemn promise!" Rarity said sharply, pushing down the hoof that had started to cross Pinkie's chest. "This is not a joke, Pinkie Pie. I'll thank you not to treat it as such."

Pinkie looked faintly disappointed for a moment, then brightened. "Okie dokie, not a jokie! I solemnly promise all that stuff you just said." Then, before Rarity to could stop her, Pinkie make a quick X across her chest and poked herself in the eye.

The unicorn sighed. "I suppose that will do." She paused, trying to find the words to begin. She had trained herself to guard her tongue when she was with her friends, and even her very thoughts, until it was a reflex not easily overcome. She drew another slow breath, steeled herself, and let it all spill out.

"It was me all along," she said softly, staring down at Pinkie's hooves. "I wrote the letters to Fluttershy. I'd hoped..." Rarity sighed again and shook her head. "It doesn't matter what I hoped. Fluttershy has made her feelings clear, and I'll respect that." She looked up slowly, meeting Pinkie's shocked stare with a rueful smile. "I was disqualified before the contest even began, so there's... no need to tell her how I fee-- felt."

Pinkie worked her jaw for a few moments, but she was, for once, speechless. Rarity could almost see her replaying the last several days in her head. Finally, she said, "Woah. I've heard some doozies in my time, but that was defnitely the dooziest!" Pinkie grabbed Rarity by the arm and hauled her effortlessly to her hooves, then dragged her toward the door in an awkward three-legged gait. "Come on, this calls for emergency cupcakes!"

"I don't see how sweets are supposed to help," Rarity objected. The platter of cupcakes sat in the middle of Pinkie's long banquet table, where Rarity had been parked as soon as they reached the pink pony's room. They did look delicious, but Rarity was no more in the mood to eat than she had been for the past couple of days.

But Pinkie was having none of that. "Doctor Pinkie says these cupcakes are just what the doctor ordered!" Her stare was so insistent that Rarity had little choice but to acquiesce. She bit into a pink-frosted chocolate cupcake, which was delicious. A slight smile crossed her face. Ice cream might have been the traditional treatment for heartache, but perhaps chocolate cake and buttercream frosting were a viable alternative.

"There it is!" Pinkie crowed suddenly. "That's a real smile, or my name isn't Pinkie Pie!"

"Isn't your given name Pinkam--" Rarity began, but Pinkie silenced her with the rest of the cupcake.

"Pinkie. Pie."

There was a brief pause as both mares took another cupcake.

"What'dja mean, 'letters'?" Pinkie asked. "Like, both of 'em?"

Rarity blinked and paused to recall how much -- or rather, how little -- Pinkie actually knew. "Ah. No, not the typed one. Fluttershy hasn't mentioned them, but there were actually three, all horn-written."

She briefly explained the content of the second note, her efforts to weasel an answer out of the pegasus, and her own decision to finally end the charade.

"There's not really much else to tell, I suppose," Rarity said, hanging her head. At least, nothing else she was going to tell. Pinkie definitely didn't need to hear about Rarity's more carnal episodes in the past week. "I've been sleeping poorly, for obvious reasons, and now I just... want to forget the whole thing."

Pinkie studied the ceiling before she replied. "Well, hey, if you're down with the fillies too now, I might know a few I could set you up with."

Rarity just shivered and shrunk in on herself. "Honestly, Pinkie, I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll take some time off from romance for now. Broken hearts don't heal that quickly." Still, a tiny, contrary voice murmured in her ear, it couldn't hurt to start considering one's options on 'that side of the street', as it were.

And then there were arms around her shoulders and a pleasantly padded shoulder to rest her head on. "Yeah... but it will," Pinkie murmured. "We're all here for you."

Rarity couldn't help but smile again in spite of her low spirits. Perhaps, when she felt up to it, she already had a fair idea where to start looking.

The unicorn extricated herself before the hug squeezed any tears out and cleared her throat. "Well. As I've been somewhat out of sorts for the past week, I suppose I haven't kept up very well with events beyond my own sphere. Did I miss out on anything of significance?"

"Oh, you know it!" Pinkie sat up, gesturing expansively with her forehooves. "It all started with this weird unicorn in a weird balloon."

Rarity relaxed and nodded, her smile growing less shadowed. There could hardly be a better pony to talk to, after all, if one didn’t want a deep, serious conversation.

"I was up on Rambling Rock Ridge looking for some snipe eggs -- and lemme tell you, those little guys are hard to find! -- Well, I looked up, and there was this big silver balloon with smoke coming out of it like it was on fire! But I never saw a balloon like that before! It was shaped like a couple of plates on top of each other -- not the usual way, I mean like if you flipped the top plate over -- and the basket was way up on top of the balloon! And I was like, 'Who puts the basket on top? Wouldn't it flip over?' But I guess they put all the stuff on top of a boat, which is weird if you think about it, shouldn't they put it at the bottom so the boat won't turn over as easy? But they do put it all on top, so maybe putting the basket on top of a balloon makes sense after all. But anyhow--"

Rarity gradually tuned out as the conversation twisted off into the strange tangents to which the pink pony was prone. Going on autopilot was rude to Fluttershy, but it was something of a defense mechanism when Pinkie Pie got going.

"--and I said, 'No, way!' and he said, 'Yes, way!'--"

"Oh, did he?" A faint but persistent sensation crept up on her as the irrelevant chatter flowed by. It took Rarity some time to notice that it was even there, but when she did, she realized this was what she had been missing since the whole fiasco began.

"--ketchup jellybeans--"

"Mm-hmm?"

Contentment. Here she was, enjoying a morning snack with one of her friends, laughing and chatting rather than drowning in misery. At peace with herself.

It's over.

She still hurt, true, but she found in that moment that she could finally tell herself it really was over without it sounding like a lie.

"--on the ceiling!--"

True, the sadness still waited for her in the lonely dark, but she felt that she could face it if she could have moments like this as well. Disengaging from her life wasn't moving on; it was letting pain and regret dictate her actions. No longer! That dream may be done, but no so my life! I shall not surrender to despair!

"--and that's how... uh..."

Bring what you will, Fate, but I will face it unafraid! For I! Am! Rar--

"Rarity? Whatcha doin'?"

She looked down, realizing she had climbed up on her stool to shake her hoof at the heavens. "Um..."

A timely knock at the door saved her from the need to explain herself. "Hey, Pinkie, it's me," Rainbow Dash called. "Got a sec?"

Pinkie bounced over to answer the door, and Rarity took the opportunity to seat herself primly and help herself to another cupcake. I am Rarity, she thought less forcefully.

"Hiya, Dashie! What’s up?" Pinkie said.

Rainbow Dash stepped inside with a tense, unhappy expression. "Hey, Rarity! Glad I caught ya here -- you weren’t at your place, and I thought I was gonna have to hunt ya down. You guys got a few? It's Fluttershy again. AJ's place."

To her shame, Rarity actually hesitated. For an instant, she was back on the floor of her bedroom amid flattened metal debris and scraps of silk. How could she involve herself in Fluttershy's social life and not dwell on what might have been? Perhaps better to let Fluttershy take care of Fluttershy, and let Rarity take care of Rarity.

No. That was despair talking. What profit was there in saving her friendship from destruction, only to let it quietly perish through neglect? The easy path led only to ruin. I must, I must, find a way to be happy for Fluttershy. Somehow.

"No problemo, Rainbow!" Pinkie chirped across Rarity's more sedate, "Certainly! May I ask what's happened?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes cut to the side, the pegasus turning to face back down the stairs. "It's bad," she said over her shoulder, and then there was only a rainbow blur racing down the stairs.

"Bad?" Rarity repeated. What on Celestia's green earth did that mean? And how bad was 'bad'? Was she simply upset? Injured? Perhaps that other admirer did something untoward?!

Rarity was down the stairs and heading for Sweet Apple Acres at a dead gallop before her brain even caught up. No use running now, she told herself. Whatever has happened has already happened, and she's safe with Applejack and Macintosh now. No need to run myself ragged.

Her hooves didn't listen. Fluttershy was in distress, and something far deeper and more powerful than mere logic drove her. Pinkie Pie kept up without apparent effort, though she too galloped with a concerned frown rather than bouncing along in her usual oddly ground-eating hops.

Rarity was lathered with sweat by the time she and Pinkie reached the big red barn, and she barely paused to wipe her hooves before she burst in through the kitchen door. Sure enough, Fluttershy sat at the dining table with Applejack's arm around her shoulders. Tears ran down her face to speckle a very familiar sheet of twice-creased paper.

The white unicorn just stared for a few seconds, unable to process the situation. But... I don't understand. She should be relieved! What is all this? I don't understand! Sensitive soul that Fluttershy was, Rarity could comprehend her being unhappy about disappointing somepony, but... surely this went beyond mere remorse. Fluttershy stared at the two words on the page as if willing them to change and say something else entirely. "Darling? Whatever is the matter?" she asked gently as she drifted to the table.

Fluttershy just shook her head and let out a single sob as Pinkie went to hold the pegasus as well. She glanced at the paper in Fluttershy's hooves as she hugged the yellow mare, then caught Rarity's eye with an incomprehensibly raised eyebrow. So far as Rarity could tell, it meant, "Huh."

"Probably best if y'all just wait'll Rainbow gets back," Applejack said in low tones. "She's fetchin' something from Fluttershy's cottage that's supposed to clear things up. There's a lot been goin' on, 'pparently."

There was yet another note rather carelessly discarded on the table, a typewritten three-by-five card. The unicorn busied herself with it for something to do, as much as she might wish to never hear another word about secret admirers.

Dear Fluttershy,
You're the sweetest pony I know.
Signed,
Secret Admirer

Well, it was true enough, though anypony who had met Fluttershy for more than a minute at a stretch would say the same. Surely this was no cause for such consternation. Perhaps Rainbow Dash carried the real bombshell with her? Rarity reached across the table, patting Fluttershy's hoof and trying to imagine what could put her in such a state.

The arrival of Rainbow Dash with Twilight snapped her out of her musings. "Got it," Rainbow said, tossing a third note on the table -- this one curled in a tight tube and tied with cheap red ribbon. The ribbon, which had been fresh and crisp when Rarity bound her note, now looked wrinkled and worn. To the unicorn's expert eye, it looked like it had been tied and untied many times.

Twilight picked up the note almost as soon as it hit the table, unrolling it and reading it aloud with a faint frown while Pinkie and Rainbow peeked over her shoulder.

"Woah," Rainbow murmured, and Rarity affected an appropriately surprised gasp. Twilight leaned over to glance at the tearstained final note.

"I don't understand." The purple unicorn echoed Rarity's thoughts verbatim. "If you're not interested, and she accepted that, what's the problem?"

Fluttershy let out a squeaky sob and shook her head. "I d-didn't mean to tell her to go away," she whimpered.

What.

"I just didn't have any way to say 'let me think about it'... I didn't think she'd give up so soon!"

What.

Somewhere in the ashes of Rarity's heart, a glowing coal of hope beyond hope sputtered into fitful flame. It was as if Karma itself had smiled on her for finally confiding in Pinkie. But the flame also burned her. Hope... hurt. A little red spark of anger grew alongside it, flaring brighter with each passing moment. Anger at herself, for her lack of faith; at Fluttershy, for her indecisiveness; at the universe or fate or whatever twist of happenstance had put her in this position to begin with! She clamped her tongue between her teeth, not trusting herself to speak.

Pinkie met Rarity's eyes with an intense gaze, as if she were now trying to send thoughts through the air itself. She leaned toward Rarity almost imperceptibly, giving the slightest of nods, encouraging her to speak. The unicorn held her silence, though. Part of her wanted to admit her deeds then and there, another still yearned to simply absent herself and leave Fluttershy to her own devices, yet another to leap to her hooves and start berating the teary pegasus.

"Don't worry too much about it, sugarcube," Applejack said soothingly. "You've still got somepony else that thinks yer 'gorgeous' and 'sweet'."

Fluttershy smiled through her tears, giving a little nod. "I promise I won't let this one slip away."

"Uh. That's a really bad idea." All eyes turned on Rainbow Dash, who was crouched at the corner of the table, her eyes wide with a caught-in-the-headlights look, wings twitching as if she longed to escape to the sky. There was a long pause, then the blue mare muttered, "Those were mine."

Twilight glanced from Rarity's poleaxed expression to Applejack's quizzical one to Pinkie, whose eyebrows were crawling up nearly to her mane. "What?"

"I'm the second admirer, okay? I wasn't gonna say anything, but..." She flailed a hoof in Fluttershy's general direction. "I'm not--"

Applejack's face darkened rapidly from shock to something fierce and angry. "You lied right to our faces!" she snarled. "You said you didn't send it!"

Rainbow quailed from her expression, but still straightened up to defend herself. "I told you I didn't write it! That's the truth! ...I typed it."

Applejack stromped forward, implacable, until her nose flattened against the racer's and she glared directly into Dash's eyes. "Rainbow Dash, you know good an' well that's a lie all the same! Why didn't you just tell Fluttershy how you felt in the first place?!"

Rainbow shoved her back a few inches. "I wasn't lying when I said I didn't have feelings for her, either!"

The farm pony staggered back a step with a look of incomprehension, then gritted her teeth, the muscles clearly tensing under her coat. "So, what, It's all some kinda practical joke?" she said dangerously. "Cuz we ain't laughin'!"

Rainbow Dash grabbed her head in both hooves. "No, that's not what I--" She stopped, let out a frustrated sigh, then turned toward the other pegasus, rubbing one arm with the other hoof. "Fluttershy, listen. I meant what I said, okay? I really do think you're gorgeous, and really nice, and... and a bunch of other stuff that I'm... not. I really do admire you. I just thought, you know, if I could say it this way, it wouldn't sound so... sappy." She seemed to shrink in on herself and added in a lower voice, "And I figured maybe it'd give you some confidence if you thought you had, y'know, options."

"Which ain't to say ya couldn't rope any colt ya set yer eye to," Applejack appended, shooting another glare at Dash.

"Or filly!" Pinkie put in.

Rainbow nodded quickly, pointing a hoof at both of them. "Yeah, that."

There was a brief pause as everypony digested the new revelations.

"Well, thank you, Rainbow Dash, I guess," Fluttershy sighed, her expression growing morose as she picked up the "I'm sorry" letter once more. "Do you think she'd understand if I put on the ribbon now?"

"Probably," Twilight said with a smile, magically untying the ribbon and bringing it over to Fluttershy's mane. "If she cares that much, I'm sure she'll get the message."

"Anyway, you're not making a promise or anything," Pinkie pointed out. "It's like, 'okay, let's go on a date!' Or a pre-date coffee meeting! That's kinda like a date, but you buy your own coffee."

Rarity sat stunned. All this time... so much pain and heartache, and over what? ...it wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair!

"It's not fair!"

The rest of the group fell silent at the outburst and Rarity realized she'd spoken aloud.

"It's not fair... to her... to jerk her emotions around like that," she temporized.

Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together, her eyes beginning to leak again. "I know. I really want to tell her I'm so, so sorry."

"Sorry?" The spark of anger blazed up in the space of a breath, chewing into the wounded wreck of her heart and transforming love into something raw and acidic. "Sorr--! She gave up! Do you know what that means?" the unicorn bellowed, leaning halfway across the table. "Do you have any idea what it must have cost her? And you're sorr--"

Rarity barely bit off the tirade before she said any more. The sweet pegasus was already back to hiccuping sobs. Pinkie's jaw had hit the table, and the other three ponies stared at Rarity with varying degrees of stupefaction and outrage. She just thanked her lucky stars that she'd remembered to say she rather than I.

"I'm sorry," Rarity said more softly, lowering herself back to a sitting position. "I apologize for shouting. But... not for what I said. I suppose I empathize with this mare's plight. Abandoning one's dream is... terribly painful. I had to do just such a thing after the Gala, and it's not an experience I would wish on anypony." And you made me go through it all over again, added the bitter part of her mind even as she recoiled from the thought.

Applejack's eyes were flinty as she gave the sniffling pegasus a supportive squeeze. "That's as may be," she said. "Maybe Fluttershy has done her wrong. But she can't do much more'n be sorry, can she? That, an' try to make it right." She nodded toward the ribbon now tied in the back of Fluttershy's mane.

"I suppose not," Rarity sighed, reaching out with her magic to untie the ribbon again and gather Fluttershy's mane into a more attractive ponytail. Did she dare open her heart up to more abuse so quickly? Or was the awful misunderstanding some kind of sign that she should look to greener pastures? No, of course she dared. I'm kind of an idiot that way, she thought wryly. "Well, I..."

I'm sure she'll forgive you, she meant to say. But the bitterness hissed, And why shouldn't she stew on it for at least one night?

And Rarity listened.

"...I hope she's in a forgiving mood."

"I'm sure she will be!" Pinkie said, locking eyes with Rarity for a moment. Her face was a mix of confusion and horror.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash replied, "I'll bet she's just happy you're interested after all!" The others continued to make comforting noises, but Pinkie's eyes darted toward Rarity each time the unicorn let an encouragement pass without agreeing.

"Thank you," Fluttershy said finally, smiling past her tears. "Thank you all so much! I think I'd better run a few errands in town this afternoon, and make sure everypony gets a chance to see this." She raised a hoof, reverently touching the ribbon in her hair.

"Have fun!" Pinkie cheered, though her smile looked brittle to Rarity.

"Fly safely," the fashionista added.

"I'll go with you," Twilight said with oblivious excitement. "I think there might be a letter to Celestia in all this!"

The two mares left shortly, and Rarity excused herself soon after that. Applejack sternly told Rainbow to 'stay put' as Pinkie also made her good-byes and trotted out at Rarity's hip. Both held their peace as they left the farmyard behind.

"What in the name of all that's candy-coated was that?!" Pinkie burst out once they were well down the path back to Ponyville.

Rarity sighed. "I wanted to tell her... but if I were brave enough to say it outright, I wouldn't have written--" She glanced around, double-checking that there was nopony within earshot. Still, no sense in taking chances. "...written you-know-what in the first place."

Pinkie shook her head so ferociously that Rarity began to worry about her neck. "No no no, not that! I thought you were going to tell you-know-who about you-know-what, but then you just about told her to go to you-know-where instead, and I don't know why!"

Guilt sunk its fangs into Rarity's heart, but she struggled not to let it show beyond a small frown. "I'm... not sure myself. I was just so angry with her! And when she started crying, I... some part of me... liked it." She shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure that I should go through with it, now. I don't think I like who I'm becoming."

Pinkie stopped and put her hooves on Rarity's shoulders, staring seriously into her eyes. "Forget 'should'. Do you want to verb you-know-who's adjective noun?"

Rarity sighed and nodded. "Of course I do."

"Then stop verbing around the noun, get your noun on straight, and expletiving verb her!"

The unicorn giggled faintly. "You make it sound so simple."

"It is simple!" Pinkie grinned. "Is there anything I can do to verb?"

Rarity tapped her chin. "Actually, there is..."

Dear Fluttershy,

I cannot express how my heart sang when I saw you wearing my ribbon today. I had thought you uninterested for any of a myriad of reasons, but I see now my mistake in taking your silence for an answer. You have my apologies; it shall not happen henceforth. As you can see, I am yet a student of love, and not its master.

If you truly wish to meet me, I shall await you this evening at sunset within the party room at Sugar Cube Corner. I would prefer that we meet privately, for reasons that will become clear. And should circumstances beyond your control prevent you from attending, simply tie the ribbon to your mailbox flag and I shall reschedule.

Hoping to sign as such for the last time,
Your Secret Admirer

Ponyville's resident fashionista hadn't been as careful with her writing as she had been in the previous letters. Soon, it wouldn't matter. She had barely waited long enough for Fluttershy to be seen wearing the ribbon about town before she wrote. After so much tension and heartache, the finish line was finally in sight.

Still, it wouldn't do to be caught now. So Rarity sat outside Sugar Cube Corner, sipping on a mug of coffee gone cold and scanning the skyline and streets for the first sign of Fluttershy leaving her house.

That chilly, bitter voice was still there; the part of her that wanted to see Fluttershy share some of the pain that Rarity herself had suffered. Some of the names she had called herself in the depths of self-loathing came crawling back out of the shadows of her heart, wedging their claws into cracks not yet healed.

The aftertaste of hurtful words blessedly unsaid lingered on her tongue. It was... distressing to see her own darker impulses laid bare like that. Even the depths of her prurient imaginings were, at their core, based on love. To think that it could so quickly turn to hate... only now, at the end of things, did she realize what a dangerous game she was playing. And not with just two hearts, but six. Dangerous, yet offering such rewards! Perhaps the die was cast in ignorance, but for those stakes... she would willingly do so again.

But have I the right to risk harming everypony for my own gain? she thought, pausing to swirl her coffee and stare meditatively into the mug. And yet, the heart will do as it will, as I've recently learned.

She raised her eyes again, and her gloomy ruminations were cut short by the appearance of a yellow speck over the rooftops. Rarity stood at once, abandoning her cold coffee as she set off along a circuitous route toward the little cottage just outside the Everfree. She first looped toward her own home, only cutting back to the south once she saw Fluttershy descend into Ponyville. Rarity could barely make out the tiny thread of crimson flowing among the pink of her mane.

It was a brief enough trip. Rarity pulled the folded note from under her sun hat and poked it into the mailbox, waving cheerfully to a few bunnies as she departed. Well, in a few short hours, my life may be changed forevermore. That thought made her knees wobble and her stomach clench uncomfortably, but her heart sang nonetheless as she returned to her boutique at a restrained glide.

Rarity seated herself at her workbench, but she found herself staring at the clock more than planning her fall line. After she parted company with Pinkie the previous evening, the inspiration had flowed like a river undammed; the outfits would feature calm, dark neutrals accented by energetic slashes of vibrant color, like flowers blooming amid the browning grass and slumbering trees. The designs would suggest the world holding on to the brilliance of summer for a little longer before submitting to the sterile beauty of the cold months.

She was watching the clock again. So much time, and so little to do! Well, aside from work, but for all her fresh inspiration, what was once her greatest joy now seemed a mere sideline to the day's main event. The week's? Perhaps the single greatest moment in her entire life! Vague daydreams of endless summers with her four best friends and one incomparable more-than-friend carried her gently away from her shop and above the clouds.

The jingle of her door bell brought Rarity back to Earth, back to her shop and an idle doodle of a pegasus wedding dress. She hurriedly crumpled the latter and rushed for the door, where she slid to a halt almost nose-to-nose with Fluttershy.

Rarity felt a flash of annoyance that she hadn't crashed into an accidental kiss with the pegasus, but it evaporated when Fluttershy scooped her up in a hug that suspended the unicorn a few inches off the floor. Fluttershy looked years younger with her mane pulled back in that ponytail. That wasn't to say she looked old in her usual style, not by any means, but her bright eyes and cheek-straining grin burst with the joyful energy of youth where her usual demeanor conveyed a more staid, matronly air.

"Oh, Rarity, it's so wonderful!" Fluttershy put her back down before she could object (or fail to), then flourished the note with a giddy giggle. "Everything's all right! She wants to meet! Tonight!"

"That's fantastic, darling!" Rarity replied while she scanned the hooffull of lines for Fluttershy's benefit.

"I already told everypony else," the pegasus continued breathlessly. "Um, not that you're not important, but I saw Applejack in the orchard, then Rainbow Dash was practicing nearby, and I thought I should go to Sugar Cube Corner next so I wouldn't have to fly across town twice--"

Rarity forestalled her apology with a hoof. "I understand, Fluttershy. In fact, it works out nicely for us that you don't need to go tell anypony else."

"It does? Why?"

Rarity grinned and gave Fluttershy and impulsive hug of her own. "I'd say this calls for an extra-special spa day, wouldn't you? You simply must look your best tonight!"

Fluttershy let out a joyful squeal, then covered her mouth with both hooves. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm just so excited!"

Me too, darling. Me too. "Think nothing of it. Shall we?" She gestured grandly toward the door. "After you!"

Nervous giggles preceeded Rarity down the stairs.

Fluttershy floated along the route to the day spa with more joie de vivre than Rarity had seen her display in a long time. Rarity almost felt as though she could join the pegasus in flitting above the heads of the throng; the long wait was almost over, the fruition of her grand plan almost at hoof!

The door chime of the spa jingled, and the twins' helpful smiles turned to confusion as their customers trotted in. "Mees Rarity! And... Mees Flootershy?" Lotus Blossom did a double take at Fluttershy's new mane style, but recovered her grin before her sister. "We deedn't expect you for hours! The usual?"

"Not today, girls!" Rarity announced. "Give us... The Works!"

The spa ponies' faces lit up, and Aloe shot off into the back while Lotus Blossom helped the two mares into their robes. "Thees is most exciteeng!" the spa pony gushed. "Oh, but I moost ask, you do not have any heart condeetions?"

"What?!" Fluttershy squeaked.

"We don't," Rarity assured her.

"Excellent! Thees way, please!" Lotus said with a smile.

"H-Heart conditions?" Fluttershy whispered.

Lotus didn't seem to hear as she opened the door to the sauna for them. "Well, you don't," Rarity said, trotting briskly past Aloe to prevent too much heat from escaping the small room.

The unicorn hopped lightly onto one of the warm wooden benches with a sigh. It felt like ages since her last treatment! Of course, she was so stressed last time that it could hardly count. A glowing tingle of anticipation still filled her stomach, but it was quiescent for the moment. She slowly relaxed and smiled at Fluttershy. A warm, honest smile, not the mask of false happiness that Pinkie had so easily seen through.

"You seem a lot happier than you did yesterday," the pegasus said, echoing her thoughts.

Rarity nodded and rolled her shoulders as the heat began to soak into her. "I'm just delighted for you," she lied. And Celestia send that's the last lie I have to tell you. In a few hours, she would reveal herself, and then her relationship with Fluttershy would begin in earnest. Or Fluttershy would turn her down, but why should she? After all, if the pegasus wasn't opposed to mares in general, who better to take as a lover than her best friend? Rarity closed her eyes blissfully and exhaled stress and turmoil into the warm, wet air. There was nothing to do but relax until then.

The steady rustle of feathers from her bathing partner failed to fade after a few seconds, drawing Rarity's attention back to the pegasus. Fluttershy shifted and shuffled almost constantly, adjusting her wings, tugging at her robe, playing with the end of her mane. As Rarity watched, a grin broke across Fluttershy's face, her shoulders hunching as if she were suppressing a giggle.

"Darling?"

Fluttershy actually startled at the sound of her voice. "Oh... sorry," she said, falling still for a grand total of about three seconds. "What do you think she's like?" she asked suddenly.

"Who-- your admirer?" Rarity blinked, mind racing as she equivocated. "Well, there's not much to go on, I'm sure, but... I'd have to guess that she's well-read, judging from her letters..."

"I think so too," Fluttershy replied, nodding quickly. "I hope she doesn't mind that I'm not."

"I'm sure she won't. Hmm... Rather intelligent, I should think..."

The corner of Fluttershy's lips twitched downward. Rarity could almost see her picturing Twilight Sparkle.

"But clearly a romantic at heart," she added quickly. Fluttershy's smile reasserted itself. "She obviously adores you, but the circumspectness of the ribbon signal shows that she also doesn't wish to put you in a position where you would feel obliged to do anything you don't wish to."

"You make her sound so perfect," Fluttershy murmured, her tone turning wistful.

"Well..." Rarity hesitated, hurriedly sorting her own foibles into those she might be willing to own and those that would better go unmentioned until the mares had grown more intimate with one another. "She seems perhaps a bit less than totally confident, given her method of introduction..."

"That's true," the pegasus agreed with a soft giggle. "I guess she's as nervous as I am."

"Maybe even a bit intimidated by you."

"By me?" Fluttershy pressed a hoof to her chest, then waved it as if to ward off the possibility. "But I-- How-- Why would anypony--"

The answer welled up without need for a moment's thought. "Because you're alluring and elegant and ever so sweet, and still so frustratingly modest! You're a saint! How could anypony even dream of deserving all that?"

The pegasus stared at Rarity, then blushed as pink as her mane as she ducked her head in naked insecurity. Still, she couldn't hide the smile on her muzzle at the unicorn's enthusiastic response.

Rarity watched her for a few moments, her heart briefly pounding the way it had when she first realized her affection for Fluttershy. "I'm not surprised she's so nervous about telling you how she feels," she finished more gently. With a playful grin, she added, "It's only by your good graces that the rest of us have any stallions -- or mares -- to romance at all."

Fluttershy's expression of horrified denial lasted only until she registered Rarity's teasing expression. Then she gave Rarity a longsuffering smirk, mirth dancing in her eyes as she replied, "I think you might be exaggerating a teensy bit."

The unicorn gasped theatrically and pressed a hoof to her mouth. "Why, I'll have you know I've never exaggerated a single fact in my entire life!" She managed to hold a straight face for nearly three seconds before they both burst out in giggles. Even Lotus couldn't stop a sardonic snort from escaping.

Rarity settled in to bask in the heat and companionship, though she was careful to direct her gaze somewhere other than Fluttershy; it wouldn't do to get caught making eyes at her after that outburst. Soon, perhaps, but not quite yet. Her ear twitched toward each fidgety rustle from the pegasus, though. She quashed the impulse to reach out and hold Fluttershy and share in her excitement. It was uncomfortably close to other impulses which she had to keep restrained until that evening, at the very least.

There was a tap at the door, but Lotus Blossom didn't move to open it. "Ah, the lightneeng sand is ready!" she said. "You will be only our second custoomers to try it out!"

"Lightning sand?" Fluttershy asked cautiously.

"I've never heard of it," Rarity agreed.

"A new product from Kowrea," the spa pony explained, dropping her ladel in the water bucket. "It's a scrub made from granulated lightneeng clouds and pure quartz sand! It improves circulation, exfoliates, and rejuvenates your skin at the same time!"

"Oooh. That sounds delightful," Rarity cooed.

"I guess," Fluttershy said with less enthusiasm. "How do you grind up a cloud?"

Lotus shrugged as she opened the door. "I don't really know. Unicorn majeek?"

The mares entered a small room outfitted with two pony-sized trays full of gray and tan sand and helped them out of their robes for the treatment. "Please lay down here," Aloe said while Lotus slipped on some thin but tough-looking rubber-soled boots. Aloe already wore a set. Rarity stretched out eagerly on the sand, followed by her more hesitant friend. Her hooves, then limbs and belly tingled faintly wherever she put her weight. It wasn't unpleasant, just a prickly, ticklish sensation like way the bubbles in sarsparilla or champagne tickled one's nose.

A conversation passed between the spa twins in the space of a nod, and Aloe moved to Rarity's side while her lighter-hoofed sister stepped over to Fluttershy. Both scooped hooffuls of sand onto the withers of their respective clients. "This may teengle quite a beet," Lotus warned, and they began scrubbing with both hooves.

Fluttershy gasped and squeaked, and Rarity gritted her teeth as the tiny cloud fragments discharged their minuscule bolts of lightning into her back. She understood the need for the boots, now; each bolt by itself was hardly noticible, less, even, than the sensation of touching a door knob after scuffing one's hooves on carpet on a dry winter's day. Taken together, though, the crackling, stinging ripple under Aloe's hooves was like having a pincushion rolled heavily across her skin.

It was actually difficult to distinguish the zap of electricity from the abrasive rasp of the sand. Rarity almost called a halt as the hooves moved on down her back, positive that her poor, tender skin had been scraped red and raw by such treatment. She had to look her best by sunset, not struggling to recover from being sanded sore! She turned her head to complain, looked down at the offended patch of skin, and--

Nothing. Her coat was a bit mussed by the vigorous rubbing, but instead of an angry rash, the burning sensation had already faded to a faint pinkness no worse than the 'healthy glow' she displayed after a very hot bath.

"Ow! Stop! Please. Sorry," Fluttershy squeaked. "I'm sorry... but that really hurts!"

Lotus ceased at once. "I apologize," she said quickly. "I weell be more gentle."

Rarity nodded sympathetically. "Do try to endure, won't you?" she added. "Since it's for 'Her'..."

Fluttershy winced but nodded, braced herself, and murmured for Lotus to proceed.

Rarity tried her best to relax in spite of the painful zaps. After all, it wasn't much worse than a good scrub with a washcloth... made of burlap... and bees...

And then Aloe paused to scoop a fresh lump of sand onto her rump. It was bad enough that the spa pony was now scouring her flanks with scorpions that were on fire, but the worst part was the insidious trickle of grains past her dock and down between her haunches. There, the cloud fragments whispered across the most sensitive flesh on her body, tiny prickles of lightning tickling like the gentlest brush of a feather.

Rarity bit her lip, doing her best to endure the maddening tingle, though she could tell her face had already gone apple-red. Suddenly, Fluttershy sprung up from her own tray of sand, shooting nearly to the ceiling before she dropped back down. "Ohmygoodness!" she yelped as very expensive sand showered down around all four mares. "I don't think I want any more of that!"

Rarity was on her own hooves in a flash. "Yes, I think that should be quite enough!" she said quickly. Their eyes met, each catching the other's furious blush, and hurriedly looked away, blushes redoubling yet again. That definitely was not how she would have chosen to share such a moment for the first time!

Rarity and Fluttershy scrambled from the room together, trying not to look at one another, then paused as each, with much throat-clearing and hoof-tapping, attempted to negotiate a way to stand that allowed her to ignore the other mare until embarrassment faded without also exposing the... affected region... to her friend.

From behind them, Rarity overheard Aloe's perplexed comment to her sister. "How odd. Cup Cake seemed to like it so much..."

And that is far more than I ever wanted to know about Mrs. Cake! Rarity's ears flattened as she briefly considered attempting to drink enough to forget the past several minutes. Ugh... no, were she to surrender her inhibitions to that degree, she'd likely say or do something even more embarrassing. And in any case, she would never forgive herself for getting blackout-drunk before making a memory she would want to treasure for the rest of her life.

In the end, a cool mud mask seemed the best way to extinguish a fiery blush. Fluttershy, for once, didn't object to the full facial, complete with blessedly opaque slices of cucumber. Out came the files, though Rarity's horn only needed a bit of a touch-up, and once Aloe had finished with the fine-grit sandpaper and oiled polishing cloth, they proceeded without conversation to the Steedish massage.

Rarity filled the time by letting her mind wander through her perfect vision of the evening. When Rarity revealed herself, Fluttershy would naturally be overjoyed. They would kiss in the sunset and gaze into one another's eyes until the soft glow of the moon took over the sky. Then perhaps go out for a late meal together -- a proper date this time, not some farce manufactured by Rarity's imagination. Between the two of them, she had no doubt they would disappoint every last colt in town.

She would take it slowly, of course -- fantasies notwithstanding, a lady generally did not 'give it up', so to speak, on the first date. It would probably take quite some time for Fluttershy to warm up to the notion.

Of course, if one were strictly speaking of everything going perfectly, one might consider their friendly outings to be a sort of retroactive dating. Rarity certainly wouldn't object if their night didn't end until morning...

Darling, you are simply incorrigible, she told herself. No such thing is going to happen, so banish the very thought for tonight.

Unless Fluttershy brought it up, of course.

Incorrigible!

It wasn't until they were both immersed in hot mud that the unicorn broke the silence again. "Well, Fluttershy, what do you hope she's like?"

The pegasus didn't reply immediately. After several seconds of introspection, she finally said, "I don't know if I should say. I'm sure she'll be nice in her own way that I'd never, ever expect."

Rarity pouted, though of course Fluttershy couldn't see it. "Humor me, darling. What would your perfect mare be like?"

"I don't really have anything specific in mind..."

"Another pegasus?" Rarity pressed. "Earth pony? Unicorn?"

"I don't know," Fluttershy replied. "Anything is fine, as long as she doesn't mind living on the ground."

"Well, that's something," the unicorn said. "And looks? Any features you find particularly attractive?"

"Um... I don't know," Fluttershy repeated, this time in a faint, guarded way that gave Rarity the impression that something had indeed come to mind, but her friend would prefer not to discuss it aloud. "Um... blue eyes?"

Rarity let the weak suggestion pass without comment. She did, after all, qualify. "Beautiful and graceful?" she asked instead. "Or do you favor the rugged, outdoorsy sort? Or something else, perhaps?"

"Oh, well... I guess, um, the first one would be nice... but it's okay if she's not. I mean, there's nothing wrong with Applejack or Rain--" She stopped suddenly and rushed out, "Uh, I mean, just, you know, for example!"

Rarity waved her hoof dismissively. "Yes, yes, naturally. To each her own. After all, if anypony would be familiar with their particular merits, it would be me!" The fashionista chuckled. "And what about stylishness?"

"I guess? I'm sorry, I know that's your 'thing', but I really don't care how she dresses..."

Rarity nodded, frowning faintly to herself. "I suppose I could have guessed as much," she admitted. "Anything else?"

Slowly, as if owning up to some deep sin, Fluttershy said, "Well... I do hope... she likes animals."

"Understandable."

The pegasus gradually gained momentum as she spoke. "And I hope she's not too, um, rambunctious... and she likes to take walks in the woods... and she's kind, and gentle, and maybe sort of quiet..."

Rarity put her chin on a hoof, her lips quirking up as she asked, "So just like you, then?"

Fluttershy gasped, her voice becoming slightly muted as if she were covering her face. "Oh no, that's not what I meant! I just... oh... I told you I'm no good at this! Whatever she's like is just fine," she said firmly.

"Oh, but surely--" Rarity began.

"How would you feel," Fluttershy interrupted reproachfully, "if you went out with a stallion who was really hoping you were an athletic, blond earth pony?"

Rarity opened her mouth to snap back, but the reflex broke against the unassailable sense of Fluttershy's argument. She bit her lip, then replied in a chastened tone, "I see your point. I'm sorry."

One of the girls -- Lotus, Rarity thought -- cleared her throat. "If you are ready to wash off the mud, we have a shampoo and condeetioner ready that will make your coats seemply glow!"

Rarity caught Fluttershy's eye with a supportive smile as their cucumbers were removed, then each was escorted into a shower stall to clean up. Then she was blinded once more, clamping her eyes against the spray as the rich, heavy mix of volcanic ash and peat ran down the drain. This was probably her favorite part of the entire treatment, as the weight of the mud released from her coat to leave her feeling light and fresh. Aloe lathered her up with shampoo, rinsed her off a second time, then began rubbing in the vaunted conditioner.

Rarity cracked an eye against the shower-spray and levitated the bottle. It was called 'Lambent', apparently. "Triply-enchanted", the label announced, and then launched into the turgid sort of prose to which cosmetics advertisers were forever prone. In short, it was intended to literally make one's coat glow, or at least throw back slightly more light than it received. The difference would be indistinguishable under full sunlight, but she could easily see it lending a dreamlike quality beneath the stars or at a candlelit table.

Unfortunate, then, that it was expensive enough to make even Rarity balk. Perhaps just a tiny bottle for very special occasions, she thought. On the other hoof, it would be useful to work that sort of magic into a dress, as well. A mare like Twilight Sparkle might be able to reverse-engineer the spell involved, and Rarity was rather good at illusions herself, so it should be fairly simple to learn once they got the intensity right...

She giggled suddenly at the mental image of herself trotting around, glowing like a night-light from an over-application of the spell. Although... that, too, had possibilities if one thought outside the proverbial box... or between the proverbial sheets, as the case may be.

"Mees Rarity? Do I teeckle?" Aloe asked, her hooves pulling away.

Rarity giggled again and shook her head. "No, no, I just thought of something funny. Please, proceed." Aloe nodded and went back to massaging enchanted oils into Rarity's coat.

"There. Now it moost rest." Aloe rinsed off her hooves, then turned a grin on Rarity that was far more hopeful than the usual courtesy smile that any professional mare cultivated. "Mees Rarity, may I ask a question?"

Rarity stiffened imperceptibly, going on her guard, but nodded. "Certainly."

"Mees Flootershy is seeing somepony special tonight? A beeg date, poorhaps?"

Ah, there it is. The gossip mill begins to grind at last. "Not as such. At least, not yet. Merely meeting somepony face to face for the first time." She glanced back at the Earth pony, giving her a mischievous wink. "If anything comes of it, you shall certainly be among the first to know!"

"Thank you, Mees Rarity! Between us, I theenk it's just creeminool that she hasn't found somepony already."

Rarity nodded and smirked faintly. "Lucky for somepony, though."

"I hope so! Oh, but it's time to reense already."

Rarity obediently stepped back under the shower. Lucky. She was beginning to lose faith in luck, truth be told. Too many of the seemingly random events in her life looked, in retrospect, like the hoof of Destiny. She had first become aware of its tug when the shards of the Element of Generosity chose her. It was hard to look at her five new friends, each similarly chosen, and not suspect that this was something more than mere coincidence.

But she only truly began to question her life when she learned that her own cutie mark had appeared thanks to Rainbow Dash; not only had she been drawn from Ponyville to the middle of the Everfree Forest by Fate, but she had unknowingly felt its touch years before, as a mere foal.

The unicorn smiled to herself as she stepped out of the shower and Aloe twisted her mane and tail up in towels to dry. It was easy, then, to think that Fate was not yet done with her. Perhaps Blueblood's behavior was itself foreordained to ensure that she would spurn him. Perhaps, years from now, attraction that struck like a bolt from the blue would just as clearly mark the road toward a destiny yet inchoate!

As the earth pony helped her back into her beautiful gold-trimmed robe, Rarity pushed those thoughts to the back of her head. Fate hadn't granted her cutie mark without struggle, nor handed Nightmare Moon to them on a silver platter. Neither would she win Fluttershy without putting in the required effort. Still, it was a comforting thought.

Fluttershy and Lotus joined them just as Rarity was stepping down into a warm hoof soak. She watched the pegasus closely, trying to detect the subtle effects of the magical shampoo, but the brightness of the day spa made it impossible to tell any magical glow from simple cleanliness.

The pegasus gave Rarity a sunny smile as she stepped into the second hoof bath. "I'm so glad I'm supposed to meet her as sunset," she said, nearly boiling over with restrained enthusiasm. "I think that conditioner is really going to make a difference!"

"Would you like to come over and find a nice outfit when we're done here?" Rarity asked. "I have a blouse that will make your eyes just shine!"

Fluttershy considered it for a moment, but shook her head. "I think there's only one thing I need to wear," she grinned.

Oh well, less for me to take off later. Rarity quashed that thought before it went an inch farther, but she couldn't un-think it. "As you wish," she said instead. "Though I could give you a fresh ribbon, you know. I have some lovely red silk from Bom-Bay."

Fluttershy hook her head firmly. "I know it's a little beat-up, but I'll wear the ribbon She gave me. Appearance isn't everything."

What could she say to that? Rarity just nodded again and let it drop. She didn't need to help Fluttershy impress herself, after all. She could put up with a wrinkled ribbon. There would be plenty of time to dress up Fluttershy later!

Opportunities for conversation became limited after that as Aloe helped her out of the hoof bath and set about trimming and smoothing her hooves. There was little to be done, naturally, but the steady exchange of "put your weight on it," and "how does that feel?" occupied her attention. The spa pony gave each hoof a sea-salt scrub that was much more pleasant than the lightning sand, then stretched her out on a couch for a layer of hoof polish.

"Will you be needing a trim?" Aloe asked solicitously as she pulled the towels off of Rarity's mane and tail. "Poorhaps some highlights?"

The unicorn examined the tip of her mane critically, now hanging in loose curls rather than her usual wavelike spiral. "Mmm, just a trim," she decided. "It's only been a week, after all."

"Do you think I should get some highlights?" Fluttershy asked as Lotus painted her hooves in turn.

Rarity shook her head after only a moment's thought. "You look lovely as you are. I wouldn't mess with perfection, if I were you."

The yellow mare giggled happily and shook her tresses out into their usual style. "Perfection? Now I'm going to be afraid to do anything to get dirty between now and tonight. I think I'm starting to see why you hate dirt so much, Rarity!"

The snipping of scissors and rustle of brushes filled the room while their hooves dried. "At least you don't have to touch the ground if you don't want to. But yes... a simple puddle can undo so much hard work!" Rarity glanced to the other mare with a little smile that only they two, and perhaps Applejack, would understand. "But sometimes it's worth it."

Fluttershy looked away with her own private smile. "I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

"Likewise." Though you don't know the half of it. But you will... She suppressed a shiver of anticipation. This evening was going to be perfect!

Once their hoof polish was fully dry, Lotus and Aloe gave each mare a thorough curry and brushing, and then it was down to the last service -- makeup.

Rarity had very firm ideas about her own cosmetics, but Fluttershy usually went au naturel, which led to a certain amount of debate.

"I like the Hazel #4 eye shadow, don't you?" Rarity suggested.

"The Terra Cotta would help tie it to her mane," Lotus contradicted.

Aloe held the end of Fluttershy's mane up against her cheek. "You do not think Pink Rose?"

"It already hangs in her eyes, darling," Rarity replied. "The color should set them both off, I should think."

"But if we use the Las Pegas Soonset blush--"

"Doosn't that overwhelm?"

"Not weeth the Pink Rose!"

"But it will be sunset already, dear..."

Fluttershy's faint, "Whatever you think is fine," went totally unnoticed.

Rarity waited in the candlelit interior of Sugar Cube Corner as the sun kissed the horizon. The back room of the bakery was closed off for her sole use, and Pinkie had promised not to eavesdrop on words meant for one pony's ears alone. The light was just enough to set her coat aglow, but dim enough to soften any blemish into perfection. She felt a bit guilty about helping prepare Fluttershy -- like a groom peeking in on his bride before the wedding -- but it couldn't be helped. Everything was in readiness.

Perfect, except for the thoughts dashing around her head like a herd of cats chasing her stomach-full of butterflies. Butterflies, hah. How appropriate.

Her heart leapt into her throat as the latch rattled at last and the door slowly swung open. The sinking sun behind Fluttershy burnished the tips of her pink locks and turned her pastel coat a gorgeous shade of gold. She had never, never looked so lovely.

She stepped inside, breathing fast and shallow past an excited smile, nearly hyperventilating as she pushed the door closed and waited the moment for her eyes to adjust to candlelight. Then her expression collapsed.

"Rarity?" Fluttershy's voice was disappointed and exasperated. "What are you doing here? The letter said for me to meet her alone!"

Rarity paused for a beat, giving the pegasus a lopsided grin, then said, softly, "We are alone."

"What?" Fluttershy blinked, then her eyes bulged as the implication hit home. "What?!" she gasped again.

Rarity just nodded once with a small, chagrined smile, not quite meeting the other mare's eyes. "It's true. I wrote the notes. I sent you that tacky ribbon because you would guess I was involved if I used something nice." She raised her eyes to Fluttershy's and gave a tiny shrug. "I'm the mare who fell for you."

The yellow mare stared at her with an expression of shock and disbelief for the longest time, the corner of her mouth twitching as if about to reject the whole notion outright.

"It was you?" she whispered at last. "It was... you?" Rarity simply nodded. "Why? You, you sat beside me and comforted me when I thought I was being... stalked by some stranger! And you encouraged me after she--" She stopped, horror widening her eyes. "After you gave up... oh, no. I'm so sorry! I never meant to do that to you!" She started to retreat behind her mane, the cracking edge of a sob in her voice. "Oh, Rarity... all that time... I never meant to hurt you like that!"

Rarity touched her shoulder. "It's all right! It's all right now." The voice of bitterness was a satisfied purr in the back of her head. Magnanimously, Rarity admitted, "I was angry at first, but that was unfair of me. It was just a silly misunderstanding." The unicorn leaned forward, raising her arms to hold her love. "I forgive you."

There was a single instant of bliss as Rarity embraced the other mare, comforting her, all harm pardoned. The pain had all been worth it.

Then Fluttershy's wings moved, pushing Rarity's arms away from her body.

"Why?"

Fluttershy looked up at her, tear-streaked and pained, but also... disappointed?

"You were right there beside me the entire time. You watched me going crazy and you didn't say a word! I trusted you! I confided in you!" Her eyes begged for an explanation. "And you never said a word..."

"I thought you didn't want me because I'm a mare," Rarity replied, taken aback. "Yes, it hurt, but I was prepared to accept that. It wouldn't be your fault if your tastes didn't match my crush. I couldn't put that burden on you."

"Burden...? Did you ever think about me, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked, a hint of heat entering her voice. "You made me watch you fall apart, and every time I tried to help, you just pushed me away! I thought I'd done something wrong! Why couldn't you confide in me?" She tapped herself on the chest for emphasis, mascara beginning to trickle down her cheeks. "Don't you trust me?"

"That's not it at all!" Rarity gasped. "I didn't want to lose you. If I told you I loved you, and you weren't interested, wouldn't that just be too awkward? Would you be able to look at me the same way? I didn't want things between us to change like that--"

Fluttershy's spirit crumpled behind her eyes. "So you really don't trust me," she whispered.

Rarity's veins filled with something colder than ice. "I... I..." She shook her head violently, trying to deny the sense of Fluttershy's point. "No! That's not it at all! What I wrote was true... I was just afraid to just come out and say it. I thought... I thought this way, if you weren't interested, it wouldn't affect our friendship..."

"Oh, good job on that."

Rarity flinched as though from a physical blow. That was... almost certainly... the first time she had ever heard sarcasm from Fluttershy's mouth. Wasn't that line supposed to be 'you're not a bad pony, you just made some bad choices'?

Fresh tears followed old down Fluttershy's face. "I'm not just somepony you don't know! How can we be best friends if you won't tell me what's hurting you? Especially when it's me?" She sagged miserably, her wings drooping to touch the floor. "I wouldn't have minded if it was you," she murmured, half to herself. "How am I even supposed to trust you now, knowing you won't tell me what's really on your mind if you decide that 'poor little Fluttershy' can't handle it? Did you never think how it made me feel to see you in pain when you wouldn't let me help?"

Fluttershy paused, gulping a couple of deep breaths, but Rarity couldn't find any grade of 'I'm sorry' to fill the silence that would make it better. No, she hadn't considered Fluttershy's feelings. Not at all. She had been too focused on her own pain to acknowledge how if affected the ponies who mattered most to her.

"And yet... and yet every time I turned around, there you were again, trying to get me alone somewhere so we could talk. Or so I thought." She shook her head and stared as if she couldn't understand the mare before her eyes. "But you never intended to talk. Why, then? Did hanging around with me really help? Or did you just want to dress me up and stare at--" She stopped, eyes widening as her face went pale, then brilliant red. "Oh... no... tell me that's not--"

The guilty look on the unicorn's face was all the answer she needed.

"Oh, Rarity!" She hid her face behind her hooves, aghast. "How long-- no, I don't even want to know! Please say something that will make this better!"

Coward.

Liar.

Pervert.

Selfish.

Rarity damned herself with her silence.

Fluttershy backed up a pace, looking at Rarity as if she were suddenly a complete stranger. "I... I'd better go..."

Rarity threw herself on the floor at Fluttershy's hooves, and her heart cracked a little more as the pegasus stepped back again, staying out of hoof's reach. "Wait!" the unicorn cried, pressing her hooves together in front of her. "Please. Don't go. I... you're right. I have done you a terrible wrong, and I don't know how to make up for that. But please don't leave it like this! I know I haven't acted like much of a friend to you, but I beg you... don't..." her voice fell to a pitiful whisper. "Don't leave me..."

"I think you'd better go think very hard about what you've done." Fluttershy's voice nearly cracked, an ocean's depth of friendship -- of love -- warring with a continent-load of betrayal and disgust. "And I'd better go think very hard about who I call my friends."

"I'm sorry..." Rarity whimpered from the floor.

"Good," Fluttershy choked out.

The pegasus opened the door just as the last sliver of sun vanished below the horizon. She took off without a backward look, catching a few more rays of sunlight as she ascended, and then she was gone. The unicorn sat staring through the doorway long after she vanished.

I lost...

They all lost.

Rarity had heard of feeling numb in the wake of a disaster, but it wasn't the comforting sensation she had imagined. There was too much sorrow to feel. She couldn't let herself feel it. She had to look away, pretend it wasn't there. She couldn't allow herself to feel anything at all.

Tentatively, the door behind her opened. "Did she... go?" Pinkie asked, her voice terribly soft and pitying. "I saw her... fly away..."

Rarity pushed herself to her hooves without looking back and started for the door herself, murmuring, "I'd rather be alone right now..."

...so she could crawl into a miserable hole and never come out again.

To be concluded...