Ribbons and Lace

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?