Heated

With a cover story in mind, everything accomplished for the first bit of the start of their day, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy made their way to the castle ballroom together.

Before leaving Fluttershy's suite, the two Pegasi had taken a bath together. It started off sensual, but very soft and sweet. They washed each other's bodies, to which Fluttershy also massaged Rainbow Dash's tense muscles, proving her talent for massaging, which she was going to keep in mind for the future. After, they washed each other's manes and tails, with the help of the shower to rinse off. Before they even knew it, they soon gone in for round two in the bathtub.

After their bath, they tried each other off, and then brushed each other's coats, manes, and tails. Even though Rainbow Dash didn't quite groom herself unless she needed to or was overdue, she couldn't help but enjoy having Fluttershy there to do that with her. She really was the only pony she would ever get this vulnerable with. Having Fluttershy wash, dry her, then brush her, was heavenly. Anypony else wouldn't have had this effect on her.

Once finished, they came out of the bathroom and were ready to face the day. Yes, they had little inklings of temptation the moment their eyes set upon the bed, but resolved to give it a rest for now. Rainbow Dash even nuzzled her and promised she'd come back that evening, if Fluttershy wanted, which she did.

All cleaned up, current temptation out of their systems for the most part, they were ready to get started.

“So there you two are!” Twilight exclaimed, smiling as the two Pegasi came into the ballroom. “We were beginning to think you wouldn't show up!”

“Y'all feelin' okay, sugarcube?” Applejack questioned Fluttershy with concern. “Ah could see how much last night kinda hurt ya there.”

“Oh, I'm all right now, Applejack,” Fluttershy assured her friend, smiling. “I feel much better.”

“Good ta hear, Fluttershy! Ah gotta say, ya look real nice this mornin'!” Applejack complimented.

Fluttershy blinked. What did she mean by that? “Oh...thank you.”

“I must agree, darling!” Rarity came trotting over to her, looking over the creamy yellow Pegasus. “Why, Fluttershy, look at you! You're positively glowing! I don't think I have ever seen you in such a glow before! Whatever did you do to yourself? Is it new makeup?”

“Um...oh...i-it's nothing...” Fluttershy blushed, looking away.

“Well, whatever you must be doing, I have to insist that you keep it up! You look absolutely radiant, darling!” Rarity praised, looking her over once more. “Now come, we have some work to do!”

“Oh, of course...” Fluttershy nodded, trailing after the Unicorn. 'Oh, I will keep it up...you have no idea.'

She had wanted to confide in somepony about the night before and this very morning, but Fluttershy knew she couldn't. Both as a result of her own shyness, as well as fear for breaking their special secret. She wasn't ready to share just yet, if they ever even would. Even she had her own thoughts about it to sort out before she could truly even address it. They may have deserved to know, considering these were her closest friends, but she just wasn't comfortable with that.

“Speakin' o' glows, Ah gotta say, yer glowin' too, RD!” Applejack realized. “What are ya doin' to yerself, sugarcube?”

“I don't know what you mean...” Rainbow Dash said nervously, smiling. “I didn't even do anything! I just took a bath!”

Applejack looked her over, then whistled. “Weeeell doggie! Musta been some bath!”

'You have no idea...' Rainbow Dash thought, her grin becoming goofy.

“You sure are glowing, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie made herself known, grinning widely. “Look at you! You're all glowing and radiant, so healthy and happy! Wow! So tell me, Dashie, what's your secret?!”

Yelping, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Pinkie! I didn't do anything!”

Looking serious for once, Pinkie just stared at her. “Dashie, I'm not Applejack here, but I can tell you're lying. Now, come on! Tell me!”

“I-I can't! It's personal!” Rainbow Dash gulped. “Come on, Pinks...I just can't do that right now.”

Sighing, Pinkie Pie shook her head, staring at her with a deadpan expression. But then, she smiled brightly and nodded rapidly. “Okey-dokey-lokey! Just promise you'll tell me sometime! I want to know!”

“All right, all right! I'll tell you sometime if I have it more figured out, okay?”

“Pinkie Promise?”

“Fine. Yes, I Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Pinkie Pie giggled, satisfied with her answer before she bounced off. Rainbow Dash sighed in relief, before she then joined Applejack to help her out with some of the grunt work they had to do.

As much as she wanted to shout from the rooftops about the amazing wonders she shared with Fluttershy the night before and this morning, she just couldn't. It was their own special secret, and she wasn't ready to let anypony in on it yet. After all, it wasn't crucial that their friends knew, it was none of their business. She didn't like keep secrets from her own friends, but sometimes, there were just some things you didn't openly share.

'No. Fluttershy and me having sex belongs to the Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy Club. No members except her and me. They don't need to know about it just because we decided to do this kind of thing together.'

'What happened between Rainbow Dash and I is our business, not anypony else's. Just because we decided to have sex and become friends with benefits does not mean that they need to know.'

“Rainbow Dash?”

“I didn't do anything!!” Yelping and jumping in surprise, Rainbow Dash turned around in surprise. She had been replacing a broken window, then had been staring outside at the garden for about five minutes before she was interrupted.

Princess Celestia looked a little surprised at her reaction, but then smiled. “I'm sorry. Did I startle you?”

“...Just a little,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “I wasn't slacking off! I was just making sure the window was-”

Smiling in understanding, Celestia held up a hoof to silence her. “That's quite all right, Rainbow Dash. I merely wanted to speak with you for a moment.”

“Um....yeah? Okay, why?” Rainbow Dash gulped a bit.

“Well, after you all had left last night, and I then joined you all at the donut shop, I had just about forgotten something. I do apologize for that, of course,” Celestia then produced something she had on her person. “You see, Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts were wondering where you were, and if you were all right. They then asked me to give you two VIP passes to their next show, and would love to meet with you backstage. They want to apologize personally for not having had as much time for you as I'm sure they would have hoped.”

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as she took the two tickets in her hoof. “No....WAY! They did?! I can?! I am?! I will?! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! YES!!! YES!!! This is so AWESOME!!! Wow!! Thanks, Princess!!! Thank you!”

Celestia laughed, smiling warmly. “You're very welcome, Rainbow Dash. I'm glad that things will work out just fine for you. However, there is no need to thank me. I am just the messenger. But, you will be able to thank Spitfire herself properly when you attend the show.”

“WOW! Awesome! Thanks anyway!! It's still awesome of you to help!” Rainbow Dash squealed in excitement, flying around. “Yahoo! I'm off to see the Wonderbolts again! YEAH!!”

Twilight giggled as she strode up to her mentor, smiling. “I should've known that would make her day, Princess.”

“Indeed,” Celestia agreed, looking down at her student. “I only hope she knows that she does deserve it.”

“Me too,” Twilight nodded, sitting down next to her. “I know what happened last night was a doozy, especially since Rainbow did accidentally knock those pillars down...I'm just glad you all know she was only trying to help.”

Celestia smiled, looking toward the excited Pegasus she was was now flying over to Fluttershy, eagerly pouring out the good news. Then Rainbow Dash hugged her tightly, flying her around the room. “That, I knew from the start. And as I said, nopony was hurt. It may have taken some time to fix this, and still is taking time, but at least there was good of it.”

The lavender Unicorn glanced over at her two friends, giggling before she looked back up at her mentor. “You know, you're right. We did manage to leave some stories they can tell.”

“Oh...” Celestia giggled at that. “I have never thought of it that way. Tell me, Twilight, as last night I had wanted you to have fun, I will now ask. Have you learned anything from this?”

Thinking for a moment, it wasn't long before Twilight smiled happily. “Actually, I did. I learned that sometimes, when you expect too much from something, you can end up very disappointed if things don't go too well. And that even if you have your own agenda, you should always still make time for your friends and have fun together.”

“Hmm,” the Princess of the Sun smiled warmly as she nodded. “You're absolutely right, Twilight. A very important lesson learned. I certainly have learned something, as well.”

“Really? Well, you never stop learning things, no matter how long you've been around!” Twilight grinned. “What did you learn?”

“Well,” Celestia looked amidst the guards, workers, the rest of Elements of Harmony, and the room itself for a moment, then back to her student. “I learned that sometimes, you may have the best intentions in mind when it comes to certain things you hope will happen. But at times, there may come an unexpected turn, and will have to be dealt with, especially if it became a bit too much of what you hoped for. However, the best you can do is to step down, and make sure that you do all you can to make things work out, even if things didn't go as planned,” she paused for a moment, and then smiled. “I'm sure you remember, as I told you, that I never intended for such a mess to happen when upon hoping you and your friends could liven things up.”

Letting this sink in, Twilight smiled widely. “You're right. Princess. And you know, it's always a great thing to take responsibility for our mistakes and our actions.”

Celestia smiled, nodding once more with agreement before she gazed around the room once more. She glanced to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who were involved in conversation before they parted ways, both of them blushing, but smiling. She smiled as well, glad to see that they were in good spirits.

“It seems that the Elements of Kindness and Loyalty have grown closer since last night's events,” she remarked.

“Yeah, looks like it!” Twilight agreed, looking amused. “It's funny, they've been friends since fillyhood, and sometimes....well, Rainbow isn't all that patient with Fluttershy. But lately, they've just been in better spirits with each other. I don't know what it is or how it started, but I remember some time ago, when we were all talking about the times we got our cutie marks. They were actually smiling at each other a lot and were getting pretty close since then sometimes. I could be wrong, but I think that day, their friendship got a lot better.”

“Ah,” Celestia nodded, smiling. “It can happen, of course. Sometimes you can be friends with somepony for a long time, and there may come some drifting periods. But then it isn't long before something can surprise them both, and bring them closer together than ever before.”

Twilight thought about that for moment, and could see that it did indeed make sense, especially when it came to her two Pegasi friends. There had been tough times, that much she had observed, but lately, and especially right now, they were nothing but good friends again. She was glad to see that. After all, it wasn't just about her making friends with them. It was about all of them connecting together as friends, as well.

“That's true, Princess. Besides...I know Rainbow cares about Fluttershy a lot, even if she might not admit it as easily as someponies can.”

Later on, around the early hours of the afternoon, the six ponies went for lunch in the dining hall. Rarity was all too happy to dine in royal delicacies, whilst the rest of them went for simple meals. By then, their progress of helping along with the progress of fixing the ballroom was much further along, especially since Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy joined in the fray. All they had left to do were to tie a few loose ends, and then would be done.

Pinkie Pie was then appointed to throw an elegant party, with input from Rarity, final organization from Twilight, as a way to make things up to everypony who had attended the ruined Grand Galloping Gala. The party pony was of course more than glad to put her party organizing skills to a fancier level she hadn't tried before. Aside maybe, from Rarity's birthday parties. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were to help along with some bits and pieces in getting the party together and ready in time for that evening.

Then of course, to disappear, since it was their promise that they would let everypony attend and enjoy the party without them there. It may have seemed like a downer, not being allowed to partake in a party they put together themselves, but they felt it was perfectly fair. Hopefully, it would put the attendees from the night before in better spirits. Much to Rarity's dismay, however.

“My sister Bellamina lives in Hoofington, and sometimes she has to perform at some fancy soirees!” Pinkie Pie rattled on. “And you all know my cousin Octavia, she was playing last night, I think I can get some advice from her, too!”

“Now now darling, you must slow down! Part of planning a more...classy party takes much time and effort, as well as delicacy,” Rarity affectionately chided the excited Earth pony. “Though we can certainly seek some advice from your cousin, as she performs at high society parties!”

“Don't worry, Rarity, I think Pinkie knows what she's doing,” Twilight giggled. “But that's why you're here, too, you certainly know a thing or two about fancier parties.”

“Ah'll say,” Applejack rolled her eyes a bit. “Them hoity-toity fancy pants parties...”

“Now, Applejack, I'm sure you've seen last night that it never hurts to have class,” Rarity said haughtily.

“Ah could see nopony wanted to partake in mah perfectly good food,” Applejack grumbled.

Rarity blinked, and then reached over to pat her friend on the shoulder. “Well, to that, I must wonder if they have any taste at all when it comes to finely prepared apple goods. I for one believe them to have been lovely!”

“Aw shucks, thanks,” Applejack smiled, looking flattered.

“I did manage to taste some of that cake when I fell into it!” Pinkie Pie told her, grinning. “It was delicious! Wish I could've had more!”

“Hey, at least Soarin' was cool enough to buy something from you!” Rainbow Dash put in, grinning. “He really enjoyed the pie! I had to save it for him since he accidentally dropped it, and after I did, he was so happy, he stuffed himself silly with it!”

Applejack laughed heartily, grinning. “Ah knew them Wonderbolts had ta have good taste! That's awesome ta hear! How 'bout you, Fluttershy? Did you try makin' peace with the animals?”

“I did,” Fluttershy smiled. “Princess Celestia soothed them last night, and earlier before we came here for lunch, I went outside to the garden to see them. She came with me, and told me about what happened. Then she even brought in Phillomeena! It turns out she was looking for me last night! I couldn't believe it! So, I spent some time out there, and I apologized to the animals profusely. Since then, they have all been so sweet and understanding, now I consider them my friends, just as they consider me a friend too. And since I'm...erm....well, a little more relaxed and less tense, they weren't as intimidated.”

“Awww, that's great it worked out for you too, Fluttershy!” Twilight smiled. “I'm glad you've managed to make peace with the animals.”

“Ah knew ya could do it!” Applejack chuckled. “Ah guess all ya needed was a boost an' a nudge!”

Fluttershy blushed, looking down at her plate shyly. “I...suppose....”

“Hey, guys!” Spike came wandering in, grinning. “Sorry I'm late, I had to see Princess Celestia about something!” He climbed onto one of the chairs, sitting on a booster that was placed on it. “I got great news! Since we're all pretty busy with stuff today, Princess Celestia said we could stay an extra night or two, so that we do some awesome things around Canterlot tomorrow!”

“How wonderful!” Rarity cheered with glee. “I for one insist we visit all the hot spots! We must go to the museums, the theatre, the-”

“Don't worry Rarity, we'll make sure to see everything!” Twilight cut her off, smiling. “It'll be fun!”

“Ah can't wait! Ah'm sure it'll be dandy!” Applejack enthused. “Ah'm sure even Ah can find somethin' suited fer me!”

“You guys can go ahead and do that, I'm gonna hang around, practice some tricks, you know. It feels like vacation!” Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair, bringing her hooves behind her head.

“And I'm sure much of your vacation will be spent taking a nap on clouds?” Twilight teased, giggling.

Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out. “Maybe I will! I missed nap time yesterday, so I gotta make up for it while I'm here!”

“Oh dear...” Fluttershy smiled behind her hoof. “Um...if it's all right with you guys...I think I'll join Rainbow tomorrow. You know...so she'll have some company.”

“All right!” Rainbow Dash grinned widely, winking at her. “Sounds good to me!”

“Suit yourselves!” Spike said amiably. “I guess it leaves me to show you fine ladies around our hometown, Twilight!”

Finishing her food, Twilight nodded in agreement. “Wouldn't have it any other way, Spike!”

“YAY! I wanna see Canterlot too! All the fancy ponies, the pretty places, the shiny jewels!” Pinkie Pie bounced in her seat before she then gobbled up her slice of cake in one gulp.

“Pinkie Pie, slow down and take small bites!” Rarity chided. “Your food isn't going anywhere!”

“Sure it is!” Pinkie Pie wiped her mouth with a napkin. “It's going in my tummy!”

Rarity looked dumbfounded for a moment before she shook her head. “Well...I suppose I can't argue with that.”

“Neither can Ah!” Applejack laughed. “Good one, Pinkie!”

“Thank you kindly!” Pinkie stood in her chair, bowed, then sat back down.

“Hey, waiter! I want some more!” Rainbow Dash held her plate out toward a waiter Unicorn.

“Rainbow...” Twilight frowned.

“Heh...sorry,” Rainbow Dash said sheepishly, then cleared her throat. “Waiter! I want some more, please!”

Twilight facehoofed, as did Rarity.

“What? I said please!”

Fluttershy collapsed on her bed, feeling pretty spent from the events of the day. After having eaten lunch, they had all gotten to work on planning and organizing the “fancy make up” party, which had taken all day to set up. Princess Celestia, however, pitched in every now and then when she took breaks from her usual duties, as well as supervising when needed.

Once it was close to sunset, that was when Princess Luna came in to join, having woken up from her daily sleep. Having been briefed of the plans, she participated in helping to add a little “nighttime glory” theme to the rest of the fancy pants setup they had going. She had left to raise the moon after Celestia set the sun, then returned just in time for the party to begin.

Once it began at seven-thirty, as planned, that was when the six ponies went their separate ways. Spike and Pinkie Pie went off to Donut Joe's shop to have hot chocolate and donuts, Applejack went to visit with her cousin who happened to live in Canterlot, Rarity went to Canterlot's luxurious spa with Twilight, and Rainbow Dash checked out the arena where the Wonderbolts often performed when they did shows in town. Fluttershy decided to head back to her suite to relax and read some books that she borrowed from the castle's library.

At least, that's what she planned to do until Rainbow Dash would show up, if she still wanted to.

Fluttershy smiled to herself, feeling pretty good about the day, none the less. The fact she had been in heat for the past couple of days didn't even affect her as much as she thought today. Especially considering the events of the night before and this morning. It really did come to do wonders, she realized. She had a pretty good day, managing to get through it just fine without the after-effects of being in heat. The animals were receptive, which relieved her, and she felt glad to have made peace with them. It was even wonderful seeing Philomeena again, which in itself was a lovely treat.

At the same time, she could feel the pangs of temptation whenever she and Rainbow Dash were within some feet of each other. Her eyes often wander to her, lingering upon her form, sometimes her flank, a little too often. She wondered if anypony noticed. If they did, they didn't say anything.

Exhaling again, Fluttershy settled happily in to the freshly cleaned sheets and blanket of her bed as the softness and warmth surrounded her. It even had the fresh scent of lavender and fresh morning air, probably from the detergent. Given that the sheets were at least a four-hundred or so thread count, they felt immensely wonderful on her coat. She couldn't wait to just get under the covers with a good book, up against the pillows, just in a relaxed little cove. Then when it was time to sleep, she wanted to curl up under the blankets, nuzzle into the pillows beneath her head, and just savour the sweet, warm cocoon of the bed.

Preferably, with Rainbow Dash asleep next to her, in each other's forelegs. The thought of that made her smile.

Making herself more comfortable, she took one of the books off the bedside table, and settled in to read for a while. Blood Moon, a story contained vampires, and surprisingly, with the romantic leads being two mares, one of them being the vampire protagonist. It was said to be a gripping romance drama, all the while facing up to a vengeful vampire. Fluttershy was excited to read it, even if supernatural dramas weren't always her thing.

When she was about twenty-four pages in, that was when she heard knocking on one of the doors to her suite.

“Hey Fluttershy, it's me! Can I come in?”

Fluttershy smiled brightly, bookmarking her page. “Yes, come in! The door's open.”

The door opened and Rainbow Dash came into the room, making sure to close the door behind her. She grinned widely upon seeing her, trotting toward the bed.

“So! Room for one more? Namely, somepony 20% cooler?”

Giggling, Fluttershy nodded as she placed her book on the bedside table, patting a spot beside her on the bed. Taking the invitation, Rainbow Dash flew up to the bed, landing beside her as she settled in.

“You decided to come after all,” Fluttershy nuzzled her friend gently.

“Of course! I was pretty much done with scoping out the arena, wanted to see if you were still up to me hanging around,” Rainbow Dash winked, nuzzling her back as she brought her foreleg around her.

“Absolutely,” Fluttershy giggled. “Well, how was your day?”

“Eh, crazy! I'm just glad it's over and we got that snooty party all organized! They better be grateful!”

“Well, I'm sure they are...”

“At least they better be, all right!” Rainbow Dash ruffled her mane then. “But now we can all have some fun on our vacation here, since everything's settled!”

Fluttershy smiled, snuggling against her. “You're absolutely right, it is kind of like we're on vacation here, and we can have some fun.”

“Told you!” Grinned the rainbow-maned Pegasus, holding her close. “So you really don't mind hanging around with me tomorrow? You really didn't have to, you know.”

“I know, but I wanted to. I mean, I do want to relax here, and do things at my leisure,” Fluttershy admitted. “I can watch you do tricks, we can take naps together on the clouds, and...well, if we want to go somewhere in town, we could if we wanted to. The day will be ours. If nothing else, at the end of the day, we can all have dinner together in the dining hall and then maybe all hang out together and play some games or something.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, kissing her on the forehead. “Heh, good point, Fluttershy! That's a great idea! All right, it's a deal!”

“Okay then,” Fluttershy smiled, and then snuggled closer, gently running a hoof along her best friend's tummy. “And....well, since we'll be alone...we can always slip back here to...you know...”

Laughing, Rainbow Dash smirked a bit, raising a brow as she went nose-to-nose with her. “Well...Fluttershy, are you suggesting what I think you are?”

“Yes...” Giggled Fluttershy as she winked playfully.

“Can't get enough of me, can you?” Rainbow Dash teased, but she was beginning to grin. “Not to say I'm disagreeing, of course! Don't see why not, we can come back here whenever we want to,” she winked as well. “I'm a naughty pony, Fluttershy...”

“I can be naughty, too...” Fluttershy mock-pouted. She then ran her hoof down a bit lower, disappearing under the sheets to Rainbow Dash's nether regions.

Breath hitching, that just did it for her. Rainbow Dash gave a predatory smirk before she then rolled over to lay over Fluttershy. She chuckled at her friend's surprised, wide-eyed gaze. “Well, my naughty pal, I hope you're ready to ride the rainbow...” Then she paused, looking off to the side thoughtfully. “...Well, that was lame.”

Fluttershy laughed, despite the mood killer, and brought her forelegs around Rainbow Dash's neck. “That's all right...you still tried...” She locked their lips in a hot kiss, bringing the other Pegasus down on top of her completely as she wrapped her hind legs around her. “Oh, Rainbow Dash...I've been waiting for this all day...please just take me...”

Licking her lips, the daredevil mare smirked yet again as she ground her hips against Fluttershy's, earning a gasp.

“I can say the same, Fluttershy, now you're all mine... Hope you're ready for round three.”

“Round three? Only three? Oh...it feels as if it had been going for ages...”

“Ha! Now that you mention it, it kinda does!”