Bending The Rules

“Do you wanna shower first?”

Sunset’s voice suddenly yanked Twilight out of her thoughts and back to the present. There she was, standing next to the open bathroom door and holding out the spare bathrobe, completely unaware of Twilight’s introspection.

“Uh… yeah.” Twilight nodded, unsteadily. “Yeah, I’d like to.”

She took the bathrobe out of Sunset’s hands and entered the bathroom, turning briefly to smile at Sunset before closing the door and locking it behind her. Hanging the bathrobe on a clothes hook, she began to undress with some difficulty – even after several visits to the human world, it still felt awkward trying to get her clothes off using her hands.

Once her blouse and skirt were folded neatly next to her boots, she struggled to undo the back clasp on her bra; ever since Sunset had taught her how to unhook it from behind, Twilight was determined to practice getting it off “the right way”.

She spent several minutes attempting to bend her inflexible arms farther backwards than she ever had to with her forelegs, frantically grasping at the clasp and fiddling with the hooks.

Why do humans insist on wearing these unnecessary undergarments? Ugh!

She paused when she caught sight of her reflection, arms ridiculously entangled with her bra straps, the clasp still yet to be undone.

Twilight sighed. Giving up, she slipped off the straps and rotated the clasp to the front, feeling like a cheater.

It’s only comfortable for me to do it this way because my boobs are so small.

The image of Sunset’s lush, full breasts, straining against her tight teal dress, bounced instantly into Twilight’s head. The thought made her smile until she noticed how goofy she looked.

She took off the bra and slid her panties down until they dropped to the floor. Picking up the worn shower head, she turned on the taps of the antiquated plumbing and adjusted them until the water was no longer searing hot. Replacing the shower head on its socket, she stepped into the tub, leaving the shower curtain open.

Twilight stood under the spray, letting streams of warm water wash across her face and run down her chest and back. The aches and stresses of the day gradually melted away into the water; she could feel the knots in her shoulders and back relax from her long day out, even though most of it had been spent in the relative comfort of the mall.

She turned to the mirror opposite the tub, taking a long moment to consider herself. Her human reflection always fascinated her. It was an alien body, so different and strange and yet somehow so exotically seductive; the different curves, the long, slender limbs and the oh-so-dexterous fingers… but she caught herself before she could continue her narcissistic reverie.

Is it weird that I find my own body so attractive?

She glanced down at her groin. She had shaven it to a bare smoothness after an embarrassed consultation with Rarity about human grooming, but refrained from the suggested full waxing, which sounded downright painful.

I wonder how Sunset does her pub…

Twilight furrowed her brow.

I’ve never seen Sunset naked.

Wait, that’s not true. She’s always naked as a pony. I’ve even caught sight of her nethers a few times when she accidentally flicked or lifted her tail.

A light warmth crept onto her cheeks. She dwelled for a moment on some of her fantasies involving Sunset’s privates.

But I’ve never seen her naked as a human. Not even her boobs. Why not? It’s not as if we have any hangups about nudity.

The answer was rather obvious.

Humans associate nudity with sex.

She thought back to the argument they had weeks ago.

When will I be ready to have sex with Sunset Shimmer?

It was a question that she had no idea how to answer. She had of course done her research, both at home and in the human world. But the so-called “experts” had no discernible consensus at all. Several magazines suggested the third or fourth date, which seemed frighteningly early. A lot of older texts on the matter were very insistent on waiting exclusively for marriage, but Twilight felt very certain that it was no longer a widely-held contemporary view. The only advice that all of her sources had generally agreed on was that she shouldn’t have sex until she was absolutely ready, but that was so frustratingly imprecise!

It didn’t help that her body was in constant conflict with her mind. Every time they made out, Twilight had to fight her own instincts to simply let Sunset go as far as she wanted.

And Twilight was well aware that Sunset wanted to go all the way.

We’re both girls… there’re no technicalities about penetration or bridleball metaphors that we can hide behind. If we do anything that involves directly touching each other’s nethers and an orgasm… that’s it. We’ll both no longer be virgins.

She didn’t understand why Sunset was so keen to lose her virginity. While Twilight didn’t exactly have any silly notions about purity or innocence, it was very clear to her that it was a decision that couldn’t be retracted. You couldn’t take back your virginity once you lost it. And most importantly you could never give it away ever again.

Is that all I think of about my virginity? A gift?

And it wasn’t as if she didn’t feel at ease with Sunset. Twilight was more than satisfied – enthusiastic, even, about the physical aspects of their relationship. A part of her wanted so much to surrender herself completely and utterly to Sunset, to let her take everything that Twilight had and was.

A brief fantasy of being entwined with Sunset’s body in orgiastic bliss entered her thoughts, making her nethers unconsciously twitch.

It’s just this one step that I am shying away from… am I being fair to Sunset? I want to be a good girlfriend. Isn’t pleasing my partner a part of that?

She couldn’t answer that either. It was a small step that really meant nothing, and yet a huge leap that meant everything.

***

Twilight turned off the shower.

She quickly checked to make sure that all the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, facial scrub and body wash were properly closed, and then thoroughly toweled herself down before reaching for the bathrobe.

…

A thought suddenly entered her mind.

Her hand paused, hovering over the garment. She turned the idea over and over in her head; it was gradually appealing more and more to her.

It's a pretty good litmus test for our physical relationship.

Twilight put on the bathrobe and tied the belt around her waist, still lost in thought as she picked up the towel again and started drying her hair. Absent-mindedly, she opened the bathroom door and stepped into Sunset Shimmer’s bedroom.

Sunset was sitting on the bed, reading off her smartphone. She looked up as Twilight emerged, and got to her feet.

“I’ll get you some PJs—” she said casually, turning towards a large armoire.

“Actually…”

Twilight stopped drying her hair for the moment, lowering the towel. Her damp hair hung messily around her shoulders.

“I was wondering if we could do without.”

Sunset’s eyes instantly widened, and an excited smile broke across her face. “You mean…”

Twilight quickly realized what her suggestion might have implied. “N-no! I mean… look, we don’t normally wear clothes back home, right? So I was just thinking that we could sleep together… y’know. Naked. Wait, no! I meant sleep in the literal sense, not the euphemistic one!”

Sunset’s momentary flash of disappointment gave way to a smirk of amusement at Twilight’s fluster. She let out a tiny chuckle.

Twilight sighed, closing her eyes to calm herself from her gaffe and think about how she wanted to properly express herself.

“What I mean is that I want us to try being naked together, as humans, cuddling the way… the way we always do while we sleep.” She opened her eyes and rubbed her own shoulder somewhat self-consciously. “I want us to be closer than we’ve ever been before tonight, Sunset. I want to feel your skin against mine, without clothes or even our coats between us when we hold each other.”

Sunset was quiet for a few seconds, but eventually started nodding, an eager grin spreading across her face.

“Okay. I’ll… I’ll go shower first.”

Twilight nodded back. She sat down on the bed and continued drying her hair, smiling coyly.

Grinning like a loon, Sunset stumbled backwards in the direction of the bathroom, accidentally stepping into the laundry basket right outside it. She shook it off, completely oblivious to its contents spilling onto the floor. When she finally made it to her destination she stood blankly in the doorframe, still smiling goofily, as if reluctant to take her eyes off her girlfriend. It took her a few moments to finally remember to close the door.

Seconds later, she opened it again and grabbed her bathrobe from the table, blushing lightly. She retreated back into the bathroom, but hesitated when she put her hand on the knob.

“How uh… how do you want to do this? Should I come out of the bathroom nude, or do you want me to… n-no, that’s stupid. I’ll just come out in the bathrobe like you did.”

She quickly shut the door.

Twilight giggled. A warm rush of flattered elation spread through her chest as she thought about how she could have such an effect on her girlfriend, especially since it was so rare to see Sunset make a fool of herself that way.

She happily flopped onto the mattress, sighing contently at its luxuriant softness.

The bed was a bit of an anomaly in the room. Sunset had bought most of the furniture from garage sales and thrift stores, and the bedframe was a perfect example of her efforts to efficiently decorate her home on a slender budget. It was a beautifully salvaged queen-sized oak piece that Sunset had procured at a bargain price from an estate sale.

However, it was only a couple months ago, when Twilight first began staying over, that she discovered just exactly how unpleasant the mattress was. Apparently, it was where Sunset’s luck with bargains had failed; citing concerns about hygiene and bedbugs, she had opted for a new but very cheap foam mattress that had quickly stiffened.

Twilight had immediately decided that if they were going to snuggle in a bed, it would be a comfortable one. The very next day, Sunset discovered that Twilight had squeezed a brand new top-quality spring mattress from Quills and Sofas – and apparently, beds also – through the portal, not having considered that once it was in the human world she would need help to move it without her magic. Sunset had to ask for assistance from Applejack and Rainbow Dash to transport it all the way to her home, enduring a constant barrage of knowing winks and snide comments from the two all the way.

But it was all worth it, because now the two of them could snuggle on the opulence of a lovingly hoof-crafted mattress made by a unicorn artisan whose particular special talent was springs.

It was fit for a princess.

Twilight ran her hand over the plush lining.

On the night that we finally make love, it will probably be on this very bed…

She groaned faintly.

If I don’t control myself, that might end up being tonight.

The realization immediately started giving her second thoughts.

There won’t be anything stopping Sunset from touching me where she shouldn’t.

It might even start with just a little hugging and kissing… but then our naked bodies would be pressed together, and our hands will wander, and start going lower and… oh gosh.

She remembered the feeling of Sunset’s tongue on her nipple. It made her tremble, partly in excitement and partly in worry.

Am I okay with that? Am I going to allow her to take my blouse and bra off and suck on my teats every time we make out from now on?

She groaned again.

If I do, we’ll probably end up having sex a lot sooner. Argh… I want to trust Sunset not to get carried away, but this is the one thing that I know she really, really can’t be trusted with!

But Twilight immediately realized why, making her sigh guiltily.

I can’t even trust myself around her. Stupid hormones…

She frowned in thought.

I wonder if I could develop some kind of serum that would suppress the effects of my body’s hormonal impulses on my clarity of thought?

No, that’s silly. That’d probably be unhealthy, not to mention potentially dangerous. And somewhat impractical. And also maybe just a tiny bit of an overreaction to worrying about getting carried away when making out.

Twilight wriggled on the bed, burying her face in the pillow. It smelled heavily of Sunset, especially when accompanied by the familiar scent of honey and grapefruit and just the tiniest hint of rose — Sunset’s favorite shampoo that Twilight had just used.

It brought to mind the memory of Sunset holding her in that very bed; her warm, firm embrace that admittedly sometimes got just a little too handsy. But even though Sunset’s friskiness often irritated Twilight, her loving cuddles always made her feel warm and, despite everything, safe.

She inhaled deeply into the pillow. Her misgivings about getting carried away slowly eased.

Would it really be so bad even if we did?