Exhibition Inhibition

Hot water ran down Rarity's body, soaking away aches and fatigue. She stood motionless with her eyes closed, letting the water massage her tired muscles. Minutes drifted by unnoted.

Eventually the drawn-out moment grew tedious. Waking from her trance, she set about the slow process of actually washing, working scented soaps and conditioners through her mane and coat with a bathing brush. Stray twigs and leaves blocked the sinkhole, so she removed them. While she would normally find his (albeit minor) task distasteful, on this occasion it gave her an additional step to focus on before she had to return to reality. She transferred the sodden foliage to the waste bin with no change in her expression, then returned to the shower to begin scrubbing.

Only when finally she had cleaned every exposed inch of her body, twice, and cleaned away the mud stains from Fluttershy's bathtub, did she once again return to the matter of her nethers. There was of course no way for her to scrub away the sweat and other fluids that must surely have accumulated there, but she hoped that the belt would at least expel the worst of it. She tried to simply avoid the thought of her pristine coat becoming matted and greasy under there. She tried telling herself that there was nothing she could do about it. It helped a little.

Her vagina ached. There was soreness, of course, from the abuse her delicate marehood had recently received, from Applejack's well-meaning, yet ultimately fruitless efforts, and from the rough cart-ride, but mostly from the crash. Yet along with the soreness there was also something akin to stiffness. Her skin yearned for freedom, to feel air once again flow freely through her fur. It was almost like an itch, one that she so desperately longed to scratch. Even if only the belt was slightly looser she would be able to rub it against herself to give some change of sensation.

She ran her hoof-tips around the edge of the metal, pressing in against her flesh just to try and shift the belt, however slightly. She removed the butt-plug, washing it down and giving her anus an opportunity to properly clench and unclench a few times, easing tired muscles. Then she resignedly re-inserted the plug, before the belt's chimimg grew too loud. She shifted her tail from side to side, and used her magic to gently pull on it, easing her dock around as best she could.

Accepting that she had done all she could to relieve the tiredness, she sat upright again under the running water, again merely letting it wash over her. Finally relaxing, she began swaying, then rolling and grinding her hips, before even really thinking about what she was doing.

Yes, she ached. It pained her to admit it, but even after all of this morning's events, her libido was still very eager for more, and arousal still visited her with insatiable frequency, swelling her clit against her trapped piercing. She had orgasmed (publicly, she shuddered at the thought) at least three times already today, and the experience had been very intense each time, and yet there was still something that felt… unfinished. Something about the experience had left her feeling unsatisfied, and still hungry for more.

Perhaps, she mused, if Starlight Glimmer could not remove the belt, she, Rarity, would have to arrange a private audience with some ponies she trusted. It seemed to be the only way she would be able to find relief.

Almost as soon as the thought passed her mind, she pushed it away, appalled that her mind would visit such a notion. Starlight would certainly remove the belt, and if not then she would find somepony who could. Even if it meant interrupting Twilight's very important diplomatic mission, Rarity had absolutely no intention of remaining in this thoroughly degrading artifact so much as a moment longer than she had to. Even if the rose patterning was quite tasteful, and complemented her natural beauty quite nicely.

And if, by some improbable misfortune, she was still feeling so painfully lustful after she had been released, then she could find a discrete solution to that problem when it arose.

Shaking her head to clear the shower musings, Rarity shut off the water, and reached for the towel to begin drying herself.

Some time earlier…

Fluttershy was going through her wardrobe while Rarity was in the shower. Rarity had said she wanted a change of clothes, so Fluttershy was trying to pick out a selection of dresses for her friend to borrow. She tried not to dwell on the idea that borrowing a friend's clothing could be construed as very intimate, especially if Rarity was wearing fancy sexy lace things underneath. She told herself that this was simply a practical favour for a friend in need, and that she did not really think of her incredibly beautiful, sexy friend that way.

Still, she knew that Rarity had high standards when it came to fashion and so, wishing to be helpful and make a good impression, she tried to pick out the best dresses she had. This meant taking the time to imagine how Rarity would look in each dress, as she arranged them on the bed, which led to imagining how Rarity would look on the bed, in each dress.

So when there came a knock at the front door (for the second time that day), Fluttershy felt quite shaken out of her reverie. Flustered and trying hard not to blush, she hurried back downstairs to see who this second visitor could be.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were stood on the doorstep.

“Hi Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie giggled, “are you free this afternoon?”

“Oh, um, r-right now?”

“We don't know what time,” Pinkie Pie elucidated cheerfully, “we're setting up a surprise party for Rarity, but we don't know where she is right now!”

Fluttershy stared. “Um…” she began, “R-Rarity's here right now, upstairs, taking a shower.”

“That's perfect!” interjected Rainbow Dash, “Fluttershy, we could set up right here in your living room, and surprise Rarity when she comes down!”

“O-ohh…” Fluttershy responded, her ears drooping, “that would be… good…”

“Rainbow can go get everypony, and I'll start setting up the decorations”, Pinkie beamed. Fluttershy nodded mutely, and watched Rainbow dash off back towards town. This was not exactly how Fluttershy had planned for her afternoon to go…

Pinkie Pie was not as oblivious to other pony's motives as she often appeared. Well, she was, but only sometimes. She had been paying careful attention to Rainbow Dash most of the morning, since the notorious prankster had acted suspiciously at the notion of a party. Mostly careful attention. Occasional attention, when she remembered.

Fortunately, Rainbow seemed to have forgotten whatever scheme she had been planning. Pinkie Pie was confident in her ability to judge other pony's intentions, and she could tell Rainbow had become fully invested in helping her throw a super-duper-extra-special-cheer-Rarity-up-party. This was especially helpful, because getting so many ponies together in one place on such short notice required a lot of dashing around town, and nopony was better at that than Rainbow Dash.

Come to think of it, several ponies had been acting weirdly today. Pinkie had been asked to confirm several times that yes, the party was for Rarity and yes, it was today. Odd looks had been exchanged. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but whatever it was seemed to be helping them, as even more ponies had been available than she had expected. It bothered her a little that several ponies had now said the party should be “interesting”. Pinkie's parties weren't interesting; They were fun.

Still, if ponies thought it was interesting, that was kind of like fun, right? And whatever was going on, you couldn't go wrong with a party.

Stepping from the bathroom, wrapped in towels, Rarity headed for Fluttershy's bedroom. She had asked to borrow a change of clothes, so expected that Fluttershy would be there. Instead, she found a selection of dresses laid out on the bed. Assuming that Fluttershy had left those for her, she began looking over them to select which to wear.

She eventually settled on a simple black dress, which was tight enough to pin her tail down. It was slightly uncomfortable, but the colour helped mask the poor fit. Examining herself in the mirror, she forced a weary grimace. It wasn't too bad.

Since Fluttershy did not seem to be around, Rarity headed downstairs. If Fluttershy wasn't there, it would be reasonable to assume that she had been called away on some other urgent business. In that event, Rarity would leave a note thanking her friend for the shower and the loan of the dress, then be on her way.

The living room was dark. The curtains were drawn, and the lamps were unlit.

“Fluttershy?” Rarity called, puzzled, as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “Are you there? I was just about to —” Rarity froze. The familiar tickle in her pussy told her that somepony was watching her. Her breathing quickened, as she glance around her, heading for the door. What in Equestria could be —

“SURPRISE!!!”

Rarity shuddered in place, instincts telling her to run but giving no direction. The sound assailed her from every angle, a roomful of cheerful voices exclaiming in unison. She had to shut her eyes at the sudden and bright light that surrounded her, and the burst of unexpected stimulation into her hind-parts sent her staggering forward…

…into the arms of Pinkie Pie, as it turned out. She squinted up into Pinkie's big blue eyes, drowning in a tide of perky babble that animated from Pinkie's mouth. The word “party” was in there somewhere, she was sure, along with “surprise” and “Rainbow Dash”. Rarity's heart was still pounding and her breathing rapid, but she was able to regain enough composure to piece together the gist of her new predicament.

At least the room was not as crowded as the market, or the crash-site from earlier, but it was still quite full. With everypony's eyes on her, Rarity wasn't sure she trusted herself to move, but took some reassurance from the knowledge that she wasn't about to be knocked insensible by multiple overpowering orgasms. Instead, she had to contend with a needy ache rapidly flourishing within her, as her clit swelled painfully tight against the buzzing ring.

Pushing herself away from Pinkie's embrace, Rarity briefly scanned her surroundings. Maybe twenty ponies stared back at her with cheerful smiles. Balloons and streamers adorned the walls and ceiling; There was a table with cakes and punch, and another on which a DJ had set up a pair of speakers, along with… whatever it was DJs used to play music. A turntable, perhaps?

Oh dear. Making excuses and leaving when everypony had gone to such effort would be a terrible faux pas, and Pinkie would be crushed. Rarity could not stay, though…

A tiny voice in the back of her mind suggested that maybe she could stay, just for a little while, until the attention faded and grew dull. Rarity quashed the thought immediately; She would not find relief here, but only make things worse by getting herself even more worked up. Yet when that thought emerged, she realised that she had just, within her own mind at least, implied that she was actually enjoying this perversion and wanted to stay. Perhaps it was only her own sense of decency that prevented her from doing so.

Stunned by this realisation, she completely failed to resist as Pinkie Pie swept her across the room, away from the from door, to the cake table. She stared, wide-eyed, at the large knife presented to her. She tried to ignore the way her vagina began to twitch involuntarily, as everypony watched her expectantly.

Swallowing, she tried to calm herself with steady breaths, and cut the cake as expected. Party music started up, somepony took the knife from her in order to serve up the rest of the desserts, and Rarity felt the buzzing in her backside fade. Ponies were turning their eyes to their dance partners, and to the food being served up.

Rarity let out a gentle sigh, relieved at being past the worst of the situation, when somepony dragged her out into the middle of the room. She found herself face-to-face with Rainbow Dash, surrounded by dancing ponies. She made some attempt to show willing, so as not to stand out, but she absolutely could not bear the thought of “wiggle her hips”, as the song's lyrics demanded of her. She honestly didn't think her sex could endure it.

“H-hey,” began Rainbow, stepping in close to be heard over the music, without being overheard by the rest of the party, “Rarity? I, uh, wanted to say 'sorry', okay?" Rainbow was acting far more subdued than normal, her voice softer and her gaze dropping down to the side frequently. She had reached a wing up to Rarity's shoulder, to hold the fashionista close while they talked. “I was kinda mad earlier, and I kind-of encouraged Pinkie to throw this party, thinking I could prank you in front of everypony.”

Rarity stared at Rainbow in disbelief. This whole party was a prank? How much of what was going on did Rainbow Dash know? Had Applejack told her? Had everypony in town figured it out? She had to stop herself from entering full-blown panic mode; Clearly the other attendees were not aware, or Pinkie would likely never have arranged this, would she?

While Rarity's paranoia whirred, Rainbow Dash continued, “B-but I think Pinkie's a good influence on me, y'know? She said if you were feeling grumpy, we should all try our best to cheer you up. I guess it reminded me, pranking isn't fun if you're just doing it because you're angry, so… Sorry I was a jerk earlier, can we be cool?”

Rarity calmed herself and focussed on Rainbow, who was clearly doing her best to deliver a heartfelt apology. She smiled, and raised a hoof to Rainbow's chest. Rainbow looked up at her, and… Rarity suddenly became very aware of how close together they were standing, of how they were touching each other, and of how cute Rainbow looked while apologetic. Were more ponies looking at them? Had the pulsing in her pussy intensified once again? At that moment, Rarity was seized by a wild urge to plant a passionate kiss on that dashing muzzle, and elsewhere besides. Why had the party tune turned to a slow dance piece?

She cleared her throat gently, trying to shift these wild impulses from her mind as Rainbow gazed back at her trepidly. “O-oh, ” she stammered, heat building around her jawline as her voice came out higher pitched than usual, “n-no, I mean yes, I mean, apology accepted. Absolutely. I… I'm sorry I yelled at you, I've just, um…” she didn't want to say that she'd “had a bad morning”, in case Rainbow enquired further. “Thank you, for apologising.”

Rainbow perked up immediately at this. “Great!” she exclaimed, “I'm gonna go grab some cake, okay?”

“Mmm-hmm…”

Rainbow turned, and headed for the food table. Rarity glanced around, and realised that several ponies were now awkwardly averting their gaze, in a manner that suggested Rarity and Rainbow Dash had been the center of attention just moments before.

Great. The last thing she needed right now (well, maybe not the last thing, but somewhere on the lower end of the list) was a bunch of rumours about her and Rainbow being an “item”. Not that there was anything wrong with her friend, but…

Well, at least this meant that the increased stimulation had not been in her imagination, nor simply a reaction to Rainbow's presence. Whatever she was feeling right now was simply the confused result of being over-stimulated to the point of near madness by the infernal artifact she was locked into. That was… something.

Slipping out of the crowd, to the side of the room, Rarity began carefully maneuvering around towards the front door. She didn't want to just abandon everypony, but if she could just reach the threshold then she would gesture for Pinkie to come over. Then she could make her excuses outside, and head over to Twilight's castle where hopefully Starlight Glimmer would…

From across the room, Rarity caught sight of a purple mane, with a bold teal highlight. Starlight Glimmer was stood in the far corner, looking awkward while apparently attempting to make small-talk with Fluttershy.

Revising her plans, Rarity retraced her steps and began pushing her way through the crowd. Warm bodies rubbed against her, provoking lewd thoughts from the depths of her brain. A young stallion stepped out in front of her, pushed in close by the mass of party-goers.

“Miss Rarity, how good to see you. How is business these days?”

“O-oh, mister… Pierce, wasn't it? Business is good, thank you.” He was too close, she could smell his musk and her head was too fogged with arousal right now…

“I've just opened a new store in Canterlot, you know? Nothing too fancy, but needles and pins are always in demand—”

“Uh, Mr. Pierce, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid I have rather urgent business with a friend of mine right now, do you think we could continue this scintillating conversation some other time?” Without really waiting for an answer, Rarity pushed past. She really hoped nopony had noticed the scent her own body must be giving off about now.

Finally, she caught up with Starlight, just as the other mare attempted to slip out to the kitchen. “Starlight!” Rarity gasped, “I am so glad to see you, I really could use a favour.”

Starlight Glimmer smiled uncertainly. She'd been feeling quite uncomfortable it this social situation, but if Rarity had a problem that Starlight knew how to solve, that would show she was making progress with the whole “friendship” thing, right?

Rarity grabbed Starlight by the arm, and dragged her towards the kitchen. Seeing several other ponies already there, she turned and continued through the next available door; This was really a conversation that needed to take place in private.

Which, of course, explained how the two of them ended up crammed in a broom closet. At least it was well-lit, and reasonably spacious.

“Um…” began Starlight.

“Oh Starlight”, Rarity babbled, “you have no idea how desperately I've been trying to get a private conversation with you today. I'm in a terrible bind, and I really need your help in getting released.”

“Oh”, replied Starlight, “well, uh, I'm… always happy to help a friend! What can I do?”

Rarity began hitching up her skirts. “It will be quicker to simply show you, darling. Do you think you could help me out of this dress?”

Quite suddenly, Rarity found herself completely unable to move. Starlight's magic enveloped her, pinning her body and shutting down her own levitation spell. She felt Starlight's hoof on her chin, and her face was brought around to look Starlight head-on.

“Rarity, I, um, I'm flattered”, Starlight recited, “but I don't think I'm quite ready for that kind of friendship just yet, a-and I really don't think I can go thinking about you that way. It would just make things to awkward, and… I really want us to just be normal friends, okay?”

“Oh!” exclaimed Rarity, eyes widening as she suddenly realised how this situation could be misconstrued. “No-no, darling, you misunderstand, it's… I just had a magical accident, I'm kind of… well it really would be quicker to show you, than explain. I promise you, it's not… I mean, it is a somewhat intimate problem, of a personal nature, but I desperately need a skilled unicorn to help me reverse the spell, and since Twilight isn't here…”

“Well…” hesitated Starlight, “all right”. In a moment, she whipped the dress off Rarity's still-frozen body, revealing the belt and unravelling her tail fastening at the same time. With no further pause, Starlight dropped her head down to Rarity's crotch, to better examine the device.

“Hmm…” she murmured, “have you tried Lighthoof's Legitimate Lock Loosening?”

Rarity stared down into Starlight's deep blue eyes. “Starlight, even if I knew how to cast such a spell, this infernal thing simply repels all my magic. I was hoping that you would know how to bypass its defences.”

“Hmm…” repeated Starlight, “well, I can research this, but it's probably worth giving Lighthoof's a try”. Her horn lit and the spell enveloped Rarity's loins.

The effect was immediately noticeable; Rarity had never felt anything quite like it to use as a reference, but pure sensation gripped her nethers and squeezed, sending pulsing prickles deep into her abdomen. Had she been able to move, she would certainly have doubled over right there. As it stood, there was no question of clenching or unclenching; Her muscles had tightened like to a vice-like grip entirely independently of he wishes.

“EYAAH-HAAH-HAAAAAA!!!” she shrieked, her voice piercing out through the door. Starlight reacted immediately, shutting down her spell, but the sensation continued, slowly fading away in pulsing waves. Rarity continued to shudder, as the initial pain gave way to fierce, burning pleasure. Her cunt began to spasm with each pulse, her cries giving way to helpless moans.

The closet door opened; Concerned ponies, drawn by the noise, peered in. Starlight reacted just quickly enough to bring Rarity's (or more accurately, Fluttershy's) dress up to cover Rarity's “problem”. Unfortunately, this left the compromising scene of Rarity, still in the grips of orgasmic pleasure, held upright by Starlight's magic, and Starlight, horn lit, with her face inches from Rarity's marehood.

In the doorway, Fluttershy, Berry Punch, and Cheerilee stood in shock. Fluttershy in particular recognised her dress, and rapidly began to turn bright pink.

“This isn't what it looked like!” blurted Starlight, as a trickle of fluids ran down Rarity's legs, and onto the floor.

It wasn't especially easy to explain the situation, but once Rarity had come down from her climax, and with Starlight's help, they were able to present the honest truth to those three mares, and a vaguely plausible excuse to the other party guests. They claimed that Rarity had simply screamed on discovering a spider in her mane.

Rarity suspected that at least Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash weren't buying it, but the other guests returned to the party while Rarity and Starlight were left alone in the kitchen.

“I am so sorry,” began Starlight. “It never occurred to me that this device might include an ætheroelecric converter, I… I should have been more cautious.”

“Oh don't worry darling”, smiled Rarity, “this whole situation was entirely my own fault, and you were only trying to help. I guess now we know that a magical solution will be difficult, if not outright impossible”.

“I don't understand”, moaned Starlight, “I mean, how did you even get in this situation?”

Awkwardly, but honestly, Rarity explained the truth of the previous night.

“Ooh…” muttered Starlight, when Rarity had finished, “so you were the one who set off the alarms. Well, I guess if it's from her private collection, Twilight probably knows how to remove it. I think she's going to be pretty upset with you, though.”

“Yes”, sighed Rarity, “well, there's no helping that now. Do you think I should write to her, and explain? I don't really want to wait weeks for her to return”.

“Actually,” grimaced Starlight, “she's coming back tomorrow morning; I just got the letter before I arrived here, apparently that alarm spell also lets her know when it's broken. She'll be on the first train”. Starlight paused. “I could send her over to your place when I see her”.

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief at this news; Finally it seemed, things were starting to look up.