Heat

Much to her own irritation, Celestia was right, even though that'd be the understatement of the century. The night was anything but fun for her as she had visited the bathroom more times than she would be willing to admit.

The copious amount of alcohol left a terrible aftertaste in her mouth, her body weak, and her mind fuzzy. She felt like she was hit by the Canterlot Express, and yet, despite of all that, she got herself up on wobbly legs, headed to the nearby window, and lit her horn. Or at least she wanted to do so, but it was to no avail.

She groaned and shook her head. After a brief pause, she closed her eyes and tried again, but just like her previous attempt, things didn’t go according to plan. She groaned again and left for the nearby bathroom for much needed refreshment.

A few splashes of ice-cold water did the trick, as her third attempt to light her horn was a resounding success. After she raised her sun from the dark horizon, she closed her eyes again, and with a sigh, the shine of her magic dimmed down.

With a severe lack of sleep, she wanted to do nothing more than to crawl inside of her bed and sleep for a few days, but unfortunately, royal duties prevented her from doing so. And yet, she couldn't resist the temptation of the warm and welcoming blankets.

She unwillingly purred as her head met the soft white pillow and closed her eyes. "Mmmm. Five more minutes," she muttered to herself.

As time passed, she felt a slight pressure against her mouth, nothing even close to being unpleasant, but still an odd sensation. As she tried to push her hoof against the offender, her hoof was moved away, and the sensation returned. But this time, it wasn't just a gentle brush, but the unmistaken feeling of a warm set of lips pressing against hers.

In response, Celestia opened her eyes, but her pleasant waking up quickly turned to dread. She jumped away like she had just kissed a hot plate.

"L-Luna? What the hay!"

Luna blinked. "What's the matter, Tia? I didn't pinch you by accident, did I?"

"What? N-you kissed me!"

Like a confused puppy, Luna tilted her head. "I've been waking you up like that for months… Why would today be any different?"

"I… we…" Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry, Luna. You just caught me a little off guard, that's all."

"I can tell. You got me worried for a little bit…"

"You know I like it when you are worried about me…"

"Liar," Luna breathed, her muzzle now brushing against her sister's. "You are more worried about me than—" Luna's words got cut off when Celestia pulled her in, pressing their muzzles together into a deep kiss.

"Cheater," Luna gasped when she managed to get some air. A moment later, she nudged Celestia, and again, the couple repeated the kiss.

It was Celestia that groaned now. She wanted to explore the innards of her sister's mouth with her own tongue, but something felt different. Luna’s mouth felt too soft, and when Celestia pushed even slightly, she felt like she was pushing against a soft toy rather than a pony made up of flesh and bones.

She opened her eyes, and to her surprise, there was no Luna. She was pressing her muzzle hard against a pillow. A silky, wet, chewed-up pillow.

Celestia pushed the slobbered pillow away and groaned. She looked around, and to her surprise, the sun had barely moved from its initial position. She reckoned that not more than ten minutes had passed since she had flopped back to the bed and that certainly showed on her headache.

Reluctantly, she slowly got out of the overly warm bed and headed to the kitchen to grab a much needed cup of coffee. Or two. Or ten.

As expected, Luna was still in the kitchen, even though her duties had already ended. It was nothing unusual to meet her there in the early morning for a greeting and a short conversation. However, this time, Celestia really wasn't keen for the conversation that could potentially spark between them.

"Morning, Luna."

"Morning, Tia. The night was absolutely wonderful. We should let everypony know that we had passionate sex and that from now on we're a pair. I always dreamed about having a big wedding and—"

As quick as the thought had crossed her mind, Celestia immediately discarded it for absurdity, but she still stepped forward, trying to prepare for some sort of awkward conversation about the night before. She reluctantly approached the table, glanced at her sister, and plopped her head on the table.

"You look terrible," Luna said with a mixture of sisterly concern and sarcasm in her voice.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Celestia replied with a groan.

Luna giggled and pushed the mug of hot coffee to her sister. "Here."

"Coffee?"

"And… pancakes,” Luna said as she pushed a plate of the still-warm food to Celestia. "You lost your dinner because of me last night, so I thought that I could somehow make it up to you…"

"But pancakes? Luna…"

"They aren't that bad… This time, I tried them myself first."

Celestia ogled the plate of lukewarm pancakes, flicked her horn, and picked one of them off of the platter to take a small, cautious bite. To her slight surprise, it wasn’t as bad as Luna's previous attempt. Quite the opposite — Her first bite was quite enjoyable. She smiled at Luna and devoured the rest.

"This was really good, Lu. Compared to your first try… Your second turned out to be amazing."

"Fifth," Luna muttered to herself.

"Fifth? Does that mean that we need to clean the kitchen again?"

Luna shook her head. "I had already cleaned it myself. Ceiling and towers as well."

"T… towers? How…"

"I'm kidding," Luna mused.

"Oh." Celestia giggled back. "How was your evening duty?"

"Everypony was still cleaning after the Grand Galloping Gala, so… pretty uneventful… Why do you think I was making pancakes in the end?"

"Fair," Celestia replied happily. However, her amusement didn't last long as an awkward silence fell between the two.

"Luna," she finally said. "About—"

"I should be going now, Tia. Have a good day," Luna said before her sister managed to say something about the night before. And with that, Luna stepped forward and kissed her on the forehead. It was an innocent sisterly kiss, a kiss that Celestia had given and received so many times that she never bothered to count, but somehow, this one was making her dizzy. Whether that was the consequence of her hangover, or something else, she didn't know.

"N-night," Celestia barely managed to peep with a big lump stuck in her throat. As she turned towards the departing Luna, she caught a glimpse of her sister’s rear end. She was surprised that she had never noticed her sister's muscular thighs or that Luna’s dock flinched slightly as she left the room.

However, as Luna disappeared from her sister's eyesight, a shiver snapped Celestia from her reverie. She groaned and plopped her head on the table again. The hangover didn't really help with the realization that she had just checked out a mare's rear. Not only that, but the rear, albeit attractive, belonged to her sister.

"Not happening," she said with a barely audible voice. Why am I suddenly interested in a mare's butt? she thought to herself.

Absentmindedly, she floated another pancake and lazily placed it into her mouth and started teasing its folds with her tongue. It felt oddly satisfying and—

"Princess Celestia?"

Startled, Celestia yelped as she grabbed her muzzle.

"Princess Celestia! Are you alright? What happened?"

"I fit my tung," Celestia said and stuck out her tongue.

"My apologies, Princess Celestia. I didn't mean to startle you," the guard said, bowing humbly.

"It's not your fault, Steel Shield. I should be a little more careful when… eating breakfast."

"And sleeping," the guard whispered to himself.

"Trying, but not succeeding," Celestia calmly replied, leaving Steel Shield dumbfounded.

"I… uh… I didn't mean to… imply… that…"

"It was a long night. You wanted something?"

"Oh, um… A pony came to see you. She said she knows you and that she needed to talk to you."

"This early? You said it was a she?"

The guard nodded. "She said her name was Rose Garden…"

"Oh."

"I can send her away, Princess."

Celestia shook her head. "That will not be necessary. I guess that this needed to happen sooner or later." She paused for a moment, and just as Steel Shield opened his mouth to say something, she added, "It's personal."

Slightly disappointed, the guard nodded. "Shall I let her in?"

"Send her up to my study in a few minutes. I need to finish this cup to at least function properly."

Steel Shield smirked. "Very well, Princess Celestia." He bowed to her and left the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Celestia moved to her study, along with a second cup of coffee. She did not have to wait long before Steel Shield entered the room, escorting in a dark-pink unicorn mare, before Celestia nodded at him to leave.

For a long moment, an awkward silence lingered between the ponies, until Celestia finally broke it. "This isn't an official visit, is it?"

"No," Rose Garden replied meekly.

"Ruby?"

The name mentioned made Rose visually cringe, and yet, she nodded.

"I didn't know," Celestia said with a waver in her voice. "If I did, things would be—"

"Different?"

Celestia nodded. "Very much so. I don't have any desire to come between any couple. Before him, I hadn't had any stallion for over a hundred years. Waiting a little longer for somepony else would make no difference."

"H-how did you two meet?"

"We talked. For a few hours. And then—" Celestia's voice trailed off as the mare in front of her started to sob. "I am really sorry it came to this…"

"If I had paid more attention… maybe… Maybe none of this would have happened."

"Miss Garden…"

"I just… after so long… I hadn't even noticed…"

Celestia silently stood up and walked over to wrap her hooves around the sobbing mare in a soothing hug.

Rose returned the gesture, her hooves holding onto Celestia’s sides. "Everything we've built. Gone in a single night… Without warning… just… Gone."

"Again, I'm deeply sorry, Miss Garden. I never meant for this to happen…"

"It's just…" Rose sniffled. "I don't understand… I never even thought of anypony else that way, let alone…" She sniffled again. "M-my apologies, Princess… I didn't wanted to be seen like this…"

Celestia smiled softly and shook her head. “It’s alright.”

"I don't know what he said is true anymore… He said that you forced him to talk to me, even though…"

"No, that part is true," Celestia replied. "But it was more of a… friendly suggestion than anything else…"

"That sounds ominous… Is that why he practically dragged me home?"

Celestia shrugged. "I like to think that it may have helped slightly. Miss Garden…"

"Rose. My name is Rose."

"Miss Garden… Rose… If it's in any consolation… this isn't easy for me either… It just takes time to—"

Rose shook her head. "No. I mean… I think I'm done looking for a stallion. As great as he was in bed, there was always something amiss when I was with Ruby or any other stallion for that matter, something I never felt with a mare… Maybe all of this isn't entirely on his shoulders… I don't know… I'm not making any sense anymore… I think I will leave." She sniffled again, and continued, "I'm not sure if I got what I wanted here, but still… thank you for everything, Princess Celestia."

"What do you mean?"

Rose sighed. "I guess I was searching for some sort of closure… but I am unsure if I got it or not…" She looked up and stared into Celestia's pink eyes, only to hang her head in embarrassment and turned towards the exit.

Celestia said nothing as she absentmindedly looked after the departing mare. However, unlike the reaction to Luna's flank, none of Rose's features triggered anything even close to what she felt with her sister. Not her flanks, not her barrel, not even the slight hint of the dark slit that was hiding behind the dropped tail.

When she couldn't see the mare anymore, she turned her head and took another sip from the mug and cringed. Just like for Luna, cold coffee wasn't her brew of choice either.

Steel Shield walked back inside and scanned the room, visibly relieved to see Celestia sitting behind her desk, reading the morning newspaper.

"Steel Shield, is there something wrong?" Celestia asked.

"No, ma'am. I just thought…" He cleared his throat. "No, ma'am. Just attending to my duties."

Celestia nodded. "Very well," she said, sported a small smile again, dismissed the guard, and with a cup of cold coffee in the grasp of her magic, she went to start her duties.

* * *

Hours passed. A single paper on Celestia’s desk was joined by a bunch of others, along with a few refills of her mug. And yet, as much as she drowned her focus in work, or at least tried hard to do so, the thought of what happened with Luna the night before as well as the conversation with Rose Garden just hours ago still lingered in Celestia's mind.

"That's just silly," she muttered to herself with a smirk as the pile of paper grew another three pages. With a sense of accomplishment and with her mug empty again, she finally got up.

Happy to finish her work and to be on her hooves again, Celestia stretched her legs until she heard a satisfying pop emitting from one of her joints. Now that is done, she thought to herself, I can hunt down any rogue pieces of cake that I missed yesterday.

Her attention, however, was only short lived. Some playful shouting from outside ended her train of thought, and she looked through a window. From the nearby park, she could see some foals playing with their parents, running around screaming and shouting like there's no tomorrow.

With a bittersweet smile, she moved away and tried to continue where she left off.

"Cake!" she hummed to herself as she trotted down to the kitchen, but unfortunately for her, the fridge had already been raided, and she groaned in disappointment. She didn't need to guess twice who the culprit was.

She sighed, remembering the brief encounter with her sister, and she wasn't too pleased with how it had turned out. It was like Luna was avoiding to even mention their nightly encounter, and from what it seemed, the relationship with her sister had went south.

After a moment of thought, she closed the fridge. Right now, there were more pressing manners than a missing stupid piece of cake. On the flip side, it was fair… Even though she was fairly muscular, Luna teased her about eating too many sweets. She smirked at that thought and headed upstairs.

To her surprise, a familiar, but faint sound was coming from Luna's bedroom, and she didn't need to guess twice to what it was. She paid no heed to the absence of any guards, since they hardly ever guarded Luna's chambers during the day. Celestia giggled. She was sure that if any of the guards were present, they would be glued to their posts.

Still smirking, Celestia approached the door and quietly opened it even further and took a peek inside. The faint, warm scent of sex permeated her nostrils, and another step forward revealed Luna lying on the bed, and her rubbery toy, wrapped in her magic, was thrusting in and out of her rapidly.

When Luna's body flinched, Celestia knew that her sister was nearing her climax, and yet, instead of leaving, she stood silently and watched as Luna continued, her breathing becoming increasingly heavier while her control of herself and the toy dwindled. A good moment later, Luna dug her head into the nearby pillow, followed by a muffled scream. Spent but satisfied, Luna collapsed onto her bed, trying to catch her breath.

Panting, she opened her eyes, but to her shock, she saw Celestia looking at her. In a split second, she pulled the blanket over her, and with it, sent the dildo flying across the room. "Celestia!" she barked.

Celestia shuddered. Luna only ever called her that when she was furious. "Your door was—"

"Out!"

"Hey, you did the same to—"

"I said out!"

"But you—" Before Celestia finished that sentence, Luna already lit her horn and teleported her sister out. Lucky for her, even despite Luna's fury, Celestia wasn't teleported any further than right outside the room, the doors slamming shut in her face.

Celestia groaned. She felt that it was a little bit unfair for her to get kicked out of Luna's room, especially when Luna did the same thing more than once to her. And yet, she slowly walked back to her sister's room and knocked on the door.

"What?" Luna barked.

"I… uh… Can I come in? I want… I wanted to talk…"

A second later, a faint click emitted from the door, and with it, they opened slightly, enough for Celestia to see that as an invitation.

"I'm listening."

Celestia sighed. "I wanted to apologise for what happened."

"Keep going…"

"For everything, Luna."

Luna blinked.

Celestia sighed again. "When you asked me for help with your heat, I shouldn't have agreed. Instead, I should’ve just given you one of my toys and be done with it. This may have gotten slightly out of our hooves…"

"Huh? Don't be silly… What you did, I'll be forever grateful for. I don't want to go through the agony of heat without your little helper anymore. Besides, I think I wasn't the only one getting something out of that, too."

"I guess… Hum, Luna?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe you had already seen them, but lately I've been having really strange dreams involving—" Celestia abruptly stopped herself.

Luna shook her head. “You know that I promised not to look into your dreams, that is, unless the need calls for it. Is there something wrong?”

"It-it's nothing. Forget I mentioned them. They were really silly… Luna, mind if I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"For a change, do you want to go to the spa for a little bit of time off? There's one in Ponyville that Twilight recommends, and after these past few days… I think that we both desperately need the break. I know that it will help keep my mind off of things."

"Like yesterday?"

Celestia nodded as she couldn't form a verbal reply. Even she wasn't entirely sure how to interpret everything that happened that time. At least she'll have a plethora of time to reflect on everything, and it will give the time for Luna to do the same.

"Then I’ll be happy to go."

Celestia smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”