Practice Makes Perfect

Twilight was puttering about the library when she heard the knock at her door. Though she’d only lived in this strange little town for a few months now, the purple unicorn had come to know her new friends fairly well. Applejack, for instance, always knocked the same way--three heavy raps of her knuckles against the door, sure to be heard. Rainbow Dash announced herself with a flurry of rapid pounds, while Rarity used the bell with almost musical rhythm. And Pinkie, of course, usually honked a horn. A horn Twilight still hadn’t found.

The quiet, barely audible taps that Twilight heard now could only be the last member of their odd little group of friends.

The purple unicorn froze momentarily before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, nervously smoothing down the front of her dress. She put a smile on and went to answer the door despite the knots in her belly.

The door closed behind the butter yellow pegasus, shutting out the light of the setting sun and leaving them in a quiet moment. It let Twilight get a good look at the green sweater Fluttershy wore, the one with a sash-like trail of pink butterflies going from waist to shoulder. They matched a similar butterfly sewn into the bottom of her knee length skirt. Her wings framed the view, even tucked in as they were. The pegasus clasped her hands at her waist and she seemed to find the floor of the Golden Oaks Library rather interesting. After far too long a silence, both tried to break the quiet at once:

“Hello-Oh, I’m sorry--you go--”

The two lapsed back into quiet for a moment before Twilight gave an only slightly forced chuckle. “This is...more awkward than I thought it would be.” That was a lie. It was exactly as awkward as she had feared. “Why don’t we sit down? Spike’s at a sleepover, so we shouldn’t be interrupted.”

She led her friend into the main room and paused for a moment, studying the seating options. It didn’t take a genius intellect to picture the two of them on the couch, sitting at opposite ends, too far away from one another to do what...well, they were here to do. To...practice.

Instead, she sat in one of the loveseats that was sandwiched between two book-cases. A perfect little reading nook. Fluttershy sat beside her, studying her hands resting in her lap.

“..So you...still want to, then?” the quiet pegasus asked, barely audible, her cheeks slightly flushed at just the thought.

Twilight took another breath and smiled again. “...Yeah. I think it’ll be...an interesting experience! And, well, we both, well, last night, we both did admit we wanted to...practice.” She quashed down the twisting feeling that brought up. There was no shame in being inexperienced, even at their ages. “I’ve been reading books about it all day! You know, um, techniques and things and the history of--like, oh, i found this out, did you know there was no cultural tradition of oral affection among the unicorn nobility until the third generation of the Platinum line of succession, when Princess Bezel married an earth pony and insisted on a fused wedding ceremony…”

Twilight’s nerve-fueled babble trailed off as she looked over her friends almost hunched over form. She could see that Fluttershy’s hands were trembling, despite their tight grasp on one another. Unthinkingly, she scooted closer until their legs pressed together and covered her friends hand with her own. “You’re really nervous, aren’t you? I’m sorry. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Fluttershy,” she said quietly.

Finally, the yellow pegasus looked up, eyes wide. “But I do!” she gasped, before ducking her head down. “I-I mean...We talked about it last night. A-and I..do want to practice. I just, I’ve never...k-kissed anyone. I mean, I told you that before, but...you want to practice, right? And so do I. S-so maybe I could...be confident when somepony…” she trailed off, looking down again as one of her legs began to bounce.

Twilight was quiet for a moment before she gently pulled one of Fluttershy’s hands away from the other. “It’s alright. I mean...I haven’t either. So maybe we can just go really slow? It’s not like we’re in a big hurry, or anything.” She paused, blinking as a thought struck her. “Unless there’s someone you really want to practice for?” she asked cautiously, only to receive a quick head-shake from her friend. “Alright. How about this then. Like I said, I read a few books--” don’t tell her how many don’t tell her how many “--and we can take this one step at a time. Like...well…”

Twilight shifted her grip on Fluttershy’s wrist, sliding her hand down until she could twine her fingers with the pegasus’. Fluttershy’s leg stopped bouncing as Twilight leaned against her. “...Holding hands,” she said quietly. She gave her friend’s hand a gentle squeeze and had to bite back an abrupt giggle when she returned it a second later. Wrist pressed to wrist, she could feel Fluttershy’s pulse thrum against her own, and it only made her aware of just how fast her own heart was beating.

“See? This isn’t so bad, is it?” Twilight asked. She could almost feel the shift in body language as Fluttershy cracked a smile.

“N-no, it’s really not. It’s...kind of nice. I-I don’t know if I’m ready for kissing, though…” she whispered.

Twilight bit her lip in concentration, spinning through the dozen or so books she’d read through earlier in the day. “Well, maybe we don’t start with...um. Kissing on the lips? There are other kinds. I read about an earth pony tradition that sounded nice…”

Slowly, giving her friend time to put a stop to it, Twilight lifted the hand she was holding. Fluttershy looked up, seeming almost startled as Twilight's lips pressed against the back of her hand.

Twilight felt like she was mashing her lips against her friend’s skin, feeling clumsier than when she’d first started practicing her telekinesis. But the sight of Fluttershy’s cheeks flushing red drove that out of her mind. “It’s really cute when you blush like that.” she said with a grin.

She knew she’d made a mistake instantly as Fluttershy let out a strangled little “Eep!” and snatched her hand away, leg picking up the pace it had set before. Twilight opened her mouth, but couldn’t think of what to say. The silence stretched out.

“...I’m sorry,” whispered Fluttershy, so quietly Twilight had to strain to hear her. “I’m not...I don’t like it when people...look at me. I-it makes me n-nervous.”

Twilight nodded slowly, and let her hand rest on Fluttershy’s wrist again. “I shouldn’t have said anything then. I’m sorry. Um...If that's making things harder for you, maybe it would help if I closed my eyes?” she suggested, rewarded with her friend lifting her gaze once more and blinking at her curiously.

“That...might work,” Fluttershy said slowly. “Would you be ok with that?”

Twilight just smiled and closed her eyes in response. “I won’t open them again until you tell me it's ok,” she said, letting her hand slide over Fluttershy’s again. She felt a fluttery feeling deep in her belly when she felt her friend take her hand.

“A-alright,” Fluttershy whispered. Twilight was far more aware of the feel of her now that her eyes were closed. Aware of things she hadn’t consciously noticed before. She could feel the thrum of her friend’s heartbeat against her wrist again, but she could tell it was starting to slow a little. She could feel just a little of the tension leave Fluttershy’s body, feeling her relax by millimeters.

Twilight leaned in unconsciously. She could smell something, something….floral. With a hint of honey?

She almost flinched when something touched her face. She held still as she felt fingertips glide over her cheek. They weren’t trembling anymore. The pulse she could feel through Fluttershy’s wrist had slowed considerably. Still, both their hearts were beating faster than normal. At least, Twilight was pretty sure this exceeded a normal unicorn resting heart rate.

The fingertips traced down over her lips and Twilight leaned forward just a little, pressing a kiss to the first two. She could hear Fluttershy’s breathing hitch a little and wondered if she’d done something wrong, if she’d misunderstood something in her books--but her friend’s whisper put her at ease.

“I-I think I-I’d like to try...n-now...if that’s okay...” Fluttershy’s voice was so quiet, but Twilight could hear her clearly in the silent library. More than that, she could feel the little eddies of breath against her skin. How close was she? How close were their faces?

Twilight nodded slowly, and tried to remember what her books had told her. She wasn’t prepared for this, but she could remember...don’t pucker. Just lean in. Tilt your head to the side a little…

Something soft pressed against her lips and Twilight froze for a moment, trying desperately to remember everything she had just been thinking of. Fluttershy pulled away after just that soft brushing though.

“H-how was it?” she asked in a breath-soft murmur, and Twilight smiled.

“It was really nice. Can we...do it again?” s he asked, leaning forward a little more. She heard a giggle and could feel Fluttershy leaning in again.

Unfortunately, it’s a little hard to judge trajectory and angles with your eyes closed without practicing. So as soon as their lips met again so did their foreheads, with an almost audible ‘thunk’.

Twilight’s eyes snapped open as she flinched back, staring into Fluttershy’s own as they both clutched their heads. They both burst into loud giggles, cheeks flushing red.

“M-maybe that's enough for tonight,” Fluttershy suggested once their fit of laughter had subsided.

Twilight wanted to object, but just nodded with a smile. “But...maybe we can try again soon?”

Fluttershy’s cheeks flushed darker red, but she nodded. “I’d like that.”