Practice Makes Perfect

There wasn't any of the awkward shuffling about one another like the first night when Flutershy arrived. Twilight took her friend's hand in her own once she’d shed her jacket and led her back, nattering on about her latest studies until they reached the same loveseat.

It felt strangely comfortable to Twilight. She’d never used it much before this, preferring the quiet of her own study, but with the library closed for the evening and Spike helping Rarity out, the place held a cozy sort of ambiance. Of course, that might just have been the company.

“I’m really glad you came again,” Twilight said once they’d taken their seat, sharing a smile with Fluttershy, who returned it with a small one of her own.

“Well, you know what they say about...practice and everything,” she mumbled in response, ducking her head down as the flush in her cheeks deepened.

Twilight bit back a giggle--it was just so adorable--as she brought Fluttershy's hand up to kiss the back of it. A gentle, lingering press of her lips elicited a giggle from her friend. Fluttershy pulled Twilights hand back, cupping it in both of hers and gently pressing her lips against it. The unicorn blushed as she felt a strange warmth blossom from that featherlight touch.Three times she felt that gentle brush over a few seconds, and she couldn’t look away.

It took her a moment to remember how talking worked. It felt like something was going to fly up out of her stomach if she opened her mouth. But, still, she asked, “Fluttershy? Do you want me to close my eyes again before we, um...start?” The unicorn scooted a bit closer as her friend nodded. Her eyes closed, she leaned forward a little, excited to continue what they’d started the other night.

Twilight was still quite new to having friends and being social, but at the same time, she was always rather detail-oriented. It came with the territory--when you were measuring the thaumic resonance inherent to certain Equestrian flora and how it affected its usage in traditional zebra alchemy you needed to be able to notate every little variant you saw, whether that was spotting a number just barely out of place on a readout, or noting how Moon-Blossom petals had a different sheen depending on when they were picked.

Maybe having her eyes closed helped her to notice it. Maybe being just a little more at ease than she had been before. Maybe just having read a little bit more of her friend's body language from so close let her notice the little twitch, almost a wince, as Fluttershy bent and leaned towards her. The little librarian in her head raced through the shelves to where she’d stuck the memory of pegasus anatomy that she’d read earlier in the week as she paused mid-motion, and asked, “Fluttershy, are you comfortable? I mean, um, physically. Are your wings cramped? Should we, er, move or change positions or something?”

“Kind of. I...do like this little nook though, I don’t want to move from it...unless you do? But um...maybe I could…” Fluttershy trailed off into an inaudible whisper, looking down once more as Twilight’s eyes cracked open.

Twilight smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Whatever you want, we can try it. We both need to be comfortable if we’re going to, ah, practice.” She still felt her cheeks flush whenever she put it into words. “Just...make yourself as comfortable as you can.”

Fluttershy nodded slightly, looking down. “Maybe...um. I’ll try something. Let me know if it’s not okay?” Twilight just nodded and closed her eyes again. Her hand felt oddly empty without Fluttershy’s holding it as the pegasus stood.

Whatever Twilight had been expecting, Fluttershy settling onto her lap was not it. Twilight’s eyes snapped open and she shifted in surprise. It was just enough to overbalance Fluttershy, who let out a little squeak as she started to tilt back too far, grabbing for Twilight.

Twilight tried to catch her, but spending all your time doing your heavy lifting with magic doesn’t give you a whole lot of muscle to work with. Even hefting as heavy a bookbag as she normally did wasn’t enough to let her arrest Fluttershy’s fall back. And, distracted and surprised as she was, she didn’t think to use her telekinesis (until several days later when it prompted a loud groan in the middle of brushing her teeth). All her attempt did was throw more weight onto an already unbalanced load.

Both of them went sliding and toppling off the love seat, Twilight only just managing to stop her head from smacking into Fluttershy’s, her shoulders and neck twinging with the effort of keeping herself up.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Twilight asked as she stared into her friend's face. Fluttershy was blinking back up at her with an odd expression as she shifted slightly.

“Y-yes…” she whispered, and Twilight quite abruptly became aware of a few details she hadn’t quite processed:

Fluttershy had a hand wrapped around the back of Twilight's neck, a soft pressure that seemed to urge her closer.

Twilight's arms were wrapped around Fluttershy in something approaching a hug--one curled around her side, hand pressed tight under the base of a wing, while the other was acting as a cushion for Fluttershy’s head, ensuring she hadn’t hit it against the wooden floor, her weight resting on her elbows.

She was practically laying atop Fluttershy, half-sprawled together as they were. She could feel the soft swell of her friend’s breasts pressing against her own, just tight enough that she could make out the subtle line where the cup of the pegasus’s bra was against her own. Twilight had already known that her friend was more generously endowed than she was, but now she was aware of it, aware of the gentle pressure change from their breathing as they stared at one another. She could feel taut muscles trembling under her fingers as her friend's wings twitched, half-flared out from the fall. Fluttershy’s fingers shift slightly against the back of her neck--not pulling, not pushing, closer to stroking. Sliding down, fingertips starting to glide over the side of the unicorns neck the same way they’d stroked her cheek the other night.

Twilight was forever a thinking creature, but in this instant she didn’t. She closed her eyes and leaned down before thought could put in its two cents and let her lips touch Fluttershy’s. For a terrible instant as her friend shifted beneath her, it felt like she’d made a mistake. But she wasn’t pushed away--the pegasus leaned her head up, lips moulding against hers. Fluttershy's hand slid back up to gently grasp the back of Twilight's neck, her other arm wrapping around the unicorn's side, fingers flexing against her back doing the oddest thing as they let their kiss go on and on.

When it finally broke they were both breathing harder, foreheads pressed together.

“I-I think we jumped ahead in the book a little,” Twilight said with a giggle that Fluttershy echoed.

“That was...really nice.” the pegasus murmured. She shifted slightly and smiled sheepishly up at Twilight. “But, um..c-could we get up? T-this is really, really nice, but the floor isn’t very comfortable.”

Twilight carefully scrambled up, cheeks burning, and offered a hand to Fluttershy. She felt a little thrill in her chest when the pegasus kept ahold of her hand. The two sat once more--Twilight first, and then Fluttershy, carefully settling herself onto the unicorn's lap. The librarian wound up with one arm wrapped around Fluttershy’s waist, hand on her hip, and the other resting on her legs.

“I...um. I’d like t-to try again...” Fluttershy said. “That is, um, if you wanted to keep going?” she continued, cheeks a lovely shade of pink.

Twilight nodded rapidly with a wide smile. She reached up, cupping the side of Fluttershy’s face as the pegasus leaned down. It didn’t feel awkward at all to close her eyes, letting their faces meet once more. Her lips felt so soft...time seemed to lose meaning as they kissed. She felt Fluttershy’s lips part wider, her own matching, and for a moment she wondered if she dared---

Tap tappa tap tap tappa tap! A musical knock at the door, followed by the doorknob rattling as it opened. Time slowed down in a much more horrible way as Twilight shifted, feeling Fluttershy’s wings flap once, and by the time the door was open, they were both sitting in chairs a short distance from their loveseat, with just enough time for Twilight to wonder where the pot of tea had come from.

“Twilight! Oh I am so sorry to come barging in like this, but Spike is being such a dear little helper, and he doesn’t want to admit it, but I think he left his toothbrush here! I just wanted to nip by and grab--” Rarity came up short as she spied the two of them, pausing mid-word. “Oh! I am dreadfully sorry! I hope I’m not interrupting something!”

“Oh, no! Twilight and I were just, um. Talking,” Fluttershy said before Twilight could form a word, raising a teacup to her lips. She seemed surprised that it was empty.

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t want to interrupt your conversation! Twilight, if it’s no trouble, can you tell me where his toothbrush is?” Rarity said, pretending not to notice.

Twilight gestured to the stairs. “Bathroom’s the third door on the left, his is the green one with the hooked end for digging scraps out from between his fangs,” she said quickly.

“Oh thank you ever so much! If i may be just a little nosy, though, what are you having such a spirited conversation about?” Rarity asked with an odd little smile. Twilight once again opened her mouth--

“I was inviting Twilight to a sleepover. I..heard about how much fun you all had last month, so I...um. Was...wondering if she...would be interested? Maybe this saturday?” Fluttershy beat her to it again.

It took Twilight a second to realize it was an actual question, one actually directed at her in fact. She blinked, trying to process it, but still hadn’t quite recovered from recent events. It took an uncomfortably long moment of Rarity staring at the two of them with her confusing little smile before Twilight blurted out, “That sounds amaz--really fun! I’d love to! Saturday sounds great!” Even she wasn’t sure how much of her enthusiasm was real vs forced. She must have imagined the little squee she heard from Fluttershy.

“It’s a d--it’s settled then! I really should be going though, Angel gets up to so much mischief if I leave him alone for too long. Thank you for the tea, Twilight! I-I’ll see you Saturday!” Fluttershy said, before performing a passable imitation of Rainbow Dash, leaving a confused, yet oddly excited Twilight behind.

Twilight stared at her empty teacup for a long moment, frozen in place as she considered what she’d just agreed to with a feeling of warmth growing deep in her chest.

Rarity stared at her friend for a minute before coughing quietly. “I’ll just...get Spike’s toothbrush then…”