A Most Magnificent Movie Night

The harsh, rhythmic blaring of the microwave echoed through the kitchen, proudly announcing the completion of its appointed task. Rarity's finger quickly made its way to the appropriate button, pressing it to pop open the door and reveal her prize. She carefully took hold of the bloated paper bag within, careful not to burn herself on its piping-hot surface. After removing it from the microwave, she closed the door again, then carried the bag over to the large bowl sitting on the nearby countertop. As she pulled the top of the bag apart, it released a burst of warm air that carried the delightful aroma of buttery goodness to Rarity's nose. She took a deep breath, smiling as the scent preemptively moistened her mouth, then upended the bag, emptying the popcorn within into the bowl.

You simply can't have a movie night without popcorn, after all, she mused.

She quickly discarded the empty bag, then returned to the bowl, its tantalizing contents provoking an embarrassing grumble from the refined young woman's tummy. Unable to help herself, Rarity quickly plucked one of those warm, buttery kernels from the pile, raising it up and slipping it between her lips and into her waiting mouth. She breathed a contented sigh as her tongue was treated to the tastes of butter and salt, the dexterous muscle quickly maneuvering the corn to her pearly whites, the snack meeting its grisly fate with a satisfying crunch.

While some baser part of her would have gladly had her gorge herself on whole handfuls of corn right then and there, she managed to restrain herself; she was a lady, after all. Besides, eating it alone would have defeated the whole point of the evening, after all. Taking the bowl in her hands, Rarity quickly left the kitchen, making her way back up to her bedroom. She couldn't help but smile as she thought about what awaited her up there.

No homework, no studying, no bothersome stitches to fix on my latest design, just an hour and a half alone with the most beautiful girl in the world. We'll cuddle together on the bed, hold each other's hands, feed each other popcorn, and then, when the movie is over...

Rarity stopped short halfway up the stairs, her smile fading as her reverie was forced to contend with cold, hard reality.

Nothing. Nothing else will happen. I'll give her a goodnight kiss, send her on her way, and then I'll see her again tomorrow morning at school...as always.

Rarity raised her head, looking off in the direction of her bedroom, where she could hear the sounds of Fluttershy readying the television. She resumed her journey up the stairs, her stride slow and joyless.

Perhaps this time...things will be different. Perhaps tonight...she'll finally be ready.

She reached the top of the stairs and crossed the hall, soon arriving at her open bedroom door. The bedroom lights bathed the room in their warm, cheerful glow, making the various shiny objects scattered about, sequins on dresses, rolls of reflective ribbon, polished hand mirrors, all glimmer brightly. Despite all of this, however, Rarity's eyes were immediately drawn to the bright, happy eyes of the girl sitting on her bed. She couldn't help but smile as she saw her sitting there, staring at the television hanging on the wall before her, visibly eager to commence the evening's entertainment.

“Are we ready to begin?” said Rarity as she approached the bed.

“All set!” said Fluttershy, barely able to contain her excitement.

“And what shall we be watching this eve...” began Rarity, trailing off as she glanced over at the television.

On the screen was displayed the main menu of the DVD that Fluttershy had brought with her that evening. As per usual, Fluttershy appeared to have selected some sort of children's film replete with colorful, talking animals who would undoubtedly embark upon some sort of magical adventure, only to discover at the end that the real treasure was the friends they made along the way. Rarity did her best not to make a face as she gazed upon the sickeningly adorable creatures currently dancing their way around the menu options. While she loved her little darling dearly, and adored how in touch she was with her inner child, she had a longstanding wish that the girl might someday develop a slightly more mature taste in cinema.

She had no right to complain about the selection; it was Fluttershy's turn to choose, after all. The previous week, Rarity had made Fluttershy sit through Shadow Spade and the Apocryphal Ascot, the adventures of the fashionable-yet-fearless private eye having been a mainstay of their weekly get-togethers ever since they had begun the tradition several months prior. As much as she enjoyed feeling Fluttershy cling to her during the more thrilling scenes of those films, and fidget adorably during the more intimate moments, Rarity knew that she would much rather watch something a bit more mellow, and so had always kept her mouth shut when it was Fluttershy's week to pick. Besides, Rarity thought, the movie was never the main attraction of the evening, at least not for her it wasn't.

“Oh! It's Miss Fuzzytail and the Brightmeadow Friends 2: The Enchanted Rainbow!” declared Fluttershy, not noticing the subtle twitch of Rarity's eye as the saccharine sentence passed through her ear.

“Erm...two?” said Rarity as she carefully sat down on the bed, scooting closer to Fluttershy.

“Well, yes,” said Fluttershy. “We already watched the first one a couple weeks ago. Don't you remember?”

Repressed memories of cheery, mind-numbing songs and bad voice acting slowly resurfaced in Rarity's mind, sending a tingle down her spine. “Ah, yes...so we did,” she said, trying not to let her tone betray her true feelings. “Remind me again...what happened in the first one?”

Fluttershy giggled, rolling her eyes. “Oh, Rarity,” she said, “you really ought to pay more attention.” She snuggled up closer to her girlfriend, and the two settled into the mountain of huge, plush pillows behind them. Fluttershy rested on her side, facing Rarity, resting her head on her shoulder.

“Yes...I suppose I ought to,” said Rarity, chuckling awkwardly.

Fluttershy reached for the bowl of popcorn sitting on Rarity's lap, plucking a piece and quickly moving it to her mouth. “Well,” she said as she chewed, “in the first movie, we met Miss Fuzzytail the squirrel, who lives in Brightmeadow Valley with all her friends. One day, she was going to have all of her friends over for a tea party at her cottage, but all of a sudden...”

Rarity did her best to follow along as Fluttershy provided an in-depth recap of the events of the previous film, although she quickly became lost as she was inundated with the names of all the characters, locations, and magical MacGuffins it had featured. While Fluttershy continued with her enthusiastic rambling, Rarity reached over and flicked the light switch, plunging the two of them into a darkness permeated solely by the soft illumination of the television. Fluttershy snatched up the remote sitting on the bed beside her and quickly started the film, squealing in delight as it began.

In her defense, Rarity made a decent attempt at paying attention to the collection of sights and sounds that her high standards made her hesitate to call a “movie”. By the time the evil witch had made her supposed reappearance and had kidnapped the princess, however, her sputtering brain had forced her to remove her eyes from the screen for the sake of its own continued health. Luckily, she had something close at hand that she considered to be infinitely more worth her attention, and significantly more pleasurable to give said attention to.

The colorful light of the television screen shone onto the features of Fluttershy's enraptured face, creating a light show that took Rarity's breath away. The twinkles in those big, beautiful eyes were more dazzling to her than any rhinestone she had ever affixed to a gown. The myriad of expressions that manifested there in response to the events Fluttershy beheld, whether girlish giggles, adorable gasps of concern, or wide, jubilant smiles, made Rarity's heart melt as nothing else in the world could. If all that hadn't been enough, there was still the matter of the girl's soft, warm, and generously endowed body pressed up against her own, a fact that Rarity was very much aware of.

Rarity's head unconsciously lowered, her eyes falling closed as her cheek came to rest on Fluttershy's crown. She gently nuzzled the silken strands of pink, reveling in the feel of them against her skin. Rarity's soft inhalations carried the girl's distinctive scent to her nose, one which she could have recognized anywhere.

Grass, earth after rain, and...that strawberry shampoo I got her for her birthday.

One of Rarity's arms, the one Fluttershy was currently snuggled against, slowly snaked its way behind Fluttershy's back and up to her head, allowing Rarity to absentmindedly twirl those locks between her fingers. Her other hand made its way to the popcorn bowl, grabbing one piece at a time and moving it to Fluttershy's mouth. As Fluttershy felt the corn touch her soft, plump lips, she subconsciously parted them, to engrossed in the movie to look away. Rarity chuckled softly as she felt Fluttershy nibble the snacks from her fingers like an adorable little animal in a petting zoo. Down below, Rarity's bare feet reached out to caress Fluttershy's sock-clad ones, the girls' toes running up and down each other's soles as they played their game of footsie.

Truly, Rarity was in heaven, an assessment that she would have wholeheartedly agreed with. Still, she had been in that particular heaven many times before, and while the euphoria of being there had never diminished, she couldn't help but consider how that perfect moment could have been made even more perfect. Being able to gaze upon the face of the one she loved, being able to hold her, stroke her hair, touch those lips, was a priceless experience, but she could not be wholly satisfied while, in the recesses of her mind, their lurked the knowledge that there was yet more that she could be doing. There were places on the body of her precious darling that she had not yet seen, places she had not yet touched, places she had not yet had the opportunity to give the love they so very much deserved.

Faced with that sensory onslaught, even the refined, sophisticated Rarity found her mind wandering to much more base places than she would have openly admitted to. Her will gradually weakening, she allowed her eyes to fall closed and her mind to wander, carrying her to wherever it wished. At the same time, Rarity's body did some exploring of its own, the hand not already on Fluttershy quickly sliding over to her stomach. In response, Fluttershy's hand moved to meet up with it, the girl's subconscious reaching out to take part in what it assumed to be another perverse act of finger-threading. Rarity, however, had much different thoughts running through her teenage brain as her fingers found the bottom of Fluttershy's shirt and quickly slipped inside of it.

A pleasurable shiver radiated through Fluttershy's body as Rarity's polished fingernails ran along the tender flesh of her tummy. The unfamiliar sensation was enough to break her impressive concentration, the girl reflexively tearing her eyes away from the television screen and looking down at the source. It took a moment or two for her brain to process what her eyes beheld, but when she finally did recognize the presence of the foreign object within her clothing, an object that was slowly, but surely making its way upwards, she did not waste any time in reacting.

“Umm...Rarity?” Fluttershy whispered, her eyes widening and her pale cheeks reddening.

Rarity, however, was too lost in her thoughts to take notice of her, and so did nothing to stop her hand from continuing its journey up Fluttershy's body, pausing only briefly to caress the interior of her belly button before moving on again.

“Rarity?” said Fluttershy, her rapidly increasing panic pushing her voice well out of the range of a whisper.

Again, Rarity remained deaf to the world, the dreamy smile on her face not faltering in the slightest. As such, her hand did not slow, her fingertips quickly sliding across the last few short inches of Fluttershy's stomach. As they reached their destination, Rarity was treated to the thrilling feel of soft, yet firm material stretched across a vast expanse of warm, plump, tender flesh.

“Rarity!” Fluttershy squealed, clamping her eyes shut.

The uncharacteristically forceful exclamation proved enough to pierce the thick haze clouding Rarity's mind, snapping the girl out of her trance. Her eyes shot open and her head jerked upright, lifting up off of Fluttershy's. She instinctively scanned the room, looking for some unknown danger that could have startled her precious darling so. When she could identify nothing objectionable in the bedroom, not counting the intellectually insulting excuse for a film on the television, her eyes wandered back to the bed, and to the vulnerable girl lying next to her. Once there, of course, Rarity could not help but see her own hand brazenly inserted into Fluttershy's shirt, her fingertips still pressed against one of the cups of her bra.

This time, it was Rarity's turn to blush, the realization of what her hormone-fueled body had been about to do slowly dawning on her. As soon as she was mentally capable of doing so, she jerked her hand away from Fluttershy's chest, then awkwardly slid it the rest of the way back out of her shirt. She gulped as she lifted her shaky hand away from Fluttershy's body, staring at it as if it were some foreign appendage that had spontaneously appeared at the end of her arm. Looking back to Fluttershy, she saw her girlfriend slowly open her eyes, then turn her head to look at her. There was no anger in those eyes, yet she could see the embarrassment as clear as day, as well as the fear and...was that...guilt?

“I'm so sorry,” she could have said.

“I don't know what came over me” would have worked too.

“I swear I'll never do that again” should have been a given.

All were satisfactory words Rarity could have used to dispel the awkwardness of the moment, words of the sort that had passed through her lips many a time before. It was not the first time the romantically aggressive girl had attempted to push the boundaries of her relationship with the one she loved; granted, she had never done so in such a brash manner. In such instances, when she had pushed just a little bit further than her darling had been willing to go, a heartfelt apology had never failed to mend the damage, the incident quickly passed by and forgotten, at least for Fluttershy's part. Rarity knew this; she knew what she needed to say, and yet those words were not the ones that she spoke to the face of her love.

“Why?” she said, the word forcing its way out without her even thinking about it. “Why not?”

Rarity quickly realized what she had said, and while she recognized the consequences that they would surely bring, she could not bring herself to deny them, just as she could not deny the feelings in her heart that had spawned them.

The unexpected query had the predictable effect on Fluttershy, her expression conveying the full extent of her shock. Having been put on the spot so suddenly, she froze, her gaze lingering for several moments on Rarity before falling. She looked away, bowing her head as she clamped her eyes shut.

Having started them down that path, Rarity saw no way out of it but to press on and face whatever it might throw at them next. She quickly zeroed in on the remote control, snatching it up and pressing the button to silence the unfittingly cheery music that had been accompanying the exchange. Rarity sighed as silence fell over the room, a silence that would have been significantly more welcome under different circumstances. Taking hold of the bowl still sitting on her lap, she carefully moved it over and set it down on her bedside table. While she was there, she flicked the light switch, filling the room with light once again.

She looked back to Fluttershy, seeing that the girl was looking down at the bedspread, pointedly not meeting her gaze. Fighting to keep control of herself as the ache in her heart grew, Rarity slowly slid out from underneath Fluttershy and sat up, turning to face her and kneeling on the bed with her hands demurely folded in her lap. Without looking up, Fluttershy allowed Rarity to withdraw, the girl sitting up against the pillows and moving her legs to one side. The two sat in awkward silence like that for several moments, neither one sure who would speak first. Eventually, Rarity decided that it was she who needed to speak up, at least for the sake of clarifying her feelings.

“Fluttershy,” she began, her tone uncharacteristically meek and plain. “Darling. You and I have been together for...quite a long time now.” She couldn't help but smile as the precious memories of their lives together flashed before her eyes. “I feel that I've been...very patient with you about...certain things.” Fluttershy's expression did not change, but Rarity saw her clutch the fabric of her skirt in her hands. “I know you. I know you can be a bit...apprehensive about things that fall outside of your comfort zone...that's why I've never tried to pry. I've tried to give you the time you need, tried to give you the space you need...but it's hard for me to do that when...you've never really given me anything to go on. You've never really talked to me about this. You've never really told me...why.”

Slowly, Fluttershy turned her head and looked up at Rarity, although the gloom did not vanish from her face. Rarity tentatively reached out, placing her hand on one of Fluttershy's and giving it a gentle squeeze. Fluttershy did not withdraw, her hand merely relaxing as it felt the familiar touch.

“I love you,” said Rarity, the words putting a smile on her face. “I love you so, so much.” The words soon had the same effect on Fluttershy, a weak smile making its way onto her quivering lips. “You're my best friend...you're my girlfriend...you're the light of my life...but you're a woman too. Just like I love you as a friend, and I love you as a girlfriend...I want to love you as a woman too. I want to show you...how much I love you...all of you...every bit of you.” Fluttershy's gaze briefly fell and her blush deepened, but her smile only grew wider.

“Quite a few of our friends have...already taken that step,” Rarity continued. “They've...already seen what it's like to...share yourself with another. Goodness knows Rainbow makes no secret of her bedroom activities.” The two girls shared a soft chuckle, Fluttershy meeting Rarity's gaze once again.

“I'm not saying that we should be taking her as an example,” said Rarity, “or anyone else for that matter. Whatever we do...we should do because it's what we want to do. We should do things our own way.” Rarity's gaze lowered, her smile melting away. “It's just that...I've started to get the impression that...you don't want us to do things any sort of way at all. I can't help but feel that...you just have no interest in doing those sorts of things...with me.”

“No!” exclaimed Fluttershy in an unexpectedly forceful fashion. Rarity's head jerked up, and she saw the concerned look on Fluttershy's face, the concern clearly meant for her. Recognizing the awkwardness of her outburst, Fluttershy blushed and lowered her voice back to its normal intensity, but continued on. “I-I mean...that's not it. I promise it's not.”

Rarity watched attentively as Fluttershy visibly gathered her courage for whatever it was she was about to say. “I...I like it when you...touch me,” she began, her trembling hands grasping Rarity's for support. “I love it. I love it when you...hold me and...and kiss me and...whisper in my ear...when you tell me that I'm...that I'm...beautiful...that I'm...sexy...” She was forced to stop and take several shaky breaths to calm herself and allow her beet-red face to relax somewhat. “I want it. I want to be...loved that way...and I want it to be you doing it.” As she finished, she mustered the courage to fix her moist eyes on Rarity's and give her as confident a smile as she could muster.

Rarity felt the worries in her heart being washed away by the gentle stream of warm words flowing from the one she loved. The smile on her lips came naturally as she squeezed her girlfriend's hands. “You don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” she said. “But then...why? Why is it that, whenever I've tried to do those things with you...or even talk about doing those things with you...you've always been so...reluctant?”

Fluttershy's gaze dropped, a clear expression of shame appearing on her face. “It's because...I'm...scared,” she said. “I'm scared of...actually...doing it. When I'm...just thinking about it, it's alright but, when we're together and...it comes time to actually...do it...I just get so nervous.” She pulled up her legs and hugged her knees, retreating into her shell like a turtle. “I know it's silly. I know it's my fault. It's my fault that we haven't been able to...do the things we want...that you haven't been able to do the things you want. I'm sorry. I just— “

Fluttershy was silenced by the pressing of a fingertip against her lips. She slowly looked back up at Rarity, who was staring at her resolutely. “Don't,” Rarity commanded, her tone soft, but unyielding. “Don't say you're sorry.” Rarity removed her finger, reaching down to take Fluttershy's hands again as she shuffled closer to her. “Fluttershy...my precious darling...I know you. I know you very well...that's why I love you so much. It's also why I know that...you have trouble dealing with your fears.”

Rarity reached out and placed a hand on Fluttershy's cheek, caressing it lovingly. “You're such a sweet, sensitive girl,” she said, her words drawing out Fluttershy's smile once again. “I love that about you, but I know that it makes it hard for you to...deal with certain things. You can be timid at times, but...I know that you have it in you to be brave as well. I've seen that part of you. I've seen what you can accomplish when you put your heart and soul into it. You could move mountains if you truly wanted to. In that respect...you're the strongest, bravest girl I've ever known.”

Fluttershy sniffled, wiping the wetness from there eyes as her quivering lips smiled back at her love. She breathed deeply, her smile slowly dissolving away again. “No,” she said, “I'm not. I'm not strong...or brave. I wish I was...I really, really do. I wish I didn't have to be afraid of this...or anything else. I wish I could be as confident and...bold and...fearless as...as you.”

Fluttershy's head lowered, but Rarity quickly put her hand under Fluttershy's chin and raised it back up again, forcing the girl to look her in the eye. “Fearless?” said Rarity, smiling and shaking her head slowly. “No, darling...I'm not fearless. There are many things I'm afraid of...including this.” Fluttershy's eyes widened in wonder at this confession. “But you know what I'm most afraid of?” Rarity took Fluttershy's head in her hands, then slowly leaned in and pressed her forehead against Fluttershy's, their noses gently booping together. “I'm afraid that the girl I love...is unhappy,” she whispered. “I'm afraid that...she's going to continue being unhappy...because she's too afraid to do what she wants. If there were something...anything I could do to help her overcome those fears...I would do it in a heartbeat.”

Fluttershy had a peculiar look on her face as she struggled to process the jumble of thoughts and feelings bouncing around her head. “You...you're afraid too?” she whispered.

“Mm-hmm,” Rarity affirmed, smiling supportively.

“You're afraid of us...having...” said Fluttershy.

“Yes,” said Rarity, sparing the timid girl from having to finish her sentence.

“But...why?” said Fluttershy, the idea that Rarity could be afraid of anything, especially something like that, boggling her mind.

“Well,” Rarity began, collecting her thoughts, “sharing yourself with the one you love...giving yourself to them...it's a big step to take. It's a big step, and...there's a lot that goes into it. There are a lot of things that are worth worrying about...things that are worth being afraid of. I think anybody would be at least a little bit anxious about going through with it, myself included.”

“You feel that way, but...you still...want to do it?” said Fluttershy.

“It's a big step,” said Rarity, “but...taking big steps is...part of being in love. Being afraid is part of being in love. That's why being in love is a two-person job. When you have someone by your side...someone who would go to the ends of the earth for you...you can take those big steps together. And if you're afraid...then you can be afraid together...and you can be brave together.”

Fluttershy's quivering lips let loose a sob as the first tears flowed down her cheek. She leaned forward, burying her face in Rarity's neck and nuzzling it. Rarity put her arms around her and held her tightly, caressing her head and shoulders. As strong as she was trying to be, even she could not keep her own tears in check.

“I...I want to be...I want to be afraid with you,” sobbed Fluttershy.

“And I want to be brave with you,” whispered Rarity, “my precious darling.”