Rarity knocked on the door of her friend Fluttershy's house. Of all of Rarity's friends, the shy pegasus was the most likely to opt out of the planned vacation. The Rarity purse her lips in concern as thoughts of how Fluttershy would react flowed through her head. Most of them involved her curling up in a ball at the very mention of estrus. With her outdoor lifestyle, Fluttershy would be the most regular of all her friends. Coupled with her shyness, all signs indicated that Fluttershy would much rather prefer locking herself in her cottage with some tea, mood music, and few magazines she had worked up the courage to buy over the years.

The door opened, revealing a single light blue eye of Fluttershy. Seeing nopony else was with Rarity, the pegasus breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door all the way.

"Oh um, hi Rarity. What brings you out here? Not that I don't appreciate it, but this is rather sudden." Fluttershy's face lifted up. "Not that I'm unhappy with you visiting!" Fluttershy poked her head out of the door. "There isn't anypony else with you is there?"

Rarity smiled knowingly. "No darling, no stallions here."

Fluttershy blushed deeply. "Oh... Was it that obvious?" She retreated inside her house and proceeded to enter the kitchen.

"Well, it is that time of year, though I haven't started myself. Twilight has though, strangely enough, and judging from all the slightly creeped-out looks from customers leaving Sugarcube Corner, I'd bet that Pinkie has as well." Rarity entered the kitchen and sat at the table as Fluttershy, ever the attentive hostess, made them a pot of tea.

"So um..." Fluttershy trailed off as she pondered her question. "Did you come here to make sure I was handling it alright?"

"Yes and no," Rarity began. "I came here specifically to tell you about an idea I had."

"It isn't a fashion design you want to try is it? Because I don't think I'd do to well wearing anything ummm..." Fluttershy buried herself into her mane. "Form-fitting."

Rarity shook her head. "Nothing like that dear. I was thinking of a vacation to a tropical island with the rest of our friends. Twilight thinks it's a wonderful idea and now I wanted to know if you'd be able to make it."

The pegasus pulled out of her pink shelter and looked at Rarity. "A tropical island," she stated, though the look in her eyes said she had meant it as a question. Rarity nodded. "In the middle of summer." Again, a nod. "With our friends?"

Rarity smiled. "All mares, so we can have some total relaxation."

Fluttershy leaned in towards Rarity, her wings twitching all the while. "All mares? Um, what if I end up needing, or uh... wanting some relief?"

"As always I'd be willing to help you, and if you were to ask others, I'm sure they would as well," Rarity answered. The kettle began to hiss and Fluttershy made the finishing touches to the tea, before giving Rarity a small cup. "The only question is if you'll be able to come, what with all of your..." Rarity trailed off as she noticed the near complete silence of the cottage for the first time. "Animals," she completed. "Where are they?"

"Ummm..." Fluttershy brought her forehooves together and pursed her lips. "They're doing... their own thing now. They kind of started leaving when I started fussing over them while they..." Fluttershy's wings quivered at her sides. "Even Angel Bunny went and found a den fairly far away."

"So that means you can come?"

"Yes."

***

Trixie shut the curtains to her caravan/impermanent household before turning to Rarity.

"And Twilight herself suggested I come with all of you to the island?" Rarity nodded before Trixie looked at her caravan. "The walls of my caravan are thin, and moving it outside of town would do little as I'd still need to come in for supplies. It would be pleasant for us to get away from all these colts who aren't worthy." Rarity gave an incredulous look at Trixie before she stammered, "I mean er..." Trixie frowned and stared at her horn. "I accept. When do we meet and where?"

"We can all leave from Twilight's in two days, go to the coast, and be on our way by the third day," Rarity answered.

"And you're sure that Twilight's going to be with us?" Trixie asked, before she shut her mouth tight.

"Yes, I'm sure she would be able to take some time to teach you magic while we're there," Rarity said.

***

Applejack bucked the tree behind her and was rewarded with a cascade of apples falling into the buckets she had set up. To the side, Cheerilee had her face inside a book, doing her level best to avoid thinking of another particular member of the apple family whenever hoof connected to the trunk.

"A vacation?" Applejack huffed. "Well, Ah've never been to a tropical island, an' neither has Cheerilee." She bucked another tree before looking at her friend Rarity. "Well, Apple Bloom is old enough to help around the farm, but young enough that I don't needta worry 'bout her gettin' frisky with the colts." Applejack began gathering apples that had not fallen into the buckets.

"And Big Macintosh would be able to work much more easily without me here to distract him," Cheerilee added. The mare shoved her nose back into the book and took deep breaths. She moved her rump along the cool grass, and it soothed the itch that had built up in her loins. "And of course, three seasons of tending to school-foals is hard work. I could do with a vacation."

Applejack nodded, before spitting out an apple into a bucket. "An' with the barn raised from the Apple Family Reunion, Ah don't need to worry about fixing it. Applebuck season i'n't until autumn." Applejack took one last apple and placed it in the bucket. "It's a deal."

***

Lightning dust stood there with her mouth gaping at the offer Rarity had just given her. Rainbow Dash reached over and tried to shut it manually with her hoof, only to have it swing back open like a saloon door.

"Uhh." Rainbow Dash looked at Rarity. "I think you broke Lightning Dust."

"I-I n-never thought you'd forgive me after I made such a total flank out of myself!" Lightning Dust exclaimed, and she looked at Rarity. "I mean, I almost got you killed!"

"Well admittedly I had doubts, but you were able to get Rainbow to forgive you," Rarity answered. "And besides! It would be rude of me not to extend the invitation to you as well. You are both going to be starting your careers in the Wonderbolts come this fall."

Lightning Dust sat on her rump, opening and closing her mouth confusedly at the unprecedented offer she had been given.

Rainbow leaned over with a bright smile on her face. "We'll do it!"

***

"You want Vinyl and I to go on a vacation with you? In order to get out of Ponyville for the estrus season?" Octavia leaned back and placed a hoof on her chest. "While I'm flattered you consider us such close friends, Vinyl doesn't go into heat with her night life at the club." Octavia ceased speaking for a moment when Vinyl nuzzled into her. "And I for one don't want to leave her."

Vinyl floated her magenta glasses to rest on her horn. "We can make the trip." She grinned widely at the slightly shocked look Octavia gave her.

"Vinyl," the grey mare gasped, "you said you wanted to find a stallion for us this summer!"

"I said I wouldn't mind if we explored other partners." Vinyl draped a foreleg over Octavia's back. "Lyra is only interested in Bon Bon. This would be a good opportunity if building a herd is what you're interested in."

Octavia pursed her lips in thought before her eyes widened in shock as Vinyl began putting more and more of her weight onto the cellist's back. Octavia gulped as the familiar weight made her body beg for the sensations would follow.

"Alright!" she nearly yelped. "We can join. Just one question though: are there going to be any other musically inclined mares?" Octavia asked

"Well, she does know her way around instruments." Rarity blushed at the thought of the next mare she needed to invite.

***

Pinkie was staring off past Rarity's shoulder with the happiest, widest, and quite possibly most disturbing smile Rarity had ever seen. The unicorn waved a hoof in front of her friend's eyes, legitimately believing she had inadvertently mentioned the one thing that would break Pinkie's brain.

"Pinkie dear, say something." Rarity floated out her emotion sensing scarf and placed it around Pinkie. Pulses of yellow danced about the fabric indicating the mare was definitely thinking of things not meant to be mentioned in front of foals.

Pinkie shook her head and looked at Rarity. "A vacation with you guys? Sure!" Before Rarity could protest, she was drawn into a nearly rib-crushing hug by Pinkie Pie. "This is going to be so fun! We'll build campfires, swim on the beach, tell stories, sing songs, make smores, and in the morning... I'm making waffles!" She pushed off of Rarity to look her in the eyes. "Go exploring, have a drum circle, and all that kind of fun."

Rarity blushed at the party pony's blatant refusal to acknowledge one particular form of fun her body had indicated. "That's wonderful darling, make sure to pack for the occasion."

Pinkie Pie ran into Sugarcube Corner, past the sales counter, and up the stairs to her room. She returned moments later with two suitcases before she whispered something to Mr. Cake. He nodded vigorously before indicating that she should go with a wave of his hoof. Pinkie trotted up to Rarity, towing the suitcases behind her.

"We uhh," Rarity fumbled to tell the eager mare that their departure wasn't for another two days. "We aren't going to be leaving until the day after tomorrow."

One of Pinkie's bags flopped open to reveal an impressive line up of socks and instruments—the musical kind. "Awwww, I understand." The mare turned around and set about cleaning up her baggage.

***

"Twelve mares in heat; it is a situation that's hard to beat." Zecora grabbed her cup and took a sip of tea. "An island adventure sure to please, and we can have some time at ease." The zebra smiled warmly at Rarity. "Your offer, I must accept, for jungle travels, I am an adept."

"Wonderful!" Rarity exclaimed. "That's everypony then, the ship will depart at ten minutes after ten O'clock not tomorrow, but the next day." Rarity reached down to the bitter brew that Zecora made for her. She looked around at the tribal masks leering down at her. "It must be rather lonely here, so far from home..."

"Through the solitude, I make do. While I might not have a colt, of other ways to satisfy, I'm no dolt." Zecora got up from her seat and walked over to a cauldron, she added a yellow powder to the mix. "Special herbs for a fix, to get rid of a mare's ticks."

Rarity eyed the brew curiously. "You mean to say that you were making something to help you ride it out alone?"

"Indeed that is what I meant, a special potion, to provide a vent."

"Sounds like something a lot of the mares in Ponyville would enjoy having." Rarity flicked a bit of her mane out of the way.

"In a way of speaking, mares who drink this find what they're seeking," Zecora replied cryptically.

Rarity took a sip of tea and hummed to herself as the warmth moved down her throat. Everything had gone as well as she had hoped. Now she simply had to pack her own bags in preparation... It's going to be a long night, Rarity thought.

Author's Note

Alright, the chapter introducing all the mares who'll be on the island, along with how they're all able to make the trip on short notice, is here. The action will start in the upcoming chapter. Feel free to state some pairings you're eager to see first in the comments.