Demonstration

--

"Fluttershy?"

Rainbow Dash's voice sounded oddly hollow in the dim light of Fluttershy's cottage. Sunset was long past, as Rainbow Dash had observed on her rather lengthy trip down from Winsome Falls. The athletic pegasus flexed out some kinked muscles from spending too long aloft - thank you, Rarity, for bringing the entire Boutique with you! - as she set down her saddlebags near the front door.

Searching for a moment, her eyes adjusted to the gloom and paused on a polished gleam of metal near the door. Rainbow leaned over to tweak the lamp-knob with her teeth, bringing a flickering but welcome illumination to the room.

Fluttershy was home, Rainbow Dash knew that much; the upstairs light was on, and she could see it through the window. She'd learned to be more polite of late, about barging in through ponies' windows. Twilight had given her an earful about it enough times, with the library's overabundance of tempting access points.

"Fluttershy?” She called again, a little louder, "It's Rainbow!"

She couldn't possibly be asleep. By now, the overwhelming majority of her animal companions had scurried off to whatever dens they cuddled into at night, leaving the raceways lining her ceiling and walls mercifully unpopulated, and even Angel seemed to have absconded somewhere.

"Oh!" Fluttershy's tiny voice filtered through from upstairs. "Just a second!"

Rainbow chuckled and trotted to the kitchen, grabbing the kettle and filling it with cold water from the tap, then tucking the long, insulated handle onto the fireplace's swingarm. A tweak to the gas knob, and soon the fireplace was at a low simmer. Normally, not something somepony ought to do on a warm night, but Rainbow Dash already missed the warm campfire from the last couple of nights, and seeing as how she hadn't been able to bring Fluttershy along...

Rainbow Dash's wings flexed abruptly as Fluttershy appeared out of thin air at her side. "Whuah."

Fluttershy blinked and knitted her brow. "'Whuah'?" She echoed, teasingly.

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash put her forehoof down from where she'd drawn it up to her chest. "Whuah," she nodded, firmly, as if she were the authority on such matters. "That's like 'hi'."

"Of course it is," Fluttershy giggled, and leaned up to kiss Rainbow on the cheek, prompting the multi-hued pegasus to add pink to her repertoire for a moment. "How was Winsome Falls?"

"It was awesome!" Rainbow Dash trotted over to the well-worn green couch that occupied one wall of the living room, making sure to leave space for Fluttershy.

Fluttershy busied herself with getting down the tea, something Rainbow Dash had long since learned to leave to her. It was a little ritual every time she arrived at the cottage. Fluttershy always knew exactly which tea to brew, and how to brew it - an incredible pain for non-unicorns, really - and though Rainbow had never really been a fan before, she could feel a fondness for the stuff creeping in.

Tea was so...insidious, Rainbow decided, seizing upon a word that Daring Do would be proud of. But tasty.

"Just 'awesome'?" Fluttershy prompted, peering out from beneath her pink mane.

"W-well," Rainbow Dash stammered, with a chuckle. "Scoots had a rough time, but it turned out okay."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she'd had some bad dreams, she got spooked, took off in the middle of the night. I'm glad I heard her go, because she got herself into real trouble, real fast. Went straight off on her scooter, got tripped up, dunked in a river and was this close..." Rainbow Dash held up her hooves, close together, "...to ending up at the bottom of a waterfall."

Fluttershy stared at her, in shock.

"I know!" Rainbow Dash cried, throwing her hooves up.

"I'm guessing you came to the rescue, as you always do?" Fluttershy's muzzle curled in a knowing grin.

"Heh, yeah. It turned out Scoots had been having some real bad dreams, which was kinda my fault." Rainbow's hoof felt the back of her neck, looking sheepish.

"You...didn't tell her ghost stories, did you?" Rainbow could feel those teal eyes on her, narrowed ever so slightly in accusation.

"Eh-heh," Rainbow Dash blushed, and bit her lip.

Fluttershy's eyes rolled a little and she shook her head. She carefully set her hindhoof against the simmering kettle’s long handle, and swung it out from the fire, sending the whole thing wobbling. "Oh, Rainbow Dash," she scolded mildly. "You know better than to be telling all those stories around little fillies."

"Applebloom and Sweetie Belle loved it! And how do you even know when to pour that?" Rainbow pointed with exasperation at the kettle, which hadn't whistled. "I do it and you say I burn it. It's water."

"Don't change the subject," Fluttershy said without looking, fixated on the task at hoof. With the long, insulated handle between her teeth, she delicately tipped the kettle on its built in hinge over the tea trolley, pouring out a splash of hot water into the teapot, and then each oversized, porcelain tea-cup-sorta-mug-thing. Rainbow couldn't remember the name exactly. "I do hope that you apologized?"

"Well, yeah. Scoots and I talked. She was scared, having nightmares, but...she was trying to be brave for me. I told her I was scared too when I first heard those stories, tried to make her feel better." Self-consciously, Rainbow's hoof nudged at the couch's cushions, frowning.

"She's learned from the best at that, you know," Fluttershy said after a moment's pause, dumping measured scoops of tea from the tin she'd retrieved earlier into the warmed teapot and pouring the near-boiling water over them.

Rainbow frowned over at her, even as the scent of Earl Neigh began to fill the room. "I," she began, winding herself up for a rant, only to find the wind gone from her wings before she even started. She sagged on the couch a little and sighed. "Yeah. I hadn't thought of it that way. I probably should have."

"She idolizes you. Have you seen that clubhouse of theirs?"

Rainbow blushed. She'd been there a few times during their meetings of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, though she never dared show herself. It had done more for her ego than she cared to admit. Of course, there were those posters. Rainbow Dash flying through the stars, with a solid rainbow trail. Where'd that even come from? It was like as wide as a pony was long. And the balloon animal...

"Y-yeah," Rainbow Dash said, admitting nothing.

Carefully, Fluttershy trundled the low tea trolley over to the side of the couch, and then hopped up beside her, waiting for it to steep. "You know how much she looks up to you."

"I do!" Rainbow nodded, "I know. And that's why I said I'd take her under my wing, so to speak. Y'know, help her out a little, show her some tricks. Be a big sister, I guess?" She felt her face soften into a grin as she remembered, Scoots on her hoof, darting through the countless rainbow waterfalls. "Spending time with her was, well, pretty cool and--"

Rainbow trailed off, as she felt Fluttershy's hoof at her cheek. Her muzzle went a little slack as she looked up, into her fellow pegasus' beaming face, a smile to end all smiles greeting her beneath that perfect pink mane. Before she could get another word out, Rainbow found herself muted by Fluttershy's muzzle pressing to hers in a kiss, her deep teal eyes closing for a moment.

It was all too fleeting, and before Rainbow could respond properly, Fluttershy's muzzle had pulled away and was directed towards grabbing the teapot's handle.

"What was that?" Rainbow said, staring off into space for a moment longer, before refocusing on Fluttershy.

Rainbow could see her blush around her mane, though Fluttershy played it cool. Taking lessons in nonchalance from the best had helped her composure immeasurably, but she still couldn't completely hide her embarrassment.

"That was for being you, Rainbow Dash," she said, and picked up the teapot with a hoof under its oversized handle, making circling motions to swirl the infused tea about inside.

Rainbow blinked and had to try hard to keep from laughing. Oh, sweet Celestia, that was so beautifully sappy. "Just for being me, huh?" Rainbow replied, with a little grin.

"S-sure," Fluttershy insisted, focusing all too intently on the act of merely pouring the tea into the twin cups she'd laid out, each more like mugs with their hoof-loops since they were made for pegasi and earth ponies.

Rainbow Dash purposefully kept her grin wide, so that when Fluttershy looked back to deliver her tea by setting it on the couch in front of her, Fluttershy couldn't help but break down laughing as soon as she let the mug go, her composure shattering.

"What!" Fluttershy stammered through her giggles, her blush intensifying. "It...it sounded better in my head, isn't that what you always say?"

"I thought it was pretty good," Rainbow Dash assured, trying to keep the mirth out of her voice.

Fluttershy just shook her head, and giggled at her own expense. "Oh, I've been reading too many of Rarity's books," she said, taking a sip of her tea.

Rainbow decided better than to tease Fluttershy about it, a decision she knew she probably would have erred on in the past. "How was Hoofington?" she said, offering Fluttershy a change of pace.

Fluttershy's withers relaxed, gratefully. "Oh, it was just lovely. It's just as well you went camping, I had to spend most of my time inside. I did get to go to the park a couple of times, though; there's a lovely family of squirrels who lived there, back when I was going to school? They're still there, and they remembered me!" Fluttershy giggled, and her wings flexed, excitedly.

Rainbow Dash gave her an indulgent smile. "Even after all this time?"

"I used to feed them often in between classes, and now the squirrels I knew when I was a filly are great-grandparents."

"Speaking of classes?" Rainbow nudged, encouragingly. "What'd they say?"

Fluttershy blushed, "Well, I did a bunch of exams, and..." She paused, digging a forehoof into the couch.

"Aaand?" Rainbow Dash leaned over, tipping her head curiously. She leaned over and sipped at her tea, keeping her eyes fixed and wide on Fluttershy, expectantly.

"And they said that if I wanted to come back and finish my courses, that I could! They'll give me credit for the stuff I already took, though I'd still need another year or so of upgrades." Fluttershy allowed herself a moment's pride, puffing up some and fanning her wings. "You know, stuff that’s new since I took classes a few years ago. But they say with all my experience, they'd probably waive the residency so long as I sit the exams and pass like everypony else."

"Awesome! I told you they would," Rainbow Dash grinned, drumming her hooves together in applause on the couch, an act that made Fluttershy squeak and scoop her tea-mug off of the cushions, lest it tip on the suddenly unstable surface. "You totally got this."

Fluttershy blushed, and sipped her rescued tea in silence. Moment of pride over.

Rainbow waited for Fluttershy to get excited again, and then realized a moment later what a futile notion that was. "That's a big deal, 'Shy!"

"Oh, it's nothing really. I mean, it's not like I'm going to start my own practice or anything, that Goodall mare is wonderful."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, you two aren't competing for business. She does all the domestic stuff, but you do all the wildlife medicine, right? You're not stepping on anypony's hooves as it is, you've always gotten along fine before."

"I suppose," Fluttershy murmured, rubbing her hoof in circles around her mug. "It does feel nice to actually sit down and finish it after all this time."

"I know how hard you worked for all that stuff," Rainbow insisted, laying a wing over Fluttershy's back. "I mean, I went to Flight School, and did my weather team certs, but anypony and their grandmare can get those. You actually went and did something really hard."

Rainbow frowned at Fluttershy's continued silence, and leaned over to nuzzle firmly at the yellow pegasus' withers, lipping gently. She felt Fluttershy arch a little into the touch, stretching her neck out and craning her head to one side with a soft noise of contentment.

"You deserve this," Rainbow whispered, her muzzle tucked next to Fluttershy's ear. "I'm proud of you."

Fluttershy nuzzled up firmly, setting her tea down with a huff. "Oh, Rainbow," she said quietly, "I just wasn't sure if I could do it, I really wasn't. I wasn't sure if I'd remember all the stuff from my classes and oh, it was hard."

Rainbow's stomach knotted up a little. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Oh, no, I don't mean it like that." Fluttershy straightened, and shook her head firmly. "No, you couldn't have been there. You would have been stuck flying circles around the park with nopony to talk to for hours."

"I still--"

"No," Fluttershy insisted, putting a hoof to the end of Rainbow's muzzle. "You did more than enough, Rainbow. After Sombra and the Crystal Empire, Chrysalis and the wedding, after all of that, do you remember what you said to me?"

Rainbow glanced down sheepishly, and recalled one of her...moments of weakness. It'd been after they'd finally taken care of Sombra, and the Crystal Empire was aglitter under the effects of Cadance's restoration spell. Fluttershy had never looked more stunning than on that balcony, towering over the city. The changes had been subtle, the flowers in her flowing mane, her tail, but even so, she'd been a feast for the eyes.

"I said..." Rainbow began, with a guilty little chuckle. "I said that even though the world had almost ended twice in a row, I didn't regret a thing because...I'd been there with you."

Fluttershy blushed at hearing the words again, and nodded firmly. "That's right. You got me thinking, and I didn't regret being with you, not for one second, but there were a few other things I did regret not doing. And not finishing what I started in Hoofington was one of those things."

"All my fault, huh?" Rainbow Dash smiled bashfully, taking her turn to glow crimson.

Fluttershy paused, and looked like she was about to say something profound, but then she just grinned, and leaned up to kiss Rainbow on the forehead, sending little electric tingles arcing along the nape of her neck. "Mmmhm. All your fault."

Rainbow pushed her head down, and then butted it up against Fluttershy's chin and the crook of her jaw, sliding over her shoulder to draw her into a hug. Her lover fell easily into the embrace, each one with a hoof full of marvelous tea, and the other clutching tightly at the pony before them.

They spent a long moment, squeezed together like that, before Rainbow Dash drew back with a grin. "To no regrets, then," she declared, holding up her mug of tea.

Fluttershy's eyes darted to the upraised mug. "Uh, I don't think you're supposed to toast with tea."

Rainbow Dash continued holding her mug up.

Fluttershy giggled and shook her head, and then raised her mug in kind, the thick porcelain cups barely clinking off of one another. Both pegasi took long sips of the hot, flavorful Earl Neigh tea after that, nestling close to each other for warmth in a companionable silence.

"Are you going to stay here, tonight?" Fluttershy asked after a time, peering up through her mane.

Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded back, and soaked up the resulting excited little wriggle of Fluttershy's hips, the only betrayal of Fluttershy's excitement that the reserved, quiet pegasus couldn't stifle no matter how hard she tried.

"Only fair, right?" Rainbow Dash stretched out her wings, taking another gulp of tea. "You stayed at my place on Thursday, after all."

Fluttershy nodded, though her head ducked in a show of embarrassment, "It's...it's not a competition, though."

"Oh, naw, of course not!" Rainbow shook her head, beaming. "Doesn't matter much where we end up, 'Shy, as long as you're cool with it."

Fluttershy giggled, and flicked her tail to and fro. "Either's fine. I just miss my animals sometimes. Some of them can get...impatient."

"You mean, Angel gets impatient," Rainbow Dash frowned and craned her neck, glancing around the room. "Where is that little fuzzball, anyway?"

"Oh, he's probably sleeping at the other tree tonight, the shelter I hollowed out over there?"

"Mmmhm?"

"I think he's, um, learned to give us some, um, privacy."

Dash stifled a giggle into a series of tiny snorts, hidden behind a hoof. "Oh, wow, I didn't think we were getting that bad."

"Well," Fluttershy squirmed nervously, "we have been...sleeping together a lot more the last couple of months."

"But we don't, y'know, do it every night," Rainbow Dash grinned.

"No, but, um, I try not to talk too much to Angel about we do in the bedroom." Fluttershy's muzzle pursed, thoughtfully. "I don't think a little bunny like him needs to know about...that."

Rainbow Dash couldn't help her laugh this time around, tipping on the couch and coming dangerously close to spilling her tea. "Oh, hah! Yeah, that's probably not stuff he needs to know."

"Mm, no," Fluttershy said, and then was interrupted by a most unladylike yawn.

"Heh, and speaking of which," Rainbow Dash nodded, unable to help but succumb to a contagious yawn herself, "did you want hit the hay? It looked like you'd practically already gone to sleep when I came in."

Fluttershy stifled a giggle and shook her head, locks of her pink mane waving. "Oh, no, I was just up reading. The train in from Hoofington arrived late, I didn't get in until just after suppertime, but I wanted to finish my book."

"Yeah, we started down from the mountain around noon, but the Carousel Boutique took even longer to get down than it took to get up."

Fluttershy squinted a little, puzzled.

"Rarity's wagon was so heavy and full of junk," Rainbow Dash explained, with no small hint of exasperation, "Applejack had to walk behind it with a rope, pulling the whole way down, 'like a gosh-darn tug o' war', just to keep it from crushing somepony. If we'd let it get up any speed at all, whoosh." Rainbow made a sailing motion with her hoof. "It would have been tourist carriages and cliffs all over again."

Fluttershy winced. "Oh, my."

"Yeah. Anyway, we got Rarity and Sweetie Belle home, and then I winged it over here. And tomorrow I've got to play catch-up with the weather team."

Fluttershy patted Rainbow's barrel with a hoof, gently. "Come to bed, then. I promise I won't keep you up."

Rainbow downed the last of her tea and smiled, leaning over to kiss Fluttershy on the lips, fleetingly. "If you insist."

--

Most of an hour later, against all odds, both pegasi were still awake and reading by lamplight, nestled side by side. Their eyes were lidded and drowsy, flipping through the pages in an immersed twilight of imagination.

Rainbow Dash often thought of finishing a good book as akin to coming up for air after a dive, and while you were under - as she'd experienced both in Fluttershy's company and not - time seemed to fly past no matter how tired somepony thought they were.

Fluttershy had curled up into a ball on the end of the bed, a pillow under her chin as she flipped through the last chapter of City of Flights: The Chariot Caper about some absurd heist in Las Pegasus. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, had been enveloped by Daring Do and the Quest for Deldrimor Keep, and had propped herself up on the remaining pillows, her lap occupied by the hardcover tome.

Though each would giggle or hum from time to time, as they read through paragraph after paragraph, they politely kept any comments to themselves. Each of them knew better than to let their little bubble of imagination burst prematurely.

Eventually though, Rainbow Dash finished her book first, and closed the heavy hardcover, catching it with a hoof before it could thump and disturb Fluttershy. She set the heavy book aside, peering past her knees at Fluttershy, and she felt a smile broaden on her snout.

She looks so peaceful. And damn sexy.

With that, Fluttershy looked up from her book and blushed, as she realized Rainbow was staring at her.

Rainbow kept smiling, unflappable. "Hey."

"Hi," Fluttershy said, in almost a whisper. She giggled and nosed back down into her book, stealing a glance or two up and over at her bedmate. It was clear she only had a couple of pages left, so Rainbow tugged back the comforter on her side and began redistributing the pillows she'd hoarded, fluffing them up a bit.

It was then she caught a whiff of something, on one of the pillows. She'd almost put it towards the far side of the bed, where she'd found it, but something made her pause. Rainbow squinted, and sniffed experimentally at the linen.

It smelled of Fluttershy, yes, but there was something else. Something spicier. Rainbow's eyes widened a bit, and her wings fanned out a little as she realized what it was. She carefully set the pillow down, and sat smugly at the head of the bed, tipping her head to one side while she perched like Opalescence.

"You fibbed," Rainbow accused, politely.

Fluttershy blinked and looked up in confusion, when she realized she, and not Daring Do, was being spoken to. "Uhh?"

A cyan hoof rose, and pointed accusingly. "You weren't reading. Or rather, that's not all you were doing."

"What?" Fluttershy stammered, though the blush that crept up her cheeks told the whole story without her needing to say anything.

Rainbow Dash stifled a giggle, failed, and then broke into a trademark Rainbow Dash cackle, tipping over onto her back helplessly. "Oh, gosh," she blubbered, in between giggles, "your face is just, like, the reddest thing."

Fluttershy dug a forehoof into the bed, and ducked her head. "Well, I didn't want to mention it. It didn't seem fair."

Rainbow Dash rolled over onto her front, and stifled her giggles, though she couldn't help the big grin she wore. "Why not!"

"Well, um, it seemed, um, impolite."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and propped her chin up on a hoof. "Fluttershy, we sleep together. Impolite isn't really a thing when we're talking about that stuff. We're adult mares, right?"

Fluttershy squirmed, and nodded.

"You didn't think I was gonna be mad that you got off without me, did you?"

"N-no, not really. Well, I just..." Fluttershy's face contorted, and Rainbow Dash's mood fell as she recognized the little battle unfolding on Fluttershy's muzzle. Oh. She didn't want to talk about it. Oops.

Rainbow Dash backpedaled. "You know what, nevermind."

"No, it's just..."

"No, really, it's okay." Rainbow's hooves fumbled with the blankets.

"Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy's voice was suddenly stern, and insistent. Rainbow looked up into a vivid stare from those deep, teal eyes, and froze. "We need to talk about this, now."

Rainbow Dash winced and sagged a little, despite her best effort to hide it. Capital-T Talk. Now, we've stepped in it.

Fluttershy, for better or worse, never let things like this slide anymore, when it came to the two of them. The timid, unassuming yellow pegasus was as meek as a lamb, until the two of them ran aground on some issue that looked like it maybe might threaten to potentially someday become a point of friction.

It was as though she was hypervigilant about anything upsetting the delicate balance they'd established. Part of Rainbow Dash was grateful for it; it'd solved more misunderstandings than she could count before they even became misunderstandings, but it was weirdly awkward and formal sometimes. She hoped this wouldn't be one of those times.

"I, uh," Rainbow Dash scrambled, rubbing her forehooves together. "I didn't mean anything by teasing you about it."

"Okay."

"I was just, y'know, curious."

"I know," Fluttershy sighed, "It was just...I'm a little self-conscious, and, um, that was...that was for me," she finished, putting her forehooves on her chest.

Rainbow Dash knew the train of thought that accompanied that. It's not polite to tease about things that are important to me.

Rainbow Dash nodded, biting her lip. "Okay, I...I get that."

"I'm glad," Fluttershy said with a smile. "I didn't think you'd be mad or jealous. I know you better than that. Maybe a while ago I might have thought that, but not anymore. I...I think you should know that."

"Thanks, I think," Rainbow Dash chuckled, and let herself smile too. Already, she felt the tension melting away.

It was a little jarring sometimes, to have her natural thought process stopped dead in its tracks, and uncomfortable to have it picked apart so, but Fluttershy seemed to realize how effectively her gambit countered Rainbow Dash's usual blustering, fumbling attempts to repair conversational faux pas, and kept employing it.

Come to think of it, Rainbow Dash thought, we haven't needed to do that in a while. Maybe we're getting better at this.

"You're, um, welcome to know, if you ask. I..." Fluttershy continued, scrunching her lips together. "I really mean it when I say, I don't mind talking about it. If you ask."

"My bad," Rainbow Dash said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"And if you must know, I..." Fluttershy trailed off into a mumble.

Rainbow's ears pricked up. "'Shy?"

"I never finished," Fluttershy squirmed, ducking her head. "You, uh, interrupted me. Not that I wasn't glad to see you, but..."

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof, dismissively. "Wait, back up. You didn't finish?" She tried very hard to keep anything resembling judgement out of her voice. "I mean, I'm flattered, but you know that I know better than anypony, that a mare's gotta do what a mare's gotta do."

Fluttershy lowered her head with a little squeak, and laid her head sideways on the pillow. "I had to make tea," she explained meekly.

Rainbow Dash folded her forehooves over her chest, and opened her muzzle to say something, then thought better of it. 'Go on, then', her first instinct, sounded kind of confrontational. So did 'well, who's stopping you now?' She needed more...more...

More Fluttershy.

"Maybe," Rainbow began again, with a sly little grin, "you should finish what you started."

Smoooooth.

Fluttershy perked up and blushed, glancing around as if there was somepony else watching. "Well, I suppose I could."

Rainbow Dash patted the bed beside her, and unfolded a little. "Please? I wanna see how you do it."

"Really?" Fluttershy laughed, nudging her forgotten book aside, crawling up beside Rainbow to stretch out on her back and pulling a pillow under her neck.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash nodded enthusiastically. "Everypony's got their own thing. I want to see how you do it." So I can do it to you later. "Seriously, we should have done this, like, ages ago."

"It seems silly," Fluttershy whispered, as she nervously drew her thighs up.

Rainbow Dash flipped herself around, so that she could lay her chin on Fluttershy's pulled-up hindleg, stroking a hoof along her hip, trailing the edge of her cutie mark. "It's not silly," she said, as seriously as she could muster. "It's good. It's not like I don't know how to make you feel awesome, but I wanna see how you make you feel awesome."

Fluttershy looked askance, and squirmed a little, but didn't shy away from the touch. "That's...very thoughtful of you, Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah, well, if I had a bit every time somepony complained to me that their partner wasn't paying attention to what they wanted, I could buy the Wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, there's no substitute for show and tell. And lately, I've been learning that it's good to talk about stuff."

"I...I guess you're right," Fluttershy giggled, though Rainbow Dash could see a flicker of pride dart across her normally so carefully controlled features. Gradually, Fluttershy relaxed and allowed her hindlegs to part, unfolding towards the bed.

The tightly sealed slit of her marehood looked a little puffier and more prominent than usual, thanks to her earlier attentions. Below, the equally snug pucker of her tailhole winked, just above the spray of her pink tail-hair. As Fluttershy's legs fell to either side, the seam of tender flesh parted to allow the folds of her sex to peek into the air, making Rainbow's mouth water.

The multihued pegasus rode Fluttershy's hindleg all the way down to the bed as she lowered and spread it apart, stretching herself out on the bed perpendicular to the demure mare at her side. Rainbow lowered her muzzle to settle it comfortably atop Fluttershy's soft, warm thigh, letting her hoof roam around the trio of pink butterflies on her flank, encouraging with gentle kneads over the sensitive coat there.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her chin tucking to her neck, visibly forcing herself to relax and reacquaint herself with the sensations of her body. Then, her hoof began to slide down her front, stroking broadly along her barrel and then diving between her legs.

Rainbow Dash watched raptly as the expression on her lover's face contorted a little, almost wincing and tensing in anticipation before her hoof found its mark at the peak of her blossoming sex, the edge of her hoof finding her hood and sliding it back carefully.

"Straightaway, huh?" Rainbow Dash murmured, her eyes darting up to meet Fluttershy's as they opened in surprise at Rainbow's voice. "No, really. You go right there, first?"

Fluttershy's withers relaxed a little, as she realized Dash wasn't judging her technique, but was honestly curious. "M-mmmhmm," she breathed, arching her neck back into the pillows behind her head.

"I'll stay quiet, if you'd rather," Rainbow Dash grinned nervously, her hoof pausing on Fluttershy's flank.

"Oh! N-no, it's fine. I meant it when I said I didn't mind if you asked. Just..." Fluttershy giggled, with a giddy squirm and a shimmy of her hips, pressing her manicured hoof around the rim of her clit slowly. "I've never talked about it with somepony before, like this."

Rainbow Dash frowned a little, sideways on Fluttershy's thigh. "That's a shame," she said earnestly. "We should fix that."

"We are fixing that," Fluttershy insisted, and then let out a little cry as she pressed her frog down onto her sex, stifling it with a bite of her lip that Rainbow Dash actually felt herself become slightly annoyed with. There were times to be quiet, and jilling oneself off was not one of those times. Rainbow knew better than to suggest otherwise, though; there was no coaxing Fluttershy to be anything but Fluttershy.

Carefully, Fluttershy dragged her smooth hoofedge past the steadily more prominent bead of her clit, making the little bump dimple and then spring up again, each time producing a fresh quiver from the pale yellow pegasus.

Rainbow Dash watched the sight before her raptly, those folds popping into view again and again as Fluttershy's hoof slid over and past and then returned again. Occasionally, Fluttershy would slide her hoof away entirely, absently cupping and squeezing at the subtle mounds of her teats on her pubic bone just above, catching her breath. She wasn't focusing on her teats, though. It seemed almost like she was...

"Are you edging?" Rainbow Dash blurted out, with a bewildered furrow of her brow.

Fluttershy giggled and nodded, rolling her head back into the pillows. "Mmhmm."

"I thought only stallions did that," Rainbow Dash said, with a note of awe creeping into her voice. "I can't do that."

"Takes practice," Fluttershy moaned with a fleeting, coy little grin, sliding her hoof back down and gasping at the renewed contact. Her folds were growing wetter by the moment, pouting out more and more prominently, and Rainbow Dash could see as much as feel the flexing of her muscles as she winked into her hoof.

Rainbow Dash's nostrils flared, too, with the rich scent of the mare before her building in the air. It was so sweet it was almost like chocolate, in that somepony could be forgiven for wanting to have it melt on their tongue. Tinged around the edges with tantalizing notes of sharper, spicier scents like those Rainbow Dash had smelled on the pillow, and it was all the eager spectator of a mare could do to keep from diving her snout between Fluttershy's spread thighs.

Again and again, Fluttershy would grind her clit into the crook of her sensitive frog and the harder edge of her hoof, digging her manicured hoofrim into her tunnel in a tease of penetration, only to retreat at the last second with a gasp and a low moan, pinwheeling her free leg in slow motion above Rainbow's head.

Rainbow Dash's hoof suddenly dove between her own thighs, which promptly closed around her wrist to squeeze it in tight, masturbating herself in kind with a little shudder. She was actually getting envious of Fluttershy's endurance, appreciating it more now that she was observing rather than mid-debauch.

Rainbow had never been able to edge like that. The few times she'd tried, she'd just driven herself batty with one unsatisfying mockery of a climax after another. Once she was there, she couldn't stand on the peak for long before jumping.

And I've been treating Fluttershy the same way, Rainbow Dash mused, mentally bucking herself. That was silly.

Then Rainbow Dash blinked, and her hoof paused, and then she gave herself a little congratulatory wiggle, renewing her eager grinding. The fact that she realized that was a silly assumption, and the fact that thought even occurred to her, both were important little steps in her thought-process that she knew, honestly, she never would have taken even a year ago.

The little celebration of self-awareness aside, Rainbow Dash tried very hard to focus on the show in front of her again rather than wallowing in envy, watching Fluttershy keep pushing herself up higher and higher, relentlessly urging her body on further with just her hoof. She didn't want to say anything to break her stride, fairly in awe of the sight unfolding in front of her.

At last, though, Fluttershy's breathy moans reached a crescendo, and she opened the teal eyes that had been shut most of the time. Her gaze locked with Rainbow's, and both mares felt that little spark of connection between them; Rainbow gazing up lovingly, nestled in the crook of Fluttershy's leg, nuzzling her thigh and reveling in vicarious - and not so vicarious - pleasure, while Fluttershy looked down from above, cresting a peak so high she thought she'd never hit bottom.

Fluttershy's muzzle snapped back and her whole body went rigid, her hoof digging furiously in an almost painful looking kneading of her sex. "Ohhh!" Fluttershy slurred, and then devolved into a series of high-pitched, but no less adorable grunts, breathing hard through her mouth and nose.

And she kept breathing, Rainbow Dash noted, as the hot warmth washed over her from above, Rainbow's own hoof grinding urgently between her legs in kind. I always just kinda lock up.

Fluttershy's orgasm was a marvel to behold, her body contorting and bucking weakly into her hoof, squirming desperately on the bed in front of her lover. It seemed like she was keeping her orgasm riding as high and as long as possible, her knees trying to push together, while her hind-hooves stayed splayed apart.

Her forehoof stayed firmly planted between her legs until she obviously couldn't stand it any longer, and then she finally yanked it back to her side and splayed her legs out as wide as they could go, giving Rainbow a shiver-inducing look at Fluttershy's pink, drooling folds as they winked and kneaded air desperately. A trail of glistening wet fluids flowed lazily down one side of her tailhole and dock, to be reluctantly soaked up by the comforter beneath, surging in quantity - and intoxicating, sweet, succulent scent - with every wave of her climax.

Fluttershy's muzzle tipped back in a soundless scream and then flopped back heavily into the pillows, panting hard. The shivers and aftershocks continued for a little longer, but the best had passed, and now the pink mane of the pegasus in question fell damp and tangled around her ears and withers, sweat beading and standing out on her soft coat.

Rainbow Dash's own moistened hoof retreated from her sex, spinning around to press up at Fluttershy's side. "That was awesome," she hissed, with a giddy grin.

Fluttershy blushed and squirmed on the pillows, shivery with afterglow. "Didn't want you to think I didn't have as much fun with you," she mumbled, with an embarrassed blush.

Rainbow Dash shook her head violently, still grinning. "No no no no, I understand. Sometimes, no matter what, the only mare that knows how to push all the buttons just right is you. And that's totally cool, I get that."

Fluttershy nodded gratefully, and sprawled herself out on the bed rather awkwardly, her barrel heaving with her breath. "I love what you do, Rainbow, oh do I ever," she moaned, with a giggly, dizzy smile. "I love what you do, and I love you."

Rainbow Dash's heart broke from the overflow of adoration she felt at that particular moment. To mend it, she leaned over, and stroked Fluttershy's chin with her dry hoof, and brought their muzzles into a kiss. Fluttershy responded eagerly, lifting one of her own hooves up - moistened with her slickness, Rainbow Dash could feel on her withers - and pulled them close, dropping Rainbow Dash into her lap.

Together, their tongues dueled and twined, and then parted with a sticky sound, a sound that Rainbow Dash never tired of hearing. They shared a lidded gaze for a moment, and then their muzzles met again, each cradling the other's head delicately in a hoof, while their tongues wormed and slithered between their lips. Even when the mingled drool started to run off of their nuzzling, shifting muzzles, they didn't even notice, so busy reveling in the meeting of slippery tongues and warm, hot breath.

When their muzzles parted again, the mingled, gossamer webs of saliva spread with them between their respective chins, and they blinked and blushed and glanced down and then laughed almost simultaneously.

"Don't care," Rainbow Dash concluded, finally.

"Nuh uh," Fluttershy agreed.

Rainbow nuzzled firmly into Fluttershy's pale yellow chest, kissing at her sweat-slickened coat, and let out a satisfied little noise of contentment. Almost automatically, her lover's snout nuzzled down atop her head and pillowed into her multi-hued mane, kissing through the coloured stripes one by one before nibbling at an ear.

"Your turn," Fluttershy whispered, at last.

Rainbow's eyes opened wide, and her pupils got very small. "I, uh..."

"Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said, evenly.

"Oh, fine. Only because you asked nicely."

Rainbow Dash squirmed free of Fluttershy and rolled onto her back, with an indignant huff. "I'm gonna be like, so quick compared to you," she complained, even as she sprawled out her hindlegs obscenely, hooking one over Fluttershy's thigh. Her knee fell neatly between the crook of her fellow pegasus' legs, and Rainbow felt Fluttershy's forehooves fall upon it, stroking encouragingly at the limb in her lap.

"Oh, don't say that. It's not about that."

"I know, just...damn!" Rainbow Dash's muzzle tipped back, and she laughed openly, while her hoof roamed broadly between her splayed, wiry legs. "That looked really fun."

Fluttershy leaned over, kissing at Rainbow's cheek. "Maybe we can work on it."

"Yeah, that'd be nice," Rainbow Dash grinned sidelong, and then her jaw dropped with a lower, far less polite grunt as her hoof found her slit, kneading around the tight opening to encourage it to open and swell. The bloodflow in her hindquarters soon obliged, and Rainbow felt a familiar, delightful tingle spreading out through her thighs and sex.

"I don't have my toys, so I'm gonna have to improvise a little," she explained, even as her tongue stuck out between her lips, narrowing her eyes in concentration while she worked on bringing herself out a little.

"You use toys every time?" Fluttershy asked, as earnestly curious as Rainbow had been.

"Well, not every time," Rainbow shrugged, "But yeah, most of the time. Getting a hoof inside is annoying, and a toy's easier. I don't get off as easily just from doing my clit. I mean, I can, but--"

Her ramble ended suddenly, as Fluttershy put a hoof to her lips. She only had a moment to realize it was still damp and smelled powerfully of Fluttershy's come, but her reflexes let her dart her tongue out for a fleeting, tantalizing taste of that intoxicating sweetness before it pulled away.

Fluttershy pushed Rainbow's leg off of her lap and rolled to one side, dropping onto all fours beside the bed. Rainbow watched absently as she pulled open a bottom drawer on her nightstand, and rifled around inside, finally pulling up something in her muzzle that she quickly transferred to her forehooves.

"Aw, yeah, perfect!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, as she recognized it. It was a toy she'd actually used on Fluttershy a while ago, a gift from her own small collection. It was a newfangled electrical contraption, thrumming on batteries and covered with that newish wicked flexible rubber-like stuff Rainbow Dash could never...silicone, that's it. Way better than that el-cheapo hard Bakelite crap.

Firm, but yielding, it was shaped like a smaller version of a stallion's shaft, but with an exotic, rounded tip, and a second little nub near the bottom for her clit. It had a wide, flat base, and it was obviously made for non-unicorns, with a flexible, foldable rubbery sock-analogue attached at roughly a right-angle for somepony to put their hoof in and keep control of it. The whole thing was gently studded, too, a subtle bumpy texturing that made Rainbow drool.

As soon as these new silicone things had started showing up a few years ago, right when she was actually able to start buying them, Rainbow Dash had snapped up a few, always the one to try new things. And she'd never regretted it.

"I've used this a few times," Fluttershy admitted with uncharacteristic ease, hopping back up onto the bed and then depositing the toy at Rainbow's flank. "It's pretty good."

Rainbow grinned, busying herself sliding her foreleg into the toy, and then nudging the switch on the bottom with the edge of her other hoof, sending the thing buzzing away gently. "Oh, yeah. Definitely one of my faves. I'm addicted to these things."

Rainbow paused, hovering her hoof over her hips. "Don't tell Pinkie Pie, the last time I mentioned liking toys, you have no idea what she tried to pawn off on me."

Fluttershy's brow arched, skeptically.

"Trust me," Rainbow Dash said, firmly. "Like, we never got into it? But she thought she was doing me a favour, marefriend to marefriend." Rainbow Dash shuddered. "'In case of sex toy emergencies.'"

"Leave it to Pinkie to be prepared," Fluttershy shook her head and cuddled up to Rainbow's side firmly, nodding in encouragement towards the toy Rainbow clutched in her hoof.

"Oh, right," Rainbow laughed, as if she'd forgotten she was splayed out on the bed with a dildo strapped to her hoof. Carefully, she bent her wrist until the toy nudged up against her now pouting, prominent cuntlips, and then smoothly sank the toy inside of her. She could feel her walls kneading on them, her powerful muscles squeezing hard on the rubbery, bendy toy's surface.

When the small, buzzing nub of the toy nuzzled up against the hood of her clit, she let out a gasp and arched her back at the electric thrill that darted up her spine. It was jaw-clenchingly delicious, and the feeling of something inside her, buzzing and thrumming away at her intimate depths, was incredible. She couldn't stop the loud, gravelly, animal moan that crawled out of her throat at the sensation, gasping in delight.

It was almost as good as Fluttershy's tongue, now that she thought about it.

Her hoof slid up beside her sex, pressing the lips of her labia around the side of the toy, and then pushed firmly at the hood of her clit, forcing it against that little ribbed nub nuzzling against it. The sensations were almost overwhelming, it'd been a while since she'd used a toy like this, but she soaked them up and relished every little quiver the thing spread through her flexing, wiry body.

Her one hoof stole away, sliding up her belly a little, while the other hoof slowly moved the toy back and forth, angling and nudging it around to twist and turn the toy inside of her kneading sex. Her hard, jutting teats pressed out into her hard hoof as she passed by them, dimpling them down and then letting them pop up on the other side of her hoof's edge, producing another delightful little shiver that built upon the rapidly swelling waves of sensation bubbling up her body.

Rainbow paused there, cupping each one in her frog and kneading it a little, which prompted a soft noise from Fluttershy.

"Mnh?" Rainbow queried, less than coherently.

"Your nipples," Fluttershy said quietly, her chin resting on Rainbow's shoulder. "I've always noticed they were a lot bigger, more prominent than mine, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure if you liked me playing with them."

Rainbow nodded, panting softly, easing up on her ministrations a little so she could speak and show off the hard nubs of duskier blue flesh above her cleft, notably plumper than those she'd seen on other ponies, Fluttershy included. "I-I do," she replied, breathlessly. She couldn't keep this up for long. "I know they don't do much for most ponies, but I really like messing with them. I know yours aren't sensitive, but mine are for some reason."

Fluttershy giggled, and kissed at her cheek, stroking a pale yellow hoof over Rainbow's barrel. "I'll remember that."

Rainbow Dash blushed, and then redoubled her efforts with a groan. She could feel sweat trickling down her brow. "I gotta cum," she hissed out, urgently. "This is driving me nuts, I don't know how you stand it."

Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh, holding a hoof to her muzzle to hide it even as Rainbow Dash writhed on the covers beside her. Rainbow paid little heed, focusing her entire world down to the waves of pleasure flowing from her hot, tingling loins, clenching her walls with purpose around the fat toy lodged inside of her.

Every bump and contour of the toy felt like heaven as they slid past the entrance of her sex, her labia cupping around them, her canal welcoming each one with a loving squeeze. Again and again, she held that toy hard up against her clit until she couldn't stand it anymore, jerking it away with a grit of her teeth and a whine of frustration, needing that peak and desperate to reach it, scarcely able to chase it fast enough.

Her climax seemed poised to escape, but in desperation, she ground the edge of one hoof into her nipples and crammed the toy in as deep as it would go with the other, pressing that wonderfully odd round tip hard against the walls of her sex. There was a sudden, almost electric arc of pleasure that bolted through her hips as the toy nestled into a sensitive nook and thrummed against it, and Rainbow Dash careened over the edge.

Rainbow let out a shriek of pleasure, never one to be subtle, as her whole body seized in a rictus of climax. Her breath turned into halting, staccato gasps, bearing down and tensing hard with each surging wave of her orgasm, gripping the toy between her legs tightly. She curled up and squirmed onto her side as she felt the orgasm ripple over her, bathing in ecstasy for a fleeting moment.

And then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, her elusive peak left her again, and Rainbow Dash let out a defeated groan into the pillow at her cheek, her breath returning to her in frantic gasps. Always feels too damn fast, Rainbow thought, wanting to gnash the pillow between her teeth.

"That looked like fun," Fluttershy teased, with a grin.

Rainbow Dash rolled over, and sprawled on her back, her afterglow not quite as dizzyingly deep as Fluttershy's seemed to have been. "Mmh, yeah, it was pretty good. Never seems long enough, though." She withdrew the toy from herself with a wince and a slurp, leaving a disappointing emptiness in its place.

"I think that might be because you tense up so much," Fluttershy speculated, gingerly grasping the toy as Rainbow held it up. She slid off of the side of the bed and transferred the toy to her teeth, holding it in her muzzle by the glove portion, and headed for the bathroom. "Mayheh youh neah hah breeh moh."

"What?" Rainbow stared past her splayed-out hindlegs, as Fluttershy's pink tail disappeared around the door frame.

"I said, you need to breathe more," Fluttershy replied from the bathroom, speaking over the sound of running water as she cleaned the toy. "You get so tense, it's like when you fly. You squash yourself up."

"Oh. Maybe. I dunno, I never really got all that...whatchamacallit, tantric? That Saddle Arabian stuff." Absently, Rainbow Dash scratched her hip with a hoof, and then glanced down between her hindlegs. "Oh. Oops. Fluttershy, can you bring a..."

A towel landed on her barrel with a plop.

"Er, thanks," Rainbow finished sheepishly, and patted down her soaked thighs, chuckling at the stickiness all down her thighs and tailbase. "I make such a mess compared to you."

Fluttershy trotted out from the bathroom, and hopped back up onto the bed, smiling demurely. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm used to it. And besides, you taste...nice."

Rainbow Dash squinted skeptically at Fluttershy as she damp-mopped between her soaked thighs and tail, though she couldn't stop the smile spreading on her muzzle. "That so?"

"Mmhmm," Fluttershy nodded, authoritatively. "Also, you squeeze really tight when you come, you practically splash."

"I do?" Rainbow Dash stared down at her belly, and prodded above her sex lightly, as if it had done something odd. "Huh. I do some, uh, exercises as part of my workout, have for years. Always felt kinda good. Um, I guess they help that too?"

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "'Don't go in for that Saddle Arabian stuff'," she said, in a little sing-song, "And the whole time, you've been doing Kegels."

"Is that what they're called? That's a funny name."

"It's actually a gryphon name."

"Oh."

"But now, it's nearly two in the morning; you need to be up early and so do I." Fluttershy kissed at Rainbow's nose and then ducked to pull back the comforter the rest of the way, sliding the sheets out from under her lover's rump with a tug of her teeth. "At least I don't have to make the bed again."

"Yeah," Rainbow observed wryly, "My tail apparently makes for a great sponge. Maybe..." She eyed the bathroom speculatively, but she could feel her exhaustion creeping up on her fast. "Oh, buck it, I'll shower in the morning."

The sheets were marvelously, familiarly soft - befriending Rarity meant endless gifts of special-order linens for life, to say nothing of the dresses she made herself - and warmed from the two of them laying on them for hours. As the night deepened, the warm summer day had been replaced by a cooler breeze, drifting through the windows and tempering things considerably, and thus the warmth of the covers was welcoming rather than oppressive.

The twin pegasi nuzzled up close to each other, and spent a few moments stealing kisses before their heads finally lowered to rest on opposite pillows, warm teal eyes meeting magenta.

Rainbow Dash's eyes nearly closed before she remembered something she'd forgotten to do.

"Fluttershy?"

"Mm?" Fluttershy stirred drowsily, her eyes nearly shut.

"Love you."

The words felt unfamiliar in her muzzle, full of odd edges and bulk, and it made her blush to even think of saying them. Nevertheless, they also felt right. Right up there with being awkward and weird, they felt good to say. Satisfying. Having somepony there to say that to, meant more to Rainbow than anything in the world.

Fluttershy's eyes widened and her smile reached from ear to ear, reaching up with a hoof from under the covers to stroke at Rainbow's cheek. "Love you too, Rainbow Dash," she said thickly, as her sleepiness caught up with her. "Sweet dreams."

"You too."

She watched her lover’s eyes drift shut, and in moments, the timid pegasus was asleep. Rainbow watched her for a while longer, her gaze drifting to her locks of now-ruffled, somewhat tangled pink mane, her gently flicking ears, that adorable nose flaring with each shallow, regular breath.

Half a year ago, she never would have imagined herself saying that. Not to anypony. Now, she couldn't imagine saying it to anypony else. The Cloudsdale water operation, Chrysalis, Sombra, all of it had just made her appreciate Fluttershy's presence at her side more and more.

She was so lucky to be here. To see this. She could see that Fluttershy was getting stronger and bolder, even if Fluttershy herself did forget it, sometimes.

Rainbow Dash imagined herself growing a little wiser as well, against all odds. If Fluttershy could find it in herself to finish what she started, maybe she could too.

There was an application she'd been tentatively filling out, stuck to her icebox at home. It needed to be sent soon to make the cut-off date. She'd thought about holding it back, about putting it aside for now. The idea seemed utterly alien; put off the Wonderbolts? But, one calamitous crisis after another made it clear that she had responsibilities bigger than her own ideas to look after. Not to mention, now she needed to think about one other pony in particular.

But if Fluttershy was going to accomplish a milestone like finishing her schooling, then by Celestia, Rainbow knew she wouldn't let her lover do anything less than follow her passion too, even if did mean spending some time apart. If she didn't apply to the Wonderbolt Academy, Fluttershy would probably never let her hear the end of her furious whispering.

Tomorrow, after she sorted out the weather detail, she'd finish filling out that application. And then she'd call in a few markers from Cloudsdale. This time, Rainbow Dash was going to the top of the list, full stop.

Thanks again, Fluttershy, Rainbow thought. The shyest of all of us, and still setting an example.

With that, Rainbow nestled her head down next to her lover's, and drifted into a warm, comfortable sleep.

Author's Note

Google Docs, while I was editing this: http://i.imgur.com/XWGx8tP.png

I was working on something else, got stuck, took a break, and this fell out. An unexpected, but not unwelcome diversion.