“Oh... my...”

Fluttershy tried to look away. She tried so very, very hard. This wasn’t the type of pony she was! So she swiftly ducked behind a bush in front of the boutique, shielding her eyes with her hooves, and firmly decided she most assuredly wouldn’t look. She just wouldn’t!

She looked.

Through the window, she could clearly see that Rarity was still there, writhing and panting, her legs up in the air. Pinkie’s tail waved back and forth in excitement, giving Fluttershy a clear view of all the things that were making her blush so hotly.

“Oh, Celestia! Pinkie, that’s divine!”

She was definitely going to look away now; this was, after all, an intimate moment between her two best friends, and she wanted to respect their privacy. Okay, so the scene in question was happening right in the middle of Rarity’s showroom, but that didn’t mean it was okay to keep staring like this—particularly since the door was locked and everything. It was also true that the showroom was arguably the most public room of the boutique, and that choosing to make love there was basically the equivalent of making love outside, in terms of blatancy.

But that wasn’t the point! It just wasn’t right to simply stand there and stare at them like this… To be near-hypnotized by Pinkie’s happily wiggling rump, her raised tail, and all of that glistening pink... To listen to Rarity’s hushed-but-passionate cries, and all of those wet noises, which the thin panes of glass did nothing to block out…

Yet there she was.

Rarity’s head went back as her body arched in ecstasy. She lay back fully on the design table she was propped up on, a trembling hoof reaching out to lovingly pet and pull at a frizzy pink mane. Pinkie needed no such encouragement, however: her head kept bobbing between Rarity’s legs while she licked enthusiastically, causing her graceful friend to moan and whine as she neared her climax.

Fluttershy felt a hoof grinding between her legs, and a quick glance confirmed that it was, indeed, her own. Turning her attention back to the entangled couple in the boutique, she watched, transfixed, as Pinkie raised her head and began climbing up Rarity’s body. There was a surprising sensuality to the earth pony’s movements, in stark contrast to the normally quite frantic pace she kept. And a surprisingly predatory and distinctly naughty note to her usual, cloudcuckoolanderish smile.

Pinkie was kissing Rarity now, her mouth still soiled with her marefriend’s own juices, while simultaneously and wantonly snaking a hoof down between those wide-spread white legs.

Fluttershy shuddered and gasped quietly, her heated breath swiftly starting to fog up the window. She could scarcely believe what she was seeing; it was simultaneously the most shocking and the most erotic thing she had witnessed in her entire (reasonably sheltered) life.

B-but that’s so... so dirty! How does Rarity stand it?

She shook as another little wave of pleasure rocked her. Fluttershy closed her eyes at the blissful sound of Rarity’s moan, and in that instant she was there, transported into Rarity’s place, sharing that lewd kiss with Pinkie Pie. Somewhere, outside of her fantasy world, she could feel her own hoof pressing in hard and rubbing furiously, trying to ease her mounting need.

Slowly she worked herself, letting out a slightly louder gasp when her hoof hit the sensitive bump at the bottom of her opening. Her eyes snapped open then, and she quickly glanced back to make doubly sure nopony was heading her way.

She was going to leave now. She was going to go home and take a long bath and think about what she’d just been doing—think about it thoroughly...

In her defense, she had been invited to be here. Not for this, of course... But she had been expected over for tea. The door had been firmly locked, and she’d been just about to leave when she’d heard a scream. Naturally, this had required her to check the window. She was just being a good, concerned friend! But what she’d seen inside had left her glued to the spot, idly watching her two friends make love.

Well, okay, she hadn’t been entirely idle… She just couldn’t help herself!

She closed her eyes again: Pinkie was there, smiling even as her hoof teased Fluttershy’s folds. A warm tongue found the sensitive edge of an ear folded back in delight, tracing a trail of rapidly-cooling saliva. The pink hoof that had replaced her own rotated slowly, using the deliciously smooth edge to part her, to expose her, smearing out her slick excitement and pressing deeper into her needy slit and—

That image, produced by her own fertile imagination, pushed Fluttershy over the edge. A quiet moan escaped her lips, which immediately made her eyes fly open in fear. She clapped a forehoof to her muzzle, the other being still occupied, her already-racing heart now pounding inside her chest. But it turned out there was no cause for alarm: If the couple inside had heard her they gave no sign; they were far too busy snuggling on top of the table.

So Fluttershy stood there in front of the window a little while longer, gasping and panting. Her legs felt weak, her whole body was shaking…

Yes, she was going to go home now—go home and finally take that much-needed, extremely long bath.

Scrambling out from behind the bush, she took flight more quickly than she ever had. A yellow and pink contrail followed her as she made a beeline for home. She narrowly avoided running into several members of the weather team, who were gathering clouds for tonight’s rainfall. And all the while her mind was screaming at her that everypony within miles would be able to see—not to mention smell—her arousal.

She threw open her door, galloped up the stairs, and fumbled with the water tap.

A hot bath, that’s all I need. It will be okay. I just need to stop thinking about it.

Easier said than done: That skillful hoof was back, the flat of it pressing firmly against her still-sensitive folds.

No! Stop thinking about that. They’re getting married! You can’t think about Pinkie like.... like...

She came again, hard, snapping her eyes shut. She was there, in the boutique, kissing Pinkie, the pink hoof making endless slippery circles—and she was cumming so hard!

Oh, Pinkie, oh! Yes!

Fluttershy sagged back, sighing deeply and staring at the ceiling, her foreleg finally going slack whilst the hot water washed away her shame.

What am I going to do?

“Good morning, darling!”

Fluttershy smiled at the sight of both Rarity and Pinkie waiting for her at the entrance to the spa.

“Good morning, Rarity.”

“Morning, ‘Shy!”

“G-good morning, Pinkie,” she stammered out, trying to steady herself. She looked back to Rarity, hoping her suspicious little slip-up had gone unnoticed. “How are you?”

“Oh, I simply could not be better, darling,” Rarity replied, beaming happily. “I was having a bit of a slump yesterday, ‘stuck in a rut’, so to speak. Pinkie came by to help me relax. She’s just so considerate!”

I know. I saw. Oh goodness, I saw every second of it...

“That’s, um, n-nice. I’m really, really sorry I missed tea with you yesterday. I did stop by, but the door was locked.”

Was it her imagination, or did Rarity’s shoulders hunch up a smidgen just now?

“I-I thought about maybe checking the window...”

No doubt about it, Rarity seemed distressed.

“ButI decided you must be out, otherwise you wouldn’t have locked your door. I mean, why else would it be locked?”

At this, Rarity relaxed at last. She must have been worried that she’d been caught in the act. She had been, of course, but there was no need to worry her over it. Fluttershy being traumatized was bad enough.

“So I flew back home...”

Eventually. I went home and lay back in the bath and I did things to myself wishing I was you. I’m sorry I’m such a bad friend... Please don’t hate me.

“So, um, should we go in?”

“Yeppers!” Pinkie chimed in. ”You two go ahead. I have to go give poor Mr. Cake a break.” She paused in realization. ”Hey! That rhymes!” Still giggling happily, she nuzzled Rarity, adding a fairly innocuous kiss for good measure. She wrapped Fluttershy up in a big hug before turning towards the bakery and bouncing off down the road.

Fluttershy watched that pert pink rump bounce and sway, remembering how it had wiggled in excitement while pleasuring Rarity. Her wings rose stiffly at her sides and she had to force them back down, a light blush gracing her cheeks.

“Goodness!”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up, swiveling over the general direction of Rarity while her eyes remained glued to the aforementioned bouncy behind.

“Darling, I’m terribly sorry if Pinkie startled you. She’s been very affectionate of late. Do try to calm down, your wings are all akimbo!”

Fluttershy felt Rarity’s hooves running over her wings, making her squeak. But even that was not enough to distract her from the pink tail trailing away into the distance.

“Oh, and I can tell you are long overdue for a preening. I’ll be sure to mention it to Aloe, so she can modify our schedule accordingly.” The fussy mare absentmindedly tried to smooth out a misaligned feather, before thinking better of it. ”Well, let’s go in, shall we?”

Fluttershy tore her eyes away from Pinkie and nodded hurriedly. “That—” She paused, trying to get the quaver out of her voice “—would be very nice. Thank you.”

“Darling?” Rarity looked at her feathered friend with a frown. ”Is everything all right?”

No, it’s not. I can’t stop thinking about Pinkie.

“Oh, I’m absolutely fine. I’m very sorry to worry you.”

“It’s just that you seem a bit distracted this morning. Are you well?”

Fluttershy tried her best to straighten her posture, giving Rarity a wan semi-grin. “I’ve had a long morning, Angel wasn’t behaving and I had to help Harry with another back problem. I’m okay though, just really looking forward to the spa.”

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear. I really am dreadfully sorry I was too busy to entertain, yesterday...”

Oh, you did just fine, Rarity, Fluttershy thought, lurid images of her friend in a fit of ecstatic bliss running through her mind once more. “It’s okay. I found a way to entertain myself.”

“Well, that’s a relief! I felt horrid when I remembered you were supposed to come by! I was worried I was being a bad friend...”

“Oh no, you’re not a bad friend at all!”

The mud was pleasantly cool on her fur. It helped her relax, and took her mind off of things.

Pink things.

Pink, giggly, bouncy things.

“So, what was Angel doing, darling?”

The question shook Fluttershy out of her reverie. “He’s making trouble with my other animal friends,” she replied, grateful for the distraction. ”He and the squirrels are fighting over territorial rights. I keep telling him he’ll never win—they have the high ground.” She wasn’t really thinking about anything in particular, but it still felt good to talk about Angel right now; it was a very safe subject. “Um, how’s Opal doing?”

“Still quite cross with me for having to shave her, I’m afraid. Though it really was her fault; she tipped one of my candles over and got wax all over her back.”

“Oh my goodness!”

At Fluttershy’s outburst Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. “She has thick fur, the wax didn’t hurt her. It just surprised her and made her yowl as she fled. Very nearly ruined the mood as well, the selfish thing. I don’t interrupt any of her rendezvous...”

Rarity sniffed haughtily. “Still, she’ll no doubt come to forgive me in time. And at least she’s learned to stay out of the bedroom whenever Pinkie is visiting.” She paused, blushing furiously all of a sudden. “Now if I could only teach dear Sweetie Belle the same lesson... Heavens, do you have any idea how awkward that was?”

Oh, I can imagine.

“Was she okay? I mean... With seeing you two...”

Because I’m not okay. I’m definitely not okay.

“Oh, she was fine; she thought we were wrestling, the silly thing. Wanted to ask her friends to try it too, the next day. I shooed her out of the room and had a long-overdue talk with her. I cannot believe my mother! After what I went through, she still managed to make the same mistake with Sweetie.”

Fluttershy was having trouble keeping track of where this conversation was going, and finally had to ask: “Um, if you don’t mind me asking… What exactly did your mom do?”

Rarity sighed heavily. “It’s not what she did; it’s what she neglected to do. It’s not terribly important, darling... At least now I can rest assured knowing that Sweetie Belle won’t ever have to go through what I did. That’s all that matters.”

“Oh, o-okay.”

Neither mare spoke for some time. They were both simply focusing on the soothing feeling of the cool mud supporting their bodies, and breathing in the light scent of lavender that was being pumped through the vents of the spa to help everypony relax.

Fluttershy’s mind, of course, kept drifting back to images she tried furiously to suppress, but eventually she soon found herself reveling in them, albeit not without experiencing a crippling sense of shame.

“Have you given any more thought to the question I asked you last week?”

Rarity’s voice broke the silence at last, her out-of-the-blue question an unwelcome disruption of Fluttershy’s feverish fantasies.

“I’m really sorry,” Fluttershy said, fruitlessly averting her cucumber-covered eyes whilst fidgeting frantically with her forehooves beneath the surface of the mud. ”I seem to have, um, sort of, forgotten what you asked, exactly.”

Rarity sniffed quietly—which told Fluttershy she was slightly upset, but not terribly so. “That’s all right. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if we were to try going on a few double dates with a selection of nice mares I happen to know. Perhaps we could find you somepony to be happy with?”

This again?

“But, um, Rarity? I already told you before, I’m just not... I just don’t want to date just anypony. I’m probably better off alone, anyway...”

Unless you might consider unblocking the mirror pool and lending me your marefriend for a moment.

“Thank you for worrying about me, though.”

“Are you quite sure? There are many, many mares out there, many of whom must be every bit as impulsive and loving as Dash was. Surely we can find you just one!”

I know there’s one. You’re dating her.

“Rarity, please, just...just stop. I know you mean well, and you’re a great friend, but I don’t want to hear about this anymore, if that’s okay with you.”

“Dreadfully sorry, Fluttershy, but I simply refuse to let my best friend spend the rest of her life alone!”

“You don’t have to worry. Honest! All I really need is my friends and all of my little animal friends.”

And my hoof. Definitely going to need that.

“I’m very happy. Really, I am.”

“I’m sure you are, darling,” Rarity said placatingly, although a perfectly-plucked eyebrow remained skeptically raised. ”But you just don’t seem as happy as I’d like you to be! I’m sure Rainbow feels the same way. I think she will probably always love you, after all.”

I don’t think Rainbow would like me very much if she knew I wanted to be with somepony who’s already taken.

“I would really prefer not to talk about Dash, either. Sorry...”

Rarity raised one of the cucumber slices to look her in the eyes—or one of them, at least. “Ah, yes, so you’ve said. But I cannot understand why! You said things were over long before you even left Cloudsdale, and yet you always seem so sad whenever you see her interacting with Applejack. Why won’t you talk about her? And why can’t I help you find somepony new?” Rarity narrowed her eyes, shrewdly regarding her timid, generally non-talkative friend. ”Do you already have your eye on somepony? I could help, you know...”

Fluttershy started at the question, and hastily shook her head. “No! No, n-nothing like that!”

Rarity raised the second cucumber, a small smile growing on her lips. “Well now, that was admittedly a complete shot in the dark, but I suppose that’s it, isn’t it?” She giggled gleefully, suddenly bursting with curiosity. ”Oh, I simply must know every juicy little detail, now! Tell me, is it somepony I know?”

“No! It’s, um—” Fluttershy frantically tried to think of a way to steer the conversation away from this disastrously touchy and uncomfortable subject, but was drawing a complete blank. She knew Rarity was pretty much unstoppable once she detected a new bit of gossip-in-the-rough; that she would keep on prying, keep on digging, until she had uncovered at least a shiny grain of the truth.

Rarity let out a short tinkling laugh. “You, darling, truly are a horrible liar. Let us see now... is it Twilight?” She paused, idly toying with a loose strand of the seaweed enwrapping her as she considered carefully. “Wait, no, it couldn’t be... Pinkie said Twilight was already with somepony, and although she stubbornly refused to tell me who, she did mention that she wasn’t aware of you being with anypony... So that means Twilight is out.” She gasped melodramatically. “Unless you do have a crush on her, and you won’t do anything because she’s already with somepony!”

Fluttershy winced; Rarity was getting far too close to the truth. “Rarity, please stop?” she requested in a tiny, high-pitched voice, sinking deeper into the mud until all but her head was completely submerged.

“Oh my, a love triangle!” Rarity giddily enthused. ”How terribly exciting!” Her bright smile quickly faded away, however, as she considered the implications further. “But how positively horrible it must be for you, my poor darling!”

In desperation, Fluttershy turned away from her friend completely. “Stop, Rarity! Just… leave it alone. It’s not important. I’m not important...”

“Oh, but you are! That’s why I want to see you happy!”

Rarity would have pursued the matter further, but Lotus chose that precise moment to pop her head in and interrupt them.

“Ladies? It is time for your massage. Miss Fluttershy, Aloe will be preening you in room fourteen.”

“Bother!” Rarity pouted. ”Well, I’ll rejoin you shortly, darling.”

She tiptoed over to a very flustered Fluttershy just after they had both exited the tub though, her voice dropping down to a conspiratorial whisper: “I just wanted to mention... Since you do seem a bit, well, frustrated, shall we say?”

Fluttershy’s telltale blush and persistent case of wing-rigidity made denying that bit of conjecture seem rather pointless, so the pent-up pegasus opted for some strategic silence and floor-studying instead.

”Not that I would ever dream of prying into your personal life, mind you—perish the thought!” Rarity continued, before leaning in a little bit closer still. ”But, well, if you are indeed in desperate need of a little, erm, ‘stress relief,’ do be sure to inquire about the ‘lower body massage.’ You shan’t regret it, I can assure you...”

“And how are you this morning, Miss Fluttershy?” Aloe asked as she looked over the former’s wings with an appraising eye.

“I’m—” Fluttershy sighed softly in mid-sentence, completely belying the word that followed “—fine.”

Aloe, naturally, wasn’t buying any of it.

“Is something wrong? Your primaries are misaligned... It seems very unlike you.” She leaned forward and gently bit down on one of the offending feathers, straightening it into its proper position, eliciting a shiver from Fluttershy in the process. She then pulled out a loose covert, spitting in into a small tray next to the massage table. “Have you been doing more flying of late?”

Not really, other than bolting home after watching my friends make love. “Not r-really, Aloe.”

“Regardless, you really must take better care of yourself!” the spa pony muttered with a disapproving clack of her tongue. ”You have gorgeous wings; it’s a shame to see them in such a ruffled state.”

Fluttershy’s wing extended fully and she stifled a moan when a skilled hoof pressed into just the right spot.

Undeterred, Aloe tugged at one of Fluttershy’s secondary coverts, kneading another muscle-grouping which made the latter pony shudder and bite her lip. Try as she might, however, Fluttershy could not quite suppress a squeak in response.

“My apologies,” Aloe said, ”I fear my techniques are not quite up to professional standards.”

“They aren’t?”

“Well, we haven’t had any complaints so far, but while Lotus was professionally trained I actually learned everything I know from—” Aloe paused, her hooves shifting uncertainly—“a past lover, to be perfectly honest. I’m afraid it tends to make my preening a little more, erm, intimate.” Her hooves left Fluttershy’s wings, making them ache again through the simple absence of pressure. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I could go and fetch my sister?”

Fluttershy was, in fact, more than merely a bit ruffled. She tried to tell herself that the fact that the hooves caressing her wings were pink had nothing to do with anything, but she couldn’t even fool herself at the moment. Still, she tried not to sound too eager, and to keep her frustration in check.

“Oh no, um, it’s actually quite... nice.” She smiled softly and encouragingly, albeit in a slightly strained manner, her right wing giving an imperceptible little twitch of impatience. ”Could you keep going? Please?”

“As you wish, miss Fluttershy,” came the obsequious reply.

Fluttershy closed her eyes, reveling in the care and attention she was receiving. If this was the way Aloe preened all of her clients, it was no wonder that nopony had complained!

The pampered mare’s mind drifted idly, wondering what it would be like if somepony else were here, doing all of these wonderful things to her. She could almost hear the cheery voice from behind her...

“How does that feel, ‘Shy?” Pinkie asked enthusiastically.

“It feels wonderful, thank you!”

“I’m pleased to be of service, miss,” Aloe replied.

Fluttershy opened her eyes. Hadn’t Pinkie been here a moment ago? She shook her head, the contents of which felt muddled and more than a little confused. Maybe she just needed to relax a bit more... What had Rarity told her to ask for again?

“Um, Aloe?”

The preening didn’t stop, but did slow ever so slightly, which allowed Fluttershy to at least think a bit more clearly, her brain temporarily freed from that maddening haze of constant pleasure.

“Hmm?”

“Rarity suggested I inquire about something called a ‘lower body massage...’ So, um, could we maybe try that?”

The teeth readjusting one of her secondaries paused momentarily. Then the feather was turned gently and smoothed back into place with a gentle hoof.

“Of course, Fluttershy.” Aloe seemed surprised by her own words; the fact that her hoof missed its mark and drove itself (rather painfully) into a flight muscle attested to that. “My apologies. Is it okay if I call you ‘Fluttershy?’”

Fluttershy nodded mutely.

Aloe smiled in relief. “I admit I never expected you to ask, but... It would be my pleasure.”

Pleasure? Why would she say—

Fluttershy gasped as Aloe pressed deep into the shank of her wing and nipped at a sensitive spot in her neck. She hadn’t even realized that there were muscles bothering her besides the ones in her wings.

“S-sorry,” she squeaked, hoping that Aloe wouldn’t stop now.

Those fears soon seemed to become a reality when Aloe’s hooves disappeared from her back. She wanted to look over her shoulder and beg the spa attendant not to leave her like this. But before she could say anything something cold and oily was poured onto her back. That wonderful pair of pink hooves proceeded to carefully spread the stuff all over, giving her a tingling feeling.

Fluttershy finally loosened up a little when Aloe got started with what appeared to be nothing but a slightly more sensual massage. The earth pony worked along her back and neck and occasionally blew softly into her ears, which was both a little strange as well as a little arousing. The combination had its intended effect: Fluttershy ended up feeling wonderfully relaxed in no time at all.

All of that changed after Aloe had been working on her neck and back for a reasonable while, however. The hoof was back. Fluttershy became very embarrassed; surely she wasn’t touching herself in front of Aloe? Had she gone insane?! She looked down at the hooves pressed to her muzzle. One... and two. So then… Where was that other one coming from?

“Aloe?!”

“Do you wish me to stop?” came the calm reply.

Fluttershy considered for a long moment. The hoof remained in place, resting lightly on her, doing nothing but providing an enjoyable bit of pressure. Was she going to allow this? Was Aloe truly okay with this? She did say she would enjoy it... Fluttershy covered her eyes with her hooves.

“Eep. N-no...”

“Then relax, Fluttershy. Let me help you. Nopony has ever complained about this treatment either,” Aloe said, leaning over her and nuzzling her charge’s mane.

Fluttershy could hear the smile in her voice as the hoof began to gently caress her... down there. Simultaneously, she felt Aloe’s teeth grasp at her wing—this time not merely to adjust some feathers, but to uncannily locate, nuzzle and nip at spots that unfailingly made Fluttershy gasp and whine.

She kept her eyes covered, entirely focused on what was being done to her. It was so strange, having this done by another pony. And Aloe’s touch was so different from Dash’s: Much more tender, but sadly not as passionate. Which wasn’t to say it didn’t feel incredibly wonderful.

The panting and bewildered mare wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like if Pinkie were touching her instead. Would she be kind of rough, or exceedingly gentle? The way Rarity kept gushing about her, she expected it would be wonderful either way.

“Hey ‘Shy! Do you like this? Wow, that’s some face you’re making! Did you just squeak? Oh my gosh, that’s soooo cute! You’re just like my rubber ducky!”

Fluttershy’s heart was racing again. She knew it wasn’t actually Pinkie who was touching her, but her breath quickened nonetheless, and every little touch was enough to set her aflame. She chewed her lower lip again—her go-to method for suppressing unwanted squeals.

This was wrong. So very, very wrong...

“Shhh, relax, leave everything to me,” Aloe cooed as she caressed Fluttershy’s inner thighs, gradually working her way back to the center of the universe.

The pace of the hoof soon quickened, and Fluttershy felt teeth gently nibbling her ear. Hot breaths whispered softly to her: “There is no shame here. You are a very special pony, Fluttershy, and you will make somepony very happy one day. But until then, any time you need to relax, you need only ask.”

The heat between her legs grew, becoming a raging fire of intensity. She let her hooves fall from her eyes and used them to grip the table as hard as she could. She squealed quietly, helplessly, and Aloe redoubled her efforts in response.

Fluttershy felt the hoof slip inside, until it was pressed up against her most sensitive bud. She didn’t last long under such direct stimulation of her clitoris, and her world exploded.

When she finally came to, a warm sponge was gently cleaning her legs and thighs. At the first signs of movement the sponge bath stopped and a smiling Aloe appeared in her field of vision.

“I hope you enjoyed that. I feared I might have gotten a little carried away...”

“It...It was wonderful. Thank you.”

“You are too kind. It was my pleasure.”

After she had finished cleaning Fluttershy up, Aloe took her to rejoin Rarity in the steam room. The pegasus sat down heavily on the bench, staring at the floor.

“Darling?”

“Yes?”

“Are you all right?”

No...

“Oh yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“How was it?” Rarity pressed, blushing furiously. “When she told me about... Well, what they do, I have to admit I was a little shocked, but I also had to think of you. I know you aren’t, erm, looking for love right now—”

No, not ‘looking.’ Found. I just can’t have her.

“—but that doesn’t mean you can’t let yourself be pampered every now and again.”

“Can we please not talk about it?”

“Right! Well, we could always talk about this crush of yours—”

“It... was nice!” she said quickly, trying to derail that line of thought before it could build up steam again. “I, uh... Aloe, she was so, so...” Fluttershy struggled with the words. It had felt special, intimate... Like Aloe had just wanted her to be happy, just like Pinkie.

“So…?” Rarity supplied, hanging on Fluttershy’s every word.

“...nice,” Fluttershy finished lamely.

She honestly didn’t know what to think. Was she supposed to ask Aloe out, now? Wasn’t that usually supposed to come before... what they did?

Actually, maybe that would work... Maybe it would help her get over this thing with Pinkie. But would that be fair to Aloe?

“So, what are you going to do about her?”

Fluttershy stiffened in alarm. “A-about who?”

“Twilight, of course! You have to at least tell her. Imagine if that just slipped out one day because you kept obsessing over it?”

“It won’t,” Fluttershy said, as resolutely as she could possibly manage. It can’t. Never! You would hate me!

“I could tell her for you, if you like,” Rarity suggested. ”It would do the two of you good to have it out in the open.”

Fluttershy’s head snapped to face her. “You can’t! You mustn’t!”

“Oh, but I think I should,” Rarity said quite seriously. ”It isn’t healthy to leave secrets of this nature hanging about. Remember how it was with us? You, soldiering on for my sake, doing something you hated, whilst I secretly hated you for doing it?” She shook her head solemnly. “I really don’t think you should let this fester.”

Fluttershy shook her head violently. “No! You have to promise me! Pinkie Promise me you will never, ever tell her that!”

Rarity inched away from her friend in surprise. “I will do no such thing! As your friend—”

“As my friend, you can’t do such a thing! I”—Fluttershy thought quickly—“I need to tell her myself! Promise me you won’t speak a word of this until I have a chance to do so!”

The two mares locked gazes. Rarity’s expression was willful and determined, whereas Fluttershy’s face was pleading, but clearly quite determined as well.

After a few tense moments, Rarity finally relented. “Fine... On one condition: You exchange promises with me. I shall refrain from telling your crush about how you feel, provided that you tell her yourself!”

“I… I...” Fluttershy sputtered. She couldn’t agree to that ultimatum! Taken literally, Rarity wasn’t asking her to tell Twilight, she was demanding that she told her crush.

“Well?”

Fluttershy thought frantically. If she agreed, she’d be honor-bound to come clean with Pinkie. And of course Pinkie would know if she should dare to break that promise—somehow, the enigmatic pink mare always knew. But if she chose not to agree to Rarity’s terms here and now, Rarity would promptly tell Twilight, which would be worse, because then Fluttershy would have to confess that it wasn’t Twilight at all, which meant Rarity would keep digging to find out, which meant—

Her head was beginning to throb painfully; she wasn’t used to all of this complex intrigue. Why did romance have to be so difficult, so confrontational? Why couldn’t they all just leave her to sulk in peace, nursing a broken heart in the company of her animal friends (and occasionally her hoof)?

In the end, though, if she had to make a choice, she supposed it all boiled down to whether she would allow Pinkie Pie to find out about her true feelings, or Rarity. Phrasing the dilemma like that… Well, at least Pinkie could be sworn to secrecy. Not to mention, she would be far less likely to faint.

“C-cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she said finally, on the verge of tears. “But you have to promise me, not a word to Twilight. Also, um, I’ll need some time.”

Rarity, too, made the appropriate motions, smiling happily. “There, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?” she said. And then, upon seeing Fluttershy’s dubious expression: ”I’m sorry, darling, but sometimes you just have to ‘go for it’, as it were.”

Fluttershy nodded quietly. “I suppose you’re right. She does need to know...”

Please forgive me, Pinkie.

After exiting the spa, Fluttershy walked towards her doom with a heavy gait, accompanied by an oblivious Rarity. The location of said doom smelled of cinnamon and chocolate this morning. She supposed she might as well stop and pick up something nice to eat, and only then completely ruin her life. No sense doing so on an empty stomach.

“Darling, where are you going?”

“Um...” Fluttershy froze, unable to move or speak, realizing, in that instant, that the very direction she was heading in was giving her away.

Rarity walked up beside her, pointing to the library. “No detours, young lady! You march right on over there and tell the unwitting object of your affection what’s what. Do you hear me?”

“But...”

“Need I remind you that my own promise hinges entirely on yours? Believe me, Pinkie and I have had long conversations about the ins and outs of these things; I am confident I would be quite in the clear with her should you chose not keep yours. I would have no compunctions about acting on your behalf, in that case. It would be for your own good!” Rarity stomped a hoof down for emphasis. “Now... You. Her. Talk.”

Fluttershy once more opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it again, resigning to her fate. Perhaps going to the library first would be okay... Maybe she could find a book on how to break the news to one of your best friends that you find them attractive. Maybe there would be an extremely helpful cross section on what to do when they were already dating one of your other friends. And maybe, if she looked really hard, she could find one containing a powerful memory-wiping spell, and subsequently get Twilight to use it on Rarity!

It was good to have dreams. Dreams were nice.

“Equestria to Fluttershy. Come in, Fluttershy!” Spike said, bonking lightly her on the forehead.

Fluttershy rubbed her forehead with a hoof, looking down at her attacker and grinning sheepishly. “Um... Hi, Spike.”

“Hi! You okay now? You just about smacked into the door. Good thing I was just taking out the trash!” Spike dumped the bag he was carrying into a dust bin just to the side of the entrance. “Did you need a book, or something?”

“Um, no. I’m supposed to talk to Twilight—only it’s not really her I need to talk to. But I couldn’t tell Rarity that.”

She shook off the feelings of unease as best as she could. This was going to be turn out fine! She simply needed to tell her best friend’s fiance that she had a crush on her, swear her to secrecy, then spend the rest of her days as a hermit in her cottage. Well, maybe she could go shopping for food sometimes. That would be okay, right?

“Oh, well, uh…” Spike blinked a few times, trying to make sense of all of that and mostly failing. ”So, wait, do you want to talk to Twilight or not?”

“I... think I should? Otherwise Rarity will know I didn’t talk to her, since then Twilight wouldn’t know what she was talking about when she comes and asks about it later.” She frowned, somewhat irritated. “And she will ask. She’ll want to check if I kept my promise...”

“Riiiight...” Spike said, shaking his head. “Well, she’s upstairs reading some ancient thingamajiggy. Keeps babbling on and on about how confusing the wording in old law textbooks is. I dunno.”

Spike lead Fluttershy into the library, before promptly plopping back down into his bean bag chair and picking up his comic book.

“Twilight!” He called upstairs. “Fluttershy is here to see you!”

“Did you take out the—”

“Yeah yeah, I took out the trash. Sheesh.” He waited for a moment, clearly expecting a reply about her friend being here to see her. ”Twilight?”

“Oh, and Spike? Don’t forget to take out the trash!”

“Um, okay, no problem! Did you want me to send Fluttershy up to see you? Or should I take her out, too?”

There was a pause.

“Fluttershy is here?”

“Yes! I just said—You know what? Never mind.” Spike slapped a clawed hand up to his face in embarrassment, before turning to Fluttershy once more. “As you can probably tell, she’s not really all there this morning. But go ahead.”

Fluttershy climbed up the stairs slowly, hearing the sound of shuffling papers and the rustle of books being rifled through.

“Twilight?” She asked as she opened the door to her friend’s room.

“Huh?” Came the response. A disheveled-looking head poked up from a law book. “Oh! Hey Fluttershy, when did you get here?” She glanced at the calendar, and Fluttershy could see her eyes shrink to pinpricks. “Spike!”

“What is it, Twilight?” an audibly exasperated assistant responded from downstairs.

“Did you remember—”

Fluttershy could swear she could hear the gritting of teeth all the way from downstairs.

“Yes. Yes, Twilight, I already took it out.” There was a long, calming exhale, and then: ”Look, uh, maybe you should take a break for a bit? I think we could all use a break...”

Twilight shook her head at nopony in particular. “But I think I might have found the answer! I’m so close I can taste it; I can’t just—”

“Have some lunch, at least,” Spike suggested hopefully. ”I made sandwiches hours ago.”

Twilight considered the proposition for a moment, a loud gurgle erupting from her stomach.

“Right... Lunch.” She frowned. “Wait, what happened to breakfast?”

“I just chucked it in the trash,” Spike replied matter-of-factly, ”and if you wait much longer, lunch will be joining it.” A long-suffering sigh was heard from the dragon. ”Please take a break?”

Twilight sighed, taking one last look at the book before placing a bookmark and closing it. “Okay, fine.” Then she turned from the collection of tomes in front of her, starting when she (re-)noticed her guest. “Oh! Sorry. I, um...” She grinned sheepishly. “Care to have lunch with me, maybe?”

Fluttershy nodded, helping Twilight up from her chair. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you,” she said as they walked downstairs. “I just needed to talk to you about something.”

Twilight pulled open the icebox, fetching the daisy sandwiches and floating a bag of Hays chips out of the cupboard. “Okay, no problem. What did you need to talk about?”

“Well, you see, I was talking to Rarity at the spa...”

“You have a crush on me?!”

Fluttershy shook her head furiously. “No! No, of course it’s not you! I just said it was you so that Rarity wouldn’t know that it actually wasn’t you at all! I mean, um... Sorry?”

Twilight opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. When she spoke again, her voice was unnaturally high. “It’s because I’m not good enough, isn’t it? That’s why she doesn’t—”

Fluttershy watched in alarm as the expression on Twilight’s face crumbled into a miserable mess.

“Twilight! That’s not it at all! There isn’t anything wrong with you. You’re a very nice pony and I would be glad if it was you! I’m sorry...”

The next several moments were spent comforting a hysterical Twilight, constantly reassuring her that anypony would be very lucky to have her, even if that pony didn’t happen to be Fluttershy.

Even Spike poked his head in at one point, frowning deeply. Fluttershy wordlessly assured him things were in hoof, and he left with a worried look.

After calming down enough to accept a mug of hot tea, Twilight raised her bleary, tear-stained eyes to Fluttershy. “S-sorry. I’ve just... I’ve had some things on my mind lately.”

Fluttershy slid a sandwich in front of Twilight, also setting one in front of herself. “Eat first. Then I’d like to hear what is bothering you, if that’s okay.”

Strangely enough, Fluttershy herself felt better. Well, she felt horrible for Twilight, of course, but Twilight needed somepony to talk to. And listening to a friend was a lot easier than having to deal with her own problems.

Twilight took a big bite of the sandwich, then brought the Hays bag closer so she could dig into that as well. Pausing between bites, she opened the icebox with her magic and levitated two bottles of water over to them. She drank half of her own in a single gulp.

“I’m... I’m okay. I’ve just been thinking. A lot.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “First the gala, and then Ponyville with that stupid doll. Then Shiny marries my foalsitter, and now Rarity is marrying Pinkie...” Twilight stopped herself, realizing her disjointed thoughts probably weren’t making much sense to anypony other than herself. ”Sorry.”

Fluttershy ventured a guess: “You’ve been thinking about... your special somepony?”

Twilight nodded distractedly, then choked on a piece of her sandwich. She coughed violently and waved both forelegs whilst shaking her head. “No! Not that I have a special somepony! Or that I even have a crush on somepony! It’s just that...” She sighed and hung her head. “Forget I said anything.”

Fluttershy nudged her own bottle of water over to Twilight, who took it and drank gratefully.

“Um... you don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to. But, um, I’ll listen? If you need somepony to talk to, that is.”

Twilight held a napkin up to her nose, blowing loudly. “Thanks, but I don’t think it would help. There are laws, you see, and I don’t even know how she feels, and I just... I don’t know what to do.” She laid her head down on the table, ears plastered against her skull, looking up piteously. “So, uh… If not me, who do you like? And why can’t Rarity know about it? I would’ve thought Rarity would be the first pony you’d run to for something like this.” Twilight picked up another napkin and used it to wipe her eyes. “I’m not really the best pony to ask for romantic advice, in case you couldn’t already tell.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened with fear; having this conversation unexpectedly shift back to her own predicament wasn’t something she thought she could deal with right now. “That’s... She just can’t know!” She felt herself beginning to breathe heavily and tried to calm down. “I can’t ask her, Twilight. If she knew who I really liked she’d probably never talk to me again.” She pushed the sandwich away, getting ready to stand up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to burden you with my problems. I just wanted to let you know what Rarity thought, because she expects me to tell you... Even if it isn’t you.”

“Wait!” Twilight scrambled to her hooves, blocking Fluttershy’s exit. “What the heck am I supposed to tell Rarity?”

Fluttershy pursed her lips, worrying about what Rarity would do if she figured out Fluttershy hadn’t kept her promise. “Just... tell her I told you I liked you, but that you already like somepony else?”

“You want me to lie to her?” Twilight asked, concerned by the prospect. “I don’t know... you know how Rarity is; she can smell gossip from miles away. Can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

Looking down at the table, Fluttershy shook her head. “It… It’s too much. I didn’t want to tell anypony, but Rarity made me promise and I—”

“This is so stupid!” Twilight blurted out angrily. “We’re friends, we should be able to talk about these things. Just... Okay, listen. On the count of three, we each say the name. Can you do that?”

Fluttershy didn’t answer at first, too afraid to even consider what Twilight was suggesting. Instead, she tried her best not to think. “O-o-okay.”

“One,” Twilight counted.

Fluttershy cringed. She was going to have to say it.

“Two.”

“Three.”

Fluttershy’s eyes snapped shut.

“Celestia,” Twilight said quickly.

Don’t think don’t think don’t think.

“P-pinkie Pie.”

They both looked up in surprise, mirrored expressions of absolute shock gradually turning to understanding.

Fluttershy was the first to look away, bursting into tears.

She had no idea how long she remained there, crying her eyes out after admitting to such a horrible betrayal of her friends’ trust. After what must have been an eternity, she felt forelegs wrapping her up in a tender embrace.

“Shhh. It’s okay, Fluttershy.”

“No, it’s not okay! I never wanted this!”

“Nopony is blaming you,” Twilight said, nuzzling her cheek.

The nuzzling was nice—gentle and comforting.

“They don’t have to! But Rarity would, and Pinkie would feel—will feel horrible. I promised to tell her, but I don’t want to. It’s not fair to her!” She felt a napkin being pressed to her nose by Twilight’s magic, and obligingly blew her nose into it. “S-she loves Rarity. Telling her how I feel… It won’t help anything.”

“How do you feel? About Pinkie I mean.”

“I don’t know. Does it matter? I would never—” She stopped, gasping at what Twilight seemed to be implying. “I would never ever try to take Pinkie away from Rarity!”

“Nopony ever implied anything of the sort,” Twilight replied with a sad smile and just a hint of reproach in her voice. “Just tell me how you feel.”

“I...” Fluttershy paused, allowing herself, for perhaps the first time, to think about all the things she had so desperately tried to push out of her mind. “I don’t know... I haven’t felt this way since Rainbow Dash. She... She’s just so wonderful to Rarity, and all I can think about is how nice it would be to be Rarity. It’s, um, actually gotten worse ever since I saw them making love through the boutique window.“

Twilight stopped moving, pulling back slightly to look her friend in the eyes. “Wait, what? I, uh, think I didn’t hear you right.”

Fluttershy shrank in on herself, trying to squeak out the words: “I was supposed to go over to Rarity’s for tea! B-but the door was locked and I heard a scream and Pinkie had Rarity up on the drawing table right there in the showroom and she was licking her.”

Twilight’s cheeks reddened. “Um… Right, I get the idea.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes; she was back at that fateful window, watching them, reliving the voyeuristic thrill. “I wanted to leave. I tried so hard to leave, but I just kept watching and I was touching myself—”

“You can stop now—”

“Then I flew home and got into my bathtub and before I knew it I was doing it again—”

“Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy’s eyes flew open, allowing her to see, at last, just how embarrassed Twilight was getting. “Sorry,” she said miserably. “Before I saw that, it was merely uncomfortable to be around her. But now I can’t stop thinking about her... doing that. I’m horrible!”

“You can’t help who you fall in love with, I should know.” Twilight said, after she had recovered from a minor nervous breakdown. “I just wish I knew what to tell you.”

Fluttershy shook her head sadly. “It’s okay. I just need to tell Pinkie. Then I’m going to go home, and probably, um, stay there. Permanently. Come visit me, please?” She paused for a moment, before adding: “Oh, and could you possibly bring me groceries once a week? I hate to be a bother; it’s okay if you can’t...”

Twilight brushed Fluttershy’s bangs away from her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. “I don’t think it will be that bad. Pinkie is not going to be mad at you—not for liking her. Just go and talk to her.”

Fluttershy left the library, thanking Twilight for lunch—which they had finally ended up eating—and for her willingness to listen. While eating, they had briefly discussed Twilight’s crush. Unfortunately, while Fluttershy was glad to listen, there was little advice she could offer to a mare who was trying to court the Princess of the Sun herself. She did offer to be there whenever Twilight needed somepony to talk to in the future, for which the unicorn seemed grateful enough.

Certain doom still awaited within the building that lay ahead, with all of its deceptively bright and pink confectionary designs. Inside awaited the pony who was going to ruin her life, simply by being so irresistibly adorable.

In far too short a while, she found herself in the horribly inviting and warm workplace of her friend. She eyed the stairs that led up to Pinkie’s bedroom with extreme trepidation.

Sugarcube Corner was busy today; the crowd was lively and friendly. None of the ponies present seemed to have any issue more pressing than being in need of a napkin or another donut.

Fluttershy envied them.

“Good morning! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” The cheery voice of Mr. Cake rang out from behind the register, just moments after the door chime had rang out. “Why hello Fluttershy! Need another delicious slice of carrot cake for Angel bunny?”

Fluttershy pulled her eyes away from the stairs and tried to smile. “N-no, not today. I’m here to face my doo—I mean, to see Pinkie.”

“Oh! Well, you’re in luck then! She just got back from visiting Rarity!”

Lucky me.

“Thank you.”

Every slow, plodding step brought her closer to the end of life as she knew it.

Ten steps remaining.

Five.

She was at the door.

She hesitated, her hoof an inch from the wooden surface.

Maybe I’m rushing this... I could always come back tomorrow.

She never had told Rarity when she was going to tell her crush, after all. Presumably, sometime before she died of old age would work.

With that settled, she turned away from Pinkie’s room, feeling much relieved.

The door opened with a small squeak. A very similar sound escaped Fluttershy’s mouth as pink hooves wrapped around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.

Her doom had decided to greet her with a hug.

There really was no going back now.