“Mmm, it really is delightful in here,” Rarity said, leaning back against the curved wooden wall with her eyes closed, a content expression across her face. “I’m so glad you were available this week, darling; it was a shame you were so busy that we had to cancel our last spa date.”

“Well, you know how duty calls,” Fluttershy replied softly. “I got that letter about a family of beavers up by the Delamare River, and I had to make sure they were going to be okay, what with the construction going on over there.” She attempted to adjust the uncooperative towel in her mane for a moment before giving up with a sigh, letting the pink strands of hair flutter daintily down to the floor. “Oh, Rarity, I don’t know how you do it with the towel... with my long mane, it’s such a hassle.”

The unicorn smiled warmly. “Simply a matter of personal preference, darling, and in your case it’s hardly necessary—I’ve just become accustomed to the warmth, I think. But if you do not like it, then think nothing of it.”

“Right, right,” Fluttershy replied, shifting into a comfortable position once she had set the towel aside. “So, what have you been up to this week? Or last week?”

Rarity took a moment to reply, and she opened her eyes when she did. “Mostly thinking, darling. Working a tad here and there as I get orders and such, but thinking is mostly what I find myself up to these days.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy replied. “Thinking about what?” She paused upon seeing Rarity’s mischievous grin. “Sex?”

Rarity smiled. “Darling, whatever else would I think about? I mean, it’s practically all we talk about.”

“Well,” Fluttershy started, smiling ever so slightly, “it has been a while since we’ve talked about that. I’m sure you could have found something else.”

“Perish the thought!” Rarity exclaimed. “The day that I stop thinking about sex is the day that I am no longer a lady!”

“Oh, Rarity, there are plenty of ways to be a lady without thinking about sex. Take me for example. I—”

“Oh?” Rarity said suddenly, sitting up straighter, looking Fluttershy in the eye with a mischievous grin. “Do you really not think about sex either?”

Fluttershy blushed. “Rarity, you know I don’t really like to talk about—” She blinked. “Wait, either?”

Rarity gave her a sheepish look. “I may or may not be doing a survey, darling. Just asking about our friends’ sexual habits and trivial things like that.”

Fluttershy’s face grew even more red. “And let me guess, you didn’t know the pony you were talking to doesn’t think about sex and you started telling her all about your... um...”

Rarity grinned. “‘Sexcapades’?”

Fluttershy nodded, stifling a snicker. “Just because I find them... fascinating... doesn’t mean everypony will.”

“I know that, darling. I just thought that—oh, wait, did I even ever finish telling you about the last one, about four months ago?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I remember you mentioned something about Fancy Pants, but I think that was before you... did the deed.”

“Well, as you know, I stayed with him at his home in Canterlot, both for business but also because he told me he was divorcing his wife, and that we could have a bit of fun. And at first he was absolutely wonderful—one of the best I’d had in months.”

“He does seem like he would be... nice,” Fluttershy commented, her cheeks rosy.

“Quite. But afterwards, as we were just laying there in bed, he just started bawling.” Rarity frowned. “Which, mind you, isn’t the most attractive thing in the world, but he’s always been a good friend so I had no issue with being there to comfort him. But he…” She paused. “He told me the truth, that he’d lied to me. There was no divorce, and he had just made that up to get me to screw him.” She sighed, adjusting her bathrobe. “Of course, I’m sure there’ll be a divorce now—Fleur knows, and we had an... odd confrontation. It left an awful taste in my mouth, for sure, and I came home the next morning.” She looked down at her hooves, tracing a curve on the wooden floorboards.

“Oh my!” Fluttershy exclaimed, taken aback. “That sounds just awful... I can’t imagine…”

Rarity looked up. “Mm, yes. It’s… something I’m not proud to have been involved with, for certain. Though it’s not the reason why I’ve stopped having sex, it still… has left an impact.”

Fluttershy slowly nodded. “Well, I definitely understand why you wouldn’t want to have sex right after that.”

Rarity opened her mouth and very nearly objected, but she thought better of it. The pair then sat in silence for a few moments.

“That many months, though,” Fluttershy murmured. “Wow…”

Rarity finally smiled, and there was a glint in her eye. “What, you can’t imagine not having sex for so long?” she teased.

Fluttershy giggled. “Rarity, you know full well that’s not what I meant." She paused, taking in the steam for a moment. “Though…”

“‘Though’?!” Rarity said excitedly, nearly lunging forward as if to seize the opportunity her friend had given her. She watched as the yellow pegasus’s features transformed into a sheepish grin, her head withdrawing slightly into her shoulders.

“It’s... nothing,” Fluttershy replied meekly. “Forget I said anything.”

Rarity squinted. “Darling, I know you. If you didn’t want to say anything, you wouldn’t have.” She paused, putting a hoof to her chin. “Does this have anything to do with your recently-publicised relationship with nopony other than—?”

“Yes!” Fluttershy squeaked, hiding her face with her forelegs. “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, I’m so embarrassed…”

Rarity scooted closer and put a bathrobe-clad foreleg around her friend’s shoulders. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Fluttershy. From what I can tell, you two are absolutely splendid together. And adorable, too.”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said softly, looking down at the floor. “He’s... nice.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Rarity said, pulling Fluttershy in closer against her for a side-hug. “So, then, is there anything... ah... sexual between you two?”

Fluttershy’s cheeks just grew redder and redder. “Rarity, I—I just—I don’t know how to—gah!” Rarity let go of her as the mare trembled where she sat.

“Fluttershy, darling, if it makes you so uncomfortable, you really don’t have to talk about it. Remember how I said I was talking to one of our friends the other day? Well, she—”

“Yes!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “We’ve had sex!”

Rarity blinked. “Oh my.”

“Y-yes…” Fluttershy stammered. “You tell me so much about all of the sex you have and... I just wanted to be able to tell you about me for once. To... return the favour, I guess.”

“Oh, Fluttershy, I really didn’t want you to feel pressured to—”

Fluttershy reached up and put her hoof on Rarity’s lips, shushing the unicorn mid-sentence. “No, I really wanted to tell you. I just had to work up the courage.”

Rarity nodded. “I’m truly honoured to have been let in on this little secret of yours.”

Fluttershy smiled, albeit somewhat sheepishly. “We’re the best of friends, Rarity, and I don’t want there to be secrets between us. Even if they’re... weird.”

“Darling, it’s not weird! I’m just happy for you that you’re finally, ah, ‘getting some’, as it were.”

“Rarity!” Fluttershy exclaimed, scandalised.

“What? We both know how... frustrated you were for so long.”

“I was not,” Fluttershy insisted. She paused. “Okay, maybe just a teensy bit.”

“But that’s all done now, isn’t it?” Rarity inquired. “Now that you know what it’s like, do you like it?”

Fluttershy shrunk. “...Yes,” she murmured.

Rarity smiled warmly. “I’m so glad, dear.”

“I don’t... I don’t even know how to describe it,” Fluttershy continued, still very quietly. “When we’re cuddling and hugging, I feel so small in his hooves—so delicate, yet so protected. We feel close—so very close. But then, when he… you know… enters...” she whispered, “I feel like I’m surrounding him as well, because there’s literally a part of him inside of me. We feel even closer, like we’re starting to become... one. He... completes me.”

Rarity, who until then had been attentively listening, quietly asked, “And you enjoy that?”

“Oh, yes, very much,” Fluttershy answered, still blushing a great deal. “I love him so much, and the closer we can get, the better. Sometimes, I almost wish we really could be the same pony…”

Rarity giggled. “That’s so romantic, darling. Truly, I envy what you and Mac have.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Huh? You do?”

“But of course! Sure, I may have lots—and I mean lots—of sex, but I don’t have that sort of connection with any of those ponies, no matter how delightful they may be. Your relationship transcends all that and more, so how could I not be envious?”

Fluttershy cocked her head. “Rarity, is everything alright?”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow. “Whatever do you mean, darling?”

“It’s just that... your last, erm, ‘sexcapade’ was a few months ago, unless there are others you haven’t told me about.”

“Fluttershy, you know that I tell you about every single one,” Rarity assured her. “Have for years, and I certainly don’t intend to stop now.”

“And now you’ve gone and asked me about my sex life. So, while there’s nothing wrong with not having sex, I guess it just makes me wonder…”

Rarity leaned back, relishing in the softness of her bathrobe as she felt a bead of sweat slide down her forehead. “You’re right, I’ve basically stopped having sex altogether. And it’s not completely because I don’t want to, no—it’s because I have... a crush. On one of our friends, no less.”

Fluttershy gave her an understanding nod. “That would do it. Does she know?”

Rarity shook her head. “I’ve been meaning to tell her, but I haven’t gotten there yet. The... last pony I spoke to suggested that I should just ask her to sleep with me, but that’s... that’s not the only thing I want. Not that that wouldn’t be absolutely delightful…” She swooned.

“I know how hard it can be—believe me, I do—but I think you really just need to tell her,” Fluttershy stated flatly. “Is it—?”

“Ah ah ah,” Rarity said, raising a hoof. “I do apologise, but I’m not ready to talk about who it is just yet.”

“I understand.” Fluttershy paused. “If you really are interested in the romance more than the sex, why don’t you just ask her out?”

“But that’s haaard,” Rarity replied, face turned up in a pout.

“Mmm... you ask ponies to have sex so often, though, and I can’t imagine it’s much different,” Fluttershy remarked.

“You wouldn’t think so, would you? And yet... it most certainly is. Sex is just a primal desire, darling—it’s nothing more than eating or bathing or using the little filly’s room. It’s just something you need to go on. Romance, on the other hoof... is a delicate matter, of the heart.”

“I guess I see where you’re coming from,” Fluttershy replied, “even if I can’t really imagine one without the other. For myself, of course. And my fian—er, my boyfriend.” She blushed even more as she watched Rarity gasp. “Oh my goodness, please don’t tell anyone that; we haven’t told anypony and—”

Rarity gave her a jittery, excited nod and quickly fumbled through the motions of a Pinkie Promise. “Not a word.” She paused, grinning. “But eeeee! That’s so exciting! Do you have a date set?”

“N-not yet, but we’re working on it,” Fluttershy replied meekly. “Our families know, but we’re keeping it quiet for everypony else until next week. But really, don’t let me distract you. What’s on your mind?”

Rarity sighed, leaning back. “I’m just filled with a lot of confusing and contradictory thoughts, myself. I suppose I’m having a hard time connecting the romance and sex, although they feel so innately tied at the same time. And, while I crave sex, I... just can’t bring myself to ask anypony.”

“How come?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m... not sure. I suppose I’m afraid of the monogamy that such a relationship will most certainly entail, so I’m trying to prepare myself for that.”

“Oh, Rarity... no relationship is worth making yourself suffer for, especially not that much. And not all relationships are monogamous.” Fluttershy offered her friend a warm smile. “You don’t have to change who you are just to fit another pony.”

“Darling, you know as well as I how my previous attempts at relationships worked out,” Rarity whined, lowering her head in a defeated manner. “I just don’t know if I’m cut out for this sort of thing.”

“Of course you are, Rarity,” Fluttershy assured. “No offense, but you really hadn’t come to a mutual understanding with any of your marefriends before those relationships started. It’s not your fault that you just didn’t quite see eye to eye on that.”

“But what if this pony I like doesn’t like that part of me either?” Rarity moaned.

“Then she’s not the right pony for you, and you’ll move on eventually,” Fluttershy said. It was true, of course, and Rarity knew that; she just needed to hear it out loud. “You know, I think it might be helpful if you talked with Pinkie about this.”

Rarity blinked. “Pinkie? I mean, I was already going to talk to her, but why do you suggest her specifically?”

Fluttershy smiled. “She and you have more in common than you might realise, and she was in a similar situation. I think she might have some interesting personal experience that I can’t quite give you.”

Lost in thought, Rarity nodded. “Alright, I shall have to see what she is doing right now. That reminds me... it’s been about time, hasn’t it?”

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, which were just beginning to form a few wrinkles here and there. “Unless we’d like to become prunes again, I think we should probably go, yes.”

Rarity nodded, stood up, and stretched out her hooves before she made her way over to the door of the steam room. “Thank you so much, darling. It’s always a delight to talk to you, you know. Really helps me get my thoughts in order, and it’s always lovely to hear about how you’re doing.”

“I’m just glad I could help,” Fluttershy replied sweetly as she joined her friend, walking out of the room. Behind them lingered a thick cloud of steam forming small droplets against the walls until that, too, slowly dissipated.

Next Chapter: III Estimated time remaining: 27 Minutes