I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE

Chapter 1: Third Time's the Charm

Twilight giggled as the soft kisses trailed down the back of her neck and shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to shake off her aggressor. Her attention returned to the carpentry book laid out before her on the floor, and she jotted down some notes on a piece of paper next to it absentmindedly. The kisses returned again, this time accompanied by some nibbles on her ear; the other ear, in fact; at the same time. Giggling again, Twilight ducked out of their reach and turned to look at her molesters. “Girls, I'm never going to finish designing our new bed if you keep this up; and then where will we sleep?”

Trixie, who was laying half on top of Twilight and had her forelegs wrapped around her neck just licked the mare's cheek. “Mm... Trixie thinks that as long as you are there, the floor is just fine by her.”

Cheerilee, who was laying on Twilight's other half with her own forelegs wrapped around Twilight's neck over Trixie's, gently breathed into her ear, “S'true, my gnarly Dexter. We would happily sleep in a dag gravel pit as long as you were there.” She punctuated this remark by gently combing the librarian's mane with her teeth.

Shuddering from the exquisite feeling of being groomed in such an intimate manner, Twilight's eyes lost focus and crossed for a moment. The last time she had groomed like this, she had been just a little filly, nervous about starting her tutelage under the Princess the next day; so her mother, Twilight Velvet groomed her mane and sang to her until she fell asleep. It was one of her most treasured memories, since she didn't get to see nearly as much of her after that.

And now, here she was getting the same treatment, but with far different feelings behind it. As the earth pony grabbed another mouthful of mane and pulled the locks through her teeth, the gentle pressure felt even better than a scalp massage to Twilight. She closed her eyes and groaned in pleasure and wondered what Trixie was going to do. Her question was answered with a series of kisses and licks on her throat, just where her jaw line met her neck. She exhaled a shuddering breath, trying to find her voice again.

“Ch... Cheery, Trixie, please... If I don't finish... these designs today... we'll have to wait... until after the... Running of the Leaves... to get our bed made...” Twilight gasped out.

“And wouldn't that be a shame?” A new, but familiar voice asked, startling all three mares. “Almost as bad as not waiting for me to start the fun.”

With surprising strength and alacrity, Twilight stood, leaving Trixie and Cheerilee down on the floor in undignified heaps. “Spitfire! Welcome home!” She ran over to her other fillyfriend at the door, giving her a hug and a deep kiss on the lips.

The kiss was eagerly returned, and they spent well over a full minute just standing there in their embrace. When they finally separated, Twilight huskily asked, “Any trouble getting your request through?”

Looking into Twilight's eyes, Spitfire grinned at her. “Of course, not. I run that team. Requesting permission to move, essentially consisted of me telling the Princess that I'm moving in with you. Naturally, she was ecstatic about all four of us living together. You'd think she was trying to marry you off to us or something.”

Twilight blushed up to her ears and looked away. “No,” Spitfire continued, “the closest thing I had to trouble there was getting Soarin's fat keister out of my chair in my office before he deformed my groove.”

“That must be some groove,” Cheerilee stage whispered into Spitfire's ear.

“Trixie agrees. With a flank this tight,” Trixie said with a smack on said flank for emphasis, “that groove must be awe-inspiring.”

The pegasus whirled around to face the other two mares, truly shocked that they had snuck up on her so stealthily. “Hey! Watch the hooves!” she admonished.

Trixie walked behind Cheerilee, giving her a sultry look. “Chill out, Spitfire. No need to live up to your name around us.”

The teacher nuzzled up to the azure unicorn and rested her head on Trixie's flank, giving Spitfire that same look. “Totally. Don't be so heinous. Like, take a chill pill.”

Without taking her eyes away from Spitfire's, Trixie leaned down and licked at Cheerilee's flank just above her cutie mark before gently biting down on it, leaving a small mark on the coat. Cheerilee in return, never let her feral grin wander from the pegasus as she started for the door. “Let's bounce, crucial babe,” she said to Trixie. “We need to jet if we want to score those ace sweets for dessert tonight.”

Trixie followed her out. “Trixie is...” She paused at the door, looked Spitfire directly in the eye and licked her lips as she said, “...coming.” And with that, she was gone.

Spitfire finally realized that her jaw was hanging open and closed it. “What the buck was that all about?”

Shrugging in genuine confusion, Twilight answered, “Search me. I woke up this morning to those two practically dry humping me, and it's been nonstop since then. It was only because we agreed that sex couldn't happen without all of us present that I was able to keep them at bay at all.”

“And did you understand what Cheerilee was saying? I haven't heard some of those words since I was a little filly.”

Twilight nodded. “More or less. At least I got her to stop using that absurd valley filly accent. That got old quick, I don't mind saying,” she said as her eyes rolled.

Spitfire nuzzled up to her, rubbing their cheeks together. “Poor baby. Sounds like you've had a rough day,” she noted sympathetically.

Backing up a few steps, Twilight said, “I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I really need a little space right now. Having two hot mares literally hanging off of you isn't as comfortable as it sounds after the second or third hour.”

Spitfire took her hoof in both of hers and kissed it. “Consider it done, My Star. Take this opportunity to dash off to one of your friend's places while they're out to finish your little project; and I'll run interference for you.”

Twilight blushed fiercely at the gesture, but looked worried. “I hope you don't take this to mean that I'm tiring of any of you. I love you all now just as much as I did when this all started, but...”

“Oh, pfft,” Spitfire retorted. “As much as I worship the ground you walk on, I know that we all need our space as well.” She made a shooing motion with her hooves. “Now scoot before they get back. We'll all four of us talk this over when you get back. Just make sure you're back in time for dinner.”

Twilight kissed the golden mare's nose and turned to collect her books and notes. “Thanks, Hot Stuff. I'll be back in a few hours when I complete the design and turn it in to Mister Wheelwright over at the sawmill.” With a wink at her co-fillyfriend, she disappeared with a teleporting flash of light.

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Twilight walked through the middle of the Apple family's orchard with a song in her heart. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she smiled contentedly and looked around for either Applejack or her brother, Big Macintosh. A solid THWACK sound followed by many dimmer thumps drew her attention in the direction of the Everfree forest, and she spotted a familiar spot of orange picking up apples that missed the baskets set out.

Happily trotting over, she gave a loud, “Hey, Applejack!”

The farmer stood upright and looked towards her caller. She gave a wave as her friend approached and leaned against the tree. “Well, howdy there, Twilight. What brings yah out to these parts? Finally comin' up for air?”

Twilight turned red and covered her face with her hooves. “Oh, Celestia. Does everypony know?”

Applejack smirked at her embarrassment. “Weeelll, Ah wouldn't go so far as to say that everypony knows; just the folk who live in Ponyville. And the Princesses. Oh, and that one poor feller what was walking by the library when the four of yah were... “in the throes of passion” as Rarity put it. Yah really should learn to close your windows. Especially since one of yah seems to feel the need to wail and holler like a long tail cat in a room full of rockin' chairs.”

The librarian gave her a half-serious glare over her hooves. “You've just been itching to use that one, haven't you?”

“Does Rainbow like to brag about her an' Pinkie?” she shot back with a grin.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight asked, “Aaannnyway, do you mind if I use your place to do a little work?”

Cocking her head to the side, Applejack asked, “Well, sure yah can, but what's wrong with your place?”

“Because I can't get a bit of work done there. Every time I try, I get... sidetracked,” the lavender mare replied.

Applejack's eyes popped open in shock. “Wait, wait, wait. Yah mean to tell me, that in the past three days since yah...”

“Resolved my issues?” Twilight supplied.

“Right. That in the past three days, yah four haven't... yah know... taken a break?”

Twilight sat down and put a forehoof to her chest. “I'll have you know that I love my fillyfriends deeply, and don't want any of them to feel... neglected.” She looked to the sky and coughed behind her hoof. “Besides, for some of us, it's our first, uh, relationship. Of any kind.”

The earth pony's eyes rolled heavenward as well. “Oh, sweet Celestia. It's a wonder one of yah haven't come out of there with a broke hip, yet.” She looked closer at a mark on Twilight's neck and grinned again as she pointed it out. “Looks like you're officially off the market though. Somepony's done laid claim to yah.” The orange mare then looked again, this time closer, and noted that it wasn't the only one of it's kind. “Stars above, filly, you need to tell them to ease up on yah. Yah look like yah took a tumble down a hill... in a gravel pit... twice.”

Rubbing her hoof on the back of her head, Twilight chuckled nervously and blushed. “Aheh. Yeah, they tend to get a little... carried away sometimes.”

Nodding, Applejack said, “Well, you're free to use the house, but the barn may be more to your likin' today. Granny's in the kitchen makin' apple butter, an' she's a might particular about what's done on the table at the moment.”

Twilight walked past her with a sheepish smile. “Thanks, AJ. I promise I'll be out of your mane before you know it.”

Applejack caught a familiar whiff as she walked past. “You're welcome to stay as long as yah need, Twi, but could yah do us both a favor?”

“Anything, Applejack,” she replied with a smile. “What do you need?”

The farmer pointed towards a rain barrel next to the barn. “Yah mind takin' a dunk a'fore doin' anythin' else? Yah smell like... well, yah smell like yah've been ruttin' for three days straight, an' I don' want Apple Bloom gettin' any ideas, or askin' uncomfortable questions.”

Twilight facehoofed and turned red from fresh embarrassment. She gave a mumbled apology and raced over to the structure that would serve as her study for the day.

Applejack smiled at her, genuinely happy for her happiness, but a familiar itch brought on by the intoxicating scent made her think of her own fillyriend. The smile broke into a grin when she spied a familiar white pony strolling up the lane, wide brimmed hat shading her delicate features. Well, speak of the Discord.

Rarity raced up when she spotted Applejack, letting her hat fly off. She crashed into her, pinning her to the apple tree behind her, and kissed her deeply. Applejack's forehooves went to the diamond cutie marks, rubbing them with undue haste; which for once, didn't get an irritated response from the seamstress. The unicorn kissed her way down the farmer's neck, breathing in her musky scent, while Applejack delighted in the perfumed mare's mane. “You'll never guess what I saw today,” she gasped between kisses.

“Mmm. What, Marshmallow?” was all Applejack could manage.

Rarity grinned at her use of the pet name. She rested her head on the farmer's strong chest, listening to the heartbeat of her life. “Trixie and Cheerilee in Sugarcube corner.”

Things were falling into place in Applejack's mind, but she played along, because she knew how much her fillyfriend loved a juicy bit of gossip. “So?”

Unperturbed by Applejack's seemingly blasé response, she continued, nuzzling and delighting in the feel of the rippling chest muscles. “So, they were hanging off of each other and smelling of sex.” This last word was practically whispered as if there was anypony else in the orchard that could overhear them. “They ordered some pastries to go, then shared an eclair, right there in front of everypony.”

The fact of those two hanging off of each other was indeed news to the earth pony, but the last bit confused her. “So they shared a doughnut. So what?”

Looking up at her lover, their eyes met. “Applejack, darling, they ate it at the same time... without cutting it in half.” She let the implications set in and smiled when she saw her eyes go wide. “When their lips met in the middle, they practically started making out right there in the shop. It was lucky there were no foals around or they would likely have been thrown out.” She licked a bead of sweat from the mare's chest with relish. “As it was, when they left, the shop cleared out fairly quickly. I ran over here as fast as was ladylike, because I just had to see you.” She stood up again to kiss her again, running her hooves over the mare's strong back.

Applejack pondered telling Rarity about her meeting with Twilight just moments earlier, but decided that it could wait. There was something, no make that somepony more important in front of her right now.

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Walking through the door, Twilight winced at the loud ringing of the bell above it. The noise naturally got the attention of the old stallion bent over a worktable, manually sanding down a rocking chair's seat. He looked up and smiled at the young mare. “Good evening, Miss Sparkle. Here with the finalized plans?”

“Yes, sir. Right here, Mr. Wheelwright.” Twilight pulled a large, folded up paper from her saddlebags and laid it on the counter next to the till. “I was hoping to go over these with you. I'm planning on laying some enchantments on this when it's finished, so you need to understand why I did some of the things I did here.”

The old earth pony wiped his hooves with a dust cloth from his pocket, then took up his station behind the counter. “Of course. I'd expect no less from you, Miss Sparkle. Let's see what you have for me.”

Telekinetically unfolding the plans, Twilight explained, “Well, first off, I'm going to be putting an impervious charm on it, to mitigate the wear and tear, and that works best with hardwoods like oak, but I was hoping you'd have some teak in stock.”

Wheelwright looked at the dimensions in the plans and did some quick mental calculations. “I believe I have enough for this project. Did you want the whole thing to be teak, just the parts that show, or certain parts of it?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. “I suppose I could live with just the parts that show being teak, and the rest white oak. I wouldn't want to deplete your supplies.” She looked at him curiously. “Can you stain the oak the same shade as the teak?” He nodded in reply, so she continued, “Excellent! Now the concealed compartments here, here, here, and here,” she pointed out the spaces to him, “are going to be magically enlarged, so they need to be lined with cork wood.”

She continued explaining the salient points of the construction, even altering her plans at one point at the experienced carpenter's suggestion. After finally settling on a price, she bid him a good afternoon and left. Twilight hadn't gone more than a few steps before quite literally, running into Rainbow Dash. The pegasus wore a blissed-out expression like it was a new hat. Her steps were unsteady and, well to be blunt, bowed. Not watching where she was going, she ran face first into Twilight's rear who was backing out of the carpenter's shop, sending them both to the dirt road.

Rubbing the fresh bruise on her well-chewed posterior, she turned to see what she ran into. “Ow, what was- Dash?”

Rainbow Dash happily lay sprawled in the dirt, smiling goofily at nothing in particular. “Hey, Twi,” she replied.

Twilight sat up and pulled her friend into a sitting position. “What in the name of all things equine happened to you?”

“Pinkie...”

The librarian rolled her eyes at the somewhat expected answer. “I might have guessed,” she muttered to herself. Speaking aloud, she asked, “Do you want me to walk you home, Rainbow? No offense, but you don't look like you could navigate a straight track with a map and a compass, right now.”

“Nah, s'all good.”

“Alright, then,” she said with a shake of her head. “I need to get back to the library, it's almost dinnertime. You sure you're okay?”

“Fine, go on,” Dash answered, still too blissed to notice anything of importance. She was about to turn to leave when she stopped and looked back to her friend. “Oh, and Twilight?”

Twilight paused with one hoof poised to take a step, and looked back as well. “Yes, Rainbow?”

For the first time, the pegasus's eyes uncrossed and looked straight at the lavender mare. “Tell Trixie and Cheerilee that me and Pinkie said 'thanks for the show',” then walked away.

Watching her friend walk away, Twilight turned over what she had said. She then noticed the bow-legged walk, and put all the clues together, jumping to the correct conclusion. Her eyes went wide, and she dashed for the library as fast as she could. She also noticed several other ponies with expressions and gaits similar to Rainbow Dash's, many of whom waved or just smirked at her. As she passed one stallion, she could swear she heard him say, “Lucky mare.”

Twilight burst through the front door of the library in a panic, only to find... nothing amiss. The only presence in the main lobby was Spike sitting glumly on the couch, his head in his hands. As calmly as possible, she closed the door and walked over to him. He didn't seem to take any note of her. “Spike?”

Without taking his head from his hands, he looked up at her. Perhaps glared at her would be more accurate. “Twilight,” he deadpanned in greeting.

“What's wrong, number one assistant?” she asked, petting the spines on his head.

He sat up and batted her hoof away. “As if you didn't know. Ever since those three have been here, you've hardly spent any time with me. It was bad enough when you just left me behind when you went out on adventures with your friends, but now, the only time I get to even talk to you is through that door,” he pointed towards the stairs for emphasis.

Twilight sat on the couch next to him and put a foreleg over his shoulders. “I'm sorry Spike. I never meant to neglect you,” She hugged him close, and this seemed to ease some of the bristling he had been aiming at her. “Please understand that this kind of relationship is all new to me, and the four of us are still trying to find ways to make this work. None of us intended to exclude you, but we need to find where we all fit in with each other; before we can find how to make that work with everything about us from before we... got together.”

Spike looked up at her with wet, dewy eyes. “Is it gonna take much longer, though? I really miss you. We haven't even done a friendship report to the Princess in over a week.”

Smiling down at the baby dragon, she said, “Why don't we do one right now? I think I just learned a rather good lesson just a second ago.”

Spike pulled a quill and paper from the couch cushions and turned to face her. He saw the surprised look on her face that turned into a chuckle, and asked, “What? I never know when you'll be ready to dictate a letter to the Princess.”

Twilight just smiled and began composing the letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I apologize for the lack of Friendship Reports lately, but as you know, my life has been undergoing some drastic changes lately. However, my number one assistant has reminded me of my neglected duties, and taught me a valuable lesson today.

Making new friends and deepening the relationships with them is all well and good; but you shouldn't forget the friends you already have. In the rush of discovering the new levels that love can take me, it has come to my attention that I have been negligent in my attentions to the ones I loved beforehoof. I can only imagine the pain I've caused them, but rest assured that I will redress my wrongs, and stand vigilant to make sure that no such inattentiveness happens again.

On that note, I would like to extend an invitation to you and Princess Luna to join us for an after-race party this weekend at the library, directly after the Running of the Leaves. It will be a small, intimate affair; so just the bare minimum of guards will be needed. Just be aware that Pinkie-Pie will likely have them partying to by the end of it, so plan accordingly.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Spike rolled up the scroll with a ribbon and breathed his green flames, sending it on its way. He then ran up to her and embraced her tightly. “I'm sorry too, Twilight. I didn't even think of how difficult this must be for you too.”

Twilight nuzzled back at him happily. “No Spike, this one is all my fault. I keep forgetting that though you're growing up, you're still a baby dragon, and need my attention too.” She looked him in the eyes. “You might want to take this as an opportunity to widen your own circle of friends, as well. Don't you like hanging out with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?”

He scratched the back of his head and shuffled his feet. “Yeah, I guess so. They are kinda fun if you don't mind all the tree sap they seem to attract.”

The librarian took note of the slight blush and silly grin when she mentioned the fillies' names, but decided to keep quiet about it. “Now then. Do you know where my mares are?”

Spike jerked his thumb towards the stairs. “In your room, naturally. Trixie said they had something to discuss with Spitfire.”

Spike only got a quick glimpse of the terror on her face before she disappeared up the stairs, muttering “Roadapples, Roadapples, roadapples!”

Shocked, he put a claw up to his mouth and called after her, “Keep using language like that, and I'm telling the Princess!” If I can't do it, neither can she!

Twilight barged into her room, not even bothering to knock, to find the scene she had been dreading. Spitfire was tied, face-up on the bed with a gag in her mouth. She recognized the gag as actually being her only good pair of silk panties that she had been saving for a special occasion, which had only been worn once before. They had felt so sensual and naughty, that she wanted to use them only sparingly.

Straddling Spitfire's abdomen, was Trixie, wearing her cape and hat. She was rubbing her forehooves across the pegasus' chest, deliberately going against the lay of her coat, eliciting moans of pleasure. Cheerilee lay next to Spitfire, wearing stockings and a garter belt, her mane done up in a tight bun. She had one hoof under the mare's chin, and was licking her cheek.

Twilight could only facehoof.

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It had been a long time since it had been so soundly defeated, not once, but twice, and so close together! To make matters worse, both times were by the same infuriating pony! Oh sure, she hadn't managed to actually hurt it, but that wasn't the point, now was it? Granted, the second time, she only really played a secondary role in its defeat, but without her butting in, the plan would have worked. It almost did work.

And now, here it was, soundly beaten, with nothing to show for it. Nothing but a growing hatred for the pony. No one, no one interfered with the its plans. She would pay for what she did, and the setback inflicted upon it. Oh, yes. Twilight will PAY.