Sunset Shimmer's dreams had been troubled. She had been having issues sleeping, thanks to her new power going haywire. She had randomly been plunged into others' dreams, and they hadn't always been nice. But that had changed in one night. Pressed against Pinkie Pie, both of them only wearing pajama bottoms, so much of Sunset's flesh touched Pinkie Pie's that there was no way of staying out of Pinkie's dream.
The dream wasn't naughty. Far from it. Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer sat together, with their friends around them. Their thighs touched, their hips touched, their shoulders touched, and everything between those three points too. Sunset could hear her friends only vaguely; she was too focused on Pinkie.
Pinkie Pie was recounting a dream to Sunset Shimmer, a dream where they sat together, just comfortable, and leaned close. It was cozy, and it was so meta it kept both their minds distracted all night.
Silly dreams, where she discussed the dream with her girlfriend, suited Sunset Shimmer a lot more than the guy next door having his worried nightmares about money problems, or the latest of his girlfriends worrying if she was pregnant.
A stroke of her left breast stirred Sunset out of Pinkie Pie's latest retelling of how the dream she was just dreaming was a dream retelling a dream she had just dreamed. Silly premises aside, Sunset felt Pinkie Pie start to massage the breast, and it was just about the best way to wake up ever.
Opening her eyes, Sunset Shimmer was practically nose-to-nose with Pinkie Pie, and it didn't take much effort at all to lean the last little distance so that their lips touched. Sunset didn't fall into Pinkie's head this time. She let her eyes flutter closed and focused on enjoying the kiss.
Pinkie Pie couldn't keep happy, needy sounds from tumbling out of her throat. That she was kissing the one person who could inspire such sounds didn't change her ability to make them. Unlike Sunset, she liked to keep her eyes open, to watch the play of emotions on Sunset's face as they kissed, and Pinkie played with Sunset's breast.
The kiss lasted long past when Sunset Shimmer would have thought to stop it. She was relaxed, happy, and content to keep going as long as Pinkie Pie did. At last, however, a particularly firm squeeze of her breast made the choice for both of them. She moaned, jerking her head up and back as her spine curled.
Pressing her advantage, Pinkie Pie slid one hand down Sunset Shimmer's body, tracing the soft, warm flesh to her pajamas' waistband. Another squeeze of her girlfriend's breast earned another moan from Sunset, and Pinkie nuzzled at Sunset's neck. "You know where the other hand is going?"
Sunset could only nod. Every time she tried to say anything, she moaned. She stared ahead, blind to anything but the pleasure Pinkie Pie was inspiring her to, and then Sunset felt that naughty hand slide down her pajamas.
Slow, teasing strokes along Sunset Shimmer's folds earned Pinkie Pie more moans. "I love how excited you make me, Sunny. I want to show you just how happy you make me." Pinkie had started nuzzling lower down Sunset's neck, to her shoulders, and then to Pinkie's happy place. She opened her mouth as wide as she could and took in only a small fraction of Sunset's unmolested breast. She sucked, squeezed, and lightly tugged on the sensitive flesh, all while her fingers kept up their work between Sunset's legs.
Sunset Shimmer felt the attention of Pinkie Pie's hands and mouth burrow to the core of her, and she wanted her girlfriend there. A pure note of bliss left her mouth as the pleasure washed over her. Her body trembled, and in the back of her mind, she had the image of Pinkie playing her like a musical instrument.
Pulling her mouth back from Sunset's breast only long enough to say, "I love you." Pinkie Pie slowed her touches on the other girl's vulva, backing her hand off to the tight muscles of each thigh. She watched with love as Sunset lost all control and squirmed around like a wild thing.
Once her girlfriend was relaxed again, and not twitching with aftershocks of pleasure, Pinkie Pie leaned up and kissed her quickly on the lips. The touch was quick enough that neither got lost in the kiss again. "Good morning."
"Are-Are you kidding, Pinkie? This is a great morning." Sunset still felt trembles of pleasure, but most were because Pinkie Pie hadn't stopped kneading her breast—it wasn't something Sunset was even particularly interested in stopping. "You did it again. No bad dreams."
"Of course, silly. How can you have a bad dream when you have me to cuddle with?" Finally releasing Sunset's breast, Pinkie Pie slid up so that their bodies pressed together from the top of their pajama pants to their chests, and pecked at Sunset's lips with her own. "Do you have any finals today?"
Sunset Shimmer sighed. She hadn't expected Pinkie Pie to be the one to bring the real world back to their little nest. "Yeah. A morning one: geography."
"We'd better get up and start the day, then." As soon as Pinkie Pie said it, she heard Sunset Shimmer's groan. "What's this? Not a morning person?" Her eyes danced.
Sunset pulled the covers up and over her head in reply.
Pinkie Pie yanked the bedclothes out of Sunset's grip, revealing her half-naked on the bed. "Some coffee and a nice, hot muffin for breakfast will fix that! Come on!"
Though she might wish she did, Sunset Shimmer had no defense against the pure, cheerful energy of Pinkie Pie. She let herself be pulled out of bed. Let Pinkie pull a bathrobe around her, and they slipped upstairs and to the shower.
In a household consisting of (now) five women, any kind of shower-based shenanigans were out of the question. A shared shower with Pinkie Pie was enjoyable to Sunset, regardless, and equally so for Pinkie. Both girls still made sure there were a lot of casual touches.
"Are you done yet?" Limestone banged on the door a few times, then a few more. "Come on, Pinks!" When the door opened, and Sunset Shimmer was standing beside Pinkie Pie, Limestone's eyes narrowed. "Oh, right. You're here. What did Mom and Dad say about having friends over?"
Pinkie Pie's normally pink cheeks turned a shade a bit closer to red. "Th-That doesn't count here." As if her words were an incantation, Pinkie Pie suddenly found the effort to stand up to the implied threat in her big sister's voice. "Sunset isn't just my friend!"
"So I see." Her eyes narrowing almost to slits, Limestone Pie looked from her bubbly—and now apparently protective—sister to Sunset Shimmer. "You're the one who turned half her school into zombies, right? Demon wings and magic. All that jazz?"
It was the interrogation Sunset Shimmer had expected from all the students all along. The excitement of the morning, and Pinkie Pie's ability to make it more enjoyable than normal started to drain away. "Y-Y-Yeah…"
"You got it all sorted, right? Because if I catch you hurting my little sister, I'm gonna beat the crap outta you." Limestone's mouth quirked to one side. "Pinks, I won't tell Mom or Dad, but you'll owe me one. Both of you."
Sunset gulped. Limestone seemed to be smiling more at being owed something than helping her sister. "I-I won't do anything crazy—like that—again. I learned my lesson." Light-green eyes stared at Sunset, practically boring into her. "I'm not like that anymore. And thanks for not telling your parents, but I think I should."
"So you're not going along with Pinkie's crazy plan of keeping you a secret from Mom and Dad? Hey, maybe you're not as crazy as I heard. Whatever, I need to use the bathroom." Limestone, bored of the conversation, turned sideways and pushed her way past Sunset and Pinkie.
Practically evicted from the bathroom, Sunset Shimmer looked back as the door closed. "Where was she yesterday?"
"Limey? She's on leave from the army." Pinkie led the way to the kitchen, pulling Sunset along after her. Seated at the table was Maud Pie and Marble Pie, and just seeing her other sisters seemed to perk Pinkie up even further. "Good morning, Maud! Good morning, Marble!"
"Morning, Pinkie." Maud's tone was flat and even, but her day was brightened by her perky, excitable sister, despite how little she showed it.
Marble had planned ahead. She heard when Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer had left the bathroom, and carefully pulled a carton of Breakfast Crunch across the table to make an effective shield between her and the new person. When the silence of her sisters waiting for her reply got too much, she bobbed her head. "Mmhmm."
Sunset Shimmer tried not to look at Marble; Maud had told her the previous day that Pinkie Pie's twin was so shy she couldn't attend school. But Marble was an enigma. She was the same age as Pinkie Pie, but wasn't attending school. Home-school was a thing, of course, but Sunset also hadn't seen anyone who would teach her. "So, Maud, how's college?"
Lifting one eyebrow, Maud Pie was intrigued that she had been Sunset's first target for conversation. "Our semester is almost over, but I still have some more work on chalcedony I want to pursue." With that said, Maud reached down to her bag and pulled out the piece of quartz in question. Bright green in color, the lump of mineral seemed quite ordinary until Maud turned it so that Sunset and Pinkie could see: it was hollow, and inside there were dozens of finger-like tendrils inside.
"That looks pretty cool." Sunset poured some hard muesli into the bowl before her. She had only experienced the hard breakfast cereal once before, and that was the previous morning. Sunset had been pleasantly surprised by the mix, and thought it would be a big hit in Equestria.
"Maud really likes rocks." Pinkie Pie avoided any parody of Maud in her statement. "Mum and Dad are really proud of her." She poured her own cereal out, dumped some milk and sugar into it, and started shoveling it to her mouth.
All four had their mouths full as they ate their breakfast, and that suited Marble Pie just fine. She was already excited to start her study for the day. Normally, while she studied, the house was quiet. With Limestone home on leave, and with Pinkie Pie's new friend, her little peace and quiet had been shattered.
Marble Pie continued to eat slowly, and kept her mouth full when anyone might try to ask her a question. Uncaring if it was a cheap gimmick, Marble kept up the game until Maud, Pinkie, and Sunset finally left for the day. She heard Pinkie's car start and drive off, and let out a groan. "Finally!"
"Finally what?" Limestone, her short-cut hair still damp, walked into the kitchen with towel tied around her.
"You know what." Marble stuck her tongue out at her eldest sister. "I have a cool new project I am working on, and I don't want anyone messing with it." She chased the last spoonful of muesli around her bowl and scooped it up to her mouth.
"Whatever. You know I don't think this is right. Told Mom and Dad as much." As Limestone Pie spoke, she poured out a measure of muesli into a fresh bowl. "This,"—she gestured at Marble—"isn't going to get fixed by you hiding at home. They should have made you attend CHS, like me, Maud, and Pinkie."
Marble would have stuck her tongue out at her (sometimes) annoying older sister, but a spike of panic hit her at the thought of having to actually attend school.
Limestone read her sister quite easily. "See? You can't even handle talking about going to school with other people. What are you going to do once you graduate?" She stabbed an accusing spoon in Marble's direction.
"Uh. Well. I was thinking I could do a college course online…" Jumping to her feet, Marble Pie carried her bowl to the sink and rinsed it out. "O-Or I could get a job."
"You're joking, right?" Limestone watched Marble freeze as she was loading the bowl in the dishwasher with the rest. "Online colleges are all well and good if you just want to play games, but to study for a degree worth the paper it's printed on, you have to attend an actual college."
Corporal Limestone Pie was not as relaxed around her sisters as she would like. She found herself thinking of Marble and Pinkie as the members in her squad a little too often. Making an effort to rein-in her normal mindset, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Marble. I just don't think this was fair on you. There are plenty of kids I see go through training who are like this, but they fight against it every day."
Marble stared at her sister for a moment. The lighter, less accusing tone did a lot to remind her that her big sister had always looked out for her. If the prospect of meeting others didn't terrify her so much, she would have probably done what Limestone said. "I'm just not ready."
"When will you be ready, Rolly?" Using her childhood name for Marble, Limestone poured some milk in her bowl and started munching on the cereal.
Marble's nickname caused Limestone to firmly slot back into big sister territory. She slumped against the bench in the kitchen. "People are scary. Did you hear what Sunset did to the school?"
"Heard about it, dug into it, was ready to take unscheduled leave to come back and deal with it. But Pinkie's letter cinched it. All her talk of magical princesses, unicorns, and dragons might seem really far-fetched, but I know Pinks—she wouldn't lie." Limestone had both elbows braced on the table as if she still had to guard food from big guys planning to haze the "little girl playing soldier."
"And it's not like we don't deal with weird shit all the time, too. I trust Pinks, and she told me Sunset was okay. Now she seems to think Sunset is very okay." Limestone rolled her eyes at Marble, earning her a laugh. "So yeah, I know how bad Sunset is. Pinks' giving her a second chance, and I am too." Raising her head up, she looked right at Marble. "They're not all bullies."
"I just don't want to be hurt!" Marble covered her mouth with her hands as soon as she yelled. Part of her cursed her big sister for knowing the places to poke; another part of her realized they should be poked. She peeled her fingers back. "I just don't feel safe."
"You don't feel safe?" One of Limestone Pie's eyebrows rose. "My little sister doesn't feel safe? Then you're playing hooky today. We're going around town, and your big sister is going to punch anyone who tries to make your day worse."
Marble stared at her sister. "You w-w-wouldn't!"
"Then don't give people the opening to mess with you. My arm could do with a workout, so get dressed in something cute, and let's go cruising." Limestone's mouth curved up into a smile.