//------------------------------//
// The Walk of (Not) Shame 
// Story: Care to Take a Lady Out on a Date? 
// by MisterEdd 
//------------------------------//

After your little heart-to-heart talk and a much-needed shower, Rarity expressed her apologies at ruining your clothing, having torn apart a nice dress shirt and slacks that she'd custom made for you a while back. While you tried to assuage her fears by telling her it wasn't a big deal, even admitting that her sudden aggression was quite sexy, she blushingly promised to mend them, lending you a spare plain white T-shirt and jeans that she'd been meaning to give you. Seeing as how you'd already slept together, there was no shame in getting dressed in front of the mare and unsurprisingly, the clothes were expertly-crafted and fit your body perfectly. She'd even gone through the trouble of stitching your name into the shirt collar as well as on one of the jean's back pockets, giving them that personal touch. You looked at yourself in the mirror.

"Perfect as usual," you beamed at her. 

"Glad you think so...Darling." The breathless way she said her signature word sent shivers down your spine. You knelt down in front of the mare and ran your hand through her mane, slipping her bangs through your fingers. There was no beating Rarity's usual coiffed mane style but, being a sucker for chicks with long hair, you liked how her mane looked when worn naturally. 

"Do you know what else is perfect?" She shook her head. You leaned forward and whispered, "You," planting a gentle kiss on her lips. You pulled away but Rarity was having none of that, grabbing your head with her magic and diving forward for a full-on frontal assault. Her tongue lashed at the inside of your mouth and yours was eager to meet it. You could feel your trouser snake rising.     

The boutique's front door bell chimed and you both froze at the high-pitched voice:

"Rarity, I'm here!" 

Shit, it was Sweetie Belle! 

You both pulled away, Rarity's magic fading as the younger unicorn came strolling in. 

"Good morning, Rarity! Oh, hi Anon!"

"Hello Sweetie Belle!"

"Heya Sweets!"

Sweetie cocked her head. "What are you doing here so early?"

You and Rarity both scrambled for an excuse.

"He was on his way to-..."

"My pants needed mending-..."

"...-commission a new suit, so naturally-..."

"....-and there's only one place in town to get them fixed-..."

"...-he came to me and being close friends, I was more than happy to help-..."

"-...and here we are!" You both finished. 

"O-kaaaaay," Sweetie Belle uttered, clearly befuddled by your strange behavior. "Anyways...I'll be up in my room." 

"You do that, Sweetie Belle. I'll be up in a bit."

"See ya later, Sweets," you waved as she trotted up the steps, watching you both suspiciously. It wasn't until she disappeared from sight and the sound of a door closing accompanied her that you were able to release the breath you'd been unknowingly holding. "You think she bought it?"

"I don't know. Sweetie's always been a bright filly. I hope so."

You cupped her cheeks. "Listen, even if she doesn't, she's old enough to understand the idea of romance. We just need to sit her down and explain that we're a couple." It then dawned on you that neither of you actually placed a label on your relationship. "We are a couple...aren't we?"   

"If that's what you want," Rarity tittered nervously. "You do want that, don't you?"

You smiled and pecked her on the nose. "Absolutely. You?"

"Oh most definitely!" 

"Then you're my marefriend." You then held up a finger. "On one condition..."

Rarity peered at you confusingly. "Which is?"

Booping her on the snout, you grinned, "I...get to be your boyfriend." 

"I don't know, Darling," Rarity stated with mock-uncertainty. "Hmmm. I think I might be able to arrange it."   

"I can live with 'might,'" you chuckled, pulling her in for another kiss.

"Hey Rarity! I went into your room for some drawing paper and it stinks in there!" 

Both of you froze. 

"And your sheets are all sticky!"

Annnnnnd there goes your boner. 


~*~


You kissed Rarity goodbye while she dealt with the Sweetie Belle situation, hoping that she wasn't going to have to give her the Talk. Although Sweetie Belle was eight and in Equestria society, signified that she was ready to know about the birds and the bees, that was still too young in your opinion. Besides, with her being cute as a button and having been personally foalsat by you, it only added to your growing apprehension at the thought of her knowing what adults did in the bedroom. She also one day might become your sister-in-law. You stopped abruptly and shook your head at this.

Where in the hell did that come from? You and Rarity hadn't even been out on a date yet and already you were thinking about marriage! Perhaps it was the thrill of finally having found somepony in this crazy world that actually saw you as mate material. You couldn't deny the fact that you cared for the mare deeply and wanted to see her happy. Not just in a sexual way, mind you but emotionally as well, ensuring that another frown never entered her face again.

Sheesh, now you were sounding like a cheesy Hallmark Channel movie! 

Picking up your feet, you resumed your walk. You'd had girlfriends before and you cared about them at the time, but you were never this dedicated to thinking about their personal happiness. Then again, species aside, Rarity was different from your other girlfriends in that you really felt a connection with her. Before, you were just dating because you didn't want to be alone and devoid of nookie but now you were obligated to treating your mare right.    

Wow, not even an hour has passed and already she's "your mare." 

"Hey Anon, how's it going?" A familiar purplish-pink mare asked.

"Hey Berryshine! It's going well. You?"

"Fine, fine. Listen, I'm sorry I had to bail on last night-..."

You held up your hands. "Come on Berr, it's all good. You don't need to apologize."

Berryshine grinned, "That's great. Listen...." she beckoned you forward and you stooped down to that she could whisper in your ear. "I couldn't help but notice that you were just walking out of Rarity's." 

"So?" 

She chuckled and said, "'So?' A couple of my neighbors told me you two got plastered last night and shacked up at her place." Berryshine wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Come on, you know how that looks. Just between you and me, how was she?"   

You tugged at your collar. "That's uh, none of your business, Berr. What a man and a mare do behind closed doors is between them." 

Berryshine leaned away from you but still spoke in a hushed tone. "Ah, so you two did cross the inter-species barrier? Good thing too, you both were in serious need of a release." 

"I'll see you later, Berryshine." You stood up and continued your way to home. 

"Nice work, buddy! I'm seriously impressed!" 

Gods above, Berryshine was your bro but sometimes you wanted to strangle her. 

Your house was a bungalow that was built a year after you'd arrived, having requested it from Princess Celestia and the Sun Princess was more than happy to oblige. Don't get it twisted, you enjoyed living with Twilight and would always be grateful to her for her kindness and generosity but you wanted to have a place all your own. Staying at Twilight's Super-Magical-Friendship-Headquarters made you feel kind of like a bum. A devilishly good-looking one but a bum all the same. Heck, you'd even helped in its construction, working with contractors and architects to make sure everything was the right size to fit your needs and putting in the manpower to put it up...when the earth ponies allowed you to work, that is.

Unlocking the door, you closed it behind you and put your back against it, sliding down to sit on your rear. It was crazy to think that one of the hottest and most famous ponies in Equestria was now your marefriend. You chuckled and shook your head incredulously. It seemed like Lady Luck had decided to throw you a bone and give you a belly rub. Rising to your feet, and kicking off your shoes, you made a beeline for your bedroom, landing face down in your bed and intending on taking a nap after the emotional exhaustion of that morning.  

Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump!

You moaned and lifted your head up. Of course somepony would swing by for a visit just when you were trying to get some shuteye. Mumbling about ponies and their timing, you slunk from the warmth of your bed and trotted to the front door. You unlocked the door and swung it open, revealing a pegasus with an unmistakable prismatic mane. Rainbow Dash was a pretty chill mare you'd come to grow fond of, sharing a love of extreme sports and wrestling matches.

"Morning Dash. What's up?"

Her expression was...unreadable. "Hey Anon. Could I come in?" 

"Sure! Come on in!" Rainbow brushed past you, gaze straight ahead as she took a seat on your couch. You closed the door behind you and rubbed your hands together nervously. She was never this serious around you. "Can I get you anything? Cider? A power bar?"

"No thanks," she replied somewhat brusquely and patted the seat next to her. "We need to talk." 

Uh-oh. She knows. "Sure Dash." Her eyes followed you while you walked around her and sank into the cushion. "So, what can I do for you?" 

Rainbow let out a sigh. "I've heard some gossip from around town but I wanted to get it from you first before I mentioned anything to Twilight and the others." She stared you right in the face. "Did something happen between you and Rarity last night?"

You scratched your chin. "Yeah. We had a few drinks and then went back to her place and...had sex." She nodded slowly but said nothing. "And earlier today, we sat down and after a long talk, we decided that we liked each other and that we should date." 

"So...you're a couple?"

"Yes."

"You and Rarity?"

"That's correct."

"Coltfriend and marefriend?"

"That's the long and short of it."

Rainbow sat back and nodded once more. "Okay."

"'Okay'? That's it?"

The pegasus shrugged. "What else is there?"

You shifted on the couch so that your body faced her. "I don't know. I thought you'd be mad or something."

Rainbow stared at you before smiling and you knew that everything with her was cool. "Why would I be mad? You're my friend and Rarity's my friend so this works out. Besides, you've been perving on her for the longest time."

"What? No I haven't!"

"So you haven't been staring at her plot whenever she turned around or bent over to pick something up?" 

One excuse after the other formed but never made it out of your mouth. "Point taken."

"Relax dude! I'm not even gay and I've been checking her out too!" 

"Was it that obvious?" You were feeling very self-conscious. 

"Duh! It wasn't like you were subtle. Neither was she."

This was new. "What do you mean?"

She smirked at your obliviousness. "Come on! Why do you think she was always asking you to come to the boutique to get your opinion on a design or to watch Sweetie Belle?" 

"I thought she'd want a male perspective and knew that I was pretty much always available to foalsit her sister." 

Now Rainbow was laughing. "What about that time she modeled some underwear for you?" 

"'Underwear'? She never modeled underwe-..." Then it clicked. You remembered Rarity once had you over for tea and wanted to show you some outfits she came up with. Now that you thought about it, she was pretty nervous about it. She put on a little fashion show for you, wearing sheer silk nightgowns with leggings and saddles. When you told she looked amazing, she got red in the face and stammered out a thank you. 

"Wait, saddles are considered lingerie?!" 

Rainbow's response came in the form of snorting cackling. "Wow, you really are dense! Rarity's been wanting your monkey schlong for a long time now! Why do you think she was always bending over so much? She was presenting!" 

You'd heard about that. When a mare was interested in a stallion, she'd "present" herself to him, which consisted of sticking her rump out, lifting her tail and showing them her marehood. Images of Rarity's rear end flashed before your eyes. Whenever she dropped something or needed to get a roll of fabric, you'd turn to find her supple, round badunkadunk in the air and her tail held to the side so you could see-

"Wow...I'm an idiot."

"They say the first step to solving a problem is admitting it," Rainbow snickered.  

You glared at her. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. Any other helpful bits of insight?"

"Nope. Oh, a couple of weeks ago, I accidently walked in on Rarity touching herself and moaning your name but that's about it."

"I hate you."

A shit-eating grin lit up Rainbow's face. "No you don't."