Chapter twenty: Nothing to Hide
I awoke, greeted by the faint rays of light and the soft movement of the wonderful, purple alicorn in my embrace. It was a position that made me want to fall back asleep immediately, but the position of the sun was a mark that we had enough sleep.
Slowly, I nuzzled into Twilight’s neck, trying to wake her up gently. With a murr, she stirred and blinked before giving me a heartwarming smile.
“Good morning,” she said with a yawn.
“Morning, sexy,” I teased her.
She blushed before nuzzling me, then took a look around. It only took a few moments for her eyes to widen, “Did we make that mess last night?” she asked, shocked.
“Yup,” I said, slowly rising and climbing off the bed.
“Oh, no, no, no, no! We have to clean this mess before Spike sees it!” she shrieked, and in a quick flash of her magic, the soaked sheets were gone.
“Calm down, Twilight, he never comes in here,” I chuckled and nuzzled her once again.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she blushed, before sighing, “We should take a shower and head down, I’m sure Spike’s got breakfast ready already.”
I nodded and followed her as she left the room and headed straight to her bathroom. As I attempted to go in after her, she stopped, “What are you doing?”
“I’m following my marefriend into the shower?”
She bit her lips before nodding, “Alright, but no funny business in the shower! I feel sore, and we can’t take forever in there.”
“Well, it wouldn’t take that long, but you’re right. Let’s not overdo it,” I replied and gently nuzzled her neck as I followed her into the bathroom and straight into the shower.
Twilight lit up her horn and turned the shower on, electing sighs from both of us as the water hit our coats. As she sent her magic for the shampoo, I stopped her.
“Please, let me do that.”
She stared at me for a moment before giving me a gentle smile and a little nod.
I grabbed the shampoo in my left wing and poured a healthy amount on my right one. Stepping to Twilight’s side, I began to massage the shampoo softly into her coat, electing a quick coo from the purple alicorn.
Rubbing the shampoo into every part of her coat, I enjoyed the small sounds coming from Twilight, telling me how much she enjoyed it, “Pegasi always use their wings to treat their partners well, since they are the most sensitive and erogenous parts besides, well, you know,” I explained to her.
“I love it,” she replied, then turned once I finished, “Let me try now.”
I gave her a soft smile as she grabbed the shampoo and put some onto her wings before starting to massage my coat with them. She started very slowly and her tried to massage my coat with her wings, but she was still inexperienced. Even if she was inexperienced, I still loved it, mostly because it was Twilight with her wings on my body after all.
"Am I doing it right?" she asked after a few moments, and I could hear the nervousness in her voice.
"You're doing fine," I replied with a smile.
It seemed to have the desired effect, since she rubbed a bit more intensely, more vigorously into my coat. I shrieked in surprise as her magic suddenly lifted my tail.
"Hey, I thought you said no funny business?"
Twilight blushed furiously and dropped my tail, "Sorry, I guess I got into it a bit too much."
“Hey, its no problem. Don't worry, Twilight," I replied and gently nuzzled her.
We quickly washed the shampoo out before Twilight turned the shower off and we stepped out to dry ourselves.
I couldn't do anything but stare at my marefriend with her wet coat and mane, grabbing the towels from the wall.
"See something you like?" She asked with a smile.
"How did you guess?" I chuckled.
Twilight blew me a raspberry before flicking her tail once, then she started to dry herself. I followed her example, and soon we were on our way towards the kitchen.
Indeed, Spike was already sitting there with a giant stack of pancakes in front of him, waiting for us.
"I thought you would never make it out of the bed," he greeted us with a growl.
"Heh, it was just way too comfy," I replied with a smile and a wink towards Twilight, who blushed again.
"Great that you had a good sleep, mine wasn't exactly good. Half of the night I heard weird noises," Spike muttered.
"W-weird noises?" Twilight's voice shook, and I could see that she was about to panic.
"Yeah, I tried to ask you about it, but you weren't in the guest room," the dragon turned to me.
“Ehh, Twilight had a nightmare, so I slept on the floor in her room, protecting her."
Twilight shot me a look, likewise to 'are you bucking serious?', but I had no time to correct my sentence.
"Oh, okay. So those weird noises came from Twilight having a nightmare?" The dragon asked with a smile.
"Yes, Spike, don't worry," Twilight chimed before sitting down and shooting me a glare.
I had the weird feeling that sex would be off the table for a while.
And I wanted to show her so much more. Maybe if Spike is out of the castle for a night
or two.
I shook my head free of the thought and quickly grabbed the plate, offering it to Twilight, who stacked a few pancakes on her plate.
She smiled at me and we started to eat after I loaded my own plate full. We were all silent until Spike spoke up.
"I'm glad that you two are coming along that nicely. I saw you two on the balcony outside, sleeping up against one another. Oh, I nearly forgot, Fluttershy was here to ask you something, but she left when she saw you two, mumbling something about a 'cute couple'."
I froze at that as well as Twilight. We both hoped he would let it drop, but of course we weren't that lucky.
"What did she mean by that?" The dragon asked.
"Nothing, Spike!" Twilight responded way too quickly.
Spike looked at her before crossing his arms, "You’re acting really weird, Twilight. What are you hiding?"
"What? Don't be silly! We aren’t hiding anything!" Twilight mumbled.
I facehoofed while Spike looked at me, "You’re both being really suspicious," he said.
"Spike, seriously, there is nothing to hide!" Twilight stuttered while blushing slightly.
Spike eyed her suspiciously before shrugging and focusing back onto his plate, while I got a glare from Twilight that didn't look too promising.
It would be much easier to just tell her friends the truth.
Sighing, I ate the rest of my pancakes before standing up to get myself ready.
"We’ll head to Fluttershy’s first," Twilight said before levitating the dishes into the sink.
I nodded and quickly went up to put my armor on. It was a procedure that went quickly enough, and soon I was downstairs, startling Twilight, who had just grabbed her saddlebags.
“What’s in there?” I asked.
“Something to keep Discord silent,” she simply replied before nodding, “Let’s go.”
She opened the large doors in her magic and we left the castle, greeted by wonderful sunlight. I sighed and smiled before following Twilight down the stairs. There was another sound that soon disturbed the silence and I looked around, just in time to see something large and dark speeding up towards me.
At the last second, I recognized Luna before she crashed into me, sending us tumbling onto the floor. We rolled over until I laid on my back and she was on me, a glare in her eyes.
“You! We had a meeting last night! I waited several hours, and you never came!” she exclaimed in frustration.
“Well, she came, but not in the way you imagine, my dear Luna,” a voice laughed out of the aether before a ball of smoke announced the dramatic appearance of Discord.
“WHAT?!” Luna screamed while Twilight and I blushed.
“And that’s not even the best part! They even,” Discord was stopped by a length of rope tying itself around his muzzle, held in Twilight’s magical aura.
“Enough of this! Night Glider, why didn’t you tell me that you had a meeting with Luna?”
I blushed a bit more, “Because it was a special night for both of us, and I kind of forgot in the heat of the moment.”
"Please tell me that I'm not assuming right," Luna muttered, staring deeply into my eyes, as if she were searching my mind for answers.
"It’s true. I know she was your mate, but she is my marefriend now," Twilight replied softly with a slight blush.
I was shocked that Twilight was so open about it, and Luna just looked at me. It was a look I recognized, a look I thought was lost a thousand years ago.
"After all those years?" I asked, to which Luna nodded.
Luna slowly raised and looked at us, "I won't cause you any trouble. If you two are together, I will respect it. But I do wish for one small thing," she looked directly at me, "I want to spend time with you again. Flying, have some fun, just like in the old times!" I could see the longing in her eyes.
Looking at Twilight, who smiled and nodded, I turned back to Luna and gave her a smug grin before raising to my hooves, "Sounds like a deal to me!"
“That’s splendid!” Luna cheered, dancing a bit on her hooves.
I had to smile at that. It had been a long time since I had seen Luna that happy. Then we both stopped and turned to Twilight; the source of the cutest laughter I’d ever heard. Twilight was laughing wholeheartedly at Luna’s display, a clean and loud laugh.
She’s so cute.
Twilight continued like that, and I stepped forward, nuzzling her cheek gently before she stopped, “That was cute,” I whispered into her ear.
She blushed and gave me a quick peck onto my lips before looking at Luna, “I’m sorry!”
“There is no reason to be, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said with a small smile of her own.
Twilight’s blush was still existent as she looked into my eyes, “Well, I guess we should move on to Fluttershy’s.”
“Hellooo? I presume that you are forgetting who’s still here? Fluttershy is not at home, just for your information,” Discord scoffed, the remains of the rope around his muzzle turning into a black vine that immediately retreated.
“And where is she?” Twilight asked.
“Mhh, are you and your marefriend up for a little riddle?” he asked back with a smug grin.
“Discord, spill it, already,” I snapped, causing him to chuckle.
“What has a single eye but cannot see?” Discord asked.
What?!
I simply looked confused while Twilight and Luna seemed to ponder the question for a few moments, before Luna smiled.
“Is it a needle?” she asked.
“Indeed!” Discord clapped his mismatched claws.
“Huzzah!” Luna called out victoriously while Twilight and I giggled.
“So, she’s at Rarity’s place?” Twilight asked the obvious.
“Does her rabbit have a bushy tail?” Discord deadpanned.
“Right, she is,” the purple alicorn sheepishly replied before reaching for her saddlebags, “Discord, I got something for you.”
“Ohh, what is it, Twilight Sparkle? Something… chaotic?” he asked with an over dramatic play, “I never received gifts from anyone but Fluttershy before, you are such a good friend!”
Twilight levitated a small, green box out of her saddlebags and gave it Discord, who grabbed it with a devious smile and shook it, electing silent clinks from it, “Is it what I think it is?”
“Yes. You can have it, but I want you to keep quiet about us to anypony until we are ready to announce our relationship, is that clear? We don’t want anypony knowing about us until we’re ready to be public,” Twilight raised her voice a bit.
“Crystal clear, just like your castle, Twilight. I won’t say anything!” he replied, and the box disappeared in a small puff of smoke.
I looked at Twilight, raising an eyebrow, “What did you give him? I should know that as your Captain.”
“Well, Captain, if you really want to know,” Twilight started and leaned in close, whispering into my ear, “A quite interesting potion. I might let you have a try tonight if you’re a good mare.”
I shuddered at Twilight’s sultry voice, and I could feel my wings stiffen slightly, but I kept control over them, “I would love to, my Princess,” I replied teasingly. Twilight seemed to enjoy this particular brand of teasing, and gave my ear a quick little nip before pulling away and acting like nothing had happened.
I hadn’t expected her to nip me in front of both Luna and Discord, so the act caused me to jump slightly in surprise and give a little yelp. The two others in our presence hadn’t seemed to notice Twilight biting me, but they definitely heard my yelp, and turned to face me with curious gazes. I met those gazes with an attempt at a stoic face, that was only ruined by the shade of red my face had turned.
Neither of them said anything, and instead let my odd behavior drop. Twilight gave a little giggle in response to my action, and then smiled over at Luna, “It was wonderful speaking to you again, Princess Luna, but we really should be going to Rarity’s,” she said, giving a tone that suggested that Luna could join us if she wanted to.
Luna turned towards us and smiled, “And it was wonderful speaking to you as well, Twilight Sparkle. I should return to my duties in Canterlot, despite my desire to accompany you both. We shall speak again soon, I’m sure of it,” she said, bowing lowly towards us as she spoke.
“Heh, at least you had the time to come here and crash into me,” I chuckled teasingly.
“Rest assured, I won’t be as merciful the next time, Nighty,” she replied, using the nickname I still hated with a smug smile.
“Nighty?” Twilight asked, and I glared at her, giving her a silent ‘don’t’.
“Well, her usual nickname was,” Luna started but I stopped her.
“If you continue, we shall tell both Twilight and Celly about all the nicknames we had for you!” I threatened her, pointing a hoof in her direction and fixing her with a glare.
She’s bringing me back to the royal we again...
“Is that so, Captain Fluffykins?” Luna asked teasingly.
“Okay, you’re so on, Blueberry Butt,” I replied with a stoic glare.
Luna and I glared at each other for a while, before our expression softened and we burst into laughter while Twilight and Discord simply looked on in confusion.
“You have no idea how much I missed this, Lulu,” I sighed, wiping the tears from my hard laughter away.
“Likewise, Nighty. Likewise,” she replied, still giggling a bit.
We recovered after a few moments of dying laughter, and when we did, Luna nodded to me and Twilight before spreading her wings, stretching out for a moment. When she was ready, she took off into the sky, heading back towards Canterlot and her duties. Even though we weren’t together any longer, I still missed her, and I was glad that we’d be able to talk freely.
Maybe there is still a bit of the old feelings left, but surely not enough to sulk in it.
It took me a few seconds before I recognized the stare Twilight gave me with a tilted head, Discord copying her reaction one to one. I knew that look, and it announced that she was about to panic. She was about to panic over something she shouldn’t.
“Twilight, it changes nothing. I just would like to be her friend again, just like in the old times, nothing more. You’re my princess, after all, and I love you,” I said and leaned in to nuzzle her gently.
That seemed to do the trick, and she broke out of her thoughts, “Sorry, I guess I’m just overthinking things again.”
“I think last night should be proof enough that I’m yours and yours alone,” I replied with a soft kiss.
“I know, and I’m only yours,” she replied with a more eager one.
“All this lovey dovey stuff is going to make me sick,” Discord said, feigning a gagging sound. Of course, Discord being Discord, as he made the gagging sound, a spray of flower petals came out of his mouth. The best reaction I had was a deadpan and a roll of my eyes.
“But you’re acting ‘lovey dovey’ with Fluttershy!” Twilight stated.
“Me?” Discord asked, looking insulted, “You are talking to the master of chaos, Twilight Sparkle! I am not ‘lovey dovey’!”
Twilight simply followed my example and rolled her eyes before nodding to me, “Let’s go, he’s a hopeless case anyways,” she said as she turned around and started heading in the direction of Rarity’s place.
Discord scoffed behind us, “I’m going to warn Fluttershy that a lovesick couple is on the way. Ta-ta!” and with that, some kind of vehicle appeared and Discord sat on it before disappearing.
“You get used to him,” Twilight chuckled as I rolled my eyes for another time. I wasn’t entirely sure if I would ever actually get used to him, but if Twilight said so, then I supposed it was worth taking in stride. Discord was just plain weird, there was no other way to put it, and I wasn’t sure how long it’d take me to get used to his level of weird.
I followed Twilight all the way to Rarity’s boutique, the journey spent in silence, only occasionally broken by a few loving gazes. I had no idea why Twilight looked at me so often, but I had the weird feeling that was because of what had happened with Luna.
It’s like she’s making sure that I stay by her side.
“Twilight, you’re still thinking about the situation earlier,” I stated.
“Uh, no, I’m not,” she replied nervously. I didn’t need to be psychic to know that she was lying.
“Listen, what Luna and I had was over a thousand years ago. I can’t claim that I’m completely without feelings, but they are nothing to worry about, and I would give you my heart right out of my chest if I could. You are my marefriend, and Luna isn’t. I love you, Twilight Sparkle. More than anypony can ever imagine,” I said in a shaking voice, trying to make it sound somehow romantic.
Twilight simply looked at me and chuckled a bit, before leaning in and planting a small, gentle peck onto my cheek, “You’re lovely, have I ever say that?”
“You said it now,” I replied with a furious blush and gave her a short nudge with my left wing, glad that I left the blades at home so I could even do that.
Twilight didn’t reply and continued her way, leading me along a small road towards the boutique that was soon in sight. Of course, the strange vehicle Discord used was already at the front door. I didn’t even bother questioning how it worked or what it was, I just let it be as I walked up to the boutique.
The doors opened in a little flourish of Twilight’s magic, which held the doors open for me so I could walk in before her. I gave her a dramatic little bow and a laugh as I made my way through the open doors, which Twilight quickly returned with just as much dramaticism. When we were safely inside, she let the doors close behind us.
I had never actually been to Rarity’s place, but the boutique was actually pretty nice and spacious, if I could actually get over the dresses and drawings of dresses just about everywhere that there was room for them. It was grossly feminine, and almost made me feel itchy just standing there. The only saving grace was the fact that I could safely stand in the middle of the room and not run into any of the aforementioned articles.
In response to the dinging of the bell above the door, Rarity had chosen that moment to come out, “Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how can I-- Oh! Twilight, Night Glider! Discord mentioned you’d be coming,” she said, a smile quickly gracing her features as she started walking towards us, looking between us expectantly. The unicorn looked entirely unsurprised that we had shown up, and she had gone from looking professional to looking like she was examining us in less than a second.
“So, are you here to order matching dresses already?” she asked, her innocent smile turning into an almost cheshire grin.
Twilight frowned, "Discord! We said not a word to anypony!" She yelled.
“Umm... you know, actually... that was my fault," Fluttershy squeaked as she came down the stairs.
"Why?" I groaned, "We wanted to tell everypony by ourselves."
"I was just so happy for you two, and then Rarity invited me for tea, and... I might have blurted it out during the tea," Fluttershy was almost silent as she whispered her explanation.
Twilight sighed and looked at me before turning back to Rarity and Fluttershy, "Okay. Not a word to anypony, I really mean it!"
"But, Twilight! This is the story of the century! A princess falling for her lovely captain, such drama, such romance!" Rarity pouted.
"NOT A WORD!" Twilight and I yelled simultaneously, before pausing and sharing a blushing look.
"You two are really cute," Fluttershy smiled.
“Ugh, we really mean it. No word to anypony. Not one!” I reiterated, and Twilight nodded.
The two other mares nodded in response, and silence reigned over the room for a few moments as everyone looked around and refused to break the silence. Fluttershy and Rarity seemed to understand that we didn’t want them talking, though Rarity looked like the only thing she wanted to do was spread the gossip around. Fluttershy just looked embarrassed at best.
“Uh, Twilight? Can I ask you something?” Fluttershy mumbled, breaking the silence.
“Of course, Fluttershy.”
“Discord showed me the potion you gave him… and, uh… it looks really dangerous. What will it do to me if I drink it? What will it do at all?” Fluttershy seemed pretty nervous about it.
“Oh, you want a full list?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, please, if you don’t mind, that is,” Fluttershy squeaked.
I looked at Twilight and I knew that gaze. She would rant it all down and nopony would be able to stop her, no matter what.
“Alright, let’s see,” Twilight started and hummed in thought, “First off, it increases your libido, almost increasing it to the level of a mare in heat. Secondly, it increases your stamina. It also intensifies the sensations in your erogenous zones, especially in your wings. However, it takes away a lot of your ability for higher thought, so be careful when using it,” she explained, as if it were the most simple thing in the world.
There was a loud thump to the left, and as I looked in the direction of the sound, I noticed Rarity was on the ground, looking like she had just fainted upon that explanation. All the while I could simply look at Twilight, my jaw open wide.
I didn’t know a thing about this side of Twilight, but I felt like I would soon find out.