Pillow (And Mattress) Talk
"We need a bigger bed."
As introductions went, Fluttershy had endured worse from Rainbow Dash. Usually, they involved her marefriend, careening through the cottage, screaming like a madpony. Less 'hi-bye' and more 'hi-i'm-going-to-die'.
Wonderbolt or no, Rainbow still tended to bite off more than she could chew. Especially when it involved the fauna lurking around her cottage. The last pinball special involved a rather amourus Haoshan Hong Serpent, Rainbow ignoring her rather explicit instructions to stay 'at least thirty feet away at all times'. Being casually subsonic wasn't an excuse, and she'd required the big spray bottle that day.
"Good evening, Dashie," she replied primly, followed with a gentle sip of her evening tea. The lightly spiced flavours brought with them a feeling of contentment, just a simple calming blend recommended by Bulk Biceps, their... significant other. Dash liked the term 'fuck buddy with benefits', the benefits being copious love and emotional support. She preferred 'throuple' as a nice descriptor for their unusual relationship.
The Wonderbolt tryouts hadn't just been good for Dash.
"I'm serious, Fluttershy!" She whined, pouting like a dog unable to get its favourite treat. "The thing's too small, it's stiff as a board, and creaks like one of your frogs!"
"Actually -" she began, quickly finishing her cup, "-Frogs croak, not creak, and I've only Mr Ribby with me right now, who's a toad. Poor little guy hurt his legs dancing."
Crimson eyes rolled, "Not the point 'Shy."
"No, it's not. But it's a detail Rainbow, and details are important. Do you know an important detail about the bed?"
Silence held a breath. Fluttershy gut punched it with ruthless abandon.
"It's Bulks."
That had killed the topic for a few hours, dinner becoming priority number one not long after their conversation. Fluttershy was duly ushered out the cottages kitchen, Rainbow taking a smidgen too much joy in having that soft pink tail in between her jaws before actual food arrived. Now, Dash may have been many things, braggart, nuisance, and stud-muffin, but awful in the kitchen wasn't one of them.
Some quick labour done with good cheer, even after a rigorous case of team practice, led to a hearty green bean salad. It was somewhat heavy on the seasoning, perhaps, but it went down easily and stored well, priority number two, when your stallionfriend worked all hours in Celestias day.
"Where's the little shit?" Rainbow muttered, lazing comfortably in a plush armchair much like her partner, both enjoying the post dinner relaxation.
Angel is staying with Twilight at the moment, after someone flew him into the stratosphere!"
A prismatic cascade shifted, the result of a simple shrug. "You told me to punish him for breaking Bulk's stuff, I just thought a scare would do him good."
"You almost gave him a heart attack!"
"I hear it builds character," she sniggered before wavering under a cerulean assault. "Ok, ok," the sigh was borne of abruptly arriving bone-deep fatigue, and a feeling she'd be on the couch for a while if any more smart comments were heard. "I'll use the spray bottle next time."
A gentle nod was followed by the smile that had burnt itself onto Rainbows' very soul.
She wasn't good with the mushy feelings stuff, but Fluttershy and Bulk were very different kinds of attraction. The butter yellow pegasus could make her fight a legion of changelings with a just a mewl, while Bulk was someone she'd wanted to outmatch from the very start. Love born of protection and rivalry, respectively, though she could admit things got twisty-turny at times. The oversized pegasus was cutely passive all too often, while Fluttershy had a mean streak that could put the fear of Celestia in anyone if she put her mind to it.
It was, in a word, really hot.
"Say Fluttershy," she purred in a way that was intended to be subtle but ended up announcing itself with bells and whistles. "If Angel isn't here right now, why don't we have an early night?"
The soft giggle set her heart (and certain other parts of her anatomy) aflutter. Any trace of exhaustion from the days efforts washed away amidst a sea of chemicals.
This was going to be fun.
"That's not very fun," said Fluttershy, massaging a lump on the aged mattress. Yet as soon as it seemingly fell into line, another would rise to take its place.
"Tell me about it," her frustrated paramour mumbled, cradling her aching back. "I didn't even get to c-"
"We'll just cuddle instead. How about that?"
The grunt didn't sound particularly enthusiastic, even if she snuggled into her warmth. Yet Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to delve deeper. Kindness wasn't just a title or a piece of jewellery. It was a part of her very makeup. Even if it meant letting Rainbow seethe in the short run.
"This is exactly what I was talking about, Shy!"
"Oh, heck."
She felt her marefriends sleek muscles shift, a wing tapping the matress in irritation.
"This thing is the worst," Rainbow snorted, "We'd be doing Bulk a favour by tossing it! I bet Twilight could get us one of those Princess beds as well, the 'Alicorn Special'."
"Rainbow..."
"No, seriously. It's in his best interests."
There was no anger in the separation, no huff, or hurtful words. But as Fluttershy pulled away and rollled over, it was obvious Rainbow had crashed and burned.
"You said that last time, Rainbow Dash," she seethed. "You said that last time , and he agreed. You know how he is. I still feel guilty."
"I know, and I'm sorry, but -" she leaned in for another hug, only to be rebuffed, "-I'm just thinking about all of us. It can't just be screwing with me, right? I mean, we can barely all fit in the darn thing!"
"We'll talk about this tomorrow Rainbow Dash, as a throuple."
Sleep didn't come easy for Fluttershy that night, and it wasn't just the lumpy mattress.
"Hey girls,"
It was barely louder than a whisper, something that often threw those who were familiar with Bulk. He had a few stock phrases, things that he bellowed into the world as a great challenge, but really, it was more an outlier. Fluttershy compared it to an animals defence mechanism. Rainbow, a flight manoeuvre that focused on efficiency, save for emergencies. Either way, privately, he was rather quiet.
A chorus of sleepy "Dude" and "Darlings" met him as he hovered quietly over the bed, gently lowering himself between the shuffling mares. The clock read one-am, and he needed some shut eye badly.
It had been a tough day, gruelling even, but he pushed through for them. Paying for two homes was difficult enough, especially taking into account his partners credit history. Namely, non-existent and laughably bad, respectively.
Untangling financial knots may not have been his cutie mark, but running multiple jobs and a business singlehandedly gave him something of a knack with these things.
Working it out had taken time, but they were getting somewhere at last. The sale of his apartment had been a real boon in the long run. He didn’t live there any more than he did here, so sentimentality didn't cut into it. Just his bed, a few (now lightly damaged) knick-knacks, and his weights to transfer over to the cottage. Dash's cloud house was more of a weekend retreat now, somewhere to hide away when they needed peace.
Peace right now though? Well, that was snuggled between the loves of his life. He'd been on the fence about keeping the bed, but after their first night together as a group, the way they all just merged together into a single, warm, bundle of love, fully embraced in each other?
Well, that just made it a keeper.