Everything was impossibly loud and also had the haze of six ciders accompanying it. Maybe six and a half. Rainbow Dash felt like sounds were wooshing by her even when she stayed completely still, which was never as she was constantly stumbling about. Her flight crew were whooping and jeering, laughing and shouting about whatever the hell, and Rainbow was busy silently regretting the fact that she'd decided to get into a drinking contest with Soarin.

Needless to say, he came off barely fazed, what with being twice her size. Rainbow, however? She was looking for a convenient plant pot to discreetly hurl in. She was in her Wonderbolts uniform, as were the rest of the crew, though Misty Fly had already managed to spill a drink down hers, and Surprise had sweated through her one dancing. To think that she'd managed to do that to a waterproof uniform, she must have been sweating a lot. Kinda impressive, in a gross way.

Fleetfoot, however, was still in good shape. She seemed to have drank significantly less than everypony else, and out of the corner of Rainbow's eye, she saw the flier gesturing her over to an empty outside table.

Canterlot's nightlife was visible all around. Cobbled streets and old, brightly lit taverns filled with boisterous ponies were offset by the appearance of more modern buildings, clashing but somehow fitting with the more archaic aesthetic and creating an interesting blend. It was a mixture of old fashioned, loud ponies, and young, louder ponies. Rainbow was pretty sure her and her squad were fitting into the latter category at that moment.

She nimbly dodged an uneven cobble as she walked her way over to Fleetfoot, barely trusting her wings. Once Rainbow sat down, she threw a foreleg around her, looking out at the streetlamps, the twinkling stars in the distance, the two reserves that were currently hoof wrestling... but mostly just needing some form of physical support to sit in her chair straight. "H-how's it going, Fleety?" Rainbow slurred, subconsciously wondering if she or anyone else had ever called Fleetfoot 'Fleety' before now.

"Not bad, Rainy," Fleetfoot giggled, helping her sit up straight. "Enjoying yourself? I know you're not used to it, but the last night of a tour can stand to get pretty rowdy sometimes. You should just feel lucky no one's gotten into a fight yet."

"I..." Rainbow stopped to consider her words—most of what Fleetfoot had just said had gone over her head, and she had to distract herself from staring at a half-full glass to answer. "I think I'm having a good time, yeahhh. Shouldn't have drank with Soarin though, that was stupid."

"How many until you quit?" Fleetfoot asked, finally moving Rainbow's hoof off of her when she appeared to be alright and reaching for her drink. "I've seen him go through eleven glasses of cider in a night before, but we had to carry the poor bastard home afterwards."

"Hah! That's funny..." and to Rainbow's drink addled mind, it really was. "I had like seven with him," Rainbow slightly embellished, not wanting to look too much of a wuss, "but he was just knocking 'em back like... like he wasn't even drinking cider." A few moments, and Rainbow's eyes widened as if she'd made a life altering discovery. "That cheater! I'll bet he wasn't even drinking hard cider, I bet he swapped it! Grr, when I get my hooves on him—"

"You'll what, fall over in front of him?" Fleetfoot teased, poking Rainbow Dash lightly and watching how she wobbled in her seat as a result, putting a hoof over her lips but barely hiding her grin. "Face it, Rainbow. Even if he did cheat, you'd be in no position to do anything about it right now, would you?"

Rainbow answered with a pout, poking Fleetfoot right back. She was kinda cute when she was smug, but that didn't mean she got away with it. "Hey! I'll bet you I could still fly in a straight line fine right now. I'd pass any sober-iety test with flying colours!" Rainbow looked herself over and snickered. "Heh, flying colours..."

"Please," Fleetfoot scoffed, her eyes rolling. "I'll bet you right now is the only time I could ever beat you in a race, probably by a mile too." Shaking her head at Rainbow, she added with a laugh: "Face it, Rainbow, you're wasted. You look tired as hell, too."

A sober, rational Rainbow might have felt that her honour had been slighted by the notion that someone could beat her in a race. A drunk Rainbow was much worse. "Alright, fine!" She sprung to her feet, wings spreading, and stumbled a little in the process, lifting her tail up to help balance herself.

"...fine, what?" Fleetfoot asked, eyebrow raised.

"Fine, let's race!" Rainbow explained, already appearing ready to go. "You said I'd never be able to beat you like this, so prove it! Throw down!" In truth, the world around Rainbow looked a little more spinny the moment she stood up, but she could see what straight was if she really squinted. She'd be fine, surely.

Fleetfoot hesitated, backing up a step and looking like she was about to call someone else over. "I dunno, Rainbow Dash... You've had a lot to drink, it might be a bad idea."

Of course, Drunk Dash went with the mature response, blowing a raspberry at her friend. "Hah! You're such a damn chicken! Fine, fine. Just admit that I'm so amazing that you'd never stand a chance in hell at beating me and pay my tab for the night and we'll call it even, 'kay?"

Fleetfoot's eyes hardened instantly. "Oh you are so on."

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Rainbow grinned, taking to the air with a slightly unsteady wingspan, hovering in place. "We'll make it a short one. First one to Canterlot's Castle, a lap around the gardens, and back wins. Deal?"

Fleetfoot nodded, and they shook hooves in mid-air. "Alright, in three, two..."

Rainbow closed her eyes and drunkenly nodded along to the countdown when all of a sudden she realised the numbers had stopped.

"Bye!" called Fleetfoot as she sped ahead, already fifty feet in front of her.

"Hey, no fair!" Rainbow zoomed ahead to catch up, but it soon became clear that Fleetfoot had had a lot less to drink. She was finding it difficult to manoeuvre properly, and simple speed-gaining techniques were currently beyond her grasp. If anything, maintaining her balance was difficult enough, and while Fleetfoot wasn't gaining on her much, it was hard to close the distance.

"Should've listened when you had the chance, Rainbow!" Fleetfoot laughed, turning back and waving at her. "I'm not even putting effort into this!"

Okay, that did it. Rainbow summoned whatever natural ability still resonated in her body past the shroud of drunkenness, bolstering her speed and rocketing ahead. The vertigo made it difficult for her to control her speed, but soon she was flying half as fast as usual, and Fleetfoot actually had to speed up a lot to retain her lead. Rainbow's stomach was doing flips. The world actually looked a little scary from below, which wasn't something she was at all used to. Above all, she was dizzy, but she kept going. She built on her momentum as steadily as she could, throwing her hooves forwards for all the aerodynamic coning she could manage, and eventually, as the castle came into sight, she could see herself heavily gaining on Fleetfoot, who was struggling to keep pace.

Fleetfoot was calling something out to her, but it was hard to hear it past the whistling in her ears. Simplest solution to that was to get closer.

So that's what she did, pushing yet another burst of speed on top of the earlier ones, rushing ahead and taking her place right behind her friend, close enough that she could almost reach out and touch her. Just as she was passing her up, she began to come into earshot.

"Rainbow, slow down!"

"Pfft, slow down?! Why would I let you win?!" Rainbow shrugged off the idea as a terrible ploy, turning back around and zooming forwards, the castle right in front of her, the air breaking around her from her speed, Fleetfoot suddenly quite a distance behind her... oh no. Just how fast was she freaking going?!

Castle walls were rapidly approaching. Guards were staring at her incredulously. She saw Fleetfoot once out of the corner of her eye, desperately attempting to catch up to her. But it didn't seem to be for the purpose of the race, more to make sure she came out of this unscathed. Rainbow found that hard to notice, however, as she was busy trying not to leave a pegasus sized crater or self-made burial site in the middle of castle grounds.

Best way to go was 'up', her drunken brain reminded her. Can't crash into anything when you're up, 'cept a cloud. Silently thanking herself for working out the solution, Rainbow barreled straight upwards, angling her body as high as she could, but the best she managed was diagonal. She was out of control at this point, desperately trying to slow down, and she spread her wings hard to try and give herself some resistance, grateful that the strong muscles didn't snap under the strain.

For a couple of moments, she didn't see anything. Then she saw a rapidly approaching tower wall and said a short list of unsavory words as the world tore past her.

There are a few things in the world that can be described as unequivocally sobering experiences. One of them is smashing through a double glazed window. It was at this moment precisely that a lot of the drunken haze cleared from Rainbow's mind, and she realised with horrifying lucidity just what was occurring. She smashed into a wardrobe, knocking it over, curling her body as she pinballed into a table, a four poster bed, a nightstand, a wall, and various other pieces of furniture, gradually losing momentum as her bruised body turned the room to ruins.

It hurt like hell, too, but was partially numbed by the effects of alcohol. She could hear Fleetfoot crying out in the background, but could barely comprehend it, until finally, after the millionth repetition of smashing and clattering, she felt herself being enveloped by a strong, dark blue glow, halting her completely.

Luckily, her organs didn't all fail from the pressure of being stopped so quickly. Thank magic for that. Rainbow looked around, an ache all about her, trying to piece together what the hell had just happened, and at once saw a panting, soaking wet Princess Luna clutching her in her magic. Looking around the room—the completely devastated room, to be precise—Rainbow realised at once that of all the places in the castle she could have chosen to crash, she'd unwittingly picked Princess Luna's bedroom.

Ten points to her, huh? Fleetfoot rushed through the window, her jaw slacked, instantly turning to Luna. "Is she okay, princess?!"

Rainbow watched, still immobile as Luna took wing, floating over to her and inspecting her body, grabbing at her with soft, wet hooves. "Strangely fine..." Luna muttered with a breath of relief, looking back to Fleetfoot. "Somehow she hasn't broken anything, it seems." Luna cleared her throat, placing Rainbow down on the floor and letting go of her, instantly summoning a bath towel and beginning to frizz through her mane. "Now, if somepony wouldn't mind explaining to me why my bedroom is in ruins?.."

Fleetfoot gulped, Rainbow groaned as she tried and failed to stumble to her hooves. "Princess..." She halted, looking around the room and seeing the true level of destruction first hoof. Nearly everything was totaled. The only thing that remained standing was a single couch in the corner of the room that had managed to avoid Rainbow's bouncing wrath. "Oh, gosh, princess, I'm so sorry..."

"Hush, Rainbow," Luna softly commanded, looking to Fleetfoot for some form of explanation. "I trust you were with her at the time... what led to this?"

"Well, princess..." Fleetfoot bit her lip, her muscles seeming to tense. She looked incredibly trepidatious concerning her next words, and from Rainbow's now slightly more clear perspective, she could completely understand why. She had played a part in this, after all, and lying to a princess of Equestria was surely a crime. Eventually, Fleetfoot took a deep breath. "Well, it all started when—"

Rainbow cut her off with a grunt, turning to Luna hurriedly. "It's all my fault," she wheezed through her short breath and hurting chest, attempting to prop herself up. "I was showing off to Fleetfoot, here. Told her I could do a sonic rainboom over the castle with my eyes shut... Probably shouldn't have done that, eh? She was trying to stop me, I swear."

Luna eyed Rainbow critically before turning to Fleetfoot. "This is true?"

Fleetfoot hesitated, but Rainbow gave her a very insistent look. "Y-yeah, but please don't punish Rainbow Dash. I know she didn't mean to..." Fleetfoot found it hard to finish that sentence. There wasn't really any polite way to sum up what had just happened to Luna's bedroom, and she probably didn't want to aggravate her even more.

For a few moments, Luna was silent. She walked around her bedroom, kicking aside splintered pieces of wood until she came to her bed, which still stood despite missing its four posts. "Leave us," she said to Fleetfoot, pointing to the window that she came from. "Tell your companions that Rainbow Dash is fine and in safe hooves."

Fleetfoot looked a little worried, but did as she was instructed, moving to the window and taking wing. "Th-thank you, princess. And sorry." With those words, she took off, fleeing quite quickly into the night sky.

Rainbow watched her go with a small smile, though it quickly faded as she was reminded of the gravity of the situation. She knew that Luna would likely go harder on Fleetfoot simply because she didn't know her, and the more she looked back on the situation, the more she realised that it really was her fault. Her friend shouldn't have been in trouble for that.

Rainbow looked to Luna, who still appeared to be surveying the damage. Her eyes were sad, but her bedchambers were sadder. "Princess Luna, I am so, so sorry for what just happened. It was totally my fault, and I'm prepared to make it up to you however I can." This wasn't Rainbow's first time crashing into something, no doubt, but it was the first time she'd done it to a monarch. Especially one like Luna, who just couldn't seem to catch a freaking break.

Luna slowly shook her head, looking down at the debris she'd recently been able to call a bedroom, still rubbing a towel against herself. "N-no, Rainbow Dash. That will not be necessary. I only worry for you. If you hadn't been so resilient, you might have seriously damaged yourself just now. These things..." she waved a hoof around her room. "They are only things. Your life and well-being are much more precious."

Rainbow tried to bite her tongue, but she couldn't help herself. She felt guilty, and there was no getting around it. "What about your well-being, princess?" Luna raised an eyebrow, surprised, and Rainbow grunted once more as she raised herself to her hooves, feeling less hurt than she probably should've, realising her uniform was in tatters. "I just flew into your bedroom and royally messed up your night! Aren't you angry?! Don't you want to do something to show me just how terrible I was?" She finished with a light pant, her words loud and rushed.

"It almost sounds as if you are the angry one here, Rainbow Dash." That was all that Luna said, eyes still drifting to different corners of her room, likely trying to determine how much work it would take to fix everything up again.

"I'm angry that you're not angry!" Rainbow insisted, pushing herself forwards and closing some of the distance between herself and Luna. "You're a princess, you can't just let ponies walk all over you! I just came into your room and destroyed your priceless, valuable possessions, some of which are probably super old, and you just sit there and say you're more concerned about me?! What kind of an answer is that?"

Luna's eyebrows narrowed, her face inscrutable as she stood and walked around the room, using magic to brush the completely broken objects to the side. If anything there did hold sentimental value to her, Rainbow couldn't tell what with how she was acting, and the moment that she reached the upturned, smashed wardrobe, she picked it up, opened it, and revealed a mess of fabrics on the inside. "Well, it appears you've only ripped..." Luna levitated the bundle of loose clothing out, "most of my outfits. They're replaceable, however, and my favourite is still—oh, no, it isn't. Never mind then!"

Her voice sounded almost falsely chipper right then. Was this what happened right before she turned into Nightmare Moon the first time? Did she just bottle up her anger and pretend everything was okay? Rainbow should've hit herself for having that thought, but it was still sad to see. Maybe she was being narcissistic in a sense, feeling as if she had to be punished if only to satisfy her own feelings of guilt, but in actuality, she believed there to be something else there.

Luna deserved this. Rainbow began feebly pushing shards of wood to the side with aching legs, picking up cushions that had been scattered around the room with her mouth and throwing them onto the bed.

Luna stopped her by putting a soft, damp hoof on her wither. It only served to remind Rainbow that she'd probably been torn from a relaxing bath to deal with this. "You don't have to do this, Rainbow Dash. You should rest. I have magic that can deal with all of this."

"No," Rainbow said, shrugging out of her grip and returning to the meagre amount of assistance she could offer.

"...no?" Luna tilted her head, appearing confused. "And what if I commanded you to stop? Would you defy your princess?"

"But that's the thing, isn't it?" Rainbow said, turning to face her. "You won't command me. You'd rather stand there and pretend everything's fine to save my feelings. It's not fine. I'm a total idiot. You should let me do this. Admit to yourself that you're angry, it's okay to be angry." Rainbow's eyes were fiery with passion. She really held conviction in what she was saying.

Luna was silent for a few moments, taking her eyes off of the remains of her wardrobe and looking back to her inebriated friend. "You're right, Rainbow. I am angry."

"That's progress!" Rainbow smiled, somehow happy that Luna was finally seeing the light.

"Angry at myself for fretting over my possessions when I should be worrying about you," she finished.

Rainbow took a hoof to her own face. "Grr... no! Snap out of that! Be mad at me! Look." Rainbow walked over to Luna, picking up the dress she'd called 'favourite', a big rip going through the centre, and held it out to her. "I don't know much about sewing, but I doubt even Rarity could fix that. Your favourite dress in the world, ruined! And it's all my fault!"

Luna peered at her for a moment, her eyes searching, but ultimately came up short. "Are you trying to upset me, Rainbow Dash? I already know that it is beyond repair. You smell of cider. Cider and rainclouds."

Rainbow sighed, dropping the dress and imploring Luna to see what she meant, staring up at the taller mare. "I'm trying to say that you deserve to have this made up to you. Heck, if someone came into my room and did this, I'd be livid! Please let me do something, anything to help. It'll make me feel a little better, and hopefully make you feel a lot better."

Luna's eyes travelled past Rainbow's hoof to the dress she'd just dropped, and with a short breath, she steeled herself, standing up straight. "You will help me fix my bedroom once you've slept off your hangover," she announced in a rather official tone, and Rainbow smiled.

"Really? Thank you, Luna. I'm honestly really sorry about all this, I just wanna help make it better somehow, however I can." Rainbow looked around the room, then at the smashed window. She began to scuff a hoof against the floor. "If you don't need me here until tomorrow... I should probably take off. I've already ruined your night enough as it is."

"Nonsense," Luna responded, shocking Rainbow a little. "You are drunk. You will not fly home like that. That is a command, Rainbow Dash." She pointed to the still intact sofa before continuing to dry herself off. Rainbow tried not to stare too much as she ran the towel through her starry mane. "You may sleep on the couch. I would offer you the bed, but methinks the couch is a little too small for me to lay upon. I've tried before."

Rainbow awkwardly cleared her throat as Luna tussled her mane. "Honestly, I don't think I deserve the bed after what I did to it..." A single look from Luna was enough for Rainbow to realise that she should probably shut up about it. "Right, right! The couch." Rainbow stumbled over to it before plopping herself down, and instantly she realised two things. One, this was probably the most comfortable couch she'd ever sat in, and she really wasn't worthy, and two, fatigue had a habit of hitting ponies right as they got comfy.

"I trust that you will be comfortable there." Luna disappeared with a flash!, then reappeared a moment later with a comforter and pillow in her aura. "Celestia gave me an odd look when I took these off her bed, but I've never understood why she needs so many."

Something about the idea of Celestia snugged up in a million duvets made her grin. Then she looked to Luna's bed and realised that she too had a bunch of them. She probably shouldn't have asked, but she did anyways. "Couldn't you have just given me one from your bed?"

"Right now, I'm finding it difficult to trust you with my possessions," Luna half-chuckled, as if the joke held a little truth to it.

"...yeah. Sorry again." Rainbow took the stupidly soft pillow and comforter and placed them at the side of the couch, happy to make it later. "I take it you don't usually have guests in here?" She was being presumptuous and she knew it, but after everything that happened tonight, could it really hurt?

"A keen eye. I have a guest bedroom for that." Well, that completely disarmed Rainbow. "...but it is seldom used regardless."

Or maybe not. Come to think of it, Rainbow wondered who the princess regarded as friends outside of her, the girls, and the other princesses. She didn't like the idea that Luna didn't have many, but her words gave her that impression. Wriggling herself deeper into the couch, Rainbow sighed. "Well, you totally should. This couch is like, fifty times as comfortable as my bed, and pegasus mattresses ain't anything to scoff at." If anything, it only made Rainbow wonder what Luna's bed was like in comparison, not that she'd ever find out.

"Perhaps if you're so keen to help me fix this room up, you can call the couch yours for a few more nights," Luna said slowly, as if she wasn't entirely sure she should have been doing so.

Rainbow felt a heat against her cheeks at the notion. Rooming with the princess? That was quite the offer. It almost didn't feel like she deserved it in light of all that had happened. Then again, it'd be so she could stay here and help out, and that was only fair... "Yeah, I'd like that. Only if you were alright with it, of course." The only other thing Rainbow couldn't help but think about was the fact that it was going to be a little difficult to not be awkward around Luna. Even watching her go through her coat and mane with a towel was pretty distracting... it was probably just because she was drunk though, that was all.

"Do you not have to worry about work obligations?" Luna asked, shifting on her bed as she continued to towel off. "What about your pet tortoise?"

Rainbow was a little surprised that Luna even knew about him, or that she was being so considerate. "Tank's with Fluttershy when I'm on tour, and my season with the Wonderbolts just ended. I've got a month off before I need to be back in." Come to think of it, all she'd really planned to do in that spare month was lounge around and get the odd bit of training in. Maybe being here would be a healthy distraction for her, even if it was only for a few nights. "Do you think Celestia will mind at all?"

"Hmm..." Luna stroked her chin for a moment, and it made Rainbow worry she'd actually say 'yes'. She'd only asked in an effort to be polite. "I think she might be a little miffed that I stole her bedding with no explanation, but apart from that? No, I'm sure she'd be as happy to have you as I am, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow barely withheld a grumble. She wasn't meant to be happy to have her! It was because of her that it looked like a bombshell had gone off in her royal chambers! Rainbow bit her tongue, not wanting to get into it again, more for Luna's sake than her own. "Did you... did you lose anything that meant a lot to you?"

"Perhaps," came Luna's answer. "Honestly, I haven't the heart to go through it all right now. I kept things in this room that Celestia stored away during my thousand years imprisonment, I only hope some of them managed to survive." Before Rainbow could start verbally flagellating too heavily, Luna gave her a calming smile. "Don't worry, I don't keep all of my valuables in this room. Many of the things I care about most are behind walls so thick, I doubt even a speeding Rainbow Dash could break into them."

"You're taking this all so well..." Rainbow muttered, just about loud enough that Luna could hear. Or maybe she could hear her even when she was whispering, alicorns were freakishly gifted like that.

"Rainbow Dash, you've saved me on more than one occasion. You and your friends have. The way I see it, I'm indebted to you. What you've done here tonight wasn't intentional, even if it was foolish, and it doesn't come close to erasing all of the good you've done for me in the past." Luna stood then, walking across the room and coming to sit beside Rainbow. "The only reason that I'm letting you stay and assist me is because you insist so heavily. Also..."

Rainbow turned to Luna, mostly dry with her mane shimmering in the darkness. She really was impossibly beautiful. "Also?" Rainbow repeated, a little more breathy than she'd have liked.

"Also, you still smell of cider," Luna finished with a forced laugh, though even through her inebriation, Rainbow didn't think that's what she'd been about to say at all. "I'm more partial to a red wine, personally, but Celestia has a habit of purloining it whilst I'm in the dreamscape. Irks me verily, I can tell you."

"Oh, so that annoys you, but this doesn't?" Rainbow Dash chuckled, unable to help herself.

"Let me tell you, Rainbow Dash." Luna adopted a very serious face then, one that might have been sculpted and drawn in ancient time as a testament to this goddess' power. "There are only three things that you can take away from me that will lead me to despair. The ponies I care about, my evening bath, and my oak-aged Rioja."

"...I have no clue what that last one is," Rainbow Dash admitted. Imitating high-class was Rarity's thing, not hers.

"Then I'd be especially surprised if you were the next one to steal it," Luna chuckled, leaning back beside Rainbow and looking over the room once more. "Luckily, despite all of this, I still have my friends, I still got to have most of my bath, and..." with a flash! a half-full bottle appeared in front of her. "I still have my half-empty bottle of wine."

Rainbow tried not to look into it too much, but she could feel the tinge of pessimism in that statement all too well.

Luna conjured a glass next, pouring herself out one before lidding the bottle and putting the glass to her lips, savouring the taste. "I'd offer you a glass, but I think you've had far too much already. I don't intend on catching up, of course, just a little 'pick me up' before I go off battling nightmares... even after a millennia, you'd be shocked what demons ponies can still conjure up."

Rainbow watched Luna with wide eyes as she sipped on her wine. She really was quite incredible. She was also sitting on her comforter, but Rainbow didn't have the gall to say anything about it.

"One more thing, Rainbow. You should get out of that flight uniform. It's an absolute wreck." Luna went back to her wine glass not a moment after saying it, and at once Rainbow was reminded of how much of a state she likely looked.

Rainbow blushed as she rose to her hooves, a little unbalanced, and attempted to peel the ripped, skintight suit from her fur. She fumbled with the zipper a couple of times, and Luna watched with a hint of amusement on her lips, though she hid it with the glass quite well. Rainbow tried once more to get a leg out, but messed up, falling onto her haunches and blinking rapidly as she remembered just how out of it she was.

"Here, let me help," Luna said, and without asking, she lifted Rainbow into the air, and with her magic, turned her until she faced Luna side on, softly threading the uniform through her legs and making sure her wings didn't get caught. Eventually, she'd taken the front half off completely, and focussed on the hind legs. When she pulled it down, Rainbow's rump jiggled a little from having the tight fabric pulled away, and Rainbow could almost feel Luna's eyes being drawn to it. She probably should've pushed her tail down hard the moment she realised, but for some reason or another, she refrained.

When Rainbow was completely out of the uniform, Luna set her down right where she'd been, next to her. Maybe even a tiny bit closer than before. "There, now I can see your face properly. It's been a while since I did." Her lips lingered on that thought for a moment, and she looked like she might say more, but once again, her quickly draining glass of wine came to the rescue. "I'm going to be working through the night, at least for a couple hours more. If you'd prefer, I can do it from my bed, so I'm not standing in the middle of the room distracting you."

Rainbow shook her head, still not completely over the fact that Luna had just undressed her. "Wh-wherever you feel more comfortable, princess."

"You're sure?"

Rainbow nodded her head. She was hoping that Luna would learn to begin taking control of situations a little more soon. She was great at hospitality, it seemed, but this wasn't a friendly visit. Rainbow owed something to her, and even still Luna appeared to be doing everything to ensure she was comfortable. It was adorable in a slightly upsetting way.

Rainbow had an urge to do something, and she didn't know if it was a good idea. Her still drunk mind told her that meant she should do it anyways. So she did. She reached out and snatched the almost empty glass of wine away from Luna without permission, taking a tiny sip of it. "Ugh! I dunno how you can like this, tastes like crap." She was lying, it tasted heavenly.

Luna's face twisted slightly, but she managed to retain her composure. "Rainbow Dash, please give me my drink back. If you really wanted a taste, you could have asked first."

"Nuh-uh!" Rainbow responded, taking wing and flying into the centre of the room. "Think I'll just pour it, honestly. You shouldn't drink this stuff, princess, there's so much better out there." Rainbow really hadn't thought this through, but she could only hope that it would somehow work.

"Rainbow Dash!" Luna sat high on her haunches on her side of the couch, her eyes sharp and unforgiving. "Relinquish the glass at once!"

Her voice was a little scary, and in any other circumstance, Rainbow would've stopped. She felt mean, she felt like she shouldn't have been doing this. But she also felt like Luna needed it. "What are you gonna do if I don't? Come and check me for bruises? Apologise to me? Tell me that everything I do is fine because I'm a great mare? Hah! Why should I when you can't even respect yourself?" With that, she went to take the glass to her lips again and down the last of it...

But she didn't get a chance. The glass flew out of her hoof in a magical aura right before Luna barreled into her, sheer weight and force sending her sprawling onto the bed. The princess landed on top of her, snarling, pinning her down by the hooves. "First you have interrupted my night and destroyed my bedroom, then you continue to remind me of it, and now you refuse my hospitality and act like a small foal! You know what, Rainbow Dash?! You will stay here and assist me until I see fit to release you, and you will be happy that I do not ask more from you!"

Rainbow panted under Luna as she shouted in her face, looking like she might lean forwards and strike her at any moment. Her hooves ached from beneath the princess, and her chest was heaving. All she could manage for the first few moments was a shocked nod. This had been the exact response she'd wanted from the princess, but she hadn't expected it to be so explosive. "...Yes, princess. I'm sorry for misbehaving again."

"You ought to be," Luna continued, breathing heavily, freshly dried mane askew. For a little while longer she simply looked at Rainbow, eyes boring into her, and then eventually, she realised what she'd just done and released some of the pressure. "I'm sorry..." she looked away, shamefaced. "I don't know what came over me just now, but it wasn't me at all. I didn't mean any of that."

Rainbow shook her head rapidly, slipping one of her hooves out and placing it against Luna's soft cheek, forcing her to look down at her. Everything she was doing in this moment, no matter how impulsive, it just felt right. "You did mean it, princess, and I'm glad you said it. I've been trying to get you to say it ever since you started pretending everything was okay. Because that's how you should feel, and it's alright to feel that way. Good, even."

"I am not an angry pony, Rainbow Dash. I do not like to resort to shouting and hysterics." She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, and the hint of a smile crept onto her muzzle. "But I would be lying if I said that the release didn't feel satisfying, in some way. Perhaps more than the rest of that glass ever would've."

"We can't bottle up how we're feeling all the time, princess. Not even ponies as great as me get away with that," Rainbow winked, still feeling the pressure of Luna against her. The more she laid there, the more she began to realise that she was quite fond of Luna's weight on her body. Not only that, but the bed was five times as comfortable as she could've imagined.

Luna laughed at her words, and for a while, they simply stared at one another. Their muzzles were close, almost in contact, and Rainbow's breaths were fast and shallow. Rainbow's head told her that kissing a princess could probably get you locked in a dungeon for a year, friend or not, so she refrained, but only barely. She could feel a vague chemistry forming between them, and it only became all the more apparent the longer Luna spent not getting off of her.

Rainbow shifted a little, if only for the sake of her blood circulation, and Luna jolted the instant she did, blushing and moving back. "S-sorry. I'm really quite tired, Rainbow. I didn't even realise I was still atop you for a second there."

"That's fine, it's kinda comfy with you on top of me," Rainbow blurted before realising what she'd said and instantly placing a hoof over her mouth.

Luna blinked hard at that, but ended up smiling in spite of it. "You should sleep, Rainbow Dash. We will have plenty of work in the morrow, and I think I'm going to make finding a replacement uniform for you the top of my list of morning duties."

"Huh? Oh, I don't need you to, princess. I've got like, three spare flight suits at home, losing one's not a problem."

"That isn't the kind of uniform I meant," Luna said nebulously, picking Rainbow up in her magic and levitating her back over to the couch before placing the super-comforter over her. "Good night, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow's eyebrows were raised before she'd even been placed in her makeshift bed. "Wait, then what kind of uniform do you mean?"

Luna walked over to the centre of the room, and looked back to Rainbow with a small grin. "Good night, Rainbow Dash." With that, she closed her eyes and lit her horn.

"Good night, Princess Luna," Rainbow Dash responded, clearly not about to get a response, but she didn't seem to be in the room with her anymore. Physically, she was still there, though completely still, but even with how she sat, she didn't seem to be asleep. Was this what the princess did when she went into the dreamscape?

She looked quite peaceful like that, honestly. And, Rainbow noticed once again, almost to her chagrin, ridiculously attractive.

She shouldn't have been looking at the princess like that. Hell, everything she'd been doing tonight was ridiculous, from the stupid race that had caused this whole disaster to her whole 'punish me, punish me' spiel that had her acting like a guilt-ridden teenager. She should've known better.

And yet... she didn't want to know better. She felt bad about the measures she'd taken to get to Luna, but when she pinned her down, the fire in her eyes... she knew right then that it had all been worth it. While Rainbow didn't want to admit it to herself, she knew that there was something inordinately attractive about Luna, from her personality to her actions, not to mention her body...

She was feeling rather tired. She laid back on the couch, pillow propping her head up, and looked at Luna through gradually dropping eyes as she felt sleep beginning to overtake her. She had no clue what the next day would hold, and if she'd regret this all in the morning, but she was as curious as she was excited to find out.

Rainbow Dash threw the glass, but Luna's magic caught it. She threw her on the bed in turn, eyes angry and ravenous, looking down at the smaller pegasus and giving her a low growl. "You will not disrespect your princess again, do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes, Princess Luna," Rainbow Dash stammered, her heart pounding, the surroundings dark and obfuscated. All she could focus on was the night princess above her, studying her, running a soft hoof over her belly.

"When I give you a command, you will obey. You will not ask questions, you will not fight against it, and you will not disappoint me. If you fail me in any way, you will be punished. That I can promise." Luna pressed down against her hard, so much so that it almost hurt. Rainbow enjoyed the pain.

"Y-yes, princess." Rainbow could feel the weakness of her tone, the way her voice cracked, the flutter of her chest... her heart was doing flips, there was a blush on her cheeks, but Luna above her looked powerful, sexy and fierce. "I'll do whatever you want, I promise."

There was no way she could refuse her. Rainbow was almost scared of what might happen if she did.

Luna smiled, but it wasn't the warm, friendly thing that Rainbow was accustomed to. It was a hungry, wanting smile, and as her naked hoof continued to rub against Rainbow's belly, she could feel a warmth beginning to spread through her body, her mind encapsulated by fear that conflicted with desire. "What if all I want is for you to be still, my little pony?"

"Then I'll do tha—" Rainbow was cut off by her muzzle being grabbed, Luna looking at her with a disapproving glare.

"Being still means not moving your lips, either, my servant." Luna gave Rainbow a light slap on the cheek, but it was more of a tap than a full on strike. It barely stung, but it felt demeaning, humiliating. To think that she, the strongest flier in Equestria, could be brought down to this level by another pony...

It was crazy, and really strangely arousing.

Rainbow drew breath, about to respond, but bit her tongue at the last moment, staring up at her princess with wide eyes as she continued to restrain her with her hooves, holding her in place and not allowing her to move. When it became clear that Rainbow wouldn't defy her, she finally let up, moving to the side and beginning to rub her way up to her chest, sliding her hoof against Rainbow's collarbones.

"You are a good little servant for me, Rainbow Dash..." Luna leaned forwards to whisper in her ear, her breath slightly tickling Rainbow. "I think you've earned a treat, but remember to remain completely still..." With that, Luna moved forwards, breath tingling Rainbow all the way from her cheek to her neck, until finally she pressed her muzzle forwards, lips making contact with Rainbow's fur and the delicate skin beneath.

Rainbow stifled a gasp. For her tough exterior, Luna was so soft, so gentle and nurturing when she wanted to be, to the point that it bordered on torturous. Of course, that was the aim of the game, play with her and make her want it until she was ready to burst. Only when she'd been denied for long enough would she finally get what she so desperately needed.

Provided she'd been a good little pegasus for her Luna, of course.

Princess Luna dipped lower, beginning to lick against the crook of Rainbow's neck, lathering the side and then softly blowing air from her snout over it, making it tickle so much that Rainbow had to forcefully stop herself from giggling, from kicking her hind legs. She took it infuriatingly slowly, trailing over certain areas that she knew Rainbow found most sensitive. Her wings were the worst: Princess Luna liked to have them splayed out whenever they were playing together, and Rainbow didn't get a choice in that.

Though even if she did get to choose, she wouldn't argue.

Luna always liked to warm them up before getting to them. She'd rub at each of them with a hoof until they were nice and stiffened, buzzing all over, and Rainbow's synapses were completely alight. She knew exactly what she was doing with Rainbow's body, like it was second nature to her, and the skill of her ministrations was ungodly. Luna licked down her chest, occasionally swirling her tongue and snaking it left and right. Rainbow's breath sped up, but she was sure not to move her body in spite of it, scared that she'd be punished if she was seen doing so much as allowing her chest to rise and fall more than was natural.

Because while her princess could be caring, she could also be wicked when provoked.

Rainbow Dash wanted so desperately to tell her princess how much she was enjoying her work, but Luna could likely already tell from how she tensed, the way she bit her lip and struggled to remain stationary. Luna tested her with a soft lick against her primaries, flicking her tongue all the way to her wing bone and moving from base to tip, lightly suckling against it before drawing back and repeating the process on the other side. She went even slower the second time, desperate to draw a reaction, but Rainbow was stubborn. She'd be good for her princess no matter what.

When Luna finally realised that she wasn't going to manage what she was attempting, no matter how she slowed it down and switched up her rhythm, she finally moved on, kissing over Rainbow's belly and slightly nipping at it, spreading her hind legs with a pair of strong hooves. Even if Rainbow had wanted to deny her, she couldn't contest the princess' superior strength.

There was something about that that Rainbow loved, too. Even earth ponies could barely handle her physically, but to her princess, it was like foal's play. Having moved her legs to the side, Luna began to softly massage Rainbow's inner thighs, knowing that the best way to torture her was to touch everywhere but where the red-hot pressure was building inside of her, where she so desperately wanted to have her heat sated. She needed Luna's hoof against her folds, for her to give release to the want that had been building inside of her all night, but she waited, waited and wanted as her princess continued to make her anticipate her next move.

Until finally, with a single, solitary press of fur against her, Rainbow felt a brush against her nub, causing her to gasp heavily, without warning. She couldn't help it, even if she tried. It had felt so good, so right, that even if she'd had a gag in her mouth, she imagined she still would have fought to vocalise the perfection that came with Luna even lightly touching her in her most sensitive area.

Luna looked up at her the moment that she gasped, a contemplative look on her face. She kept completely still, and Rainbow had to fight the urge to grind her hips against the hoof that remained completely stagnant, still touching her aching clit. Eventually, Luna nodded her head. "You may speak if you wish, Rainbow Dash. Tell me what it is that you want."

"I-I want you to rub at it, princess!" Rainbow gasped once more as Luna continued to do so, louder this time, and it felt as if the entire world was falling away even as she succumbed to the sheer bliss that enveloped her from Luna's practiced hooves. "I want you to play with me and eat me and rut me with your toys! I've been a naughty servant and I deserve it, don't I?" Her voice was that perfect mix between needy and innocent, the latent need in her body awakening all at once from its slumber, focussed only on attaining what it considered its sole salvation, one that sat in the tongue and hooves of this princess she adored so.

"Perhaps you do deserve it..." Luna smirked, slowing her hoof down and truly taking her in. She kissed at her belly a couple more times, lowering her head, and then paused, hovering right above her soaking pussy. "But I need you to do one thing for me first, Rainbow Dash."

"Anything!" Rainbow panted, already feeling like she could climax at any moment, her body beginning to writhe against Luna's hoof, her entire being fixated on the sole sensation that shook and blasted through her, surpassing any other thought or interest and rooting her in pursuit of the one thing she could truly want above all else. "I'll do anything, princess, please! I just need to feel your tongue inside me!"

"All I need you to do, Rainbow Dash..." Luna grinned, taking her hoof away and lowering her head, her tongue so close to Rainbow's eager folds that she could swear she felt the tickle of her snout against her thighs when she spoke again.

"...is wake up."

Rainbow's eyes shot open with a startled pant, her body jolting as she threw herself into an upwards sitting position. She took deep breaths, attempting to calm herself, still feeling a little groggy and slightly hungover, a headache quickly beginning to form.

It was still dark outside. Luna was still sat on the floor, eyes shut. It had just been a dream.

A wet dream. A wet dream about being dominated by Luna. That wasn't just a dream, was it? Holy shit, had she really just dreamt that?

Well, there was little denying it now, she definitely had a thing for Luna, and her subconscious had helped her to confirm precisely what it was. Only... was it that? Rainbow thought back to the details of the fantasy, though they were only half filled in, in retrospect. What she could deduce was that she had loved being on the bottom, something she'd never really done in real life, even if her sexual encounters had been a little limited.

Okay, very limited, but that wasn't the point. She couldn't believe she'd been dreaming about this! It was probably the worst thing she could possibly have been thinking about right then, and Princess Luna was in the damn room with her! A few seconds of reacquainting herself with her surroundings led Rainbow Dash to realise that she was still on the couch, and that what was worse, one of her hooves was under the covers. Beneath her belly.

She gave herself an experimental touch, just to see whether things were as bad as she imagined.

...yup, definitely wet down there. Gods, she'd been touching herself in her sleep with Luna sat right there?!

Rainbow's face was a perfect crimson then, but she didn't dare make a sound. She was still attempting to process the implications of her dream, to figure out how in the hell she'd managed to think something like that about Luna of all ponies. It made sense though... didn't it? Luna was attractive, she was strong, she was tall and regal and loving, but had a warrior's side to her that Rainbow internally cheered for whenever she witnessed it.

And come to think of it, that whole dream had started off with when Luna had pinned her to the bed just a few hours before, snowballing from there. She'd wiled her up because she wanted Luna to feel vindicated, to punish her for what she'd done wrong, and only now was Rainbow beginning to realise that maybe she liked the idea of being punished by Luna.

And if she could go by the way that Luna had snapped in that moment, the heat that had radiated between them when she pinned her down on that bed, there was a good chance that Luna had quite enjoyed being in charge of her too. But she couldn't be sure, could she? They'd stayed in some kind of strange half-embrace for a long time, so close to each other that at one moment Rainbow could have sworn they were about to kiss, yet nothing had come of it.

She was probably just playing this all up in her mind, making it a bigger deal than it was. Everypony had wet dreams sometimes. Even if Rainbow never did usually. Had to be a freak coincidence, didn't it? While it was painstakingly obvious to her now that the alcohol had worn off that she had some kind of a thing for Luna, she found it hard to believe that she was so infatuated by her that she'd be driven to imagining such dirty thoughts about her, even in a state of unconsciousness.

But if that was the case, then why was she so damn horny? Not only that, but it was getting worse the more she thought about it, and as specifics of the dream continued to flood her mind, Rainbow began to imagine them consciously, how they might play out in real life. Would Luna really pin her down like that, call her pet names? Would she make her lay beneath her, command her, hold her climax in her hooves and decide if or when she deserved it?

It wasn't long before Rainbow realised that she was slowly rubbing at herself once more. She barely even felt awake, but the feeling was too good to let up on. A thought in the back of her head reminded her that if she stained the sheets, Luna would see it in the morning. She resigned to figure it out in the morning or make up some excuse. If she was lucky, there wouldn't be much, and Luna wouldn't even notice.

Okay, slim chance of that, but she just wanted an excuse to get off, damn it. Rainbow hadn't felt this pent up for a long time, and the events of the evening coupled with the experience she'd just had were more than enough to tip the scales. She needed some form of release, if only for the denial she'd experienced outside the waking world, the cruel teasing of her mind.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, shivering in the throes of simple, yet all encompassing bliss. She brought her other hoof between the ridiculously soft comforter, pressing it against her fuzzy chest, massaging over her wings just as her dream lover had. It wasn't the same as the fantasy in her mind, but if she concentrated hard enough, she could at least imagine that it was. Her other forehoof pressed her legs further apart, as a certain forceful alicorn might, slipping between them and feeling the juicy wetness of her folds, eliciting a shiver that she could barely contain.

Rainbow peeked one eye open, knowing that Luna was resting below. Resting or patrolling the dreamscape still, Rainbow couldn't be sure, but she couldn't risk her waking up, she had to be quiet.

Quiet and still, just as Luna had commanded her to be in her dream. That thought only spurred her on more, and against her better judgment, Rainbow continued to explore her own body, almost as if she was rediscovering it for the first time, seeing it through the eyes of another mare. It had been so long since she'd seriously fantasised about anypony, and she felt like a terrible schoolfilly as she continued to rub at her slick folds, licking around her lips and yearning for the feeling of a wet tongue against her body.

Her motions were silent, but they were in no way graceful. She was discreet, yet a waking pony would still be able to see the way she squirmed beneath the sheets, the light brush of her hoof pressing against the covers and the bite of her lip as she stifled quickly building gasps. She'd been needing this for so long, yet she'd never realised, and now here it was in front of her, so easy to grasp but impossible to touch. It was a new form of torture, one that came with suddenly awakening with a desire that was so well buried she'd never known she had it, a desire that was right in front of her, only feet away, yet couldn't be touched or even spoken to, lest it fade away and be replaced by cold, hard reality.

Rainbow chose to ignore that reality, it didn't excite her like the dream did.

Her hoof began to move in small, concentric circles, the feeling inside of her building as she felt a shiver that started in the bridge of her spine and rolled down to her back. The world was alight and swirling with colours that corresponded only to sensations that ricocheted around her core and burnt in her belly, that made her legs want to thrash and kick so terribly only to be scarcely contained by a fleeting memory of her predicament. Rainbow's breath was beginning to roll from her lulled tongue at a quickened pace, her back arching from the mesmerising satisfaction of rubbing at herself so smoothly, then roughly, switching her pace and surprising herself with each ministration, not wanting to alert herself to what came next.

It was easier to keep herself in suspense when she was on the edge of consciousness. Easier to imagine that it was another pony doing it. The thought of Luna being the one that was bringing her closer and closer with each tantalising, teasing touch was enough to set her body aflame, her mind with it, thoughts of increasingly lewd scenarios swirling and crashing together, coalescing into some perfect picture beyond the aether that she could only barely grasp, and scarcely knew how to hold onto.

Yet she knew that if she held onto it for long enough, if she could bring it to halt and keep it in her grasp, she'd be rewarded with the best orgasm of her life.

Rainbow Dash chased that dream like she was soaring on night skies, comforter draped around her, soft moans escaping her mouth despite her every attempt to keep them contained, her mane askew and tail tapping against the couch from each static jolt she sent shuddering through her body.

There was a sudden influx of activity in her mind, like she'd been awoken internally despite the blanket of fatigue, and it was only paralleled by the rush she felt from the various discordant physical sensations that somehow managed to come together as a perfect one—the throb of her wings that were so stiff they felt as if they could cut glass, the drum beat of her heart that pumped blood in time with the waves of satisfaction rolling over her body, the numbness of her hooves as they kicked up and remained in place, tail swishing back and forth, a pendulous swing in time with her strokes.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. She couldn't help it, she needed to see the real thing. She'd been imagining it for so long now, even if it felt like no time at all. When she turned to her side, she saw her in all of her beauty, her princess, the one that in this moment she wanted more than she'd ever care admit.

She felt a flash of guilt at what she was doing, how it objectified the princess, but it didn't stop the stroke of her hoof, the way her marehood began to blaze, or the quiver of her body as she felt herself leaving Equestria and finding heaven. She tried to lay back down, a single sight of her being enough, but she couldn't bring herself to stay still anymore, not with how she felt on the inside, not with the strum of her hoof and the humming notes her body played in turn. Rainbow's legs twitched compulsively, almost kicking the covers off of her. Her breath caught to the point that she almost forgot she had to breathe.

Her eyes scrunched shut, each of her wildest and most impossible thoughts becoming reality for the smallest blink of a moment in her mind. At once, she began to feel herself tipping over the edge, her hoof becoming frenzied, thoughts losing focus, her entire body clenching and throbbing all over as she teetered on the precipice of release, knowing that with only a single motion, she'd finally cum...

One more flick against her sensitive nub, and she let loose a small squirt, shooting against the comforter and lightly drenching her tail as every sensation she'd experienced up until that moment culminated at once. She could barely breathe, her body had seized up, and all she could imagine in her final moments of lucidity was the picture of her princess lapping at her folds through the powerful orgasm, drinking up every last drop of her juices and leaving nothing unaccounted for.

She rode out her orgasm for as long as she could, no longer caring about its damning effect, the evidence she'd leave plastered all over where she slept. Rainbow came and she came and she came a little bit more just for the fuck of it, each breath coming in a sudden burst that rolled through her and was reflected in the repetitive pulses of her body. Her juices trickled over her in such a way that she began to feel like the naughty slut she'd imagined herself to be all night. Her only wish in her final moments of it was that she could wake her Luna up and get her ready for round two...

But then, at once, sanity began to return to her. Her orgasm finally spent, she laid back in her pillow, lightly feeling around the makeshift bed and noticing that she'd left quite the mark over the couch she laid in. She quickly threw the covers back, looking at the comforter and determining that even though she'd came much more than she usually did, marecum was thin, it wasn't as odorous as that of a stallion.

Panicking, she attempted to rub it into the comforter, to obscure any tell there might have been that she'd ever done what she just did. Her heart was quivering, hooves trembling, and she realised far too late that despite her efforts, the covers were quite clearly covered in her juices, noticeably too.

Honestly, she'd known this would be the case from the beginning, but she was too impossibly horny to care.

Now, now that her sleepy mind was reacquinting itself with the reality of her situation, she realised that what she'd just done wasn't a simple faux pas. If it was discovered just how much of a mess she'd made of Celestia's bedding, it would be mortifying. Luna would have a list of questions, the princesses would think she was a deviant, and it probably wouldn't be long until her friends found out!

She couldn't leave things like this, the chances of being caught were too high. It seemed like a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode at any given moment, perhaps the second that Luna awoke. Rainbow Dash considered her options, of which there seemed to be frightfully few, cursing the fact she wasn't a unicorn. She was sure Rarity or Twilight would have a spell that could fix something like this instantly, though she had no clue what.

All Rainbow knew was that she was stuck in Luna's bedroom with marecum-stained sheets, and needed to fix that fast.

Okay... fuck fuck fuck.

Could she sneak down into the castle and find a servant that did laundry? No... even if she managed to get all the way from here to there without being spotted carrying a bunch of bedding, she'd have to explain to the servant why exactly Celestia's—as she was only just realising now, cutie mark monogrammed—sheets were covered in her cum. What the fuck kind of explanation could you give for that that any pony with two brain cells to rub together would buy?

'Oh, sorry, the cum demon broke into Celestia's room while she was sleeping and—', yeah, no. Somehow, Rainbow didn't imagine anypony was going to buy that, which left the traditional route out of the question.

However... a single thought crossed Rainbow Dash's mind, but it was still a risky one. She couldn't get anyone else to wash the sheets, which she wasn't entirely sure she regretted dirtying, and she couldn't exactly swap and replace them, but she could wash them herself. Luna's bedchambers had an en-suite bathroom, it's how she'd ended up coming in directly from her bath, surely. That meant that if she could sneak past Luna and find the baths, she could scrub the marecum out of them, dry them off somehow, and then get back onto the couch. It'd be like nothing had ever happened, and Luna wouldn't be any the wiser!

Yup, Rainbow had it all figured out. Just what she wanted to be doing with her night, and even despite the orgasm, her headache had barely faded. Part of her would have loved to lay there and just deal with it in the morning, but she knew that really wasn't an option. Rainbow Dash sat up first, then slowly stood, eyes instantly travelling to Luna, who remained completely still. Rainbow still couldn't tell if she was sleeping or working, but she didn't see the difference it made either.

Gently shifting the covers onto her back, leaving the pillow—which was still clean—behind, she began to slowly tip-toe her way through the room. All she had to do was get around Luna and make it to the door, slip through and find the bathroom. Easy work, surely.

Only, she didn't count on how dark it was, and with a loud clack! against the relative silence, she kicked into a broken table leg. "Mmf!" Rainbow 'mmf'd as she attempted to fight off the pain of stubbing her hoof. Through some herculean endurance, she managed not to scream out. Luna stirred just a tiny bit, making Rainbow freeze up, but it seemed it was a false alarm, as she quickly became still again.

Okay, close calls weren't good, and whether she was sleeping or not, Luna wasn't immune to outside noise. Rainbow made sure to really get her ninja on this time, moving at a quarter of her original pace and keeping her wings outstretched, both to balance the comforter and to keep herself centred between steps. It was difficult to see her way around the debris, and even trying her hardest, she a couple of times made noise when she really didn't want to, but soon enough, she'd passed Luna, and with her, most of her worries, finding the door.

The door was as creaky as Rainbow Dash expected it to be. Of course it was, creaky doors were literally a staple of every situation in which she'd not want to make any noise. Oil our hinges? Hell no, we want to make you as conspicuous as possible! Rainbow was hardly amused by even her own mockery of the situation, lightly grumbling as she continued to force her way through the door without opening it any more than she had to.

It was then that she was faced with a difficult choice. Risk alarming Luna by closing the door behind her, or leave it open and run the risk of her hearing the bath water running? After some careful consideration, Rainbow chose the former, pushing the door shut as lightly as she could before walking up the corridor and entering the bathroom. Rainbow Dash, one. Creaky doors, zilch.

And what a bathroom it was. A large, gilded, ornate bath sat in the centre of the round room, a mural depicting the night sky on the ceiling, light shining in through thin purple curtains, which were only half drawn. There was a basin so large Rainbow might've almost fit in it herself, made of marble rather than porcelain, as was the rounded bath in the centre of the room, which had gold patterns running alongside and around it, curious symbols that Rainbow couldn't properly make out in the darkness.

And then there was the huge variety of bottles and other toiletries that sat on shelves beside the bath, easily thousands of bits worth of grooming materials that most spas would viciously kill for. Looking at all of these items, it was no wonder the princess looked so perfect at all times.

And now she was going to use this super high-class king of all baths to wash Celestia's sheets. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so pressing, and she wasn't the one stuck in the situation.

Rainbow began to draw a shallow bath, looking over the various bottles and trying to decide what would be best for washing the comforter. She wasn't entirely sure what was what, so she just started throwing small quantities of various liquids inside, watching the bath turn bubbly and steamy as the temperature of the room picked up. There was a distinct smell of eucalyptus and lavender about the place now, one that Rainbow could almost get lost in if she closed her eyes.

But she couldn't let herself get distracted, she had a job to do. There were plenty of towels in the room, looking as if they were made from the softest cotton to ever grace Equestria. She was sure that as long as she scrubbed at the comforter for long enough, she'd be able to dry it off and make it look as if nothing ever happened.

She dipped the affected area inside, not placing the whole thing in, and then climbed in the tub herself, grabbing a scrubber designed for a pony's coat and beginning to rub at the duvet gently, hoping to coax out any remnants of her stains. It was delicate work, and she kept her tail lifted the entire time, back to the door, not wanting to get it wet. Her hooves were damp from standing in the shallow bathwater, but she could live with that—they'd be easy to dry off later.

Scrub scrub scrub... Rainbow allowed her mind to travel as she worked on cleaning up, fully aware that the bathwater was so inviting and comforting that it very heavily tempted her to just lay back, fill up the bath some more, and relax a while. But no, she was already cutting things pretty close as it was, and any more would be taking a real liberty. As such, she continued to work out any stains, thoughts landing on the ludicrous nature of the situation she was in and everything that had led up to it. What else was there to think about at this hour, after all?

It was around a minute into her task that Rainbow realised something quite worrying. If Luna was in the dreamscape while Rainbow was sleeping, and Luna was able to see everypony's dreams... did that mean that she had seen Rainbow's? It alarmed her when she first considered it, but she quickly shook her head. No. One time in the past, Luna had came into her dream to find her fighting changelings, and she thought it to be a nightmare because she just didn't know Rainbow's dreams. Luna only went into a pony's dreams when she had a reason to, surely?

Then again, that was then, and this was now... Still, the chances were surely low, she told herself if only to relieve a little of her fear. If Luna had seen what she'd been dreaming about, she had no clue how she'd ever explain it away, but she could hardly just ask 'hey, Luna, you see the dream I had about you fucking me?'. Because of that, there was no way to know for sure, and Rainbow very much doubted that Luna would have the front to approach her about it, not with how she'd been tonight, at least.

No, if there was anything that tonight had told Rainbow about Luna, it was that she wasn't very good at confronting ponies without provocation. Maybe she'd always been that way, or it could be that it was only since her return... all Rainbow knew was that when she did, the excitement factor in her body was tripled instantly. She definitely wanted to see more of it.

Rainbow's work was producing results—the comforter now looked to be completely clean, but Rainbow gave it a little longer just in case. She hoped that the freshly washed smell of it wouldn't give it away, considering that instead of smelling like fabric softener, it was going to instead carry the distinct scent of the things Luna used to wash herself. Whatever, she'd cross that bridge if she came to it.

All this sneaking around and hiding, it wasn't like Rainbow. She was used to being loud and boisterous about everything, so the fact that she was having to sneak out of someone else's bedroom like a guilty filly was playing heavily on her mind. She acted differently around Luna to usual, there was no doubt about that, and as the alcohol in her system had almost completely worn off by now, Rainbow began to consider that it likely wasn't going to change in the morning. She could only hope Luna would be the same as she was too.

You know when you've heard a sound before, and as such, it doesn't really register in your mind so much the second time? That's kinda what happened to Rainbow as she heard the creaaak of the bathroom door for a second time. It was enough for her ears to twitch, maybe, but that was about it.

When the sound of hoofsteps got added to the equation, however, Rainbow panicked. She instantly did what she considered to be the smartest thing possible, shoving the comforter in the water in its entirety, hoping the bubbles would hide it. The resulting splash sent the bubbles away, however, making the presence of the thing incredibly obvious. And now it looked like she was attempting to drown the damn comforter. She pulled it out, starting to wring it out just as Luna shone a dim light from her horn, gasping the moment she saw Rainbow and covering her eyes with a wing.

"Rainbow Dash! I'm so sorry, I didn't realise you were bathing, I..." Luna squinted for a moment, lowering her wing just as Rainbow remembered to lower her tail, dipping it in the water but managing to save her modesty. "Hold on... you're not bathing, are you?" All of a sudden, her voice became very low, as if she was growing tired of the ridiculousness that kept occurring around Rainbow. "Is there a reason my sister's comforter is in the bath with you, soaked?"

"L-Luna!" Rainbow racked her brain, the only thing coming to the forefront of her mind being the words 'don't tell her you came on it!'. Yeah, thanks, brain. Was really planning on that one. "I took it in here to wash it becauseee..."

"Yes?" Luna's eyes were impatient, but after a couple of moments thought, they softened. "Oh, Rainbow, did one of your cuts from earlier open? I wouldn't have scolded you for getting a little blood on the sheets, it wouldn't have been your fault..."

Cuts, earlier? Rainbow only really had bruises and grazes... ah, whatever, she was tired, nod along! "Uhh, yeah! Didn't wanna embarrass myself, I guess, so I took it in here to wash. You were already doing so much for me considering everything that happened, I just wanted to be sure that you didn't feel like I was being even more of a nuisance."

"Nonsense, Rainbow Dash, I would never think that." Luna smiled, buying her lie ridiculously easily, considering. It was almost as if she didn't care to make Rainbow embarrass herself with the truth. Was it really that obvious? "Now, if you would like to leave it out to dry on the radiator?"

"I was gonna towel dry it," Rainbow meekly admitted, feeling stupid for not realising there was central heating in the room. Luna raised a brow, as if this was the silliest thing she'd heard all night. "Radiator, right!" Rainbow wrung out the comforter one more time before placing it on the radiator, which Luna twisted the dial on with a spell to ensure it would heat up properly. "So... how long do you think that'll take?"

Luna put a hoof to her chin. "Hmm... I put it on a lower setting so I didn't bake out the room. I imagine it'll be an hour or so."

Rainbow was hardly looking forward to the idea of sleeping without anything to cover her, but she felt it'd be too rude to mention right then. "Alright, I'm just gonna dry off, and then—"

"Lay on your back," Luna said. It was a firm command. Almost rang of a mare who hadn't had enough sleep.

Rainbow Dash's ears twitched at that. After everything she'd been considering and fantasising over, simply being told to do something by Luna was both exciting and intriguing, but she didn't want to let on to that. It was probably nothing worth getting excited over anyway. "My back?" she asked, realising only after a couple of moments that it was an odd request to make.

"Yes, your back, Rainbow Dash. Lay on it, and I will help you." Luna apparently wasn't in the mood for giving explanations, if her cryptic words were anything to go by.

And Rainbow Dash definitely wasn't in the mood for defying her. She did as she was told, squatting down onto the floor and rolling over, looking up at her princess. "Okay... now what?" Rainbow couldn't lie, she was hoping for something sensual. Maybe Luna had caught a slight glimpse of her body when she came in, the parts that usually weren't on show, and it had intrigued her? Maybe she saw Rainbow all wet and decided she couldn't contain herself, and that in fact, she wanted Rainbow just as badly as Rainbow wanted her?

Or perhaps they hadn't both become completely lust-driven in the space of one night, and she was biting her lip in anticipation for no reason. That turned out to nearly be the case, as Luna levitated a small group of towels over.

Luna gave Rainbow a tired smile, bringing each towel closer to a hoof. "Drying yourself is a pain without magic. I will assist you." With that, she brought each of them forwards at once in their own midnight blue auras, rubbing at Rainbow's hooves from her fetlocks to halfway up each of her legs, where the moisture stopped clinging to her fur. She was soft with her magical motions, and worked them all in a parallel rhythm, the towels on her left legs moving in the opposite way to those on her right.

What she didn't account for is how sensitive Rainbow's hooves were. Rainbow giggled without meaning to, tail thrashing as she kicked at the towels and rolled around like an upturned elephant, unable to stand or stay still for even a moment. "S-stop, stop!" she laughed harder than any joke could make her, desperately jolting and squirming in an effort to get the towels away, but Luna was relentless, keeping them in place and ensuring that she got the job done.

"Stay still, Rainbow Dash. The sooner we get you dry, the sooner we can sleep."

"N-no!" Rainbow's wings started flapping from the feeling of the towels, causing her to lightly rotate on the spot and for Luna's towels to chase after her, possessed of a desire to get her dry again. "You don't know how much this tickles!" Rainbow panted hard, her entire body tensed, trying to come up with some plan to get Luna's evil inanimate monsters away from her, but to no avail, her body only telling her to carry on kicking and screaming.

"Be still, Rainbow Dash!" Luna barked, and Rainbow froze up instantly.

It was uncanny, almost. Rainbow could still feel the tickle of having her hooves rubbed, just as much as usual, but somehow, Luna's shouting had made her obedient. Rainbow was never obedient for anyone, save her CO's, and even then she could be snarky. It was hard for Rainbow to contemplate anything past the torture she was enduring, but the idea that Luna's words really had that much of an effect on her?

It was incredible. Incredibly hot and a little weird, that was.

Soon after she stopped struggling, Luna was finished, and all of Rainbow's hooves were dry. When she finally took the towels away, Rainbow stood, feeling slightly numb. She couldn't help but notice the wry grin on Luna's face. "S-sorry about that, princess. Sensitive hooves." Rainbow shied away, looking at the floor for a moment, but then just as quickly forced her head back up. What was she doing?!

Luna placed a hoof over her mouth, chuckling slightly, but it was soon broken by a yawn, one that made her close her eyes and stretch out, wings spreading to their full span.

Okay, time to add 'big dark wings being sexy as hell' to the list, it seemed.

"Let me do your tail, it's still damp," Luna said once she'd finished, and Rainbow instantly turned around for her.

Rainbow didn't even consider what Luna might or might not have been looking at back there as her princess took a towel in hoof and began to brush it against Rainbow's tail, slowly drying it. As far as Rainbow was concerned, at this point, she was more than happy for Luna to get a little peek, or even a touch, if she so wanted. There had to be something in Luna's behaviour, she was almost sure. Like, it was more than a little bit forward to offer to dry another pony's tail, considering what Luna was so likely to get a view of doing it.

But then, Luna hadn't exactly been back in Equestria a long time. Maybe that was just a social norm to her? Rainbow tried not to wonder about it too much, but she couldn't help it, she wanted to know whether Luna was coming onto her or not! As a test, she softly flicked her tail upwards, hoping to expose a little of her marehood and see if Luna reacted at all, but all she managed to do was hit Luna in the face with her still half-wet tail.

"Rainbow! You're extremely fidgety... be still for me." Rainbow did as she was told, mentally scolding herself for totally screwing that one up, and soon enough, she was completely dry all over.

She turned around to face Luna, finding her putting the towels back on the rack to dry. "Thanks for that..." she let the sentence trail a little, still not entirely sure what that was, a friendly gesture or— "Sorry if I woke you up, by the way. I don't know if I was being loud in here."

"Oh no, I haven't slept yet," Luna said, using another spell to let the bath drain before beginning to walk out of the room, beckoning for Rainbow to follow. "I was patrolling the dreamscape until just now, I usually call it quits at about three in the morning."

"Huh, so that's the time. I woke up in the middle of the night, didn't realise it was so late." Rainbow followed her out of the room, being sure to scowl at the creaky door before closing it. Her and it were enemies now, no doubt there. Also, that confirmation that Luna was in the dreamscape played on her mind a little, but she quelled the thought.

"Yes, it is rather late, and I have to be up early tomorrow. Celestia requires my presence at a council meeting at eleven o' clock, and you will be attending." Luna walked up to her large, now posterless but still divinely comfortable cover and pillow filled bed before hopping up and laying on it, all of her hooves folded. "We should both get some sleep."

Rainbow nodded, walking over to the couch. Luna's eyes followed her the whole time, and when she laid down, placing her head on the pillow, she heard the distinct sound of Luna clearing her throat.

"What exactly do you think you are doing, Rainbow Dash?"

"Uhh... sleeping?" Rainbow sat up a little, looking back at Luna with a raised eyebrow. She hadn't done something else wrong already, had she? If so, she was probably setting records at this point.

"What I mean is what do you think you are doing sleeping over there with no blanket." Luna patted the bed, which just so happened to be covered with blankets. "I get the distinct impression you're attempting to freeze yourself overnight."

Rainbow tilted her head, looking at Luna with a small measure of confusion. "I thought you said you didn't want to trust me with any more of your things?"

"Right you are, look what you did to Celestia's comforter," Luna winked, patting the bed once more. "Looks as if I'll have to keep you within hoof's reach to ensure you aren't damaging anything else of mine. If that means sharing the bed with you, so be it. It's more than large enough for the both of us."

"O-oh." Rainbow Dash couldn't help blushing. She also couldn't help the way her tail flicked, or that her ears folded back, or the very possible skipping of a heartbeat. "You're sure? I mean, you're sure that that's okay?" Rainbow's mind was going at a million miles a second, she couldn't believe what Luna had just offered.

"If I didn't think it was okay, why would I have said anything?" Luna patted the side next to her a third time before slipping under the sheets, her fuzzy flue muzzle sticking out as she rolled from side to side, getting comfortable. "Come, Rainbow Dash. You need your rest also."

Rainbow fidgeted in place, slowly rising from the couch and moving over to the bed. It was pretty high up, she wasn't sure whether to clamber on, or jump, or even use her wings to get up there. As she considered what the best approach would be, she realised she was stalling out of nervousness alone, before concluding to go back to the couch and grab her pillow, if only to have a few more moments to steel herself.

"What is taking so long?" Luna asked, peering down at Rainbow Dash as she paced back to the couch. "Do you intend to keep your princess awake through the entire night?"

Rainbow almost wished she could say yes, but that was confidence she didn't possess in this moment. It had all been stripped from her the moment she was confronted with this opportunity, making her clam up and become quite anxious. "I... I was just going to go and get—" she motioned towards the pillow with her head, words failing her.

"There is no need, I have plenty up here. Come and share them with me." Luna yawned again, this time pushing her hooves out from the covers, and Rainbow squared her withers, standing up straight and preparing herself for the task to come: sleeping next to the mare she'd spent all night thinking about.

In the end, she settled for clambering up onto the bed, her dock wiggling as she attempted to find purchase on the soft, sinking mattress. She squirmed in place, finding it difficult to push her way up, and with a flap of her wings, managed to save herself from falling. Luna looked over to her, turning her head on the pillow, snickered for a second, then reached out with her magic and pulled Rainbow the rest of the way up. "Th-thanks," Rainbow panted, cheeks ablaze.

"I trust you're capable of climbing under the covers by yourself?" Luna teased, smile still about her, rolled over and facing Rainbow.

Rainbow only nodded, finding it difficult to actually talk during this whole ordeal. She slipped under the duvet, the same one Luna used, and despite the largeness of the bed, she hadn't accounted for how Luna seemed to stretch out when she slept, nor the fact she appeared to be fond of sleeping right in the centre of her bed. The long and short of it was that Rainbow had to keep right on the edge of the bed to keep herself from touching Luna's wings or falling off.

Luna peered at her through one eye. "Is there a reason you seem so averse to sharing space with me?"

"N-no, princess, it's just that I don't want to brush up on you, and—"

Luna retracted her wings a little, giving Rainbow some space and saving her from hyperventilation. "There, is that a little more considerate of me?"

"Thanks," Rainbow stammered, rolling up the bed a little and trying to get comfortable. It wasn't the bed itself that made that difficult—this was easily the softest, plushest thing she'd ever laid in by a mile, somehow even better than it had seemed earlier—it was the company, the difficulty of trying to spread herself out in a similar fashion to Luna as she liked to when she slept without overlapping a wing with hers.

As such, Rainbow wasn't entirely sure how to sleep. She tried curling up into the fetal position, she attempted to lay on both sides, and either her belly.

The whole time, Luna looked at her with a tired expression. "Is something the matter, Rainbow Dash?"

"I'm just trying to get comfy," Rainbow said honestly, rolling over once again before sighing and moving to sit up. Why was this so difficult, when it should've been the best thing ever?

"Do what you must to ensure your stillness. I cannot watch you rolling around in circles all night, I'll never get a wink of sleep." Luna's words were calm and direct. It almost seemed as if she lost whatever filter she had when she was tired, or at least a portion of it. No beating around the bush that time, or even earlier, just simple and confidently asserted direction.

And once again, Rainbow just wasn't sure how to argue. She felt like she shouldn't have been doing it, but she listened to Luna's words and did as instructed, unfurling her wings and allowing one to sit on top of Luna's as she curled slightly into her. There was still some space between them, thankfully, but the insane softness of Luna's wing was still a mark against Rainbow's sanity. "I... is this okay, princess? I'm not trying to touch you, it's just this is how I usually sleep."

"In fact, it is rather comfortable." Her admission came easily, and it calmed Rainbow somewhat. Almost made her want to get a little closer, attempt to snuggle up to her, but she knew that some things were just going too far. That said... she wouldn't have imagined doing any of the things she had with the princess over the course of the last evening, so maybe that wasn't the case?

Screw it. Rainbow could be brave.

Well, sorta brave. She didn't roll straight over to Luna, but instead shimmied, her wing lightly brushing against her princess' all the while as she brought herself that bit closer to her. Luna didn't seem to react at first, neither advancing or backing away, and Rainbow worried that she might have offended her, been too forward.

Then Luna began to do the same thing. Wordlessly, silently, she brought herself that bit closer until her wingtip was pressed under Rainbow's back, and it was almost as if her body had been scooped up in it. Rainbow's heart leapt, but she managed to keep it in her chest. "You're right," Rainbow smiled in spite of her worry, feeling her eyes beginning to lid from heaviness. "It is pretty comfy."

There was silence for a while, a warm silence that was made all the warmer by the presence of Luna's wing, the feeling of her hooves so close to Rainbow's that they were nearly touching, and even her muzzle which was less than a foot away. They'd both started on their back, but in little time had began to roll into each other, yet neither of them commented on it, almost as if they were acting too tired to realise what it was they were doing.

For a long time, all Rainbow could hear was Luna's soft, calming breath. That and her own heartbeat in her ears. After what might have been two or three minutes, Rainbow spoke, something having been on her mind since its mention earlier on. "You said we've gotta go to a meeting tomorrow, right, Luna? What's that about?"

"Mmh..." Luna rolled a further from Rainbow before scooting closer, her voice a soft whisper, and Rainbow wondered if she had been drifting off to sleep. She opened her eyes, which still glinted in the darkness, and then proceeded to roll them. "A boring affair, I promise you. Nobility that like to pretend they're important bringing forth concerns that my sister and I are already quite capably handling. You'll be there so I don't have to endure it alone, but also so you can begin to repay your debt to me."

Rainbow felt kind of bad for waking Luna up until she heard that. "Heh, so you just want me to suffer alongside you?"

"Hmm... that, and a couple of other things. You'll be beginning your new position in the morning, I thought this might be good practice for you."

"My new position?" Rainbow echoed, trying to make sense of her words. Luna had said something about a uniform before, and now she wanted her to go to a council meeting... "Oh, I know! You want me to be an ambassador at the meeting, because I'm an Element of Harmony!" Rainbow squeezed her lips shut the moment Luna flinched from her outburst, remembering she had absolutely no volume control.

"A nice guess, Rainbow Dash, but I'm afraid that won't be the case. You'll be serving me in a similar way to what you'll be helping with in my bedchambers. Mull it over, if you like, you should come to the conclusion quite quickly."

"...you want me to fix and clean things?" Rainbow asked, muzzle twisted.

"More along the lines of 'pour drinks, make sure everypony is entertained, be at my beck and call for the duration of the meeting'. I trust you'll take your role seriously for as long as you're under my command?"

Rainbow blinked rapidly as she realised just what kind of situation she was being put into. She nodded at Luna, who seemed to pick it up despite the darkness, only wondering once more what her uniform might look like, and how difficult it'd be to be a glorified waitress-pony in front of a bunch of prissy nobles, in front of Celestia.

That said, the idea just made it that bit more fun in her mind. She wondered if Luna would still be this strong-willed when she woke up the next morning, and imagined that if she kept depriving her of sleep, it was a definite. Rainbow figured it probably best to shut up then, not seeing it as fair to keep Luna awake any longer.

Besides, she herself was in need of some good rest after a day like this, a night like this. Maybe she did it because she was half-asleep already, maybe she did it because she was an idiot, but instead of simply saying 'good night' to Luna, she placed a hoof on her side and gave her a light squeeze. Luna's eyes opened once more, and she looked at her deeply, almost appearing shocked, blinking multiple times. Rainbow Dash gulped, ready to make a million excuses and then bolt.

And then she felt Luna squeeze her right back. Her motion was harder, still affectionate, but one that seemed to denote the ownership of property. It made Rainbow Dash feel toasty, inside and out.

The night became longer, and the pair became sleepier, until eventually, huddled together to the point of lightly touching, they drifted away in search of sleep. Rainbow felt the calmest she had in a very long time, even as a tempest swirled in her mind, and she only hoped that her dreams would be filled with the same happiness that they had been earlier, scary, confusing, and spectacular.

Rainbow Dash awoke to a mess of fuzz in her muzzle, potentially the sleekest, smoothest fuzz she'd ever felt in her life. Unfortunately, that meant it tickled like hell, and she had to roll away some in order to prevent herself from sneezing everywhere. Her snout twitched as she realised that what she'd instead rolled onto was an outstretched wing, almost like a hammock. Luna stirred at the motion, and after a few moments, her eyes opened.

Both of them stayed completely still as they realised just how close they'd gotten to each other through the night, sunlight bleeding into the room.

Rainbow's eyes were like pinpricks as she attempted to look anywhere but at her princess, who quickly swept away her wing and clambered out of bed, not saying a word. Well, if trashing Luna's bedroom and cumming on her sister's sheets wasn't bad enough, Rainbow had managed to fall asleep cuddling her to boot. "Luna, I—"

"I slept well, too, Rainbow Dash." Luna cut her off, stretching out and lightly cracking her neck. "Now, we have a meeting to attend in less than an hour, and I'd like to be sure you're ready."

Rainbow shrugged before kicking the covers off, rolling off the bed and hitting the floor on all fours. "Heh, I'm always ready!" she boasted, trying to hide the fact that she felt really damn nervous about the coming meeting. "Number one readiest pegasus right here, you're looking at her."

Luna walked around the bed, narrowing her eyes at Rainbow the moment she came into view. "Funny, that. Considering you're charged with cleaning and tidying for me, you've left our bed completely unmade. Do you think you could fix that?"

There it was already, the regression Rainbow had anticipated. It was only slight, but Rainbow's ears picked it up instantly. There was less force in her tone, and she asking for the help, not telling Rainbow to do it. Rainbow also didn't fail to notice the fact that she'd called it 'their' bed. "I mean, I coulddd, but shouldn't I be in uniform before I start the day's tasks, princess?" She said it in the most obnoxiously sweet manner she could, hoping to push Luna's buttons in the right way.

"You're right, you should be, but I don't have time to waste. Make the bed, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow stifled her victory grin, putting on a rather convincing groan. "Fine, fine..." Rainbow knew that all Luna needed was a little push in the right direction, and the effort she was having to put into it was becoming less and less substantial as Luna began to come into her own element. She stood there silently, watching as Rainbow fluffed the pillows and pulled the duvet over the bed, making sure it was neatly folded back. She may not have looked it, but Rainbow knew how to be tidy. Once she was finished, she looked back to Luna with a smile. "There, how's that?"

Luna walked over to the bed, scrutinising it with a steady gaze before shaking her head. "You've made it improperly. The cushions should be facing in a diagonal, diamond shape, the pillows should be put closer together, and the sheet should be folded at the hem, not further up."

Rainbow cocked a brow, flapping over the bed as she recounted the details from last night. "You didn't have it like that yesterday, it was like this."

Luna flashed a grin. "When did I say that I make the bed properly?"

Ooh, she was good. Rainbow pouted, turning to face Luna with a petulant whine. "But that's not fair!"

Luna's eyes narrowed, her teeth flashing as she raised her voice. "When did I say that I would be fair? You're to do as you're bidden, and I say to make it again."

There it was again, that subtle change of demeanour that made Rainbow's heart pump faster. "Yes, princess," she uttered at once, taking off to completely redo the whole thing, only to pause when Luna started to chuckle. "Princess?"

"Heheheh... I'm only joking with you, Rainbow Dash. It's perfect as it is. Come, we need to get you ready."

Rainbow Dash blinked hard at that, shocked by the duplicity. Since when was Luna the one winding her up? Who was in control here? The more Rainbow pondered that, the more confused she got. She wanted Luna to take charge of her, but she was having to subtly take charge of Luna to get her to do that, but now Luna was playing jokes on her? Jeez, this was too complex for this early in the morning.

"Rainbow Dash? Are you coming or not?" Luna waited expectantly for Rainbow, who looked over and found her standing at the open door to the bathroom.

"What, are you calling me dirty?" Rainbow snickered, brushing at her own wither as she flicked her mane back. When Luna's gaze remained solidly on her, Rainbow blushed by instinct. "What?! I showered yesterday!"

"And then proceeded to get drunk and hurt yourself. You could use a bath, it'll do your body some good. Come, we have time." Luna clearly wasn't taking no for an answer, and turned around and kept walking into the bathroom before Rainbow could even try to argue. Scowling, she followed on, hoping she'd at least get the chance to see Luna wet again.

When she arrived in the bathroom, she found that Luna had already started drawing a bath. Unlike Rainbow, she actually knew which of the toiletries to use, and now that there was light in the room, the place had a light golden sheen to it that contrasted with the dark mural of the ceiling and the marble of the bath. A peachy fragrance rose from the bath in the form of steam, hitting Rainbow's senses the moment she stepped inside. It smelled so good that she had to remind herself not to try and drink the bathwater.

"Don't worry, I don't have to dry you this time if you'd rather save yourself the embarrassment," Luna laughed, eyes closed in contentment as she adjusted the heat. "That is unless you take too long, we do have a meeting to get to." She levitated a bottle over to Rainbow, briefly showing it to her. "This is the treatment I placed in your bath, it'll go a long way to healing the bruises on your body, and stop them from being painful in the meantime."

Thoughts of Luna drying her again were dashed completely by the mention that she'd been bruised. Come to think of it, she was starting to ache a little, but it wasn't so bad compared to a couple of the times she'd smashed into Twilight's old tree house. Rainbow Dash looked herself over in the mirror, and while she didn't look terrible, there were a couple of nasty marks on her that she wouldn't mind tackling. She'd never tried any kind of healing elixir before, and imagined it was probably super expensive, which only made her more grateful that Luna was willing to expend some on her. "Thank you, Luna."

"Call me 'princess," Luna smirked. "You're on duty starting now, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow saluted as the bath continued to fill, causing Luna to shake her head.

"No, that isn't proper etiquette, Rainbow Dash. You're expected to bow before your princess, like a proper lady. Can you bow for me, Rainbow?" Luna seemed to be having too much fun with this, if the way that she smiled and the slow nature of her words was any indication.

The more fun she was having, the more fun Rainbow was having, but she couldn't let onto that, even if she really wanted to. Ears folded back, Rainbow inclined her head, lowering it by about half a foot and maintaining the position for a couple of seconds before bringing it back up to look at the taller mare. "Was that good, princess?"

"You're learning," Luna said, walking forwards and lightly ruffling her mane like a pet that had just performed a good trick. "You even said my proper title this time. I'm impressed." With that, she turned to stop the bath water from running, the bath now being almost completely full, and tested the temperature. "Hmm... it's alright for me, but dip a hoof in, Rainbow, see what you think."

Rainbow Dash stepped forwards as her princess told her to, taking a hoof and going to press it in the water, but stopped just shy of breaking the surface, pulling her hoof away in alarm. "That's hot! Really hot! That's got to be boiling or more!" She waved her hoof manically in order to brush away the heat, but luckily it hadn't been more than a very light sting.

Luna cocked her head, dipping a hoof in the water once more, then looked quizzically at Rainbow. "Are you being serious with me at the moment? I can't tell." When Rainbow continued to wave her hoof, giving her a look that said 'do I look like I'm being freaking serious?!', Luna suddenly realised the issue, gasping. "Oh, of course, it's because you aren't an alicorn. I'm sorry, I'm not used to sharing baths with other ponies, save Celestia when we were younger. I'll lower the temperature at once."

While Luna fired up the spell to do so, a lot of thoughts bounced around Rainbow's heads at once. First off, she knew alicorns were resilient, but holy hell, they could bathe in that? Not only that, but mention of Luna bathing with her sister was ridiculously enticing, damn Rainbow's filthy mind, but above anything else, the thing that put a lump in Rainbow's throat and gave her serious risk of a nosebleed? "Wh-what do you mean 'sharing baths'?"

"Well, there isn't enough time for us to take turns, Rainbow Dash, and I didn't get to finish mine last night, due to an interruption I wasn't expecting." She gave her a pointed stare. "The bath is more than big enough for the both of us, I trust you'll have plenty of space."

"W-well, yeah, but—" Luna stopped listening, lifting herself up and climbing into the bath, beginning to lather up her body with a cleansing gel. "Wow okay we're doing this." Rainbow didn't usually squeak out her words, but she figured some occasions allowed for an exception. Luna was apparently perfectly content to stand there right in front of Rainbow and use her magic to rub lotions into her fur, sighing in relaxation and beginning to really work the gel in as her tail swished to and fro, flicking water about in the large tub.

Rainbow wanted to hesitate, but she knew she'd only be scolded if she did, so she hopped up and inside of the bath, only for Luna to turn and flash her a smile. "I told you there was space aplenty. I'd usually sing in here, but I'm not going to subject you to that, no matter how you might be indebted to me." Luna turned away from Rainbow, bending down to put her head in the water and wet her mane. When she dipped it, her tail seemed to rise by instinct, and Rainbow got a good glance at what the princess kept hidden beneath. Needless to say, it was a good thing her body was already submerged in water at this point.

She tried not to stare, but she couldn't help it. Luna had such rounded, supple flanks, and what laid between her legs looked so sweet and inviting... Rainbow could feel her mouth beginning to open from sheer desire, tongue poking out, but the moment Luna's starry mane flicked back out from under the water, causing a splash that hit Rainbow square in the face, she realised how overtly she was looking and quickly switched her gaze away. Shaking her mane from side to side like an oversized cat, Luna turned to face Rainbow. "You should wet your mane, it needs to be shampooed quickly."

Rainbow could barely even remember her own name at this point, what with all the blood rushing to her head from what she just saw, but she just about managed to take the cue. With a sly smirk, she realised something she could do to get Luna back, and turning away from her, just as she did, she dipped her head under whilst lifting her tail as high as she could, spreading her thighs a little and exposing absolutely everything. With her head underwater, she had no clue if the princess stared, but she tried to keep it submerged for as long as she could, just so Luna got the chance to have a good look. Once five seconds had passed, she pulled her muzzle out with a gasp, throwing her mane back.

And Luna was still looking directly at her, playing with her mane as she did so, her face flushed. Rainbow cheered on the inside, she'd done her job. "R-right," Luna started, shaking her head a little and clearing her throat. "Come over here, I'll apply your shampoo." Luna seemed to be having a hard time looking at Rainbow now, as opposed to her staring just moments ago, and Rainbow absolutely loved it.

Rainbow stepped over to Luna, water swaying around her legs as she did so, and once she was right in front of her, Luna sat on her haunches. Using her hooves rather than her magic, she opened a bottle of mane and tail shampoo and emptied a large dollop into her cupped hooves before bringing it forward to Rainbow and beginning to rub it in.

Rainbow had to stop herself from cooing at the contact. Luna was exceptionally gentle, as well as thorough, and the feeling of getting the shampoo rubbed into her mane was almost identical to a scalp massage, causing her breaths to slow and her mind to clear. It was so relaxing that she started to worry that she might fall asleep again, and after about twenty seconds of contact, Rainbow let out a noise that was almost akin to a purr.

Luckily, Luna didn't choose to tease her about it. Once she was finished with the bliss of rubbing it in, Luna used her magic to direct a small stream of water from the bath, causing it to cascade down Rainbow's mane and wash the shampoo out. She used her hooves to ensure that all of it was coming out properly, before switching to another part of her head and brushing the water through again. It was almost like having a shower nozzle pressed over her head, and just as Luna finished, Rainbow had an idea.

"Say, princess..." Rainbow thought about how to word it, not wanting it to come out in the wrong way. "Do you think you could use your magic to make more of those streams under the water, like a hot tub?"

"I often do," Luna nodded, and with a flash of her horn, the water began to jut and spray beneath the pair of them, calming and relaxing.

The reason Rainbow didn't want it to come out wrong was that half the reason she'd asked was her curiosity as to what one of those small but powerful jets of water might feel like against the more sensitive parts of her body. Unfortunately, the only one that was hitting her directly was against her chest, so as much as she wanted to feel it, she had to think of some kind of excuse to move her body up, to get it closer. Rainbow blinked, another idea forming as she smiled to herself.

"Princess, would you mind if I returned the favour? I want to start being useful for you..." Rainbow was sure to keep her voice as sweet as possible, and just as she imagined, Luna nodded. She used her magic to empty out some of the lotion into Rainbow's hooves, and shifting forwards, Rainbow sat on her haunches as Luna dipped her head, allowing her free access to her mane.

Rainbow could now feel the spray against her lower belly, she just needed to shift a tiny bit closer to sate her curiosity. Still, Luna was waiting and probably wondering what was taking so long, so Rainbow chose to focus on the task at hoof, bringing her hooves forwards and reciprocating the gesture that Luna had extended to her.

Gods, did her mane feel amazing. Even when it was wet, it was smooth to the touch and silkier than anything Rainbow had ever felt, perhaps more so than it had been last night. Rainbow wasted no time in beginning to rub the lotion in, but what she didn't count on were Luna's little hums of approval. Apparently, she seemed to adore having her mane touched. That only made Rainbow want to drag it out more, slowing the motions of her hooves and making sure to get every last one of her long, luxurious locks lathered up.

"You have quite an affinity for this," Luna praised as Rainbow carried on with the treatment, her hooves slowing down, her body shifting forwards ever so slightly as she was still in search of her secret sensation. She could feel the single stream sitting so close to her clit now, just another shift forwards and it'd be directly under her.

But if she moved any closer, her body would be almost directly on Luna. Maybe Luna had planned for this, to tease her with the placement of the streams, or maybe it was coincidence, but all Rainbow knew was that she'd come to close to give up now. "I just need to reach the back a little better..." she muttered, a total lie, bringing herself forwards until Luna's muzzle rested against her chest, the ends of her wet mane dipping into the bath. Rainbow felt that light jet against her just as she'd wanted to, and the results, while not explosive, were extremely pleasant and difficult to ignore.

She squirmed in place, continuing to massage Luna's head with her hooves, occasionally slipping her grip and beginning to rub at the back and sides of her neck, very occasionally touching at her withers. It was totally on purpose, of course, but it didn't help that the constant satisfying pressure of the stream below her was making it difficult to concentrate on what she was doing.

After what must have been a minute of Luna's sweet sighs and the caress of the water against her sensitive nub, Luna raised her head a little, peaking out at Rainbow from one eye. "While this does feel heavenly, I fear we'll never arrive at the meeting if you continue..."

Rainbow carried on regardless, finding a smirk and a light pant at the same time, rubbing at the princess as she looked back down at her. "Tell me to stop then, if you really want me to." She teased Luna with another grab at her withers, making her gasp. The shift in power was so obvious, she was putty in Rainbow's hooves at this point.

"Perhaps I won't need to," Luna grinned back, her horn flashing again.

Just as Rainbow was about to celebrate her victory, she suddenly cried out, blushing madly, her hooves slipping and her body clenching hard. Luna had just turned up the pressure of the stream immensely, right beneath her, and her entire body felt alight with pleasure. "O-oh my god, Luna!"

"That's princess to you," she winked, knowing exactly what she'd just done. "Now, are you going to behave for me?" She began fluctuating the pressure of the streams beneath, almost like a warning, making Rainbow's body pulse beautifully. "Or do I need to intensify this further?"

"N-no, princess!" Rainbow cried, barely able to contain herself. She'd always taken Luna for a trickster, but to do that? There was no doubt about any of it now. If Rainbow hadn't been sure if the sexual tension between them was mutual before, that question was definitely settled now. "I'll wash it out now, I promise!"

"Good," Luna smiled softly, releasing her spell and making the streams calm. "See that you take it slowly, your hooves do feel wonderful."

So that was her game, huh? Clearly do something naughty but not admit to it, knowing that whoever acknowledged the dirty details of what just happened first would be the loser. No question that Rainbow Dash was shocked by it, but more than anything, she was impressed, and only intrigued further, if such a thing was even possible. Then again, was it just a tease for Luna, an acknowledgment that she knew how Rainbow was feeling, or an effort to say that she felt the same way?

Rainbow still needed to test the waters somehow. She started to rinse the shampoo out of Luna's mane, taking her time just as Luna had suggested. It was serene and peaceful, and served to help her forget about the million questions plaguing her mind, at least for long enough to get the job done. When she was finally finished, she was reluctant to part contact, but managed all the same.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash." Luna smoothed out her mane before going back to washing herself, and Rainbow was half thankful, half disappointed that she didn't suggest they wash each other's bodies next. A mare could dream, right?

Well, she could definitely dream. Last night had conclusively shown her that much.

Luna laid as flat as she could in the bath, washing the various lotions off of her coat and using magic to shampoo and dry her own tail. Again, Rainbow was sad that she didn't get a chance to do that either. For Rainbow, however, it was a little more difficult to wash her tail, and Luna seemed to notice, using her magic to hold it in place. Rainbow was initially thankful, twisting her body and rubbing the shampoo in, but it didn't take her long to realise that with the position Luna had frozen her tail in, her everything was exposed once again.

That said, Luna didn't seem to be staring. On the contrary, she was looking off to the side, protecting Rainbow's modesty in a sense. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if she preferred that or felt slighted by it. Not to mention that with the twisting she had to do to reach her tail fully, her cheeks were being spread on their own, but luckily, she was so wet all over that it was probably impossible to tell whether or not she was actually aroused.

Whenever Rainbow went to turn her head back, she was sure Luna took a peek. It was almost like this was becoming a game to her, and Rainbow wasn't the type to lose easily.

She was in the process of devising a devious plan when Luna pulled the plug out, allowing the water to begin draining. "There, we'll begin drying now. We haven't much time until the council meeting, and I wish to run you through the basics of what I expect. I can't have you showing me up too much in there."

Luna was getting good at pushing Rainbow's buttons, but rather than annoy her, it made her grin. The two of them stepped out of the bath, and instantly Rainbow realised that most of her bruises looked as if they were healed, the worse ones having faded significantly and the smaller ones simply having vanished. "Heh, that's some powerful stuff you put in there..."

"Only the best for my faithful servant," Luna chuckled, reaching over to grab a few towels and looking at Rainbow pointedly. "Are you going to fight me on it this time?"

"No, princess," Rainbow instantly responded, though her mind was elsewhere. Hadn't Luna called her 'servant' in her dreams, too? It was almost as if her fantasies were beginning to come to life before her. Truthfully, she hadn't even realised what Luna was suggesting until she motioned Rainbow get on her back again, like the night previous.

It still tickled tremendously, but it went faster this time. Rainbow was obedient, turning and moving only when Luna instructed, and compared to last night, it was a breeze to dry her off. It was only when they were nearly done that Rainbow realised just how well behaved she'd been. She almost felt proud of it.

She stood when Luna was finished, helping to dry her off in turn, getting the chance to feel the subtle curves of her body and the muscle that her sleek frame contained, even if it was only through a towel. That said, Rainbow might have 'accidentally' dropped the towel once just to get a quick second of rubbing at Luna's flanks, something that earned her a barely restrained gasp. Nice to know that even the immortal, near-invincible princess had her sensitive spots.

In little time, Rainbow had finished drying off Luna's coat, and the pair of them began to rub through their own manes and tails. Rainbow took wing, finding it easier to reach certain parts of her body that way, and soon enough, they were completely finished. Luna's mane looked a little frizzy when she'd just ran a towel through it, and didn't flow like it usually did. There was something inordinately adorable about that fact, Rainbow wondered how many other ponies had seen it before.

"I need to go and fetch your attire. Be a good filly and wait here." Before Rainbow had a chance to respond, Luna had teleported out of the room.

"I'm not a filly!" Rainbow shouted, more to herself than anyone else. Luckily, Luna hadn't heard it, and the reasons were threefold. One, Rainbow had always hated being referred to as a child, especially now. She was an adult, damn it! Not only that, but she was sure that Luna would only begin to say it more often if she realised that it got a rise out of Rainbow, so she needed to pretend it wasn't a big deal. The third reason was the kicker, though, something that shocked Rainbow a little even after her short outburst.

She was a little worried about what might have happened if Luna had caught her shouting at her.

That was a strange feeling, definitely, and it did something to alleviate the pout on her face. She brushed through her mane with the towel some more, making sure she was dry, and as soon as she went to step out into the bedroom, she found that Luna was already standing there amongst last night's destruction, a pair of small boxes before her.

"I had to guess your size, but I imagine that this will fit nicely," Luna nudged one of the boxes on the floor over with her snout, inviting Rainbow to open it. Rainbow trotted over, curious, before lifting the lid with her teeth and finding a protective cover beneath. She tore through it, and something black, white, and lacy quickly came into view.

Rainbow began to pull it out, looking at it curiously, but the more the outfit came into view, from the long socks to the ruffled headpiece to the black dress with the little white bow on the back, the more she began to realise that she was looking at a Prench Maid's outfit, much like the ones that some of the castle's attendants wore.

Rainbow wasn't sure she should have been as excited to try it on as she was. She tried to bite back her smile, but she couldn't help it, looking up at Luna. "Wow, Luna, you really went all out, huh?"

Rainbow felt a hoof lightly prod her on the wither. "Princess," Luna reminded her. "You need to be on better behaviour than that if you're going to come to this meeting with me, Rainbow Dash. You will do as I say when I say it, and you will treat everypony there with the utmost respect and courtesy. You will speak formally, and only when spoken to, and you will do only as you are told. I wish to have this meeting go by quickly, and that will be aided by your full cooperation in the matter. In short, I cannot be looking after you the whole time. Do you understand?"

Rainbow nodded, lightly biting at her cheek. She moved to attempt to put the dress on, but immediately found she was having difficulty. It was tight, and hugged at her form much like her flight uniform did, but the lack of zips made it all the more difficult to slip into. Luna raised an eyebrow at her as she fumbled about with the outfit, and Rainbow let out a nervous chuckle. "Uhh... I don't wear dresses very often, and this is pretty tight."

"It is meant to be tight," Luna said, using her magic to help Rainbow force her way into the dress, helping to pull it over her and then tying the bow around the back. The back of it was pushed up slightly by Rainbow's tail, and she wondered if Luna had picked a slightly too small option simply for that. "The socks, next. I will let you do that, lest I have to pin your hooves down again."

Rainbow honestly wouldn't have minded being pinned down by Luna, but she didn't press the issue. The socks were relatively easy to put on, and in short order, Rainbow began to get used to the outfit, finding it to be snug, rather than constricting. She slid a little on the socks, letting out a 'whoa-oa!' at one point, almost falling, but Luna placed a hoof under her belly, keeping her in place.

The contact caused her wings to spread by instinct, and at once, she was grateful that Luna had chosen an outfit with wing holes. Ripping the dress in half within a minute of putting it on didn't sound like a very effective way to get into Luna's good books. Finally, Luna brought out the shoes, allowing Rainbow to slip into them, one at a time. She'd managed to get Rainbow's hoof size right, so she didn't slip out of them, despite finding them rather easy to put on. "Right, done!" Rainbow smiled, glad that little ordeal was over.

"Not yet," Luna smirked, pointing to the bedroom's thankfully unsmashed mirror, one of the few surviving pieces of furniture. The wall right next to it had a dent too, so there was a good chance that if Rainbow had bounced just a little to the left last night, she would have broken that too. Rainbow walked over to the mirror, almost falling over a broken table leg on the way—the new shoes were difficult to adjust to—and once she arrived, she found herself more than surprised by the transformation.

She didn't usually look this cute. Rainbow was awesome, she was badass, but right now, she was plain gorgeous, with a lovable smile and a frizzy, messy mane that was even more all over the place than usual. As her eyes hit it, she realised what the issue was. "Right... suppose I should sort that out."

"I will. My mane self-regulates, so I don't get a chance to brush one very often." Luna conjured a brush, bringing it to Rainbow's mane and beginning to pull it through.

Youch, she wasn't kidding! Rainbow flinched from the rough pull of the brush as it filtered knots out of her mane, pulling and tugging and eventually smoothing them out. Part of Rainbow wondered whether it was because Luna was rough with the brush, or whether it was down to the fact that Rainbow never brushed herself, because once some of the big knots had come out, it started to feel quite relaxing. For the second time that day, Rainbow's eyes drifted closed of their own accord.

When she opened them, she found that her mane didn't have its usual bounce and flick to the side. Rather, it had been smoothed out into a fringe that travelled over her forehead, almost covering one eye. Come to think of it, it almost reminded of her of how Celestia wore her mane, but in a more understated fashion due to the fact that her mane wasn't swimming about all over the place. She'd always wondered how they did that, super cool but really weird.

"There," Luna said as she pulled away the brush, letting Rainbow take in her new appearance. "I apologise if it isn't the style you're used to, but it's the one I've had the most practice with."

"You used to brush Celestia's mane?" Rainbow asked, marvelling at herself in the mirror. If she was cute before, the feeling had been doubled now.

"A very long time ago, yes." Luna nodded, coming to stand beside Rainbow Dash. "Celestia was good at many things when she was younger, but anything requiring care or precision was best left to me."

Looking at the both of them in the mirror, Rainbow couldn't help but be reaffirmed of their size difference, Luna standing almost at twice her height and length. There was something about her height that Rainbow Dash loved, perhaps the power that it implied, and as her eyes continued to travel over Luna's body, she noticed Luna looking back at her through the mirror, head tilted. With an awkward cough and a sudden aversion of her eyes, Rainbow tried to remember what in the hell Luna had been saying. "R-right, brushing! My mane looks great, princess. Thanks."

"My mane looks wonderful, princess. Thank you." Luna replied, causing Rainbow to raise an eyebrow. "Formality, Rainbow Dash. You cannot go into a meeting like this speaking casually, it will completely undermine me in front of the nobles. From now on, you are to speak with a measure of grace, at least until this meeting is over. Is that understood?"

"Certainly, your high graceness-ness. I will endeavour to be sure that the snooty ponies receive the proper mare they expect," Rainbow grinned, making her best attempt at received pronunciation and bowing in an exaggerated manner. She was more than shocked when Luna put her face directly in front of her.

"Yes, very funny. Enough of that now."

Luna had a half-smile on her lips; Rainbow was sure she could get away with a little more. "But my grace, how will I learn to kiss the regal posteriors of the pompous and arrogant if you deny me my proper practice?!" Rainbow held back a snicker. All those times listening to Rarity and Twilight speak were really paying off.

Luna's hint of joviality was soon lost. "Rainbow Dash! You have been warned once, I will not repeat myself! If you do not believe you are fit to serve me with politeness and humility, do not bother at all!" Luna didn't shout so much as raise her voice, her tone biting and superior.

Rainbow shrunk back instantly, blinking back a sudden wave of emotion. "Y-you wouldn't really send me away, would you, princess? I was only messing around."

Luna's hard exterior seemed to crack a little, but she managed to remain firm in spite of it. "I would not, but I cannot bring you before these ponies if you are not willing to be on your best behaviour! Please do not think this a joke, Rainbow Dash. Every meeting with the council is another opportunity for them to attempt to get under me and my sister's skins, and we cannot afford to give them an inch. If you're in there under my charge, and you're misbehaving, that's only more ammunition for them. Instead, what I want you to show them is the loyalty of the Elements of Harmony, what they're willing to do for their princesses."

Huh, when she put it like that, it made a lot more sense. "Yeah—Uh, I mean yes, I can do that, princess." Rainbow didn't put on the voice at all this time, though she could tell that she sounded more refined simply by speaking less colloquially, even if she wasn't exactly used to it.

"I think 'yeah' is fine, Rainbow Dash." Luna snickered, reaching out like she was going to give her mane a stroke or ruffle but seeming to think better of it at the last second.

"Heheh, I never thought I'd hear you say 'yeah'."

"First of all, I was quoting you. Second, I'm not as uptight as you might think, you know."

Rainbow smiled wickedly. "Oh yeah? Prove it."

Luna shook her head, finally levitating the headpiece from earlier's box and placing it on Rainbow's head. "Later. Right now, we have a meeting to sit through, or in your case, stand through."

Rainbow took one last second to see how the headpiece looked on her, then spent a second adjusting it so it was completely straight. "Are you going to teleport us there?"

Luna shook her head. "The council gets rather funny about magic on account of half of them not being unicorns. As such, we'll be walking. I don't think it would hurt for you to break in those shoes a little, either."

Rainbow suddenly felt as if her throat was a little more dry. "But won't ponies see me? I'm a really famous flier now, ponies are gonna—"

"Going to," Luna corrected.

"Right. Ponies are going to recognise me the moment they see me, won't they be wondering why I'm dressed up in Prench maid outfit?"

"Let them wonder," Luna smirked, giving Rainbow a wink. "It was your choice to stay and serve, after all. Are you so embarrassed to serve your princess?"

"I mean, kinda..." Luna gave her a look, and Rainbow quickly backed up. "But only because of the outfit! This isn't exactly the kinda thing that I expect ponies to understand, even if I'm more than happy to be serving you, princess." There was that look again, and it was growing more deadly by the second. "I guess I'm just kinda worried, you know?"

Rainbow's train of thought was broken by the light swish of a duster against her barrel, causing her to giggle and leap back. "Not 'kinda', kind of." Luna sighed, levitating the item back into the until now mysterious second box before turning to face Rainbow. "Honestly, I have no clue how you managed to utter that three times in the space of twenty seconds. 'Tis a good thing that we aren't in the meeting room already."

Rainbow shook off the tingle of her side, growling at herself and Luna equally for both messing it up and having to do it in the first place. There'd been a lot of things that Rainbow was more than happy to do for her princess, but this speaking properly stuff was hard. "Kind of," Rainbow repeated, feeling only slightly idiotic. "Do you have the same trouble speaking all modern and stuff?"

"Like I said, Rainbow Dash, I know how to be hip, but now isn't the time."

Rainbow had to snuff out her laughter at the word 'hip', knowing she'd only get another telling off if she laughed out loud. Poor, naive Luna. "Alright, fine. I'm ready if you are, my princess."

Luna nodded in approval, opening her door and stepping outside, beckoning for Rainbow to follow. "It feels as if we've been in that room forever. It will be nice to stretch my legs."

Rainbow watched Luna walking for a moment, lost in the sway of her body, before realising something potentially terrible. "Princess!" Rainbow shout-whispered, not wanting to draw any attention. "You're naked!"

Luna looked down at her body, noticing the distinct lack of horseshoes and blushing deeply. "Oh, you're right. Silly me." With a quick spell, her shoes and crown materialised, and she began to pick up her pace. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I wouldn't want to indecently expose myself to my subjects."

Rainbow blinked at that, thinking back to the entire night and morning they'd spent together, and the bath they'd just shared. "But in front of me is fine, huh?"

"Servants aren't paid to ask questions," Luna quipped, turning a corner. "Be at my side now."

Rainbow considered reminding Luna that she wasn't paying her, then she thought about the fact that as a Wonderbolt, she worked for the government, which meant she indirectly worked for Luna. Huh, maybe Luna did pay her. Wacky business.

"Rainbow Dash!" Luna called again, louder, making Rainbow realise that she'd drifted so far in thought she'd let Luna get ten steps ahead of her. Or maybe she'd started staring at her again without noticing. Either made sense. Rainbow hurried to catch up, still getting used to her new shoes, drawing a fair amount of eyes. Nopony working in the castle said anything, but with Luna's volume and Rainbow's clumsy steps, a good deal of them probably realised just who she was.

When she reached Luna, and noticed that most eyes in the corridors were on the both of them, she decided that if this was her fate, she was going to own it. Rainbow didn't shy away, looking up and forwards with a small smile, attempting to walk with as much grace as possible, even if it only just resulted in her being able to move without scuffing her shoes or tripping.

Luna looked down at her with an amused expression, watching as Rainbow began to walk with more purpose to her steps. "You're really coming into your own, aren't you? Maybe you were born to be a maid, after all."

"Born to be yours, maybe. I wouldn't do this for anypony else and you know it."

"Not even for your friends?"

Rainbow didn't answer straight away. She knew she'd only really agreed to this because of circumstance, that and the drink in her system egging her on, but the idea of doing this for another pony... "I don't know," Rainbow admitted, and it was the truth. "Hell, the idea of any of them seeing me like this—"

"Should be a pleasant one. You look radiant in it." Luna lightly brushed her flank against Rainbow's as they turned another corner, causing her to blink sharply. "I know it's a temporary step down from being a Wonderbolt..."

"Are you kidding? I get to serve my princess and country." Luna simply glanced at her, and Rainbow started laughing. "Okay, yeah, this is probably a lame job in comparison, but I enjoy the company. Plus, y'know, I still deserve it."

They seemed to be getting closer now, which might have been an indication as to why Luna slowed down a little. "Hmm... I don't know. If I had to guess, I'd wager you're enjoying this more than you should be."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow grinned, giving the skirt of her outfit a little shake. "Well if I had to guess, I'd say the exact same about you. Pick this one out yourself, did you? Go a little too tight on purpose?"

"Are you attempting to irk me, Rainbow Dash?" Luna attempted to sound fierce, but she couldn't help but giggle through her words. Another small victory for Rainbow, it seemed. "Perhaps I am enjoying this. Would that be such a terrible thing to admit?"

Rainbow tried to answer her, but faltered. It was difficult to go much further without crossing the line into territory there wasn't any coming back from. With all the little bits of flirtation they'd shared in the last day as well as the close calls and questionable experiences, Rainbow wasn't entirely sure where they sat, and didn't feel confident enough to push things any further in the right direction, not now.

Luna leaned down to her to whisper in her ear, the latest stretch of corridor free from prying eyes. "If you behave yourself for me, Rainbow, I'll see that you're rewarded for your good behaviour..."

Luna's breath tickled Rainbow's ear like a feather, and she could almost swear that Luna's lips very briefly brushed against it just before she drew back. Her stomach did small leaps and her body became stiff as all she could do is nod in answer, perhaps add a few words by force. "Y-yes, princess." she managed, wondering whether she'd ever sounded more like Fluttershy, and again wondering why she liked that feeling so damn much. Her tail was swishing from side to side, occasionally tapping against Luna's barrel with its long swings, and her hooves buzzed so much she could barely keep them on the floor long enough to take another step.

Luckily, the door at the end of the corridor came for them before Rainbow Dash could be completely swallowed up by anticipation. Luna turned to her ever so briefly, features more stalwart than she'd grown used to. "Remember, Rainbow Dash. Anything I say in there, you do. Enter after me."

Luna opened the door, stepping inside, and Rainbow slowly followed. Her dress billowed around her flanks from the movement, and she had trouble keeping her tail down low enough that the dress didn't expose too much of her legs, but she almost fed off of her embarrassment, took it as a source of enjoyment. By all means, this should have been a terrible feeling, so why was it like static electricity dancing around inside of her?

The room was filled with nobility and council members, many of them wearing fancy clothes and some seeming to come with their own attendants. Rainbow took a second to wonder if it was a status symbol, having a maid with you at all times, because there was no way that this many were needed in a single room. The other helpers all seemed to have very professional miens, and Rainbow tried to emulate their expressions, only to feel like she was pulling her muzzle too taut. Maybe the natural look was the best thing for her.

When she saw Celestia—or rather, when Celestia saw her—there was a moment of silence, followed by Celestia hurriedly beckoning her and Luna over. Rainbow turned to Luna for deference. She didn't even think about it, Luna was her master and told her what to do, not Celestia. That was her automatic response in the moment, despite any preconceived notion that she should obey any princess. So it was that only when Luna nodded at her did she step over to Celestia along with Luna, the three of them facing away from the nobles, standing in the corner of the room.

"Rainbow Dash?" Celestia whisper-hissed, brows furrowed. "What's the meaning of this? Why are you dressed up as a maid?" Celestia quickly turned to Luna, a little more bite in her tone. "I swear, sister, if this is another of your pranks..."

The idea of Luna being a prankster made Rainbow Dash smile. Had Nightmare Night really influenced her that much?

"Tis not a prank, Celestia, merely a result of happenstance. Rainbow Dash crashed into my bedroom last night, completely destroying most of the furniture."

"My stars, are you both okay?" Celestia interjected, eyes wide in worry.

"We are both fine. Rainbow came off with nary a mark, the only casualty was my interior design. Rainbow wished to serve me for a small while to make amends for her mistake, she was quite insistent about it." Rainbow added a nod to this, if only to bolster Luna's statement, as Celestia blinked, taking everything in. "As such, she will be acting as my personal maid for the coming days, and that includes her presence at this meeting."

"But, Luna, with the nobles here?" Celestia whispered, clearly unable to anticipate this turn of events, even with all of her wisdom. "Rainbow Dash, are you alright with this?"

"My princess' satisfaction is all I'm concerned with," Rainbow responded with a smile.

"That doesn't sound at all like you, Rainbow." Celestia deadpanned.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but snicker, but she managed to keep her laughter in check. Luna, however, didn't, letting loose a full chuckle. "She plays the part rather well, doesn't she?"

Celestia took another look at Rainbow, dressed in full atire, standing straight and to attention. "Almost frightfully so..." She looked between the two of them, likely noticing that Luna's eyes lingered on Rainbow longer than anything else, and a wry grin began to appear on her face. "I'm glad you managed to find a good match, sister." Before Rainbow or Luna could say anything in response, she raised a hoof. "For the maid position, that is."

"A-ah, yes." Luna panicked in vocal form, seeming as if she was putting genuine effort into not perspiring. "Quite. Now, we should probably proceed. The nobles are going to begin questioning why we're all huddled together like this."

With a nod, they broke away, and Celestia addressed the council. For all of Rainbow Dash's attempts to pay attention to what they discussed, a lot of it she either didn't know about, understand with lack of context, or care about. The dynamic was pretty easy to pick up on, however. Celestia would play the calm and reasonable yin to Luna's direct, tempestuous yang, while the nobles repeatedly attempted to one up or undermine the pair of them. The whole thing was a power play, and because of that, Rainbow began to understand the significance of bringing her specifically to the meeting.

For a few minutes, she wasn't asked to do anything, but at one point, she was forced to zone back in at the call of her name. "Rainbow Dash. Please prepare a pot of tea," came Luna's call, direct and powerful.

"Yes, my princess." Rainbow said with an incline of her neck, and at once, there were hushed whispers from the council on the other side of the table.

As Rainbow set about boiling a kettle to the side of the room, a noble spoke up. "I'm sorry, princess, but are we to understand that you have an Element of Harmony under your employ?"

"You are indeed," Luna replied as Rainbow began to set a try with cream, sugar, and biscuits. "The Elements of Harmony understand what it is to contribute to Equestria and assist its rulers without attempting to undermine them, as well as being respectful enough to offer assistance wherever it is needed. It is a lesson you all could do to take into account."

Rainbow Dash grinned when she was sure no one else was looking. What a burn. Apparently, Celestia found it rather humorous as well, and didn't even bother to hide that fact.

When Rainbow returned and began pouring drinks, Luna patted her withers as thanks, giving her mane a light brush. "Thank you, my faithful servant." She spoke, the nobles looking on in shock as Rainbow twisted into the show of affection without even meaning to.

When Rainbow realised what she was doing, she had to fight to keep her cheeks from visibly heating up. It was humiliating, almost, to be brought down to this level before so many high-class ponies... but a part of her loved it. She didn't even find it degrading, not entirely, more like a show of endearment on Luna's part, and a more devious, wanting part of her mind wished to pay Luna back however she could for helping her to realise that.

So it was that Rainbow may have spoken out of turn. She wasn't entirely sure of the protocol, but she tried it anyways in hope that it would pay off. "Is there anything else that you require, princess?" she said, her tone measured and respectful, hoping she hadn't just committed some major faux pas by assuming that Luna wanted more, or interrupting the flow of the meeting's conversation.

"Hmm..." Luna deliberated, holding a hoof up to pause the nobles who looked as if they quite wanted to resume speaking. She tapped a hoof against her chin from where she sat, her eyes finally lighting up. "Yes, my hind hooves are a little uncomfortable, now that you mention it."

Rainbow knew how to take initiative, she could make a simple suggestion. "In that case, would you like me to get you a pillow?"

"As a matter of fact, I'd much prefer a hoof rub," Luna smirked, looking as if she was reveling in this moment far too much. The look of shock on each noble's face was palpable. Even Celestia appeared rather taken aback by this suggestion, made so casually on Luna's behalf.

Rainbow could only hope that those looks weren't too easy to differentiate from her visible excitement. "A-as you wish, princess." She was trying not to bite her lip too much, but she couldn't help it. It almost felt like she was being objectified for Luna's amusement at this point, or like she was there to make some statement against the nobles, and that only made it more exciting. Rainbow sat on her haunches, shifting forwards, still in plain view of the entire room as Luna pushed her hind legs out to give Rainbow easier access.

Luna seemed to almost purr when Rainbow pressed a hoof against her calf, then two, shifting them down to her hoof and beginning to softly rub as ordained. She swirled around the fetlock slowly before moving to the tip of the hoof and working back up, a tiny iota of professionalism barely keeping her from taking revenge on Luna for tickling her hooves with those towels only a night before.

"R-right, where were we..." Luna resumed in her conversation, but her speech was often interrupted by small pants and grunts of appreciation as Rainbow worked the knots out of her. Plenty of time spent in the Wonderbolts had taught her the basics of sports massage, and she could feel the tension in Luna as she continued to work on her hooves. Without asking, she began to trail up her hind legs, not going so high as to do something completely inappropriate, but still high enough that she could hear the pace of Luna's breath deliciously increasing.

"Princess, this is outrageous!" one of the nobles asserted, sitting straight up and pointing at the scene as it continued to unravel. "You're toying with one of the saviours of Equestria, and for what, just to show us that you're the dominant power here? It's despicable, in all honesty, and I feel sorry for this Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow's ears pricked at this, and she had to keep herself from growling. How dare he assume whose hooves she did or didn't want to rub?! As if sensing her annoyance, Luna spoke up, a hint of joviality to her tone. "Well, considering that you seem so convinced, how about we ask? Rainbow Dash, please tell Councilman Rose just how you feel about your current situation."

Rainbow stopped for a moment, letting go of Luna and turning to face him with a smile. "I'm happy to serve my princess." she answered honestly and plainly.

"No, drop the pretense. Say what you wish to say."

A wide smile appeared on Rainbow's face. "I fricking love doing this."

There were gasps all around the room, and Rainbow delighted in them, going back to the job at hoof with even more vigor than before. Celestia's smile was ever-present, warmer than her sun, and Luna's small noises of appreciation were a sweet serenade playing on Rainbow's ears as the meeting ran its course.

Honestly, she couldn't have been any happier in that moment if she had tried.