Applejack was sitting at a table on the patio under the shade of a large tree. It was midafternoon when he arrived at the restaurant and was soon escorted to the table by a mare wearing a rather form-fitting black dress. She set him down at the table and brought over three crystalline goblets tinted a faint shade of blue, in which she poured some water before leaving. Now she was returning to the table with a basket of fresh bread and some butter. Noticing how two seats were still empty, the waitress bowed politely and left Applejack alone.

The farmer pony fidgeted with his collar and pushed the coattails out from under him before settling himself back down. Rainbow Blitz was supposed to have been there five minutes early, and he wondered what was taking the pegasus so long; he may have been lazy, but never so lazy he’d miss an appointment time, especially for something so important as this. Applejack looked around to see the patio was nearly empty and he didn’t recognize anypony inside the restaurant’s main building, so he sipped his water and pulled out a piece of bread, hoping the chewing would ease his nerves.

It wasn’t long before Rainbow Blitz arrived. Blitz was in his own suit that matched Applejack’s except it was colored dark blue with gold trim and a single pocket up front. Even Applejack had to admit that Elusive certainly knew how to bring out the form of a pony with his work; Blitz seemed to glide along the ground even though it was quite clear that he was trotting and his hooves were touching the ground.

Next to Blitz was Dusk Shine himself. The unicorn seemed unaware of Applejack staring at him as they walked closer. In almost stark contrast to Blitz and Applejack, Dusk Shine simply had a simple vest in a darker purple than his fur with a white collar and black bowtie; his flank and below was exposed. Applejack tried hard not to stare at the stallion’s flank waving side to side as he approached and tried instead to focus on Blitz’s suit, but it was no use. Instead, he found it easier to stare at Dusk Shine’s eyes, almost as attractive but nowhere near as perverted.

Blitz and Dusk walked into the building and spoke with the waitress for a minute before the mare led them outside the building and over to where Applejack was sitting, half a loaf of bread already eaten. Applejack took a hoof and brushed the bread crumbs off himself and off the table as he smiled politely.

“You’re late, Blitz,” he said.

“Sorry about that,” Blitz said, sitting at the seat next to Applejack. “There was a little situation at the library regarding Barb.”

“He’s on his way to Bubble Berry’s right now, though,” Dusk Shine said, heading into the remaining seat facing Applejack. “So I have the evening free until I pick him up. Have you ordered yet?”

“I’ve been waitin’ for you two to show up,” Applejack replied, opening his menu and looking at the various selections. “With how long it was taking Blitz to finish, I didn’t know if I’d be done by the time you got here.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to wait,” Blitz said. “However, I suppose this means we’re all good with a round of wine?”

Applejack slowly looked up and glared at Blitz. He’d already had that problem with him once and wasn’t going to go through with it again. But before he could tell him this, Dusk Shine piped up.

“There’s an apple fruit wine at this place that’s sweet and bubbly. Normally, I’m opposed to drinking so early, but I suppose what’s a round of alcohol among friends, right Applejack?”

Applejack both swallowed his nerves and swallowed for real. “Of course,” he said. “Apple fruit wine, huh? Never knew it existed.”

“Really?” Dusk Shine said, sounding amused. “I would have thought you’d known given your apple expertise.”

“Not really,” Applejack said, feeling his cheeks get hot. “I mean, I know some of the things you do with apples, but we all have our specialties at Sweet Apple Acres, ya see? I’m in charge of plantin’ and harvestin’. Grandpa Smith is in charge of the culinary aspects. Now, if alcohol is your thing, talk to Red Gala.”

“Oh, really?” Dusk Shine said, leaning forward onto the table and genuinely sounding interested. “I never knew that. Must be rather efficient that way. How is little Applebuck doing, by the way? Does he have a specialty?”

“I don’t know, to be rightly honest,” Applejack said. “He’s been an odd duck ever since he managed to start workin’. He’s Red Gala’s biggest help during the cider season, is learnin’ to buck properly and can almost do as much as I can, but is on par with Grandpa Smith for makin’ Zap Apple Jam.”

Dusk Shine laughed. “You know, I thought I saw him at the library the other day checking out a few books on cooking. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts spending more time in the kitchen trying to get a cooking cutie mark for himself.”

Applejack laughed politely.

A unicorn waitress came around. “Will there be anything to drink for you this evening?” she asked.

“Can we get one bottle of the apple fruit wine?” Dusk Shine asked.

The waitress pulled out a notebook and wrote the order down. “And how many glasses will there be this evening? Three?”

“Just two, actually,” Blitz spoke up. “I’m due for work in Cloudsdale this evening and I can’t show up with alcohol in the system.” He motioned to Applejack and Dusk Shine. “I’m sure these two won’t mind splitting the bottle.”

“Of course not,” Dusk Shine replied. “What about you, Applejack? Is that okay?”

No! Solaris damn you, Blitz, stop tryin’ to get me drunk! “Of course. I mean, I would be okay with that.”

The waitress nodded. “I’ll return in a minute with your bottle of wine and take your order.”

“So, are you goin’ to enter the conversation anytime, Blitz?” Applejack asked as the waitress left.

“I would,” Blitz said with a strange smile that seemed cocked to one side. “But it seems that Dusk Shine here is taking the words right out of my mouth. Well, it’d be rude for me to interrupt if that’s the case, isn’t it? Certainly not proper manners for a gentlecolt.”

“He’s right about that,” Dusk Shine said. “Besides, it’s been a while since we two got to talk. You’ve been busy with work on the farm, I’ve had work for Prince Solaris to do. Where were you at the party about a week ago? I thought I saw you there for a minute and you just left.”

Applejack gulped. “I was drunk.”

Dusk Shine looked concerned. “You’re not normally a big drinker are you?”

“No, not normally. But the stress of the whole thing got to me that night and I figured I could use a few to calm down. I ended up goin’ overboard and Blitz here had to take me home.” He also got me drunk and coerced me into tellin’ me about my crush over you! But Applejack said no more. He merely shot a dirty look at Blitz.

Rainbow Blitz acted as though he was too interested in looking at his menu to notice. As a result, Dusk Shine didn’t notice it either.

The waitress came around with the bottle of wine and two glasses. Dusk Shine poured a glass for himself and for Applejack as they ordered and soon the waitress left. Dusk Shine and Applejack toasted each other (without magic, Applejack later noted) with their glasses while Blitz joined in with his water goblet, though Applejack didn’t speak. He took a tiny taste of the wine; it was sweet and fizzy, rather like a stronger cider.

“So, are you going to need any help this coming Applebuck season?” Dusk Shine asked, breaking the silence.

“I think we got it covered,” Applejack said. “Looks to be a fairly standard year this year and Red Gala isn’t injured so we got enough hooves. Thank you for the offer, though, and I’ll be sure to call you if anythin’ changes.”

“You know I got your back, Applejack. I mean, what are friends for?”

‘Friends’… I haven’t even asked but I already have doubts. Well, I suppose it’s like what Rainbow Blitz said: what’s the worst he can say?

“Um, Dusk?”

“Yeah, AJ?”

Applejack gulped. “I… I’ve been doin’ some thinkin’ recently. And… I was kind of wondering if you might be free a week from now.”

“I’ll check my schedule, but I’m sure it’ll be free. What were you thinking of doing?”

“I was just thinkin’ of us goin’ on a little picnic. It… it would b-be to one of my favorite spots in the orchard.”

“You mean us three, or do you mean to include the others, too?”

“I-I actually was thinkin’… of j-just us t-two.”

Dusk nearly dropped his wine glass. “Applejack… w-what exactly are you trying to tell me?”

“I… I like you. A lot.”

Dusk Shine seemed to ease up a little. “I like you, too, Applejack. I mean, we are really close friends.”

“I mean… I like you more than that. I want to go on the picnic to be alone. With you. Alone. Nopony else.”

“Applejack… why don’t you just tell me straight out what you want.”

“Would you join me on a date?”

A waitress set three plates of food at their table. Another refilled some water glasses. The bread basket was changed with a new cloth and another loaf of fresh-baked bread, a small trail of steam wafting up into the increasingly-orange sky.

I do believe that is the most straightforward, to-the-point thing he’s ever said since the date of the party, Blitz said to himself.

Dusk Shine looked flabbergasted. “I…”

Applejack looked expectantly at Dusk Shine.

“…I don’t know.”

That’s not ‘no’… “What?”

“I said I don’t know.”

That’s not a ‘yes’, either… “What do you mean, you don’t know?” Applejack suddenly burst out, causing Rainbow Blitz to nearly jump out of his chair. “You’re the knowingest pony in the entirety of Ponyville! There ain’t one pony here that knows more than you do! How can you say you don’t know!?”

“Because I don’t!” Dusk Shine shouted. He took a few deep breaths while Applejack was recoiling and eventually started again, though much calmer. “This isn’t something that can just be answered by looking it up in a book. Applejack, I understand you like me and I like you, too, but I came from Canterlot, and let me tell you, this sort of thing is not entirely approved of. I haven’t been down here very long so maybe traditions or ways of thinking are different, but… I don’t know.”

“Well, you said you like me. We don’t have to go too much further than that now. Just, just the picnic with me and you and without anypony else would be okay.”

“You can’t just go to that that easily, Applejack. I can’t just tell myself ‘Oh, it’s just a friendly thing, now. That makes it all better.’ Relationships don’t work that way. If I were to say ‘yes’ and go with you as just a friendly encounter, I would constantly have it in the back of my mind that you once tried to get me to go with you to do that based on the fact you wanted to have a date with me.”

Applejack averted his eyes. Blitz was eating but seemed to be paying more attention to Applejack or Dusk Shine than to his own food.

Dusk Shine sighed. “How long ago was it?”

“How long ago was what?” Applejack’s voice was barely above a murmur.

“How long ago did you first think of it?”

“…since you first came to town. You were smart but didn’t show it off. You appreciated the value of hard work. And… well, there were other things…”

“‘Other things’?”

“I’d rather not say at this point.”

Dusk Shine sighed. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can stay here any longer.” He got up from the table. “Blitz can take my meal to-go, since he’s a big eater at times. I’m sorry, I just didn’t think…” He didn’t say any more. Dusk Shine quietly left the patio, left the restaurant, and trotted back down the road towards the library.

Blitz watched Dusk Shine leave. “That certainly wasn’t a ‘no’…” he said.

An orange hoof rocketed out of nowhere and landed square on Blitz’s cheek. The pegasus didn’t even have time to adjust himself and fell backwards out of the chair, falling hard on the cement patio. His first reaction was to check for bleeding and he quickly put a hoof to his cheek, satisfied to find there was no blood on it and no pain from trying to move his limbs. He then looked towards Applejack, who was red in the face and he knew it wasn’t from the wine. “What the hell was that for?”

“I thought you said it’d work!” Applejack shouted, standing over him. “I thought you said the worst he could say was ‘no’, and instead he says ‘I don’t know’, states how he’s feelin’ uncomfortable, and runs off!”

“You fully expected me to know exactly how Dusk was going to respond?”

“Have you had another reaction like that before?”

“No!” Blitz said, picking himself up. “Then again,” he said sheepishly, “it’s never been with another stallion before. It’s always been towards mares.”

“And you thought it’d be the same?”

“I don’t know! I just figured confessing your love for a stallion would be like that of a mare! You asked me to help you out, Applejack, and I’m trying to help you out in a way that I know how.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem to be workin’ out very well, does it? Brilliant job, Rainbow Blitz. You’ve gone and fucked up what may have been my one chance to tell him.”

“It’s not your only chance!” Blitz said. “There are more days!”

“It ain’t gonna be the same now that he knows! I can’t just invite him to things as a friend anymore! Hell, we could all be invited to the Crystal Empire for somethin’ and me and him wouldn’t be able to sit in the same train car without feelin’ awkward!”

“Think of it this way: you didn’t tell him you were constantly thinking about his ass.”

“Damn me saying something about his ass, Blitz! I might not have said anythin’ but you can bet that from now on he’s gonna be suspectin’ it. That’s where relationships of this sort usually go, isn’t it? Look at Mandolin and Sucre – or better yet, listen to ‘em!”

“Applejack,” Blitz growled, “get a hold of yourself. It doesn’t have to be that way.” Blitz’s voice hushed as he continued. “Sure, maybe it implies it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t subvert that. Think about it this way: you are practical. What, in your right mind, would justify fucking another stallion as being practical?”

Applejack took a step backwards and looked at Blitz in shock.

“If Dusk realizes this,” Blitz said, “you have another chance.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then he’s clearly not the logical stallion we knew him to be. Leave it to me. Let me be the arbiter between you two and try to talk some sense into him.”

Applejack looked warily at Blitz. I suppose he’s the only chance I got now…

* * *

It was almost night when Rainbow Blitz arrived at Elusive’s boutique. The sign next to the door said ‘Closed. Come Back Tomorrow’ and the inside looked dark as though closed up for the evening. Rainbow Blitz still knocked on the door of the boutique and waited.

It wasn’t long before a light appeared in the window and the shape of a unicorn stallion could be seen coming down the stairs. Shortly afterwards, a blue eye peeked in the window, disappearing only to reappear with the rest of the stallion as Elusive opened the door, wearing a deep purple robe tied just above his flank with a sky-blue linen belt.

“Is Silver Bell with you tonight?” Rainbow Blitz asked.

“He’s with our parents for the next two weeks,” Elusive said, stepping aside. “Come on in.”

Rainbow Blitz entered the boutiques lower floor. Elusive closed the door and locked it shut behind him as Blitz headed for a nearby changing room. He pulled off the suit, being careful not to wrinkle it.

“So, how did things go this afternoon?” Elusive asked from outside.

“Not very well, I must say,” Blitz replied. He adjusted the suit before folding it neatly; Elusive would take care of the finer storage details later. “Applejack spat it out, but Dusk Shine was, shall we say, an anomaly.”

“Such big words, Rainbow Blitz,” Elusive said. “Perhaps Dusk Shine’s influence is rubbing off on you.”

“Perhaps,” Blitz said thoughtfully, picking up the suit and leaving the changing room. Elusive took it in his aura and placed it carefully on a nearby table as Blitz continued. “Anyway, I’ll make things short. There was some small talk, Dusk ordered wine, Applejack spat it out, and Dusk Shine got so uncomfortable he left.”

“Oh, dear,” Elusive said, coming close and bringing a hoof around Blitz’s shoulders. “I really would have thought it would have worked out between those two.”

“Well, Applejack isn’t exactly the most poetic,” Blitz said. “If he was a little better with words, I think there might have been a better reception.”

“At least one that wasn’t so ambiguous, I’m guessing.”

Blitz nodded. “Something like that.”

Elusive suddenly backed off.

“What is it?”

“You’re shaking, darling. Aside from that, you’re speaking relatively fast and you seem to be distracted. Is there something wrong?”

“I’m stressed.”

Elusive nodded. He put his hoof around Blitz’s shoulders again and gently guided him towards the stairs. To his own surprise, Blitz didn’t resist it and let Elusive lead him up. “Please, darling, tell me everything. I don’t know what I could possibly do to help, but I at least can provide a listening ear.”

Blitz nodded. “Well, I agreed to try and mitigate things between Applejack and Dusk Shine. I have to go over to Dusk Shine’s in a few days and info— Aren’t we going to the tea room or parlor or whatever it is?” Blitz asked as Elusive led him past the normal room.

“Not tonight, darling. The parlor is a space of openness, a space where it all can be let out. Tonight, we’re going somewhere a bit more… private. Tonight is just between me and you. No conversation that takes place here shall leave.”

“I don’t quite follow you, but okay.”

Elusive led Blitz into a door at the far end of the hallway. Blitz walked in and noticed the place was dimly lit by oil lamps in the room’s corners. A large window was covered in deep purple drapes, and a four-poster bed with rich red fabric sheets drawn back stood against the far wall. Elusive took off his robe and pulled up a chair near the bed and sat in it, motioning for Blitz to sit on the bed. Blitz hopped on the bed and settled himself in, staring at Elusive’s blue eyes that seemed to glow and glitter even in the darkness of the room.

“Go on, dear,” Elusive said, waving a hoof for Blitz to continue. “You said you were going to go over to Dusk Shine’s and…?”

Blitz had to almost tear himself away in order to speak. “Right. I was going to go over to Dusk Shine’s and inform him that Applejack didn’t mean to come off to blunt and to see if he’ll give him a second try. Afterwards, if he agrees, I need to try and set up a few little events that wouldn’t seem so much like dates but just those two getting together.”

“Did Dusk Shine seem receptive at all to Applejack’s advances?”

“M-Mildly.” Blitz found his eyes trailing downwards to Elusive’s tail, gently swishing next to the pure white of his legs. “After Applejack said he liked him, D-Dusk said he liked Applejack in return but that things were a little… uncomfortable after saying that. It wasn’t like he was r-rejecting him, but like he was just t-trying to sort things out. L-Like it was a new experience.”

“Well,” Elusive replied calmly, “it’s not often that a stallion tells another stallion he likes him. Normally this sort of thing is kept quiet, behind closed doors. And I must agree that Applejack can be a bit blunt at times.”

“So, what do you plan to do?”

“Follow the advice you gave me earlier,” Blitz said. “Start with respect and move on from there.”

“Not entirely an easy task ahead of you, you know.”

“That’s why I’m stressed. I think I may have gotten into more than I could handle.”

Blitz registered it as almost a blink before Elusive was at his side on the bed. “Don’t you worry. You’re the Element of Loyalty, Blitz. It may seem like a lot of work right now, but I’m sure that you’d do anything you could to help your friend.”

Elusive slowly raised his hoof to stroke Blitz’s cheek. There was the soft sensation of Elusive’s coat on his cheek, followed by a tingling sensation that froze Blitz in place as he slowly moved the hoof back and down his neck. Move, damn you! “That is one of the things I’ve adored about you so much,” Elusive said in a soft voice. “Even when we’re at our worst, your Loyalty always finds a way to bring you around again…”

“Elusive…” Blitz said, feeling himself shaking and his heart racing in his ears as he continued staring at Elusive’s half-lidded blue eyes staring back at him. “What… what are you doing?” Come on, Blitz! Move!

“Oh, hush, Blitz, darling,” Elusive said, putting a hoof to Blitz’s mouth. “Consider this me giving something back to you for your loyalty all these years.”

It came without warning. Elusive’s hoof slowly drew around Blitz’s shoulders and pulled him close and Blitz found himself chest to chest and mouth to mouth with the unicorn. Blitz’s panicked and tried to scream, but it was muffled by Elusive’s mouth against his. Elusive’s touch was soft and gentle and soon Blitz couldn’t even scream. He felt so confused. His body was leaning closer to Elusive’s as the stallion put his other hoof around him, but his heart was still racing and his brain was still panicking and the entire rest of his body except for his head was still shaking.

And then he felt it.

Elusive broke the kiss just long enough for Blitz to scream. “Get it off get it off get it off get it off!”

“What is it, Blitzy?” Elusive slightly moaned.

“You’re touching me…” Blitz whimpered.

“Of course I am. We kissed not too long ago, and if I recall you leaned into it. And I managed to find that exact spot on your back that relaxed you long enough to settle down.”

“Not there you f— dolt!”

Elusive raised an eyebrow. “Did my Blitzy just restrain himself from swearing?”

“This isn’t supposed to be happening!”

“Your mouth is saying ‘no’.” Elusive pointed a hoof down between them. “Your body is saying ‘yes’.”

Blitz looked down. He stared at the sight for a while before bringing his eyes back up to face Elusive.

“How do you feel about it now?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” Oh, the irony…

Elusive let himself sit there for a while, not doing anything. Blitz’s heart slowed down but was still beating fast. He tried taking a few deep breaths, hearing Elusive gently coo at him things he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to understand. He closed his eyes and tried to block it out, but the feeling returned below, the feeling of something warm between his legs and the feeling of something else resting against him.

“Well…?” Elusive asked. “Shall I move?”

To his own horror: “No,” Blitz said. “I… I don’t know…” Blitz suddenly found himself clamping his hooves on either side of Elusive’s mouth and pulling the stallion closer. “Oh, fuck it,” he said, and kissed Elusive rather clumsily, causing them both to fall backwards onto the bed.

Author's Note

Any chance of this getting any lower a rating has been sent to the moon.

I don't know how to write clop...