What Brings Us Together

Chapters

A Friendly Lunch
The Guest (updated to v2)
The Night Before (updated v2)
At the Party
The Visitors, part one
The Visitors, part two
Trouble on the Farm
Family
Prologue

A Friendly Lunch

A bright purple glow enveloped the thin strip of cyan cloth as it levitated up from the pillow. A multi-colored tassel fluttered behind the cloth as it dutifully slid into place between the pages of the book. Rainbow Dash giggled slightly as the book was shut and floated over to its appropriate spot on the shelf. “I don’t know if I will ever get over seeing that bookmark, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash said as her tiny bit of laughter dissipated.

After she ensured that the book was snugly in its rightful place Twilight released her magical grip from the object. She turned to face Rainbow Dash, “What exactly is so silly about my bookmark?” She asked sternly. No particular hint of amusement was to be found on her visage.

“Oh it just looks a teeny, tiny bit familiar.” Rainbow Dash answered with the barest hint of a sarcastic bite as she maneuvered her front hooves close together, as if squeezing something small, for emphasis. As she lowered her hooves she could make out the beginnings of a smirk on her friend’s face.

“Well, I would hope so.” Twilight said. “I’ll have you know I spent more than a few bits to get that little thing made. I really wanted something special to mark our place when we read together. I can’t think of a better way show how much our time together means than a cute little custom book mark.” Twilight continued as notes of endearment crept into her speech. The smirk on her lips grew to a full grin as she waited for a response.

Rainbow Dash did an admirable job at holding back her laughter at the bookish unicorn’s idea of ‘special.’ “Well, Twi, I can certainly think of more than a few ways to show you how special you are.” With no lack of energy, the pegasus leaned into Twilight’s body. Rainbow Dash slid her head slowly over towards Twilight and carefully nuzzled her neck.

A slight blush breaks out across the unicorn’s cheeks. “Rainbow,” Twilight squeaked as the pegasus nibbled behind her ear, “Cut that out alrea-” She tried to say before she burst out laughing.

“Oh yeah, you are so ticklish right there aren’t you.” Rainbow Dash said playfully, her voice slightly muffled with her muzzle pressed right behind the laughing unicorn’s ear. Rainbow Dash continued her tickling assault until Twilight finally rolled over onto her back, in an attempt to steal the vulnerable spot from her friend’s attack. Rainbow was quick to let the ear slip from her grasp as Twilight had fallen right into her trap. In her fit of laughter the unicorn had given Rainbow Dash full access to her most vulnerable weak point. Two cyan hooves pounced on the lavender tummy with expert precision, a tactic honed through hours of practice, and with just their front tips squirmed across the exposed area with a touch that Twilight could nearly mistake for a feather.

“Ahh, you tricked me.” Twilight managed to spurt out between rigorous fits of laughter. The tickle assault seemed to last an eternity to the unicorn. Finally the cyan hooves ceased their attack and retreated to the neutral zone of the bed. Her respite finally earned, Twilight rolled over and sat back up to face her grinning attacker. “I swear you can be so evil sometimes Rainbow Dash.” She said with a slightly exasperated tone, her lungs obviously still recovering from the minutes of non-stop laughter.

Rainbow Dash leaned her head forward a bit, “Oh you know you love it,” she reached a hoof over to poke Twilight in the chest, “Nopony makes a mare happier than Rainbow Dash.” A confident look washes over Rainbow’s face as Twilight starts to giggle.

Twilight finally managed to regain a straight face “Well, be that as it may, it is getting pretty late.”

Looking to the window Rainbow Dash could clearly see the moon had begun it slow journey across the starry sky. “Wow, I can’t believe it’s already so late.” The cyan pegasus remarked, a hint of disappointment tucked away in her tone. “I guess I should get going if I want to get enough sleep for tomorrow.”

“I thought you were going to stay over here tonight.” Twilight quickly replied. Rainbow Dash visibly perked up at the presented notion, “You always stay over the night before our group lunch.”

A bit of embarrassment slipped through Rainbow Dash’s mind, “Oh was that tomorrow?” she asked shyly.

Rainbow Dash was terrible at hiding her surprise Twilight thought before responding, “We’ve been doing this for months now on the same day every week, Rainbow. How do you manage to forget that half the time?” There was a twinge of disappointment in her voice.

Crossing her forelegs in front of herself, “Hey you know I’m not that great with remembering routines.” Rainbow Dash argued.

“You seem to show up here every day after work just fine.” Twilight responded dryly. A bit of irritation showed on Rainbow Dash’s face as Twilight began her verbal list, “You also do not seem to have any trouble remembering your flight routines,” She continued, with extra emphasis on that word, “Nor do you forget to preen your wings every day,” She briefly switched to a sultry tone, “And might I add just how cute you are when you do that.” Rainbow’s wings flared out as the sultry voice took root only to swiftly droop down once the rant continued. Moments turned into minutes as Twilight listed off one thing after another to disprove her friend’s statement. After what seemed like an eternity to Rainbow Dash, Twilight finally finished her speech and took a nice deep breath. The cool relief of silence wafted through Rainbow’s ears for naught but a moment when a sudden knocking on the bedroom door interrupted the event.

“Hey, Twilight, Rainbow, if you two are done reading you should come get some dinner. I made you some grilled tulip and daisy sandwiches with a chrysanthemum and tomato soup.” Spike said cheerfully through the closed door. “If you wait too long it will all get cold and I am not warming it up for you this time.” He added with a bit of a huffy tone before his footsteps could be heard descending the stairs.

The two ponies looked at each other for a few silent moments before they simultaneously exclaimed, “Well I guess we can finish this later.” Another brief pause preceded their laughter at the unlikely coincidence. The two wasted no more time as they headed down stairs towards the kitchen.

As the decidedly hungry pair arrived at the table where Spike had prepared their meal the delicious scents of the little dragon’s labors overcame their senses to evoke a typical pavlovian response. “This looks incredible, Spike,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “Where did you learn to make such awesome food?” she asked as she tried not to drool.

A smug look overtakes the young dragon, “Oh, I’ve just been training with the most amazing chef in Equestria.”

“Is that why you’ve been spending a bit longer on your official visits to Canterlot recently?” Twilight asked, intrigued that her assistant would go to such lengths just to learn how to cook better.

“What? No way, that’s only because Princess Luna has been asking me more questions than usual.” Spike responded, shocked that Twilight could so grossly misinterpret what he said. “Rarity has been teaching me some of her recipes.” He stated, as though it was obvious from the start.

A surprised look comes over Rainbow Dash and Twilight’s faces. “Oh wow, I never took Rarity for a chef,” Rainbow Dash said, “Cooking is always so messy I thought she just ate at restaurants all the time.” Rainbow could not help but imagine Rarity fussing about in a kitchen making a mess everywhere. A giggle managed to escape her lips.

“Rainbow, not everypony makes as big a mess as Pinkie Pie when cooking.” Twilight stated matter-of-factly. “I’ll have you know unicorns can make cooking a very neat and tidy process.”

“Yeah, it also helps if you got a pair of these bad boys.” Spike chimed in as he held up his hands and wiggled his claws a bit.

“Oh, well yeah I guess that makes sense.” Rainbow Dash said with disappointment knowing that she would likely never catch Rarity in a kitchen fiasco unless Sweetie Bell was involved. Her thoughts paused as she pondered that last point. Suddenly she wasn’t quite as disappointed anymore. She would have to remember that idea the next time she was out pulling pranks with Pinkie Pie.

The time for chatter had ended as Twilight magically enveloped the two sandwiches and lifted them to her and Rainbow Dash’s mouths respectively. “Gee, Twilight, you really know how to pamper a pony.” Rainbow Dash said as she took a rather large bite of floating sandwich.

With naught but a smile, Twilight ate her own food, though in a comparatively more refined fashion than either of her two dining companions. Spike was far too busy shoveling a bowl full of gems into his mouth to make further conversation and Rainbow Dash was eating like she was in a contest. And so the three friends ate in silence of word.

“So, Twilight, did you get that bed fixed yet?” Rainbow Dash inquired.

“You broke it yesterday when you crashed through the window, remember.” Twilight replied dryly, as she turned to look at the shattered mess of splinters and sheets in the corner of her bedroom. “So no, I haven’t fixed it yet.” If Rainbow Dash’s self-control had been any less amazingly, awesome she likely would have been shouting in excitement. After all, it wasn’t like she meant to crash through Twilight’s bedroom window. Also, she had totally not aimed right for Twilight’s guest bed in hopes of breaking it so she could sleep in Twilight’s bed when she slept over for the night. Rainbow Dash had especially not done this on purpose the day before her friends’ weekly lunch when Rainbow always slept over at Twilight’s place. Nope, she would never do that on purpose. Admittedly, it was a pretty lucky aim on her part, not that she had been aiming. Twilight sighed, “I guess we will have to share my bed Rainbow. I’m sorry if it’s a bit small.”

“Oh woe is me, being forced to share such a tiny bed with a gorgeous unicorn.” Rainbow Dash cried in an attempted tone of regret as she quickly tried to force her face into a look of disappointment. It didn’t work. Rainbow Dash flung her fore leg over her face trying to mimic Rarity when she was being dramatic. “How will we possibly be comfortable so close together.” she continued.

Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash for a few moments as she attempted to process the sheer amount of failed Rarity-esque drama going on in front of her. “Rainbow, are you trying to make this awkward?” she asked bluntly.

As she had already grown tired of her own poor attempts, Rainbow Dash let her hoof down and looked Twilight right in her big, magical, violet eyes. “Twi, do you think that, maybe, we could try…” Rainbow Dash trailed off, unsure if she wanted to finish her request. Rainbow Dash may be self-centered at times, but she was not about to push her friend into an uncomfortable situation.

“I’d rather we didn’t.” Twilight replied, sounding somewhat unsure of her decision. “You did say you wanted to get enough sleep for tomorrow, right.” She added, in a swift attempt to justify her choice.

“Yeah I did say that.” Rainbow Dash responded, both visibly and acoustically deflating. “You know, just forget I said anything.”

“Come on Rainbow, you have all day off tomorrow. I’m sure we can work something out then.” Twilight teased, attempting to cheer up the glum pegasus.

“You always say that and the best that happens is me getting a wing massage.” Rainbow Dash responded dejectedly.

“That’s right, and you never give me a massage, so I don’t see how that works out fair.” Twilight responded in a huff. The unhappy unicorn trotted over and slipped into her bed, making sure to hog all the covers to leave no doubt where the pegasus would be sleeping tonight.

Rainbow Dash was in complete shock. She was the most superultraextremeawesomazing pegasus in Ponyville, no, in all of Equestria. How could she have possibly said something so dumb? “Fine, the floor is warmer than your chilly flank anyway.” Rainbow snapped, not helping her case in the slightest.

“Well then have a good night.” Twilight quipped sarcastically before digging her head deeper into her pillow. Neither pony slept very well that night.

Twilight awoke that morning to the sensation of being poked in back, repeatedly. The relentless cyan hoof was slowly poking the lavender unicorn. “Rainbow, what are you doing?” Twilight asked, her tone indicated she was not fully awake yet.

“Well, um, we, I mean you need to get up. I know you sleep in sometimes but I don’t want to be late for the group lunch again.” Rainbow Dash answered with a melancholic tone.

“Then why didn’t you just get me up like you always do?” Twilight asked groggily as she sat up, wincing slightly as the bright sunlight poured in through her window.

“I didn’t want do anything that might make you madder.” Rainbow responded with a clear look of dejection in her eyes. The pegasus was desperately hoping she could catch Twilight in a good mood so she could apologize. She knew, from experience, that if she could get that apology in quickly she wouldn’t have to listen to Twilight rant all morning. Some things were just not worth being ‘right’ over.

Twilight sat quietly for a few moments to allow her thoughts time to organize. After she allowed most of the sluggishness to subside as she gradually woke up, the unicorn thought about what Rainbow Dash had just said. “Well I do appreciate your concern for my feelings, Rainbow,” Twilight began, “We both said some mean things last night.”

“I know and I’m sorry. It just seems like every time I bring that up you get all evasive and it really bothers me.” Rainbow Dash said. “I know you were a bit off that day but you did once tell me I didn’t need to hide my feelings from you.” She continued, trying to say everything she could before Twilight interrupted her. “I just wish you would be honest with me. Why won’t you even talk about it with me?” Rainbow Dash asked with a voice burdened with stress.

Twilight turned around to see her friend sitting on the floor by her bed. Dash’s cyan hooves were perched over the edge of Twilight’s bed as though she were hanging from the edge of a cliff. Those magenta eyes stared right at her, further pleading Rainbow Dash’s case. Pangs of guilt struck her heart like an arrow. Twilight hated this feeling. There was only one way out this now, excuses. “There’s nothing to talk about,” she began sheepishly, “I mean do you really think that it’s appropriate to be doing that? I mean what if you lose control? Or even better, you could just plain drop me. I really don’t see how it could possibly be a safe activity.” Twilight continued as she picked up momentum. “Let’s not forget trying to explain those injuries to a doctor or our friends. What would Princess Celestia think if I got hurt doing that? What if I died? The Princess would probably banish you somewhere and-“

Rainbow Dash leapt forward as she reached her hoof out to Twilight’s mouth. The swift placement of the hoof was enough to stop the unicorn’s hyper mouth from spouting any more wild conjectures. “Okay, Twi, I get it. It’s a terrible idea. I’ll never bring it up again.”

Twilight pushed Rainbow Dash’s hoof away, “Rainbow, I-”

“I said forget it.” Rainbow Dash snapped.

Several moments passed in silence. Neither pony could think of what to say next. After what felt like an eternity, Rainbow Dash spoke, “Twi, I need some time… to myself.”

“Rainbow please don’t-” Twilight tried to respond as a wave of guilt washed over her.

“I know I’m interrupting you a lot right now, but please let me finish.” Rainbow’s tone was firm. Twilight nodded silently. “I don’t want to end this, but this whole fight made me realize something.” Rainbow Dash said. “I haven’t spent any time practicing the last seven months that I’ve been coming here. Thinking about that is making me kind of worried. I’ll never be able to get into the Wonderbolts if I spend all my free time reading.” Her mind raced with worry. How would Twilight respond? Please, please, please understand, Twilight. Rainbow Dash thought.

Twilight sighed heavily. She looked at Rainbow Dash and smiled, “Oh, that’s what you were worried about.” The unicorn said with relief. “Rainbow, I was really worried you didn’t want to be with me anymore.”

Rainbow Dash practically leaped forward as she embraced Twilight with her forelegs. “Twilight.” She tried to not to cry, but the stream of tears refused to cooperate.

“It’s fine. Rainbow. I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I kept you from fulfilling your dream.” Twilight cheerfully reciprocated the embrace.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight were walking down the street towards their designated, weekly meeting with their friends. The sun was out on full display with no clouds in sight to dilute the warm, cheer-inducing rays. The street was bustling with ponies of so many different colors a true rainbow might be jealous. Ponies shuffled to and fro as they made their way in and out of the myriad of shops and restaurants that lined the street. On either side one could see the various booths, carts, and stands of different vendors trying to peddle their wares in the open air market. Locals of Ponyville often called this place ‘Business Street’ or the ‘Weekend Market,’ though, like any other street in town, it possessed no official name. Ponyville was large enough to be on a map, but small enough that the residents still navigated their town by landmarks.

As the two friends neared a particular outdoor café Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof towards an empty table, “Hey, Twi, look,” she said enthusiastically, “Nopony else is here yet.”

“You know what that means.” A devious smile grew on Twilight’s face. The two ponies began laughing in manner that was more than a bit unsettling to the surrounding patrons of the restaurant.

“Hey look, Applejack we beat every pony here again.” The bouncing pink bundle of energy cheered.

“Sure looks that way, Pinkie, not that it’s much of a surprise.” The orange earth pony replied.

The two ponies trotted over to a large table at the outdoor café. Before either one could take a seat, two ponies suddenly leapt up from behind the table, “We win this round!" Twilight and Rainbow Dash shouted in unison. Applejack hopped back in surprise while Pinkie Pie simply ignored the whole scene and took her seat. The other patrons, the wait staff, and many passers-by simply stared.

“What in tarnation was that all about?” Applejack asked, her faced show a look of mild irritation.

“We got here first, so we win.” Twilight responded excitedly with a huge grin.

“Goodness, Twilight, I didn’t think you were that competitive. Rainbow must be rubbin’ off on ya.” Applejack straightened up and walked over to sit down next to Pinkie Pie.

A furious blush overcame Twilight, “We don’t do anything of the sort.” She replied quickly as her embarrassment seeped through her every word.

Her friends simply stared at her, utterly confused. Suddenly, Applejack spoke up, “Um, Twi, I think you might have misheard me.”

“Oh,” Twilight responded, somehow blushing even more. “Just, um, forget I said anything then.” She quickly added.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie could no longer keep it together. The two ponies burst out laughing. “Way to be discreet, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash said through bouts of laughter.

“Discreet, huh,” Applejack said with curiosity in her voice, “Seems Twilight’s rubbin’ off on ya, RD.” Applejack grinned smugly.

“Hey, I can use fancy words if I want to.” Rainbow Dash shot back in response, as she and Pinkie finally finished laughing.

“Indeed you can darling, but you simply can’t fault us for not expecting it from you.” Rarity interjected as she approached the table. Fluttershy remained unsurprisingly silent as she followed behind Rarity towards the table. The newest arrivals took their seats as the group of friends exchanged their typical greetings.

“Oh, Rarity you won’t believe what happened today.” Pinkie Pie said with far more excitement than was necessary. “Twilight and Rainbow Dash got here first. First! Can you believe it?” the pink pony exclaimed as she bounced up and down in place.

“Well, well that is quite impressive from our two nocturnal, ‘reading buddies’ was it.” Rarity responded calmly in hopes that nopony would bring up the penalty for showing up last.

“Yeah, that’s right we won. You know what that means don’t you Rarity.” Rainbow Dash said energetically as she leaned over the table in Rarity’s direction. “You and Fluttershy showed up last so you have to buy lunch for me and Twilight.”

“Ah yes, I know, Rainbow. I’m sure you are quite delighted with yourself at this turn of events, but do not expect this to become a regular occurrence.” Rarity responded. She was slightly sour at this turn of events as it meant that she would be bearing the brunt of bill. Fluttershy did not have much income to speak of and what little she had went towards caring for her animals and to meagerly stock her own pantry. The sweet little pegasus went out of her way to save up for this lunch every week, not to mention her weekly spa visit with Rarity, and even then Rarity usually helped cover part of her bill. Generosity was one thing, losing a bet was quite another.

At that moment a white coated pony dressed in a formal white vest and matching cuffs approached the table. His red bow tie was a charming accent to his white attire while his slicked back navy-blue mane and tiny, yet well groomed mustache gave him a definite air of sophistication. “Good afternoon, ladies,” the waiter pony said with his rather fancy accent, “Will you be having the usual, or will somepony be needing a menu?”

“The usual will do just fine, for all of us.” Rarity chimed in while glaring at Rainbow Dash. Rarity knew better than to let Rainbow Dash order when she was the one accountable for the bill. Luckily for her, Rainbow Dash seemed content with this decision. She was really hoping the pegasus wouldn’t try to make up for it with a massive dessert order later.

“Very good, madam.” the waiter pony replied before trotting off to place the order with the kitchen.

“So I guess you two decided to give it a rest early last night.” Rarity quipped, aiming the statement at Twilight and Rainbow Dash in the vain hope of finding out why they showed up so early for once.

“Oh, Rainbow was bit more energetic than I was really ready for last night.” Twilight replied, wanting to keep their little spat from becoming a topic of discussion.

“Oh my, that must have been… nice.” Fluttershy said with a mild blush growing across her cheeks, her soft voice barely loud enough for her friends to hear.

Twilight immediately thought back to their early cuddling and tickling which, to be fair, was quite nice. Without further thought she replied, “Oh it was quite fun, but pretty exhausting at times. You have no idea how delicate Rainbow can be with her hooves.”

The moments passed in silence. Each of her friends were feeling a bit embarrassed, if not a bit aroused at the thoughts being conjured by their imaginations. Suddenly, Twilight realized what she had just said aloud, in public. The embarrassed unicorn quickly glanced around hoping, praying, even begging that nopony beyond her current table had heard that. Every pony at the cafe seemed to have their ears trained in her direction. To her credit, Twilight managed to perform an impeccable impersonation of Fluttershy. A small squeak escaped as Twilight dove head first under the table, desperately wanting to be rid of this embarrassing attention.

Rainbow Dash was feeling very, very conflicted. On one hoof, her reputation was certainly increasing from Twilight’s awkward comments, even it was a massive misunderstanding. After all it can never be a bad thing to be known for a pleasing time in bed. On the other hoof, she knew Twilight was not appreciating the misunderstanding. The only clear option was to step up and single-hoofedly correct the situation before it got out of control. “Hey, it’s not what you think. Twi’s just really ticklish if you know where to rub.”

“You are not helping, Rainbow!” Twilight shouted from under the table.

“Oh goodie, time to eat.” Pinkie Pie exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Your food, madams.” The waiter pony placed their orders onto the table.

“Oh thank goodness, I’m starving.” The lavender unicorn stated as she emerged from under the table. Twilight hoped that the newly arrived nourishment would be a good distraction from that horrid conversation. The six friends, all eager for a diversion, promptly dove into their freshly delivered meals. They chose, and wisely so, to abstain from further conversation whilst they ate.

“You two sure know how to make a scene.” Applejack stated as she noticed her friends had, more or less, finished their meals. “Still, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

“Why’s that?” Twilight asked.

“As embarrassing as that was to watch ya’ll didn’t really say anythin’ anypony in town wasn’t already figurin’ you two were doing.” Applejack replied. She figured it was obvious. The rest of her friends all had their own assumptions about what Twilight and Rainbow Dash did up in the unicorn’s bedroom at night. “Hey, it’s no big secret that ya’ll have been together for over seven months. Ever since Dash’s incident at the hospital she’s been spending more and more time with ya, Twi. Every week her visits seemed to get longer and longer. Then, one day you just moved into your bedroom with the door locked and left Spike to run the library whenever Rainbow showed up.”

“Wait, what does everypony think we’ve been doing?” Twilight asked with a hint of concern. “It’s true I’ve been letting Spike handle the library at night, but that’s only because I was getting tired of being interrupted when Rainbow Dash and I were reading.”

“Everypony thinks you two have been rocking your bed all night.” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

“Oh well I did break Twi’s guest bed the other day.” Rainbow Dash stated. She was not entirely sure what Pinkie was talking about, but breaking a bed certainly seemed close enough to rocking one to be a relevant topic.

“That’s because you crashed into it when you flew through the window.” Twilight snapped, somewhat unsure why Rainbow Dash was bringing that up.

Oops, Rainbow Dash thought, guess that wasn’t right. Maybe Pinkie meant shaking the bed. “Yeah well you do toss and turn a lot. Thankfully your bed doesn’t make any noise when you move around too much.” Rainbow said, confident she was on the right track this time.

Twilight’s face met her hoof. The more time she spent with Rainbow Dash, the more often this meeting seemed to occur. “Rainbow, she means they think we are having sex.” Twilight replied with an irritated tone.

“Oh.” Rainbow replied, surprised she could have missed the mark so badly. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing is wrong with what you two are doing, Twi.” Applejack interjected in the hope that she could prevent Twilight from going off on a rant. “Honestly, I think the only reason anypony even noticed is because of ya’ll’s reputations.”

Not being one to be left out of a conversation, Rarity added her two bits worth. “Applejack has a point darling. If you weren’t such important ponies I really doubt so much of the town would have taken notice.”

“Yeah, you have no idea how many stallions I know are always asking me to set them up with you gals.” Pinkie Pie interjected, completely derailing the conversation.

“Twi and RD seem pretty happy together, I can’t imagine why some dumb colts would want to try and break that up.” Applejack was unsure why Pinkie would bring up something like that.

“What? No no no, they don’t ask me about Twilight or Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie corrected her friend’s obvious mistake.

“Then who are they asking you to get the dates with dear?” Rarity asked. Suddenly this topic had become much more interesting.

“Well, duh. They want to go out with you, and Applejack, and Fluttershy. Oh and me. I’ve gotten some requests too.” Pinkie said as though this was nothing exciting. Her friends seemed rather surprised at this turn of events, however.

“Why in tarnation are they talking to you if they wanna go out with us?” Applejack asked. Applejack was certainly curious that there had been, apparently, several stallions interested in her affections. She had been thinking about finding a nice stallion for herself for a few months now. Seeing how happy Rainbow Dash and Twilight had been since they started dating had made her a bit jealous.

“Really, Applejack?” Pinkie Pie asked, surprised her friend didn’t understand already. “Just think about it you silly filly. Fluttershy doesn’t deal with strangers that well and Rarity is that ‘she’s way out of our league’ pony that they are afraid to ask out. They all seem to think I’m really approachable so they just come to me.”

“And where does that leave me?” Applejack asked, still confused about the whole situation.

“Oh, most of them mention something about your brother being big and scary and making threats when they try to go to Sweet Apple Acres.” Pinkie Pie responded as one hoof tapped on her chin indicating she was really trying hard to remember.

“Big Macintosh is scaring off stallions that want ask me out?” Applejack asked in shock.

Pinkie’s face contorted in thought, “I’m pretty sure that’s what they said.” She sounded less than one hundred percent positive of the truth of her own statement.

“Well that explains why I’ve been having trouble finding a colt-friend. Looks like I need to have a talk with my brother.” Applejack grumbled in frustration.

“Why would anypony want to go out with me?” Fluttershy asked suddenly. “I’m sure I’d be a terrible date.” She shrank down so that nothing below her eyes was visible above the table.

Rarity reached a hoof over to the worried pegasus and slid closer as she held her friend against her body, “Fluttershy, darling, you seem to forget that brief fashion career you had. Stallions are always pining over fashion models. It’s perfectly normal that you would have attracted some attention.” Rarity stated as she looked directly at Fluttershy. Her explanation did not seem to abate any of her friend’s concern.

“Hold on, Pinkie, you said you’ve been asked out a few times.” Rainbow Dash said in an attempt to steer the conversation away from Fluttershy. Sometimes the only way to calm the shy pegasus down was to get the spotlight off her.

“Yes indeedy. Not by anypony I was interested in though, so I just turned them down.” Pinkie Pie replied with a smile and a happy nod of her head.

“You have somepony you want to date?” Rarity asked, almost before Pinkie could finish her sentence.

“Yup.” Pinkie responded with another bob of her head. Her smile grew just a tiny bit wider, or so Rarity thought.

Rarity practically rushed over to the pink pony and placed her hooves on her friend’s shoulders, “Well who is it? You simply can’t leave us in suspense like that darling.” She asked excitedly.

“It’s a secret.” Pinkie replied in her typical cheerful tone. There was not a single change in her expression.

Rarity released her friend and turned around, throwing one hoof over her face, “That is simply not fair, darling. I can’t believe you’d keep that kind of juicy information from your closest friends.” The unicorn said with some of her trademark dramatic flair.

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise for later.” Pinkie responded without skipping a beat.

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked, letting her hoof down.

“No more hints. If you want to find out then you’ll just have to keep reading.” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

“Reading what?” her friend’s ask in unison.

“Oh my gosh, I just had the best idea ever!” Pinkie exclaimed, totally ignoring her friends’ question. “I’ll throw a party for all the single stallions in Ponyville so they can all meet my friends and try to get dates.” The party pony’s smile managed to grow larger than her friends could ever remember seeing before.

“Pinkie, that sounds like a terrible plan.” Twilight said as the pink bundle of energy zipped off to start planning her next party.

The five friends sat in a state that was a strange mix terror and confusion. “We should probably stop her before she can mail out the invitations.” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the silence. The five mares dropped some bits on the table to cover their bill and rushed off in hopes of catching up to Pinkie before things got out of hoof.

The Guest (updated to v2)

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Author's note:
I have republished this chapter because I have made several major edits. Quite a few things have been altered so I encourage my readers to see what has changed. I added some additional embellishments and extra character insights in places. I feel that the story flows better now and should have more of a focus on the mane six instead of having the Doctor hog the spotlight so much like in my first version.

I'm much happier with this version overall and I hope everyone finds it at least as enjoyable as it was before.

As with everything I post, I highly encourage comments, feedback, and constructive criticism.

-Hyzaku

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Pinkie Pie bounded through the door of Sugarcube corner. The wonderful aromas of dozens of sweets and confectionary treats that flooded her senses was normally enough to send her mind into tizzy over what she should have first. At that moment, however, Pinkie was a mare on a mission. It was a very important mission, what could be more important than a party after all, and she was not going to be distracted by those tauntingly tantalizing confections.

“Oh, Pinkie dearie, you got here just in time.” Said, Mrs. Cake. “I just finished a batch of orange-frosted pineapple cupcakes. I tried a new recipe and I was wondering if I could get a few opinions before I try selling them.” The baker mare said with her typical upbeat, yet motherly tone as she milled around behind the counter.

Okay, maybe just one distraction. “Sure thing, Mrs. Cake.” Pinkie Pie chimed excitedly as she zipped off into the kitchen. The pink mare trotted back out a few moments later with bits of orange colored frosting around her lips. “Those were amazing!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I really liked how you baked chunks of pineapple into the batter.”

“Oh well thank you, dearie.” Mrs. Cake replied with a smile. “I’d test them myself, but I’m afraid I’d put on a bit too much weight if I tested everything myself.” She watched her pink friend lick her lips clean of frosting. Good thing she hid the other cupcakes before Pinkie Pie arrived.

“Oh by the way, Mrs. Cake I need your help.” Pinkie said with no real warning. Mrs. Cake stopped her milling about to pay attention. It wasn’t often that Pinkie asked for help that wasn’t party related, so she thought it best to give the mare her full attention. “I need to figure out a way to please over a hundred stallions at once.” Pinkie Pie blurted out.

Mrs. Cake had never blushed that much in her whole life. She knew it was Pinkie Pie and that she had to be talking about something else, but there was no easy way to get that image out of her mind. “Oh dear, I can’t say I’ve ever had to, um, please more than one stallion.” Mrs. Cake said, still quite flustered. At that moment Mr. Cake came walking down the stairs.

“Oh, Mrs. Cake, you don’t have to be so modest,” Pinkie began, “I know you please dozens of stallions every day.”

“Um, honey bunch, what is she talking about?” Mr. Cake interjected, hoping he had misheard something.

“Oh, sugarcake, I really don’t know what she’s talking about.” Mrs. Cake replied as her nervousness gave way to a concerned expression.

“Oh don’t be shy about it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with an unhappy customer.” Pinkie attempted to break up the growing feeling of awkwardness in the room.

“Honey bunch, she is talking about the shop isn’t she?” Mr. Cake asked with a more concerned expression than before.

“Well duh, what else would I be talking about?” Pinkie replied with her usual combination of cheerfulness and sarcasm.

The two bakers breathed a sigh of relief as all became clear. “Oh, of course, dearie.”

“Ok we just need to somehow get to Surgarcube corner before Pinkie can finish her invitations.” Twilight was clearly restating the obvious. The group of friends was dashing through the streets as fast as they could. Their destination was Sugarcube Corner, home to the Cake family, countless delicious sweets and pastries, and most importantly Pinkie Pie. The bubbly party pony had no doubt raced home to begin work on the massive amount of invitations that she would need for her latest party idea.

“So, are we running from something dangerous or to something dangerous?” asked a familiar male voice with a good bit of enthusiasm.

The five mares turned towards the speaker to find a stallion with a brown mane, brown coat, and a white collar with a red tie with an hourglass for a cutie mark. “Um, why are you following us?” Twilight asked, surprised to see the stallion suddenly running beside her.

“Oh, well, I do enjoy a good chase and you all seemed to be quite in a panic over something. I just assumed you were either running from some kind of disaster or running to prevent a disaster. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind too much if I tagged along. It really has been far too long since my last adventure.” The stallion rambled off without so much as a pause for anypony to stop his explanation.

“Hold on a second.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she skidded to a stop. The group followed suit, coming to a full stop. “Who the hay are you and why are you being so casual with Twilight?” Rainbow asked with an accusatory tone.

The stallion straightened up, obviously preparing himself for an introductory spiel, “The name’s John Smith, but you can just call me Doctor.” The stallion said with confidence.

“You’re not a doctor, John.” Twilight responded sarcastically. Here he goes with this ‘doctor’ thing again. she thought. It would be best to nip this little quirk of his in the bud.

John simply smiled, “Right, I’m the Doctor.” He was practically flaunting his ego, or so Twilight thought.

“Oh, John, you are such a kidder. I can’t call you ‘Doctor’ when you don’t have a medical degree.” Twilight responded, giggling slightly.

The ‘Doctor’ frowned, visibly disappointed. No matter how he tried to convince her, this bookish unicorn simply refused to address him by his favorite moniker. He might just have to acquire a certification later to correct this once and for all. However, it was not the time for such distractions. “Ah yes, of course.” John replied as politely as he could.

“Is it really so important to argue with him about a nickname?” Applejack asked. She was feeling a bit confused at this whole exchange. A stallion that’s not a doctor who wants to be called a doctor is rather odd, but maybe he just likes that nickname better than his given name. After all, John Smith is a pretty strange name, unless maybe he was a blacksmith. Applejack continued pondering the situation until Twilight’s reply broke her train of thought.

“Well if he isn’t a doctor then it doesn’t feel right to call him doctor.” Twilight replied with that I-know-better-than-you tone she often used when quoting a book or research paper.

This was a tone that Rainbow Dash had become overly familiar with lately. Rainbow Dash was already tired of the argument. She already knew, with Twilight’s tone, that if this ‘Doc’ or whatever pony was allowed to press the issue further, then he could argue with her all day and not get anywhere. It was time to change the subject. “Ug, who cares about what nickname he uses!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I’ve never seen you hanging out with Twilight, so why don’t you start explaining how you know her.”

“John,” Twilight gave the stallion a firm glare, “has attended a few of my book club meetings. His attendance isn’t very consistent but he contributes more than his share when he does find the time to come.” She said plainly. The lavender unicorn did not sound particularly happy.

Fluttershy softly stepped out from behind Rarity, who had become one of her preferred hiding spots recently, and finally took her first real look at the stallion. This Doctor Smith appeared to be very confident, but she thought that about most every pony. Still, he at least sounded friendly enough. “So, he’s a friend?” Fluttershy asked meekly. The shy pegasus had not really contributed much to her friends’ conversations that day, but she did usually enjoy meeting her best friends’ other friends.

“Closer to a casual acquaintance actually,” Twilight corrected, “I’ve never really seen him outside the scant few club meetings he has attended.” There was a hint of irritation in her voice. Seriously, how hard can it be to show up to a monthly meeting? He should have plenty of time to plan for it. The few times she had seen him around town it never seemed like he had anything important to do and she had never even seen him working anywhere. It was such a shame too. He always had interesting comments about the books they read.

Rainbow Dash seemed content enough with that answer as her posture visibly relaxed.

Fluttershy suddenly felt a little less comfortable knowing he was not a close friend of Twilight’s. She wasn’t as bothered by him as she expected to be though. Something about him just felt… nice. Still, he was a stranger, mostly, and that was enough for the meek pegasus to slowly slip back behind Rarity where she felt comfortable.

Rarity had tuned out most of the conversation to this point. It had nothing to do with finding Pinkie to stop that impending disaster of a party, so why pay it much attention when she could take the time to think of ideas for the line of dresses she had been working on all week. At least that would help her stay somewhat calm until the group began moving again.

“So ya’ll are runnin’ a book club now, Twilight?” Applejack asked, “When did that start?” She had heard Twilight talk about starting up different clubs every so often. All kinds of different things, most of which, Applejack was certain were not terribly interesting to most of the ponies in town. Honestly, how many ponies actively studied history or fancy mathematics outside of school? It was definitely neat to know that her friend had found a way to share one of her interests with other ponies in town.

“Indeed she does.” Replied the Doctor. “The Ponyville Literarily Obsessed Troop has been meeting since just after last Nightmare Night, if I recall correctly.”

Rainbow Dash frowned slightly and turned to Twilight, “You named your book club The PLOT?” She felt just a bit embarrassed saying that out loud.

Twilight gasped and suddenly lunged at Rainbow Dash. She hugged the unsuspecting pegasus in glee, “Oh my sweet Rainbow’s first acronym. I’m so proud you figured it out all on your own.” Twilight said with more enthusiasm than anypony was expecting. “Rainbow you have no idea how proud I am of you.” She planted a brief kiss on Rainbow Dash’s lips. “All this time I wasn’t sure if you were paying attention to all my literary and language lessons, but you really were listening.” Twilight continued to ramble placing shorter and shorter pauses between each word. “I had no idea you were interested in learning these kinds of things. Oh, I can start using some of those old lesson plans I came up with in case the Princess asked me to teach at her school. Rainbow this is going to be so much fun.”

Rainbow Dash had nopony to blame but herself. The kiss was nice but short however, to be fair, there was no reasonable way she could have expected Twilight to care this much that she had actually listened to her lecture about acronyms. Back then, it was worth the eventual headaches just to listen to Twilight’s voice. At the time, Rainbow had just pretended that Twilight was playing the ‘sexy teacher’ thing out to Twilight’s version of its logical conclusion, a sexy teacher who actually taught academic things. In the present however, having Twilight latched onto her while the unicorn jumped up and down with excitement and rambled about some crazy idea where she wanted to go out of her way to start teaching Rainbow Dash about who knows what was not nearly as enthralling. Wait, when did she learn what enthralling meant?

“But if you misbehave during my lessons,” Twilight leaned in close to whisper seductively in Dash’s ear, “This sexy little teacher will have to punish you.” Rainbow Dash immediately lost control of her wings as they burst out to full extension.

Rarity cringed a bit at the sight of her two friends. Not that she minded them being romantic, but when a pegasus’ wings flare out like that it is usually involves something not fit for a lady to hear in public. “And I’m finished listening to this conversation. If you girls need me I will be trying to catch Pinkie Pie.” Rarity said as she began her retreat from the awkward situation. To her relief, her friends decided to join her, hopefully without any more romantic innuendos. Rarity had a feeling she would not be that lucky today. Oh well, nothing a nice trip to the spa won’t shake from her mind.

“Hey, I could get to Sugarcube Corner faster if I wasn’t slowing down for you all.” Rainbow remarked.

“Good idea. You go on ahead and we can go check the post office to make sure she hasn’t mailed any invitations yet.” Twilight responded. Rainbow Dash took to the air and disappeared in a multi-colored blur.

“Invitations, do you mean like this one?” John asked as he pulled out a pink envelope sealed shut by a heart shaped sticker.

“You have got to be kidding.” Rarity said with hints of irritation. “How in the world did you get that?”

“Pinkie Pie gave it to me. She passed by not long before you all did.” John replied casually. He still had no clue what was going on. The only thing that the Doctor had learned was that there was some incident involving Pinkie Pie and invitations. Logically this could only mean that a party was ahoof, though he honestly couldn’t think of why this would be so concerning to Pinkie’s best friends. Didn’t they always get invited to her parties? No matter, half the fun of an adventure was finding the problem. All he had to do was tag along and some form of entertainment was bound to follow. It was the story of his life, though he was usually the one being followed.

“Give it here.” Twilight said forcefully as she nabbed the envelope with her telekinesis. Twilight ripped the envelope open and opened the letter.

Dear ___________,

You are invited to a super-duper fun, amazingly, awesome Party at _______________.
The Party will be at ______. Please RSVP and don’t be afraid to show up early.

-Pinkie Pie

“Um, she gave you a blank invitation.” Twilight said with a bit of irritation. She levitated the invitation around so everypony could read it.

“Well, that’s not like Pinkie at all.” Applejack stated. Everypony was more than a bit confused at that turn of events. Pinkie was usually very well prepared when it came to parties. She must have really been in a hurry to hoof out an incomplete invitation. Confused or not, the invitation proved that they may just have a chance to stop the party.

Rainbow Dash arrived at her destination in a flash. When she was serious, there was nopony in Equestria that could keep up with her. Rainbow Dash burst through the door without crashing into anything or any pony. Her technique from the day before was paying off quite well. She would have to brag about it to Twilight later. Rainbow Dash was certain that Twilight would be happy to hear that the pegasus would no longer come crashing through her windows. If Rainbow Dash was lucky she might even get a reward. Maybe she could drop a few hints to nudge Twilight into giving her another wing massage. Nopony could beat Twilight’s magical massages. Especially when she got this one spot-

“Hello, Rainbow Dash, is there something I can get you today?” Mr. Cake asked as he noticed the cyan pegasus burst into his shop.

Rainbow was snapped from her pleasant thoughts as if she had run into the side of a cliff. “Oh hey, Mr. Cake,” she said with the hope of buying time for her brain to reboot and tell what she had come to Sugarcube Corner for, “Have you seen Pinkie Pie recently?” Rainbow asked.

Mr. Cake thought for a moment, “Well she did come through a few minutes ago to place a catering order for tomorrow. Then Pinkie mentioned something about invitations and hopped out the door.”

“Thanks, Mr. Cake, gotta go.” Rainbow dashed outside. She turned and flew off towards the post office.

With a flash of purple light, Twilight and her friends appeared right in front of the post office. None of the ponies looked very well as they wobbled in place for a few moments, shaking off the after effects of being teleported. “Well here we are.” Twilight stated triumphantly. She had never teleported with that many ponies in tow. It required a good amount of concentration and a bit more magical energy than she had calculated, but everypony seemed okay aside from some brief dizziness. No missing or swapped body parts and everypony was alive and present. Perhaps she should perform some experiments later to test the limits of her teleportation abilities. Ooo, with enough data she could even publish her very own research paper. Princess Celestia would be so proud of her.

“Well, I can’t say I’m accustomed to that mode of transportation.” The Doctor remarked as his dizziness wore off. He quickly checked to make sure everything was in the right place. Perfect, everything was great. There were no marks on his coat, his tail was in place, and his tie was… “Wait, why am I wearing a bowtie?” John stated with a mark of confusion.

Everypony turned to look at the stallion wondering what could be wrong. What was previously a standard red tie was now, strangely, a similarly red bowtie. Atop his head sat an equally red fez. The odd hat immediately drew the attention of his companions.

“You also appear to be wearing a fez.” Twilight said flatly as she tried to hide her confusion.

“So, I’m wearing a fez now?” John asked as his eyes lit up a bit.

Rarity cringed a bit, “I’m afraid so darling.” She tried not to sound too repulsed.

John nickered, “Hey, fezzes are cool.” He replied as he straightened up in hopes of looking a bit fancier.

Rarity really was trying her best not to be too critical, the poor thing may have bad taste but at least he didn’t pick the hat himself. “Ug, not with that coiffure they aren’t.” Try as she might, there was no way that didn’t come off as condescending. Oh well, bad fashion deserves harsh judgment anyway. Maybe he will get the hint and throw the hideous thing into a fire or perhaps Twilight could do them all a favor and blow it up with magic or something. Surely nopony would miss that hat.

“Well, unless you can do better then you really shouldn’t be complaining about my fashion.” The Doctor replied in an equally condescending tone.

Rarity gasped, he did not just say that. She walked over to stand right in front of this challenger-of-her-ability. “Oh puh-lease, darling, I could do better in my sleep.” Rarity reached one hoof up to tip the offending headwear off the stallion’s head. The fez toppled over onto the ground landing top down in the dirt.

Without the slightest reaction to the white and purple mare’s taunt, John leaned forward. “Is that an offer?” the stallion asked unflinchingly. At this point the Doctor was fully expecting to find out how good her right hook was. Well, in the worst case scenario anyway. Ideally he might get her to drop the subject altogether so they could stop fussing over what was, honestly, a decidedly fashionable hat.

The fashionista backed up a step, “I can't say I've ever worked on a stallion's clothes before.” Rarity was already starting to think of designs to compliment the stallion’s coat. "Still, if all you want is a nicer chapeau I could easily make something better than that," Rarity said with confidence, "As long as you can afford to pay that is."

"Well if I find myself in need of a new hat I'll keep that in mind." The Doctor replied with a grin.

Applejack rolled her eyes, “Oh for pete’s sake can we please focus on why we came here.” She muttered with more than a bit of agitation. There really was no easier way to waste time than to get Rarity going on about fashion.

John nickered once more before turning towards the main door to the post office. “Ah, yes of course, into the post office then,” he exclaimed as he reared up on his hind legs. “Allons-y!” the Doctor shouted as he charged through the front door.

The five mares simply stared blankly at the door. Moments later John walked back outside. “Oh come on, you all are supposed to charge in with me.” His voice was a mix of frustration and confusion.

“Why the hay would we do that?” Applejack asked, her tone nearly as confused as his.

“Well, it’s just how things are supposed to happen.” John responded flatly. Nopony had a response as they continued to stare at him.

“What exactly was that ‘allons-y’ thing you shouted?” Twilight asked suddenly in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

“It’s Fancy, it means ‘let’s go.’” John remarked cheerfully as the group continued to stare in confusion. “Oh like you’ve never yelled ‘charge’ or something right before you busted into someplace.” He said with frustration before grumbling something incoherent, picking up his previously dropped hat, and walking back into the post office. The group of mares shrugged at each other and followed him inside.

“-seem to be pouting a bit there, Doctor.” The clerk behind the main desk finished saying as the group of mares walked into the post office.

The place was fairly deserted. There was only the single employee behind the counter and the five friends standing in the lobby to fill the massive void in the room. The vacancy was unusual, though perhaps it could be that that day was some generic and unimportant holiday that most government employees always seemed to have off. Nopony immediately offered an answer so the group simply ignored it and chalked it up to a stroke of luck.

The lone worker, Freight Crate, was a mint-green coated earth pony who sported a simple, short-cut pale yellow mane. He was dressed in the standard postal worker uniform and appeared fairly energetic despite a lack of any obvious tasks that required his attention. Freight knew the Doctor quite well. The Doctor often visited the post office early in the morning, always carrying a muffin for some reason, before any of the mailponies left for their daily routes. He was friendly to the staff even though he never seemed to have much reason for being there. Freight had never seen him make use of any of the services they offered. It was as if he only showed up for idle chatter in the mornings.

“We can talk about that later my friend, it seems my companions decided to finally join me.” The Doctor stated with noticeably more volume than was needed once he noticed the mares enter the lobby. He did his best not to look at them as he spoke.

Freight’s jaw dropped just a bit as he noticed one of the ‘companions’ his friend was referring to. Standing there, in his lonely lobby, was Rarity. She was easily the most gorgeous mare he had ever seen. Rarity had made use of the freight shipping service for her out of town orders many times. Freight doubted the gorgeous unicorn even remembered him. He quickly clamped his mouth shut, hoping she had not seen it drop at all. Freight had to remember to ask the Doctor how he got to hang out with her the next morning he saw him.

“Excuse me, sir, but can you tell me if Pinkie Pie has dropped off anything today?” Rarity asked as she stepped up towards the counter.

All right Freight, don’t mess this up. Just be casual and do your job, thought the postal worker. “Y-yes she dropped something off not too long ago.” Freight managed to say without too much trouble. The more he looked at the white unicorn the more trouble he had keeping his eyes from wandering all over her sleek form.

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense darling,” Rarity said, “What did she drop off?” she asked sounding quite desperate to know the answer.

Darling, oh how he never got tired of hearing that. Freight did his best not to blush. “Well, it was a big sack of letters. Miss Pinkie said that it was important that they get delivered today so I sent them out on special priority level Pink.” Freight said, regaining a bit of composure as he focused his mind on work related information.

“Are you seriously sayin’ you have a special priority level just for Pinkie Pie?” Applejack asked sounding more than a bit confused.

“You have no idea how many invitations she mails out on short notice.” Freight responded flatly. “Priority Pink is basically a code for ‘over-time pay’ around here.” The idea sunk in and rapidly made sense to the four mares.

Just as Rarity turned around, the lobby doors swung open violently as Rainbow Dash charged into the post office.

“I just missed her, has she been here yet?” Rainbow Dash asked as soon as she spotted her friends.

Twilight shook her head, “Pinkie beat us here, she already mailed them out.” She responded.

The group of mares looked utterly defeated. What kind of party could have them so depressed, the Doctor wondered. “Twilight, my dear, perhaps we can still find Miss Pinkie Pie and persuade her to alter the party to be less disastrous.” The Doctor stated with as much confidence as he could.

“Hey pal, Twi belongs to me.” Rainbow Dash interjected with a copious amount of irritation. “I don’t like you calling her by some sweet nickname like that.”

The Doctor reacted with visible shock, totally surprised that his comment had drawn this much of a reaction. Rarity simply put her hoof onto her face. “Rainbow, using ‘my dear’ that way is an expression. It is not a pet name.” Rarity’s tone and visage combined well to portray her annoyance with her friend.

“Hey, I know a term of endearment when I hear one, Rarity.” Rainbow snapped. She turned to glare at the ‘Doc.’

There she goes with those big words again, Applejack thought. “I was right; Twilight really is rubbing off on ya, Rainbow.” Applejack remarked somewhat cheerfully. She really hoped that would help cool Rainbow off a bit before things got out of hoof.

By this point the Doctor had regained his composure. Gazing calmly at the protective pegasus, “Are you married?” he asked bluntly, much to the surprise of the mares in the room.

Rainbow Dash blushed, “Well, no.” She replied.

“Are you lovers?” the Doctor asked quickly before Rainbow Dash could do anything besides answer.

“We haven’t, um, gotten that far.” Rainbow replied sounding unsure of her own answer.

“Then how many dates have you been on?” the Doctor asked, once again not giving the pegasus time for thought.

Rainbow Dash paused for what seemed like an eternity. Her front hooves shifted around nervously as she squirmed and fidgeted. “We,” she paused again. “We haven’t actually been on a date.” Dash finally managed to blurt out.

Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity gasped. They had a difficult time processing that concept. Twilight and Rainbow Dash had practically been joined at the hip for the past seven months. They had seen the two hug, kiss, and even flirt openly. How could they be together and not have had a single date?

“Well, it hardly sounds like you have any claim to make.” The Doctor stated confidently as a smile appeared across his face. The Doctor could see he had won; the pegasus was sulking quite badly from the sting of her own answers. Well done, now to throw out the life line. “Why don’t you prove your claim?” he asked with the same confidence as before. “Do something, anything you like, to prove you two are together. Prove me wrong and I’ll never address her with that phrase again.” The Doctor said with a smug grin.

Rainbow Dash looked up at the stallion, glared, and then turned to face Twilight. Without a single word Rainbow Dash walked calmly over to Twilight. She stared into those violet eyes, nearly losing herself. Rainbow leaned in and pressed her lips against Twilight’s. The unicorn blushed for a moment before closing her eyes. Rainbow Dash mimicked her partner and closed her eyes. Cyan hooves wrapped around Twilight’s head and neck and held her tightly against Rainbow’s mouth. Suddenly, their mouths opened. With the dam removed their tongues and saliva rushed forth like a flowing river. Moans of pleasure escaped from Twilight as she reached her fore legs around Dash’s torso and drew the pegasus’ body against her own. The sudden shift put Rainbow Dash off balance, but she was too busy to notice. To the onlookers, their fall was like a slow motion disaster. To Rainbow Dash, it was a very sudden impact with the floor. Rainbow had landed flat on her back. In a vain attempt to stay upright, Rainbow Dash had dragged Twilight with her. The unicorn had landed directly on top of Dash.

The two laid still, belly to belly, and stared at each other for a moment. “I guess that’s our cue to stop for now.” Rainbow Dash gave a slight chuckle. That was still more graceful than some of her less awesome landings. Still, she was confident she had made her point. She also realized that making out in front of her friends had been slightly more arousing than she expected it to be. Sure it sounded like Twilight liked it but she was probably going to squeak and blush from embarrassment any moment now. Dash looked up at Twilight only to see that look in her eyes.

Twilight wasn’t done yet. A silly little fall was not going to interrupt her. Sure it was basically on a dare, but it was still exciting to be kissed like that. “Teacher didn’t say you could stop.” Twilight said with her most seductive voice. Rainbow’s wings flared out sideways faster than the pegasus thought was possible. Twilight’s mouth dove down towards Dash’s. The unicorn kissed deeply, hungrily, as she pressed herself against Rainbow Dash’s warm, squirming body. The two ponies writhed in the throes of emotion, not giving a single thought to their surroundings.

“This is the best day of my life.” Freight Crate mistakenly said aloud.

Something clicked in Twilight’s head. She suddenly remembered she was in public. The alarms of embarrassment went off as she shot up and stumbled backwards onto her haunches. Freight was silently cursing himself for screwing up.

“Oh my, um, I just-” Twilight stammered. Great going brain, just stop working right when I need you. she thought; she continued being unable to form a coherent sentence. Looking around the room she noticed the looks on her friend’s faces. Rarity was plainly embarrassed, Applejack was looking quite uncomfortable, and Fluttershy…she was apparently more interested than Twilight had expected. “So, I’ll just be going now.” Twilight quickly teleported away.

“Huh, normally I have to buy a mare dinner to get a show like that.” The Doctor said casually. He had certainly been wrong about those two. Best to apologize quickly to possibly salvage a friendly, or at least a tenuous, relationship with the pegasus. No need to burn bridges over a misunderstanding after all.

Try as he might, the Doctor was unable to spot the rainbow-maned pegasus anywhere. He concluded that Twilight must have sneaked her away with that teleportation spell.

“I wish I had a nice stallion offer to buy me dinner.” Applejack remarked with a hint of irritation. It was bad enough that she didn't have many chances to go looking for dates, but to think that any fella interested in her was being scared off by her brother was just plain irritating. She was going to have a long chat with Macintosh when she got home.

Surprisingly, another awkward statement interjected itself from behind the counter, “I’ll buy you anything you want if you make out with Rarity.” Said Freight Crate. The next few moments felt like an eternity for the awkward postal worker as the realization of what had escaped from his imagination and right passed his lips took root.

A look that combined disgust, embarrassment, and anger formed on the beautiful white mare’s face. Such gall! This was unacceptable behavior. This filthy minded colt would be out of job by the day’s end before she was done with him. The mare turned to Applejack intending to plan a way to make this uncouth scoundrel regret his words. Instead of disgust or outrage on her friend’s visage she found the appearance of deep thought. Good, Applejack was already planning something.

“Well I could use a bigger cart.” Applejack said; her appearance was still that of somepony weighing her options.

Shock! Rarity’s mouth fell open in pure shock at what she just heard. “Applejack, you can’t possibly be considering that offer!” she shouted in anger at her supposed friend.

“Well it wouldn’t be a bad business decision.” Applejack replied plainly. “A bigger cart means more products at market each day. And since I’m always selling out lately I think it would be a good idea to upgrade.”

“Then buy it yourself!” the unicorn shouted in frustration.

“Aw come on, a new cart is easily worth having to kiss you for a minute. It’d be like getting a huge discount.” Applejack replied energetically as she stepped closer to the white mare.

“Don’t you dare come any closer to me!” Rarity growled. “I’m not a half off coupon at the Wagon Yard.” She backed away from the advancing orange farmer.

Applejack stopped moving. She tapped a hoof against her chin, pretending to think about something, “Yer right, yer more like a twenty-percent off coupon.” The farmer replied with a thick layer of sarcasm. She just could not pass up such a good chance to tease Rarity.

How dare her! “Fine, you want a good business decision then try this one.” Rarity exclaimed with venom in her voice. “You try to kiss me and I’ll show Sweetie Bell and her friends how to play ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders fire starters’ in your orchards.”

Applejack blanched at that thought. “Sorry buddy, I just got a better offer.” She turned and walked out the door.

Freight Crate ducked behind the counter. His only hope was that Rarity would forget about him.

The Night Before (updated v2)

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Author's note:
I have republished this chapter because I have made several major edits. Quite a few things have been added, including the remainder of the slumber party, so I encourage my readers to see what has changed.

I also made a number of fixes to previous chapters, mostly just grammar fixes and fixing my said tag abuse to help the flow.

-Hyzaku

\\***///

Rarity emerged from the post office with a triumphant stride. She was quite skilled at making deals, especially when dealing with males. Sure she would have enjoyed never seeing that perverted fool again, but this way she would never have to worry about shipping costs for her out of town orders.

“What took ya so long?” Applejack asked. She already knew the answer. Rarity had been giving that goofy postal worker, and probably his boss, a verbal once-over. Hopefully, a bit of casual conversation would keep Applejack from getting a verbal assault too. At this point, Applejack could only hope that what happened would be one of those never-discuss-this-again moments for Rarity.

“Oh, just dealing with that miscreant.” Rarity replied all too cheerfully for Applejack’s taste. Rarity was trying her best not to smile too much. After taking another moment to revel in her new ‘deal’ she finally looked around. The expected participants were there. Applejack, Fluttershy, and that Doctor Smith fellow were waiting outside as she had expected. What she had not expected was to see Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash as well. “Hello Twilight, Rainbow Dash, fancy meeting you here. I thought you had eloped to somewhere less public.” She said as her voice returned to its normal, semi-sophisticated tone.

“Well, you see,” Twilight replied hastily, “I actually just teleported in a panic and honestly did not intend to bring Rainbow with me.” The lavender unicorn’s face distorted with embarrassment.

“Panic is an understatement.” Rainbow Dash held back a laugh. “Twi teleported us right onto the roof.” The pegasus could no longer contain her laughter.

Twilight swapped her embarrassed expression for one of mild irritation, “It’s not that funny Rainbow.” She said with a serious tone.

Rainbow Dash suppressed her laughter to a mere chuckle. “It’s always funny watching you get flustered…and sometimes arousing.” She added a flare of her wings to the end of her statement for emphasis.

Normally Twilight would tease Rainbow, or even flirt back. Unfortunately for the pegasus, Twilight was not in the mood for flirting after her embarrassing show minutes earlier. She poked Rainbow in her ribs, rather harshly, to make a point, “You should try to be less forward in public.”

“So you two are a pot and kettle?” the Doctor quipped with a grin.

Just as Twilight was preparing to give John a comprehensive list of the inaccuracies of his comparison there was a sudden shout from above.

“Doctor!” a mare’s voice shouted from the sky. Moments later a blonde-haired and gray coated pegasus landed next to the stallion she had addressed. She was wearing a standard blue postal uniform, minus the hat, and a green saddlebag adorned with a buckle shaped like a muffin.

The Doctor smiled at the sight of the new arrival. “Hello to you too gorgeous.” He answered cheerfully.

The gray pegasus blushed as her posture inadvertently shifted from confident to shy. “Aw you always say such nice things Doctor.” The mare replied.

“Hey Ditzy, I hope the mail route is keeping you away from storm clouds these days.” Rainbow remarked with feigned enthusiasm. She couldn’t help being less than happy to be near this flying disaster, much less having pleasant conversations with her. Still, as long as that derpy-eyed pegasus was kept away from weather or construction related duties she wasn’t too dangerous.

Ditzy perked up immediately at the familiar voice. She had been so focused on finding the Doctor that she hadn’t even looked to see who he was running around with. Of all the ponies to run into, Rainbow Dash was always one of Ditzy’s favorites, right after the Doctor of course. She had worked under Rainbow Dash for years as part of the weather team. Seeing her old team leader always brought back fond memories of her many adventures under the daring pegasus’ leadership. Sure she had made a few mistakes…okay, maybe more than a few, but she still enjoyed her time as a weather pony. After the big incident involving the town hall and some very unruly storm clouds Ditzy had been reassigned to the post office.

“Hey Rainbow Dash.” Ditzy waved a hoof at her old boss who stood only a few feet away. The gray pegasus smiled.

“So then, what brings my favorite mailmare by for a chat during her route?” the Doctor asked. He knew Ditzy fairly well, she was quite a lot of fun to talk to and she really seemed to enjoy the stories of his adventures. He also knew that she wouldn’t waste time during her route, even just to chat. To her, work was time to work.

That’s right, it’s still work time. No time to stay and talk. Think, think, think, where did you put that letter? Ditzy’s mind raced around like Rainbow Dash during flight practice. She had noticed a letter addressed to the Doctor in her special level Pink deliveries for the day. Doctor hardly ever got mail so she really wanted to give it to him personally. That was why she had set it aside somewhere…

The gray pegasus’ face lit up with realization. She reached her head into her saddlebag and dug around for a few moments before resurfacing with a pink envelope sealed with a heart. “Letter!” she exclaimed proudly.

“Thank you.” The Doctor replied as he took the letter and examined it carefully. He hardly ever received mail, except the occasional invitation. That letter fit the bill alright. It looked exactly like the one Pinkie had given him earlier. Perhaps she realized that first one was blank.

“It’s from Pinkie Pie.” Ditzy said cheerily. Nopony was surprised with her statement. “I bet it’s a party invitation. I really hope I get one too. Pinkie’s parties are so much fun.” The pegasus remarked with a big smile. “I wish I could stay but there’s a lot more invitations to deliver.”

“Alright, I’ll see you tonight.” The Doctor replied with a grin. Ditzy blushed slightly as she flew off to continue her mail route.

Rainbow Dash walked over the Doctor and leaned in close to whisper, “Hey, just giving you fair warning.” Her voice sounded like a dire warning was about to be offered. The Doctor decided to pay close attention. “If you value your hips, don’t let her be on top.” Rainbow’s voice contained a serious tone.

That was confusing the Doctor thought. “What are you talking about?” he asked in hopes of a clarifying statement.

“I’m talking about your marefriend dude. You wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen her destroy with just her butt.” Rainbow Dash whispered back even more serious than before.

The Doctor stepped back in surprise. Did they really think the Ditzy was his marefriend? She was a close friend, sure. In fact, she was the first friend he made in Ponyville. That didn’t have to mean they were together though. “She’s not my marefriend Miss Dash, I don’t know what gave you that idea.” He stated firmly. Certainly, that should end the confusion.

Rarity frowned, “So are you just leading her on then?” she asked.

“Beg your pardon?” the Doctor asked with confusion.

“Dude, don’t you bring her muffins every day?” Rainbow Dash asked flatly.

“How did you know that?” the Doctor asked in surprise. He hadn’t told anyone about that.

Rainbow Dash smirked, “Pinkie Pie told me when we were talking the other day. She said you stop by Sugarcube Corner every morning and buy a muffin. I just took a guess.” Rainbow Dash grinned. It felt great finally having one up on this Doc guy.

“Pinkie gossips with you?” Rarity asked suddenly.

Dash was surprised to hear that question, though who asked it was not surprising at all. “Yeah, so what? She’s got social connections and I need to know what’s going on in town since I spend so much time with Twi these days.” She replied casually.

This was unbelievable. Sure Pinkie was friendly with lots of ponies but to think she took the time to gather information from her obsessive socializing was actually shocking. Pinkie just didn’t seem the type to stay in one place long enough to hear good gossip. Naturally, Rarity felt she could provide a better service. It certainly would not hurt to have somepony to shoot the breeze with now and then. Fluttershy had been visiting her more often recently but conversations are a two way street and her demure friend was hardly the most vocal pony she knew. “You know you could always ask me what going on in town. I’ve got connections too.” She attempted to utilize her social charm.

Rainbow Dash visibly recoiled at that thought. “You have a bad habit of making me model stuff when I visit while Pinkie gives me free snacks. It’s not much of a choice.” Her voice was practically dripping with disgust.

“Way to go off topic Rainbow.” Twilight interjected. The unicorn was hoping she could get the group moving again. Sadly, every tiny little thing seemed to be starting a conversation today and that was not helping.

“Hey, she asked.” Rainbow shot back.

“Well it’s hardly a crime to want to see my friends dress in style.” Rarity responded calmly. So what if she used her friends to model her designs now and then. Sometimes you just don’t see certain things on a dress form. Besides, if something can look good on Rainbow Dash with that crazy colored mane of hers then it could look good on practically anypony.

“Yeah, Rainbow Dash doesn’t do ‘style’ so much as she does awesome. I’m more the type for a sleek flight suit if ya get my drift.” Rainbow replied. She wasn’t the most subtle of ponies when it came to dropping hints.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing you dress up now and then.” Twilight imagined Rainbow in a sleek, black formal dress. She mulled over that thought for a moment, it was a delectable thought. Suddenly, her thoughts awkwardly drifted from black dress to that black body suit Rainbow had worn when she tried to sneak into the hospital. Her mind reviewed every inch of that athletic form. From the tight, toned muscles that showed through the material all the way to Rainbow’s firm, round-

Twilight shook her head in an attempt to remove those thoughts. This was not the place for that she reminded herself. There would plenty of time for fun tonight.

Rarity grinned at Twilight’s comment. This was just the kind of advantage she needed. “See Rainbow Dash, you and Twilight really should find some time to drop by. I could make you something simply smashing for your first date.” Her tone filled with enthusiasm. Truth be told, the conniving fashionista had already made up a pair of dresses for her two lovebird friends over a month earlier. She had not been the most receptive pony to their choice of partners. It was still an odd concept for her to accept that a mare could love another mare. Never the less, if her friends were happy then she would be happy for them. And falling in love was definitely an occasion worthy of a new dress. She just could not find the time to make her big reveal to them. It had been a busy month.

“What date?” Rainbow asked with a confused look. She didn’t remember planning a date.

“You two are supposed to be dating. Obviously you need to be having dates to really be dating. Oh, I’m sure it will be absolutely romantic. Just make sure you spare me the graphic details when you tell me about it.” Rarity replied with a certain energy she only used when romance was the topic of discussion.

Rainbow Dash thought about the idea of going on a date. Images of a candle light dinner with Twilight pranced through her mind. Thoughts of dancing together and having fun after dark made their way into the mix. She dreamed of flying up high in the night sky to give Twilight the best view of the stars she could ever hope for. Rainbow fantasized about what they could do all alone up in the luminescent sky. Oh yeah, dating sounded great.

Reality struck hard as Rainbow realized that Rarity was going to pester her for every last romantic detail of her dream date. That would be so boring. “Why would I want to tell you about my dates?” Rainbow asked in response.

“Oh come now, you can’t just go off and have a romantic outing without telling your best friends about it.” Rarity responded. Honestly, how could Rainbow Dash be so insensitive? Every mare knows you have to tell your friends about your dates. It’s just proper etiquette. Besides, how else would your friends find out about every little detail of your love life?

“Yes I can.” Rainbow Dash replied sternly.

“No, you can’t.” Rarity responded with her own stern tone.

“Can too.”

“Cannot.”

“Can too.”

“Enough!” Applejack shouted, drawing the attention of every pony in earshot. “Will you two stop fightin’ for a gall darn minute. If ya’ll would think for a minute you might remember something a bit more important than talkin’ about dates that haven’t even happened.” She growled angrily. How in the hay does everypony keep getting distracted with small talk?

The two ponies gazed quietly at their outraged friend. She definitely had a point.

Rainbow Dash turned to face the Doctor, “So what are you planning with Ditzy tonight?” she asked.

Applejack planted her hoof against her forehead.

“Nothing too fancy,” the Doctor responded with an almost whimsical tone, “Just a nice dinner out.”

“And you’ve taken her out to ‘just dinner’ how many times?” Dash asked with a serious tone that, had the Doctor not known better, might have passed for sarcasm.

“Oh well, we usually go out on Fridays, well nearly every Friday actually.” The Doctor replied swiftly. “Come to think of it she always has free time on Friday evenings. Anyway, we started just after I moved here; now when was that exactly?” He continued rambling on incoherently for a few moments as he made several gestures indicating some form of mental arithmetic was taking place. “Okay four times twenty six is one-hundred and four, so about two years and two months. Funny how that worked out.” The Doctor commented cheerily with a grin. Clearly he was more amused with the result of his math than any of the five mares were.

“So basically, you buy Ditzy her favorite food every day, you tell her she looks beautiful, and you take her out for dinner every week for over two years, but you’re not dating her?” Rainbow Dash asked bluntly.

“I wouldn’t dream of dating a married mare.” The Doctor replied calmly.

“Ditzy is single dude.” Rainbow responded dryly.

“What?” the Doctor asked in confusion. “But she’s always talking about taking care of her daughters…I thought she-“

“Miss Ditzy Doo is a single mother. Her husband died a few years back.” Fluttershy interjected as she appeared from behind Rarity. “She loves her daughters but doesn’t like to talk about her late husband much.” Her tone bore a hint of sadness.

“Oh, dear.” The Doctor blanched a bit at that revelation. “Well that actually explains a number of things.”

Many moments passed in awkward silence.

“Well congratulations on getting a marefriend Doctor. I guess you and Ditzy Doo won’t be needing invitations for tomorrow then.” Pinkie Pie remarked suddenly, startling her friends.

Everypony turned to find Pinkie happily standing next to Twilight as if she had always been there. The pink pony was flanked by a massive brown sack labeled Invitations.

The Doctor was startled. How did nopony notice her arrival? For that matter, why was he the only one who looked surprised? He turned to Twilight to posit his query but was interrupted before he could even speak.

“Don’t ask.” Twilight turned to the Doctor. “It’s just easier not to question her.” There was a tone of experience in her voice. The Doctor simply nodded in silence.

“Pinkie!” Applejack exclaimed, “We’ve been lookin’ all over for you.” Finally something was going right today.

“Wait, what do you mean I don’t need an invitation?” the Doctor interjected. Time to get to the bottom of this mystery party he thought.

“It’s a Singles Party silly. I can’t invite somepony who isn’t single.” Pinkie replied cheerfully.

The Doctor remembered his friend’s comment moments ago. She really wanted to go to the party. Surely there was a way to make it work. “That’s a bit unfortunate. Miss Ditzy was really looking forward to the party.” There was a somber tone in his voice.

“Oh, then you two can just show up ‘single’ and hook up at the party.” Pinkie replied happily. “I mean if you didn’t even know you were dating her then you are technically single. And if you’re single then so is Ditzy. See it works out perfectly.” She remarked with uncharacteristically reasonable logic.

The Doctor’s expression brightened, “Brilliant!” he exclaimed with a smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few things to take care of for tomorrow.” He exclaimed excitedly.

“Wait, you can’t go yet.” Twilight suddenly pleaded. There was a look of genuine disappointment on her visage.

“I can’t?” the Doctor asked with confusion. Confusion was becoming a theme for the day.

“I still need to figure out why your clothes changed when I teleported you.” Twilight answered. She had nearly forgotten about that odd occurrence. It was so unusual. She had never read about anything like that happening before. She had to study him.

There was a look in the lavender unicorn’s eyes that was very concerning. “And just how do you plan on doing that?” the Doctor asked. He tried not to sound too concerned.

Perfect, now to convince him to come back to the lab in her basement. “Oh I just need to run a few tests. Nothing you need to worry about. If you just come to my lab with me so I can record the results of the experiments I’m certain I can get to the bottom of this.” Twilight’s voice was filled with a bit more excitement than she intended.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I’m not keen on being a research specimen.” The Doctor replied with a very concerned tone. He slowly backed away from Twilight.

No! This research could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. She simply could not let this chance slip away. “No it’s nothing extreme.” Twilight pleaded. “I just need to teleport you a few hundred times and record the results.” That probably could have been more convincing.

The Doctor made a run for it. Just as he was putting a good distance between him and the overly eager researcher, he found himself face to face with Twilight.

John’s clothes were different again. He wore a cream-colored frock trimmed in a reddish orange with coat striped trousers. Atop his head was now an optimo-styled Panamare hat with colors matching his new coat. Two red question marks were embroidered onto his collar while on his lapel there was…a stalk of celery. “This is even more interesting than last time.” Twilight stated as she studied the outfit. An expression of enthusiasm spread over her face.

“Is that, celery on your lapel?” Rarity asked. “I can’t say I would have ever thought of wearing a decorative vegetable.” She tried to hide her lack of enthusiasm about the idea. Still at least the rest of the outfit wasn’t horrid. Not that she couldn’t do better. Much better.

“If nothing else, I’m sure it’s good for my teeth.” The Doctor responded, seemingly indifferent, and oddly unfazed by yet another sudden change of his apparel. Seriously, is there anything he could wear that she wouldn’t criticize? It would take a very special pony to pull off wearing celery as well as he could. That, however, was not his primary concern. The Doctor was more worried about the other unicorn who was looking far too excited for his own good. He needed a distraction, a big one, and he needed it quickly. Then, the idea struck. He was just about to be brilliant, or fail miserably. Either one was par for the course that day.

The Doctor pointed his hoof behind Twilight, “Look, Princess Celestia!” he shouted.

No way. This had to be a trick. Unless…Oh pony-feathers Princess Celestia did say she was coming to visit Ponyville that weekend. The Princess had sent a letter last week explaining that she had managed to schedule a free day this weekend. She really could be here! Twilight turned around eagerly, “Princess Celes-”

She was staring at a wall. “He escaped didn’t he?” she asked flatly.

“Before you even finished turning around.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. She couldn’t believe Twilight actually fell for that old trick.

Irritation or embarrassment? Twilight really couldn’t decide which one she should be feeling at that moment, so she settled on a mix of the two. Princess Celestia’s visit was supposed to be a surprise, so she couldn’t even offer an explanation to ease her embarrassment.

“Okay now that all the distractions are done,” Applejack confirmed with relief as she turned to face Pinkie Pie, “What in tarnation is that big ‘ol bag for?”

“Oh this is the other half of my invitations.” Pinkie responded as she pointed at the bag that was easily bigger than she was.

“Other half?” the other five mares asked in unison.

“Oh yeah, see I was talking with Mr. and Mrs. Cake about the party because I needed some ideas on how to keep all the stallions entertained while they wait for their chance with you girls and they had the most amazingly terrific idea ever!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she rambled on about every single thing she had discussed with the Cakes. “And that’s when they said I should just invite all the single mares in Ponyville and have a massive Singles Party so everypony can get a date!” she finally shouted after several minutes of talking, seemingly without having taken a single breath.

The group sat quietly and digested the information that had just been dumped on them by their enthusiastic friend.

“That doesn’t sound too bad.” Fluttershy spoke up from behind Rarity. If every other eligible mare in Ponyville was going to be there, then surely no pony would bother to ask her out. She could just slink off into a corner or find a nice table to hide under to wait out the storm.

“Well if Fluttershy doesn’t mind that plan, then I guess I don’t have any reason to object.” Rarity added. If nothing else, she could always use Fluttershy as an excuse to get out of an unpleasant conversation. Rarity would just need to make sure that her shy friend didn’t go off and hide under a table.

“Ah shoot, if you two are goin’ I guess I don’t have much choice. Who knows, I might be able to find a nice stallion if I can get my brother to leave ‘em alone.” Applejack remarked. With that thought in mind, she excused herself from the group. She still had to give that big lug a mighty harsh talkin’ to.

With nothing left to discuss, the remaining friends went their separate ways.

Rainbow Dash flopped, belly down, onto Twilight’s bed. She spread her wings out completely as she laid still. She had been looking forward to this for hours. After all the fuss earlier that day, combined with her first real bit of flight practice in months, she was really worked up.

There was a soft click as the purple glow of unicorn magic locked the door. Twilight trotted over to her bed where Rainbow Dash was waiting patiently for her attention. “Well you look ready.” She said happily. “Where should I start?” Twilight asked as she slowed the flow of her words a bit to add a sensual tone to her voice.

“As if I need to tell the Master where to start.” Rainbow replied saucily.

Twilight climbed onto the bed and laid down facing her partner. Her horn glowed with its familiar purple aura. A similar aura enveloped Rainbow Dash’s wings as the unicorn focused her magic.

Completely awesome. That was the only way Rainbow knew how to describe the massages Twilight gave her. That they had discovered this on accident when Twilight was just playing around with her normal telekinesis spell was pure luck. The sensation was amazing. The slight tingle in her muscles as they were magically manipulated into a state of utter relaxation was nearly indescribable. There was a slight flexing in her left wing as Twilight focused on a sore spot she found. Her magic probed and prodded throughout the area as she flexed and released the muscle, slowly coaxing it to surrender to her whims.

There was that familiar feeling. Twilight would almost describe it as a ‘pop’ when a muscle finally relaxed and released its pent up tension. The look on Rainbow’s face was so cute. The adorable pegasus always made the same cute expression when Twilight worked on a really sore or tight spot. The look of relief on her partner’s face, even the way her whole body seemed to slump in relaxation was just so appealing in a way that Twilight found difficult to describe. The unicorn never actually gave much thought to the matter though. She was just content to have such an engaging way to make her mare happy. Although, she did sometimes wonder if there were other possible applications for that spell.

Twilight’s magic continued its work as it slowly moved from Rainbow’s wings down into the wing muscles in her back. Rainbow Dash visibly flinched as Twilight’s magic discovered a spot Rainbow hadn’t even realized was sore. Without a word the unicorn set to work on her newest foe. Rainbow could feel the magic coursing through the sore muscle. It flexed and released over and over until it felt like a steady rhythm pulsing in her back. The vibration steadily became more and more intense. It hurt, but it was a good kind of pain, the pain of that sore muscle slowly relaxing under the magical grasp of Twilight. Rainbow moaned slightly.

That spot was proving to be very resilient. Still, Twilight was not about to give up. As a series of small moans escaped from Rainbow Dash Twilight couldn’t help but feel aroused. She knew Rainbow was enjoying it and that made her own enjoyment that much greater. Suddenly, she felt that familiar pop.

Rainbow Dash released a carnal sigh of relief. “Oh my gosh.” Her words escaped slowly with a tone of absolute relaxation in her voice. Twilight had given her one of the best massages she had ever had.

“That looks like so much fun.” Pinkie Pie exclaimed suddenly. “Do me next Twilight!” the pink pony exclaimed as she hopped up and down in place.

The familiar bubbly voice sent a mix of confused emotions through both Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Well there goes the rest of the night they both thought.

“Pinkie, how long have you been there?” Twilight asked. She was almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Since you both got on the bed.” Pinkie replied nonchalantly as she continued hopping. “I’ve never seen Dashie make such adorable faces, and those noises were really, really cute.”

“How did you even get in here?” Rainbow Dash asked with an accusatory tone. “I watched Twilight lock the door.”

“You left the window open.” Pinkie replied without missing a hop.

The pair turned to see a window to the second story balcony was wide open. The temptation to ask was there, but they both knew better than to ask how Pinkie had managed to get up there without wings.

“Alright, why are you here?” Twilight asked with exasperation.

Pinkie finally stopped hopping. A stern expression covered her face, “Don’t tell me you forgot about our group sleep over tonight?” Pinkie asked with concern. It wasn’t like Twilight to forget about plans she made.

Everything hit her like a falling bookshelf. She had made plans for all of her friends to have a big slumber party at her house that day. It had been on that day’s schedule for weeks…but with the little fiasco this morning she didn’t have time to go over her daily checklist before leaving to meet her friends for lunch. This was totally embarrassing. And Spike wondered why it was so important to have daily checklists.

Almost on cue, the familiar thumping of somepony knocking on a wooden door resounded through the room. “Hey are ya’ll in there?” Applejack nearly shouted to make sure she was heard through the door.

The soft glow was followed by a click and the door swung open. “Yes we are here. Please come in, Pinkie just finished informing us of your arrival.” Twilight answered. She was trying her best not to sound agitated. She would just have to settle for a different kind of fun than she had hoped for that night.

The remainder of their friends filed into the two-tiered bedroom. Applejack quickly caught sight of Twilight and Rainbow Dash lying together in bed. It was hard to stem the thoughts that paraded into her mind. She had had a front row seat to the beginnings of that earlier that day. Sure two lovers do that kind of stuff but she simply was not comfortable thinking of her friends doing that. Her face turned from a smile to an awkward grin faster than she could say howdy. “We, uh, didn’t mean to interrupt nothin’.”

“Applejack, what could we possibly be interrupting?” Rarity asked as she entered the room. The mare followed Applejack’s gaze, “Oh, I guess we are interrupting something.” She added as politely as possible.

“Oh my, were you two kissing again?” Fluttershy asked softly. She vividly remembered the scene from the post office earlier that day. Fluttershy had seen ponies kiss before, but never like that. Her friends had been so feisty, so aggressive. It was just what she had always imagined the ponies were doing in that one novel Rarity had told her to read. Only it was messier, warmer, it was real and it had happened right in front of her. Was it strange to find such a thing so engrossing to watch? Was it wrong that she felt excited every time she thought about that moment? Fluttershy really, really hoped it wasn’t. That day alone she had already had several daydreams of how fun life would be if she could be that assertive with somepony attractive. More of those thoughts would surely visit her in the future. Maybe she could talk to Rarity about it.

“I didn’t see any kissing but Dashie was making the silliest noises.” Pinkie Pie replied energetically. At that point the pink pony decided to give her friends the best impression she could. Without any hesitation she began to moan and sway rhythmically.

Pinkie did not sound much like Rainbow; for one thing her pitch was totally off. However, for just a moment, Twilight was caught off guard. Pinkie was really good at mimicking Rainbow’s facial expressions. She would never admit it to anypony, but it was actually kind of exciting to watch.

Sure it was just Pinkie being Pinkie, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t awkward. Applejack slid her hat down in front of her face. It didn’t help muffle the sounds or even alleviate the awkward thoughts milling about in her head, but at least she wasn’t seeing Pinkie’s physical impression.

Rarity cringed a bit. Okay, more than a bit. That moaning was beyond the simple awkward behavior Pinkie was known for. It was absolutely unladylike to do such a thing in front of others, even close friends.

Fluttershy’s first instinct was to dive for cover. Something about the odd noise combined with Pinkie’s exaggerated, yet rhythmic, movements was captivating. More thoughts of Twilight and Rainbow Dash kissing passionately filled her mind. She just couldn’t help it. It looked, and sounded, like they were having fun. She felt her wings twitch with excitement. For some inexplicable reason she just wanted to move them. To flap and flutter and fly, just like the first time she met Spike. It took every bit of control she could muster to stay grounded.

“Hey I don’t sound like that at all.” Rainbow Dash interjected, interrupting Pinkie’s performance, as she tried her best not to blush.

“Of course you don’t sound like me Dashie, you sound like you.” Pinkie replied swiftly. “So Twilight, you’re still gonna do me next right?” she asked with no warning as she started her habitual hopping once more.

“Oh dear, w-we can, um, give you some privacy. I-if you want.” Fluttershy’s face flushed with embarrassment. Secretly, she was really hoping Twilight didn’t mind observers. After all, she apparently let Pinkie watch something.

“Twilight, I can’t believe this.” Rarity exclaimed as a look of disgust washed across her visage. “I thought a mare from Canterlot would have more class than to fool around with anypony that asks.”

“Yeah,” Applejack interjected, “And why are you okay with that Rainbow Dash?” she asked with an accusatory tone. “You get mad at Doc Smith for callin’ Twilight ‘Dear,’ but you don’t care if she fools around with Pinkie right in front of you? I’m ashamed of ya’ll.” She turned her back to Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie.

Was there to be no end to her embarrassment that day? Twilight’s face flared with the familiar color of embarrassment. “A massage!” the unicorn shouted before Rainbow could respond. “She’s talking about a massage!” she exclaimed. First Rainbow, now Pinkie. It was becoming difficult to deal with so many misleading statements in one day.

“Yeah you should have seen what she did to Dashie with her horn.” Pinkie chimed.

If it was anypony else Twilight would have thought they were doing it on purpose. “She means magic!” Twilight shouted. No more. If Pinkie does this one more time she’s getting her mouth zipped shut Twilight thought.

“Duh, what else would you do with your horn?” Pinkie asked rhetorically. “I mean Dashie doesn’t have a horn so you can’t be jousting.” Pinkie added swiftly. “And have you ever been poked by a unicorn horn? Cause I sure have and let me tell you it is not pleasant. It’s like getting poked really hard cause horns are hard and stuff. Oh can you imagine getting poked by one of the Princesses? Their horns are enormous!” Her forelegs flung out wide for emphasis. “Or, or what if both the Princesses were poking you? Man that would be like the most annoying thing ever. I mean how sore would you be after a few hours of that? And what if they poked you so hard you got sent to the Moon?” Still without having taken a breath, she leapt into the air to simulate the idea of lunar banishment. “That would be really bad cause then you would only have moon rocks to talk to and you could only eat cheese. It would be just like this one dream I had where I was stuck on the Moon and I was running away from Nightmare Moon because she’s big and mean and scary and stuff, right. So I run into this cave to hide and there’s this pile of rocks and he starts talking to me, right. So I ask him what his name is and he says he’s called Rocky. Naturally I ask him what’s in this pot that he’s cooking. Did I mention the pot? Cause there’s a pot there and it doesn’t smell like cheese at all. So I tell him I’m tired of eating cheese all the time and then Rocky said ‘you don’t have to eat plain cheese, Pinkie. You can put your Moon cheese in my oatmeal.’” She attempted to make her voice sound deep when she spoke for ‘Rocky’. “And so then I said, ‘Oatmeal? Are you crazy?’” Pinkie finally paused to take a massive breath.

“One mystery solved.” Twilight said stoically before Pinkie could start talking again. Her horn lit up as she levitated a scroll out from a nearby desk. A quill dipped into a bottle of ink at the same desk before joining the parchment in front of Twilight. “And I’ll just check that one off.” She casually remarked as the quill marked off a small box on the list. The checklist and quill then floated back into their normal resting place, courtesy of Twilight’s magic.

“What was that exactly?” Applejack asked. She knew Twilight had lots of checklists and stuff but she could not imagine why anything in Pinkie’s bizarre ramblings could have been cause to mark something off of even one of Twi’s obscure checklists.

“That was the ‘Confusing Things Pinkie Pie has Said that I Want an Explanation For’ checklist.” Rainbow Dash replied knowingly.

Applejack thought for a moment, “I’m not even gonna question that one.” She shook her head slightly.

Pinkie seemed unfazed by the existence of such as list.

“Alright, Twilight, I’m gonna give ya the benefit of the doubt since Pinkie and misstatements go hoof in hoof.” Applejack returned to the previous topic of conversation.

“Hmm, it does seem like an understandable miscommunication.” Rarity added. She turned to face Pinkie, “Pinkie, darling, you should really try to be less vague when describing such intimate matters.” A light tone of chastisement rang through her voice.

Pinkie shrunk back a bit as she realized her mistakes. “I’m sorry, that massage just looked like so much fun that I just really, really, really wanted one too.” She said as she sprang back up into her hopping routine. “I mean, I’ve never seen a magical massage before. And if it’s Twilight doing the magic it has to totally amazing cause magic is her talent!” Pinkie shouted with unrivaled enthusiasm.

Rarity perked up, “A magical massage?” Rarity’s curiosity was obvious. She spent so much time getting massages and other treatments at the local spa that Twilight knew exactly what was coming next. Rarity was lying on the bed next to Twilight before she could even respond to the question.

“Oh Twilight, darling, you simply must give me a demonstration.” Rarity casually commented. The white unicorn relaxed her body in preparation. “I’ve got a spot in my right shoulder you could work on.” She closed her eyes.

Suddenly, Rarity found herself colliding with the floor as Pinkie swiftly shoved her off the bed and took her place. “No way, Twilight’s giving me a massage because I asked first.” Pinkie Pie said.

“Girls, please stop fighting.” Twilight pleaded. It was already too late. Twilight ducked for cover behind the head rest of the bed as the first pillow of the night went sailing into Pinkie’s face, knocking the unsuspecting pony off the bed.

“How do you like the floor Pinkie? Nice and soft?” Rarity asked sarcastically.

“Pillow Fight!” Pinkie Pie shouted in retaliation before she hurled the pillow back at Rarity.

The unicorn nimbly dodged the fluffy projectile.

“Eep!” Fluttershy screamed as she dove behind the nearest solid object.

“Oh there is no way I’m staying out of this.” Rainbow Dash mused as she bucked the pillow off of the bed towards Applejack.

It was truly a grand battle! Twilight’s bedroom was a complete mess. Feathery pillows were strewn about the room similar to that of debris organized by a tornado. A few unlucky pillows had not survived, their contents either scattered about the room or clinging to the manes and tails of the exhausted ponies that lay giggling in the center of the room.

“That was a lot more fun than being stuck in between AJ and Rarity.” Twilight stated as she managed to calm her fit of laughter.

“I still can’t believe you betrayed me Twi.” Rainbow remarked as she rolled over and poked her marefriend in the shoulder.

“All’s fair in love and pillow fights.” Twilight responded. She poked Rainbow in retaliation.

The two mares poked each other one after the other though neither had a particular goal in mind for the activity.

“So, you wanna do this the hard way.” Rainbow exclaimed suddenly as she lunged at her opponent. The unexpected impact left her standing over Twilight as she stared down at the helpless unicorn.

Twilight reached up with her front hooves and rubbed softly on Rainbow’s belly.

Okay, so she’s not helpless. That tickled way more than she had expected. Rainbow broke out laughing. She quickly fell to her side to avoid the retaliation.

“Hey, this is mighty interestin’ and all but, do you gals think you could avoid gettin’ kissy this time?” Applejack asked.

“Is it over?” Fluttershy asked, poking her head out from behind the door.

“Hey, I was wondering where you ran off to.” Rainbow Dash replied. “You totally missed out on all the fun.”

Fluttershy noticed her friends lying peacefully in the room with no pillows flying about. She felt it was safe enough to enter, “Oh, well, I just took the opportunity to go downstairs and start making some snacks for everypony.”

Pinkie Pie sprang up immediately at the mention of food, “Oh boy, you can’t have a party without snacks.” The pink mare commented cheerfully. Without hesitation, she made her way down the stairs towards the kitchen.

There was a loud growl from Rainbow Dash’s stomach. “That sounds great, Fluttershy.” The pegasus remarked.

“Indeed,” Rarity interjected, “I could use a bit of refreshments after all that.” Rarity picked herself up from the ground and made her way downstairs with Rainbow Dash in tow.

Fluttershy noticed that Twilight and Applejack had made no comment about her preparations, but were instead whispering about something. “Um, I made enough for everypony. That is, if you want any.” Fluttershy muttered meekly.

Applejack turned to Fluttershy, “Actually sugarcube, Twilight and I need to talk about something in private.”

“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy replied. The yellow pegasus promptly turned around and left the room making sure to close the door on her way out.

“So, what exactly did you need to ask me Applejack?” Twilight asked with both a concerned tone and expression. Applejack wasn’t one for keeping secrets, so a private conversation away from their other friends was definitely something to take seriously.

The orange mare sat quietly for a moment as she carefully planned out her next words. “I hate to be a bother, but I feel like you’re the only friend I’ve got that I can talk about this to right now.” Applejack paused once more, “After what Pinkie said earlier about Big Macintosh, I decided to go back home and talk to him.”

“So what happened?” Twilight asked.

Applejack sighed, “Mac said that he had never even seen a stallion come by the farm, much less actively scare one off.”

Twilight thought back to the conversation from earlier that day, “That does seem a bit contradictory to what Pinkie said.” Hints of concern and curiosity rang through her voice.

“Exactly!” Applejack exclaimed, “I know my brother would never lie to me, so that means-”

“However, Pinkie didn’t sound too sure of herself.” Twilight quickly interjected. “It is possible that she didn’t remember exactly what was said, so I don’t think you should go jumping to negative conclusions.”

Applejack frowned, “But-” she tried to respond.

Yeesh, I’ve got to get her thinking more positively Twilight thought. Good thing I’ve already covered this lesson. Twilight smiled, “Applejack, don’t you remember what happened when Pinkie thought we weren’t enjoying her parties?”

“Yeah, I’d never seen her that down before.” Applejack thought back to the surprise birthday party they had thrown for Pinkie that nearly ended in a fight. It was scary how much of an effect that one negative idea had had. “Believe me Twilight I don’t wanna think that one of my friends is lyin’ to me, but-” Applejack replied solemnly.

Good, she’s almost there. “Then you need to ask Pinkie about that, not me.” Twilight made sure to keep up her warm smile.

Applejack was silent for a few moments. Finally, she sat down, “You’re right” There was a strange, but welcome, look on her face that mixed defeat and relief in near equal parts.

“Well, I’m glad I could help.” Twilight said cheerfully. Despite her calm exterior, the unicorn was barely suppressing the urge to jump excitedly around the room. Finally, she had the chance to make use of a lesson on friendship she already learned. It was the first time she could think of that she helped a friend with a problem that didn’t require sending a letter to the Princess.

Applejack could only stare as Twilight jumped happily in circles around her. Exclamations of ‘yes’ rapidly escaping her friend’s mouth only made the sight more awkward. She had thought Applebloom was only joking about this. “Actually, that’s not everything I wanted help with.” She added cautiously.

Twilight immediately stopped her exuberant bouncing chant. After realizing what she had been doing the unicorn simply blushed. “Oh?” she asked in response.

Applejack had already learned to be a good sport about Twilight’s little quirks. Best to pretend it didn’t happen. Donning a serious expression, “Twilight, can you teach me how to be romantic?” Applejack asked.

“Well, I actually had a lot more time to prepare than I expected.” Fluttershy stated proudly as her friends examined the plethora of goodies she had assembled during their pillow fight. “I hope this isn’t too much.” She added meekly. She really didn’t like to see food go to waste, though she doubted that would be an issue with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash being present.

“Are you kidding?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “You can never have too many snacks at a party.” Her eyes indecisively darted from one delectable dish to another. Picking a starting point at a banquet was the hardest decision ever.

Rarity grinned as she examined Fluttershy’s cuisine offerings, “Fluttershy, darling, how do you managed to hide all these little talents of yours?” she asked enthusiastically. “First sewing and now cooking, I do wonder what other little secrets you might be hiding.” Rarity picked out one of the smaller treats and levitated it over herself.

“Oh, well, I have a few recipe books at home and sometimes it’s just fun to experiment with new dished for myself or my animal friends.” Fluttershy replied happily. She was just glad that Twilight’s kitchen was so well stocked. It was very fortunate that she knew recipes for many different ingredients. As long as there were no big fires or other disasters, cooking was usually a good way to get her mind off certain things like big scary pillow fights.

Pinkie - finally fed up with her own indecision - decided to dive in, figuratively this time, after seeing Rainbow Dash start in on the buffet of snacks.

Rainbow swallowed her snack and looked back towards the stairway, “Hey, why aren’t Twi and AJ down here yet?” she asked.

“Oh, Applejack said they needed to talk in private for a few minutes.” Fluttershy replied calmly.

Rainbow Dash turned back to her friends. “Speaking of private conversations,” she lowered her volume a bit, “I was hoping to talk to you all away from Twi tonight.” Rainbow Dash glanced back towards the stairs for a moment.

“About what?” Rarity asked, making sure to keep her volume equivalent to Rainbow’s.

Her friends all leaned in a bit closer. “Well, you know how you said Twi and I should be going out on dates now?” Rainbow nodded at Rarity, “Well I’ve been trying to plan one ever since then and I realized I could use some help.” She said, lowering her voice a bit further.

Pinkie’s eyes lit up, “Ooo, and you need our help to make sure everything goes perfectly right?” the pink party pony asked as she began hopping with excitement.

“Yeah, that was kinda the plan.” Rainbow Dash responded. The more she talked about it the more she worried. She didn’t really expect anything beyond morale support from Fluttershy and Pinkie was almost certainly a wild card. Even if AJ was there, the pegasus concluded that she wouldn’t be able to keep the plans a secret so it was a bit of a relief that the farmer wasn’t getting in on this. At least Rarity would be able to help out some. Rainbow Dash figured she had probably been on a bunch dates in the past.

“Ah, yes, I’m sure four ponies with no dating experience can craft the perfect date.” Rarity remarked sarcastically.

“Wait, haven’t you dated guys before?” Rainbow asked Rarity. Please be joking. Please be joking.

“Of course not.” Rarity replied. How was this not obvious?

Oh flying feathers, this was bad. “But, but…what?” Rainbow Dash stammered in confusion.

“Rainbow, darling, when one aims for the gold one does not simply settle for tin.” Rarity remarked. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamt of marrying a Prince and becoming a Princess. I was not about to waste my time dating somepony that I had no intention of building a lasting relationship with. That would have been utterly disingenuous and completely unladylike.” Rarity stated with flair of dignity. Relaxing a bit, “Of course, I’m over that silly idea now but I haven’t exactly been out looking for dates since the Gala.” She mentioned calmly.

“Don’t worry Dashie, everything will be great once you pull out streamers and start dancing.” Pinkie exclaimed as she danced around the room to a musical beat that only she could hear.

“I don’t think streamers are appropriate for a date, Pinkie.” Rarity interjected. What did Pinkie think a date was?

Pinkie brought her rhythmic dance to an abrupt halt. She tilted her head to the side, “Really?” Pinkie asked, “Isn’t a date like, a super romantic party for two?”

Rarity resisted the urge to groan. “The key part of that description is romantic.” Rarity replied dryly. “There is nothing romantic about streamers.”

“Unless they all have ‘I love you’ written on them.” Pinkie retorted with a smile.

Rarity could feel her left eye twitch just a bit. Where did Pinkie Pie get such inane ideas? “Anyway, Rainbow Dash I trust you at least have some sort of plan of events for this date.” She returned her gaze towards Rainbow Dash. I swear, her plan had better be more complex than ‘be awesome and make out’ she thought.

“Oh, yeah I have a plan of some awesome things I want do with Twi. I just really need help with the specifics.” Rainbow Dash responded confidently. Suddenly, her posture slouched a bit. Everything needed to be perfect. Twilight deserved that much. However, when considering that two out of her three assistants were likely to be no help at all, things were not terribly promising. She might need to ask Applejack for some help too.

“So, basically, you want to learn how to use your charm to win somepony’s affections?” Twilight asked. The hesitation in her voice belied her calm exterior.

“No, I mean maybe, urgh…I don’t wanna trick anypony.” Applejack replied in frustration. She paced back and forth, not even bothering to glance at Twilight. If only she was better with words, maybe then she could get her point across properly.

Twilight sighed. This was getting nowhere. Applejack had been contradicting herself so often it had become impossible to figure out what she was even asking for. “Applejack, this isn’t like you. You’re talking in circles and it isn’t helping either of us. Why don’t you stop trying to explain yourself and just tell me exactly what you want?” Twilight pleaded.

Applejack stopped her pacing. “What I want is to know how to get a dadgum stallion interested in bein’ romantic with me.” she stated with a frown. “All these months I’ve seen you and RD playin’, teasin’, kissin’, and havin’ fun.” Applejack’s voice quivered a bit. “I’m darn jealous of you two, Twilight. What I want is what you have and I don’t have any clue how to get it.” She exclaimed. Her body slumped to the floor with relaxation.

Jealous? That’s what this was about? Twilight couldn’t fathom how Applejack of all ponies could have held on to that kind of secret for so long without somepony noticing. “Applejack, why didn’t you say something earlier?” Twilight asked as she stepped towards her prone friend.

She couldn’t even bring herself to look at Twilight. Applejack turned her head away, “Yeah because just walkin’ up and sayin’ ‘I’m so jealous of ya’ll’ is such a great idea.” Applejack snapped.

Twilight recoiled from the vicious retort. “Are you feeling tense?” Twilight asked cautiously.

That’s an understatement “I’m a might more than tense Twilight, I just blew up at one of my best friends for no good reason.” Applejack replied. She still would not look at Twilight.

Twilight grinned as her horned flared with familiar purple glow of her magic.

“That should make for an exciting evening.” Rarity said. “Just make sure you and Twilight come by my boutique so I can make you both something beautiful to wear on your date.”

Pinkie Pie looked around the room, “Hey, what do you think is keeping Applejack and Twilight up there so long?” she asked.

The four friends looked towards the staircase with anticipation. “Maybe we should go check on them.” Rainbow Dash suggested. “It does seem odd that we had the time to plan every detail of the date and they still haven’t come down yet.” What was bothering AJ that she would need to talk that much about? Surely, if Twilight hadn’t gotten her straightened out by now it had to be serious. No doubt about it. AJ’s problem needed all the help her friends could muster.

Without another word the four mares made their way up the flight of stairs towards the bedroom.

“Whoa Nelly!” Applejack shouted. The echoes of her voice rang throughout rooms and down the halls and stair wells of the library. The orange mare moaned in pleasure as wave after wave of magical force rhythmically rocked her body.

She had been reluctant at first, but Applejack had slowly given in to Twilight’s pulsating magic. Twilight had never worked on such a tense body before. Perhaps it was her constant attention that kept Rainbow Dash so relaxed. The idea slipped away as Twilight continued to concentrate on relaxing her friend.

“I had no idea you were so sly AJ.” Rainbow Dash said as she entered the room.

“Indeed, this is certainly a thoughtful topic of conversation.” Rarity chimed in sarcastically.

“Hey! I was first in line for a massage!” Pinkie exclaimed.

The magical glow faded as Twilight released her spell. Applejack slumped over with half-lidded eyes. Sounds of relaxation escaped her lips.

Twilight turned to her newly arrived friends, “Sorry girls, Applejack got really wound up during our discussion. We weren’t making much progress with her problem so I decided she could use a bit of relaxation before we continued.” Twilight smiled and glanced at her orange friend, as much to admire the results of her effort as to direct the conversation away from herself.

Finally regaining her senses, Applejack stood back up to face her friends. “Hey,” she said with the beginnings of a blush, “I-it’s not like I asked for a massage.” She paused for a moment. “Not that it wasn’t appreciated.” She added quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was sound ungrateful.

Rarity cast a glower at the cowpony.

“You better appreciate it.” Rainbow Dash remarked with a grin. “Twilight gives the best massages and I don’t normally like to share her…talents.” She slid up next to her marefriend. Rainbow made an elegant show of wrapping a wing around Twilight, encouraging the unicorn to move closer.

Rarity pulled her head back a bit. All but the most unobservant could see the indignation upon her visage. “I see how it is Twilight; you just like playing around with athletic bodies.”

“T-that’s not what this is about.” Twilight replied frantically.

“At least she knows what she wants.” Rainbow Dash quipped with closed eyes, a grin, and an air of confidence.

Rarity cocked and eyebrow, “And just what are you insinuating?” she asked. She never had any doubts about what she wanted. It wasn’t her fault that finding the perfect prince was so difficult.

“Um, d-didn’t we come up here to, you know, help Applejack.” Fluttershy commented cautiously. It was never fun to watch her friends argue.

“Hey that’s right!” Pinkie exclaimed. The pink pony swiftly placed herself next to Applejack. Pinkie patted her friend on the back, “Alrighty Applejack, just tell Auntie Pinkie all about your problems.” Her tone was far too cheerful for the topic at hoof.

Nothing against Pinkie, but for some reason it always felt a bit uncomfortable to have her trying to act mature. Never mind that Pinkie was part of the problem. Applejack sighed heavily. She had wanted to avoid a big discussion about this, but there was no avoiding it now. Her head drooped low in defeat, “I’m worried there won’t be any stallions in town that are interested in me.” She said somberly.

There was a pregnant pause in the room. Applejack’s friends each pondered over what they could say to lift her spirits.

“Applejack, you have nothing to worry about.” Rarity interjected, breaking the tension. The white unicorn smiled gracefully, “Just show off a bit of feminine charm and stallions will be all over you.” It was hard to believe this is what Applejack was so worried about. Honestly, few ponies were as well regarded in Ponyville as Applejack. It was still rather surprising she has any trouble at all with finding a stallion.

Applejack simply stared at Rarity. “Exactly what makes you think I even have those girly ‘charms’ you’re talkin’ about?” she asked dryly. I swear, she had better not try to stuff me into one of her darn frou-frou dresses.

Rarity chuckled a bit. “Oh, please, every mare has her own special charm. You just need to practice a bit with it.” She replied with a smile. “Although,” Rarity placed a hoof to her chin, “You might want to start with the basics. Perhaps a simple seductive eye flutter.” She suggested.

Applejack sighed. It was time get laughed at. “Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.” Applejack blinked rapidly a few times.

Rarity stared silently for a few moments. “Well, are you going to try or not?” she asked.

“I just did.” Applejack responded flatly. What the hay does she think I just did, Applejack thought.

“You don’t mean,” Rarity said, “Oh dear, this might be harder than I thought.” The unicorn visibly cringed as she realized what her friend was referring to. It was mildly disappointing, but this was Applejack after all. It could take months to properly groom her as true lady. Perhaps it was too ambitious to think that she could train her farmer friend in a single night.

“You could always just try being yourself.” Fluttershy suggested.

“I think Fluttershy has a point.” Twilight agreed energetically. “You already have a bunch of positive qualities going for you. If somepony can’t see that then you shouldn’t be wasting your time with him.” She was hoping to drag the conversation to someplace more comfortable for Applejack.

“Yeah, Twilight’s right.” Rainbow Dash chimed in with a nod of her head. “I mean, if was gonna hook up with a stallion I’d totally want him to be like you.” She remarked casually.

Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “What in the hay is that supposed to mean?”

Twilight slipped away from Rainbow’s wing, “Yes, do tell us Rainbow.”

It was uncommon for the bookish unicorn to use that look. It never made Rainbow Dash feel comfortable. The cyan pegasus was already beating herself up mentally. Seriously, how many times could she let her tongue slip in just one day? This had to be a new personal record. “Uh, I just meant that you’re um strong and fit and…athletic.” Her brain was desperately trying to conjure some magical combination of words that would diffuse the situation.

“Athletic?” Applejack asked gruffly.

It was time to panic. There was no way this would not end up in some kind of scuffle. “Okay, okay, that totally came out wrong.” She said in a panic; she waved her for legs in front of her face.

Applejack turned her back to Rainbow Dash and took a few steps away. “Well I’ll tell you what’s not athletic.” She said with the same gruff tone as before. There was no way for Rainbow Dash to see the devious grin that crept onto her face.

Rainbow relaxed a bit with the extra distance between them. “What’s that?” she asked cautiously.

“A pegasus that can’t even dodge a pillow!” Applejack exclaimed as she bucked a nearby pillow right into Rainbow Dash’s face. The unprepared pegasus tumbled backwards landing on her back.

“Oh it’s on!” Rainbow shouted with a grin of her own.

“Oh no, not again, please.” Fluttershy pleaded. Her body was already trembling.

“Pillow Fight!” Pinkie screamed before lobbing her first volley of feather-filled ammunition.

At the Party

Applejack stared at the large building in utter amazement. “Pinkie, how in the hay did you manage to convince the mayor to let you use the town hall for a party?”

“I dunno, I just asked her.” The party pony replied with a giggle. Pinkie promptly hopped away into the innards of the massive public building. There was still some time before the party began and that meant more time to decorate.

Mere moments later, Twilight and Rainbow Dash emerged from the town hall. Even from a distance Applejack could tell something was going on. The farmer decided to check on her friends and trotted over.

“Ug, can you believe her? I mean why do we need clouds inside?” There was an obvious tone of frustration in Rainbow’s voice. “But no, we can’t just have clouds. That would be easy. She has to have decorative cloud sculptures.” The pegasus grumbled. She continued to mutter various complaints about her working conditions.

“I know what you mean. Between Pinkie and Rarity I’ll be surprised if they aren’t still decorating after the guests show up.” Twilight interjected between Rainbow Dash’s flurry of complaints.

Applejack finished her approach with a smile. She had hoped the preparations were going smoothly, but from the sound of things it was still a mess in there. “So, have they gotten anythin’ done yet?” Her tone indicated a sense of cautious optimism.

Twilight turned to face Applejack, “Oh quite a lot actually. In fact, they could have been finished two hours ago if they would both stop trying to improve on each other’s additions with their own additions.” The unicorn managed to keep a rather cheerful tone despite the obvious frustration she wore about her like a cloak.

“Oh, well as long as everythin’ important is set up, we can get em to stop once ponies start showing up.” Applejack voice was filled with relief. “Ya’ll sure you won’t mind missin’ out on one of Pinkie’s parties?”

“It’s fine. We can use the time to catch up on some reading.” Rainbow Dash replied as she leaned closer to Twilight. “We were planning to make up for lost time after last night’s interruption.” The pegasus gently nuzzled Twilight.

“Oh, alright, I guess I’ll see ya’ll later then.”

Applejack watched her two friends trot off towards the library. With nothing to do but wait for the guests to arrive, Applejack decided to head inside to check on the preparations.

The large double-doors opened to reveal a myriad of decorations and party related accoutrements. Just as Rainbow Dash had mentioned, several clouds floated around the higher open areas of the room. Some had been shaped into different festive designs including hearts and balloons. Actual balloons of all different colors were tied to various spots around the room while glittery, colorful banners were hung from the elevated balconies. A multitude of tables lined the walls. Each one was overflowing with various food and drinks, some of which Applejack had made herself. Yet, amidst all the potential good times was an argument.

“I’m telling you Pinkie, if you just take some of that glitter off you could make all sorts of amazing patterns with it.” Rarity mentioned as she magically removed some of the excess glitter from a few of the banners.

Pinkie Pie frowned, “No, more glitter is better because it makes the whole thing uniform.” She reasoned, shooting a mass of glitter everywhere with her party cannon.

Applejack sighed. She was already tuning out the discussion. No sense getting worked up by getting between those two so close to the start of the party. Her nerves were already frazzled. Talking to her friends the previous night had certainly helped, but she was still nervous about this whole ordeal. Applejack decided to wait outside in the fresh air until the party began.

Everything was going well so far. The guests were showing up on time and everypony seemed to be eager and excited. A massive blast from Pinkie’s party cannon showered the room with streamers and confetti to signal the start of the event.

The pink party pony had outdone herself with the preparations. She had managed to fill up a most of the available space with ponies, food, and decorations. She was at the top of her game.

Pinkie Pie was all over the place as she zipped around the room to check on guests and refreshments. She decided beforehoof to make notes on who was hooking up at her party. It was her self-designated duty to throw parties for special occasions and happy relationships were a great source of party-worthy occasions.

It was a good thing Pinkie didn’t have to worry about trying to find a date for herself or she would have had trouble keeping up with everything going on at this massive event. Oh yes, the one she had her eye on was supposed to be in town tomorrow. Pinkie had been planning for his arrival for weeks. But there was no time to think about that, she had a party to run.

Applejack looked around the massive room, taking stock of how the different ponies were arranging themselves. Normally at Pinkie’s parties ponies would simply intermingle without a care in the world. Once the objective was altered to finding a date, she noticed that earth ponies and unicorns were dividing themselves into separate groups. The pegasi were mostly up in the air or on the higher balconies in the room. There was nothing wrong with intermixing, but somehow it seemed easier to find a date by sticking to your own type of pony.

No sense in puttin’ it off, Applejack decided. She waded right into the crowd of earth ponies that had gathered on the left-hoof side of the room. As she began to look around the group, the farmer found herself considering things that she had placed little importance on before. Physical features were among the first things that she discovered herself examining. Croup, dock, haunch, shoulders, and hips. So many areas seemed important, or at least pleasant to stare at.

Finally, she spotted a pony she recognized. He was a black-maned, gray-coated stallion with clovers as a Cutie Mark. He was one of the ponies that helped out at Sweet Apple Acres during Winter Wrap Up. She trotted over with a smile, “Hey Lucky, how’s it goin’?”

The stallion turned his head in response to the familiar voice calling his name. “Hi Applejack.” Lucky replied with a smile to match hers. Hay, yes. A few minutes in and I’ve already got a mare after me. I’m living up to my name already. Lucky thought.

Applejack stood silently for a moment, not entirely sure what to say. She never was very good at striking up idle chatter. Work at the farm didn’t leave much time chit-chat and her brother was rarely working close enough to her for a conversation to be viable. It was like stretching a seldom used muscle, awkward and a bit painful.

“So, uh, great job with that last Winter Wrap Up, Lucky.” Applejack blurted out in desperation.

Lucky blinked a few times. He was certain that he remembered Applejack being more sociable than that. “Um, thanks.” He replied awkwardly.

Many more moments passed in silence between them.

When in doubt, talk about apples Applejack thought. “So, how do ya like Sweet Apple Acres?” She asked suddenly, breaking the awkwardness with a hammer forged of confusion.

“Oh, it’s…nice.” Lucky responded slowly. Was Applejack always this bad at conversation?

“You, uh, ever think about wantin’ to work for me full time?”

What the hay? Was she interviewing him or asking him out? Lucky really couldn’t tell at that point. He already had a full time job that didn’t involve working himself to the bone with physical labor every day. Besides, the only reason he helped her during Winter Wrap Up was because he wasn’t a good enough skater to help Pinkie Pie score the lakes. Better safe than sorry he thought. “No, I’m quite happy with what I’m doing now.” Lucky slowly backed away from Applejack with each word. “Oh I think I hear somepony calling my name.” He remarked before swiftly slipping off into the crowd.

Dagnabit. Way to scare him off AJ.

Ditzy Doo strolled up to the town hall with a smile on her face, a spring in her trot, and a cheerful tune in her head. The grey pegasus couldn’t help but hum the tune aloud. She always enjoyed Pinkie’s parties, but this was the first time she would be attending one with somepony. It had been a wonderful surprise when the Doctor hoofed her that invitation personally and asked her to go with him. They had been together for so long and this was the first time Ditzy could remember that he had taken the initiative.

The Doctor trotted cheerfully next to the grey pegasus mare. It was already shaping up to be a good day. Ditzy had been delighted to receive an invitation. He only hoped that he could make up for his bout of ignorance over the past two years. It had been difficult explaining everything to her the previous day. He had spent nearly two hours admitting his feelings and explaining how foolish he had felt for not simply asking her how she felt in the first place. Despite all his worrying and agonizing over the situation, Ditzy just laughed. You really are silly sometimes Doctor, she told him with that beautiful smile of hers. And she was right. Nothing had changed between them. If anything, the Doctor was much happier now that he no longer had to worry about suppressing his feelings.

The two ponies stopped just in front of the door. They turned to each other and smiled as they opened the large doors together. The pair entered the town hall to find the party was already in full swing. Not terribly surprising since they were a tad bit behind schedule. Making sure her youngest daughter was taken care of for the evening had taken longer than expected. Without hesitation, the two ponies waded into the crowded room.

Rarity turned to Fluttershy, “Fluttershy, darling, you simply cannot stay hidden under that table the whole time.”

“But it’s nice under here.” Fluttershy replied meekly as she stuck her head out from under the table.

Rarity sighed. “Look, I know that stallion was being a bit forward, but how do you expect to find a date when you dive for cover every time you get asked out?”

“But you said it was the stallion’s job to come after the mare. I-if he really liked me then wouldn’t he have come after me?” The pegasus retorted.

Rarity was stumped. She had said that, but it never occurred to her how that concept might apply if the mare was running away from the stallion. Taking the time to look after Fluttershy was proving to be quite the challenge. It was severely hampering Rarity’s attempts at flirting when she would have to excuse herself every few minutes to coax the meek pegasus out from under yet another table.

After looking around for the next potential target, Rarity finally spotted an opportunity. There, all by their lonesome, were two stallions she recognized as her neighbors. Lucky, and Caramel, if her memory served, had lived next to her for a few years. They had even been kind enough to offer to pull Rarity and her friends’ carriage to the Grand Galloping Gala, even if it did take a bit Rarity’s charm to make it happen.

“Fluttershy, come on out. I’ve just spotted two nice stallions we can go talk to.” Rarity used her most comforting tone of voice.

“A-are you sure?” Fluttershy asked, retreating slightly back under her table sanctuary.

“Yes, I know them both. They are two of my neighbors. Trust me, they are both nice stallions.” Rarity replied calmly.

“Okay, if you say so.” Fluttershy answered as she crawled out from under the safety of the empty hors d'oeuvres table. If Rarity said they were nice then they had to be nice. Fluttershy had already hindered Rarity’s courting attempts a few times and she was feeling a bit guilty about it. If nothing else she had to try one more time, for Rarity’s sake.

“Hey, Lucky, isn’t that Rarity over there?” The brown earth pony asked his friend while nodding his head in the mentioned mare’s direction.

Lucky turned casually to glance in the indicated direction. Much to his surprise, it was indeed Rarity that Caramel had spotted. Even more surprising was that the beautiful mare and that cute pegasus friend of hers were walking straight towards him and Caramel.

Rarity cantered over to the waiting stallions with her most inviting gaze on display. “Good evening boys, how are you two doing?” A slight flutter of her eyes with her question was all that was needed to capture the two stallions’ attention.

“Just fine.” The two answered in a somewhat awkward unison. They briefly glanced at each other before grinning and turning back to the gorgeous mare addressing them.

Rarity acknowledged their response with a token nod of her head. “Well I noticed you two standing here all by your lonesome and assumed you might enjoy a bit of company.” Rarity reached out with her magic and dragged Fluttershy right in front of Caramel. The pegasus squeaked in protest, but the deed was already done. “I thought you might like to meet a good friend of mine, Caramel. This is Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy and Caramel smiled awkwardly at each other, neither was quite sure what to say.

Rarity took the opportunity to slide up next to Lucky. “So, Lucky, how have you been? I really don’t see much of you these days.” Rarity was making use of every bit of charm she could. She would readily admit that she may not always be the most sociable neighbor to the nearby colts and stallions, but she did try her best to be friendly whenever she remembered their existence.

Dear Celestia, I hope this isn’t just a lead in to another request for manual labor Lucky thought. Some ponies might be jealous of Lucky for living next door to such a beautiful mare, but to him it was practically a curse. In all his years living next to Carousel Boutique, he could not recall even a single time that Rarity had talked to him that did not end up with him, and usually Caramel too, doing some form of manual labor for her. One day it’s lifting something really heavy, even though she has magic for that, other times it was doing her landscaping or washing her shop’s windows. Every. Single. Time. Just once he wished for a normal conversation with her. All the better if it lead to a date. All that labor would be totally worth it if he could wake up to that lovely mare every day.

“Um, Lucky, is something wrong? You seem to be staring off into space.” Rarity commented with a slightly worried tone.

Lucky snapped out of his little daydream. Come on Lucky, you’ve had nothing but crazy mares come onto you all night. Your name has to stop being a sick piece of twisted irony one of these days the stallion thought. “Oh, uh, I was just admiring the decorations over there.” He managed to blurt out with what he hoped was his most unsuspicious tone.

Rarity’s eyes lit up as she caught a glimpse of where Lucky had indicated he was looking. Those were some of the banners she had managed to de-glitter while Pinkie Pie wasn’t looking. She had never imagined that Lucky had an appreciation for good taste. “Oh, well those were one of my spur of the moment ideas, but I think they came out quite nicely.” She replied as a slight blush warmed her face.

YES! Finally a stroke of luck, and it’s good luck for once. Maybe this day won’t be terrible after all.

Caramel noticed his friend smiling as though he had won a bet. If Lucky can hit it off with Rarity, then there is no reason I can’t get a date too he thought. Caramel was usually timid when it came to dealing with mares; however he had nothing on the mare that stood in front of him. The cute yellow pegasus shyly fidgeted in front of him, never making eye contact for more than the scantest of moments. If he didn’t know any better, Caramel might have thought she would be afraid of her own shadow if it snuck up on her just right. “It’s nice to meet you, Fluttershy.” He finally managed to force the words past the lump in his throat. The stallion really wished he could more confident.

Fluttershy remained silent. She chose to coyly scuff her right-front hoof against the floor rather than reply to the stallion’s attempt to start a conversation. He seemed nice, but for some reason she just felt really, really nervous. She could feel her heart pounding faster every time she glanced at him. Something about him was making her feel so strange. Fluttershy didn’t like feeling strange. Strange feelings could mean she was getting sick and that wouldn’t be good for anypony. Who would take care of her animal friends if she was sick?

Caramel noticed that the cute pegasus was acting a bit more antsy than before. Perhaps he needed to be more aggressive to break the tension. “You look beautiful.” He mentioned with hints of his own shyness bleeding through his words.

Her face flushed, her heart was beating faster than ever, and her entire body was heating up. That confirmed it. Fluttershy knew for certain that she was getting sick. She could be running a fever and not even know it. Maybe if she hid under a table she could keep from spreading her illness to everypony. With one her more audible squeaks, the worried pegasus evacuated the scene with speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud.

Rarity sighed heavily. Not again she thought. She was doing so well with this one too. No matter, her duty as Fluttershy’s friend demanded that she attend to the obviously frightened pegasus. “So, sorry boys. It seems I’m needed elsewhere.” There was no malice in her voice, only a tone of pure frustration mixed with her normal charming accent.

The two stallions watched in befuddlement as the beautiful fashionista trotted off after her friend.

Lucky turned to Caramel, “Nice going idiot. You just blew my only chance at getting a date with Rarity.” A pony could almost hear the venom drip from every word.

Caramel’s face distorted in anger, “I just told her she looked beautiful. I thought mares liked hearing that, but apparently your ‘good luck’ seems to have rubbed off on me.” He retorted with an equal amount of spite.

The two stallions argument swiftly grew out of control. Caramel and Lucky became so caught up in blaming each other that neither one noticed being escorted out of the party until they landed squarely on their heads outside.

“And don’t think you’re getting an invitation to my next party with big meanine-pants attitudes like those!” Pinkie Pie shouted before walking back into the party. She made sure to slam the doors shut on her way in.

Applejack mentally chided herself, again. She was having no luck at all keeping up a good conversation. It seemed like every time she talked to a stallion the topic somehow managed to drift to Sweet Apple Acres. Inevitably, the moment ‘hard work’ came up every stallion seemed to shut down or just outright excuse himself from her company. If only she could figure out what she was doing wrong. That or maybe she just needed to find a stallion that wasn’t allergic to work.

The farmer wandered around the room looking for another potential date. The party had been going for a few hours already and a fair chunk of the stallions had already been claimed. She was pleasantly surprised to run into Doc Smith and Ditzy Doo. It was a good thing too. She hadn’t seen Rarity or Fluttershy since the party had started and she was in desperate need of a friendly conversation.

“Well, you two seem to be gettin’ along.” Applejack trotted over to the dancing couple.

Ditzy perked up at the sound of that familiar accent. There was no mistaking Applejack’s voice. And what good timing too, she needed a break from all the dancing and a friendly conversation was the perfect reason. “Hey Applejack, you wouldn’t believe what happened.” A giddy expression washed over the pegasus. “Doctor and I are officially dating!” She exclaimed.

“Well congratulations you two.” Applejack replied. It was good to know that Doc Smith had owned up to his actions.

The Doctor grinned, “Actually, Ditzy, I had something else I wanted to ask you. I figured the party might be a better location for the question.”

Ditzy could feel her heart racing. Was he really doing what it sounded like he was doing? She felt her cheeks flush with heat as she waited with bated breath for his next words.

The Doctor gazed deep into her gorgeous golden eyes. Those eyes were locked in his direction. He knew he had every bit of her attention. “Ditzy Doo, would you do me the honor of becoming my assis-”

The grey mare leapt forward as fast as she could manage, wrapping the Doctor in her forelegs. Her lips landed squarely against his as though they were guided by the magic of fate to be there. With closed eyes, the pair remained locked in their romantic embrace for several seconds that could have passed for an eternity. As Ditzy finally pulled back from her kiss the Doctor could see the tears welling up in her eyes. “Of course I’ll marry you.” She leaned in close and rested her head against his.

Okay, that wasn’t exactly the response I was expecting the Doctor thought. It’s alright, Doctor, you are a master at improvising. You just need to take charge and make sure this doesn’t blow up in your face. “There is just one teeny, tiny problem.”

Ditzy let go of her soon-to-be husband and stared straight at him. “Did you forget the diamond?” she asked playfully.

“Well, yes. You see this was a rather spur of the moment idea and I didn’t have a lot of time to-” Ditzy gently placed a hoof over the Doctor’s mouth.

“Doctor, you are my diamond.” The Doctor leaned in and stole a sweet, warm kiss.

Once more he gazed into her eyes. “And you are my everything.”

Those words hung in the silent air for only a few moments. Suddenly, a massive burst of confetti and streamers covered the area. A close inspection of the streamers would have revealed the words I love you repeated all over them, but nopony was paying that much attention to them. “Oh my gosh, this is so wonderful!” Pinkie Pie shouted at the top of her lungs.

For a few brief moments, the entire party had come to a halt. Every pony in the room was eagerly awaiting Pinkie’s next outburst.

“Doctor Smith and Ditzy Doo are getting married!” The pink party pony announced through the microphone that she had mysteriously acquired. Her announcement was followed by the thunderous sound of excited hoof stomps as every pony whooped and cheered for the happy couple. Excited shouts of congratulatory phrases echoed throughout the room as the two ponies simply smiled and embraced in a passionate kiss.

“Honestly, Fluttershy, how long do you intend to hide under this table?” Rarity had already lost count of the number of times her shy friend had managed to hide somewhere.

The meek pegasus remained silent.

Rarity sighed. She had hoped that she could keep Fluttershy from being too nervous at the party, but that plan had fallen to pieces in a matter of seconds. Her shy friend had squeaked and dove under a cloth-covered table the first time a stallion looked in her direction. To make matters more complicated, this had been her reaction to every stallion she talked to. If only Rarity could figure out what was bothering her friend so much.

This was easily the second most terrifying moment in her life; the time she faced a real adult dragon was firmly at the top of that list. Fluttershy cowered silently under the table. That her pink tail stuck out from under the draping tablecloth served as the only evidence that she was even at the party. If only this had been a normal Pinkie Pie party. She wasn’t sure why, but the thought of dating was just plain unsettling. Every time a nice stallion would talk to her she began to feel ill again. It was always the same symptoms too. Racing heart, flushed face, and feeling hot all over. Not even having Rarity there with her had helped to stem her nervousness.

Rarity noticed a fairly large red stallion who was constantly glancing around the room. She recognized him as Big Macintosh. She beckoned for the stallion to approach and he obliged. Perhaps it was the atmosphere that was present at those types of parties that encouraged looking at him in a different light. As he approached, Rarity found herself, rather shamelessly, examining his physique. While Applejack may not be much to look at, her brother was easily worth a second look.

“Good evening Miss Rarity.” The stallion greeted her as politely as always. He continued to cast glances around the room, almost as though he were looking for somepony.

“Hello, Big Macintosh. I noticed you seem to be a bit preoccupied.” Rarity mentioned casually.

Macintosh ceased his vigilant glances and looked straight at Rarity. “Oh, sorry about that, I’m just keepin’ my eyes open.”

“Was there somepony you were looking for?”

“Nope.”

Short and concise, how typical of him she thought. “If you don’t mind my asking-”

“Takin’ notes.” He interjected.

Notes of what? Rarity wondered. “Hmm, yes. Since you are here, can I take that to mean you are looking for a mare?” This might be her only chance that night; no need to beat around the bush.

Macintosh was silent. He already knew where this was going. “Nope, AJ says we get more work done if we just accept Miss Pinkie’s invitations.” Truth of the matter was that declining the invitation meant more Pinkie Pie at the farm. As nice as that pink pony was, things just had a tendency of not getting done when she was around.

Rarity breaks her eye contact with the stallion. “Oh well, that’s a shame.” She replied with a melancholic tone.

“No offense Miss Rarity, but if I was lookin’ I’d prefer a mare that doesn’t mind getting’ dirty or sweaty.” His voice was as calm as always, but his tone granted a certain sense of sternness to his words.

“None taken, of course.” How wonderful, to be shot down by the one stallion that even bothered to talk to her without overt flirting involved. She doubted if he could have chosen words with any more finality.

Big Macintosh bowed his head slightly, mostly out of respect, and took his leave. He could almost have sworn he heard a sigh as he merged with the remaining throng of party-goers.

“Come on Fluttershy, let’s go.” Rarity huffed. “I think it’s time we did something fun today.”

Fluttershy poked her head out from her hiding place to see Rarity trotting towards the door. With a nearly inaudible squeak, the yellow pegasus swiftly emerged from under her hideout and bolted to Rarity’s side. She was a bit upset that she had ruined Rarity’s chances of mingling at the party.

The two friends made it outside without interruption. It was still early in the evening. The Sun was about halfway through its dip below the horizon. The sky was a brilliant wash of warm colors that made the nervous pegasus feel a bit calmer. “So, um, what should we do now?” Fluttershy asked softly.

“Why don’t you come over to my place? I can whip us up a fresh batch of tea and some snacks.” Rarity suggested. Her tone was more pleasant than Fluttershy had expected. The unicorn was intent on not wasting the day. Just because Pinkie’s party didn’t work out so well, did not mean that she and could not make the best of her time with Fluttershy.

Thunderlane was perched at the edge of a balcony overlooking the main room of the town hall. He had been keeping a watchful eye over a certain party-goer the entire evening. He had assumed that staying out of the way would have kept him from being interrupted, but that was simply not the case.

“Hey little bro, are you still ogling that same mare?” The cheerful white pegasus asked as she landed on the balcony next to the black coated stallion.

Thunderlane recognized that voice. There was only one mare that addressed him that way. “Blossomforth, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?” he continued his vigilant watch over that same mare, not even turning to acknowledge Blossmforth’s arrival.

The pegasus mare giggled. “You don’t have to tell me at all silly.” Her tone was as cheerful as ever.

Thunderlane sighed, “Well I’m not your brother and I happen to be bigger than you. That makes you wrong on both counts.” He remarked in a snide fashion without breaking his gaze.

“I see you want to avoid answering my question.” Blossomforth retorted as a sly grin encroached on her lips.

The stallion groaned, “Yes I’m still watching her.” Why did she have to bother him about this? Sure he had casually mentioned that he had a slight crush on a certain mare a few dozen times, but that didn’t make it any of her business.

“I’m glad you are finally willing to admit that you are a perverted stalker.” The playful mare quipped as her grin continued to encompass a larger portion of her visage.

Thunderlane broke his gaze to give his teasing friend a very nonplussed expression. “I am not.” He retorted. “I just like her, that’s all.”

“Then go talk to her.” Blossomforth replied.

A faint blush appeared across the stallion’s face. “What if she says no?” His tone was filled with doubt.

“What if she says yes?” Blossomforth countered.

“You’re not gonna let this go are you?”

“Look, now she’s leaving!” Blossomforth snapped as she pointed a hoof towards the mare in question. “This is your last chance before I buck you out the door after her.” Her eyes narrowed a bit as her grin eerily vanished. The result was the most serious expression Thunderlane had ever seen on his friend’s face.

“Alright, I’m going.” Thunderlane replied hastily. He quickly turned and took flight after the object of his affections.

Blossomforth smiled once more at the sight of her ‘little brother’ finally taking action. Stallions can be so stubborn sometimes. I wonder where he’d be without me to buck him into action now and then? Blossomforth wondered.

Applejack milled around the crowds in a vain attempt to find a decent stallion that she hadn’t already driven off. Much to her dissatisfaction, she failed to locate any suitable candidates. Well this was a bust she thought as her head drooped. I may as well head home.

Applejack glanced around the room looking for any signs of her pink friend. She really didn’t want to try explaining to Pinkie that her party had not done its job. Seeing no sign of the party pony, Applejack slowly slinked her way out of the town hall completely oblivious to the pony that was following her.

Applejack stopped outside the town hall to take stock of the time. She gazed up to find the Moon still relatively low in its ascent for the evening. The slight breeze felt relaxing as she continued to gaze upon the stars.

“Hey, wait up.” The voice called out from behind the orange farmer.

Applejack turned around to find a black coated pegasus with a silver-grey streaked mane landing on the ground. She knew she had seen him at her apple stand before, but she had no idea who he was.

“Hey, I saw you leaving all by yourself.” Thunderlane remarked.

“Yeah, so what?” the farmer mare snapped. Applejack was not in the best mood at that time. The last thing she needed was some sleazy fella thinking she needed ‘company’ for the night.

“Well, would you like some company?” Thunderlane replied, trying his best to sound confident.

Oh great, just what I needed she thought. Applejack glared sternly at the stallion, “I’m not that desperate for a roll in the hay.” She growled angrily.

“Ah, no that’s not what I meant.” Thunderlane replied in a panic. Okay, that failed. Time for plan B he thought. “Wait, just let me start over.” The stallion pleaded.

Applejack held onto her glare for a few moments. “Fine, just don’t think you’re gettin’ ‘lucky’ with me tonight buck-o.” She released her angry stare and noticed the stallion visibly relax as a result.

Okay, you can do this. Just be nice and stay calm. “My name’s Thunderlane.” He put on a pleasant smile in the hope that it might lighten the mood.

“Applejack.” She replied shortly. A few moments passed in silence. “So why are you followin’ me?” Applejack asked, finally breaking the silence.

Well, at least she hasn’t bucked me in the face yet. “Oh, well, I just…” Thunderlane trailed off. He had to pick his words carefully. The stallion paused for a moment and took a deep breath to relax himself. “I just wanted to ask you out.”

“Oh really? You think it’s funny to tease me?” She remarked with and accusatory tone.

His eyes darted left, then right in hopes of finding some other pony that had infuriated her. Unfortunately, the town square was empty, save for himself and Applejack. “What? No!” Thunderlane exclaimed while taking a step forward.

“Then why didn’t you just come up and says so earlier?” Applejack retorted. She wasn’t that intimidating was she?

“I was afraid of you saying no.” Thunderlane replied with a stern gaze.

Applejack froze. As angry as she was, she could still tell when somepony was being honest. Her body relaxed as she stood up straight. The expression she wore became one of calmness. She listened intently for what the stallion had to say next.

“I wanted to say something but you just kept going around and talking to every stallion you saw. Then I saw that every one of them kept running off and I thought you were just too daunting to approach.” Thunderlane responded with more energy than Applejack had expected. He had already worked up the confidence to talk to her; there was no point in loosing that momentum by sulking or backing down.

“So what changed your mind?” Applejack asked calmly.

“Well, I asked around and they thought you were trying to hire more hooves to work at Sweet Apple Acres. It didn’t make sense that you would come to that type of party to look for workers.” He answered. Thunderlane may not have actually asked around as much as he overheard stallions talking about it to each other, but it still helped him make up his mind in the end. Okay, maybe it was just Blossomforth threatening him that solved his courage problem, but what he said sounded way better.

Applejack sunk back. She knew deep down that she had been pushing the idea of working at her farm too hard all evening. Hearing somepony say that to her face made everything click into place. “Did you think I was here to hire more help?” She asked cautiously. Even if it was what driving stallions away, it was still an important part of her decision. She had to try to broach the subject slower this time. Perhaps that would make it less off-putting.

“Even if you were, it’s still worth a shot to ask you out.” He answered as a genuine smile spread across his face.

Applejack couldn’t help but brighten up at the mere sound of those words. Her face flushed a bit, but the effect was hidden by the dull light of the moon. “Just one more question then,” She looked at the stallion with eager eyes, “Do you mind hard work?”

“No.” He replied without hesitation.

Applejack beamed a smile at the stallion, “How’s lunch time tomorrow sound?”

Thunderlane’s eyes did little to hide his enthusiasm. “G-Great. Should I pick you up?”

She could feel her heart fluttering at the thought. She finally had date. “Sure, I’ll be waitin’ for ya.” She replied with a nod of her head.

Thunderlane’s wings shot open with excitement. Buck yes! I did it. He released the sudden burst of energy with powerful flap of his wings, sending him into the air. He gave in fully to his enthusiasm. The pegasus flew around in circles and loops the same way he had when he discovered trick-flying as a colt at flight camp.

Applejack watched as the pegasus zipped around happily above her. It was obvious that he had been serious about thinking she was worth some trouble to ask out. She didn’t want to ruin his fun, but she still had one thing to clear up with him. “Hey, I just want to be clear before this goes anywhere.”

The stallion abruptly stopped his fanciful flight. He could tell this was serious. Thunderlane decided to land, he could burn off his excitement later.

The farmer took in a slow relaxing breath before continuing. “I’m interested in a fella that won’t mind workin’ with me at the farm. Sweet Apple Acres is really important to me, so if we get hitched I’d want you to move in with me. I don’t think I could stay with a stallion that won’t be there with me every day.” She tried her best not to make it sound too serious, even though it was a serious topic. Please don’t run off she thought.

“I’m okay with that. It’s not like you could move in with me in the sky anyway.” He answered with a playful smile. “Besides, after some of the things the guys at the party said, I was expecting you to make me work at your farm before you’d even go on a date with me.” He continued.

He made a good point. Wait, did he just… she thought, “So, you’re saying you’d be willin’ to help out at the farm just for a date?” Her voice was a mix of surprise and curiosity.

“Well, I did ask you out with that in mind.” He replied with a chuckle.

Had Applejack been a bit more socially savvy, she might have recognized that the stallion was not actually offering his services. Unfortunately for him, all the farmer heard was ‘when can I start?’ “How about Monday then?”

Thunderlane realized that he had all but volunteered to help. “Oh, well, I have weather duty on Monday.” He swiftly mentioned.

“Oh forget about that, I’ll talk to RD for ya and get ya outta that so you can help me out at the farm.” Applejack countered in a nonchalant manner.

“Oh, you really don’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense, now come on Sugarcube, I’ll bet Rainbow Dash and Twilight are still up. Let’s go get this cleared up right now.” The happy mare trotted off towards the library.

What did I just get myself into? Thunderlane thought as he followed.

The Visitors, part one

Rarity had remained uncharacteristically silent for the duration of the walk to her home. The gorgeous unicorn was seething with frustration underneath her calm exterior. Fluttershy knew that was the case. The forced smile that craved to curve in the opposite direction, the heightened speed of her gait that destroyed the usual feminine grace of her trot, and the deathly silence that felt so unbecoming of one whose voice could so easily capture a pony’s attention. All the usual signs that Rarity was upset and there was only one pony to blame. Knowing that Rarity would never even consider letting her apologize, for her friend would insist it was not Fluttershy’s fault, only served to make the timid pegasus feel even worse.

“Well, here we are.” Rarity finally broke her unspoken pact of silence as her magic flung the front door of her home wide open.

Fluttershy followed Rarity inside, taking note of how hard the door was slammed shut behind her. Her friend was way past upset, she could only hope that being at home would help calm her down.

Rarity trotted off into the kitchen. She was determined not to let this day go to waste, and she could not think of a single time when a nice friendly chat over tea had not helped to calm her nerves. Of course, tea naturally demanded a tray of snacks for proper presentation. Even if she was frustrated, the unicorn would not deviate from her practiced etiquette in front of a guest.

It felt like an eternity waiting alone in the foyer of Rarity’s fancy boutique. Though her friend had not made mention of where Fluttershy should wait, it seemed appropriate to wait outside the kitchen. Fluttershy didn’t want to be a distraction; she knew first hoof how bad distractions can be while cooking. It reminded her of the first time she had tried to make soup for herself. She honestly had no idea how hungry her animal friends had been at the time. When they all started bothering her for food she had given in to their demands too swiftly. By the time she had fed them all, her soup had ended up pretty badly burnt. Thankfully, most of her animal friends were much more patient than when she first met them. If there was one thing Fluttershy could do well, it was waiting patiently. Well, that and being quiet. Okay, she was really good at communicating with animals, and also being empathetic towards others. Actually, the more she thought about it, there were a lot of things she was good at. Fluttershy’s pleasant thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Rarity landing on the couch next to her.

The blue aura gently placed Rarity’s preparations on the nearby table. She glanced briefly at her friend; Fluttershy smiled weakly. It was obvious that both of them only wanted to relax, it was not the time for talking; not just yet. Rarity poured two cups of tea and levitated one over to Fluttershy. The pegasus took hold of the warm cup, bringing it close as she blew gently to cool her beverage a bit before drinking.

The friends enjoyed the brief respite from stress as they indulged in Rarity’s culinary works. The unicorn may not have been a professional chef, but she knew her way around the kitchen better than most. Fluttershy always enjoyed Rarity’s snacks. Every little treat had a small flair that made it feel more like something from Canterlot than Ponyville.

Now that she felt calm and refreshed, Rarity was feeling a bit too eager for something to do. She sprang up from the couch, taking hold of the dishes with her magic as she made her way to deposit them in the sink. She returned a few minutes later, Rarity was not the type to leave dirty dishes piled up, to find Fluttershy sleeping peacefully on her couch.

Her plans had involved a few things with Fluttershy, but with the pegasus out cold for the moment, the new wave of energy was making the unicorn feel antsy. She needed to do something. There was no way she could fall asleep right then.

Soon, the decision was made to work on one of her fashion projects. Rarity quietly trotted upstairs to her inspiration room. The fashionista milled about the room, as quietly as she could, while magically manipulating fabrics and assorted tools in an attempt to bring some of her designs to life.

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, still feeling the drowsy feeling that always accompanied her when she awoke from an impromptu nap. Nothing really registered at first as she quietly took in her surroundings. Oddly, for her at least, the sense of panic set in slowly as she began to recognize where she was. Bland white walls, desks and counters covered in slips of paper, the uninspired white and blue-checkered tile floor; she was lying in the post office lobby.

To her credit, she managed not to panic. Fluttershy tried her best to recount the day’s events in hopes of discovering a clue as to why she had been asleep in the post office. Every detail of the day raced through her mind. She fed her animals, met up with Rarity for lunch, attended Pinkie’s party, and then she went back to Rarity’s home for snacks. Nothing she could remember seemed to hold the clue she had been hoping for.

The pegasus slowly stood up and looked around the lobby for any sign of other ponies. Her examination brought her full circle back to where she had started, only this time there was somepony standing in front of her. The new arrival was none other than Rarity. Fluttershy blinked hastily several times to clear her eyes of the last remnants of sleep, partly wondering whether this was an illusion or if she really had managed not to notice her friend standing right there.

When her vision was refreshed and refocused, the pegasus was suddenly forced to ponder how her other friends could be standing in front of her. Certainly they hadn’t been there before she started blinking, yet there they were. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and even that nice Doctor fellow were all standing right there behind Rarity.

Suddenly, without word or hesitation, Rarity moved closer. Was it her imagination or had she been so focused on her friends that she didn’t hear Rarity’s hoofsteps? The white unicorn’s hooves brought her to a stop just before their muzzles touched. Fluttershy could feel the burning of the blush across her face as her best friend’s eyes gazed into her own. Rarity had never looked at her this way before. This was just like the look that Twilight always gave Rainbow Dash before-

Rarity lunged forward, her lips meeting Fluttershy’s in a sudden embrace. The meek pegasus was in complete shock. She wanted to move. She wanted to pull away, to shrivel up into a ball and hide somewhere so that nopony would see flush on her face. Alas, her body had other ideas.

As Rarity pushed in for a deeper embrace, Fluttershy’s body seemed to oblige the unicorn’s every request. She felt Rarity’s tongue brush across her lips, practically begging to be let in, much like Angel-bunny when she accidentally lock him outside that one night. Her lips parted before she could even finish her comparison. The unicorn’s tongue darted in, faster than Fluttershy had expected, eliciting a squeak of both surprise and pleasure. Almost instinctively, Fluttershy closed her eyes and melted into the passion of the moment.

Sooner than the pegasus would have liked, Rarity pulled back, abruptly ending the delightful embrace. “Teacher didn’t say you could stop.” The words escaped Fluttershy’s mouth before she could even begin to realize what had happened. Immediately, something felt strange about this ordeal. That wasn’t something Fluttershy would say. Not to mention that Rarity seemed to be acting strangely as well. It was almost as if-

Fluttershy’s eyes burst open before her thought could finish. Her breathing was heavy, her body was warm, and she felt the slightest bits of saliva dripping from her lips. She quickly raised a hoof to brush her lips clean. She probably rubbed a bit more vigorously than was needed, but she was still quite worked up and more than a bit distracted.

After a few silent moments, her thoughts began to collect. She swiftly looked around the room and - much to her relief - found everything she remembered about Rarity’s foyer to still be in place. A wave of cold air rushed over her, making the pegasus suddenly aware that she was covered in sweat. Oh dear, this is so embarrassing. M-maybe I should just go home. I’m sure I can sneak out with waking-. Fluttershy’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hoofsteps coming closer and closer.

“Oh good to see you finally awake, darling. You just looked so peaceful when I came back from cleaning the dishes that I just couldn’t bring myself to disturb you.” The unicorn’s words drifted into Fluttershy’s ears and brought with them the familiar feeling of a flushed face.

There was simply no way, at that moment, that the shy little pegasus could even look at her friend. Everything about Rarity brought fresh memories of the dream from which she had just awoken. Every memory of that dream was sending her mind and heart racing in equal measure. Why, oh, why did I have a dream like that? Fluttershy thought. “Because you like her, don’t you?” Answered an echo in the back of her mind. “Like her, love her, how much of a difference is there really between the two?” The confusing echo rang out.

The yellow pegasus merely squeaked and buried her head in her hooves. That's when the metaphorical twig snapped in Rarity's head, Fluttershy had been acting extremely antisocial all day, and now it was directed towards her. Rarity didn’t have the slightest clue what was going on with her friend that day. Being shy was one thing, but Rarity was certain that she had never seen Fluttershy acting so downright antisocial, especially not toward her. She had to get to the bottom of this mystery. It was her duty as a friend.

“Fluttershy, darling, is something wrong?” Rarity asked as she placed herself on the couch. Her white hoof slowly reached out to gently plant itself on the yellow pegasus’ shoulder. There was a small squeak, but no major reaction to the physical contact. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“A bad dream, no, it was a great dream!” The strange voice echoed in Fluttershy’s mind. Okay, this is weird. I’ve never heard myself talk before. The pegasus thought. It was a strange sensation, talking to yourself. Fluttershy wasn’t sure that she liked the idea, but she wasn’t entirely sure that what the echo was saying was wrong. I should tell Rarity about that dream.

"Are you serious?" A rational fragment of her mind spoke out in rebellion. Well, yeah, it concerns her doesn't it. Fluttershy mentally retorted to the new voice in her mind. "Oh, ho, ho, ho NO! It does not! Don't you friggin dare!” Despite not echoing sharply through her mind as the other voice had, Fluttershy wasn’t too sure she liked this new voice. But she has a right to know what's bothering me. Fluttershy countered.

Suddenly, the voice’s volume doubled. "Then make something up featherbrain! Whatever you do, this can't be what's bothering you, you hear me?!" The smoother voice exclaimed in a tone very reminiscent of an angry shout. The pegasus’ mind froze for a moment. Now she was certain that she didn’t like this voice. But this her mind and she wasn’t about to let some mysterious voices start telling her what to do. I have to tell her.

“Fool!”

“Um, well, you see, Rarity...” Fluttershy paused, a brief moment of hesitation. She took a slow deep breath to calm her nerves before continuing. “I had this dream and we were in the post office...” the pegasus began before her voice trailed off into an incomprehensible series of noises. “...And I think I’m in love with you.” The butter yellow pegasus finished with a resound amount of pride.

Rarity was stunned; her jaw slack, her stare was straight ahead. If Fluttershy listened closely enough she might have been able to make out the sound of the gears turning in her friend’s head as the unicorn processed the sudden statement. “Wuh, but, we…” Rarity tried to respond, but most of her words only came out as garbled noises or grunts. If she had been in a more aware state, she would have been appalled with the lack of grace she was exhibiting at that moment.

Fluttershy sat quietly as she witnessed her closest friend have a mental breakdown. But she took little notice of Rarity’s lack of composure, she had been assertive, she admitted her feelings; the smiling pegasus was far too proud of herself at that moment to pick up on any of that.

After what felt like an eternity, Rarity managed to regain a measure of composure. “Fluttershy, darling, I’m not quite sure I heard you right.”

The mention of her name snapped the pegasus out of her blissful daze. “Oh, I think I love you.” She repeated with confidence. Her books were right; the first admission really was the hardest.

“Ah, yes, that’s what I thought I heard.” Rarity regurgitated the words almost like a bad reflex in hopes of gaining a bit more time to come up with a suitable answer. This was certainly the first she had heard of these feelings from Fluttershy. Love, it was such a sudden expression to hear. Granted, Rarity had been waiting all her life to hear those very words, just not from another mare.

She had to think quickly, where did Fluttershy’s feelings even come from? Sure, the petite pegasus had been hanging around the boutique more often than usual, but that could have meant any number of things. Try as she might, Rarity could not recall a single detail or clue that could have tipped her off to her friend’s professed feelings. Suddenly, an idea struck. Oh that simply must be it! the unicorn’s thoughts exclaimed. Fluttershy must simply be confused after all the mix ups at the party that evening. Perhaps she is simply having a delayed reaction to one of the stallions she met. Rarity was certain that she had discovered the truth of the matter. Now all that was left was dealing with the confused pegasus.

The white unicorn looked at her friend with a soft gaze. “Fluttershy, darling, I think you might be a tad confused about all this.” Rarity began.

“Oh no, I’m certain.” Fluttershy interjected. “I think I love you.” The pegasus returned her friend’s pleasant gaze.

“Yes, well, if you think you love me, then you aren’t exactly certain, now are you?” Rarity countered. Fluttershy was either choosing her words poorly, or Rarity was spot on in her deduction. The unicorn was willing to bet all her chips on the latter.

“Oh, well, um...” Fluttershy stumbled with her words for a few moments as the logic of her friend’s words sunk in. Moments later, the yellow pegasus sat silently, contemplating her own feelings once more.

Jackpot. Now I just need to figure out how to help her sort out this confusion of hers. Rarity thought. It was either a few moments or a few minutes, she wasn’t the type to keep time in her head while thinking, but Rarity had thought up a solution. “Fluttershy, if you’re confused about whom you like, I’m sure Twilight and Rainbow Dash can help you sort out your feelings.” Rarity was quite pleased with the idea. If - on the off chance - Fluttershy actually did like mares, then taking her to the only two mares she knew of the same persuasion could help her work out any confusion. Even better, if all was as Rarity had anticipated, Twilight ought to be able to explain away Fluttershy’s silly idea with some science-y, doctor-y talk, or something.

“Alright then, lets go, darling.” Rarity quickly gathered a few necessities, some basic beauty maintenance items, before dragging Fluttershy out the door.

Forest Runner entered through the massive runic double doors and entered into a the sacred chamber of the Reindeer Council; the inner sanctum of the Frostfall Court. The great caribou peered down hard on him wondering what could be so important coming from some Equestrian runt to them, the leaders of Reindinhal.

It was Twilight’s turn to read that night. Rainbow Dash had been listening intently for a while now, but they had been reading since just after lunch and there was no break in sight. Sure she enjoyed these reading sessions, but sometimes Twilight had a habit of getting a little too focused on the reading. Oh who was she kidding, this happened every time the unicorn did the reading. It was always up to Rainbow Dash to find a fun way to interrupt her partner, and she enjoyed every moment of it.

"Great Reindeer of the Frostfall Court, I am truly grateful for your attention, what I have to say is of great importance."

"Equestrian, do not waste our time with flattery, if your message is of some urgency, you'd do best to go ahead already and speak your mind . We do not care for flattery here in Reindinhal and certainly not in my own city of Sky Range." The other reindeer nodded in agreement talking in hushed voices to one another.

Great this doesn’t sound like there’s going to be a good breaking point any time soon. The pegasus thought. She glanced over to Twilight only to find that familiar, intense stare that tended to overtake the unicorn when she got really into whatever she was reading. This was going to call for drastic measures.

"Let the boy uphold to his traditions Balgruuf, he only means to show us his utmost respect." One reindeer of a much deeper voice and the size to match refuted.

"Whatever you say, Noric..." Balgruuf hissed but accepted defeat all the same.

Noric turned to Forest Runner and spoke, "Please, lad, continue."

As Twilight continued to read the story aloud she failed to notice the slight shifting next to her as Rainbow Dash slowly positioned herself over the unicorn. Rainbow Dash lowered her body to rest on top of Twilight as she reached around to begin nibbling on Twilight’s ear. Her teeth pinched down gently. The sudden sensation caused her prey to twitch in response, but she was not about to give up on it that easily. A small guttural noise erupted from below her, possibly a distress call from her prey hoping to garner the attention of nearby creatures! Swiftly, Dash pounced at her target, gently nipping the ear once more. She carefully, and slowly began working her way from the tip of the ear all the way down toward the base. Her prey tried to escape by twitching again, but she was ready for it.

“Rainbow, would you stop that, I’m trying to read here.” Twilight snapped. This was a more common occurrence that Twilight would have preferred. She had learned that this was Rainbow’s way of telling her to stop, but that didn’t make her like being ripped out of her ‘reading zone’ any more than she normally did.

Rainbow Dash silently ignored the complaint as she wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s neck and continued her nibbling. Suddenly, she was dethroned from her perch as the unicorn rolled over. “Hey that’s cheating!” Dash exclaimed as she tumbled onto her back. Before she could react, Twilight was standing over her with a gleam in her eyes and grin on her face. Dash liked where things were going.

If Rainbow wanted to distract her, then she would distract the distractor. Twilight’s hooves moved in and rapidly stroked against Dash’s belly causing fits of laughter to erupt from the pegasus. She worked her hooves feverishly as she positioned herself for her next assault.

It was almost torturous how well Twilight had learned to tickle. Unfortunately for the unicorn, Rainbow Dash had already prepared a counter attack. As soon the first bout of tickling stopped, Rainbow rolled away before Twilight could continue. She quickly repositioned herself and pounced at the surprised unicorn.

The resulting collision left Twilight flat on her back. Just as she regained her senses she felt the warm touch of her lover pressing against her body. She was thoroughly pinned, or at least she was willing to play the part. Her partner’s lips gently brushed against her own. Oh, I guess I can forgive her for interrupting our reading for this. Twilight thought.

SLAM!

“Hey Twi, are ya’ll in here!” Applejack exclaimed as the door to Twilight’s room was forcefully swung open. “I was...oh.” The farmer’s face dropped its smile as soon as her eyes took in the scene that laid before her.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” Twilight mumbled under her breath. How many times are they going to interrupt us today, I wonder? The unicorn thought.

“Hey, out of the way AJ. I don’t wanna be stuck in the stairwell all night.” Thunderlane commented as he pushed his way past the orange mare. “Looks like we found...” The stallion’s mind shut down the moment he saw the two mares embracing on the bed. He tried not to stare, but his efforts were futile. It wasn’t until an orange hoof shoved him back down the stairs that he was able to return to a normal train of thought. Well, as normal as yelling in pain while falling down some stairs is.

The sound of Thunderlane crashing backwards down a flight of stairs was not the most pleasant sound in Equestria; it actually sounded rather painful. Applejack knew she would need to apologize to him later for that. “So, um, I needed to talk to ya’ll about Thunderlane’s work schedule.” Applejack managed to force the words out. “We’ll just see ya down stairs in a bit.” The earth pony made her way down the stairs to check on her date’s condition.

"Ugh, this is exactly why I thought he would've been the first one to try and bug out of the tornado to shoot water to cloudsdale. Like, seriously, he's always looking to make sure he doesn't have to work extra, even when they're paying over-time." Rainbow Dash groaned in exasperation. The pegasus begrudgingly dismounted and began the boring trek to the first floor.

Upon arriving in the foyer, Rainbow Dash was treated to the delightful sight of Thunderlane nursing a rather noticeable lump on his head. She snickered inwardly. Serves him right for interrupting us, now I just need to make sure I get AJ back for this. Rainbow thought menacingly. At least, it sounded menacing to her. “So, what brings you two by at this hour?” Rainbow Dash practically growled the last part for extra emphasis.

“Oh, well Thunderlane here was kind enough to volunteer to help me out at Sweet Apple Acres on Monday. We just need you to free up his schedule so he doesn’t have weather duty then.” Applejack replied with a surprisingly cheerful tone.

“Monday? Why the hay would you promise to do that on Monday, Thunderlane?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I know how much you love to bail on work, but what makes you think I’d let you out of weather duty so you can go on a date?” The pegasus continued, her voice seething with irritation.

At that moment, Twilight enters into the room, her mane was surprisingly neat considering the... activities she had just been engaged in. “Sorry about that, I had to brush my mane. I can’t walk around looking like a mess in front of guests.” She mentioned casually.

“It’s not a date Rainbow, he’s gonna be helpin’ me buck apples.” Applejack retorted, ignoring Twilight’s appearance.

Her thoughts took a detour south as a sly grin crept across her face. "Bucking Apples, are you dating him or making him part of the family?" Rainbow Dash quipped. “Or perhaps he’s gonna be bucking your apples.”

“How dare you! I am not bedding down with somepony I just met!” The farmer angrily shouted back. Of all the nerve. I can’t believe this.

“Hey, both of you calm down right now or everypony is getting thrown outside!” Twilight interjected with a harsh tone of her own. The arguing duo were met with an equally harsh glare from the unicorn that told them she wasn’t joking.

The group sat quietly for several minutes. Suddenly, Thunderlane decided to, bravely, break the silence. “Um, for what it’s worth, Rainbow Dash, I am actually going to be working with her on Monday.”

“Not unless I reschedule a bunch of other ponies to give you that time off.” The pegasus countered. At that point she was more interested in messing up Applejack’s plans than being rational.

“Then I’ll help you reschedule them.” Thunderlane replied.

“I’m telling you, Cloudkicker needs that day off. She put in the request three weeks ago, I can’t make her work then.” Rainbow Dash argued. The rescheduling discussion had gone way past being tedious after about five minutes, and that was roughly an hour ago if that clock was actually telling the truth. Twilight just wasn’t sure, the clock wasn’t Applejack, it could definitely be lying to her.

“Well then, stop just rejecting my ideas and tell me what will work.” Thunderlane replied in a huff. AJ said this would be easy. The stallion thought.

“I’ve been trying to tell you that I can’t make it work. There’s a reason we plan the weather out weeks in advance, Thunderlane.” Rainbow Dash grumbled. Her tone grew increasingly more hostile with every word. “I don’t know why you thought interrupting my private time with my girl and asking me to completely rework the weather plan I’ve had in place for the last month just so you can skip work to go on a date was a good idea.”

“Actually, Rainbow, this was my idea.” Applejack interjected, her voice wavered a bit as she tried to remain calm.

Rainbow Dash’s jaw went slack for a brief moment. Her eyes shot over to the farmer, only to be met with a gaze as unrelenting as her own. “This was your idea?” She asked in a surprisingly soft tone.

“Sure as sugar is.” Applejack answered promptly.

Rainbow Dash stared at Applejack for a few seconds. Suddenly she turned to face Thunderlane, not bothering to change her icy glare in the process. “So, let me get this straight. You finally got a date with the girl you’ve been pining after for months and you let her volunteer you to piss off your boss by asking for a schedule change with only two days notice so you can work at her farm the whole day?” The pegasus asked with a very calm, nearly monotonous tone.

“Wait, how did you know-”

“Blossomforth, now answer the question.” Rainbow interjected.

“Yes.” The stallion responded sheepishly. Yeah, this was a bad idea. I’ll be lucky if she even lets me come back to work after this, He thought. As Rainbow Dash spoke, a gloomy picture of him being jobless began to form in Thunderlane’s head.

“You really are a bonehead, Thunderlane.” The stallion could feel his world crumbling around him as the cold words lingered in the air. “But, at least you’re a dedicated bonehead. Just take the damn day off. I'll figure something out.” Rainbow Dash continued, adding a flippant wave of her hoof for added effect.

Thunderlane couldn’t believe his ears. He honestly had no idea what had changed his boss’ demeanor, but he wasn’t about to screw this up. “R-really!? Thank you so much Rainbow Dash. I really owe you one for this!” He exclaimed happily. Oh thank Celestia...shit.

“Alright, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind the next time somepony needs time off.” Rainbow Dash replied with sly grin.

“Well, that’s mighty kind of ya, RD, but I think we’d best be gettin’ outta your hair.” Applejack spoke up as she pushed Thunderlane towards the door. The farmer leaned her head in real close to her date’s and whispered, “And you’d better start explainin’ that whole ‘pining after her for months’ business as soon as we step outside mister.”

“AJ’s right, that was really nice of you Rainbow.” Twilight commented as the farmer and her date shut the door on their way out. “I really thought you were going to yell at him some more.”

The cyan pegasus’ devious grin had yet to wear off, “That’s because our plans for Monday just changed for the better, Twi.” Rainbow’s good mood was bleeding through her every word as she glanced casually at her marefriend.

“But we don’t have any plans for Monday.” Twilight rebutted. She still wasn’t sure what Rainbow Dash was grinning about, but based on what she had learned about the pegasus, it likely meant that she had a plan in mind.

“Well, now we do have plans for Monday, Twilight. We are going to-” Rainbow Dash began to say before a rapping noise on the front door interrupted her.

“Oh, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, are you there?” The cultured voice bled through the door. “Fluttershy and I need to talk to you about something dreadfully important.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash simultaneously groaned. It seemed like they were destined to be interrupted tonight. Twilight’s magic opened the door, allowing her newly arrived friends to enter her home. The unicorn really hoped that this visit would conclude much faster than the previous one.

Rainbow Dash tried her best not to scowl at the latest intrusion. Sure, she had gained a wonderfully entertaining idea for Monday because of it, but the last interruption had lasted far too long. “What do you two want?” The cyan pegasus snapped.

“Oh, we are so sorry to bother you at this hour, but this is an issue of grave importance and it simply cannot wait until morning.” The white unicorn’s tone was as unnecessarily dramatic as it was whenever she brought a problem to her friends. “You see, Fluttershy here is quite confused about her - how shall we say - sexual preferences.”

“It’s none of our business what you two want to do in bed Rarity.” Rainbow Dash quipped.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Rainbow. Furthermore, I would appreciate it if you would cut the attitude. If you didn’t want visitors you should have just said so.” Rarity replied sternly.

Twilight sighed. “She’s got a point, Rainbow. Just because we’re a bit frustrated is no reason to snap at our friends.”

“Ug, fine. I’m sorry I snapped at you, Rarity.”

Rainbow Dash’s tone was still rather harsh, but any apology was good enough for the moment. “Thank you. Now, as I was saying, Fluttershy seems to have come to the conclusion that she is attracted to mares.” Rarity continued from her original topic of discussion.

“How is that a problem?” Twilight asked. It was true that Rarity had not been openly accepting of Twilight’s choice of partner at first, but the white unicorn had already come to accept that such love is possible. The insinuation that Fluttershy was flat out wrong for making that same choice was a confusing prospect for the studious unicorn.

“Well, I’m fairly sure that she isn’t. I was hoping that you could talk to her and help her figure out her actual proclivities.” Rarity responded, her voice was full of concern.

Twilight sat quietly for a few moments, digesting the information she had just received. Rarity, must know something I don’t. Why else would she just assume that Fluttershy is confused about her own desires? The studious unicorn thought. “Alright, Rarity, I’ll talk to her.” Twilight replied.

The lavender unicorn turned to the meek pegasus. “So, Fluttershy, why don’t you start by telling me why you think you like mares.” Twilight’s voice became very calm as she addressed her friend. A small note pad and quill levitated over to the lavender unicorn.

“Well, I don’t think I like mares, I like think I love Rarity.” Fluttershy responded with more certainty than she usually would.

“You hear that, Rarity, you’re a colt now.” Rainbow Dash remarked. The cyan pegasus was not prepared for the avalanche of books that landed on her head mere seconds after her verbal jab.

“Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed. “Now I’m going to have to put all those back.” The lover of books was visibly upset to witness part of her collection be used for such a barbaric act.

“Ow.” Rainbow Dash’s pain filled voice rose up from beneath the pile of literature. The mound of books shifted slightly, but the pegasus did not emerge.

Twilight sighed once again, “You know Rainbow, you did bring that on yourself.” The unicorn commented. The mound of books remained still. “If you don’t stop being overly dramatic I’ll let you handle the next reshelving day all by yourself.”

Suddenly, the pegasus burst forth from the pile, “No, no, no, I’m fine!” Rainbow shouted. “Totally fine and not dramatic in any way.” She continued, as a mild sense of dread pervaded her voice. Anything but reshelving day. The pegasus thought.

“Well, I’m glad to see you made such a swift recovery.” Twilight remarked casually. “Now, Rarity, if you would be so kind as to put the books back where you found them.” Twilight turned her gaze to a rather large desk in one of the corners of the room and pointed a hoof at it, “You can find the charts showing where each book belongs in that desk over there. It’s standard library procedure to put things back when you’re done.” Twilight’s voice carried a playful, yet serious tone to it.

The fashionista already knew better than to argue with the librarian. She set about the assigned task with a small, hidden grin. It was totally worth it. She thought.

Twilight returned her attention to Fluttershy. “So, why do you think you love Rarity?” She asked.

“Well, she is really nice, and she’s beautiful-”

I can already see where this is going, “Yes, that’s great and all, but those are very shallow characteristics to base love on.” Twilight interjected. “Let me rephrase that. What triggered your infatuation?”

“Oh, that would be the dream I had where I made out with Rarity.” Fluttershy responded calmly. Every possible mental alarm was going off in the yellow pegasus’ head. Her every thought was screaming, This is a terrible idea! To her immense credit, she was managing to ignore every one of them.

Several thudding sounds were made as the books Rarity had been levitating all dropped to the ground. She what? It was the only thought that the unicorn could actually process, so it continued to repeat in her mind, over and over again.

The room fell silent. Fluttershy looked around at each of her friends, hoping that she might be able to gauge their reactions. Shocked. That was the only emotion she could recognize on anypony’s face. Maybe Twilight is waiting for me to explain? She thought. The yellow pegasus recounted every last detail she could remember, aloud.

“Oh, is that all?” Twilight promptly responds to the finale of Fluttershy’s tale.

“What do you mean ‘Is that all’?” Rainbow asked, her tone was one of confusion. “How is there anything simple about that?”

Twilight giggled, “Oh, Rainbow, you still have a lot to learn.” She reached a hoof over and gently patted her marefriend on the head. “You see-”

“Hold on, Twi.” Rainbow interjected. “Skip the big long sciencey talk, and get to the point.”

Twilight’s head drooped, her ears flattened, and her smile vanished. “But I like my big scientific explanations.” She remarked with a dreary tone.

“And we like knowing what you are talking about.” Rainbow countered.

Twilight snorted. The studious unicorn took a few moments to revel in her misery, before sighing heavily and returning to a more normal posture. “Fine.” She snapped. “Basically, Fluttershy only has me and Rainbow Dash as real world examples of romance. So, in her dream, her subconscious swapped us out for her and Rarity because she has a closer friendship with her than with anypony else.” Twilight was proud that she could condense so much psychoanalysis into so few words, but it didn’t help her sense of loss at not being able to provide her full explanation.

“Oh.” It was the only word Fluttershy could manage. She had been so certain... Okay, maybe she wasn’t that sure of her decision in the first place. The gentle pegasus felt a sense of disappointment. She finally thought that she had found love and it turned out to be an overly active imagination.

Twilight could see her friend suddenly slouching down, the way she tended to do when she was upset. The lavender unicorn knew she had to give Fluttershy some kind of positive message. “Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy. Now that we’ve cleared everything up, I’m sure you’ll find a nice stallion who will make your heart all fluttery in no time.” Her voice as cheerful as she could manage.

Heart... fluttery? The yellow pegasus thought. “So, if my heart is, um, racing and I start to feel, say, warm, that’s a good thing?” She asked, her voice full of confusion.

“Well, yeah. That means you’re at least physically attracted to the guy.” Rainbow Dash answered with mild condescension. How can she not know when she’s hot for a guy?

“Oh, then I guess I wasn’t getting sick earlier. That’s a relief.” Fluttershy commented with a smile.

Oh, you have got to be kidding. Rarity thought. She turned from her assigned reshelving duties to look at her friend, “Fluttershy, darling, when you say ‘getting sick’ are you by chance talking about those times you ran off during the party?” The unicorn asked.

“Yes.” Fluttershy answered plainly.

The fashionista could feel her eye twitching with irritation as she resisted the urge to plant her hoof to her face. “Well then, darling, perhaps you need to reintroduce yourself to some of the stallions we met this evening.” It took every ounce of control Rarity had to not sound stressed and frustrated.

“Well, I’m glad I could help you work everything out girls, but visiting hours were officially over three hours ago. Good night.” Twilight interjected as the magic began to coalesce around her horn.

“Well, good-” Rarity began before she was engulfed in a flash of light and magic. “-night.” The unicorn finished as the light subsided, revealing the inside of her boutique.

“Well, that was different.” Fluttershy remarked as she looked over at Rarity.

“Well, that’s one way to get them out of here.” Rainbow Dash was thoroughly happy to finally be free from unwanted visitors. The pegasus’ voice dropped to a lower, saucier tone, “Now we can get back to the fun part.”

“Actually, Rainbow, it’s pretty late. We should be getting to bed soon.” Twilight replied with more than a bit of disappointment. She had been looking forward to some private time with Rainbow Dash for a while now, but given the time, it simply wasn’t going to happen.

“Uh, Twi, we’ve stayed up way later than this before.” Rainbow Dash countered.

“Yes, but those times we didn’t have Princess Celestia coming to visit the next day.” Twilight replied in frustration.

“What do you mean Celestia is visiting?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” The pegasus bore a slight frown of disappointment.

“Because the Princess requested that I keep her visit a secret. She wants to spend some personal time with me tomorrow, and she didn’t want to have the whole town in an uproar over a sudden royal visit.” Twilight responded in her matter-of-fact tone of voice.

“Oh, fine.” Rainbow pouted as her tail twitched in silent irritation that her partner would keep such a thing a secret from her, even at Celestia’s request. She knew that Twilight wouldn’t dare disobey Celestia, not that she would either, but knowing there was a secret between them still stung a bit.

“Well, come on then, we should get to bed.” Twilight trotted happily up the stairs to her bedroom; the looming visit from her mentor was already putting her in a good mood.

Rainbow Dash followed the merry unicorn upstairs, making sure that she left her irritation at the door. The guest bed was still broken, and she wasn’t keen on sleeping on the floor again.

“So, Twi, am I in your bed tonight?” Rainbow asked, testing the waters before diving in.

Twilight glanced over at the broken guest bed. I really need to get that fixed. She thought. “Hmm, well you did have a lot of stress today.” The unicorn’s tone dropped, hinting at her answer to the proposed question. She sauntered over to her bed, making extra sure to give Rainbow a show as she did. Her hips had an extra sway as she slowly stepped towards the bed. Her tail was consciously being kept out of the way as the unicorn stopped and slowly stretched her back legs.

Rainbow was certain she heard a soft moaning as she took in the generous view the Twilight was providing. I have got to find out where she learned this stuff... Rainbow thought before her mind trailed off to more desirable pursuits.

Twilight finally made her way onto the bed, laying down to face the engrossed pegasus who couldn’t seem to keep her wings down. “As long as you can behave, sure.” Twilight teased as one hoof patted a spot on the bed next to her

Rainbow Dash shook her head a bit to clear her mind. “And you expect me to behave with you right next to me?” Rainbow Dash countered. “You know I’m terrible at that.”

“Well, let’s try not to stay up too late then. We do have an early morning.” Twilight replied. Okay, I guess I can deal with an hour or two less sleep tonight. She thought as her partner joined her in bed.

Rainbow Dash plopped down where Twilight had motioned earlier. She took a few seconds to steal a gaze into the unicorns radiant eyes. Her eyes moved a little lower, coming to rest on her current desire. As she looked at her partner’s lips, imaging what she wanted to do, the tip unicorn’s tongue poked out from behind her lips; it made a slight move to point upward before gently sliding back into hiding. It was all the invitation that Rainbow needed.

Rainbow dash leaned in and pressed her lips against Twilight’s. Usually she had to tease the unicorn’s lips to get them to open, but Twilight was not waiting around for that. Dash felt Twilight’s tongue push forward, spreading the pegasus’ lips apart as it ventured forth into her mouth. She could feel Twilight pressing deeper into the kiss as she maneuvered her own tongue to answer the sudden invasion of her mouth.

Twilight brought her hooves up behind Dash’s head to ensure the was no escape until she was ready to move on to something else. The excited unicorn pressed further into the embrace as her partner began to moan in pleasure. Suddenly, she felt herself pulled forward as Rainbow, positioning herself on her back, pulled Twilight on top of her. Even with such a sudden movement Twilight managed to hold their kiss; she still wasn’t done.

The unicorn squirmed a bit as she positioned her legs on either side of her lover. Her front hooves finally released their grip as she leaned her entire body into Rainbow. It was nearly time to switch activities. Twilight broke the kiss, as she slowly pulled her head back, making sure to tenderly lick Rainbow’s lips upon exiting. A few moments passed before a concern struck her. Rainbow was being awfully quiet. Twilight’s eyes opened as she began to examine the pegasus.

Dash’s eyes were closed shut, saliva dripping down the side of her face, and a slow rhythmic breathing beneath Twilight’s body were signs that added up to one thing. Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep.

You have got to be kidding me! The unicorn mentally shouted. I’ve been waiting all day for this and she just falls asleep. I’m gonna have to get her back for this. The thoughts grumbled in her mind.

Twilight sighed reluctantly, it seemed her fun would have to wait for another day. She took a few moments to magically position Rainbow Dash underneath the bed’s covers before slipping under them herself. She turned the sleeping pegasus onto her side and shimmied up against her, wrapping herself around her partner in a spooning position. Let me see. The unicorn thought as she went through a mental checklist. Hooves around her belly, check. Wrapped around her in curled position, check. Pressed tightly against her, check. Yeah, everything seems positioned properly according to that book I read on romantic sleeping positions. Now for the final touch. Twilight leaned her head forward a bit, allowing her nose to rest just a hair’s breadth from the back of Rainbow’s neck. She took a deep breath, inhaling every possible scent she could. A smile appeared on her face as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

The Visitors, part two

“Is she always this cute?”

“As long as I’ve known her, she has been quite adorable when she sleeps.”

“Perhaps I should acquire my own at some point.”

“It would do wonders for your sociability, not to mention it is like gaining a close friend.”

“Oh, look, she stirs, sister.”

Twilight groaned as her mind tried to process the sensation of waking up. She had thought there was a conversation going on, but the voices seemed to have stopped. Her eyes refused to open, despite her pleading. If it wasn’t such an important day, Twilight would likely have just gone right back to sleep.

“Are you awake now, Twilight Sparkle?” The serene voice asked.

Who uses my full name around... Twilight’s eyes burst open as she sprang up from her resting place. There, standing by her bed, were the two regal sisters. “P-Princess Celestia! Luna!” She exclaimed in a mix of surprise and excitement.

Celestia turned to glance at her sister, “Why does she not address you formally, sister?” The alabaster alicorn asked.

A smug smile snuck it’s way onto Luna’s visage, “Perhaps we are closer than you thought, dear sister.” The alicorn of the night mused.

“I see, so you requested that she address you informally as a show of friendship.” Celestia responded with a smile. “I’m glad to see you making friends, sister.”

“Hey, Rainbow, you need to wake up.” Twilight called to her partner as she shook the pegasus a bit in an attempt to rouse her.

The cyan pegasus groaned, “I’m not done sleeping.” Twilight refused to relent; Rainbow was getting up one way or another. The shaking continued to the point where Rainbow Dash could no longer ignore it. The pegasus decided to roll away from the source of irritation, however, she rolled a little too far for her own good.

There was a loud thud as Rainbow Dash rolled off the bed and onto the floor. “Ow, that hurt.” The pegasus complained as she rubbed the new sore spot on her head.

“Rainbow, quit goofing around.” Twilight’s voice carried a sense of irritation. “We have guests and you need to get up.” The unicorn peered over the edge of the bed at her partner.

“Well I’m up now.” The pegasus grumbled. She allowed a few moments to pass in hopes that the pain of her sudden fall would diminish. Finally, she stood up to address the guests, “Oh, hey Princesses. You sure are up early.” Rainbow knew it sounded stupid the moment it left her mouth, but she was still groggy from her sudden awakening.

The sisters chuckled. “Well, Rainbow Dash, it would be odd for me to be asleep at sunrise.” Celestia replied with a soft grin.

“Indeed, sister.” Luna chimed in happily.

“So, my faithful student, is there a reason the two of you were curled up together?” Celestia asked, her tone never deviating from the soft, melodious tone she always used.

“Oh, well you see my guest bed is broken...”Twilight responded, trailing off as her mind scrambled to think of an answer for the next question, the one she knew would be coming from the start.

Celestia glanced over to the mattress sitting atop a pile of broken wood. “I see. Then would you mind explaining why Rainbow Dash is here when I had specifically requested that this be a private visit between us?” The Princess of the Sun asked, her tone still soft and pleasant; her visage was noticeably sterner than usual.

There it is, the question I never actually wanted to answer. Twilight thought. “Are you kidding? Of course you wanted to answer it! Why else would you have let Rainbow Dash sleep here last night?” The voice in her head reminded her. “You can’t keep hiding this from her. You have to tell her at some point.” The voice continued.

What if she doesn’t approve? Twilight responded to the voice of reason. “Why would she not?” The voice countered.

Twilight’s mind was at an impasse. On one hoof, she really wanted to tell her mentor about her relationship. After all, she had been hiding it from the Princess, even her own family, for the past seven months. On the other hoof, she was afraid of their reactions. Not even all of her friends had openly embraced the idea of two mares being in love. Sure, they had all come around to accept it eventually, but Twilight had no way of knowing how Princess Celestia or her family would react to the news.

“This was supposed to be a private meeting?” Rainbow Dash asked in surprise. She turned to Twilight, “You didn’t tell me that.”

Great, more trouble. Just what I needed. The unicorn thought. She was certain that she had glimpsed a small frown on her mentor’s face, but all she could see was the same stern, emotionless gaze of her mentor’s violet eyes. “Well, you see... there’s this thing I’ve been meaning to tell you, and Rainbow here is sort-of... involved with it.” She managed to piece the words together at what felt like a snails pace. Her mind was racing, her heart beating faster, and she could feel the familiar tingle of sweat beginning to form on her brow.

“I’m listening.” Celestia replied.

“Hey Twi, are you gonna tell her that we’re a couple now, or is that coming up later?” Rainbow Dash interjected.

Twilight's mind came to a halt. Well, I guess it’s coming up now, Rainbow. Thank you so much. She thought.

Celestia’s stern appearance suddenly vanished, “Oh that’s wonderful, Twilight Sparkle. I’m happy to know you’ve found somepony you care deeply for.”

“You are?” The unicorn asked quizzically.

“Why wouldn’t I be happy for you?” Celestia replied, “Finding love is one of the greatest things in life.”

Twilight sighed, “Oh, that’s a relief.”

“I’m more concerned that you haven’t sent me a letter about this development, or anything else for that matter, in seven months, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia continued as her visage changed to reflect a sense of concern.

Twilight shrunk back a bit at the remark. “I’m sorry, Princess. I guess I wasn’t thinking very clearly about it.” She replied, her embarrassment showing through as she averted her eyes from her mentor’s warm gaze. “I should have known you would understand.”

Celestia simply smiled, “Twilight Sparkle, I always look forward to whatever news you have for me. I truly enjoy watching you grow, learn, and succeed.”

“Tis true, you should see how she pours over your letters after a stressful court day.” Luna chimed in.

Twilight blushed visibly, “Wow, Princess, I didn’t really think about that.”

“So, why have you chosen a mare for a partner?” Luna asked suddenly.

Celestia turned to her sister, “Luna, it matters not the physical traits of those a pony chooses to love.” She retorted with a hint of concern.

Luna’s face contorted mildly in confusion. “Perhaps, but does such a union not seem wasteful, sister?”

“How would you say that love is being wasted?” The white alicorn replied calmly.

“Well, for one thing there is nothing to insert. How can they possibly have sex?”

The room fell silent. Nopony quite had an answer prepared for such a question. Finally, Celestia spoke up, “Luna, that’s hardly an appropriate question.” For all her grace and years of practiced serenity, Celestia was honestly struggling not to feel embarrassed by her her sister’s actions at that moment.

“It is a perfectly valid query, sister.” The younger sister retorted with a strange enthusiasm.

Suddenly, it dawned on Celestia what her sister was trying to do. She knew that it was already too late to stop the incoming social disaster. That didn’t stop her from trying, “Luna, please don’t do thi-”

Luna swiftly interrupted her sister before she could raise any objection. She had been desperately hoping to find an actual couple for her idea. It was strange how nonexistent romantic relationships were at the castle. This opportunity was too good to pass up. “Twilight Sparkle, WE REQUEST A DEMONSTRATION OF THY MATING PRACTICE!” Luna exclaimed, accidentally slipping back into her Royal Canterlot voice from the sheer excitement.

Celestia’s hoof found her face with practiced ease. Twilight and Rainbow Dash, however, were sitting there silently; the two were completely dumbstruck by the Princess’ outburst.

“W-w-what!?” Twilight exclaimed, her pupils contracted to the size of pin pricks.

“LUNA!” Celestia shouted, visibly irritated. “It is bad enough that you’ve been trying to push our castle staff into deviant relationships based on those ridiculous novels you’ve been reading, but I will not have you bringing such behavior outside the castle.” Her visage had returned to its stern appearance as she berated her sister. “The rumors are bad enough as it is.”

“Yeah, even if you wanted us to, it wouldn’t do you much good. We haven’t actually gone that far yet.” Twilight chimed in.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash piped up, “We don’t know the first thing about sex, with mares or stallions.”

“Speak for yourself.” Twilight snapped.

The room was silent once more. It lasted an uncomfortably long time for Rainbow Dash as she glanced around at the confused stares aimed in her direction.

Luna turned to her sister, “I see thou has made great strides in educating the young during my absence.”

Celestia wanted to respond. She really did. Unfortunately, she could not conjure a single counter to her sister’s verbal jab.

Wait a second... did Rainbow just- Twilight thought. Suddenly, the realization of what had just been said sunk in. “Um, Rainbow,” She spoke up, “Do you really not know anything about sex?”

The pegasus’ eyes darted around the room, desperate for some sort of clue to provide an answer that wouldn’t make her sound like an idiot. As expected, there was nothing. An awkward grin of embarrassment crept onto her face, “Um, it involves kissing and moaning?”

Twilight had a lot of experience - thanks to Pinkie Pie - in comprehending nonsensical statements. This one, however, she was utterly unprepared for. “T-that’s...I don’t even know where to start with how uninformed you are.” She finally blurted out.

“We have a vast collection of materials that can aid in thy education.” Luna interjected.

“Oh no, your romance novel collection is not educational material, sister.” Celestia remarked, growing all the more irritated with her younger sibling.

“They are most certainly educational! I have learned much about modern society from them.” The midnight alicorn retorted. “If not for such material, I would not have known how often secret romances bloom between friends and enemies. And how else would I have learned-”

“Luna, every bit of that is wrong. All of those books are fiction.” Celestia replied, finally faltering a bit as her usual serene tone grated with frustration that she had not show her subjects in hundreds of years.

The two sisters began to argue over the many intricacies of romance, love, and other such common themes found in the type of novels Rarity was so fond of. Twilight and Rainbow Dash sat quietly, unmoving, as they witnessed the rulers of Equestria squabbling over the legitimacy of a fictional story. Back and forth the sisters argued, sometimes raising their voice to near Royal Canterlot levels.

The argument was very heated, and lasted much longer than either Twilight or Rainbow Dash thought was possible, considering the subject matter. The only thing that made sense was that Luna’s ‘hobby’ must have been causing problems at Canterlot Castle for Celestia to be this fiery about the subject.

One Week Earlier

The Canterlot Gardens were typically a very peaceful place for the royal guards. It was a wonderful place to simply hang out and relax when they were on break from duty. It was common for pairs of guards to have particular spots to meet up at and simply engage in idle chatter.

“So, I heard you had a bad day last week.” A particularly deep-voiced Guard remarked to his patrol partner. The two were hidden away in a rarely visited corner of the garden that was almost totally obscured by the decorative flora and shrubs.

The other Guard sighed heavily at the mention of his ‘bad day’. “Like you would never believe.” The smaller Guard cringed a bit as the memories of failure came washing back in like a tide. “It was supposed to be a simple delivery pick up. There was some package being delivered to Princess Celestia from the Mayor of Ponyville.” He began, his body was nearly shivering. “There was this wall-eyed pegasus that showed up with the package and everything was going fine until some chef ran by with a plate of muffins. That mare screamed ‘MUFFINS’ louder than I’ve ever heard and darted off after them.”

“So I take it you had to chase her down?”

“You know, I’ve never seen a pegasus run that fast before. She kept zipping around corners and sliding into things.” The Guard’s eyes shrank just a bit, “I don’t know how, but she managed to leave large cracks in the castle walls wherever she slammed into them. Not to mention all the paintings, pottery, and other valuable decorations she managed to knock over.”

“That sounds rather dangerous.” His tone reflected his disbelief of the amount of destruction that a single pegasus could cause.

“Yeah, I finally caught up to her, but apparently all that damage she caused is coming out of my pay for the next... forever...” The Guard’s head buried itself in his hooves as the tears began to flow.

The larger pegasus Guard moved over to embrace his partner. “Hey, everything will work out. You can come stay with me if you can’t keep up with your rent.”

“T-thanks...” He managed through a series of sniffles.

“Now tell him you will always be there for him, then slide it in.” Luna was suddenly peeking her head out from behind one of the shrubs.

The poor guards sat there in awkward silence.

“You know, Rainbow,” Twilight finally decided to tune out the argument, “If you really want to know about sex, I’ve read quite a few things in some of my books.” The pegasus could feel the excitement coursing through her body as the sultry tone of her partner drifted into her mind. “I’ve been dying to try some things out with you.”

“See, sister, thy student is perfectly eager to acquiesce to my script.” Luna interjected.

“How many times do I have to tell you, romance novels are not scripts to be acted out in real life.” Celestia countered.

How did they hear me over all their shouting? Twilight wondered.

“Well, maybe if those worthless colts in my harem did their job, I wouldn’t have to indulge in idle fantasies for entertainment.” Luna spouted with irritation.

“Luna, you don’t have a harem.” An equal amount of irritation bled through Celestia’s words.

“Just because mine is smaller than thine, dost not mean it is nonexistent.” Luna rebutted as she glared angrily at her sister.

“I do not have a harem!” Celestia shouted, half in anger, half in embarrassment. “Where are you even getting such an idea?”

“We have all those attractive stallions in armor that follow us around all the time. What else would you call that?” Luna asked, certain that her statement would give her an edge in the argument.

The elder sister’s eyes drooped to a half-lidded state as her expression deadened. You have got to be kidding me. “Those are the royal guards.”

Luna backed up a few steps. Silence - as was becoming a trend for the day - hung heavily in the room as the embarrassing realization sunk in. “Well, that explains why they always look so confused when I tell them to attend to me.” Luna remarked as her hoof thoughtfully tapped against her chin.

“I really need to get you a new hobby.” Celestia quipped rather unenthusiastically.

“Well, maybe we could find a new kind of genre for her to read?” Twilight chirped excitedly at the thought of browsing her collection.

Celestia grimaced, “No, Twilight Sparkle, reading is what started this mess. If Luna hadn’t ignored the helpful selection of books I left in her room, she would not be so uninformed about modern laws and culture.”

“How was I supposed to know that bookshelf wasn’t a simple decoration?” Luna snapped back.

“Maybe you could have at least looked at the titles of the books, sister.” Celestia responded with more sarcasm than Rainbow had ever seen, even from Twilight.

“Alright, why don’t we all just calm down for a moment.” Twilight interjected, hoping to quell the tempers in the room before another argument began. “It’s still early, and Rainbow Dash and I haven’t had anything for breakfast yet. How about I go get Spike up and see if he’s willing to cook something for us?” The lavender unicorn offered.

“That would be delightful.” The regal sisters replied in an almost eerie unison. The pair swiftly glared at each other before breaking out in a small fit of giggling.

The smell of heavily buttered toast filled the air, much to the delight of Celestia’s nose. It was a simple pleasure, but the solar alicorn had always enjoyed the many uses of butter. Buttered toast, buttered muffins, buttered stallions, it was always a good thing. I had best make some idle conversation, I shouldn’t allow such thoughts distract me. Though she would never admit to such fantasies, mental tangents about the wonderful uses of butter did tend to become distracting. “So, Rainbow Dash, do you spend time here often?” She asked with her usual politeness.

“Huh?” Rainbow mentally stumbled, not expecting a question to be aimed at her. “Oh, um sorta. I mean, Twi and I read together a lot and sometimes I stay over for the night, but it’s not like we live together.” She managed to piece together a coherent answer.

“Thou art a couple, why would thee not live together?” Luna asked, a confused look on her face.

“Well...” Twilight paused in thought. She knew a few different reasons for a couple to live separately, but none of them seemed particularly appropriate for her current situation.

“Aside from me having a rather nice cloud-house, I guess it’s mostly that we haven’t been together that long.” Rainbow took the chance to answer after seeing her partner fumble.

“Seven months is considered a short time now?” Luna asked quizzically. “When last I recall, it was customary to be engaged by seven months.”

“Times have certainly changed a lot, sister. Many relationships are more casual and last much longer in these early stages before the couple considers making that final commitment.” Celestia answered calmly.

“It would seem that peace does cause drastic social changes.” Luna commented, more to herself than to anypony else.

Twilight could see the reminiscent look in the younger alicorn’s eyes as she idly chewed a piece of waffle. Somehow, the conversation had taken a rather depressing turn. Perhaps a story will liven the mood. “Say, why don’t we tell you about how we fell in love?” Twilight posited to the sisters.

“Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia replied, a wide smile filled the normally empty space of her expression.

“Hey, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash called out as she casually flew into the library through one of the many open windows.

“Rainbow, I do have a door you can use.” Twilight remarked teasingly.

“But that takes more effort.” The pegasus countered. “Why does it bother you so much that I use your windows anyway?”

“Just a sense of formality, I suppose.” Twilight responded with a playful laugh. She had been seeing Rainbow Dash a lot more often since she had been released from the hospital. The pegasus had really taken a liking to the Daring Do books and was coming over nearly every day to read them. It was actually rather funny how the first time Rainbow Dash had asked to borrow one of the books, she ended up taking the whole series home. Twilight had scolded her a bit about proper library procedures for checking out books the next day. It certainly wasn’t fair to everypony else if a book was checked out that wasn’t going to be used for several weeks.

After that, the pegasus had decided it would be easier to just read the books at the library instead of trying to check them out. Surprisingly, that had become the normal daily routine for Rainbow Dash. Every day, after work she would visit the library.

Twilight had been secretly enjoying the little ritual. She always felt like there were too few visitors to her library. Sure she had a few ponies that would come in every other week or so, and the occasional frantic visit from somepony who just needed a book on some particular subject, but Ponyville just did not seem to have many avid readers that came by. It was a real delight to finally have somepony in town who was as avid about reading as she was, even if her preferences included only a single series. Twilight knew that, eventually, Rainbow would come to her asking for new reading material. Oh how she eagerly awaited the moment when she could show off some more of her personal favorites.

“So, what can I get you today, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked happily.

“Actually, I needed to talk to you about that.” The pegasus replied, her mannerisms showed she was hesitant to broach whatever subject she was about to bring up. “I was kinda needing something new to-”

Rainbow Dash was unable to even finish her sentence before the ecstatic librarian had pounced on her. She knew this would happen. She could see the unbridled excitement in her friend’s eyes. It only took a matter of seconds before the pegasus was dragged off into the depths of the library in search of new reading material.

Twilight pulled her friend all over the library, listing off one book after another. This was more an exercise in showing off her collections than making any real suggestions, not that she wouldn’t be happy if Rainbow’s interest was piqued at any point.

After what felt like several hours of browsing, the giddy unicorn finally settled down a bit. She trotted over and pulled a single book off a shelf. The reddish cover contained a depiction of a large, evil looking creature with wings. The monster appeared to be wreathed in flames as it stepped out of a massive looking magical gateway. Unfortunately, the title was bit too hard to read from where Rainbow was standing. The unicorn happily thrust the book into her face. The pegasus stared blankly at the back of the book. “Um, don’t you usually show ponies the front of the book first?”

“Just read the synopsis, Rainbow.”

The land of Nalimiir was always under the threat of demonic forces from the gate of Opterron. But when their line of defense falls and hellish armies pour into the great eastern empire, the two western kingdoms quickly take up arms to fend for themselves, while the forces of the Underworld begin their massacre of the innocent.

However, not all is lost! When the earth pony Holk Farrunner, the son of a merchant, witnesses his father killed in front of him, he realizes the only thing he can do now is to unite the fallen empire and the western kingdoms in one last struggle against the demonic forces. Maybe this time though, just driving them back won't be enough.

“Well, that does sound kinda interesting. Are you sure it’s any good? I mean it all sounds really bleak.” Rainbow remarked.

“Would I be recommending a bad book?” Twilight asked rhetorically.

“Good point. I guess I’ll trust ya on this.” The pegasus answered before taking the book in her mouth.

“You know, Rainbow,” The pegasus paused, looking toward her friend, “I’m actually wanting to read that one myself now. Thinking about it, it’s been a while since I’ve read it...”

The pegasus set the book down on a shelf, “Then why did you suggest it?” Rainbow Dash asked, slightly confused at the turn of events.

“That’s not really important, right? Why don’t we just both read it?” Twilight responded. Oh come on, say yes. It’s been forever since I’ve read together with somepony.

“How would that even work?” Dash’s brow furrowed. “You read, like, five times faster than I do!”

“Oh, we’d just read it out loud to each other, you know, taking turns with who reads.” Twilight’s excitement was beginning to bleed through her, her smile grew ever larger as she tried her best not to hop around excitedly.

“Hmm,” Rainbow Dash only made the noise because she thought it made her sound like a deep thinker, “Well, I do prefer reading aloud anyway, but isn’t that against library rules?”

Drat! The one time I expect her to forget that and she actually remembers... The unicorn mentally groaned in irritation. “Well, my room isn’t technically part of the library, we could always read up there.” She swiftly suggested, not thinking about the social implications of such an invitation.

Rainbow felt her cheeks warm up a bit. She isn’t seriously doing what I think she’s doing... Nah, there’s no way Twi’d do that. She’d probably come at me with some set of charts and junk trying to convince me that ‘according to my research, you’re the perfect match for me, Rainbow!’ The pegasus giggled slightly at the notion.

“If you really want to, I guess we can try it-” Rainbow Dash was surprised to find herself suddenly being dragged up the stairs by a telekinetic force. The book floated just to the side of her head.

“That first time was slightly awkward, but it was kinda neat.” Rainbow Dash added. She was enjoying inserting her own flare to the story.

“True, it was rather enjoyable.” Twilight remarked. “After that day, it quickly became a routine activity for us.”

“Yeah, I actually learned a bit just listening to Twi read. I managed to pick up on some of the little tricks she had and made myself a faster reader... Though I’m still way slower than her.” Rainbow conceded. If there was one field where she was comfortable admitting that she wasn’t the best, it was pretty much anything Twilight was good at. Okay, that’s more than one thing, but she was content knowing that Twilight would never be athletically on par with her.

“So, this went on for a few months. We went through a few books and managed to have quite a bit of fun beyond just the reading.” Twilight continued.

“Yeah, Twi here is the meanest tickle-fighter I’ve ever met.”

Celestia raised a brow in curiosity, while Luna’s eyes began to sparkle with a feeling that Rainbow Dash found just a bit unsettling. It was almost as if she knew the midnight alicorn was planning something really awkward.

“Well, something else of interest must have happened. Surely you two didn’t become this close just from reading together.” Celestia mused, hoping to prod the couple into continuing their tale.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash were perched on Twilight’s bed, sharing a view of their current reading project. It was Rainbow’s turn to read that night. The cyan pegasus was still leagues behind Twilight’s reading ability, but she had managed to reach a point where she didn’t need help with every large word that came up. Thankfully, when reading aloud, most of a speed reader’s advantage was nullified by the speed required for understandable speech.

The caravan was about four hours in now, deep inside the heart of the Haxi Desert. The komodos that flanked each of the twenty wagons were starting to feel the fatigue under the beating sun.

Rainbow Dash had been feeling quite distracted that day. She was trying her best to focus on reading, but her eyes kept stealing glances towards Twilight. She had been struggling with her thoughts for the past few days, attempting to reconcile the unusual, and rather awkward, feelings she had become newly aware of.

Their fatigue could not have come at a worse time, as in one swift moment, a large, scaled tail shot out of the sand and smashed a cart carrying their water supply.

It was becoming progressively more difficult for the rainbow-maned pegasus to focus on the text. The time between her furtive glances became shorter and shorter. Rainbow Dash had made her mind up the night before, this was to be the day she would finally confess.

"By the Gods!" One swore to the air.
"Basilisks!" Another called out, and to the west they could see seven of the great beasts jumping in and out of the sand, straight towards them, with hunger written all over their faces.

Rainbow Dash tore her eyes from the tome, gazing straight into those sparkling violet eyes.

“Er, is something wrong, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, curious why the pegasus had suddenly ceased reading. She only just started reading, there’s no way she would already want to take a break.

Rainbow Dash had been waiting for this moment all day. Every idle moment she had had had been spent preparing herself, working up her courage. This was her moment!

Rainbow’s mouth opened slightly, though no words escaped. Damnit brain, don’t you lock up on me now! She continued to stare at her friend, somehow, completely speechless. Hayseed! … I’m so gonna get AJ back for getting that stuck in my head... The pegasus shook her head briefly, trying to reorganize her thoughts. Come on Rainbow! You didn’t work up all that courage just to let it blow away the first chance you get to talk!

The silence lasted for what felt like an awkward eternity. Twilight was seriously beginning to wonder why Rainbow Dash was just staring at her. “Rainbo-” Twilight suddenly found Rainbow’s lips pressed against her own.

Rainbow Dash had needed to close her eyes to finally feel confident enough to do something. Strangely, it wasn’t words that came from her lips, but action. It felt good. Really good. Something about it just felt so right! After a few seconds, she pulled away from the embrace and opened her eyes. She wanted to see how happy Twilight was.

Twilight was not happy at that moment. Confused? Yes. Definitely confused. She reached a hoof up to cover her lips, as if to protect them from further incursion. She turned her head, those sparkling violet eyes were swiftly averted to some nondescript point on the floor, somewhere as far as possible from Rainbow Dash. “W-why... Rainbow, w-w-what was...” For all her usual composure, the unicorn was unable to string together a coherent question.

This was it, her life was ruined. The moment she opened her eyes to witness the soul-crushing look on Twilight’s face, all the excitement and hope she had just moments ago was gone. Oh, Celestia I totally blew it... Once more, the pegasus’ mouth refused to expel any words. She had to respond, to say something. She had to make this right! But how? That was the moment the tears began to flow.

Twilight felt her bed shift. She briefly glanced over to see her friend standing up like she was about to take flight. Her magic flared to life as the large window in her room latched closed. “You can’t just leave without telling me what that was about, Rainbow.” Her voice was much calmer than either pony was expecting.

Her tears continued to flow like the grains of sugar into one of Pinkie’s cupcakes. Without a word, she turned and bolted for the door. The wooden barricade slammed shut in her face.

“Rainbow!” Twilight shouted, she was on the verge of anger. How can she do something so brash and expect to just walk out without an explanation?

“I’m so sorry, Twilight.” The words finally came to life in her throat. “I’m so sorry. I know I screwed up; I know I ruined everything.” The pegasus managed to force the words out through her increasing sobs. “I just... It just felt right. I don’t know what else to tell you!”

Twilight sat motionless on her bed, taking in the scene playing out before her. She had never seen Rainbow Dash so sad, so broken. In all the time she had known the pegasus, the idea of seeing her break down in tears had always seemed... implausible.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Twilight.” Rainbow turned to face the silent unicorn, but simply could not bring herself to look her in the eye. She settled her gaze for the nice, non-judgemental piece of wood that made up the floor. “You’ve always been there for me, even when I’m being an idiot. You’re the only pony who's ever made me want to slow down.” Another massive set of sobs escaped as the bawling pegasus began to shudder. Her legs gave out, dropping her to the ground.

Twilight watched her friend collapse and bury her head beneath her hooves. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

“Ever since I started reading up here with you, I’ve felt like I found something I’d never thought was possible. I never even considered that it could be so much fun to sit still for hours on end. But it’s not the books, Twilight... It’s you! I tried reading at home last week and it just wasn’t the same.” Rainbow felt her throat lock up, the words ceased once more. Damnit! Damnit! You’re such an idiot Rainbow! I can’t believe I- The pegasus’ thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of something wrapping around her neck.

Twilight held her tightly, pulling the pegasus off the ground. Cyan forelegs swiftly returned the embrace. “Rainbow, I don’t know where all this came from,” Twilight paused briefly to consider her next words, “But if you think one awkward kiss is going to ruin everything we have together, then you really are being an idiot.”

Rainbow wasn’t sure how, but her tears managed to flow even more. Those soft, calm words echoed through her mind. Of course I’m being an idiot. “Twilight... I’m so sorry-”

“Stop saying that. I don’t need to hear that you are feeling sorry, I can see that just fine.” Twilight felt relaxed, oddly enough. This whole scene felt familiar, like she had lived it before. It’s just like that first time I messed up a spell and blew a hole in the wall, except I’m playing the Princess’ part this time. A warm smile grew across her face as she remembered the serene embrace of her mentor all those years ago.

Rainbow Dash finally opened her eyes. She was greeted with, quite possibly, the warmest smile she had ever seen. “Twilight... I-I don’t know what else to say...” She could feel her tears were drying up, “I screwed up and...”

“How about next time, you ask before you kiss?” Twilight craned her neck around Rainbow’s as she pulled her friend closer, tight against her body.

“Okay.” It was all she could think to say. No more words came that night, for either pony. The two friends simply enjoyed each other’s company in peaceful silence.

“That still does not explain thy situation.” Luna protested, bringing the story to a halt.

Celestia could see the disappointment on her sister’s face. “Were you hoping for something more erotic, sister?” The older alicorn teased.

“Yes.” Luna answered bluntly.

Celestia sighed, “I’m removing your access to the Royal Library’s romance section when we get home.”

A fire erupted in Luna’s eyes, “Thou shalt do no such thing!” She exclaimed, a mere octave or two from her Royal Canterlot tone. “How will I spend my free time?”

“Perhaps you could start doing some actual political work? You know, actually help me run the country like you used to.” Celestia shot back with more venom than Twilight had ever heard from the Princess.

The sisters lock glares once more. It was a silent contest of wills. Eventually, one would concede.

“Uh, Twi, are they gonna...”

“I have no idea.” Twilight replied flatly. Honestly, she wasn’t feeling up to watching another shouting match, so at least the staring contest was a bit less stressful for her.

“Maybe we should leave them alone for a while.” Rainbow suggested nervously.

“Actually, I have an idea.” Twilight took a step forward, clearing her throat, “Who wants to hear the rest of the story?”

Within moments, the two alicorns were sitting quietly, eyes wide open, eagerly awaiting the continuation of the story.

Twilight smiled proudly.

Rainbow Dash stared in amazement, “Wow, you’re good.”

It had been several weeks since the event that had catalyzed the deepening of their friendship. The pair had continued their daily reading sessions, much to Rainbow’s enjoyment. It was certainly worth noting that a few changes had happened, though.

The first, was that the two ponies had begun to sit much closer together when reading. The closeness increased rapidly until they often found themselves resting against one another, both out of comfort and personal enjoyment.

The second, was that the time they spent together - alone - in that bedroom had slowly increased. More often than not, Rainbow found herself heading home well after dark. It had become yet another custom for her to have dinner with Twilight and Spike, a custom she quite enjoyed. Rainbow noted that Spike was a much better chef than she was. Though, it wasn’t really saying much considering that Rainbow Dash was one of the elite few with a talent for burning water.

The most noteworthy change, was the inclusion of additional activities, beyond reading, that the two engaged in. Games, of both the board and card varieties, minor bits of research, dabblings in art, and other slower paced activities that Rainbow had grown curious about trying were just a few of the ways the two passed the time.

“Thou art taunting me now, aren’t thou?” Luna asked bluntly.

Twilight responded with a giggle, “No, that’s pretty much exactly what we did. I mean, I could give you more details about it, but-”

“Get to the kissing!” Luna demanded, her frustration seeping through her words as her hoof slammed into the floor.

“You really have an obsession with the kinky stuff don’t you?” Rainbow spoke up. Celestia’s right, she needs to stop reading those romance books.

Twilight and Celestia drowned the room in their collective laughter. Luna was not pleased with the turn of events. The younger alicorn grimaced. She was not fond of being the butt of such a joke. That Rainbow Dash does have a nice... Okay, maybe sis is right. I do have a problem. Luna realized as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at where her mind had tried to go.

“A-actually, Rainbow,” Twilight spoke up as she forced her laughter to recede, “Plain kissing isn’t exactly kinky. If you want to know about some kinky...” Twilight trailed off as soon as she noticed a rather cold glare from her mentor. “I can tell you about that later.” She finished with a small squeak.

Rainbow Dash sat eagerly on the soft bed. Her eyes watched the only real thing of interest in the room, Twilight. Sure there were plenty of trinkets and things to look at, but nothing was quite as captivating to the pegasus as the perky, lavender unicorn who was currently retrieving a book from one her many bookshelves. The magic flowed around the tome as it found its way to the usual spot on the bed.

Twilight hopped up not a second later and took up her now traditional spot, leaning up against Rainbow. It had been a stressful day of studying and experimentation as Twilight had been working on crafting a new spell for her repertoire. She had recently been working out the kinks of temporary eye augmentation spells, the latest of which would grant a pony accurate long-distance vision up to a mile away. There were still some side-effects to deal with, the least of which was the strain on the recipient’s eyes after the spell wore off. Twilight knew she would need to do something to make it up to Spike the next day. The poor guy couldn’t see straight after just a few tests. Whatever it was, it would need to likely involve gems and Rarity.

Rainbow Dash’s day had been much less stressful. Probably because she had managed to have no weather-work scheduled that day. She hated admitting that to anypony, it made her sound like a total slacker. She had known Twilight was busy, so she had spent most of the day goofing off at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie. Dash still wasn’t fond of watching the twins, though. She just didn’t feel like kids were worth the effort. Still, it wasn’t one of those days. Pinkie had actually been off that day, instead of telling Dash she was off only to rope her into diaper duty and other boring/nasty things relating to the twins. Nope, this had been a fun day of experimenting in the bakery. Rainbow never really understood how the Cakes made a profit while allowing Pinkie full access to their kitchen any time she wanted. Maybe it was because the pink pony was always coming up with inventive new treats, many of which often ended up becoming regular stock for the bakery.

By the time Twilight had finished her work and fetched Dash from the bakery, Rainbow had already worked out a sinister plan for the evening. She wasn’t in the mood for reading, or board games, or any of that stuff. It was time to have fun, physical fun. She was going to get Twilight to wrestle with her.

As soon as the unicorn plopped down, the sly pegasus made her move. She quickly shoved the book off the bed, Twilight would probably kill her if something happened to it. Suddenly, she propped herself up on her hind legs and came back down, draping her body over Twilight’s. “I’m so gonna pin you, Twi.” The cocky athlete grinned. It was quite a shock when she found herself sprawled out on her back a second later.

“Oh, you wanna play rough, do you?” Twilight replied playfully. “Well, I’ll have you know I’ve read quite a bit about you physical types. I was expecting you to try something like this, Rainbow.” It was the unicorn’s turn to grin as she pounced on her surprised opponent.

Rainbow had not expected Twilight to expect her attack, nor had she anticipated that the unicorn had spent time researching physical activities - like wrestling - to practice and prepare for the pegasus’ eventual attack. And Dash had most definitely not been prepared for Twilight to actually tickle her.

She knew Rainbow would try to play rough at some point. She had prepared well for it. The best part, was when she found a section in one of her ‘study materials’ indicating spots where pegasi tended to be ticklish. It was her time to prank the prankster! Twilight’s hooves moved in on the unprotected belly, lightly glazing over a few choice areas that she had memorized. All the practice and study was worth it when the first of many squeals of laughter erupted from Rainbow Dash.

This was not fair! Totally, absolutely, unfair. The laughter came in waves. Just as the feeling began to subside, Twilight would move to another spot and begin her assault anew. It was bad enough being ticklish, but Rainbow swiftly found out that she actually had over a dozen places where she was vulnerable to Twilight’s relentless hooves. This was not fair at all.

Belly spots one through three, check. Base of neck, check. Spot just under the base of the wings, double check. Oh was Twilight so glad that she made a checklist for this occasion. Checklists made everything better. Unfortunately for the studious unicorn, the additional mental effort was just enough of a distraction for Rainbow to find a gap in her attacks. Much to her surprise, Twilight found herself on her back.

Rainbow, still giggling a bit from the rampant tickle assault she had endured, was staring down at Twilight with a devious grin. So many ideas raced through her head, so many way to get revenge; yet one idea stood out from the rest. It was absolutely perfect! Rainbow leaned her head down closer to Twilight’s ear, “Is this a good time for a kiss?” The pegasus whispered.

Twilight simply smiled as she reached up, embracing Rainbow’s lips with her own. Rainbow was right, this does feel good when you actually want it. Twilight was distracted from her thoughts by a sudden wet feeling on her cheeks. She opened her eyes to find tears dripping down from Rainbow’s eyes.

The pegasus pulled away from the kiss as soon as she realized she was crying. It took her a moment to stop the tears. With eyes dried and clear, she looked back at Twilight to find nothing but a warm smile and those same sparkling eyes she loved to lose herself in. “Twi...” Rainbow hesitated, her thoughts were racing. This was what she wanted, but she couldn’t help but feel a slight tinge of doubt. What if she’s just-

“Rainbow, I wasn’t finished with you, silly.” Twilight interrupted the pegasus’ thoughts with another kiss, all doubt pushed from Rainbow’s mind as fell into the embrace.

“That was very touching, my faithful student.” Celestia gently wiped a few tears from her eyes.

“That was much better than my scripts-”

“Books.” Celestia swiftly corrected her sister.

Luna gave her older sister a soft glare, “than my books.” She finished with a hint of irritation.

“Yes, well I think it is time we found you a new hobby, sister.” Celestia remarked with a grin. “Twilight Sparkle, do you have anything around here that we could let Luna try out?”

Twilight thought carefully about the question. I need something completely different from a romance novel... maybe a dark historical-fiction adventure. “Well, there is this one book series-”

“Why don’t we move away from more books for now.” Celestia interjected as forcefully as a pony could without raising her voice. “Perhaps something that my dear sister would have difficulty emulating in real life.”

Twilight immediately took the hint. “In that case, how about a board game?”

“Why would we want to be bored when playing a game?” Luna interrupted quizzically.

Twilight managed to stifle her laughter, for the most part. Celestia, thanks to centuries of practice dealing with idiots, particularly the brand known as ‘politicians’, had no trouble keeping a straight face. Rainbow Dash and Spike, however, were rolling on the floor laughing.

Much to Luna’s chagrin, the pair took several minutes to calm their laughter. A very large part of her wanted to whisk the two jesters away to some far off location and possibly imprison them there as well. Sadly, that was not an option.

“No, you see a ‘board game’ is a game that you play with a ‘board’, typically one designed specifically for the game.” Twilight explained once the laughter had died down. Her magic reached out and retrieved a group of boxes from a less-than-noticeable alcove behind one of her bookshelves. The boxes opened to reveal a set of books, a large rolled up grid mat, numerous small, metal figures, and more dice than Luna had ever seen in one place.

Twilight wore a confused look as she rummaged through the contents of the boxes. “Oh, where did it get off to?” Irritation bled through her voice.

“What are you looking for?” Spike asked.

“My notes, blank character sheets, and pretty much every piece of paper that should be here, but isn’t!” The frustrated unicorn exclaimed.

“Oh, I put all that in a separate box for you.” Rainbow chimed in. The pegasus flew over to the alcove, retrieved a red box and flew back to the table. She looked at the table that was now covered in a strange mix of gaming materials and empty dishes, trying to find a place to set her box. “Hey, Spike, think you could start clearing these out?”

“Oh gosh, sorry about that!” The dragon yelped. “I guess I was so caught up in that story that I forgot to clean up after breakfast.”

Twilight opened the box, smiling with relief at the sight of her papers.

“Spike and I took some time to organize all your papers and put them in their own box. Figured it might help since they always got jumbled up between games.” Rainbow commented proudly, her chest inflated and a grin on her face.

Twilight hugged her pegasus tightly, “Remind me to do something special for you later, Rainbow.” She whispered. The pegasus blushed, mind racing with possibilities.

“How does one play this game?” Luna asked, breaking the happy embrace.

“Oh, it helps if you read this rulebook before we start.” Twilight answered, the blue book floated over to the Princess of the Night who took hold of it with her own magic.

“I know it’s a lot of information, so I’ll just point you at the essential parts for now.” Twilight added cheerily.

“What dost thou mean we cannot cast our spell?” Luna protested.

“That’s because you’ve used up your magic power for the day, Luna.” Twilight pointed at a spot on the sheet in front of Luna, “See, right here. This shows you’ve used up all your spells for the day.”

“How can one run out of magic power?” Luna retorted with a glare.

“That’s because your character is a regular unicorn. Unicorns don’t have unlimited magic.” Twilight countered flatly. “Now, you still have a standard action left, what would you like to do?”

Luna simply glared at the character sheet that sat defiantly before her. She searched it several times over hoping to find something useful to do with her last action for the turn. “Fine, we wish to gouge the creature with our horn.” She muttered reluctantly as her magic enveloped one of the dice and sent it rolling across the table.

“Okay, with your modifier... You miss.” Twilight stated matter-of-factly.

“Why dost our avatar have to be so weak?” Luna grumbled, not particularly expecting an answer.

“Well, you’re the one who didn’t want to take the Improved Horn Attack feat, despite all four of us suggesting you take it. And I explained at the start that not taking a Cutie Mark related to magic would limit your spell casting ability. Furthermore, I also-” Twilight began to ramble.

“We realize thy points.” Luna interjected. “We feel like we should have taken more time to study the rules.”

“Or you could have just let me show you how to build a character.” Rainbow Dash chimed in.

“That might work if I didn’t have to give you pre-made characters every time we play just so you don’t break my encounters.” Twilight snapped.

“Hey, if they didn’t want ponies to take those feats, they wouldn’t have put them in the rules.” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“It’s not just the feats, Rainbow. You make completely overpowered characters every time.” Twilight shot back at the pegasus. “If I banned everything you use to break the game, I wouldn’t have a game left.”

“Not my fault I’m awesome.” Rainbow replied confidently.

Twilight sighed. It had been a nightmare trying to balance encounters around Rainbow’s monstrous creations. It seemed like the pegasus had some kind of natural talent at crafting completely broken characters; it may as well have been her Cutie Mark. Most of those builds would be forever burned into her memory. The nightmare that could hurl dozens of thrown weapons in a single turn, the unicorn abomination that was impossible to hit, the insane teleport-happy rogue that could attack multiple times with a single action for hundreds of points of damage... Every single creation was beyond balancing.

“I believe it is my turn now” Celestia spoke up, as much to take her turn as to stop the bickering. Her horn glowed, one of the small, metal figures moved across the grid. “I’ll use my mace, which is still enchanted with holy-light, to crush the imp’s head.” She declared in a surprisingly nonchalant manner. The dice rolled, stopping on a side emblazoned with a familiar looking sun-like shape, indicating a result of ‘twenty’ as was the case with decorative dice.

“I’m still surprised you have your own set of gaming dice, Princess.” Spike remarked. “Though it was more surprising how well you know the rules.” He continued.

Celestia gave a small chuckle at the young dragon’s comment. “I’m well versed in many hobbies, Spike.”

“Well, that’s a natural-twenty, Princess, roll again to confirm the critical.” Twilight stated calmly as her eyes darted around to check several charts and notes she had made. The dice fell, landing once more on the sun emblem. “That’s a crit, you’ll kill the imp instantly since you aimed for it’s head.”

“Are you certain that die is not weighted, sister?” Luna quipped accusingly. Her frustration certainly had nothing to do with her sister never rolling less than a ten, while she was lucky to roll above that same threshold. No, Luna wasn’t jealous at all. She merely wanted to chuck the cursed dice into a certain star...

“It’s called ‘having lucky dice’, sister.” Celestia replied with a soft smile. “Any tabletop player will tell you that certain dice like certain ponies. As nonsensical as it sounds, you’d be surprised how often it holds true.”

“You mean like Fluttershy’s dice?” Spike chirped.

“Yeah, I swear I’ve never seen luckier dice in my life.” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“Well, to be fair, they only seem to be lucky outside of combat. It’s quite fitting for her actually.” Twilight added.

“Yeah, and she uses them to keep us out of combat! It’s so boring to run into something cool to fight only for Fluttershy to ‘save the day’ with some dumb diplomacy or handle animal check. Heck, even her intimidate attempts never fail. And that skill is supposed to suck.”

“It doesn’t suck just because you can’t abuse it to automatically win an encounter.” Twilight snapped.

“Well she doesn’t seem to know that.” Rainbow countered. “Just because she can intimidate a real dragon doesn’t make it fun when she scares the things off in our games before we can kill them! Do you have any idea how much experience we miss out on because of her?” Rainbow’s tone intensified as her rant continued to grow. “We could be several levels higher if she’d stop scaring or making friends with everything we meet.”

“Oh come on, at least she doesn’t derail the game like Pinkie does when she uses her Bard songs!” Spike interjected.

“That’s just one reason I don’t let her play bards anymore, Spike.” Twilight visibly cringed at the thought. Bucking seventy-two bluff checks...

“Hey, don’t forget that time Pinkie screwed up that massive ritual room by writing out the entire lyrics of I’ve got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts across the ritual inscriptions.” Dash chimed in. She knew Twilight hated that particular event, but it was worth bringing up just to see the look on her face.

“You still have no idea much work that ruined for that campaign.” Twilight replied, her left eye twitched nervously at that particular memory.

“Anyway, I think it’s your turn now Spike.” Rainbow remarked after glancing at the turn counter.

“Alright, I’m gonna use Smite Evil on that last imp.” Spike hopped up on the table to move his character miniature next to his target. Returning to his spot on the floor, he picked up his dice and made his roll.

“Looks, like you hit, Spike.” Twilight stated. “Don’t forget your extra damage dice this time.” She added with a slight grin and chuckle.

“Oh, ha ha.” Spike deadpanned. “It was one time! Why can’t you all just let it go?” The dragon grumbled as he made a show of rolling the additional dice.

“Hmm, looks like that’s enough to finish that one off. Good job, Spike.” Twilight had learned quickly that it helped Spike enjoy the game a lot more if she offered occasional praise when he succeeded at things. That, and she always liked seeing him smile. “You seem to be doing much better with a paladin than you did with that ranger.”

“Yeah, I feel like that character was just cursed.” Spike replied solemnly as he recalled the death of his previous character. It wasn’t graceful, or even heroic. No, being knocked out by a rock trap because of a failed reflex save while on an incline was never a good thing. Even worse when your unconscious body slides down the slope and off a cliff into the villain’s spiked pit trap. Yeah, that guy was destined to suck. He couldn’t even hit anything with his bow once combat started unless I used it as a bludgeon.

“Alright, Rainbow, your turn.” Twilight glanced toward the pegasus, then back to her notes.

“Aw yeah, step back everypony, I’m about to be awesome.” Rainbow moved her miniature figure a few spaces, “Okay, I’ll teleport here with my prestige class ability, then activate my rage.”

Twilight mentally groaned, even when I restrict her builds she still pulls off ridiculous stuff.

“Okay, gonna use my spiked chain for a trip attempt.” Rainbow rolled her dice.

Well, I may as well kill that one off now... Twilight thought before the dice even finished rolling.

“Truly, that was entertaining, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna exclaimed happily as the lavender unicorn put the game’s materials back into their respective boxes. “It was a bit frustrating at first, but things became much more delightful later on. We would love to play this game again.”

The game had its usual ups and downs, but overall it had been a success. Luna had enjoyed the game enough to declare it her newest hobby. Celestia was delighted for the chance to dust off her old dice, while Spike simply enjoyed not having to do any chores for the afternoon.

“I’m glad to know everything is going well for you, my faithful student.” Celestia beamed at Twilight. “I trust I can expect our regular correspondence to resume?”

Twilight blushed a bit, still mildly embarrassed at how silly the whole incident was. “Of course, Princess. I’ll be sure to keep you updated more regularly.”

“I’m happy to hear that.” Celestia replied. The alicorn lifted her head slightly as solar magic channeled through her horn, “Farewell for now.” The regal sisters disappeared in a bright flash light.

“Well, I don’t know about you two, but I’m beat.” Spike broke the silence, punctuating his remark with a loud yawn. “I’m going to bed, you probably should too. I know you said something about wanting to get up early tomorrow, just don’t count on me to get you up.”

“It’s cool, Spike. We know you’re a horrible alarm clock.” Rainbow replied playfully as she gave the little dragon a pat on the head.

“You got that right, every button I have is a snooze button.” Spike quipped. He may have been tired, but that didn’t mean he’d lost his wit. “Well, goodnight then.”

Twilight watched as her assistant sleepily trotted off to bed.

“So, Twi, are you ready for some fun tomorrow?” Rainbow nudged her partner with a hoof.

“I don’t think you ever told me exactly why you want to get up so early, Rainbow.” Twilight nudged the pegasus back.

“Oh, yeah. Well, you remember how AJ was trying to get Thunderlane to work with her tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Twilight raised a brow, not quite sure what Rainbow was implying.

“Well, I know AJ pretty well. Everything I know about her is telling me that she just wants to use ‘work’ as an excuse to spend more time with her new coltfriend.” Dash replied, her familiar devilish grin creeping onto her face.

“Okay, so what?”

“We are gonna make sure everything goes just right for them tomorrow.”

Twilight’s expression soured as she realized what Rainbow was wanting to do. “You just want to go and prank them to get back at Applejack for messing up your weather schedule, don’t you?”

“Well, it’s not as fun when you put it that way, but yeah...” Rainbow replied. Even though her wordplay didn’t get past Twilight, not that she expected it would, she couldn’t help but continue to grin as her plans for the next day repeated in her mind.

Twilight sighed, “Fine, but if I help you with this, then you,” Twilight poked Rainbow in the chest, “will owe me a favor.” She finished with a sultry tone.

“Right, sure. Anything you want.” Rainbow replied quickly. She knew whatever the unicorn came up with would be worth the price just to get back an AJ a bit. Honestly, the nerve of that pony, just waltzing in and demanding she totally reorganize her weather schedule because she wants to have a date!

“Anything? Well, I won’t turn down such a generous offer, cutie.” Twilight continued to make use of her seductive tone. Unfortunately for the unicorn, her partner was completely oblivious; the pegasus was so thoroughly engrossed with her plans for revenge that she failed to notice her partner’s advances.

“Come on, Twi we’ve got to get to sleep. AJ gets up early and we need to be over there before she gets out to the field.” Rainbow trotted up the stairs to their bedroom, leaving a certain unicorn feeling a bit neglected.

Alright, no excuses tomorrow Rainbow. I didn’t read all those books just for you to be totally oblivious every day. Twilight mentally grumbled. Oh well, I’ve gone this long without it, what’s another day? She thought, hoping she could convince herself to be even a tad less bothered. At least I can still cuddle up with her. The unicorn finally found a comforting thought before joining her partner upstairs.

Trouble on the Farm

“Rainbow, is there a chance I can talk you out of this?”

The pegasus grinned devilishly. “No way, Twi. She messed up my schedule, so we get to mess up hers. It’s only fair.” Pranking ideas were already filling her head. As Rainbow Dash figured, if pranks came in colors, magic added a whole new spectrum.

Twilight sighed. “You know she’s just going to get mad at us for doing this.” She countered, still hoping she could convince Rainbow Dash to do something more productive with the day.

Rainbow finished packing the last of her supplies into her saddlebag. It was best to always be prepared when pranking. You never know what opportunities might arise. “Don’t worry, it’s not like we are gonna keep her from getting anything done. I just want to have a few laughs at her expense, and maybe see if we can get her past feeling so awkward with her date.”

Twilight had packed more practical items. Mostly food, but she also made sure to bring her standard note-taking equipment. She had never pranked anypony before. It was only proper that she take notes on the experience, just in case it turned out to be worth doing again.

“So, this isn’t completely about revenge?” Twilight asked, one brow raised to form an expression of curiosity.

“Nah, pranking isn’t about making somepony feel bad. Besides, AJ wouldn’t know romance if it bucked her in the teeth. She’s gonna need some help getting through all that awkwardness if she wants a shot at a second date.”

Twilight smiled. “Okay, so our main objective is to engineer situations that will help Applejack and Thunderlane progress through the earliest stages of romantic infatuation?”

Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight as she processed the overly complicated sentence. “Uh, sure.” Even if Rainbow’s vocabulary was better than it had ever been, she still had trouble understanding some of Twilight’s more complex sentences.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Rainbow placed a hoof to her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Uh, we really just need to work with whatever situation we find. I don’t know exactly what AJ has planned, so we’ll just go with the flow.”

“What?” Twilight balked. “We can’t just go over there without a plan. I’ll go get a quill and parchment, we can write up a checklist before we head over.”

Rainbow grabbed Twilight before she could make it upstairs. “Twi, no. We need to get there early, before AJ gets up. We don’t have the time to make a checklist. Besides, I think a little spontaneity will do you some good.” She then began the slow process of dragging the unicorn outside, away from the temptation of her quills and parchment. It was a struggle, and there was more than a bit of arguing, but somehow, in her panic, Twilight had forgotten that she could have just grabbed her supplies with her magic.

This might be harder than I thought. Rainbow admitted. She hadn’t been planning on wasting fifteen minutes just to get Twilight out the door, never mind the ten more minutes it took to convince her that it was perfectly normal not to have a checklist for pranking. I hope we can still find a good spot without AJ noticing us.

The prankster and her rookie-in-training arrived at the Sweet Apple Acres before sunrise, Rainbow had made up for some lost time by carrying Twilight by flight instead of walking. The pegasus sent a likely unnecessary thanks to Celestia that Applejack wasn’t already out in the orchards.

Okay, just need to find a good hiding spot. Rainbow thought as she scanned the area for something that wasn’t a tree. Ah, there we go. She spotted a rather large patch of shrubbery and made her descent.

“Rainbow, how do you know Applejack is even going to be in this area?” Twilight asked as Rainbow touched down in the patch of vegetation.

Rainbow giggled as she positioned herself within one of the bushes. “Oh, that’s easy. She likes to clear the orchards in a very specific pattern.”

Twilight joined Rainbow Dash in the bush. “I take it you learned this from your habit of napping in her trees?”

“Hey, those things are comfy, especially with a pillow and blanket.” Rainbow countered.

Twilight giggled. “As opposed to a cloud?”

“Random weather clouds don’t support pillows. You have to work the clouds a certain way, or have them enchanted before they can support solid objects.”

“I know that, Rainbow.” Twilight replied in a small huff. “I’ve studied pegasi culture, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just keep it down. AJ’ll be out here soon. I bet Thunderlane is trying to sleep in, so we lucked out, but that won’t matter if you give us away before we can start pulling pranks. Remember, the number one rule of pranking is that the target must not know you’re there.”

Twilight immediately fetched her quill and notepad and scribbled down the mentioned rule.

Rainbow quietly groaned as she planted her hoof to her face.

It wasn’t long before the sun finally peeked over the horizon, and with it came a rather irritated farmer and her temporary assistant. It was a fairly late start for Applejack, but she was hoping that the extra set of hooves would help make up for the delay. She led him from the farmhouse out into the eastern field. “Okay, first I’m gonna need to show you how to buck properly. It’ll take ya a few tries before ya get results, so don’t get too down when ya muck up at first.”

Thunderlane watched carefully as Applejack approached the first tree of the day. She reared up and shot her hind legs out. The resulting thump practically echoed around him. Moments later, the loose apples fell out of the trees right into the perfectly placed buckets below.

Applejack grinned smugly. “That’s how it’s done.”

“Uh, wow.” It was all Thunderlane could manage to say. It was a display of brute force and practiced control the likes of which he had never seen, at least not so closely. Somehow, the whole thing had been more exciting than he had expected. Big Macintosh had told him that the best way to learn was to watch and try to mimic what he saw. Maybe not in so many words, but still, he had watched. He took in the sight of Applejack’s muscles flexing as her legs pounded against the tree’s trunk. It was everything he had imagined it to be.

Applejack looked to Thunderlane, hoping to judge his reaction. What she saw was quite surprising. “Hey, why are you about to take off?”

“Huh?”

Applejack narrowed her gaze. “Don’t you ‘huh’ me, mister. I see you got those wings up like you’re gonna take off.”

Thunderlane immediately became aware that his wings had flared out. “Ack, shit!” He fumbled briefly as he forced his traitorous appendages back to a resting position. “No, I wasn’t going anywhere-”

“Then what was it you were doin’?”

Thunderlane felt his face flush. Oh this is just great. “Y-you see, um, when pegasi get excited...”

Applejack’s expression quickly brightened. “Oh, well why didn’t you just say so.” She walked over and gave him a solid smack on his back, coaxing him towards a tree. “Didn’t think you were so eager to try apple-buckin’.”

Thunderlane sighed in relief.

“Ya know, the more I think about it, that whole ‘gettin’ excited’ thing makes sense. RD’s wings are always poppin’ up like that around Twilight...” The farmer’s visage contorted slightly, hints of irritation showing through.

Crap, I think she just figured-

Applejack walked over to the stallion, her eyes fixed on his. “You weren’t excited about apple-buckin’, were ya?”

I’d be excited to buck your... NO! Bad brain. Don’t say that out loud! “Um, I might have been paying attention to something else...”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t make out exactly what was being said, but she had a fair idea what was going on. There weren’t too many reasons for a pegasi’s wings to flare out like that. And considering Applejack’s current expression, she probably just figured out what Thunderlane had been staring at. Rainbow nearly burst out laughing when she saw Applejack smack the poor stallion on the head. Rainbow calmed herself then leaned over and whispered her plan to Twilight. Twilight envisioned the scenario and was swiftly forced to stifle her laughter. Okay, this may be more fun than I thought.

She watched intently as Applejack provided a few more demonstrations, during which Thunderlane appeared unable to control his wings, before setting him up for his first attempt. He fidgeted a bit, probably checking his positioning, before he reared his hind legs into the air, ready to prove himself to his crush.

Snap!

A sudden cascade of fruit assaulted him. One lucky apple planted itself on the pegasus’ head causing him lose his balance and tumble forward.

The pranksters did their best to stay as quiet as possible while trying to let as much laughing out of their systems as they could manage.

Applejack, however, was under no such restrictions. She fell to the ground laughing.

Thunderlane lay on his back, embarrassment sinking in. Once the laughter had ceased he stood back up and dusted himself off.

“Okay, don’t fret too much. That was just some bad luck.” Applejack tried to console the pegasus, but nearly burst out laughing again. That didn’t have quite the effect she had been hoping for. “Hey, just give it another try. I need to see if you’ve got a curse or somethin’.”

Thunderlane grumbled quietly as he repositioned himself. He reared up once more, pausing to make sure nothing fell on him. When nothing happened, he shot his hind legs out. There was a solid thump... then nothing. No apples at all. He sighed dejectedly.

“Hmm, that’s odd.” Applejack narrowed her eyes as she cast a scrutinizing gaze at the tree, taking note that there were many ripe apples still dangling in the branches. “That might not have been perfect, but you had a good bit of force there. Somethin’ should’a come out that tree.”

The farmer shooed the pegasus out of her way. Applejack took her position and gave the tree a solid buck. Once again, nothing. The farmer glared angrily at the tree. She knew something was wrong, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. She reared up and tried again, only to produce the same result. That’s it! It’s a matter of pride now, isn’t it, Woodington. You’re gonna give me them apples or I’ll break your trunk.

Thus began the not-so-epic battle of Applejack and Woodington. After several minutes of constant bucking, the tree finally succumbed, releasing its bounty into the buckets below.

Little did the frustrated farmer suspect that magic had been the culprit. Had she known, she might have found the two pranksters rolling around with stifled laughter in the patch of nearby shrubs.

She turned her irritated glare at Thunderlane. “You won’t tell a single soul about this.” She growled.

She hadn’t even need to say anything, that glare had told him all he needed to know. But when those venom-coated words assaulted his ears, Thunderlane felt a chill run through his spine. He swiftly nodded in agreement like a scared little foal.

The farmer sighed. She hadn’t expected the day to be so frustrating. She hadn’t even been working for an hour and already she wanted to call it quits. She could only hope that things would go smoother as the day progressed.

“I have to admit, Rainbow, this has been a lot more fun than I thought it would be.” Twilight took a bite from her flower-filled sandwich.

Rainbow smiled widely. “Yeah, I knew you’d like it. Good call on bringing some lunch by the way. Totally slipped my mind.”

The pair sat on a red and white checkered blanket. They had chosen to take their lunch break on the opposite side of the farm from where Applejack was working. With a few hills, a ton of trees, and some building between them, there was no way they’d get caught.

Twilight finished her meal, taking a moment to clean the crumbs from her mouth with a small cloth. “So, have any more ideas?”

Rainbow nodded excitedly. “Of course. I was thinking that since there’s a bunch of clouds hanging around today, I could slip up there and casually make some rain over them. If it goes well, we might be able to get them to take shelter.” Rainbow replied with her usual confidence.

“How is that funny?”

“It’s not, really. But anypony who knows about farmers and romance knows that most farmers are more likely to get romantic if they are in a barn.”

Twilight looked at the pegasus incredulously, “Rainbow, that makes no sense. There’s nothing romantic about a barn.”

“You just don’t know farmers very well then. Watch and learn.” The cyan pegasus shot upwards into the sky and proceeded to sneakily maneuver the numerous clouds that had conveniently found themselves placed over Sweet Apple Acres. Being the local weather boss had some perks after all.

It took nearly half an hour before the clouds had all been gathered together. Covertly moving so many clouds wasn’t easy. If she moved too fast, her natural rainbow trail would give her away. That and she had to make it seem like the wind was moving the clouds, not a pegasus.

Applejack looked at the sky with a frown. She had been noticing the sky around her farm slowly filling up with clouds over the last half-hour. I guess taking this fella away really did muss up RD’s weather plan.

Applejack flinched at the sudden cold sensation on her nose. Glancing back to the sky, she noticed the darkening clouds. “Oh for pete’s sake. Rain? Seriously?” Applejack growled. It was beginning to seem like the day had conspired against her. It was just one thing after another that kept her from getting anything accomplished. “Alright, let’s get inside. It’s a bad idea to try and buck apples in the rain, too easy to slip.” She motioned for Thunderlane to follow her.

The closest building was the barn, so Applejack decided that they could dry off a bit in there. She hoped, desperately, that the rain would let up soon, but she wasn’t about to hold her breath for it.

Thankfully, she tended to keep a few towels in the barn, just in case something needed to be cleaned up. They also provided an adequate method of drying off in the event of unexpected rain. She watched carefully as Thunderlane worked the towel to dry himself.

Hmm, he really ain’t half-bad lookin’. He’s got some good muscles on him. She briefly allowed her mind to trail off before shaking the deviant thoughts from her head. Dang it, I don’t know him that well yet. Still, at least he doesn’t seem to mind apple buckin’.

“Hey, Applejack?”

The sudden words broke her train of thought. “What?”

The pegasus turned his gaze to the ground. “I know this wasn’t exactly the kind of day you’d had in mind...”

“Ahh, don’t fret too much about it. You tried, and that’s all I was really lookin’ for anyway.” She took a seat a little ways from the barn door. “If you want, maybe we could have lunch tomorrow.”

His expression brightened his wings flaring with excitement. “Sure!”

Applejack chuckled at his response. “Might wanna calm down a bit there. It’s just a date, I’m not promisin’ anything more than that.”

Thunderlane took a moment to retract his wings before taking a seat next to her. He leaned into her. Their coats were still a bit wet, so the feeling wasn’t as warm as either had expected, but it was nice all the same. “I know, but it’s not every day the mare you’ve been pining over asks you out.”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at that. “You ever gonna tell me about that crush of yours?” She couldn’t see it, but she had a feeling he was blushing.

“It’s...” He fumbled to find the right words. “Um... not a short story.”

Applejack looked outside, the rain continued to pour down. “I think we’ve got time.” She leaned her head over to rest it on his shoulder. She felt his small gasp at the unexpected touch.

“Alright, I guess it won’t hurt to tell you.”

Unbeknownst to the Applejack and Thunderlane, two pairs of eyes watched on expectantly through one of the barn’s windows.

“See, Twi, I told you barns make farmers romantic.” Rainbow whispered.

“Fine, you win that one.” The unicorn was always reluctant to let Rainbow win bets or arguments. Okay, it wasn’t in her best interest to let Rainbow win anything. Every time she did, there was at least a week of bragging to look forward to. It had been cute the first time, but after a few days it had just grown into a mild annoyance.

“So, we should probably leave them alone now.” Rainbow spoke up.

Twilight gazed up. Rainbow sure made an impressively large rainstorm. The giant gray cloud covered the entirety of Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow’s right, it would be best if we got home as soon as possible.

“So, how did you like your first day of pranking, Twi?”

The pair was trotting towards the main road back to town when a devious idea wormed into Twilight’s mind. “Oh, it was a lot of fun. I’ll never forget the first rule of pranking.”

Rainbow never saw it coming. Not the devious grin, nor the glow of Twilight’s horn, or even the ball of water that found its mark on the back of her head. The pegasus had no idea what was happening until the sudden impact made her slip, leaving her face down in the mud.

Something that felt like a big water balloon had drenched her head; quite an accomplishment given the rain had already done that. Behind her, Twilight was laughing. That maniacal cackling cut through the sound of the rain and stabbed her right in the pride. This was an act of war.

Rainbow stood up and wiped the mud from her face. “Game on.” She leapt forward, tackling Twilight to the ground, splashing mud everywhere. “Nice try, Twilight, but you didn’t think I’d let you get away with that, did you?”

Twilight grinned, “Like you can stop me.” Her horn flared with magic as a glob of mud struck Rainbow’s side.

The game quickly turned into a contest to see who could get the other dirtier. Balls of mud flew through the air, occasionally striking their target. Twilight had an unfair advantage with her magic, so Rainbow quickly found herself losing the game. It wasn’t long before cries of surrender were issued.

Thankfully, the same ball of water that started the fight, proved an efficient way to remove most of the mud. After a few quick ‘baths’ the two ponies continued their trek back to Ponyville.

The trip was not without further deceit, however. The moment they reached a grassy area, Rainbow tackled Twilight to the ground.

It was much harder to wrestle in the rain, everything was much more slippery making good footing and proper grabs and pins very difficult.

Twilight managed to flip Rainbow onto her back. The unicorn rolled over to place herself on top, only to slip and land face down in the grass on the other side of her opponent. Rainbow stumbled momentarily as she rose to continue the assault. The brief delay was enough time for Twilight to find her footing and face the pegasus.

They eyed each other briefly before Twilight lunged forward. She crashed right into her target, but was unable to make the pegasus budge. Rainbow threw her forelegs around Twilight’s neck, and forced her to the ground. She quickly positioned herself over the unicorn, desperately hoping that her footing would be more stable this time.

Twilight reached up with her own forelegs and pushed as hard as she could against Rainbow’s chest. The pegasus lurched up onto her hind legs, her wings flared out for balance, but it was too late. Twilight swiveled her hips into Rainbow’s hind leg, toppling her once more.

The unicorn used the momentum to roll onto her hooves. Rainbow was briefly stunned by the sudden fall and Twilight took the opening. She perched herself on top of her foe, and pressed down to pin the pegasus’ front hooves between their bellies. She wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow’s neck and pulled her head close. Their lips met.

It wasn’t the most comfortable place, but neither pony seemed to care as they pressed deeper into the embrace.

They had no idea how much they would regret staying out in the rain.

“Achoo!” Twilight let out a massive sneeze. Her magic flared and the book she was reading vanished in a purple flash.

“Ugh, not again.” Spike groaned. “I’ll see if I can find where it ended up.” He begrudgingly headed downstairs.

“Being sick really sucks for you, Twi.” Rainbow remarked.

“Yeah and you can’t fly, so I think we’re about even.” Twilight snapped back.

“Don’t remind me.” Rainbow grumbled.

Twilight groaned, “Forget it, I’m going to try to sleep some more.” The unicorn rolled over, pulling the covers up as she placed her head on the pillow.

“Guess I should try to sleep too.” Rainbow slipped under the covers and snuggled up to Twilight.

Meanwhile, Spike searched high and low for the missing book. After several minutes of searching, he was beginning to wonder if the book had ended up outside the library this time. It was a definite possibility; Twilight had a pretty long range with her teleportation spell.

A sudden knock on the door interrupted his search. Spike grumbled at the disturbance as he made his way to the front door. He swung the door open to find Pinkie Pie standing there with a book stuck in her mane.

“Hey, Spike, were you looking for this?” She asked as she hoofed the formerly missing book to him.

He blinked a few times to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. “Yeah, how did you... Pinkie Sense?”

“Nah, I’ve just seen Twilight reading that recently and figured it had to be hers. Besides, who else teleports books into my mane?” She replied happily, as if it was a regular occurrence.

Spike already knew better than to answer, rather he knew he wouldn’t get a proper answer. Some things were best left unasked when Pinkie was involved.

“Hey, how’s Twilight doing? Is she sick or just experimenting this time?”

“Oh, her and Rainbow Dash are both sick. They stayed out in the rainstorm over Sweet Apple Acres yesterday.” No matter how many times they had explained it to him, Spike just couldn’t understand why they had been out in the rain for so long.

“Both of them?!” Pinkie exclaimed, her face was suddenly mere inches from Spike’s.

“Uh, yeah.” He replied, shoving her back a bit.

Pinkie frowned, “You must be so busy taking care of them all by yourself. How are you going to get all your chores done on time?”

Spike’s expression fell. He had completely forgotten about his daily chores. It was bad enough that he had to drop everything nearly every time Twilight sneezed. But with everything else he had to do to check on them, it was taking up most of his time. Even if she was sick, he knew Twilight would be grumpy if he didn’t stay on top of his chores.

“Actually, I have no idea. Taking care of those two is eating up all of my time.” Spike answered, sounding mildly depressed.

Pinkie giggled, “Don’t be silly, Spike. You can’t eat time.”

The young dragon stared blankly at the pink mare, not entirely sure if she was being serious. Suddenly, a pink hoof patted him on the head.

“Don’t you worry one teensy weensy bit, Spike. We can take care of Twilight and Dashie for you so you can get all those super-important chores done.” Pinkie chimed happily.

Spike’s expression lit up. “Thanks, Pinkie. Remind me to make you some cookies later to make it up to you.”

The pink mare’s eyes widened, “Ooo, can you make your freshly-baked-homemade-triple-decker-nut-crazy-vanilla-creme cookies!?”

“Sure thing. I’ll even make you a double batch.”

Spike found himself swept up in a hug. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Pinkie exclaimed before suddenly rushing off upstairs.

Spike shut the door and began to plan out the order in which he would tackle his chores when a realization hit. “Wait... ‘we’?” He thought about it for a moment before dismissing it as a simple slip of the tongue; Pinkie was known to mix up words all the time.

Pinkie arrived in Twilight’s room to find her two friends sick and in bed. What she hadn’t expected was for them to be in the same bed. A quick glance informed her that Twilight was still being a lazy-pants and not getting her guest bed fixed. “You should really get that bed fixed, Twilight.”

Twilight sighed. “Hi, Pinkie. If you need a book, just ask Spike.”

Twilight sure sounded grumpy, but then who wouldn’t be grumpy if they were sick? Pinkie knew right away that this was a job for her! Twilight, and probably Dashie, needed cheering up. “Don’t worry girls, we’re here to help take care of you today.” She bounced over next to the bed, hoping her enthusiasm would spread via that osmososomose thing Twilight had mentioned once during a rant about leaves. Pinkie always enjoyed when Twilight went into super science mode. She learned all kinds of neat words from those rants.

“Spike is already taking care of us, Pinkie. We-” Twilight retorted before a sudden knocking on her window broke her train of thought.

Pinkie’s eyes lit up, “Ohmygoshhe’shere!” She exclaimed, rushing to open the window.

“Who’s here?”

“My helper, silly.” Pinkie giggled as a blue pegasus stallion flew into the room. “I already said we are going to take care of you today so Spikey can get his chores done so you won’t be super mad at him for slacking off.”

Twilight groaned. She really didn’t have the energy to deal with Pinkie today. “That isn’t what you said.”

The pegasus laughed at her retort. “Don’t be so harsh, you probably just weren’t listening well enough.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the newcomer. She already didn’t like him. A few quick glances revealed his coat to be a lighter shade than Rainbow Dash’s, while his mane and tail were a dark navy-blue. The stallion turned to face Pinkie, giving her a clear view of his cutie mark; wings on a yellow bolt of lightning. “Wait, are you-”

“Keep it down, Twi.” Rainbow Dash interjected. “I’m trying to sleep like you told me to.”

The pegasus stallion’s ears perked up as Rainbow spoke. He looked towards the bed. He was just barely able to make out a pile of multicolored hair behind the grumpy unicorn. “Hey, is that you, Rainbow Dash?” He asked eagerly.

Rainbow’s eyes shot open as she bolted upright. She knew that voice. Now that she was awake, there was no mistaking it! She turned her head to find the Wonderbolt, Soarin, standing next to Pinkie Pie. “Soarin!” She exclaimed before descending into a nervous fit of ramblings about her appearance.

“Wow, I didn’t think she was the type to care that much about how she looks?” Soarin remarked, one brow raised in curiosity.

Twilight sighed as the pegasus leapt out of bed and over to the mirror to begin the hopeless battle of trying not to look sick. “My bet, is that she doesn’t want a Wonderbolt to see her looking so ill.” The unicorn replied.

Soarin chuckled, “Hey, no worries, Dash. I'm not here for an official visit. No need to dress up.”

Rainbow froze momentarily as her mind sluggishly processed the information. She visibly relaxed as she released a huge sigh. A keen ear could have detected the mix of relief and disappointment. She promptly trotted back over to the bed and propped herself up with her front legs resting on Twilight’s back as she stared at Soarin and Pinkie.

“Comfy?” Twilight snapped.

“Yeah, you're soft enough.” Rainbow absently replied.

“Wow, I thought she was kidding.” Soarin spoke as he watched Rainbow claim her perch.

Rainbow eyed him curiously. “What?”

“Oh, I didn’t actually think you two were an item. Looks like I was wrong.” A sly grin encroached on his happy smile.

“Told ya!” Pinkie exclaimed happily as she bounced in place.

Soarin rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, just promise you’ll let me hear the end of it, Sweetie Pie. I promise I won’t second guess you about your friends again.”

Rainbow blinked a few times before her brow furrowed. “What’d you just call her?”

Pinkie saw right away that Rainbow was confused. Of course she wouldn’t know, Pinkie hadn’t told her yet. Only Rarity and Fluttershy had been lucky enough to find out so far. She grinned, “Sweetie Pie.” She replied. “It’s his nickname for me. Isn’t it the cutest thing?” Pinkie leaned over to nuzzle the stallion’s neck.

“Uh, this is new...” Was all Twilight could manage to say. Rainbow Dash was struck utterly silent.

“I want to introduce you two to Soarin, my new coltfriend!”

Twilight shook her head, certainly this was a joke. Where could Pinkie Pie, of all ponies, find the time to court a Wonderbolt?

Rainbow snapped out of her silent streak. “Buh, what?” Her face scrunched in confusion.

Pinkie giggled slightly, “Wow, you two look just like Rarity and Fluttershy when I told them.” What a coincidence! Suddenly, Pinkie couldn’t help but wonder if Applejack would make the same expression.

“How and when?” Rainbow asked.

The newly announced couple nodded in unison.

“So, it all started about a month or two after the disaster-gala. I’d gotten this amazing apple pie there and I totally forgot to get the name of the mare that sold it to me. So, I started asking around and Fancy Stache-”.

“Fancy Pants.” Pinkie interjected.

“Right, him. So, Fancy Guy, said it was probably a vendor that came in from Ponyville, since that’s where the closest apple farm to Canterlot is.”

“And then he-”

“Hey, this is my part!” Soarin exclaimed, frowning at Pinkie.

Pinkie replied by pantomiming zipping her mouth shut. Soarin smiled briefly before continuing.

“So, I came to Ponyville and started asking around for Applehat, cause, ya’know, she sells apples and has that neat hat.”

“You’re terrible with names aren’t you?” Twilight quipped.

“Totally.”

Neither Twilight nor Rainbow had expected him to admit it so readily. Odder still was the goofy grin he wore, almost like he was proud of his inability to remember names.

“So, anyway, I ran into Sweetie here and she knew who I was talking about.”

“You don’t actually remember her first name do you?” Rainbow asked flatly. She had remembered him being a bit eccentric at the gala, but she hadn’t expected him to be quite this laid-back.

“Well... uh...” He replied before biting his lower lip. He swiftly shifted gears, reverting his face to a smile, as he wrapped a foreleg over Pinkie. “If she answers to ‘Sweetie’, that’s good enough for me.”

Pinkie giggled, leaning in to nuzzle him once more. “Isn’t he just the cutest?”

Twilight could already feel the beginnings of a migraine. Sweet Celestia, these two were practically made for each other... Oh no... What if they have foals together? Twilight’s mind immediately went into a panic. The only thing she could think about was possible contingency spells that could help keep her sanity in check. Alright, no problem. I’ll just have to learn that silencing spell I’ve been putting off learning these last few months.

Rainbow caught a glance of Twilight’s nervously twitching eyes. Not the time to panic over this, Twi. She reached a hoof over and bonked the distracted unicorn on the head, snapping her back to reality. Rainbow leaned over to whisper to her, “You should probably pay attention to this. I don’t know if I’ll be able to interpret any of this without you.”

Twilight blushed, “Oh, sorry.”

Meanwhile, Soarin was continuing his story, oblivious to his audience’s antics. “And that was when I finally introduced myself to Applehat-”

“Applejack.”

“Right, Applesnack. So, she made me a few more pies and they were sooooo good.” He paused as thoughts of those delicious pies came back to him. He could practically taste the sweet treats as his tongue fell out of his mouth. A sudden series of nudges and pokes from Pinkie snapped him out of his reverie. “So, then Sweetie and I got to talking about stuff and she said that I totally had to come back to Ponyville again-”

“Wait. Pinkie, how come you didn’t tell me when Soarin came to town?” Rainbow interjected. “You know how I am about the Wonderbolts.”

Pinkie laughed, much to Rainbow’s confusion. “Yeah, but I also know how you are with Twilight. I figured you’d rather spend time with her than just follow Soarin around to look for a pie.”

Rainbow shrunk back a bit. As much as she had been disappointed to think she’d missed out on a chance to hang out with one of her idols, the idea of just finding a pie for him to eat was hardly how she would have wanted to spend time with him. She was also mildly disappointed that Pinkie seemed to know her better than she knew herself in that moment.

“So that’s basically, how we met.” Soarin spoke, finishing his story with a smile.

Twilight nodded, “So then how did you two end up dating?”

“Oh, that’s a fun story” The couple replied in unison. They turned to each other and broke out laughing.

Twilight mentally groaned. She was already getting a bad feeling about this.

“So, the Bolts have been super busy lately. We’ve had a ton of back-to-back performances scheduled, so we had all planned to make this week a big vacation for the whole team. I wrote Sweetie a letter a while back telling her about it so she could make plans to be free.”

“And then he came down here on Sunday, when you two were busy with the Princesses.” Pinkie added.

Soarin cocked a brow, turning his head, “Wait, the Princesses were here on Sunday?”

“Yes, they were, but how did you know that, Pinkie?” Twilight replied.

“Oh, that’s easy. It was-”

“I swear, if you say you have a Pinkie Sense combo for that-”

“Don’t be silly, Twilight.” Pinkie giggled, “Spike told me. He said it was something super duper important and for me to make sure I didn’t have any surprise parties planned for you two that day.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Rainbow remarked casually.

Twilight scowled briefly. I told Spike not to tell anypony. I’ll have to talk to him about it later.

“Anyway,” Soarin continued, “I asked Sweetie where we could go to have some fun.”

“And we went over to Sweet Apple Acres to see if Applejack would makes us some more of her awesome pies.”

“So, we got to the park and there were all kinds of ponies playing games and stuff.”

“But when we got there Big Mac said that AJ was out on a date. A date! Can you believe it!?” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping a short distance forward for emphasis. “I mean, I thought she left that party all alone. How could she not tell me she found a date?” Pinkie’s expression shifted to a very disappointed looking frown.

“So I turned to Sweetie and asked her if she wanted to play a game and she jabbed me in the ribs and shouted ‘Tag! You’re it!’ before dashing away.” Soarin’s eyes flared with excitement as he recounted his game of tag with Pinkie.

“I mean, how can I throw her a ‘congratulations on finding a date’ party if she doesn’t tell me she found a date?” Pinkie continued to ramble.

Are they even talking about the same thing? Twilight pondered as she tried to keep up with the rapid back-and-forth retelling of what seemed to be two entirely different stories.

“So, being as fast as I am, I thought I’d give her a fair chance and not start off flying. I took off on hoof and chased her all over the place.” The tone of excitement in Soarin’s voice escalated.

“Anyway, so we decided to go see if we could find Applejack and tag along with her. We trotted off back to town and started asking around, cause Big Mac had no idea where AJ was going on her date. It was time for reconnaissance, Pinkie Pie Style!” The pinkie mare’s eyes flared to life at her exclamation. She was really immersing herself in the story.

“After a few minutes of chasing her, I realized I wasn’t actually gaining any ground on her. Crazy, right? But seriously, she pretty quick. It was time to kick things into high gear. I took off flying and it looked like I’d be able to catch her.”

“And then we went asking around at all the good places for a date, but all we ever heard was that we had just missed her. It was so crazy. I mean, they were all over town. It must have been like the most amazing date ever and they just didn’t want to let it end or something.”

“So, right as I was about to catch her, she just suddenly turned around and hopped right over me! I’ve never seen an earth pony with that kind of reaction time. So I had to come back around and start chasing her again, which is harder than you think. Even when I was flying I could barely gain ground on her.”

“And after spending like all day or something looking for her we gave up and decided to wait for her at Sweet Apple Acres. We headed back over to the farm and somehow ended up talking with Granny Smith. I’m not really sure what happened, but I recall asking about pies, and there were tons of pies, cause you know she’s an amazing baker, right?”

“So after I got reoriented, I couldn’t spot her anywhere! She turned our game from tag into hide-and-seek. It was so crafty, but I was up for the challenge. I took off and started checking all the trees and bushes around the park.”

“And we started talking about how he’s been totally burned out on all those stuffy social events in Cloudsdale and Canterlot. Turns out he’s not much of the party type, so much as he’s the par-tay type of pony. And I totally knew how he felt, cause the Gala was sooo boring and stuffy; it wasn’t even a real party.”

“And no matter how hard I looked I couldn’t find her anywhere. How hard could it be to find a bright pink mare in a green park?”

“That’s when I told him he should spend some more time with me, cause I know what a real party is. It’s all about having fun with your friends.”

“I decided to take a break, and sit under a tree for a bit while I formulated a strategy. Suddenly, she ambushed me and fell right on top of me! I could have sworn I checked that tree at least five times, but there she was.”

Suddenly, the couple began talking in unison. “And that was when I stared into his/her eyes. They were so beautiful. And I said ‘wanna go out sometime?’ and he/she said ‘Sure.’ And that’s how we started dating!” They finished their story with an excited burst before realizing that they had once again been talking in unison. The pair began laughing at the silly coincidence.

“Twi?” Rainbow spoke up through the laughter.

“What?”

“Did you understand any of that?”

“Unless they were talking about two entirely separate events, no.”

“Were they?”

“No clue.”

Pinkie suddenly bounced over to the bed. Her voice took on a motherly tone, “Okie dokie loki, you two. Story time is over, and it’s time for sick fillies to get some rest.”

“And what if we aren’t tired?” Rainbow asked.

“Then you need some soup!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Hey, Spike is the fridge stocked!”

“Yes!” Spike shouted back.

“Alright, you two wait here while I make something yummy for those grumbling tummies.” Pinkie hopped down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Well, I am kind of hungry.” Twilight remarked.

Soarin suddenly found himself alone with the sick mares. Rather than standing in idle silence, he decided to strike up a conversation. One topic immediately sprung to mind. “So, how long have you two been together?”

Twilight was caught off guard by the sudden question. “Oh, er, about seven months now.” She fumbled to force out the right words. Being sick and hungry was not helping her think very well.

“Cool. Still, I know a few guys who are gonna be disappointed to hear about that.”

That was a pretty rude remark... “What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow snapped.

Soarin quickly realized his mistake, “Oh, no, not like that. I mean I know a few stallions on the team who were keeping their eyes on you, Dash.”

“W-what?” Rainbow couldn’t help but blush at the news.

“Hey, don’t act too surprised.” Soarin replied. “You gotta admit, a mare that can do a sonic rainboom on command is definitely worth a Bolt’s time. Besides, you’re rather good-looking as it is.” His eyes quickly shifted to the doorway. “Just don’t tell Sweetie I said that.”

“Be that as it may, I’d appreciate it if you could tell your teammates that she’s off the market.” Twilight remarked with a matter-of-fact tone.

“Of course. It wouldn’t look good if the press found out a Bolt was chasing an attached pony.”

“D-do, you really mean that?” Rainbow asked, her voice quavering slightly.

Soarin gave her a confused look. “Uh, yeah. It’s pretty bad for our image to be seen trying to steal somepony’s partner.”

“No, I mean do you really think I’m pretty?” Dash replied. Immediately she noticed Twilight’s glare.

Soarin stood silent, not quite certain how to respond. He had meant that remark as a simple compliment, even if it was true. “Uh, no offense, Dash, but why does it matter what I think of your looks?”

Rainbow slid back off of her perched position over Twilight. She averted her gaze, “I guess it doesn’t. It’s... just not something I expected to hear from one of my idols.”

“Yeah, sure. Look, I’m gonna go help Sweetie with that soup.” He replied, a slight edge of nervousness in his voice, as he slipped out of the room.

Twilight turned over to face Rainbow Dash. She may have been confused and a bit upset, but she did her best not to sound angry. “Rainbow, what was that about?”

Rainbow kept her gaze averted. “J-Just what I said. It’s not every day your idol tells you that you look good.”

Twilight noticed that Rainbow wasn’t looking at her. It wasn’t a sign that she liked. “Rainbow-”

Rainbow Dash immediately interrupted her, “Hey, how would you feel if Celestia said you looked pretty?” She snapped.

Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash incredulously, “Uh, I’d feel a bit creeped out.”

Rainbow thought for a moment. “Oh, yeah, I guess that would be kind of awkward.”

“Considering she’s like a second mother to me, yes, yes it would.” Twilight continued to watch her partner as they sat in silence, hoping to see something that would clue her in to Rainbow’s mood. Oh, Rainbow... why are you still trying to hide your feelings from me? I wish she’d just tell me what was bothering her.

Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Pinkie Pie bearing two bowls of fresh soup. “Here you go!” Pinkie happily exclaimed. “I just followed Spike’s recipe book. Good thing too, cause I don’t actually know much about soups. Cupcakes on the other hoof, oh boy can I tell you about those?”

Twilight and Rainbow took the soup and set to work on it immediately.

“Well, can I?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight shot the pink mare a strange look. “Can you what?”

“Tell you about cupcakes, duh.”

Twilight sighed. “Fine, go ahead.” She hoped that eventually Pinkie’s babbling would descend into the realm of white noise and help her fall asleep after she finished the soup.

The rest of the day was relatively unexciting. Pinkie and Soarin stuck around for most of the day, either talking with Twilight or Rainbow about things, or playing a few games to pass the time while the two sick mares took a nap. More than once they found themselves kissing and hugging. Unfortunately, they weren’t exactly quiet when doing so, much to the chagrin of Twilight. Rainbow proved to be a much heavier sleeper.

Oh, and Spike got his chores done.

Eventually, Pinkie and Soarin bid their farewells and went home for the night. They didn’t want to be up too late. There was still most of a week to spend together and the pair seemed adamant on wanting to get an early start for the next day.

Twilight awoke the next day to the sound of Spike receiving a letter. Thankfully, she felt much better today. It seemed that whatever she and Rainbow had come down with was a fairly temporary illness. Good thing too, she had a lot to make up for after missing a full day.

She grabbed the letter with her magic and unfurled it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

We hope you are doing well, it has been a while since your last letter and your father and I are a bit worried about you. I know this is sudden, but today was the only chance we have to come and visit. We should be arriving by train this afternoon. Your brother will be coming with us. Again, sorry for the lack of notice. Can’t wait to catch up with all that you’ve been doing recently. I hope you’ve found a nice stallion. Your brother is being very resistant about giving me some grandfoals, so it would be wonderful if you could help out with that.

Love,
Mom

Twilight blanched. “Oh, right... I forgot to send that letter telling them about Rainbow.”

“You sent who a letter about me?” Rainbow groggily rose from the bed. She stretched a few times before walking over to Twilight to see what she was reading.

After finishing the letter, Rainbow looked to Twilight. “So, I’m guessing that came in this morning?”

“Yeah, just a minute ago.”

“Any idea how you’re going to break it to your mother?”

“No.”

Family

“Spike, clean faster!” Twilight shouted. Several cleaning tools floated busily around the library. “They’ll be here within the hour! I want this place spotless!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Twi, please calm down. You’ve already cleaned the whole library twice since we got that letter this morning, and the place was pretty darn clean before you started.”

There was no detectable response to Rainbow’s plea. “Ugh,” she groaned, cautiously approaching the busy unicorn. “Are you even listening?” She waved a hoof in front of Twilight. Once again, she was ignored as the frantic unicorn turned her focus to another part of the room; her cleaning supplies were already en route.

“Twilight!”

The magical aura faded, letting the cleaning supplies fall to the floor. Twilight spun around to see a very frustrated pegasus glaring at her. “Rainbow, don’t yell at me. I’m right here,” she snapped. “My family is going to be here soon-”

“And you still haven't put any thought into what you’re going to tell them about me.”

Twilight shrank back. “W-well...”

Twilight gave in to the stress, falling to the ground in submission as a frustrated groan escaped her throat. Rainbow walked over to embrace her. “Twilight, you can’t make this go away by ignoring it. Never mind that you’ve been yelling at Spike for the last few hours even though he left to help Rarity just after breakfast.” Rainbow gently nuzzled her partner. “Look, it’s all gonna work out. You just need to-”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Great! I can’t even get a minute to cheer her up... the pegasus thought as she went to open the door.

Shining Armor stood calmly outside the massive tree-turned-building. It was his first time visiting Twilight in Ponyville. The door opened to reveal a blue-coated pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane. She assumed an annoyed expression upon seeing him. “Hi. Library’s closed. Please come back later.” She slammed the door in his face.

Shining Armor stood silent with shock. A somewhat nervous feeling washed over him, but it only lasted a moment. He gathered his confidence and knocked on the door once more. The door opened again. He smiled at the pegasus who responded with a roll of her eyes. “What? Didn’t you hear me the first time?” she snapped.

She made to slam the door again, so he moved his hoof to stop it. It struck hard, causing him to grunt in pain.

“This is Twily’s place, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is. Unfortunately, she’s not ready to see you guys just yet. Why don’t you come back in a week?” Rainbow growled from behind the nearly-shut door as she pushed harder against it.

“You’re Rainbow Dash, right?”

A measure of smugness managed to bleed through her grunts, “The one... and only!” She quickly pulled the door back and slammed it against his hoof again. Shining flinched as his hoof slid back just enough for the door to slam shut.

He growled in frustration as he channeled magical energy into his horn. He disappeared in a flash of light.

A bright flash lit the room. “Damn it...” Rainbow turned around to face the angry stallion. “Didn’t know you could teleport too.”

“Why are you being such a pest? I’m just here to talk to my sister!” he yelled at the surprisingly nonchalant pegasus.

Rainbow Dash leveled her gaze at him. “Twi’s having one of her little freak-outs. She’s been going crazy ever since she got that letter this morning.” She narrowed her eyes to a glare. “I don’t think she’s in a good state to see you guys right now, so just go home and come back later.”

Shining Armor found himself giving ground to the smaller pegasus. “Hey, look, our parents aren’t here yet. I wanted to talk to Twilight about something before they got here.” The stallion was quickly backed up against a wall. Realizing there was nowhere left to retreat to, he flinched. “Please, it’s really important. Just let me talk to her for a minute.” Her glare was starting to get to him.

Rainbow nickered. “Fine, but only if she stops panicking when I tell her you’re here. Otherwise, you leave and tell your parents to come back later.”

“Deal.”

Rainbow released her death glare, much to his relief. “Twilight! Your brother is here by himself and wants to talk to you!”

Twilight appeared with a purple flash, wasting no time interrogating her brother. “Are they here yet?”

“No, I came ahead of them,” he replied calmly.

Twilight sighed heavily. “Thank Celestia.”

“Okay, Twily-”

Shining was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a feather duster floating in front of his face. “Fantastic! You can help us clean up. Start with bookcase thirty-seven,” she exclaimed before disappearing in a flash of light.

Shining could practically feel the flood of sarcasm Rainbow Dash was waiting to unleash upon him. Come on, just improvise... he thought. “Well, you heard the lady!” he exclaimed with the fakest smile he’d ever worn before teleporting upstairs with his newly acquired feather duster.

Shining looked around frantically for his sister. He knew he only had a few moments to find her before he would inevitably be faced with Twilight’s impromptu guardian. Luckily, he had picked the right room. Twilight was on the upper level of the bedroom adjusting the blankets on the bed. He trotted up the stairs to stand next to her. When waving a hoof in her face and calling her name failed to elicit a response, Shining Armor came up with wonderfully devious idea to grab her attention. He took his feather duster and began tickling her nose.

“Ahh, S-Shiny... Achoo!”

He chuckled as Twilight scowled at him. “Are you gonna pay attention now? Or is it time for round two?” He grinned as his younger sister’s expression lightened from the teasing.

“Alright, but this better be important.”

Shining placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Twily, I need you to help me out with Mom. Whatever you do, you cannot tell her that you’re still single.”

“Why the hay not?” Rainbow interjected.

Shining Armor groaned. “Why do you even care? This is a family matter. I appreciate that her friends want to look after her, but you don’t run Twily’s life.”

Rainbow stuck her face in his, her care for personal space waning. “Neither do you!”

“I told you, this is a family matter! Stay out of it!”

Twilight stomped a hoof in frustration. “And why don’t you stay out of my love life?”

The stallion stepped back at the sudden retort. He nervously glanced back and forth at the two angry mares. “Hey, come on, Twily I’m just asking a favor. Do you have any idea what Mom will do if she finds out you’re still single?”

That was the final straw. The moment the words left his mouth, he realized he had said something wrong. He didn’t quite know what it was, but the look on his sister’s face told him he was about to find out. Shining Armor preemptively shrank back from the incoming verbal assault.

“Well, I’m not single and I’m not going to lie to my mother about who I’m dating!”

He stared at Twilight as several silent moments passed. “Uh... Is that all?”

“What?”

Shining cautiously picked his next words. “You tend to yell a lot more than that.”

Twilight slumped to a sitting position. “I considered it, but I’m a bit worn out from all this cleaning. Besides, it’s not like this is the craziest thing you’ve asked me do.”

“Wait,” she leaned in next to Twilight, “so, what is that craziest thing he’s asked you to do?”

Twilight grinned smugly. Immediately, an embarrassed look overtook the stallion’s face. “Twily, please don’t-”

“Just after I was accepted as Celestia’s pupil, he asked me to sneak him into the royal guard’s armory so he could try on the armor.”

Rainbow shot Twilight an odd look. “Okay, what’s so funny about that?”

“What? A royal-guard-obsessed colt wanting to break the law isn’t funny?” Twilight asked, taking the chance to rub salt into the wound.

“Ironic, yeah. Funny, not really... Unless you actually did it. Though that would actually be more awesome than funny...” Rainbow took on a contemplative pose as a delighted smile crept onto her face. “That is so adorable.”

The siblings stared bewilderingly at the pegasus who was lost in her own imagination. “Uh, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash snapped out of her fantasy. “Oh, um... it wasn’t me?” She replied nervously.

Twilight immediately started giggling. “Do I want to know what you were thinking about?” she teased.

Rainbow’s eyes shot open briefly when she recognized Twilight’s tone. She leaned in close, touching the tip of Twilight’s nose with her own. “Well, I’m sure I can make it safe enough for company if you want to know right now.” Rainbow rolled her muzzle down to press her lips against Twilight’s. Quickly pulling back, she continued, “or I can save it for later.” A waggle of her brows and the drop in her tone made her intentions clear. Rainbow aimed a devious expression at Shining Armor. Maybe that will get him out here.

Shining’s jaw fell. “Twily, please do me a huge favor.”

Twilight turned to her brother. “Which is?”

“Please don’t tell Mom about-” he pointed at Rainbow Dash- “that...”

Both Twilight and Rainbow shot him incredulous glares. “Excuse me?”

“Look, it just won’t be good if Mom finds out you’re...” Suddenly finding himself unable to finish his remark, Shining averted his gaze.

At that moment a loud knocking sound echoed from downstairs. Twilight shouted in frustration, “Gah! They’re already here!” With a flash of light she vanished from the room.

Rainbow Dash turned away from Shining Armor with a grunt.

“Hey...”

Rainbow stopped, not bothering to look back. “What?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound...” He closed his eyes and allowed his head droop. “Mom’s going to raise a fuss about this. It would have been better if she didn’t find out so suddenly. Maybe I could have prepared more-”

Rainbow Dash turned her head to interject. “You let me worry about her. If she doesn’t like it, then she’ll get an earful; maybe more than that if necessary.”

That’s not quite what I was worried about... Still, maybe I can let her have this ‘victory’ and use it to get back on her good side. “Thank you,” he replied with a smile, “if it’s somepony like you watching over Twily, then I’ve got one less thing to worry about.”

When Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest and flashed a cocky grin, Shining Armor knew his little ego stroking plan had worked. “Yeah, Twi’s in good hooves,” her posture returned to normal, “though you should probably apologize to her before you leave.”

“I’ll make sure I do that.” Shining Armor proceeded to make for the stairs.

“Hey... Um, can I ask you something?”

Shining froze mid-step. Why don’t I like the sound of that? “Sure.” He turned to face her.

Rainbow averted her gaze toward the large window next to the bed. “D-do you think I look pretty?”

“Uh...” Shining Armor froze. Oh come on! I’m married; I shouldn’t have to get this from another mare!

Rainbow continued to stare out the window, her ear twitched at the silence. “I’m that bad?”

“Hey, I didn’t say that.”

Her gaze remained averted. “You didn’t say anything! I think that gets the message across just fine,” Rainbow snapped.

Shining walked over to her. He reached a hoof up to her chin and pulled her head around to face him. “Rainbow Dash, you’re not ugly, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Rainbow closed her eyes. “Yeah, and I’m no fancy princess either. Why should you care about me anyway?”

Okay, seriously... What is up with her? “Exactly. You shouldn't be worried about what I think. I’m sure Twily-”

Rainbow reached a hoof up to Shining Armor’s chest and shoved him back. Her eyes flew open into a glare. “I know what Twi thinks of me! I was asking what you think of me.”

Okay, I’ve had enough of this. Shining returned her gaze with a glare of his. “Well, excuse me for not knowing exactly what you want to hear!” He took several steps forward, his body tensed into an aggressive posture as the pegasus fell back a step. “I didn’t come here to tell somepony else’s mare how good she looks!”

Rainbow stood silent.

Content with his small victory, Shining relaxed; his visage warmed into a smile. “Look, I don’t know what your deal is, but if you’ve got a personal concern about your looks, Twily is a really good listener. Just talk to her. I promise she’ll understand.”

Tears began to well up in the pegasus’ eyes. Rainbow lept up, briefly taking flight, and landed on Twilight’s bed. She swiftly buried her face into the pillow. Muffled sobs made their way through the pillow.

I just can’t win... Shining trotted up the steps to the loft containing his sister’s bed, complete with its new bawling pegasus accessory. He took a seat next to the bed. “Hey, do you need to talk about something?”

A pillow impacted the stallion’s face.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Take a hint and just leave me alone. What makes you think I need to talk about anything?” Rainbow pouted.

Shining Armor chuckled. “That’s because I’m a big brother.”

Rainbow sighed in defeat. “I guess that makes sense.”

The stallion climbed onto the bed, lying down next to her. He wrapped a foreleg over her shoulder reassuringly. “So what’s wrong?”

Rainbow took several sharp breaths as she tried to calm down. “You ever feel like you made a decision too soon?”

The stallion furrowed his brow. “Rainbow, everypony’s acted hastily at some point. It doesn’t have to mean you totally messed up though.”

“I guess...”

“Hey, I bet I know what’ll cheer you up.” Shining grinned devilishly. “Wanna hear some funny stories about Twily?”

Twilight paced nervously by the front door of her library-home. A quick sense of dread washed over her as various scenarios played out in her mind simultaneously, none of which she had been able to plan responses for. Another series of knocks grabbed her attention. Oh well, guess it has to happen now. She sighed before opening the door. The anticipated sight of her parents greeted her. Twilight put on her usual smile in hopes that they might not notice her apprehension.“Mom, Dad, it’s good to see you.” She greeted them each with a hug before allowing them entrance into her dwelling.

Her mother was quick to begin her doting, “Oh, Twilight, sweetie, this is such an adorable little place you’ve got here. You did remember to thank Princess Celestia for providing you these accommodations, right?”

“Of course I did, Mom.”

“That’s our daughter, always keeping up her manners.” Her father chimed in. “So, I take it Shining is already here?”

“Yes, he is. He should be coming down any moment now.”

As if on cue, Shining Armor appeared walking down the stairs with Rainbow Dash walking behind him as she laughed aloud. “Wow, that was pretty good. You need to share more of those with me.”

Twilight’s mother immediately spoke up, “Oh, Twilight, sweetie, how thoughtful of you to go through the trouble for me.”

Twilight turned to her mother, her face scrunched in confusion. “Uh, what?”

Her mother laughed. “Why for setting me up with grandfoals, of course. I don’t know how you got Cadance to agree to it, but thank you so much.”

Shining’s ears picked up the conversation; worry set in swiftly. “Mom, what are you-”

“Oh, that’s the sonic rainboom mare, right? Rainbow Dash, isn’t it?” the father interjected.

“Oh, yeah, that’s me,” Rainbow replied. She wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but praise was always welcome.

“I say, what a fine choice, my little Twilight. Such a good pedigree will definitely make for some good foals.”

Rainbow was suddenly very confused. “Twi, what’s he talking about?”

Twilight’s mother shifted her attention to the rainbow-maned pegasus. “Oh, yes, I simply can’t wait. Thank you so much, Miss Dash. I really owe you for this. And don’t worry about any of the expenses, we’ll take care of everything for you.”

“Mom! I am not having foals with her!” Shining Armor shouted.

Rainbow’s eye twitched.

“Oh, why not?” Twilight’s mother replied, seemingly unfazed by the response.

“Seriously? I’m married! What makes you think Cadance would be okay with this?” he snapped back at her.

“Well, you do look rather cute together.” his father remarked nonchalantly.

“What does that have to do with anything?!” Shining Armor snapped.

“Nothing, really. I’m just saying you look cute together.”

“GAH!” Shining stomped his hooves. “You two are impossible!”

“Now, now, dear,” his mother calmly intervened, “don’t yell at your parents. We didn’t raise you like that.”

At this point, several veins were beginning to sprout on Shining’s head. “Then stop trying to interfere with my marriage!”

“Well, if you’d just be more considerate of my need for some grandfoals to spoil-”

“Rainbow Dash is my marefriend!” Twilight exclaimed.

Twilight’s parents turned to stare at her in silence. Their unnerving gaze bore down on her. Great... They hate me. I just know it. She averted her gaze, unable to bear the feeling of disappointing her parents any longer.

Her mother turned back to Shining Armor. “Hear that, Son? Now you owe me four grandfoals.”

“What!?”

“Well, your sister’s off the market with a mare, and you had both promised me two grandfoals each before you went off to your fancy schooling at the castle. That leaves you to pick up after her.”

“B-b-but... I can’t,” Shining paused as he thought back to a conversation from the previous day. “Shiny, sweetheart, promise you won’t let your mother bully you about giving her grandfoals when you go to visit Twilight. I don’t want you to come sulking back again having made a promise you know we aren’t ready for.” A cold sweat ran down his neck. “Cadance won’t even let me in the house if I tell her you want four foals now!”

“Oh look, our son is so smart. Good going, Son. You keep the wife happy and you stay happy.” His father beamed a smile at him before grunting in pain as a hoof slammed into his side.

“Whose side are you on?” Twilight’s mother growled.

The father chuckled, “See what I mean?”

“What the hay is going on here?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. The room was silenced as all attention turned to the pegasus. She turned to face Twilight’s parents. “I thought you two were here to check on Twilight, not to pester your son about how many foals he’s going to have. Just quit arguing already.”

The dark blue stallion raised a hoof to his chin, “Hmm.” He craned his neck as his eyes scanned the feisty pegasus. After a few moments of inspection, he lowered his hoof. “I see you picked a firecracker, my little Twilight. If your mother’s any indication, good choice.” Her father waggled his brows suggestively.

Twilight’s mother shimmied up to her husband, “Oh you are such a flatterer.” She planted a long, deep kiss on his lips. His hoof moved up to pull her head in closer, tightening the embrace. She moaned pleasurably and began to slowly pull him on top of her.

“AHEM!”

The embraced couple’s eyes shot open as they froze in the moment. They glanced awkwardly at each other before releasing their hold and assuming their normal posture as though nothing had happened. The mother turned to Twilight, “So, a mare, hmm? Any particular reason?”

“It’s a long story,” Twilight replied, continuing to stare at the ground.

“Huh,” Rainbow Dash remarked, her faced briefly scrunched in thought, “well, that explains something.”

Twilight raised her gaze to meet her partner’s. “What explains something?”

“Oh, I was thinking that that, um... scene they just made... explains a bit about you.”

“I’m nothing like that!” Twilight snapped.

Rainbow leveled and incredulous stare at the unicorn. “Yes, you are. You act exactly like that when I say the right things.”

“N-no, I don’t.” Her face flushed slightly.

Rainbow smirked, “Literary devices.”

Twilight’s face fell. “Y-you wouldn’t...”

“She spoke of times past and future, and dreamt of things to be.”

That’s anastrophe. Twilight fidgeted, a mild excitement coursed through her.

Oh this is fun. Rainbow narrowed her eyes. Finally a chance to tease her with these where she won’t just pounce on me. Her lips curled into a devious grin. “Soon, my cute Twilight will be unable to restrain either her excitement or her passion.”

Syllepsis... Has Rainbow really been paying this much attention during my lessons?

Rainbow continued, allowing her her voice to carry a sensual tone. “In the same way as one cannot have the rainbow without the rain, I could not have my Twilight without her books.”

An analogy... Twilight’s fidgeting suddenly turned into nervous squirming as she tried to contain her excitement at Rainbow’s literary progress. The pegasus’ tone was also not doing her libido any favors.

Now for the finale. Rainbow took a deep breath, “As an avid aerialist and adventurer, alliterations are asinine and awkward. Anyways, ages ago, attempts at appending alphabetical abnormalities always abated acceptance, and abhorred alligators and albatross alike. Anew are absolutions, as are ages. Ambiguity and anomalies are accepted as argumentative; as apples and apricots are about as akin as axes and arrows. All about air anyways; and as always, again, abundant aerial adventures await.”

“That was quite impressive,” Twilight’s father remarked. He turned to his daughter, only to find a wide-eyed stare he had grown quite familiar with. He decided to keep quiet.

“That,” Twilight’s tone dropped to a sultry level, “was so hot.”

Rainbow noticed the look in Twilight’s eyes. “Uh oh...”

Twilight pounced on the pegasus, knocking her to the floor. The lavender unicorn had her target pinned and swiftly planted a series of hungry kisses, starting at Rainbow’s shoulder and working her way up the neck.

Rainbow squirmed fruitlessly, “Uh, Twi. Can we just say I-” Her words cut off as Twilight’s lips pressed into her own.

Twilight pulled back briefly, her eyes half lidded. “If you’re gonna talk, then be dirty. Give me some metaphors.”

Shining Armor was in the process of of averting his gaze when his father’s words struck an uncomfortable chord. “Oh look, honey, our little Twilight’s all grown up. You know what this reminds me of?”

“Did you bring your ruler and chalk?” his wife replied seductively.

“You know I always come prepared.” He glanced over to his daughter briefly. “She really does take after you.”

"Mmph." The pegasus tried, futilely, to talk as Twilight’s lips pressed into her own. Suddenly, Twilight pulled her lips away. “This is hereditary!?” Rainbow exclaimed the moment her mouth was free.

Twilight frowned, “No, no, Rainbow I said metaphors, not genetics.” She wiggled her hindquarters a bit, squeezing her back legs to ensure her hold over the pegasus was unchallenged before returning to her kiss.

“Twilight, sweetie, do you have a chalkboard upstairs we can borrow?” her mother asked suddenly.

Twilight broke briefly from her kiss, “Yeah, it’s upstairs in the closet on your left.”

“Twi can we please-”

A mildly frustrated groan interrupted the pegasus.“Oh fine, if you don’t want to do a metaphor then talk about something you like. Oh, I know, aerial physics. That’ll work.” Twilight returned to her endeavor, stealing a light kiss on Rainbow’s nose.

“Well, she seems busy enough. Shall we?” Twilight’s father planted a kiss on his wife. The two made their way towards the stairs

“What is wrong with my family!?” Shining Armor exclaimed in a poor attempt to vent his frustration.

“Shining.” Twilight spoke up.

He turned to meet his sister’s gaze. “Yeah?”

Twilight’s stared angrily at her brother. “Shut up, you’re ruining my mood.”

Inspite of his sister’s threat, Shining noticed Rainbow Dash silently mouthing something along the lines of ‘stop her or get out.’ He was mildly confused by the first part of the request. Oh, I bet she was just trying to prove her point. Not that I blame her for not caring if I leave... Shining vigorously shook his head. No, I didn’t take this time off just to waste the day while the rest of my family has sex. His horn flared with magic. Twilight suddenly found herself on top of a nearby bookcase, number twelve to be precise.

“What the hay! Can’t you take a hint?” Twilight shouted, her face flushed with anger.

“Oh, drat. Guess this will have to wait,” Twilight’s mother commented.

“Don’t worry, dear. I’ve still got all our toys back at the hotel room.”

“Enough!” Shining exclaimed. “We didn’t come here so you two could have a romantic vacation; we came here to visit Twilight.”

“Don’t be mad just because Cadance couldn’t come with you.” Twilight quipped.

Shining responded with a spiteful glare. “Will you stop being bitter and get down here so we can talk like adults about the important things you’ve neglected to mention to us, your family, for the past seven months?”

“I was talking like an adult.”

Shining took a series of long, deep breaths. Don’t snap. You can do this. Just stay calm and don’t level her house.

“Ugh, fine.” Twilight teleported back to the floor and stomped off into the kitchen without another word.

Shining Armor felt a light jab on his shoulder. He turned to find Rainbow Dash hovering next to him, her head leaned in to whisper to him. “Thanks, that got way more awkward than I thought it would.”

Despite all the tension, Shining managed to crack a smile. Thank Celestia it wasn’t just me.

“Excuse me, Miss Rainbow Dash, could I talk to you for a moment?” Twilight’s father spoke up. The pegasus stared blankly for a moment. She turned to him and nodded slowly before flying over to him. He motioned for her to follow him upstairs, she hesitantly obliged.

Once they reached the bedroom, the stallion’s horn lit up with magic, shutting the door behind them. He turned to Rainbow with a smile, “I trust you know what this is about?”

Rainbow nervously swallowed, hoping to remove the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat. She landed before finally speaking, “Is this the part where you threaten me not to hurt your daughter?”

“Oh, ha ha,” he boomed to the air, “that is so stereotypically quaint.”

The pegasus slumped to a sitting position, releasing a huge sigh. “Oh good.”

The stallion walked calmly over and sat down beside her. “No, Rainbow Dash, the best threats are the ones left unsaid.”

Rainbow felt the sudden twinge of fear as her muscles tensed all over. This guy is really creepy.

He reached a fore leg up around her neck and pulled her close. “But enough of that, why don’t you tell me a bit about this whole situation?” he asked as calmly as ever.

“I’m guessing you mean about me and Twi?” Rainbow replied cautiously.

“Yes, of course. I want to know why you like her, why you love her. In short, why’d you choose my little Twilight over everypony else?” He released her and scooted over so that he was sitting in front of her.

“Oh, okay. It’s kind of complicated though.”

“Good.”

Rainbow paused, her head tilted slightly to the side. “Huh?”

Once more the stallion chuckled. “Real love is always complicated. I’d be worried if you could sum up what you like about my little Twilight too easily.”

“R-right. So, um, I’ll just kinda start at the beginning.” Rainbow took a moment to clear her head. “Okay, so this may sound a bit weird, but until a few months ago, I’d never given a single thought to romance. It always seemed like a waste of time. Every pegasus stallion who showed in interest in me was so slow they couldn’t keep up with me at all.” Rainbow grinned as a small laugh escaped her. “There was no way I was slowing down for some loser. My life was about speed.

“Not that I didn’t try. Peer pressure can get to ya, ya know? Like, this one time I tried humoring this one colt and it was just so boring! Not one thing about that date was exciting. No flying, no stunts, no racing, nothing! It’s like he had no clue how to have fun.”

“Are you sure it was just the activities, and not your preferences showing up?”

“Nah, he was kinda cute. I mean, that was the only reason I agreed to go out with him in the first place. I’ve always liked staring at stallions, though I never really thought much about it...”

“Then it seems odd that you would fall for a mare, don’t you think?”

Rainbow sighed, her expression settled on a smile. “I’m getting there, but yeah. It confused the heck out of me for weeks. I mean, I didn’t even know what it was like to really like another pony that way. And for it to be a mare, that was stressful.”

Rainbow’s tone brightened as she continued her story. “So, anyway, I’m sure Twi’s told you about how we met and junk, so I won’t bore you with that. One day, I was out practicing and I got this idea for a wickedly cool trick. My friends were all watching me practice and I figured I’d just improvise and pull off this cool trick and ‘wow’ them like I would a crowd. Unfortunately I miscalculated a certain air current and it sorta wrecked the whole idea and left me with a broken wing.”

“Ohh,” the stallion grimaced at the thought, “I assume you went to the hospital?”

“Oh yeah, and I hated every minute of it. I was totally grounded for days! It was pure torture. I mean, my friends all came to visit, but that was only a few hours a day at most. So, there I was, a pegasus whose whole life revolved around flying and I wasn’t allowed out of bed. It didn’t take Twilight long to realize I was bored stiff. So, naturally, she recommended I read a book.”

“Daring Do?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“I remember buying every one of those for her. I’d never seen a filly so happy to get a book before.”

“Makes sense, she told me it was one of her favorites. Anyway, eventually I caved in and started reading the thing and it was way better than I thought it would be. Like, imagine the coolest pegasus ever that isn’t me, and that’s Daring Do. Somehow, Twi knew exactly what I’d enjoy reading and picked out the perfect book for me. That was the day it all started. When I realised just how good a friend she was. I mean, how many ponies can know the perfect gift without asking their friend a single question?”

He nodded in agreement. “That is a pretty special connection.”

Rainbow nodded, her smile grew softer and just a bit warmer. “So, after a little incident I ended up hanging around here a lot to make use of Twi’s Daring Do collection. I was a terribly slow reader and it took awhile for it to sink in that reading out loud in a library is against the rules.”

“Did she use a ruler?” he asked, raising his brow.

“Uh, yes...”

He grinned contentedly, “I taught her well.”

Rainbow shifted nervously, “Anyway... After going through the whole series twice, I decided it was time to try something new. Naturally, Twi had been waiting for that and prepared this massive tour of every. Single. Shelf.” She shuddered as the memories returned. “So after a big waste of time, I finally found a book, I don’t even remember what it was called, and Twi suddenly asked if I wanted to read it together.”

“She loved doing that when she was younger.”

“That must have been adorable.” Rainbow was suddenly caught up imagining Twilight as a little filly in front of large book. The cute little unicorn was curled up with her brother who just smiled gently as she read aloud from the book, hardly needing any help with even the largest words. “Awww.”

The stallion repressed a laugh.

Dash shook her head to clear her thoughts. “So, anyway, I agreed and it was pretty strange at first. For one thing, since we had to read out loud to make it work, we had to do it up here in her room... on her bed. It took a bit of adjusting; I wasn’t used to sitting still that close to another pony for any length of time. Hay, just sitting still was hard enough. But somehow, after we got into a routine, it felt relaxing. All the restlessness in my wings just vanished when I was with Twi. It was so strange to me, not feeling the urge to get up and just fly. Even when I read by myself I still had those urges. Reading was fun on its own, but with Twilight... it was something special.” Rainbow paused momentarily, indulging in the memory of her feelings, before continuing. “And I liked it. Okay, not at first. At first I was terrified.”

“Terrified? Of not wanting to fly?” He looked at her unbelievingly.

“Yeah. I told you, my whole life has been about flying. It’s my talent, my passion, my life. Imagine that you wake up and find that you don’t want to make use of your special talent, the one you got your cutie mark for.”

The stallion took on a thoughtful expression, “Hmm, yes I can see what you mean. That would be unsettling.”

Rainbow nodded, “Exactly. So, once I got over that feeling, I realised I actually liked being there. That I enjoyed spending time with her. Slowly, I noticed that I started to get that same feeling, that lack of an urge to fly, anytime I was around her. Even then, I still liked it... I wanted that feeling. It was like a craving for really good food or something. You know, that kind of desire you just have to indulge or drives you crazy.”

“Oh, I know quite a bit about those,” the edge of his lip curled to form a sly grin, “cravings.”

“Seriously, please don’t start telling me what you do with Twi’s mom.”

The stallion laughed. “Alright, I guess I can spare you those stories.” A bit of sarcasm dripped from his words.

"Right..." Rainbow scooted the smallest of distances away from Twilight's father, before collecting her thoughts and continuing. "Anyway, after I figured out what it was that I was feeling and came to terms with just who I had those feelings for, I went for it.”

“And? How did she take it?”

“Pretty bad at first.” Rainbow slumped a bit. “I probably could have done better than just kissing her with no warning.”

“That is a bit forward for a first confession.”

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head while she stifled a laugh. “Yeah, she had a look like I had burned one of her books in front of her. But we worked things out and she gave me a chance to just... be natural around her. It was a few weeks after that first kiss that she finally reciprocated...” She then found herself giggling. “Sheesh, she’s really taught me some big words.” She looked up to the stallion, his smile was warm and genuine, as far as she could tell.

“Well, it seems like everything has worked out well between you two.”

“Yeah, it has.”

He gave a quick glance to the door. Upon finding it still shut, he leaned forward with a sly grin across his face. “So, my little Twilight’s pretty frisky, huh?”

“Er, sometimes...” Rainbow leaned backwards a bit, slightly uncomfortable with the new direction of the conversation. Quick, Rainbow think of a distraction! “So, uh, why do you call her ‘my little Twilight’ all the time?”

The stallion pulled back in surprise. “I... wasn’t expecting that.” He calmed himself before answering. “Well, that’s because her mother’s name is Twilight Twinkle. I call her Twilight, always have. When she chose little Twilight’s name, I needed a way to differentiate whom I was addressing. So my little Twilight Sparkle, became just that, my ‘little Twilight.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

He swiftly leaned forward once more. “Now, stop deflecting. Tell me what you’ve done with my little Twilight.”

Rainbow threw her front hooves up in front of her face, “Hey, I haven’t done anything to her.”

He pulled away from the pegasus’ personal space. “Well that’s boring.”

Rainbow lowered her hooves to find a disappointed looking expression on his face. His eyes widened as a wave of excitement suddenly washed over him. “Say, would you like some tips on getting started?” Without waiting for confirmation, he placed his hooves in the air as though he were resting them on something. “Okay, first, just take you tongue and run it across her lips like this.”

“Twilight, sweetie, are you still mad at your brother,” The white and purple unicorn called out into the kitchen.

“No, I’m just making some food, actually. Would you like to help?” Twilight called back.

Twilight Twinkle turned to her son, “Come on, you can help too. I’m sure learning to cook a few things will help Cadance out now and then.”

Shining groaned. “Mom, I already know how to cook. Basic cooking skills are a requirement in the guard and I happen to have taken lessons for the castle’s head chef in some of my spare time before I was promoted to captain.”

“Then why is your cooking so terrible?” she replied smugly.

“You’ve never eaten my cooking.”

“And if you were any good, you would have made something for us at some point.” She quickly turned and trotted into the kitchen before her son could offer a rebuttal. Shining Armor grumbled as he followed after her.

“Oh, Brother,” Twilight, who was cooking over the stove, called out to him, “how nice of you offer your services.” She levitated her utensils over in front of him. “Here, take over for a bit while I talk with Mom.”

Shining grabbed the utensils with his magic and took Twilight’s spot at the counter. He glanced down at the neatly organized piles of ingredients, then over to the other implements on the stove. “Uh, what are you making?”

“I’m not making anything. I figured that somepony who brags about being a good cook in most of his letters to me should be able to make something with all that.” She turned away from him, leaving her brother to fend for himself.

Great... Something tells me she’s not going to let me get away with a soup and a salad. Shining Armor set to work on his preparations with a sigh. He mulled over various options as he scanned the pantry for available ingredients.

Twilight Twinkle maneuvered her way to stand in front of her daughter. Her eyes remained focused on her son, silently weighing his his choice of ingredients. “So, Twilight, sweetie, tell me about this mare of yours.” She turned to face her daughter.

“Oh, you know, she’s an athlete. Rainbow is a strong flier with plenty of stamina. She likes to... uh, wrestle and read...”

Her mother sighed while shaking her head. “Sweetie, you’re still distracted aren’t you?”

Twilight groaned, “Yes, yes I am. I’ve been trying to get her in the mood for days, but everything just keeps getting in the way.”

The older mare put on a comforting smile as she reached over and placed a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder. “Sweetie, you can’t just get frustrated over little things like that. A few days break isn’t the end of the world.”

Twilight turned to her mother, “That’s just it, this isn’t a break... it’s our first time.”

Clang!

The mares turned to find Shining Armor had dropped a ladle on top of the stove. “Uh, oops.” He forced a smile, hoping to deflect from the situation.

The mares turned back to each other. “Sweetie, you can’t be serious. I saw what you were doing out there. That’s not the kind of thing you do without a bit of practice.”

Twilight immediately fell into her typical rambling pattern. “Do pillows count as practice? Cause I’ve read a lot of books on the subject and I’ve been nervous to try them out with Rainbow because I wasn’t sure if she was ready. I mean, I’m pretty sure she’s ready now or I wouldn’t be so forward. She’s recently been giving off all the proper signs according to one of my books, so I figured it would be the proper time to be assertive. That’s another tip from a book. Not the same book; a different one.” She gave a nervous smile to her mother who simply frowned in response.

Twilight Twinkle responded with her practiced motherly tone. “Sweetie, have you actually asked her if she’s ready? You don’t need to follow a pace set out by some book, you know. Not every couple moves at the same speed, so you can’t just try to force things to happen.”

Twilight slumped to the floor, her head falling into her hooves. “Y-you don’t think I’ve been pushing her away because of this, do you?” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Augh, I’m such an idiot!”

Her mother laid down next to Twilight and placed a hoof over her. “Oh come now, Twilight, I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

Twilight looked up at her mother’s caring visage. “I’m overreacting again, huh?”

“Most likely, yes.” Twilight Twinkle pulled her daughter closer. The lavender unicorn founder her body instinctively leaning against her mother’s. “Now just calm down and think rationally about it. I’m certain if you properly examine the situation you’ll find the right answer.” She let out a small chuckle. “For now, why don’t you just tell me a bit about why you like her?”

Twilight nodded, allowing the motion wipe the negativity from her expression. “Well, Rainbow is complicated.” She smiled warmly as she thought about her partner. “She’s brash, silly, and arrogant. She rarely bothers to think anything through. And yet, somehow she manages to be sweet and thoughtful. Oh, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say her impulsiveness was actually a plus.”

“Sounds like the total opposite of you, Twily.” Shining Armor interjected.

“In some ways, yes.”

“So, what do you have in common?” he asked as he stirred the pot in front of him.

“Well, for one thing we both hate to fail.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“It’s more than that.” Twilight snapped. “We both can take failure pretty harshly.”

The stallion gave his sister and odd look. “And this is a good thing?”

“It helps us keep each other in check, actually." Twilight countered. "We know... We know what to look for in each other and we make sure the other doesn’t get too carried away.” A sudden whiff of the aroma emanating from the stove caught Twilight’s attention. She turned to her brother and tried to peek into the pot he was stirring.

Shining chuckled confidently. “Smells pretty good, huh? And you thought I couldn’t cook.”

Twilight’s first response was to lean forward and steal another whiff of the liquid. She couldn’t make out what all her brother had put into the pot, but it did smell appetizing. Her second response was a smile and a compliment. “Well, it does smell good. Is this a soup?”

“Nope, this is a sauce.”

“What kind?”

Shining shot her a sly grin, “Tell you what, you tell us some more about Rainbow Dash, and I’ll tell you more about what I’m making.”

“Deal.” Twilight chirped happily. “Okay, don’t tell her I told you this or she’ll whine for weeks about me ruining her ‘reputation’.”

“That doesn’t sound like something you should be telling us, sweetie,” her mother interjected.

Twilight giggled, “It’s nothing serious, Rainbow just likes to put up a front about certain things to try to look ‘cool’. The funny part is that some of the things she claims to not like are some of her favorite things to do.”

“Like what? Does she secretly get hooficures?”

“Oh no, she hates those. I meant romantic things. I already told you she’s sweet and thoughtful, which is something she doesn’t want to let other ponies know. Unfortunately, she’s not that great at hiding some of these things. We just have a bit of an unspoken rule around town not to mention that we know she’s really a softie so she doesn’t freak out about being uncool.”

“That sounds complicated.”

“Oh that’s one of the easier things we deal with in Ponyville,” Twilight replied nonchalantly. “I could go on for days about some of the odd behaviors of the ponies in this town, but life’s just easier here if you leave some things alone.”

“I see,” her mother responded with a slight bit of worry.

“Anyway, Rainbow actually loves to cuddle. Oh and she’s so cute about it too,” Twilight gushed happily. “She loves doing all sorts of cute things with her wings.”

Her mother grinned slyly; slightly arching her brow to accentuate her expression. “Oh, I’m sure she’s very creative. Wings have so many uses, after all.”

Twilight blushed. “W-well she likes to wrap a wing around me when we read together to pull me really close to her. And sometimes she likes to just run her feathers gently down my back. I think it’s supposed to be something special pegasi do, but I haven’t found a reference to it in any of my books yet.”

“She certainly does sound like a very sweet mare.”

Twilight nodded once more before turning to Shining Armor. “So, your turn.”

Rainbow watched Twilight’s father awkwardly as he proceeded to do some very strange things with his tongue. She had no real clue what she was supposed to be learning from all this, but at the same time, it was oddly difficult to look away. After a few minutes he retracted his tongue and smiled at her.

“So, any questions?” he asked plainly.

“Yeah, what was all that for? I mean, you just kinda waved your tongue around at me.”

He stared blankly at her. “Well, at least I know you weren’t lying when you said you hadn’t done anything in bed,” he suddenly burst out laughing.

Rainbow flinched. “What the hay, dude? That was totally awkward.”

“Perhaps,” he chuckled a bit more, “but the look on your face was worth it.”

Rainbow crossed her forelegs, putting on a pouting expression. “Y-yeah, well I already know how to kiss with my tongue. I don’t need your advice on that.”

“Right, of course.”

Rainbow averted her gaze from him. “Besides, it’s kinda creepy getting kissing advice from Twilight’s father.”

“Please, Rainbow, you don’t need to be formal. You’re practically family at this point. Feel free to just call me ‘Dad’.” He patted the pegasus on the back, trying to ease her tension.

“Yeah, that’s not happening. Sorry, uh...” Rainbow paused, realizing she had never gotten his name, “Mister Twilight’s Dad, but I’m not calling you that.”

“Care to use my actual name?” he teased.

Rainbow immediately switched to a smug expression. “Nah, you’re an awkward guy to be around, so I think an awkward title fits.”

“Alright, but if you get tired of that joke, just let me know.” He raised a hoof to his chin, tapping it a few times. “Or I guess you could just ask my little Twilight.”

"Right." Rainbow nodded slightly in agreement. “So, are we done?”

“For now. Shall we head downstairs?”

“Sure,” Rainbow replied energetically, allowing the stallion to get a head start towards the stairs as she took a moment to wipe the sweat off her brow. Whew, thank Celestia that’s over.

Spike’s day had been perfect, so far. He got to skip his usual chores, spend nearly the whole day with Rarity, and he had a pile of gems for lunch. It wasn’t often Rarity gave him even a single gem to eat, she wasted way too many on her dresses, much less a whole pile of them. Arguably, the only way it could have been better is if Fluttershy hadn’t been there the whole time. Spike had nothing against the sweet pegasus, but she just had a way of complicating his attempts at romance. Besides, the only thing better than spending time with Rarity, was spend time with Rarity alone.

“I hope Twilight’s already made something for dinner. I’m really not in the mood to cook,” the little dragon mused as he approached the library. Spike casually opened the door, knowing full-well that Twilight would have left it unlocked for him.

Once inside, he gave his usual call. “Twilight! I’m home!”

Twilight cantered out from the kitchen, “Oh, perfect timing, Spike. You can help set up the table. Dinner is almost ready.” She smiled before returning to the kitchen.

Spike deflated immediately. Guess I just couldn’t get that lucky. Oh well, at least I’m not cooking. He swiftly made his way to the kitchen to fetch the dinnerware. After gathering what he could carry, Spike set off toward the dining area.

“Oh, look, Midnight. It’s Spike.” Twilight Twinkle remarked upon seeing the little dragon scurrying about, arms full of dinnerware.

Spike skidded to a halt. He turned to see Twilight’s parents, Twilight Twinkle, and Midnight Sparkle, standing in the room. “Oh, I didn’t know you guys were in town.”

The mother frowned, “Didn’t Twilight show you the letter we sent? We even went through the trouble of having Princess Celestia send it through you to make sure she’d receive it in time.”

“Oh, was that what that thing this morning was?” Spike thought back as he looked upwards and tapped his chin. “Yeah, I kinda just gave it to her and set up breakfast before I went off to help Rarity for the day. She didn’t mention anything about it, so I just figured it was nothing special.”

“She wasn’t even panicking about the short notice?” Midnight asked.

An expression of clarity dawned on the little dragon’s face. “Maybe that’s what that feather-duster was for...”

Twilight emerged from the kitchen with several sets of utensils. She frowned before nudging the little dragon with a hoof. “Spike, quit stalling and finish setting the table.” she chided.

“Oh come on, Twilight. I haven’t seen your parents in forever.”

“You saw them just a few months back at the wedding.” Twilight replied. Her assistant opened his mouth as if to form a reply, but no words came forth. He slumped his shoulders and begrudgingly set back to work.

“Sweetie, you don’t have to be so hard on him,” her mother spoke up.

“Oh, it’s fine.” Spike replied as he brought a stack of plates to the table. “It’s all part of my assistant training. Besides, you’re our guests. And if Twilight’s in the kitchen, then that leaves me to set the table.”

Twilight Twinkle eyed Spike curiously. “Assistant training?”

“Oh, right,” Twilight replied happily, “it’s an apprenticeship program that the Princess set up for Spike. Basically, he stays with me and helps me out, while I teach him a specific curriculum of organizational skills and administrative duties followed by a few years of political instruction so that he can serve in the royal court when he’s older. Well, if he still wants to at that point. Essentially, by the time the program is done, Spike would qualify to be a foreign ambassador for Equestria.”

“That sounds interesting.” Midnight nodded slowly.

“It certainly is. It’s a custom curriculum hoof-made by the Princess herself. It helps that Spike is actually rather enthusiastic about it.”

Twilight continued to describe Spike’s curriculum to her parents as Spike and Shining Armor set the table.

Once everything was in place, the family took their places at the table.

“Alright, I suppose you can actually cook a reasonable meal, Son.” Twilight Twinkle spoke after tasting some of the dish. “It might not be fancy, but it’s good.”

Shining simply beamed a proud smile in response as he dug into his own plate.

“Yeah, I gotta hoof it to ya, Shiny. This is pretty good.” Rainbow chimed in after swiftly downing half of her meal in only three bites.

Shining eyed the pegasus’ plate. “Really? I could've sworn for a minute there that you hated it,” he quipped.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Oh that’s funny. I’ve totally never heard sarcasm before.” She made a distinct show of nodding her head toward Twilight. Her antics managed to draw a laugh from everypony except the lavender unicorn.

“So, Rainbow, how’s it feel now, being part of the family?” Midnight asked.

The pegasus felt a strange nervousness overtake her as that question sank in.

Before she could respond, Shining Armor shot his father sour look. “She’s not part of the family. They are just dating.”

His father laughed. “Oh please. At the rate they’re going, I give it seven more months before they tie the knot. Really, Son, it’s all just a formality at this point. You should start getting used to your new sister-in-law.”

Rainbow exchanged a worried glance with Twilight.

“Seven months? Are you crazy?” Shining Armor retorted. “There’s no way Twily would rush into marriage that fast.”

Midnight grinned slyly, “That a bet, Son?”

“Darn right it is. What’s the wager?”

“How about, if you lose, you have to get to work immediately on those grandfoals you owe your mother?”

“Quit betting on my love life!” Twilight shouted.

“Aw, come on, Twily,” Shining begged, “This could be my big chance to get them to let up about the grandfoals thing.”

“You know, you could just order some kids.” Rainbow threw out there, causing everypony - and dragon - in the room to stare at her as if they were waiting for the punchline that wouldn't be coming.

“Uh, Rainbow... You can’t just order foals,” Twilight remarked.

“Sure you can. You just fill out the order form and send it off. Then a few months later they drop them off at your doorstep.”

“Did she fall on her head recently?” Midnight asked.

Rainbow groaned in frustration. “I was talking about adoption...”

A collective, “Oh.” Echoed throughout the room.

Shining was the first to respond. “Actually, that wouldn’t look very good if Cadance and I adopted so soon after our wedding. I know it’s easy to forget, but Cadance is a political figure and the living symbol of love for many ponies. If we adopt, some ponies might take that to mean that she can’t have foals of her own, or that our marriage isn’t doing well.” He took on a sour expression at the thought.

“Which is why you should hurry up and have some foals with her to show you two are doing perfectly fine,” his mother added.

Rainbow spoke before Shining could even let out a groan. “Why are you so stuck on having grandfoals?”

“That’s because they promised them to me,” she replied.

“Twilight!”

The lavender filly perked up at the sound of her name. “Coming, Mom!” The filly bounded over to the mare who tapped at the open spot next to her on the bench. Twilight Sparkle leapt up, claiming her place on the concrete structure. Eyes brimming with excitement and curiosity gazed upward at the warm smile set to greet them. “What is it Mom?”

“Twilight, you are going to be moving into the castle soon. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

Twilight shook her head up and down in a rapid nodding motion. “Mmhm! I can’t wait!” she exclaimed. “I’ll be staying in a room next to a big library, and the Princess said I can check out as many books as I want. No more three-book limit to slow me down!”

Twilight Twinkle could scarcely contain the laughter bubbling up inside her. “Yes, that’s wonderful, Twilight. Is there anything else you’ve thought about? Perhaps, how much I’m going to miss you?” Her voice wavered slightly. She quickly found herself embraced as two little forelegs wrapped around her. The pair sat in silence.

Suddenly, Twilight felt something warm running down her face. “Don’t be sad, Mom.” Twilight spoke as her mother’s tears streamed down her face. The embrace tightened.

“I-I’m just...” Twilight Twinkle swallowed to clear the lump in her throat. “Your brother has already gone off to the castle to start his guard training. It’s going to be lonely without either of my children here.” A silent sob escaped.

“I’m gonna miss you too.”

“Twilight.” A pair of white hooves gently pulled the filly from the embrace. “Your brother made a promise to me before he left. I’d like you to make one as well.”

“If Shiny can do it, so can I!”

Twilight Twinkle chuckled. Not the greatest reason to make a promise, but it’ll have to do. “I already know you are going to work really hard in school, so I want you to make a promise that you’ll fulfill one of your dreams. You do that, and I’ll promise to come by and visit every chance I get.” The warm smile from moments ago reemerged on her lips.

“Okay! I promise that I’m gonna grow up and find a really great stallion and we’re gonna make a perfect family with two foals, just like you and Dad did!”

How funny. She laughed softly. “You know, your brother said something very similar to that.”

Rainbow couldn’t help but notice the look Twilight was receiving from her mother. It was unsettling. “So, that’s probably not going to be happening.”

Rainbow shrank as the mother’s glare was redirected toward her. “How astute. Do you have any other secrets to share? Oh, how about you tell us all how books are made with paper?”

“Mom, leave her alone,” Twilight interjected.

Twilight Twinkle’s expression softened. “Oh, Twilight, I’m just teasing her.”

“Do you always look like you want to kill somepony when you tease them?” Rainbow asked as she returned to her normal posture.

“Oh, Rainbow, sweetie, don’t you know that glaring is a fantastic way to relieve pent up frustration?”

Rainbow was almost certain she heard a sinister chuckling as the older mare spoke. “Um, no. Can’t say I ever heard that.”

A sly grin crept onto the white mare’s face. “I’m not surprised. You probably haven’t heard it since it isn’t true.”

Rainbow found herself fighting the urge to hide again.

“Mom!” Twilight protested.

The older mare waved a hoof dismissively, “Oh calm down, I’m just having some fun with her.” She turned back to the rainbow-maned pegasus. “Now then, I’m sure you’ve answered a good number of our questions already, sweetie. Is there anything else you’d like to know about us? Surely you have some questions for your new in-laws.”

Rainbow felt a sudden twinge in her wings. She suddenly felt like leaving the house for a nice, long, tiring flight. Oh come on, just calm down. Stop being so scared, Rainbow! “Well... I was just wondering, um... why you two don’t act like the other Canterlot ponies I’ve met.”

The couple laughed in unison. Midnight smiled proudly. “Well, that’s simple. We work for a living.”

Rainbow looked at the parents, rather confused. “So, you aren’t all snooty because you aren’t rich?”

“I never said we didn’t have money, Rainbow. I said that we work,” Midnight replied. “You see, we both teach at Canterlot University. It’s actual work, though you might call the pay a bit disproportionate to similar positions outside Canterlot. To be fair, nearly every paying position there is... overly compensated, by comparison. It comes down to the fact that there are quite a lot of ponies who inherit wealth and status, and they are often flagrant in what they will spend for things they perceive to be ‘worth it’.”

Twilight recognized the look on Rainbow’s face. “He means that when rich ponies throw their money around there’s simply more money available to pay wages and salaries to workers,” she interjected.

The pegasus nodded, both to indicate understanding and to shake the confused look from her visage. “That makes sense.”

“Excellent,” he replied with contentment. “Any other questions?”

“Yeah, I have one more...”

A feeling of discomfort accompanied the drawn out pause. Rainbow’s gaze shifted away from the parents across the table to some uninteresting knot in the table’s woodwork.

“Rainbow,” Midnight broke the silence, “is there something wrong?”

Her eyes widened briefly; her gaze found his face. Rainbow’s response came with a slow, measured pace. “Sorry... I was just trying to figure out how to ask the question without it sounding weird. Nothing’s coming to mind though...”

A lavender hoof found a spot on the pegasus’ shoulder. “Rainbow-”

“Are you two really okay with this? With Twi breaking her promise?” The lavender hoof slid to the floor.

Midnight was the first to respond. “Are you happy? Both of you?”

Rainbow stared at him, silently. No sign of hesitation, no wavering voice... Just that same calm expression he had had since they arrived. It nearly made her sick. Rainbow just couldn’t imagine being so... detached. “I am.” The words sent a shiver down her spine. Why did that feel so cold?

Without a word, Twilight simply draped herself over the pegasus’ back. Her forelegs wrapped around Rainbow’s neck as she lay her cheek against the back of Rainbow’s head.

Warm. Like a scarf and coat... Rainbow never even noticed the fact that she was smiling.

“You know, Rainbow, sweetie,” Twilight Twinkle put on a warm smile, “just because our little Twilight messed up on half of that promise, doesn't mean she can’t make the other half come true.”

Midnight turned to Shining Armor. “Seven months.” The taunting tone cut right through his son’s unprepared defenses.

Shining narrowed his eyes, “It’s just cuddling, Dad.”

“Don’t talk back to your father,” his mother snapped. Shining unconsciously flinched.

Mustering his courage, Shining decided to bite back. “Oh come on, Mom!”

“Now, now, you should listen to your mother, Son.” Midnight’s lilting tone only made his words sting that much more.

“Why?” He thrust a hoof towards his father. “Because she’s on your side?”

The older stallion chuckled. “No, it’s just something I’ve found to be a healthy thing to do.”

Shining immediately shrank back. The twin cackling of harpies emanated from across the table, fueling his embarrassment. He turned to snap, only to be stunned at the sight before him. How his sister had managed to turn a romantic embrace into some kind of tickling contest was beyond his understanding.

Twilight had the advantage. She was still draped over Rainbow’s back as her hooves tenderly squirmed over a particularly sensitive spot on Rainbow’s belly. Somehow, she couldn’t help herself from laughing alongside Rainbow.

“She really does take after you.” Midnight leaned close to his lover. “She seems to know how to work her hooves-”

“Augh! No!” Shining protested. “I’m not letting you two ruin dinner with more of that private talk.”

“Oh, don’t be such a killjoy, Son,” Midnight retorted.

Shining ignored the remark as he turned to Twilight and Rainbow. His gruff tone grabbed their attention. “And you two should really save that kind of stuff for your dates.”

Rainbow’s brow furrowed. “Wait, we’re allowed to do this on a date?”

“I think he means, ‘save it for the end of a date’,” Twilight replied. Not entirely satisfied, Twilight decided to resume playing with Rainbow. She swiftly reached up to softly nibble the pegasus’ ear. A soft gasp informed her that she had found the spot she had been aiming for.

“Twi-” Rainbow shuddered as a sudden wave of pleasure coursed through her. Of all the times for her to find that spot again...

“Twilight, sweetie, as entertaining as that is, we are still in the middle of dinner. Perhaps you could listen to your brother and save your fun until after we’ve left.”

“Hey, Twilight, is that what you two do when you lock your room during the day?” Spike suddenly spoke up. “Cause if Rainbow likes it that much, do you think Rarity might like it too?”

At that moment, a shiver ran down Twilight's spine, and her pupils shrank to microscopic size as she yelled at herself in her thoughts. Crap! I totally forgot Spike was here. Why’d he have to be so quiet for once?

“See, Twily, this is why you save those... er, games, for after a date.” Shining grinned nervously as Spike redirected his attention.

“Wait a minute.” Spike crossed his arms as he shot Shining Armor an incredulous glare. “If that’s the kind of stuff you’re supposed to do at the end of a date, then why are Twilight and Rainbow doing it? They haven’t even been on a date yet!”

Twilight Twinkle narrowed her gaze towards her daughter. “You mean to tell me that you haven’t even been on a date together, and you’re already acting like this?”

“Um, yes...” Twilight replied, a nervous smile overtaking her expression.

Her mother’s horn lit up as a quill and parchment floated over from a nearby desk. The quill began its work as she responded. “Well, I admire you for knowing what you want out of life, sweetie, but this simply will not do.” With a final flourish, the quill fell to the table. The parchment immediately rolled up and found its way to Spike. “Spike, sweetheart, be a dear and send this for me.”

The dragon just looked at Twilight's mother oddly for a few moments before scratching his head. “You know I can only send stuff to Princess Celestia, right?”

“That is fine, just send it.”

The dragon shrugged and set the parchment ablaze with his magical flame. The ashes swirled briefly in the air before whisking off out a window as though they were caught in the wind.

“Mom, what was that?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

“Just making some reservations,” her nonchalant reply did little to soothe Twilight’s growing sense of worry.

Twilight steeled her expression in hopes that a stern response might get her an answer. “Reservations for what?”

“For your double date with Shining Armor and Cadance tomorrow. Don’t worry, the Princess should make sure everything is in order. Now, hurry up and finish your dinner. You two will need to start packing if we are going to catch the last train back to Canterlot this evening.”

As if in sync, Twilight, Rainbow, and Shining exchanged a collective glance at one another before all turning towards the oldest mare in the room. “What!?”

Prologue

A strong wind blew through Ponyville. To most it would be an unremarkable occurrence, but to anypony who lived in Ponyville long enough the telltale streak of a rainbow that accompanied that wind told them it was something special. Rainbow Dash, Ponyville’s premier flyer, was zipping through the town much closer to the ground than usual. The tactic was part of her new plan for a landing that would, hopefully, involve less crashing through windows at her destination.

Rainbow Dash had finished her daily weather duties, though not in a particularly timely fashion lest she miss out on her midday nap time, was heading to the place that had recently become her favorite hangout, Twilight’s Library. As the speeding pegasus closed in on her destination she slowed down to land a few feet from the library’s doorstep. Silently cheering about her successful landing Rainbow decided the she deserved a pat on the back for not crashing through Twilight’s window and into a bookcase, which at the speeds that she normally flew at could make quite a mess of the normally tidy library. Oh yes, no big mess today. No spending two hours helping to clean up all those hundreds of books and placing them back on the shelves only to be told that those particular books are part of a series of alternate Equestrian history novels and do not belong in the history section. Nope they belong over there on shelf twenty-three, row two, and should be placed four spaces away from the left side of the shelf so there will be room for the first four books of the series once they are found. Nope, none of that today she thought. She reached up a hoof and gave herself that well deserved pat on her back.

It’s not that spending time with Twilight that way wasn’t cool, far from it. Twilight was the whole reason she even came to the library, well aside from the books and the occasional Pinkie Pie party. But oh how she dreaded re-shelving books. Still, it was a good day as there was no crash and thus no re-shelving. That meant that she could get right to the fun stuff. Rainbow Dash raised a hoof and knocked on the door a few times as she put on her signature ‘good to see you too’ grin for when Twilight answered the door. There was a bit of shouting from inside, although it was nothing that Rainbow was able to decipher, the pegasus knew full well it was either Twilight or Spike shouting at the other to get the door. Rainbow had been around Twilight long enough to recognize that particular routine. Soon enough the door swung open revealing exactly who Rainbow Dash had been hoping would not answer, Spike.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” The little dragon spoke cheerfully, “Twilight is in the usual place if you want to head upstairs.”

“Thanks, Spike.” Rainbow Dash said letting the grin vanish from her face. No sense in wasting her charms on Spike after all. Rainbow Dash trotted inside and made a beeline for the stairs. It had been an exhausting day of weather duty. Rainbow had to work two whole hours before she was able to sneak off for her first nap. That was so not cool. If they would just let her work at her own pace she could be done in zap. But no, she had to work with all those slower pegasi who just threw off her rhythm. She only really took naps to let them catch up, or so she had convinced herself. Rainbow Dash was really looking forward to unwinding with Twilight. Truly the best part of the day was their newest routine in the beautiful unicorn’s bed room.

Rainbow trotted into the room, shutting the door as usual in hopes of preventing interruptions. Twilight was already sitting on her bed in anticipation. Every time Rainbow Dash entered into that little sanctum of pleasure she would receive the sweetest gaze from those lovely violet eyes. She could swear up and down that Twilight was a natural at that ‘come hither’ look. The unicorn’s tail swished back and forth across the bed making her desire for closeness quite clear. Rainbow Dash once again applied her most attractive smile to make full use of her natural charming looks. The pegasus visibly straightened her stance, almost puffing out her chest as her wings slowly flared into full extension. Rainbow Dash proudly strutted over to the edge of the bed taking in every inch of that shapely body that eagerly lie in wait for her presence. Everything was perfect; this was going to be so awesome.

“I’m glad you could make it today, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, an enthusiastic tone permeating her voice, “It was absolutely crazy today. First the Cutie Mark Crusaders showed up this morning insisting that I had to have a ‘guide to cutie marks’ book somewhere and proceeded to tear every book off the shelves to try and find it.” Twilight let out a heavy sigh before continuing. “They finally left after wrecking the whole place but then, of all the bad luck, the group showed up for our monthly book club meeting and the whole place is a complete mess,” with each word her tone became more and more stressful, “So naturally we spent a few hours having to clean up before we could even start the club meeting. By that time everypony was already hungry only for me to realize that I didn’t have time to go shopping this morning.”

Rainbow Dash already knew where this was going. Twilight was in full on rant-mode. Rainbow knew the only two options she had were to let her get it all out or to nip this in the bud. Rainbow Dash could tell this was going to be a longer rant so she opted for the latter option. Climbing onto the bed and sitting down right next to Twilight, Rainbow Dash leaned in against the lovely unicorn draping a wing over her to keep her close. Her cyan hoof came up to press against Twilight’s lips hinting to the unicorn that it was no longer time for talking. There were things to be done, fun things.

“Shh, I’m sure your day was perfectly awful, Twi, but now I’m here,” Rainbow Dash said, confidence radiating from her words, “You don’t need to worry about all that bad stuff. After all we have plenty of time to work off all that stress.” Rainbow finished as she silently congratulated herself on, what she felt, was her most convincing speech yet. She lowered her hoof from Twilight’s delicate lips as she tried to resist the urge to bury her tongue between that soft crevice.

A calm look washed over Twilight’s face as she listens to her friend’s words. The unicorn leaned her head over and rested it against Rainbow Dash’s neck. “Oh, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight says letting out all her frustration from the day in a massive sigh, “You always know just what to say to reel me in.” Twilight pulled her head back and looked down at the bed. “Since you are so eager today why don’t we get started?” some of the energy returned to her voice.

“Sounds good to me, Twi. Do you want to start today?” Rainbow Dash asks excitedly as her eyes lit up with the anticipation of a filly visiting Sugarcube Corner for the first time.

“Certainly.” Twilight responded. Her horn glowed brightly as Rainbow Dash and Twilight gazed down at the bed. The book glowed with the aura of Twilight’s magic and opened to the first page.