First Date

Prop Wash was a simple Pegasus living in Ponyville. Whether it was sitting at home reading a book, hanging out with his friends at Sugar Cube corner, or pulling pranks with Pinkie Pie, he always cherished the smaller things in life; which may sound strange for a pony who designed and built an engine that was used to propel a large transport through the air to deliver mail to all of the cities in Equestria. Princess Celestia commended him at a formal award ceremony in Canterlot a few years back for his "revolutionary" design that would make the mail system faster and more efficient, but Prop didn't think of it as anything too extraordinary; he had another idea in mind that would hopefully make him a lot of money someday. His focus at this point in time was a Pegasus pony he befriended his first day in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash, who was arguably the fastest and most agile flier in all of Equestria. Prop learned quickly that he wasn't much of a looker; he was slightly smaller than a full sized Pegasus, his body was black, his mane was purple with two white racing stripes identical to the ones on his tail, and a silver propeller as his cutie mark; all features that didn't exactly get him a lot of compliments and would certainly keep Rainbow Dash from wanting to be with him.

"Prop!"

The Pegasus snapped out of his daze to find himself looking at Pinkie Pie a few inches from his face. She jumped about three feet high with all four hooves extended to her side and her mane and tail stretched out as far as it could go. A few seconds later she returned to the ground with her eyes close, mane back to normal, and a wide smile on her face.

"Oh uh...sorry Pinkie." Prop said awkwardly.

"You feeling alright? You look like you're not having any fun." Pinkie said sadly.

The two ponies were in the middle of one of their regular pranks on their friends. Prop's idea for Twilight was to tape an air horn underneath the adjustable seat she normally sat on when writing her notes at her desk. The seat was situated at a higher than normal level so when Twilight sat on it she would lower it and sound the air horn which would scare her. It would have been hilarious for Prop if he didn't day dream and completely miss it which is what prompted Pinkie to shout his name.

"Pinkie!" He heard Twilight scream from inside her house.

"Run!" Pinkie screamed as she rocketed herself down the street at the speed of sound.

Prop Wash spread his wings and took flight just moments before Twilight burst out of her house looking for the two pranksters that had been tormenting her for the last few days. Prop met up with Pinkie a little further down the street where she was on her back laughing harder than he had ever seen her laugh before.

"Did you see her face?" Pinkie asked, prompting one of her babbling rants that lasted for what seemed like and eternity "I mean I know you didn't see it because you were too busy thinking about something else but I saw it and it was..."

Pinkie's extremely fast and annoying rant was interrupted by Prop Wash's hoof physically sealing her lips shut. Prop loved Pinkie Pie dearly, but he really hated when she went off on her episodes in which she talked so fast the only way to understand what she was saying was to record her on a tape recorder and play it back at half speed.

"I got it," He said "It was hilarious."

Prop put his hoof on the ground and began walking back towards the center of town. Pinkie Pie couldn't help but notice Prop hadn't been acting like himself all day and as one of his best friends she knew it was her job to make him smile, but which one of the totally awesome fun things in Ponyville would she chose?

"Hey look over there," Pinkie cheered as she turned Prop's head towards a Ferris Wheel "The carnival is back! Come on!

Before Prop could even gather his thoughts up to start walking over, Pinkie had already zipped to the carnival and back where she saw Prop walking slowly in a slump. Her smile turned upside down at the sight of her upset friend sitting on the ground in front of her, her mane deflating from it's usually puffy cotton candy-like fashion down around the side of her head almost as straight as Twilight's mane. Prop snapped out of his daze and assured Pinkie that he was alright but Pinkie didn't buy it.

"I can't have fun when some pony isn't happy," Pinkie said and put her right hoof around him "You want some ice cream? Maybe chocolate ice cream!"

A whistling sound filled the air around the two ponies; a sound that you would hear normally when something was flying through the air at a really high speed. Pinkie caught a glimpse of a Pegasus flying straight towards them and sprinted away as fats as she could before it crashed into them. Prop seemed to ignore the sound completely, as well as just about everything else around him, and didn't snap out of his daze until a half second before he saw the Pegasus in his face. The two ponies slid across the ground and came to a stop about ten feet away from where the point of impact was; neither of which seemed to sustain any major injuries. When Prop was able to stand up he found himself staring at a small orange filly with a purple mane, a pony he had seen around the town but didn't know personally. Her eyes filled with tears as she noticed what she had done in her attempt to fly successfully.

"I," She said in a broken voice "I..."

The filly turned her head and began running in the opposite direction fearing whatever punishment it was she was going to get for crashing into Prop. He tried to motion to her and call her back but she kept running with her wings flapping as hard as they could. Up above him he heard some pony laughing hysterically and quickly identified it as Rainbow Dash, a voice he burned into the deepest pit of his brain. The cyan, rainbow-maned Pegasus landed on the ground in front of him still laughing which began to annoy him.

"Wow you should have seen the look on your face; priceless!" Rainbow Dash said.

Pinkie raced over to the two ponies.

"Hey Rainbow Dash!"

"Hey Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash said as she hoof bumped her friend "You two pulling more pranks today?"

Pinkie Pie nodded her head at a mind boggling speed. No pony understood how she was able to do half of the things she was capable of doing but they all seemed to agree that there were laws of physics, things that broke the laws of physics, and Pinkie; that was about as good of an explanation as you could get. Rainbow Dash nudged Prop and then wrapped her hoof around him. The two Pegasii knew each other from flight camp as fillies but never really socialized. After Prop graduated from Cloudsdale he moved to Manehattan where he designed and tested his engine, but chose to move to Ponyville in order to try and escape the vast media presence. His first day in Ponyville lead him to Rainbow Dash, both whom remembered each other and became really great friends. The only issue Prop had with being friends with Rainbow Dash was that he wanted more, much more.

"Well don't be out too late now. We still have plans for tonight and you better not be late again!"

"Hey I told it was because Rari..." Prop said but was cut off

"Wah, wah, wah, excuses, excuses," Rainbow Dash said with a smile "Don't be late or I'll be the one who tackles you next time!"

The Pegasus launched into the air and flew away almost as fast as Pinkie Pie ran to the Ferris Wheel earlier. Prop watched her fly away until she had nearly disappeared into the vast blue sky.

"You guys are having fun without me?" Pinkie asked with a frown and big bold eyes.

"No it's not that kind of fun," Prop said shaking his head "We're just going to Neighagra Falls."

Pinkie Pie scratched her head and then held both of her hooves out to her sides. Of course Pinkie would be confused; fun to her is pulling pranks, throwing parties, or bouncing around like a rubber ball on speed until her heart can't pump enough blood through her to keep her on her hooves anymore.

"What would Dashie want to do there? Normally when she hangs out with some pony she wants to do fun stuff." Pinkie said.

"Well Hearts and Hooves day is tomorrow and I..."

Prop was interrupted by a very long, exaggerated gasp from Pinkie. She once again somehow managed to levitate herself five feet off the ground with he hooves sprawled out and her mane stretched out as far as it could go. When she landed on the ground he facial expression didn't change until a few seconds later when she started bouncing in circles around Prop.

"Prop Wash loves Dashie," She chanted "Prop Wash loves Dashie!"

"Shut up Pinkie." Prop ordered.

"I won't tell any pony," She said and began her Pinkie Promise ritual "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Prop didn't feel any more relieved at Pinkie's promise but somehow knew that she wouldn't break it. The saying around town was "no pony breaks a Pinkie Promise" so there must've been a good reason for it. Prop waved off Pinkie for the day who then began bouncing down the street back home. Trying to figure out how to ask Rainbow Dash to be his special some pony was hard enough without some crazy psycho pony bouncing around him singing about it like a kid. Prop didn't know anything about how to impress a mare so he sure didn't know how to impress one of the most athletic Pegasii in Equestria. Rainbow Dash has many attributes that had colts lining up for her; she won the Best Young Flyer Award for her third straight year, she was the fastest flyer in Equestria, she had connections to Royalty, and she could perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom in her sleep. The only attribute Prop had was his ability to build a machine to transport goods across the land.

"Ugh!" Prop grunted loudly.

Prop's grunt startled Twilight who was outside of her house watering the base of her tree, and not far from her was a book levitating in the air enclosed in a pink aurora. Probably a book on how to water a tree, being that she had books that told her how to do everything. She probably even had a book to tell her how to read a book too. The purple unicorn summoned Prop inside of her house where she offered him a drink of water which he politely refused.

"You don't look so good. Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Prop said and then lowered his head "Just thinking."

"About what?" Twilight asked cocking her head to the left.

"Just," Prop paused "Stuff."

Twilight rolled her eyes and walked over to her desk.

"Well I can't help you if you aren't going to tell me what's bothering you."

Prop didn't feel to comfortable talking to Twilight about his love for Rainbow Dash mainly because he figured she wouldn't have anything intelligent to say and just ridicule him until she eventually talked him out of going further. Twilight did have a tendency to overreact at any ideas she thought were way too risky to even attempt at trying, or just shoot them down completely if she didn't like it. However, in the back of his mind he knew that Twilight had a lot of knowledge about many different topics that had often helped himself and her friends through many different issues. He finally decided to share his feelings about Rainbow Dash just to have some sort of an answer from some pony.

"Really," Twilight asked "Rainbow Dash is your pick?"

Sort of the answer Prop expected to get from some pony like Twilight.

"Yes," he said awkwardly "I know it sounds crazy but its how I feel. I really want to make tonight special for her which is why I asked her to come to the falls."

"You asked Rainbow Dash to Neighagra Falls!? I don't know if that's such a great place to take some pony like Rainbow Dash." Twilight said.

Prop rolled his eyes and began walking out of Twilight's house. The intense negativity she was giving him was not the sort of energy that was going to help him win Rainbow Dash.

"You said you wanted to help yet you're being condescending. I don't have the patience to sit around and get berated about why its not a good idea." He said.

Twilight's eyes narrowed as she watched Prop Wash walk towards the door. She certainly didn't want to discourage him and she knew that Prop wouldn't be a bad pick for one of her best friends.

"I wasn't trying to be condescending," Twilight explained as she wrapped her hoof around Prop "I've just never seen some pony try to do anything nice for her. I mean you see the colts she's always hanging out with; they're not exactly after her for her heart."

Another reminder that made Prop angry; Rainbow Dash's "friends." At least that's what she called them but Prop knew exactly what was going on. They were the kind of friends you didn't know until the night you went out and met them and then woke up the next morning with no intentions of ever talking to them again. Prop suffered the unfortunate privilege of having to hear most of Dash's stories but, being that she wasn't going out as much and she wasn't seeing some pony he thought it might put him in a position to try and win her once and for all. She always talked about some pony doing something nice for her so why shouldn't the falls be a great place to start?

"I know Twilight and that's exactly why I think the falls are a good place to start. She likes that cheesy romantic stuff, or at least that's what she tells me. I mean you can't get anymore cheesy than this right?" Prop asked.

"Well what's your plan once you get there?" Twilight asked.

Prop shrugged as he collected his thoughts.

"I don't know. I was thinking maybe just talk and let her know how I feel about her. You know, just get it out there and see what happens."

Twilight shook her head.

"As much as I'd like to agree with that, that's not how it works. You don't just pour yourself out and expect some pony to just fall into your hooves. If you dump it all on her you'll be putting her on the spot and she'll just reject you because she won't know what to think."

"So what should I do?" Prop asked.

"Take it slow," Twilight began "Go there like you would any other time you're hanging out with her. Don't make yourself so obvious; tell her you're doing all this so she can have a nice time with someone she cares about. Just as friends though, nothing more. I've seen that angle worked before and most of the time it ends pretty well. You'll know if the right time comes to make your move, just be subtle about it."

It actually didn't sound like too bad of an idea to Prop. The whole overwhelming thing seemed to make sense when put into perspective but being subtle seemed like something that would be pretty hard for him to do. Everyone says that love can catch you off guard and every minute you spend thinking about it can ruin your opportunity to have the one you love but whoever thought of that probably didn't account for falling in love with someone you were close friends with, because if you admit your feelings to someone you've been close with for so long can break that bond. The result would not only be losing someone you love, but also losing a friend.

"You think that will work?" Prop asked.

"I think it will," Twilight said "You're a good guy and I don't see how some pony doing something so nice for her wouldn't win her over. Even if it doesn't work it would probably still be great for your friendship with her, although that might not be something you'd want to hear."

Prop chuckled sarcastically and shook his head.

"You know for some pony who spends a lot of time inside you sure do know a lot. I guess all that studying paid off for you."

"I stay inside for many reasons Prop," Twilight laughed "Reading books is just one of them."

Props eyes widened and then he shook the various images flashing through his mind out of his head. Twilight is a cute, nerdy unicorn who spends her time reading. Forget her remark and just pretend she hasn't been corrupted, she's not that kind of pony...We'll see how well that thought pans out for him.

"Alright I'll try it your way," Prop said as he began walking out "Thanks Twilight."

"You're welcome," Twilight said with a smile "Good luck!"

"Hey Prop!"

Prop Wash had been walking through town near Town Hall when he heard Rainbow Dash call out his name which immediately triggered him to spin around to face his pony crush. She and some other Pegasus landed a few feet away and walked up to him.

"I want you to meet some pony," Rainbow Dash said as she held out her hoof in front of her friend "This is Wingnut; a pony I went to Cloudsdale with."

Prop examined the colt standing before him. A well built Pegasus with a dark blue coat, black mane, and dark red eyes; a Pegasus that many mares would consider attractive which is the last thing Prop wanted to deal with.

"What's up?" Prop asked him.

"We were just coming back from the park and I thought I'd stop by and introduce you two. I figured you guys might get along pretty well since you both like to build things." Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah," Prop said awkwardly "I'm sure we will."

"I didn't take her seriously when she told me she was friends with the pony who built the mail transporters," Wingnut said "I had to see it to believe it."

Prop gave a sly smile to the Pegasus and then spread his wings.

"I'm sorry I'd love to stay and chat but I have some things I have to do," Prop said as he levitated himself "I'll see you guys later."

Before Rainbow Dash could say anything, Prop had propelled himself into the sky and began flying away from the two ponies. Several thoughts began running through his head.

Another new pony? How am I supposed to compete with him? I'm never going to win her over now. She's going to end up with this guy and I'm going to be stuck on the sidelines watching another one of her relationships fail with some pony that doesn't deserve her.

Whack!

Prop got so lost in his internal rant that he flew straight into the side of a tree, falling to the ground shortly after in a daze. When he oriented himself he found he had crashed near the Carousel Boutique where a white filly with a pink and light purple colored mane laughing at him.

"You okay Prop?" Sweetie Belle asked, still laughing.

"Yeah," Prop said as he stretched out his wings "I think I'll live."

The front door to the boutique opened and a white pony with a blue and purple curled mane came rushing out looking in every direction before locking her eyes onto her younger sister.

"What in the world was that?" Rarity asked.

"Prop flew into a tree." Sweetie Belle snapped as she pointed her hood to Prop.

Rarity's left eyebrow lowered as she looked at Prop who had several leaves stuck in his mane.

"A tree," She asked "Seriously?"

Prop blushed and then looked away. Rarity let out a laugh and then invited Prop inside to help clean him up. Prop was immediately welcomed with various scents of perfumes and bright colors of the shop walls. Rarity sat him down in a seat facing a mirror where he too could see the leaves and twigs stuck in his mane.

"How exactly does one end up flying into a tree?" Rarity asked with a chuckle.

"I guess I wasn't paying attention." Prop answered.

"Is something on you mind darling?" Rarity asked as she looked at him through the mirror.

Prop immediately shook his head but Rarity didn't buy it. No pony flies into a tree unless their caught up in a really deep though and, when Rarity replied with that Prop felt he might as well share.

"I'm going to the falls tonight with Rainbow Dash," Prop said, triggering a smile from Rarity "And I plan on letting her know how I feel about her but I just don't know how to do it."

"Well," Rarity said "Obviously you're going to need a bit more than just a few leaves pulled from your mane."

Prop shook his head and then looked at the ground.

"I just ran into her before," Prop said discouragingly "She had some colt with her."

"Don't be intimidated by a little competition darling," Rarity said as she began cleaning Prop's mane "If you really care about her then you'll fight for her. You can't give up all hope just because some pony else is after her."

"How am I supposed to compete with the ponies she keeps hanging out with?" Prop asked as he evaluated himself in the mirror before him

Rarity gently pulled a twig out of Prop's mane and dropped it into a trash can near the mirror before walking in front of Prop, blocking his view of the mirror.

"You designed the mail carriers for one," Rarity said which didn't seem to get much of a response from Prop "But aside from that you've always been loyal to her and she does realize it. You're the only pony I know that wants to be with her for all of the right reasons and the two of you deserve it. All you have to do tonight is be yourself; don't try to impress her with anything radical. Remember you are going as friends as far as she is concerned."

"And that's the problem Rarity. She's going to see it as nothing more and if I try anything to let her know how I feel then I'm going to lose her." Prop said.

Rarity put her right hoof on Prop's left hoof and the two ponies looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Just relax tonight Prop. You'll know when it's time for you to make it known. When that happens she'll be all yours."

Prop smiled and then Rarity walked back behind him to finish cleaning him up. He still wasn't sure how well everything was going to be tonight but Rarity made him feel a little more confident. If any pony knew anything about romance surely it would be her.

"Do you think I should bring her something? I've always brought her a little something for Hearts and Hooves Day so maybe it can help me tonight."

"What have you brought her the last few years?" Rarity asked as she brushed the last of the leaves out of Prop's mane.

"Well last year I got her a few yellow roses; I figured I couldn't go wrong with those. The year before that I bought her one of those cheesy friendship necklace things but I think you'll remember why."

"Yes I certainly do." Rarity said in disgust.

That year was the Hearts and Hooves Day that Rainbow Dash caught the Pegasus she was dating with a Unicorn from Canterlot. It was also the first pony Rainbow Dash had very strong feelings for and walking into him with some other mare in his bedroom broke her. She had been upset about it for a few months before she was able to reassure herself that she was still the best Pegasus in all of Equestria. Prop's cheesy friendship necklace helped her cheer up and even though she was never seen wearing it, Prop knew she was still holding onto it.

"I say bring her another rose." Rarity said.

"Yellow rose, check. I'll stop by Fluttershy's cottage and get one." Prop snapped.

No, no," Rarity said holding up her right hoof in front of him "A pink rose."

"Pink?" Prop asked nervously.

"Yes darling," Rarity said "A pink rose, trust me."

"But doesn't that mean..." Prop said but was interrupted by Rarity

"Yes Prop," She said calmly "But only give it to her if and only if everything goes according to plan. You'll be glad you did."

"And what happens if it doesn't?" Prop asked.

"I don't think a silly rose will be your fear in that case," Rarity said "But I like to be optimistic. I can't see tonight going any less that perfect for the two of you."

Prop gathered his thoughts as he made his way across town to Fluttershy's Cottage. When he arrived he found her around the back of the cottage tending to a few bunnies that surrounded her. Her voice was heartwarming to the point where Prop Wash's heart melted inside of his body; but that was probably the only thing he liked about her. Her inability to socialize with other ponies and sit at home for most of the day was something he never understood and didn't usually go out of his way to find her. Prop walked through the backyard a few feet before Fluttershy turned her head towards him.

"Oh," She said softly "Hey Prop Wash."

"Hey Fluttershy," Prop responded "Do you have a minute? I need your help with something."

"Certainly," She said and then turned to her bunny friends "I'll be right back little one."

The yellow Pegasus hovered a few inches over the ground and flew over to Prop Wash where she then retracted her wings. For some reason she could only find herself able to fly around him more so than around her friends. Neither her, Prop, nor her friends had any idea why that was but it was never at the top of the conversation.

"I'm looking for a flower." Prop said sort of awkwardly.

Fluttershy raised her right hoof up to her mouth and giggled.

"Well I do have a really big garden over there," She said as she pointed the her garden a few feet away from them.

"I'm looking for a specific flower," Prop said as they began walking "A pink rose."

Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks with her eyes narrowed.

"Pink?" She was barely able to spit out.

"Yeah, pink." Prop repeated.

"Oh, I didn't know you were dating some pony. Who is she?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well," Prop began "We're not dating. Not yet. I mean I want to but I don't know what's going to happen."

Fluttershy began walking again until the two Pegassi reached the garden where there were hundreds of flowers to choose from. Prop leaned over and picked one of the few pink roses in front of him and then smiles at Fluttershy.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to be rude. I was just asking." She said.